Words maybe incorrect due to poor OCR, use browser search tool for research of two thousand pages of text.
To find a word use CTRL KEY + F on a PC
THE ROYAL ARSENAL
PART I -THE BACKGROUND
r. Armament administration-the Wardrobe-1066-1414
3
2. Armament administration-the Office of Ordnancer414-1670
32
3. Crown Establishments at Greenwich
83
4 . Woolwich prior to the advent of the Warren 112
5. Crown Establishments at Woolwich pnor to the advent of the Warren
P A RT II-BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
6. The beginnings of Tower Place 177 7. The Warren 1701-1720 231 8. The Warren 172r-1749 274
g. The beginnings of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 302 r o. The establishment and early years of the Royal Mili
tary A cademy in the Warren 345 1r. The Warren 1750-1775 393 12. The Warren 1776-1800 451
PART III-ADOLESCENCE
13. The Warren during Napoleonic times
497 r 4. The Royal Arsenal during Napoleonic times 551 15. The Doldrums 1816-1839 602 r6. The beginning of a Trade Wind 1840-1850 664
VOLUME II
r 7. The last years under the Board of Ordnance and the Crimean War 723
18.
The early years under the War Office 787
19.
The Morley reforms 840
20.
The closing years of the nineteenth century 870
l
CONTENTS PART IV-MATURITY
21. The opening years of the twentieth century 9II
22. The First ,t\'orld War 949
23. The uneasy years between 991
24. The Second World War and afterwards 1024
APPENDICES
I. List ofKeepers ofthe Wardrobe, Masters and l\!Iasters
General of the Ordnance and subsequent Arma
ment Chiefs 1035
II. Principal Officers of the Ordnance 1041
III. Constitution of the Board at various dates 1047
IV. Armament administration-Board of Ordnance, War Office, Ministry of Supply and War Office. From
1671 to the present day
V. Complete list of armour held at Greenwich in June 1611
VI. Officials at the Royal Arsenal at various dates
VII. Certain establishments and rates of pay
VIII. Certain employees and rates of wages in the Royal Arsenal between the years 1800 and 1855
IX. Woolwich establishments in certain years
1099 1102 1123
1133 1280
X. Number of workers employed in the Royal Arsenal 1289
XI. The acreage of the Royal Arsenal at various dates 1292
XII. Transport in the Royal Arsenal 1293
XIII. Divine worship, schools, police and security 1317
XIV. ,vater, fire services, gas and power 1349
XV. Survey of some of the principal stores made 1n the Royal Arsenal 1374
XVI. Other Departments in the Royal Arsenal
XVII. !vfanuscripts relating to Ordnance matters
Bibliography 1457
Index 1459
Illustrations An Ordnance Officer of the time of Charles II
Frontispiece
I Edward III inspecting his artillery
facing page 142
2 The Royal palace at Greenwich, 1558
143
3 (upper) Tower Place, 1545
158
3 (lower) Burst gun at Moorfields
158
4 (lejt) Front gate for ships' c':1-rriage house, 171 7
1 59
4 (right) Front gate at Woolw1ch, 1717
1 59
5 Part of the great pile of buildings, Woolwich 1 71 7
360
6 The Royal Foundry, Woolwich (Sandby)
361
7 (upper) View of Woolwich Warren (S. & N. Buck), 1739
376
7 (lower) Cadets' Barracks at Woolwich, I 752
376
8 (upper) Carriage shed for Land Service
377
8 (lower) The Granby Medal
377
9 The Royal Military Academy (Sandby)
600 10 A gun being bored in the Royal Foundry, 1773
601 I l Withdrawing the castings from the pit. Royal Foundry,
1 773 616
12 (upper) View from Rupert's walk, 1749
617
12 (lower) The Royal Laboratory, c. 1750
617
13 Laboratory Square, c. 1750
842
1 4 M oulding pellets in the Royal Laboratory, c. 1750
843
15 Pumps in the Royal Laboratory
858
16 The visit of George III to the Royal Foundry, 1773
859
17 Making charges, Royal Laboratory, c. 1750
97°
18 V iew of hulks and convicts at Woolwich, 1779
971
The seat of Sir Gregory Page at Blackheath, 1783
19 986 20 (upper) The main gate, Royal Arsenal, 1825
987
20 (lower ) The entrance to the Royal Arsenal, c. 1850
987
2 1 T he Royal Arsenal, 1 847 22 (upp er) Model of horse boring-mill 22 (lower) Girls making cartridges, I 862
TEXT ILLUSTRATIO S
Fig. l Bodham's sketch of the gunwharf Fig. 2 Two plans of Tower Place Fig. 3 Plan of the old Academy Fig. 4 Elevation of proposed gateway, 1828
MAPS
I. Woolwich Warren in 1701
2. W oolwich Warren in 1 7 1 7
1002
1028
1028
167
facing page 206
349
629
facing page 231 " ,, 258
'An exact survey of the Warren in Woolwich', 1749 ''
3. " 274
4.
'Plan or"Woolwich Warren', 1777 " ,, 451
5.
The Royal Arsenal, 1867 " " 8
.
lX
Vlll
Preface
Up to now no Boswell has appeared to interpret the Royal Arsenal to the British people; its story therefore has remained untold. From the historical point ofview this is a minor tragedy as in recent years the_ han~ of the winnower has been busy, and many documents, which might have shed light on certain aspects of the subject, have been ruthlessly destroyed. Had such a history been written only forty years ago, much valuable material, now irrecoverable, might have been preserved.
For wellnigh a hundred years Woolwich was the only Crown Es_tablishment which manufactured warlike stores and thus may be sa id to have been the matrix out of which all other government fa ctories evolved. Today circumstances are different; the Woolwich w orkshops are but the few among the many which supply the equipment required by the Fighting Services. The Royal Arsenal has therefore shed some of its ancient glory and, though still of national importance, has lost its proud position ofpre-eminence. Nevertheless it still clings to its traditions. ·
Having lived and worked in the Royal Arsenal for many years, I
was overjoyed at the opportunity afforded me of adopting Boswell's
mantle and presenting a historical account of the establishment in
which so many happy years of my life have been passed.
F irst and foremost my most grateful thanks and appreciation are
d ue to the late Sir Henry Tizard who urged and encouraged me to
persevere in what has proved to be an immense task, and to the
'Tru stees of the Leverhulme Research Fellowships, whose generous
two y ears Research Fellowship enabled me to undertake it. Without
th e Trustees' kind and welcome assistance, this history could not
h ave appeared in print.
I should also like to record my gratitude to various officials and
official bodies who have unstintedly preferred their help. In particu
lar, I would mention the assistance I have received from the staffs
of the Public Record Office, the War Office and the Royal Arsenal,
all of which took great interest in the task I was attempting. To
single out names is perhaps invidious, but I do most earnestly wish
to pay tribute to the unfailing courtesy and ungrudging aid rendered
me by Mr E. K. Timings of the Public Record Office; by Messrs A.
S. White and D. W. King of the War Office Library; by Mr G. J. Roberts of the War Office Registry; by Mr W. H. Davison of the War Office Records Division; by Mr J. S. Grew of the Armaments Research Establishment; and by ColonelJ. C. E. Pellereau, Mr T . G. Taffs, Lieutenant-Colonel P. A. S. Holmes, Miss Sheryer and
.
Xl
PREFACE
others of the staff of the Chief Superintendent, Royal Ordnance Factories, all of whom have sacrificed time and energy to come to my assistance.
Finally, homage should be paid to all those countless and forgotten clerks and scribes who, throughout the centuries kept such meticulous details of all the incidents, trivial or otherwise, which occupied the Office of Ordnance throughout its long career of statecraft.
Blackheath OLIVER F. G. HOGG Autumn I962
..
Xll
Introduction
Voltaire once remarked that ifyou wished to converse with him you had to define your terms. It is a logical statement and one that should obviously be applied to any history dealing with an Establishment so difficult to define as the Royal Arsenal. Is it a specific area on the m a p or is it a government department where equ_ip~ent_for the fightino-forces is manufactured and stored? Many mstltutlons have chan~ed their locality and continued their work in new surroundings and among these must be included the_ Royal Arsei:al ' hich functioned in a humbler capacity at Woolw1ch half a_ mi~e further up the river before it was transferred to its present site m
1671. Before a standing army in England was authorized, the Office of ~d · · d · 1 · g ships of the Royal
0 I n a n ce was mainly preoccupie in supp yin d N avy and the connection between that Department of state afin
' h. • · t ociation accounts or
t h e A d miralty was very close. T 1s 1nt1ma e ass h
· t Deptford Chat am,
th e early development of Ordnance services a ' .
Portsmou th and other dockyards, which thus allows the presumptio~ with a fair d eg ee of certainty that Ordnance storehois~ wer~~:t up at Woolwich when Henry VIII built the royal doc t ere a
the year 1518. h •te of the present Origin ally housed on the gunwharf near t e s1 ed to To wer free ferry, the Ordnance depot at vVoolwich w~s m~:hat property Place on Woolwich Warren when t~e Cro"':n pu;~ a~his new home,
1 1
of 30 acres from Sir William Prichard 1~ h/ • •ghteenth century
originally referred to as Tower Place, was inTth eRe1, zArsenal a name k 1 · 80 5 as e 0) a '
nown as The W arren, and final Yin 1 d to mere storage, suggested b y George III. Manufacture, as oppose. built there and
commenced in 1696 when the new Laboratory ~v~ Palace and rethe Tilt Y ard Barn was removed from Gr;:nwic1 therefore, as an erected on W oolwich Warren. The Royal rsena '
entity has survived for some 4oo years. d ·t derived from four
1
As a public institution on its present groun sources:
(a)
The Wardrobe and Ordnance O~ce
(b)
Crown Establishments at Greenwich ( ) W · · 67 I h e of Tow r
c oolw1ch town pnor to 1 ich before the pure as
(d) Crown Establishments at Woolw Place . h . .,0v n the tap ry. f
wh1c is ,~ ·1 ·f · 1
a 11 of which form the threads from lected at p n 1 JU the Arsenal's saga and these sources are neJ e. lopm nt. is to be done to the story of its subsequent
xiii
TRooucTION
IN ·m 1
d the greatest di cu ty in reco .
would fin h · ht h glliz
could they but retur?, twhile labours. In t e e~~ eent centll ing the scene of their ers . . g both civil and military member ryf
·tcontairun h w so
Woolwich was one uru o distinction between t e_ arren and the the Ordnance. There was~ poses they were integrated. b th
. . t ative pur R 1 A .oo
Garrison; for adnums r A .11 ry and the oya c.aderny fc
. t of rti e 1 b 1 . or
the Royal Regimen . erienced peop e e onging to th
. and inexp .c. d . h e
'instructing the raw Office were .1orme in t e VVarr
Ordnance 1 d en,
military branch' of the 1 .cactories was c asse as milita
k · n the ear Y .1, . ry
and much of the wor i C R E. Woolwich w as appointed
when a · · d '
employment. Later on, d ds on the marshes an dealt With he had his headqu~rters an ~ar as a whole. The transfer of the building problems in the statibon acks on Woolwich Common m·
. h . new arr .
Royal Artillery to t eir R 1 Military Academ y to its new
0
1 778 and the removal of theSh ~\s Hill in r806, fostered the premises on the slopes_ ofh 00 ere beginning to d evelop. In the
• d · which t en we •
separatist ten encies . s departments in the Arsenal
. h t ry the vanou .
early runeteent cen u , . d from the soldiers on the hill became more and more di:o~ce Woolwich Garrison still resided though the Commandant O t e th titular head of the Establish
d
within the Arsenal walls au w~s e th century there were five
"ddl f the runeteen
ment. By the nu e O • the Royal Arsenal namely
. d d t departments in
comp1ete1y in epen en G F tory the R oyal Carriage
the Royal un ac '
the R oya1 Laboratory, . t t and the Storekeeper's
1 Engineer Depar men
Department, the Roya . · t the other and they
. h aid much attention o
Department. Neit er ~ he head uarters of the O ffice only corresponded officially through t ~ t f
. L don They each paid their own r a es o w ages
of O rdnance 1n on · 1 t· s Such common
d
and functioned under separate rules au regu a wn · . d t h
· · b ooled were ass1gne o t e
services which had perforce to e P 1. ·t d t t t d
· · · · h t a very 1mi -e ex en ac e
O
Junsd1ct1on of the Storekeeper, w O E br h t as the chief administrative official of the whole s~a is ;1~n Offi After the War Department took over the functwns O t e . ce · · ·1 d ·1·t ry elements at W oolw1ch
of Ordnance 1n 1855 the c1v1 an nu 1 a became still more seg;egated. The Royal Laboratory, the Royal Gun Factory and the Royal Carriage Departments became three of_the manufacturing departments of the Army, the Arsenal works services became independent ofthe C. R. E. Woolwich and the Storekeeper's organization became part of the Ordnance Store Department. Subsequently the Ordnance Store Department, having passed through the stage of the Control Department, developed into the Army Ordnance Department from which in due course the Naval Ordnance Department hived off. In 1888, as the r~sult of the recommendations of the Morley Committee, the three independent factories were united under a chief executive with a headquarter staff, since when they have gradually become three sections of one
.
XVI
INTRODUCTION
organization. This Director-General of Ordnance Factories since
'
I 899 renamed the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, was charged among other responsibilities with those of all common services; police, fire-fighting, buildings, roads, gas, water, power, etc. Another result of the Morley Committee's deliberations was the settin~ up of a~ in~ependent ins1:ection staff, thereby relieving the factor~es of being Judges of their own and of trade production. Certain research organizations which had been formed within the Arsenal were grouped together in 1907 to become the Research Department. After the ~nd of the first World War a Naval Inspection Department and a Design Department were established. In addition
to these, other bodies like the A.D.M.T, the W.D. Chemist, the Ordnance Commi~tee and other minor offices had come into being so that by the third decade of the twentieth century, the Royal Arsenal sheltered many departments besides the factories which were quite independent of C.S.O.F. save for essential services common to the whole area.
T~ese _ramific~tions have made the presentation of the latter part of th i~ h~story d:~cult. Up to the end of the eighteenth century the story is simple; it is purely that of a slowly evolving single organism. As such it has been treated chronologically. Volume II has presented more complex problems. Although the chronological approach has 1-r1uch to recommend it in theory, it is apt to fail where many factors, only vaguely related, are expanding in divergent directions. Again, treatment on the lines ofindividual factories is unsatisfactory, especially a s, in la ter years controlled by a central staff, they have tended to b ecome homogeneous. A third method of procedure, namely by
considering fundamental services essential to all, also has its obvious d rawb a cks. A compromise has therefore been adopted.
During the course of their long history, the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolvvich have been under the jurisdiction of four D epartments of State, one of which was a temporary war-time
M inistry. These are : Up to 1855 the Office of Ordnance 1855-1915 the War Department 1915-1920 the Ministry of Munitions 1920-1939 the War Department
1939-1959 the Ministry of Supply 1959-the War Department When the Secretary of State for War received by Letters Patent,
dated 25 May 1855, the mantle of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance on the abolition of the Board, the change of overlordship was final and complete. The Ordnance Board Act of 14 August 1855 (18 and 19 Victoria, Cap. CXVII) makes this quite clear. All Pow r , Authorities, Rights, Privileges, Lands, Hereditaments, Estates and
XVll
2
INTRODUCTION
Principal Officers and 'be trans"
r .
s from the ' p . .1.erre...i
Property were to pas . ble by Her MaJesty s nncipal Secret
\l
to and vested in a~d ex;:f~sa to whom Her Majesty shall think 6.:1:y of State for the Time W g Department'. Woolwich Arsenal Pa to intrust the Seals of the th:rWar Office. The Ministry of MunjJ~eq over body a?"d soulIt~xistence on 9 June l 9l 5 as a result of ths entered on its lega ( and 6 Geo. V, Cap. 54-2July 19 e Munitions ofWar Act 19; 5 ~trol of the Woolwich factories. A.t ;g) and on that date ass_ul_rr:e ~ November 1918 the question of the
. . of host! ities i f . . . e
termmation_ . tion of Woolwich and o its reorganization Was future admimstra . Its fate however, was closely bound
Committee. , Upd
referre to a . t d Ministry of Supply, and, pending with that of hthe prot~teecr e little could be done about the Royaal
. . on t at ma ' C b. .
dec1s10n . When in March 1920 the a inet decided not
Ordnance Factories. M" . f S 1
d "th the Bill for establishing a inistry o upp Y, it Was to ~roceeh WI h Woolwich factories should be retransferred to the
decided t at t e 6 J
tment-their spiritual home for 5 years-on l une I 920.
War Depar M" . .
This temporary control by another i;11~try w~s a passing phase and had no lasting effect on the Arsenals inner life.
The Ministry of Supply Act (2 and 3 Geo. -yr, Cap.. 38) dated 13 July 1939, was mainly an enabling Act_ by whic~ functions could be transferred to the Ministry by Orders in Council, when and where considered advisable. Under this Act the Royal Ordnance Factories acquired a new overlord-the Minister of Supply. It would appear from this Act that the transfer was not to be absolute and could be revoked by an Order in Council should circumstances dictate such a policy. Eventually such a change of policy did occur, for on 21 October 1959 the Ministry of Supply under Statutory Instrument 1959, No 1768 became the Ministry of Aviation and its military
departments including the main bulk of Woolwich Arsenal again reverted to the War Department.
In a work of this character it is inevitable that the end should be less detailed than the beginning. In this way it differs somewhat from the norm ofhistorical surveys. Three reasons account for this. First, security must be observed; secondly, little of universal interest has happened since the Royal Arsenal reached its zenith in size and
~mportance in 1918, and, thirdly, modern records, owing to increase 1n ~ulk and lack ofstorage space, are more prone to destruction than their counterparts of yester-year. Much that has taken place in the '!1°yal ?rdnanc~ Factories in recent times is mirrored in all large1n?ustnal establishments, and is thus out of place in a narrative of th~s nat~re_whfch is primarily based on antiquarian interest.
We ~vein time, and the past must always be the most momentous
part of1t.'
xviii
The Background
Chapter 1
Armament Administration The Wardrobe Io66-I4I4
In feudal time all monies connected with the provision maintenance
' '
and storage of warlike equipment were regarded as a court charge personal to the ruler and not as a liability falling upon the national exchequer. Records of household expenses rather than other state archives must, therefore, be explored for the origin and early history of armament administration. Pandora's box in the case of weapons and their development was the royal treasure chest of long ago.
In the middle ages the standard of life was much simpler than it is today. Not only was a bathroom unknovvn but few even of the wealthier nobles enjoyed the luxury of a private bedroom. Those who did so usually had a closet attached to their sleeping apartment in which their clothes and valuables could be placed. In the royal household the bedchamber, constructed on a more pretentious scale, normally had a room leading off it wherein the sovereign's personal belongings could be safely stored.
Although in the empire of Charlemagne the highest officer ofstate was the m onarch's camerarius or chamberlain who was assisted by a nu1nber of minor officials termed cubicularii, there was no corresponding court functionary in Angl?-Saxon England. Instead, there existed a group of royal servants entrusted with analogous duties who were sometimes referred to in continental parlance as cubicularii or camerarii or more often by their English names burthegn, bedthegn and hroegelthegn. The two latter corresponded to the cubicularius and vestiarius respectively and might in modern language be described as 'the groom of the chamber' and 'the keeper of the robes'. With the coming of the Normans the terms camera and garderoba were introduced, but owing to the wardrobe being a mere coffer in the chamber at this time, the distinction between the two nouns was vague. The words thus became almost synonymous; so much so that in the eleventh century an official could equally well be designated camerarius or garderobarius. By the following century, however, the word garderoba or wardrobe had assumed its contempora:y me~ning and indicated a place for the custody of clothes. In particular 1t denoted a small apartment like the present-day dressing-room, communicating with the chamber, in which apparel and other objects could b
deposited.
3
THE BACKGRovND 11
ore liberal a owance of
. • had a rn •
king as befitted his majesty,. b. cts and, 1n consequence
Th
e ' · · f his su ~ e ' d · '
·ment than the maJonty o . . safe custo y in an annexe
fine r ai fc k · g 1t 1n h b
h d re cogent reasons or eep1n . s roorn t us ecarne a
a thmoroyal bedchamber. This contlg~olus of value of which the to e . fc d" g artIC e . ' d b
. of safe-deposit or guar m lt the kings war ro e in
species . d As a resu ,
h had immediate nee . d . to a treasury, a strong
monarc d lope 1n . .
f his castles and manors eve b but for his Jewe1s, ornah
eac o . fi d "lken ro es 1 fi .
room not only for his urs an s1 . late and cost y urmture. store of coined money, bullion,k:p 's devotional books, the
ments, . Id I h the mg . .
Such repositories wou a ~o ouse d other diplomatic records, nts of his chapel, his charters an
orname
and lastly his arms and armour. re certainly no less prevalent da)'S when theft and larceny we f kings was constantly
I
n d h ty even o . . h
th n they are to ay t e proper d the penpatetic abits
.;osed to the risks of robbery and ?re, ~ess travel during which
e; medieval life involved the court 1? r-f the precious contents of
~he utmost vigilance had to be exerc1s;e ~arded. It is _not :urprising
the w·ardrobe were to be adequately sa g kings stress is laid on the
therefore that under the early Norrnanf; ture of the wardrobe. In
strong-box rather than_ on the strong-:oo;ee~rne ofJohn, for prior to
f. et such an emphasis endures until E r h camera had followed a t king's reign the development of the. ng ibs. th to an exchequer
th
a It had given ir '
the normal European pattern. . h ld affairs and quite
-f: t in house o
but was still the d om1nant ac or d d to break away as a oYer-shadowed the wardrobe which had ten e
separate institution. . blic records occurs in the The first mention of the wardrobe in pu fG"lbert the wardrober
h · 111 speaks o 1
reign ofHenry II vvh en t e pip~-ro d Middlesex accounts in I I 67. Again in l l 76 the sheriffofLondon anf I shillings author-
h yment o I o · '
fc
in the pipe roll2 ° £that year or t e pa . 't0 make the king's
·t t0 Al th the engineer'
ized by roya1 wn , no ' however rare and it wardrobe at Westminster'. Such references :e the king's wardrobe is not until King John ascended the thr?1:1e t .: ortance. The first in England assumes a measure of nsmg _1 dprefer to it simply as allusions to it in the chancery rolls of th~ peno . d. later on the a place or receptacl_e which can ~e built o~rep;;~ ~s the place of term is extended to include the obJects store as . ft rds th storage All through this reign and for a long time : ~rwa t ~ wardrobe is described as something which has to e ransp:r e with the king as part of his luggage. These ceaselehss ~oveme~-! ;~e
1
meticulously detailed in the chancery rolls of t e tlfmhe :1n e
. d d t existence o t eir own a
wardrobe accounts assume an 1n epen en d H IiI change in the financial system which occurred_ ~n er enry · From about 1222 to I 322 the membranes containing the wardrobe
1 Pipe Roll, IO Henry II, p. 20. 2 Pipe Roll, 23 Henry II, P· 1gB.
4
THE WARDROBE 1066-1 414
accounts, which included military expenditure, were placed at the end of the pipe roll in each year and are referred to in the ro11s themselves as the Rotulus Computarum, but from the sixteenth year of Edward II separate rolls for these accounts were made up.
This changed aspect of the wardrobe was the outcome of natural growth stimulated no doubt by the wanderings of the court from place to place which frequently exposed it to the vicissitudes of nomadic existence. To protect the king's valuables therefore agairist the hazards of the road a special staff of officials became necessary to perambulate with the wardrobe. Such a body of men had to include not only carters, sumpters, guards and sergeants but, in addition, persons of trust who could rise superior to the temptatic:>ns to which they were subjected and who could undertake the administrative work connected with their task. Courtiers placed in positic:>ns such as these were thrown into constant intercourse with their sovereign and thus, if honest and competent, became in course of time the king's confidants and advisers. This ultimately resulted in the wardrobe having a special organization of its own which o"""Verlapped and eventually overshadowed the parent organization of the ch amber. The latter had survived with difficulty the birth-pangs of the exchequer, now it was assailed again in like manner. This second parturition was further to limit the progress of the charriber and stunt its growth. As regards the wardrobe the results were f"arr aching for it developed into a powerful institution assuming a -role of prime importance in the royal household.
At one time John's ward.robe was carried about in two co-ffers placed on two long carts.3 The c~rter in charge ~ad control of nine h orses4 and received 3¼-d. a day 1n wages.5 Bullion, arms, arrriour, saddlery, cloth, etc. packed in the boxes followed the king ori. his journeys, and their carriage was usually effected by hired waggons as when in r2 r2 three shillings was paid for conveying the 'ha.:rness of the wardrobe' from Lambeth to Odiham in two days.6 Sometimes resort to water transport was made, for in the same year 4d-was paid for the hire of a boat to ferry the wardrobe belongings from Westminster to Lambeth when London Bridge had broken down.7
The staff of the wardrobe was steadily increasing. Whereas under Henry II there appears to have been only one official, under John the number of officers and servants specializing in this wor"k had grown apace. In 1212 there were four car~ers of whom Odo vv-as the chief,s but later on in the same year their number had swe11ed to
3 Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227, vol. I, p. 182. 4 Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227, vol. I, P· 159. 5
Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227, vol. I, p. 218. 6 (Misc. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records, p. 231. 7 (Misc. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records, p. 232. s (Misc. Rolls 14 John). Cole's Records, p. 236.
5
II
.
THE BACKGROUND
eight and they had charge o~. twenty horses.9 In addition to. these were five sumpters (summetarzz garderobe), drivers of pack arumals, whose names wereJohn Cointance, Luke, Hugh, Ralph and Walter.10 Of superior status were ~erymus, valet of the wardrobe (valettus garderobe) in 120711 and Simon, the Portevin, 'our sergeant of the wardrobe' in 1203,12 both of whom were persons of sufficient standing to receive considerabJ~ s_ums of money. Then there was Ives, usher of the wardrobe (ostzanus garderobe) in 1212 or 1213 who had charge of the wardrobe carts and seems to have been responsible for the repair of the boxes ~nd for the maintenance of their contents.13 Finally in a class by himself was Odo, the clerk of the wardrobe (clericus de garderobe)-not to be confused with Odo, the carter-who was functioning at any rate between 1213 and 1215.14 He was responsible for the expenses and receipts of the wardrobe, for drafting writs and warrants affecting his office, and for the custody of departmental rolls. He also d_rew up the annual account, presenting it to the exchequer, and was 1n fact the wardrobe's official chief and the first recorded recipient of this dignity. The wardrobe like the chamber, was supplied with funds partly from sums transfe;r d from the exchequer, partly by sums paid in directly from th cou n try,
and the accounts are careful to distinguish between the allotm ent from the exchequer and the direct receipts. The latter varied between £3,000 and £5,000 at the period under review namely the beginn ing
of the reign of Henry III. '
As the activities of the wardrobe expanded in ever-widening circles its staff of clerks grew, and the head official of these, ho controlled~ the ~ffice, was in turn ca!Ied ~he treasurer and finally in
1234 the keeper. 5 These :lerks were lzteratz, not knights or territorial magnates, though occas101~a~ly lay officials were appointed. C onsequently the keeper and his immediate subordinates, if not in w hat we should now term holy orders were neverth 1 1 d lly
ended their days presiding ov'er s ~ es~ c ergy an u_Su~
ome ecc1es1ast1cal see or en1oy1ng
some lesser benefice. J The Household Ordinance issued by Ed d I W .
N b war at estm1nster on
13 ovem er 1279 throws further light upo th d b d
except for minor eh fc • n e war ro e an ,
. anges, oreshadows its organization for the next I 50 years. I t conJures up a kaleidosco ic . . . sergeants-at-arms, marshals h P ~Icture ofknights, esquires,
, c amberla1ns, yeomen, ushers and
• (M~. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records
:: (Misc.. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records' p. 2462. Rot. L,t. Pat. 1201-1216 p 79 ' p. 23 ·
11 RtL" ' ..
u o : it. regnanli Johanne. p. 105.
u (MISC._ Rolls 14John). Cole's Records
Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227 vol I ' pp. 2 42-244.
Rot• L ·t C'' ' · • p. 132·
i • ,aus. 1201-1216 p
141 u Walter ofKirkham was m'ad~ Kc;per of the
Roll o. 79• 19 Henry III, m i8d.) wardrobe on 17 May 1234. (E.372. Pipe
6
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
laymen among whom move the various classes ofclerks few in b
and po . k O f h" ' num er
. ~r fi1n P?C et. ut o. t 1s motley emerges the wardrobed efin1te 1n unct10n and establishment, the governing bod • • '
f · h· f ffi · Y cons1st1ng
o six c 1e o cials, five of whom had the following sp · fi •
and duties: eci c tit1es
The Keeper who, as chief executive officer, was respo 'bi fc
. li d d . . . ns1 e or
generaI discip ne an a m1n1strat10n. He forwarded his roll of
accounts to the exchequer at the end of every regnal year.
The Controller who, as general secretary, guided office routine. He sent a counter-roll to the exchequer annually as a check h roll furnished by the keeper. In addition, he enrolled allupoln t e
· k · re evant
muruments, ept the pnvy seal and acted as the king's •Private
secretary.16 The Cojferer who, as the fin_ancial and accounting authorit h andled the monef ~nd dealt with the household bookkeeping.17 y, T he Usher (Ostzarzus) who was concerned with expenses d
. 1 d. h an
arrang~1:1ents 1nvo ve 1n t e ~onstant movements of the wardrobe.
In add1t10n, he was charged with the safe custody ofthe wax-candl
and the fuel, an important duty in those days. es
T he Sub-Usher (Subostiarius) who had to proceed in advance of th king and arrange for the necessary lodging of the ward.robe. e
The detailed duties ofthe keeper ofthis period have been preserved by Fleta, who in his book Fleta Seu Commentarius Juris AnglicaniIB gives the follm,ving passage:
To him is com_mitted the care o~ the ex~enses_ ofthe king and his family, who together with a clerk, associated with him as a comptroller shall keep a record of what belongs to their office. He shall keep the 'king's money, jev els, gifts and private receipts, and shall make a separate roll thereof, which shall be returned annually into the exchequer. And in another roll, which shall be examined by the steward, treasurer (or keeper) and comptroller, he shall enter the daily expenses (expensa quotidiana); also necessary expenses, in which the buying of horses, carriages and many other articles shall be comprised; also gifts, alms and oblations; wages of knights and archers; messengers, foreign fees, presents or accommodations; also the expenses of the wardrobe, in which the buying of cloth, furs, wax, spices, linen, and such like, shall be comprised; also of jewels, foreign expenses, ambassadors, falconers.
16 !~e counter-roll presented byJohn Benste~, Co_nt~oller for the )'.ear 1299-1300_ (Liber Quotidianus Contrarotulatoris gardrobae 28 Edwardi I) 1s m t~e possession of the Society of Antiquaries of London and was printed by that Society m I 787. The roll for the same regnal year presented by John de Drokensford, the keeper, is in the British l\{useum.
17 The clerks of the Cofferer became in a later age the source of the Board ofGreen Cloth. still the accounting office of the royal household, presided over by the Lord teward. The Cofferer and the Clerks of the Green Cloth were abolished in I 782 by Burke's .\et for Economical Reform (22 George III, Cap. LXXXII).
18 ~ook II, chap. 14. Fleta seu Commentarius Juris Anglica11i is an ancie_nt En li h law treat1~e, an abridgment of Bracton, dated about 1290 (ed. Seldon 1685) said to hav b n com_P~led in Fleta, in the Fleet prison by some lawyer. Henry Bracton wrot D ,·o ,. etuduubus et legibus Angliae about 1269.
7
E BACKGROUND TI-I onvene every night the stew er) ought also to c rn troller and his clerk• ard The treasurer (or teepharnberlain, the co Jd knights sergeants of the
:a:~a~1:~•~~;1:~1\ (a:~\~da~~\~:~:\:~b;i:~ee:~:~?:~ of:~:
rnarshal; the ushers oft e an baker, and :ler s:read wine an'd al~-Were
::~~~nt!~~:t:££iiS::.~~:i~k~'.e~~;:if;;::;{';~~t;~f,~~:~~%?1
cup~, sal\: sc~llery or sauceryrnat :at p;ssed in their respective offices. pou tryrn ' to ive an account o w eant for the care ofthe sumpter~ ,vere neceslsary fhe door-keeper, the serlg who should answer for th
lso the a rnoner, h rnarsha sea, e
a d carriages; the clerk of_ t e showing of horses, harne_ss or trappings an f hay and corn, litter, f sergeants, esquires, clerks and expenses o d carriages and the wages oho were newly admitted to the for horseds ~;was his ducy-to know those wt of duty; and to withhold the
boys; an i ho went OU . 1 r
f the king, and those w . h kin<T's specia 1cense, or were
wages o b t without t e o
es of such as were a sen
g
wa . ' . &c h
not in the kmg s service, . . . f the fourteent century Was
O
The wardrobe at the_ be~in~fsg late, cloth, linen, furs, wax., responsible for purcha~1ng JeWd 'Jchment, ar~s, armour, equip-ices leather, timber, iron, lea ' P.th other perishable and non
p
s ent' food and wine together Wlh k' g's household including his
m ' . fc h se of t e in h 11
perishable supplies or t e u as thus very muc swo en in men-at-arms. The annual account w
19
times of national emerg~ncy. ed by the wardrobe are clearly The financial operations co":er . t which the counter-roll of indicated by the thirteen he~d1ngsb iln: cover a wide field : . di .d d These given e o
1299-1300 IS Vl e .
( 1) Charities and alms. nnected with the royal house
. d 11· g expenses co
(2) Necessaries an trave m
hold. h al household.
(3)
Victuals and stores for t e roy ard I and his consort.
(4)
Gifts and rewards made by E~w , household, and wages due to
(s)
Payments to knights _of the kmg s bannerets, knights and ~sqmres. and ser eants-at-arms of the king's
(6)
Wages due to engineers, archer_sh a~ents and defensive works.
d connected wit arm d ·
househoId an expenses Id' d workmen employe 1n war.
(7)
\,Vages due to archers, foot-so iers an ses in the war with Scotland.
(8)
Wages due to seamen and naval expen
(g)
Expenses of the king'~ m~ssengers. d falconers, and expenses (io) Wages due to the kmg s huntsmen an
connected with the chase. kn' hts and esquires for their robes. ( I l) Moneys allowed to bannerets, ig t .ewellery plate
(12) Money expended on gold and silver ornamen s, J ' '
&c. fi &c
(13) Money expended on wine, cloth, urs, wax, · . . . h diture is one concerning the period
11 The earliest MS. extant regarding sue expenf h • • t clerks Walter of Brackley5January 1224-10 April 1227 when the accounts o t eJom and Walter ofKirkham were presented to the Exchequer.
8
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
The functions of the wardrobe, therefore, included certain of those which in these times have devolved upon the Service Ministries, the Board of Trade, the Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Food, and the wide range of its activities outlined even then the corning shadow of totalitarian war. Among its more specific duties in the military sphere may be mentioned the supply of a certain quota of fighting men including specialists, the provision ofwarlike and other stores, the appreciation of horses, the purchase of chargers at home and abroad, the numbering of casualties in action, the transmission of orders, the conduct of diplomatic missions, and the payment and mustering of troops. Besides carrying out its household duties the
'
wardrobe acted as a naval and military pay office as well as a clearing and supply department controlling the purchase, manufacture and maintenance of equipment. It co-ordinated such engineering, mechanical and technical services as then existed.
Let us glance for a moment more closely at the counter-roll to ascertain the armament then in use. As is to be expected these weapons were not very formidable, and in essential design had not differed from those current at the fall of the Roman Empire. They m ay b e summed up under two headings: personal arms which included the long-bow, the spear, the sword, the gisarme and the crossb ow; and warlike engines (ingenia) such as the balista, the tribulus, the belfry, the cat, the ram and the espringald. The latter were under the charge of a chief engineer, termed attilator or artillator.
Almost a century before the period we have just been considering it b ecame apparent that wardrobe purchases fell into two distinct cat gories, namely items such as food and other daily consumable con1.modities which had perforce to be obtained locally, and nonperishable goods which could be bought in bulk in the cheapest markets a nd stored against emergencies. In the latter class would figure cloth, timber, metals, leather, arms and armour. Buyers from the wardrobe, therefore, scoured the country and even the king's overseas possessions in search of provender, visiting fairs and other marts on behalf of their royal master. In due course the transportation of such produce in the main itinerant wardrobe was found to be highly inconvenient, consequently the practice developed of storing it in special buildings set apart for the purpose. The wardrobe therefore, tended to extrude a daughter organization which rem~ined stationary and spent its energies in acquiring and holding stock while the parent stem dealt with routine administrative ,vork, followed the court, and attended to the wants of the hospicium. Since
cloth was still the prime necessity to be considered, the king's tailor took charge of the buying at fairs. Thus was the great wardrobe (magna garderoba) born from the wardrobe p~op,er, .attaining its independence in 1253 under Roger de Ros, the king s tailor, although
9
!{GROUND
THE BAG •
me twenty years earlier u
• 11 ·ndependentso ncter
. h d b me virtua y i
1t a eco ·11 .,o · th t the great w
William of Haverhi .~ d rrom the forego_ingM~ fi hardrobe
t be assume ii d be hke Inerva rom t e he It mus\~o med from the war r_o d the king on active service ad
sprang fu y ;\it never accompa:efor its expenses as the coun~ It of Zeus, or t aount to the wardroCe mplete financial autonomy ....~rstill had to ace 1 shows. 0 M vvas
11 f 8 Edward I clear y Ordinance of ay r324 pronounced ~~t :Ca~ized until the E~chequ~rthe great wardrobe b~came_a distinct fthis separation an ertain proportion ofIts ofiic
the terms o . E en then a c . ers
and separate institut10n. v r during foreign ":ars to cope With the . d to leave the count y bl s inherent In an overseas Car,..
continue 1 pro em d · h N
•q
adrninistrative and supp Y, last tour abroad was unng t e ether. Th great wardrobe s bl. hed at Antwerp b etween th
Paign e . as esta IS 1 1 . e
· paign when It w . . ed permanent y sett ed 1n thi
Iands earn Thereafter It remain s years 1338-I34°·
h. f runctions. The first w as that
country. b h d five c ie J. 1
•
The great wardro e _a b the agency ofpur~hasers, pnsers_and ·on. the assembling Y d·t· fcor which 1t was responsible
of collecti · . mmo i ies .
urveyors of the various co llected his stock.21 The second Was p m,htor etprovisor, the keepekr. co p of raw material ob tained froin
As e r th wor Ing u · d ·
t ofmanufacture: e . d t· le ready for 1mme 1ate use. As
th
a h finishe ar IC h 22 Th
ther sources into t e . d d the royal works ops. e third
o perinten e .c. d
fiabricator the keeper su terials and manu.1acture goods.
' both of raw ma 23 Th r
was that ofstorage, . h of the storehouses. ...e J.OUrth
was in c arge d f
As custos the keeper d Ii ofitems from store an o output
' . .b . . the e very . d d d
was that ofd1stri utwn · t whom the long h a or ~re such
. tO the persons o . d h
from the factories z·b t the keeper dehvere o t e con-
d As z era or, bli . f
delivery to be ma e. d 0 f accounting: the o gation o the
th
sumer.24 Lastly came e u~ nd to render detailed testimony
11 ·t transactions a .bl
office to record a 1 s As l • s the keeper was r espons1 e for
. d penses c erzcu , . . d
ofits receipts an ex · 25 What a lesson in cont1nu1ty own the finances of his department.
to the present day! f . . tence the great wardrobe, like its
ly stage O its ex1s . . .
At a very ear d clivi·ty towards d1ssoc1ation, one
· · showe a pro •
parent orgamzatwn, teri·als cloth and the business of
. ti g on raw ma ,
portion concentra n . .t lfwi.th the king's personal property
. . h Oth concerning I se
tailoring, t e er f fi ht" requisites. This pril!J) wardrobe soon
including the supply O g ing . .
Th. · the first occasion on which the title Great 10 Close Roll, 37. Henry III,rdm ~i~ Gr:ai: Wardrobe was abolished in I 782 under Wardrobe appears m the reco s. Geor e III Cap. LXXXII) •
2 2
Burke's Act for Economical R~form if( 0 d ~ Stor:s between the two world wars. u Typified by the Deputy Director O r naOdnance Factories. aa Tow typified by the Con~ro~lerl oSif, Roka~he/of the Board of Ordnance. Now typified by u Corresponded to the Przncipa ~oredneer D ts
. Offi Of Central Or ance epo . .fi d b eh· f
Ch1ef Ordnance cers k ifD 1. . fthe Board ofOrdnance. Now typ1 -ie Y 1e
u Corresponded to the Cler. 0 e zvmes 0
O rdnance Officcrs h k oifthe Ordnance of the Board of Ordnance.
dcd. ,..,
u Correspon to t e uer.
10
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
portrayed a similar tendency, for even the meagre weapon programme of the time necessitated a technical background not called into play in dealing with the monarch's clothing, jewellery and documents. This background perforce contained a modicum of skilled craftsmen and workshop facilities, and thus the separation of the arsenal branch was only a matter of time, especially as the great wardrobe's munition section was located in the Tower of London. A further sub-division therefore eventually took place when the wardrobe ofarms became the privy wardrobe in the Tower on 17 July 1323 under the keepership ofJohn Fleet.26
Again it is necessary to stress two factors which appear to contradict the foregoing delineation ofwardrobe evolution. One is that the great wardrobe still continued to take an active interest in warlike stores after 1323, the other that the inception of the privy wardrobe long ante-dated its emergence as a separate institution. In support of these contentions the following may be instanced:
(a) T he king's armourers and pavilioners received their wages from the great wardrobe up till I 399.
(b) In 1328 the arms and armour contained in the itinerating garderoba armorum were still under the jurisdiction of Thomas Ousefleet, keeper of the great wardrobe, and the expenses of their movements were charged to the great wardrobe account.27
(c) In 1334 John Fleet, keeper of the privy wardrobe, was paid his
ages by William de la Zouche, keeper of the great wardrobe,28 and the earliest surviving account of Fleet's expenses is dated de tempore magistri W illelmi de la Zouche, tune clerici (magne) garderobe regis.29 Later William
orwell, another great wardrobe keeper, paid Fleet not only his salary but also his expenses in connection with making and repairing the military quipment belonging to the privy wardrobe.30
(d)
Down to the middle of the fourteenth century the keeper of the great wardrobe was delivering bows, cross-bows, sulphur and saltpetre, in addition to m etal, for the manufacture of war-machines and missiles.
(e)
As early as 1226 there was in existence a parva garderoba (small wardrobe) which by the latter part of Edward I's reign had become a modest organization controlled by a clerk with two valets of the chamber to assist him.
(f) In 1253 a subordinate clerk of the great wardrobe, William of Ax.mouth, described as custos ingeniorum, had charge of all arms and warlike apparatus.31
Four chief stages can be distinguished in the history of the privy wardrobe. The first began in the early years of Edward I and lasted till 1323. During this period a parva garderoba existed as a repository
2o Issue Roll of the Exchequer, No. 225, 1 Edward III (mid-term).
27 Exchequer Account, 383/19.
28 Issue Roll of the Exchequer, 276/11, 8 Edward III (Easter term).
29 Exchequer Account, 386/15.
30 Issue Roll of the Exchequer, 294/19, 11 Edward III (Easter term).
31 Roles Gascons, Paris 1885-1906, vol. I, p. 437.
II
TI-IE BACKGROUND
. ment It was under the char for the storage of military equi)Iy ac~ompanied the court Oge _of
. I nd norma. . I b d" n It
permanent offic1a s a d being strict y su or 1nated to s
. depen ence, b I . the
travels. It had no 1n d b and the cham er. t was, 1n short wardrobe, the great warhro e three institutions could deposit ' a
. d here t ese d I a11y
species of epot w. he had need. The secon stage asted fro special article ofwhich t . Y .d nt with the long keepership ofJ hrn.
d was co-1nc1 e . . ffi d b o n
1323 to 1344 an_ became an orgaruzat1on sta e y its ow11Fleet. The repos1tory_no:i . t woven with the wardrobe, the gr
1
clerks, but still inextncab Y ~~~ough it was still liable to follow ~t
wardrobe and the cham edr. y to go extra curiam, as a branch wh1· he h Id . t h wed a ten enc T c
house o , 1 s o . d uarters settled in the ower. Over thi may be term~d it~ heah~ s ecial control though he still exercise~ sedentary sect10n Fleet di t P. The third stage covered the Yea
h · · t noma c WI0 • rs
aut onty over 1 s . which the Tower establishment complete! 1344 to. 136o, dur:ng "th the privy wardrobe at court. T he las~ severed 1ts connectwn WI when the privy wardrobe at the Towe
6
stage was subsequent to_ 13ti~n both administratively and financiallyr ained complete emancipa . · · ·
g . . d till 1407 when its energies were, 1n turn
This phase continue t '
absorbed by an embryonic Ordnance departmen . Besides this headquarter establishment, however, some body of the capital had perforce to guarantee that the
persons away from S f w· ·11 (
arms held in the provinces under the tatute O inc _eSter Stat Wynton Edwardi I: Statutes of_ t/ze Realm, vol. I, p. 95) ~~d oth~r mal.ntained 1n a proper state of repan, and It
ordinances were C · ·d d ,
t th·s J"uncture Lieutenants of aunties, a1 e oy two
appears that a 1 • "bl .c.
· hundred were in the main respons1 e 1.or the
constables 1n every , .
provision and care of offensive weapons and armour. Skilled craftsmen oftheir several trades, such as master bowyers, m aSter fletchers, master carpenters and master smith_s _had patents a nd_ recei~ed salaries from the Crown by way ofreta1n1ng fees so that their services could be secured on demand for putting the limited armament ofthe period into a serviceable condition. These pers?ns,.famous for concealing their art, styled themselves maste1:s of th audznances, the word according to some authorities being denved from Thor, the Scandinavian God ofThunder. At this period the monks, who were often fighting men seeking the salvation of their souls, undertook the care of earthworks and defensive masonry, being entrusted with the necessary moneys for their upkeep. The responsible headquarter, i.e. household, official in charge ofsuch arrangements was the clerk ofthe king's works, two well-known holders of this post being William of
Wykeham and Geoffrey Chaucer. Upon a governor being appointed to a garrison or castle, a special commission was issued under the great seal appointing commissioners to take an inventory of all the impediments of war. The governor then entered into articles of
12
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
agreement with the st~~e, where??', in return for the supply of armour, ar~s, ammun1tlon, prov1s1ons, victuals, soldiers, artillers, gunners, artificers, and for th~ money wherewith to pay them, he wo~ld undertake to defend his command against all enemies and traitors.
From the dawn of the constitution, the Tower had been the country's workshop in which the king's artificers plied their trades. Among these may be ~ited the cissor (tailor), the pavillonarius (tentmaker), the fab~r (snuth), the carpentarius, (carpenter), the sellator (saddler), the pzctor (painter), the tapicer (upholsterer), and the armator (ar~ourer). The latter office was naturally of prime importance since the king's success in war depended in no small measure on the capabilities and character of his armourer. Consequently, as early as 127532 the armourer's duties had become too 01:erous for one man to discharge, and certain functions in connection with the office were transferred to subordinates who in time developed into independent specialists on their own. These were the erubiginator (polisher ofarms), the lanceator (lance-maker), the galeator (helmet-maker), and the broudator or embroiderer. In addition there was the ~echnical officer who dealt with the heavier type of offensive weapon 1n contrast to those who concerned themselves with defensive equiprn.ent. I--Ie was known as the balistarius, afterwards denominated attilator,33 who was responsible for the manufacture ofcross-bows and other more massive types of military engines (petrariae balistae springalds, mangonels, etc.). ' '
As early as I 213 Geoffrey de Mandeville was commanded to hand over the T ower to the Archdeacon of Huntingdon and to deliver to that functionary all the incarcerated prisoners together with the arms and other stores there.34 During the reign of Henry III many instances are recorded ofnotices and orders concerning engines ofwar arms and other military items which reposed in that fortress: R eferences also occur in connection with payment for materials and the wages p aid to smiths and other artificers employed in fabricating the elementary types of weapon then current.35 In 1217 the Archdeacon of Durham was directed to deposit in the Tower 26 suits of armour, 5 iron cuirasses, one iron collar, 3 pairs of iron fetters and 9 iron helmets which had been left in his charge by King John the year before.36 In 1290 and 1294 orders were given to issue certain
32 Hugo le jleccher, artillator quarell?rurn regis _in ~urri reg is Londoniarum. Issue Roll, No. 25. 2 Edward I. (Hugh, the arrowsm1th, the kmg s maker of cross-bow bolts in the king's Tower of London.)
33 Also spelt artillator and finally artiller.
34 Rot. Lit. Claus. 15 Hen. III, m 5.
35 Rot. Lit. Claus. 2 Hen. III, m 13; 5 Hen. III, m 4, 8 and 12; 6 Hen. III, m 4; 8 H n.
III, p. 1 m 15; 8 Hen. III, p. 2 m 2; g Hen. III, m 8, g, 10 and 17; 12 Hen. III, m 3; 17 Hen. III, m 17; 19 Hen. III, m 15; 39 Hen. III, m 7d; 53 H en. III m 6 36 Rot. Lit. Claus. 2 Hen. III, p. 1 m 13. ' .
-ACKGROUND
THE B
d dispatch them to Dover Castlea7 .
engines from the Tow.~ a~ce three others which had been Use~nd for returning to the sa1 p ·ham3s and Bedford.39 at the sieges of the castles at B~dward III was underta!<-ing his w
Later on in 1342 when tain formidable machines Were a.rs
fi d that cer . sent
against France we n d . h with a view to accompanying from the Tower to SUan /VltCunately for Edward there appearectthe
s n1or . · , h d to
king's army O\ ers~a ·. d thus his 'siege train a perforc
hi Pmg an . th L. e to
be a dearth of s p bsequently given to e ieutenant
. d O ders were su h . . h of
remain beh1n . r t r carpenter aut onzing t em to s .
king's mas e h . eize
the Tower and the h recious cargo bac1< w ence it cam 4-o enough vessels to transport~ te pd by letters patent and received le.d
. • s app01n e 2 •
The balistariu.s wa Henry III, m 4 states: d 41 Liberate Roll, 11 . .
per ay. k" a's cross-bowman, staying in the Tower f
Liberate to Roger, the Illo for the arrear of his wages for 220 da o London, who ha~ 12d. ~:~b~ 7t:~h year until St. Peter ad Vincula, b~~ to wit from Christmas nd to William, the cross-bowman and Philip le days being reckoned. A h . by the king's order, each of whorn h
t ·no-t ere1n . as
Conyers (converso) s ayi f their wages for the same tune. And t
b
fc the arrears o d o
7½d. a day, 75~· or k" a ·n the said Tower, who has 4 . a day, 5s. for
Thomas le Smith, wor mo I . the arrears of his pay for the same time. . . folds it will become apparent_ that such an arrear As this history :1n d . ·dent With sorrow 1t must be recorded
no isolate inci · .
of wag~s was ( was commonplace up to the eighteenth that this regrett~?le p:a~;fitarius was provided with a suit consisting century. In addit10n t et fi rred with lambskin42 and h ad a n allowof a doublet and surc;a43 ~e was in fact a very important official. ance for three shervanffis.. I named attilator balistarum who furnished
There was anot er O cia H d" ·
nts for the cross-bow. e was 1st1nct and
the harness and accoutreme d b h d I
robabl under the orders of the balistarius. No ou. t e ~a t with p y • • ·d , Of the weapon on behalf of his superior. The
the 'ammumtion SI e Ed I
h. ffi · the reigns of Henry III and war d were
wages of t 1s o ce In d
l.d d 44 The master smith who temp Edward I, ha a fee of4½d.
72 • a ay. ' h d T
a day from t e war ers or ower
a day firom the Crown and 3d• .
· tment oftwo messuages on Wharfham, 1.e. Tower
guards, an app01n . . .
reel of land within the Palace of Westminster 1n
Wh rf. d
a ' an a pa h. f f h ki
W .lliam de Ramsey was made c 1e mason o · t e ng
I 445• In I 335 I . ' 1 . 11 '
in the Tower and chief overseer of all the king s wor {S in a his castles on this side of the Trent with an appointment of one robe
31 Rot. Lit. Claus. 5 Hen. III, m 4· 18 /wt. Lit. Claus. 5 Hen. III, m 4· 39 Rot. Lit. Claus. g Henry III, p. 2 m 2. ,o Rymer's Foedera, vol. II, pars ii N.E. 41 Cal. Lib. Rolls. Hen. III, 1226-1240, p. 43· 41 /wt. Lib. Claus. g Hen. III, p. 2 m 2.
Rot. Lib. 46 Hen. III, m 16. "Rot. Lib. 1 Edward I, m 3.
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
yearly and 12d. a day paid at the Exchequer; and at the same time and manner William Hurle was made chief carpenter. These men were of co1:1r~e a master mason ~nd a master carpenter respectively. In 1377 W1Jliam Snell was app01nted Keeper ofthe king's armour in the Tower at 12d. a day.45
In 1377 also Richard Glovere was granted 'armurer of the office of the king's helmet-maker (galeatoris) within the Tower of London to hold for life during good behaviour taking for his wages in the office 12d. a day by the hands ofthe keeper of the great wardrobe as William Swynley last helmet-maker within the Tower took in his life time'.46
On 28 May 1395 Stephen Sedar jleccher was granted for life the office of keeping and repairing the king's arrows in the Tower of London with 6d. a day at the Exchequer for his wages.47 There was also a king's plumber for we read that William Robert was granted for life on 4 November 1399 'the office of king's plumber with wages at 12d. daily at the Exchequer and a livery of cloth for his vesture yearly at the hands of the keeper of the great wardrobe, as other esquires of the household have'.48 In 1398 Robert Bridford was by patent appointed to the office for keeping and making the bows and allowed certain houses pertaining to this office, and in 147 3 the like p atent passed to Thomas Masburgh. The further patent dated 8 Feb r uary 147449 states:
Grant for life from 3rd August last to Thomas Masburgh of the office of surveyor of the king's bowmakers within the Tower of London, the office of keeper of the king's bows within the Tower and the office of keeping, making and providing the king's bows in the said Tower and the town of Calais, the land of Ireland and elsewhere and cords for them
'
receiving 6d. daily from the issues of the counties of Surrey and Sussex, as granted to Robert Bridford, late holder of the office to Richard II by letters patent and a mansion within the Tower with a garden adjoining situated between the tower called 'the rounde toure of the artric' on the west and the tower called 'the kinge's loging' on the east50 with a livery of the suit of yeoman of the chamber yearly at Christmas at the great wardrobe; in lieu of a like grant to Nicholas Wydower by letters patent dated 20th November 6 Edward IV surrendered.
Ins_tances of appointments such as these could be multiplied, but
45 Rot. Pat. 1 Richard II, p. 2 m 30, dated 17 July 1337. This patent reads: 'Appointment during pleasure of the king's yeoman William Snell to the office of king's armourer in the Tower, receiving 1 2d. a day for himself, 6d. a day for a yeoman under him and 3d. a day for a groom, besides his vesture every year at the great wardrobe. The like of John Warde to the office of tent-maker with the same fee as Thomas de Thorneton the tent-maker of the late king, 4d. a day for a yeoman under him and his vesture as above.'
46 Rot. Pat. 50 Edward III, p. 2 m 4, dated 13 January 1377.
47 Rot. Pat. 18 Richard II, p. 2 m 12.
48 Rot. Pat. 1 Henry IV, p. 2 m 25.
49 Rot. Pat. 13 Edward IV, p. 2 m 12.
60 Wakefield and West Smithfield towers.
3
enough evidence has been produced to show that by the middle of the fourteenth century the Tower had become the principal store, factory and repair depot in the kingdom.
These men, who fell into two classes-esquires and yeomen-were respectively masters and men, and they formed a small permanent nucleus who spent their lives working in the royal service. Although their annual turnover in terms of money may seem of little account to modern ideas, they did, to the best of their ability, take such steps in peace as would_ meet ~ei:nands in war. Their wages were not excessive-the officials r~ce1v1ng a shilling and the workmen usually
4d. to 6d. a day-and th_eir total numbers were small, rarely exceeding The peace establishment of this cadre in 1344_ 134 751 com
350. prised: 24 masons 24 pavillioners 138 carpenters 60 warriners 1 cooper
7 armourers 13 smiths
12 artillars and gonn rs 57 engineers
?ffici~l terms were ver; confused in Plantagenet times a nd the des1gnatwn ofJohn Fleet.:> who presided over the destinies of the Tower workshops was no exception to th· I h . · ·nal
. 1s ru1e. n IS ong1 app~m~ment_,on 1 7July 1 323 he is described as keeper of the part of the kings wararobe zn the Tower oif London at f h"lli s a
53 H d d h • a wage o roo s I ng
year. e ten ere is earliest surv1·v1·n l k if the
54 s · h . g account as c er o
chamber. omet1mes e Is referred to as · if h h b t the Tower of London, at others he is mentionedrecezver ol kt e c ham er da obe
. as a c er~of i e war r ·
In a fiurther account he 1s called clerk if th k. , ll
he has been named keeper ofth . ' o e ~ng s arms. I1:-close ro s
. , · t l • h e kzng s armour zn the To wer5i) a nd keeper
oif the kzng s vzc ua s zn t e Tower 56 F" reappointed by patent in which h Ina11Y on 17 May 1338 he _w~s
jewels, armour and other thin s in th e wa~ styled keeper of the ~zr7:g s day s1 Despite the v g . e Tower with the wage ofone shilling
a
· aganes of h · ffi ·
clearly the head of the w d b is O _cial nomenclature he was
ar ro e orga · · h nd
under him worked an • mzat10n 1n t e Tower, a
assistant Tho f p h s
J'eoman of the king's arms in th ,..,.., mas o etersfield w o wa
. d E e .I. owerss and II ff I ady
describe . ven prior to Fleet i e . a sma sta as a re household official Albinus s r' · · in February 1290, there was a the king's chamber) who' cu ifer de camera regis (Aubyn, esquire of
' as custos armorum regis (keeper of the king's 11 Addl MS. 5758, fa83
11 Sometimes spelled Fl;t, 11 Issue Rolls of the Exch; u :: Exchequer Account, 386/1;~ No. 225, 1 Edward III (mid-term)
Cal. Close Rolls, 1339-1341 ·
H Cal. Close &lls, 1339-1341 ' p. 83· ., Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1338-1340 ' p.8140.11 Enrolled Accounts (W cl' p. 2•
ar robe and Household) 3/37d.
16
THE WARDROBE 1 066-1 414
arms) in London and Gascony, appointed a valet named Alexander to act as his deputy in the Tower armouries.59 These records show the slowly evolving shadow of an ordnance system on the screen of progress.
The store inventories of the privy wardrobe indicate that large stocks were held on charge but a glance at the individual accounts show that the type ofstore ":'a_s slowly changing during the fourteenth century. Thus 1n. 1360 Wilham Rothwell, the keeper, had in his custody 4,062 painted bows, 11,303 white bow staves and 23 643 sheaves of arrows.60 In addition to these there was an imm~nse variety of other arms and appurtenances, such as quivers, saddlery, cross-bows, bolts, shields, pikes, lances, helmets, hatchets hauberks Gl habergeons,62 balistae, tools, tents and raw materials gen~rally. Lat~r on the number of bows and arrows held on charge decreases while the amount of armour increases. For instance in 1381 when John Hatfield handed over the keepership to John Hermesthorpe, he transferred among other things 1,469 breast-plates, 77 cross-bows, 2 1,000 bolts (quarrels) and 21,000 caltraps.63 The reason for this change is not far to seek. It was a time ofcrisis in armament development corresponding to that of the twentieth century. Then it was the voice of the fire-arm clamouring to be heard, now it is the stentorian tones of the guided missile and atomic weapon ringing across the world. Man being a conservative animal alterations were slow to appear; thus the turnover partook of the inevitability of gradualness. Legend records that Berthold Schwartz, an Augustinian monk and alchemist of Freiburg im Breisgau, built the first cannon in Europe in 1313. Whoever may be credited with its invention, howe-er, the original gun must have been extremely primitive, and during its infancy cannon could only have played a very minor part in the symphony ofwar. Thus, although artillery in the modern sense of the word began to assume a definite place in the country's arma
m ent by I 450, it had taken a century of effort on the part of the gunner before he could convince the world that the new weapon had come to stay and could no longer be denied. The earliest mention of guns in this country occurs in the City of London archives.64 The record mentioned states inter alia that 'in the Chamber of the Guildhall there are six instruments of latone, usually called gonnes, and five roleres for the same. Also pellets of lead for the same instruments,
69 Chancery Miscellanea, 4/5, 2d.
00 Exchequer Account, 392/14.
61 A complete suit of mail, a hood jointed to the jacket with sleeves, breeches shoes
and gauntlets of double chain mail. -'
62 A small coat of mail without sleeves.
63 Exchequer Account 100/14. A caltrap was a four-spiked iron instrument in the sha p
of a skeletal tetrahedron which was thrown on to the ground to maim cavalry. It , ·as so constructed that one spike always assumed a vertical position.
64 13 Edward III, 1339. Letter-Book F, fly-leaf. Quoted from Riley's ~H morials of London and London Life in xiii, xiv, and xv Centuries. p. 205. 1868.
17
THE BACKGROUND
which weigh 4½ cwt. Also 32 pounds of p~wder fo~ the sai~ instrut , This passage which 1s of such singular interest 1s worth
m;:ti~g in the original. 'Item, in Camera Gildaulae sunt sex Instrumenta Je !atone, vocitata Gonnes, et quinque role~~~-ad_eadem. Item? peletae de plumb'!. p eisdem Jnstrumentis, quae ponderant zzzzc lzbrae et demzduum. Item, xxxzt z[:rae de pulvere pro dictis !nstrumentis.' These_weapons are und?ubtedly the gunnae mentioned 1n the Chamberlain's accounts which were delivered in September 1339. From this extract we learn that these cannon were made of latten,65 fired lead balls and were moved 0 1! rollers. The use of the word vocitata which means 'usually called
shows that guns even by 1339 have become comparativ~ly well known. These particular gonnes, together with certain sp~1nga~ds, quarrels, etc. were provided by the City against an expected invasion by the French.
We learn from Fleet's chamber account (25 January 1333-3 I July 1334) that gunpowder ~1;d its ingredients were being used in ~ngland at this early date for nnhtary purposes, though no evidence 1s shown therein to what purpose such use was put. The City chronicle, ho ever, leads to the assumption that it was employed as a propellant. Obscurity then prevails till almost halfway through the century when Robert MildenhaII's privy wardrobe account (17 Oc ober 1344-2 9 October 1351) again throws some light on the artillery po ition. On I February 1_345 Ed~ard III orders his privy wardrobe keeper to repair and ship all available guns and projectiles overseas for his pro
di · 66 L" l d bt
jected expe tI?n. . 1tt e came ofthis, but the preparations no ou proved useful 1n VIew of the forthcoming Crecy campaign, for on 1 October ofthat same year Mildenhall was instructed to con struct l 0? ribalds for the _king:~ passage to Normandy (ribaldos pro passagio regz: ~ersus f!ormanmu":)-These m~chines were groups ofsmall bombar?
1n which the uruts could be either fired simultaneously or in rapid s~ccession. The sma_ll barrels, assembled together and mounted in a smgle portable carnage fitted with two or four iron-hooped wheels some~hat a~ter the style ofa road sweeper's cart, discharged quarrels, ~ sRec1es ofiron dart feathered with brass or latten. The quarrel w~s snmla~ to a ~ross-bow bolt. Additional information concerning this or~er 1s furmshed by the Issue Rolls of the Exchequer 1345-1347 which show that between 1o October d M h 1346
Mild nh 11 "d 1345 an 13 arc
e a was P~1 _£124. 18s. 4d. from exchequer funds for the cost ofthese guns 1n eight different sum f . t On the
ti th fc s o varying amoun .
assump ?0, er~ o_re, that the account was not closed till the goods were delivered, 1t 1s reasonable to h h "b lds were
h suppose t at t ese rz a
finish d b fc
e e ore t e commencement f th C , . F ther
o e recy campaign. ur
11 Latten or !atone; a hard yellow 1 ·es 3rd series, vol. xii has an exhaustive a ~-ef , clos~ly resembling brass. Notes and Queri ' " Pipe Roll, 27 Edward III m r ic e on th1S metal. 17 Pipe Roll, 27 Edward 111; m 34:
34 18
THE WARDROBE r 066-I 41 4
evidence is also adduced from these rolls that the work was carried out in the Tower of London by Crown artificers. The iron-work was fashioned by Walter, a king's smith (faber regis in turri Londonarium), and Richard of St. Albans, the king's carpenter, prepared the woodwork.
On 4 March 1346 Edward III ordered the repair and shipment ofcertain guns kept in the Tower in the custody ofThomas Rolleston, a clerk. The latter, a subordinate of Mildenhall, clearly had charge of the artillery for the 1346 expedition. In March 1346 'powder for engines' was actually being produced in the Tower, for the great wardrobe, in obedience to a writ of 10 May of that year supplied Rolleston with 912lb. of saltpetre and 8861b. of quick sulphur for the 'work of the king for the use of his guns'. Further issues were ordered three days later. Obviously manufacture was proceeding apace, since between May 1346 and September 1347 no less than 3,6381b. ofsaltpetre and 1,662lb. ofquick sulphur were released from the great wardrobe's stocks to meet the needs of Rolleston and his band of powder makers. These supplies were obtained through
illiam of Staines, a citizen and spicer of London68 who was described in 1344-1345 as apothecarius regis. 69 About the same time money was being received by Rolleston from the chamber for warlike purposes. These and other entries indicate that the main purpose of these efforts was to supply a train of artillery for the siege of Calais whi h terminated in the fall of the town in August. The part played by th e bombards in the concluding phase is described by Froissart in his Chronicles. 70
T h ere h as been much controversy over the probable employment of cannon at Crecy. The celebrated historian John Villani, who is noted for his scrupulous regard for truth, states emphatically that E dward I II during the battle had, intermixed with his archers 'bombs which, by means of fire, darted small iron balls for the purpose of affrighting and dest:oying the horses; and_ that this ki~d of missile caused so much noise and tremor, that 1t seemed like thunder from Heaven, whilst it produced great slaughter amongst the soldiery and the over-throw oftheir horses'. Villani died ofplague at Florence in 1348 and therefore must have written his account of the battle ofCrecy immediately it had taken place when all facts were known. Rapin says that the English first used guns at Crecyn and quotes Mezeray as his authority. Francois de Mezeray writes: '11 faut aussi remarquer que les Anglois avoient en cette fameuse journee quatre ou cinq pieces de canon qui donnerent bien de l'efpouvante,
68 Cal. Close Rolls, 1343-1346, P· 340.
69 Enrolled Accounts (Wardrobe and Household) 1 ro. 3, m 42.
70 Johne's Edition, vol. I, cap. (?XLI_Y, p. 185.
n Rapin's History of England written m French. Eng. trans. . Tindal. London, 1732,
2nd ed. vol. I, book X, p. 425.
THE BACKGROUND
car c'etoit la premiere fois qu'on est vu de ces 1:1achines foudroyantes clans nos guerres.'72 The evidence for and agamSt has b~en exhaustively summed up by Lieut.-Colonel A. H. Burne D.S.O., in the Royal
Artillery Journal.73 By now the gonner had made his appearance: He must _not, however, be confused with, or ac~epted as, the ~ttzlat~r or artzller und~~ another name as both were simultaneously in existence by 1346. The latter was the cross-bow and balista expert w~ereas the forz:1er specialized in the casting and handling ofgonnes. ~either :Vere so_ld1ers in the fourteenth century, but engineers followmg their parucular callings who, as the common soldier of the period was quite un~ble to understand the simplest technicality, usually manned the engines they had made when occasion demanded. They were often hired for this purpose, and in times of emergency functioned under a rnaste~ gunner specificallyappointed to take charge of 'artillery' operations.7" At the siege of Calais gunners received 3d. to 4d. a day. Hurn.an nature remains a constant factor in life, and just as the coa cbrnan ofthe last generation changed his trade and became a chauffeu r wh~n he realized the automobile was replacing the brougham or victoria, so did the artiller turn his hand to the art of founding when he saw the demand for firearms growing and that his own ind ·stry was fast becoming moribund. Thus the first makers of cannon and shot w ere those manufacturers of springalds and balistae who had the vision to appreciate the weapons of the future such as the Byker fa mily· Arter considerable efforts made for the siege of Calai rearrnarne?t fell mto abeyance. Only one reference to warlike stores occurs 10 o~c~al accounts during the following thirteen years, i.e. in those of William Rothwell, keeper of the privy wardrobe from g M ay r353 ti~ 2:4-June 1360, wherei? the purchase offour guns de cupro made b~ Wilham ofAldgate, bras1er, and the provision ofa pestle and rnor_ta for the manufacture of gunpowder is recorded. During this per~od John, the first ofthe Bykers, as artillator regis was known to be making and r~pairing s~rin~alds though the exten~ of his industry does not transpire. As balzstarzus domini regis infra turrim Londoniarum he received wages of 6d. a day in 1353 and rs ad • 76 I he was
. . ay Ill 1354. n 136l succeeded by Patnck Byker his son h d d J ly r 36I
'G . , , w ose patent ate 1 u f
ds
rea : rant dunng pleasure to Patrick, son ofJohn de Byker, 0
71 Abrege Chronologique de l' histoire d F. d fJ'l
16~8, vol. 3, ~.P· 26, 27. e ranee by Francois de Mezeray. 7 vol. Amster a ' ' Vol. lxxvu, no. 4 p 33 ~ 1' Wrotesley. Crecy dniCal7'is p
76 Th . ' . 203.
e appointment of master-gu · . befl Roger de Leyburn took office As th.nner is said to have been instituted in I 263 t ve been fired in action this content• is was some 60 or 70 years before any gun could a e ofwarlike engines a~d was som 1{:P cannot hold water. Roger de Leyburn had cha_tj,,
0
(C.O~table of Roch ter) and a e rnddof balistarius. He was actually Constabular de .~ .u~ machines. There were masters 6f~"¥15 to have a roving commission to inspect nuhta 71 llluc Ro.U. Pe.U.. 27 Edward III .
, m 20.
20
THE WARDROBE I 066-1 4 I 4
the office of king's artiller to make bows, cross-bows and all other things which pertain to the office of artiller in the Tower of London, he taking in that office r 2d. a day for his wages in the same manner as his father, John de Byker, had in the office.'77 Again in 1370 a William Byker had 6d. a day from the Exchequer as 'engineer of the king's war slugs within the Tower of London',78 who by r 382-88 was styled artillator domini regis in turri Londoniarum and was still supplying the Crown with cross-bows at 8s. and ros. a head. In addition, he is cited as the maker of two small iron cannon.79
The next keeper of the privy wardrobe, Henry Snaith (30 June 1360-19 January 1365) held his office during years of comparative peace. He did little to add to the country's stock ofweapons. His sole purchases were five guns from John Cornwall, artiller, and a diminutive piece on 1 August 1361 from John, brasier of Cornhill. Edward p resented the latter to Lionel of Antwerp before his departure for Ireland. Snaith's only issue during the whole of his keepership appears to have been this royal gift. With the passing ofHenry Snaith war again loomed on the horizon and under the next keeper, John Sleaford (20 J anuary 1365-19 July 1378), the use of artillery was steadily extended. Fortresses were now coming in for their share in the d efence of the realm and were being equipped with cannon. In
1365, two large and nine small bronze guns were issued on 12 June to J ohn Foxle, constable of Queensborough Castle in Sheppey. Intak s were also made in addition to outgoings. John Salmon, merchant, delivered into store thirty guns and five barrels ofpowder on behalf ofthe king. On 4 March 1371, Sleaford was ordered to deliver
i,-x o-uns, a barrel ofsaltpetre and a barrel ofsulphur to Dover Castle. By fhis time Calais had already acquired nineteen_pieces ofordnance, includino-three large guns of bronze and one of iron.
D etail~ in the various accounts become ever more illuminating as the years progress. This fact gives a clear proof that the gun ·was beginning definitely to assert itself over the earlier engines o~ _war, however lonrr this change of outlook took to mature. Military
0
commanders were conservative. Even the close of the Middle Ages had its 'Colonel Blimps'. Witness the cry against the hand-gun voiced by Montaigne in I 580:
Except for the noise in our ears, to which we will henceforth be accustomed I think that it is an arm of very little effect, and I hope that we
'
shall one day give up its use.
Artillery was regarded as an encumbrance. It was un,vieldy, heavy to drag and far better left behind when serious fighting w as
77 Rot. Pat. 35 Edward III, p. 2 m I I. •
78 Brantingham's Issue Roll, ed. Frederick Devon, p. 33.
7o Privy Wardrobe account of 9 May 1382-19 January 1386 (Lord Tr ur r
Remcmbrancer, Foreign Accounts, No. 30, 19 Richard II E).
21
THE BACKGROUND
contemplated. In the minds of some, it must have borne almost a similar relationship to the personal weapon as mechanization does to the horse. Something threatened the chivalry and pageantry of the battlefield and was therefore to be wholly and resolutely discouraged. This could and was to a large extent done by the gentlemen of England who lived in an age when strategy and tactics determined weapons instead of the converse which holds today. Added to this, it must not be forgotten that the gun at this period was not only feeble in its effects but dangerous to the gunners who manned it. The initial success derived from the employment of cannon was no doubt largely psychological due to the inspiration of fear in superstitious minds, for the damage that ordnance in action was able to inflict during the first halfof the fourteenth century must have been far less than that meted out by balistae and bowmen.
Between 1370 and 1374 the hum ofactivity was heard in the Tower workshops_; guns, gunpowder, carriages and ammunition were being m~?e and 1s~ued. Gu_ns were being definitely classed apart from other rrul~tary eng1n~s, for 1n the former year an official,J ohn Derby, called clerzcus pro officze gunnorum regis (clerk of the king's guns), appeared upon the scene and rendered his account from 1 March 1370 to 30 March_ 13z4-80 He was a clerk, not a mechanic or a soldier, but his subordi1:at10n to the_ k_eeper of the privy wardrobe proves that the accounting and adrmnistrative work in respect to cannon m ust have increased t~ a considerable extent. In other fortresses besides the Tower special officers were being selected to take charge of the ne,v wea~ons. By 1375 William Newlyn was magister gunnorum de villi
82
Calesze81 and John Arblast v . h
. er 1. eoman of artillery at Oueensboroug ·
There were 1n add.itio ........ 1
' n, sources of supply other than the roya
factory. Castles up and d h • • ds
own t e country furrushed their nee
through other channels c bl .
· onsta es and captains made purchases
firom merchants as and wh . y
fi th E h en required. They received sums of mone r~m e dxc equer to settle these accounts without reference to the h~ivy war robe office. They would sometimes even go so far as to iret cannon complete with cannoniers when occasion demanded
Ins ances were the purch f d 83
and the disbursement base O a gun for S~uthampton for 5f. 8 · f
£26. 5s. od. to the late kthe Exchequer in I 394 of the surn ?
connection with h' • eeper of Carisbrooke for his expenses in
buying powder.84 ~n~1 gu_ns an~ gunners to man them and with
'artillery' portion of:h e ~ime Richard II ascended the throne the greater dimensions th:J:11wardrobe accounts had assumed rn~ch t ad under Edward III demonstraung '0 Archaeologia vol xxx.·. ' 11 E~chcquer Ac~unts·c•tP· ~86-387.
81 H11 name h mg s Rememb )
11 Roger's H.~::;s that he was original! rancer 396/15. 6 November 1375.
"Devon's 1::ue &hAgHriculture and Price;~ YC?~s-bow expert.
s, enry III-Henry 'v10 . u, p. 559.
'p. 226. 22
THE WARDROBE I o 6 6-141 4
that, alt~ough in some years the Tower's monetary turn-over may have dwindled, the more archaic implements of war were being definitely relegated to the background.
This period of expansion is portrayed in the stained glass window mounted over.the main entrance to the Central Offices, Royal ~rse:1aL The w1ndo~, which was certainly in the Arsenal in 1750 and 1s sa1,?-to ?e la~e sixteenth century work, depicts Edward III inspecting :11s artillery. The design is supposed to have been copied from _a piece of old tapestry. The scene portrays the king, a soldier showing some ~ann.o:1 balls to his sovereign, a soldier with some gunpowder, a soldier with the match and a master founder explaining the a~vantages of a bombard over a battering ram; in addition the following courtiers surround the standard:
Sir James Audley, afterwards Lord Audley ofHeleigh, a famous soldier and one of the original recipients of the Order of the Garter.
Sir Guy Bryan, steward of the household from I 359 to I 361.
Lord Henry Percy, afterwards Earl of Northumberland, a military conunander of fame and father of Hotspur. Lord Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, Captain of Carisbrooke Castle. Sir Godfrey de Harcourt.
John Hatfield (20 July 1378-23 September 1381), the first keeper under Richard II took over from his predecessor a stock of twentytwo guns. By September 1381 this number had been reduced to eleven. Some pieces no doubt had been issued, but two were known to have been sold and two stolen when a mob broke into the Tower and raided its stores. The next keeper John Hermesthorpe (24 Sept mber 1381-8 May 1382) appears to have pursued a course of masterly inactivity during his short tour of duty and did little other than buy a small amount ofpowder. When he handed over his charge to Randolph Hatton,85 the affairs of the office may be said to have reached their lowest ebb. New brooms, however, sweep clean and Hatton, who remained at the helm till his death, accelerated matters in the first six years of his charge. During this period he spent nearly £ I ,800-a great sum in those days-on the manufacture and purchase of arms and equipment. These wide purchases indicate the growing importance of cannon founding as an industry in England. Hatton's accounts teem with details illustrative of the artillery of the time, and demonstrate the growing importance ofthe privy wardrobe as a factory, repair shop, storehouse, a purchasing commission and a distributive agency. The 'Trade' as we now term it had begun to develop. Upon instructions William Woodward, a London founder, made 73 cannon in five years.86 In common with other early
85 Keeper of the Privy Wardrobe, g May 1382-16 January 1396. 86 Exchequer Accounts, E. 101, 400/22, 23.
tructed telarza, . 87 cast pelletes -"
d also cons h h , .1.ash·
d
gunsmiths Woo war d stone shot. By now t e arc. etypal gu lolleQ qua"efsBB and prepare d of the scale. In one direction n haq evolved towards both enll ~ piece built by Woodward, in tl~as th~
en-barre e fc de Th e Ott
I
large 7cwt. e ev t by the same oun r. e normal h ''et the small 431b. w~ap~eta~ed apparently 38olb. sin~e William Beavy cannon ofthe period g ast no less than 43 specimens of th· Yker
. the Tower c b ls s" '
the artillator in h not a soldier, may e commernor 1Ze. Hatton, th~refore, :o~~ring his tenure of office he increas:~cl as a good art1ll_eryma ~arl 4,ooolb. of gunpowder and 5oolb. of the Tower su:pplies by~ the ~asting ofguns oflarge cali_bre a~d gene:alt. petre. He int~o~~cetive and technical acumen. With him the h~Uy showed admirus :~e in the fourteenth century was reached. Thigh water mar~ ofarti d dfll the turn of the century saw the rei ere. after the ode rece e_ i~g four years of Richard's reign, whengJnhof
Henry v The remain d b ( J o n
. · .d d over the privy war ro e 17 anuary
Lowick presi e Hi l t 139c
u-.1
November 1399) call for little co~ment. s as accoulnt shows that f 39 bronze and iron cannon, 2 3 trun <:s (telaria) .r
he he Id a stock o 1or
11
cannon 800 round stones, 848lb. of leaden pe ets, I 26lb. of gun. powder: 10s1b. ofsaltpetre,.14 iron fire-pans and 4 mou lds for c~sting bullets;s9 in addition to which, ofcourse, were numerous other Items of a non-artillery nature. . .
Even with the ebb and flow of supplies determined by changes in the political situation from time to time, the wardrobe a ccounts of the latter halfof the fourteenth century do show that the faculty for artillery was slowly improving and that 'the devilish iron engine wrought in deepest hell and fram'd by fury's skill' was a force to be reckoned with in a changing world. The greater proportion of the pieces mentioned was constructed of cuprum, a species of toughened brass comparable to our modern bronze or gun-metal. Iron ordnance, however, increased in number as the century advanced. W eapons of cuprum were usually cast in a primitive type offoundry whereas those of iron were both cast and built up on a mandril. Manufacture, as has b~en state?, took place either in the Tower workshops or in the prennses of pnvate traders, or as we should express it today 'either under extract or contract'. Some of these successful contractors
hesi~es William ~ood~a_rd were John Mollying of Cornhill, John Brazier of Cornhill, Wilham the Founder of London William of Aldgate, h:azier, John Corn~all and Peter the Joiner. '
Th~ equip1?ent necessary to render a gun suitable for service was
1
;:6e~7[ e ~Ix centuries ago. Besides powder and shot and a trunk e piece, the only accessories were:
:: A rough wooden trunk bound . h . ·ng,
Cross-bow bolts. wit iron, used as a primitive form of gun-mounll
•• Enrolled Acco •
unts F1, Henry IV (Household).
24
THE WARDROBE I 066-1414
(
1) A wooden tarnpion to separate the charge from the projectile.
(2)
A ramrod to drive home the charge.
(3)
A touche supplied with fire or a priming iron to fire the weapon.
(4)
An iron fire-pan to supply the fire in (3) or to heat up the priming iron. These fire-pans appear to have been carried about with live coals for that purpose.
The only propellant was gunpowder, and its composition in 1350 was
saltpetre 66·7%
charcoal 22 ·2 o/o
sulphur 11·1%
The main handicap originally experienced with gunpowder was its great liability to absorb moisture owing to the hygroscopic nature of saltpetre. Powder when stored mixed for use was therefore found to be damp and quite unserviceable when required. For this reason ingredients were usually purchased and stored separately, being made up locally as and when required for immediate use.
Comparison of prices in medieval times with those prevailing today proves interesting. They show definitely how the 'cost of living' has risen notwithstanding the fact that to obtain a true relationship, the money tokens of the fourteenth century must be multiplied by at least fifteen to attain their present value. Guns were cheap although the cost of materials was high compared with our own standards.
1. he lowness of wages in the main would account for this combined ,-vith the simplicity ofworkmanship and layout. The price ofa cannon in r353 was a mark (13s. 4d.), and the small weapon presented to Lionel of Antwerp cost only half a mark. In 1373 a latten gun with three 'pots' could b e obtained for 20s. while under Richard II small guns could be made for about 26s. each. A heavier type constructed of cuprum was worth £3. Woodward's 47 great cannon were purchased for about six guineas apiece, while his biggest and most complicated weapon was priced at only £12. 5s. 8d. Guns were usually contracted for by weight, which normally worked out at a standard price of 3½d. to 4d. per pound. The cost of a large trunk made of wood and bound with iron (telarium) was 18s. 4d. Gunpowder, in comparison, was very expensive. In 1347 saltpetre cost I 8d. and sulphur 8d. per lb. By 1349 these figures had dropped to I 5d. and 6d. respectively. Charcoal on the other hand was cheap and easily procurable. The increased demand towards the middle of the century did nothing to lower cost. Raw materials were scarce and demand over-running supply, tended inevitably to increase prices. The 4,ooolb. of powder that H atton bought from Woodward cost the former 18d. per lb. although H im in his Origin of Artillery quotes a lower figure.90 Byker sold his stocks
90 p. 156. 13! d. per lb. in 1375.
THE BACKGROUND
for i6d. per lb. Lieut.-Colonel Hime quotes from Roger's f-!istory of A riculture and Prices some illuminating figures on cost which. bear!our investigation. In 1375 the price per lb. ofthe undermentioned
0
metals is given as: iron 0·856d. bronze 2·44d.
lead 0·627d.
In a 4-25 inch gun, the cost ofone round in pence with projectiles of differing substances is as under:
Stone Iron Bronze Lead
Price of ball 0·25 7·96 26·468 8·652
Price of powder Cost of one round 5'12 5'37 14·07 22·03 15·44 41 ·908 20·496 28· 148
In present day values, therefore, it cost approximately 50s. to fire one bronze shot out of a 4·25 inch gun. Putting this in another way we ascertain that a stone shot 1·3 inches in circumference cost 6s. gd. to project.
Like all innovations, the infant science of artillery was shackled to an existing institution hoarywith age and redolentwith tradition-the privy wardrobe. As, however, this appears to be a universal law noticeable only too frequently in our own day, it i ot perhaps surprising to find that a considerable time elapsed before its control was vested in a definite organization unrelated to other crown require~ents.. Before its emancipation, a glimmer of light foreshadowmg thmgs to come became noticeable. In Rymer's Foedera, volume IX, p~ge 49, ap~ears a writ dated r September I 4 r3 address_ed Johannz Sprong, armzgere et Johanni Louth, clerico (to J ohn Sprong, esqu_ire and John Louth,. clerk) for taking up and providing horses, carnages &c. for conveymg the king's guns from Bristol to London, Who was.John Sprong? Was he a subordinate to Simon Fleet, keeper of the ~nvy wardrobe at the time in question? His name does not ~ppear m the paten_t rolls. There was, however, a Gerard Sprong who 1s constantly mentioned between d H had several
. 1401 an 1414. e d app?mtments an~ commissions connected with the transfer an carnage of the king's guns. He was also associated with Williaill Wood~ar~, the founder, and may have followed John Derby as clerf ofthe kings guns. Could 'John' in Rymer be a misprint for 'Gerard' or ~as the forme: s_ome relation of the latter? Further research rn.ay per a~s reveal his 1dentity.91 Louth is mer I d 'b d as a 'clerk,
the wnt does not st h e y escn e ' a 'clerk ofthe ward bat,e ;he~her he were a 'clerk of the guns o~t ro e · e issue, however, is not left long in doU '
,1 Cal. PaJ. Rolls, 1399-1401 .o 161 pp, 292, 3o8, 1 pp, 'f'VO, 554, 1405-1408, pp, 60, I 13, 304, 14i3-l4
THE WARDROBE 1 066-I 4 I 4
for on 22 September of the following year the famous warrant which has become almost a classic in Ordnance annals, appeared.92
This directs Nicholas Merbury, master ofthe works ofour engines, guns and other ordnance for war and John Louth, clerk of the same, jointly and severally to take up and provide stonecutters, carpenters, smiths, workmen &c. on account of the works of the said engines, guns and ordnance with sufficient timber, iron and all other things necessary for the same. It ends with the usual authority to sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, constables &c. Two other documents are addressed in 1418 to John Louth as clerk of the works of our ordnance. In 1414, therefore, is the first recorded instance of the word 'ordnance' in this connection or of the mention of a clerk of the ordnance, and that year marks the birth of the Office of Ordnance from the womb of the privy wardrobe, charged among other things with artillery matters. Thus was instituted that embryonic body which, developing into the later Board of Ordnance, laid the foundation for a system of armament administration which has persisted ~own to the present day.
T he question which naturally obtrudes itself at this point is: 'Why should the word ordnance suddenly appear ex abrupto in documents dealing with warlike stores?' The answer is no more satisfactory than the derivation of the word itself. First appearing about 1370 as ordinatio and later as ordinatum it meant 'monastic allowance'. It did not assume a military significance till 1404 when it expressed the sense of preparation for war: This was followed in 1414 by the term ordinationum in the writ addressed to Nicholas Merbury already
92 Rymer's Foedera 1729. Tom. IX, p. 159. Cal. Pat. Rolls, Henry V 1413-1416, p. 241. Pat. 2 Henry , p. 2 m 22. Westminster 22nd September ~414.
Rex Dilectis sibi, Nicholao M erbury, Magistro operati~num Jn aeniorwn et Gunnarum nostrorum ac aliarum Ordinationum ~ostrarum pro Guerra, et Johanni Louthe, clerico earumdem Operationum, Salutem.
Sciatis quod assignavimus vos, conjunctum et divisim ad tot Lathomos, Carpentarios, Sarratores, Fabros et Laboratores, Quot, pro Operationibus I~1~eniarum, Gunnamm et Ordinationum praedictorum, necessarufuemzt, cum S1ifjicienti 1vlaeremio, Ferro et omnibus alii~. Rebus,. Operationibus praedictis, similiter_ neces_sl!rus_, a~ etza~n cum Cariagio pro eisdem, cum ratwnabilzter indzguent, quandiu in O.fficiis praedictis ster~ritis, per, vos,. et su.fficientes Def!11latos ~e~tr~~• capien1um et prov!dendwn:
Et ideo vobzs Praecipimiis quod circa Praemtssa diligenter intendatis, et ea faciatis et exequamini in forma praedicta. . . . ..
Damus autem universis et singulis Vicecomztibus, Majoribus Ballivis Constabulariis, Ministris ac aliis Fidelibus ;t Subditi; nostris, tarn infra Libertates, quam extra, Tenoro Praesentium fi:miter ~n M_andatis. quod vobis et alteri vestrum, ac Deputatis vestns huJus modz, Jn Executione Praemissorum, lntende11tes sint, Consule11tes
et Auxiliantes, prout decet. In Cujus &c. Teste Rege apud Westmo11asterium uicesimo secundo die Septembris. Per Breve de Priuato Sigillo.
27
quoted. In this warrant the word is obviously used in an omnibus sense denoting all equipment and other necessities for the purpose of waging war. Later usage has confined its sense to guns and equipment generally, e.g. Ordnance B.L. 6-inclz and ordnance stores. Sir Edward Coke, an eminent lawyer in the reign ofElizabeth I and ChiefJustice under James I, suggested its derivation from ordinance (Fr. ordonnance) because possibly the definite sizes ofbore, bulk and weights ofcharges of early cannon had been laid down in some law or ordinance since lost. This explanation is not very convincing particularly as the word in early MSS. was written Thaudinance or Tlwrdynance which afterwards became ~orrupted into Th'Ordynance and finally The Ordnanc~. Dr _J. R. Pa:tmgton considers that the English word ordnanc~ 15 denved by mistake from K(Xvwv (kanon) meaning a rule reo-ulat1on or o~dinance instead o~ from Ka.vv'YJ (kanne), a cane or 'reed.93 ~he solut10n of the puzzle lies in the reason for the chana-e of meaning ~etwee~ 137° and ~4o4. What is the connection, if°any, betwee~
monastic allowance and 'preparation .c. , ? p 'bly ordinatio
. . 1or war . ossi
deveIoped mto ordinance i e a rule O · h does bear
1 ( 111
some relationship to a pr~s · .'b d II r regu a wn w ~ . maY
. . en e a owance, whereas ordznatzonum have ongmated from a diffierent Th rri O d nee i e.
source. us 1 ,ze r na , · Tlzord)nance may be a word compo unded f ,.,...'h , or, t111e Scan dinavian
o 1.God of Thunder and dunamis (E d . ) h G k un for
power. Thordynance might . th' . yna1:11c t e ree nof Thor
£ m Is manner signify the power o '
a re erence to the explosion and lo d . . the dis
charge of a po d fill d u noise accompanying
. _w er-e weapon. It 1s uncertam wheth th' h' • · b I s
... er Is istonc document addressed to Nie O a
M b
er ury actually mitiated th tent
creating that offi h e poSt ofMaster of Ordnance as no pa
Merbury was t~e ;s ev~been found, and it has been assumed that sounded the deat~-k~:~l aSter. ~he Office of Ordnance, ho':ever~ doubtedly derived .c. • of the pnvy wardrobe from which 1t un
. . 'ior smce 1407 th 1 h d ned to
a livmg death the k . . e atter ad been con em . All keepers a;pointe~epe~s bemg m a state of suspended animation.
fees of office, rendereds;osequent to that date, though enjoying ~he neither funds at the' d' accounts. They were figure-heads havin~ accounting keeper w;r Hisposal nor authority to wield. The Ias February 1405 94 wh s_ enry Somer, king's sergeant appointed I 3
' 0 m 1407 bee B ' I · telY
ehancellor of the E h ame a aron and then u tnna 14°7 but the voice of:~ ;quer. Not only do all accounts cease after Keepers were subsequ n elmporary archivists is silent regarding theJil•
t 11 ent y appoint d d the
pa ent ro s for the h 1 e an their names appear on
O
named masterkee"er bw e of the fifteenth century but the post, re
. r ~ame · ,
SIOners. The holders w a smecure, a life appointment for pen-f
ere usually . h s o
., A 11i· ,,_, .r esquires, sergeants and us er
" ,.._, ,s_,J o., Grttk Fire and G ""'· PaJ, R.olls JAn1 unpowder P 116
' ,... -1405, p. 489, ' . .
28
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
the chamber and they held office with the appointment, fees, wages
an~ profits, houses and easements; their salary of 1s. a day either
paid out ?f the fee farm of London by the sheriffs of that city95 or
fro~ the issues of the counties of London and Middlesex96 or from
the_ issues of the counties of Essex and Hertford.97 Notwithstanding
their patents these keepers were powerless puppets. A writ of 18
February 1436 is illu~inative in this respect. It states that from 3 July
1423~ t~e date o~ which John Malpas had been appointed Keeper of
t/ze kings armour zn _the Tower of London, with wages at the hands of
;he keeper ofthe p:ivy wardrobe, the masterkeepers had not received
any m~ney, or assign~ents ofmoney, from any treasurer ofEngland to provide armour, artillery or anything else' to pay wages since that ? ate. 98 Arrangements were therefore made to pay Malpas from the issues of the County of !Zent. Poor pale-faced ghosts! the march of t~me brings many tragedi_es in its train. The powers and responsibilities ofthe keepers had evidently passed into other hands, and henceforth they and their phantom organization sank gradually into oblivion. Gilbert Par was appointed to the privy wardrobe on r6 April 1430,99 and when on 16 February 1437 he was confirmed in his appointment as K eeper oft/ze king's artillery at the Tower100 and later made M aster of Ordnance,101 it was without doubt considered a case of promotion.
During the period of wardrobe administration it will be noticed that the introduction of fire-arms in the fourteenth century caused tLree new words to appear in the English language, namely artillery, gun and cannon. Of these, the derivation of the first two, like that of ordnance, is doubtful.
The modern term artillery may be taken to cover any nonpersonal offensive weapon in which gas pressure derived from the combustion ofa propellant charge ejects a missile. It thus differs in meaning from the archaic words artiller, artillator or attilliator which referred to the craftsman who manufactured and used the springald or other early machine. In the fourteenth century the artificer who made and manned the primitive gonne was the gonner. In r208, attilium in medieval Latin meant gear or equipment and a few years later artelaria connoted a workshop wherein no doubt engines of war were constructed. By 1397, the emphasis on the word had changed and ,ve find it being employed to denote weapons for shooting, and since at that date guns were in existence it must have included them also. The
05 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1429-1436, pp. 56, 118.
06 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1441-1446, p. 221. 1452-1461, pp. 392, 624.
07 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1461-1467, p. 127. 1467-1477, p. 590.
98 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1422-1429, p. 106. 1429-1436, pp. 539, 540.
99 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1429-1436, p. 79·
10°Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1436-1441, p. 138 .
101 In Nicholas's Privy Council Proceedings, vol. V, p. 81. Gilbert Par is r ferred t Master of the Ordnance in the year 1443.
29
THE BACKGROUND
primary interpretation was thus an apparatus for discharging yrojectiles regardless of its propulsive agency and the term persisted after the gun had superseded its earlier competitors. No :race of the word is found prior to the thirteenth century as earlier auth?rs always wrote balistariae orpetrariae when they described !arge offensi~e weapons, and it will probably remain a mystery how it_ apl?eared m literature, who coined it or what its origin was. Four derivations have been suggested. Menagius derives artillator from ars, a word sometimes used in the sense of a warlike engine. Artillator was thu~ the manufacturer of military machines; hence artilleria and artillery. Ferrarius considered that the term was introduced because the weapons concerned being cumbersome, had to be dragged by hor~es or oxen. T~a-~ere to d~aw; terrare, thus arterrare and artillery. Voss:~ in his De Vztzzs Sermonzs Volume III derives the word from arc~s. a arcualia because the ancients used primarily to furnish their military machines with bows, e.g. arcubalista. Another suggestion is t~at artillery is derived from artiglio, the hard curved claw of comb':1-t~ve and rapacious birds. Artiglio comes from the Latin articulus, the J0 ~t between two members of an animal's body. This conception is reinforced by the fact that early types of cannon were named either after birds of prey which tore their victims to pieces-to wit, the falcon, the falconet and the saker-or after reptiles, such as the culverin,.the
serpentine and the basilisk which are the very essence of articula1:1on, None ofthese derivations is overwhelmingly convincing though each might contain a modicum of truth.
Th . . f h · I first
e ongm o t e word gonne later gun is equally puzzling• t
d . I L · b · t0 the
appeare m ow atin a out 1370 as gunna. Skeat refers 1t Welsh gwn, a bowl. Some consider it to be a contraction of mangonel, a machine for throwing large stones. Others derive it from gunna, the pet f~rm of the old Scandinavian name Gunnhilde for a wornan; mean!ng battle and war; and the fact that female appellations wer
occasionally bestowed O 11 k . g Mons
n we -nown pieces of ordnance, e. · Meg, does lend some support to this view . In any c~se it i~ strange that ofthe four ~ords most commonly used
m connec~on with artillery matters the origin of three of them, name~y artillery, gun and ordnance, sho~ld not have survived the com-f paratively short space Of ..: . that o
ume which separates our age from
the great Plantagenets. With cannon we fi reed
t b h are on rmer ground. Canna in Latin means a ;~ u e, en~e the derivation is obvious. A cannon is nothing rnor~ . an .a ?1eta tube. Canon, on the other hand denotes a rule or Ja,d\
1
ma snru ar manner to ord' ' h con
n was inserted to distin z?ance, and Skeat considered that t_ e seTbiS, however would guish the weapon from the regulation, . •n of,anno; wh dappe~r to be an unnecessary assumption as the origt
en enoting a p· f
iece o ordnance is plain.
30
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
With the disintegration of the privy wardrobe in the Tower an important milestone on the road of armament administration is reached. Henceforward the business of munitions ceased to be a function of the Household and tended more and more to become the responsibility of a special department of State.
4 31
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
Chapter 2
Armament Administration. The Office of Ordnance I4I4-I670
The early Masters of Ordnance were selected from the ushers of the chamber in the king's household and such appointments were regarded in the nature ofrewards for personal service to the mon':rch.
1th
The wages, fees and emoluments were 2 shillings per diem w a daily subsistence allowance of 4 shillings. Nicholas Merbury was a typical Court official, and evidently a favourite in royal circles. On 25 September 1401, Henry IV granted him an annuity of £40 for
th
life for bringing the first news of the success of the Earl of N or umberland over the Scots at the battle ofH elmedon in orthumber
2
land.1 Henry y confirmed this gift by patent on 12 June 141 3· Merbury ~a~ned Margaret, widow of Edward Latyiner, in 1411 b~ royal pernuss1on. As Master ofthe Ordnance he accompanied Henr) V to France and was present at the battle ofAgincourt on 25 October 1f15,-3 _Among othe~ appointments, he held the keepership of th; kin~~ Jewels and pnvy purse in 1421, for which he ·was granted a a~ditwnal £5o a year.4 Henry V in his will bequeathed him £ 100•
Nicholas Merbury died in 142 1.
The only divergence from this practice was the appointment of John Judde, a wealthy City merchant, which took place :'n 21 December _1456. The warrants appointing him is remarkable in tw o respects. ~irst, h~cause he is therein specifically credited with good pow_ers ofI?spection as well as provision, and secondly, owing to the m_obt1vedwh1ch underlay its issue. It appears that Judde had con
tn ute somewhat g . b pre
. H enerous1Y 1n the matter of armaments Y :entinf enry VI with 6o guns and the ingredients for making 20 r.onsl~ g_unpow~er. He was therefore made Master of the Ordnancde
10r 11e 1n consider ti f h ha
displayed 1-d .. a on ° these gifts and of the ability e t
0
ev1s1ng and d • · men ·
Though notate h . . . pro uc1ng weapons and other equip . ss acumen of a h"c hruc1dan in any sense ofthe word, Judde had bus1ners ig or er and k · 1 rnatte
1
touching artillery su li a . now edge of commerc1a . eJ1t PP es. To this extent therefore his appointrJl
i C.P .R. Henry IV
IC p R , 1401-1405
• .. Henry v 1 , p. 121.
• History ofthe Battle!j~\!;6, p. 62.. . :,C~ '
p.•6C.P.R. H g ourt by Sir Harris Nicholas, 2nd ed. 1832. AppendJJC
I
C.P.R. H::r ~· 1416-1422, p. 340.
ry I, 1452-1461 p. 342.
,
32
was a departure from pure patronage. His warrant of appointment is somewhat quaint and is therefore rendered in full.
Henry, by the grace of God, King of Englande and of Frannce and Lord of Irelande. To the Reverend ffader in God William Bisshop of \,Vinchester 0ure Channcellor gretying. We lete you wit that whereas we be not as yet suffisauntly fournyssed of gonnes, gonne powdre and other habiliments of werre. 0ure wel beloved servant John Judde of London, Merchaunt, hath for oure pleasir as he seith and for the suretee and defense of this oure Reaume doo make and ordeigne of his owne mocion and pre expenses LX gonnes called Serpentines for the feeld and also stuff for gonne powdre of salt pietre and sulphur to the weight of XX tonne tyght or more the which he hath offred to be delivered to 0ure Tresorer of Englande to oure use under certain reasonable condicons as he hath shewed unto us. Wherfor we considering the premisses as well as the good and feithful service that the said John J udde hath doon herbefore and yet dayly doeth unto us and namely, for the great inspeccon and providence that he hath in devising of ordinaunces and habilments of werre have of oure grace espiale graunted unto the same John thoffice ofmaister of oure ordinaunces. To have and to occupie the said office for time of his lyf with the wages and fees theronto of olde tyme due and accustomed. Soo we wol and charge you that hereupon yo doo make oure patentes under our great seel in due fourme. Yeven under our prive seel at Or Citee of Co entre the xiij day of December the yere of our Reyne XXXV.
Hamond
Memorandum that on the 21st day of December in the year above written this writ was delivered to the Chancellor of England at Westminster for execution.
I n the patent granting the mastership to Philip Herveys on 18 June 14616 n1ention is made of a wage of 6d. a day for a yeoman. Such an official is first mentioned in a patent granted to John Hampton in 1430.7 Presumably, therefore, a third post_ became es~a?lished soon after the Office sprang into being. Later 1n 1474, William Temple is definitely referred to as Yeoman of the Ordnance. So also are Joh~ Smyth in 1496 and Elias Hinton in 1526, to name but three. This post appears to have been connec~ed with_the provision, custody and issue ofstores. It did not lapse until the reign ofEd·ward VI although when the Office of Ordnance was expanded and reorganized by
6 C.P.R. Edward IV, 1461-1467, P· 14· . K. , ·
7 C.P.R. Henry VI, 1429_1436, p. 44. 'Commission toJo~n Hampton, mg s e q~1re, to provide the carpenters smiths stone-cutters and other artificers and labourers reqmr d to make carts to carry th~ king'; great cannon; also can.non stones, yoke for oxen, bowes called oxon-bowes of timber, !zokes of iron to draw the said carts, oats, beans or peas. hay and litter to feed the same oxen and horses, also brases of cord ca ll_ed l_)•11es, brases of cord called carteropes cord called hawesers for the cannon, trays for the said carts, saddl ~ call d lymoursadels do;e,s sea-coal and other requisites for the kii:tg's ordnance; al ·o to impr the carts ships b~ats carters mariners and labourers required to cart, barge or tra1r rt the things afor~said t~ any p~rt or places in the King's realms ~_f ~ngland ~nd Franc .
The like commission to Ordyerne, John Louthe, clerk and \\ 1lham Fleming, yoma .
33
..
THE BACKGROUND
Henry VIII in I 543 that monarch created the posts ofStorekeeper and Clerk of Deliveries to take over the duties ofyeoman.
The small ordnance staffat the Tower during the fifteenth century was essentially administrative, though a few artificers were borne on its books. With the exception of Merbury, none of the Masters nor any member of their staff appears to have taken the field, a practice not put into effect until the following century when professional soldiers, such as Sir Christopher Morris, were selected for the post of Chief executive officer.
The next modification ofimportance was in 14s3 when RaufBigod was by letters patent described as Knight of the body and Master of the King's Ordnance8 and given roo marks a year (i.e. 3s. 7d. a day) salary~ Thereafter all holders ofthis office have been either knights or peen,
ofthe realm. The fift~ent~ century, forming as it does a kind of 'dark age' in the unfolding hist0ry ofarmament administration obscures the Office ofOrdnance by a cloud ofalmost impenetrable gl;om through which only fitful sh~fts of light penetrate. Masters and other officials are known by the~r patents, luckily preserved among the R olls, but any account ofdaily acti 'ty f . f li y has
• VI or o actions taken as a result o po c been obliterated in the proce f . Th W d be Accounts
1 d fini . ss o time. e ar ro supp Y e te information up to the end of the fourteenth centur)'state documents reveal fi h . . and
. urt er data durmg the sixteenth century,
the comprehensive s · f h most
O
meticulous d t .1 fr enes Ordnance volumes record t e . ill . ea.is om the beginning ofthe seventeenth century t
modern times but d · 1 dge
remains with ' t fc unng the fifteenth century our know e f understandin ouU o:f1 and void and darkness is upon the face o. account of Ogd. nti Henry VIII ascended the throne therefore an)
r nance dev I · 1
The subseque t fifi e opment must be largely conJectura Odnance, save perh: sf~; years s~w little change in the Office of
:nt
of artillery Mastp some slight expansion due to the developJJ1fi n
· ers came d d O te
proceeded on acti· . an went, and under the Tu ors h. h
. ve service t th h . . w ic
then mcluded both a e ead of the orgamzat1on . Iy by the mastergunner gu~n~s and engineers commanded respectIV:he Master was overseat:ii t e trenchmaster. In one instance when rs to have handled the e Clerk fought at home and actually appeadnance was situated in~~ns. Although the headquarters of th_e o:elocal masters mast e Tower where the Master had a reside_n t
' ergunners d b d1rec
warrant from the C an gunners were appointed Y d"
• rown to • . 1s
tncts and forts and th mamtam equipment in the larger U
Th M ' erefore w y-ro ·
e aster at the To ere not borne on the centra1pa d of the establishment::~, however, was in effect the permanent be:e realm. ' as such, had jurisdiction throughout t
• C.P.R., 1476-1..o
¥'5, p. 387.
34
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1 670
Harleian MS. No. 433 mentions divers grants and minor appointments under the Ordnance and in the Office of Armoury towards the end of the fifteenth century. Some examples are:
To Richard Warmyngton, the office of the artillery within the town of Calais, with the wages of I 2d. by the day and 6d. for a yeoman under him for life.
John Stoke, the office ofClerk ofthe ordnance within England or elsewhere, for the time of his life, with the wages of 6d. by the day to be received of the lordships of Wrytell, Havering, Boyton, Hadleighe, Rayleighe and Rochford in Essex, and ofthe manors ofTunbridge, Penshurst, Middleton and Marden in Kent.
William Temphill the office ofyeoman of the ordnance for life, with the wages of 6d. by the day, to be received out of the lordships as above.
To Richard Garnet, the office of sergeant of the king's tents for life, with wages 12d. per diem for himselfand 4d. per diem for a yeoman under him, and 100s. for a house to lay the tents in; 46s. Bd. for his robes, 13s. 4d. for his yeoman's robes, to be taken from the issues of the lordships of Wrytell, Havering, Boyton, Hadleigh, Rayleigh and Rocheforthe in Co.Essex, and the lordships of Tunbrugge, Penshurst, Myddleton and Merden in Co.Kent by the hands of receivers.
J ohn Atkinson, keeper of the armour in the Tower and elsewhere within England for life with a fee of 6d. per diem to be received as above.
To Henry Grey the younger, squire, the king hath confirmed unto him the office of the keeping of the armoury within the Tower of London for term of his life, with the wages and fees accustomed to be received by the
fee farm of Norwiche. Vincent Tentler, armourer, the king hath confirmed unto him to be his armourer during his life with £20 fee by the hands of the treasurer and chamberlain of the exchequer.
Sir John Donne, Knight, the office of sergeant or master of the ar7:1oury within the Tower ofLondon during his life, with wages of 12d. for himself, 6d. for a yeoman, and 3d. for a gown by the hands of the SheriffofLondon
and Middlesex of the issues, &c.
The last grant was in 1485, the remainder being in 1483..
The sweeping changes introduc~d by Henry VIII during t~e mastership of Sir Christopher Morns (1536-1543) foreshadowed in no small degree the future Board of Ordn~nce. Being a monar:ch of vision energy and drive he was determined to foster the infant
' ' h h"
science of artillery to the best of his ability, and to st:engt en is country against the wiles offoreign princes. In 1537 he incorporated the Honourable Artillery Company by patent dated 25 August under the title of The Fraternity or Guild of St George.
The patent granted license to:
'Our trusty and welbeloved srvantes and subgiettes Sir Cristofer ?vlorr , Knyght Mayster of Oure Ordenauncys, Anthony Knevett and P t r Mewtes, Gentlemen of our Privy Chambre, Overseers of the fratern •ty
35
THE BACKGROUND
or guyld of Saynt George etc. which Syr Christofer Morres, Cornelys Johnson, Anthony Anthony and Henry Johnson that they and every on_e shall be Maysters or Rulers of the Scyence of Artyllarie as afore that 1s to witt for Longbowes, Crossebowes and Handgones etc.'
and it was therein provided:
'That they may have full power and Auctoritye to chose accept, take and admytte yn their seid ffraternytye or guyld almanr ho~este psonnes whatsorr they be.'
The main feature of Henry's reform was the institution in 1543 of an official known as the Lieutenant of the Ordnance to act as technical adviser to the Master. Thus when Sir Thomas Seymour the king's brother-in-law-afterwards appointed Lord Hio-h Admi~al of Engla~~-became Maste_r on 29 September 15439 °at approximately J shillings a day, Morns took over the duties of Lieutenant a t twice his former sala:Y. ~t the same tim.e the offices of Surveyor, Storekeeper a nd Clerk of Deliveries were added, the post of Yeoman being superseded.
I~ had always been the fashion in England mainly to employ foreigners as gun-founders, presumably because they were considered to be better craftsmen and Henr VIII d" the throne
• d th• ' . Y on ascen rng d
contmue Is custom, his principal gunmakers being Peter Ba,v e and Peter Van Collet. Ideas then began to change and the fact that England w~s almost wholly dependent on alien 'workmen for her ar;a;:i~n~s ecame o~noxious in view ofthe situation abroad. Henry,
O 1
w a :;ime~se P:1de in the capabilities of his people therefore encourage native skill and induced E . . d ' erchants
1
to co-operate in b Old" ng 1sh artificers an m h.15
· · · · h . UI ing up a munitions industry · and under iru~~lv~ t Se casting ofguns as a national vocation b~gan to flourish, no a y 1n ussex where th • 00dlands offered exceptional f: e.I:~n ore deposits and extensive w this
time was Parson Willi ~cihties. An important ironmaster at d
Buxted· in associ·at· a°: evett who had foundries in London an 5
' ion with p t B h ""'a
responsible for casting th fi ~ er awde and Ralph Hogge e fter Sussex became an im or~a rst iron gun at Buxted in I 543· Ther_ea increased considerably PB nt centre and the number offoundries_ Jl to ten and men such· ~ 15 76 the number ofgun-founders had r~~ 0 the forefront oftheir :s f1 aiker, the Owens andJohnson appeare. :U Levett as gun maker tat~ n 1573 Ralph Hogge succeeded Wilha_ts close, England was O ki e Crown. As the century drew towards_ 1 g military weapons N mta Ing her name in the art of manufactur~Jlg
. o on y wa th . rn1J1
an asset of first cla • s e Iron industry ofSussex beco the core of the cous~tm,~ortanc: to the State, but the Tower, b_eifl:S to erect foundries salryt defensive effort, attracted men of bus1ne_
·ts · di ' petre hou h es 1J1
1 imme ·ate neighbo h ses, c arcoal and sulphur hous 1r
ur ood In th . I r ha i
•Rot. Pat. R---• e provinces, too, the atte
35
•-...ur VIII, p. 4 and 1 ,ci" ·
p. 11. L. and P, F. and D. Henry VIII, vo . 36
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
of the six~eenth cent:1ry sa_w the building of the first private gunpowder mills and the Inception ofother workshops devoted exclusively to the production of warlike material. Power mills, driven by water power, appeared in Surrey in the middle of the century, and Sussex, as has been pointed out, became the home of the gun-founders. The ~ignifican_ce of t:ies~ new industries was that in all of them plant was installed 1nvolv1ng Investments far beyond the sums which groups of
master craftsmen could muster, even if they were artisans of some small substance.10
Under Henry's restless energy, the Office of Ordnance was goaded into action and henceforth took a more prominent part in the affairs of State. The Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic of Henry VIII are full ofreference to ordnance matters, particularly in regard to supply, and payments for stores and equipment. The following extract from Volume I, Paper No. 3496, is indicative of the beginnings of rearmament.
'r ovember 1512. Payments.
I V. B owstaves.
T o the bowyers of London for 10,000 bows, May 151 o and in part payment of r,ooo bows had of Sir Samson Norton, June 1510. To Anthony Baveryn for payment in full of bowstaves, June 1510. To the bowyers of London for 1,ooo bows, December 151 o To Lawrence Bonvix for bowstaves.
V. For gunpowder and saltpetre.
To Francis de Errona, Spaniard for 707lb. of gunpowder at 3-½d. per lb.;
103qrs. 22lb. of saltpetre in rock at 4d. per lb. June 1510.
To Richard Faulconer for 207lb. of gunpowder at 4d. per lb., shot and
spent in the Tower of London at the birth of the prince, January 1510.
To Richard Faulconer for making 5 last of gunpowder11 June 15I I.
To Thomas Herte for making gunpowder in Porchester Castle, February
l 5I I.
To John Stanget of Ipswich for making saltpetre, February 151 I. Total £212. 1s. od.
VJ. For guns great and small.
To I-Iumphrey Walker for making guns, December 1509. .
To William Browne, merchant of London, for money paid to Hance,
Propreter of Makelyn for making artillery, March 15I o.
To Humphrey Walker for making 50 pie_ces of ordnance at I 2s. per
1oolb. March 1510, and for 12 Serpentyns 1n 1510 &c. &c.
To Peter Corsy for 420 handguns with a bottle and mould to each at gs.
10 Econ. Hist. Review , vol. v. no. I, 5· 11 A last is 2,4oolb. Five lasts equal 12,ooolb.
37
THE BACKGROUND
the piece; also for a great gm~ ofcopper, ready stocked, with two chambers £ and two great guns of iron, ready stocked, £25. 6s. 8d. &c. &c.
35
' Total £2,797. 19s. 4½d.' The ensuing entry No. 3616 in Volume I is illuminative of the artillery of the period :
'1512.
Payments for 48 pieces ofartillery made at Mechlin by Hans Popenruyter, by order of Thomas Spinelly. The i,tla(ys, 3224lb.; the Cornwalle, 2994lb.; the Chester, 3063lb.; the Sonn, 30971b.; thePort~ulus, 3013lb.; the Gartter, 299Ilb.; and thelerland, 308db.
Remaining with the Duchess of Savoy-The Rose, 3792lb.; the Crown, 37271b.; the Yorke, 35oolb.; the Lanchaster, 3732lb.; the March, 3 79 rlb.; the ---,, 364db.; the Gyenn, 3941lb.; the Richemount, 3728lb.; the Smyte, 3792lb.; t~e Cameler, 3725lb.; and the Normandy, 3797lb.
Sum of the weight of these 18 pieces-63,229lb. weight of M akelyn.
Item. Six curtaldes that have their stocks and single wheels with all thereto belonging. The Garnade, 3075lb.; the 0strykeffed, 3047lb.; the Sann Arisyng, 3083lb.; the Callis, 304Ilb.; the Gyenn, 3106lb., and the Hartt, 30281b. The weig?t of these _6 pieces, 18,36olb.
Name and weight of 24ti Serpentines with their stocks and wheels appertaining. The Veragoo, 1168lb.; the 0lyvant, 11 621b.; the Falcon, rn36lb.; the Antloppe, 11 3olb.; the Meremayde, 1144lb.; the Ratte, 1064lb.; the Snake, I i38lb.; the Gryffon, 10381b. the Lesard 115olb.; the Ostryke, 1 r38lb.; the 0Jfe_ Walbs, 1126lb. and the Dragonn, r 17olb. Tl e weight of these 12 serpentmes, 134641b.
The names and weights of r2 serpentines. The Greyhound, r I oolb.; t1?-e Marryn, rn56lb.; the Eagle, 1164lb.; the Scrasite, II 381b.; the Lockezt, rn54-lb.; the Skorpeonn, 1166lb.; the Unycorn, ror6lb.; the T1ltrye, 1116lb. the Meremayde, 116olb.; the . , 1io8lb.; the ---, rng6lb. and the
, 1004lb. S_um of the weight of these r 2 pieces, 13,1 78lb.
~um of the_we1ght of the 48 pieces of ordnance, rn8,23Jlb., whereof delivered to S1: Sampson Norton, Master of the Ordnance, r8 curtaldes and 24 serpentmes_ as a~peareth. Sum 42 pieces.
So there ;emameth in Buldukel2 6 ofthe curtaldes that were delivered at o~ sover~1gn lord the King's commandment to the Prince of Castile for his war m Gelderland. The weight of the 6 curtaldes remaining at Bulduke,_and other necessaries belonging to the aforesaid ordnance that were delivered are not received again Th R lb . the Crown,
3727lb · the y; k lb · e ose, 3792 ·, d
., or, e, 3500 .; the Lancaster 37321b. theMarclze 37grlb., an
the ---, 364Ilb. ' ·' '
Total 22, 193lb.'
This paper is endorsed :
'The reckoning of ce ta· ·u • r
Sovereign Lord from ~thm arti cry made at.Makelyn for the King, ':'u
2
Harry the VIII until th day of December,_ m the second year of K11?! Sovereign Lord.' e last day of June m the 4th year of our sat
1I Bois-Jo.Due.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
In 1513, certain directions and appointments for the shooting of ordnance were laid down :13
Every Apostle shoots of iron 20lb., powder 20lb., may be shot 30 times a day ,, Curlow ,, ,, ,, 60lb., ,, 40lb., ,, ,, ,, 40 ,, ,, ,, ,, Culverin ,, ,, ,, 20lb., ,, 22lb., ,, ,, ,, 36 ,, ,, ,, ,, Novemburgh ,, ,, ,, 20lb., ,, 20lb., ,, ,, ,, 30 ,, ,, ,, ,, Lizard ,, ,, ,, 12lb., ,, 14lb., ,, ,, ,, 37 ,, ,, ,, ,, Bombard ,, ,, ,, 260lb., ,, 80lb., ,, ,, ,, 5 ,, ,, ,, ,, Minion ,, ,, ,, 8lb., ,, 81b. ,, Potgun ,, ,, ,, 8lb., ,, 40lb.
On 20 January 1514, the master gunner received in wages 13d. a day, a gunner 6d. a day and a labourer 5d. a day.14 On 2 r September 1523, a view of the artillery in the Tower ready for use was taken by Geoffrey Hughes, keeper of the Ordnan~e i~ the Tower. In addition, a survey ofwhat gun stores were lacking 1n the Tower, and certain monies owing to the office of Ordnance was also made.15 The
report reads as follows :
(i) Artillery at the Tower reacry for use
B ra zen ordnance. 7 bumbards, 2 bumbardelles, 4 ?ouble.courtowes, 5 courtowes, g culverins, 16 serpentines, 3 chamber pieces with chambers, 4 fawkons, 1 fawkenett.
Iron guns. 1 'hoole wetslang', 1 slang with a c~amber, 1 o stone guns with chambers, rg serpentines, 2 new serpentines with chambers, I fawkon with a chamber, 30 handguns. b b
· d o ready-made yew ows 6 ooo ow
13 lasts ofserpentme pow er, r I ,oo , ' .
. yarrows 4 ooo sheaves of arrows ofg mches
Staves, r,6oo sheaves of 1iver , , . . th D h 6 f b wstrings 7 ooo bills ready helved, 7,000 b1ll
e eat ers, oo gross o o . 1 ' 1' km·g heads and 4 ooo not fully
h eads, 1,400 spears and demi-ances, ac , ' .
I g farecarts, 80 carts complete m
d rawn and shot· 8 ooo mawres Pyks , .
' ' h l 500 ooo horse-shoe nails, 1,856
cart-horse harness 80 ooo orse-s 1oes, , .
' 'd · kl 5 ooo bits for cart-horses, straks and nails
scythes, 6,ooo hooks an sic es, , k for 70 carts, 505 latys galteropps, 6,000 archer sta es.
(ii) A view of the artillery lacking in the Tower which should be provided in
convenient time
Iron fawkons with chambers for the king's field, hand gu~powd~r, bags and bolkes to hold it· close carts for shot; iron sho~; caSlmg _gahterops;
' 11 ys and tacklm<T ropes, c argmg
screws and fernes for ordnance; pu e_ els for reoat and small ordladles; iron dice for shot; lead for s_hot' _wheades. ,fhoulvys'; 'myndyng nance; lymmers cressets; cresset. hghts' ·shed i~ bills; irons for smiths
shoulvys' · scoops· mattocks and pick-axes' g g h
, , t aws and hand saws; ammers
to work in the field; felling axes, tenaun e s ' d miths' tools. nails.
· r h mbs · carpenters an s , ,d
an piercers; 1etters; orse c? '. . soa . tallow; vinegar; stone
crows; spearheads; leather bnckets, extrees, P' shot for mortars.
13
L. and P, F. and D. Henry VIII, vol.~' no. 4633· 14 L. and P F. and D. Henry VIII, vol. ~?.no. 4658· 15 L. and P; F. and D. Henry VIII, vol. 111, part 2• no. 3351 •
39
THE BACKGROUND
To know whether the King will have his new ordnance from Makelyn stocked and bou~?, and who shall pay for it, and whether he will have any further provmon of the said stores.
(iii) Money owing in the Office of Ordnance for stores made by command of tlze Master of the Ordnance since 8 March last
For timber and board £52. 5s. 7d., for carthorses for fare carts £18. To v\illiarn Tempull, the King's fletcher for arrows £10. 1,µ. 2d. Ironwork and gunSt0nes £769. 18s. I I ½d. Barrels 50/-. Farecarts and falcon wheels £4o. Bs. 11d. To turners £46. 7s. I d. To joiners and for secret works £24. r6s. 4d. Bowstrings £30. 16s 8d N . £ 4d
l.d · . ecessanes 7 5. 5s. . Total £1,071. 3s. 0·2 .
On the report, the persons to whom these sums are due are all na~ed; and Mr Geoffrey Hughes begs the King to see that they are paid.
Among the King's payments for the year 1538 were :16
(a) Sir Christopher Morris O 8
. £ fc b ild. n a warrant dated 15 February I 53 recde1:,es'u·1~n50 oofrothu hmg a new house for the Ordnance in the Tower,
an ior I g er ouses ofOrdn h" h h I
mew heretofore caused to be made'. ance w IC the Prior ofSt Bart o o
(b) Henry Johnson, on a warrant d t d .
ordnance, besides payment in A ri a e 24 March r 538; for casting
(c) Robert and John O p I, part payment £100.
wen, on a warrant d t d ,r 8 for
ordnance, new made and cast sh . . a e 20 •1.ay I 53 ,
d) Peter Bawde gunfc d' ewn in a bill annexed £23. r 5s. 2d.
( , oun er on a · fi
£32. 13s. 6d. for casting and ne~ .warrant dated 18 Apnl 1537 or
(e)
Henry Johnson on a makmg brass guns, part payment £19. of £50. ' warrant dated 24 March 1538, full payment
(f)
CornelisJohnson, King's . h
for making certain ordnance f ~ffilt, ' on a warrant dated I r August l 538
(g) Sir Christopher Morr~eir~ as Porte peces, slynges and basses' , £ l 5o. dated 12 October 8 f; £ ' aSter of the Ordnance on a warrant
. 153 or 200 to b 1 ' f Jas
1 edeham, Hen Johnson and An 'An e emp oyed with the advice o nance house in the Towe dt thony on the building of a new ordcommitted to him• part p r an on other buildings and repairs lately
' ayment £ 100_11
. In 1539 there were additional
nee, Henry Johnson R b payments to Sir Christopher Morfurther payments to' R 0b ert and John Owen etc..1s and in I 54° Cornelis Johnson for c ~-ert and John Owen Pe~er Bawde and
The above extracts ~ ing ~rdnance.19 ' increased tempo of ord ave een quoted at length to indicate the effi ts t nance affairs d Y1;s
or ore-equip Engl d ue to Henry's accession. r ........
an and to h ·
u L and p F secure er independence offoreign u H , and D. Henry VII
cnry Johnson d An I, vol xii"
H Land I> F an thony Antho~ i, part 2, no. 1280. 11 Land p' F =~g-HHenry VIII, vol ~.were afterwards Surveyors of the Ordnance
, • cnry VIII 1· 1';', part 2, no. ?81.
' vo . xvi, no. 380.
40
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
craftsmen brought a mead of prosperity to the budding industrial class.
. The new ordnance house in the Tower must have been of considerable size and evidently took some years to complete for on 12 March 1546 it is recorded that a 'Warrant was also addressed to Mr Chau~cellour of !haugmentati~ns20 to give order for delivery unto the sa1de Fraunc1s Flemyng (L1eutenante of thordinaunce) uppon accompt to be sent with thafforesaide proportion iiij foders of leade• and for the covering of the new Ordinance Howse in the Towe; xvlen foders.'21
There are many further entries to relative matters in the Acts of the P rivy Council and other official documents for the remainder of this reign but lack of space prevents their mention.
During the succeeding years the Office ofOrdnance underwent the tribulations inseparable from development. It was growing in importance and its officials, who were poorly paid, left no stone unturned to profit in the scramble for place and preferment. Contractors, too, saw the green light and seized every opportunity to capitalize the situation. Discord and embezzlement thus became rife. O n 7 March 1552,22 a letter was written to the Lieutenant of the Tower to remove Doctor Tunstall, late Bishop of Durham, from his lodging in the Ordnance House to some more convenient habitation as the said Ordnance House was required by the Officers of the Ordnance for their official duties. Again on I 3 January I 553, Anthony Anthony, Surveyor of the Ordnance, was notified that the bowyers must vacate their workshop as it was needed for the storage of the Queen's armour.23 Indicative of the times was a commission on g August r 553 'by lettres from the Counsail to Sir Richarde Southwell, Knight, authorisinge him as well to have thordinge of the Queene's Armurye, and to collecte and gather into his hands to her Grace's use the parcells thereof that have bene purloyned and embeseled awaye, as also to gette moreover into his hands to her Highnes' saide use all suche armor and weapons as belongs to the personnes atteinted for their doings in the late trayterouse entreprise and rebellion against her Highnes.'24 England at this juncture was drifting into a situation analogous to the modern 'cold war', and while the lowering clouds gathered, the conviction was forced home that the country's stocks of fighting equipment were insufficient should a menacing emergency arise. On 18 Jul~ 1553, the Master of the Ordnance was directed to make a complete inventory ofall stores
20 Sir Edward North. .
21 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol.Ill, p. 62. A foder of lead varied b and 24cwt. It is now stabilized at 2 I cwt. 22 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. IV, P· 232. 23 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. IV, P· 385. 24 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. IV, P· 314·
41
THE BACKGROUND
and munitions under his charge so that Queen Mary might know how matters stood.25 Two days later, two Commissions were appointed to secure the provision of munitions.26
Four more extracts will suffice to show that lack of preparation for defence was causing alarm in governing circles. On 2 7 March 'it was this day declared unto the Lordes of the Counsail by
1554
Sir Richard Southwell, Knight, Maister of the Queenes Heighnes Ordinance, that there remayned at this daie with the Tower of London, for her Heighnes hole store towardes the furnyture ofall her Grace's affaires, but only fourtene last of powder, which porcion being by thier Lordships consydered t? be farre to litle for all eventes, and therefore mete to be supplyed with all convenyant speede, they dyd resolve that where_ the said Mr. Southwell had heretofore warraunt directed unto him whereby he was auctorised to give order to Thomas Gresham to provide x1m1 weight ofsaltepeter in roche, he shulde nowe for a further supplie give order in like manner to the said Thomas Gresham to make provision out of Flaunders of xxti Iaste ofwell chosen serpentyne poulder over and besides the saltepeter aforesaide; and forasmuche allso as the saide office of thordynance is amonges other thinges presently unfurnisshed of barquebuses, it was further resolved by thier Lordshippes that the said Mr. Southwell shuld in like maner take ordre with the said Thomas Gresham to provide 5 C herquebuses from oute of Flaunders over and besides other ye for the whiche he hath warraunt addre;sed out unto hym alredye; and in case he cannot convenyently make provisyon for the XXth !~ste of~rpe?tyne poulder aforesaid, that then he provide the quantltle oflx we~ght ofsaltepeter more than the x1m1 weigh t before remembred, s? as 1n the hole there may be the full porcion of one thousande weight provydid.'27 On 3 February 1555 Sir Richard S~~thwell was o~dered to J?roceed to Court and arran~e for the prov1s10n of the articles requ1red in the Offices of the Ordnance and
Armoury.28
On 6 January 1557, the Master of the Ordnance was ordered to report on the state of his office to the Lo d T th Earl of
. r reasurer, e
P b
em roke, Viscount Montagu, the Bishop of Ely and Lord Clinton, or to any three ofthem, so that they could consider what deficiencies should be made g~~d and instruct Sir Richard Southwell to effect the necessary prov1s10n with all speed.29 Fine words but empty of purpose: almost two years elapsed before Sir Richard ~as summoned to appear before the Council on 6 December r558 with a complete
16 Dascnt's Acts ofthe Privy C •t 1
H Dascnt's Acts ofthe Pri Counc~ ' vo . IV, p. 296. s1 Dascnt's Acts ofthe Pri~ c:nc~:, vo~. IV, p. 298. n Dascnt's Acts of the Pri C
nc~' vo. V, p. 4.
n Dascnt's Ads o•the p _vy Counc~l, vol. VI, p. 47.
'J rivy ouncil vol VI
' . 'p. 2 33·
42
THE OFFICE OF ORD. ANGE 1414-1670
inventory of all equipment under his care and a list ofitems deemed essential for security reasons to procure.30
On 22 May 1572, a bill for regulating the manufacture ofcalivers,31 guns and small ordnance was read in the House ofCommons, whereby anyone wishing to become a gunmaker had to make a proof-piece in a master's workshop. In addition, all guns manufactured had to conform to a steel bullet furnished by the Master of Ordnance, and after casting be surveyed by persons appointed by him.32 Here we see the narrow track leading eventually to the broad highway of sealed patterns, sealed drawings, standardization, interchangeability and inspection which distinguishes the production of modern armaments. In 1574, further ordinances were enacted, whereby no one was allowed to cast cannon without the Queen's special licence. All gunfounders, thus, gave a bond, under penalty of £2,000, not to make or sell iron ordnance without a licence from the Crown.33
On rg June 1574, the Privy Council laid down certain orders in regard to casting iron ordnance. Briefly they were as follows:
I. All furnaces formerly used in the manufacture of iron guns should revert to such use the owners entering into bond with the Master of Ordnance to obser~e existing covenants. No new gun furnace was to be erected , ithout the Queen's special licence. .
II. All cast iron pieces whether brought from the foundries by land_or sea, should be deposited on To~er "':harf an~ there sold to English merchants or foreigners who, resident in the kingdom, ~wned or partowned a ship. All purchasers should enter into agreement_with ~he Office of Ordnance that their purchases would be solely for_Enghsh ships, guaranteeing that they would not sell the ordnance to foreigners beyond the seas.
III. All gunfounders were to render a yearly statement to the Master
of the Ordnance giving the number of pieces they had cast and the names of the respective purchasers. .
IV. All masters ofships were to be responsible for the guns t?ey earned and · · d b · them back to their home port (either whole
were enJome to nng b or damaged) unless their total loss could be certified: Reports were to e
· h' th of the return of the ship, or of the Master
rendered wit m one mon should the ship have foundered. . .
V. Inventories of the number of cannon in every ship, both at its be made in all ports. In London, such
departure and return, were tO M f O d
surveys were to be taken by officials appointed by the aster O r nance,
30 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. VII, P· 14·
31
Small muskets fired without a re5t·
:: S.P.D. Eli~., vol. xxi, no. 40. _ Amon the contractors appear the names of . _S.P.D. Ehz., vol. xcv, nos. 22 61. Yd John Duffyld, John Faulkener, Johnf1ll1am Walpole, John Thorpe, Robert R_ako R bert Whytyld Robert Gratwvck of ambard alias Gardiner, Thomas Grat~ic e, ; e Thomas isted Thomas Coll n, ~ullington Co. Sussex, George Bullen,JN~h~~~ry~{ylde, Nynyan Challoner St ph n homas Glydd, Alexander Farmer, 0 ,. r Webb icholas Fowll John Bak r,
11 1
Collins, George Maye, Edward ElvyngtonHv\ ~thur Myddleton, John Palar, ThomRobert Hodgson Thomas Dyke, Thomas aye, Ellys, Sir Thom~s Gresham and many others.
43
THE BACKGROUND THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
departure and return, were to be made in all ports. In London, sueh sun eys were to be taken by officials appointed by th M fO d
and in the pro ·inces by Her Majesty's officers for the t· astebr '? rAlnlance,
listed b k d C . e 1me e1ng. guns
were to e mar e . ert1ficates to this e.ffi t b d d
annually to the Master of the Ordnance ec were to e ren ere
VI. All bonds and agreements we;e to b d 1· d h If 1
to the Exchequer by the Officers of the O ·d e e ivere a -year y
1
ings could be taken ao-· nance, so that proceed
. t· °amSt any party who failed to abide by his obl1ga ions. 34
The traffic in arms, however as mi ht h
a profitable venture a d . ' 1 g av~ been expected, proved
' n ' since t le lure of ga1 . fi 1
tive against the virtue f t • . n is a power u correc
o pa notism the leaka · d d
went on slipping awa h ' ge continue an guns
y across t e Channel h h 1 d
annoyance of the Lords f th C . , muc to t e a arm an
o e ounc1l The h ld 1 d b
on 20 December and d · . Y e a so emn e ate
. 1579' agree that owin t ' l · ·
ofiron ordnance daily tra d g o t 1e gr ate quant1t1e beyonde the seas' a111·ro n;porte out of this Realrn.e into the partes
' n .1orges part· 1 1 .
the moste parte of the s,,;d • ' icu ar Y those 1n Sussex 'where
u...i. iron ordna · d , d
down and the manufact f nee IS ma e , should be close
ure o cannon s d d C . .
were therefore appointed t _r: uspen e . omm1ss1oners
o ew.orce th· d · ·
note ofthe forges to rende IS ec1s10n. They '"-. re to take
' ran accou t f th
to as~ertain to whom they had b n ° e numb r of piec s ca~t, remained in the hands of h een sold and whether any still were to sign an agreement m:rc :~ts. In the latter case contractors
the express permission of t~o ~o is~os_e ofany oftheir stock without This illicit tradi e . omm1ss10ners. as
ng was consider d •
January 1579, Thomas Fe e a purushable offence for on 27
. rmer gent! . . d
sent iron ordnance abroad w; e1:1an, adm1tt1ng that he ha Fleet.36 In this case howe ' hs committed to the Warden of the
. ' ver, t e L d f h . .
vie,-v and ordered his rele or s O t e Council took a lenient
h ase on 7 F b
umbly confessed his fault and r: ~uary 1579 after the culprit had There are numerous oth ~ 1:used never to repeat it.37 to h" h" er entnes 1n th p ·
uc ing t 1s growing evil h. h e nvy Council Proceedings
1
to h k I • w c the r
c ec • t continued to fl . evenue men seemed powerless ?f the darkening political ~~~;~ unti_l eventually Elizabeth, in face iron ordnance in a bill dated ;, wisely forbade the export of all ~nly factor in defence 2 ecember i6or.3s This was not the
s1tuati · measures wh· h
on m the munitions ind t ic was causing anxiety. The on1Y was the Office of Ordn us _ry at home was little better. Not rearmame t ance 1n a st t
n er f convulsion the whole
euort was hon a e O ma e gu eycombed · h · '
d ns, powder, fire-arro wit intrigue. The men who " Dasen ' ws, smoke-b 11 h k
11 D t,s Acts ofthe Privy c . a s, s ot and firewor s .. nt s Acts ofthe p . ounczl, vol. VIII
17 Dascnt' Acts ofthe p'~vy Council, vol. XI ' p. 254. • Dascnt's Acts ofthe p'!llY Council, vol. XI' p. 3a5•
S.P.D. Elizabeth 1"vy Council vol XI' p. 3 o.
1 VO •CCJxxxiii ' • ' p. 383.
, no. 5•
44
followed wha: was then regarded as an abstruse trade and th custom was still_ prevalent whereby obtaining patents wi~h salarie: by means of which they confined their art within a small corn a ~~ese worker_s forrr_ied practically a closed guild or corporation. tit'~
~ ~onopohes this led to abuses, particularly during this time of ~nsis, and opened the way for the more unscrupulous to enrich therntelves at the expens_e of the State by _engaging in fraud. It is painful
~ record that certain Ordnance officials were not immune from such dishonourable practices.
The Ordnance was a weak spot in Elizabethan administration Each of the principal officers was appointed under a separate paten~ ~o carry o~t the traditional duties of his office, and each, to prevent .poach~ng _on his preserves, spent a considerable amount of time and in~e~uity 1n defending what he considered to be his rights and pnv1leges .against his colleagues. There was little or no loyalty for
the orgamzation as a ·whole and of corporate spirit there was none 1:rom time to time attempts were made to procure discipline but with li~tle success. High officers of State were called upon to settle the difference and frame suitable regulations for future guidance. The m aking cf regulations, however, is a different proposition from enforcing them and, being busy men, the arbitrators could not be expected to secure day to day control. Moreover, the Ordnance, like the avy it supplied with weapons and stores, handled a great deal of public money, and this factor rendered it extremely prone to corrupt practices. Stores were sold illegally, balances put to private uses, and poundage from contractors extracted without authority. As e~rly as 1578, Lord Burghley attempted to curb such abuses, but he ~ailed in his purpose.39 In one sense, of course, the tense atmosphere in the Office ofOrdnance acted to some extent as a safeguard against P~blic misfeasance. With everyone suspicious of his fellows, the slightest hint of a shady transaction was at once ventilated. There was a violent outbreak when the Earl of Warwick was Joint Master of the Ordnance. Sir William Pelham, who was then Lieutenant, h?-d become perturbed at the emptiness ofthe storehouse and blamed Sir Philip Sidney who was the other Master. The latter was censured by Burghley for mentioning it to the Queen. William Paynter was Clerk of the Ordnance during this period. By all accounts he ·was a scurvy knave. It was against him and others that charges of misappropriation were first brought by John Powell, the Surveyor. He writes to the Queen on 5 September 1587 offering to e~pose sun~ry frauds in the Office ofOrdnance, and begs her to grant him a heanng before the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Admiral
40
and the Earl of Warwick. He accuses the Joint Master of gr at
30 Lansdowne MSS., vol. XXVI, p. 27. 40 The Earl of Warwick.
45
THE BACKGROUND
oppressions and Paynter offalsifying the books.41 These charges subsequently became the subject of litigation in the Court of the Exchequer, and Paynter was ordered to repay £2,000 for his share in the defalcations. Powell continued his researches and later implicated Lord Warwick as well. In retaliation, Paynter and his clique of cronies brou~ht counter accusations against the Surveyor himself. It has been estimated that the Queen's losses during these litigious periods ma~ have tot~lled over £60,000. It is probable that the charges agamst Warwick were not pressed home in view of his standin_g with Elizabeth, and even Paynter managed to cling to office till 1595 when death finally severed his connection. The removal ofPaynter, however, did not improve matters the cancer was more deep-seated than that. Dissensions still contin~ed. Sir George Carew, who had taken over the Lieutenancy of the Ordnance in 1592, soon became a disillusioned man. He writes to Sir Robert Cecil'2 from the Minories on 30 June 1594;43
By the favour of your father with your h 1 t her M · t I
. , e p un o aJes y, was
d fi I
remove rom my p ace in Ireland to the ffi (L · f th Ord
. o ce Ieutenant o e
nance) which I now hold. To discourse t · c. were
d. d. r. I un o you a11 my gn e1e
excee mg te 10us, 1or do not pass a da "th . d ·th
. • . Y WI out new occa 10ns an w1
mfimte repentance for Ieavmg my offic th h" h f d fit
d h . . e ere, w 1c was o goo pro ,
an w ere I Iived qmetly 1n sufficient · this
content, to wear my days 1n
troublesome pacel where I have at nO tim fc •
and thereof you cannot marvel e oun? either profit or ease,
th
d h · h · ' e allowances bemg so small as they are
an , w IC IS worse, my fellows in offi 1· ·
spirits as but in hell I think th . ce so corrupt and of such ma Ic1ous have been a careful servant to heir ma_tches can hardly be found. That I stand, who doth know that befo;r Ma_j~sty your father doth partly underrates for her munitions th e my time the Queen did pay far greater accustomed abuses, so as :an;ow. In other things I have corrected th.eir the dog in the manger I d.d yself they have often complained that like which hath won me suchl hr:rpose both to starve myself and them, shall offend in the least •t h ~d amongst them as I know when I
1
do me disgrace Hope d·J s a not be forgotten in information to discovered and· proved :he persuade me that as their falsehoods we~e almost lost, for I understand yp would be displaced, but that hope is some service, doth assure hims~l;ell, unde~ a pretence to do her Majes~ be less afraid to comnu·t r h to hold his place· if he do the rest will
I
1· .la se oods d h ' ' ·
~ trouble. His hopes are b •id d an t e office will evermore remain him that if this pretend dui e . on your father's favour therefore entreat
· · b e service d . ,
op1mon, eing no doubt b t d . o ment favour (whereof I have no that his reward may not bu evices to repair his credit ifit were possible)
· hi f. e a rest ·
nusc e . But if the office b oration to live in that office to do more I rest out of all hope to p e so.accursed that he must return then shall
u urge it from . ' I d
ea Calendar ofHaJfield Mss corruption and infamy or to ea "Robert ut Earl of Salisb . (C.H.P), vol. 3 no 81
C.H.P., vol. 4 p ury, 2nd son of W?U-· 5 , p. 280.
' · 555. 1 1am Lord Burghley.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
any quiet life in it, but must be a suitor unto your honours, as you were the means to place me in this office, to move the Queen to remove me to some other employment.
Were any proof needed that the Ordnance system was corrupt at the end of the sixteenth century, the above letter surely supplies it. It is, however, not the sole indictment.
. He had wr!tten a letter ~arlier ~n 16 May 1593 to.Lord Burghley himselfexposing abuses which he discovered on assuming his appointment. He gives instances, complains of the conduct of the Surveyor (John Powell), and accuses the Storekeeper (Thomas Bedwell) of cancelling certain warrants which he alleges to be insufficient when he (the Storekeeper) was himself to blame. He continues 'that which grieveth me is the contemptible dealing of the Keeper of the Store who (ifhe be an officer) is but to keep and deliver and not to comptroll or equal his authority with mine, who (until her Majesty make a Master) am the first in the office. Heretofore in the like unrespective n1anner he bath often used me, which I have swallowed, but if this
pass smoothly with him, I shall receive the Queene's fee and deserve but little. By your lordship I was placed, and by you my hope is to be protected in my office. If there were anything in my warrant defecti e, upon his request I would hav: amend~d it, but to return it in this indecent manner I hope you will conceive as I do, that he hath much forgotten himself.'44 Discipline quite obviously must have been at a very low ebb.
Powell did not return to the Office of Ordnance, and a year later things appear to have become a little better. On.14 S_eptember 159?, Sir George Carew had further co_rresp?nde1:ce with_ Sir Robert Ceci!. In it he reiterates his long weariness of this unquiet office where 1s small profit and infinite vexations' but promises to 'continue to work for the Queen's profit however unpala~able it ~ay_ be' provided he may live 'unscandalized in his reputat10n which 1s more dear to him than Commonwealth or life'. He affirms that he had done all he could for the Queen's benefit and that 'the monstrous abuses he knows ofin the office are reformed and the rest shall be corrected as time shall reveal them'. Yet he is told that 'the Queen is daily troubled with information and new devices, as if corruptions in the
office were yet in his infancy and daily increasing' and this only sickens him the more. He ends with the words that 'he would be glad in his soul that the Queen would command him .to some other service and in no better time than now for at l\.11chaelmas the audito; will furnish his account when, ifin arrears, he will repay th uttermost farthing. His heart is woun~ed for slanders, true or fal evermore leave a stain.' He prays Cecil that he may be remo d h
cares not whither.45
"C.H.P., vol. 4, p. 314. u C.H.P., vol. 5, p. 377•
5 47
THE BACKGROUND
In due cours~ ?is w~sh was granted for within a year or two, while nominally retainmg hi~ post as Lieutenant of the Ordnance, he was sent to lrela~d. On his departure he appointed his uncle, George
Harvey, as his deputy. When _the Earl of Essex_was appointed Master of the Ordnance on 7 Apnl 1597, Q~ee1: Elizabeth, hoping for better administration in the office, sent him instructions designed t0 t" ht h vailing laxity. They read as follows: ig en up t e pre
'\tVe would prevent your falling into the e . f d d
• rrors o your pre ecessors an
enable you to refcorm your mferior officer y
d f h s. ou sh a11 cause a survey to
be ma e o t e stores, and two books made one t b . d b d
· h ffi d , o e sio-ne y you an
kept in t e o ce, an the other to be sub "b 0
o d ance and deposited i tl E scn ed by the Officers of the :rnges to be made out ~ 1e hxlclheqier; also a yearly account ofspecial
ch · ou s a suuer no · · b k
without special warrant, which is mumt10n to e ta en away officers You shall keep th .to bfe produced and .recorded by the
. e quantity o store r. 11 b
S.., rn servants not using y k s a secret irom a u t our
.. 0 ' our own cler s t .
fore done disservice All b k ors rangers, which h as hereto-Office in the Tower. and ::. 0 s mudst be rnade and kept in the Ordnance
' o recor s or writ. . d f .
You shall render a yearly mgs carne out o 1t. and deliveries and state of tahccount to the Lord Treasurer of the issues
. ' e several star y d h
there is no waste or lavish exp d" f es. ou s h a11 take bee t at
en 1ture o p d d · I
or departure of any ambass d ow er an shot on the arnva
a or or for weI . f .
that in former times large dem d commg o any per on, seemg is to be sold without warrant ~ shwere made under such colour; nothing with a great store ofordnanc~ t ~ forts and islands are daily furnished to make a yearly certificate to' you sf all e~o~ the Governors or Captains give account how the forts ar yfiou 0. all wrthm their charge hat you may
• e urn1shed
As particular commissions h · others for special service yo ahvel to be granted to divers artificers and · d 1 ' u s a 1 see th l
contmue onger than the end f h . at t 1e bearers of them are not and that they give bond t O tde ~ervice for which they were employed,
O
· h re ehver th · f
deputat1on at t e expiration f h . e1r commissions or letters o The clerk and two other o.ffiO t e time, which is not to exceed six months.
cers at the lea t d
ance upon the receipts and d r . s are to give continual atten prevention of any practice f. eh1venes, and good heed to be taken for
offic I k . or t e burn. N
er or c er 1s to allow an ro . . mg or consumption of stores. 0 ofthe stores without directioy p vision to be brought into or taken out, months t0 h ns, and ce t"fi '
t e Ordnance Offi r 1 cates are to be sent every three Rochester and Chatham ofall t~~rs fr~n:i, the storehouses at Woolwich, ready for the speedy furnish. f prov1s1on in them which is always to be
nothing with mg o the N Th ' ·
out warrant and avy· e Storekeeper shall deliver
1
y~ron ~a_th; like the S~rve :return his accounts into the Exchequer their pro~ions hrought in a;e ; a~d they shall show you their books. at rccchan1pt, and the prices to b o e examined by the Surveyor before more t their rth e set on th h · d fc r
ordcn bscri wo . o del" em, t at they be not pa1 ° U or ~ f bed by you or your~~ry ofordnance shall be made without 0 Our Council; but fc ieutenant, grounded on warrants frorn or extra expedition or for the ordinary
48
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
service_, a ':arrant from the Lord Treasurer or Lord Admiral shall suffice. At _dehvenes, the Lieutenant, the Surveyor and Clerk of Deliveries or thei~ clerks, are always to be present, but for ships in harbour, rep~irs, castmg ofmetal for bowstaves etc. your warrant or that ofyour Lieutenant shall suffice. The Clerk ofDeliveries shall make all the indentures between you-_-the Master-and the rest of the officers in your behalf, and the parties who are to receive any munition for supply of Ireland, Berwick, Portsmouth or other places. The Clerk of the Ordnance shall keep true accounts ofall provisions brought into store, and make out the customary debentures to merchants, artificers, etc.
Every three months you shall have the warrants for issue of munition examined with the books, and then keep them and the indentures in a chest,_ to be locked with several locks, and the keys to be kept by you, by the Lieutenant, Surveyor, Clerk of Ordnance, Keeper of Stores and Clerk of Deliveries.
Yo_u shall cause the Ordnance Officers to keep exact journals ofreceipts and issues, and the clerks to compare their books together every first Monday in the month; if any neglect his duty therein, he is first to be fined a month's pay, and if his negligence continue, after three or four months admonition he is to be discharged. Upon the return of the ships from the seas, no more munition is to be left for their defence in harbour than is actually necessary, and the rest is to be put again in the stores, and charged upon the keeper there.
As upon the death of the Earl of Warwick, complaints were made that ~\~had been abused in that Office by his claiming for fees sundry quantities of munitions, We appointed certain Commissioners to enquire into what he could claim by patent, whereupon it was proved that he had acted unlawfully, and he was condemned in great sums of money. \Ve t:ierefore charge you to avoid any such courses that may bring you into like danger, both of Our displeasure and prejudice to your own estate by ~xceeding your authority and so become in Our debt, as the late Earl was
in no small sums.46
Vain hopes. Pilfering still persisted and jealousies smouldered. Conditions were hardly likely to have improved under the Mastership ofEssex since Sir George Carew-the Lieutenant-was a strong supporter of the Cecils whose power and prestige Essex had set out t? destroy. Intrigues followed and accusations against officials continued to be made. In 1598, Essex appointed SirJohn Davis Surveyor ofthe Ordnance in succession to William Partridge, and Henry Jacob keeper ofthe small store vice Fowkes. Carew then appointed Richard Palfreyman to take over from Jacob, and, during the Lieutenant's
absence in Ireland, Palfreyman acted as sub-treasurer of the Ordnance.47 The division of responsibilities between the keepers of the ?reat and small stores seems to have been very ill-defined, and this intraduced a further source of friction. John Lee, the keeper of th
:; S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. cclxii, no. 105 (C.S.P. Elizabeth, 1595-1597, P· 381).
S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. cclxviii, no. 13.
49
THE BACKGROUND
great store, ,-vrotc in June 15g8 to Sir Robert Cec1.1that ,Mr Fowkes h ad a fcormer patent for keeping the musk t li d
h. d h h E 1 f E e s, ea vers an dags On
1s eat , t e ar o ssex Master of th O d ·
Jacob to his place and on taking the re ~ r nance, appointed one to have been wasted by l\,f. F ,main £73o or better was found hope thatJacob may be h 1~ . owkes: John Lee concludes with the no loss may be attribute~ t re~ons1ble for the deficiencies and that
48
succeeded to the keepershi foth im. When, however, Palfreyman
P O e small store L ' · · d
went a radical change H th . ' ee s viewp01nt un er
. e en claimed auth 't b h
and attempted to treat Palfr on Y over ot stores Palfreyman who as a repr· elymfian as .a s~bordinate. This infuriated
' isa , re used 1n his · b
to pay Lee an allowance f £ . capacity as su -treasurer without authority. SirJohn~ ~o which he said was being drawn
avis supported Le . t p lfr
and the two factions resorted t0 . e agams a eyman, about and even acts ofph · °.J?en stnfe. Insults were freely hurled
ys1ca1v10lence d Th . f
public enquiry into the state f h occurre . e question o a
0
· • t e Ordnance b ·
and, m view of the scandals takin . now ecame p ressing, delayed. A solemn commi • g place, act10n could no longer be
ss10n was th £ . d . 8
under which a very detailed inv . .ere ore issue 1n July I 59 place.49 eStigatwn of the whole Office took
The Commissioners were inst
ructed to:
(I) Reform the office proced
down clearly the exact duties of~~e aud prevent future confusion by laying Clerk of the Ordnance and Clerke sever~l o~ces ofLieutenant, Surveyor,
(2)
Make the keepership f h of Dehvenes.
(3)
Inform Mr Lee the k O t e small store a distinct office authority over the sm;ll stoeeper of the great store, that his cl~im to have
(4)
Order Mr Lee to dere_ wafis to be submitted to the Courts.
s1st rom t t"
servants. rus mg the keys of the store to
(5) Arrange for patentees fc
Ordnance Office as heretofo or gunpowder to receive their pay out of the whe • re, and not f 1
re no one particular person ' as O ate, out of the Exchequer
(6) Remove the arms fi was accountable for it cayed d h rom the storeh ·
an w ere they are sub" ouse at Woolwich which is deof London. ~ect to embezzlement and rust' to the To\t\ er
(7) Build a proper pla . '
powder a d ce in the Wh"t1 T
n arrange matters so th e ower for the storage of gun. (8) Make arrangements to k at the oldest powder can be used first. m (st)orRe. eep a staple quantity of munitions always
9 enew to the L"
commissio fc • ieutenant and oth
ns or taking timber etc fc h er Officers of the Ordnance, the by the a sence f s· G · or t e O d "d
late S b O ir eorge Ca r nance Office rendered vo1
urveyor rew and th d h • ' "d
(io) Arr · e eat of William Partn ge, ange for some l
arge roo
48 C.H.P. vol a ms at Chatham, belonging to the
2
" S.P.D. •be' p. 42.
th, vol. cc1xv···
m, no. 13.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
Ad . h
~ira1ty, to be used for the reception of ordnance from sh·
saving £io h "d ips, t ereby
a year, t e renta1 pa1 for a storehouse at Rochest
(
11 ) Arrange for monthly payments to prevent rising priceser.
(
12) Arrange for the execution of the office of Clerk of Dei· · b
one perso t d . . 1venes y
, n, no two un er a Jomt patent, so that confusion in the r d
may be avoided. ecor s
al (1 3) Issue a_ command to the sub-treasurer to cease paying the yearl lowances which Officers of the Ordnance have lately given thems l y and the clerks. e ves
( 1 4) Reform the abuse of receipts of monies for powder and munitions unaccounted for by Ordnance Officers.
(_1 5) Remove from their posts all guilty offraud, embezzlement, falsification of records, etc.
Alt~ough the work of the Commission dragged on for months a set of instructions for the better service of the Ordnance was issded soon after it commenced its labours.50
Th~ MSS. of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield51 contain vivid pen pictures of the undignified scenes which took place. George Harvey, writing to Sir Robert Cecil on 4 April 1600, says:
. On 2 February last I was deputed to the lieutenancy of the Ordnance in the absence of Sir George Carewe. I am and always have been very loth, so that her Majesty be truly served, to give distaste to any man, but now I must beseech your aid for suppressing such violent humours as are ~ome amongst us. On Thursday 13th March, myselfand the officers being in the office, Mr Paulfreyman, this bearer, being sub-treasurer, and spe~king for her Majesty's benefit and Sir George Carewe's security in paying of an allowance of£20 per annum to the Keeper ofthe Store, given and set down in the quarter-book in the interim betwixt the death of Sir Robert Constable,02 and the entrance ofSir George Carewe, by the officers ~nly without any further warrant, it pleased Sir John Davis to call him saucy companion' and to say that it was an indignity not to be endured?Y the officers, adding further that if the matter did belong unto him, as It did to Mr Lee, Paulfreyman would not dare to speak on it. And yester:ay_again, myself going to the Tower about the quarter b?ok and othe_r
erv1ces, I desired, for assistance, Mr Paulfreyman to go with me, who is her Majesty's servant a man very well experienced in the Office of Ordnance, being sub-tre;surer and the patentee for keeping the small arms, whose predecessors have ever had a place in the office. Finding the Surveyor, SirJohn Davis and other ofthe officers there present, I immediately proceeded to the ser~ices and willed the companies to depart, amongst Who:n seeing Mr Paulfre;man, I willed him to stay. Whereupon Sir John Davis replied that he was no officer and therefore he should not stay, and so commanded him out. The other answered that, ifit were my pleasure, he would depart. Herewith Sir John Davis growing in choler, threatened
. lZ., VO . 1 ·
6 lil°C.S P . El' 1 cc x1x, no. 44· . . . .
Calendared and published by the Historical MSS. Comrmss1on. uL•ieutenant of the Ordnance, 1588-1591.
51
50
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1 4 1 4-1670
THE BACKGROUND J.
to thrust him out , and s . . r. · 1 .
o nsmg irom h t
and, not being able to do it himself is s 00 t~ok hrm by the shoulders, and another ruffianly r II h ' he called his servants, William Scott
. h ie ow w ose n I k
wit whose help he viole tl . ame now not, into the office·
. n Yearned h · M p '
o this abuse to :rvfr Li"e t im out. r aulfreyman complained
f u enant of th T b
were found to be true I d b e ower efore whom the premises
· ou t not M L"
and also the indignity , ·h· h b fc r ieutenant will avouch the same
• \ IC e ore h. s· J '
saymg I was insolent and b d rm ir ohn Davis did offer me in I requested the Clerk of th u~ad eputy. On Friday, also, the 14th March the rest of the officers un: C~ nance, Mr Riddleston, to go or send with
th
fajesty's ships there, and ~ : am to take the remains of four of her upon he replied that he th O th ~ OTder for the answering thereof Where-
b tak oug t 1t ·
e en, and he did in tr th . not necessary any remains at all should no n · u ne1ther go nor send about the said service
n ·t11standmg that fcor th
e same s · '
annum. If these savao-e ervice only he hath allowance £50 per l\.1.aJesty· that service b ave passage, I shall not be able to
d her 'f" • coursesh.mah Y h 0 w ic I willingly would.53
On 4 April I 600, Sir John Pe .
an account of the seen b yton, Lieutenant of the Tower gi es
s· R e etween s· J . ,
to rr obert Cecil and ir ohn Da 1s and Mr Palfreyman
· ' wamsh· .
vanou~ officers are not cl d im that if the responsibilities of the
1
authonty, her Maiesty cear Y befined and laid down \\'ith overriding
~ annot _
11
oyce, Lady Carew ·r . e we served . .:i4
J
'Wlle ofSir G O
hushand's absence she v,....·t eorge, then enters the lists. In her
on behalf. fRichard Palfivii es to s·1r R bert Cecil. on 2 r May r 600
0
wh~ JS to hear the cause ~e~man and begs for letters to M r Attorney eo_rge Harvey then rete ween Mr Lee and Mr Palfr yman.55 . urns to th ovember
e wntes t s·rr Robert c . e attack on 28 r 600.
H 0
1
avis who h eci ·
DH m e refers to as, conceh rrung h"1s differen• ces with SirJohn ethaccused the Surveyor ofa s epstar's son, hatched in Gutter Lane'. S e can serve the n, g e the dictator of the office
o at non wantin tO b . as x.ueen b ·
orders L"ieutenant and f b ut h. imself, ofcountermanding his manner H ' o eh · ·
will b j, e warns Cecil that .f avmg generally in an offensi e ~ rought to 'the old I such a course is effected the office Wherem her MaJesty lost andcourse of R 1 .
prays r, s· . ow and and Painter ' s' services, house Hor Ir Robert's help· whas d:ceived almost £100,000'. Be In D· ' ot erw1se he will· ret:Ir• e to his· own
ecember of h
surer) the Lo t e same year L
to inv~ti rd Admiral, Mr eh ord Buckhurst (the Lord Trea-Ordnancg~!eJtbe charges and ancellor and Sir Robert Cecil rnet only afterehis _ohn Lee, howeve~ounter-charges of the Officers of the
mterrogation that '. preserved a discreet silence. It was : C.H.P., vol. ' in a letter to Sir Robert Cecil dated
C.H.P vol 10 , p. 100.
11 c.H.P·, . 10 , p• 101 •
vol .. C.H.p:' vo1· 10, p. 153. ., CAP~ voL io, p. 399.
IO, p. 411.
52
I 6 December I 600, he accused Palfreyman of er t .
regard to monies detained by him from h PMP~ rating abuses in
. 1 er a.iesty' b"
tit e of poundage and other financial offences os d s su t~ects in the matter be left to Cecil's censure. Mrs Ann~ c::e~u~~eS ed that mother, then appeals to Sir Robert Cecil on behalf ~~ G~orge's Palfreyman, in the absence of her son in Ireland a p ~chard
Munster.59 s resident of
After eighteen months offurther wrangling, John Lee writ . Robert Cecil on 1 I June 1 602, and begs his pardon fo th es to Sir he has committed in his suit to the Queen, to refer to th: Le ~ffen~e Just:Ic~ and others the hearing ofhis controversy with Mr p:i}re Chief touching the custody of the small guns. He places himself h yman Cecil's sentence on the matter.6°Finally, later on in the sw oily to he begs leave to be allowed to alienate the office and 'se~me year, place of the keepership of her Majesty's Store of th;v~~he of Ordnance to some such one as shall be held b ce Honour .and my Lord Treasurer to be sufficient for the,;{ ;:our of the same'. G1 sc arge
The Lee-Palfreyman controversy has been set out at some 1 h as it gi es an insight into the general atmosphere of the o~:eg~f Ordnance at the end of the Tudor dynasty. It was by no m
. . . eans uruque, other manoe1:vres of a s1m.i1ar _character took place. Lookin back over the centuries, one may srmle at such puerile behavio g considering it more akin to the antics ofmischievous schoolboys thur,
to the actions of men charged with affairs ofState. At the time, ho:~
eve:, it was indicative of a sinister influence within the body politic
which, inducing irresponsibility on the part of those who should
have known better, spelled danger in a time of national crisis.
The result of all these heart-searchings and commissions was a
reformation of the Office of Ordnance, and an increased establish
men~ more in keeping with later practice was laid dmvn; the senior
official being given control ofthe whole business ofordnance, by land
as well as sea, under the designation of Great 1Vfaster. Under the 1598
Commission an inventory was made of all the ordnance and stores
at every place under the charge of the Officers of the Ordnance, and
on board every ship of the Navy, whether in harbour or at sea, and
every article valued. Such a 'remain' had evidently been made twenty
ye~rs previously for in Francis Peck's Desiderata Curiosa appears an
~timate of the stores with their value in cash i~ the Office of
rdnance, both within the Tower and aboard ship for the · ar
1578.•2 •
6a CH
60
c:H·~·, vol. 10, p. 4 1 6 . so CH. ,, vol. 11, p. 500. &1 c•H.P., vol. 12, p. 1g1. s2 n· _.P., vol. 12, p. 575. P· 75·
ed., London 177
es1derala C . y Francis. Peck, ne,
urwsa b
53
THE BACKGROUND
A synopsis gives the items and their. vaIues as 10r. IIows:
I Ordnance remaining in the Tower of London Cannons 18 Cannon pieces I Demi-cannons I I Culverins
8
Demi-culverins
20 Sacres
I I
Minions
8
Falcons
7
Falconets
20
In all 104 II Ordnance remaining on b d h .
oar s zps
Cannon pieces
24
Demi-cannons
36
Demi-cannon pieces
5
Culverins
76
Demi-culverins
n8
Sacres
123
Minions
30
Falcons
39
Falconets
3
Fowlers, with two eh b
a . am ers
piece; and port .
pieces
-17 In all 471 III Shot in the Tower Cross-backed and .
iron shot round of several h . h '
Stone shot for e1g ts 47,000
cannon i
port pieces and r:o Ip ece,
i• w ers
4,500 In all 51,500 IV Shot aboard the h.
s zps
Iron shot Stone shot 100,000 1,300 101,300
V Powder and stull'fi In all
':JJ . or powder i h
Corned and ser . n t e Tower Saltpetre pentme powder SS lasts Sulphur 10 ooo weight 20 ' ooo weight
Corn and serpentine
powder (<limed) ' lasts
54
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
VI Small guns and munitions in the Tower
7,000
Calivers
5,000
Dags 63 60,000 weight
Match
8,000
Bows
16,000 sheaves
Arrows
10,000
Morispikes64
3,500
Bills65 VII Small guns and munitions aboard ships
320
Calivers 300 weight
Match
380
Bows
380 sheaves
Arrows
460
Morespikes
460
Bills
In addition there was in the Tower an assortment ofso-called rich weapons, con~isting of pikes, halberts,yartisans, jave~ns, ?oar spears and pole-axes. The valuation of this total collect10n 1s given as £38,876. rgs. d. These remains in store were over and above those
4
which had from time to time been issued by warrant to forts, castles and other fortified places. . . .
A Harleian MS. No. 5344 in the B~1t1sh_ Museu~ det~1ls the establishment of the Ordnance with their daily salaries durmg the expedition to St Quintin in the year 1557 as under:
£ s. d.
I 6 8
The master of th'ordynance 13 4
His lieutenant 10 0
Master of the carriages 5 0
The trenchemaster I 0
A chaplain 2 0
A clerke of th'ordynance 2 0
Two clerks I 0
A surgeon 6 0
S~xe bowyers 6 0
Sixe fletchers 3 0
Three carpenters n J 0
Three smythes 4 0
Three guyders of th'ordynance 3 0 0
Twelve carriages I 0
A drumme
63 p·
64 L1stols.
ss A'Y/?;e pikes. mtl of pike or halbcrt.
55
THE BACKGROUND
A phife
A hundreth and twentie symres Ten halberdyers Hacquebutters on horseback
for the lieutenant Master gonner Twelve gonners
I I 5 10 0 0 0
6 3 16 0 4 0
Another document (E c di MS . .
th t t I t bli h O ce .) published by M r P eck gives
r. lle O a es a s ment of the ordnance and artillery in I 578 as
10 ows:
Master of the Ordnance
2 clerks
Lieutenant of the Ord
Clerk nance
Surveyor of the Ordna
Clerk nee
Keeper of the great st h
Clerk ore ouse
Keeper of the small st h Clerk of the great st ohre ouse
ore ouse
erk of the small st h
Cl ore ouse aster-gunner of E
M ng1and
2 gunner soldiers, each
And each a gunner's room
I gunner smith And a gunner's room 1 gun store maker And a gunner's room 1 saltpetre maker
carpenter
1
I engineer or artificer I deli •
0 dn a tion to this headqu
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
the ~litary branch ofthe Board ofOrdnance to be placed on a sound footing.
Another Harleian MS. (No. 847, folio 4gb, A.D. 1578) entitled The Order of a Campe or Armye Royall with the duties of every officer belon · to the same: per B Con M ilit '?78 gives the_ duties of~he Master of~~! Ordnance. m the field at this date. A bnef transcnption in modern
Ianguage 1s as follows :
(I) Upon receiving his charge at the hands of the Council to sat· fy
h. ffi. ' n
1mself that a camp (of war) has a su c1ency of munitions and oth warlike stores pertaining to the ordnance before he himself arrives u er the scene. Also that there is present a lieutenant of the ordnance and~~:
necessary clerks, all in wages.
(2) On arrival to take ?harg~ of a1;1 ordnance, shot, powder, match, firework~, bows, arrows, stnng, R1kes,.bills, halberts, harquebuses, calivers, lances, light horsemen staves, Javelins and boarspears. In addition, to r~ceive all ladders, ladles, artillery spong~s, mattocks, spades, shovels, pickaxes, crow-bars, cartwheels for gun carnages, gun carnages, axletrees, hand axes, windoses66 for the defence of ordnance, cart traces, other cart equipment, cressettes, lights, lanterns, candles and torches with all other
necessities which must be foreseen.
(3) To park all such stores on the most appropriate site selected by the
provost-marshal.
(4)
To entrench the store-park against fire and to place a guard over it.
(5)
T o ensure a competent nurn~er of smiths, carpent~rs, artific~rs etc.
under him to give efficient service 1n the field. Such artificers to mclude bowyers, fletchers masons and wheelwrights.
(6) To cause the clerk of the ordnance to issue stores and munitions on demand to officers whose soldiers lack supplies and to take receipts for
the same for final delivery to the treasurer.
(7) To site artillery for battle and general_ly to ~ke charge of the guns durmg an action which were under the un.med1ate command of the master gunner who as the executive officer in charge of the artillery of a train, was re;ponsible for the training of his men and for the care ofhis
equipment.
The Board was again reorganized at the end of Elizabeth's reign so that as James I ascended the throne the Great Master and Lieutenant ~ecame respectively the Master-General a~d Lie~tenant-General, though
n succeeding patents the use ofthe new utles chd not become general for some forty or fifty years. A further committee of enquiry took place in the reign ofJames I. On I g N0vember 1618_the s_tate of the ~lf!ce of Ordnance was referred to Sir Edward Cecil!'. Sir Thom~s wtr:'\h, Sir Lionel Cranfield (afterwards ~he ~arl or:Middl sex),_ ir t illiam Harvey, Sir Edward Conway, Sir Richard Moryson (Liu
th
enant ofthe Ordnance), SirJohn Kay, Sir John Wolst nholm 66 Po ·b1 • d "th tures ( indo 1
throu ssi Y mantlets of wood as a kind of gun-sh1el Wl aper 11
gh, See Journal of the Society of Army Historical Research, vol. I, PP· -l l •
57
r nance at Berw· k arter staff, there were a M aster oft e IC , 6 other m t nd
gunners and sund . as er-gunners, a muster ma ster a
nd
333
castles ofEngland A ry artificers scattered round the forts a 53~ gunners were kep;etflurn of the 24 ships of the line showed that artillerym · a oat The ·ned
. en m England. En ·. r? were thus nearly r ,ooo tra1 . a regunental orgaru·z ti" ghsh artillery at this date was still lacking establishment of offica · It was not a regiment with a definite
on · eight_ years were to ~rs a~d 0ther ranks. One hundred and thirtY·
th
matnx. The time ho pse efore Such a formation emerged frolll e unorgamz· cd ' Wever dwas.at hand when the rubicon betwee
guildsmen n
d
an trained soldiery was to be passed, a ri
56
£ s. d.
at 151 11 8 p.a. one at I o p.d.
one at 8 p.d.
at 36 lo o p.a.
at 12 13 4 p.a.at 36 10 o p.a.
at 12 13 4 p.a.
at 50 o o p.a.
at 12 13 4 p.a. at 40 o o p.a.
p a
at 50 o o · ·
6 p a
at 3 o o · ·
66 a
at 13 4 P· ·
at r o p.d.
8 d
at P· · at 8 p.d. at 6 p.d. at 8 p.d. at 6 p.d.
at 6 p.d.
at 8 p.d. at 8 p.d. h
THE BACKGROUND
two Auditors of Imprest or one Of h
Francis Morice ( Cl k t em, Mr John Cooke and Mr Sir Richard Morys~: ~~:~e ~ rdnance), or any six_ofthem (whereof be one) to frame and mou~ n Kay and Mr Monce had always to
th
vantage of his Maj t d e same as may be most to the adsubject.67 Little es y ~n t~e State without hurt or wrong to the
O
that certain office~s ~e:-ete~t~on followed upon its findings except ractices. Further di P rushed and others removed for corrupt
or nances h 'b· ·
P promulgated durin t pro 1 _itmg the
were export of ordnance century.ss g he openmg years of the seventeenth
A MS. quoted by GroseG9 .
to the powers of the M gives some curious particulars relating duty ofthe provost-a~ter of the O~dnance intermingled with the disciplinary measur::~ t:eof the artillery. It deals mainly with the a town the best bell th . field, and states that on the conquest of gunners and their co er~m should be handed over to the m aster
F . mparues . ranc1s Markham in h' ·.
m London by Augusti ~ Five Decades af Epistles of Warre, printed tho~e of other high mi~~a attbe~s m 1622, gives the duties, among This description app _ry officials, of the master of the ordnance, In modern orthog::r~ in ~piStie VII of the fifth decad. Th M p y t e extract reads as follows : . e aster of the Ord
Artillery) is or should b nance (sometimes referred to as the General of experience, and indeede a person of great gravity valour wisdom and eh a man 0 f b ' '
os~n to the place by the p . n~ le descent and parentage, being ~ubstitute. His office is a 1 rmce himself, and seldom by any inferior mto two · ranches thP ace of gr t importance · and exten d eth 1tse1f
mam b ea · as he hath charge of th'e et?lnle ever at home, and ~he other abroad; for care ffof all th e fc d r. .' mumt10ns in the · camp so he hath
f. orts, castles ar 1 ery o · hard; hfrom the camp. yet tnth orl!fied places which are re~oved, or lie
a e only the cas; of thn. e guard and respect of that army, neither em safe d e1r safety b
th'd . 'an to that end · , ut also the manner how to keep s1 eration as th . 1s to draw d . .
inla d ' e Situations and sun ry mcumstances into }us con-co _n. or by the sea, mount . strengths ofall places whatsoever whether DJomed or · d amous or fl • ' h
and wh nuxe together· th at, or mdeed any or all oft ese fittest i:,~must be made str~n/~ what places are strengthened by nat'-'.re, fonns to defend itself. d Y art, the form of the strength as being , as wheth · ' an offend th ' 0 f
and last! th er 11 be circular e enemy, the several sorts earth t y e ~atter whereo ' shquare, or contrived into many angles: ' s one bnck . n t e stre h . . b
He is als' 'llmber or an ngt 1s made, as whether 1t e fortificatio o to draw into his coy ?~her material and binding substance. the offenc':~r"nd _that they are n:,,~ration the nature and quality of all
artillery, as to d r. e and framed as well to withstand ., Dasen' e1end and k he
"D t kts oft!,, p. eep able themselves by t Vol XXX.t' Acts oft"4 p" .l!Y C<nmcil, vol XXX
••Gr ,III, .P.· 437. "'!Y C<nmcil, voi. XXI VI, p. 307. 8
0IC Miltuw, At,tin.,;,· 'pp. 417, 430-431. Vol. xxxn, P· 4 7·I ..,-ies, 1786 cd
,, vol. I p
58 ' p. 235-237•
THE OFFICE OF ORDNAI\;'CE 1414-1670
help of artillery: and for this cause it is most necessa
o~ the ordnance be skilful in the knowledge of all fortsry t~a~ the master p1ec~s, as whether they be royal (which are the e an sizes of great 5r";.hich are the lesser) yet all to be employed in ';;;t::'.5:lte:r ~ni,r-royal
e. royal are those we call the culverin, the quarter cannon °th adtter~. cannon the c h d bl , e em1
d . , annon, t e ou e-cannon, the cannon-pedera th b T and mdeed any piece which shooteth a ball from 1 71b. weigh( or e aSi ;k atln the under-roy al are the derni-culverin, the saker the minion thup':a1r s ·
1e falcon t th b' h h ' , e 1a con
h. e , e ro met, t e arquebuss a crock and indeed an • '
w ich _shooteth a projectile from 17lb. weight downwards and t{ piecde -
nance. is. the master not on1y by h'1s authonty. and patents to ' providis or d ~':,'se; _either by purchase, prize or casting, as the ability of the place !~:re D resideth will afford, but also to see them mounted either upon carr· '7 the field, upon bulwarks, forts, castles, town-walls, or any other ~~ges 0 offence or defence, as shall appear best in his judgment: and to ;~.e1 end he shall be of approved judgment in all manner of fortifications a ~ able to direct the inferior officers under him (as the lieutenant of th; o;d~tnce_, the engine-master, the trench-master, captain of pioneers and the ~-e) in the framing of bulwarks, curtains, cavaleros, tenazas, 70 tizeras t~entes, case-mates, teraplenes,71 trenches, ditches, or anything belongin~ an their own sa~ety, or the en~my's annoyance_; as als? ho:" to refortify b Y place that 1s decayed, or 1n the first erection by 111 drrections hath
een m ade contrary to art, whereby the platform is to be new moulded
an~ reformed: and herein he ought to be capable of discerning (upon a
serious view) any hindrance and annoyance whatsoever, which shall
acc_ompany his work, as whether it be without the situation of the work,
as if there be hills, plains, rivers, lakes, valleys, rocks, woods, vineyards,
?rchards, gardens, monasteries, old churches, or any other edifices, seas,
islands, bays or the like, or else within the situation, having regard to the
;au, and every quality thereof, the height and thickness of the teraplene,
he strength of the gates the depth of the ditches, whether wet or dry
hoW waters are conveyed' into it, whether by open and natural channels,'
or by closed and secret conduits, the altitude of the place, as whether it
be above or below other buildings that are about it, with a world of other
observations; all of which if they breed any annoyance or inconvenience
he shall be able immediately to reform and cure, making the place safe
and strong, howsoever nature hath promised the contrary; and in this
wir~ he shall have great care to husba~d e;erything ~s frugally as is
!' ss1b'.e, and to be respective over the Princes purs~, usmg stone ~here
tone 1s plentiful brick where brick is made, and timber where timber
groweth; and where any of these are wanting to use either strong turf or
h
earth or any other matter which the place affordel . As thus the Master of the Ordnance hath these commandments in :en:,ote, foreign and out-of-the-way places: so hath he in the camp a a~~ent and great controlments; for ~here the general ~barge of t~e. who! !•llery dependeth upon him and h,s necessary substitutes, of which the Pnncipal are the Lieutenant of the Ordnance, the Clerk of the Ordnanc '
10 Ar
ittle stronghold made of one bulwark.
71 Earth that is made into a rampart and filled up against a wall or huh ar ·
59
THE BACKGROUND
the pay-master, the purveyor-general fc .
hinger 72 a chancellor di" . ' our scribes, four stewards, a har
' ' vers interpreter l I . . .
surgeon a trumpeter all e • s, a c 1ap am, a phys1c1an a
' , ng1neers and fi '
and foot, gentlemen of the d re ners, a guard of both horse
Or nance and h lb d" d
se,·eral places ( of the most m t . a er iers, an over all these
· • a ena1 whereof I h I d ·
1s the chief superintendent and h h h ave ~ rea y written) he according to his pleasure ;nd . d at t e power to dispose of all things choice and controlment of all JU gment, as also he hath the command,
both giveth unto them their sev gu~n~is and cannoniers whatsoever, and several attendants. era a owances, and doth allot them their
It is also in the power of the M
under him both shipwrights b ast~r of the Ordnance to press and have who at his appointment shail f:a~:r~ghts and other necessary carpenters, may be portable, and at pleas k oats, barges and other vessels which
· d ure ta en asund d · ·
portat1on an carriage of the er an JOmed, for the trans-of the sea, by fastening these barmy over any great rivers, or small arms strongly boarded and planked oa~ togeth~r, and making bridges thereof done in divers foreign armie 'and well r~iled on either side, as hath been
. h . h s, an also w1th h
e1g ty-e1g t, when the army d . · us ere at home in the year
an prov ·
etween Kent and Essex. so th isions were ferried over the T hamesb · h · at of th b
e m t e army under the b ese oats for bridges should neverb
(under the Master of the Or~um er of forty at least, over wh·eh charo-e shipl\Tights, amaster-carpentnance) should be a captain of the boats ~o
d f h er to plank th '
a guar o orsemen to cond h em, twenty sailors and caulkers, h f th . uct t em tw0 . h
c arge o e ironwork· a ' sm1t s and their 1nen to have
h 1 . h , master of th bl
w ee wng t and certain carters t . e ea es, anchors and graplings, a The Master of the Ord O dnve the carriages
nance a · ·
bers and proportions of all ppmnteth under his signature he nurnarmy d d li manner of • •
. . , an e vereth to the lieu mumtions which shall attend the d15tributed to the inferior offic tenant who seeth them provided and c~arge, and dispose or deliv ersh, and the inferior officers keep them in either from th M er t em out th .
U e aster of the O d as ey shall rece1 e w arrant nder the command of th Mr nance, or his lieutenant. master the c1 k f e aster of th o . •
' er o the car · e rdnance 1s the carnage-
master 73 a nages the h b· '
' d provost, two carpente ' ar mger, the steward the giloxen an all th t d rs, two fa · '
offi d a raw any kind f rners and all the carters, horses, alsoce: o not only calculate what o. armament; and he or his inferior weig:i a~ ~um~er of cattle shall ;;eiI5ht every carriage should draw, but denu· wit which they are laden. e m every draught, according to the
-cannon tw ty b , as to d .
beasts a d ' en easts, a culve . raw a cannon, thirty beasts; a with ~onw~~eit~e rest answerablert1;; tt;;'~nt-y_ four beasts; a saker, twelve wheels thir will draw twenty h d e1r bigness, eight beasts in a cart ' ty or forty h un redw · h · • r.
same proportio . undredweight· a eig_ t; 11:1 a waggon with 1our allow a com ns' and to the carriag ' hnd so likewise answerable to the
petent n b es t e M Jl
and last ofall h um er ofattendant aSter of the Ordnance sha
1I
the provision ': a! see that a revere ; to oad and unload the carriages; ., A ' eepmg and disposing:r=~d g_?od order be kept, both in ,. 1 T: person aent on in acfva thmgs whatsoever hath been
l'aDlport Officer nee ofan
• army to secure billets.
60
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-16 70
already rehearsed; so shall he crown himself with all the 10 1· h" an~ due to his place, and make the truth of his renown a l.~r ;: ndw ich stair by which to climb to the highest advancement. g easy
Francis Markham was fifty-seven years old when he wr t th · eulogy. He had seen much fighting in his life, both in Fland:re ~ the ~ow Countries, and, though inclined to be prolix wat anll qualified to deal with his subject. His verbosity howev~r waswe
un· · T d d S . ' , not
1q1:e m u or an tuart times, and other authors indulged 1· ~he vice of tautological immensities and fulsome sycophancy. Wh ~ is gleaned from Markham's panegyric is that the Master oft~ Ordnance must be a first class man of wisdom and experience H.e
ffi · • IS
o ~e 1s ofgreat importance both at home and on active service sine he is_ r_esponsible for the static defence of the realm, the provi;ion 0~ mun1t10ns and the command of the artillery in the field. He is in charge of all fortifications and bridging trains and of the transport of stores_on t~e ma_rch. In o~her words, he is the general of artillery, t~~ engmeer-m-ch1ef, the director of transport, and the chief prov1s10ns officer. We also gather that the duties of the office overseas are quite distinct from those exercised when in the Tower of London.
In the reign of Charles I, a warrant dated g March 162774 stated that o-wing to the frequent abuses complained of by officers of His Majesty's armoury and stores, as well as in the purloining of, and the chopping and changing of, arms issued from store for the Land and Sea Services, and likewise owing to the abuse of divisions and count~es borrowing arms from each other, 'His _Majesty th~refore, for a timely remedy thereof, and for the preventing of the like in future, hath, by the advice of his Privy Council, thought fit and appointed that all muskets and other arms to be henceforth issued out of His Majesty's stores for Land Service shall be marked with the mark C.R., and for the Sea Service with the mark C.R. and an anchor'. The remainder of the warrant forbade, under severe penalty, the selling of and trafficking in arms, and ordered that district marks Were to be stamped on the weapons of each company and _band; the officers of the Ordnance, Lord-Lieutenants and Deputy Lieutenants being made responsible for the order being c~rried out. As a result a standard arm of uniform pattern was established at the Ordnance Office; and all the arms of the trained bands were to be made conformable to it. A fixed tariff of prices was also added for the supply and repair of arms, a monopoly being given_ to the commissio~ers. The commissioners, appointed by the Crown 1n~une 1631, co11:s1sted of certain armourers gunmakers and bandoliers of the City of Lo~don who agreed' to supply the Tower stores, on seven days
notice, with 1,soo armourers and as many muskets every month, and
74 Rhym. Foed .. vol. XVIII, p. 978.
61
THE BACKGROUND
to train up apprentices to their trade so that the realm might be supplied by this means, and be independent of foreign states and princes. Thus did the connection with the Board of Ordnance and the small arms trade become forged. Although the crown mark was only to appl_y to muskets and similar weapons, this warrant of 1627 marks t~e birth of stamping or engraving the government mark on all warlike stores a?~ equipment as a symbol of serviceability.
Although.co?1miss_ions had sat and laboured during the previous forty years _m 1_nvestigations and attempts to reform the Office of Ord~ance, 1t still lacked a sound organization. Though some of its officials were untrustworthy and thought only of their own interest,
th 0th
e~e w~~e ers who honestly tried to do their duty to the best of their ability, and the blame cannot be laid entirely at the door of the staff. The trouble arose ·n1 fi f ·
Th. h d fc . mai Y rom the Crown system o service.
IS a our main weaknesses h· h b • k t th
. w 1c y their nature struc a e
root ofall efficient mana T ·
f ffi · 1 fc l'fc gement. hese were: (r) The appointment ~ ~d cit s or 1 e. (2) The appointment of each official on an inVI ua patent. (3) Low pay, and (4) Lack of any superannuation
arrangements. The inferences are obv· E
· h' d IOus. veryone considered hi1nself supreme
m IS own epartment •b h
tended to d' d h '. responsi le only to the Crown. He t us
1sregar t e in tr t' · 1
It was extremely difficult / ~c ions of_more highly placed offic1a_ 5• factory officer Th O dispense with the services of an unsatls
. ere was a great t · Ious
to augment their . emptat10n for the less scrupu fraud which had :ea~e incomes by indulging in various forms of custom. With no re: . 0 our of sanctity bestowed on them by long office which their advnng_ age and pension in view, n1en hung on to
them quite unfit to r~n~ing y_ears and increasing ill h ealth r endered the pilfering of publi ain. Given these drawbacks in an age when understand why come s_to~es was winked at in private, it is easy to
. . . . missions stru I d • . h ad
rrurustration 1n a rapid! ex . gg e 1n vain to strengt en age. y panding department steeped in patron-During the reign ofCh to place the Office of Or~~:s I, therefore, further efforts were made 1628
a survey was made b nee on a sounder footing. On I 7 May
st0 th
res held and ofthos •uy e Master-General and others of all the
· e Sti r · Th
estimates for replaci·ng th equired to complete establishment. e
Tw ese d fi · d 15
o years later there Was e_ ~1encies was £227,399. 2s. 10 • the C!erk, the Keeper of tha petition to the King by the Surveyc:r, touching the government fe Store, and the Clerk of the Deliveries
were annex d T O the Offi . . sals
al . e · he office ce to which certain propo teration the King rnigh~s expressed their willingness to adopt anY
=S.P.D. Charles I, vol . suggest.76 On 2 January I 630, the .:King.P.D. Char•-1 • c1v, no. 13
.1a1
, Vol. clxxix •
'no. 50.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
issued a warrant to the Attorney-General to prepare a bill for a commission to the Lord Treasurer, the Earl Marshal, the Lord Steward and other high officers of state to re-survey the Office of Ordnance and to ascertain what provisions were in the hands of the officers in 1620 and what was omitted from the survey then taken.77 Matters still failed to improve. Apa:t from mismanagement, money ran short and this increased the anxiety of the Office. On 30 August 1 64r, the Offi.~ers of the Ordnance wrote to the Lords Committees appointed by Parliament to supply the kingdom with munitions and said:
v\Te have held it our duties to represent to you the n~cessity of supporting that Office whence the whole kingdom must ofnecessity be 'munited • and the rather that we understand the Parliament has already take~ into consideration the condition of his Majesty's avy, and provided for the payment of arrears and the future subsis_tence ther.eof; since the Office of Ordnance, the only magazine royal bemg defective, tho~gh the _ avy, troops and forts in all other respects were never so plentifully provided for they can be ofno real advantage or service to the kingdom. We present to ~our consideration the seasonable ordering ofa competent and unalterable assio-nment both for the satisfaction of the arrears and the necessary support ~f that 'office for the future, by the want whereof His Maj~sty by some of the late expeditions has been put t_o more than £5oo per diem unnecessary charge for divers weeks, that ~~ht have been spared, and O r.t · 0; d ·r according to the mv10lable precedents of other
1, en times 40 10 save 1 , ffi • 1 d
Co t · h" M · t , stores had been su c1ent y an seasonably re
un nes, 1s aJeS y s ffi d 1 · ·
plenished, and the ordinary (charge) of that O ce as u y paid as in the
t. f Queen El. beth. Lastly we humbly pray you effectually to.
1me o· 1za , .
r
4-~ r. t'on of the great and pressmg arrears due to this
ecommencl the sa us1ac 1 .
. es so heavy on most of the creditors that-they
Offi l b cl h f 11
ce, t 1e ur en w ereo • f cl h
f h d t perish for want of rehe , an ot ers to be cast ~rte ma_ny o t em rea y fo h1'ch arrears was lately presented to the Lords
1n o pnson · an account o w
. ' . . , y 78
Commissioners of his Majesty s treasur · S b. · d h' 1 tt is an account of the arrears due to the
u ~ome to t is e er .
79
Office of Ordnance amount1ng to £4o,959. bl~ h t of the Headquarters of the Office of
The total esta 1s men · S ·
• h T as certainly not large m tuart times
0 rdnance m t e ower w .
. h . k f funds Salaries therefore cannot be
O
d esp1te t e persistent 1ac • ff c:
.d h h ey In 1643 the total sta , apart 1rom
sa1 to ave eaten up t e mon · ' h k
th B d ·t If. consisted of the treasurer, t e ·eeper
1
e members ofthe oar se ' . wea ons the master gunner, 7 of the small guns the keeper of nch P ' b'll 1
I ' I bourers whose tota1 wages 1 on y c erks, I r artificers, and 20 a 80 ' ' ears later there "·as an amounted to £372 per annum. T" enty Y . . d .. . 'fi messenger an engmee1' an 91
increase of 2 clerks, I artI cer, a '
77 S.P.D. Charles I vol. clviii, no. 3·
78 S ' ... I O"
.P.D. Charles I vol. cccclxxm, no. -·
79
S.P.D. Charles r' vol. cccclxxiii, no. 102 (~• 80 Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/\V0/54/i ·
0 63
THE BACKGROUND
gunners.81 These numbers m t b .
the responsibilities on 1 d ~s e ~onsidered moderate in view of both at home and abr;:d ?-n hsea with which the Office was charged
in t e buddi ·
ne last extract from the S ng empire.
0
to show that 'there is no n t~~e Papers of Charles I will be quoted armament provision. ew t mg under the sun' in the methods of
John Browne, his Ma'e t ,
Charles I as follows: :J s Y s founder of iron ordnance petitions
The King of Sweden to d
shot into their country ga raw :he manufacture of iron ordnance and benefit of their slaves by veh~ertam Dutchmen woods and mines and the shot have been made' the w 1ch means such multitudes of ordnance and by them supplied, which hre, a nd of such goodness that all the world is
• • eretofo ,
pe~itw?er p~ys very dearly for re ':as furnished from this kingdom. The paidhhis Majesty £12, upo alhl his materials and labour and has also h s rong contest . h sportat1on of iron ordnance, an
as ad a very t 000 n t e tran · · d fc bh eat sums of thes. e utchmen by which and the
or earance of gr wit D · muc weakened his estate money m the Office of Ordnance he hath
He then enlarges · h.· English manuf:acture onof ·t e endeav bemg · to . the
. our made dnve mstances the iron ordna ff
case of muskets h nee o the world's markets and to the realm at the beginni , t e making of which · was entir· ely Iost ::orsa1)!estates that he ,;:g ~f the reign. He then comes to his
.ta hng o I~on-pots, kettles baskately brought into the kingdom the PIc -pans iron . ' ac s for h' .
manner' ' d weights and oth I' c ~mmes, salt-pans, soap-pans, making ' anh prays that he rn er hike things according to the French sue articl h ay ave ' I
artisans skilful i _es w ich will enab a_ grant of privilege for so e sudden occ . ?iron ordnance dle him to keep in em ployment This ha asion .s2. an shot, ready to supply on any
s a peculiar!
advocates is not y modern rin .
During the . ~nknown at the g about it and the practice it of th O civil war C present time
e rdnance ' rornwell's • ·
for the defen storehouses sh Id parliament voted that the keys appointed Sir~ 0 ~ the kingdo;~3 ;e delivered to the Committee nominated M _avid Walter Lieu~ he same parliament in 1643 duties and truatJfcor-General Har . enant-General, and five years later a COmmittee sof th erIy exercised b r649, the
orrn nson hot succeed him. In Vane, Colonel] e Council cons Jt e Master-General was put into ~-Jone! Wanto~nes, Col?nel Pur~} ng ?fC~Ionel Stapley, Sir fienrY
0
diligence in protj:;;:,d Sir Gilbert ~i~r ".Villiam Armyne, Mr Scott, and at conveni g arrns and enng. They were to use all
ent day f arnmu · · ·
Ordnan s O payrn nition at reasonable prices••11 sP cc Quancr Boo ent.84 D . h
• ~TesI, vo1 ks, "f'R.o,w unng the Commonwealt
01
"S.P.C.O SJournaJ, 2~ ~• no. io2. 54/21. • •• vol. II Day!-'8'Ust 1642.·
• p~
0Cccd1ngs • no. io.
64
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
a. new official appeared in the Office. He was known as the' tr oller of Ordnance' and the post was held b C . Comp
T li O · Y aptam Edward
om ns. n 24 Apnl 165 1 the Ordnance Committee wa · t to consider the Order of Parliament referring the m s mS ructed <?rdnance affairs to the Council of State and to rep~;;~~~ent of s1derations to the House.ss eir con-The Ordnance Department was naturally considered of · .
port . d' f pnme 1m
a1:1ce m army expen 1ture a ter the Treasury, for without th ~ssentials of war, an army or navy is useless. It thus be e
1m t · f . d • . came an
por ant mstrument o po1icy an 1n times of civil distu b particularly in the Great Rebellion, its possession as betweer ~ce, and Parliament became a matter of vital interest. The offin ~g
cha . d b h ki ld . cers in
rge appomte y t e ng wou recogruze no other auth · and would part with neither munitions nor stores except upo or~~' re~eipt of a royal order. To meet this difficulty in the case 0~ the Insh war, parliament prevailed upon the king to place the Ordnanc: Officers under orders to obey both the Lords and Commons a d whe? in later troubles the sovereign fai_led to s~tisfy its requiren'ien~s, parliament seized the prize and made 1nstruct10ns for the new dutie which were then to devolve upon the various officers.ss In 155~ parliament voted the Ordnance storehouses to be disposed of as the Council of State should direct, and on 14 January 1651 voted that naval ordnance stores were to be provided by the Committee of the Navy. Major-General Harrison, puritan and regicide, was no more t:ustworthy than many ofhis predecessors, and parliament, after considering that the poundage during his tour of duty as LieutenantGeneral amounting to £3,065 on the sum of £122,629. 8s. 6d. was excessive, annihilated the office by vote on 23 February 1652. Thereafter the office of Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance remained in
abeyance for eight years. On r November. 1654 a new set of rules
87
for the guidance of Ordnance Officers was issued. The rule of the Protector must have subjected the Ordnance to considerable strain as the whole Office underwent a radical change, but it seemed to slip back into its old ways at the Restoration and slough off its Roundhead skin. Lack of money, however, was now
~ecoming chronic and retrenchment appeared as a paramount necessity. In 1667 the Ordnance Commissioners were ordered to render r ' l .
eports on possible economies,88 and in the fol owmg year, a warrant Was issued to the Ordnance Officers to reduce the expenses of the Office to £so a year.89 This was followed on 16 l\1arch 1668 by a
fi h '000 · fhC ..
urt er warrant that from Lady Day the salaries o t e omffilss1oner
85 s
8& ,P.C.O.S., vol. XV, Day's Proceedings, no. 7·
8? 8 P.C.O.S., vol. XV, Day's Proceedings, no. 83.
0
8e S ~dnanceJournal Books, PRO/W0/47/3. a S'p•D. Charles II, vol. ccxiii, no. 66.11 · .D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxiii, no. 146.
65
THE BACKGROUND
were to be reduced from £r 000 to £6o d h
f th ffi · ls . ' o per annum, an t ose 0 0 er O ciab cut in like proportion; also the number of fee'd gunners was to e reduced from 100 to 6 b b d h d
· · I o y su sequent eat an
certain pens10ns c 1arged on the Office • ' oo
Eventuall}' the ann . . . were to be abolished.
1 91
ua estimate was stabilized t £ fi
which the king accepted.92 a 4o,ooo, a gure Since the Royal Arsenal und h
at this point of time th er t e name of 'Tower Place' emerges
' e story of arma t d · · · ·11 b
continued in Appendix IV. men a m1mstrat1on WI e The Tower of London wa th
Ordnance during the p • d s e headquarters of the Office of
nd
ofthe Office from the preeno. ~ er review. Soon after the emergence
-existin p · v
:Master of Ordnance _ g nvy Vardrobe, Thomas Vaughan,
14
stating 'that for as much50 l t>6,.presented a petition to Henry VI for youre ordenaunce t: ~s tker is no on housing certaynly assigned grete hurt and dayly doth e ept for_ lak whereof ther hath growe longing to his said office' u~~ the sa~d ordenaunce and other stuffe Majesty to grant for its d a~ llin consideration thereof he prayed his
th
\Vharf', from the watergset a e grounde and soile called ye Tour
a e of the T · ,
Gate. unto the Gate of St C . ower now called the Traitors
th
howsmg and other app a enne, together with 'all maner of
urtenance
was granted under the ro al . s sette upon the same'. This prayer nance was formerly tra y sr?nature.93 The business of the Ord-Chape1 , but between 6Bnsacted rn some smaIl houses near St Peter,s
1
former s1·te to a new b ·1di3 and 1685 the office was moved from 1 · ts the part of the precin~~ c~Yeto the south of the White Tower, near shr?'~'ll on Lord Dartmouth's d Cold Harbour. This is quite clearly l\illiam Franklyns, sorneti plan made about the year 1689.94 Mr 16 M:arch 1641,95 in whichU:t Y~oman Warder, wrote a paper dated ~owers and prisons ( or priso e Igrve~ details ofsome of the interesting ~ he states that the Whit :J:, odgings) in the Tower of London. In
of~h~~nance, that the B~cko;er, or Ceasar's Tower, belonged to Cha el. rdnance, and that the o°;er was the lodging of the Master Ip d . . ce of Ordnance Tower was by the n a dition to the act and reposit · • ual office it If h
kept b hones in the To, se 't ere were various storehouses ' ut t em . d ver where
a property ad· ain epository of or arms and ammunition w~re and wh ~acent to the T dnance stores was the Minories, ere the Lieutenant h odwer which belonged to the Ordnance
.. w a an offi . I
fcc'd arrants and Orcie . c1a residence.01o/ was r
tor~ in Council PRO/
11 5i1;6~ 136). to 100 by a furth:0/55/426, no. rr4. The establishrnentJf : :P:n: Chari II, Entry Book warrant dated g December r 669 (PR Brn,ia de p . II, vol. CCJocx •3° f40 f4 1
"D--_. 11l1alo Sigillo Vi, no 1 •
• ~ucedin Vet , 30 Henry VI 93.
M . Harl. ,.::,to Monumenta vo·l IV "Y.L,'),, no. 1326• ' · by th e Society · of Antiquaries of London•
66
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
The Minories was originally a convent established just outside the w~lls of, t_he City of London by the community of the 'Sorores M1nores m 1293. These were nuns of the Order of St Clare who were known as the Second Order of St Francis. At the dissolution of t~e monasteries, the Precinct of the Minories was confirmed to the k1ng by Act ofParliament in 1539, and by another Act96 was granted to the See of Bath and Wells in exchange for the episcopal residence near Temple Bar. After ten years occupation by the Bishops concerned, the property passed into the hands of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. From him it descended to his half-brother George Medley and his younger brother Lord John Grey. After a year or two it was sold to the Marquis of Winchester, who convey_ed it for an unspecified sum on 22 September 1563 to Queen Elizabeth. It would appear that the great mansion house wit?i~ the property was used as the principal storehouse while other buildings were converted into workshops and residences, one of which was allocated to the Lieutenant of the Ordnance. Among the Lieutenants who had charge of the Minories was Sir Roger Dallison, who succeed~d Sir George Carew. He was a very different stamp of man from his predecessors, all of whom had been keen and able soldiers, impressed with the responsibilities of their office. He cared nothing for the husbandry,
97
all he wanted were the fruits to enjoy. He obtained from James I in r 612 a sixty years' lease of a large amount of Crown property in the Minories and proceeded to evi~t artificers from the workshops, converting the buildings into dwelling houses. These, t~gether with the offic· 1 'd he let at considerable profit to himself to the
ia res1 ences, 1 d h. .
detriment of the Crown. His peculations final_ly e to 1s mcarc~ra
tion ·n · h h died but not before h1s scandalousbehaviour
1 a pnson w ere e , h
had brought serious depredation to the d~partment. e ':as supposed to se H' s· Rr·chard Mornson, who 1n his patent was
rve. 1s successor, If di
also d h k · f the artillery ground, had a very fficult
grante t e eep1ng o . • h ·
task · · • h nd restoring the bmldings to t err proper
1n ev1ctmg t e 1essees a . k · f
funct· D • h C onwealth parliament too possession o
10ns. unng t e omm ' h 0ffi f h
the M· • d h t the annoyance oft e cers o t e
1nones an muc o . .
Ordnance conver~ed a large proportion of the premises mto a great
' d h. hit granted to the Corpora-
Workhouse for the poor of Lon on, w ic d h tion in I 6 . Soon after Captain George Legge ~ad been_grante t e offi f f.3 G f the Ordnance 1n revers10n, Charles
1 O
ce o 1eutenant-enera fficient organization II, :ither for the sake of ec?nomy or of m;~i:ories and the Crown~
th
decided to sever the connect10n between h' • d the 0ffi Since the public purse was much depleted ~t t ihs!1mhedan u· .c
of O d d tments in w ic ras c prurung
r nance was one of the epar ffi • was the probabl Was taking place, economy rather than e c1ency
:~ Parliament Roll, 31 Hen. VIII, R.O. No. 147· Rot. Pat. 10 James I, p. I 4, no. 2 I.
67
THE BACKGROUND
spur. \,Vhatever the cause, it was decided that the official residences, the storehouses, and the workshops should be abandoned. The custody of these, which had as usual been committed to Mr David Walter on his appointment as Lieutenant-General, was by him surrendered to the king, and together with the whole of the property leased to George Leg~e was by p~tent98 dated ro January 1673 granted to Sir Thomas Ch1cheley, Krught, Master-General of the Ordnance, and his h~ir~ and assigns for ever. The patent specially provided that no e~stmg leases_ were to have any force except that granted to Captam Legge. Sir Thomas Chicheley promptly sold the property to Sir William Prichard for £4,300.99
It will be rememb:red that in his patent,100 Sir Richard Morrison was granted the keeping ofthe Artillery Ground or Garden, a liberty close to the Tower of London.
\,Villiam Maitland gives the boundaries as follows :101
,!t. begineth by the south end of a wall at Gun Street at the house of '"il~iam_ Borman a~d from thence northward to the house of Nicholas Squ1re, 1s 824 feet httle more or less fi th d t the house
fJ h B II · · , rom ence westwar o
0 0 n e amy, JOmer, r48 feet or thereabout. From thence southward to the dead wall 144 feet and from th . h" "d h "d wall
' e pump wit ms1 e t,. e sa1 I F. Street westward to the corner of Ch A . ad's and John
a ong ort
1
Stagger's houses 272 f; 1· ar es rrnste
D k S h eet ittle more or less. From thence southward along u e treeht to t e empty house of Dupre's the landlord 336 feet. From thence sout -easterly to the h f M ' ' r
f s k All 6B f; ouse O r Edward Rainford at the corne ~ou::~Tho:a; Ro~f~~oF:om along Smock Alley_ toward the East to the all which Boundary H 'shoemaker, 1 74 feet, little more or less. Upon . ty' . ouses the Broad Arrow the Royal Mark, has by
his M a_Jes s spec1a1comm d b ' .
an een affixed ever since their first erectwn.
B" ~his piece of~ound near the Spittal in the parish of St Botolph's,
b1\~1sgate, nJort -eas~ of a house called 'Fisher's Folly'-a mansion w y one asper Fisher d h . was
set aside at an earl . -an t ree hundred yards from it, Ypenod for the purpose ofshooting. It afterward5
18 Rot. Pat. Charles II 2 5 ". Rot. Claus. Charles II '2~art 12. . A History ofthe Mim,ries LJJnd ' part 7, no. 33, m 1. As E M Tomlinson in his book
Chich I l on remarks· 'It· · · · s· Thomas
• ey was on y a convenient fo f ~s quite possible that the grant to 1r h the Kmg, evidently bent on econ nn o sellmg the property. There seems no reason w y th~ooMas~er-General.' omy, should have made such a gratuitous present to
!h1s_patent, dated I Janua . d Mo~150n in reversion on the deat6 13 Jas. I (anno 1616) was granted to Sir Richa\s ; fcut~ts-General entered in ti 80~oger Dallison. It is the earliest of all paten t
0 ,~0 7 '· o. 16). The relevant po t r nance Office books now remaining (Pten.
ccecum, de uherian gracia nost r 1~n concerning the Artillery Garden is as fol ows · 1::ea,.dihis Mredibus et suecessorib:: ~ 1f.avimu~, deputavimus et constituimus, ac per prese7~C,:,. nosh. um Moryson, Militem Custodem s rzs asszgnamus, ordinamus et constituimus pre:[a l ·s ,._,."e_ ~":°J:,1ft"le Storehous/• mod: p ~0st"'.m tocius illius mesuagii sive domus man5ion~ ta -:=,:,,-::= ~~~ejuxta LJJndDniam :Cc e~,tindentzs Officio nostro Ordinacionum et scituate ext !la
6-·-,• ,..,,wrun, gard{ 1· ' us o em omniu t . l difi . m e11r I
"' t:rUtodem . ' IWTWn idem mesua . . me singu orum domsrum, e t cwru .' dum ~ CUJUSdem gardini vulgariter gio szve ~omo ma11sionali spectantium siue J1ertinend m 1t1 Mai~•~officiurn predict nuncup~ti "le Artillery Garden" habendum, tenen u ' asto,y ofUJndon, J 756":" • • •
68
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
became famous as the 'Artillery Ground or Garden', and subsequently as the 'Old Artillery Garden'. It was originally a Roman station and was used by the Roman soldiers quartered in London as a field of Mars, for training the British as well as the Roman youth in the exercise of arms.102 Later it became incorporated with Lolesworth or Spittal-fields, the upper part bein~ ~riginally a ~om~n cemetery. After the establishment of the Chnst1?-n Chur~h 1n this country, it passed to the Priory of St Mary Spitale, which was founded by Walter Brune in r 197, and subsequently surrendered to Henry VIII. It was then a spacious enclosure called 'Tassell's Close'103 from the tassel which was planted there for the use of the clothworkers by whom it was used for raising knap on cloth and carding wool. This plant was considered such a valuable commodity that ~ writ dated
May was issued at Saltwo_od, near Hythe m_ Kent, by
30 1326
Edward II to the Mayor and Shenffs of London forbidding the exportation of tassels and fullers' earth-'We do therefore desire that none of the thistles that in English are c_alled taseles and no fullers' earth shall be carried out of the same kingdom and lands.'104 The f:terwards let to the cross-bow makers to shoot at the
ground was a • 1 •
· gay In 1 S37 William MaJor, the ast pnor of the
game o· f pop1n • ' f
Convent of St Mary's Spitale, gave a lease o the grou~d for thrice
fi th use and practice of great and small artillery to the 99 years :;h ;ower It was then surrounded by a brick wall.105 The ghunnters O te d b H.enry VIII to the Fraternity of Artillery or Gunners
c ar er Oo-ran e y . .
· t l rr • ted this field to be their place of exercise, the lease
in tZe 1. ower app01n . f h O d ·
being held by Sir William Pelham, Lieutenant o t e r nance. This .c. d delivered to Lord Burghley, Lord Treasurer to
charter, a1terwar s Th" F ·
n, El" b th ppears to have become lost. 1s ratermty of
'>Zueen 1za e , a b ·
A ·u G t d Small Ordnance must not e confused with rtz Fe1y on_ reathanG ·zd o+ St George as the Honorable Artillerythe raternzty or e uz 'J ' fir 1 1
although they were at st very c ose y
lled
Company was then ea , ( ) d associated both being incorporated in th~ same _year, 1537 an
· ' d · common for their exercise. Every year at usmg the sa1ne groun in · d
Michaelmas all the gunners in the Tower were reqmre to appear
· · their names and afterwards to assemble at that fortress and give in ' d · h
. . G d the appointed day, an in t e presence
1n the Artillery ar en on d · · h
'their knowledo-e an cunnmg in t e use
o
f the master gunner prove O 1 d b h h"
, 10s As the years rol e y t e owners ip
o
f great and small ordnance · 1 · d b s· J h
of the Garden became contested, though it _was c aimc y u o n
. f h Ordnance by nght of office and patent.Beydon Lieutenant o t e ' d F. 11 "t ,
' d" t d the use of the groun . ina y 1 \\as
The H.A.C., however, 1spu e
, I 6 Ellis's Shoreditch, PP· 1 56-9· II S8
102 Leland s Collect, vol. , P· 1· Maitland's History ofLondon, 1756. vol. , P· 7 ·
103 Stow, vol. I, book II, PP· 96, 9d7L d Life i868. pp. 150, 151.
104 Riley's Memorials of London an on on ' 105 S.P.D. Jas. I, vol. clix, no. 97· 106 S.P.D. Eliz., vol. cxlvii, nos. 94, 95·
69
THE BACKGROUND
decided that Mondays and Tuesdays should be reserved for the Honorable Artillery Company. Stow describes the Artillery Garden in i633 as being surrounded by a brick wall and says that the gunners from the Tower practised every Thursday 'levelling certain brass pieces ofgreat artillery agains~ a butt ?f~arth made for that pu_rpose; they discharge? them for their exercise .107 The garden was 1n fact the main provmg ground of the Ordnance where all guns cast by the trade-there were no government made cannon in those dayswere proved by t~e proo_f masters at t~e Tower before being accepted for service; and it remained as such till proof was transferred to the Warren at Woolwich. A good deal ofmoney was spent in maintaining the butt and various buildings on the Artillery Ground; the early Ordnance debenture ledgers108 testifying to such repairs. Guns were still being proved_ on the site as late as 1669 after butts had been erected at Woolwich. Pepys attended a proof there on 2 0 April of that year. In his diary under that date he states:
In the afternoon we walked to the old Artillery Garden near the Spittalfields where I ~ever was bef~re, but now, by Captain Dean's invitation, did go to see his new gun tned, this being the place where the Officers of the Ord?ance do try all their great guns; and when we came, did find that the tnal had bee~ made; a~d they going away with extraordinary report of the proof ofhis gun, which, from the shortness and bia0 ness they do call Punchinello.109 '
In Februa:)' 1641 the !fonorable Artillery Company petitioned the_ Corpo:ation of the City of London for a convenient place for their ~xerc1se and the uppermost field near Finsbury was granted to them m May for that purpose. Possibly on account of their increase in numbers, or more probably from the weariness occasioned by the long and constant disputes as to their right to the old (or King's) Artillery Garden? the Company was desirous of obtaining a parcel of ground of their own for their exclusive use whereon they could erect an armou;r and carry on their duties without let or hindrance. They had applied for such an enclosure as early as October 1635 to the Court of Aldermen who appointed a committee to consider the request. No report was rendered how t"ll • hi"eh year
~ 1 , ever, 1 1641, 1n w a ormablgrArant_lolf a new plot of ground was made to them. TheHonora e tI ery Comp • h Old
Artill G any continued to assemble at t e as th;ry :r rout~: well as the new premises in Bunhill Fields (knowri
tl ew ti ery Garden') until about 1658 when they per-m;ne~~tran~rred their armoury to the present ground, i.e. the thew 1 •ery rden. The old ground or garden then reverted to
exc USive use of the Crown.
117 Howe'
Stow book I
IN Saia PRO ' I, pp. g6, 97.
IN n, n;_ /WO/ 49.
.,_ J and Corresftondenc ifS,
e o amuel Pepys, I 870, p. 659.
70
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
The armoury in the old garden was commenced on I May 1622 and its completion was effected by 30 November of the same year.
The opening up of Woolwich as a national arsenal and proving ground rendered the Artillery Garden obsolete for that purpose, and its growing disuse led to trouble.
In December 1673, Hansard Knollys petitio:ied Charles II, stating that he had bought the old armoury house 1n the (Old) Artillery Ground from the H.A.C. for £300 and had spent an additional £46o in repairs and further building. He had also fitted up the premises for his school-house and residence which he had inhabited and enjoyed for two years. He went on to complain that Colonel Legge, deceased Lieutenant of the Ordnance, had under pretext of his patent, s~ized the said premises by force and. kept them du~ing his lifetime and that David Walter, the then Lieutenant, findmg the propert~ in the possession of Colonel Legge at his de~th, annexed the same so that he-the petitioner-was unable to regam possession. He ended his petition with the words 'that the p~or. and aged petitioner has for above ten years been kep~ out of hi~ nght to the impoverishment of himself and his poor t:arrul-r:, he h_avmg borrow_ed a great part of the said sums, and praying_ ~is MaJes~y t? appomt
· e and report on this pet1t10n, that if his Majesty
Some one t·o exam1n see cause, he may require the Artillery Co~pany, Colonel ~e_gge's ·a Walter to repay the said £700 to the pet1t10ner
executors an d Dav1 . ,110 or may grant him a lease of the premises for ~g years. · · c red to Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Keeper, on
Th.
1s petition was re1er ..
·naninterim report, stated that the petitioner
21 Decem ber 1673 who, 1 h 1 ·
the Artillery Company w o c aimed the
was the purehaser fjrom . . · f J
Council 1n the time o ames I,
property under some Order in d b 6
• I I ti'tle The purchase was ma ea out 1 58
aIthough without any ega · • · h h' h
. . d'd 1 ut £750 in bmldmg a ouse, w ic ,
and the petitioner 1 ay O · d h
O dnance was no hin ranee to t e use
though of no value to the r ' • Th L d K
f · d 1·t fll1 the Restoration. e or eeper
o the ground, and enJoye Southampton in considerafurther stated 'that the Lord Treasurehr, did direc; a lease to be f f K II ' ty and great c arge
10n o no ys pover . d the petitioner and held the made to him, that Colonel Legge eJehcte D "d Walter pretends no
. . . 1·r: . nd t at av1d
wellmgs during his 11eti:11e a . b Colonel Legge'. The Lord other title than the possesswn _Ie_ft himh yth petitioner should be re-
K. d h' t b op1n1ng t at e
. eeper en s 1s repor Y d d or be granted a lease at some 1mbursed the sums he had expen e .
small rent and possession restored to hi;-t d June 1674. In it he
22
Sir Heneage Finch's final repor~wa~ Js~nce ascertained that the confirmed the history of the case lut a the place was affirmed to
• . b ted a ease as
petit10ner could not e gr~n T "'"er and was already granted to be necessary for the stuff 1n the 0
110 S.P.D. Car. II, vol. cccxxxviii, no. 84 .
71
THE BACKGROUND THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
David Walter and after him to George Legge in reversion, i.e. it was . manner annexed to the Office of Ordnance. He was therefore ma• fied that the only way to preserve Knollys, whose whole estate
sa tis · fc h. b . b d h '
·n danger of rum, was or 1m to e re1m urse t e money as
was i . h. 11. K • , • ,
. best suit 1s 1na_Jesty s occasions . it~:~ Old Artillery Garden was not destined to remain for long a liberty in possession of the Crown. Retrenc~ment in public spending
•mperative and property no longer serving a useful purpose must
wasi be alienated.
I i68r the Treasury referred the matter of its possible sale to s· ~hristdpher Wren, his Majesty's Surveyor-General ofWorks, and i~ d him in consultation with others, to place a value on the as e erty ~hen improved by building.111 A fortnight later the Trea
prop · . . 1 h 1 "d
sury agreed in pnncip e to t e sa e prov1 ed that:
( ) Some other convenient place could be provided for the proof of
\1 guns and the exercise of the fee'd gunners at the Tower.112 sm(2) Lieutenants ofthe Ordnance will forgo their interest in the Garden, . their custody, their herbage rights and the rents of the houses thereon :~:·nding, as Colonel Legge, the present Lieutenant, has freely done.
(3) Accommodation could be found elsewhere for the I\1aster Gunner of England113 with a house and ground 'capable and fit for the exercise ofhis Majesty's fee'd gunners, which by virtue ofhis office he is obliged to'•
The Treasury asked whether the Master Gunner could be so accommodated elsewhere.114
The following month the Attorney-General was asked to advise the Lords Commissione~s ofthe Treasury whether, ifthe K.ing should sell ~e Garden,. and 1f t~e same should prove to be within the libertes of the City, the King had power to grant a market to the purchasers.m
It was finally agreed that the reserve price for the Garden without a market was not_to be under £4,000, or under £5,2 00 provided a market were obtamed and settled within two years of the sale.116
Finally the Garden was sold to George Bradbury and Edward • oellfor£5,700 and on 18January r682 the Attorney-General was ordered by Royal Warrant to prepare the necessary grant.111 Since
111 CS P Treasury Books VII ber
1681• • · • ' 1681-1685, part I, Reference Book I, p. 500, 6 Decern 111 There were originally 6o r; ,d d · eased
to 100 and then decreased .ee gunners at the Tower, a number afterwar s incr 111 The Master Gunner ~fain as a measure.of economy. tiller}'
Garden. ngland had his official residence in the Old Ar 11t C.S.P. T~ Books VII 68 I 358,
13 Dcccmber 1681. ' 1 1-1685, part I. Out-letters (General) V ' P· iu C.S.P. T~ Books VII 16 I 368,
!23December 1681. ' 81-1685, part I. Out-letters (General) V ' P· w C.S.P. T~ Books VII 368,13u~ber 1681. ' 1681-1685, part I. Out-letters (General) VI, P·
C.S.P. Treasury Boob VI II pP·
305-307, I, 1681-1685, part I. King's Warrant Book VI '
this warrant gives an excellent description of the Artillery Garden its dwellings and workshops, it is reproduced in full: '
Charles R. Our Will and Pleasure is that you forthwith prepare a Bill for Our Royal Signature to pass Our Great Seal of England containing a grant to Our Trusty and well-beloved subjects George Bradbury and Edward Noell, Esquires, their heirs and assigns (for and in consideration of the sum of Five thousand seven hundred J:>ounds of lawful money of England which they are to pay into the Receipt of Our Exchequer for Our use before the said grant passes under Seal) ofall that part or parcel of ground commonly called or known by the name of the Old Artillery Ground or the Old Artillery Garden or by _wh~tsoever other n~me the same is called or known, situate, lying and bemg ix_i or near the City of London, and in or near the Parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, upon the west side of the fields or places, commonly called Spittlefields, and containing by admeasurement five acres and one rood be the same more or less. As the same is now encompassed with a brick wall, together with the said brick wall and the ground whereon its stands and also_ all that messuage at the south-west corner of the said ground, tog~ther with the.ground paled out for a garden to it, which were formerly m the J?Ossession or occupation of Hanserd Knollys. And also all that great bnckhous~ standing upon the said piece or parcel of ground near to the aforesaid messuage and which hath commonly been used by Our Officers_ of Ordnance for laying . ·th tl1e Garden belonging to the said storehouse, two other
up of s ort es, w1 h ·d · 1
nts standing upon t e sa1 piece or parce of ground
messuages or teneme · d d
and storehouse before ment1one an also the two
near the messuage · h h.
belonging All that dwelling-ouse w ich hath been
gardens thereunto · G · ·
the habitation of Our Master unner, likewise stand-
common 1y used fcor f 1 d d 1 h
· · h' h fc ai·d piece or parcel o an , an a so t e stables,
mg wit m t e a ores h 1 h · ·
, 1 dge two powder houses, t e ong ouse or bmldmg
coach-house, porter s o , . f 11
f Ordnance for proving o sma guns and keep-
used by Our Officers o 1 • · h
· f d 1 the charging house ymg contiguous to t e
1ng o stores, an a so d.fi d b ·1d·
c ·d d h and all other houses, e i ces an m mgs
11.
a1oresa1 we mg-ouse d b ·1 ·
d. h · h shall hereafter be erecte or m t m or upon
1 ·
shtan i~g o~ ymg or w ilc f ground called the Old Artillery Ground or
O
t e said piece or parce • l h f h
h . G d · or upon any piece or parce t ereo toget er t _ehOld Artillery ar el~ or in and authority for them the said Georgewit the free liberty, 1cense • b "ld d Bradbury and Edward Noell, their heirs an~ assigns to ~rect, ~i and
set up any new houses edifices or buildings m or upon t e premises an 1 ' r hts easements, waters, water-courses, a I and singular ways, passages, . ~g 'rivile es, advantages and appurtentrees and fences, profits, commod~ties, P g f ground and other the
1
a h h "d piece or parce o
nces_ w atsoever to t e sai in or in any way appertaining or
premises or to any part thereof, belong g d parcel or member of the usually accepted, reputed or taken: as P;;::?nder and remainders, rent , same; and the reversion and reverswns, • And all Our tat
is ll d · gular the premises. ,
_sues and profits of a an sm. demand whatsoev r of, in, or to
nd
right, title, interest, benefit, claim a .d George Bradbury and Ed vard the same. To have and to hold to the sai
73
THE DACKGROU D
• -ocll, their heirs and assigns to the only use and behoofofthe said George Br~dbury and Edward Toell, their heirs and assigns for ever. Of Us, Our Heirs and Su_ccess?rs, as ofO~r ~anor_ofEast ?reenwich in Our County ofKent, not m capzte or by_ Km~~t s scr 1cc, but 1n free and common socage?Y fealty and the rent ofsi~ slulhngs and eightpence per annum to be paid ~nto Our_Exc~equer at l\,lichaelmas in every year. And you are to insert m the said bill all such covenants uon-obstante and other clauses as are usual in grants_ of the like nature and such others as you shall think fit to make the said grant to the said Georo-e Bradb d Ed d 11
· h • d . o ury an war oe , their cirs an assi~s, most firm, valid and effectual for which this shall be your ,_,·arrant. Given at Our Court at Whitehall the eighteenth day of January m the 33rd year of Our Reign 1681 ( 1682).
To Our Attorney or By his Majesty's Command Solicitor General Hyde, etc.
Although this chapter is con d . . .
. . . d . cerne pnmanly with armament ad-
th ·
nurustratlon urmg the fifteen ,sixteenth,and· sevente nth centuries
.
a survey of the arms m cur t d . '
without interest Th ren use urmg that period may not be
· ere was naturally chan d · h 6 dd
years but its tern o was slo . ge urmg t c 2 o o to shock the conp . fw, an~ no startlmg developments occurred
science o mankmd It .
session of simple ty b h · was an era ofgradual super
pes Y t ose of a mo d d h Th
cross-bow and long-bow lin . re a vance c aracter. e and more clumsy e • gered on till Tudor times, but the heavier Agincourt was wonngi;;s ofliwar had practically disappear d before not resist the destro. • ehy, dke all other human inventions, could
ying an of pro d f
powder sounded the· d h k g:ess, an the advent o gun-and comparatively u::le:ttb -nel!. Artillery originally w~s awkward of military machines wan~ t¥l~ as Its power 1ncr~ased so did the value of battle. at laSt they varushed from the scene
Pikes and halberts togeth .
though the handgun' d ~r With other personal weapons, survived
• an its late ·
tending to replace the . r improvements were gradually
O
with the gun. m. ur review therefore is mainly concerned
_I~ must not be forgotten that .
nnlitary commander w . up to Stuart times the mind of the
. as sti11 obse d b
and it was to this end that the ss_e Y_ the tactic of investment, Open warfare took pla d main artillery effort was directed. fightin~ was predomina~~t:nguns_ played a minor part, but such ~e desukratum ofartille Ja ~ffair of horse and foot. Mobility as pieces which did accomry s st1ll a concept ofthe future and those
pany troops · h ' •
movement and slow ·n . in t e field were cumbersome in
th . kill . 1 action G fc d .
e!r s on improving h · un oun ers thus tended to lavish while th eavy canno d · •
e carpenter who n es1gned for siege operations, was quite happy fashioninco:tructed t~e elementary gun-carriages g eavy unwieldy mountings. Light guns,
74
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414_16
70
when required, were carried in carts and anythin · h a field battery was delitescent. gm t e nature of
The trunk as a method of gun-mounting gave
th
end of the fifteenth century to the wheeled carria;ayS a~ e l~ttcr were crude, but their principles followed present-de. uc ~arnages basic structure was a trail, an axle-tree and wheelsa~rracti~e. The solid baulk of timber supported in front on a rough-h e trail was a of hard wood, the arms of which carried heavy rud:7nf:axl~-tree wheels. The gun rested in a wooden cradle wh· h Y ashwned
· · IC was ho ·
beanngs in the trail immediately over the axle-tree th dl rne_ in
·d d · h · fc ' e era e be
provi e ~it trunruons or the purpose ofgiving elevati T . mg effected either by a wooden arc fixed at definite positio:;b his ':as passing through it and the cradle, or by keeping the dyl a spike
. . . era e at th
reqmsite angle by a wedge or qu01n placed under its b h e
. reac end A
century later the 'siege complex' affected carriage desi As · b:came heavier, carriages became more ponderous, un~~ld guns
nd
difficult to move. They consisted of huge cheeks connected t Y, a
th
to form a rigid frame, the axle-tree being secured to the fr oge er
s T . b . li d . h . ont tran
om. runruon eanngs, ne wit iron, were cut in th h k above the axle, and trunnions, which had by this time maedc ehe.s
. e t eir
appearance, were clamped down by iron cap-squares Elevat·
·11 .rr • • 10n was
sti Ci1ected by the wedge or quoin. Manoeuvreability as a fi f to be developed was not recognized till the end of seve~~c io~ century. eent
The object of artillery is to inflict the greatest possible amou t f dama?e in the_shortest_ pos~ible time, a~d this is accomplished :i~h any given eqmpment 1n direct proportion to the excellence of th gunnery. Put into terser language, it is to bring the maximum fi ~ power t? bear on the :7ital_ spot_ with .the minii:num of delay. Suc~ea conc~pt10n, presupposing 1t existed 1n the nnnds of our ancestors was incapable of realization with the cannon they had at their dis: posal. oise, smoke, and all the features of a grand parade was their
idea offire-power. It is not surprising, therefore, that in an era when spectacular effect was considered of more value than performance litt_le mention should be made of ballistics. Old records, which ar~ :J.~ite informative as to the weights and charges ofvarious pieces, do, It 1s true, give certain ranges, but they maintain a discreet silence on questions concerning muzzle velocity. It thus becomes difficult to reconstruct a range-table for a gun of the sixteenth and seventeenth c~nturies, and any figures regarding such data should be received
With great reserve.
.The old wrought iron guns ofthe Plantagenets had, by Elizab th reign, almost passed away, and in their place bronze and iron ordnance ofstandard dimensions, cast with a central core, were b comin normal equipment for Land and Sea Services. Th se rang d from
75
THE BACKGROUND
the light robinet to the heavy basilisk, the details of which are given in the following table of 1574:
L ength
Calibre
Diameter WeightWeightJ,I eightName of in
11l
of Shot of Chargeof Shotin lbs.
Piece Calibres
inches
in inches in lbs.
in lbs.
200
Robinet
1·25
50
l
l
0·5 Falconet 500
2
48
2 Falcon 2
1·25
800
2·5
2·5 Minion 42
2·25 2·5 1,100
30
3·25
4·5
4·5
3
1,500
36
Sacre
3·5
3·25
5
5
3,000 Demi-Culverin
32
4·5
9
9
4
4,000
28
Culverin
18 Demi-Cannon
5·5
18
5'256,000
18
6·5
28 Cannon
6·25
30
7,000
16
8
60
7·75
44
8,000E. Cannon
15
20 Basilisk
7
42
6·75 9,000
14
8·75
60
60
8·25
I addition to these there were five other types pecu1iar tO shipsd
hi:h were included in a return, dated 4 April I 599, of cannon use _ ;:; the Navy. These rejoiced in the names of curt";11s; fowlers, cham bers. fowlers, hull; port pieces, chambers; port pieces,. hull. .
n' will be noticed from this table that windage 1s practica11_Y
constant, i.e. 0·25. inches, and that ~he . weight o~ th~ chargee~~ almost identical with that of the projectile. In this latter resp _ the information given is probably inaccurate, as, although th~ P~~e portion between the weight of the charge and that of the proJec f has varied from time to time, and the assessment of the amount ho the propellant has been almost as arbitrary as the compos1t10· · n °ft. e powder itself, a certain relationship between them was usually m~1~; tained. Broadly speaking, this ratio of charge weight to shot weig ranged from one-ninth in the middle of the fifteenth centuryb1° one-half in the middle of the eighteenth century, and was proba . Y about one-third at the end of the sixteenth century. The weig?ts 1~ the last column should therefore be adjusted accordingly to arnve a
a truer statement.
Earlier in 1547 references appear to pieces called bastard cannon, slings, murthiers, flankers, argues and shrimps. h Robert Norton, gunner and engineer, in a work dedicated !0 the Duke of Buckingham, gives the list of cannon in 1643, shown in t e table on page 77. f
Other odd weapons, the names of which flit across the pages 0
history, are:
Syrcn-a 60 pdr. of 81 cwt. Cannon-Royal-a 48 pdr. of gocwt. Bastard Cannon-Royal-a 36 pdr. of 79cwt.
Demi-Cannon-Royal-a 24 pdr. of 6ocwt. Dragon or Drake-a 6 pdr. of 12cwt.
76
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
Serpentine-a 4 pdr. of Bcwt. Aspik-a 2 pdr. of 7cwt. . Moyen-whic. h threw a ball weighmg 10 or 12oz. Pellican-of 225olb. Base-of 45olb. Sparrow-of 46oolb.
Length
Calibre
Weight Weight Length ofName of Piece inin lbs. in inches of charge the ladles
Calibres
in lbs. (inches)
---~--,-~~-1--;::---1-------;3-~1--, --
8
15 8 40 24
Cannon of 8 ,ooo 6 7 25 22 Cannon of 7 7,ooo 1i8 6·5 20 Demi-Cannon 6,ooo 8 5·5 15 21
2
Culvering 4,5oo 4·5 9 Demi-Culvering 2,5°0 326 3·5 5·25 20 18
10 3
Saker ,5° 3·25 3·25 16
M 1 200 30
inion , 2·75 2·5
42
Falcon 700 48 2·25 1·25 Falconet 5oo 8 9, 10, 12 3, 3·5, 4
Cannon-perrier 3,500 D emi-cannon
Drake 3,000 16 6·5 9 Culvering Drake 2,000 16 S-5 5 D emi-Culvering
Drake z,5oo
16 4·5 Saker-Drake 1,200 18 3·5
The three cannons-perner• are evidently a species of howitzer, as d h small charges.
they are short an113 ave h establishment of horses required to An old MSS. la~s do~n :h: field. The numbers are as under:
drag Elizabethan artillery in Derni-Culverin 12 horses
Falcon 3 horses Minion 6 horses Culverin 14 horses Demi-Cannon 18 horses
Sacre 7 horses 24 horses
Cannon
. f; fi ing cannon were redhot spikes or
The earliest contnva~ces ~ r nt to ignite the charge. A pair of bars which were thrust in~o t ; :;s for heating and priming irons bellows, a fire-pan and. hve 0 f artillery in the fourteenth and formed part of the equipmenht O dual increase in the size of guns,
fi · o · tot e gra
fteenth centuries. wing h . onvenient and dangerous, and this method was found to be both in:tury it was practically superbefore the middle of the fifteenth ce t with loose powder, which
• · g t e ven ..
seded by the plan of pnmin . a match of some description. could be ignited by a heated iron~~ the seventeenth century when More probably match was used un to the occasional employment
h
· d had recourse ak
r
t e gunners ofthat peno d . the vent acted as a \\e
of quick-match which when place 1~ place till the eighteenthtube. No further improvements too century.
118
Harl. MS. 168, pp. I 73, 1 74·
77
THE BACKGROUND
G~npowder, k~own_ as serpentine, was used for gun charges. It consisted of particles 1n a fine state of di·v· · d sufiiered :6rom
. 1s10n an senous drawbacks, the chief of which w ·t t · f
absorbing moisture owing t tl h . a~ Is grea p~opens1ty o
. o 1e ygroscop1c nature of its saltpetre. By the seventeenth century however the f d d h d
b · d d C ' , use o corne pow er a • . ec::ome ,_vi espre~ · orned powder was expensive and more violent m its act10n, but its other advantages O t · h d h d r d
b b u we1g e t ese e1ects, an as guns ecame etter made it gradually replaced serpentine as the standard propellant.
The ordinary proiectile• J d · · ·
unng most of the penod under review was round shot, either ofstone or iro . d 11 1 .
as the centuries wore on. B n, iron gra ua y re~ ac1ng stone
J
h II Y the seventeenth century simple shells,
eaIIe·tzd grenauoThs er. s werer being used w1t. h mortars and early types of h0\VI ers. e 1uzes ior these sh 11 .
general form emplo ed in . e s were extremely s1mple. T?e
. b Y the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a cast iron tu e about the s· f .
a mixture of saltpet h ize O an average finger filled with
re, su1p ur and me I d d Th . . . .
proved their great t br a e pow er. eir 1gnit1onchance. s um ing block and was entirely a matter of
Cartridges during the fiftee th .
turies, except 'bagges oflinen' n , sixteenth, and seventeenth cen
from the womb of tim to keep powder dry, had not emerged
e. Owing to better forgin I
attaching the stock a d gh onger barrels, a more efficient method of primitive handgun' ; tht ~ appearance of a tang, hac or spur, the
0
caliver and hacquebus b ~e~~teenth century ?eveloped into ~he the reign of Henry VIIi h iddl: ofthe followmg century. Dunng was gradually adopted b t ;hSpam~rds invented the musket which heavy weapon fired fi Y e arnues of Europe. At first it was a
rom a rest b ·
manageable proportions fll . , ~t it gradually assumed more The musket reigned su r~.:/ a~proxim~ted the present rifle in ~ize. porary with the musk tp e till the nineteenth century. Contern
e were the ·
The first firing mech . curner and the carbine.
. d an1sm a si l a-. . •
intro uced early in th fifl ' mp e auair, was the serpentine match-lock about e t~eenth century. This was followed by the
148
about 1600 and the fl. 5, e wheel-lock about 1530 the snaphance
• Int-1ock abo t 6 ' d
into the country about th . u 1 35. The latter was introduce
by the whole army und e time of the Restoration and was adopted The bayonet was intr~~~ w~r~ant dated 14 April 1690. As a fitting conclusion t c~. Y Royal Warrant 2 April 1672. ofArmoury may be added ~t is cha}:lter, a few words on the O~ce
from the Office of Ord · !though It was quite a distinct institution
often h · nance the t h d · ·
8 anng Masters and ' _wo a a very close association,
from the same source-th ;l~rks In common. They both derived
and armour-and finall e hnvy Wardrobe which dealt with arrns y w en armour had ceased to be a useful
78
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
adjunct to the soldier's equipment, its administration with that of weapons and its control passed to the Office 0wfOas dmerged
Th fi t · · r nance
e rs mention of an official solely responsible r ·
1.or armour appears to have been John Orell. He was appointed in 1 office of armourer in the Tower o~ London with a groom !:ie:o:?e at the wages of 12d. per day for himself and 3d. for his groo b im
th
hands of the Keeper of the Great Wardrobe.no Late mh Y e
t 1 d 'S · · • r on e was
s ye ergeant of the King's Armoury within the Tower Of L don'.120 He was followed in 1431 by John de Stanley whose t o~states 'Grant, during pleasure by the advice of the Council pt :t~21 de Stanley, king's esquire, of the office of Sergeant of the kO ~ Armoury within the Tower of London, to be discharged by h. n~ s
. b d . 1£ d . im in
person, or y eputy, with the usua ees an wages, 1.e. 12d. per diem 1n the same manner as John de Orell, esquire, had when alive, Th·
. d . IS
app?mtment was vacated by surre1: er, the king on 25 May 1
37
havmg granted the said John the said office for life. John de Staj was Constable of Carnarvon Castle and Sheriff of Anglesea. In 1 ey another post comes to light, namely that of the Keeper of 1~3 Armoury. This official was evidently subordinate to the Sergeant ~ the King's Armoury as his wages were only 7½d. a day. John ~e
S~anley was followed by John Don as Sergeant on I 1 March 1451122 with Henry Gray and John Roger as Keepers under him. In the follm,ving year, John Don is styled 'Sergeant or Master of the King's
Armoury'. The office was housed in the White Tower and the main storehouse was also in the Tower of London. In addition to this depository the Master held, under crown leases, several tenements in the precincts with gardens on Tower Hill and a wharf upon the river. In addition to his headquarter charge he had responsibility for the supplies and storage of armour throughout the country notably at Whitehall, Windsor, Hampton Court, Greenwich, and Woolwich, though his control over these outstations was often not very effective. Greenwich' in Tudor times was the main establishment where in the Green
'
Gallery of the palace, choice pieces of the craft_sman's art were displayed. At Greenwich also the Master and his local Keeper had
residences in the tilt-yard. The salary of the Master of the Armoury remained at I 2d. a day till the reign of Henry VIII when it was increased in all to £100 per annum. Apart from the armourers at Greenwich, whose activities are described in Chapter 3, the staff of the Office of Armoury was modest. It was even in Elizabethan times only a small administrative department of State responsible for the provision and custody of
119 Rot. Pat. Henry VI, p. 2, m. 10, 20 February 1423.
1
120 Rot. Pat. 8 Henry VI, p. 2, m. 34d, 16 February 1429· 121 Rot. Pat. 10 Henry VI, p. 1, m. 14, 14 November 1431. 122 Rot. Pat. 1 Edward IV, p. 1, m. 17, 11 March 146 1 •
79
7
THE BACKGROUND
swords and body armour required for the forces of the Crown and for the equipment necessary for the royal tilts. Francis Peck gives123 the whole expenses of the Complete Office in the sixteenth century
as:
Master of the armorie: fee £ 31 s. 18 d. 6
For keeping the armorie in
the great gallery at Grenewich 66 13 4
Loksmyth: fee 15 12 0
Laborer: fee 10 0 0
Gyrdler: fee IO 0 0
Brigander: fee IO 0 0
Inferior armourers to the
number of 20 serving at
Greenwich: One at Five at Three at The rest a peece Lyverye among them Ordinary charges 36 20 15 9 32 9 0 I 0 2 IO 0 0 4 0 6 0 0
An ann~al expen';1iture by a department of State which strikes the mod:rn mmd as quite refreshing. With John Don commences the succession of eminent men who held_the Office o~ Master of the Armoury for nigh on 220 years till
the btle and appmntment was abolished. The most celebrated holder ~vas John Du~ley, Duk_e of Northumberland, who resigned the po~t m 1544 on ,bemg appointed Governor of Boulogne. He married his predecessors daughter and, after a distinguished career fell into disfavo~r. He "":a~ fi~ally attainted and beheaded on 22 'August 1553 for his complicity in the attempt of his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Dudley, to ob_tain a patent of succession to the Cro;n. The laSt h?lder o~ the title was Colonel William Legge, who was deprived of his post m the Great Rebellion. In 1649 William Moulins Comp
troller of the Artillery T · f h · ' · · ' d .c.
rain o t e City of London pet1t10ne 10r
the grant ofthe office 124 b h . ' . ·
t. I ' ut e appears to have failed m his expecta
10ns. n 1671 the Office fA • • · b ·
' 0 rmoury was abolished its duties eing
k
ta en over by the Offi f o d ' I
S p . ce O r nance. There appear to be severa
tate apders dwhich deal with this amalgamation The first is a warrant ate 18 M 6 • . · · I
Master of th dn ay 1 7° appomtmg Sir Thomas Ch1che ey
e r ance-i2s th di . . h s
Chi h I f h O , e secon 26 1s a grant to Sir T oma
c e ey o t e Offices Of M h
aster of the Ordnance Keeper of t e
Armoury at East Gree · h '
nwic , and Sergeant and Master of the Arms
111 Desiderata Curiosa new cd
11
" S.P.D. Intcrrcg j 6 · 779, p. 62.
i• Sp D Char 2, 492.
· · · lcs II Entry Book
111 S.P.D. Charles 11' Docqu ts 314 f 26, 18 May 1670. ' c ' vo. 25, no. 22, March 1671.
80
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
and Armoury in the Tower and elsewhere in England• the third is a grant to Sir Thomas Chicheley of the Offices of Master of the Ordnance, Keeper ofthe Armoury in the Galleries at Greenwich and Master of the Arms and Armoury in the Tower and elsewhere in England;127 and the last is a warrant to Sir Thomas Chicheley 12s 'Master of the Ordnance, the Office of Armoury being now uni;ed to the Ordnance, to inspect all the arms in the Armoury and take an account thereof, the Ordnance clerks henceforth to take charge of the Armoury Stores, and the Or?nance Treasurer to pay all moneys relating to it; all officers therein to be appointed by himself and the present officers suspended, but their fees paid out of th~ Ordnance Office.'
Charles II was evidently taking no chances about killing the Office of Armoury stone dead. The following is a list of the
Masters of the Armoury
1429 John Orell (Sergeant). Appointed 16. 2. 1429 1431 John de Stanley (Sergeant). Appointed 14. II. 1431 1461 John Don. Appointed 11. 3. 1461 1485 Sir Richard Guilford, K.G. (Master of the Ordnance). Appointed
8. 8. 1485 I 506 Sir Edward Guilford ( son of the above) 1533 John (Dudley), Duke of Northumberland, K.G. Appointed 6. 7.
1533 I 544 Sir Thomas D'Arey. Appointed g. 6. 1544 1554 Sir Richard Southwell (Master of the Ordnance)
1561 Sir George Howard 1575 Sir Richard Southwell . 1578 Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley, K.G. Appointed g. 6. 1580 161 r Sir Thomas Monson. Appointed 1I. 3. I 61 I I 6I 5 Sir William Cope of Hanwell . . 1628 Sir Thomas Jay of Netheravon, Wilts. Appomted 25. g. 1628 1638 Colonel William Legge
(Office in abeyance 1648-1660) 1660 Colonel William Legge 1671 Office abolished
Among the Officials of the Armoury are the following:
1423 John Orell: Armourer I 461 Henry Gray: Keeper of the Armoury 1461 John Roger: Keeper of the Armoury 1557-1567 William Paynter: Clerk of the Armoury (Clerk of the
Ordnance) 1589 William Sugden: Clerk of the Armoury I 594 John Lee: Yeoman of the Armoury 127 S.P.D. Charles II, Docquets, vol. 25, no. 95, July 167 I. 12e S.P.D. Charles II, Entry Book 34 f 131, 22 December 1671.
81
THE BACKGROUND
1601 John Benion: Clerk of the Armoury
1626-1629 Roger Falkenor: Clerk of the Armoury
1627 John Cooper: Surveyor of the Armoury
1628 John Cowper: Surveyor of the Armoury
1628 John Clarke: Surveyor of the Armoury
1633 John Clarke: Surveyor of the Armoury
1633 William Burgis: Surveyor of the Armoury
1649 Edward Annesley: Clerk to the Armouries and 1,faster Armourer
Chapter 3
Crown Establishments at Greenwich
Greenwich, as an appendage of Lewisham, was by virtu f Elfrida's grant1 possessed by the Abbot of St Peters at Ghent i 0 6 September 918 until 1414 when Henry V dissolved one hund0~ and forty-two alien priories including Lewisham, thus causing :~e manor of Greenwich to revert to the Crown.2 Not for long was th estate free from ecclesiastical jurisdiction, for soon afterwards the victor of Agincourt settled it on his newly-founded house at W ~ Shene-the Carthusian Priory ofJesus ofBethlehem-for the supp;st of forty monks.3 Eight years later Henry V, dying of camp fever \ the age ofthirty-five, bequeathed his crown and country to his you:
son. g Henry's death released the pent-up stream of underlying lawlessness. While John, Duke of Bedford, one of the late king's brothers assumed the responsibilities in France occasioned by the recent con: quests, he failed to receive the necessary support from home where a lack of settled policy prevailed. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester another royal brother, became Lieutenant of the Realm, but hi; authority was undermined from the start; jealousy, enmity, and power--politics weakened his position. Thwarted by uncooperative nobl s, his Presidency of the Council availed him little in swaying the deliberations of that body. During this period of internal weakness, England's star began rapidly to set in France, and this ebbing strength overseas opened up the possibility of counter-invasion. Humphrey, though vain and capricious, was a realist and, fearing attack, determined to act upon his own initiative and safeguard the routes to London. There were two. The Roman road from the coast to the capital, and the river Thames. He t?erefore planned to bestride both these lines of approach. To achieve this purpose he entered into negotiations with the Prior ofShene, and on 30January 1433 'Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Prot~ctor of England, and Alianore his wife had a licence under the Privy Seal to exchange a
' '
parcel of their own land with the Prior of Shene for 17 acres of pasture and rough ground which had belonged to the alien Priory of Lewisham and had formed part of Henry V's endowment to the
1 Elfrida or Elstrudis was the daughter of Alfred the Great. ~he married Bald in II (The Bald), Count of Flanders. He died 2 January 918. She died 7 June 929 and buried in St Peter's Church, Ghent.
2 Rot. Parl. vol. IV, p. 22. No. IX, m. 3· Item 21. 8 Calendar of Charter Rolls, 2 Henry V, P· I m. 8, 25 Septcm r 1414
83
THE BACKGROUND
Priory ofJesus ofBethlehem',4 and a further licence 'to enclose and empark 200 acres of land, including that obtained from the prior; pasture, furze, gorse and scrub which were without the forest bounds, and the park so made to be held of the Duke and his heirs for ever. In addition, to build a mansion, crenelled and embattled, and enclose it within walls; also to erect and turrelate a certain tower, all in stone and lime, within the park. '5 This area roughly coincided with that at present covered by Greenwich Park and the Royal Naval College; its boundaries being Maze Hill, Charlton Way, Groom's Hill, and the river.
This Duke of Gloucester, known as 'Humphrey the Good' was, like his brother Henry V, ~ull ofrestless energy. He had proved himself a capable comma?-der ~n t?e French campaigns. Shakespeare has much to say concernmg him 1n his King Henry VI. His moral life by modern standards was not above reproach; even in his own day it evoked comment. On the accession ofHenry VI he became seriously embroiled wit~ William, Duke of Brabant, whose wife Jacqueline, Duchess of Hamault, he, Humphrey, had married after her arrival in England following a disagreement with her lord and master. Eventually the affair was hushed up without recourse to armed
combat ?Y Humphrey subjecting himself to the Pope's will and abandorung the lady. Soon after he married his mistress Alianore daugh~er of Reginal?, Lor? Cobham. A few years later a complain~ to Parliament was laid against him by one 'Mistress Stokes and other bo_ld women because he suffered Jacqueline, his wife, to be imprisoned by the Duke ofBurgundy whilst he lived with an adultress'. The Duk~ of _Gloucester, whatever his faults, was a man of taste ~nd learrung m an.uncultured age. Educated at Oxford and enlightened by travel 1n Italy, he was, in addition to being a soldier and a state~man, a man of letters and a patron of the arts. He laid ~he found~tion_ ofthe Bodleian Library and built the divinit schools
m the Uruvers1ty of Oxford. y He raised his stronghold known as 'D k H h , T ' on the site now occupied by the OId R 1 u e ump rey s ower.
b nk oya Observatory while on the nver
nd
Na at present covered by the west ;ing of the Royal
i°~ g;ou ha~ah h O egedhBe erected his 'crennelled and embattled mansion' w 1c e name ella Court M h k" · h d
on this hi h · uc care, s ill, and money was laVIS e
w c represented a triu h f h · · ·t
he housed the fi t • . mp O t e bmlder's art; and In I
rs private 11brary ev tO b . .
Meanwhile t • . er e set up m this country. marriage brou~~ ~1_mo;1al troubles still pursued him and his second his Duchess J ~; ttdle comfort. It was whispered that Alianore, woman muc'h ~s a icte to_ witchcraft. Although a weak-minded
given to consorting "th h
WI soot sayers and necromancers, ' Rot. Pat. 11 Henry VI
1
I Rot. Pat. II Henry vr' :· i' m. 14, 30 January 1433. ' · ' m. 14, 30 January 1433.
84
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
she was in her silly way ambitious, and dreamed of becoming day the queen should Henry VI die. Sorcery was then cons·d 0~ the paramount sin against God and humanity, so when she ;e;r:ar sanctuary to Westminster on the arrest of her protege Roger O I an astrologer, on a charge of conspiring the king's death sh n ey,
. . h . Sh , e was
suspected of compIicity 1n t e cnme. e was brought before Ar h bishop Chicheley and Cardinals Beaufort and Kempe in St St h c ,
. d h . ep en s
ehape,1 W estminster, an on t e testimony of Onley and th accusers was adjudged guilty and ordered to be confined in ~ ~r Castle, near Maidstone. Arraigned shortly afterwards in the G e_~ds hall, London, she was charged with heresy and with having UI cl bewitchery to induce Duke Humphrey to marry her. One ch~:;e was that she had made a waxen effigy of the king so that by h diabolic arts she could cause his body to waste away. This accusati:~ was refuted to the last by Roger Onley who swore that he and th Duchess had only been trying by divination to forecast the dat ~ the King's death. Vengeance rather thanjustice followed swiftly He0
. . er
acc?mplice, Margaret Jourdayn, the _witch of Eye, was burnt at Smithfield on 27 October 1441, and Richard Wyche, vicar ofDeptford, suffered the same fate for Lollardry. Alianore herself did penance in St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster on 9 November 1441. On 14 November she was landed at Temple Stairs and made to parade Fleet Street 'bare-headed with only a kerchiefon her head' carrying a 21b. wax candle which she offered at the high altar of St Paul's. Sh performed similar acts of penance for several consecutive days in different parts of the City, attended by the Mayor and Sheriffs. After her public avowal she was imprisoned for life, deprived of her dower6 and assigned a yearly allowance of 100 mares for her support.7 Roger Wyche, her clerk, was hanged at Tyburn after the completion of her penance.
Having disposed of Alianore, Cardinal Beaufort, who hated the Duke ofGloucester, could now focus his attention on his arch enemy. This the prince of the church proceeded to do, and in due course Humphrey, incurring thejealousy ofMargaret ofAnjou, the redoubtable consort of Henry VI, fell a victim to her machinations. It was rumoured that the Duke, not content with being heir-presumptive, aspired to the throne by removing his somewhat weak nephew. Margaret had no mind to lose her position as first lady in the land, and being a woman of character, acted with vigour. Attending a parliament which had been called at Bury St Edmunds in 1447, the Duke of Gloucester was arrested on the second day of the se sion by
John, Viscount Beaumont,8 Lord High Chamberlain, accompani d
0
Rot. Parl. 25 Henry VI, vol. V, p. 135, no. 17.. 7 Issue Roll. Easter 22 Henry VI, 15 May. Frederick D evon. 8 The first Viscountcy ever created. Letters Patent 12 F ebruary 1440.
85
THE BACKGROUND
among others by the Duke ofBuckingham, the Lord High Constable, and put under guard. All Gloucester's servants were withdrawn and thirty-two of the most important were thrown into different gaols. The following day the Duke was discovered dead in bed in very suspicious circu~stances, though officially his end was ascribed to apoplexy. He died on 23 February 1447 without heirs and his property passed to the Crov,1n. Margaret of Anjou, not being the woman to _let grass grow under her feet, promptly seized Bella Court at Greenwich, a few weeks after its owner's decease.
Although Bella Court possessed great charm it failed to satisfy its new mistress. The accounts ofThomas Ketewel 'Clerk of the Quenys werkys_ of the maner of Ples_aunce' commencing Easter 1447 and extending over five years testify to this. A very considerable sum of money was spent on further embellishment and decoration so that its elegance became even :11ore enhanced. As a crowning t~uch she chang~d the name of this architectural gem from Bella Court to !~acentza. In due course the estate was granted on 2 2 April 1465 in
JOmture by Edward IV to his queen Elizabeth9 for the term of her
10
life. Richard III, however, seized ;11 her possessions but her son-in-law Henry VII on his ac · d · : · b
. . . cess10n ma e partial rest1t t10n y re
stormg some of her JOmtur Th G · h
. . e. e reenw1ch property, however, e retamed for his own use. Placentia w 1 d b Ed -d IV and
fu h . d b as en arge y wa1
3:t er improve Y Henry VII who faced its riverside frontage with
bnck. England owes much to th T d · · d
• e u ors, especially to their faun er
whose care fcores1ght and fi li . .
. b ' ' ruga ty contributed m no small measure ~o. it~ ~u sequtnt prosperity. Henry VII laid the foundations of nt~n/h~ava sudpremacy, and, in so doing secured the establishdmen doth is oTwnd ynasty firmly on the thron~. In addition he intro
uce at u or absolutis h" h ' .
and turn th · th h m w 1c made men forget past schisms
err oug ts toward 'd . h . . 1 h .
Henry VIII b . s pn e m t eir nat10na entage.
th
up within si;~ a~~ns~: e palace ~t Greenwich and, being brought
nd
that passion for sh" d of the nver, developed at an early age out life. His fathe~: ~: se~-power which dominated him throug~ambitions to the fi ll ;ncial acum_en allowed him to gratify his in the Councils ofuE an thereby raise the prestige of this country
urope. After Henry VIII beca K. d
make Greenwich th me i~g he decided to leave Eltham an possess the whole m:n::t;e of his court. This change drove him to the Prior of Shene a d . resSure was therefore brought to bear on
1
his title under plea ~ t ~hr 518 an attempt was made to invalidate
•J:?aurhtcr r 8. R" a e grant of Henry V had been rescinded Earl Ri o xr ichard Widvill I d
vcn by JIC;_quclinc of Luxcm e, or. of the manor of Lee, and afterwards i~t6r: ~~ was SirJohn Grey Lo~~' widow ofJohn, Duke of Bedford. Elizabeth 5
· at. 5 Edward IV p ' 1 r rey of Groby. ' • , m. 15, 22 April 1465.
86
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
by virtue of an Act ofResumption passed by Edward IV. The prior John Joborne, however, refused to be brow-beaten and produced ' confirmation dated g July 1461. Henry lost his case. But the Tudoa monarch was not the man to sit down under defeat and, adaman~ in his resolve, he effected an exchange with the prior on 23 Decembe 1536, thereby gaining possession of the manors of Lewisham OI~ Court, and Greenwich.11 '
In the meantime Henry VIII had ~ot b:en idle at Greenwich. He enlarged Placentia considerably making it a worthy abode for crowned head. Proud and autocratic, an accomplished horseman a
. 'a
fine athlete, and a first-rate marksman, 1t was anathema to him to think that any stranger prince could outmatch him in brilliance or that any foreign country could out-produce his own in ships, arms, and armour. He was determined to make England the fount of chivalry and the workshop of the world. To put this ideal into practice he constructed a great tilt-yard at Greenwich which was to be the envy of Christendom, he founded dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich under his immediate eye, and he introduced alien craftsmen into his service.
The Royal Palace at Greenwich was a long narrow building consisting in the main of three inter-connected quadrangles fronting the river. Up to and including the reign ofHen:'y VII the ground behind was laid out in terraces and planted with orchards, shubberies, flowe s, and vegetables. It was still a country gentleman's garden. Henry V III's schemes altered all th~t. ~y the_ ti~e his plans were executed the ostentatious tilt-yard ·with its bu1ld1ngs together with those of the armoury, flanked by two stat~ly Tudor towers, c?vered the eastern third of the area. Of the remainder, that part which lay to the west ofthe old Friar's Road became fruit and kitchen gardens, while the other portion between F:iar's Road an~ th~ armoury was laid out in flowers. It was formal in style and, with its profus10n of old-fashioned sweet-smelling herbs and blossoms, must have become a veritable haunt of ancient peace wherein the ladies of the Court could while away a pleasant hour. It was kno~n. ~s the Queen's Garden. At the southern end of the central avenue dividing the palace
ate-house which not only gave access to the park
grounds stood a g , · · ld ·
but afforded a vantage point from which roya1v1s1tor~ cou witness in comfort the spectacular shows provided for their amu~ement. Owing to the height of the terraces, t~e ar~ouJfi and ~It-yard buildings seemed to o'er-top the palace w enp':'iew~ rdo~ t en er.
1
The armoury buildings consisted of the nnce s o g1ngs, guest· 1 arters watch-towers, workshops, forges, grand-
rooms, officia qu , . . . . stands, and stables. It is uncertain when building operations actually . t must have been very soon after Henry VIII
commenced though 1 11 Statutes of the Realm, 23 Henry VIII, Cap. 2 7 •
87
THE BACKGROUND
ascended the throne. The King's Book of Payments is quite explicit on this point and, from it, it appears that the whole project took some ten years to complete. Stables and barns seem to have been given priority for in May r 5 r o Henry Smyth was paid for a new stable and barn at Greenwich.12 This was followed in September 15 r o by an entry stating that Edward Guylforde13 was paid £200 for stables and barns in the same place.14 In July 1516, two towers and a house 'on the green before the tilt, behind the manor ofGreenwich' occasioned the payment of another £200.15 This particular task must have been assigned to Henry Smyth as a year later on 1 July 1517 he received an additional £200 towards the purchase of stone, timber and brick in connection with the same 'two towers and a house'. Exactly twelve months later he finished the armoury house with its two towers for which he received the sum of£ 400 on 19 July r5r8. The next entry ofimportance is under date 2 r ovember 151 g when there is a warrant addressed to SirJohn Heron for paying £300 for 'finishing the tilt' at Greenwich and making a new bridge or landing stage by the Thames-side there.1G The last entry in the State Papers which refers to this specific building programme is one in January 152_1 when Thomas Foster17 received £100 for erecting a shed in the tilt-yard at Greenwich and for effecting certain repairs.18
Before th~se ne:-v wor~shops were ready for occupation the only armoury mill available 1n the neighbourhood was situated on the Ravensbourne at Deptford.19 This mill is described in the rental of the manor, r37r, as one for grinding steel and valued at 3s. 4d. a year. An extract from a Parliamentary Survey No. 30 dated February 1649 reads as follows :
The armoury mill consisted of two little rooms and one large room, where!n ~tood two mills, then lately altered, and ei'riployed by the pottersfo: ~ndmg colours for their earthenware. The mill with stables stood ~1thm one acre ofground abutting on Lewisham Common and was used, til! a~ou~ twelve rears before 1549, for grinding armo~r for the late ~ng s Tilt Y~rd; 1t had since been suffered to go to ruin. Mr Anthony l'\1chol1s M.P. m 1646 demised the same b h t · ht k and the
. , y w a ng un nown,
1 h d
essees a expended £250 m new mak· th -d · · the banks
f th d O C mg e m111 an repairing
0 e pon : ne, aptain Edward Woodford, claimed the mill ancl ground by virtue ofa deed, dated 13 April r4Jas (1616) under the title
11
Letters and Papers Foreign d D . 446
C:~!13g's B?Ok of Paymedts) (2 Hen; vn1mestic, Henry VIII, vol. 2, part 2, P· 1 ALcppomted Master of the Armoury in
~ 506
14 tters and Papers Foreign d D : 1448 (~!11g's Book of Paymedts) (2 Hen; VII1)estic, Henry VIII, vol. 2, part 2, P· Letters and Papers Foreign d D · . H Letters and Papers: Foreign and D omest~c, Henry VIII, vol. 2, part 2, p. 1472 •
17 Thomas Foster was Comptr ~ r°hesti~, Henry VIII, vol. 33, part I, no. 520· a Lcttcn and Papers Forei o ed o t e ~mg's Works. 11 This site is now in' the ~:h Domes~ic, Henry VIII, vol. 3, part 2, p. 1_544. ·us
Path and C.Onington Road. g of Lewisham. It is at the intersection of Silk Mi
88
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
of a water-mill running beyond a parcel of ground called Boyla d • h"
h h n , wit 1n
t e m~n~r of Shrofield, called by t ~ name of Teddersmill, but the mill was w1thm the manor ofEast Greenwich20 a~d the Captain was dischar ed attendance. The rent was £17 a year to which was added £8 a • g d
rent. s improve
An extract from the Survey of the Manor of East Greenwich I 69521 states:
All that tenement or mill called or known ·by the name of the Ar Mill and consisting of one large room wherein standeth two mills hmoury
_t; fc • d' ereto
ore used and employed ?Y potters or ~nn mg of their colours for their earthenware, together with two other little rooms, one little stabl
. b e, one
1arge pond, all situate lying and bemg etween the parish and mano f
. . r o
E ast Greenwich containing by est1mat10n one acre more or less.
All these two parcels of meadows or pasture ground called or know by the name of Armoury Meadows abutting the common meadows ~ Lewisham on the south and the fields called by the name of Sevente~n Acres belonging to the aforesaid manor of East Greenwich on the northeast containing by estimation s~---c acres _more or le~s. P.Jl that parcel of arable grounds called the Hermitage lying and bemg m the north-west end of a field called Hellen Field abutting on the land leading to the Armoury ]\,fill on the south containing by estimation one acre more or less.
Which said Armoury Mill and meadows and field called Ermitage field contains in the whole seven acres and are now in the possession of Bolden
'
an armourer who holds the same from the Officers of the Ordnance at £roper ann;m eight pounds which the ~a~d ju~ors value above the said rent of eight pounds per annum at 40 sh1llmgs 1n all.
The trustees of Morden College once claimed this mill as part of their demesne and threatened an action of ejectment against Hatch, the tenant. Being Crown property, it came under the jurisdiction of the O ffice of Ordnance when that body absorbed the Office of Armoury in r671. In May 1754, Mr Richar~ Hornbuckle made a proposition to the Board of Ordnance that 1f he were allowed to rent the Armoury Mill at £20 p.a. for 31 years, he would rebuild part of the old mill so as to make it a complete corn-mill, and add such additional features as would carry out the armoury work in a more profitable manner. He would expend £~00 on these improvements and guarantee to supply the Board with armoury work at normal prices. This offer was accepted in November 1754 and ~e necessary contract drawn up.22 In January 1770, Thomas Powne,
who had given long and honourable service to the Board o~O:dnance petitioned that he might be allowed to take care of the buildings and materials at Lewisham in the place ofJames Bargeau deceased, and
20 Greenwich. 21 P.R.O. C/205/20. / 6 8
22
22 Ordnancejournal Books, PRO/W0/47 44, PP· 2 , 1.
89
THE BACKGROUND
supply the Board with mantlets at the same pay and under the same conditions as Bargeau. On receipt of the petition the Surveyor General reported as follows:
I have to observe that on 18July 1746 the Board came to the following
resolution: . fr James Bargeau having signified that he could not pretend to contract for any set price for serving the Office with blinds and mantelets by reason the ingredients used in making them are almost as dear again at one time as they are at another, but if the Board would allow him five shillings a day certain for life for his own trouble, he would give constant attendance in overseeing and directing the labourers in preparing the ingredients and making the said blinds and to the utmost of his ~ower d~ everything in the most frugal and best manner, or if they will appomt a man they can confide in he would impart the
secret to him; the">: ~roviding a proper place 'to work in paying the labou_re~ and I_>rov1d_ing the materials and ingredients, desiring so?'1e gratmty m cons~deration of the great expense he has been at in bringing to such perfection and. making this valuable thing together with his attendance on them with a pattern by order of his Grace the Master
General. An? the Surveyor-General (General Lascelles) having considered the same m pursuance ofan order on reference 11th inst he was of opinion that the said Bargeau might be allowed five shillin~s a day during his good behaviour provided he performs what he has undertake 1 and that the same should commence from r April last.
The Board approved thereof and ordered the said allowance be paid quarterly by bill and debenture. And therefore agreeable to order Mr Bar~eau did disclose the secret to Mr Hayter who is since dead, but the particulars of the whole J:>rocess _are in the Office sealed up.
The last mantelets delivered mto store were made by Bargeau in the year I 760 and although from their being first invented a proportionable number have frequently been sent on expeditions yet I have never heard that any one was ever made use ofin actual service. The price Mr Bargeau
was paid for them was £7, exclusive of h •
f . . 1s sa1ary.
. d1 am ~ opmion that Thomas Powrie from his long and faithful services 15 eservmdgBofsome encouragement but think that the five shillings a day
grante to argeau was a re d r h · · c.
b · • h war .lOr 1s discovering his secret there1ore su nnt it tot e Honourable Board whether his decease makes 'a vacancy
or not.
S On 3° January 177°, the day following the submission of the urveyodr-heneral's report, the Board decided that no vacancy had occurre t rough Bargeau'8 d h b · h
h th h eat , ut agreed that Powrie m1g t aadive. e ouse and garden upon condition that he held himself in re ness to resume without s l h • 'f d
when required.la ' a ary, t e making of mantlets 1 an
a Ordnance Reporu, PRO{W0/554/4, f. 61.
go
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
In view of Hornbuckle's contrac~ it is possible that the mantl workshop was not the Armoury Mills, but some other et
· h . property in
Lew1s am belonging to the Board of Ordnance.
In I 807, the original mill was extended and became th R Small Arms Factory at Lewisham (known as the Royal ; oyal Mills). The erection of the new small arms factory at Enfi l~~ury and the termination of the Napoleonic wars spelt the closue f ohck
L · h . re o t e
ew1s am factory and its sale by the Board of Ordnance On .
· . · passmg
int_o private hands the establishment soon became known as th s·tk Mzlls, though the high brick walls and massive gates flanked be hzlf sunken cannon still gave an air ofgovernment ownership Th y a
. · e name
serv~d ~o cloak the real nature of the industry carried on behind the forb1ddi1:g portals, viz, the manufacture of gold and silver lace for the Se~v1ces. Much of the gold cloth a~d gorgeous brocade worn b the princes of India emanated from this source. After the disapp y
ear
ance of the Silk M ills a new workshop was erected and owned b
W arp Knitters Ltd. Except for this, ruin and decay had by
193~
invaded the erstwhile factory, the gaunt remains of the once solid gateway testifying the glories of the past. The gates had gone and one upright of masonry festooned, entan?-led and rotted by creepers mutely proclaimed the pomps of a varushed yesterday. Now even worse has befallen this historic site. True, the creepers have disappeared but so have the houses and cottages, blasted into nothingness by Hitler's bombs. A new building on part ofthe area has arisen like a phoenix from the ashes and this is occupied by T. J. Hunt Ltd a firm of printers. Warp Knitters Ltd have quitted their premises: and for the rest a car park sprawls over the remainder. What an end to the Armoury Mill of Henry VIII. 'So noble a master fallen! all gone! and not one friend to take his fortune by the arm and go along with him.' Well might the cry of 'Ichabod' a_sc:nd to _high Olympus.
All evidence tends to show that, from their 1ncep1:Ion, the Greenwi_ch workshops made little armour, probably not more than a_d~zen suits and head-pieces a year. They were set up solely for specialized products and were limited to the output ofwhat we should now term 'show-pi;ces'. Henry VIII never contemplated using the yre~ses for the production of soldiers' armour, such a com~odity being mainly purchased in overseas markets. In order to introduce the manufacture offine armour into England Henry V_III brought over craftsmen from the continent. They came from Milan, the Nether
lands A b Nuremburg Innsbruck and Cologne. In the ah
' ugs urg, , · h h
sence ofsuitable shops in the Tower and at Greenw1c , w_ ere p an had not yet materialized these foreigners were temporanly accom· · 'workrooms and stores at Southwark, once
modated 1n some repair .
the home of the Poynings family, adjacent to an old ~nn _call d :h
Holy Water Sprinkler. The Milanese were the first to arnv , th v. r
91
THE BACKGROUND
at work by 1511. The Germans or Almains, as they were termed, ?id not commence operations till 1514. On 22 July 1514 the following entry occurs in State Papers. 24
To John Blewberry for the wages of armourers of Milan £6 I 3s. 4d. ; for 2 hogsheads of wine for the said armourers 53s.. 4d.; for rewar? of the said armourers £4; for the glasyers of the same mill, and one sp1?dle to the same glasyers £4; for a grindstone and the beam to the same mill 20s.; for the carriage of the mill to Greenwich 2s.
John Blewberry, the Yeoman of the Tower Armoury,. was from time to time paid considerable sums to acquire tools, mill wheels, materials and other impedimenta for the shops both at Southwark and Greenwich. The Greenwich armoury, though in use by I 5 18, was not completed till 1520. Two further quotations from State documents clearly indicate that Blewberry was a very important personage in the armour world, Henry evidently considering him a reliable and trustworthy overseer who could with perfect confidence be despatched abroad to obtain the essentials of his craft.
18 September 1514. To John Blewberry for the new forge at Greenwich made for the armourers of Brussels; a vice 13s. 4d.; a great bekehouse 6os·; a small bekehouse 16s.; a pair ofbellows 30s.; a pype stake 3s. 4d.; a creSt stake,µ.; a vysure stake,µ.; a hanging pype stake,µ. 4d.; a stake for h:ad pieces 5s.; two curace stakes IOs.; 4 pair of sherys [shears] 4.0s.; 3 plating hammers Bs.; 3 hammers for the head pieces 5s.; a crest hammer for the head piece 20d.; 2 hammers 2s. Bd.; 2 greve hammers 3s. 4d.; one meeke h~mmer 16d.; 2 pleyne hammers 2s. ; 2 platynge hammers 2s. ; 2 chesels with an helve Bd.; a crest hammer for the curace 12d.; 2 rivetting hammers 16d.; a boos hammer 12d.; 1r fylys [files] IIs.; a pair of pynsors I Bd.; 2 pairs of tongs 16d.; a harth stake 6d.; 2 chesels and 6 ponchons 2s· ; a water trough I Bd.; a tempering barrel 12.d.; 1 anvil 2.os. ; 6 stocks to set in the tolys IOs.; 16 dobles at 16d. a doble 21s. d.; 13 quarter of colys
[ coals J6s. gd.2s 4
1
9 September 1514· To John Blewberry for a hide of leather to cover th~ same harness conveyed to Nottingham 3s.; a rest to the same harness 25·, !eath~rs, buckles, charnells and nails for the same 8s.; a lock for the hamper ~n which. the harness was kept 4d.; the hire ofa horse to clean the harness m th~_mill 2s.; for stuff and lining to the headpiece of the harness 12d.; for hinng two horses for Copyn and Peter the armourers to convey the harness_to Nottingham 13s. 4d.; costs ofth~mselves and ho~ses for 1 6 days2?s· ;_ hire of a cart for conveyance of the said stuff from London to ottmgham I6s. Bd.; 12 vices 4-J'.; a millman's wages for 3 months at 20d. ~ week. To John Blewberry for provision to be made by him in Antwerp
th
m e parts ofBrabant for stuff to make harness £36 · his costs in Antwerp
40s.; the fee of Copyn W tt d p ' If ear
din th a e an eter Fever armourers for ha a Y ' en g e feast of St Michael the Archangel,next comi;g £10.25
" Lettcn and Papen F · d .
: Henry VIII, vol. 1: /;~r, an Domestic, Henry VIII, vol. I. Henry VIII, vol. I, p. 953.
92
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
Work was evidently still in progress at Southwark in 1518 for payment was made in April of that year to Sir Edward Guildford2~ of the sum of£5. 17s. 6½d. for 'certain stuff bought for our armoury houses at Greenwich and Southwark and for wages etc'.2s After vacating Southwark, probably ab?ut 1520, the Milanese may have plied their trade for a short penod at Greenwich but they soon returned home. Possibly our damp climate did not conduce to their health and comfort. But whatever.the reason their departure left the field clear for the eleven Alma1ns who formed the core of the technical staff at Greenwich. They were at work alongside the Milanese in Southwark as early as 1514 and were still there five years later for their pay for 28 days at that place in January was
1519
£ 16. r3s. 7d. 29 There can be little doubt that they took over their new
premises at Greenwich in the following year.
A lengthy report was drawn up in _th_e hand~ting of Sir John
Cokeso and issued in 1630 by a Comm1ss10n especially appointed to
investigate the current state of the Royal Armouries. It opens with
a reference to the proposal for establishing ~rmoury shops at Green
wich upon which Henry vrr_r embarke~ ID. the early years of his
reign and states 'The institution began 1n the tyme of Henrie the
8th, who, that he might set up the manufacture of ar_mer in his own
Kingdom (wch in al former times had been bought 1n foren parts),
brouo-ht over Master workmen and other Armourers out ofGermanie
and ~ ttled them at Greenwich in dwelling and working houses wher
they have continued in succession, b~t never increased ~bove the
first number ofone·and twentie, nor raised the workmanship or store
of armer to anie considerable condition. So as foren services have
been supplied by emptions made by merchants or by armorers in
London; for which ther bath been _raised another Armorie in the
tower. And besides theis two Armones, ther have be~n armors kept
at W. d H pton Cort Westminster, Woolwich and Ports-
in sore, am , . . mouth and other places.' After detailing the_different posts held by th · ffi · 1 the report goes on to give the names and pay
e various o cia s, . . p· k · M of the Greenwich armourers when W11l1am ic enng was aster
· the warrant of I 60831 and records that all
Workman as set out 1n . • h 11., th · '· held for life with authority to t e .1.vlaster
eir appomtments are h h d h
W h Vacancies as may occur t roug eat or
orkman to fill a11 sue d 'Th M dismissal for misconduct. The report then procee ds Che b alst~r W t th ·r admittance by the Lor am er a1n
orkmen are sworn a ei G · h ·
f h K. , H . nd so are all the rest.... At reenwic 1t
o t e 1ng s owse, a d c. • d
· ours have been ma e 1or service an
appeareth not that arue arm
27 Appointed Master of the Armouries in ,?06;
28 8
Exchequer KR, account _4 1 7/2 ,d1ttJ~ti~~H~nry III, vol. 3, part 2, p. 153 •
29 Letters and Papers, Foreign an 30 Secretary of State.
31
S.P. Dom. Car. I, vol. 179, no. 65·
93
THE BACKGROUND
the workmen chalenge as their privilege to make armors only for the King's person; and for such noble men as bring warrant under the King's hand.32 And for the most part, they have made none but tilting armors, for which they demand XVH an armour besides the King's wages33•••• At the Tower in like maner no armours have been made, neither doth the office ofthe Armourie make provision ofarms for service against an enimie. But in effect is imploied only in repairing decaied armours, and making cleane the armer in store ... and this is al I can finde of the woorke donne in the Office wch cost his Mte above roooli by yeare34 ; besides new provisions.' The report ends with an exhaustive analysis of the various accounts of the armourers,35 points out defects in the organization and suggests
various reforms.
By 1520 then work was in full swing at Greenwich and the ring ofthe armourers' hammers on the anvils must have formed a constant undertone in the orch~stration of sound which daily enveloped the palace. Though small 1n numbers and select in skill, the workmen from all accounts formed a busy band in executing the King's commands. The monthly payments to the Almain armourers were always £28. r6s. gd.,36 a figure which constantly occurs in the house
hold expenses of Henry VIII, and although the establishment expanded slightly in the course of years the numbers em ployed remained on the who~e remarkably const;nt. Two documents show the developments dunng Henry's reign.
The first, of course, refers to Southwark since Greenwich was not t?en in occupati~n, ~ statement reinforced by the fact that in November 1516 Sir ~chard Guildford37 was paid £ r6. 13s. 2 d. for the wages of the Alma1n armourers at Southwark.as
20 May 151(;39
Item to John Blewberry y ff
d ur fAr ' eoman armourer upon a warrant for stu
an nage o moury: '
11 Up to the present only tv,o su h .
Hatton and the other for Richard Bc warrants have come to light. One for Christopher
./; rowne.
( )
a 30 une 1561. The Queen (Elizab th) s·
to make a complete suit of arm e to ir (?eorge Howard, Master of the Ar1:1ou~ to be delivered to him on his a o_ur for 9hnstopher Hatton, gentleman pensioner, no. 33, p. 242.) P ymg the Just value thereof. (S.P.Dom. Eliz. vol. 34,
(b) March 1603. The Queen (Elizab our Almain armourer to mak et:h) to the Master of Ordnance, You are to cause complete for the tilt, as for th:fiui~ ofgood ar1:1our for our servant Richa~d Browne, stuff thereof. (S.P.Dom. El' le 'at our price for the making, he paying for the
la £15. lZ. VO. 287, no. 70.)
" £1000.
11 S.P. Dom. Car I vol
.. Lcttcn and p . ' p' I ~9, no. 65.
88o apcrs, ore1gn and D • I
noi, . . . omestic, Hen. VIII, vol. I 5, no. 599· vo . I 7, Sir Ri~ Guildford, x.o. M . ~~~ildford who followed ii· aster of the Armouries 1485-1506. Father of Sir .. ~i.c:n and Papen Foreian und as Master.
Excheq TR ' -o·• an 0 om t' H
uer · · 215, folio 37a& B Mes ic, en. VIII, vol. 2, part 2, p. 1473. · · add. MSS. 21481, folio 189.
94
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
first to Martyn, Master Armourer .................... .
30s. IOd.
Item to Dericke Hunger ....... • • • • • • • • • ............ .
4d.
,, Hans Mery ........ • • • • • • • · · · • • • • .... . 12s.
" . · · · · • l2S. 4d.
, , Hans Clyngeldegill ..... • • • • • • ............... .
" l2S.
4d.
,, Cons van Mervanbury . • • • • • • ............... .
r I~
" 4d.
,, Hans Webbeler Poly1ery • • • • ................. . 12s.
" 4d.
,, Hans Drost .... • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ••..... r2s.
" 4d.
,, Poulys Mer....... • • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • ....... .
" l2S.
4d.
,, Gyllys the prentice • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . . . . . 6s.
" 8d.
for their bed and lodging · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . . r I os.
" od.
to 2cwt. of iron .... • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . . . . gs.
" od.
,, 1olb. of steel ..... • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · •.......... . 20d.
"
,, coals ........ • • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . 20s.
rod.
"
,, their diet ....... • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · £12. os.
od.
"
,, 2016. of Emery • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • . 5s.
od.
"
The second document is in the British Museum40 though anoth
P 41 I . er
copy is preserved among the State . ap,ers. t IS dated 1540 and contains a complete account of the King s Armoury, with the names of the armourers as follows :
The Charges of the King's Own Armoury, accounting the Master of t~e Arm ury's fee, Clerk and Yeor~an's wage and five arm~urers for his highness' wn provision with one gilder two lockyers one nullman and a prentic in the year.
In primis the Mr of the Armourer's fee by the year and is paid b y the Customery of Chichester · : · · · · · · · · · · · · £31• I IS. od. Item the Clerk and Yeoman hath for their wage 22s. the month apiece and is paid by the Treasurer ofthe Chamber by the ............... • • • • • • • • • • •. £28. 12s. od.
I temy~::~~~s· ~h~ ·Chief Armourer ha~h for his wage by the month 2 6s. 8d. and is paid by the said Treasurer. ... sum b th ........... • • • • · · · · · • • · • £17. 6s. 8d.
Ite~ ol:/::r~;~ ·h~th ~Bs. 10d. the month which is by the ....... • • • • • • • • £25. 5s. 1od. Itemy~:~h~~-D~th~~k-h;~h -~~-.·~he month which is by th ............... £15. 12s. od.
e year........... • • · · · · · · · · · · · h h · h 15 · Item Hans Clinkedager hath 24-J• the mont w IC £
by th . . . . . . . . . . . . 15. 12s. od.
ye!!e:!::~er:K~~~:~;t~;~-:~~~ ~~~~~ ~~i~h-i~-~~ '.~~ £is. 12s.
od.
Item the Gilder wage by the year · · · · · · · ·: · · · · ·h·. ·h· · · · · • 4os. od. month apiece w 1c
. I tern the two lockyers hath 2os· a . . . . . . . . . . £26. os. od.
is ~{e!~i:: j:,;;~ ~;.· ~-~~~-1j,-~i,i~I~·i~ ~y t~e ybearh.. £15. 12s. od.
11 Item for the prentice 6d. by the day which 15 y t e year ......................... £9. os. 10d.
....................
:; LB.M. Royal 89, folio 75.. d D mestic Hen. VIII, vol. Ij no. 599·
etters and Papers, Foreign an ° '
8 95
THE BACKGROUND
Item for 8 bundles of steel to the said armoury for the whole year. 38s. the bundle. Sum .................... £ 15. ,µ. od. I tern for the rest of the house at £7 the month which is by the year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £g 1• os. od. Sum £308. 8s. 4d.
In primis the wage of 12 armourers two locksmiths and 4 apprentices !o be divided into tv. o shops, every of the armourers their wage at 24S. the month and the locksmiths at 20s. a month and every prentice 6d. the day amounting by the fyear to the sum of ............... £ 155. 12s. od.
Item the wage o 2 millmen at 24S. the month. Sum by the year ......................................... £31 . 4S· od. Item for 16 bundles of steele to serve both shops a whole year at 38s. a bundle. Sum .......................... £ 3o. 8s. od. Item to every of the said shops 4 loads of charcoal a month at gs. the load. Sum in the year £ 1 0 d
40
Item one hide ?f buff leather every ~~~~h ·;0~ · 6~~1; · gs. ·
shoipts at/osb. thhe hh1de. Sum in the year .......... . . . .. £6. ros. od. em JOr ot s ops one cow hide a m th t 6 Bd the hide. Sum in the year ............. on a s. ·
6
Item one hundredth oflron every month f~; b~~h ~h~~ ~ · £4. s. Bd. atI6ts. 81. th~ hundreith. Sum in the year . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4. 6s. Bd. em m wisp stee1JOr both shops every th lb
. man 15 . at 4d· the ~oun. • d Sum m the year .......... .
Item m wire monthly to both sh lb....... . . . . . . . . 65s. od. pound. Sum in the year . . . . . . . . ops I 2 • at 4d. the
52
Item in nails and buckl r. · · · · • • • · • · • · · · · · · • • · • · • • s. od.
. th es JOr both shops monthly 5s
Sum m e year . . . . . . . · Item to every of the s~id · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·.· • • • • •.. . . . . 65s. od. millmen for their liveries armourers, locksmiths and yard 3 yard of kerse t 4 yard broad cloth at 5s. the in the year for 12 arm~ a 2s. the yard whole amounting men at 26s. for the m urers, two locksmiths and two mill-an · · · · · · · · · · · · · •............. £20. 16s. od.
That these 12 armourers two I . Sum £303. 4-f· 4d. and 4 apprentices will make ocksm1t_hs two millmen bundles ofsteel and th th yearly with the said 16
e o er stuff afo "d h
complete every harness t b resai 32 arnesses at £12 which amountetho. ~~ated to the King's highness sum of ...............~n e year towards his year the
Itemofthesaid 12arm ......................... £384. os. od. • ourers to b d · ·d d .
as IS aforesaid 4 of them shall b e 1v1 e mto 2 shops shop, wherein his grac h II e taken out of Erasmus'
e s a save y I · .
and livery the sum of ear Y m their wage Although 'Old M .......... · · · ····· ····........ £68. os. od. . artyn Van Ro ' · d
received the highest w f yne was still working in 1540 an in the post ofChiefArage O all, he had been supplanted by Erasmus ·ty . h mourer As th b'l
1 JS t at 'Old Mart , h · ere were two shops the proba 1 yn ad charge of one while Erasmus was
96
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
certainly in charge of the other. Hans Clinkedager may be th
· d · "d 1 e same
In IVl ua as Hans Clyngegill, but otherwise the personnel had
changed. When Erasmus assumed the post of Chief Armo
M t W k . . urer, or
as er or man as It IS usually called, is not known His nam fi
. · e rst
appears on 20 ebruary 1519, when he IS referred to as 'an armo ,
• . F urer
Agam In November 1519 he is mentioned as 'Asymus Ky ·
r. , . renor armourer 1or the bo~y, whe~ he IS gr~nted ?-n annuity of £lo.42 I~
1538, he was app01nted King's Brzgandarzus43 vice John G deceased, who had followed his father, William Gurre in the urre,
. d h" . . M W ' same
post. Erasmus retame IS position as aster orkman until 1 60
thus completing over 50 years in his calling. His Christian n~ '
assumed various forms, Asimus, Asymus, Asmus, Herasmus wh~le
. . , I e
h. IS surname was written Kyrkonor, Krukner and Crykoner, but he 1s usually referred to as 'Erasmus Kyskener'.
_The complete list of Master Workmen at Southwark and Greenwich is as under:
Martyn Van Royne 1511-?
Erasmus Kyskener ?-1560
J hn K elte 1560-1576
Jacob Halder 1576-1607
44
William Pickering 1607-1618 Thomas Stevens 1618-1628 icholas Sherman 1628 till the armoury closed down
The royal armour was stored in several places, the chief among which being the Tower, Hampton Court, Windsor, Portsmouth, Woolwich and Greenwich, the latter becoming the principal depot on H enry VIII's accession and retaining its pride of place till the days of the Commonwealth. It must be appreciated that armour, as an item of military equipment, had become largely redundant by the close of Henry's life. Elizabeth's reign ushered in the true era of enriched armour. The suits produced were ornate to a degree and vied with one another in richness and inlay. Ceasing to be of any practical value on the battlefield armour became a matter of display for the tournament. It was the final paean which heralded its swansong. Wealthy nobles spent large sums on exotic suits which served no useful purpose save to enhance the personal adornment of their wearers and add to the general pageantry of the tilt. By Stuart times armour had sunk to a purely sartorial level. For some time it had
42 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, H~n. V~II, v_ol. 3, part I, no. 529. 43 Brigandarius was the official responsible for bng~ndmes, _i.e. the body armour ,~orn by the common soldier. It consisted of a leathem or linen tunic covered with small pieces ofsteel.
44 The first Englishman to hold this appointment. In a ,,·-1:rrant dated I I Jul: 1614 w~erein he was paid £2 oo, the balance of £340 for arm~>U~ gilt and graven forth l t prince, he is styled 'Master of the Armoury at Greenwich• (S.P.Dom. Jas. I, 1. 77
no. 62 (Sign Manual, vol. IV, no. 29).)
97
THE BACKGROUND
been resisting the encroachments of the fire-arm but the march of events proving irresistible the bullet emerged as the undisputed victor.
The principal rooms in the palace at Greenwich allotted to the manufacture and display of armour were the Green Gallery, the Great Chamber, Mr Pickering's workhouse, the cutting house, the locksmiths' office and the staff houses. The official in charge, known as the 'Keeper of the Armour', was usually a courtier standing high in the royal favour. This position had been previously held by George Lovekyn and SirJohn Dudley when in June 1538 it was granted to Thomas Colepeper, one ofthe gentlemen ofthe Privy Chamber, who was made 'Keeper of the Armoury for the King's Body and other habilaments ofwar in the long galleries ofthe tilt-yard at Greenwich' with similar fees to those enjoyed by his predecessors and an annuity of 100 marks.45 Poor Thomas! His tenure was short. His crime was lese-maj~ste for he had the presumption to fall deeply in love with Katherme Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife. He was attainted and,
on 20 December 1541, John Paston, another Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, ';'as appointed in his stead. His patent laconically decribes the post as lately held by Thomas Colepeper attained Ho sley 1 gth December'.John Paston was paid a salary of£r6. rss. 4d. for keeping the long gallery at Greenwich.47 Subsequent holders of the office of Keeper of the Armoury at Greenwich were Sir Thomas M orison 48 Francis_I~goldsby,4_9 Cipriano Scot,50 Sir ThomasJay 51John Cler k~s2 a~d William Burgis.53 The order of succession h~wever is com
plicat7d by the f~ct that grants to this position ~ere often' made in revers10n. Sometimes the assignees died b r th bl t
en·o th fi ·t Of Offi . e1ore ey were a e o
~ Yd eh rui s ce-.Edward Pigeon belonged to this category50 -han ot ers were appointed in their reversionary places. Sometimes t ere were two aspirants ·t· . .
. . wai mg vamly for the coveted post. This
appomtment was nominally for 1·fc b h d
it for any length oftime Th . i e ut _t e holders seldom retaine the ban ofdis l ·Ar. ey either received preferment or fell under
p easure. ruter the Tud . h d h
growing impoverishment of ors vams e from the st~g~, t e public life and und th S the Crown added to the uncertainties of
' er e tuarts this t t f .er. •
sively chronic. The Office of s a e_ o auairs became progresmalaise. Arrears in sal . dArmoury did not escape the general
. anes an wages
m the seventeenth cent were an everyday occurrence
O
ury. n r6 May 1627 there was a warrant to
: Rot. Pat. 30 Hen. VIII n Rot. Pat. 33 Hen. VIII' p. :, m. 2, 27 June 1538.
"~~and Papers, For~i~ ~nr:i'J~:n20JJecember 1541. u s:p:no::JJas.I, vol. 62, no. 14, II M~:~hH6en. VIII, vol. 17, no. 880, 1542.'° S p Do Jas. I, vol. 135, no 25 162 I I I.
.. m. as I v I • , 2.
11 S p Do . ' o. 132 no 26 (S"
II s:p:no:·~-II, vol. 117, n~. 63 2~gs Manubal, vol. 13, no. 71.) 11 July 1622.
11 sp Dom. · , vol 119 n0 ' eptem er 1628
· · •Car. I, vi • 33, 27 October 1628. ·
231 '
'no. 23, II January 1633. 98
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREE N WICH
pay arrears of wages to the armourers at Greenwich for fifteen months amounting to £575, out ofmoney raised by the sale ofCrown lands, but the most pathetic case on record must surely be that of Francis Ingoldsby who appears to have been treated in a most cavalier fashion. He was an ancient retainer of the Crown in more senses than one and probably at his age a little senile, but this was no excuse for the treatment meted out to him. In order to obtain the wherewithal to keep body and soul together, he addressed in desperation a series ofpetitions to the Earl ofMiddlesex, the Lord Treasurer. There are at least three of these documents in existence. Their sequence is difficult to determine as the dates as well as the old man's idea of his age are rather confused, but the fact remains that these piteous appeals throw a blinding searchlight on the depraved state of the public conscience then existing.
One petition dated June 162354 is couched in the following terms:
ost humbly sheweth that beinge the ouldest servant to Queen Elizabeth and his Matie and havinge nothinge in the world to relieve him but the ifee of xxd the day for keepinge his Matie Armorye at Greenwich for wh hee is behinde 6 yeares and is so far indebted that hee is like to perrish
eing aged go yeares and not able to sue_ for it_hims~lfe. !"1e 1;1ost humbly beseecheth yor honor to vouchsafe to relieve him with his said arrears of fees to enable him to pay his debts and to keepe him from starvinge. And he shall truly pray for yor honors increase of all perfect felicity.
This cri-de-coeur is endorsed: Let paymt be made to this poor olde man of one yeares fee out of six yeares arere due unto him
Middlesex.
The next one, dated 16 September 162255 runs as follows:
To the right honorable sr Lionel Cranfeild, Earle of Middlesex, Lo high Treasorer of England. . . . The humble petition of Fraunc1s Ingoldsby, Keeper of his Mattes Armorie at Greenwich. Most humbly sheweth that being decr~pit a~d aged fourscore an~ t~n is not able to sue for himself hath not received his fee of xxd a day this six ye_ares. Wheref~re he mo~t h_umbly besee?het~ yr h_ono: in tender com
miseration of his great misene to grant h_1m his renges 6 or part !hereof to pay his debts and keepe him from starvmge for he doth dayly faithfully pray for yr honrs perfect happiness.
This is endorsed:
For him soe to be payd.
u Quoted from a paper 'The story of Greenwich _Armoury~ by_ Artht~r D .... harp, published in the Transactions of the Greenwich and Lewisham Ant1quaria11 on 9·, vol. Ill
no. 4, p. 162, 1929.
55 S.P. Dom. Jas. 1, vol. 135, no. 25.
56 Arrears.
99
THE BACKGROUND
The third, dated 1623, is written in a similar vein. 67
To the Right honorable the Earle of Midd Lord high Treasorer of England. The humble petition of Frauncis Ingoldsby Kepr of his Maties Armorie at Greenwich.
Most humbly sheweth that being the ouldest servant the King hath and having nothinge in the world to releeve him but the fee ofxxd by the day for keepinge his Maties Armorie at Greenwich wch hath not byn paid him this seven yeares and more havinge not byn able to sue for it himself being decrepit and aged fourscore and eight yeares and is run soe farr in debt that he is lyke to be turned out ofhis house and all he hath seized on and like to perrish for want.
Wherefore hee most humbly beseecheth yr hon°r in tender compason ofhis great miserie to give order that hee may receive all his said reriges56 offee to keep him from starvinge and he shall spend the remaynder of his days in continuall prayer for yr honrs increases of all true and perfect felicities.
No action seems to have been taken on this particular version of the petition. It is endorsed in a later hand:
Francis Ingoldsby, Armorer at Greenwich 1623 We become tired with contemplating the abuses practiced in every ~epartmen.t under James t~e. first. This Petition from a man of eightyeight labormg under Infirmities and unpaid for seven years of his small daily fe:, is only one more.added to many Proofs of the wretched state of the Fmances under that mglorious and profuse reign.
It seems incredible to modern minds that such things could ever have happened.in the royal service, but a perusal of contemp orary docum;snts furrushes the proof. For instance, in February r627, Lord Totnes rec~mme~ds the surrender of John Cooper's patent of Keeper of Bngandmes and Surveyor of the King's Armoury a t the
T
ower and at Greenwich· but C b · · · d
t d . . ' ooper, e1ng a man ofsp1nt, refuse :e;~~n er_ 1\~ll t~e arrears of his fee of r6d. a day for r8 months th
another ~~:~:ii:;~ides e Keeper and M~ster Workman there was the Armo , w·m e ~mou~-y at Greenwich styled the 'Yeoman of for life onu~ N1 a: arwin was granted this office, in reversion, Armoury' wh ;vemher 1613·6° Finally there was the 'Clerk of the this post at Go ept ~ he accounts. William Sugden was appointed to
reenw1c as well a th f C .
the Tower ofLond A . s at o lerk of the Armoury 1n an annual allowan~:iF ~ pBrdil 16°~-His fee was 2s. 6d. a day with
2 s. . for livery.s1
,1 Saclcvillc (Knole) MSS Ser·
" Master of the Ordnance· ies 1' no. 5864 (Old numbers)
"S.P.Dom · . •• S.P. Dom:'i::_},v:o/ 55, no. 70, February 1627. ei S.P. Dom.Eliz. ~ol. ;775, no. 17, 20 N~vember 1613.
9, no. 52, 2 April i6o1.
100
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
Like any other organization, especially in which ease of living depended more on perquisites than on wages, the Armoury Office at Greenwich was not without its squabbles. In I 625, the officers and armourers of the King's Almayne Office of Armoury at Greenwich forwarded a petition to the Commissioners of the Ordnance and the Army, setting forth the institution of their office by Henry VIII and incorporating certain information laid against them by one Faulkener, 'a man not able to do anything in the Work'. They pra; the Commissioners to investigate the charges against them.62 On 2 November 1627 Roger Faulkener defends himself by assuming the offensive. He informs the king63 that the armourers at Greenwich have performed small service of late. He states that during the last seven years they have received £3,000 and have not made seven armours for the king's use. He attributes this negligence to Sir William
Cope, Master of the Armouries, and prays that the Greenwich armourers may be employed in 'translating old armour'.64 Surveys of the armour stored in the :7ari~us depots were fr~quently u ndertaken, and certain of these which included Greenwich took pla c in:
154765 13 February 156566 30 December r 56967 February 158668 June 158869 162070
These lists are far too long to quote and save ~or the exJ?ert provide little interest. A precis of the 1569 accoun~ will be sufficient to indicate the items involved and the stocks held·
I 150
Demi-lances .. • • • · · · · · · Flanders corslets. • • · · · · · 42 49 3466
Almain corslets . • • · · · · · ·
Brigandines . • • · · · · · · · · 145 I 100
Shirts of mail . • • · · · · · · · 580 pairs
Sleeves of mail • · · · · · · · ·
.•...... • 10
Jacks71 .......
14,43°
Morions ... • • • · · · · · · · · ·
62 S.P. Dom. Car. I, vol. 13, no. 96, 1625· 63 Charles I. N bcr 16"7
64 S.P. Dom. Car. I, vol. 84, no. 5, 2 ovem -· 65 Archaelogia, vol. LI. February 1565.
6
6 6 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol. 36, no. l ' 13 December 1569. 67 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol. 15, no. 135, 3o 86 68 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol. 198, no. 79, February 1S ·
528
69 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol.211, no. 83, Jun ~ ·
101 • 162
70 S.P. Dom. Jas. I, vol. 1_18? no. be~on A padded linen garment worn
71 Jack. A Body vestment s1m1lar to a gam · a shirt of mail.
101
THE BACKGROUND
Sculls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,700
Steel saddles . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Shaffrons72 ••••••••••.. 360
Ermets73 •••••••••••••• 6
The above equipment was stored in the Tower of London, Hampton Court, Windsor, Westminster and Greenwich, and was, ofcourse, in addition to any fine suits belonging to the 'King's body'.
There was, however, a complete inventory taken by a Commission in June 1611, after the death of Sir Henry Lee, K.G., Master of the Armoury, and on the succession of Sir Thomas Monson to that office.74 As this details the whole of the items stored in the various rooms and houses at Greenwich, it is set out at length in Appendix V.
The Masters of the Armoury, or their deputies, resided by virtue of their office, in the mansion house in the tilt-yard, though in point offact it was usually the local Keeper of the Armoury at Greenwich who took up residence there.
As the seventeenth century advanced armour became of less and less moment and the work of the armourers declined in importance. No doubt the realiza~on ofits approaching obsolescence was hatef~l to ~11 concerned, and its final phase was the perennial story of man s resistance t~ ch~nge. Although Tennyson tells us that 'The old order chan~eth, ):elding place to new' human inertia against adopting new techmques 1s very marked. It even took centuries before the fire-arm
finally s?perseded the bow, for two hundred and fifty years after ~he commg of the hand-gun, Michael Montaigne could still lament its appearance 75 There di
· was a sort of halo of romance surroun ng armour and all that it represented which made kings and nobles loathdto a?andon it. It was the last vestige of feudalism wherein the
arme krught cons'd1 d h' .
foo Id' . ere 1mself a bemg apart from the common ~~o iei and It degenerated at the last into an emblem of sno ery. d uht evolution cannot be stemmed so armour had to dis
appear an t e craft to d I '
of Cha I I h' h ecay. ts fate was sealed by the martyrdom
r es w ic caused th G . . d
for ever. e reenw1ch Armoury to close its oors
Charles I spent much ti · G . .
completion of th Q ~em reenw1ch palace superintending the commenced for Ae u}e; s House for his wife. The residence was I lost interest in i;ne~ Jnmark, but after her death in I 6I gJames thus remained in atn or ered all work on it to be stopped. It had
eyance for ten years. Charles I left the palace 71 Ska./fron. A mask of iron ho:-:C~ h~ i.e. the face ancl'~~per, brass or leather covering the front portion of a .r:.nnit. A kind fl' h · ·
,. S p Do O 1g t iron cap.
" Third.: m. Jas. I, vol. 64, nos 7
10n of the Seigneur d · M' 72,,1une 1611. YI• Sec chap. 1 page 21. e ontaigne. Born 28 February 1533. Famous for his
102
CROWN ESTABLISHME. TS AT GREENWICH
at Greenwich for the last time in 1641 on a journey to the north which led ultimately to the block. After his execution, Greenwich, with other royal estates, was seized by Parliament, but when the Crown lands were sold pursuant to the ordinance of 16 July 164g, it was excluded from the sale, Bulstrode Whitelock being made Keeper of the Park and High Steward of the Manor of Greenwich. It was decided on 21 December 1651 that the Greenwich demesne should be reserved for Oliver Cromwell but the Commonwealth requiring funds for the upkeep of the navy, the House of Commons ' directed on 27 November 1652 that the property should be sold for ready money.76 On 6 December 1652 a survey and valuation was ordered, and on 31 December 1652 the House passed an ordinance for carrying out the sale. Although the palace and park could find no purchaser, portions of the estate passed into other hands; a
messuage at the north end of tilt-yard, a part of the tilt-yard and the Queen's garden being bought by Henry Henn. Eventually in 1654, the Sub-Committee for the revenue after solemn and protracted debates declared the palace at Greenwich together with Hampton Court and Somerset House to befit for the accommodation of the Lord Prot ctor and his successors. Cromwell, however, died in 1658 and the Protectorate came to an end in February 1659. On the Restoration, the manor of Greenwich, its palace and park reverted to the Crown all previous sales being cancelled.
h;t of the Armoury during the Civil War? On 1~ May 1649, the Council of State directed Edward Ansley to be admitted Master enwich and all tools etc. were ordered to be handed
W or kman at Gre .1di d h' h
h. n o the same day the Counci recte im to searc
over to 1m. n .
.c d · h · h arms and armour of the late king wherever
1or an seize t e nc ,
'th all the implements of the armourers craft
concea1ed together wi . .
· h G ' · h k hops 78 A month later he was put m possession
1n t e reenw1c wor s · • M
-9
the Ravensbourne.' In the meantime, rs
of the armoury m1.11 on ·111· · · h
'd f th last Master Workman, was stl ivmg in t e
Sherman w1 ow o e · 11 11 d h
' d bt . n the quarters officia y a otte to er
1
Armoury Office no ou . . • d
Th' did not suit the Puritanical conscience an on late husband. is C ·1 of State instructed Edward Ansley 1o September. I 649 the ?unci e the widow's reasons for retaining
0
to take possess10n of the said offic ' . r. t ry 80 Edward Ansley's Job
. . . · d red unsatls1ac o •
1 t evidently being consi e f ffi •al receiver. He had to take
. d tO that o an o c1
might be compare ttle the accounts and evacuate stock, pack up the accoutrements, s? the armour was moved from the buildings. The greater part 0
,o Journal of the House ofCommons, vo\,viiB t:;2;649 C.S.P. Dom. 1649-1650, p. 533.
1
n State Papers Council of State 1 32 ' 8 May 16_1-9' C.S.P. Dom. 1649-1650, P· ~33. ;s State Papers: Counci~ of State l b1'•~ Proceedin~, vol. ii, no. 18, 13 June 1649, 79 State Papers, Council of State, y 16-0
C.S.P. Dom. 1649-1650, P· i83. r: September 1649, C.S.P. Dom. 16-19-:.> , so State Papers, Council of State I :.>5, 10
p. 546.
103
THE BACKGROUND
Greenwich to the Tower about r644, a transfer evidenced by a petition from Edward Ansley in 1660. Thenceforward the Tower became the main armoury showroom in the country and Greenwich was left derelict, ruin and decay invading its majestic precincts. The tilt-yard was broken up. On ro May 1650, the Council of State directed that its timber was to be applied to the repair of the wharf, and that the boards of the cock-pit and tilt-yard were to be used for repairing the great barn, a building which in due course was converted into a laboratory. The Council ordered the Comptroller of Works to arrange for the necessary work to be carried out.81
What an ignominious end to bluffKina-Harry's hopes and aspirations. The tilt-yard, however, had outlived its usefulness. Constructed in the age when pageantry and chivalry still held the centre of the social stage, it passed with its pomps and vanities into the limbo of forgotten things. With its passing armour became a museum exhibit.
The epitaph of the Greenwich armoury may be told in the words of William Legge, Master of His Majesty's Armourie in I 660,82 who with three other gentlemen carried out a survey of the arm ouries at
the Tower and Greenwich.
Wee doe finde as well upon our owne view as upon the i :i orm ation of ~ivers officers of t~e Ar?1ory, store-keepers and others thD t during ~h_e rune of the late distractions, the severall armes, amunicion, and hab1hments of warr, formerly remayning in the Green Gallery at Greenwich, were all taken and carried away by sundry souldiers who left the doors open. That sundry of the said armes were afterwards brought to the Tower ~f Lon~on by M~. Anneslye, where they are still rema ning. T~at the wamscott m the said Gallery is now all pulled down and earned
nd
~way, a , as we are informed, was employed in wainscotting the house m_t~e ~ower where the said Mr. Anneslye lived. That a great part of the ceilmg 15 very much ruined and the whole house much decayed. That all
the severall tooles and other uten ·1 r k" f r0 rmerly
• • h s1 s ior ma mg o armour 1c remaynmg ~n t e Master Armourer's workhouse there and at the Ar-m~urers'. Mill, were also, within the time of the said distractions, taken an c~ried aw~y (~aveing two old trunks bound about with iron which ;re stl 1re1;1a§~mg m the said workhouse. One old glazeing wheele sold
o a cu_t er mb 00 Lane). That sundry ofthe said tooles and other utensilsh
ave smce een converted d · h ·
the time of th ·d d" an sold to private uses by those who, wit in
e sa1 1straction h d h f h aid
armes and t 1 b h s, a t e command and care o t e s the said too~ :e s~:n :t Greenwi:h and at the Tower. That diverse of bought them Th t h n °ther private men's handes who pretend th~Y the custody ~f Ma ~~ treat Anvill (called the Great Beare) is now in anvill knowne by t~ ic aell Bast~n, locksmith, at Whitehall, and the Coxe one ofhis M _e na~e of the Little Beare is in the custody ofThomas
' aJestY s Armourers. And one combe stake in the custodY 11 State Pa~ Co ·
C S p D r-u, unc1l of State D ' 1650
·,i • om. 1650, p. 151. ' ay s Proceedings, vol. ix, no. 20, ro May ' MSS. of the Earl of Dartmouth v I ...
, 0. lll, p. 3.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
of Henry Keemer, one other of his Majesty's Armourers. And that the said mill formerly employed in grinding, glazing and making cleane of armes is destroyed and converted to other uses by one Mr. Woodward who claimed it by vertue of a graunt from KingJames of blessed memory, but the Officers of the Armorye for his Majesty's use have it now in their possession.
Memorandum: That the severall distinguishments of the armors and furnitures before mentioned viz: The first serviceable, the second defective and to be repaired, the third unserviceable in their ow~ kinds, yet may be employed for necessary uses, and soe reported by R1ch_ard King and Thomas Cox, two of his Majesty's Armourers at Greenwich, who were nominated and appointed in his Majesty's Commission under his Signe Manuall before recited to be assistant in the service. And wee doe think the sam: to be by them' faithfully and honestly distinguished.83
There is little more to tell; the sands of the armoury have nearly
run out. Colonel William Legge,84 who had become Master of the
Armouries on the accession of Charles II, had really a 'care-taker'
appointment. The position was almost. a sinecure. On 5 ~ctober
1666, he was authorized to sell a certain amount of ~nserviceable
h·s charge in the Tower, so as to raise money for
armour held on i G • h as A f h
the r pair of the waterworks or armoury at .reenwic . . urt er blow occurred as the result of a report submitted to the kmg on 3 668 b th Commissioners for Retrenchment of Expenses.
J I
ahnuary Yd de y drastic cuts over the whole field of public
T ey recommen e ver d h c ·
d. B · t ecessity Charles II approve t e omm1s
expen 1ture. owing on M h 668
· , fi d" d · ed a warrant dated 18 arc 1 to put
s10ner~ n mgs ~n issu th of the same month.as Under this axe,
them into operat10n on 25 li · d
whole Office of Armoury were mite to
the annual expenses of the d d c. 1
1 ss than were to be evote to 1a conry.
£400 a year, over £I ,ooo e d . 67 I when Sir Thomas
I . li t The en came in I
t :"as a cnpp ng cu he offices of Master-General of the Ordnance, Chichely was granted t • t Greenwich and Master
11
Keeper of the Armoury i~ the gTa enes a d elsewhere in England.s,
ry in the ower an
of the Arms and Armou d d an independent existence
which ha pursue
Th Offi f Ar
e 1ce o moury bed in the Board of Ordnance and
for at least 350 years became absor
. . 1 ld ld" r J·ust faded away.
like the proverbia o so ie G · h including the 'Great
.c d h torehouse at reenwic '
H ence1orwar t e s · ely devoted to Ordnance
1
' . h "lt d became exc usiv
Barn in t e t1 -yar . . . th gh they were were utilized
ff; . d h kshops pnnutive ou '
a airs, an t e wor . h h d 1 ng been the principal powder for military purposes. Greenwic a O . b' Lieutenant of the Tower, John" ood and
83 Signed by William Legge, J · Ro mson,
Bartholomew Beale. d nd father of George, 1st Lord Dartmouth.
84 Lieutenant-General of the Or na6ce;,ntry Book 23, P· 248. 5 October 1666.
85 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. 171 , no. 1 ' 18 March 1668.
86 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. 2 36, no. 19,,35no. 22, March 1671.
87 S.P. Dom. Car. II, Docquets, vol. 1 ~ , no. 95 July 1671.
5
S.P. Dom. Car. II, Docquets, vo · -' ' 105
THE BACKGROUND
magazine in the country and supplies of that commodity were stored within the palace boundaries. There can be little doubt that on the abolition ofthe armoury the Great Barn was turned into a laboratory, and at the latter end of the seventeenth century this designation had become official. The Greenwich Laboratory manufactured fireworks among which was.funes igniarii or match which soldiers used for their muskets before the introduction of the firelock.ss In r 690 a warrant was issued directing that several grenado shells in 'Our laboratory at Greenwich' be recast into ordnance. Its site was in the N.E. corner
of the tilt-yard on gr?~nd now occupied approximately by the main entrance to the Mant:Ime Museum.
On 9 October r 694 a letter was addressed to the Lords of the Treasury by the Principal Officers of the Ordnance. It ran as follows:89
May it please your LordPPs.
Her MatY having bin pleas d · · · ·
. e some time smce to swmfy her pleasure
for removing all the Powd r. G · c · ·
. . . er 1rom reenw1ch house as L1kew1se our
Laboratory near ad1ommg wch · • . 11
d G ~ is now m Obedf e thereunto actua Y ~~rJve dto rba~esencl and Tilbury whereby the said places are quite
e an we emg restrayned b O d . C .
Great Quantit in the To Y r er m ouncill from_ laying any
. Y wer, are therefore forced to build a :.. cw Powder-
house rn some more conven · l . .
Adm. Rufsell comes home ~ent pace, wh_1ch must be got ready against have made the An d E _rom the Stre1ghts. In order ,,·hereunto we
nexe st1mate of h t h h d w
Laboratory for fixing shells a w a t_ e c arge of that an a ne
Lay before y0 r LordPPs d .n? Carcafses will amount to wch we humbly payments afsigned vs for th~s::n~ w: may have money by 50~ weekly be lost. rvice m performance whereof no time must
Wee are Office of Ordnance. May it please Yor LordPP
gth October Most Obedt humble Servants 1694. Jon Charlton, Tho. Littleton, Wm. Boulter, Rt. Honobie the Lords f h Chris. Musgrave.
0 t e Treasury Attached to the letter ·
· are two e f 'A
Estimate for building M s 1mates. The first is entitled: n wharfe for shipping a ~ new . a~azine for Powder and a convenient for building a proofe-nh unshippmg into and out of the same as also
ouse and d 11· ' '
The total estimate w £ we 1ng house for the storekeeper·
6 2 18
house was £434. 1os. 0;~ ' · 13s. gd. ofwhich the storekeeper's
. Th~ second estimate for t smce it was to be at W I .he laboratory will be referred to later Th · 00 w1ch
e estimate for the ' . October 1694 and was · ew Magazine for Powder' was dated 6
• signed b JOh
11 ~• KtnJ, vol. 1, p. _ Y n Charlton, Thomas Littleton,
28
ttaaury Papen, vol. XXIX
'no. 57.
106
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREE~WICH
and William BouJter. As will be seen, the request of the Ordnance authorities bore fruit very rapidly.
A report by Samuel Travers, the Surveyor-General, dated g June r 693, recommended that a 'Survey of His Majesty's Lordship or Manor of East Greenwich in the County of Kent' should be undertaken, and this was carried out in 1695 by virtue of a Commission under the Great Seal dated 2 November 7 William III. The map which accompanied the survey90 shows very clearly the layout then existing in the palace grounds. The survey states that the Queen's Garden, the N.E. portion of the tilt-yard and about half the buildings therein were used 'For the service oftheir Majestys' Ordnance'; from which it may be inferred that Greenwich by the end of the seventeenth century had become a consid_erable Ord~ance depo~. By this date the old powder magazine had disappe~re~, its place bemg taken by a building, known as the 'New Magazine very recently erected in an isolated position on the south bank of the Thames on t?e
promontory leading towards the pn~s~nt Blackwall Tu~nel. ~ts site is th spot where the existing Mauntms Road would, if contmued, hit the ·water's edge. . . .
The Greenwich magazine, being now in ~he public view, aroused feelirn:;s of alarm and despondency in the.neighbourhood. A pamp?let ntitled Reason for Removing the Magazine of Gunpowder ~t Greenwich
· t Place andfiurther Distance from the said Town and
to some more convemen , . . the Cities of London and Westminster91 was printed and circulated. The body of the pamphlet reads as follows: the Said Magazine is exposed to, of being blown
The apparent Dano-er . . r. .
• b •
d other Accidents, ansmg 1rom its present
up by T reachery, hghtmng, _an d" . d the extensive and scarce defenceless Situation and ruinous con t~n, a~ haps 6 or 8 ooo barrels reparable Damage with which the Exp oswn ° per . 'h .
ot but cause terrible appre ens1ons to
of powder must be attended, cann all who seriously consider it. Because of Greenwich and the places adjacent,
I. The Inhabitants of the To':nL. d Prop' erties from the Destruc
cr • · bl in their ives an , .
must suuer mconceiva Y, d the Public by the Destruction
t· f h H d Church there· an .
ion o t e ouses an e;b building the Royal Hospital for of the Royal Palace, and that sup nee ofsuch an Explosion. And
Seamen: the much to be dreaded c~n~~q~ajesty's Dockyards and Storewho will pretend to say how mWuc -~h and even the Cities of London houses, both at Deptford and 001wi. '
and Westminster, may be affected by ton the Kentish side, but also on
11. The Banks of the River, n;_~ ~;h~d by the shock, as greatly to ob
1
the Essex shor~, "':ould be so ~e . and many ships sailing, or at anchor struct the Nav1gat1on of the River, would in all Probability be deStroyed. . .re ·h John Kimbell, 1816.
oo A · · I d d 1 The Charities OJ reenwic '
copy 1s me u e •n )
111 ·
B.M. North Library, 816 m7 (134 107
THE BACKGROUND
In_the year 1718 application was mad ..
of this Magazine and his M . e to Parliament for the Removal Officers of the O;dnance to aJeStY, the late King, gave Orders to the
remove the same. b t · •
from the v\ ant of sufficient p d · u , as It IS apprehended,
. ower an Mo tO p h
bmld a new one nothing wa d ney urc ase Land, and to
' s one. In the Year 1750, the applicat' .
his Majesty gave Orders for E 1?n to Parliament was renewed, when the House:92 And in the yeatn sti?1ate 0 i: the Expense to be laid before recommending a proper Plac ) 754dt lat Estimate (together with a Survey were laid before the House .9~ ' ~~ h also a ~la~ of the necessary Buildings
1
at a proper Distance from ; w_ ~ ~lace IS situate on a rising Ground,
1
foundation, where, in case ;y ~ a~ited Place and has a solid and dry the Navigation of the River~ a~ ccid~nt the Damage would not affect of the Objections made to th an the said Place is likewise free from any
,: at at Greenwich.
Gentlemen, Whiteh_all
. 30Apn11751 I sendherew1th
last desiring "th t h · M · a copy ofan add f
laid before that~ is aJesty will be gracio r{ss o the House of Commons of I 9 March powder now beingou~~~n Estimate of the e~s Y pleased to give directions that there be place a~d further dl;:anm ~ few paces ofthe TJ;ns\cf remo~ing the Magazine of G_unand I am to sign'f, t ce rom the said Tow ndo .r~enw1ch to some more convenient
1Y o you th K· , n an C1nes Of L d d w · "
to be prepared and J 'd b ft e mg s pleasur h on on an estrmnster ,
. . ai e ore the House of Ce t at you should cause the said Estimate Pnnc1pal Officers of the 0 mmons accordingly, Board of Ordnance. I am
Gentiemen Your Most' Obedient humble Servant, Holles Newcastle.
(Enclosure)
H
. 0 use ofC
R Martis I D • ommons I esolved !hat~ humble Addr 9 ie Martii 1750 (1751 ) p eased to gI\·e directions h ess be presented t h. .
remov~g the Magazine / ~t an Estimate be Jafd bs MaJesty that he will be graciously Greenwich, to some mo 0 unpowder now b . efore this House of the Expense of Cities ofLondon and v/ co~venient pl~ce and ~mg wit~in a few paces of the Town of
estmmster. urther distance from the said Town and
u E . (Warrants and O . Servic!t~~te flfor purchasing land and . rders m Council PRO/WO/55/354, P· 8.) ur eet near the . erectmg a p
an all other necessa river Thames in E owder Magazine for Land and Sea
d
Magazine at Greenw1·cryh conveniences to a ssex, together with barracks guard-house
. nswer th ' d
The. ·ecessary d ft e purpose of the present Pow er 1
Magazine and all :n or erecting this In all about 20 a ppurtenances etc
. cres etc ·
Dwellmg houses d ·
be purchased. an corn-mill to £11,000 Building th .
wharfing etc. e magazine walls, Building barrack Ji
ofArtillery and th ~ or a company and a am••d h eir officers
,,...... -ouse. ' £ 5070 18 rt
8
Total £36,809 10
Signed •7Decembc
r 1754
by
the Principal Offi cers of th 0
J. L. Ligonier~ Cdnance
W. R. Earle· ' J harles Frederick•
(Warrants ' · S. Charlton. ' and Ord ·
ers m Council PRO/WO/55/355, P· 37.) 108
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
. And, lastly, the present very ruinous conditio f h .
Its Proximity to the Banks ofthe River the Town nr°c t e s~1d Magazine, yard, and the Capital, call for its Spe~dy Remov:l. reenw1ch, the Dock
1 This pronuncfamento appeared to have had its effect or p 'bl h s ow :1nd cautious mind of officialdom had been co~itatinos~ y the queSb.on for some time. Whatever the direct cause the g vh~r t e
govern t · • ' mac me of
men was set in motion soon afterwards and an Act f p li
rnent94 d . o ar a
a was passe m 1 76o to remove the magazine from Greenwich nd erect a large powder storehouse at Purfleet Comm· ·
· d u . . · iss10ners were
app01nte or carrying the Act ~nto execution by purchasing suitable land at Purfleet and construct.J.ng the necessary buildings 95 o ~eptember 1 760, Mr Sergeant Stanyfo~d reported that the. Com~; s10n, under the Great Seal had been issued for buying property at Purfleet an_d the Board of Ordnance ordered that every step should be taken :"'1thout delay to implement the Act as they wished the new construction work to be put in hand as soon as possible.96 As a result the Commissioners gathered at the Crown in Purfleet on Thursday 23 September 1760 at 10 a.m. to c~mn:ience their labours.97 £is,ooo was allotted to the Purfleet magazine 1n the Ordnance estimates for 1762.98 The undertaking was sufficiently advanced by 1763 to receive Supplies f powder for on 7 October of that year all wet powder at Greenwich and Tilbury was ordered to be moved to Purfleet.99 A certain amount of dry and serviceable powder was still kept at Greenwich though in decreasing quantities, but by 1768 the 'new' magazine there had fallen into decay and ceased to be ofany practicable value. The remaining powder was then transferred to Purfleet, and the Clerk of the Works with suitable assistants was ordered to
su:vey the whole property with a view to ascertaining the most suitable method of demolition and disposal pursuant to the Act of Parliament. On 22 March 1768, Mr Charles Newton, the storekeeper at Greenwich was ordered to discharge the extra clerk and labour
101
ers.100 By 1771, the buildings had been razed to the ground. There was some talk at this time of exchanging the nine or ten acres which surrounded the magazine buildings for land at Woolwich to increase the size of the Warren. Lord North, First Lord of the Treasury, was approached on the matter but the project never materialized. It is interesting to note that the 'New Magazine' must have been sadly neglected for it to have reached 'a very ruinous condition' in such a comparatively short space of time. Thus was the connection
94 33 George II, cap 11.
90 Ordnance Journal Books PRO/W0/47/55, P· 53°, 24June 176o.
96 Ordnancejournal Books' PRO/W0/47/56, P· 215, 2 4 Sept 176o.
97 Ordnance Journal Books' PRO/W0/47/56, P· 232, 30 Sept 176o.2
98 Ordnancejournal Books' PRO/W0/47/59, P· 448, 2 7 May 176 ,
88 Ordnancejournal Books' PRO/W0/47/62, P· 1 54, 7 October 1763.
100 0 ' / f 8
rdnance Reports, PRO/W0/55 4, • o. 1 1 101 Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/77, P· 496, 7 Jun 77 •
109
THE BACKGROUND
between Greenwich and gunpowder which had lasted several centuries finally severed, and the site with some adjoining ground leased to Mr Henry Vansittart, who purchased it in 1802.102
On Blackheath, itself, firing practice took place from time to time, and the mounded platform from which mortars were tried was r 6 5 yards 30° west of south from the southwest corner ofGreenwich Park. There was also a gun-shed there where the two companies ofgunners and matrosses quartered at Deptford and Woolwich were ordered on 13 September 1715 to muster for pay every Saturday at 3 p.m. On 16 ~arc~ 1?87 John Evelyn witnessed an experimental shoot there and m ~1s dia~y u?der ~hat date says 'I saw a trial of these devilish,
murdermg, mischief-doing engines called bombs shot out of the mortar piece on Blackheath. The distance that ;hey are cast, the destruction they make where they fall, is prodigiou . ' We of the t\--ve?tieth century, who have had the doubtful privilege of experiencmg two worid wars, can afford to smile at the extravagance of language used by our forbears to describe the effects ofexploding gunpowder a~d the damag~ ca:1sed by bursting 'bomb '. We know the latent P0"' er concealed in high explosive and the atom, and can only wonder what our ancestors of200 years Id h tJ,0 ght ofit.
Ch 1 II fi di ago wou av .1 u ar es . , n ng the old palace greatly dilapidated by the ra~ages of time and neglect, decided that it was no fit ::>lace for the residence ofa ~onarch. He therefore conceived the ide;_ of erecting a more magmficent building in ·t w· h ·h h 1 of Sir
1 1
Christo her Wren he s p ace. it t. e p
. 103P ' managed to complete a port10n of the new edifice for tdheCsuhm of£36,000, but funds ran out and further work
was postpone . arles ho d.
t b b ·1t J ' wever, 1d cause the Royal Observatory
O 22
;h.~ t1
Mn Gune r675 a warrant was issued to Sir Thomas 'W~c e ey~ a~er-eneral ofthe Ordnance in the following terms·104 ..r.eecr~~ansgm o~ er_ to the finding out of th; longitudes of places forPern u navigat10n and t ·Id
small observatory within as ronomy, we hav~ resolved to b1;11 a ground at or near the O ur Park at Greenwich upon the h1g~est rooms for o t p~ace where the castle105 stood with lodging
ur as ronom1cal ob ' w·u d
Pleasure is that accordin servator and ass~stant, Our 1 _an you by Sir Christopher i;o such plot and design as _shall be g1v~n observatory you h en · · · of the place and site of the said
' cause t e same tO b r. fi . h d
with all convenient s d e ienced in, built and ms e by the Treasurer f;~e' ge materials and workmen to be paid f~r
0
rd
hands for old and de d nance out of moneys coming to his last, provided that th~a~h powder sold by the order of rst January £500.' The foundati ole sum to be expended shall not exceed ioa Inland R on stone was laid on r o August r675 and Sir
1oa evcnue Office Ac iec Spa part of the Royal c~u~\]771-1802. 111 • • Dom. Car. II, Entry ~i ollege.
Duke Humphrey's Tower. 44, p. 15, 22 June 1675.
IIO
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
Jonas Moore, Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, supervised the construction. John Flamsteed was appointed 'Observator' i.e. the first astronomer royal at a salary of £100 a year,106 and took up residence in the observatory on 10July 1676. The total building costs amounted to £520. gs. 1d. The following year John Evelyn had John Flamsteed to dinner, a guest whom he found to his liking. In his diary on 10 September 1677 he writes 'Dined with me Mr Flamsteed, the learned astrologer and mathematician, whom his Majesty had established in the new observatory at Greenwich Park, furnished with choicest instruments. An honest sincere man.' The astronomical observator and the labourer under him were paid on the Quarter Books of the Office of ·Ordnance up to 31 December 1817. After that all
paym nts ceased and the Royal Observatory passed ~rom the jurisdiction of the Board of Ordnance to that of the Admualty.
The palace remained in its unfinished state until William and M ary decided to turn it into a Royal Naval Hospital.1°7 This decision entailed a vast building programme and necessitated the removal of all th torehouses and workshops controlled by the Ordnance and the cessation at Greenwich of the activities of that Department of State. One of the first acts arising from this p~oposal was an _order d ated 19 December 16gs directing the demoht10~ of the ~arn m the
t·1 1 Th" · d out and the 'Greenwich Barn, the fore
1 t-yarc. 1s was carne W 1 · h w
tory was re-erected on oo wic arren
runner o· f tl1e Roya1Labora , . h r. 11 . ios
in t e io ow~ng year. Greenwich to band on the Force of circumstance thus compelled .c. fl. k . r. ny
W 1 • h where aiter 1c enng 1or ma
?
0
smoulder~ng torch to wic ' . flame. and the rudimentary decades, it burst _at last into a mightyer ed from the shadows into factory nurtured 1n a royal palace, em g
the light. cl PRO/W0/55/469 4 March 1675.
106 Warra_nts from M.G.0. and BoarC, lle e Greenwich,' by Order in Council dated 107 Established as the Royal aval O g '
16 January 1873. O/WO/ 7/18 1g December 1695.
ius Ordnance Journal Books, PR . h fi 't king down the barne at the tilt-yard
'Agreed with Mr Haywa~d and Mr Fiteforo£r ~ the latter for £28. To have warrants and to re-erect it at Woolw1ch; the former 3 and signed contracts :3-ccordingly._' £ for the bricklayer's work in ca!'1)'ing out
6_ 12_
Actually Robert Fitch was paid 3 ?al price (Ordnance Treasurers Ledgers this operation in lieu of £28, the contrac u PRO/W0/48/35, 31 May 1697). , er at Greenwich, was ordered to send all Major Francis Brockhurst, the StorekeGep 'eh to Sir Thomas Taylor, Storekeeper
• h gazine at reenwi d h t es to the
serviceable powder from t e ma . forward wet powder an ot er s or .
0
at Upnor Castle He was also directed tW l . h This was because the magazine had
· h" h to go to 00 wic · · al h 'tal
Tower except timber w 1c was . f h alace buildings mto a nav ospi •
to Qe emptied owing to the conversion°/ \~l26 November 1695) . . (Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/WO 47 G, •ich to house the timber lymg in the He was also instructed to hire a barn at reem,
magazine. ROfW0/4?/I8, 5 December 1695)
(Ordnance Journal Books, P
II I 0
Chapter 4
Woolwich Prior to the Advent of the (Warren-'
Uuluuich,1 Wulewic 2 Hulviz 3 W 1 . 4 5 6
lw:iche, Wolwiche, Wooli h'W e ~mc, Hulewic, Wolewic, Owl-
c , oolw1ch · 11 · h ·
the spelling, like certain d , spe it ow you will-for
1
fifty-seven varieties-lies m .~ectable food products, has (almost) It is nine miles from Lon~1 ~ on the southern bank of the Thames. though it has, since 1888 in 1Il_ the geographical county of I<.ent county of London. ' een incorporated in the administrative
Since 'age cannot wither h
the origin of the name a er! nor cuStom stale her infinite variety', appeared in the Charte; ; :tfht _be expected, is obscure. It first Some early English rende0 • s rudis, daughter of Alfred the Great.
nngs are Wi l . 7
n t e four~eenth century the . u ewzc, Woldwiclz and W olwic/z.
I h
two centunes later ~ol h ?1ace is usually styled Wolwiche while
wyc 1s th '
glo-Saxon wull, wul w ll e more commonplac -form . In
An
' I ' ' ' ' u e and wol m '
a P ace , camp or 'dwelli , . . eant wool' and wic indicated ,,,,r. ll · (. ng Eilert Ek ll
rru -wzc 1.e. Woolwich) d ' wa , 8 therefore suggests that
, fi enoted 'a f: '
or a Pace rom which w arm where wool was 1xoduced'
1
be no ev1.dence to supportooth.1was . exported' . There would appear to never had any extensive sh is view. So far as is known Woolwich th b eep far · · · '
ere een any suggestion that a ming_ in its neighbourhood, nor has
J. K. Wallenberg 9 on th h wool mdustry ever flourished there
' e ot er h d . .
a ~ompound ofOld English _ , an , opines that the place-name is
1
might be tr I d u e, owl' and · 'd · •
. ans ate as 'the ho wzc wellmg-place', which as m early times th' k me of the owls' Th. . .b.lit
d • 1c woodland • 1s 1s a poss1 i y, e ge.10 !fe considers that th s encroached almost to the river's corruption of th O e w forms . .
!iterated e . Id English ii o£1 are ~netymolog1cal, being a as wu, which would ' ten wntten uu and thus trans-name. Althou h • account f; h 1 . .
h dl g m archaic Ian or t e ater vanat10ns of the ar Yseem to be of suffi • gua?e wolde signified 'old' 11 it would i A.o. 918-C . c1ent anti u· '
1 A.D. 10 -c:Je~0d:U1o;ax_onicum, ed. W d; ity t~ have had any influence
14
P· ?7I· 'P atzcus aevi Saxonlci ~rjYBirch, London, 1885-1893, p. 66r.
• : ·0• I068-Domcsday Book ' c · · M. Kemble, London, 1839-1848,
•0 • 1100-Text R ·
1 A.D. u oo-Do us,J offensis.
• mtsuay Mi h
'A.D. ro89-British onac orum, ed N .
RWJTds of Wool . hMUScum. . . Neilson, 1932.
'Co · wic, W Ty
• DC.ISC Oxford Dictio~ • incent, vol. I
io Tiu Plate-mmus ofI(, ry of English PI ' p. 15. 11 Owls may still be h:.,dJ_. Kb Wallenber:cuNaies, Eilert Ekwall, 1936. 'And bet. e Arsenal at W~osal 3:, h1934.
w· In charyt~ WlC •
1th all my neghi:nd in accorde urs wolde and zyng.' MS. Cantab., Ff ii, 38 f. 18.
II2
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
on the designation under review. The An lo-Saxon . appears in the suffix 'wick' or '~ich' implJng 'town':z: ,~f1~ u;,ually this same suffix can also be denved from the Icelandic ·k g '~ut
'an open b k h f · wz connoting
ay, cree or reac o a river'. In its latter derivat· , · k' expre e th ·d f a h 'b he side of water'. Finall ion0 wic
. ss s e i ea o am1et y t . ld be interpreted 'wood', 'weald', 'plain' 'slope' or 'hill' \1:r l c_a;1
ther f; · h b k d d ' · YY oo wzc,i
e ore, m1g t eto en a woode welling-place bordering on · M' Isaac Taylor holds a different view.12 He ascribes the naa rwetr. hr
D a d 1 . . 1 me o t e
. r:es a1: exp a1ns its etymo ogy as the hill reach presumabl from its situat10n under the shadow of Shooters Hill. y . -~ost early calligraphers adopted the habit of making 'W' the irntial letter. There were, however, two exceptions to this conventi One was the compiler of the Domesday Book and the other a h~n.
· h . . s 1p
:-Vng t employed 1n the infant dockyard. The former wrote Hul · 1nterprete d as ' the d . on the creek ' . vzz, _
welling All scribes until co p aratively recent times ~pelled as fancy dictated, orthography be{::g an lastlc art. This fash10n, no doubt, had much to commend it in t~at none could be accused of inaccuracy, but among its less attractive features was the uncertainty it bestowed upon posterity. It has be n suggested that the author ofthe Great Survey of 1086 preferred his o vn tongue to that of the Saxons, thus using the Norman viz . for th Anglo-Saxon wic, and, rendering the uu sound phonetically to the best of his ability, substituted h for w. Whatever the reason Hulviz was therein recorded as being In Grenviz Hundredo. Our maste; shipwright may have had antiquarian leanings or he may have been untutored, but for some cause best known to himself he drew his inspiration from the primal source, and scorning sixteenth century
orthodoxy, wrote Owllwiche.
Woolwich is known to have sheltered human life at a remote period though the mists of time have effectually obscured the possibility of ever ascertaining whether the early Britons had a river settlement there. There is one faint clue though its evidence is by no means overwhelming. While digging a boundary canal in the marshes during the eighteenth century on ground then recently purchased to enlarge the Warren, an elegant bronze weapon, bearing certain similarities to others discovered elsewhere in England and Ireland, was found near the trunk of a submerged tree, hard and black as ebony, six feet below the surface. This might indicate the presence ofsome early Celtic community. This object, tapering to a point and broad at the haft into which it was let and fastened by two rivets, was in an excellent state of preservation, and was exhibited befor the Society of Antiquaries by Dr Jeremiah Milles, the President, on 25 March 177 .1s The Romans undoubtedly occupied the district
9
12 Words and Places, 1882, p. l 15. 11 Ahael.re o ogia, vo.l vu, p. 412.
.. 113
THE BACKGROUND
which lay close to their great highway-Watling Street-which ran from the south coast to London and beyond. Their occupation was brought to light in 1856 when convicts, digging in Dial Square, Royal Arsenal, unearthed broken pottery and fragments of cinerary urns containing human bones. As cremation of this type ceased before the end of the 4th century A.D., the finds indicate that some of the present Arsenal premises cover the site of a Roman cemetery. Further discoveries in Wickham support this conjecture and justify the statement that the Romans did settle in the environs ofWoolwich. The funeral urns were deposited in the Royal Artillery Institution.
The prehistoric topography of the locality differed enormously from that of the presen_t time. A vast forest, now submerged, stretched to the banks of the nver, the tidal waters of which, draining the boggy creeks during their ebb and sweeping over the quagmires at their flow, must _have presented a spectacle of desolation. Trunks of oak, yew ~d willow together with stags' antlers and other animal remains, dmnterred on occasions from the Woolwich and Plumstead marshes, testify to the primeval vegetation which once covered the land. The conditions described probably antedated any settled community, ifwattle huts clustered together on the less marshy ground to the. east, can b~ graced by such an expression, but when man did decide to colomze the neighbourhood circumstances could not have been muc~ more propitious. In any case, when Cae a landed, the Thames did not flow along its present embanked channel. The water spre~d over a huge expanse from Abbey Wood on the south to Barkmg on the north forming a wide delta. Right up to the eighteenth century the marshes at Woolwich must have remained a drear spot. O~e ea? picture the scene on a foggy November evening with the m1st s~rling ove~ t?e stagnant pools. Dickens in his Great Expectations has given us a vivid account of life on the marshes bordering the Thames, and yet in his day the turbulent river had been embanked for centuries. A stream descending from Shooters Hill ran through the tangled wast~ converting the low-lying ground to the east into a reedy mere, while the sandy knolls to the west covered with scrub an~ bramble harboured the ubiquitous rabbit and other wild fauna which sough~ sanctuary within. To the indigenous inhabitants living
0 th
~ e outskirts these unhealthy marshes must have been peopled with boggarts and other horrifying denizens of the night and were undoubtedly shunned b II '
R' h Ya save malefactors and outcasts. ivers_ ave_ an unpleasant habit of bursting their banks and the Thames 1s not immune fi h' h · fi rn
. rom t 1s p enomenon. It suffers at times ro a greatly mcreased flow d b • . ow
fl . . . cause y excessive ramfall or heavy sn
.~ng ov~r Its basin. Then the numerous tributaries which drain into ~t, ethcomm~ rushing torrents, discharge their superfluous contents mto e mam channel Th" · · di but
· 1s 1n itself tends to cause floo ng,
114
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
when these swollen waters on their way to the sea meet adverse conditions in the tidal reaches the result is often disastrous and low-lying ground near the river's mouth becomes submerged.
This perennial problem, an ever-present threat, was forced on man's attention at the dawn of history, and the original efforts to control these periodic flood-waters were attempted before the age of written records. Both Sir Christopher Wren and Sir William Dugdale14 credited the Romans with first undertaking this task while Walker15 states that the primitive Thames embank~nents were probably the work of ancient Britons under Roman guidance.
All through the centuries this propensity has been a menace to riparian dwellers, and many instances are reported of water rushing over tilled acres and of man's efforts to avert the consequences. As early as the reig~ of Henry III the waters of the Thames rose to such a level that many inhabitants of Woolwich perished in their ho~ses.1G John Stow is even more graphic. He says We read also that m the yeare 1236, the riuer of Thames ouerflowing its b_ankes, caused the Marshes about Woolwich to be all on a Sea, wherem ~oats and other
· d wi'th the streame, so that besides cattell, the
V esse11 s were carne . . .
women and children, mhab1tants there,
greates t num ber of men, . d d p
were drowned.'17 In 1303 Walter le Band, Rich~r e ernefor~ and
uted to view and repai.r the banks, ditches
J l e Dover were dep , h , · K 1s I ho 1n d
f. E C d those of Wolwyc e in ent. n t e
etc. o ,ssex ounty an . · d fi
£ 11 · · b d floods occurred which necessitate urther o owing reign moire 13a21 Robert de Bardelby, William de Leicestre,
counter-measures. n d · 'fi John de Merton and Robert de Kellesleye ha . anhassb1gnnkme(ntf hor
. b h then newly made 1n t e a o t e
the view of a ~erta1n re~c Wol che by the violence of the Thames) betwixt Grenewiche anddd wy . thereof'_19 These four
'd d 'd for the su en repair
t1 es; an to prov1 e d d ll" t fiossatis which became
. . on terme e wa zzs e '
men fiormed a comnnssi d . h th ermanent maintenance a kind of statutory body charge wit e precaution in view of the
Y. a very necessary p
of the Thames waterwa '. . which frequently took place. Two gales and exceptionally high tidesk t s again breached and the
the emban men wa
and a haIf years 1ater . . the incident. They were in-commission were ordered to investigate through whose fault it had structed 'to distrain all those phersonfs· f; rther informing them, that h d h k.1ng good t ereo ' a
. appene ; tot e ma hrou h whose neglect it came, not
if they should find the pe~sons t h tgthe damage and peril which
able to repair it so speedily as ~ ~t be prevented that then they
would be occasioned thereby, mig '
. . William Dugdale, 2nd ed. 1772.
14 The History of lmbanking and Draining,
15 Thames Report of 18,JI, . p 491.
16 History of London, Richard Skit1.er, 1Jj5~9~ vol. II, p. 114•
17 Survey of London, ed. Charles m~ 140M~rch 1303.
18 Rot. Pat. 31 Edward I, m. 3od, 2 Sd !26 September 1321.
18 Rot. Pat. 15 Edward II, P· 1, m. 1 '
115
THE BACKGROUND
should distrain all those which had lands and tenements in these parts, who might have safeguard by the making-up of that breach, to the end that they should contribute thereto' .20
These extracts indicate that the persons commissioned to inspect and renovate were granted wide powers, not only to carry out the necessary reconstruction v.ork but to compel the culprits to pay for the damage. This is quite understandable in view of the very serious effects which could arise from a broken dyke.
In 1323 Stephen de Chellesfield became an additional member of
• • 21 L L
the Commiss10n. ater on, awrence de Rustington and John Abel were added to the numbers, and when John Abel died, Richard de Cornewayll 'parson of the Church at Kydbrook', was appointed in his stead.22
As the years passed this type of commission assumed a position of greate~ i?1portance -~nd receiv~d extended authority. In 1474 another comm1mon de walzts et fossatis was set up, consisting of ,villiam, Abbot of the Monastery of St Augustine, without the walls of the City of Canterbury; Edw~r~ Nevyll of Bergevenny, Knight ; John, Abbot of Bermondsey; Wilham, Abbot of Lesnes · Ma ter William Hat~liff;Ja_mes Haute, esquire; John Bromston, esq~ire; John Grene,
esqmre; Richard Page; John Bamme, esquire; Roger ~ ppelton; Roger Brent; John Alfegh; William Swan· Robert Balard · Roger She!ley;John ~eth~rsole; andJohn Hert. It; terms ofr f rcn~e were to VIew and mamta1n the embankments 'by the coast of the Thames from the ,town of Wolewiche, Co. Kent to the t f thflete,
, ov. n o or
Co. Kent.23
Th~re was another very high tide on 26 December 1516 which, sweepmg over the low-lying land at E 'th d 'd ble
n , cause cons1 eradamage to Crown property Th' · •a
· 1s is ev1 enced by an order to erect a shed at Defford Stronde24 to hous th k' , d · dry
d. . e e mg s or nance 1n a con 1tion, and to pay the wages of th · h b h · the
0 d d h d . e manners w o roug t 1n { nanct a~ ~ 0 ned the cables and rope which became wet as t e r~suht O a grheat and high tide that was upon Saint Stephen's
Day m t e store ouse at Herethe' th t r
I d a year.
i)
~ ~ed~o~rse tfhehcare and protection ofall river banks came under
th
e Juns 1cuon o t e Comm · · if 0 .c.
fi . . zsszoners o iJewers, who were appointed 1.or
ve, ten or, m certain cases fift
'in all arts of the R ' een years at the pleasure ofthe Crown pro re %ata 2& B t ealm wherever needful' under the Great Seal · Y s atute 23 Henry VIII it was enacted that the
to Rot. Pat. 17 Edward II 11 Rot. Pat. 16 Edward u' p. 2, m. i4d, 6 May 1324. 11 Rot. Pat. 17 Edward u' p. I, m. 5d, 30 January 1323. a Rot. Pat. 14 Edward IV p. 2, m. 14d, 6 May 1324. u Dcptford. , p. I m. 20d, 16 July 1474.
u Letters and Papers, Foreign and D . no.~6o6for. . omestic, Henry VIII, 1515-1518, vol. 2, part 2• a special purpose'.
II6
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
Commissions were to be at the discretion and nomination of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer and ChiefJustices, and to continue for ten years unless repealed by a new commission. The duties of the Commissioners ofSewers were to superintend the repairs ofsea-banks and sea-walls, and the cleansing of rivers, public streams, ditches etc. for the carrying-off of water; they were limited to the county for which they were specifically appointed. They :vere empowered to make such laws and ordinances as they considered necessary to effect the repairs, and to assess and levy such rates as they deem~d essential for that purpose. They might decree the sale of lan~s in default ofpayment ofsuch a rate, but their decrees had ~o.be certified in Chancery and obtain the royal assent. The C?m~iss10ners we~e subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of the Kings Bench. Their own courts have been regarded as Courts of Record and the records ofproceedings before them remaine~ usually in their c_us~ody or now in that of their present representat:I.ves.21 The Comrrussioners were,
in fact, a very powerful corporation. In the earl art of the reign of Henry VIII, the names of the · · y p .c. 'E t · he28 unto Gravvsende29 by
Com 11ss10ners of Sewers 1.rom s grenewzc '../
the caste of the Themys within the shire of Kent' were:
Thos Broke lord ofCobham; John, Abbot ofW~stminSter; John, Abbo~
' B h lme ve pnor of St Mary Overys,
of St Auo-ustine's, Canterbury; art e · \; ' E h .
S. Th M s· Th evell · John Hales, baron of the xc equer,
ir os oore; ir os , h H I . J h
Sir Richard Walden; John Willowby, sergeant-at-law; C _r Ria~'b O ~ Baker· recorder of London; Edw Boughton; Wm Draper' c Y son' Thos Tonge alias Norrey.30 • · h d a direct interest since the
The abbots and pno~, of course, . ad d 1 nds in the neighrelioious houses over which they preside owne a . . . O • h nd Plumstead. Of the remairung comm1s
b 1
ourhood of Woo w1c a fi f" ortance • a man of sioners, Edward Boughton was a locald gu{e ~ i~pan early' but vital substance in Woolwich and Plumstea wh o ooof Nicholas Boveton
. b t tOry He was t e son
part 1n our su sequen s • • d th manor of Woolwich alias Boughton who by purchase acquire e ortunist who had th; It appears that Edward Boughton ;:as ant °tfe~ting winds offortune. faculty ofsetting ~is sails to catch t be m;:ans not altogether above He amassed considerable wealth Y h"p with both Wolseley
. . H terms of acquaintances 1
susp1c10n. e was on h t have had close relations and Thomas Cromwell. In fact e seems do ce between them which with the latter according to the corhrespohn Cenomwell's influence that
h . d I doubtless, t roug r
as survive . t was, . , at Plumstead where he resided at
Boughton became the kings agent
27 Guide to the Public Records, MS. Giuseppi I 923, vol. I, p. 65.
28 Greenwich. 29 Gravesend. . d D mestic Henry VIII, vol. IV, part 2, no. 275
ao Letters and Papers, Foreign an ° ' 117
THE BACKGROUND
Burwash Court.s1 The perquisites of su h ffi h
'f, . c an o ce must ave been;~?: f~~~i{~~ht~i: s1:::e:eff hiHscalibre, besides _bringing him in~o
• If r. . gn. e found favour m Henry's eyes 1n 1tse a 1act callmg for great mental T b B '.
equal to the occasion b agi ity, ut oughton proving grata at the Court at Gre;~:%~ ~der Cromwell's ~nfluence, persona on 30 May 1533 at th ·. e was made a Kmght of the Sword
When Tudor Harry~ coro.7a:on of Queen Anne Boleyn. a2 portions for himself. but?0 ~~d ~he n:ionasteries, he kept the choicest his henchmen from 'time t e ti1 n~ it a useful expedient to reward Boughton was one of th? r:me with some of the pickings. Edward
is iavoured clas cl . d r: h
monarch extensive lands b . s an receive 1rom t e
foliows: Y special grant.33 This grant reads as
Grant in fee to Sir Edward B h
the manors, lands or tenement oufi ton 10 march 1539 (in exchange for and Blakyslondys in the parish:sc~f ~d Shuldforde, Medegrave, Brodeoke near Canterbury, Kent, and all the t Stephen, Hakyngton and Sturrey,
1
manor of Plumstede and rector o/nds there, and for £52, 1 os.) of the late Monastery of St Augusti Y Plumstede, Kent, belonging to the advowson of the vicarage of~~enear _Canterbury, now dissolved, with the ofWykeham alias Est Wykeha pansh of Plumstede and of the Chapel all the lands etc. which John 1i~sKent,_annexed to the said vicarage, and late monastery held in PI d ex ahas Sturrey late abbot of the said
' umste e B II
Wel1ynge, Wolwyche Lesn E' osca , Wykeham alias Est Wykeham,
' es, reth B 1
Kent. To hold by the annu ' ex ey and Yarde alia Crayford,
a1rent of£4 · h l'b .
roth M arch 30 Henry VIII. wit 1 ert1es. Dated Vvestminster
. These properties, ofcourse wer . . .
Wich which he inherited fro~ . em addit10n to the manor ofWool-The same year he s d his father. of his Kentish lands theucure by Act of Parliament the disgavelling
, s reversmg
which had persisted th h a process of the law ofinheritance
G l'L. roug out the . I
ave 11,zn seems originally to have county smce time immemoria . of rent, or by custom . meant tenure of land by payment
fi d I ary service . z· .
eu a tenure ofKnight . s zn zeu, m place of the ordinary
th service The
e accompanying rules · . name eventually came to denote antedated the Conquest go~e:nmg succession. In Kent this custom universally accepted th atn. Its subsequent feudal laws and was so
• · a It W '
e~t in questions affectin tra as presumed by Courts of law to . eVIdence to the contrary g nsfers of land in the county unless
was forthco · T . • ·
1 Barthol ming. he mam charactensucs
1
Dover Castl~d'i!°d Lord Burghesh ra
Plumstcad named afird Wharden of the' &n oclsopn of Robert De Burghesh Constable of
r. ter irn 'B que orts h d' d · ' d J d ·n
bccame iurther corru ·, urwash' is a c .' w o 1c m 1359, owne an s 1
n Letters and p pted to Burrage' (e g B orruption of 'Burghesh' which afterwards ., Letters d papers, Foreign and D . . _urrage Road). '
'"·) an apers F · 0 mestic H v
~ ,p. 255. ' oreignandDomestic Henry III, vol. vi, no. 601 (4). 1 Rot. Pat. 30 H~rv VIII ' enry VIII, vol. xiv, part I, 1539, no. 65 --, , p. 6, m 13 Ma
' Io rch 1539.
II8
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
of such a tenure was that succession to land passed by ri ht to all th~ sons ~nd not to the eldest, thus discountenancing t~e law of pnmogeruture. In default ofsons, the estates passed to th d h
· d · e aug ters
as co-portioners an ~o-heiresses. Among other features of avelkind tenure were that a wife took as her dower one-half · t dg Of
. d f ins ea one-
thrr o the land, the tenant was enabled to alienate the land b feoffment at the age of fifteen, and that it did not esche t · yf
. r. . a 1n case o an attamder 1or felony, the n1ax1m being 'the father to the bou h the son to the plough'. g ' In 154o_Edward Boughton was one of the numerous retinue which accomparned the Duke of Suffolk to Dover to welcome An 0 f Cleves to these shores.34 He died _on 10 December 1549. ne On 2 I June 1530.a French fnar was paid £735 for undertakin to stop up a breach m the Tha_mes em?ankment at Woolwich; an~ 1n the reign ofJames I another 1nundat10n occurred whereby several acres ofland became permanently submerged owing to the river t returning to its normal bed.36 no I t can therefore be appreciated that the regulation of the Thame water_s and the preven:ion ?f ~ood dama8:e was, if not a burnin; quesb.on, one of drenching s1gnrficance, which called for continuous legislation by Parliament. Further Acts dealing with river banks and marshes in the neighbourhood of Greenwich, Woolwich, Plumstead and Erith are listed below.37 The last of these enabled William Burrell of Middlesex to complete in 1606 the task which several companies had previously attempted without success. He is a man to whom riparian owners should be grateful since his engineering skill stayed the inroads of the river and reduced subsequent inundations to manageable proportions. His work, in addition to the locks, sluice gates and other mechanical devices for water control more recently installed, have made modern floods incidents of minor importance. Woolwich, then a tiny fishing hamlet nestling on the river's bank, could not have remained untouched by the Anglo-Saxon invasion which swept the country in the fifth century. Rivers, in particular the Thames, and the roads which the Romans left behind as a memorial to their greatness afforded considerable aid to the marauding bands from Europe in the conquest of their new kingdom. Landing at Ebbsfleet in Thanet, Hengist drove towards London and inflicted a
34 Harl MS., no. 296, f. 171.
35 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, vol. v, 1531-1532, p. 750. 36 History of London, Richard Skinner, I 795, P· 491. 37 Rot. Parl. de anno, 22 Hen. VIII, n 10, cap. 3· Rot. Parl. de anno, 37 Hen. VIII, cap. 11. Rot. Parl. de anno, 5 Eliz., n 36.
Ex bundello de Sewers in Capella Rotulorum, n 16• Rot. Parl. de anno, 8 Eliz., n 22. Rot. Parl. de anno, 14 Eliz., n 15.
Rot. Parl. de anno, 23 Eliz., n I 3· Rot. Parl. de anno, 4 Jae., cap. 8.
119
THE BACKGROUND
crushing defeat on the Britons at Aylesford. This battle not only laid bare Eas~ Kent to ~h': victors but struck the keynote to the subsequent subjugat10n of Bntam. The massacre which followed showed only too well the nature of the struggle ahead. While the wealthier landowners fled, many of 0em overseas, the common folk took refuge in the forests and ~ills till the pangs of hunger drove them forth into the arms of their conque_rors and brought oblivion. Aylesford was
followed some years later m A.D. 45 7 by the battle of Crayford which finally ~ealed t_he ~ate of Kent, most of the population which escaped extinction fleemg m terror. The fate of Woolwich in this holocaust wherein murder ~nd pillage competed with arson, must ever remai~ in the worn? of time, but that it survived in some form throughout the succeedmg fo~r hundred years is evidenced by the fact that in the tenth century it had bec~me an appendage of Lewisham.
On ~ September _9 18, Lew~sham, with its four appurt nances, viz. Woolw1ch, Greenwich, Mot~mgham and Coombe, was given to the Abbey of St Peter at Ghent m Flanders by Elstrudis (Elfrida), 38 the daughter of Alfred the Great. This abbey had an eventful history. Founded by St Amand who built a church there in 608 it was destroyed by infidels in 611 and rebuilt in 613 by order of Clothaire, King of the Franks. In 616 St Amand dedicated the edifice to St Peter. Fire levelled it in 813. On being reconstructed, it was suppressed by Charles Martel and re-established by Charlemagne. In 851 the ~orm~ns _and Danes attacked the abbey and laid waste the surrounding district. !n 937 Arnulf, son of Baldwin II, Count of Flanders and Elstrud1s of England restored ·t b t · t years
. d II . 1 , u rune een
1ater he seize a its possessions and <list ·b t d th ng his
. Th E . n u e em amo
b.1 1
no 1 Ity._ e ng 15h lands, including Woolwich, would then have automatically reverted to Edwy, King of England, which accounts for the confirmatory charter given by his brother and successor, Edgar the Peacemaker, who in 964 declared:
I Edgar, King and Chief of th E . h b . . . ·
1 d . . e ng11s y d1vme assistance, renouncing
every ;w a~ ~randsitho_ry thmg as dross ... make known to all that I have ~ant~ toGho an( _is Peter, deservedly happy and to the s~ciety of the c ur)c at ~nt which Ghent in Mount Blemy'is a haven for merchantme~ a certam hextent of land in a place, viz. which the rustics, from
ancient custom, ave denom· t d L . '
· G · h W . ma e ew1sham, with all its appurtenances,
viz. reenw1c oo1w1ch M0 tt· h ·1
d d ' ' mg am and Coombe with their utensi s ~nthappend ag~s, and all things which the God of H;aven hath created
m e pro uctions of the earth . •
11
great and small d h . ' as we m known as unknown causes, in
11
wm· . d ' an a t eir customs and privileges etc I have with a
mg mm , granted all these th· · · ' fi
the interference of th R I mgs out of my possessions, and free rom devout and kindest f~en~yAa Tre~ury, to the prayers and friendship of my ' rchbishop Dunstan (under whose government
N See page 112.
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
and patronage this same church of St Peter of Ghent continues to be
ruled from the time of King Edwy, my brother, which same archbishop
in this renowned Church was banished for some time by the same King) ...
a_s well and as truly as I possesse_d these contingencies in my proper
nght ... and as Elstrudis, my cousm and daughter of the uncle of King
Edward, my grandfather, ... left them for the good of her soul, and of
her lord, Earl Baldwin, and of her sons, Arnulfus and Adelulphus, etc.
... and so I willingly and liberally by the advice ofmy bishop and nobles
have granted and confirmed to the aforesaid C~urch of St Peter of Ghent:
the possession of them for ever; but, finally, if a1:yone, w~ not making
effectual provision, shall consent fraudulently to violate thIS our gift, let
him henceforth consider, that at the last Da~ ofJudgment he must render
up an account before God, and th:3-t he, with ~he rep,rob~te of whom it
is said 'Depart from me, ye cursed, mto everlastmg fire, will suffer dread
ful punishment, unless he shall beforehand make atonement by lamenta
. d wort hy repentance. 39t1on an
During the reign of Edgar's son-Ethelred the Unready-a tide of calamity swept over England. Ethelred ascended the throne in 97g at th age of ten after the murder of his ~rother, Edwar~ the Martyr. Edward's assassination betokened the tnumph of~chb1shop Dunstan's enemies and the relegation of that statesman to impotence, the kingdom being thus denied ~is wise counsel. Before Ethel:ed reached manhood the Vikings again began to ~cou: the seas lookmg for fresh lands to conquer. In 99 1 the Norwegians invaded England and tt 1 d fi t d the host of East Anglia at Maldon. Faced with
u er y e ea e h hb" h , 'd
this defeat, the hapless monarch, bereft oft_ e arc is ~p s;mb a~ce, could think of no better method of procunn~ peace t an y uymg off the invaders with money raised by a sp~cial tax (Danegelt), and · h tl English lands while he hoped to strengthen
allowing t em to set e on ' v·k· h
h . · · b t with Normandy. The i 1ngs, owever,
1s pos1t10n y a trea Y . h k. h ·
. d h · ·d f h bargain and returned to t e attac , t eir
1gnore t eir s1 e o t e . . .
w ·thd 1 • b • the precursor of another 1ncurs1on 1n 997.
1 rawa m 995 e1ng . d 1
Eth 1 d fi r d knew not which way to turn an great y
e re ' ee ing cornere ' f S Forkbeard King of feared further aggression on the part O wdey~ d t' h" •d Denmark and Norway. He therefore boun ormdan hyt o fisDsike
· with Emma aug er o u e
bY contracting a second marriage ' • • h
R· h f E gland was by now precarious in t e
ic ard. Though the state O n Ethelred in a fit of extreme all might yet have been well had not_ . ll th D
. h lan of exterminating a e anes
panic conceived the treac erous P B . , D 1002 the Vvest
8t
settled in Wessex. Accordingly on nee s ayd d d , Saxons in obedience to the king's signal, rose up a~ mur e~h ~~~ry Dane 'among whom was Gunhilda-Sweyn's sister-ha h nbs iand
' .c: e who saw er us an
convert and one of the hostages ior peac ' . and child butchered before her eyes ere she fell, vowing ' ngean
38 DT~e Cl!arities of Greenwich, John KembekllS 18.~~y')P·1!4s, vol. I, p. 32. zoceszs Rojfensis (Canterbury and Yor OCl '
121
120
THE BACKGROUND
under the blows of her assassin. Swe n beside h. .
swore to conquer England. The redemy ti f h. imself with fury, delayed. Invading the country with a~a;n ° is oath ~as not long
st
land for four bitter years, leaving behind h1e hbo ' he laid waste the ravaged towns and a trail marked b , d m . urnt-out homesteads, turmoil Canterbury "'as taken and ) k esolatwn and death. In the Alphege) being dragged to G s~c ed, and Archbishop Ailheah
( ' reen wich th .
to death in default ofa ransom of£ ' was ere mercilessly done in slaying the head of a Church 3,ooo. Men who had no scruples
· · h would have h · · ·
propnatmg t ~ property of a forei n no esitatrnn 1n ex-therefore, lost its English possessio g abbot. The Abbey of St Peter, During this reign of terror Ed w ns · d
sons by his second wife, had b ar_ and Elfred, Ethelred's young court in Normandy. Edward af:en given sanctuary at their uncle's fessor, is said to have made' erwards known as Edward the Con
. a vow the d d
that, if ever he ascended the tl re ate 26 December r 006 Lewisham, Greenwich, Woolwi:~o~ of_England, he would restore _Chu:ch o~ St Peter at Ghent. Th~ ottmgham and ?oombe to t!:e mscnbed 1s among the arch· fparchment on wh1 h the vow 1s
1ves o FI d
not have been more than th an ers, but as the boy could
ree years Of
to grave doubt whether he Id h age at the time it is open
. cou av t k '
vow records that It was tak . e a en much part in it The
• en pubhcI · ·
an t aul m the time of R b Yin the monastery of St Peter
d S P
• o ert I~·
December m the year of O L ' mg of France on 2 6th day of 'th h ur ord '
w1 t ese wor~s: '!, Edward, bein' one thousand and six. It ends affix my mark. It IS endorsed 'Ed g capable of understanding, do England, made this solemn ward' son of Ethelred K.ing of
In rn13 the end came andv~w to God and St Peter.' '
thelred fleeing the country a~ey~ ~sSum:d t~e crown 9f England, rn42 on the death of Hardi J rung his children in Normandy. threcalled to the English throne canuted ' Edward the Confessor was
ev~w amplified the donation~o ~nthtwo years later in fulfilment of grantm~ the monks the manor fo L e ~bbey ofSt Peter by a charter ances, VIZ Gre · h O ew1sh ·
th • · . enwic , Woolwich M . am with all its appurtenaned1ura re?alza41 in those lands fi' _ottingham and Coombe, with exactions ro . , ree1ng th fi . . . .
TrinoJ . ' ya1, epIScopal h em rom all Junsd1ct1on
TheuaChnecessztas ,2 r ot er · · • even the
· O wise, mcludmg
I t3 b arter of Edward the Ca~pen~: as t~e Dom~day Book onfess?r was confirmed by William Ghent :e ~nfcGreenw1ch as being~ent~ons only Lewisham with its
' e 1 erence is that the ~n t e possession of the Abbot of " Di«esi onqueror somehow managed to
u V--• s Roffmsis {Cantcrb
., Th~....,, 111 Privileges ury and york S .
c thrccft Id · ociety) 8
., Dated 108o t_ax for rcpairin . ' 194 'vol. I, p. 31.
J. DUJeesis Roll'. . g bridges m . . .
:umsis (C , amtammg . . .
anterbury and y cas~1es and repelling invasions, ork Society), 1948, vol. I, p. 28.
I 22
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE W ARREN
acquire Woolwich, Mottingham and Coombe between h" fi
ti f Ed d' h Is con rma
on o war s c arter and the compilation of the s As subsequent charters to the_Abbey of St Peter by William :~:~·and Henry I refer solely to Lewisham and Greenwich, the Abbot ofGh must have tacitly accepted the position and of necessity relinq · :~ the additional holdings. Woolwich thus reverted to the CrowUIS e
The reference to Woolwich in the Domesday Book is as fol~ws:
In the half-lath of Sudtone44 and in the Greenviz Hundred H ·
h 6 f 1 · · h. h w·11· ' aimo
as 3 acres o and 1n Hulv1z w 1c 1 1am the Falconer held of Kin Edward. In this estate there are eleven bordars46 who pay forty-one g
Th h 1 . pence. e w o e 1s worth £3. This estate, remarks Lysons, is supposed to be comprehended · what is now the principal manor and which at a very early peri~~ was called the 'manor of Wulewick' and afterwards the 'manor of ?outhall' in Woolwich.47 The manor, with its social and economic implications, was an integral part of the feudal system being at the same time a unit of rural organization and a centre of local administration. Maitland calls it 'A complex of rights over lands and tenants which includes the right to hold a court.' It therefore consisted of the lord who held the manor, the land and its utilization the juriscliction of a court and the tenants, either free or bound, wh~ held of the lord. The manor lands comprised the lord's demesne, those cultivated by the tenants, open pastures, woodlands, commons and wastes. The extent of a manor varied. Often its boundaries coincided with those of the parish in which it was situated. As Blackstone says 'It seems pretty clear and certain that the boundaries of a parish were originally ascertained by those of the manor.' Seldom does a manor stretch into adjoining parishes, though often a parish may contain more than one manor. Woolwich appears to be a case in point. In Angevin days it consisted of three main divisions of land called the manors of Woolwich, Southall and Jeffreys, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that within the main manor of Woolwich were two subsidiary manors, named Southall and Jeffreys. The manorial rights of Woolwich reverted to the Crown in medieval times and became absorbed in those of the royal manor of Eltha1n though the association appears to have been loose. Southall then became known as the 'manor of Woolwich' for all practical purposes. This change of nomenclature has tended to confuse the
hiStory of the manor. .
It seems clear that soon after the Conquest the authority of the
44 'S
udtone' is 'Sutton-at-Hone'. rd
.45 Raimo was th h •ff A man of similar name was confessor to Edwa II and Bish e s en .
~p of Rochester in 13 16. 46 Bordar'-a cultivator of the soil.
47 The Environs of London, Daniel Lysons, I 796, vol. IV, P· 559·
123
THE BACKGROUND
Abbot of St Peters at Ghent over Woolwich was, if not abrogated, so shadowy as to be virtually null and void. At any rate, the church there was given by Henry I to the monks of the Priory and Convent of St Andrew at Rochester48 and certain portions of the lands were detached from the chief manor. Some of these were attached to the royal manors of Eltham and Dartford, while others were presented to the Abbot of StJean Baptiste d'Angeley in Saintonge, France, by
Henry II after his accession.49 King John, however, who was a law unto himself and cared little for the anathemas ofthe Church, seized the Abbot's lands in_ Woolwich and Mottingham to suit his own purposes though he ~d apparently repent of his rash act some years later. Whether conscience or policy moved him he did address a mandate to Geoffrey FitzPiers on 25 June 1206 'on the occasion of
his visit to the Abbey of St Jean Baptiste, instructing him. to return without delay the stolen lands to the Abbot together with any chattels which may have been purloined.so The townsmen of St Jean d'Ang~ley revolt:d in 1224 in favour of King Louis VIII of Fr ance, and this happemng together with the violent changes of ownership whi~h the~ had exl?erienced, doubtless brought home to the mo~s
the msecunty of their tenure. They therefore decided to convey their estate to Aymer de Valence, bishop-elect of v\Tinchester and halfbr?ther to Henry II!. In 1250 Aymer was consecrated Bishop of Winchester, and on his death at Paris in 1261 the lands of W oolwich reverted to Henry III who granted them to Avice de Aula, wife of th_e Keeper of Rochester, for the term of her life. This lady paid the "!{1~g £10 a year and had the assize of bread and ale and a gallows m ~oolwyc~ and Modyngham'. Prior to this grant, Gilbert de Mansco held m 1236 half a knight's .r • W · h d Warin
. -1ee m oo1w1c un er
1
d M h
e one ens1.a After the death of th .c. • J hn de
· b e 1ormer m 1255, o
Mansco,. pro ably a son answered .c. the same 1e.c. e under R lph de
, wr a Mandeville. Walter de Mandeville h h Id f h or of
w 1 · h ffi d h' w o e part o t e man
oEol wh1c a rme is portion to be an appurtenance of his manor
o
f t am and parcel of th h . _
h
. e onour of Gloucester.<>2 H e then ex c :n~ed~hes~ 1~terest~ for the manor of Luton in Bedfordshire with
J
fco nlifc e esci w ose -~dow, Isabel, held Woolwich and Mottingharn or e. 53 1ater Wilham d y · · to
Anth B k B~ h e esc1 conveyed these properties . ~nyhe ' his op of Durham54 who gave it in reversion after his own eat to t e Crown. Edward I thus became lord of the manor 0 R~gist'!'m Ro.ffenu, Thorpe Dzoceszs Ro.ffensis (Canterbu1769, p. 35. :: Rot. Pipe, 2 He~ry II. ry and York Society), 1948, vol. I, p. 433· Rot. Claus. 8 John m 6 J I
p. 73). ' · ' 25 une 1206 (Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum 1833, vol. '
11 ,,.. '
1. est~ de Nevill, 18o7, p. 209.11 Placr.ta de Quo Waranto I 8I 8 ( Ed
••Rot.Pipe, 2 1 Edward' I 7 ward I), p. 343. 14 Inquisitions post morte~ Ed . . tiom post mortem, vol. V, p. 'ili). ward II, no. 274, 22 May 1311 (Calendar of Inqu15i
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
ofEltham and Woolwich, the latter becoming a manorial dependant
of the former though it continued to hold a separate court and had
a separate jury and homage. A Court Leet and a Court Baron were
held yearly for the manor ofWoolwich, and a jury and homage were
sworn within the manor. At this Leet the jury appointed two
constables and two ale-tasters for the town and parish of Woolwich.
In the Court Baron all tenants were free and paid a relief of one
year's quit-rent on every death and alienation.55 . .
Although the legal position was clear, t_he allegiance o~ Wool"':1-ch
to Eltham was frequently disputed and ignored. Even in_ the time
of Edward III the question must have come to.a he~~ owing to the
fact that tenants of royal manors enjoyed certam pnvileges: A close
roll of that reign56 indicates that the inhabitants of Woolw1ch were
b eing treated unjustly in this respect. It states:
The King to all and singular, the king's bailiffs_ an~ ministers within the realm to whom etc. Greetings. Order not to d1str~1n the men of the manors ofModynham and Woolwich, which are ofancient demesne of the Crown for payment of toll upon their goods and property, contrary to the custom of the realm heretofore, kept and approv<:d that men of the ancient demesne of the Crown are and ought to be qwt of such payment throughout the realm releasing any distress made for that cause.
ken in which Woolwich is described as a
In r 649 a survey was ta d m ember of the Manor of Eltham but holding a separate court, an in the rei n of Charles II they were separate manors, but held g · 66 s1 The issue was finally resolved
together and so conveyed 1n 1 3· E h
· · ' · h Sh · the Court of the xc equer
1n a suit brought by Sir Jo n aw in against Mr Richard Bowater who had recently purchased thi•m an~r
O
of W oolwich from the trustees of Mrs Elizabeth 8 croop. ir 1 n whose family had leased the Crown
Sh f Eltham
aw, 2nd Baronet o , · 11 d · th rights of Eltham and Woolwich for several generauo1:sladehg~ itn lel p t nt lawfully ent1t e 1m o a
Court of Exchequer that Letters a e . h • h 1 the freehold and customary rents, fines, duties, etcd. wf1t h1n t e royah' M • t was seize o t e reversion
manor of Eltham, and that is a Jes y f 8d formerly paid and inheritance, that the yearly rent o f3·1:~d in. Woolwich and by Mr Boughton to the manor of Elthamdo; me time. that the
'd f the town had cease ior so ' h h
on t e sout s1 e ? . d ered that the boundaries were lands had been so intermixed au ai~k t b disinherited through
1
lost sight of, and that the Crown was_1 edy lo _e that he knew oughtd r. I M B d"sputed the claim ec anng
e1au t. r owat~r I n evidence that the Woolwich of the lands belonging to Eltham. ~i~ S • Thomas Trevor the estate was within the manor of t am ir ' d
1 r. d for the petitioner on 6 February 1695 anAttorney-Genera , 1oun
55 Hundred of Blackheath, Drake, 1886, P· 145· 56 Rot. Claus. 48 Edward III, m 18, 5 July 1374·
57
Records of Woolwich, Vincent, vol. I, P· 2 1.
125
THE BACKGROUND
Mr Bowater was ordered to pay the rent of£ Bd . h years' arrears and defend the bounds 1'n .c. t 5rAos. . Wlllt 30
d f h iu ure. s a coro ary to the e~ree o t e Court, a Commission was set u r Jul r 6 96 to deterrrune the actual boundaries of th 1 d p f O B y
now ofBowater h" h .r. e an s, once oughton and
Th C .. 'w ic iormed the manor of Southall (Woolwich) 69 e ommb1ss10dn reported the result of their labours and defined the necessary oun s on 2 November 1696 As before mentioned ther · .
called the manor of s th ellwas an es~ate m the parish ofWoolwich
ou a (Woolw1ch) h' h d b
a manor and was styled 'M w 1c was repute to e Kent. It was this pro ert :~or of:Vulwiche' in the Feodary Books of of the Domesday sufv y, shurmised by Lysons, which at the time
ey was eld by H . h Sh 'ff S .c:
the decease of Anthon B k S . aimo, t e en . oon a1ter
holding one fourth ( a :~i a~ma de_ Wyndlesore is recorded as
Monchensi who 1·n tu0 h ldght s fee m Woolwich of Warin de
' rn e of th kin ·
of that portion of the k . h , e g. This was probably a half remainder comprising th~g tds fee. held by Gilbert Marisco, the Isabel, widow of John J ~ s _which came into the possession of answered for this same e esc1. Later on Sir John de Pulteney 1346, for knighting th~u;r:~~ sha:e in th~ aid levied on I November Neale of Pulteney near L Prmce. Sir John, the son of Adam financier possessed of a utt~rworth in Co. Leicester, was a great of London in n amp e fortune. He was Mayor of the City
1330
consequence. He l~nt 133Eld 133J and 1336 and a man of considerable him to carry on with h" ;ar III a good deal of money to enable
1
for this service. Four ce : :ench wars and was no doubt rewarded
ennobled by its represe~t~;{~: lat~r,_on 14July 1742, the family was Earl ofBath. By a fine . d.' Wilham Pulteney, being created the a life interest in his W 1evli~ m 1347, Sir John de Pulteney conveyed
oo wich ma
estates to Humphrey d B h nor, together with that of his other remainder to himself 60 e h.0 u_n, Earl of Hereford and Essex with .ts . . 1 ' w ich mte t
ongma owner,61 Aft s· res was soon reconveyed back to
1 Sir William Pulteney er ir John's death on 8June 134g his son, ' •
conveyed h'is South 11succeeded t °the 1amily.r. estates. In 1362 h e \Vorcester, and two ~th ma?or to John de Baronetta Bishop of truste 1 ers m trust 62 d . ' h
es sett ed them i t . . , an m the following year t e
1
garet and their issue. : ~ on Sir William Pulteney his wife Marher second husband' S~ ;y de Loveyn, son of Da~e Margaret by heirs of Sir William.~ rr icholas de Loveyn; and on the rightful
Margaret, widow of Sir
Exch Nicholas Sarnefield, K.G.-the royal
11
u Exchcquer Decrees 7 Will. " Ped cqF_uerd~pccial 'eonun~_m II8I, Hilary folio 319
•
in. iv co Ed 10n, Will" III .
•1
Rot. Cla • 2 I ward III iam ' no. 6795.
II Rot Claus. 21 Edward III , no. 41 I. ta Ped. F' usd.. 36 Edward 111' p. 18, m 29d, 1347.
• m. iv co 36 Ed , m I d I9Jul 6
· ward III n'o Y13 2 and m 20d, 20July 1362.
6
' • 14• 37 Edward III, no. 627. 126
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
Standard Bearer-next comes into the possession of the Ma f Southall (Woolwich). Shemusthavebecome temporarily embar~~;s;d for money as she mortgaged the estate to Thomas Marshall and wm· Bures und~r _a coven~nt which stipulated that they were boun~a: surrender 1t 1f she paid them the sum of £100 in cash in the po h of ~ltham church before Michaelmas 1426. The mortgagees w:~e notified to attend the church and collect the money, but they did not appear. Instead they stipulate~ t~at_they required a further £ 4o. Dame Margaret refused to be 1nt1m1dated by this extortionate dem~nd. She alleged that the hold<:rs of th<: mortgage had amply repaid themselves by felling and selling the umber from the Manor and petitioned that they should be cited to appear before the Lord Chancellor. The money claimed was possibly furnished by the sale of the manor in 1424 to Richard Sturgeon for 200 marks64 who in turn made a profit of 1oo marks when he conveyed it on 13 October
1435 after sale to John Tattersall.65 John Tattersall was a gentleman of London who married Agnes da~ghter ofJohn Chichele, grocer of Lo~don, and niece of Heru,'. Ch1chele, Archbishop of Canterbury. At his decease, John Tattersall left h vo daughters, co-heiresses: Margery, who marned John Roper of Swacliff, Kent, one of the Surveyors of the Customs of the Cinque Ports,66 and Anne married to Sir Ralph Hastings who at his death
. ' .
1n 1495 left all his interest in the manor of Woolwich at the disposal of his wife. Agnes Tattersall marrie~ second~y Sir Willia~ Kene, after whose death and that of her son-in-law Sir Ralph Hastmgs, the manor of Woolwich was settled on herself. She conveyed it to Nic~olas Boughton at Michaelmas 149~-The man~r then_descende~ to Sir Edward Boughton, his son, who in turn left it to67Nicholas, his son, who sold it in to Richard Heywood for £786. The manor
1554
at that time had as its appurtenances 7 messuages, 3 barns, 1 dovecote, 4 gardens, orchards, 100 acres of arable land, 200 acres of pasture, acres 4of marsh, 50 acres of heath a~d 200 acres of ':ood
50
lands together with shillings rent in Woolw~ch ~nd Greenwich.
40
Christopher Heywood, son and heir of the sai~ Richard, ~onveyed one third of the estate in January l 57368 to Richard Patrick, ·who together, the latter on 1 July 157sso and the former on 20 ~ugust 15~0'• conveyed all their interests in the manor ~f \~oolwich ~o William Gilborne, citizen and draper of London. Sir Nicholas ~11borne of Ch · K t hi·s son was seized in 1590 of a mansion
, anng, en , , . h d h .
house in Woolwich, called Woolwich Hall, wh1c stoo on t e site
6<1 pd
65 ped. Fin, 3 Henry VI, no. 108.
0 e · Fm. 14 Henry VI no. 404. 1 H VIII
676 :ather_ of Sir John Roper of Well Hall, attorney-genera to enry ·
os pe~. F!n. 6 Edward VI, Hilary.
oo Re · Fm. 15 Eliz., Hilary.
,0 Rot. Claus. 20 Eliz., p. 15.
ot. Claus. 22 Eliz., p. 16. 10 127
THE BACKGROUND
o~the present Red Bar:a~ks; ofdivers orchards, houses etc. adjacent with the chattels rema1nmg in the house., a11 of wh'1ch he Iet on 2 o ovember 159° _to Francis eedham for 2 I years. He settled the
manor of Woolw1ch· on Henry Gilborne h'IS son, who a· d wit· h
. h · d , Ie out ISSue. From im it escended to his n1·ece El' b th d h d
· · b th Th Isa e , aug ter an
heir of his ro er omas Gilborne of W I · h Sh · d S
f L h oo WIC . e marne t
Leger Scroop o out , Co. Lincoln who di d . fi . 1d'ffi 1 .
An A t of Parliament e m nancia I cu ties. inheri~ance in trustees, :~~;;ere~ore obta~ned in I 690 to vest her to pay her late husband's debt;hich ce~tam lands were to be sold from her undertakings u d.h!"frs Elisabeth Scroop was released
n er t IS Act b . d
from the private fortune of Th . Y certam payments ma e trustees appointed under th o~as A_spm, her second husband. The
. e a1oresa1d A t D w·11· G h
Dean of Carlisle and John H c -r I iam ra am, manor \\ith its appurtenan _arvWey of Thurley, Co. Beds, sold the
ces m ool . h d . d
Bowater mercer ofLondo d h' wic an Charlton to Richar
. ' n, an is son Ri h d 1· d f
the City, for the sum of £I , c ar , a men-raper o
1
, 8oo and a · 1 / h
Mr and Mrs Thomas Aspin. 71 Th nomma. sum_of 5 -eac to family until the beginning f h e_ manor remamed m the Bowater
The manor of Jeffrey O t e nmeteenth century. Elizabeth's reign by Henr~ ~:s possessed in the b ginning of Queen.73 eney, who held it in capite72 of the
ow what of the humbler folk • men and small merchants as the Of W 0 ?lwich, the labourers, fisher-t~eir trades, bought and sold fc centuries rolled on ? They followed like that of any other small c;mough~ a~d loved, and iived and died strayed within the clutches f :;mmty in the country. At times they was just a small fishing vill O t_ e law. Until Tudor days Woolwich a few narrow lanes leadin age, its houses clustered together between bounded between the pre g to ~he water's edge in an area roughly little up the hill on the · ~ent sites of the Dockyard and Arsenal. A
ns1ng gro d
no doubt the life of the small h un stood the church round which The church was originally d ~~let revolved. wards to St Mary Magd l e icated to St Lawrence74 and after-th h a ene It ·
e mot er church of th d" · anciently paid gd. chrism rent to · h · e 10ce r A
"';It Its whole tithe to the p . se. a s before stated it was given Bishop of Rochester by H nory of St Andrew and Gundulph,
his ' enry I £
parents and his wife 1a Th. _or the good of the souls of himself, ~~arter.1_1 Fur~er chart;rs to t~eg1ft was confirmed by a subsequent the dissolution of the p . same effect followed in due course. 11 R nory of St A d ·
ot. Claw. 5 William d n rew m 1540 the church at
71
A tenure held . . an Mary p 8
n Hundred ofBtZ1cd1ately of th; so~e' ~os. 24 and 28. ,. Regist,um & aJh, Drake 1886 reign. ,1 Ta111s &1r.. ,J/tf'St, Thorpe, I 76 'p. I 51.
,. -r rutnsis, Thomas H 9, p. 696.
, atus &IT-.: Th carne 1
" Rt. . rll"'N•s, omas Hearne' 720, p. 230. !,utru,n &J/mse, Thorpe I 76 ' I 720, p. r70.
' 9, p. 35.
128
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVE T OF THE WARREN
Woolwich was settled on the newly-elected Dean and Ch t 1·
Ro h t I h h ap er o
c es er. n t e seventeen~ century the people ofWoolwich reatl feared for the safety of their church from the heavy traffi g · y to and fro between the Dockyard and the town. On 25 Acp J:>1ass6mg
th . . d . n I 50
ey p~t~t10ne t~e Council of State for an order to the Na Comrmss10ners to issue from store a certain quantity of waste ti bvy and planks, unsuitable for ship-building, to repair the wharf le~· er to the Dockyard, which, as they said, 'is so much decayed by ~~g heavy loads carted over it, that neither carriages, horses nor f. : can pass it without danger, and it endangers the falling d~wn of~~ church of the town'.78 The estimate for the repair of the wharf, 55~ feet long and 6 feet deep, total £194. 10s. od., was accompanied b a statement that it had been repaired by the Navy Commissione; in r634. Then follo'."'ed an Order in Co_u~cil, which had a curious!; modern rmg about it. The Navy Comin1Ss10ners were to enquire into the m atter and ascertain who should carry out the repairs. If the State were not to be charged they were to examine the cost and certif what waste timber could be spared towards the work without
making a precedent of it. It was agreed on 6 June 1650 that the government should bear one third of the cost of the repairs, allowed by giving the timber of old and decayed vessels then stored in the
Dockyard.
By the reign of Queen Anne the church was falling into decay as well as becoming too small to house the gro':"ing congregation. Money was therefore collected and given by charitable persons to renovate the structure. A survey, however, demonstrated that the old fabric was incapable of being either repaired or enlarged. It was therefore decided to rebuild it on a new site, and in May I 726 a piece of land I½ acres in extent and lying to the south was purchased from the Bowaters. In an Act was passed whereby fifty new churches
1710
Were to be built79 and thus, money having been contributed, the
80
foundations of the new edifice were dug. Finally in I 732 another Act was passed specifically ordering the rebuilding of Woolwich Church as one of the number directed under the former Act. The Act of George II directed that the sum of £3,000 should be paid toward the cost of rebuilding before 24 June 1732. Treasury records complete the story for on 25 May 1732? Nathaniel Blackerley, treasurer for building new churches, received the sum of £3,000 for
81
'rebuilding Woolwich Parish Church'. As early as the fourteenth century Wool~ch inhab~tants we~e getting into trouble over breaking the fishing regulations. Their
11 nd 1
~: S.P. Dom. Council of State Proceedings, vol. IX, PP· 9 a 94· 9 Anne, cap. 1 7.
80 fon y B k
5 George II, cap. 4. 1 1 2 6 (
X 81 Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers, vol. II, 173 -734, P· 3 XXVI, pp.314-315).
129
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
THE BACKGROU D
misdemh~anourf ,h,·asCt?e age-old one of poaching. An old Deed in the arc 1ves o t e 1ty of Londons2 states:
Be it remembered that on Saturd h
1farv (2nd February) in th hay t e octave of the purification of St.
• ·, , e I 3t year of King Ed d f TT •
Edward Laurence Albyn ,v·ir . war , son o ..1.~mgThomas' Sprott and five' ot~e;:m Tngge, MaSter Joh~ le Fisshmongere, 1fayor and Aldermen si ·t prnduced at the Gmldhall before the ~,-hile under the charg~ o/Jehen dnets called kide/s83 taken in the Thames
o n e Pelham fish f W 1 . h d
John Godrom, drynke~4 of Plomstede. ' monger O O WlC e, an \\no said that the same kidels belon .
Lesnes, Berkynge and Erheth h ged to certam men of Plomstede,
th
kidels were placed in the wat:~:f;0 we~e ere named, and that the said fish and salmon etc It was th ~resaid to the destruction of the small Aldermen that the kidels sho Ide~ ore adjudged by the said Mayor and on the peril which awaits th u ~ burnt, and that the said fishmongers,
em, s ould not commit the offence again.
The lawful measure ofthe
a minimum of two inche b meshes ofThames nets at this time was
s etween knots ss These sharp practices we ·
monger. Even the saintly {~ not confined to the Woolwich fish-evade the law. In 1313 a :idez°t of L~snes was not above trying to the bank of the Thame . elongmg to him was disco ·ered on and brought before thes~pposite his abbey. This was confiscated Leire, John de Wyndesor ayo~, John de Gisorz, and \ illiam de on the Thursday next af;, a~ Stephen de Abyndone, Aldermen, (25 April), at the Guildhal~~ t { Feast of St Mark, the Evangelist in the street of Chepe b in .0ndon. It was ordered to be burned
. ecause '1t w f; d d
Mockinge, Henry Lombard as oun on the oath ofJohn e
1
John de Garton, William S ' ]Laurence Aubyn, Oliver Brounyng, Richard Swote Geoffr cSot, ohn Freshfisshe, Robert de Mockyng, fish ' ey cot the y Pik
mongers, that the net ounger, and Alexander e, sufficient for fishing t th was too narrow in the meshe and in
, o eud· '
to the loss of the whole • n oing of the banks of the river, and was also pronounced th~~~:nd of the people resorting thereto'. It People of England stat d h Great Charter of the Liberties of the aforesaid shall be rem e dt at all kidels and such embankment86 as
. ove 87 Agam on 28 October I • Pesok of Plumstead wa ;14 a net called a coanet belonging to Robert s a en from the Thames brought before the " '
13 Edward II 1 20 L
nd
London Life, H. T. 'RJ ' etter Book E, folio .
, 11 A net for trappiney,fuS68, p. 135. xcix. Quoted from Memorials of London a A pretty kettle (kcdcl) h at the mouth 0 f 5.
"Probably a trinke,e of fish'. a stream i.e. keddle. Hence the expres ioJ1
" 17Edward III 1' a man who used trink ·
~Life, H. T. Ril343, Letter Book F, fol s,1i.e_. nets attached to posts. d
Thrown to make i~~' p. 21 • · xxi. Quoted from Memorials ofLondon an
5
17
6 Edward II in the rive f;
1---Life, H. T: j,l13, Letter Book Afu~ rec~iving the kidel. d
cy, 1868, p. 1 . ' · xci. Quoted from Memorials of London an
07
Mayor and Aldermen at the Guildhall and ordered to be b ,
the ~to_ne cross in the high street of Chepe'.88 urnt near . S1nular acts of lawlessness occurred in the reign of Hen IV d instances could be further. multiplied. Doubtless illegal fishm:f and
g prove a profitable occupation when undetected. In 1406 Bonar a Th
con t fi d . b 1 . ' ames
serva or, con scate sixteen nets e ongmg to certain fish of Woolwich, Erith and Barking because their meshes were coe:men to regulation. Bonar testified that the men concerned were aggrn r~ry
d h . ess1ve
an t reatened to recover their nets by force. As a result of hi co_mplaint, the offenders were brought before the court at West~ ~1nster and, after trial, found guilty. They were, however, champ10ned by the Archbishop of Canterbury who interceded on their be~alf. They were, therefore, pardoned by the Mayor, their nets
bemg returned to them.89 The presence of religious houses on _both sides of the Thames fostered trans-river traffic, and a Woolw1ch ferry was established at an early date. In 1308 a messuage and a ferry at Woolwich were sold by illiam de Wicton to William atte Hall, mason, for £rn.9o In 1320, Lambert de Trykenham conveyedcertainlandsinWoolwich and elsewhere, together with a ferry across the Thames, to John ~atymer and Joan, his wife.91 In turn, these same lands and ferry rights were sold in 1340 by William Filliol and Mary, his wife, to
92
Thomas -Iarwold and his heirs for I oo marks. Greenwich and Erith also poss...,ssed ferries, and their competition constituted a grievance for Woolw·ch people, who in 1330 petitione~ Parliament at Winchester to suppress their rivals as the Woolw1ch ferry was a royal
ferry farmed of the king.93
In the reign of Charles II there was a warrant dated 28 May 1679 for a grant to Robert Moore, Thomas Walter and John Smith, their executors administrators and assigns for a term of 30 years of a ferry from Wo~lwich to the opposite shore; also of two fairs at Woolwich e:7ery year to begin on 2 4 April and 24 O~t?~er and to continue eight days each, it having been found by inqu1s1t10n th_at such a grant w~uld be no damage to the Crown, or to any subJect, or to the
neighbouring markets or fairs.94 Much legislation has been passed since and sev~ral other ferries
have been installed but such subsequent undertakings are of much
later date. ' Woolwich grew very slowly during the centuries. Even by the
88 18 Edward III L tt Book F fol. xcii. Quoted from .Memorials of London and Lond L. ' I 334, e er '
on ife, H. T. Riley, 1868, p. 220.
811 Records of Woolwic/1, W. T. Vincent, vol. I, P· 31.
90 ;ecords of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, P· 17°·
81 ped. Fin. div. co., 14 Edward II, no. 205.
11a ed. Fin. 14 Edward III, no. 461.
u 112 f;ndred of Blackheath, Drake, I 886, p. 152.
· ·Dom.Car. II, Entry Book 51, P· !250.
131
THE BACKGROUND
reign of J:Ienr>: VII it contained only 112 ratepayers. Its location on a broad tidal nver presented possibili'ti'es h d h fc d'
· I d , owever, an t e oun 1ng
of Its roya ockyard when Henry VIII d d h h
· Ifc • ascen e t e t rone gave
the signa or expansion and s t th
• f h d e e VI11age on the road to prosperity.
The operung o t e ockyard b . h
attracted skilled artisans and d mug t_tra~e.to the neighbourhood, up for the various g eveloped its c1v1c sense. Houses sprang
overnment servants I d h d h
superintendence ofwh t • h emp oye t ere, an t e ments' brought a bettea ml1g t be termed the new 'Service Establish-
r c ass of re · d .
houses of these officials .si ent to the growmg town. The of a more substantial n' terectehd further back from the river, were
a ure t an th f h d' fc lk
Even Pepys was impressed . h ose o t e or mary towns o .
wit these ' 0 ffi · 1 , 0 J
1661 he supped with Mr p t . _cia quarters . n 14 une 'He did treat us very hande t, tfe shipwright and noted in his diary houses all the officers of th s~~e ~' and strange it is to see what neat gradually spread towards ;h ~~g ~ Yard have.' A built-up area thus
Woolwich could hardly e 1? <? ground. peasant rebellions which s remam immune from trouble during the proximity to Blackheath ~ept t~e land during early reigns. Its close have prevented that w'ha avhounte rallying ground for rebels, would
· en t e ·
und~r the banner of Wat T I msurgents poured on to Blackheath
th
menm the Kentish con tin y e~ ere were possibly some Woolwich marched on Blackheath g~nht. h~tseventyyearslater whcnJack Cade
f h Wit IS 20 ,
1 .
P_am~ o t : Commons of Kent' ,ooo men to present the Comwich inhabitants were definite! ~o the Royal Council, some Woolgentlemen pardoned for th . Y m~olved. Among the seventy-four Hethe and William No th eir part m the conspiracy were T homas the less fortunate were r_ hampton, both of Woolwich while among
W I · h eig t men b I · '
00 wic , situated as 1't • e ongmg to the town.
h d 'ts r. · is on th ·
~ 1 iarr share of alarm d e mam sea-lane to the capital, has
kin ' . s an ex .
g s enenu:s. It, together with cursrnns due to the malice of the concerned with resisting th A Plumstead and Charlton was closely be the first to suffer firome rmada as the riverside pa;ishes would
mak if. · any d d · •
Th e, ' m pursuance of th . epre at10ns the Spaniards might
ames. A battery of gun eir boast, they dared to ascend the were set up at Erith and sGwas er~cted on Market Hill and others moored acr h . reenh1th A b '
th Th oss t e river at Ch e. attery of gun-boats was
1
the K ames at Gravesend to ~r ~.n, while a bridge ofbarges spanned e ent and Essex shores Alalc hltate the passage of troops between ments to set fir · t e lo l m · h ·
. e to everythi h ea ab1tants made arrange~:v:!1~~a~a 'scorched-ea:fh~ 0~~d t~e Spaniards effect a landing, exci~ t ese preparations p icy is no development of modern ement, not to say fear . must have caused a great flutter of " s· ' in the hea t f W . s
. . u William Ralci r s o oolw1ch women a District Antiquarian s!~and Woolwich
icty, vol. X. ' R. J. Jackson, Proceedings of the Woolwich
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVE N T OF THE WARRE~
most_ of the able-bodied men of the district were, at the time, away fighting in the Low Countries.
Nearly a hundred years later history repeated itself in the Dutch wars and this time fear seems to have given way to panic. The times were certainly serious. The Dutch had long been our rivals in tr~de and a war had been going on intermittently for a couple of years. Both sides, being excellent sailors, fought stubbornly, and the battle of the Downs in June 1666 lasted four days. Parliament voted large supplies in aid of the struggle, but intrigues at Court and the King's profligacy dissipated the money and it seldom reached the goal for which it was intended. Work which should have been done was left undone, supplies and stores which should have been ordered were left unordered. Consequently the country was ill-equipped for the final assault which came on g June 1667 when a Dutch fleet, sailing up the Medway, battered down a fort at Sheerness, broke through a chain guarding Chatham docks, and burned numerous vessels sheltering there. The country feared an attack 0:1 London where the guns of the enemy's fleet in action could be plamly heard.
On 13 .June r667 Charles II wrote to Prince Rupert dire~ting him to raise batteries in or near Woolwich for the better security of the Thames against hostile raids, and instructing him to pr~ceed thither to take personal charge of the work, at the same time ordering
persons of all rank to obey him.96 As a result of the king's letter a temporary battery or wooden97 platform mounting 6o guns was erected in Woolwich_ Warr~n, where the earthworks which formed the sub-structure still retamed the name of 'Rupert's Walk' when batteries of a more permanent charact fit rds constructed by General Borgard, whose
. er were a erwa . . ss s· h'
original plan still survives in the Bntis_h M_us_eum. ix s ~ps were ordered to be sunk off Woolwich and Sir Wilham Penn advised that
·r · 1 t should be placed on board
1 possible 4 ooo tons of stones at eas ,
the h' 'b k 99 E tually nine vessels were sunk off the
s 1 ps to e sun . ven C · ·
tow 100 d J 6 J hn Cox asked the Navy omrrussioners
n an on 20 une 1 6 7 ° • · · d
for eight more ships to be sent to Woolwich for sinking m or: er to
my's fleet from coming up
h
secure the passage and prevent t e ene
highe t d L d 101 In this emergency, errors were naturally
r owar s on on. F h fl boat of440 tons rnade. For instance, the authorities sunk a r_enc y-. sent from Dunkirk by the French king for ~nsoners, havi~g on boar~ victuals for 300 men.102 Another ship carrymg £80,000 o stores, an
1 23
:: S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccv, no. 20 (Entry B~ok 7, P· 4 )·
S.P. Dom. Car. II, ccvi, no. 10~, ccx~, no. ! d 98 B.M. Royal maps and plans, foho xvi(A~irJty Paper).
99 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccv, no. 107 100 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccvi, no. 58. 101 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccvi, no. 160. 102 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccvii, no. 158.
133
THE BACKGROUND
a king's store-vessel laden with supplies for the fleet were also sent to the bottom.103 By now the Exchequer was wellnigh empty and Charles borrowed £10,000 from the City of London for the defence ofthe Thames. For ,~ant ofrea~y ~oney Parliament paid off the clamorous seamen with tickets bearmg 1~~erest. These were received by the sailors with dis
gust and. ma~y JOmed the enemy, being heard to call out from the Dutch ships: We fo~ght for tickets before, now we fight for dollars.'104 Two extracts which follow give a g h' d · u· f reelings
h' h . d . th rap 1c escnp on o 1_. ~ IC exist~ m e me~ropolis and its southern suburbs during this t:Ime of tension and stram. One is a letter dated I June I 667 from
5
John Rushworth to a frie d 10~ H S
M, · R l k R n · a e says that 'the Royal Charles, anta
O
ar~a, OJ; b ah Doyal James, Loyal London and Unity all great ships ~re h~r~e Y t e utch in Chatham river besides ~wo lesser ships1~ w, IC 5~~ ~en lhost their lives, and two' more ships sunk in the n~er~ 7,0~h. · et t ey got over them and the chain too and did this mIChscthe. D ISkcompelle~ the sinking of all other great ships near
a am oc ' not leav
will be recovered in tim:g one above water, but it is hoped these ready to tear their h • ff Th~ merchants are undone; people are used at Whitehall air .0 the1r heads; great importunity has been
, especially bys· G . p 1· t
but nothing will prevail. t .ir eorge Saville, for a ar 1~me1: ~ also all the bishops and ' ~ere Is one great grown man against it, cheated the king N paP1sts, and all those who have cozened and
. ews arrives t Od h fi
Brest and appear bef; h ay t at the French have come rom that they are friends oredt e Isle of Wight; some at Court give out far as Woolwich. p anl not enemies. The Dutch are expected as
'th th ' eop e are fled fi G 1 kh th
Wl eir wives and hild rom reenwich and B ac ea it will.' The other is i r;n. We are betrayed, let it light where 'In the evening came M.1 ~pys' Diary under date r 3 June r 667 ·
nd
tell me that never w elhng and several others to the office a all over at this day-er~people so dejected as they are in the City we are bought and ,s;~-~o talk most loudly, even treason, as that and
others about the Kin . hat we are betrayed by the Papists, so backward as no g, cry out that the Office ofOrdnance hath been Castle till such a ti powder to have been at Chatham nor U pnor
p · , A me and the · · a
apISt. day later p carnages all broken· that Legg is Batten and W. Pen ~pys records that 'at night ca~e home Sir w. at Woolwich and Dw ~only can tell me that they have placed guns and Blackewall andep or~, and sunk some ships below Woolwich
• , are In h ,
~onung up'. Being a pra ti opes that they will stop the enernY s amuel Pepys called on k~~1 man as well as a very inquisitive one, 111 Pcpys' . odbam, Clerk of the Ropeyard, on 23
0
lN ~rr' D~' 14Junc 1667
111 S Domiary, 14Junc 1667.
·· -Carn ·
. , vol. ccv, no. 76.
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
June and together they went out to inspect the Woolwich batteries which they considered to be excellent works to command the river below the ships that were sunk, but of small value above them.
John Evelyn who lived at Sayes Court near Deptford was also greatly perturbed by events. He writes in his diary on 8 June 1667 'To London, alarmed by the Dutch, who were fallen on ou: fleet_ at Chatham by a most audacious enterprise entering the ve:Y nve~ wi~h part of their fleet doing us not only disgrace, but incredible mischief
· b · ' 1 · t hor and moored
in urmng several of our best men-of-war ymg a anc . there, and all this through our unaccountable negligence _m not
· . • d me feanng the
setting out our fleet in due time. This a1arm cause ' .
. t London (which they
enemy might venture up the Thames even ° . )might have done with ease and fired all the vessels in the river toho ' ' f house to anot er
to send away my best goods, plate etc. rom my d c· . t
· t b th country an ity m 0
P1ace. T he alarm was so great that it pu O more•
fi • . h I hope I shall never see ,
ear, a panic and consternation, sue as 'th N there were everybody was flying, none knew why or whi ~: L:~ :tviiddleton, land fo cc despatched with the Duke ofAlbemar h ·ng to ChatPrince Rupert and The Duke to hinder the ~utc ;r~ms· but the ham, fcrtifying Upnor Castle and laying chamfis ant o:r ships and
re 1 h h 11 and set re O • '
so ute enemy broke t roug a , · h est of their fleet retreated in spite, stopping up the Thames,l~kePrepys he went to
. ' s· d later l e '
Iy1ng b "ore the mouth of it. 1X ays ' t d under the orders
. h h' h had been erec e di
see th e b attery at Woolw1c w ic . b Henry Mud man ofPrince Rupert. In another newslette:;r::te~h:atley, Doncaster106 on 20 June 1667 to Sir George Coo h mentions the fact referring to the Dutch attack on the Thar~s ; at Woolwich with that the crisis had necessitated 'raising a P ~ or f Dover Gravesend 60 pieces of ordnance and the stre1:gthenhmCg O ncil co~cluded that
' . t n t e ou h
etc.' In order to cope with the situa 10 ' board the mere ant
· b fficient to put on · t the
six weeks' victuals would e su the Ordnance to est1ma ~ ships and ordered the Officers of d · tain the batteries at
an an main
number of men required to m 107 • 1
Woolwich Gravesend and Chatha~-h n they had the ball at the r
Strange'as it may seem, the Dute ;.:ey proceeded no further up feet failed to exploit their advantag~~r serious attack. Charle~, howthe Thames and desisted from furt d nd now was determined to ever had become thoroughly ala6r6meh ~nstructed Prince Rupert to
' o 6 July I 7 e h my and
tighten up defence. n 'ble return of t e ene ' fortify the Medway against a poss1 Chatham, Sheerness and such ordered him to proceed to Ro~he~t:~cting the perfecting of all works other places as were necessary ord r. r disposing of the forces to b
. f h ·ver an io
for the security o t e n ' i no. 1oo. . p )
1011 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vo.1 ccv.? no, 26 (Admiralty aper . 107 S p Dom Car. II, vol. ccvu,
. . . 135
THE BACKGROUND
employed there according t · .
personally The ki I h o mstructions he had already received General of Kent i a:c arged the Earl ofMiddleton, Lieutenantthe l\1ayor and 'c e o cerCs emp_loyed in the Yards at Chatham by
ommon ounc1l of L d d 11 Id"
workmen etc. to obey th p . , . on on, an a so 1ers and
e rmce s direct· 10s
The scare at last di d d rnns.
nd
hall, dated g August ~ o,~n, a an Order in Council from White
667, instructed the o d C • •
to cause two-thirds of th r nance omm1ss10ners Woolwich and one third e l~nners employed in the fortifications at to discharge the Captai:s : ose_at Gravesend to be taken off; also decrease the pay of the remaippomted over the guns; and also to
109
5 October the battery at W t1:1"g gunne~s. A few months later on put back into commission a~~t;ich. ':as dismantled,110 but it was soon should further incursions position was considered advantageous in Council stipulated thoctcu~ On 22 January 1668 a further Order Blackman's land i e T a tpe battery at Woolwich in Captain
' · · ower 1
Gallions Reach should b . ace, and the one over against it in
1
. h r. "fi . e continued 1u E . ....
wic 1ort1 cation assum d · ventually m 1737 the Woo
,·ision of General Borg ed a more permanent form under the super-
Like all wars, howevar ·. .
1
called for a quick solu/r, it eft its problems behind and one which Proposals from contrac:on ;as the clearing of the Thame channel. Gould offered to clear t~rs T~wed in. On 3 September 1668 Thomas for £1,600 and the old e a~es of three ships sunk at Woolwich except ships and lab wrecks, if the king would find all materials
. our, or for £6 'f
t e s ips.112 On the sa d oo 1 the king would provide all
h h which appeared to be:.~hayJohn Gibbs put up another proposition to the Kavy Comrru·ss· er more grasping in its terms He suggested
• 1oners th t 1· f h ·
m hand and a third of th a t ey would allow him £3 500, half t~ree ':reeks was out of thee;:her half to be paid when ea~h of the give him the three wr k .Y of the vessels and if they would also
ec s w1th 11 h . ' .
guns, he would weigh d a t eir goods in them excepting s nk b I an carry f ' .
~ e ow Woolwich at his out o the channel the three ships ~1me must have elaps d b own cost before 15 May next.113 Some 1t was fin 11 . e efore the · • I
a Y decided to bl nver was cleared and ev1den t Y agency, as it was not t'll ow up the hulks by direct government
1
~dward Sherburne Su 5 July 1669 that Francis icholls and tively, reported t~ thrvior and Clerk of the Ordnance respecalltl ot~er materials fore d: a~ Commissioners that the powder woolwich and lodged ·isposmg 0 f the wrecks had been sent to
m the ·
1oe s.P. Dom company of Paul Linby, their
111 0r· • · Car. II, vol ···
u, iginal Warrants . ccv111, nos. I 19-1 . 111 ~ginal·
~m. Charles ~ldv ~rdcrs_ in Councif Ip~cJ,i,io/ok/17, pp. 251-252). 111 Sp Warrants an'd O~d~' no. 57. ' 55 425, no. 200. 111 s'p' Dom. Car. II V I crs in Council PROJW
0
· ·Dom.Car 11' · ccxlv, no. 162 ' 0/55/425, no. 137.
• , VO1 ccx1 •
• v, no. 161.
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
agent, ready for issue to Mr Young gunner of th R l r
A ' e oya James 114 pparently there was a further scare ofrenewed war. Phineas p · muster-master, reported to the Navy Commissioners at 8 et~
1
May 1672 that heavy gun-fire was heard at Gravesend At fi a.1:1. thought that the noise proceeded from scaling (prov~g ?) rsdtIt was
t w I · . • or nance
a oo w1ch, but the continuous roar undeceived Mr Pett a d d
h" r h h' . . n ma e
1m rea 1ze t at somet 1ng more s1mster was probably afi 0 t s
officers at Grave~end _believed that the fleet was engaged.115° • ea Some further hght 1s thrown on t_he Woolwich defences during the ~utch war. Annexed to an Order 1n Council on 23 December 6 2
. . fi A L . I 7
1s a pet1t10n rom nne ong, a widow. She claimed that her sec d husband, Richard Long, who had been commander of the N~~tzngale, was put in command ofthe men at Woolwich and that owi to hardships there experienced, had died ~ithout receiving; peU::;'. This fact could be substantiated by refernng to the original warrant dated 14 June 1667 at Woolwich from Prince Rupert to Captain Long in which the latter was ordered to raise as many seamen as po sible by beating the drums at London or otherwise to serve at
olwich. He was also instructed to plant what guns he could on th quay called Jenning' s Quay there and with Captain Benjamin Symonds to take under his command such seamen and others as should be needful to manage the said guns. A note dated 12 January I 67 r was added to the petition by Viscount Brouncker and Sir J. Smyth that Mrs Long 'is desired to make out what time her said late husband spent pursuant to the above warrant'. The answer to this query is supplied on the back, for thereon is a certificate dated 13 J anuary 1671 signed by W. Bodham (Clerk of the Ropeyard) that Captain Long was appointed to command some seamen and guns at the new fortifications at Woolwich from 14 June 1667 and served to the end of the month, but that he knows not how much longer he may have served. His pay was 5s. per day of which he received
6
nothing, he hoping for a greater allowance.11 Woolwi.ch did not remain unscathed in the outbreak of plague which preceded the Great Fire of London. On I 5 August 1665, Christopher Pett reported to the Navy Commissioners that that dread scourge had broken out at Woolwich in two houses, and he expressed the fear that it would be very mortal. He assured their Lordships that he would take every precaution to prevent the malady spreading to the Dockyard.111 Lack ofsanitary arrangements and ignorance of hygiene in the seventeenthcentury favoured contagion and infection.The disease therefore gained a rapid hold. A month later o~ 2~ September Pett informed the Commissioners that cases had mult1phed and that
114 S.P. Dom. Car. II vol. ccLxii, no. I 10.
116 S P .. Dom. Car. II,' cccix, nos. 4 and 41.
116 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. cccxxxi, nos. 128 ~d 1281.
117 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. cx.xix, no. 35 (Admiralty Paper).
137
THE BACKGROUND
many workmen were dead. 'He is afraid that soon he will be unable !o contin,ue work at th_e D?c_kyard. He would like a pest-house erected m the '\: ard and stnct lilJunctions promulgated that all infected families should be segregated, kept in and shut up.'118
T,~o Lor~ Mayors of London have been, not only intimately associated with the town of Woolwich but concerned in an indirect manner wi~ the origin of the Royal Arsenal. It was their property, th0ugh t~e1r ownership was separated by almost a century and a
hal£ which formed the 1 f .
, ' . nuc eus o the establishment known as
\ oolw1ch Warren' The· • · d s·
. . . · ir names were Sir Martm Bowes an ir Wilham Prichard The f L
b · ormer,. ord Mayor m. 1545 was a great endefactor to .the town. He belonged to the Goldsmiths' Company an , among his many acf ·t· · H
• d h . IVI ies, was sub-treasurer of the M int. e marnTe h t ree times. First, to Cecily Elyot by whom he had two sons, omas and Martin• dl d · d
o t b b ' secon Y, to Anne Barre ( who 1e I 9 c O er 155d3)hirydwhom he had three daughters Cycely· Charity and
Joanna· an t 1 El· , '
d h" ' -Y, to isabeth Harlow He died 4 ugust I 556
an 1s w111 was dated 20 S b · h Id t
Greenwich on his death f. epte~ er 1542. An inquisition e ~ Bexley, Plumstead and ound ~Im to be possessed of much land in Blackfen and was left ~oolwich. That at Bexley was known as Place;l19 and that at ~ his : 1dest son; that at Plumstead as Sujfo~k Martin Bowes was bu ?01~1ch as Tower Place in the vVarren. Sir Lombard Street d ned in the Church of St Mary -oolnoth, been painted b;a~ ~ :ontemporary portrait of him, said to have Goldsmiths' Hall B O1 em, hangs in the Committee room of the Sir Martin Bowes. y a ddeed of feoffment dated 28 September I 56o,
erecte five I h . .c. or
persons over fifty a ms ouses m Warren Lane 1or po
income arising fro~ear: of age and endowed them with an annual to each occupant in ;sira~ de_vi~ed_ for that purpose. The allowance Goldsmiths' c artm s time120 was paid quarterly by the
ompany of L d .
spection between mid on on, who were to make a yearly in-preached at the pa . ~u~mer and michaelmas; to have a sermon and the poor IId {~s c_ ~rch; and to give the churchwardens 75• they were rebuil~ b ;horinal al~shouses, having fallen into decay,
Sir William p. hy de oldsm1ths' Company in 1771.121
nc ar Lord M ..
ally a merchant tail ' E ayor of London in 1683 was origin
. h T or at ltham H l ' W 1
~c • he present al h . · ea so gave generously to oo tively modern constr~· ouses in Ropeyard Rails are of comparaground given to the t c 10°£ bu~ they occupy the site of a piece of use of the poor wh· hown Y Sir William Prichard in 1679 for the Bowes's almshouses!~ was described as 'the ground at the back of
lll SPDo
111 A · m. Car. II, vol cxxx·.. 111 £tropcrtJ formerly ~longi~~'tO·h57 (Admiralty Paper).
0
111 ~s~ t e Dukes of Suffolk. houses were abolished . . .
in 1888 and the charity converted into pensions.
138
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
Woolwich had a market at least as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century for on I June 1618 there was a grant to Sir William Barne and Hugh Ledyard, esquire, Clerk of the Cheque to the Dockyard, and their heirs, of a ma:ket at Woolwich weekly on Fridays.122 It was they who probably bmlt the old market house near the N.w. end of the Rope house on.ground afterwards occupied by Prichard's almshouses. The market nghts then appear to have passed
to Sir William Prichard who, as we shall see later, was the grantee in I 67 I of the old gunwharf. He immediately erected a ~ew market nd the market was transferred to its new site
h ouse on the wharf a ·
· fl • h d d 1·n course of years spread over Market Hill
H ere 1t -ouns e an
123
where it survived till 1807-.
. . bestowed on Woolw1ch were:
The other chant1es . . . b rde the historian of Kent (1536-1601),124 left 1575· S~r Wilham L_amb ~h's 'college at Greenwich, which he founded,
one place m Queen Eliza e t b fill d f W00lwich for ever·
o e e ram h" wife gave four small tenements to
1fr21. Richard Sims and Anne, is ' 125
the poor. fi rly minister at Woolwich, devised to the 1622. vVilliam Hawkes, ~rme t the rent of one acre of marsh land rector and churchwardens, in trus ' d Marshes and the interest of £27'
. . b L el Plumstea ' '
situated m the b .ey ev ' r the poor, one shilling's worth every to be expended m bread fo Sunday. . d ted 24 August, devised an annual rent
11
1639. Philip Roberts, by wid 'inabread for the poor. The sum issued charge of £1 to be expende· W lwich and the charge was confirmed originally out of three houses in °.~
694'
by the Master of the Rolls, 26 Ap~ :fi v.icar of Lewisham, left 8s. 8d. a 1657. The Reverend Abra~a~bu~ede\n bread, and gave the rector year for the poor to be diStr James I 1611-1618, P· 497· .
122 R p J Priv. S. c.s.P. th ~arket rights passed mto the posses
6 1
123 B ot.h abt. i_ _ac., ¥·th~ nineteenth century _e the population of Woolwich was
. y t e egmnmg ~ 'l but by this t.1.me . . . and importance at s1on _of the Maryon-W1lson f!mT~~ Arsenal too was grow~gctcfi~;d into the sere and movmg out toward Plumstea · . b then had very muc e ow occu ied by the the expense of the Ropeyard which rJ osed and in 1808 th~ a~t; Street' !as selected yellow. A new Act w~, therefo:ld. p s p and the street c~lle~ ~d not prove at all acceptold Town Hall and adJacent b~i mg ;ket Somehow this site i .fted to the space in front as the home of the new (i.e. th1rd) mMark~t Hill while 0thers dn a kind of illegal market able. Some stall-holders returned to as Beresford Square, w;~re bandoned Market Hill, ~fthe Arsenal Main Gate, now k;1o;n the proprietors; thriffiaul~ if not the legality, of
eveloped. This created difficulties 0 ~treet site, and the c fi r; an attempt was made few pe_rsons patronized the Market s a arent. In 18?8 there it had flourished for 140 collectmg tolls in Beresford Square wa epcin Market Hill where nd the proprietors were to return the market to its second h~~-ns had been brok~~ \ 1007 these tolls were Years. It was too late; the old asso~a [ocal Board of Hea bl: h~ in Beresford Square, only too glad to lease the tolls to t e ket was finally esta. is purchased outright, and in 188~ the m;-rthe Boroug~ Council. t' in 1570. It was printed the property of the local authonty,ti ,Perarnbulat1on of K~n f other standard works.
• 121 He completed his first draf~ 0 8lS6 He was also the au~ 0u°Chapel I 597; keeper of in 1574 and 1576, and reprinted in 1 2 ·r the records at the O s Bhencher of Lincoln's Inn 1579; keeper O re pulled down and a t e records in the Tower 1601. h ee small tenements we
121; B 731 t r
Y Vestry Order, August I , Workhouse erected on the site.
139
THE BACKGROUND
and church,.. ardens at v\ oolwich the right of presentation of three boys to the Free Grammar School endowed by him at Lewisham.
~everal 0~ .our own sovereigns, among them Henry VIII and Elizabeth, v1s1ted Woolwich in its early days, but the only foreign crowned head who appears to have come to the town was the Czar, Pe~er the Great, when learning the art of shipbuilding at Deptford. It is repo~ted on 4 March 1698 'The Czar-Peter the Great-went to ,voolw1ch on Wednesday where Lord RomneyI2G showed him the bomb ket_ches and afterwards entertained him to dinner_,121
Woohnch before the W b · · k5
... ' arren ecame a centre for military wor a:if activi~e\ muSt have been a delightfully rural spot. There are
s. ~noug Paces 0~ natural beauty, woodland and pasture in the d1stnct to present a vivid · f ' d 5
. picture o the sylvan surroundings orchar and meadows which must h ' W
catch a glim f. c. ave met the eye of the traveller. e can
pse o 1t irom Pep h •d • · h D k
yard. He records in hi . ys w o pa1 many v1s1ts to t e . oc Greenwich and callin s diary _on 22 May r663 how after landing at . g at a little ale-house at the end of the town to '"rrap a piece of rag r d h.
walking he a d h. oun is toe which had become sore frorn
, n 1s comp · · h
listening to the · h . amon strolled pleasantly along to WoolWl c he states 'and t~1g tmgales en route. A year later on 22 April I 664, got to some he· hence, only that it was somewhat fogg· till the sun
ig t, walked with 1 · h · rnY
way staying several f . great p easure to Wo lv. 1c 1n later on 8 May /~es to_ liSten to the nightingales'. Three years
2 166 nd
Mr Hewer to Wool .' h ~ wntes 'My wife away down \-vith Jane a
1
to-night and so to ; ~h in °rder to get a little ayre, and to be there Yarner hath taught~ e: maydew to-morrow morning which Mrs face with· and I er is the only thing in the world to wash her
' am contented . h . '
Of course the m d l wit it. The country lanes e a portrayed by the idealist has a reverse side.
Hanging Wood Chwelre not particularly safe especially after dark' ar ton had · · ' kh th
was a favourite huntin 'r a simster reputation and Blac ~a teenth century Se g g ound of toughs and roughs till the nine
· aport and r· ·d ·
able reputation of b • . iversi e towns always had the unenvi
1 nd
~o harbour more u: ~!a:mks ofiniquity and possibly they did t~ m-land. For this re p ant characters than the country districts
b ason most . . d
y water. Pepys, himself w v1s1ts to the Thames towns were rna e abroad on his busin O as not above feeling qualms as he walked 'To Deptford and ~ss.l ~ 19 September I 662 he writes in his diarY pullet. I walked by boo wich Yard, at night after I had eaten a cold
rave mo h. ' d
me to Redriffe it b · . ons me, with 3 or 4 armed to guar
th I ' e1ng a Joy t h ' . . n
at was now in th t O my eart to think of the cond1UO
me, unspoke to. I 'he a ph~ople s~ould of themselves provide this for 1• ar t IS walk d d
CMastcr-GencraJ of the d IS angerous to walk by night, an
117 O
.S.P. William III ( r nancc. , 32.9, ff. 326-327) 1698
' p. 131. 140
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
much robbery committed there.' Again on 30 June 1664 he writes 'By water to Woolwich and walked back from Woolwich to Greenwich all alone; saw a man that had a cudgell in his hand, and, though he told me he laboured in the King's Yard and many other good arguments that he is an honest man, yet, God forgive me! I did doubt that he might knock me on the head behind with his club. But I got
safe home.' Lastly, though Woolwich has been more renowned through her l~ng history for the Arts of War, rather than fo: those of Peace, she did produce one poet of the first magnitude. Ri.chard Lovela_ce, son of Sir William Lovelace was born in the town in I 6I 8. Sol~er and verse-maker, he will ev:r be remembered for his immortal lmes:
'I could not love thee, dear, so much
Lov'd I not honour more >128 and 'Stone walls do not a prison make Nor iron bars a cage '129
12s T W
o Lucasta on going to the ars.
129 T ,
o Althea, from Prison.
Chapter 5
Crown Establishments at Woolwich) prior to the Advent of the Warren
The first royal establishment at Woolwich was the dockyard. The date of its foundation is uncertain, though there must have been some provision for shipbuilding in the town early in the sixteenth century, when Henry VIII ordered the Henri Grace a Dieu erroneously referred to as the Great Harry, to be built after the Regent had been lost in an engagement off the coast of Brittany on I o August 1 5 12 •
nd
Bishop Gibson asserted it to be the oldest yard in the kingdom, a
Camden pronounced it the Mother Dock of England, a claim chal
lenged by Deptford, where a pond communicating with the Tham~s
had existed from early times within the Manor of Sayes Court. This
natural basin, though small, may well have been used as an anchor-
K. ' h. • June
age fcor the mg s s 1ps before excavatrnns were be0 ·un on 9
a . h nd
1517 by John Hopton, Keeper of the Storeho scs at Ent a
1
Deptford, and Clerk Comptroller of the King's Shios in the Thames,
who undertook before Christmas to make a ha;bour at Deptford
. d d' . . d S d to
ma mea ow a ~ommg the King's Storehouse at Deptfor tron
accommodate the Great Galle,, the Mani Rose the p ter Pomegranate,
::n ./ ' er
the Great Bar:k and the Lesser Bark. 2 Both these pretensions, howev '
'd , der
must be set as1 e, as the first dry-dock, as the term is now un
stood, was constructed at Portsmouth in 1495'.3
The Henri-Grace-a-Dieu, built at Woolwich and fitted at Erith, was
on her launching in October 1515 one of the finest ships afloat. She
took three years to complete, and her construction called for a l~rge
b f hi · h d 1nto
num er O s pwng ts and other craftsmen who were presse f
service from all parts of the realm. This influx into the hamlet o
W 1 . h . d d to be
oo w1c raise a housing problem and accommodation ha d rented by the State from local householders. Storage space a:rn wharves, too, were needed and these had also to be leased fr
. . d' 'd d ther
pnvate m 1v1 uals. All wages paid to 'Shippewrights an ° officers workinge upon the King's great Shippe called the JfarryGr, n· W ' 'hhave
ace-a-~eu at oolwiche' and other costs connected therewit blic been meticulously entered in a book 4 now preserved in the Pu d' Record Office, which commenced on~ December I 5I 2. The expen ~f ture on the vessel totalled £6,472. 8s. old. exclusive of the cost
4
1 Rot. Pat. 5 Henry VIII
• B.M. Addtl Chart 6289' p. 2, m. 10, 12 January 1514. 1 F. C. Elliston Erwood Wi00/ ·.L d . . 23
, Records of the Exch WI.Cri an D1strzct Antiquarian Society, 1949, P· ·)cqucr-Trcasury of the Receipt, vol. V (P.R.0, E3615 ·
142
-~
..c:
00
.s
-'
u
(),)
0.. "' C:
.....
H H H
"'O
:-..
ro
~
"'O
~
~ ~
.... ~
3
...:!! c::!
..a
\I'..
co
I.{") I.{")
....
........
ro
,,...
0
~
ll.l
..r:: E--.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
I ,9~7 to~s of timber presented by various religious houses, corporate bodies, bishops, noblemen and other men of public spirit. This document, being an analysis of accounts, makes, except to the research student, dull reading, but a few representative extracts may be quoted, to give an idea of its contents.
'Iren wrought in spyks, clench-nayles and ruffe, and iren unwrought with nayles of all sortes, as well for iij galeys, as for the grete shipp called the Harry-grace-a-dieu 4 Hen. VIII, f. 91 £243. 6s. 31d.'
'bedds, bought for lodgying of the shippwrights and other artificers workying appon the Harry-grace-a-dieu and the iij galeys at Wolwiche' f. 1 39 £39. 8s. od.' '
'Hyre of houses, grounde and wharfes occupied with tymber horde secole5 and other stuffes apperteyning to the making of the Har~-Grace~ a-Dieu and the iij galeys, as followeth beggnnying 4 Hen. VIII, f. 267
£19. 5s. od.' 'William Crane for his house and ground at Woolwich I year, ended Mich 5 Hen. VIII, occupied with the king's timber, secole and stuff 40s. Edward Mathewson, hire of his wharf halfe year ending Christmas, occupied with the king's timber which came from the Abbot of St Albans
IOS•
. Maryon Danyell, widow, grounds and houses occupied by the king's
timber r year ending Mich 5 Hen VIII £6.
Robert Annysby of Aylefford, for the hire of a wharf I year ending
Mich 5 Hen VIII 26s. 8d.
W illiam Crane, hire of his house, occupied with tymber, smythes, forges, secole etc. half a year ending Lady Day 20s. Edward Borgrave, for his house and ground at Woolwiche, 1 year, occupied with board, secole, fish etc. 6os. Nicholas Boveton, gent, for ground occupied with timber 5s. John Bullok of Erith, for hire I o weeks of a barn by the shore for killing beefs and motons for vitailling mariners, shipwrights and workmen etc. 3s. 4d. Edward Borgrave, for hire of his wharf a quarter of a year, for timber and secole 10s.
&c. &c.'
A comprehensive precis of this volume is given in The Hundred of Blackheath by Henry Drake.6 The King often journeyed from his palace at Greenwich to watch the construction of his cherished vessel. He took the keenest delight in maritime affairs and little escaped his vigilant eye. Henry, we may he sure, fared sumptuously on these occasions, J?hn Wo?-owse,_the steward of the ship being paid 16d. for cream which at divers times he provided for his Majesty's delectation. T~e Henri-Grace-a-Dieu was
6 6 Sea coal •The Hundred of Blackheath, 1886, ed. Henry Drake, P· 153, footnot 4·
11 143
THE BACKGROUND
launched in the presence of the King, his consort and many of the nobles and prelates of the kingdom, all of whom went on board and were regaled 'at tlze Kinge's clzarge'. The ship was of 1,500 tons displacement and when afloat took 400 men to work her to Barking. Henry VIII sailed in her to the continent when he went to attend the Fiel~ of the Cloth of Gold. Her life, however, was short as she was acc1dently burnt at Woolwich on 2 5 August 1553. Machyn in his diary laments 'This XXV day of August [ 1553] was bornyd the [great] Hare, the grettest shype in the world and yt was pete and yff yt had P!esyd God, at Wolwych [byJ ne~kelygens and for lake
of over-syth. 7 On gJuly 1518 the King bought from Nicholas Partriche, grocer and alderman of London, and Marion his wife (late wife of Gerard Daniell of London, fishmonger) a mease,s salthouse and wharf on the banks ~f the Thames at Woolwich; also a small parcel called the Pyttel. T~e purchase was probably made to increase the precincts of the ~ud1ment~ry dockyard. Henry paid £r oo for the life interest of Manon Partnche1° and th · · · b h d
. . e revers10nary mterest of Eliza et an
Alice Darnell the childr f h fir · · h
' en o er st marriage then minors, w o,
when they came of age b ' t0
. were y covenants to make a full estate
th
eWKinilli~· Thee property was bounded on the east by land belonging to am rane on th b • · h 1
' e west y land belongmg to IC o as
Boughton, on the south by the Ki , h. h d h th by
th Th Th ng s 1g way an on t e nor H;n ;.,~~~ e Pyttel was close to the highway. In August I 5 I 8, ryd u h purchased a house and land at Woolwich for £r 13·
6 B
s. ., w ere or for what • h b n
b ht fi th purpose Is unknown. It may ave ee~id or e use of the dockyard or as a storehouse for the Office
0
ft \hna~ce.1?e Royal Dockyard at Woolwich became a reality a er e_ aunc mg of the Henri-Grace-a-Dieu and its activities soon ;utgr~~ Its small compass. On 31 March 1546 therefore Sir Edward o~g Donkconveyed to his sovereign two parc~ls of land' called Bow
ton s oc s and two oth d s d
Hill h" h er parce1s called Our Lady-hill an an
b . w IC _were part of the Manor of Southall the latter probably t e1fJ rfq~I~ed for the extraction of ballast Q~een Elizabeth went
0
t k hoo Wbic on 3July 1559 to see her new ship. 'The Queen's grace
o e er arge at Gren h d
ther yt was n d wyc e unto Wolwyche to her new shype, an bankett andar;:t Elezabeth Jonas, and after her grace had a goodl~ fyre ab~ut m d e~ was grett shutying of gunes and castyng 0
a e or plesur.'12 This ship of 700 tons burden was 7 Mach ff
• A yn iary, Camden Society vol
mes.suage. , · 43.
10 • Rot.. Claus. io Henry VIII 6 Marion Partriche could oni ~ · • the Bc_>ok of Payments for the h a:r~recently married her second husband, as in ·eU
widow' in J)OSSession ofgr dnri-ace-a-Dieu she is described as 'Marion Dani ' :: ~g's Book of Payments, o~n a:~d 1yuses at Woolwich. trype Annals, vol. 1, p. 163. ry III.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
commanded by Sir Robert Southwell during the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Other well-known ships launched at Woolwich were the Prince on 24 September 1610, a vessel of 1,400 tons built by Phineas Pett and given by James I to his son Henry, Prince of Wales; the Vanguard and the Victory in 1631; the Royal James on 14 April 1663; and the Sovereign of the Seas on 14 October 1637. The latter vessel was laid
down by Phineas Pett, master shipwright and had a tonnage corresponding to the numerical value of the year in which she was constructed. She was 128 feet long, 48 feet broad, 152 feet from the fore-end of the bulk-head to the after end of the stern and 76 feet from the bottom of the keel to the top of the lanthern. She had five lantherns, of which the biggest would hold ten persons, upright, three flush-decks, a forecastle, half-deck, quarter-deck and roundhouse. The lower tier had 60 ports, the middle one 30, the third 25; the forecastle 1 2, half-deck 14, and as many more within, besides 10 pieces of chase ordnance forward, and 1 o right off, and many loopholes in the cabin for muskets; I I anchors, one of which weighed 4,4oolb. The Dutch called this ship the 'Golden Devil', on account of her gilded ornaments, and the havoc she made in their war with our Commonwealth.13 She was accidently destroyed by fire at Chatham in 1696.
The dockyard was not immune from squabbles. Thomas Smith, farmer to his Majesty for ballasting ships, presented a petition to the Council in 1636.14 He stated that he was ordered to pay £1,450 for materials and £650 for a wharfhouse and lands at Woolwich to the Burrell family, on receipt ofwhich the materials were to be delivered and the wharfhouse and lands assured. He complained that, having paid £1,150 and being ordered to deposit £300 in the Court of Requests, he had as yet received no materials and that the £650 was likewise questioned in Chancery by Ralph Eltonhead who refused to hand over the wharfhouse and lands. He prayed that the materials might be delivered on the payment of the £300 and that he might give security in Chancery to pay the £650 to whom it should be assigned. On 25 May 1637 Eltonhead denied the same on oath. He swore that he gave up possession of the wharf the moment one of Mr Smith's servants asked him for itI5 and that Mrs Burrell's ballasting clerk made use of the wharf for b~llasting_ either for 1'1rs Burrell, Mr Smith or some other person without his knowledge or consent. The Lords of the Council considered the position on 30 September 1637 and ordered Eltonh~ad to attend ~~em _and state the action he now proposed to take in the matter. This quarr 1
13 Quoted from The Hundred of Blackheath, 1886, ed. Henry Drake, p. 154. 14 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. cccxl, No. 69. 16 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclvii, no. 82. 16 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclxviii, no. 89.
145
THE BACKGROUND
eventually l~d to litigation which dragged on for years between Thomas Smith and Mary, widow and executrix of William Burrell. After l~ngthy argument _it transpired that neither Mary Burrell nor her cluldren had any title to the wharfs and lands at Woolwich. Finally t?e Archbishop _of Canterbury was involved in the dispute and_ Parhame~t was petitioned in 1643.11 . Smee the h15tory of the dockyard is outside the scope of this work, it only suffices to record that the establishment was finally closed on l8 September 1869 and handed over to the War Office authorities who retained it as. an Ordnance Depot for some sixty years, the greater pa~t ofth: site being subsequently sold to the Royal Arsenal
Co-operative Society. Before taking leave of the famous d h th Acworth
f; mi1 will yar , owever, e a Y repay a study. Their story commences on 2 July 1614 whe~ John Acworth was granted for life the office of keeping all [na,al] storehouses at Woolwi"ch C K 1s H h d rently
. , o. ent. e a appab [Ad
een mrralty] storekeeper at D tr. d d W 1 . h r some
· · h ep 1or an oo v\IC , 1or
time pnor to t at date b · · d
th K" fc ' ecause on 25 February 1637 h pet1t10ne he Nmg or a_ grant in reversion of the office ofClerk of the Acts for t e avyl' }ayihn~ that he had served his sovereigns lizabeth and
James [ ] 1or t 1rty-five · k • d d
w 1 · h d years m eepmg the stores at Dcptfor an
°0
wic d yhar s_ together with other employments concerning the
Navy, an t erem had ' r d d
· th , H per1orme as good service as as ever one ~n d ~ s;~~ · e stressed the fact that since the late King's death he ka .os eWgreater part of his emoluments 'since onlv the store
eepmg at ool · h '
· alty h Wlc now remains to him'. The Lords of the Ad~rrCh '1 owlever, held strong views on the subject They reported
o ar es on 13 March 6 h · · f
1
posts in th N 37 t at the granting in reversion ° ti . e avy was contrary to the royal practice and that the P\tloAner wahs moreover quite unfit for the position.10 Thereafter
Jo n cwort fades from th .
sumably his e picture and William Acworth, preson, assumes the d +: d · · · · f St re-
keeper Woolw' h D k Uw.es an respons1b1ht1es o o
' lC oc yard William Acworth wa ·1 d d
actions in as II s a co ourful personality whose high-han e
ma community t 1· d the
monotony of 'ts th . mus to some extent have re 1eve doubt that h 1 o erw1Se humdrum existence. There can be little
Turbulent a:;as a rogue though shrewd and capable to a degree. trouble for long. ~~:~ntati~e b~ nature, he was seldom out of wich he was d t . gh his duties were confined solely to WoolDockyard untile e~mmded to retain his official quarter in Deptford to disobey S hor ere to quit by an authority he was powerless
rd
· uc an o er, following within a month or two of his
i, S.P.D. Char! I vol .
11 c s p J , · cccexc1x no. 1a
11 S'p' · am I, 1611-1618 p ' 0 (S p.
2
• .D. Charles I vol M_: .:. 4 · .D. James I vol lxxvii no 57).
' • ~A!VIU, no. 31. ' . ' .
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
appointment was issued as a result ofPeter Pett, one of his Majesty's
shipwrights to the Lords ofthe Admiralty, asking on 7 June 1637 for a
house in the yard at Deptford.20 The outcome of this request was a
letter from the Officers of the Navy at Deptford to the Lords of the
Admiralty saying that of late master shipwrights had been granted
places of residence at Chatham and elsewhere and they considered
that Peter Pett should receive as much consideration as his fellows.
They were also of the opinion that the habitation at Deptford of
Mr William Acworth, the storekeeper at Woolwich, would be the
most suitable abode for Mr Pett.21 The Admiralty was not dilatory
and Mr Acworth received his ~arching orders on 17 June 1637:
when their Lordships wrote to him as follows:22
'By your place of storekeeper at Woolwich you ought to reside there, where there is a house lately enlarged for your accommodation. You are forthv ith to remove from the house wherein you now live at Deptford into the said house at Woolwich, there being other occasions for the habitation you now possess.'
illiam Acworth though unscrupulous, kept a vigilant eye on the quality of his stores and refused to accept those which he considered to b of doubtful value. He was not prepared to endorse bills which were, in his opinion, detrimental to his department. Writing to Colonel Rich at Eltham on I 4 January I 654 he says that he had rec i ed 2,230 bolts of reed into store from William Sayward at 45/-per 100 bolts, but as part ofit was cu~ offthe waste near Barking Cr ek belonging to the mano: of W ~olw1~h he does not p_rop~se to sign the bill without further 1nstruchons. 3 Storage capacity in the dockyard was becoming a pressing problem ~y 1654. Provisions for the Marmaduke, for instance, could not be receive?, as the storeroom was housing the carved works for the Great Frigate a1:d th_e. ot?er storehouses were full •24 while four years later Acworth 1S pet1t1on1ng the Navy Commissi~ners for a new she~ for 'layi~g tar, pit_ch and rosin as these commodities run to waste 1n the open . At the time the storehouses were so congested that he could only take in two tons of rosin.2s This stocking of stores on ground. open to the populace, encouraged purloinment and theft, and Wilham Acworth, zealous storekeeper, requested the Navy Commissioners to erect a fe~ce on the hill against the deal yard to prevent such occurrences dunng the night. He estimated that the costwould not exceed £10 or £12 as there was plenty of waste timber available.26 On 27 July 1658, however,
20 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclxi, no. 32.
21 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclxi, no. 32, I I,
22 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. cccla, no. 112.
23 C.S.P. Dom., 1653-1654, P· 559·
u C.S.P. Dom., 1654, p. 500. F b 6 8
25 S.P.D. Council of State, vol. 188, no. 37, 8 e ruary 1 5 • 28 C.S.P. Dom., 1656-1657, P· 523.
147
THE BACKGROUND
a glimpse is obtained of the reverse side of the medal· the faithful watch-dog is seen as the unjust steward. On that day a~ order went forth that the keys of the storehouses at Woolwich should be taken from William Acworth and entrusted to some faithful person the said William, 'having been suspended from office on accou~t of fr~u~s .and ~mbezzlements committed of late'.27 The publication of th15 lilJUnc~on gave the signal for attack, and on 31 August I 658 two ".'7oolwich m~n, John Kirke and Stephen Turner, writing to the Admrralty Commissioners, made serious accusations against William Acworth. The letter in essence reads as follows:
Information agaillSt lvlr Acworllz
Being in the house ofH H · . · h h
d M Wh" . enry urst m Plum Street with Josiah C urc man ~~ r itmg, surgeon of the yard at Woolwich and having some I ~scodurshe abhout Acworth, the storekeeper at Woolwich yard, Hurst
comp ame t at e had p t h' . t
h. d ·ts d h u im out of his place there the better to ac th15 ec~I ' and t ~the was the veriest knave living as he not only wasted b ~ ~a~ ~ an 1Jt er stores for his own use to the ;mount of £200 a year, hu aid ado :o two copper boilers of the value of £30 or £40, and that he cdou ec are enough to hang him. but as he had such great friends
e urst not meddle with 1• Al ' b •
formants. um. so the following propositions Y in-
r FirstllD' :Whhether the. ground at the upper end of the State's yard,
1ormer y m t e possess f M 1 ·
\\ ithin the c ion ° r Sheldon, Clerk of the Check, and ying State althou~~Aon pahle of the State's ground does not belong to ~he
' o cwort keeps p · t r r 1t ?
Secondly Wh th A ossess1on and pretends to pay ren 10 · State's chief st;re~r cwo:th's letting a person have a room ?ver t~e Thirdly Whether ~~:e, Wit~ a trap door in it, is according to his truSt · house and thrustin thecleanng out of ~ne of the lofts in the State's sto~eof corn is accord· g h~akum and hair together to lay a great quantity
' mg to is trust or not? The letter was forwa d d . h H y
Hurst late 1 k r e wit notes of the examination of enr
' c er to Mr Ac th , h • • · b ling
candles and oth wor , c argmg him with em ezz remainder. als er;tores, some of which he used whilst selling the barrels of ~ail o o 1os Lawrence, that he knows nothing of the
what he had hs codnvfieyed by Acworth to some of his tenants beyond ear rom C · T th's
tenants living at W db . aptam aylor and from one of Acwor repair his house A 00 ndge, and that when he sent the money to Willi A ' cworth sent him nails'. 2s am cworth was e · d h the
storm and return to ort ~a~e but he managed to weat er ·t for the Admiral Cp ~i~h little damage to his prospects o: ~redi ' on 5 October ief8 omm~ss1oners wrote to the Navy Comm1ss1oners
0rd
the place of stor \ ermg them to re-admit William Acworth to e eeper at Woolwich 'notwithstanding any forrner
•1 S.P.D. Council of Stat I
II S p D Co . c, vo . 192 no 5
· · · uncd of Stat I ' · I.
c, vo. 192, nos. 125, 126.
148
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
order of suspension; he having paid the fine of £80 levied on him for cordage embezzled and conveyed away by the unfaithfulness of his son, ~hen he was ~ntrusted with the management; also having entered mto a bond 1n £1,500 for the faithful discharge of that office'.29 The father was reinstated but the son, being considered the greater villain, had any payment of wages due him suspended.so
Acworth, now clad in a white sheet of repentance appears once more as the good and faithful servant. He renders accounts of his stores, pushes forward the work of the yard and generally busies himself with the duties of his office. As guardian of the public purse he arranges for the apprehension of George Miller and Richard Waterman, the former of whom is found in possession of iron work and other provisions belonging to the King's stores. Miller was caught red-handed with 2cwt. of old iron in a boat ready to make a get-a-way to London. He professed to have purchased the metal from Waterman though his cargo was identical with the supplies delivered to boatswains and carpenters for sea stores. The culprits were sent on a warrant for examination by Antony Dean and Daniel Christmas.31
There can be no doubt that William Acworth's post was far from being a sinecure. He had to battle unceasingly against the shortage of money which was such a prevailing feature of his time. He continually asked, but asked in vain, for additional accommodation for stores committed to his charge.32
He constantly demanded an increase of his establishment to meet the additional work which was ever thrust upon him.33 He suffered from labour troubles as absenteeism in the yard was rife and he applied for authority to discharge any man who absented himself, without cause, for more than two consecutive days.34 He contended that he was surrounded by evilly-disposed persons ever on the lookout to enrich themselves at the expense of the State. This was without doubt true. He was the perfect example ofthe poacher turned gamekeeper. Samuel Pepys, who made constant visits to Woolwich Dockyard writes in his diary under date I 6 June I 664: 'So I to the office where all the morning, and at noon to the "change," so home and to my office where Mr Acworth came to me. (Though he knows himself that I know him to be a very knave), yet he came to me to discover the knavery of other people like the most honest man in the
29 C.S.P. Dom., 1658-1659, p. 456, vol. 194, no. 13· 3°C.S.P. Dom., 1658-1659, p. 456, vol. 194, no. 17, 5 October 1658. 31 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxvlli, no. 31, 7 January 1661. 32 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxxix, no. 113, 31 July 1661.
S.P.D.
Charles II, vol. lxiv, no. 25, 4 December 1662.
S.P.D.
Charles II, vol. cxliv, no. 61, 8January 1666. 33 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxxv, no. 70, 17 May 1661 ·
S.P.D.
Charles II vol. lvii, no. 60, 15 July 1662. 34 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxxv, no. 70, 17 May 1661•
149
THE BACKGROUND
world. However, good use I shall make of his discourse for in this he is much in the right.' The clouds gathered again in 1668. This time the situation was
far more ominous and arose out ofa complaint made by Mr Clayford that William A?worth was converting government stores to his own use. The first sign of the approaching storm which took a whole year to blow over, was on 30 January of that year when Acworth asked Samuel Pepys to be allowed to defer his appearance before the Board ofAdmiralty concerning Clayford's complaint until Colonel Middleton had completed his survey of the stores at Woolwich Dockyard. He also requested a copy of Clayford's petition and a reference to be made to His Royal Highness touching the affair so that he could have time to prepare his defence and clear himself.3 5 Ever the efficient servan_t ~ho is determined to carry on despite the yapping at his heels, Wilham Acworth writes to the Navy Commissioners on 27 February 1668 in a grandiloquent and magnanimous vein. He informs them that he has stopped legal proceedings against Clayford and that he will neither molest him nor his bail till the whole matter be settled, provi~ed Clayford desists from taking advantage of his action and refrains from persecuting him. He stresses the fact that he has much work on hand and that, as he is transcribing hi accounts, he does not wish to be sent up and down to refute Clayford's charges until his accounts are in order.36 The next move was 1nade on I 2 March when Mr Wren, writing to the Navy Commi ioners, says that 'Mr Acworth, the storekeeper at Woolwich, affirms that he can answer satisfactorily an accusation of Clayford for converting stores to his own use, but being very full of employment he is straitened in time, and obtained his Royal Highness' leave to have till T hursday week to put in his answer; he desires you to allow him the time he craves, and if after that he makes any further delay, he will be without excuse'•37 On 26 March 1668 Charles Porter wrote to Samuel
Pepys as follows :
'Mr Acworth has used his utmost endeavours to procure the witnesses appointed to wait upon your Honours but the absence of one in the coun~ry and the sickness of another, ca~se him to request a week's tim_e to brmg them. I would have waited on you, but can say nothing until you have heard these witnesses.'38
The following day Samuel Bartlett writing to Charles Porter at the Middle Temple informs him that he is desired by Mr Acworth to be with him on Thursday to justify his certificate, but as the Quarter Sessions, which he attends as Deputy, are to take
11 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxiii, no. 124. " S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxv no. 103 17 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxvi, no. 83."11 C.S.P. Dom. Charles II, vol. 237, no. 68.
150
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
place next week, he cannot. attend till the Thursday following.39
Four months then elapsed till r4July 1668 when Acworth petitions the Navy Commissioners to allow him. access to his receipts, affidavits and certificates so that he may prepare his proofs against Clayford's false accusation.40 Events moved slowly as is the way with legal proceedings. On r r August Mr Wren asks Samuel Pepys to hand Mr Speaker the papers about the Acworth case as soon as possible because the latter was leaving London in two days time. He states in his letter that he cannot attend the Board on the morrow as the House of Commons is sitting. He reminds Pepys of the account which the Lords Commissioners ofHis Majesty's Treasury will expect. 41 On the following day Mr Wren announces that as the Speaker had to proceed into the country earlier than was expected Mr Pepys would
have to defer handing him the Acworth papers, but that they must be ready for presentation on his return.4_2 The w~ole_business worried Pepys; it was evidently distasteful to him. In his diary he wrote on
28 August 1668.
'After much talk and great content with him43 I walked to the Temple and staid at Starky's my bookseller till Mr Wren comes, and by appointment we to the Attorney-General's chamber, and there read and heard the witnesses in the business of Ackeworth, most troublesome and perplexed by the counter swearing of the witnesses one against the other.'
Inevitably the climax approa~he?--On 2 I November 1~6~, Mr Clerke, addressing a communication to the Navy Commissioners requests that a valuation may be made of the goods t~ken by ~r Acworth out of the stores with the names of the parues who will attest it and that all the witnesses may be ready by Wednesday at 7 O'cl 'k · tl eveni·ng.44 The Court duly assembled, the evidence
oc 1n 1e fi d • f 'N uil ,
was heard, arguments were adduced.and a n ing 0 . f otSg tyl was announced. This verdict was o bv10usly a great re11e to, amue 't · hi·s di·ary under date 2 December 1668. To-day
Pepys who wn es in . . . I h . th t M A orth's cause went for him at Guildhall against
ear a r cw d . h , his accusers, which I am well enough please wit · . . was William Acworth more sinned against
Wh t h t th ?
a was t e ru • • h fi 1 r. · d
· · h ally an astute rascal wit power u .Lnen s
than smmng or was e re . I in h" h 1 ? H 1· d at a time when Jealousy was commonp ace
ig p aces. e 1ve • • h d k d
and he certainly had his detractors. Pepys on a visit to t e oc yar at Woolwich discovered his dishonesty as early as M~y 1664, and he W 'd d d I by many who worked 1n close contact
as cons1 ere a scoun re . . • d with him. How did he evade purushment if he were guilty an
30 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxvii, no. 88.
40 s p 1 ... 3
• .D. Charles II, vol. cc xlll, no. 2 • 41 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxiv, no. 145· 42 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxiv, no. 152• f th
• e
43 s·1r William Coventry-a comm1ss1oner · O 44 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxix, no. 137·
151
THE BACKGROUND
manage to retain his appointment till death removed temptation from his path? Perhaps the following extracts from Pepys diary may supply the answer.
14tlz January 1661 After dinner Mrs Pett, her husband being gone this morning with Sir W. Batten to Chatham, lent us her coach and carried us to Woolwich where we did also dispose of the arms there and settle the guards. So to Mr Pett, the shipwright, and there supped, where he did treat us very handsomely (and strange it is to see what neat houses all the officers of the King's yard have), his wife a proper woman and has been handsome, and yet has a pretty hand. Thence I with Mr Acworth to his house, where he has a very pretty house, and a very proper lovely woman to his wife, who both sat with me in my chamber, and they being gone I went to bed.
21st January 1663 Then came Commissioner Pett and he and I by
'
agreement to Deptford, and after a turn or two in the yard, to Greenwich and thence walked to Woolwich. Here we did business .. . Back and dined at Mr Ackworth~, where a pretty dinner and she a pretty modest wo~an, but above all thmgs we saw her Rocke, which is one of the finest thmgs done by a woman I ever saw.
2211d May 1 664 And thence by water to Woolwich where mighty kindly received by Mrs Fal:oner and her husband, who is ~ow pretty well again, this being the first time I ever carried my wife thither. I walked to the Docke where I met Mrs Ackworth alone at home; and God forgive rne ! what th~ughts I had; but I had'nt the courage to stay, but went to Mr Petts and walked up and down the yard with him.45
Comment appears superfluous.
It seems strange to modern conceptions that a man under charge of embezzlement should calmly be allowed to continue in office where he had further opportunities for peculation, instead of being formally suspended from duty. Yet such was the case. During the year 1668 William Acworth still actively functioned as storekeeper,
Royal Dockyard.
While this scandal was in progress William Acworth was exposing
another. On I 2 June I 668 he reports to the Na Commissioner as
follows: vy
'I beg ~nstruc~ions, having stopped some men from Greenwich who were loading a lighter with stones to hat town, wh" h had been
. pave t 1c
ordered for pavmg Woolwich Do k d b h . b there had
c yar , ut t e tim er "The Acworth family is a l"ttl fi . M gdalen,
Woolwich is the tomb of a M1 w·Irn using. In the churchyard of St Mary _a which the name ~four hero disa r 1 iam Acworth who died in 1671, the year 10 urchyard is 'Avice wife ofw·il'peaf from the_State Papers. Also buried in the same et eper ofthe Doc~d died h~ lft ~orth, ~ied 1643'. When William Acworth, Store ~ice and was Samuei Pep~s at;ra ~~1 bowh1?hzabeth, sister of Peter Pett. Did he marry orarY William Acworths ii B 6 c Y Is second wife, or were there two contemp agehis father's storeho~ci. I 58, the storekeeper had a son, William, old enough to man
Mr Falconer Clerk of th R . d by !\-fr
William ~-e opeyard, died in July 1664 and was succeede
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
prevented its being done. Most of the stones will be wanted for paving the
yard where they are, thus saving labour and charge in cartage; should
they be sold before this is done, it would be prejudicial to the service.'46
He had, at any rate, one champion. Mr William Bodham, Clerk
of the Ropeyard in a letter to Samuel Pepys on 24 July 1668
commends Mr Acworth's zeal in 'seeking to have the stones, so much
stickled by the Greenwich men, preserved to his Majesty's better
service in paving his own yards first and selling what remains to a
better chapman'. He affirms that the paving stones were essential for
Woolwich Dockyard and continues 'I deplore the baseness of a sub
ordinate officer who, for private lucre, has endeavoured to trapan a
sale of them to the Greenwich lapidaries at 3s. 6d. a ton, when a
paviour will give 45. 6d. and a citizen offers 8s. I am tender of the
Board's reputation, being an old servant, a_n~ wish that enquiry
might be made what inferior officer first soli_c1ted th_em to sell the
ston s, and the weight of his pretences for 1t exammed; also Mr
Acworth should be questioned why your order of the 18th June was
not put into execution. I am odious already to bad men by my
clowni h un-modish crimes of honesty and fidelity.'47
The l;st communication on this matter is one dated 25 July 1668 from William Acworth to the Navy Commissioners which reads as follows :
I am told there is a warrant for 100 tons of paving stones to ~e taken from Woolwich to pave Greenwich, but you have alrea~y authorized the Woolwich officers to agree with Robert l\llaxfield, paVIour, to pave ~he yard, taking the stones left in part payment. The pav1our has t~ken a Vlew of the places most needful to be done, where heavy carts go with cordage from the Ropeyard, and affirms that there will not be stones enough, but ifa . 1 r.t h ld allow " r. 6d. a ton for them. Whoever moves your
ny are e11, e wou --r-h K" , d · d
Honours to have any stones from the yard before t e mg s yar 1s one, it is merely a drive at their own private interest, rather than the good of
the service.48
Thereafter the subject appears to lapse. Po?r William! ~e was seldom free from embarrassment. The next. thing we learn 1s that ·s h 1 burnt down the fire being caused by the over-
hi
ouse was near y ' . • d" ·
t. f · hb 's flue The main beam 1n the l.Illng-room
h ea mg o a neig our · d
oof was destroyed and other amage was
Was ch arred through , the r d · d ·
· · t" the frost burst the expose pipes an cistern
done. Bemg winter 1me, . ft. Th thereby adding to the difficulties of quenching the ames. e building had to be shored up to prevent collaps~. No doubt he and his wife had a narrow escape. He reported the c1~cumstances to the Navy Commissioners on 21 January 1670, assessing the damage at
118 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxli, no. 102. 47 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxliii, no. 123· 48 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxlii, no. 14o.
153
THE BACKGROUND
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT W0OLWICH
£20 and asked for speedy repairs to be carried out and the services of a plumber to repair the cistern and pipes 'as the house lies open to th~ weather, "'hich is sharp, and I and my wife and servant have only JUst recovered from sickness'. He ends his letter with the words 'I thank God the fire did not happen in the night; otherwise, for want_ o_f water, we should have been burnt in our beds.'49
Wilham Acwor~h by 1671 must have been getting on in years, yet
he was as pugnac10~s as ever, always ready to take the law into his
o_wn hands. A certam John Cooke forwarded to the Navy Commis
sioners a crop of complaints. He accused Acworth of:
(I) Impounding three of l. . · horses fi . .
11s or trespassing and demanding I os. for each! notw1th~tandmg the fact the Acworth's horses had trespassed severa1 times on his garden and orcha d
(2) Impou1:ding some cows belongi:g·to John Latter and Mr Leach of Charlton, forcmg the owners to pa 1. £ fi
) I d• Y 11m .3 or trespass.
. (3 mpoun mg the horse of one Betts and takino-from him I os. for
, for his 11
himself and Is. man, a t 1oug 1 the horse being °. cross spanned
couIdn t get over the fence.
(4) Distraining all the gh d bread and cheese of a poor widow, · ea11 d
S · h h 00 s, e mit.' w ose usband died in his lvfajesty'sservice. So that having refused her victuals she had to rely on tl h . f . b
An . . 1e c anty o ne1g1 our .
( )5
action causmg the death of one of Leach's horses.
The N~vy Commissioners got 'a bit tough' over this possibly they ~ere gettm_g a little tired of Acworth after so man; ) ears. Theyfor;ed him that if he would not give Cooke satisfaction or refer t ~ ispute to disinterested persons they would request his Royal
Highness to remov ' · ·1 , ' · ht
. . e pnvi ege and thus give the petitioner the ng to sue him m the courts.so Ac~orth's reply to the Navy Commissioners dated r r January I 67 I ' is a masterpiece of injured innocence. '
'I have seen John C k' c . . 1·t to
h. h I b . 00 s 1a1se petition and the reference upon ,
w 1c su nut I pay a d c ' d hich
I h h d · ear rent 1or 12 acres of marsh Ian , on w
av\ ano beaSt since it was mowed last Midsummer but he has had;e~e~ t~ngry hard·Wrought horses and two cows at a ti:ne feeding in it. a "t e: pu: out and gave him notice three times and was at la5t ~ec~ssi ated t~ impound four of his horses but he wo~ld not give satis~~tlon, an cited me to the County Court'near Maidstone 30 miles off, :lt~re ahnhatthorney appeared for me, but he got weary of that Court, oug et reatened to k h fli d £10
until Lady-Da £ h eep met ere for three years. I was o ere t get 40s d ?: t e twelve acres Cooke's cattle fed on, and now canno ·, an is ?gs, coming through his own fence have ploughed upthe best part of mne ac f ' d fruit
trees and h' h res O an orchard, planted with rose an I
'd b is man t at fetched them from thence said it was a shamed shouI e so wronged He 1 . fi ·tan
" · a so permitted his servants to steal the rui
S.P.D. Charles II vol cclxxx..
" S.P.D. Charles 11' voJ° .n, no. 46.
' · ccxcvi, no. 9, 7January 1671.
154
roses, and he stilled great quantities of the latter before my face. He arrested a poor man for 18d. and kept him a prisoner with two bailiffs at an ale h_ouse for two days and nights. I have heard, where he came from, that he 1s a very troublesome untrue speaking fellow, and given to eat h"
. hb I . IS
ne1g ours up. f any person can Justly say that I have done him wrong or ?we him money, I will either give him satisfaction or appear to his act10n without troubling his Royal Highness or your Honours, but I beseech I may not be condemned before I have been heard.'51
One last gauntlet was flung before death finally closed his eyes and allowed his restless spirit to depart in peace. His health was evidently f~iling by 24 January 1671 when he informed the Navy Commiss10ners that he was too indisposed to attend the Board and give his version of the differences which had arisen between John Awdry and himself about a horse of the farmer's which had broken into his property and damaged his pasture.52 The last letter he wrote to the Navy Commissioners was dated 7 November 167 I; thereafter his pen was stilled for ever. The last move in the Awdry contretemps was made by Elizabeth, William's widow, who on 6 July I 672 complained to the Navy Commissioners that John Awdry, joiner, 'between whom and Mr Acworth there was a suit caused by a trespass, which by the Board's order was referred to Captain Hannam, Mr Firzer and Mr Bodham', had refused to pay the sum awarded.53
The e silhouettes outline to some extent William Acworth's character. That he was a man of energy and purpose none can deny, but assurance becomes less positive when the question of his wholehearted devotion to duty is considered. His public life was passed in surroundings conducive to dishonesty when integrity was often at a discount. Was he any different from the majority of his fellows? Strife was obviously the breath oflife to him. He drove a hard bargain and, being cynical to a degree, never missed the opportunity of protesting his innocence when his honour was impugned. Though courteous to his superiors, he was hypocritical and lacking in humility,~~ was proud and over-bearing towards his equals. A man to be propitiated rather than antagonized, with whom it would be better _to agree quickly while yet in the way lest at any time he should deliver thee
to the judge.54 . The next Crown Establishment at Woolw1ch was the Ropeyard where heavy cordage for the use of the Royal Navy was made. It was built between the years 1573 and 1576 by Thomas Allen on ?round lying between the present Beresf?rd Street and Warren L_an~, Its_ site being clearly shown on Barkers ~Iar:i of 1749. There 1s 1n existence an 'Estimate of certain newe bu1ld1ngs to be erected and
51 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxcvi, no. 15. 52 S.P.D. Charles II vol. ccxcviii, no. 143.
58 S PD C ' ..
M. · • harles II, vol. ccc:n.-vu, no. 32. 64 atthew V, 25.
155
THE BACKGROUND
sett up at Wollwich by Mr. Allen, the queen's Maties marchante', dated 22 December 1 572.55 This totals £792. is. 7d. or in the words o~the document: 'Summa Totalis of all the whole chardges viY lxij1 xixd. Endorsed Worke to be done at Wollwiche 1572.' By Royal Wa~rant dated 6July 1573 Thomas Allen 'Her Majesty's merchant' received £Boo towards the cost of erecting at Woolwich buildings necessary ~or t?e n:anufacture of cables and other rope for the use of her Majesty s ships and was to be reimbursed any sum in excess of that figure. He had to build according to specified plans and was bound to pay £rno a year rent for the houses and a-round within one year of the completion ofthe buildings or 5 per cen~ on the money actually expended. The buildings were to consist of one cable-house 600 X 3° feet, chambered with board 300 by 30 feet the other 3oo feet to be 7 feet broad and boarded throughout; o~e 'way-house' 3oo by 20 feet, ?~a:ded above and under, with a large pair of stairs, and a house adJmmng to lay yarn in, 26 by 20 feet, boarded below and above;. a tar-ho~se 60 by 21 feet, a hemp-house 55 by 6 feet, boarded, with two httle houses at each end and a shed all the
th
lengtb 0~ e said hemp-house; one storehous~ by the water 60 by21 feet with a cellar 27 by 2 r feet, walls and floor of brick; a 'pryvie' 10 by 8 feet, the vault being flint stone and floor boarded.
Between 9 July 15 7 3 and 2I October 1576 the £800 was received by the hand ofRichard Hodgstone, Deputy to Henry Killegrew, one of the Tellers under the Privy Seal dated 6July 1573. Against this, the sum expended on timber lath b · k il -d hair
. , es, nc s, t es, 11me, san , ,
des t d 3d 56
spa s raw iron-work
' . an wages amounted to £ 1 365. 8s. 44 ·
The estimate was thu 1 ' n
. . s gross y exceeded. The Ropeyard was a exiguous e~tablishment according to modern standards; even 60 years later its annual budget onl h d £ 8d 51
St Yreac e 135. rs. . ~rage accommodation was always the crux at Woolwich, not only m the Dockyard and Ropeyard, but, as will be noticed later, in the_ Ord~ance warehouses as well. The gunwharf further details of which will appear later, was used among other things for the
55 S.P.D. Elizabeth vol xc no
51 E
II d A ' . ' · 19·
nro e ccounts Pipe Offi
n Add. 9294, f. 520. ' ce, no. 398. Wages of a Clarke of the Ch
For keeping of the PI eque Per annum £18. 5s. od. For wa est M ug Per annum £ 6. os. od. For w/ o a aster Ropemaker per annum £50. os. od.
Rope r!~e~' ~~;hke fr dafly attending the Hem T th ' an taking charge of the as arep'belar, "! such other materials and tools
ongmg to ye. Rope house-yard at 25. per d"
For wa f; zem in the l~p~;~:i°a';a~hm_en nightlie watching
apiece £24. 6s. Bd.
The services of casual locall . Total £135. u .. Bd. Clerk
of the Cheque out ofhi's t· Y rec~ited labourers would have been paid by the
con 1ngencies.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
~nloading ofhe_mp. ~t suffered ext_ensively fr?m flooding duringspring tides, a fact which did not make hfe any easier for officials. In March 1662 Edward Rundell and James Matthews submitted an estimate of £468. I Is. 7d. for building a storehouse next to the great storehouse on the wharf in the Dockyard.58 In September of the same year Christopher Pett and two others estimated that £394. 6s. od. would be required to repair the Dockyard wharf or £612. 15s. 4d. to rebuild it completely.59 Nothing, however, seems to have been done, either to repair the wharfor to build the additional storehouse. On 8 March 1665 the Clerk of the Ropeyard bewailed the fact that there were no laying places for cordage in the yard and suggested that Mr Clothier's ground in the Warren might be used.60 Edward Rundell was a dishonest contractor; he submitted absurdly low tenders in order to obtain contracts. As an example he forwarded on 6 May 1665 three estimates (i) for a gallery from the old hemp loft to the street £15. 1s. od. (ii) Repairing 38 feet of wharfing in the gun-yard at Woolwich £18. 2s. 4d. ~n~ (iii) Altering and raising the shed at the Ropeyard £25. 8s. od. William Bodham commenting on 24 May 1665 to Samual Pepys says that he has ventilated Edward Rundell's estimates as much as possible and he 'can but pronounce him a prevaricating knave'.61 Affairs were becoming desperate. On 17 July 1665, Bodham begged Pepys to consider ,serio~sly the state of the wharf at Woolwich. He says that Rundell s estimate is only an audacious mockery which 'he will not stand to' while he 'suffers the wharf to be ruined for want of repair, while he beats off others from undertaking it'. Bodham stressed that if repairs were not put in hand by some one, the next tide would.'throw down the crane'.62 Nine days later he made the same pomt to Thomas Hayter.63 Edward Rundell was eventually allowed to repair the gun wharf in September r665 to the tune of £35. 19s. 6d. because two years
later he requested a bill.64 • • Conditions still remained far from satisfactory at the Woolwrch yards. Commissioner J. Tippetts, who visite~ !he Establishments to go into matters, reported to the Navy Comm1ss1oners on 24 February r670 as follows:
I went to Woolwich and viewed the old storehouse, and the portion erected of the new one. but as the ground is loose and it is too near the wharf, it ought to be r~moved and set within _10 feet of ~he old on~. If built as described in a plan drawn in the margm, there will be sufficient
58 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. Iii, no. 144. 59 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. Iix, nos. 54, 56. . d ffi ·a1
60 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cxiv, no. 76. Mr Clothier was a Ropeyar o c1 . 61 S.P.D. Charles II vol. cxxii, no. 18. 62 S•PD. . Charles II,' voI. cxcv11,.. no. 13.
63 S.P.D. Charles II vol. cxxvii, no. 87.
64 s ' 6
.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxx, no. 9 •
157
THE BACKGROUND
cover for making masts and boats. The additional charge, including
materials will be £125.65
We are now on the eve of a momentous event which altered the subsequent course of Woolwich history. This was the conveyance of the gunwharf to Sir William Prichard in part exchange for Tower Place-the nucleus of the future Royal Arsenal. On 23 February 1671 William Bodham writes as follows to the Navy Commissioners:
The wharfin the gun-yard here [i.e. at Woolwich] which has belonged out of mind to the Ropeyard for taking up hemp and tar, and shipping cordage, and which was repaired three years ago at a cost of £30, is n?w so much ruined by the weight of guns and the ground so worn by brick and tile carts, ,vhich daily make bold to load their lighters there,66 that the men carrying down cables are forced to go up to their ankles in mire, to the injury of their health and to the loss of the service, and the ground at the foot of the wharf is so raised by tile shards that there is 3 feet of water less, v. hich daily grows worse. You will see by the sketch plan enclosed that if 8 rods of it were paled in at 15s. or 16s. per rod, it ~ould prevent all this, and if the crane and wharf be lost, the teamer will not cart to any other wharf in the town under double his present allowance which is gd. per ton, in or out, and rs. per last for tar.67
rd
and with the letter encloses a sketch of the Ropeyard and gun-ya
with a key to the same annexed.
Without waiting for the grass to grow under his feet, William Bodham follows this communication up with another addressed to Samual Pepys on 26 March requesting him to lay before the Navy Board another statement about the wharf and the possibility ~f
· his
· duc1ng sprmg · water into the yard two pro~ects dear to
mtro
• ' J h h0 pe
heart which could be carried out at small cost. He expresses t e that both will be allowed. 68 The document69 addressed to the Navy Commissioners reads as follows:
Ifyou were to view the wharf and crane where the hemp, tar, and jun~ are taken up, and the cordage is sent off-which is part of the gun-ya~ that was sold by the Ordnance Officers on the purchasing Cap~ai~ Blackman's house70 you would order it to be fenced in. It was repaire
u S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxxxii no 14a ns
.. I odd h ' . . . cl perso
tsee~ t . at no at~empt should have been made to prevent unauthonze t from entering official premises and using government property as they thought fi . :; S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxcvi, nos. 149 and 150.
S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxxxiii, no. 110_ 11 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxxxiii no II ted
110
70 Tower Plac J · h BI k ' · ' · ompensa
e. eremia ac man owned the property in 1667 as he was c warren
by th
b -~hbTr~ury for damage done to his orchards and fishery by the battery on e n prew t Y rmce Rupert. I_t must therefore soon have passed to Captain Blac½mWilliarJl
•~ably the son ofJeremiah. The house was actually sold to the Crown by Sir familY Pn~hard,_and he may have bought the ~lace at a low figure from the Blackman 'blY as owmg to ~ts loss of amenities caused by the defensive works on its boundary, poi:ns will ~~tion? and then sold.it at a profit to the Office of Ordnance. These tra~sac:hapter.
exammcd ID greater detail as the story ofTower Place unfolds in the following
158
Tower Place 1545
Burst gun at l\tfoorfi.elds
_
r-
,
.....
r-
....,
C
0
;...
i:::..
' •.
;
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
by_ the Navy _Office, b~t is much damaged by the weight of guns, timber, bnc_ks &c. Iymg upon 1t, and_ th~ crane is of~e~ used and abused by those havmg no nght to meddle w1th 1 t, 71 so that 1 t 1s of Iittle or no use for the ropeyard to which it has been appropriated time out of mind.
The _gun-yard being about to be used as a private wharffor merchant's guns, !1mber, &c. if the wharf is not fenced in, it will be subject to much more ~nconvenience. It will only take 34 yards offencing. I -o place in the town 1s so near or fit for the purpose, and the teamer will expect double allowance if he has to work to and from any other wharf. I have leave to lay on a branch pipe from the main thatsupplied CaptainBlackman'shouse with water, which will cost 35 shillings and savehisMajestydoublethatsum
every year. I beg directions. .
Woolw1ch Ropeyard 24 March 1670.
Finally Prichard's grant of the gunwharf must bring this short survey of the Ropeyard to a close.72
A grant unto William Prichard and his heirs of his Majesty's old storehouse and wharf called the Gun-wharf at Woolwich in the County of K ent together with the dwelling house, stables and other outhouses there and a new store house thereupon built. And also two small tenements with the appurtenances there, in satisfaction of £2,959 to be paid unto him by his Majesty for the purchase of a mansion or manor house with the appurtenances called the Tower Place with divers lands and tenements in the parishes of Woolwich and Plumstead in the said county with such other clauses of non-obstantes as are usual in grants oflike nature. 73
W. Trumbell.
Another D epartment of State which had a branch at Woolwich was the O ffice of Armoury. Surviving accounts point to its having been a tiny establishment in no way comparable with its sister organization at Greenwich. The few pieces of armour held on charge were housed either in a timber shed of their own, or, more likely,
. '
1n an Ordnance building situated on the gunwharf, then a universal repository. The latter supposition is the more probable as the amount ~eld was extremely small, and a very close connection, verging sometimes on integration, existed between the Officers of Ar_moury a~d Ordnance. The periodic 'remains' of armour normally 1?cluded m one account the amounts held in the Tower, at Greenwich, Woolwich, Hampton Court and Windsor, though _there are two or three
surviving which deal exclusively with Woolw1ch. . The total stock held at Woolwich in February 1587 was 48 Alma1ne corsletts.74 In the following year-June 1588-this had increased to
71 See Note 66. . • .
72 The Ropcyard was closed down in 1833 and sold to Mr George Sm.1th of\\ ~lw1ch, a contractor who promptly demolished the old buildings which were quite unserv1ceabl • The _Church of Holy Trinity and dwelling houses etc. were soon afterwards erected on
the site 73 C.S.P. Charles II 1671 p.211 (S.P.D. Charles II, Docquets, vol. 2 5• no. 44 -pril 1671). ' ' 74 S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. cxcviii, no. 79·
12 159
THE BACKGROUND
440 Almaine corsletts and 320 black morions.75 Amounts which could hardly be called excessive.
A special remain of the armour in the Tower and at Woolwich was taken in 1603. The statement occurs among the papers of Sir Henry Lee at Ditchley, Co. Oxford and reads as follows:
A coppie of the Remaines of the armour of the Tower and Woolwich
a,zno. 76 •
Th' office of th' Armoury. A Booke conteininge ye severall prcells of Armor, yt weare found remaininge in ye severall armories hereafter followinge, after ye death of Mr John Lee, wch weare nombred ye iiiich vth and vith daies ofJanuar 1603. Anno Reg Jacobi primo and commited to ye charge ofJohn Couper by the Commandment of the right honnerable Sir Henry Lee, Knight of ye honnerable order of the garter, and Mr. of highnes Armories the pticulars whereof hereafter followe.
[Then follows the list in the Tower J
At Woolwich as in the former Remaine taken Backes and Brests for Almaine Corslets iiii iiii iiii and r od back. Callers with Bombards ................. iiii Ix.xv Burgonets and Huskins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiii xlviii Murrions blacke ...................... cccxxxiu
Burgonets old and nothing worth . . . . . . . . xii This is a true coppy ofthe Remaine ofArmor taken at y0 Severall places aforesaid by us whose names are hereunto subscribed.
J. Kenion John Couper Lee Symonds.
The last inventory ofwhich we have record was taken inJune 1611 when the armour stored at Woolwich77 consisted of:
Backs for Almaine Corsletts ......... 287 Breasts for Almaine Corsletts ........ 278 Co1lers with bombards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 Combe Marrions .................. 322 Memoranda; that the said backs, breasts, callers and murryons are
reported by the armorers to be very good stuffe, not being oute offashion and uneasy, and to be amended before they be used for service. Burgonets and Huskins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Unserviceable
Backs for Almaine Corsletts . . . . . . . . . 86 Breasts for Almaine Corsletts . . . . . . . . 132 Burgonets and Huskins . . . . . . . . . . . . . roo Collers with bombards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 7 Coombe Murryons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 r Scullis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
71 S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. ccxi no. a3
71 ("\, cd ' •
""uot from A Parochial history ofEnstone C0 Oxon by the Reverend John Jordan I 8 5 7,
p. 105. 77 S.P.D. James I, vol. lxiv, no. 71•
160
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
Fifty years after this date armour for the fighting soldier had virtually disappeared and the stocks at Woolwich, becoming obsolete, were sent to the Tower, sold as scrap, or otherwise disposed of.
Finally we come to the ultimate 'pre-war' Crown Establishment in Woolwich: the Ordnance depot located on the gunwharf. We thus arrive at the prelude to our story proper. Before a standing army was authorized the Office of Ordnance had little to do with military affairs except the custody, maintenance and equipment of castles.78 These it supplied with provisions, stores, arms, powder and shot together with a master gunner and gunners to man the defences in case of siege. With the passing of time the emphasis shifted from the territorial castle to the coastal fort, because as the centuries advanced invasion became a greater likelihood than insurrection. The state of the coast defences therefore became the main Land Service preoccupation of the Master General, though when occasion demanded he did equip and munition such forces as from time to time took the field. In these circumstances, the main object of the Office of Ordnance was to nurture and provision ships of the Royal Navy, vessels which it regarded as individual floating fortresses. The Ordnance supplied such ships with stores, equipment, cannon and munitions, together with trained gunners to act as gu1:-crews,.and _on return to harbour effected repairs to pieces or mountmgs which circumstances had rendered unserviceable. For its part the Admiralty was responsible for finding the ships and t~e i:nen to sail them. This c!ose association-a kind of Siamese twinship-between those responsible
for buildino-the vessels and those responsible for converting them into ships ;f war obviously necessitated the furnishing of Ordnance services immediately a royal dockyard was opened. It m~y thus be assumed that Ordnance business commenced at Woolwich about I 518, the year Henry VIII bought his house, messuage, salthouse, wharf and land from Nicholas Partriche and the vendor unknown. It is, unfortunately, not possible to identify th~ subsequent g?nwharf with the wharfin question though both were 1n the same neighbourhood. Were it so, proofth~t the year 1518 saw _the birth of Ordnance activities at Woolwich would be nearer estabhsh~ent. .
The gunwharf was a small area some half acre m extent situated between the Thames and Woolwich Street,79 and bounded on the
80
west by Bell Watergate and on the east by Toddy Tree Watergate: Its river frontage was 265 feet, its western bounda:Y 210 feet, ~s eastern boundary 315 feet and its Woolwich Street side 3~0 feet. t
is shew · B k , f 1749 where it is called 'Hill's wood
n m ar er s map o ?s O • . . .1 PRO/WO/sr../425, no. 167. During the
D h ngmal Warrants and Orders m Cou~c1 d the i?epair ofall forts in England
6,6 1
utc war an order in Council dated 26 April 1 7 P ace under the sole direction of the Office of Ordnance. :: Now High Street. Now Globe Lane.
161
THE BACKGROUND
wharf' and is clearly visible in Buck's 'North Prospect of Woolwich in the County of Kent-I 739' where it is portrayed as a wharf with cranage facilities. It was, as will be seen, constantly subjected to flooding at high water. Upon it stood the Ordnance storehouses.
The first reference to the Ordnance at Woolwich occurs in a State Paper of the reign of Elizabeth I dated 31 January 1586. It is an estimate for repairing the storehouse there and-reads as follows :81
An estimate for provisions for the office of thordenance for the seas needeful to be taken in hande, as also newe buylding and other reparacions to be done at her highnes storehouse of thordenance at Woohvich, viz.:
Reparacions The crane at thordenance house at Woolwich which is to A housefor be made xxvli. The wharfs theare to be repaired xiu. The workmen palinge to be repaired vjli xiij5 iijd. Item. A woorkehouse
of Ix feet longe and xxij foot broade to be covered with rushes Jxli. Som~za £ 133. 6s. 8d.
CASTLE IRON ORDENAUNCE
De' Cannons 30 xxx d'Cannons, xl Culverins, xl d'Culverins, iiij Culverins 40 Sakers and iiij Fawcons, whiche per cstimacion will De' Culverins 40 way 250 mli wzt at vli per mli, r250\ as well to Sakers 4 furnish the ships whiche at the present doe lacke as Fawcons 4 alsoe suche as are appointed to be made. £1,250.
BRASSE ORDENAUNCE
Culverins 10 x ?ulverins, x d'Culverins and c Bases, ,vhiche p' De' Culverins 10 estlmacion will way IijD as wzt at vjli vjs -iijd p' mu Bases 100 wzt for the makinge only one with the other, £277.
6s. Bd. Note that I set nothino-e downe for he mettalle because her Matie hathe to s;rve this purpose in store as I am informed.
Garages etc. Item. Garages for the mountinge of the fore-named pieces, as also suche other as doe wante, by estimacion, £500 Somma £2,160. 13s. 4d. ~or all other needfuls th~ same may be provided in tyme excepte pouder, which I suppose her Matie bathe in store. Er of Lecistr hath-Sr Frac' Drak hath iiijxxx peces.a2
The document is endorsed 'Matters touchinge thordenaunce to be presently cared for'.
The next reference to warlike stores at Woolwich occurs some seven mo~ths Iat~r when an inventory of guns brought out of the West Indies by Sir Francis Drake is given. It reads as follows:
A n:ue note of all such ordnance of brasse as well as serviceable as uns_erviceable brought out of the West Indies by Sir Frauncis Drake, Kmght, and Layde into her Mats' yerde at Woolwich in August 1586 and
11 S.P.D. Elizabeth I, vol. clxxxvi no
40
ll 'ty' TI. ' ..
me pieces. ic ultimate sentence is written in another hand.
162
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
there receyved by the Comyshioners appointed for that voidge, as
followeth, viz. Serviceable peces disposed into her highnis shippes by
Sir William Wynter, Knight, and the Officers of the Tower. 1 Basilico;
4 Canons; 16 Di Cannons; I 3 Cannon peeices; 3 Culverings; 8 Di
Culverings; 15 Sakers, 2 I M yneons. All w'eh peeces beinge severally
wayed amount to 1 74 tons o cwt 3 qrs 4 li.
Unserviceable peeces converted into newe ordenance for her Mat's use by the said parties; 3 Sakers; 2 I Fawcons; 8 Fawconettes; 72 Porte bazes; 55 Chambers; the which being likewize wayed amounted to 59 tons
o cwts 2 qrs ro li. By me Roger Monox, Late Servant to Sir Will'm Wynter.83
These guns did not remain long at Woolwich, those which were serviceable being issued or 'laid aboard' sh!ps and those which were not, finding their way into the hands of private founders who broke them up and recast them into new pieces to be used as occasion dictated. In view of the Spanish crisis and the paucity of armaments in the country at this period, ordnance was not likely to have been left lying about and deteriorating in parks and yards.
Although the estimate of 31 January 1586 had been_ carefully prepared and was heavy according to the standard of the time, there is no evidence to suggest that work it was designed to m~et ~as ever carried out. If, by any chance, it were, the workmanship displayed must have b en of a low order and the quality of the materials used must h ave been poor in the extre°:e, b:cause only twe~ve years elapsed before a complaint was submitted 1n July 1598 statmg 1n no unmeasured terms the appalling state of the wharf, crane and storehouse. O n the contrary, the state of affairs revealed strongly suggests that nothing had been done in the interval as lack of mam~ena:ice during th t t' Id hardly have accounted for the detenoration
a 1me cou C .. disclosed. In a project addressed to the Or~~anc~ ommiss1oners
touching the reform of the Office appears this item.
Whereas the storehouse at Woolwich is of little or no use (the wharf and crane thereof being utterly decayed and ruined), and for as muc~ as a great quantity of shot, pikes, and other munitions h~ve of long trme there continued and do yet remain where they are subject to embe~zle
rnent d d d · ·n decay to the great loss of her Majesty
an o rot, rust an ruin i h t0
1
and hindrance of her service. It may therefore Pease your onours order that the same may be removed into the Tower ~f London therde to b k • h may be issued and use as
e ept m her Majesty' store so as t e sa_me occasion shall serve for her Majesty's service.Si
The advice tendered to the Ordnance Commissio?ers was disregarded no one being sufficiently interested to move in the matter. The old ~onditions continued at the gunwharf aotl stores became
ea E
84 xchequer Q.R., misc. 928-55. S(.P.D. Elizabeth I, vol. cclxviii, no. 13.
C.S.P. Elizabeth I, 1598-1601, p. 76.)
163
THE BACKGROUND
more and more 'decaied', as our ancestors put it, since the turn-over was so small. Nothing more was heard till 30 October 1613 when the sum of£18. Is. Bd. was expended on the repair ofthe storehouse and wharf.85 Eventually things became so bad that something had to be done and a brick storehouse, as being far more weather-proof, was contemplated. On 29 March 1616 a debenture was issued for 'A newe howse built at Wolwc11 for his MatY '.86 This debenture was made to John Andrews, Bricklayer, for the Office of Ordnance for the sum of£105 for building and erecting a new brick building for the use and service of his Majesty at Woolwich, adjoining the storehouse there. This 'newe howse of bricke' was to be forty foot long, twenty-two foot broad, have two stories on,e nine and the other eight foot high and a garret having three gable ends. The house was to be built according to certain articles of covenant agreed to between
John Andrews and the Officers ofhis Majesty's Ordnance.
The tempo of government activity at Woolwich now began to quicken, the growth of the dockyard necessitating an expansion in Ordnance responsibilities. The miserable accommodation deemed sufficient in the sixteenth century failed to respond to the demands of the seventeenth, and more storage capacity became a paramount necessity. Over £70 were therefore spent on 20 J anuary r 6r g. 87
Vicesimo die J anuarii I 6I 9 anno Regni Regis Jacobi decimo septimo
A debentur made unto wm Wheatley, his Majesty's M aster Carpenter for Th' office ofTh'ordenaunce for the somme of threescore and ten poundes, fowerpence; as well for timber, hordes, planck, single quarters, deales and other necessaries spent and ymploied in makinge and erectinge of a storehowse and other howses at Wolwich for his Majesty's service as also for the wages and intertaynement of sondry carpenters and other Laborers imploied both in taking downe
Carpenters t?e old howse there, and for sorting and layinge up the old
Worke and
timber and other stuffe, and for erectinge the said newe Wages in
howse, the perticulers whereof are hereafter mentioned. erectinge
Vizt
a new 89
For vj loades and xxi/Y 88 foote of timber accompting JtY storehowse
foote to the loade at Xd the foote -xxiijli viij8 iiijd at . . [£13. Bs. 4d.]
Wolwich For VJ <laxes worke for twoe sawiers about the cutting of old timber-XX8 [2 os.]
:: Ordnance Debenture Ledger, PRO/W0/49141, p. IOO. Ordnance Debenture Ledgers PRO/WO/ / f 8 M h 1616
n:c?~:a~~; ~tt 'n{OL/Wedg/C:, PROJW0'/:9J:g, r.\: :~ Ja~~~ry 161.9, also Ordu ' 54~
22,
.. 50.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
For a grindinge stone -ys
XX
For cciiij x en 90 foote of hordes at X8 the Cth foote -xxix8
XX [29s.]For ciiij91 foote of twoe ynch plancke at vjd the foote -iiijli xs [£4. 10s. od.]
For liiij0r 92 single quarters at yd a quarter -xxij8 vjd
[22s. 6d.] For the caruage of theise thinges -xx8 For ye 93 whole deales -vij8 vjd For taking downe the old howse and for sortinge and laying up the severall stuffe -xu [£10] For the wages and intertaynement of sondry Carpenters imploied in erectinge the said _store~owse an~ fo~ the intertaynement ofsondry Laborers 1mpl01ed lykew1se m the saide
. 1 · en 94 d
worke amountinge to ccc XlX ays. . Amounting in all to the said somme of lxx11 iiijd £70. OS. 4d.
As the old storehouse was demolished-it had evidently been allowed to become derelict through lack of care and maintenancethe accommodation was not increased to a marked extent, but enough additional space was doubtless provid:d to m~et_ cu:rent demands, the future being allowed to look.after its_elf. This 1t did by always being in debt to the present. Flooding a_t high w~ter was the bane of the storekeeper's existence at Woolw1c~ especially as the storehouses were close to the water's edge and piles of sto~es of all description lay in profusion on the wharf exposed to wmd and weather. Consequently repairs to the wharf and storehouse become
Song during the first halfofthe seventeentha sort of recurrent theme I 62 7 Matthew Bankes, master carpenter,
Century. On 20 December , . W ·a £ r. b · · marsh earth to bed agamst the planks of
as pai 3r 1or nnging .
f . d t t ngthen it against the v10lence of, and the
the whar in or er o s re . . · d · b h Th and to protect the storehouse agamst
inun at10n y t e ames,
d . o~ 0 ' M h 6 8 Matthew Bankes had a debenture for
floo ing. a n 3r arc I 2
.c. • • the damaged wharf and storehouse so
£301. 1 rs. 6d . 1or repairing . hr. flooding and
. M ~ , nd at Woo1wic 1rom
as to preserve his aJesty s grou A ril 6 8 d
96 On 8 p I 30, s. 4 . was
subsequent scouring by the Thames. k th
. d h rveyor's c1er to assess e
paid to the master carpenter an t e su h f · s1 damage at Woolwich and prepare an estimate fort e cost o repair.
90 290. 91
180. 92 54. 93 5. 94 36
9
95 0 · /WO/49/58 ·' also
rdnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/W0/54/11 : • also96 Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/49/::,9, P· 77' Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/W0/54/12•87 Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PRO/V./0/5i/1.
165
THE BACKGROUND
On October 1630, Matthew Bankes was paid £58. I 7s. od. for erecting posts and rails on the gunwharf and for repairing the wharf itse1£98 On 6 November 1635, Matthew Bankes had another debenture for repairing the wharf at Woolwich.99 On 10 September 1636, Matthew Bankes obtained yet another debenture for £3. gs. 8d. for repairing the damage to the wharfand house at Woolwich occasioned by the high winds. On 2 I April r64r, Matthew Bankes had to make new fenders and extend the old ones where the water had washed away the earth. He also had to replace most of the base ofthe wharf, repair the fence, make and hang a pair ofgates, support the roof of the house, and construct a new ceiling, floor and two new dormers; in other words he had to mend and patch up the storehouse and roo£10°For this and other work he received a debenture for £332. r rs. ·3d. One last extract from the Debenture Ledgers must suffice to prove the assertion that 'Time and tide stayeth for no man'. On 31 March 1642, Matthew Bankes had a debenture for
£5r. rs. 4f d. for carpenter's work at various places.IOI Am ong the items for which he was to be paid was the repair of the wharf and pales at Woolwich in 1638. On the same day he received another debenture for £2. 10s. od. for repairing the storehouse there in r 639.
The next item of interest to record is in 1644 when an estimate for a comprehensive repair of the storehouses was put forward.I02
9 July 1644 Office of Ordnarzce
eAn estimate ofr~paratons yt must_ ofnecessity bee psently done to make y stoare-houses wmd. ~nd water tite for ye keeping dry of ye Powder Match and other prov1S1ons, and to keepe ye said storehouses from falling
down and utter Ruin. viz lmprimis for taking up and new casting divers of the Gutters and other par~s of the Le~ds and for workmanship and soda in laying the Leads agam and mendmg other defective places about the Leads etc. . £58. ros. od. For taking up and repairing tymber work ofthe Gutters and other parts ofthe_ ~eads and ~ake fitt the Leads. Repairing tymber work in the roofs. Re~amng the tylmg and brickwork etc. Making a new raft of tymber for a ci~terno and.flo~ring a stoare-house att Woolwich to keepe Shipp carnages dry. Fmdmg aII materials, workmenship and carriage etc. £108. os. od. TotaII £166. ros. od.
The next improvement on the gunwharf was a new crane in
re~lacement of the original which had become unserviceable. It was
bmlt for the use of the Royal Navy, by John Pitt Master Carpenter
"O . '
" rdnance B11l Books, Series II, PRO/WO/ r /I. Joo Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/ 5 /6 . Ordnance Debenture Ledgers PRO/WO/49 1 5 :: Ordnance Debenture Ledgers; PROfW0/49/75. OrdnanceJournaJ Books, PRO/WO/ / 49 77•
47 I, p. 65.
166
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
to the Office of Ordnance. The relevant Navy Order was dated 24 March r646 and the cost including the timber and nails was £141. ¥· 4d.103 It has already been pointed out that these government cranes were used by all and sundry quite regardless of the fact that such use was unauthorized. Consequently, persons having no responsibility for the structure, cared little if their rough handling
Mrt WILLIAM BODHAM'S SKETCH OF THE GUH ·WHAR.F
Scol• 75 F•e t. to lh• l"ch
S .P...Dnm Cha,•l~~ff Val 296. Ha./ 50 2J..-J F.S,,,."Y JCT/.
A-Thamu F C G -Wh•rf belonging to the R.opeyard , G -Ye Gate,
FD -toward D a polo1ft4y ••• set to enclose !IA R.opoyard l,b, r~_y
E -Y. "'•!I From 9• Ropoycni
gate t-o ih crone \UhaT'f by which all h,mp, tor
encl eordo9• posseth.
i h -A 9ot.wo_y whtn palrd in.
'----·------·--·
A Ill
~
FIG. 1. Bodham's sketch of the gunwharf
caused damage or not, with the result that it frequently did. No surprise need be caused therefore when Mr Scott, the surveyor, ':as told on 6 M ay r66 'to take care to repair the crane at Woolwich
4
and also the gate of the wharf',104 . a· D t h r was now making its influence felt and
Th
e impen mg u c wa . Th" ·
· the fleet and its armament. is necessi-
Steps were taI<:en to increase . d ·
tated b f ships' carriages for warships, an m
a greater num er o h r. h
modation on s ore .1or sue
consequence more storage accom J 66 10· u mountings. A contract was therefore placed on 3° u 1Y 1. 4 ~-0~ the erection of a new storehouse at Woolwich for lobd~mkg s_ ihps
. t" built of nc wit a
carriages It was to be of stout construc wn, . .
1
tiled roof having an area of 564 square feet.ms The two pn~c~pt
craftsme; employed on the work were Thomas Norfolk, master n~d-1 t 10s and they were pa1 ,
ayer,107 and John Scott, master carpen er,
103 Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/W0/49/S3. ~:: Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/5, P· 224· December 1664.
1
Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PRO/W~i5~tofwo/4g/182 _ 1o February 1664
108
Special Ordnance Estimate Book, \\Toolwic ' July 1664.
107 6 21
1
108 Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/6, P· -June 1664. Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/v\'0/47/5, P· 2 49 -2
167
THE BACKGROUND
the former £314. 4-J. 2d. and the latter £356. 17s. od. Details of the costs were as follows :
Bricklayers' Work
For laying and building in good mortar 26¼ rods and ro feet brickwork for the walls-£157. 14s. 2d. for 104 squares II foot oftyling for the roof at 28s. per square-£I45. I5s. od. for digging the foundation and levelling the ground 645 yards at 4d. a yard-£Io. I5s. od.
Carpenters' Work
For 55 square g foot of flooring and timber for joists of oak at 45d. the square-£I23. 19s. od. For 5 large doors and door cases in the brickwork, the door cases being of oak at 40d. each-£ro. os. od.
For one little door-18s. For 38 windows of oak at 15s. each-£28. 10s. od. For 104 squares of roofing of fir timber at 35s. each-£182. os. od. Pailing, posts and three gates at the front of the building, the pailing
being of fir and the posts of oak; 92 foot long and 9½ foot high at 2s. 6d. per foot-£11. ros. od.
We can, with the help of Mr Bodham's somewhat crude plan (see page 167), now obtain a picture of the original Ordnance Establishment at W?olwich. It was hardly an extensive layout by modern standards, m fact 'modest' would be the operative word, but it doubtless served the purpose for which it was intended. The gunwharf, on which the depot stood, had a go yard river frontage in the form ofa wharfand a depth ofsome 8o yards running back from the Thames to Woolwich Street. A small area 6o by Bo feet at its north western corner belonged to the Ropeyard being known as its 'liberty' where tar, hemp, and cordage were lo;ded and unloaded. Its nor~hern boundary of 6r feet was of course, part of the main wharf, its '":estern edge was a wharf8r feet long abutting Bell Watergate, and its southern and western limits were those which Mr Bodham wanted to 'pale'. A track from the Ropeyard led to the gu~wharf and, passing through the gate, continued to the crane, which stood on the river bank within the 'liberty' itself. Upon the gunwharf, or gun-yard as it is sometimes called were three storehouses with some minor buildings attached, the la~ter being probably
used for office accommodation, and a dwelling house with stables. There was the 'old' brick storehouse built in r6r6 the wooden structure er~cted in I 6I 9 in place of the original shed ~hich had by tben fallen in ruin, and the 'new' brick storehouse constructed in
166,, to 'lod h" ' · · bi
• T ge s ips carnages m'. These are clearly distinguisha e m Bodham's sketch.
168
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
Woolwich at this date had no independent Ordnance storekeeper, the stores there, in common with those at the Tower, the Minories and Chatham coming under the charge of the Storekeeper or Keeper of the Stores at the Office of Ordnance. Unfortunately we have no means of knowing which official was responsible for Woolwich stores prior to the institution of the Office of Storekeeper at the Tower. Probably the Yeoman of Ordnance, whose work was connected with the provision, custody and issue of stores, ~erformed that duty. It may be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that John Watson, appointed Storekeeper in the Office of Ordnance on I 2 February 1557, did have charge of the stores at Woolwich. This assumption is reinforced by the fact that he is the first of the form~r storekeepers mentioned in the patent to Thomas Powell and _Richard Marsh viz.,100 'in full manner and form as John Watson, Richard Bowland, Thomas Bedwell, John Lee, Amias Preston, or Samuel Hales and
John H ammond, or any of them etc.' John Watson was_followe~ by Richard Bowlandno who certainly controlled Woolwich. This IS made clear by the petition of Thomas Bedwell,111 who solicited the Office of Storekeeper for the Ordnance at Woolwich and Chatham on r 2 May 15s _n2 In his petition Thomas Bedwell, who had a good
9 opinion of himself, states:
It does not appear that the charge ofkeeping the st~re of t?e Ordnance, rem · · t w 1 · hand Chatham has been mentioned m the patents
am1ng a oo w1c f Sh' 1 h
ofSir William Winterns or that ofany other Officer_ o the 1ps! a t ough it was thou ht meet b the Com.missioners to app_omt the keepmg of that particular s~ore to be :etained in the patent ~f Richard Bowland, keeper of the general store out of which it has been issued etc. . . After the death of Bowland, the Officers of the Or~nance did per~t
S. w·11· w· · t the keeper of that particular store durmg
1r 1 iam mter to appom the vacation of the Officer for keeping the whole: · 1 h" If with his honorable goodI have satisfied my Lord Adm1ra nnse
favour and liking. . h
In respect whereof and that I may give some teSt11:1o~y to your honours ofmy endeavours in the exercise ofmy charge! may it P eadse youdrl. onours t · th remams there an to e iver me
o appoint Commissioners to view ~ b indenture if there be the charge thereof so that I may receive them Y '
nothing against me and I hope there shall not._ h t And touching th~ store at the Tower, may it please your_ r.ont~ursfi 0
. d k for my better sat1S1ac 10n or
give me leave to join one new lock an ey which ou shall think more safety of the charge of the other locks and keys Y
meet to be continued.
109 p
11 atent dated 19 June 1627.
11; Appointed Storekeeper January 1572 • Janua 1589.
Patent ofappointment as Storekeeper dated 15 ry ~:: ~:P.D.. E:lizabeth I, vol. cc_xxiv, no. 36. f the Navy 154g-158g and M t r of
1r Wilham Wynter admiral, was Surveyor 0 0 rdnance of Navy 1557_~ 589. He died in 1589.
169
THE BACKGROUND
Richard Marsh appointed with Thomas Powell, J ?i1:t. Sto~ekeeper to the Office of Ordnance on 19 June 1627 'For their JOint lives and the life of the survivor' was certainly in charge of the stor~s at t~e Tower, the Minories, Chatham and Woolwich. He continued. 1n office for many years and although temporarily suspended during the Commonwealth by John Faulknor114 was reappointed on r 7 May i66ons and functioned till his death in March 1672. Like many o!her ambitious men he attempted to exceed his powers and so fell into
conflict with the Master-General. The dispute, which arose over Richard Marsh's pretension to the custody of the stores at Portsmouth and other places in contravention of his patent, was refer_red to the two Secretaries ofState who, reporting on 25July 1661 against the claim, found that the claimant had no right to call himsel~ StoreKeeper General and that_ his writ only ran in the _four p:ace_s, 1.e. the Tower, Minories, Woolwich and Chatham, ment10ned in his patent. This finding was confirmed by the King in a warrant dated 20 _August 1661 which informed him, the said Richard Marsh, to refram. from
meddling with the custody ofstores in places outside his jurisdicti?n·116 Owing to his advancing years, his son George Marsh was appointed assistant to his father with a salary of £200 p.a. by a warrant dated 16 March 1667.117 This salary was afterwards discontinued under the economy warrant dated 16 March 1668.118
A homely touch is given byJohnFaulknor, Storekeeper ofthe Office of Ordnance at the Tower, the Minories, Woolwich and Chatham, when, as was then the custom, he appointed Edward Harrison, g~nt of London, his trusty and well beloved friend, to deputize for _him for one month during his leave of absence, which the Council of State authorized, in order to attend to the dispatch ofprivate affairs.119 There is a large vellum book in the Public Record Office120 consisting ofan abstract showing the state ofthe stores within the Of!ice ofOrdnance at the Tower, King's Minories, Deptford and Woolwich, with the receipts, returns and issues of the same from 1 September 1664 till 1 February 1667; and at that time the state of the stores according to the books of Richard Marsh, Esq., Storekeeper, compared with the like extract brought in by Edward Sherburne, Esq., Clerk to his Majesty's Office of Ordnance. This extract, unfortunately, does not detail the items specifically located at Woolwich or elsewhere, but merely gives the aggregate numbers ofeach held. The stores concerned were brass and iron ordnance from cannons of 8
m Appointed by Parliament 1648.
m Fi~~ly restored by King's warrant dated 16 June 1660.
111
117 Or~g~nal warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/426, no. 32. and 0J:1gmal w~nts and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/426, no. 106. Warrants Orders 1;11 _Councd, PRO/W0/55/332, S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cxciv, no. 28. :: Ongmal warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/426, no. 114. Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/2, 13 July 1653.
110 PRO/W0/55/1698.
170
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
to falcons, standing and travelling carriages for th~ same, shot, grendo sh 11 d hand grenades beds and beddmg, general· stores,
a e , pow er, ' h lb
carpenters, tooIs, p1'kes, pistol bullets, match,. bandohers, a. erts,
b · hts, wh I b arrows shovels' turpentine, sal ammomacd b etc.
rass w·e1g ee -, · I dd. · t th warlike and general stores ment10ne a ove,
n a 1t10n o e . h ·
1 k d refined at Woolw1ch, later on t e quantity
sa tpetre was ept an • k B 66
· h to warrant a special store eeper. y I 2,
becoming large enou¥ ent had not yetbeenenvisagedofficially' for
however, suchan app01ntm h hehimselfshould fill that post.121
in that yearOwenHurst suggeSts t at .
·tie
To the King's most Excellent M aJ
. . f Owen Hurst sheweth.
The humble l?et1twn ? house for Saltpeter and the refineing That yor MaiY h~vem~ ~o~~~e of Kent which imploy yor Majty hath thereof at Wooledge m yo YII of any perticuler person.
. d tl1 e specia care
not as yett comrmtte to M ·ty t grant unto yor Petionr the same
May it therefore please yor aJ_ 0 r M •ty l1 all thmk meete
at such salery as yo aJ s And yor Petionr shall ever Pray. .d t storekeeper the Office of Ord-
Al W l · h h d no resi en · ' .
though oo wic a 1 ok after its interests, which
"d 1 1Ocal agent to o
nance d1 emp oy a • • g stores loading and un
. . h' tores receivin , .
consisted of d1spatc ing s . ' ements for transport by nver
1 d. fi h' s making arrang ..
oa ing guns rom s ip , n the Thames, superv1smg
1 O
between \.Voolwich and ?ther Paces hich commenced to arrive lighterage and dealing with t~e ~uns wasi·ng numbers after 1651,
.c. of in incre f
from the Tower 1or pro ld Artillery Garden. The amount o particularly after the sale of the ~ r .t d and any idea of a large business transacted was extreme Y irm e The agent was the only
. b d" . ssed at once. . h
resident staff must e ismi . Wh he required assistance e permanent establishment official. ~~ harged when the specific recruited labourers locally, who wedre isccompleted. It is doubtful
. ploye was . 1
task for which they were em ere ever at work s1mu
I f labourers w
whether more than a coup e O • b craftsmen from the Tower taneously. All repairs were carnet ~ut /or that fortress. They prowho were on the Artificers' Est.ab zs mi; t d local labour, performed ceeded to Woolwich when required, coT~ e were no technicians at their tasks and returned to Lond07-° h e;econsisted of bricklayers, the gunwharf. The Artificers' EStab zs men heelwrights, plumbers
l . . .ths turners, w . k
g aziers, carpenters, painters, smi ' "fie di"strict i.e. wor at
d · a speci '
and masons. Each man serve in b • klayer carpenter orW b the same nc ' k
oolwich was always done Y d k the lighterage wor
1 . . s un ertoo b
g az1er etc. The agent sometime d tract by some arge
. 11 d un er con
itself, but it was more usua Y one r. mily were lightermenf the Care1es ia 6
owner. For instance members O Th Careles from 1 0 1 to
' . omas
connected with Woolw1ch. There was . 121 Charles II, vol. l v1, no. 134.
C.S.P. Charles II 1661-1662, p. 62 5. S.P.D.
l
171
THE BACKGROUND
161 o Richard Careles from 1606 to I 6I I and Henry Careles from 1613,onwards.John Tiggins was also a Woolwich lighterman in 1606. There were others, but the names quoted are those which appear most frequently in the Ordnance Bill Books. .
The first permanent official at the Ordnance depot at Woolw1ch was George Taylor, described as the 'Cranage Man'. He had many debentures for the work he performed, sometimes averaging as much as £20 a month, though usually the amounts were less. The first time his name appears to be mentioned was on gJanuary 1649, when he received a debenture for £2. 7s. Bd.122 and the last entry of his name in the Ordnance Bill Books was on 18June 1657, when his payment amounted to £g. 16s. od.123 He must either have died or left the Ordnance employ at Woolwich soon after this date for by 1 September 1657 Paul Linby had taken over the reins of command.124 Paul Linby had a long career at Woolwich, extending over thirty years. He was originally employed by the Office of Ordnance as a labourer on the Tower establishment, at the latter end of 1653 at a wage
125
of £21. Is. Bd. per annum. Being a man of character and determination he rapidly bettered himsel£ By 1657 he had become 'Cranage Man' at Woolwich, and by 1660 'Wharfinger'. Thereafter he rejoiced in the title of 'His Majesty's Wharfinger at Woolwich' or 'Wharfinger to His Majesty's gunwharf'.126 In addition to being the Ordnance agent at Woolwich, he was a carter and barge owner. His team of horses was in constant demand for transporting guns for proof and his lighters were employed in moving government stores. Later on in the Warren he was employed in scavel work and undertook the repair of proof-butts. Linby must have become a man of some substance as on a hearth-tax return for 29 September
1662127
he paid tax on seven hearths. This was then the third higheSt tax in the town. It would be tedious to specify all the many kinds of work performed by Paul Linby for which he received payment. The number would be legion. His name occurs constantly in Ordnance Quarter Books, Bill Books, Debenture Ledgers, Treasure~'s Ledgers and Journal Books over a period of thirty-five years in connection with cranage and lighterage work, transporting guns for proof, loading and unloading ordnance from H.M. Ships and many other tasks which could well be left to a trusted servant. He survived till I 688 and, as the latter halfofhis service occurred in the Warren, his further exploits will be recorded in the next chapter. Meanwhile
m Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/49/84. Ju Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PROfWO/4g/8g. m Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/4g/go. m Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/W0/54/18
m Ordnance Bill Books, Series II PRO/W0/51/4 8 March 1663 /
117 Hearth Tax Returns, Michael:nas 1662 Lower' half Blackheath PRO/E.x79/i 29
7®~~ ' '
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
one or two extracts concerning his activities in the earlier part of his career may be of interest.
( 1) In December 1661 he was paid_ £20. I 8s. _od. for the use of his l1'o-hte and for cranage work at Woolw1ch; also to mclude the wages of a
o r · h' 12s
labourer for taking 250 guns out of vanous s 1ps.
(2) On 8 March r663 he recei".'ed £80. 1 Is. ~d. for ~gh~erage and
cranage work; also for digging, loading and u_nloadmg clay m lighters and · ·t firom the marshes to Tilbury.for filhng up thenewwharfthere·12s
carrying 1 d
(3)
On 13 September 1 664 he was mstructe to remove the earth and rubbish which had accumulated among the guns on H.~. wharf at Woo1w1c· h and to take a complete inventory of.all ordnance lymg there .130
(4)
On I June 1555 he was ordered to deliver and lay on board the following pieces.131
Unicorn Prize Trinity PrizeOrdnance
12pdr 4
14
8pdr
18
6pdr Mynion 10
2
Falconet 65 h was ordered to place on board the John and
(5) On 29 J u1y I 5. e d dnance and carriages:
Katherine the underment10ne or r 2pdr iron ordnance I 6
. 4132
6pdr with carnages 6 h instructed to deliver and lay on board the
16
(6) On 18 June 6 d e w~·ns master) certain pieces of ordnance for
hoy John of London (An rew 1 , transportation to the fleet.133 t f ordnance by Paul Linby between 1662
The cons ant movemen ° 'th Holland for the coming
• ed by the war w1 ,
d 66
an I 7 was occaswn 55 Paul Linby is referred to
9
events cast their shadows. 11: J~~~ 4a7nl on the 2 5 May 1670 as the
as the 'Storekeeper, Woolw1ch , 'D S I ' 135
eputy tore <.eeper · h p 1Linby also a resident of
D . h' . d th e was anot er au '
urmg t 1s per10 er f the fee'd gunners onthe Woolwich, who for twenty-two years_wasdo~eo670 when forty years of
T • H s appo1nte 1n 1 ,
ower establishment. e wa blishment in 1692,137 he was age.136 Although he left the Towe: e~aa warrant on 10 June 16961as probably the same man who obtaine
28
~ 29 Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PRg1~gi~; it
Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PR 1 ·
130
6 35
OrdnanceJournal Books, PRO/WO/47// 'f· 6 ·
~:! Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0//47/7, f. :
~ Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/WO 47 i, 35. ~:: Ordnance Journal Books,. PROfW°cJ4;{Jo 1-1 /II.
136 Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PR /:> / /
12
136 Ordnance Bill Books Series II, PRO/,VO/ 51W;rrant dated 30 June 1670, PRO
W Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/WO/54 3°· p!ss/469.
37
188 Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/WO/54/5o. M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/G&D/37/473, P· 13·
173
THE BACKGROUND
to be a conductor of the train ofArtillery at Hounslow. Finally there was a third Paul Linby who received a warrant dated I I September 1686139 to become a labourer in ordinary in the Office of Ordnance in the place ofJohn Hare, deceased. What the relationship, if any, between these three Paul Linbys does not transpire, but presumably they belonged to the same family.
Finally we come to the class of work, other than the provision, custody and issue of stores, performed at Woolwich in gunwharf days. Besides possibly a small amount of saltpetre refining, the only activity of a technical character was the repair of ships' carriages, a constantly recurring item in the Ordnance records. T wo extracts must suffice as examples of this type of maintenance. On 8 March 1663, John Scott, master carpenter, was paid £2 r. r os. I r d. for repairing ships' carriages at Woolwich,140 and in April 1666 Thomas Gasse, carpenter, received £213. 10s. 2d. for repairing 493 carriages
in the following ships lying off Woolwich.141
St. Paul; Bredah; Marmaduke; Dreadnought; Hound · Coventry ,· Freezland Fly boate ,· Pearle; Good!zope ,· Dunkirk; Seaven Oakes; Gulder de Rutter; Avis de Sweede and the M ary Rose.
Four causes may be assigned for the removal of the Ordnance from the gunwharf to Tower Place in 1670. They are as follows:
(
r) The establishment of a standing army called for an immediate expansion of Ordnance services, including the developm nt ofgovernment manufacture.
(2)
The restricted area ofthe gunwharfprecluded any such broadening of activities.
(3)
The fortifications on the Warren for the defence of the river against the Dutch had to a large extent spoilt the amenities of Tower Place as a gentleman's residence.
(4)
Proof, already being carried out on the Warren was growing in volume year by year.
Had England remained at peace during the seventeenth century, things might possibly have jogged along for an indefinite period at the gunwharf. There would have been little incentive to move; moves cost money and money was scarce. The Dutch war, therefore, may be said to have been mainly instrumental in presenting the
opportunity which Sir William Prichard and the Crown seized. How often has war upset the even tenor ofour ways and jolted officialdorn into an action which has altered the course of history. The Royal Arsenal is the offspring of such a jolt and may be said to have been born by necessity out of trouble.
:: M.G.O's Warrants, fRO/G&D137;472, p. 46. m Ordnance Treasurers Ledgers, PRO/WO/48/8. Ordnance Treasurer's Ledgers, PRO/WO/48/6.
174
Birth and Childhood
13
Chapter 6
The Beginnings of Tower Place
The earliest association between the government and the Warr took place in 1651 when the Navy Commissioners were instructed~n supply timber for making three butts at Woolwich for the trial 0~ ordnance by General Blake and the Ordnance officers, and to pay th~ workmen for making them.1 General Robert Blake, M.P. for Bndgwater in 1640 and 1645, was a staunch Parliamentarian. He was appointed Admiral and General at sea in 1649, and a member o~ the Council of State in 1651. After a successful fighting career, he d1~d of fever while returning to England and was buried in Westnunster Abbey. His body, however, was removed from those sacred precincts after the Restoration. On I 3 June 1667, as before mentioned, Prince Rupert, the second son of Frederick V, Duke of Bavaria and King ofBohemia by Elizabeth, eldest daughter ofJames
I, was given a commission2 by his cousin Charles II to raise works ?-nd batteries on the Warren as a protection against the Dutch Fleet invading the Thames. His efforts in this direction culminated in the mounting of sixty guns on a temporary platform, and the oldest known survey of the Warren, drawn in 1701 by Albert Borgard, then a ~aptain of Artillery, shows along the river bank a parapet 13 feet thick pierced with 40 embrasures at intervals of 18 feet with accommodation for an additional 20 pieces if required. Those two episodes may be regarded as flirtatious interludes prior to the courtship which led to ultimate marriage and a lifelong union between the Crown
and the marshes of Woolwich and Plumstead. The question is sometimes asked 'When was the Royal Arsenal founded?' The strict answer is that it was never founded at all. Like 'Topsy' it just 'growed'. But growth presupposes_ a beginning ~nd the nativity of the Royal Arsenal may be converuently placed rn 1 670, the year in which the Office ofOrdnance commenced to take a decided interest in Tower Place and during which the first Woolwich storekeeper-Captain Fra~cis Cheeseman-was appointed. The Royal Arsenal, as an institution, is thus almost 300 years old. 161 18
1t S.P. Dom. Council of State vol xvii, no. 114, 15 December 5 (S.P. Domestic In erre 1651 ' · I 114) , e f
gnum, Jan.-Dec Navy Papers, vo • 17, no. · • e
2
Rh_The warrant is add~esseci''To Our Deerest Cousin, pr Rupert Com t Palatmeo y'Me and Duke of Cumberland' and dated 13 June 1667. 05t Dere Cousin
Wee greet you ,;ell whereas vVe have appointed certaine \\'orks _and ~tt rys to f~rthwith raised at or'neare Woolwich for ye better security of ye River ag y att mpt (Waye Enemy in this Conjuncture of Affaires, etc. etc.' rrant Book, vol. xvii, 1663-8, p. 243.)
177
During its first thirty years of existence, the future Royal Arsenal was usually called Tower Place after the estate which was its matrix. It is therefore fitting that the early history of that property and the manner of its acquisition by the Crown should be treated at some length, especially since rumour, that lying jade, has played her part in propagating falsehoods which, lacking any foundation in fact, to-day pass for truth.
'The flying rumours gather'd as they roll'd. Scarce any tale was sooner heard than told And all who told it added something new And all who heard it made enlargements too. '3
Well might it be said of Woolwich Arsenal 'Put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standeth is holy ground' for the original territory of Tower Place once belonaed to two mo~asteries; those of St Mary Overy at Southwark a;d St Augustine at
Canterbury. Let us begin our story.
. At the be~inning o;the sev:nteenth century there stood east o~ the Bishop o~Wmchester s house m the borough of Southwark in Bridge Ward Without, a church called St Mary over the Rie (i.e. over the
water) or St Mary Overy.4 Stow in his Survey ofLondon5 tells us that prior to the Conquest this chu_rch, or rather an earlier building on the same site, was a house of sisters founded by a maiden called Mary, to which on her death she left (as had been left to her by her parents) the oversight and profits of a ferry across the Thames. Afterwards, this house of sisters was converted mto a college ofpriests by Swithen, a noble lady, who
repl~ced the f~rry_ by a wooden bridge. This bridge was kept in repair and mamtamed by the priests till it was superseded by one of_st?ne. In the year IIo6, this college of priests was refounded by William Pont de l'Ar~~e and William Dauncy, Norman K.nig~ts, for canons regular; Wilham Gifford Bishop of Winchester building ~he body 0~ the church in the sam~ year and the canon; entering
mto possess10n Algodus w th fi • . · · ·t des
h . · as e rst pnor. After vanous vicissi u t e pnory was ~urrendered to Henry VIII on 27 October 1539 by Barth0Iomew Lmstead, alias Foule the last prior its value being assessed at £624 6 6d ' . ' • he
· s. · per annum. For this act of expediency t worthy Barthol~mew received a pension of£roo a year. The lands owned by the pnory a h' h . I · h
. . , mong w 1c was a certam parcel at Woo wic ' were dIStnbuted by H VIII T . . r. II · to
the h d . enry • he messuage 1n question 1e in an s of S1r Edward Boughton who had also obtained other
aPope The Temple ofFame I 468
' • ow Southwark Cathedral · 1 Everyman Edition, p. 362• • Pennants' London, 3rd ed., I 793, p. 46.
178
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
property in the neighbourhood which had belonged to St Augustine's
Canterbury. '
The salient features of Sir Edward Boughton's life have been given in Chapter IV, but to complete his personal story it may be mentioned that he was the son and heir of Nicholas Boughton of Woolwich, by Anne, daughter and heir of Thomas Thanthur. Sir Edward married twice. First, Anne, daughter of Sir William Scott, Knight by whom he had two sons, Nicholas and William, and three <laugh~ ters, Isabel, Frances and Sybil, and secondly Joan, daughter of Thomas Leykenor of Sussex and had issue Henry, Bartholomew George, Margaret (died young) and Mary.6 '
In 1480 Henry Floos claimed for himself and his wife Joan, and her heirs, 1 messuage, 1 garden, 6 acres of land ~nd 2 meadows in Woolwich and Plumstead to Thomas Bulkeley. Pnce £10.7 In 1487, Thomas Bulkeley acquired from J. Brete I messuage, I garden and
8
3 acres in Woolwich. Price £20.
In an indenture dated I o March I 538, Thomas Smythe, gent, sold to Martin Bowes citizen and alderman of London for £20, a tenement mansion houses and woods in the towns and parishes of
Woolwich, Pl~mstead, Eltham, Kidbrook and ~harlton in the Hundred of Blackheath which descended to the said Thomas after the death of Alice sm;the, his mother, one _of the daughters and heirs ofThomas V\Toode and Anne his wife; which Anne was daughter and heir of Thomas Bulkeley, late of Woolwich, gent. 9
The above mentioned mansion was undoubtedly Tower Place, for only a month later it is recorded that in an ind_enture dated 10 April 1538 Sir Edv, ard Boughton sold to Sir Martin Bowes for £44 the hope or shore called Thames Bank, 6 acr~s in Pl~mstead, abut~ng on the Th th. the lands of the said Martm, west; the ditch
ames, nor , d h h .
of the marshground of Sir Edward, sout~; an t e s ore. of Sir Edwa d t. d es of upland adjoirung the great mansion and
r , eas , an 2 acr . d 1 d ·
1
garden of the said Martin in Woolwich; part a :ea y enc ose m the garden adjoining the footpaths from Woolw1_ch to P~umstead, south, and the footway toward the mill of the said Maron, north,
. · 10
and other small accommodation pieces. . ..
. d d d Apri'l 1538 Maron Bowes, c1tizen and
In
an 1n enture ate I 2 ' · h alderman of London, sold for £3o to Sir Edward Boughton, Kmg t, of W 1 · h d' • · Pi' .a-erell Lane east, and the lands of
oo w1c , 8 acres a ~01rung w ' • I c-. ld
Sir Ed dB h t th and south· 2 acres 1n Co es1e e,
war oug ton, wes , nor ' d 1 0 f south of the highway, from Woolwich to PlumSte~d; an ~cos~ 5 acres, late bought of Thomas Bulkeley of Woolwich, esqmre, lymg
2
: Harl. MSS. Visitation of Kent, 1530-3 I (A-H), vol. 74• P· • 8 :ed. Fin. 20 Edward IV, 259. 9 ed. Fin. 3 Henry VII. 10 ~ot. Claus. 30 Henry VIII, p. 2, no. 23. ot. Claus. 30 Henry VIII, p. 7, no. 33·
179
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
at the Quyllet, adjoining the king's highway called Quyllet Lane. Martin warranted Sir Edward Boughton against eviction under penalty of refunding him at the rate of20 years purchase, at the rate of 2 shillings an acre.11
On 13 March 1539 Henry VIII granted to Sir Edward Boughton12 inter alia, the manor, rectory, glebe, etc. ofWoolwich with appurtenances which had belonged to the Abbey ofSt Augustine, Canterbury, to be held in capite at one fourth of a Knight's fee.
On 16 April 1540, Martin Bowes, alderman of London, had a grant in fee for £491. 19s. 6d. of the tenement and garden and 2 acres of land, lately leased to Sir Edward Boughton in Woolwich, Kent, belonging to the late Monastery ofSt Mary Overy, Southwark, and the lands etc. to hold by certain specified rents.13 This property was generally described as late in the possession of George Trappes, mercer, son-in-law to Sir Edward Boughton.
On 29 October 1541, a licence was granted to Sir Martin Bowes and Anne, his second wife, jointly to alienate a capital messuage, orchard, ':harf and 2½ acres near the King's field in Woolwich, Co. Kent, which belonged to the late Monastery of St Mary Overy in Southwark, and lands, etc. to Sir Edward Boucrhton. At the same
6
time? Sir Edwa~d Boug~ton, son of Nicholas Boughton (or Boveton) o~tamed for_ himself, h~s second wife Joan and his heir-apparent Nicholas, a licence to alienate 120 acres of marshland in Plumstead, late of the Abbey of St Augustine Canterbury a part of Burwash Grove in Plumstead, late parcel of the suppres~ed House of Aeon, London, and other lands to Sir Martin Bowes.14
On 20 May 1544, Sir Edward Boughton of Woolwich, Co. Kent, conveyed to Edward Dymmocke, a chief messuage in Woolwich in the tenure of George Trappes, mercer. This was the capital messuage of orchard, wharf and 2½ acres near the Kingsfield, late belonging to the Monastery of St Mary Overy in Southwark. It was bounded
on the north by the riv:r Thames, on the east by the lands of Sir E_dward Boug_hton and Sir Martin Bowes, on the south by the King's highway leadmg from Woolwich to Greenwich and on the west by the o:char~ and gardens of the rectory of Wo~lwich.15
This pa:ticular piece ofproperty passed through several hands, as th
e fol!owmg patents show, before it finally came again into the possess10n of Sir Martin Bowes. In September 1545, Sir Martin Bowes was granted by patent16 a tenure lately leased to Sir Edward Boughton in Woolwich, and other
11 Rot. Claus. 30 Henry VIII p 8" Rot. Pat. 30 Henry VIII p6· 7' no. 3 · u Rot. Pat. 31 Henry VIII' . .
1
14 Rot. Pat. 33 Henry VIII' p. 5, m. 9· Con.firmed Rot. Pat. 37 Henry VIII, p. 2, 11 Rot. Pat. 36 Henry Viii' p. ~' m. 4· ie Rot. Pat. 31 Henry VIIJ' :· 55~m.9251.6 A ·1
' ' ' • , pri I 540,
180
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
specified lands at 16d., 1 7s. 6d., 8s. I o½d,, 6s. I od., 7s. 6d., and
2s. 4d. for several parcels respectively. Part of the grant in fee for
£400. 15s. od. of the rents reserved.17
On 16 May 1548, the:e was a licence for _13s. 4d. (one mark) to Edward Dymmocke, Knight, to grant a capital messuage in Woolwich, Co. Kent, with the garden, orch_ard and 'wh~rff' adjoining in tenure of George Trappes, mercer, lying ~etween Thamys· in the north and lands of Edward Boughton, Krught, and Martin Bowes Knight, on the east of the King's highway (regiam viam) fro~ Woolwich to Greenwich on the South, and the orchard and garden ofWoolwich rectory on the west to Thomas Stanley ofLondon, gent,
his heirs and assigns.18 On 10 September 1557, th~re wa~ a licence for 1_3s. 4d. to Thomas Stanley, Esquire, to grant his capital messu~ge m Woolwich, Co. Kent, and a garden, orchard and wharf adJacent thereto, in the tenure of George Trappes, mercer, between the river Thames and the lands of Edward Boughton and Martin Bowes, Knight, on the north; the highroad leading from W?olwich to Greenwich on the south. and orchard and garden belongmg to the rectory ofWoolwich on th; ·west, to John Robynson of London, goldsmith, his heirs and assigns.19 On 23 November 1560 there was a licence for 13s. 4d. in the hanaper for J ohn Robynso~ o~London, gold~mith, to alienate by fine in the Common Pleas, a capital messuage m the _tenure of Ge_orge Trappes mercer in Wolwyche, Co. Kent, to Maron Bowes, Krught, and Wiiiiam Bo~es his son, and the heirs male ofthe body of William, with remainder to Martin in fee simple.20 After nineteen years, therefore, this capital mess~age returned to the ownership of Sir Martin Bowes. It lay approx1m~te_ly between the 't f' th Warren and the gunwharf. The Wilham Bowes
s1 es o e illi ' b Eli b h
me t' d · th bove patent was Sir W am s son y sa et
n 10ne 1n e a d h · f s· M ·
Harles, his third wife. Thomas Bowes, the son an_r: eir o rr artin
S. M ti 's first w11e
Bowes was by Cycely Elyot, ir ar n ·
1 Of land formed the small estate known as
All the above parce s · f h' d h
,..,.. Pl h' h s· M rt1'n Bowes owned at the nme o IS eat
1 ower ace w 1c ir a .
o A 66 I · quisition (post-mortem) taken at Greenwich
n 4 ugust 15 . n an 1n . M · B ·
on 23 J 6 following the decease of Sir ~rtln owes, 1t
. anuary 15 7, ti he held inter multa al, a
1s stated that among numerous proper es, W 1 • h' h ds capital messuage a house called 'Tower-Place, 00 wic 'ore-:~ etc., 15 teneme;ts or cottages and a moiety ,of a tenemefnlatnwds1 et; . . 11 d th 'Brew-house 40 acres o .
certain wharf adjacent ea e e ' ld A ·1 This, together with land in Borstall, PlumStead, was so on 14 pn
• Henry VIII, vol. xx, part 2, no. 4g6 (5, 2). 17 Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic,
1e R •
ot. Pat. 2 Edward IV, p. 3, m. 30. :: Rot. Pat. 4 and 5 Philip and Mary, P· 15, m. 5· Rot. Pat. 3 Elizabeth I, p. 2, m. 29.
181
1568 by Thomas Bowes of London, son and heir of the late Sir Martin Bowes, to John Pears, citizen and fishmonger of London and Alice his wife. 21 '
From John Pears, Tower Place passed to Sir William Barne (or Barnes), a person ofnote in Woolwich. He was the son of Sir George Barn:, L?rd-Mayor ofLondon 1586-1587 (knighted 11 June 1587), by his wife Anne, da~ghter of Sir William Garrard of Dorny; and g:andson ofanother S1r George Barne who was Lord-Mayor in 1552. S1r Ge~rge ~~rne, the second, died in 1592 and his widow Anne in 16II. S1r Wilham Barnes_ was knighted on 23July 1503. He married
Anne, daughter of Edwm Sandys, Archbishop of y ork. She was born_on 21.Jun~ ~57o. Sir William Barnes had a daughter Anne, who marned Sir Wilham Lovelace of Bethersden Knight and became the ~other ofColon~l Richard Lovelace, the p~et, and~son William, whom turn was k_mg~ted at Greenwich 29 June 1618. Sir William Barnes~ the first, died m 1619, and at his death left, among his other possess10ns, Tower Place, Woolwich• This 1·s e ·d d b y an znqu · z"si
• v1 ence tzon post-mortem22 ordered the same year (17J I) Th· · · ·t·on
d d J ames . is 1nqu1s1 1
~te .2? une 162 3 _(21 James I) states that with other property Sir Wil~am Barnes died possessed of Tower Place. The house then passed mto the possession of Sir wi·111·am B th d ho
· d D arnes, · e secon , w
marne orothy, daughter of Sir p t M d K B f St
, C e er anwoo , . . o
Stephen s, anterbury. He had one so w·11· b . ho
d. d · h . . . n 1 1am, orn 1599, w
1e wit out issue. This Sir William B ·11 d T er
PI · f; arnes sti possesse ow ace 1~ 1643,, _or on 7 September of that year he is shewn as the owner m the Lists of Estates Wool · h 6 , 23
I . k . ' . WIC ' I 43 .
t is n~nlt n?~n ~hen Sir William Barnes, the second, died. He was certa1 y 11vmg m 1550 as the c: II . .fy
10 owmg extracts tesb. :
(a)
Sir William Barnes Woolwich A d £ 24
(b)
J; . '. . • ssesse at 500. . ffid 2.t4h u'}£ 1 644· Sir Wilham Barnes respited till further orders, on his
a av1 e 1s not worth £1oo.25
' (c) 6 Nover:zber 1650. Thomas Hulbert to M M l .
I beg a hearmg fo r o ens .
fc th • d ffir my poor countrymen who have been a year in trouble
or e1r goo a ect1on and d ·11·
Barnes will do h" b fc' are un one most unjustly. Sir W1 1am
1s est or them.' 26 th
. ri Routd.douifbt Sir William Barnes was a stout royalist. Vincent m is ecor s o Woolwich V I I h
tents ofa am hlet . ' 'o ume ' page 34, gives in full t e.c?np f P entitled A true and perfect relation of the seizing
th h
e ouse o one Maste w·11·
1
21 r tarn Barnes, a Cavalier'. It appears
Rot. Claus. 11 Elizabeth I
22 Inquisitions post-mortem S .' p. 16 , 11 March 1569.
:: PRO/E/179/128/668.' enes II, vol. 401, no. 121 -PRO.
C.S.P. Committee for adva f
or,f· 35. nee o money, 1642-1656, part I, p. 393, vol. A 65, no,
C.S.P. Committee for adv f
or p. 404. ance O money, 1642-1656, part I, p. 393, vol. A. 75, no. 11 C.S.P. Committee for ad
vance of money, 1642-1656, part II, p. 1,166.
I
182
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
likely that the house might have been Tower Place since it was only
a quarter of a mile from the town ofWoolwich and that the 'Master
William Barnes' was possibly the bachelor son of Sir William Barnes
living on his father's property. Otherwise, the coincidence is remark
able. Briefly the pamphlet states that a certain Captain Willoughby
sometime a sea-captain, had a company of roo Roundheads drillin~
and exercising at Gravesend until they should become proficient in
arms for the service of Parliament. One day, in the year 1542
Captain Willoughby set out from Gravesend with his men and rested the night at Erith. The following day they arrived at Woolwich and hearing that certain pieces of ordnance lying in the wood yard wer~ destined secretly for the King at Newcastle, marched to the spot and commenced to commandeer this art~llery. None attempted to stop them save Mr William Barnes who hved about a quarter of a mile from the town. On discovering his identity, the Roundheads went to his house and searched it very thoroughly; they also searched his stables. Having found nothing, they asked "Y'illia'? B~rnes whether he had hidden away any money or plate. Being dissatisfied with his reply the soldiers proceeded to tear up the floor ~nd dig a pit in the grounds. At last they discovered a trunk filled with plate and other belongings. Spurred on by their find, they ext~n_ded t~e a:ea of their digging till they unearthedanothertrunkcontarmn?pnests books and garments. They then apprehended Barnes and earned away the spoils.
Sometime between 1650 and 1662 To':er Place changed hands
again, as in the latter year we find Jeremiah Bl~ckma~, ~en~hant, paying a hearth-tax on fifteen hearths at Woolw1ch which md1cated that he was by that date occupying the house.27 He pai~ a similar tax in 1553_2s Alas, the rigours of war were to upset his pe~ceful domesticity. Prince Rupert's fortifications on t~e Warren spoilt the amenities of his property and tended to depress its marketable value. At a Council held at Whitehall on 6 November 1667 we read:
·re did by his report this day, read at the
Whereas Jonas Moore, Esqul , . . Board represent that in pursuance of an order from the C_omrruss1oners fco · h Offi f Master of the Ordnance, he repaired to Wool-
r executmg t e 1ce o • d d d h
W. h h h O b 1 t and having carefully v1ewe an ma e t e
1c t e 14t cto er as , Bl k E
best en uir he could into the losses sustained by Jeremy ac man, sq., b th qd y d h. alls dovehouse meadows, ,varren etc. m
y e amage one to 1s w , ' . r h" M · ,
m k" h b · 1 tforms and other occasions 1or 1s aJesty s
a _mg t e attenes, p a 1 . ed the whole loss may amount service this last summer, he humb Y conceiv d fi . Wh" h h" :M · t in all to £184 besides the spoil of the fish an nut. ~c ~s .i: aJes Y h · . • d · d being willing that satisfaction should
avmg taken mto cons1 eratwn a1: h h Ri ht Honourable the
be made unto him for the same, did order t at t e g
21 H M" h l 1662 Lower Half Blackheath, PRO /E/ 179/129/
earth Tax Returns, 1c ae mas , 7ou29, 29 September 1662. L wer Half Blackheath, PRO/E/179/249/
66 0
Hearth Tax Returns, Lady Day I 3, 31/3, 25 March 1663.
Lords Commissioners ofthe Treasur do and tl
required to give order for the speedy p; ;e~a~e hereby prayed and hundred Eighty Four Pounds to the sa·d ymen o t e same sum of One without account in full satisfaction 1 Jeremy B_Iackman or his assigns damages by him sustained as aforesaid~~9 reparat1011 of the losses and
Three years elapsed before Jeremy Blackman . d h
so much for the 'speed a , . receive t e money;
. . h d YP yment · Patience must perforce have been a virtuemt ose ays.On22 Decembe 1 6 th
to Sir Thomas Chich I M r 7° ere was a Treasurywarrant
e ey, aster of the Ordnance to £ 1 8 t
Jeremy Blackman infullsatisfacti . ' pay 4 °
b h · · h · II d onfor his losses anddamage sustained YAlitmh m h1sdwa s, ove-hou~e, meadows, warren etc. at Woolwich.30 oug ocumentary evide • 1 k. .
able that the erection of th b nee is_ ac mg, It seems highly prob
e attery m the War th d f.
or perhaps even encro h • ren on e e ge o , retreat had so marred ~c m? upon, _Mr Blackman's pleasant country residence. In which s qmeft sereruty that it ceased to be a desirable
case, o course he w Id fi l .
with his son, Captain Blackman '. ou , a ter consu tat1on to some more salubrious s ot th' deci~~ to ~ell th e tate and move twentieth century land-o~n~r ~s a~ti~ipatI~g the actions ofcertain this assumption be t s m similar circumstances. Whether
rue or not Tower Pl h d d . h
possession of Mr Wilr p . h' ace a passe into t e Tower Place as a iam nc ard by the beginning of r 670. hands before it 'was fi p~~perty ~herefore, descended through many Prichard in 6 andna y acqmred by the Crown from Sir William 1 71 ' as near as can be t . d h .
of its owners (the hou . . ascer ·ame , t e succession
se was m existe . 8 1 f
its erection is unknow ) b nee m 153 t 10ugh the year o
n can e tabulated as follows : Henry Floos Thomas Bulkeley ?-1480 Thomas Woode r480-? Alice Smythe ?-? Thomas Smythe ?-? Sir Martin Bowes ?-1538 Sir Edward Boughton 1538-1541 Edward Dymoke 154l -1544 Thomas Stanley 1544-1548 John Robynson 1548-1557 Sir Martin Bowes 1557-1560 John Pears, fishmon . 1560-1566 Sir William B gser ~nd Alice his wife l 566-? . . . arnes, eruor
S1r William Barnes J . ?-16I g
. , uruor -;>
6 6
erem1ah Blackman 1 19-1 50.
J
Sir William Prichard 1650 ?-1669
11 Council Register Oct 66 I 669-l67I 80 C,alcndar of Tr~ury 'p~ 7 -Aug. 1668, PRO/PC/2/6o
P· 3G7). pcrs, vol. III, 1669-1672, p. 706 (Warrants Early XVIII,
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Negotiations for the sale of Tower Place to the Crown d
w d · 66 were un er
ay urmg r g. Jonas Moore, Surveyor General of the o d
wa ·d £ r • . r nance
s pa1 5 .1or proceeding to Woolw1ch for thirteen days fi '
17
to 29 January I 669 in order to take a grand survey of the ~om and stores there before their delivery into the charge of Pa~~ {-a~ce storekeeper. He received 10s. a day for the first four days : /' a day for the remainder of his stay. He was also granted £:n 21s. December 1669 for going to view the house and ground to b on chased from Mr V\Tilliam Prichard in order to assess the conde.tl;>ur
ili r . 1mm
ere .1or construct.mg a wharf.31 He made many journeys to T Place with similar objects in view. On 31 October 1670 he rece~wedr
r • . h . F , 1ve
1 .1or a v1s1t e paid on 28 ebruary I 670 to discuss the detail f
£ 0
settl~ment regarding the forthcoming purchase. Similar sums wse received for subsequent visits on 14 March 1670, 4 April 167~e 15 !uly r 670 and 30 July 1670, connected with the same business' While there, he went into questions concerning the saltpetre stor~ and storehouses in general.32 Captain Valentine Pyne, Master Gunner of England,33 was also interested in the same matter. On 20 November r670, the latter went to Woolwich with Mr Jonas Moore and Mr Bennett to inspect the 'great house', view the wharf and yard> and determine the most convenient site on which to build a powder house. He received 13s. 4d. for his pains.34 Earlier, on
14 M arch 1669 he had accompanied the Surveyor-General of the Ordnanc to Woolwich to give directions for altering some rooms in the 'great house there to lay saltpetre in'. On 20 April 1670, Captain Pyne again isited Tower Place35 'to mark our ports in the wall of the shot-yard and to stake out a place to prove ordnance'.
Proof of ordnance had of course been taking place in the Warren for some considerable time prior to the Crown obtaining possession of Tower Place, and many guns from founders were proved there in the period immediately preceding the purchase preliminaries. Captain Pyne, for instance, attended a proof there on 24, 25 and 27 ~ugust 1670, and Jonas Moore was present at a proofof Mr Brown's iron guns at Woolwich on 2 November 1670.36
At a Council meeting held at the Court ofWhitehall on 4 February
167°, it is recorded that:
His Majesty being well satisfied of the want o~ room for his stores of war at Woolwich and Deptford and a proposal bemg made that the great mansion or Manor House called the Tower Place in Woolwich with all the buildings thereunto belonging, together with the sugar-houses, warehouses,
31 0
rdnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/1 I.
32
Ordn~nce Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/12, P· 104:·. ,
· 83 Appointed 14 December 166:; vice James Wemyss. Original \\!arrants and Orders in Cou ·1
84 nc1, PRO/WO/55/426, no..J 87.
: , grdnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/12, P· 135·
11 rdnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/11.
88 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/11 ·
185
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
tenements, stables smiths' f; a-cl
being betwixt the River of Ti°roes an othe~ storeh?uses situate and courts, gardens and wharv 1ames and the said ~~ns10n house, with all Warren and old orchards :~ti~~fre~nto ?pertammg together with the tenements thereon standing with:~ fve-ouse and tile-houses and two marsh betwixt the River of' Th e ong sea wall and reed ground and
. ames and the old h d c: ·d d
extendmg from the end of th t bl ore ar a1oresa1 an most easterly fort built by ceo~a~;foresa~d unto the fart~est end of the ditches and fens to the same belono-in of Pn_n~e Rupert with the moats, being the lands and tenements of J~co1:t~mmg 3_I acres or thereabouts, particular thereof made by J M Wilham Prichard according to a nance, (this day read at thonBas <lore, Surveyor of his Maj esty's Ord
. . e oar ) may b • c:
bmldmg a storehouse for po d ' e a convenient place .1or
th st
for the proof ofguns: All whi:h~it~ ? er ~res _of war, and for room pleased in Council to orde d . ~JeSty taking mto consideration was Honourable the Lords Co r, .a1: it is hereby ordered, that the Right
rnnuss10ners of th T
hereby authorised to give di· t.· e reasury do, and they are
rec 10n to the c · •
Master of his Majesty's Ord omm1ss1oners for the office of the said mansion house and lanadnce.to treat and agree for the purchase of
,n s with the
of the old storehouses and wh appurtenances and for exchange
arves at W 1 · h ·
upon report of the said Co . . 00 wic m part satisfaction. And orders to his Majesty's Att mnus5;ners of the Ordnance that they give directions for dr~wing the ~rnd-fi eneral to view the evidence and give Harbord, his Majesty's Surv ee s Gor sale thereof As also to Sir Charles old storehouse and wharf • eyo~-eneral, to make a particular of the said
1
said Lords Commissioners :f~~ e~to such exchange. And lastly that the ofsuch sums as shall be agreed e reasury d_o take care for the payment on for the said purchase.3i A few days later, Sir Geor e .
chequer, wrote on F b g Downmg, Bart., a teller of the Ex15 e ruary 167O s·
attend the Commissioners of to 1r Charles H arbord to
O rd
purchase of several ho . nance who were to treat for the
. uses mclud· T
Woolw1ch for building t 'h mg ower Place and lands at
0
to make out a particul:r :; ouses for the Ordnance ; a nd ~kewise gunwharf, which was t b a~ old_ storehouse and wharf, i.e. the faction of the said la d O e gr:en m exchange towards the satisabove.as n s accordmg to the Order in Council quoted
On 5 January r671 there
Harbord for a partic~lar of:as a Treasury warrant to Sir Charles
wharves at Woolwich b . ome old storehouses tenements and . h e1ongmg t0 h" M . '. t
m c arge before an a d. is aJesty, or 1f they were no
. u Itor he h
same, m order that ' was to make out a constat of t e Prichard, in part of a t?1°/nt_ thereof might be made to Williarn
. sa 1s1act10n £ d • t
mans10n house at Wo . h or, an m exchange of, a grea
1
and lands (mentionedo ~Ic h (Tower Place), and several tenements 11 Council R . m t e Order of the King in Council of 4 a, CaJ eg1ster, October I 66 . II endar ofTreasury Books vof 111pnl 1671, PRO/PC/2/62.
' p. 222• ' · 'part 2, 1669-1672, p. 528. Out letters (General)
186
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
February 1670, for causing a survey thereof to be made) which to be by h · d h K. . were
. . 1m conveye to t e ing according to the contract made with him by the Officers of the Ordnance.ao Things moved slowly, but they moved. On 16 March ·
157 Treasury warrant ~o Sir Heneage Finch, his Majesty's Attor~~ ~ Gene~al, ordered him to prepare a grant to pass the Great Seal ~f premises as follows :
To William Prichard, merchant tailor of Eltham Kent h.
l\lI . , ' ' viz, is
aJest~ s old storehouse and wharf called the gunwharf situate Woolw1ch, Kent, containing in length on the north part ne~t the R. at
Th b r h h .d 1ver
ames a out 2 65 1eet, on t e sout s1 e next Woolwich Street ab t 330 feet, on the east side next a certain lane there leading to a place cal~~d Toddy Tree Watergate about 316 feet, and on the west side next anoth lane there leading to a certain place called Bell Watergate about 2 10 feeet together with the dwelling house, stable and other outhouses, and a ne~ storehouse thereupon built one storey high, ":alued altogether at £so per a1:num, and also two small tenements sta1:dmg on the south side of the said ground next the street called Woolw1ch Street, now or late in the tenure of J ohn Creecher, butcher, and William Seawell, blacksmith valued at £ 4 per annum, together with all ways, waters, watercourses etc.4~
Prefixed to this warrant was the following: Constat and ratal of the premises by the Surveyor-General. The premis s are valued at £180 and are to be granted under the Great Seal to Prichard in part satisfaction for the sum of £2,957, to be paid to him by his Majesty for the purchase of a great mansion or manor house called the 'Tower Place' in Woolwich with all the buildings and outhouses thereto belonbaina toaether with sugar houses, warehouses, tenements, stables
D' 0 '
smiths' forge and other storehouses and outhouses, together also with the Warren, old orchard, dovehouse, tyle-houses and n-vo messuages or tenements, thereupon, with the long sea wall and bank, reed ground and marsh within the parish of Woolwich an? Plu_mstead; and a piece of ground containing about one acre in Woolwich with a water house thereon erected, and all springs, pipes of lead, water courses and other profits
thereto belonging.
This attached statement was dated 22 February 1671.
By April 1671 the grant was made to Sir William Prichard ~nd the deal completed in regard to Tower Place. All that was requ~ed was the official patent and the payment. The patent followed m a few weeks, but five years were to elapse before Sir William saw the
colour of his money. A grant unto William Prichard and his heirs of his l\!Iajesty's old storehouse and wharfcalled the gunwharfat Woolwich in the County of Kent
x~iv~rdar of Treasury Books, vol. Ill, part 2, 1669-1672, P· 757• Warrants Early
4o ' p. 444· 8 \ ,· E l
XX Calendar of Treasury Books, vol. III, part 2, 1669-1672, p. oo. arrants ar y
XVIII, pp. 22-23.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
together with the dwelling house, stables and other outhouses there and a new storehouse thereupon built. And also tvvo small tenements with the appurtenances there, in satisfaction of £2,957 to be paid unto him by his Majesty for the purchase of a mansion or manor house with the appurtenances called the Tower Place and divers lands and tenements in the parishes of Woohvich and Plumstead in the said county with such other clauses of non obslantes as are usual in grants of like nature.41
At the risk of redundancy the grant to Sir William Prichard is quoted:
Graunt lo S' William Prichard of the old storehouse and wharfe at Woolwich
17 Jvlay 167142
Charles the Second by the Grace of God Kino-of Eno·land Scotland,
' b b '
Ffrance and Ireland, Defender of the Faith etc. to All to whom these presents shall come Greeting. Knowe yee that We as well in part of satisfaction of and for the sum ofTwo Thousand ine Hundred and Fifty Seaven Pounds to be paid by Us unto William Prichard of Eltham in the County of Kent, Merchant Taylor, for the Purchase of a ansion or Mannor House with its appurtenances called the TO\,ver Place in Woolwich in the said County of Kent together with divers Lands and Tenements and heridiments within the Parish of Woolwich and Plumstead in the same County. As also for divers other good counsel and consideration
whereunto especially moving of Our especial Grace certain knowledge and me~e motion, have given and granted, and by these presents for Us, Our Heires and Successors doe give and graunt unto the said William Prichard, his heirs and assigns all that Our old storehouse and Wharfe called the Gunwharfe situate and being in Woolwich aforesaid in the said County of Kent conteyning in length on the North part to the River of Thames about Two hundred and sixtie five feet on the South side next Woolwich S~reete about Three hundred and Thi;ty ffeet, on the East side next a certam Lane there leading to a certain Place called Toddy Tree Watergate about Three hundred and sixteene feete and on the West side next another Lane there leading to a certain Place' called Bell Watergate about Two hundred and tenn feete, together with all that Dwelling house, stables _and other Outhouses and a new storehouse there upon built one story ~igh and also Two small Tenements standing on the South side of the said _Ground next the Streete called Woolwich Streete aforesaid now, or late, ~n the tenure ofJohn Creecher, Butcher, and William Seawell, Blacksmi_th, Together with all ways and water and water-courses possessed
comm~dity a~d appurtenances to the said promiser or any part thereof belongmg or m any way appurteyning. And the etc. etc.... where~f We have. · · · Our Letters Patent Witness Ourself at Westminster this sea~enteenth day of May in the Three and Twentyeth yeare of Our
Reign.
By writt ofPrivy Seale.
Pigott.
'1 C.S.P. Charles II 1671 p 211 (D I . )
u Warrants (King's'and 'th. ' W oc9uets, vo. 25, no. 44, April 1671 .0 er 5 oolw1ch), PRO/WO/ss/393, p. 20.
188
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
As has been said, Sir William Prichard had to wait five years before the conveyance was made and his purchase money handed over, but as he obtained about £800 in interest he was probably satisfied with the deal on the whole. Being a man of considerable fortune he could afford the inevitable delay.
The following extracts from the Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume V, 1676-1679 foreshadow the end of the transaction.
Page I I. 3 February I676. The Office of ?rdnance ~o have £4,294 in part of the £14,ooo remaining of their extraor_dmary_; the one moiety thereof in September next and the remainder m March following, to be charged upon_ the.~earth ~one~ Farmers and to be applied to the payment of Sir William Prichard s account for the
· h 43
gunwharf and houses at Woo1wic • Page I75. 25 March I676. Warrant from Treasurer Danby to Sir Thomas Chichely to direct George Wharton, Payma~te_r of th: Ordnance, to deliver tallies for £5,363. 5s. 3d. to Srr Willia?1 Pn~hard for houses and lands at Woolwich to be converted to hIS M~Jesty's service in the Office of Ordnance as by a contract made with the said Prichard: said tallies to be taken by Wharton from the £4,2~4 in tallies directed by the warrant of 16 February 1676 to be paid to him from the Ordnance.44 .
Warrant from Treasurer Danby to Sir
P age 222. 25 M ay I 676• • M Wh
M t of the Ordnance, to direct r. arton
Thomas eh1c. h e 1 y, as er . f £ to deliv · to Sir William Prichard tallies t~ the amount O 3,778. at Woolw1ch to be converted to
r gs. r d. fior houses and 1ands .
h . M · , · · the Office of Ordnance, VIZ. purchase
Is a_Je ty s service In D . e to be "d
money interest and rent to last Lady ay_. sam pai
' • k fc the said Wharton on the
out of the £4 294 tallies struc or f 6 F b Hearth money 'as by Treasurer Danby's warrant o r e ruary
1676 45 •
· • h t tortuous proceedings appears
The last episode In these somew a
in the Ordnance Treasurer's Le_d~ers.4ps . h d the sum of £3 778 Ji l 6 6 p . d t Sir Wilham nc ar ' .
O
2 I U0J I 7 · ai 6 6 £ the purchase ofdivers rgs. Id. for debenture dated_ r4June 1 ~i;rto his Majesty and for houses and lands at Woolw1ch sold by £ the same to 25 March
0
the interest of the said mo~ey an~ re~t b \he Principal Officers of
I ?7647 as appears by a certificate s1gnde yh Lord High Treasurer h M · , o d d presente tot e
Is aJesty s r nance an d' to a signification from of England for which he is allowed acc~h~n: ley Knight Masterthe Right Honourable Sir Thoma~ ;c e Ju~e 1676, 'grounded
General of his Majesty's Ordnance ate 1 2
43 Treasury Minute Book V, P· 105· 6644 Warrants not relating to money VI, P· 2 •
45 Money Book (General), PP· 353, 354/WO/ 8/I5
46 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO,•• 4yed ;0 the Crown.
47 The date on which the property was conve
189
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
upon the said Lord High Treasurer's warrant dated 25 May 1676, as by the said debenture and acquittance thereon appears the said sum of £3,778. 19s. 1d.
Having given in some detail the various actions which culminated in the conveyance of Tower Place to the Office of Ordnance, a description of the premises may now be attempted. By the aid of an old plan it has been possible to reconstruct in some measure the appearance ofthe mansion in Bowes's time, and an artist's impression, based on such a reconstruction appears in this volume. Architecturally Tudor, Tower Place was not one of the stately homes of England, but it was a well-built fair sized country house standing amid its orchards and meadows on the south bank of the Thames, and afforded attractive views to its inmates. The front of the house with its three large bays faced east, and a door in the central bay, giving access to the garden, allowed egress to the lawns and flowers. The main entrance was through the gate-house at the back, i.e. on the western side butting on to Rolt's Lane.4B On its south-eastern corner was a large hexagonal Tudor tower, five floo s in height, while on the north-eastern corner was a smaller turret containing closets. For hearth-tax purposes it was assessed at fifteen hearths and
was the largest house in the parish of Woolwich. The domain was liberaIIy provided with outhouses, barns, tile-houses, sugar houses, _a dove-house, a forge and stables which were the necessary accompaniments of a country house in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These enabled the residents to make their nails hino-es and other iro~-work and to carry out their woodwork a~d ge~eral repairs, wh~e the women preserved their food, spun their thread, and wove the1r cloth. The ample acreage made the household self-supporting in the way of fruit, vegetables herbs milk fish meat and corn, rendering 'shopping' in the modern se~se or'the ~ ord unnecessary· The only purchases would be such commodities as could not be made
or produced at home. The boundaries of Tower Place are given as follows:
The sugar house and the great mansion house butting on the lane called Rolt's Lane. The orchard butting on the weSt to several tenements of Mr John Kirby in the hand5
Butting 0~ Samuel Bartram, John Bentley and others, and Mr
to
nd
Richard Cleere in the hands of William Sherwood a
the 0thers, and certain tenements lately Widow Ellery's in the
West hands ofAndrew Bandley, Thomas Hayward and othe~s, and part of the Warren butting on certain tenements in the hands ofJohn Ellery and others.
" Afterwards called Wi La T . Warren
amn ne. his must not be confused with the present
Lanc.
190
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
The wharf in the hands of John Cloathier and John North Colegate and the long walk to the easternmost fort butting
{
the river Thames.
The islands butting on Doghouse Marshes in the hands of Anne Hatton, the warren part of it on the two acres in
East
the hands ofJohn Cloathier and the green lane adjoining
{ the field called the ten acres in the hands ofJohn Hankin.
South { The Warren butting on the common road leading to Plumstead.49
At this point it is considered desirable to expose two ~allacies which have persisted down to the present day. Both are dev01d of truth and as so-called 'facts' are better forgotten. To do so means a certain anticipation in our story. In the eighteenth c~ntury there was a hexagonal tower alongside Tower Place af~e~ It had been reco~structed and converted into the Royal Mihtary Academy. This structure known as the Turret, was quite detached from the adjacent building 'and was sometimes referred to as Prince Rupert'~ Tower; i;t fact T ower Place itself is still known by the name of Prince Rupert s Palace. A wooden model of this .tower, presen~ed by C: G. La:1dmann,so was long preserved in the Roya~ 1!nI!ed ServI~e Institution,51 though it has now vanished, and It 1nd1c~ted qmte clearly that it possessed five floors with staircases runmng from ~oor to floo • It l 1 b n assumed that this structure was bmlt as a
1. 1as a ways ee h b d
separate Tower, when, nobody knew, and for w at purpos_e, no o y
could say. Vincent in his Records of Woolwich perpet1;1ates thIS assump
t. U r 1 h s rather prone to making statements ex
10n. n1ortunate y e wa . h d I
t z d · h f to fortify the assert10ns e ma e. n
ea ,ze ra wit out any proo
Volume I on page 299 he states:
• es it would appear that Tower Place was
• .. from these circumstanc . ·cl b t uite detached a originally a family mansion, havmg cl?se ~s1 1:' t uassfgn the motive' of high substantial hexaO'onal 0 column. It is di cu O d" t hi d 11·
• 1 fi ·n s an appen ix o s we mg
the builder in providing this O ty ?1 dar a r. its ornamental aspect
PI p "bl . h been raise mere1y ior '
ace. oss1 y it may ave . . h ve been intended for a
r. h . b · cl from 1t · or 1t may a
or ior t e view to e game ' Th • however a real present
. "fi b hot tower ere is, '
sc1ent1 c o se~vatory, or a s. · cl admirable model at the United ment ofthe edifice to be seen ma large and "t rpose at leisure etc .... I Service Institution, by which we may stu y !r.s p~ that the tower was one
th· k h fi "bl ition I can ouer is
m t e most eas1 e suppos cl t ious parts of the Thames of those look-out posts which were plante a ;arnwich and the City of for the protection of the royal palace at ree
London.
· h i680-1682, PRO/W0/49/182.
49 Special Book of Estimates, Woolwic 't·fication at the R.M.A. 1777-1815.
so Isaac Landmann was Professo~ of_Foili~ Royal United Service Institution.
61 No trace of this model now exists 10
191
14
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
And as a foot-note he adds:
For instance, it is stated in the chronicles of the City that in 1380 John Phclippot, late Mayor of London, undertook, at his own cost, to build a tower on the banks of the Thames 'sixty king's feet in height' to protect the shipping and the city from hostile attacks and alarm, and the city undertook the building of a second tower.
The footnote is perfectly correct and the chronicle referred to is :
Proposal to build a Tower on eitlzer side of tlze Thames for tlze protection of the shipping, John Plzelippot paying tlze expenses ofone of them. (4 Richard II, A.D. r 380, Letter Book H, fol. cxxv (Latin)) It is not worth quoting, but the document makes it plain that the second tower, to be subscribed for by a levy of 6d. in the pound on rental, was to be built opposite the one promised by John Phelippot, so that a chain to safeguard shipping could be stretched across the river. The site of the tower on the London side was to be within the hamlet of Redeelyve-now Ratcliffe-in the parish of Stepney. It is quite obvious that only the two towers were contemplated and neither was to be within eight miles of Woolwich. As the entry is run through
with a pen, as though cancelled, Riley considers that the scheme was probably never carried out.52 The proofs that the Turret or Tower was part of the original Tower Place mansion are:
(a)
Its portrayal in Paul Sandby's sketch is that of a Tudor tower similar to those at the tilt-yard at Greenwich.
(b)
The tO\-ver is clearly indicated in the plan of Tower Place drawn by Sir Bernard de Gomme in 1682. It there forms part of the structure of the house.
(
c) The ground plan ofthe house in 1717, before its conversion, brought to a common scale with that of the plan of the building, after its reconstruction, in Barkers Map of 1749 and superimposed on it, shows the tower (which had been left standing) of the original house to be on the identical site of the later 18th century turret.
(d)
There is no mention of a tower among the appurtenances of Tower Place in any description of the property.
(e)
An Ordnance Bill Book under date 31 March 1742, states that Joseph Pratt lVas paid £1,085. 1s. 7fd. for certain items of work. One of these was 'Cutting down a buttress and new facing the turret where the brickwork of the old building bonded with it.'53
Legend No. I dissolved in mist.
The second, that Prince Rupert lived in Tower Place which therefore became known as Prince Rupert's Palace is easily dismissed. The title Prince Rupert's Palace never occurs in any official Ordnance
Journal, nor is there any record that Prince Rupert ever went into
aa Mlmllrials of London and London Life, H. T. Riley, 1868, p. 444. 11 Ordnance Bill Book, ries II, PRO/W0/51/148, p. 231.
192
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Tower Place. He certainly never resided there. After his retirement
from public affairs in I 673, he lived at Spring Gardens and Windsor
Castle. No doubt this story was invented and gained circulation
because the Prince was responsible for building the batteries at
Woolwich in 1667 on a site adjacent to Jeremiah Blackman's prop
erty. It is extremely doubtful whether he would ever even have set
foot in the precincts.
Sir William Prichard, from whom Tower Place was purchased,
was a man of many parts. He was born about 1632, the son and heir
of Francis Prichard of Horsley Down, Surrey, by his wife, the
daughter ofEdward Egleston. Francis Prichard was born in or about
1607 and was lineally descended from Ruthergh ap Richard, who
was seised of lands called Hendre in Co. Caernarvon. The said
Francis and his wife were buried in St Olave's, Southwark, and had
issue, besides William, one son Richard, a lieutenant at sea, who
was killed in an engagement with the Dutch at the age of eighteen,
and three daughters, Mary, Hannah and Marth~.
William Prichard besides being a merchant tailor of Eltham, was a large contractor t~ the Board of Ordnance, supply~g them with many commodities, such as tiles, bricks, fodder, matenals generally, cordage and tarred rope. He was knighted on 28 October 1672. He became a sheriff in the same year and was Lord Mayor of London 1683-i 684. He was also M.P. for the said ?ity in 1702. I~ r673, he purchased the Minories for £4,300 from Sir Thomas Ch1chely. J:Ie was President of St Bartholomew's Hospital,. Colonel of the vyrute Regiment of Trained Bands and Vice-President of the Ar~lery Company. He was elected President of the Honourable Artillery Company on October r 681. In r683, he purchased the manor and
4 L. I', d Co Bucks and became the patron of that
esta te of Great 1n1or , • , . living. He founded and endowed a hospital and school-ho_use at Great Linford. In 1579, he gave a piece of ~round to Woo~wich for th f h H h d a residence at Highgate, Co. Middlesex.
e use o t e poor. e a He was a member of the Merchant Taylor's Company. f F . · · · · d S h 2nd daughter o ranc1s
Sir William Prichard marne ara ,
6
Cooke of Kingsthorpe. He was baptised on I I February WI_311~ at
K. . f h· arriage was one son-1 iam
ingsthorpe. The only issue o t is m . d b · d t -who died on r6 March 1685 aged sixteen an was une a
Great Linford on 24 March following. d h l\,f · Sir William died at his house in Heydon Yar ' t e d inor~es, -0~ Sunday 18 February I 705 in his seventy-fou:th ydeaCrhan ,hvas hune d Great Linfor urc ' w ere a
on I March 1705 in a vault un er . ·n dated 29 December rnonument is erected to his memory. His wi 'ther bequests he left
0
1702 was proved on 17 April 17°5· Among . . h. -~ Sh an a~nuity of£1 200 and his house in the ~1noneGs to lSLl~; e.d
d. , d buried at reat 1uor on
ied there on 23 April 17 I 8 an was
193
6 May 1718. By her will dated 20 April 1707, she left numerous charitable bequests. 54
The acquisition of Tower Place initiated a spate of activity in the affairs of the Ordnance at Woolwich. Not only had much constructional work to be undertaken, but guns and stores had to be moved to their new depot from the old gunwharf. Paul Linby was a tower ofstrength in all these operations. He was what would now, in familiar terms, be described as a 'good old scout', and his work and energy must have been invaluable in this new venture.
On gJune 1671, he was paid £124. 12s. gd. in full satisfaction of a debenture dated r r March 1670 for three jobs of prime importance.55
(a)
For filling the forefront of the new wharf at Tower Place, which was 265 feet long, 14 feet deep, 80 feet wide and 28 feet broad with marsh clay, 7:oat at t~e bottom and 5 foot at the top, ramming do~n the same and fillmg up with earth, and covering the top with a foot of gravel and sand.
(b)
Building a gun platform I 15 feet long.
(c)
Erecting two butts. One, 113 feet long, g feet deep and 16 feet broad; and the other, 124 feet long, 8 feet deep and 7 feet broad.
. Bet~een r February and 2 r March 1670, Paul Linby was engaged m pullmg up the pavement at Tower Place in fitting and clearing the storehouses to receive saltpetre, and on'constructional work at t~e new wharf. On r8 July 1670, he received £ 27. 12s. 4t d. for disbursements to 15 labour~rs in connection with these operations. On? July 1670, an entry 1n the Bill Book states that Paul Linby received £ 17. 1rs. gd. for disbursements by him to workmen engaged_on the new wh_arf, on digging the foundation ofthe great crane, 0~ fittmg up a saw-pit on the new gunwharf and digging a new sawp~t t?erein. These ':orkmen or labourers a'ssisted the carpenters in ~ggi~g ~e foundatmns to lay the mud silts for the wharf, in helping to pitt timber and other services ordered by Mr Safrey and Mr
Rogers from 2I March I 67o to 24 M fill . ,
F h' k ay o owmg .
or t is wor the men were paid as shewn:
Richard Wahan-21 M h 6 /6 d
arc I 70 to 25 May 1670-55 days at 1 P· ·
Thomas Dasett-21 M h 6 £4. 2s. 6dd.
arc l 70-21 May 1670-51 days at 1/6 P· ·
J h G £3. 16s. 6d.
o n ronor-21 March 1670-21 May 1670-51 days at r/6 p.d. 16s. 6d.
£3
Roger Preston-21 M h 6 · d
arc r 70-18 May 1670-48 days at r /6 P· · £3. 12s. od.
" Details of the life death fi al d . · in
Miscellanea Gtrllalogica ;, Heraldic UINr an_ will of Sir William Prichard are given H Ordnance Treasurer's Ledg~~' ;R0/~()1~j/;,PP· 351-352, 1874.
194
THE BEGINNI GS OF TOWER PLACE
For digging the foundation for the great crane, the following were paid as shewn:
Richard Vayne-4½ days at 1 /6 p.d. -6s. gd. Henry Hawke-4½ days at I /6 p.d. -6s. gd. Henry Costing-5 days at I /6 p.d. -7s. 6d. John Dickinson-4½ days at I /6 p.d. -6s. gd. Paid to Richard Vayne for digging one double saw-pit and one single
one in the gunwharf 3 days at 1 /6 4-f. 6d. Paid to Henry Costing for filling up the saw-pits in the gunwharf-2 days at I /6 3s. od. Total: £17. 11s. gd. 7 July 167056
Although Paul Linby had been called 'storekeeper' the title was honorary and in no sense official. He could with more justice have been described as the Quarter-master of the Establishment, a term which would have expressed his functions more accurately. The first a1:1-thentic storekeeper at Tower Place, the one who began the line of'Arsenal' storekeeping officials which conti~ues down to the present day, was Captain Francis Cheeseman, app01nted 1 February 1670, under a warrant issued by Sir Thomas Chicheley, Master of the Ordnance. He was paid quarterly at the rate of £100 p.a. and was allowed an additional £20 a year for a personal clerk.57 Within a few years the storekeeper's salary was reduced to £30 p.a.58 and later
stabilised at £40 p.a.59 • • With the exception of firework making and saltpetre refini~g, references to which will appear later, there was as _yet no production at Woolwich • in fact Tower Place could not be said to have become
' ' . . .
a factory till the turn of the century. There ~as, 1t IS true, a certain amount of carriage repair, but as gun carnages at the end of ~e seventeenth century were still simple woo~en structures, the mamtenance of which merely required the services of a carpenter, such work could not legitimately be described as manufac_ture. Actually more than a hundred years were to elapse bef~re a Carnage Department was set up. The main operations during the_ infancy of T?wer Place were connected with the building, convers10n and repair of storehouses, wharves and cranes, the erection of butts for _the proof ~nd
· f d and shot and the construction of various
expenment o or nance , •
h. h peri·ence showed to be desirab1e. After the
appurtenances w 1c ex f
sale of the Artillery Garden a good deal of proo _converged on · h d pri·or to the sale guns were being proved on
WooIw1c , an even ' d .r. 11 f h
· "d ble numbers The recor s are 1u o sue
the Warren m cons1 era · . .
·1 b b 1 t them would besides being ted10us, serve no
deta1 s u t to ta u a e ,
12
56 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 / , PP· g3, 64·
67 Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/W0/51/ 13, P· 1 •
58 Ordnance Quarter Book, PRO/W0/54/33, 1~i~·
69
Ordnance Quarter Book, PRO/WO/54/44, 1 • 195
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
useful purpose. In October 1670, Paul Linby repaired the butts at Proof Place, Woolwich, for which he was paid £2. 1,µ. od. on 22 June 1671.60 John Colegate, blacksmith, was continuously employed at Tower Place between 1 September and 31 December 1670. There was iron work for the Warren gates, iron work for the shotyard and repairs to the 'great house' as well as to the storehouses. As usual there was a time lag in his payment. Not till 13 September 1671, was his account for £26. 14-J'. 1½d. settled.61 Woolwich by this time was obviously becoming a place of importance in the scheme of national defence for in 1672 an estimate of £125. 13s. od. was submitted for the erection ofa storehouse for fireworks in the Warren. The building was to be 70 feet long and 20 feet wide with doors and
lock complete.62 In the same year another estimate was made for the carriage of guns, mountings, shot etc. from the old yard to the office of His Majesty's Ordnance at Tower Place. Details were as follows:
Loading and drawing shot from the old yard to the new: Per load rs. 4d. Drawing guns from the} Guns {3ocwt. and upwards 4S· od. old yard to the Warren 3ocwt. and under 2s. 6d.
This referred to the prices which were to be paid in moving ordnance and shot from the gunwharf after its alienation to Sir William Prichard to their new home on the Warren. Paul Linby with his team of horses was the man who carried out this removal and he received pay at the above quoted rates.
On 17July 1672, Jonas Moore proceeded to Woolwich to settle about the houses for fireworks and later paid another visit with Sir Bernar~ de Gomm~ to set out the ground for a 'powder place'. He '":as paid £2 for his trouble on each occasion.63 On 18 July 1672, Sir Ber;11ard de Gomme was given a similar sum for journeying ~o Woolw1ch to stake o_ut ,the new fortifications there. 64 John Brewer did a good deal of glaziers work in and around Tower Place between 17 Aug~~t 1671 and 25 March 1672, in addition to which he made many vmts to Woolwich to deliver saltpetre between October I 67 1 and Ma~ 1672. The connection between mending windows and transportm~ sal~petre is not apparent and why John Brewer should have acted m this double capacity is a mystery. Trades in those days were not s~ clear!~ defined as they are today, and men were often fou~d turrung th~rr h~nds to jobs normally beyond the range of tbeir craft. Paul Lmby 1s a classic example. He acted as storekeeper,
10 Ordnance Bill Book S · I
1
11 Ordnance Bil~Book: s:;;: 1l' ::g~gf5 J13, P· 2~· 11 Ordnance &timates, PROJW0/4g/182 5l 13, P· 5 · 11 Ordnance Bill Book S · II p •
"Ordnance Bill Book' Ser~es 11' PRROfW0/51/14, p. 125.
' cries , O/WO/51/14, p. 123.
196
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
craneman, hoy-master, scavel man, carter, teemster and general factotum when the services of a useful man were in demand. John Colegate was again busy at Woolwich during the autumn of 1671 and the spring of 1672. He was there producing saws, making ironwork for the furnaces and the refining house, and repairing ships' carriages.65 For these services he did not receive his payment of £127. 7s. od. till 7 January 1673 and this sum inclu_ded his wages for the last six months of 1671.66 One wonders how artisans managed to live in such circumstances. In many ways Tower Place at this period must have been rather like a pioneer community in the New World. Everything had to be improvised till it could be rep~aced by something more suited to the ~eeds of the moment, and patience
must have been a virtue greatly in d~mand. . On 2s July 1673, Captain Francis Cheeseman was pai_d -f,272. gs. 4d. for sums disbursed y.o se~eral,labo~rers to crane ships c_arriages and other stores for his MaJesty s servic~ o_n board,for mountu~g guns of the Line and at Gallions, fo!' assis~1ng the firemaster m preparing and making materials and mgredients for fireworks, for breaking up old fireworks, and for chimney money taxes upon the official d elling houses and other services between 4 February 1671 and '26 July 16 _67 Between 1o June 1671 and 13 No~ember 1671,
73
.c. t r carried out work at the Refimng House at
H enry Sa1rey, carpen e , d M
.c h" h he was paid £15. 10s. o . on g arch
T ower Pl ace, 1or w 1c d b
68 A .r.. .c. h ti·ng ordnance was erecte etween 24 July
6
1 73. iUrnace 1or ea b il b Ed
672 at Tower Place. It was u t y ward
1672 and 12 August 1 d · h h
· b J h c 1 ate the smith was concerne wit t e
Sherw1n, ut o n o eg , ' J..d .c. h. h f h
· k H b · d yment of £8. os. 7 2 • 1or 1s s are o t e
iron wor . e o ta1ne pa
work on 17 J anuary 1673,69 f 1 fini There was evidently a considerable an1;ount60 sa 6tp8et_re ~e ng
k. W . h during the period 1 70-1 o, a 1ew ex
ta 1ng pace1 at oo1wic k h" 1 o 26 J
tracts from the records will suffice to ma e t dis £c e~. ~ une
0 1
1674 William Buckler was paid £ 275· os. • or ~ ~a f' car~ and ~ttendance in double refining several great kquant1tles ol rodug 1 • h d 1 oking after the wor men ernp oye on sa tpetre at Woolw1c an ° b and 24 June 1674. His
571
the operation between 30 Septem die: I to a signification from the
rat f £ 00 a year accor ng
O 1
e pay was S t mber 1673. Four days later
Master of the Ordnance dated 30 fe£p6e 4 11s iod for refining at
· dd" · al sum o 7 ·· · ·
h e was paid the a ition W · h' 245 tons 6 cwt. 18 lb. of
1
'h. M . ' fi . house at oo w1c
1s aJesty s re ning . . . t 206 tons 9 cwt. 2 qrs. 7 lb.
d d hvenng into sore
rough sa1tpetre an e hen refined of the amount of roughof pure saltpetre, the product w 66 . II PRO/WO/51 /14, p. 16. Ordnance Bill Book, Series ' PRO/WO/48/12.
66
Ordnance Treasurer's L~dg1f'PRO/\VO/51/15, p. l 80.
67 Ordnance Bill Book, Series 'PRO/W_O/48/12.
88 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PR0/\\'O/48/12.
811 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, 197
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
saltpetre stated above. The signification of Sir Thomas Chicheley dated 30 September 1673 was based on articles of agreement dated 14 September 1671 between William Buckler and the Principal Officers of the Ordnance.70 At this time, the Minories was the principal depot for saltpetre in the country and George Wharton was the storekeeper for saltpetre both there and at Woolwich, being appointed on r April 1670.71 His clerk was Edward Hubbald. Edward Hubbald used to pay frequent visits to Woolwich in this connection, especially between 1672-1673 to weigh out rough saltpetre. His pay
for this service was IOs. per diem. John Brewer made similar journeys for the same purpose. On 28 July 1676, Edward Hubbald was paid £266. I Is. gd. for wharfage charges and labourers in receiving and transporting to Woolwich 13,315 bags of saltpetre weighing 700 tons net, purchased from the East India Company between 14 February 1675 an~ 23 March 1675.72 Saltpetre, being such a rare and costly commodity, was accorded more deference than almost any other raw material. Hence its special storekeeper. George Wharton continued to be that storekeeper at the Minories and Woolwich till 30 Septem
ber 1681, when Woolwich was allowed a storekeeper ofits own. This was Edw~rd Hubbald who was appointed storekeeper for saltpetre at Woolwich on I October 1681 and continued there till 31 December 1694 when the local appointment was abolished. 73 After that date the _Tow~r beca~e the only repository and Edward Hubbald, trans~ernng his energies to that fortress, remained in charge of saltpetre till 31 December 1699: Incidentally, during his tenure as saltpetre
storekeeper at ~oolwich he officiated as storekeeper there from 1 October 1683 till 3 r March 1686, during the temporary transfer of Thomas Peach to Tilbury between those dates.
On 28 May r674, the following labourers were appointed by the B~ard to Woolwich:John Chard,John Packman,John Day, Richard Hill, John Wattson and John Jenkins.74 The total establishment at Tower P~ace was therefore, the storekeeper, his clerk, Paul Linby
and the six labourers. Between the years r670 and r675 the amount of maintenance normal to a? establishment of this ~ize was carried out, and the
0rdn
ance Bill Books teem with details illustrative of the repairs effected to the fabric of the 'great house' and to other buildings in Towe_r Place. A tabulation of such items would be tedious. Storms wereJUSt as responsible for damage to storehouses in the seventeenth c;;~uh_as they are in the twentieth, in fact probably more, since the 0 -as ioned sheds were not so robustly constructed as their modern
70 Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/W 71 Ordnance Quarter Book PRO/WO/ /0/51/16, pp. 4, 5. 72 Ordnance Treasurer' ~d 54 28.
,. Warrants MG O sd B ger, PRO/WO/48/15.
· · · an oard PRO/WO/ /
"Ordnance Journal Book PRO'/WO/ / 55 470.
' 47 19B.
198
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
counterparts. Wood was less resistant to the effects of weather than brick, and timber girders, subject to rot and attack by insect pests, lacked the lasting qualities of steel.
The butts, too, gave constant trouble. Baulks of fir, reinforced by rammed earth and turf soon tended to crumble under the repeated impact of solid shot fired at close range, particularly when the rain had already loosened and partially washed away the supporting sand and gravel. When guns were laid for proof on the Warren on 23 February 1675, Captain Valentine Pyne had to proceed there in order to issue instructions for the repair of the butt. For this service he received 13s. 4d. on 12 December 1675.75 This visit resulted in a Board's order dated 21 September 1675 to reconstruct the proof-butts and on 31 March 1676, Paul Linby was paid £75. 14.s. 4d. for the works as follows :76
For making 3 butts of earth containing I I 3 floors at £39. I IS. od.
7s. per floor 15. OS. od.
For facing them with turf
For making and levelling the platform where the
5· OS. od.
guns lie for proof
For 485 loads of gravel for the Proof Place at Bd. a 16. 3s. 4d.
load Total: £75. 14>. 4d.
The Board's order77 of 2 1 September 1675 was '~hat the _old butt at W oolwich for the proof of ordnance be forthwith repaired and increased in size in order to prove a greater number of ordn~nce according to the directions given by the Surveyor of Ordnance ..
howing signs of wear under the strong action
The wharf, too, was S . p · h d · d
of the tides. On June 1676, Sir Wilham nc ar rece1v_e
I
r. d't'oni'ng the wharf and bank near the slUice
£ 97. 3s. 4d. 1or recon 1 1 .
·on had taken place, according to a t T ower Place, where erosl 78
the measurements certified by John Hill.
For double landtying and shoreing the wharf45 feet
IOS. od. long, ro feet high at 30s. per foot fi h' h
6
os. od.
For foot wharfing the bank, 5° feet long eet ig
at 10s. per foot . · fter For 14 floors ofearthwork caSt out and m agam a
4. 13s. 4d. the wharf was framed at 6s. 8d. per foot
Total: £97. 3s. 4d.
. f saltpetre firework making was the
Apart from the refin1ng O ' d r. di l
. . . W . h Set pieces were ma e 1or sp ay,
pnnc1pal industry at oo1w1c •
75 . II PROfWO/51/18, P· 128.
Ordnance Bill Book, Ser~es • PRO/WO/s1/r8, p. 184.
76 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, B
:7 OrdnanceJournal Book,_PR0/1f/}J..,t6/~l/r8, p. 208. John Hill was a Cl rk of
6 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, t • =>
the Office of Ordnance.
199
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
particularly for the King's birthday, as well as types for warlike purposes. In fact, Sir Martin Beckman, who had become Firemaster on 4June 1661,i9 was by warrant80 dated 11 August 1688 appointed 'Comptroller of ffireworks as well for Warr as Tryumph'. His place as Firemaster had been taken earlier on 19 October 1670 by Captain Ernest Henry de Reus, when the former was promoted Engineer to the Office of Ordnance.81 On 24 May 1673, Ernest Henry de Reus was paid £2 for the labour and materials in fitting up two water petards for Prince Rupert on 29 March 1673, and 40s. for 4 days travelling expenses in connection with the work in question. In addition to this he was also paid £35. 6s. 8d. in making a firework for his Majesty's birthday. This must evidently have been an enormous undertaking as he was employed on its manufacture from 18 February 1671 until 2 June 1671 at a wage of 6s. 8d. a day.82 A
few years afterwards, the six Woolwich labourers who formed the
'
permanent staff, spent some five weeks, for which they received payment as under on 16 August 1667, in repairing and fitting fireworks.
John Clare83 -39 days at r/-p.d.-£1. rgs. od. Richard Hill -39 days at 1/-p.d.-£1. rgs. od. John Watson -37 days at r /-p.d.-£1. r7s. od. Jolm Packman -37 days at r/-p.d.-£r. 17s. od. Jo~~ Day -39 days at r /-p.d.-£r. 19s. od. W1l11am Sherman81 -20 days at 1/-p.d.-£r. os. od.
This was presumably in addition to their normal wage of £26 per annum. In additi?n to this they, together with Paul Linby, received '2 /-per day a~d rught for their extraordinary services in attending and ,~atc?mg for 4 days and nights to fire the ordnance on the Line
(i.e. m the Warren) and on the bank at Gallions when the Prince of Orange passed down the Thames on his return home. This made a total of £ 13. 7s. od.95 In the following year John Slade who although. graded as a 1abourer must have been an ' experienced ' workman smce he received 3s. 4d. a day ·d £ 4d on
o t b , was pa1 ro. 3s. .
22 O 6
c er_r 78 for going to Woolwich to assist in making fireworks, some of ~~1ch were for the fireships under construction.86 Mr Wilham Sheepy had I M
now rep aced Mr Henry Safrey as asterCarpenter to the Board d h • 1 · h
b , an e was busily engaged at Woo w1c etween 25 March 1678 and 30 June 1678 in repairing ships' 1, Warrants M.G.O. and Board PRO/G
ao Warrants and Orders in C ' . & D/37, no. 13. d 27 August 1688 PR011,VQ/~ / ouncil, PR0/W0/55/335 and M.G.0.'s warrant date 11 0 d Q' , • .:>5 472, p. 73.
az r nance uarter Book, PRO/WO 28 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO~~,$bi·81 6 u 81 Pe~h_aps the same man as John Chard 4 I •
" ~!i:~tn&:tadSer~plalcled John jenkins. ,. 0 dn . ' ries 'PRO/W0/51/20 6
r ance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/ / ' p. I •
51 21, p. 18.
200
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
carriages. On 28 April 1680 he was paid £197. 11s. 1 rd. for this work.87
By now the butts were again requiring attention. Paul Linby had a contract, dated 20 March 1680, for shifting the two butts of earth at his Majesty's ProofPlace at Woolwich and for 'new-making' them 14 feet broad at the bottom, 6 feet broad at the top, 8 feet high and 320 feet long. This also entailed making 187 floors for both and repairing the main butt which time and the elements had succeeded in making defective. He was paid £30 for this work which he received on 30 September 168o,ss a lag of six months, which, considering the
times, was remarkably quick paymen~. . . Early in the following year, a special experiment with a fire-shot was carried out by Captain Leake, ~aster Gun1:er of England,_ in the presence of Charles II. This was evidently considered an occas~on of great importance which required a good deal of preparation including some adaptation to the but~s._ On 18 November 1680, an estimate for these butts prepared by Wilham Sheepey, 1:1aster carpenter, which amounted to £go. 2 s. 6d.,89 was sent to Sir Bernard de Gomme for him to report 'the reasonableness thereof' to the Board
by 'next Office day'.90 Being considered reasonable, a contract da~ed 8 February 1681 was placed with Sir William ~arren fo: makm~ two b tt d 1 · latform of oak at Woolw1ch for this expen
u s an aymg a p . w·ir w
ment.91 The day before this contract was signed, Sir 1 mm . arren
had intimated that '56 faddoms92 of good fadam wood fo: filling up
· d aring at Woolwich' would
between the butts now making an prep d be sufficient for the purpose, and that the price ag:ee on, namely h·11· .c. d ·table Sir William putting the wood on
12 s 1 1ngs a 1a om, was su1 , . 93 board his lighters at his wharf at his own charge. d ull 94 The entries in the Bill Books regarding this work rea as O ows: . . W n was paid £33. 12s. od. for the
2 I February r68r Sir W1l1iam arre b d t w 1 fadoms of wood fo; the filling up between the butts t~ e ~~ ~a. tyo~ wich for a fire-shot experiment there to be presente dtod is aJes din
ary 1681 groun e upon an or er
pursuance of a warrant dated I 8 Febru ' d Bo d d t d
fi • M · t 's Ordnance an ar a e
rom the Commissioners of his aJes JFebruary 1531 according to a 1 7 February 1681, and a contract of F dom •wood-2 foot long· certificate of Mr Cricke95 and Mr Roope~-. ; [adorns at 12s. per fadom'. such fadom 6 foot in height and 6 foot broa ' 5
:; Ordnance T!easurer's L~dger, PRR00//'08/1 4~//~~: p. 35.
5
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, P 89 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W0/49/182• f. 7
1
90 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/io, · ·
91 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W0/49/182• ure or quantity in this case 72 cubic
92 Faddom, fadam, fadome, Jadom, meant a meas feet; also it meant afathom. / 0 f 1,,3
93 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/\\0/47 bi ;/2-p. III.
9
~ Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO~~ J m~e Assistant Surveyor of Ordnanc 115 Mr Cricke was Clerk to Sir Bcmar c O ' and his Majesty's Chief Engineer.
201
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
15 March 1681. Sir William Warren for building 2 butts and making a platform at Woolwich for making an experiment before his Majesty by Captain Richard Leake, Master Gunner of England according to a contract dated 8 February 1681 and a warrant of the same date to Captain
Leake.
For two butts OS. od.
For 7 squares 45 foot of platform at £4. IOs. od.
per square IOS. o£d.
For repairing the old platform with planks, a nd
workmanship £1. OS.
For roping and carriages for the experiment
Total: £66. 4£d.9s
It will thus be seen that the whole project cost £99. 15s. 4¾d. against an estimated charge of £go. 2s. 6d.
Captain Richard Leake was a person of note in Woolwich. Born at Harwich in 1629, he took service under Parliament in the Civil War and held a commission in the 'rebel' fleet under the command of the Earl of Warwick. Detesting it, however, he deserted and volunteered for the king's service. He then retired to Holland where, entering the Dutch Artillery, he improved himself in the arts of ~~nnery and engineering. Afterwards he returned to England and
JOmed the merchant service. On the Restoration he quitted this employment and was made a gunner of a man-of-war. H e was then promoted to be_master gunner of the Princess, a Fourth R ate ship of 660 tons mountmg 50 guns and built by Daniel Furzer in r 660. For good work in this vessel_ he was ~ranted £ 30 on 8 June 1667 by the Duke of York, Lord High Admiral, he, having, by warrant dated 13 ~ay, 1667 of the Commissioners for executing the offices of his ~aJ:sty s Ordnance, been appointed one of his Majesty's gunners wit~m the 1:'0 wer _of Lond~n in consideration of his good and faithful
service to his Majesty durmg the war with the French Danes and Dutch. He remained in the Princess till 3 May 166g ;hen he was ~ransferred as gunner to the Royal Prince, a First Rate ship. He served m the engage~ent ~gainst the Dutch Admiral, Van Tromp, in 1673. The Royal Prince hemg crippled in action Leake had a warrant to be gunner ~fthe Neptune, a Second Rate ship at Chatham, and about 1675 w~ _given command of a yacht, i.e. a hoy of improved pattern,
a fast sailmg vessel of fore and aft rig. Finally by patent dated 21 May 1677, Captain Richard Leake was granted for life the office of Ma~ter , Gunner of England and appointed Storekeeper of his Ma.1esty s ordnance and stores of war at Woolwich.
Lea_ke was a ma~ ofsound technical knowledge and spent his tirne carrymg out expenments to improve the efficiency of the somewhat
" Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/ /
' 51 23, p. 112.
202
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
simple armaments of his time. After moving to Woolwich he spent the remainder of his life living in Tower Place which had been adapted to meet his requirements. There he performed his duties with zeal and ability though the keeping of the stores remained in the hands of the official storekeeper• He took his share in the local government of the town, attending the meetings of the Vestry and signing the books. He died at Woolwich on 22 July 1696, his wife Elizabeth pre-deceasing him on I September 1695 at the age of sixty-four. A monumental inscription w~s erected !o their memory in St Mary's Church, Woolwich. After his death, his son, who afterwards became Admiral Sir John Leake, was offered his father's old
post but the offer was declined. . .
Before the great trial scheduled to be earned 0 1:t ~n the presence ofthe sovereign had taken place, a smaller though smular experiment was undertaken. On 18 August i 68o, Mr Sheepey was ordered to
proceed to Woolwich at once and 'erect a bu~t of elm timber according to the directions of the French firewo_rker so that the latter could make a fire-shot trial. Mr Sheepey was mstructed to use such elm as was already in store at Woolwich 9~nd to J?rovide such additional timber as might prove necessary. Forty-six pounds of o d 11 ed for this experiment and was ordered out of his
P w er was a ow d 9s Majesty's storehouse in the Office of Or nan~e. Buildings by now were beginning to deteriorate and ne:~ attenti·o o J 1 68o an estimate was prepared for reparrmg the
n. n 19 u y I ' 0 d 99 Th. £ 11 sheds at Woolwich amounting to £5°:dI?~ "6 h ~~was :V o7e~ by an order from the Board which sa1 t a~ y s e at oo w
e p r h nd ye shedds for carnages there be forthwth
along y roo1e-ouse a d · h · di 1
· d d h persons be contracte wit 1mme ate y to
R epa1re , an t at some d h h
· h d · h h provided they do not excee t e c arge
go 1n an wit t e same_ .
, 100
of the survey as the same is estimated · local 'tradesmen' at Tower Place. When
There were of course no d d
• · d the normal proce ure was to sen
any technical service was require S · 1 1 ·vili·
d h T ofLondon ometimes oca c1 an
own an artificer from t e ower · · 1 · b For instance on craftsmen were contracted for some specia JOk · t W 1 '· h I 6 N b 68 M Thomas Peach the store eeper a oo wic '
?vem er I o, r . . ' whether there was a wheel-was instructed to make enquines as ~o h h t barrows before the Wright in Woolwich who could repair t ~s ~ 101
authorities ordered a man to attend from on on.d thefts of H M
Crime, too, existed in seventeenth cent~ry a; November 1680. property took place. On the same dlayb, i.e. 1who embezzled th; Mr Peach was ordered 'to carry the a ourer
:' OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0//47//9, ~ ~~-9 September 168o.
8
Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO 47 9, · '
: 9 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/WO/49/182• October 1680.
1 ; Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/9,? 10 and PRO/WO/,,H/10, f. 16.
10 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/9, · 4
203
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
iron-work at Woolwich before some Justice of the Peace, so that he may examine him and order him such punishment as he shall deem lawful' .101
The wharfs were again giving trouble and an estimate for £37. 6s. od. was put forward on 24 January 1680 for repair.102
There was considerable proof at Woolwich during the year I 681. On 1I March 1680, a new 'camp shott' 160 foot long was to be made on the Warren for proving ordnance. This together with the repair of the old one and the making up of the proof-butts was to cost
6d.103
£103. 2s. On 26 April 1681, it was ordered that all guns at Tower Hill and on the Tower wharf which were fit to be reproved were to be sent down to Woolwich for reproo£ It was also ordered that 'the Surveyor and Assistant Surveyor of his Maj esty's Ordnance take care to see the same guns marked out, and the Clerk of the Deliveries to draw a proportion for the same and see the same immediately and send to Woolwich as aforesaid, and that a gyn, ropes, etc. be issued for this service' .104 On 5 July 1681, it was ordered that 'several brass mortar pieces now lying at Temple Mills
lately cast out of his Majesty's metal by the agents ofJohn Browne, his Majesty's late gunfounder, be forthwith removed to Woolwich in order to be proved at the first conveniency and that Captain Richard Leake, Master Gunner ofEngland, take care to see that this is effected accordingly'.105 On r2 July r68r, it was ordered that the 'old iron ordnance of his Majesty, hereinafter mentioned, lying upon Tower Hill and Tower Wharf be forthwith removed and sent to Woolwich to be thoroughly reproved for his Maj esty's Surveyor at
the same rates as former guns sent thither, and that the Clerk of the Cheque put the labour and costs upon the same accordingly, viz:
24 pdrs - r r Culverins - g
12 pdrs - 6 Demi-culverins - 25
8 pdrs - I r 6 pdrs _ 37
3 pdrs - 6 Minions - 3 r ,106
Th: great proof, a matter ofsupreme importance, was then carried out with due so!emnity. The proofmasters, who were quartered at the Tower, received £40 p.a. and normally were two in number. So august were these gentlemen that in one instance the senior was referre_d ~o as 'The Proofm:ster General ofEngland'. On ro Oc~ober
1681
, i~ is recorded that a proportion of the old ordnance laid at Woolwich and ordered for proof by order ofthe Board 21 September 1681 (and by order of4th inst.) be proved Friday next 2 rst inst. a nd
::: Ordnance Est!mates, PRO/WO/491182_ Ordnance Estimates, PRO/WO/491182_1°' Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ / f.
JOI OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0/47/IO, . 47.
1N 0rdnan ] urnaJ Boo ' 4 7 II, f. 14.
cc O k, PRO/WO/47/10, f. 65 and PRO/WO/47/11, f. 16·
204
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
a proportion of powder and shot necessary for the same shall be drawn and issued accordingly for the said proof. 'And that the officers, clerks and labourers hereafter mentioned shall go down to the proof accordingly.
OFFICERS
Surveyor, Clerk of Ordnance, Storekeeper, Clerk of Deliveries and Proofmaster.
CLERKS
James Rothwell, John Allen, John Hooper and Matthew Blyton.
LABOURERS
H enry Lincolne, James Fitzgerald, William ~onner, J ohn Beezley Lecran Jennings, George Kidd,
' h W d ,101
John Everitt and Hump rey oo , A slight difference from present day procedure. Autres temps, autres moeurs. .
b. 1 d voi'd of danger Guns occasionally burst
P roof was no t en re y e · fi f and the resultant damage had to be repa~re~. _Cases o ten _occur o injury to buildings and compensation to 1nd1v1duals. For 1~tance,
o F b 68 M Thomas Peach was ordered to mstruct ~ I 7P el-ruary r 3,. ~ 1 bourer's house at Woolwich at a cost
Jo n ac (man to repair t e a d b b ki not exceeding £3 which had been 'lately damage Y guns rea ng
108
up at last proof'. Journal Books throw light
Two further extracts from the Ordnance . h" . d on the n ormal domestic scene at Tower Place durmg t 15 peno · . k forthwith down to Woolwich
1 1
r6 April 168r. That John Hil, c er ' god ft under which the salt-and assess the damage done to the roof an ra 1~9r5 nd make an estimate petre lies next to the Bedd and Coyne-Hou~e, th aith to the Board and
f o th h h f d turn the same .1or w '
r e c arge t ereo an re . . hand to do what is necessary to put some workmen immediately m
forthwith. take care to send some person That the Surveyor and AsSt. Surveyorf 11 the breechings, tackles and forthwith to Woolwich to take a survely O ad t render an account to the
• d d viceab e an °
ropes which are ren ere unser f; . k and evading; also at the Board of what shall only be found fit rlf~he blocks and tackle hooks same time an account shall be take~ 0fi a to the Board with all con
which are serviceable and report their gures venient speed.110 p eh storekeeper at Woolwich, r9 April 168r. To send a le_tter to ;;1:,h~:h ;re appointed by John Hill to let these carpenters and bncklaye ' h use which is fallen down on
t . . h f of the store o
o work on repa1rmg t e roo 4
~:: Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W./Wg/1 ~~:;: }: fi:
O4
Ordnance Journal Book, PR 109 Bed and Quoin House. Of J f 135.
110 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W 47 9• · 205
e a·t:>e ::-e :.o· ··e: ·o ta:.:e a cia.:_: · acco ·nt o: ·· e:r vo::-.: 2.!J ·o ee L a:: · · · -· · ·. -· :. -cco ·o ~ e Boarc' , ? __ 1
,....
it =s car..e o·•• ro e:::-· a :-: to ::-a:i.s:::r:.:.~ --'--~ .::. ~ . ~ . of . e ·imber ·:1~y :~; : ·. :.e s:o::-e: o-r-e: to decide . o v muc is eq · eci for .e -0 ::-i{ : c:.e carpe:1:e::-s and co ta ·e account t" ereo a d to see at no de a: be ma ·e i:i. fi.-.=, . .ing · .e ·or · \-it' a poss·b e speed .lll
T e sa e of e O d Ar · ery Garden had a direct and immediate repercussion on Tower Place. The sale o~ ~he Minories; too, had a some\ ·hat slighter effect. One of the cond1t:Ions before the Treasury \vould consent to dispose of the Artillery Garden, was that other convenient quarters had to be found for the .i\1aster Gunner of Eno-land· also the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance lost certain
0 '
perquisites by such a sale. In addition, he lost his official residence in the ~fineries when that property passed into the hands of Sir \·\'illiam Prichard. The 'great house' at Tower Place was the obvious
answer.
It was comparatively speaking a large building and in itself illadapted for storage accommodation. Being a dwelling house it was only suitable as a residence. The Board decided therefore that its empty rooms should be utilized by converting it into three maisonettes or flats, one for the Master Gunner of England, one for the storekeeper and a pied-a-terre for the Lieutenant-General should occasion demand his presence at Woolwich for the night. T o this end
the Principal Officers of the Ordnance proceeded to W oolwich to investigate and report, in pursuance of an order issued by the MasterGeneral on 21 February 1682. Their report dated 2 March 1682 ran
as follows:
In pursuance ofa_n order ofthe Honble Col. Legg, Master ofhis Majesty's Ordnance, of 21st mst. for the Principal Officers of the Ordnance to go down to Woolwich to see the house and consider of a conversion for the ~aster Gunner and to report the same to the Master of the Ordnance,
VIZ:
That a dividing of the Great House at Woolwich belonging to the Officers of the Ordnance for the present till it should be removed.
As a seque!, Sir Bernard de Gomme went to Woolwich on 1 7
Ma~ch 1682 , 111 order to prepare the necessary estimate for the conversion. He was pai'd £1 th r. II · . 2 H.15
. e io owing day for his trouble.11
estJ.mate followed the d t ·1 · h · · h
P . . e ai s m t eir entirety recommended by t e
nnc1pal Officers of the Q dn . . .
The • . r ance as the result of their v1s1t. t es~mate, which amounted to £12 I. r 6s. 5d. is much too long tio quo;~n extenso, but the following summary gives'a fair representa
113
p;:posoed aletproJ>?sals. It was accompanied by a plan shewing the eranons The dr · · • · · I ded
here. · awmg 1s rough but a fair copy 1s 1nc u
lUOrcfnan
: Ordnan:iin&!~i!~?/~V0/47/9, f. 136. Ordnance Estima~, PRO/WO/~~fg?/51/25, p. 19.
206
Fi:-:'c-c Ce!' :;; c.,d --Pc.-,·r:t:
Grear Gate.~
Ccprc·:-L ec<~
Th e Greer Din,:-c; Roe.., (Officers of rheOrdnarce)
GROUND FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
Li H ie Lc rq • Mottod Room Room
for Captain LoQke roG"' f« servo.nt,!}_
3Closets above the 3 .. story of ( LOd
GARRETS 9'"'1
Tower A for the Store-keeper
of Tower Place
I
FIG, 2. Two pans
15
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER p LACE
MI? M_arch ~682. A? estimate made by Sir Bernard cl .
d" ~Je~ty s Chief Engineer and Assistant Surveyor f he Gomme, His 1V1ding the Great House at Woolwich in two fj Co t_ e Ordnance for Gunner of England and the storekeeper with or apltain 1:-eake, Master
to th · d h ' severa repairs tO b d
e sai ouse for I 2 gunners according to an Order of th B de one
arch 1682. e oar dated
2 M The estimate was as follows:
( 1 ) Fitting up part of the smith's house for 12 gunners £g. 18s. 11d.
(2) Bricklayers' work to be done in dividing the 11.ouse, called the Tower Place, Woolwich, for the accommO dat10n of Captain Leake, Master Gunner
f E · 0 (, ngland and Mr. Peach, the storekeeper £22. 13s. od.
3) Carpenters' work for the same £5. 19s. 6d.
(4)
A stable for Captain Leake's horses £8. 5s. od.
(5)
Materials and other charges £75. OS. od.
Apartments for the Storekeeper
(a) B elow Stairs
The Kitchen
A Pariour The wash-house, pantry and a little room next the wash-house. The brewhouse to be common for the two families. The great gate or door at the coming in of the house shall be
common, and each to have a key of the door and gate. The cellars.
(b) Above Stairs
A room marked B in the plan.A closet in the tower marked A, and these closets in the said tower upon the third story and rooms in the tower. The large matted room marked C in the plan. T he little room marked D in the plan. The back-stairs which go down to the brew-house. The gallery from Captain Leake's room, marked E on the plan
to the end of the matted room.
Captain Leake' s Apartment
(a) Below Stairs A kitchen to be made out of the great hall. The great gate and door at the coming in of the house, to be
common to the two families. A parlour next the kitchen.
The Great Dining Room to be kept for the Officers ofthe Ordnanc~; and in their absence Captain Leake shall have the use of the said
dining-room and closet.
A room next the petre-house to be fitted up for a cellar, pantry
and other accommodation. The brew-house shall be common to the two families.
(b) Above Stairs
A large room marked E on the plan.
207
BIRTH A D CHILDHOOD
A room called the Mayors' Room. The 3 garret rooms over the kitchen the hall and mayors'
for servants. ' room
For the Lieutenant of the Ordnance A little room for his servants marked G h
1
A great bed-chamber with a'closet. on t e P an.
For the I 2 gunners
Three rooms in the smiths' house E
1
· ac 1 room to contain 4 gunners. The warrant granting Sir Christo h .
the Ordnance the use ofT p P_ er Musgrave, Lieutenant of ' ower lace is dat d M h 68 h
days prior to the date of s· B e 14 arc r 2, t ree the 'old deed' partially q ir edrnbard de_ Gomme's estimate. This is
uote y Ma F . D . h'
'HistoryoftlzeROJ'alArtillery , V ~or •ranc1s uncan in 1s
8
Duncan as the authority b;£9 k ?1u~e I, page r6 and cited, giving The warrantl14 reads ;s foll~:s~ lil his 'Hundred ofBtacklzeat!z I886'.
Sir Christopher Musgrave to have th h Ground e ouse of Woolwich in lieu ofthe Old Artillery
Charles R Whereas we have thought fi co~only called ye Old Artil~!/0 cause sal~ to be made of ye ground Parish of St. Buttolph Bis! Y Garden s1tuat near ye Spitle in ye
b I · b ' 10psgate toOo-eth th
e ongmg y means ofwch s I er w the several houses thereto
M t a e our Trust d W
~grave, K, ye present Lt Ge II Yan ell-beloved sr Christopher ant1ent perquisite granted t h. n of our Ordnance is deprived of a n houses and buildings and ~ im by Patent ofye custody of ye sd ground,
t ' Y profit thereb · · . • ·
? compensate ye loss and d t . t Y ansmg, and We bemg willing
1ke t . b e nm wch S .
1
0 sustain y reason of e d ' our ayd V of our Ordnance 1s
build· th Y s sale and I·
mgs ereto appertain· a ienacon of our ground and ye
0
these_presents declare our ~TII anur Will and Pleasure is, and W e do by
mansion or mannor house at W ld fleasure to be, yt ye custody of our name of ye T oo we 1 co I e
Olver Place wth e ' mmon y called or known by Y together w~h ye ware houses, T[n set~eral buildings thereto belonging, outhouses situate and being bet . em ' Stables, smiths' forge and other
House wth 11 C WIXt ye R. f T .
' a ourts Yard G iver o hames and ye sd mans10n ;arre~ and Old Or~hard, ~~th a:dens and Wharfs, together w th the enem thereon standing, one in 1 !)ovehouse, Tyle houses and two ~Jatt~n kately dwelt, and ye oth Y midle ofye sd Warren wherein Anne
o 0• n llery, Carpenter wth eeLr near ye south gate lately in ye Tenure betwixt ye R' ' Y ong S W
d't h iver ofThames and e ea all, Reed Ground and marsh
0
I c es, walls and fences to ye y Id Orchard aforesayd wth ye moates, acres or thereab same belon · . . ' .
Samu 1 B outs together wth ging, contammg m ye whole 3 I Elleryea dartr:m, Wtn Sheerewood sJev~al Tencmts late in ye tenure of out of : ot ers, wth one small ~ o n Bentley, Tho Haywood, John iece ; orthwest corner of ye piece of about a rood of ground taken
0
P ground conteining ab ground called Doghouse Marsh and a
114 Warran out on th '
ta (Kings and others w . e acre W a water house thereupon
1
' oo w1ch), PRO/W0/55/396, p. 40. 208
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
erected situate upon ye East_side of the Lane calle? Collick Lane Ieadin
from Woo}wch to S:iooters Hill, :ogether wth all springs, pipes of Lead an~
water-courses leadmg from ye said Waterhouse to ye mansion-house afore
sayd; be assigned unto ye sd sr Christopher Musgrave ye present V of
01:r. Ordnance for the time being in lieu and compensation of ye Peq uisi~e taken from him by ye sale ofye Old Artillery Garden as aforesayd. Provided always, and our Will and Pleasure is, yt Our great guns shali be p~oved in ye sd ground as heretofore hath be~n accustomed, and yt sufficient room be left for ye ornamental and serviceable ranging of our guns, and for placeing in convenient houses, saltpetre and such other Our Stores, as either now are, or hereinafter shall be, layd up there, and yt ye Cranes and Wharfs be employed in our Service as often as there shall be occasion thereof, and our further pleasure is, ~t a convenient dwelling, such as shall be approved of by you, be allowed m our sd mansion house for our Masr Gunr of England and likewise yt a convenient Lodging be fitted up in ye houses adjoyning for ten of our ffeed gunrs, and such of ye L abou~s belonging to y6 Office of Our Ordnance as shall be employed there for our Service, and yt ye Masr Gunr of England have liberty of exercising ye gunrs in ye ground wher~ ye rreat gun~ are proved, in such manner as was heretofore practised m y Old Artillery Garden, lately alienated by us as aforesayd, and We do further authorize and require You to cause these our commands to be duely observed and executed, and for so doino-this shall be yr sufficient Warrt Given at Our Court at Newmarket ye ;4th day of March 1681/2 in ye 3lh year of Our Reign
By his Majl5 Comand Conway.
To O ur Rt Trusty and
W ell-beloved CounceW
George Legge Esq. Masr
Gen11 of Our Ordnance,
and to ye Masr of Our
Ordnance, or Comrs for
executing ye place of
Masr of Our Ordnance for
e •
Y time being. On th 1 f the Minories, the Lieutenant-General received a
e sa e o . d h.
house allowance of£goo paid quarterly in or er to comp~nsate 1m for the loss of his official residence. The hou~e at Woolw1~h was, of cours · · t as a permanent dwellmg for the L1eutenant
e, mappropna e .
Gen 1 d h. £ ·1y as i·t was mainly used for other purposes. It
era an 1s am1 , . . was merely a flatlet in case a night's sojourn m the Warren became
necess Th fi t ·ssue ofthis allowance was made to George Legge
ary. e rs 1 . 110 ~ in I 677 under the following authority: ·n consideration that ye Mansion House \\'th yt
l
T o George Legg Esq. .
app t • h L' ttle Mynoritts heretofore appropriate to the plac
1
ur enances m t e • h h · h · ) ·
of the Lieut Gen! of the Ordnance (of wh1c e 1s t e next reversion 111, d B k PRO/W0/54/35, 1677, September quarter.
0 r nancc Quarter oo , 209
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
alienated from ye said place w111out any benefitt or satisffaction made him ffor wch w 111 other services mentioned in his Malies warrt under his Roy" Privy Signett and Sign Mannuall Dated 15th January 1677 w th ye Rt Honblo Mr Gen11 of y0 Ordnance his signification thereupon hiss allowance after Y° rate of £300 and y0 sum of £75.
The particular warrant authorizing the payment to Sir Christopher Musgrave was dated 27 February i682.m
Sir Christopher Musgrave allowed £300 p.a. in lieu ofa mansion house
Charles R Where~s b[ Our Letters Patent Dated at Westminster ye 2 8th day of January my three and thirtieth year of Our Reigne, Wee have for us, our he1res and suc;esso~s as!iigned, ordained and constituted our trusty and well-beloved S Christopher Musgrave, Knt, our Lieutenant Gen11 of all and all manner of Ordnance Mun· d h -k vi'sions
. icon an ot er war11c pro
h
of us, our eirs and successors wthin K" d f E d d Town
00 1
ofBerwick to be by himself O h · ffio~ mg ~ ng an . an . d
. r is su cient Deput1e or Deputies exercise
d 1
urmg our p easure. And whe b d f
e • h th reas Y reason of a late a-rant by us ma e o Y _ma~sion ouse w the appurtenances thereto belono-in(T in y0 Litle
0
Mmones heretofore appropriated t e L. t G 11 ° d the
same is alienated from e sd Orh ieut en of our Or. nan~e
h. w th fc b . y place w out any benefitt or sat1sfact10n to
1m. ee ere ore emg willi .
b t l"k · ng not onely to gratify him in his Just con
cerns u 1 ewise to recompe h. .
nse is good endeavours past in our Serviced t
an o encourage him to do e l"k b
to declare our Will and PI Y i e for ye future have thought fitt here Y · d . easure to be and Wee do by these Presents
authonze an reqwre you t e sd sr Chr15" toph M Y you cause an allowance to be pd unto Y
er usgrave of e b
received by him or his . Y yearly summe of £ 300, he same to e payable upon ye Quart::1~:~out 0; the Treary of our Offi~e of Ordnance ye first payment t s ofY sd Office by equal port10ns quarterly, Nativity of Our ; cdomence and be accompted from the feast of Y0
0 r now last p t d · our
Pleasure, and for so <loin th" as, an so to continue duni:ig . Officers of Our o d g is shall be as well to you as to y0 Principal
r nance and A d · h s
whome it may concern fi 11 u 1t~rs of our Imprest, and all ot er at Whitehall ye 27th d' a ~Fand sufficient warrant. Given at Our Court ay o ebr 1681/2 in ye 34th Year of Our Reign.
To Our Right trusty By his Majtics Comand
and well-beloved George Conway Legge Esq Mar Genll of Our Ordnance and t
e 1· t ' o
Y 1eut Genll of Our Ordnance, and to ye rest ofye Principal Officers ;rOur_Ordnance, now and or ye tune being, and to all
and every of them. Memorand ye Mar ofye 0
1 rd
" Warrants (K• nance significacon dated 6 March I 68 1 / 2 •
mgs and others W 1 . ' oo w1ch), PRO/W0/55/396, p. 8.
210
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Later on, when the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance gave up
his rather tenuous hold on Tower Place, i.e. when his pied-a-terre there
disappeared after the house had been reconstructed for other pur
poses, he was allowed £2 per quarter rent allowance in lieu by order
of the Board of Ordnance dated 16 December 1718.117
Repairs and new buildings are now the main items which conclude the story of Tower Place in the seventeenth century. The establishment, though small, was growing and its expansion entailed additional storage accommodation. Wind and weather also took their toll, and as the outhouses originally taken over with Tower Place were ancient structures, they required more than the normal amount of maintenance owing to their age.
On 2o June 1682, a new estimate totalling £110. 8s. od. was forwarded to the Board for making a frame for an earthen butt at Tower Place but no record exists to confirm that the work was ever carried outJ1s Thomas Moore, who had now replaced William Sheepey as master carpenter, received a warrant, dated 8 June 1 682, to repair the saltpetre house. Although the estimate was £8. 1I s. od.,119 the actual cost of the work w~s only £6: 1s. 4d. Another warrant, dated 21 June 1682, was also 1ss~ed to him to do certain work at Proof Place for the purpose of p~ovmg five mortars. This consisted of making good defects and laymg a p~atform for which both oak and fir were supplied. The whole operatic~ ~ook 15
I 7s 6d for labour and I o shillings for
d ays and the costs were £ I · · · 'd £ the platform. For this second job Thomas Moore was pai 4·
6s 3d 120 l · h
· · . revious chapters, the tides at Woo wic As has been stressed ~n P nk of the Thames and damaged made constant inroads into the ba sh. ·on was a permanent the wharfs which lined the banks.dT is eros~hey decided to divest source of trouble to the Board of Or nanTce, so Place was concerned.
h 'bT far as ower
t emselves of the responsi i ity so h t draw up a deed for Sir
0
T~ this end they instructed _Mr G~a a~ King of the covenant of William Prichard wholly dischar¥ng t ~l ce Woolwich, in repair keeping the wharf or bank at the ?;er ti : ~f which Sir William
O
any longer for the future. In consi e;a 121 O
Prichard was to receive the full sum £!.{5~er Place The estimate
Later on in the year a shed fell down at O ss od 122· and this was for repair dated 16 October 168~8:attres~lt, the storekeeper at sent to the Board on 21 October 1 ·d d to set carpenters and
Woolwich was on the same day or ere
117 Ordnance Bill Book, Series I, PR0/~~/5o/S.
118
110 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/Wg//49//~82i2 June 1682.
Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W 49 '79
x20 Ord B'II B k PRO/W0/51/25, P· f. 7 October 1682.
1., nance 1 oo , /W0/47/12 . 9,
.x Ordnance Journal Book, PRO '
1a2
122 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W0/49/ ·
2 I I
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD . THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
bricklayers to effect the necessar .
the estimate which had be y repairs at a cost not exceeding The carriage shed 1 denb accepted by the Board.123
ia Y now fall d
expression 'fallen down' ofwh' 1 th en own. Presumably the
fc ' ic 1 e a th . .
ond, meant that the buildin had fi u ~nties were so inordinately beyond repair. On 14 Nov g b allen mto such a state as to be Officers of ye Board do em er 1682, it was ordered that ,ye
artificers at ye reasonablestcontra~t with all convenient speed wth
f rates 1or his M •ties S .
o a new shedd 18 fot broad d aJ erv1ce for building ofs~p carriages in ye place w~~rel~O fot Ion'? at Woolwch for lodging to Y survey thereof this day dd y cold one IS fallen down, according 13 Nov. 1682'.124 Thomas M toy Board by sr Ber de Gome dated dated ro February 168 .125 oore got the warrant and the contract
3
For materials and build'
zoo foot long, 18 broad fco ilnco-d ~ shed at Woolwich } . h 1 r o gmg h. ' m t .e p ace where the old shed . s ipps' Carriages cordmg to contract dated F is fallen down acro ebruar 168 £102. 10s. od.
For overwork done b Y 3·¾ a ove the3. squares of pantiliner for tl . contract, viz. for}square yard c le rnofat 20 shillina-F I . ,,s per £ 3. ros. od.
or_ ay~ng 5 squares of tilin Majesty s att 5s. per square g, the tiles being his} £ r. 5s. od.
Total: £ -d
omas Moore wa . ro /· 5s. o .
Th
which da h s paid for this wWoolwichyfc e, also_ received £18 l ork on 28 August 1683, on
or nealmg' h d · 4f. od for b ·1d· h d
22 and M an -grenad · UI mg a s e at 2
Sir Bernatd dart 1683 and a bill al' acc_ording to a warrant dated
B ' e omme.125 particulars annexed signed by } now the Warren w
country. In this re . as becoming the .
up to this date h spect It was replacin hmam gun repository in !he 12 December 16/d. been the main or/n: e Tower of London which and Io,ooo demi-:• it was ordered 'that th nee depot m England. On bins upon To ~nnon round shot b t ke number of I,ooo cannon down to Woo7e; h harf, on each sidee / hen out of the unserviceable
O
brought from ;ic ! and that the uns _t e Traitor's Gate, and sent
timber of the ~rwdbick be sent thithe er~ihceable iron ordnance latelysa1 ins b b r wit the 'd h Id
sa~e time Mr Pe e rought into h" s_a, s ot, and the o smith or other ackh was asked to a 1~ Ma_Jesty's stores'. At the carriages at Wwfr.man for breaki scertam the cost of a carpenter,
reply to the Booodwich and taking ng up eighty-nine unserviceable
ar as s out the i .
: OrdnanceJoumai 00n as possible.'" ran-work, and send hts g~dnanccJournaJ ::t• PRO/W0/ On 31 March 1683, these
111 471
i• aro:;:cc Bill Book Sc'· PRO/WO/ /2, f. 19.
ccJournaJ 13oo{1p II, PRofJ,01 f. 41• ' ROfW0/47/12,s;,t~l'. p. i55.
212
eighty-nine carriages were ordered to be broken up 121 s1·nce th
were to b t d • · ese guns
some e s o~e m the open, exposed to the four winds of heaven awa reservatlve w~s obviously desirable to prevent their being eate~ Boa;d Y rus~. Captam Leake was t~erefore asked12s to forward to the ofshi ~n estimate for the extra tarrmg and lacquering of these pieces Dart!s ordnance removed from Tower wharf, to be laid before Lord
Th out~, the Master-General, on the next office day.
e estimated stores required were: tar 4 barrels tar brushes 8 blacklead 4 lb. linseed oil 30 gallons ostrie faggots 100 4 inch nails 1oo
Th·Is estimate was agreed to on 23 February 1683 and the stores were ord red to be issued.129 The next requirement was a brick kiln. On 8 March 1683, it was ~rran ged that Mr Downs and Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, should "r,ve an immediate warrant to construct a small brick kiln about 3h eet square in the shot-yard at Woolwich 'for the trial of grenade
130
s ells and great ordnance as Captain Leake shall direct'. On the 2~th of the same month, Mr Peach was asked about the stores for a s ed to house the kiln.131The Board, however, after due deliberation, came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper and more convenient to construct the kiln and shed against a brick wall in the Warren
132
rather than to erect it in the shot yard.T Accommodation was evidently beginning to become a problem at 0 ~er Place. On 1 g April 1683, Mr Peach was instructed to remove the iron-work from the little house at the upper Warren gate as it wa~ to be converted into a gunners' lodging for 8 gunners at an estimated cost of £18. 15s. 8d.133 The carpenter carrying out the
134 alterations was ordered to supply his own materials. The next building earmarked for conversion was the refining house. On 12 May 1683 it is recorded that 'the refining house at Woolwich is to be fitted up as a lodging and for keeping saltpetre in. Workmen to be contracted for according to Sir Bernard de Gomme's estimate of oth inst. amounting to £82. 5s. 6d.,135 and not to be exceeded. The
1 storekeeper was instructed to remove the carriages and timber lying
127 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i3, f. 64.
128 Ordnance Journal Book PROJ'NO/47/13, f. 32, 17 February 1683. 129 Ordnance Journal Book: PROfW0/47/i3, f. 35· 130 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO'!W_0/47/i3, f. 45·
131 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/13, f. 53, 20 March 1683. 132 Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/WO/47/13, f. 59, 24 March 1683. 133 Ordnance Estimates PRO/WO/49/182, 31 March 1683. 134 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i3, f. 79• 135 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/WO/49/182, 10 May 1683.
213
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
withif 0 ~ Mooday next,to some other convenient place.136 In the actua es_timthate the word hooping' is used instead of 'keeping' which appears m e1ournal Book a d T ,
fore the saltpetre afit fi n reasurer s Ledger. Possibly, there
' er re nement was a k d . b I
As soon as the new 'shed for . P ~ e mto arre s. of the one which had c. d lodgmg ships' carriages in the place
ia11en own' w d
another carriage storeho as commence , a contract for a more expensive buildi use;;s p~aced on 15 May 1683. This was meticulous details regar~!s· h~ Bill Book concerned gives the most be of oak. It was to haveifg t is s~ed. The posts and joists were to shed by a passage 20 fceet ~dntern lights and to be joined to the old
wi e on on 'd d .
on the other. Its total cost e si e an to the refirung house to the value of £23. s. w~s =f,: 63· 13s. II d. including overwork
17
work and was paid on MII · h r Thomas Moore carried out the
10
arc 1684 137 It shouId be stated at th· . ·
exist in Ordnance record is pomt _that some confusion appears to
. A s concernm th . '
carnages. t least the entr· . g ese storehouses for ships
' 1es m th ·
clear. The system relatin t e Vanous MSS. are by no means
g o work a d ·
When work ofany desc • . n its payment was as follows:
. nption wa
prepared. This appears in th E . s contemplated, an estimate was to proceed is found in th J e Stimate Book. Ifapproved the order
e ournal B 00k A '
and a contract placed U . • warrant was then issued
· pon corn 1 ·
Debenture Book was m d P etion, a debenture given in the
. ' a e out fi h '
done, of which a cornplet or t e sum payable and the work · h Bill e account ·
m t e Book. Payme t Is set forth in a bill incorporated' L d n was event ll . h
Treasurer s e ger Th ua Y made and recorded 1n t e
. . ere are thus th .
tureBooks,Bill Books and T ree senes of volumes i.e. Deben
. reasurer' L d '
aspects of a Job, each fr . s e gers devoted to the financial ' h' th h om a d1ffe .
cas oug not in 'dates' rent angle. These should agree 1n In the case under review th I
that Thomas Moore was .~ re evant Treasurer's Ledger1as records 1684, on a debenture date~~8 lhe sum of£417. 5s. od. on r4 May a shed at the Tower Place, W ugu~t 1683? for making and building foot broad for lodging shi s' ool:"'1ch, bemg loo foot long and r8 shed had fallen down ace~ d_carnages in the place where the old 1682-Also on the same dat ~ mg to a contract dated r o February gat~dd2~ August I 683, for ;epea ~~s paid £68. 5s. 6d., on a debenture or. 0 gmg and keeping salt inng and fitting up the refining house estlmate dated 10 May 168 petre at T PI • an
Th 1a9 ower ace according to
3
ere are obvious d' .
0 M IScrepan . .
n 24. ay 1683, Thomas c1es in the two accounts. at Woolwich with the king's Mo~re was ordered to repair the butt 1• Ord material h · . d
n1 OrdnanccJournaI Book PROfW s, avmg agam become deface nancc Bill B k ' 0/ /
IH Ordnance T oo , Series II PROfW
47 13, f. 92.
. rcasurer' L ' 0/ /
u, Sir Bernard de Go s ,cdg~r, PROfW0/51 28, p. 97.
rnme s estrrnate S 48/22.
. ee note 135.
214
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
under its periodic ~attering.140 In the autumn of 1684 the Kin attended another tnal, staged by Captain Leake at Tower Plac g These were always occasions for further butt building. On 17 M:;
16,84, Thomas Moore was paid the sum of £4. 12s. 8¼d. for making a new proof place' at Woolwich for proving mortars. This took one man fourteen days to complete at a cost of£1. 15s. od. The sum paid to Thomas Moore also included the cost of repairing the exercising butt which took one man five days to do at 2s. 6d. p.d. The total labour costs were therefore £2. 7s. 6d. and the rest of the money was spent on m aterials. The warrants for the two operations were dated 28 and 29 April 1684 respectively, and the work was certified by Captain
Leake on 10 May 1684.141 On 23 September 1684, three mortars, the invention of Captain Leake, were despatched to Woolwich in connection with the trial b:fore his Majesty which was to take place when he returned from Tilbury,142 and two days later certain grenade shells were also sent down to the Warren for the same demonstration.143 To prepare for the great day, a new butt had to be built according to Captain Leake's directions.144 This cost £42. r 1s. od., the work being performed as usual by Thomas Moore, the master carpenter. His warrants for the work, certified by Captain Leake were dated I 5 October ·and 4 November 1684; one being for the new butt and rep~ir of the plat
145
form, and the other for a new proof place for provmg mortars. Obviously, the slings i.e. gun-drugs and carts at Woolwich had been allowed to become unserviceable, as workmen were ordered to go
146
there at once to carry out repairs. No record of this experiment before Charles II seems to have
survived. Apparently military engines were not quite outmoded, tho~gh
their heyday had long since passed. This is evidenced by the followmg
entry in a Bill Book: r6 December 68 . Thomas Moore paid £4. 10s. od. ~or elm t~ber 6 foot long 1foot4 broad 31. foot deep and 1 foot in diameter with a
, 2 ' 2 • • db
transom, and fitting the same in the place, bemg an ex:igine propose y Mr Thomas Glover for throwing stones, now lodged m the store house
147
at Woolwich. Warrant dated 20 October 1684.
The next item of interest at Tower Place seems to have been a royal visit when James II was entertained. As the Journal Books,
102
140 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/1 3, f. · 1
141 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 / 28, P· 4°·
142 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/14, f. 27·
143 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/ 14, f. 3°· 18
144 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/14, f. 4o, 4 October 6 4·
140 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/29, p. 106, 6 December 1684.
146 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/14, f. 66, 13 November 1684.
11
147 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/29, P· 9·
215
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
THE BEGINNI N GS OF TOWER PLACE
between the years 1685-1695 are missing, no description ofthis event
John Packman by warrant dated I January 1694 appointed sole survives, nor is the object of this festive occasion known; but quite
Carriage Master at Woolwich after the recent decease of Paul Linby his a number ofguests must have been the recipients ofhospitality. This co-carriage master.151 is c!ear fro1:1 the payment made to Thomas Moore on 26 April 1687
In 1688 it was ordered that 'all guns, carriages and stores now which, certified by Thomas Peach, is stated to have been in 'connec
at Deptford, be removed to Woolwich, and from henceforth new tion with the entertaining of his Majesty at Woolwich'. Moore was
ordnance and carriages be laid there'. Woolwich was fast becomingpaid £5. os. 4d. for:
a rival to the Tower as the premier Ordnance depot of England. It 3 tables 8 feet long od. was possibly on this account that the mind of authority turned I large oval table tow ards the defence ofthe place in view ofthe international situation,
I2S. od.
I table g feet long p articularly as the original fortifications raised under the orders of
gs. od.
I table r 4 feet long Prince Rupert had been sadly neglected.
r4s. od.
87 foot of quarter 3 x 4 The following letter from Lord Dartmouth, Master General ofthe
r4s. 6d.
25 foot of? Ordnance, dated 1 g April 1688, was sent to Sir Henry Tichborn,
r3s. 6d.
25 foot of? Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance:
8s. 4d.
2 days work 5s. od. These are to pray and require you immediately on y° receipt hereof to
f h. M ties O d ce ·
Total: £ d order yt Sir Henry Shere, Master Surveyor o is a r n repair t~
5. OS. 4 .
Woolwch and survey ye long Battery, Guns and Platforms there and yIt would seem from this that tables at that date cost one shilling ye M ar Gunnr of England, Storekeeper upon ye p~ace and t such other a foot.148
persons as he shall think usefull to him do attend bun and y hee report During the passage of !hese years Paul Linby had been carting to me at ye Board on Tuesday next ye Condicin o~ ye sd Batt~~y, Guns stores to and from Woolw1ch by li"ghte d 1 H ed and Platforms with yr respective defects and w he Judges requ1S1te to be
. . r an 1orse teams. e mov
the 1mped1menta from the gunwharf t T Pl · 6 671 done to put ym in a serviceable posture ~ th as little charge _as ~ay be
o ower ace m I 70-1 ·
He 1oaded and unloaded guns on to d f h' b He bringing a calculation thereof to ye Board m order to performmg y same
· d b tt hi h an out o s 1ps y crane. .c. h' M ties rv1· ce 152
a tt ye cheapest rate 1or is a se ·
rtaire duhs, s orses were employed in conveying guns to proofbace, an e often acted as master scavel man. As these duties The sequel to this letter is given in the three following extracts e~ame mo~e ~nerou_s John Packman, the labourer became first his from the Treasurer's ledgers: assisdt~nt anh t en his partner. During the latter ~nd of his life he
J\r b 688 Thomas Casse153 paid £440. 6s. 2¼d. on debenture
li I 5 1vovem er I • ~ •
ve ma ouse on the Wa d · h'
th h d rren an smce Packman succeeded 1m rr t 1688 for carpenter's work performed by him at the new
0 dat d Ae 3 uous 1 . h. . 11· d
B e ~~e 7as ;ubtless the one called 'Mr Packman's house' in Battery of 12 guns on Gallions side below Woo wic m se~nng up pa isa es a ~:gy:i asdptan ot dr701. Paul Linby died in r693 and was therefore k. d houses in setting up posts and laymg planks for the
and ma mg 2 guar , . . f · 1 ·
n rus e servant of th B d fc h' . guns. Also at the Long Battery on _Woolw1ch side _o 4-4 guns m aymg
Aft h · b e oar or t 1rty-s1x years.
· osts for the rmg-bolts according to the contract of
pIan Ics and settmg up p , s ore eeper' and 'd k , h h t a
'cran:g\ ~::!5 'eten kcalled in turn 'agent', 'wharfinger', 'labourer',
5 M ay 1688 154 •
course of twent fi eputy store eeper t roug ou
2 Jul r.68 . Paul Linby and John Packma~, labo~ers, paid £6.
'Ca · M y-ve years, he was at last by warrant appointed 6 5 Gd ~ 9 t of ballast delivered at Galhons pomt for the newmage aster at Woolwich'.
6
r s. . hor 3Wons nt dated 9 June 1688. Debenture dated 7 August
battery t ere. arra Woolwich to carry . ate 15 June 1682 to be Carriage Master at
Paul Lin by by warrant d d
I 688 155 • h . d £
·D b 68 Thomas Peach, storekeeper at Woolw1c , pa1 20shall from time to ~~ag;s; 0rdna?ce and provisions ofwar there wh!ch
I 3 ecem er I 9· . . ) · · th nd
r k (I· e pains and diligence m mountmg e guns aperformed these duf £ ent thither or sent away thence, he having 1or 111s • wor 11s car , h 1 1 dOwing to the gre i;s. or several years previously.149
attendino-the works of the new battery upon !he T amfesb a~e y ~a e
1
O d f h' small sallary and the increase o usmess smceJohn Packman are _a• ~crease of stores at Tower Place, Paul Linby and there and regar o 1s
1
1 ' o d the Board, PR0/W0/55/484.
stores by warrant d;; ~t Y ]appointed to take charge of the carriage of ~Il
~~ Warrants from M.G. ·and Board, PRO(W0/55/474, p. 14.
for some years past.~ 25 uly 1689, both having carried out these duties
1 ~~ Warrants from M.G.O..)anh d replaced Thomas Moore as Master Carpenter after
1a 3 Thomas Gasse (or Cass a :: Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PROfW
the latter's death. , d PR0/WO/48/27.
ue Warrants from M.G.O. and the 0/51/34, p. 4,8.
is,i Ordnance Treasurer,s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/28.
i~u Ordnance Treasurers Le ger,
Warrants from M.G.O. and the tardd, PRO/W0/55/470, p. 65.
ar ' PRO/W0/55/476, p. 58.
217
216
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
his undertaking that employment for all which he is allowed according to a report made by the Principal Officers of his Majesty's Ordnance and an Order of the Rt. Honble George, Lord Dartmouth, Master-General of his Majesty's Ordnance dated 25 February 1688.156
A pathetic entry occurs in Volume II of the Registers of Births and Deaths, Woolwich. It states simply 'On 4 August r688 were buried two gunners in the Warren'. The Proceedings of t!ze Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society, commenting, adds: 'Early representatives of the long line of disastrous events to be expected in the following of the many dangerous occupations pursued in the Royal Arsenal.'157 Unfortunately, the loss of the Ordnance Journal Book for the year in question precludes the historian from any further details, but there can be little doubt that these deaths were caused by some tragedy at the proof-butts. The explosion appears to have been more than ordinarily severe in its effects as it was followed by a widespread shattering of glass. In the seventeenth century factors
of safety were still an unknown quantity and no proper precautions were taken to safeguard the proofdetachments. A burst gun in those days was regarded as an Act of God and not as a piece of careless ignorance on the part of man.
The cutting of the Broad Arrow on ordnance had become a standard practice by r690. John Packman was the man responsible for this operation and many payments to him on account of this service are recorded. On r 2 December r 690, he was paid £ r 7. r rs. ud. on a debent~re dated 31 December 1689, for engraving the
~ro_ad Arrow and weight on several guns at Woolwich,1ss and for s1m1lar work between 20 October and 31 December 1690 he received the sum of£6. 19s. 9d.159 On 17April 1691, John Packman was paid £48. ros. 5d., not only for inscribing the Royal mark on various cannon, but also for drilling and securing their vents. The debenture for this was dated 30 June 1689.160 On a later debenture dated 30 September 1689, he was paid £9. 5s. 8d. for a similar job between 20 August and September 1689.161 Guns delivered from contractors were evidently weighed on receipt. After proof their weights and the
Broad Arrow were incised upon them. '
This disposes of the popularly held belief that the Broad Arrow was placed on government stores to minimize theft at the instigation of Lor_d Romney, Master-General of the Ordnance, who suggested that his own crest would be a suitable distinguishing mark. Unfortunately for the adherents of this story, the Earl of Romney did not
161 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/4B/ 8
167 Volume II. 2 • 168 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger PRO/WO/4B/ m Ordnance Bill Book Series n' PRO/WO/ / 9· ::: Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger; PROJWo/~i:2: P· 1 r4. Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/!a/2i.
218
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
become ivfaster-General till r 693, and his crest was a pheon, an arrow-head with an engrailed inner edge and not a Broad Arrow. Quite apart from this, however, there is documentary evidence that this particular symbol was used to denote Crown property as early as the reign ofRichard II, while as a Royal Mark its ancestry is long and distinguished.
On Saturday next before the Feast of Our Lord's Nativity in the 10th year of Richard II, Thomas Stokes was brought before the Mayor and Aldermen, and questioned for that he had pretended _to be an officer and a taker ofale for the household ofour said Lord the Kmg; and under such colour at divers times within the preceding eight days, had gone to the houses' of several brewers namely John at Cok on the Hop, adjoining the Brethern of the Holy Cr~ss near to the Tower of London, William Roke at Grascherche, John atte Blakeloft in the Vintry, in London, and divers other houses in the same city, and there marked several barrels full of ale with a mark, called arewehede, saying that those barrels were for the household of our Lord the King; whereas in truth he was not then any officer belonging to the same our Lord the King; and thus falsely a?d d eceitfully he received divers sums of money from the brewers aforesaid;
etc. etc.162
In order to show that continuous construction and repair work took place at Woolwich during the following few years, selected en tries from the Ordnance books are given below:
(a)
22 September 1687. Thomas Moore, carpenter, paid £124· 4-S· 5d. for carpenters' work in making a coal-shed wit~in t~e laborato:ycrat Greenwich in Captain Leake's lodging at Woolwich, m cons_tructmo a platform a~d battery at Blackheath for his Majesty's royal view of ~he fireworks. Warrants dated 26 August, 20 September and 27 Novem er I 686. D ebenture dated 20 December I 686.163 •
(b)
1 October 1687. Thomas Moore paid £17. 4-S· 4d. for work m connection with a firework experiment at Blackheath:16~ • •
(c) 1 October 1687. Thomas Moorepaid£64foq~rovidu~ganddehvermgd · W 1 · h · dem1-culverm 20 saker an
certain ships' carnacres to oo w1c , viz. 20 ,
o . f ely 163
20 mynion at 24S., 21s. and 19s. a piece respec 1v • .
(d) 8 November 1687. Thomas Moore, master carpenter paid £?9h rs 7d on a debenture dated 29 June 1687 for making a new butt ~~t
· · k h r: t d repa1nncr
ked with 4-inch oaken plan on t e iron , an o
oak posts an d p1an fi · · the platform
the old butt with oaken plank and brac:s. Also or repa1rmg 686. also at Woolwich pursuant to a warrant to him dated 30 November 1 , ~ · · h · ' carriages 163
or repamng s ips · "d £ 6d on a debenture
(e) 5 December r687. Thomas Moore pai 137. is. . . dated June i687, for work done by him at Tower Place, Woolw1ch,
O
in re Jrin two store-houses under the charge of the Maste~ G~ner of Engl~nd, daptain Leake; at Captain Leake's stable; at ~r Lmby s house 102 Riley's Memorials of London and London Life 1868, p. 489 (10 Richard II, A.D. 1386,
Letter Book H, folio ccix). / 6
102 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48 2 •
219
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
in the Warren; and for labourers. Also for repairs on the Fireworkers' sheds. According to several warrants dated 18 December 1686 and 26 April 1687.163
(f)
16 February 1688. Thomas Moore paid £36. os. 3d. for taking up the old platform and laying 800 feet of new for the wharf at Woolwich on the instructions of Captain Richard Leake.164
(g)
31 Jvfarclz 1688. Hester Moore, on behalf of Thomas M oore, paid for repairing the crane at Woolwich. Warrant dated 6 September 1687.165
(h)
28 April 1688. Hester Moore, on behalf of Thomas M oore, paid £60. 13s. 4d. for making a new butt at Tower Place for m aking experiments in great ordnance and enlarging and fitting up the old one. Debenture dated 30 June 1687.166
(i)
30 June 1688. Paul Linby and John Packman paid £30 for earth,vorks at Woolwich on an imprest dated 28 June 1688.167
(j)
30 September 1688. John Johnson paid £37. 2s. rod. for glaziers' work at Mr Peach's house at Woolwich, the windows being broken by the late unhappy accident.168 Warrant dated 4 August 1688.169
(k)
30 September 1688. Thomas Cass, Master Carpenter paid £88. 14S, 3d. for work at Woolwich for Captain Leake.170
(1)
30 June 1690. John Hayward, carpenter, paid £41. 12s. 2d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1689 for work done on the. 1faster Gunner's
171
house at Tower Place; also for building a shed there for fire vorkers.
(m)
16 January 1691. Robert Fitch paid £2. ros. od. for new setting a bottle and a copper and for repairing the old furnace at Woolwich.172
(n)
10 December 1691. Thomas Peach paid £Bo for work in connection with the Rupert and Gallions batteries and the Line at Woolw ich. Debenture dated 30 November 1690.173
(o)
19 December 1691. Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, paid £r r3. 13s. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 March 1690 for repairing the tiling on several salt-petre houses, storehouses and dwelling houses in W oolwich; the damage being occasioned by the great storm. Warrant da ted r6
January 1689.174
(p)
30 June 1693. R~bert Fitch paid £74. 5s. sd. for work done at the powder house and refinmg houses at Woolwich. Warrants dated g January 1693 and 22 June 1693.11s
(q)
12 June 1694. Henr~ Hayward,i76 master carpenter, paid £1,058. 6s. 7d. for work done by him at Woolwich as follows:
184 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/sr/35 p ,6g185 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II: PRO/WO/sr/36: p: 38_ · JU Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/26.
::: Or?nance. Treasurer's 1:,<;dger, PRO/W0/48/2 6. . . This was m all probability the accident in which the tvv'o gunners lost their lives
(see note 157). 111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/r:r/37 p170 Ordnance Bill Book, Series n' PRO/WO/1/ ' · ~ 1 · 171 Ordnance ~reasurer's Ledger: PRO/WO/ladJ: p. o. 1721 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/s1/43
111 0 d T ' L ' ' p. i2.
m r nance reasurer,s edger, PRO/W0/48/30. Orclna/nc/e Treasurer 5 Ledger, PRO/W0/48/30. Ordnance Bill Book, Series JI,PRO/W0 51 39, p. 91. 175 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/si/46
171 H H d I ' ' p. I 53.
enry aywar rep aced Thomas Cass as master carpenter.
220
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE .
(i)
At the storekeeper's house. Warrant dated 24 November 1692.
(ii)
At a shed in the Carriage Yard. Warrant dated 27 June 1693.
(iii) At the Lantern Shed. Warrant dated 24January 1693.
(iv)
Enclosing the Carriage Yard. Warrant dated 10 March 1694.
(v)
At the wharf. Contracts dated 18 February and I I September 1693.177
(r)
18 July 1694. Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, paid £6. 12s. 4d. on a debenture dated 7 December I 693 fer bricklayers' work and materials in repairing the 'Barne' where the fireworkers work between 17 July and 2 D ecember 1693, the work being certified by John Hooper, storekeeper, and J ames English, fireworke,.178
(s)
30 November 1695. Henry Hayward, master carpenter, paid £41. I 5s. 6d. for work done at Woolwich between I April and 30 November I 695 at Captain Leake's appartment, at John Packman's house and on the lower crane.179
(t)
30 December 1695. John Johnson, glazier: paid £29. 18s. 1d. for p u tting in new glass at Woolwich. Certified by William Meade,180
Proving guns at Woolwich during these early years must have been a dangerous occupation, the death of two gunners ':s a result ?f some accident in 1688 having already been recorded. Not only did gu1:s b reak to pieces, but their projectiles were apt to take an _erratic course in flight, and either miss the butt altogether or stnke ~he p arapet and richochet over into the space beyond. Such a happenmg took place in 1695. This is learned from the Journal Books and Treasurer's Ledaers. On 21 December 1695 a bill was allowed and p assed to John Wilton, secretary to Sir William Prichard for damage
to a house in the parish of Plumstead by shots from the proof-butts a t W oolwich,181 and on the same day a bill and debe:1tur~ ~as allowed and passed to John Waller for £40 payable to Sir V\ ilha~ Prich ard for damage done to the house and barn etc. of the sa~d 'John Wilton tenant to Sir William Prichard at the Half-h~use in
' r. ii at W oolwich' 182
the parish of Plumstead by shots 1rom proo s . . · Apparently only half the amount was eventually paid, for in _a ' J 6g6 we read that 'Sir
Treasurer's Ledger, under date 27 anuary 1 , . . W·11· p · h d 'd £2o on behalfofJohn Wilton, his tenant,
1 iam nc ar was pa1 h' h
15
on a debenture dated 21 December I 695, for damage to ouse, barn and wall at the Halfway House in the parish of Plums_tead, and ploughing up the ground and killing a cow in calf belongmg to the said John Wilton, occasioned by shot and shell fired from the Warren
183
at several proofs'.
111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/'i\'0/5i/49, P6~ B'll Book Series II 178 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/v\ 0/48/33. r nancc 1 '
PRO/W0/51/48, p. ro6.
170 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/51, P· 89. 180 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/51, P· 102•
181 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/17.
182 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/18.
18 3 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/34.
221
16
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
The authorities were still not quite happy over the Warren defence despite the work which had already been done to the fortifications there. On 24 February 1696, Mr Silvester was ordered to proceed immediately to Woolwich and join Captain Leake in mounting proper guns on the Line there; it was also ordered that a 'proporcon be drawn for sending down to the Warren at once, such ca rriages, and transoms out of store as would be necessary for the purpose'. Captain Leake was informed of the action taken and Mr J a mes
Felton, the storekeeper, was asked to render all the assista nce he could and to supply the necessary labour.184
Although fireworks had been broken down and remade in the Fireworkers' barn during the first twenty-five years of T ower Place, as a government establishment, the year 1696 marked an important milestone in changing the character of the place from a depot to a munition factory. Manufacture, as opposed to mere storage, may be
said to have commenced in 1696. This transformation was br ought about by the erection of the Laboratory, afterwards known as the Royal Laboratory, an event which took place shortly after the removal ofthe Tilt-yard Barn from Greenwich to Woolwich, the la tter
having already been described in Chapter 3.
William Boulter, Assistant to the Surveyor of the Board of Ordnance, was intimately concerned with the change over from Greenwich to Woolwich, the building of the new magazine at Greenwich and the construction of the new laboratory at Woolwich. In this connection he received the following payments:
17 October 1695. £1 for going to Greenwich to view the o-round for building a magazine for powder.185 ° 21 November 1695. £1 for going to Greenwich to measure the ground for the powder house.1B5 22 November 1695. £1 for going to Woolwich to direct the levelling of the ground for the Laboratory.186 6 January 1696. £1 for going to Greenwich to direct the taking down of the timber shelves at the Laboratory which are to be carried to Wool
wich.185 20 January 1696. £1 for going to Greenwich to direct the taking down of the building of the laboratory there to be sent to Wool
wich.185
24 January 1696. £1 for going to Woolwich to direct the fitting up of the Laboratory there.Iss
29 January 1696. £1 for going to Greenwich to direct the towing down ofthe great timber at the Laboratory to the place where the new Laboratory is to be built.185
27 March 1 696. £r for going to Greenwich to set out the foundations of the new powder house.Iss
JU Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i8111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/si/52, p. 41 .
222
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
The estimate for the Laboratory at Woolwich was attached to the letter dated g October 1694 addressed to the Lords of the Treasury by the Principal Officers of the Ordnance186 and read as follows:
A_n estimate for building a Labouratory in the Warren att Tower Place, Woolwich, vzz : £. s. d.
120 rodd Brickwork at £5. 15s. 690 0 0 243 Sqre. Tyling at 26s. p. square 315 18 0 Digging the foundations 56 0 0 Plaistering 37 0 0 Glazeing 25 0 0
10 16 0
2 7 Paire Window Shutters 22 2 Sqre Roofing with Plates and 0
Beams 45s. per Square 499 lO 0 0
2 0 Doores and Doorecases 35 10 16 0
I 08 Window Lights 2s. each 622 Foot Moulding at the Eaves at 12d. 31 2 0 I 02 Sqre Floareing and Boarding at £3 per Square 306 0 0
15 0 0
I Paire of Outward Gates and Posts
0 0
2 Paire of Staires 5 For Particions, Lyning the Walls, 125 0 0
l
Presses for laying up stores For I Powder house Lin'd and Shelv'd
I 15 0 0 within to keep a store of Powder
200 0 0
Oversiers and Contingent charges £2,477 2 0 434 IO 0
For Building a storekeeper's house
50 0 0
Laying the Water into y6 Laboratory £2,961 12 0
O ffice of Ordnance 6 Oct. 1694
87
(Signed) John Charlton, Tho. Littleton, Wm. Boulter1 . . . h O d E timate Books under
This estimate also occurs m t e r nance s
date 6 October 1694.188 • William Boulter who figures so prominently in these tdransactio~s, was appointed 'A~sistant to the Surveyor of Our .0 : nahn~e vice d' Th W rrant appomtmg im was
Thomas Townsend decease . e a b given at 'Our Court at Whitehall on the eighteenth day ofNovem er
1
· h fi f O · , 1s9 For getting into trouble he was ater
in t e rst year o ur reign . b fi ther warrant dismissed from office as Assistant to the Surveyor Y a ur
dated 3 July 1702.190 1 · t d
. Ri h d Leake who must have been great y interes e
C
aptam c ar ' h w n and have
over the proposal to build a Laboratory on t e arre
186 See Chapter 3, p. 106. p 329 (Treasury Papers Vol. XXIX
1 8 7 Calendar of Treasury Papers 1557-1696 , · No. 57). WO/ /
18B Ordnance Es~im,ate Book, PRO/ 1 .4g)1 , ~RO/WO/s5/4o1, f. 69.
189 Warrants (Kmg s and others, Woo wic 190 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/342•
223
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
looked forward to its completion, died on 1 February 1696, before he reached the promised land. He was succeeded as Master Gunner ofEngland by Colonel George Brown on 30 October 1696, who took over his official residence in Tower Place. His patent gives a list of his predecessors, viz. Anthony Fenruther, Stephen Bull, William Bull, William Hamond, John Reynolds, J ames Wemyss, Captain Valentine Pyne and Captain Richard Leake. It is dated 30 October
in the 8th year of Our reign.191
During the years 1695-1696, building was rapidly carried on and the new Laboratory was completed within the second year. On a warrant dated 3 December 1695, William Edge, master scavel-man, was paid £130. 19s. od. for digging and carrying gravel for raising and levelling the ground at the new Laboratory at Woolwich, i.e. 291 floors at 9s. a floor.192 On a warrant and contract dated 15 November 1694, Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, was paid £2,422. 3s. 2d. for bricklayers' work in connection with the building or the new Laboratory, a figure which included £965. 14.s. 6,l-d. paid him for bricklayers' work in connection with the new powder house at Greenwich.193 In addition, Henry Hayward, master carpenter, received the large sum of £1,122. 3s. 5d. under a contract dated 15 Novemb~r 1694 ?n a debenture dated 30 March 1696 for his sh are
ofthe ~,~rk m erectmg the new Laboratory; for building the mealing and dnvmg houses; and for work in connection with the house where the closets of Colonel Brown and Captain English were the iron house, the three kitchens, the wood house, the coal hous~ and the wat~h-tower; all p~rt ofthe new Laboratory buildings.194 He did not receive payment till 6 May 1699, nearly four years late.195 Henry Hayward was also paid on a contract and warrant dated 2o June 1695 the sum of£139· ros. 11d. for building a palisade 2 7 rods 1 5 feet long _round t~e barn in the new Laboratory at £ 5 per rod. Other work which_ he did at Woolwich and for which he was paid on the
same day, viz. 3° March 1696, was on the ProofHouse at Woolwich; on the mortar stand at Woolwich (warrant dated 23 February 1695); on the wharf (warrant dated g November 16g5) and at the Laborato~ where he put up 325 yards of wainscot costing £ 46. os. I od. H1s_payment for_these extra services was £317. gs. 5¼d.rno Later on agam he was paid the sum of £280. gs. od. for work at the clockhouse at the new Laboratory at Woolwich and for wharfing near the new powder house at Greenwich. The w~rrant for the Greenwich
1t1 u• (K"
narrants mg's and othe W I . m Ordnance Bill Book Series7i p~oO/Wi/PR/O/W0/55/402. m Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/W0/51/52, p. go.
Ordnance Treasure;'s Led ' PR 51 53, P· 42• m Ordnance Bill Book ScriesgH, PRg~~g//48/36, 26 July 1697. ;: Ordnance T_reasure;'s Ledger: PRO/Wo/M52, P· 104· Ordnance B1U Book, Series II PRO/WO/4 /37.
' 51 52, p. 95.
224
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
assignment was dated 18 June 1696 and he received payment on 31 March 1697.197
When the Laboratory, or Royal Laboratory to give it the name it acquired in after years, commenced production, Sir Martin Beckman, the Comptroller of Fireworks, obtained a new warrant of appointment dated 4 February 1697 as 'Comptroller of Fireworks as Well for Warr as Tryumph and of all Firemasters, Fireworkers,
198 To
Bombadiers and Petardiers employed in the Laboratories'. assist him, Captain John Baxter was appointed 'Storekeeper of the Laboratory' on 1 April 1698 on a M.G.O.'s warrant dated 10 April 1698.199 On the technical side the Comptroller had as his deputy the Chief Firemaster. A certain number of fueworkers completed the establishment.
There is little more of interest to relate during the remainder of the seventeenth century. A certain amount of repair and adaptation ofbuildings took place as was only to be expected, especially as many of the structures suffered from the ravages of time. Weather and accidents at proof accounted for most of the damage, though age contributed its quota in many cases.
The two men chiefly concerned in these building operations were Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, and Henry Hayward, master carpenter, and between them they received considerable sums of money for their 'care, diligence and extraordinary pains' between 1696 and I 700. The following extracts, not necessarily in chronological order, outline some of the operations they undertook.
Robert Fitch
15 December r698. Paid £30. 1os. 5d. on a debenture dated 31 December 1697 for repairing sheds in the Old Carriage Yard. Warrant dated 25 September 1695.200
31 January 1699. Paid £7. 19s. 2d. on a debenture dated 31 December
1697 for repairs carried out at Colonel Brown's house. Warrant dated
10 November 1696.201
23 May 1699. Paid £31. 8s. 9d. on a debenture dated 30 June 16~8
for bricklayers' work at Tower Place. Warrant dat~d 12 No~ember 1697. -02
30 December 1697. Paid £13. 7s. 5d. for br~cklayers work at ~he
Laboratory during 1697, i.e. repairing and m~~ng new stores, making
kilns for burning wood for charcoal; and repa1rmg the barn where the
fireworkers are lodged.203
26 July 1697. Paid £7. 12s. 5d. on a debenture dated 2 S~ptember 1696
for bricklayers' work in repairing John Pack.man's house 1n the Warren
197
Ordnance Bill Book, Series. II, PRO/WO/51 /54, P· 46. 198 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/36. 199 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/57, P· 85. 200 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/37. 201 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/37. 202 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO W0/48/37. 263 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/55, P· 104-.
225
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
damaged by the breaking up of guns at proof; also for mending the clockhouse, stables and privy of Colonel Brown in the Laboratory.204
r5 Decem~er 1698. ,Paid £_13· 7s.. 1_d. on a debenture dated 30 December l 697 for bricklayers work m repa1rmg stoves and kilns to make charcoal in the Woolwich Barn, and in renovating John Packman's house· the damage having been caused by the bursting of guns at proof.205 '
30 June r698..Paid £31. 8s. gd. for his share of the work in building the new house m the Warren for Thomas Pritton labourer and for repairs at the clockhouse in the Laboratory, storeho~ses etc. 20~ Thomas P:itton was a labourer in ordinary at Woolwich and was appointed vice Richard Church, deceased, at a salary of £26 p.a. on a warrant dated ro February 1691.207
ro Ju~ze r699. Paid £13. ,µ. 2d. on a debenture dated 31 March 1699, for repairs at the Labo:atory between I January and 31 March 1599.20s 24 February r700. Paid £16. .,µ. od. for repairing the saltpetre house and Colonel Brown's residence.209 3 May 17oo. Paid £7. os. 4d. for repairing the Firework Barn and Kettle House. 210
24February 17°~-~aid £140. 7s. 4id. on a debenture dated 30 September 1699, f~r repairs m the shot-yard, saltpetre house and old wall before the garden m the Warren. Warrants dated 17 March 16 23 A ril 16
and 15 June 1699.211 99, P 99
3 1 December 17°0 -Paid £7o. Bs. 6d. for repairing the storehouses and other work. Warrants dated 22 August and 19 November 1700_212
Henry Hayward
30 December 1697. Paid £85. 1gs BJ..d fc k d
p · , h . · 2 • or war one (a) at Thomas ttLtonbs ouse m the Laboratory (b) at the sheds in the kitchen court in t e a oratory. He was also paid £ 58 11 d r
of cubical oak timb fc h N · .'2s. • ior delivering 684-} feet
ers or t e ew Carnage yard 21a
3(1)n.;~mbelr 1698[. Paid £153. gs. o½d. for the f~llowing work: a e c osets o the Comptrolle d C .
tory (£s , '2s. d.) ran aptam Baxter at the Labora
2
5
(b) Making gates for the Laborator (£ 6 .1
1
(c) Repairsatthewharf(£85. ros.\d)~~-s. 72d.)
23 Ml!" 1699. Paid £41 15s 6d .
1695 for repairing the flo~rs i~ h · on a debenture ~ated 30 November Packman; also repairin the wh t e houses of Captam Leake and John
nd
1 April and 3o Novemb~r _:1a crane. Work took place between
1695
zo, Ord T
nance reasurer's Ledg PRO/W
20
' Ordnance Treasurer's Ledg:;, PRO/W0/48/36. ::; i}toiceJill Book, Series II', PRO/w8?~f137•
5 57 8
ioa . . s arrants, PRO/WO/5 / 'p. 9 . Ordnance Treasurer's Led 5 4 79, P• 49•
P~[?WO/51/57, p. 28. ger, PRO/WO/48/37. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II,
Ledger r;RnOan/Wce Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/ I/
11 Ord 0_/48/38, Debenture dated D 5 57, p. 129. Ordnance Treasurer's w 0 nance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WI ecember 1699.
Ill 8:::ri~r·s~fger: PROJWgflM!~: p. 40.
=~
g;:nce B!ll Book: Seri: iJ: :fgf~g11s 1/61, p. 76. IU o~ce Bill Book, Series II PRO/W0/51/55, p. 160. cc Treasurer's Ledger: PRO/WO/~fi~: p. 98.
226
28 May r699. Paid £89. 19s. 8d. on a debenture dated 30 December 1697 for carpenters' work at Tower Place.216
J lVIay 1700. Paid £117. 6s. od. for repairing the wharf and the bridge gomg to the New Carriage Yard; also for work at the saltpetre house. The work was carried out between 16 June 1698 and 3 May 1 700. The warrant was dated 14 May 1698.217
3 r December 1700. Paid £84. 6s. 3d. for certain specified iterns of work at Woolwich. Warrants dated ro November 1696, 14 May 1698, 20 April 1699 and 30 June 1699.218
The last carpenters' work in the seventeenth century was carried out by William Ogborne who had replaced Henry Hayward as master carpenter during 1700. On 17 July 1701 he was paid £10. 19s. 3d. for 85 days work between g September and 31 December 1700 in repairing storehouses and a dwelling house at Woolwich. The deben ture on which payment was made was dated 31 December 1700 ,2m the warrants were dated 22 August and 7 December 1700.
It will be noticed from the above quoted extracts that the unfortunate Packman had his house damaged twice in fifteen months by the blowing up of guns at proof. This is hardly to be wondered at considering that his residence was close to the line of fire. From the position of his dwelling on the map of 1701, drawn by Albert Borgard, it appears that he lived, moved and had his _being uncomfortably close to a local 'Hell's Corner', where he daily ran the risk of b eing 'butcher'd to make a Roman holiday'•
The only new construction during these latter years was the 'New Carriage Yard'. This yard with its sheds was built under a contract ~ated 13 August 1697 on a warrant dated 12 November 1697. It was sited within the old fortification originally planned a~d e~ecuted by Prince Rupert, being completely surrounded by its triangularly shaped ditch which was crossed by a bridge. The total cost of this project was in the neighbourhood of £1,100, for on_ 31 December 1697, _Henry Hayward was paid £315.. 6s. 8d. for his sha~~oof t?e work including the roofing, gates and gibbet for the crane, w~ile approximately a year later on 15 December 1_698 Robe:t Fit.eh received £ 4-5. 3d. for the bricklayers' wo~k 1n connectlon with
772.
the same undertaking. Actually the latter sum mcluded a ~mall payment for repairing Thomas Pritton's original house in Tower
Place.221 During these first thirty years ofthe 'Arsenal's' history, the proving
216 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/37. 217 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/60, P· 58. 218 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/61, P· 88. . .
21s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/40. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/61, p. 48. 2
220 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO fWO /5 I /55, P· 12 • 221 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/37.
227
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
ofguns was almost a weekly occurrence. The ordnance was supplied mainly by Mr Western from his foundry at Windmill Hill near l\,foorfields, the founder responsible for making most of the brass guns and mortars required by the Crown. Proof, as has been intimated, was not then a local affair carried out by officials on the spot, but was regarded as an occasion of importance attended with ceremony and pomp. Not only did the proofmaster from the Tower supervise the actual operation, but the Principal Officers and other servants of the Board, particularly the Surveyor-General and often the Chief Engineer, foregathered at the Warren in strength. Even the Lieutenant-General was present at important trials. For instance, between 11 April and 30June 1687, he attended the proof of a nine
cylindered mortar-piece at the Woolwich butts.222 Blackheath, too, witnessed many experiments with mortars, carcases and fireworks, though actual gunproof never took place there.
Summing up the impressions of Tower Place made by a study of the years 1670 to 1700, eight main features stand out.
(i)
T1:e:e was a complete lack ofdecentralization. Every transaction, however tnvial, had to be sanctioned by the Board in London.
(ii)
All issues and receipts of stores had likewise to be confirn1ed by the Board.
(iii) There was no technical staff at the 'Arsenal'. All maintenance and
repair, whether of munitions of buildino-s had to be carried out by artificers sent down from the Tower. b '
(iv) Except for a small nucleus of 'established' labourers local labour
~~ras en?'aged for each_specific commitment. When the parti;ular need for its services was over, 1t was dismissed.
(v)
During the years r683-1685, there was a constant issue of guns, mortars, shot and shell to Woolwich, as the place tended more and more to be~ome the main munition depot of the country.
(vi)
Tower Place was an important centre for refining saltpetre. Between 1681 and r694 there was a special additional storekeeper for
saltpetre.223
(vii) During_ the earlier years of the period under review, most of the wor~-~t Wooh":'ich had to do with 'Sea' rather than with 'Land' Service.
(vm) M~ny issues ofstores and special equipment were made to Captain Leake for his numerous experiments.
It is fortunate that a survey of the Tower Place drawn in I 7°1 by Al?ert Borgard, still exists, since by its aid a vis~al picture of the establishment at the end ofthe seventeenth century can be glimpsed. ~h~ area was thirty-one acres. There were no boundary walls and
t e ocal populace, ifthey so desired, could roam the ground at will. It was bounded on the north by the river Thames, on the weSt by
::~:~H;bb:i:;r~rbLedbeger, PRO/W0/48/26.
' cto r 1681-31 December 1694.
228
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Rolt's (afterwards the Old Warren) Lane, on the south by the Woolwich-Plumstead road and on the east by the marshes. The ground was well covered with elm trees. There were many gardens and orchards.
The principal buildings and yards were:
A. The Laboratory; a series of shops built round an open rectangular space, in the centre of which a fountain played. It had a clockhouse gate-way at its southern end. It was situated where the remains of the pre-1914-war Royal Laboratory still stand.
B. The Old Carriage Yard on the site now occupied by the M.I.D. Offices built in the first world war.
C. The New Carriage Yard facing the river and surrounded by a ditch on the space now covered by the main Ordnance Office, stores, wharf and sheds.
D. Prince Rupert's Walk; the walk between Prince Rupert's battery and the Thames. Now covered by the Ordnance wharf.
E. A powder house; close to the Old Carriage Yard.
F. Three cranes along the Water-Front between the western tip of the ditch surrounding the New Carriage Yard and the western boundary of the property.
H
. Shot-yard attached to the Master Gunner's and Storekeeper's houses situated between the mansion house and the Thames.
I.
The Old Mansion house of Tower Place in which the Master Gunner of England and Storekeeper lived. It stands on the site of its successor. It is now used for stores, offices and the Officers' Mess of the Armament Inspection Department.
K
. The Greenwich Barn on the site of the Old Foundry, now used as an O.F. Garage. .
L.
Pritton's house, near the present Mam Gate.
M.
Bricklayers' storehouse, just west of the present !"1ain Gate.
N.
The Firework Barn, just east of the present Mam Gate. . .
O.
The Kettle House, on a site now occupied by the houses m Dial Square. . .
P.
Hawthorn Tree House, on a site now covered by the main machme shop of the Royal Carriage Department.
Q.
Gun for experiment.
R.
Mortar for experiment. . .
S.
John Packman's house, on a site now covered by the main machme shop of the Royal Carriage Department.
T.
Stand for guns.
V.
Stand for mortars.
X.
The Proof-Butts, on a spot occupied by the present Central Offices.
Y.
A smiths' shop, close to the water's edge, between the shot-yard and the river.
Who were the staff that happy band of pilgrims, living and working in this sylvan'retreat? Their number was small and their pay, to our way of thinking, even smaller.
229
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
They consisted of:
The Storekeeper, James Felton, paid £40 p.a. He was the official
head of the establishment. He arranged the work, was the
Board's local agent, was the financial and accounting officer,
and made all necessary payments out of Imprests received.
The Storekeeper's Clerk, paid £20 p.a.
The Carriage Master, John Packman, paid £26 p.a.
6 labourers, each paid £26 p.a.
The Master Gunner of England, Colonel George Brown, paid
£190 p.a.
20 gunners each paid is. p.d.
The Comptroller of Fireworks, Sir Martin Beckman, paid £200
p.a.224
The ChiefFiremaster, Major John Henry Hopkey, paid £150 p.a.
The Chief Firemaster's Mate, Captain John Baxt r, paid £80 p.a.
The Storekeeper to the Laboratory, Captain John Baxter, paid
£40 p.a.
Captain English, the Fireworker, paid £40 p.a.
A total of 34 souls, of which 32 were whole time appointments.
There were no 'industrials' in the modern sense of the word, and
very little trade distinction. Labour was 'fluid' and trade unionism
unborn. The gunners under the Master Gunner of England manned
the guns for proof and carried out artillery practice at the exercising
butt. They did, in fact, all the elementary 'munition' work required, acting as fireworkers when occasion demanded. Life was indeed simple.
2~4 This.was not a whole-time appointment. In addition, Sir Martin Beckman was sti11 Ch1efEngmeer to the Board ofOrdnance, for which post he received a salary of£300 p.a.
....
0
r-
....
5
1--o 1--o
ro
~
..g "§:
......
0 0
~
---=-==
Chapter 7
The Warren 1701-1720
The daw:1 of th~ eighteenth century had little effect upon the W ~r~en ·which contmued to preserve the even tenor of its ways. No striking cha~ges took place till some sixteen years later, but these, when the_Y d1~ occur, were of major importance. They stamped for ~ver the 1mprmt of the factory on the erstwhile storage depot, and ~ntroduced those mechanical devices which in due course developed into the machines of modern industry. Firework manufacture, proof
of guns a:1d minor repairs made up the trivial round, the common task, durmg the opening years of the century, so that in the first d e~ade the slate of the recording angel or the books of the Ordnance scn~es, whichever metaphor be preferred, were singularly free from
entries of any consequence.
Tower Place still preserved its air of ancient peace. Trees abounded e er!':"'here, and the gardens and orchards ofthe old mansion, though p art1t1oned to form the private grounds of the few residents, still flourished and continued to gladden the eye with their colour and1 their produce. The Warren itself, which according to John Harris was then known as Woolwich Green, stretched away to the Plumstead marshes and beyond where the tenant farmers tilled the soil, kept
their cattle and cultivated their holdings. The road from Woolwich to Plumstead was a tree-bordered country thoroughfare. No brick walls shut it in or marred its vista of light and shadow. Scattered along it were a few farms, mostly belonging to the larger estates of the neighbourhood. It was a vision of the Kentish countryside at its best, a slice of rural England. The main entrance to the Warren butted on a green which in later years became known
as Sappers' Green, from the engineers carrying out their exercises
there.
Several changes of staff arose during the first few years. These are sometimes a little difficult to follow because the posts often appear to have been filled for some time before the warrants appointing the holders were issued, and appointees to positions of importance obtained subsequent warrants to the same posts on the accession of a new sovereign. Thus, although Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Hopkey, Captain John Baxter and John Baxter were functioning
respectively as Chief Firemaster, Mate to the Chief Firemaster and Storekeeper to the Laboratory at the end of the seventeenth century,
1 History of Kent by John Harris, 1 71 g, p. 340. 231
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
they all had warrants of appointment dated 1 February 1703.2 At the beginning of 1702, Colonel George Brown, Master Gunner of England, died; he was the last ofthese officials to live in the Warren. His successor, appointed in April 1702, was Captain Thomas Silver, who by virtue ofhis appointment as Master Gunner ofWhitehall and St J ames's Park, already resided in the Gun House, Spring Gardens,
the site of which is now covered by the Admiralty. Sir Martin Beckman ceased to be Comptroller ofFireworks on 1July1702,3 but was not apparently replaced till four years later when LieutenantColonel J. H. Hopkey, the Chief Firemaster, was appointed in his stead with effect from 1 April 1706 on a salary of £200 p.a. His warrant of appointment was dated 1 May 1706.4 H e, in turn, was
followed as Chief Firemaster, by Lieutenant-Colonel James Pendlebury with a salary of£150 p.a.5
A considerable number of guns had been steadily pouring into Woolwich from contractors during the closing years of the seventeenth century, and the flow continued at the beginning of the eighteenth century in an ever increasing stream. For example, on
4July 1678 the following pieces were received into store at Woolwich from Thomas Western:
40 Demi-cannon g} feet 16 Culverins I 1 feet 8 Culverins g feet 2 12 pdrs. 1ol feet
Iron ordnance 12 12 pdrs.
g feet 2 Sakers
8~-feet 8 Sakers
7 feet
The contract was dated 10 September 1 6 77, and the value was £3,440. 2S. l d.
Again on 17July 1678, a quantity ofiron ordnance, to the value of £3,387. 13s. 6d., was received into store at Woolwich from the assigns of Mary, widow and administrix ofJohn Browne late his
. ' C'. 'M
aJesty s guniounder, deceased.6 These were not isolated instances, bu~ were symptomatic of the large intake of guns which regularly arnved at the Warren. The main contractors supplying these sinews
of war were Thomas Western, WiIIiam Benge Thomas Silvester,
Mr Jam~s and Mr _Gott. In consequence, a lar~e amount of proof
was earned out, which, besides testing the guns, wore out the butts.
2 Lieut.-CoJoneJ J H H k d . w ts
PRO/WO/ I · · op ey an Caplam John Baxter, M.G.O.'s arranWarrants w~~/~!te~· /tiohn Baxter, M.~.O.'s Warrants, PRO/WO/55/488, P· 39· a Ordnance Quarter Boor1~1otw703, salaries to commence I January I 703.
•MG O 's Warr ' 0/54/60.
I M"c'o\ Warr::::, :ROfW0/55/488, p. 59. t
0
co!1'1111~n~e ~ Ap!il 17o6. RO/W0/55/488, p. 59. Warrant dated I May 1706, salary
Ordnance Bill Book, Series r, PRO/WO/so/i3.
232
THE WARREN 1701-1720
This kept John Packman busy with his teams and his drugs. By the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, the Warren had become the largest gun repository in the country. All these lay in rows in the ~pen, exposed to the gaze o:f the curious. This, perhaps, occasioned httle harm as ordnance, being heavy, did not attract the petty pilferer, but it was otherwise with lighter and more portable stores. The temptation to acquire those must have been overwhelming. It seems astounding that the Warren was still unfenced. One would have thought that its enclosing would have been one of the first acts subsequent to its purchase by the Crown. Nowadays such property is said to be 'publicly owned', though the public is, nevertheless, excluded for a variety of reasons. Not so at the beginning of the eighteenth century; what the State owned, the local inhabitant made use of according to his fancy. No wonder government stores became 'lost, stolen or strayed'. This communal outlook with its distressing effects gradually convinced the official mind that privacy and security h ad their advantages, so it was decided to enclose the Warren. The contract for building the wall was dated 23 June I 702. Three men, W illiam Edge-master scavel-man, Robert Fitch-master bricklayer, and William Ogborne-master carpenter, who were mainly responsible for all building and repairs at Woolwich, participat~d in the work. William Edge cleared and prepared the foundations, grubbed up trees and levelled the ground between 17 July and
26 September 1702. Although his debenture was dated 26 September I 702 , it was 4 May 1704 before he received his just reward of £32. 3s. 6d.7As soon as these preliminaries were completed, Robert Fitch, like Balbus, built a wall for which he was paid £499. 17s. I rd. on 28 March 1705, though his debenture was date? 30 Sept~m?er I 702. This sum, besides being the payment for his wall bu1ld1ng activity, included a sum for erecting a shed 'to perfor~ fireworks in'.8 William Ogborne then completed the undertaking. On 28 March 1 705, on a debenture dated 30 June I 703, he was paid
£87. 9s. 9-}d. for:
(a)
Putting up stockades at the eastern end of Prince Rupert's Walk as a further measure of security. .
(b)
Erecting the o-ate and posts in the new wall gomg out of the Warren into the road, and ~he wooden gate near the bridge in the bottom that leads to Proof Place. Warrant dated 26 September I 702. .
(
c) Putting a new roof on the_she~ lately belongi~g to ~,1r. Fitch, an?
a new gate next to the street gomg mto Mr Felton s-the storekeepers house. Warrant dated 17 October I 702.9
7 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/42 • 8 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/43. Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51 /68, P· 87 · 11 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/43. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /68, P· 99·
233
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Messrs Edge, Fitch and Ogborne between them, therefore, built the first wall ever to be erected round the Warren, which consisted of 94 rods, 133 feet of brickwork, the cost being £5 per rod.
The storekeeper's house was the first building to receive attention at the turn of the century, and its repairs were quite extensive covering, as they did, the walls, roof and flooring. The warrant for the work was dated 19 November 1700, and payments were made on 19 July 1701, on a debenture dated 31 December 1700, to Robert Fitch and William Ogborne ofsums amounting to £70. Bs. 6d. and £13. os. 9-J-d. respectively, for carrying out these renovations in addition to some work on the Greenwich magazine. i0 T h e carriage sheds were next in the queue. Their repair was effected on a warrant dated 25January 1701, as on 5 October 1701 Robert Fitch was paid £6. 5s. 3d. on a d~benture dated 31 March 1701, for this service.11
A catalogue ofmmor works services hardly makes thrilling reading, but as it cannot be woven into the pattern ofthe narrative, the items must be stated for purposes ofrecord. Sundries repairs were as follows:
28 Januaiy. I702. Robert Fitch, on a debenture dated 30 September 1701, was paid £25. _7s. 6d. for repairing the smiths' shop, the refining house, the Old Carnage Yard sheds, John Hesket's dwelling and the
labourers' house.12 I~ March I7°2-Robert Fitch, on a debenture dated 31 December I 70I, received the sum of£137. l4S. 3d. for 8 rods 28 feet ofbrickwork reduced
in the wall between the Old Carriage Yard and the pontoon h~use '½ith other work at Woolwich. The warrant for this was dated 22 M ay 1701.13 ;2 Jwze I7°2-Robert Fitch, on a debenture dated 31 March I 702, was paid £ 15·,6s. 1od. for erec:ing a ~hed to house a copper for brewing for John. Hesket, ~_labourer m ordinary, at Woolwich; for opening up, cleanmg, :epamng and reclosing the drain belonging to his house, together with other necessary work. The warrants for these services were
dated 16 October 1701, 17 January 1702 and March 1702_14
5
20 M_arch IJo4. William Edge, on a debenture dated 30 September I 7°3, was pa:d £io. 4J. od. for making up the breach at the end of Prince Rupert s Walk. He used 34 floors of earthwork.15
3~ June 17°4• William Ogborne, on a debenture dated 30 June 17°2, received the sum of£16 d fc • Id rt
; 5s. 0 • or 325 yards of wainscot, part o pa new, at the storekeepers house, the warrant being dated 16 October
16
1
~~r. On the same day, on a debenture dated 30June 1702, he was paid Ordnance T_reasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/ Bf Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ ;40 .
11
Ordnance 1:reasure;'s Ledger: PRO/Wo/a;6~, p. 76· Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ / · u Ordnance 1:reasure;'s Ledger: PRO/WO/a;6~, P· 54· Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ / ·
:: Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger: PRO/WO/a;6J: p. 3r. Ordnance 1:reasurer's Ledger, PROfW0/4B/\Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/W 4 4 ·
u Ordnance T;easure;'s Ledge~ PRO/W°d5r//64, P· 63. Ordnance Bill Book Series II 'PROfW ½48 42.
11
Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledge~, PRo;w°oirJTI;. P· 7•
234
THE WARREN 1701-1720
£ I 2. 7s. 6d. for repairing the pontoon chests, the proof-butt at Proof Place and John Packman's house at Woolwich, the warrants for these last three items being dated 29 December 1702, 8 February 1 703 and 1 6 March 1703 respectively. Also on the same day, on a debenture dated I 3 August I 702, he was paid £3 I. I 2s. 6d. for repairing the wharf at Woolwich.i7
Woolwich suffered from severe weather during the winter of I 703 / 1 704 which caused a good deal of damage in the Warren. This is confirmed by the statement that, on a debenture dated 19 February 1 704, carpenters and bricklayers were paid £24. IS. 4d. for repairing the Laboratory and storehouse 'after the great storm'.is
The three cranes in the Warren now began to give serious trouble. The truth was they were worn out. They were constructed of wood and, b esides being subjected to considerable overwork, were adversely affected by climatic conditions. ReJ?airs were_ or?ered, but the 'tinkering' they received proved a short-sighted policy m the long run, leadin o-merely to waste of money and labour. Eventually, two of them had to be completely overhauled and :he third one rebuilt. A warrant for repairing one ofthese cranes was issued on 23 September 1 703, and the work was carried out between 1 o January an? 6 1V1ay 1...04 William Ogborne being paid £83. 3s. 8d. for this service or/ 5 M ay 1705, on a debenture dated 6 May 1704.19 Matters reached a head in The upper and lower cranes had to _be
1707. thoroughly reconditioned, and the middle one had to be reb:11lt. William Ogborne, as usual, carried out the work. He received £144. 1s. s-~-d. for repairing one between 12 May and 28 June 1707,20 and £24. 6s. 2 ¼d. for renovating _the other_betvveen I July and 2 Auo-ust 1707.21 A warrant to rebmld the middle crane was issued on ; 4 August 1707 as under that date the Journal Book states: A v. arrant issued to Mr Ogborne and other proper artificers for rebuildino-the middle crane at Woolwich Warren and to make new gates for the ;hot-yard there. Mr Howell to repaint the upper and lm,·er cranes which have been repaired.22 The Journal Book, under date 30 October l 707, also states: Warrant to Mr Ogborne to fix at such a proper place near the cranes at Woolwich a standing gibbet to weigh the ar~ifice_rs' ordnance before the d t k" the Surveyor-General's directions \\·here the same
y are prove , a mg must stand and how made.23
i; Ordnance Treasurer's Ledgers, PRO/\t\T0/48/42•
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/\\:0/51/67, P· Bo.
18 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/\'\ 0/48/43.
19 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/vV0/48/43.
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51 /68, P· 1oo.
20 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/47, 2 4 May 17°9·
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/75, P· 41, 28 June 17o7.
:n Ordnance Bill Book: Series II, PRO/\\ 0 /51 /75, P· 39, 2 Augu5l 17°7 ·
22 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/2 5, P· 58.
23
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{\'\ 0/47/2 5, P· 163.
235
17
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
'Mr Ogborne and other proper artificers' then proceeded to their allotted task. On 30 June 1708, William Ogborne submitted a bill for £345. 16s. o¼d, for (a) Building the middle crane; warrant dated 14 August 1707. (b) Erecting gates at the shotyard; warrant dated 30June 1708. (c) Constructing a standing gibbet for weighing gun
founders' ordnance, and (d) Making a small wharf before Prince Rupert's Walk; warrant dated 11 June 1708.24 Out of this amount £43. 16s. 3d., on a debenture dated 20 June 1708, was on account of the new crane.25
The wharves were another constant source of anxiety at the Warren. Subjected to the ebb and flow of the tides, and to the destructive agency ofsalt water, they called for periodic attention. On 8June 1705, the Surveyor-General ordered that 'a warrant be given to Mr Edge to lay well in clay from the moat at Woolwich the wh a rf by Prince Rupert's Walk between the earth bank and timber wharf
ing, to be 3 feet in front and from the foundation 1 foot above high water-mark. Every floor to be very well rammed, and the rest of the earthwork for filling up and making good the embrasures to be done by the day unless it can be easily measured.'26 The work was put in hand at once, and on 30 June 1705, William Edge presented his account for £7. 4S· od.,27 William Ogborne claiming £87. 19s. gd. for his share in the undertaking28 which he carried out a year or two later. In 1712, further maintenance became essential and a nevv wharfhad to be built. The first warrant for this reconstruction, da ted 6 May 1712, was addressed to Wiliiam Edge and William Ogborne.
Between them they made good the parapet and embrasures before Prince Rupert's battery, replaced the defective timber at the front ofthe wharf, and laid down under it a new chalk bed. ,t\Tilliam Edge received £rn3. 5s. od. for his share of the work 29 and W illiam
'
Ogborne £62. 12s. 2-½-d,30 The big reconstruction took place a few :nonths later on a contract dated 28 August 1712, the warrants being issued on I September and 30 November ofthat year. William Edge and George Shakespear, as scavel-men entered the lists first. They took up the foundations of the old wh;rf, prepared the way for the carpenters to lay th~ new, and supplied 305 loads of gravel and I I I tons of clay. For this they were paid £76. r6s. ad. on a debenture dated 31 December 1712.31 William Ogborne then came into action. Between 6 October and 6 November 1712, he dismantled the old
:: Ordnance Bill Book,,Series II, PRO/WO/51 /Bo, p. 26. 21 OOrddnanceJTreasurleBr s Lkedger, PRO/WO/48/50, 21 August 171 r. r nance ?urna oo ,. PRO/WO/47/22, p. 18 .27 Ordnance B!Jl Book, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/51 17 1, 7p. 36.
18
:§E~E~:i;JJ E~!: i:~;:: n: ::grwgfg:fi?: ~:~~:ii~~: :~~i:
11 0 d n ce l o ', cries II, PRO/WO/51/87, p. 39, 17 May 1712. r nance 1:reasurer s L~dger, PRO/WO/48/52, 23 July 1713. Ordnance B1U Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/88, p. 9, 31 December 1712.
236
THE WARREN 1701-1720
wharfing, took it away and prepared the site. For this he received the sum of £13. I IS. 3d.32 He then rebuilt the wharf at a cost of £332. 15s. 3¾d,33 Even after all these exertions, trouble still persisted and further steps had to be taken 18 months later. On a warrant dated 4 May I 714, William Edge performed more scavelling work at Woolwich for which he was paid £51. 16s. od.; he also raised the ground on the wharf, cleaned and made good the sides of the moat and built up the level of the soil next the wharf before the batte~ of guns at Prince Rupert's Walk. For these latter tasks he received
£7 I. IOs. ad. having used 143 floors of earth at Ios. per floor.34
T he Journal Books shed little light on the Warren's activities during the first thirteen years of the century. Unfortunately all of them, except those covering the years I 705 to I 708, are missing. Later on, too, there are gaps, namely those for the years 1721 and 1723. This series of Books, with the exception of one volume (2 August -3 December 1781) abruptly ceases after 1727, and the
J ournal Books, as such, disappear from the records of history. Their loss can only be deplored. In I 749, however, the Minutes of the Surve_)'or-General take up the tale, and this sequence runs on till I 792. These minutes contain a full record of the Board's daily proceedings and are a welcome addition to our sources of information. For the years they cover, they form a framework round which the Warren's story can be hung. These various lacunae make it extremely difficult to depict a complete pen-picture of the lost years since bills and debentures, though useful in themselves, are not an author's best m aterial. As the warp and woof of history they have their uses, but they lack the colourful threads of romance so necessary to a weaver of tales.
Little of interest seems to have occurred in I 705. The firework storehouse needed repair, and Messrs Fitch and Ogborne received warrants for undertaking the necessary work.35 On 1I August, 1705 fireworkers and bombadiers were drafted into the Laboratory for fixing hand-grenado shells for twenty Coehorn mortars for Newfoundland,36 and five days later, Mr Waterman was ordered to provide 32,000 'fuzees' for grenado shells in the Laboratory, presumably in part satisfaction of the Newfoundland order.37 On 6 October 1705, a Mr Francis Lavey was paid £5 for making a plan of Woolwich.38 What would not one give for a copy ofthat map now! Incidentally, on 28 October 1718, the Board paid £20 to Lieutenant John Hargrave
3 2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/88, p. 36, 6 November 1712. 33 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/88, p. 39, 31 December 1712. 34 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /93, p. 64, 1 March 1714. 35 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/22, p. 4, 29 March 1705. 36 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/22, p. 293. 37 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/22, p. 301, 16 August 1705. 38 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/22, p. 382.
237
BIRTH AND CH I LDHOOD
for making a survey and sketch of Tower Place.39 This may conceivably be the existing plan of the Warren dated r 7 r 7 which is unsigned. The following labourers were sent to v\Toolwich between r March
and 2 r April r706, to be employed in fixing fireworks :40 Edward Howe Stephen Baggott Robert White Thomas Saunders Andrew Cadmern Richard Davis Andrew Sherlock John Sheppard Christopher Taylor Edward Saward
John Harding George Finman On r October r706, £r ro. os. gd. was paid to the labourers in the Warren for dealing with stores and £or acting as night watchmen between r July and 30 September r706, both dates inclusive.41 The Board wrote a letter on 7 November I 706 to Mr J ames Felton, the storekeeper, authorizing MrJones to set up a furnace in the saltpetre refining house, for the purpose of casting shot for her M ajesty's service.42 Shot seems to have been in urgent demand at this time as all unserviceable ordnance at Portsmouth '\ as ordered to be sent to the Warren for conversion into shot.,43 and to assist at proof six sacks ofcharcoal were despatched to ProofPlace.44 On 24 June I 707 warrants were issued to 'Mr Fitch for perfonn ing the bricklayers' work in repairing at Tower Place, at the labourers' house, at the barn where the fireworks lye, and at the house inhabited by John Packman according to an estimate laid before the Board by Mr Meades'.45 In due course Robert Fitch carried out the work and sent in a bill for £63. 13s. 7d. for repairing the pontoon house, firebarn and the labourers' houses between 18 July and 27 October 1707.46 William Ogborne, too, was employed between r and 16 September 1707 on the labourers' houses £or which he was paid £ 13 ·
5s. 1d.47
Flammenwerfer or flame-throwers are usually considered to have been evolved in the first World War when, in 1915, the Germans used them in surprise attacks. In the second World War their use was
greatly extended by all belligerents. The following extract from the Journal Books shows the fallacy of this:
3 1
January 1708. The experiments of the Orlebar and Powell engine for projecting liquid fire are to be made at Woolwich on Saturday next
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, p. 3 1 g. 41 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47123, p. 1 6 2, 26 February 1706. ,.. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47124, p. 94. ; Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/24, p. 1 5 r. u 4 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47124, p. 1 6 1, 12 November 1706. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/24, p. 3 16, 18 February 1707.
0 11 Ordnancej'?urnal Book, PRO/WO/47/24, p. 5 x3. 47 Ordnance B~Il Book, Ser~cs II, PRO/WO/5r/8s, p. 12, 27 October 1707. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5i/8s, p. 7, 16 September 1707.
238
THE WARREN 1701-1720
7th February. Mr Felton to let the projectors have any assistance in labour or materials they want. Mr Whitaker and Mr Baxter to issue the necessary items from their stores.48
As Ecclesiastes so truly says: 'There is no new thing under the sun.' On 2 March 1708 £r. 2s. od. was paid to the fireworkers in the Laboratory as under :40
s. d. John Baxter 2 days at 5s. IO 0 Thomas Heydon 2 days at 3s. 6 0 Thomas Howard 2 days at rs. 6d. 0
3
Francis Howard 2 days at rs. 6d. 0
3
Total: £1 2 0
There seems to have been a minor strike in the Laboratory in I 708. On 5 March of that year, the Board wrote to Captain Thomas Silver Master Gunner of England, asking why four fireworkers on the es~ablishment James Fimsy, William Cahoon, Robert Leslie and
J ohn Tongue ' their. work .50 H' answer
absented themselves from 1s u nfortunately is not recorded. The Laboratory was very busy at that time, Marlborough's wars making heavy _deman~s on the country's liniited armaments industry. It was working at high pressure as the storekeeper received an imprest of£80 ~n 13 ~arch I 708 to p~r t~e fireworkers and bombadiers who constituted its labour force. No
orkers however were kept on the books a moment longer than w as nec~ssary. No\passengers' were carried and no senti~ent shown. On 30 M arch r 708 the Journal Book baldly states that all the men employed in driving' "fuzees" are to be discharged owing to lack of
· d' s2
w ork, the operation being no longer require_ • .
Three small jobs had been carried out pnor to t~e time we have just been considering. These were two by Robert Fitch and on_e _by William Ogborne. The former was paid £1 r r • 8s. 4d. for repairing dwelling houses, storehouses, the Warren watch, etc., ?etween : 1 July and 23 September 1703,s3 and £2. 2s. 2¼d. for minor repairs to houses and the Warren wall on a warrant dat,ed 2~ Septem?e~ 1703_54 William Ogborne renovated the barn for lodging fireshirss stores' at a cost of £8. 5s. 1d. on a warrant date? 10 June 17°4
On 17 August 1709 William Ogborne was paid £266. I 7s. 541 d. on a debenture dated ~ 1 August r 707, for carpenters' w?rk executed by him in making a route from the Manor Way leading from the
48 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 299·
49
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 3r· 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 3 o. 51 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 392 • 52 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/2 5, P· 4o7.
63 6·
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/V\'0/4i/71. P· 38, !gJuly 17° 54 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /7 1 , P· 3~, -1u Y 17°6· 65 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /69, P· B.:>, 3° June 17o4.
239
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Woolwich Road to the marshes, for the purpose ofconveyingpowder to the magazine near Greenwich. His warrant was dated 6 March 1706.56
Robert Fitch, the master bricklayer, died either in the autumn of 1710 or the spring of 1711, as, in the latter year, Henry Lidgbird took over his post. Lidgbird's warrant of appointment, however, was not issued till 3June 1712. It states that Henry Lidgbird, senior, and Henry Lidgbird, junior, are to be master bricklayers to the Office of Ordnance.57 Another appointment changed hands towards the end
of 1710. Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hara was made Chief Firemaster vice James Pendlebury, on a warrant dated 4January171 r, the change-over to be effective from 1 October 171o.5s T h ereupon the latter became Master Gunner of Great Britain. Incidentally, in the same year, Lieutenant-Colonel Jonas Watson became Master Gunner of Whitehall on the death of Captain Thomas Silver,59 but as the Master Gunners of England no longer had their official resi
dence in the Wa~re~, they pass beyond the ambit of this vvork.
The ~s_t repair JOb to be carried out by Henry Lidgbird was some re-tiling ofthe Laboratory roo£ The warrant for this was dated 23 August 1711, and he received £14. 1os. 2 t d. for his work.Go In 1712, the_ firework barn and the mealing hquse required attention. The repairs were effected by WiIIiam Ogborne and H enry Lidgbird
on a warrant dated~ ?ctober 1712, pursuant to the Board 's order of 7 August 1712. Wilham Ogborne was 'd £ 8 d
pa1 12. 1 s. 11 ., on a debenture dated 30 December 1712 r.0 h' h f h k GI d
. . . , 1.1 r 1s s are o t e wor anHenry L1dgb1rd received the sum of £62 l 7 8ad r b . k'l . g
h' h · 1 d d h · s. 4 • ior nc ay1n
w ticd mNc u e bt at carried out at the labourers' house on a w arrant
da e 4 ovem er 1712.62 The last payment to Joh p k .
n ac man as Carnage Master in the
Warren, was dated 3o Septe b H
to Paul Linby d b m er 1712· e was a worthy successor
, an etween them the d h · · fi 11
at Woolwich for ov fifi Y serve t eir country faith u Y e~ ty years. One is glad to be able to record that
John Packman received the . h
· 'P fi promot10n e so richly deserved by
beconung roo master to Her M . '
strangers' on a warrant dat aJeStY s subjects and merchant : the Warren, he still contin e1 .31 January 1712,63 Although lost to The fire-barn seems t :e I~ the service of the Crown. carpenters' hands N ~ ave. een unlucky. It was always in the
0
William Ogborne ~e . J~bt its age contributed to its fragility. pa1re it again between lo and l 5 August l 7 l 3
61 Ordnance Treasurer' L d 17 M.G.O's Warrants PR~/~6 PRO/WO/48/48. 11 M.G.O's Warrants' PRO/W0//55/499, f. 62. " M.G.O's Warrants' PRO/WO 55/488, p. 71.
•0 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II ~j/_(}fivp. 25, Warrant dated 1 7 February 17 1 o. 11 g:ceI-u5urer's Ledger' PRO/wg/~,'85, p. I 14, 16 November 171 I. ,. O~ce ~ Book, Series n: PRO/WO/ 52, 23July 1713.
•• ,ce Bdl Book, Series II PROfW 51/88, p. 36, 3 December 1712.
M.G.O I Warrants, PROfW0/551499, f~i:/go, P• 78, 30 September 1713.
24-0
THE WARREN 1701-1720
for a sum of £5. 14S, od., paid on a debenture dated 15 August 1713.64 It then promptly collapsed, for we learn that 'William Ogborne was paid £11 for work done on _t~e barn which fell do':n at Woolwich'.65 Also on 23 July 1713, Wilham Ogborne was paid, on a debenture dated 8 December 1712, £13. 17s. od. for repairing the Laboratory in accordance with the Board's order of30 September
I 7 l 2.66 Another small service carried out by William Ogborne between 20 July and 8 August 1713, was the repair of the roof and gutte:ing of the saltpetre house, and of that of the shed in the New Carnage Yard. He also set up three posts in the yard. The warrant for the work was dated 5 June 1713, the bill was presented on 8 !'--ugust 1713,67 and the payment of£9. 8s. 1~~-was made on 27 April I714, on a debenture dated 8 August I 7I 3· . . T he year 1714 is the first year in which an estabh:sh~ent for Woolwich is shown in the Establishment Books. It 1s given as
follows :69
The storekeeper The storekeeper's clerk The storekeeper of the Laboratory 2 labourers in ordinary at 7 extraordinary labourers at
£40 p.a.
£25 p.a.
£40 p.a. £26 p.a. each
£ 27. 10s. od. p.a. each
In addition to this there was the militar~ s:aff which, e~cept for the absence of the Master Gunner, was s1rmlar to that in l 700. Actually the civil staff had not altered in establishme~t! except for
or two additional extra-
d
the post of Laboratory storekeeper, an one dTh p ·u ordinary labourers, since I 683. William Sumpter anf h omas ih 0:1 became the labourers in ordinary at the end_ 0 t e y~a£r· eir warrant was dated 24 December 1714 and their salary O 2 6 p.a.
was to commence on 1 January I 7I 5· William Sumpter ~a; api pointed vice Thomas Quelch, deceased.70 On 9 AugustH1712, oCoh~ef
L. C 1 1 Alexander ara as 1eAlbert Borgard replaced 1eut.-o one
p·
iremaster.71 f th round in front of
1 1 O
After William Edge had raised the eve e g ) h
· h mer of 1714 (see note 34 , t e
Prince Rupert's battery 1n t e sum
, L d PRO/WO/48/52 27 April 1714.
64 Ordnance Treasurers ~ ger, WO/ /8 ' p 100 15 August 1713.
Ordnance B~ll Book, Ser_ies 11,PPRROO/'w0/ 5/ (' p.· 33, 31 December 171 3. Contract
66 Ordnance Bill Book, Series 11, 5 19 '
dated 7 August 1713. JWO/ 8/ 2
66 Ordnance T;easurer's L~dge1~, ;~g/WO/!i/~8: P· 36, 8 November 1712.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series • 6
67 Ordnance Bill Book, Series 11, PRO/W0/51189, P· 10 •
88 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/52·
69 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/igg.
70 M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/Wth0/55/5o~, P0~~fFiremaster dated 24 December 1714.
71 Colonel Borgard had a fur er warran as ' M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/WO/55/502, P· 55·
241
.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD THE WARREN 1701-1720
guns and carriages in that part of the emplacement became redundant. They, therefore, had to be removed. 72 On 25 October 1714, Mr Felton, the storekeeper, wrote to the Board asking for instructions regarding the same. The Board replied on 10 December 1 7 14 to the effect that he was to certify the number of days worked and the amount ofmaterials used in breaking up the carriages removed from the battery,73 that the resulting iron-work was to be put into store, and that he was to render particulars as to weight, etc. 74 William Mesmer, one of the three ordinary labourers in the military (as opposed to the civil branch) was injured while dismantling these old gun-carriages. He was, thereupon, attended by the surgeon who, in the Board's opinion, submitted a fantastic bill. On 8 March 17 15, the Board wrote to Mr Felton and queried the charge of £10 'demanded by the surgeon in curing Mr Mesmer'. They considered
it very excessive and asked the storekeeper 'to ascertain the worth of it', saying that they were prepared to pay a reasonable sum.75 Eventually, on 25 March 1715, they settled the account by giving £5 to the surgeon and 30s. to the apothecary.7G
On IO December 1714, a warrant was issued to the glazier to proceed to Woolwich for the purpose ofmending the windows in the storekeeper's house, the labourers' house and the cordaire house. A strict account was to be kept of the time worked and the materials expended.77
By 1714, the Laboratory required repairs, and John Baxter, storeke~p~r to the Laboratory, rendered a report on the condition of the bmlclings and recommended the course of action to b adopted. These proposals were accepted by the Board on 17 December 171478 and referred to the Surveyor-General,79 John Baxter also proposed that the fixe~ shel! lying in the Laboratory should be drawn. In order to obtam ~n !~dependent opinion, the Board ordered Colonel Borgard, the Ch1efF1remaster, to proceed to Woolwich on 18 December _and report his views to the Board.so The outcome of the discuss10ns between Colonel Borgard and Captain Baxter is not recorded; so presumably they agreed on the desirability of 'drawing the shell: T~e. Su:veyor-General evidently pursued a policy of masterly mactivity m :egard to the Laboratory, because on 6 May 1 715, John Baxter again complained to the Board and stressed that
72 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/
?
73 Ordnance Journal B k' PRO/W 47/27, p. 67, 2 October 1711. 7t Ordnancejournal B~~k' PRO/Wg/47/20A, f. 5. 6 Ordnance Journal Book: PRO/W0~4712J• p. ~?0·
1
·• Ordnancejournal Book PRO/WO 47 2 'p. ::>·
77 Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/W0/47/28, p. B3.
78 OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0//47/27, P• 100·
71 Ordnance Journal Book' PRO 47127, p. I IO.
•0 OrdnanceJournal B k' PRO//W0/47/20A, f. 10, 17 December 1714.
Ordnance Journal ~k' PROfWW0/47/20A, f. 10, 18 December 1714. ' O/47/27, p. 110, 17 December 1714.
242
the necessary repairs must be carried out. Stung to action, they sent down Colonels Borgard and Hopkey-the Chief Firemaster and Comptroller of Fireworks-to view the buildings,81 with the result that on 17 May 1715, Mr Meades was instructed to prepare the necessary estimate.82 The repairs were duly carried out on 1 July 1715 by Messrs Lidgbird and Ogborne. William Ogborne was paid £52. 19s. 5d. for the carpenters' work involved, a sum which included payments for repairing the 'Greenwich Barn' and for work carried out at the conduit house in Collick Lane which supplied the Laboratory with water.83 Henry Lidgbird re-tiled the Laboratory roof where necessary between 2 August and 29 November 1715; he also, between those dates, made drains for the New Carriage Yard. The warrants for the Laboratory and the New Carriage Yard were d ated 1 July and 12 July 1715 respectively. His bill amounted to £ 60. 6s. 8d.84 On 23 August 1715, Mr Windmill was ordered to go down to Woolwich to mend the Laboratory clock,85 and his warrant for the same was dated 26 August 1715.86 On 18 October I 715, a plumber was sent down from London to repair the lead work in the L aboratory,87 and some days later a warrant was issued to Mr John Burgess, master plumber, to line the Laboratory fountain with lead, keeping the old lead as his perquisite, a plumber's practice which
still obtains.as William Edge was instructed on 12 July 1715, to make a walk 25 feet broad sloping from the sheds of the New Carriage Yard into a ditch which was to be dug around the yard. He also was ordered to dig and prepare the ground for d~ains which Mr Li~gbird had a warrant to make in the ditch on each side ofthe yard, 18 inches wide and 2 feet deep (see footnote No. 84). Hen~y Lidgbird was als,? instructed to build a chimney in the dovecote 1n order to adapt 1t for use as a watch-house.89 George Shakespear assisted William Edge in this undertaking and they received the sum of £68. os. 1o¼d. as their due reward.90 They received another warrant dated I July 1715 to clear the foundations where the old building, known as the smiths' shop, had stood by the wharf, and those_ in the old foundr~. The work was carried out almost a year later, 1.e. between I Apnl and 30 June r 7 r 6. Their bill amounted to £ 50. I 2s. ?d.91 •
Very soon after the establishment of the Royal Artillery. 1n I 7I 6, a set ofinstructions were sent to the storekeepers at all garrisons and
81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4.7/28, P· n8. 82 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/28, P· 129· 8 3 Ordnance Bill Book, Sc;ies II, PRO/WO/51/95, P· 23, IO ~ecember 17 15· 8'1 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\VO/51/95, P· 42, 29 T\ovcmbcr 1715·
85
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/28, P· 239·
86
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/VlO/47/28, P· 24.6. 87 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/28, P· 297. 88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/28, P· 309, 27 October 171 5·
89
Ordnance Journal Book,_PRO/WO/47/28, P· 189. 90 Ordnance Bill Book, Scnes II, PRO/WO/5 I /96, P· I 'l. , 3I March I 7.1 6. 91 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROf'-\ 0 / 5 I /96, P· 96, 30 June 1716.
2 43
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
magazines.92 While the document is undated, it was probably issued in 1716.
Instructions to t!ze Storekeepers at tlze Several Garrisons and Magazines
Having made Instructions and regulations for the Companies of Gunners which are at present to be employed in the Service of his Majesty's Artillery at the Several Garrisons and Magazines, and there being not yet Vacancies enough to defray the Charge of these two Companies but by saving the Expense of hiring Extraordinary
Labourers, the respective Storekeepers are to observe the following Directions:
Not to hire for the future on any account whatever any Soldiers or others if the number of Gunners and Matrosses are sufficient to do the same Extraordinary Work for which both Gunners and Matrosses shall rec_eive Sixpence ~ day as likewise the Sergeant, Corporal or Bombad1er employed with them to be paid out of Contingencies.
When any Vacancy happens of an Extraordinary Labourer constantly employ'd it shall not be filled up.
Part of the Gunz:iers and Matrosses shall give daily Attendance at the Storehouses with the Labourers Ordinary and Ex raordinary which_ are in consta?t pay ai:i,d, if they work, shall be paid sixpence per D1em and the like for Night Watching, and if the Service shall
require more than a quarter part they are likewise to attend and be paid sixpence for t!1eir Extraordinary Work out of the Contingencies.
The Commanding Officer shall every Monday Morning give to the Storekeeper a Return or Abstract ofthe Men and the Storekeeper shall advance him subsistence for the same on Account according to the an_nexed Regulation, and every Kalendar Month the said Officer
shall sign ~hree Muster Rolls, two ofwhich shall be sent to the Board and the third for the Storekeeper with a Pay List for the said Month's subsistence received. T?e Account ofSubsistence thus received shall be kept apart and rerrutted to the Board. T~e ~ate of any Man's Death, Discharge or Entry shall be specified ~n the Muster Rolls and no Vacancy to be filled up but by approbation of the Board. To take to their Assistance and Advise with the Commanding Offic~r for putting the Stores, Artillery etc. in good order for the Credit and Benefit of h · M · , S · h t
Is a_Jesty s ervice and to represent w a may be ~ecessary t~ accomplish the same.
f Tfiessaid Officer Is also to attend with the Storekeeper at the taking
o a k urveys and Remains, and jointly to sign the same with the
Store eeper.
" Ordnance Establishment Book PRO/WO/ /
' 54 199.
244
THE WARREN 1701-1720
In order to procure a true State of all the Ordnance both for Sea or Land Service, all the Men that can be spared from time to time shall be employed in taking an exact Account of the same specifying Natures, Lengths and Weights, whether over or under proportion, and whether serviceable or unserviceable as Honey-comb'd vented, Broken or Taperbored to which purpose they must be carefully examined with Searcher, Rammer and Caliper in which service the Master Gunner of each place is to attend under directions of the said officer with such ofhis Gunners as are capable and can be spar'd and to be allowed Sixpence a Day as the other Gunners mend.
A Centinel or Watchman to be kept at the Gate in the Day as well as the Night, particularly at Portsmouth and Chatham to prevent strangers coming in or anything being taken away by them. You are upon the Departure of this Detachment to advance to the Comm anding Officer if he desires it as much money as shall be requisite to subsist the Effectives during their March to the next Garrison they ar to go to.
A REGULATION OF SUBSISTENCE FOR THE
DETACHMENT OF THE MARCHING COMPANY
OF GUNNERS APPOINTED FOR THIS PLACE
Employs Total Pay Subsistence
s. d. s. d.
2 0 I 6
Sergeant Corporal and Bombardier I 8 I 3 I I 0
Gunner 4 Matross I 0 9
I n 1716 occurred the explosion at Moorfields. It was an event which had a profound effect upon the future. o~ _th~ Warren ~y directing its energies towards manufacture and 1rutiat1ng that train of causes which led ultimately to the Royal Arsenal of to-day. The original foundry for casting brass ordnance_ belonging to th~ Crown was at Windmill Hill in Upper Moorfields 1n the present City Ro~d near Finsbury Square,93 and in 1684, Mr Western, who was m charge, was responsible for making all bra~s guns and mortars required for his Majesty's Service. Cannon, 1n those days, were cast from new metal and from old pieces considered to be of no further fighting value. For example, a warrant dated 24 May I 690, addresset to Sir Henry Goodrick, Lieutenant~General of the Ordnance, directed that a quantity of broken iron ordnance an~ shot then lying at Woolwich, and several grenado shel!s at Greenwich I:aboratory, should be recast into ordnance. This work was earned out
11a The site of this factory was afterwards occupied by the famous 'Tabernacl • of Messrs Whitfield and Wesley. 114 H.O. Military Entry Book 3, p. 18, car. II. (See page 106)
245
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
under contract since Government casting was then confined to bronze guns. The factory at Moorfields was taken over by Mr Mathew Bagley95 in r704., who, by warrant dated r 8 April r 706, was appointed founder to the Office ofOrdnance.96 Mr Bagley continued to supply the Crown with artillery weapons till his tragic death in I 7 r 6. After the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, the guns captured from the French by the Duke of Marlborough were displayed outside the Moorfields foundry on Windmill Hill. In 1716, it was decided to utilize thisvaluable metal by recasting it into suitable natures of English ordnance, and on ro May of that year a distinguished gathering assembled to witness the operation, a normal procedure in those days when the art ofcasting was still somewhat of a curiosity. On the day in question the spectators included Colonel Armstrong, SurveyorGeneral of the Ordnance, Mr George Harrison, afterwards Superintendent ofHis Majesty's Foundries97 and Colonel Albert Borgard, Chief Firemaster ofEngland. At a given signal pouring commenced but the moulds unfortunately were still damp. The effects were disastrous. The moisture and consequent generation ofsteam, caused the metal to fly with terrible consequences. Seventeen persons, including Mr Bagley, his son, and Mr Hall, a clerk of the O rdnance, were kiIIed, and a number of others amono-whom were Colonel
' b
Borgard and Mr Harrison, were injured and burnt. The Mercurius Politicus of 18 May reports the incident as follows:
Several gentlemen were invited to see the Metal run which being a very gre~t and curious Piece of Art, a great many Persons' of Quality came to see 1t, and some General Officers ofthe Army among the rest; but whether it was some unusual hindrance in the Work or their ] etter Fate that occasioned _the !Vfetal to be longer preparing than usual we lmov\ not, but be that as 1t will, the Gentlemen waiting till past Ten a Clock went all
or most of them away. About 11 at night the Metal being ready, was let go· · · the burning Metal no sooner sunk down to the Bottom ofthe Mould, but wi~h a Noi~e an_d Force equal to that of gunpowder, it came pouring up agam, blowmg like the Mouth of a Vulcano or a little Vesuvius. There was in the place about 20 Men, as well as Wo~kmen as Spectators, I 7 of whom were so burnt that nothing more horrible can be thought of, neither
M•~TheB hj been a tendency to confuse Mr Mathew Bagley the founder, with Major 0 a ew ay ey, the p~oofmaster. Colonel A. H. Mockridge i~ his paper The Proving of (dianb and Propellants m the R. A. Joumal Vol. LXXVII, no. I' p. 84, suggests that t:1:eY ~ugJ t ~i°ne ~nd tbe same person. ·othing could be further from the truth. MaJ~r \\~y ey 'pr;fe to an older generation. A warrant dated 29 March 1662 (M.G.(? 5 I 'arrants, Od/Gd& D/37/i3) appoints him Keeper ofthe Gunpowder Store in the MinortCf·
n a warrant ate 22 Sept~mber 1663 (M.G.O's Warrants PRO/G & D/37/1 5) he 15
~a~e ie~er ofthe
~':'all Guns in the Tower vice Mr Hooker deceased His name also occurs
0
i~ 1666.B~6~g ,i;"_uarter Book in March 1664 (PRO/W0/54/22)·. He was Proofma5ler ,. M G b• W e had become Governor of Upnor Castle. ,1 G~orge ;.Iarrf°a~ts, PR~/W0/55/515, no. 25. of
£ son 5 appointment as Superintendent of H.M. Foundries at a salary
a13°c:frd;:i~°cnced_{0/{{8r,wry I 722. Warrant dated 27 September I 722 (Warr,an;s
p. 8). ounci • 0/55/348 and M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55 52 '
THE WARREN 1701-1720
can Words describe their Misery. About g of the 17 are already dead, the other 8 are yet living, but in such a condition that the Surgeons say they have very small hopes of above 2 of them.
The autobiographical memoir of Lieutenant-General Albert Bor?ard, which incidentally was damaged by enemy air action in r940, Is preserved in a MS. in the Royal Artillery Institution, Woolwich. It contains the following account of the accident:
1716. On our arrivall at London I was order'd by the Board of Ordnance to lay before them Tables and Draughts ofall Natures ofBrass and Iron Cannon, Mortars, etc., which was done accordingly and approved of. After the said Draughts 2 Twenty Four Pounder Brass Cannon were order'd to be cast by Mr. Bagley in his Foundry at Windmill Hill, at the Casting of which I was order'd to be present. In the Founding, the Mettall of one of the Guns blowed into the Air, burnt many of the Spectators of whom Seventeen dy'd out of 25 Persons and myself received 4 wounds.
The gun itself, the casting ofwhich cost so many lives, is exhibited in the Rotunda Museum at Woolwich. It is about I I feet long and show s distinctly the signs of a faulty cast. In the catalogue it is n u m bered 'Class II, no. 32'.
From fact, let us turn to fiction.
There has been a story regarding this accident which has been current for I 50 years. Lacking any basis in fact, it belongs to that group of fables concerning the Royal Arsenal which should be publicly contradicted and discountenanced for ever. It first appeared in
John Moser's Vestiges, Vol. IV, October 1802, and is repeated in the Beauties of England and Wales, Vol. VIII (Kent by Brayley), published in I 808. It is also printed in extenso in Cleaveland's Notes of the Royal R egiment of Artillery. Although completely unsupported by any corroborative evidence, it still has its champions. Official records, by their lack of any mention of it, prove the tale to be a mare's nest. It runs somewhat as follows:
Andrew Schalch, founder, a native ofSchaffhausen in Switzerland, who by the common law of his Canton had to travel abroad for three years to improve his professional abilities, at last reached England during _his wanderings. Being interested and hearing about the proposed ca~t~ng operation at Moorfields, he decided to attend on 10 May 1716. Arnvmg early on that bright spring morning he ·was by virtue ofhis calling, allowed to inspect the moulds before the day's work began. At once he detected dampness in the moulds and, addressing Colonel Armstrong in French, warned him of the dire consequences which would result were casting to take place. Realizing the force ofSchalch's remarks, the Surveyor-General questioned him as to his experience and, satisfied with his bona fides, decided to follow his advice and leave the foundry as soon as possible. He, therefore, collected his friends and others who had been per uaded
247
DIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
of the danger, and quitted the premises.98 Scarcely had they reached a safe distance when the furnaces were opened and the explosion occurred. A few days later an advertisement appeared in public prints stating in substance that 'if the young foreigner who, in a conversation with Colonel Armstrong on the day of the accident at the foundry at lVIoorfields, had suggested the probability of an explosion from the state of the moulds, would call on the Surveyor-General at the Tm,ver, the interview might conduce to his advantage'. Schalch, informed of this intimation by an acquaintance, visited Colonel Armstrong who, after some preliminary remarks, told him that the Board of Ordnance were contemplating the
erection of a new foundry at some distance from the metropolis, and that he, Colonel Armstrong, was authorized, owing to Schalch's qualifications, to offer him a commission to choose the best spot within twelve miles of London for the construction ofsuch a building, bearing in mind the nature of the works involved and the carriage of heavy material. In addition, he v,ould engage him as superintendent of the whole concern.
This advantageous proposal was readily accepted by Schalch, who at once set about to select the most suitable site for the enterprise, and, having inspected various localities, decided that the Warren at Woohvich offered the best facilities.
Such was the singular train ofcircumstances which led to the establishment of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich.
A pretty story, but one which unfortunately collapses like the proverbial house of cards when subjected to a critical scrutiny . Five reasons may be adduced to prove its utter worthlessness.
(a)
There is no record of Andrew Schalch being present at the Moor.fields foundry on IO May r7r6.
(b)
There is no record of the apocryphal 'public prints'.
(
c) The 'Warren' had already been in existence for some considerable time prior to the events recorded.
(d)
The Board ofOrdnance had for long considered building their Ov\ n brass foundry.
(e)
The appointment of Andrew Schalch as Master Founder was brought about by quite different means.
Two other journals-the Flying Post and the Week{y Journal-of 12 May 1716, refer to this matter. Neither mentions the presence of the founder from Schaffhausen.
There can be no doubt that this heavy blow shook the Board to the c?re: As a cal_amity it was unprecedented, and for armament supplies 1t was a mmor national disaster. The following day, 11 May, the Board dire_cted ~hat proper clerks should go down to Mr Bagley's
foundry at Wmdrrull Hill to investigate the accident and render a detailed report.99 They were also concerned about the state of their . "This supposed episode does not place the Surveyor-General in a very favourable
light. Instead of adopting a policy of sauve qui peut he would naturally have at once
countermanded the order to cast. ' "OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47;29, p. iog.
248
THE WARREN 1701-1720
servants and, on 15 May 1716, directed that Mr Bamber and Mr Pawlett, surgeons, were to attend Colonel Borgard, Mr Mercator, Mr White, Mr Gibson, Mr Michelson, Mr Huchinson, Mr Ogborne and Mr Silvester, all ofwhom had been severely injured and burnt.100 On 20July 1716, the Board wrote to Dr Gardiner, their own surgeon, to examine the accounts presented by Messrs Bamber and Pawlett, for their professional services. These were subjected to careful scrutiny by Dr Gardiner, who was not backward in coming forward for an additional fee on his own account owing, he said, to 'his extra trouble in this affair'.101 Thereupon the bills for attendance by the two doctors were considered by the Board, who once more, on 18
January 1717, referred Mr Bamber's 'bill of cures' to Dr Gardiner.102 Finally Mr Bamber's account of £245. 1,µ. 10d. was accepted and settled on 25January 1717.103 Mr Pawlett was paid £30. Is. od. for the same service on 8 February 1717.104
M eanwhile, on 18 May 1716, Mr Wright, clerk of the cheque, was ordered to proceed to the foundry on Windmill Hill with two labourers and demand the keys from Mrs Ann Bagley, widow of the late founder. The labourers were to remain on the premises to watch the m etal.1°5 The Board on 12 June 1717, forwarded to Mrs Bagley a statement of the brass ordnance which had been sent to her late husband for recasting, and informed her that she was expected to return such guns to his Majesty's stores. They appointed Mr Henry Robinson to adjust, on their behalf, any differences with such persons as M rs Bagley might select as her agents. She was to inform the Board, from time to time, when she was in a position to return 'mettle' (metal), and they would detail proper persons to receive it.106 The Board, although accepting liability in the case of their own dependents, resolutely refused to be moved by compassion on account of other unfortunates involved in this catastrophe. They rejected without argument the pleas of Ann, widow of John Wightman, mould-maker, and ofJohn Davis, labourer, both employees of the late Mr Bagley, who had been blown up in the foundry, the former
fatally. The petitions prayed for the Board's charity, which they obviously considered should begin at home.107
On 30 July 1716, the Board agreed to purchase the utensils from the late Mr Bagley's foundry, on the petition of Ann his widow, at reasonable rates, for the use of the new 'Royal Foundery' which was
100 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 111. 101 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, p. 173, 20July 1716.
Ordnancc)ournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, p. 183, 30July 1716. 102 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/30, P· 15. 103 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/30, P· 20. 104 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/30, P· 25. 105 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 119. 106 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 137. 107 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, p. 154, 3 July I 716.
249
contemplated at_ Woolwich.108 The Board were not completely stonyhearted and their bowels of compassion were capable of movement. They stated on 30 November 1716:109
Upon examination th!s day of Mr Bagley's account of metal from 1 704 to 1 716, th<: balance be!ng 12 c:1 t. 2 qrs. 28 lb., in consideration of the grea~ suffering the family sustame~ by the loss of the father, son and
seveial "orkrnen at the late blast m recasting g d I h ·
• r d uns, an t 1e c arge 1n
fittmg t11e roun ry, ordered that the whole acco t b 11 d d h
balance remitted. un e a owe an t e
The construction ofthe foundry at Woolwi"ch · fi t c: h d d
. . 1s rs 1ores a owe
m the fo11owrng extract from the Journal Bo k d d J
o . s un er ate rg une
J7I6: A1artis 19° die Junij, 1716 It havino-for
ofthe most experienced otri . th \ many yeares been the Opinion Foundery of their O\\n a 1dce1s1 at t e Government should have a Brass
, n w 1ereas Mr Ba l , F d .
1
own [sic one] for Casting Brass Ord . g ey s oun ry is the on y Accidents wcli cant be prevented. nance and 1yable to dangerous
It is therefore order'd that a Pro .
1
Building a Royal Brass Foundery at Hbo~ _and, Estimate be made for wich; and the Charo-e thereof D fi aJeStY s Tower Place at WoolYear by Parliament for recasting eBrayed out of the £ 5 ooo given this
. . rass 0 rdnce and t · b 1 t
herem, masmuch as there are but p Y no time e os
2 1 2
Pounder for Land Service. ounders, and not 1 I 8 or 24 A Jetter to Mr Henry Lidgbird t about providing Bricks for the Ro rBattend the Surveyr ·en1 the 20th Once the b 11 h d y~ rass Foundery at Woolwich.110
a a started rollmg it . gathered speed. No grass was allow: s momentum increased as 1t new foundry. The Board must have d to _grow under the feet of the cariousness ofthe position No ffi . reahzed only too w 11 the pre
O 1
as Mr Bagley's had been ·dis ~la brass foundry in the kingdom, of for the Land Service In n:iant ~d, and no guns worth speaking apparently not going to. cha viewho. the state of Europe they were
nee t eir arm h As
we sha11 see, the new found more t an necessary. .Meanwhile, a master founi was compl~ted within twelve months. selection of the internal fitfer was required to supervise the final
nd
r7r6, the following adverti mgs a arrangements. So on ro July the Daily Cou"ant:111 sement appeared in the London Gazette and
Whereas a Brass Founde . Majesty's Service, all Foundry is now building at Woolwich for his
. . ers as are d .
are to give In their prospect' p esirous to cast Brass Ordnance
regulated by the Principal ~~ roposals _forthwith, upon such terms as
may be seen in their office in thlceTrs of his Majesty's Ordnance, which
e ower. 1oa Ordnance Journal Book p m Ordnance Journal Book' p ROfW0/47/29, p. 183 uo OrdnanceJoumal Book' p:grwo/47/29, p. 287:
m OrdnanceJoumal Book; PROfWg//47/29, pp. 139, 140• 47/29, p. 163.
250
THE WARREN 1701-1720
Andrew Schalch, a founder at Douai, must have answered this advertisement along with others whose names have remained un:ecorded. Selection followed in due course, and on 14 August r 7 1 6, it was ordered that, if Mr Leathes, his Majesty's Minister at Brussels, should give a favourable report on the abilities of Andrew Schaich as a gunfounder, he should be employed in building the furnaces and p~oviding the necessary equipment for the Royal Foundry at Woolwich at 5s. a day until everything was provided and his performance approved.112 Eventually, on 15 October 1716, Andrew Schaich was appointed master founder by an order couched in the following terms: 'The Board having reed a Ire from Mr Leathes, his Majesty's Minister at Brussels, giving an accot that Mr Andrew Schalck (sic) bears a good Character at Doway and was an able founder, Ordtl that the said Mr Schalck (sic) be employed in the Royal Foundery at oolwich at 5s. per Diem from 20th of Sepr last.'113
This disposes of another fabulous tale which has been accepted without question for nearly a century. It will be seen that Schalch's pay , as 5s. a day and not £5. The latter sum amounting to £1,825 a ear would of course have been fantastic and out of all proportion to 'allowances' then ruling. Even the Master-General himselfreceived basically less emoluments than this. The figure of£5 as the daily rate for A n drew Schalch's services first appeared in Historical Notes on the Royal Arsenal at Woolwiclz, by Lieutenant G. E. Grover R.E., published in r 870 in the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution, Vol. VI
p. 23 r. I t has been repeated ad nauseam, particularly by Clode in !1is Military Forces of the Crown, Vincent in his Records of Woolwich, Walford in his Greater London and Thorne in his Environs of London. No doubt Grover was considered the authority and succeeding authors slavishly copied his statement. As Hitler said: 'Make your lie big enough and everybody will believe it.'
The question is 'Did Grover really misread the Journal Book or was the "£5" a printer's error?' That point, of course, can never be settled after this lapse of time, Grover's original MS. having long since disappeared. It is agreed that the sign in the Journal Book used to denote 'shillings', a rather large 'l', might have been mistaken for the pound symbol and given rise to the error. Yet Gro~er was a careful student and if he did assume that the sum ment10ned was
'
five pounds, one would have thought that such a figure would have struck him as odd. In any case, it is a pity he did not turn over the next thirty pages of the Ordnance Journal book in question, because he would then have seen a statement which would have set all
doubts at rest :114
112 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, PP· 198, 199. 113 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /29, p. 241, 5 October I 7I 6. 114 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 271.
18 251
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
15 November 1716. Andrew Schalch, founder, for 57 days pay between 20 September 1716 and 15 November following at the Royal Brass Foundery at Woolwich the rate of 5s. a day pursuant to an order of the Board of 15 October last-£14. 5s. od.
The building of the brass foundry, which will be described later, initiated a burst ofconstructional zeal which swept away the lethargy of the preceding years. New buildings in the neighbourhood of Tower Place were planned and began to take shape besides certain other improvements ofa minor character which took place in various parts of the Warren. This activity was due, partly to the realization that a standing army required a steady flow ofequipment with which a national factory would be better able to cope, and partly to the
fact that the Tower was losing its importance as the main government arsenal and storage depot. These circumstances demanded some conv~nient place near the metropolis, where production, proof, inspection and storage could be grouped at one spot. The big effort lasted for four years and between 1716 and 1720 the ring of hammers and the screech of saws must have destroyed the peace and quiet
of 'Woolwich Green'. Four main building ?rojects were carried out during these four years. They may be said to have formed a consecutive whole corel~ted, as they were, with the formation of the Royal R egime~t of Artillery. Th~se were !he building of the 'Royal Brass Foundery'; the constructi?n of a Great Pile of Buildings' designed at T ower
Place, Woolwich, 9 July 1717-a block afterwards known as D ial Square from the sun-dial being built in over the main entrance in 1764; the remodelling and conversion of the mansion or 'Great House'. at Tower Place itself; and the erection of the first block of the ar~~lery barracks. One result of these changes was to strengthen
th
e ~htary_e!ement_of t_he future Royal Arsenal and inculcate that martial tradition which it retained fi
'Th R or 200 years.
1
. h fie oya Brass Foundery' was, as its name implied a building ~t urnaces where brass ordnance was to be cast for H:M. service.
t.must not be confused with the old foundry a place in existence
1716
pfnTor to , which was an iron foundry situa{ed within the bounds
o ower Place It und .
fc d · erwent repair at the same time as the new oun ry h'":as under construction. Four entries in the Bill Books support t IS contention i th f • .
b fi. h ' n ree o which the work was earned out e ore t.J contract for the brass foundry was placed. The Lidgbirds ;eredpaib £29, 4-J. 4d. for repairing the brickwork and tiling in the oun dd· . etw:en 27 February and 30 June 1716.115 They were paid:a:g: thitJon; £2o3. r5s. 41d. for building new furnaces and a iu ere :tween the same dates.us William Ogborne was paid Ordnance Bill Book Series II PROfW111 Ordnance Bill Book: Series n' PROfW0/51/98, p. 5, 30June 1716. ' O/51/98, p. 6, 30June 1716. 252
THE WARREN 1701-1720
£12. os. 3} d. for repairing the roof of the old foundry at Tower Place,117 and later received another sum of £85. I 7s. I 1 {-d. for work done in the iron foundry at Woolwich.118 Finally the iron foundry was pulled down between 3 1 March I 724 and 30 June 1724,uo and any competition between old and new was stilled.
The 'Great Pile of Buildings' was composite in character, consisting as it did of three portions connected by brick walls which formed two courts or squares between the blocks. The axis of the whole was approximately S.W. to N.E. The south western end contained the turning, washing and engraving house for the foundry and a series of artificers' rooms known as the smiths' shop. These surrounded the southern-most square called The Artificers' Court. The n ext building proceeding towards the N.E. was the Land Service Carriage Storehouse. On the other side of this was a larger square containing a fountain which plashed pleasantly into a basin. This rejoiced in the name of Fountain Court, though in later years it was known as Basin Square. In this courtyard were the armourers' shops and an additional workshop for technicians; there were houses there appropriated to the master founder and storekeeper.12°Finally, the northern end of the 'Great Pile', which received the appellation of Grand Square, was closed by the Sea Service Carriage Storehouse which contained the carpenters' shop. At the north-eastern entrance to the whole, was placed that beautiful gate-way designated 'Front of the gate next the River Thames for the Ship Carriage House designed at Tower Place at Woolwich instead of A markt 1717'.
Besides the buildings mentioned, there was_a call-house_, p?wder~ house and several 'usual offices'. This collect10n of toolsrmths shops with their crude machines formed the mechanical engineering
' .
nucleus of the Warren's technical activities and was the orgaruzational centre. It was the toolroom of the rudimentary gun factory.
The 'Great House' underwent a complete transformation though its ground plan remained the same. The remodelling was so thoroug~, both inside and out that the term 'rebuilt' is generally used 1n
' . .
describing the conversion. Rebuilding, however, requ1:res previous demolition and this never actually took place as a specrfic act.. As a building it was converted piecemeal into a new ho~se. By ~ 7I 9 it was very questionable whether anything of the old edifice, with the exception possibly of a few bricks, still remained. The _fr~nt part of th_e mansion was pulled down and a new facade put up in ~ts place. This was shorter than the original so that the tower, which had been integral with the original structure, became detached as can be seen
117
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/V\'O/51/97, P· 82, 30 November 1116. 118 Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/51/100, P· 28, sJanuary 1717• 110 Ordnance Bill Book' Series II; PRO/WO/51/117.120 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, 20 April 1720.
253
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
THE WARREN 1701-1720
in the painting entitled The Royal M ilitary Academy at Woolwiclz by Paul Sandby (engraved by M. A. Rooker). This tower, or turret as it was afterwards called, was demolished in August 1786. It was the new front portion of the house which contained the 'Great Room' and the 'Academy Room'. The 'Great Room', on the right hand side of the central doorway, was the first to be built. It contained a large bow window overlooking the river and was used as a Board Room for the Principal Officers of the Ordnance. The other large chamber to the left of the main entrance was the original Academy of 1720.
All these alterations deprived the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance of his bedroom etc. in the Great House, whereby he lost his pied-a-terre in the Warren. As compensation he was allowed £2 per quarter in lieu by a Board order dated 16 December 1718.1 21
The barracks, afterwards referred to as the 'Old Barracks' to distinguish them from the second block built in 1739, was th e structure lately consisting ofNos. 1-4 Officers' Quarters, Dial Square. The present Nos. 1 and 4 each then contained two officers' houses, while Nos. 2 and 3 were then the men's barrack rooms.
Three, at any rate, ofthese four main projects, namely the foundry, the Dial Square group and the remodelled mansion of To er Place formed a synthesis and were clearly the concept of one architect. Who was he? A certain Andrew Jelfe was, by ·warrant dated 16 January 1719, appointed 'Architect and Clerk of the W orks of all buildings erected, or to be erected, in the several garrisons, forts, castles, fortifications etc. belonging to the Board of Ordnance in Great Britain'.122 He, therefore, must have been given this post too late for him to have had anything to do with the designs of the buildings in question, and, so far as is known, he was the Board's first permanent architect. The Surveyor-General at that time was Brigadier-General Michael Richards who had been appointed to that office on 2 December 1714.123 He was a great intimate with the Duke ofMarlborough, Master-General, and SirJohn Vanburgh, Comptroller ofthe King's Works, and the three of them had formed a close friendship. Michael Richards was given, by warrant dated 18 March 1717, a special responsibility as 'Superintendent of Our fortifications and all other military buildings in Our Kingdom of Great Britain and all other Our Dominions'. He would therefore have had an immediate interest in the growth of the Warren and any plans would have come under his personal notice. Tradition has always associated Sir John Vanburgh with these specific buildings and, for once, tradition appears to be right. There can be very little doubt that the foundry, the 'Great Pile of Buildings' and the
::~ Ordn~ce Bill Book, Series I, PRO/W0/50/8.
M.G.O s Warrants, PRO/WO/ss/4go. m Patents and Warrants, Vol. V, p. 56.
reconstructed Tower Place were the handiwork ofSirJohn, that man ofmany parts, soldier, courtier, herald, playwright, and architect. As early as January 1858 the Quarterly Review says in Article VII, 'as the visitor gets to the gates of the Arsenal, he finds no difficulty in tracing the whereabouts of the labours of Andrew (Schalch) for straight before him, with stately solemnity which marked the conceptions ofits builder, Vanburgh, stands the picturesque gun foundry with its high-pitched roof, red brickwork and carved porch, looking like a fine old gentleman amid the factory ranges which, within these few years have sprung up around. It is impossible to contemplate this building without respect, for forth from its portals have issued that victorious ordnance which, since the days of George II, h as swept the battle grounds of the old and new worl~s:'
Among the King's maps in the Map Room of the Bntish Museum are a number of volumes containing original designs of barracks, fortifications and other military buildings in different parts of the country. These obviously derive from the pen of one ~an. T~e technique is certainly that of Sir John '(anb~rg_h, who delighted 1n a para-military style of his own which, 1nc1dentally? no .other draughtsman attempted to copy save Hawkesmoor, his assistant. H awk smoor's work, however, lacked the breadth and boldness of his master's conception, and is easily distinguishable from ~hat of Vanburgh. Volume XVII of this series is devoted to Woolwich. In
it are four drawings:
(a)
Plan of the Foundry built at Woolwich anno 1 7l 5 ·
(b)
Plan ofpart ofa Great Pile ofBuildings designed at the Tower Place at Woolwich g July 1717.
(c)
Front gate at Woolwich 1717. . .
(d)
Front ofthe gate next the River Thames ~or the Ship C_arnage designed at the Tower Place at Woolwich instead ofA (1.e. (c)) markt 1717.
The name of ( c) is misleading. It is in reality the entrance to the buildings mentioned in (b), i.e. the south western gateway, to ~he Artificers' Court leading to the turning, washing, and engraving rooms; ( d) is the design of the main gate at the north eastern end
of the 'Great Pile of Buildings'. . None of these plans is signed, no record exists ofVanburgh_hav1n~ executed them and no relevant Ordnance document ment10ns his name. Yet so defined is the hall-mark, that experts have no doubt as to authorship. Vanburgh apparently received no payment at_ an,y time from the Ordnance Treasurer. As Comptroller of the Kings Works, he may have received fees through anothe~ chan~el, or ~he execution of such plans may have been p~rt of his ~ffic1al duties. Alternatively, he may have made these drawings as a friendly gesture
255
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
to his two highly placed friends. Unless further evidence be forthcoming in future, the enigma must remain unsolved.
Mr Lawrence Whistler, author of Sir Jo!zn Vanburgfz-Architect and dramatist, gives the foIIowing reasons why Sir John Vanburgh must be considered the creator of these Woolwich drawings in the British
Museum:
(a) They must be considered in relation to the rest of the military designs in the same series all dating from the same period, i.e. those for Deptford, Upnor Castle, Sheerness, the Tower of London and Berwick. The style is the same throughout, both in architecture and drauo-htsmanship. Although not included among the others the new suo-gest;d layout
for Tower ~lace, Woolwich, :le~rly belongs to' the same gr~up.
(b) Architecturally the bmldmgs are exactly in Vanburgh's 'martial' ~anner, such as he used in his house, Vanburgh Castle,124 at Blackheath, m the outworks of Castle Howard and elsew·he H · ted this
, , 1 d . d fi re. e mven
manner ,fpa_rt Y_ en~e ram the medieval, and no other architect was capable o usmg 1t, or mdeed wished to adopt i"t L I b ·1d times
· d · b h . oca m ers some
cop1e it, 1 · y
ut t ey a ways faltered or modi"fi d ·t to
. . e 1 m som.e way eas
S f
detect. ome o the details m the 'barracks' ld · d d have
group cou , 1n ee ,h b
been wroug t y Hawkesmoor who caught th V b 1 d. · but
I ffi f ' e an urg 1 tra it10n,
~he genel:ka le ect o e~ch design is such as to rule out Hawkcsm oor. Nor
1s he so i e y an architect as Vanburgh th· ·
( ) v b h h On 1s occasion.
_c an u~g was _t e obvious architect to choose. He was preemmently a cast1e-bm1der'. He had be ld" d h d d" d
· · b ·1 · en a so ier an a stu 1e
Hrmlitary 1m din? t? some extent; his work was full of military 'allusions'·
e was a so enJoymg great popula ·t d · f
G I afi h" n Y an esteem in the new reign o
eorge ter is temporary eclipse under the Tories.
Mr Whistler, himself is co · d h ' nvmce t at the 1716-1720 layout ath W
t e arren was the work of Sir J h V b
O
unity and spacio b n an urgh. There is clear1y a
. usness a out the whole 'dThISbIIarge builfding programme cost t.he Board of Ordnance con
s1 era e sums o money as th T testify It · h . e reasurer's Ledgers and Bill Books
. 1s somew at difficult t d
specific heads as th O separate the various items un er
, e master craftsm h · h a
tions, often received a corn . en, w o superv1s:d t e _oper ticular share in the k prehensive payment covermg their par-the records reveals t:o~ as ha whole, but even a cursory glance at
e J.act t at the yea d · · d a
spate ofconstructional f . . rs un er review witnesse the past. ac ivity foreign to the laissez faire methods of
The 'Royal Brass Founder '
for it was dated 19 J Y was the first to be built. The contract une 1716 125 Th · • • 1 d n
24 July 1716 to Mr Willia · e m1tia step was an or er o estimate.12e Concurrentl Wr.n. Meades to prepare the necessary 124 • Y, Ilham Edge and George Shakespear
ow Van/Ju hC l
121 0 dn rg ast e School in Maze H"JJ r anceJournaJ Book PRO/W 1 • J11 OrdnanceJournal Book: PRO/W00//47/29, p. 199. 47/29, p. 180.
256
THE WARREN 1701-1720
went ahead between 1 July and 30 September 1716 with preparing the foundations, a task for which they were paid £50. 8s. 1 i½d.127 The site chosen had necessitated the demolition of the Greenwich barn which was promptly pulled down.128 Then the Lidgbirds, father and son, carried out the necessary brickwork at a cost of £334. 3s. 3d.,129 a sum they were paid by Mr Farman on 5 October 1716.130 As the original foundry building was constructed mainly ofwood, the lion's share of the work fell to William Ogborne who received a payment of £1,675. 1s. 2¾d. for his part in the new venture.131 Mr John Burgess, the master plumber, then entered the lists, and, on an order dated 30 November I 7I 6, proceeded to cast in pigs 24 tons, 1gcwt. 3qrs. 13lb. of lead for the roof.132 For this he was paid £ 405. 19s. 1½d., his account being presented on 30 June I 717 .133 Mr John Mist, the master pavior, was al~o e~rolled for_ th~ common cause. He did a certain amount of paving 1n the srruths yard by the foundry and at other places nearby.134 William Ogborne, too, was paid additional sums for making wooden plates, pattern~ and scaffolding in connection with the erection ofthe ne': foundry:13., The fabric ofthe foundry being completed, the c~nstruct10~ ofwh1ch had demanded, among other things, 35,534 W1ndso: bricks at £3 per 1,000, which with 17 tons 2cwt. of loam for use 1n _the ~oundry at 25s. per ton, were delivered to the site by Messrs L1dgbird at a cost of £r34. 3s. od.,1as the building of ~he furn~:es ~ook place. There were two furnaces known as the 'great and the little . The great
· 1a1 y· tl
furnace could melt about seventeen tons of meta1at a time. irs Y Messrs E dge and Shakespear dug the necessary pi~s, r~ceiving_ in payment the sum of £78. rgs. 1id.138 The~ the L~dgb1rds, usmg 28 500 place bricks and 10 ooo hard stock bncks, bmlt the furnaces
, · , J..d 1ao
between r8 March and 23 May 1717 at a cost of £ 237· gs. 7-2 · By the late spring of 171 7, the new foundry was completed save for the finishing touches and as early as 4 January of tha_t year, the Surveyor-General w:s instructed to issue warrants to arb.~cers fr_om time to time so that the necessary implements could be provid~d without delay.Ho The last act, bar the painting, was the embellishment
127
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO I5 1l9J, P·a8' 3° tpteh~;r ; 7~tof\\ 0 I
128 Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/5119 , P· 1• 3° arc b · 51 /99 p 10 31 Decemb~r 1716. PRO/WO/51 /100, P· 41, ~ Septem r11717·
120
Ordna~ceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 199, 14 ugust 171 •
130
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 241.
131
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/100, P· 1, 29June 1717•
132
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 289·
133
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/98, P· 68·
134
Ordnance Bill Book'. Series II, PRO/WO/51/ 100, P· 137, 3° Septtmber 1Jl7·
135
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/97, P· 82, 31 Decem er 171 • 136 Ordnance Bill Book'. Series II, PRO/WO/51 /98, P· 47, 31 December 1716• 137 Guide to Woolwich John Grant, 184I. b 6 138 Ordnance Bill B~ok, Series II, PRO/WO/51/97, P· 9, 31 DMem er 171 • 189 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /99, P· 10, 2 3 ay 1717• uo Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/3o, P· I.
257
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
of the main entrance. Mr Thomas Green, a stone-cutter, presented a 'draught' for the King's Arms, which it was proposed should be fixed over the doorway of the 'Royal Brass Foundery'. They were to be cut from Portland Stone, 6 feet high, 8 feet long and r foot thick, i.e. a block of stone containing 48 cubic feet. H e demanded a fee of £26 for 'performing the task in a workmanlike manner'.141 The Board were a little dubious of paying the price quoted, but on Mr Meades's recommendation they accep ted it.142 Mr Green then agreed with the Board to carve the Duke of M arlborough's Arms, surrounded by th~ Garter and bearing his motto FIEL PERO DESDICHARD0,143 on the keystone of the arch immediately below the Royal Arms, for a sum of £7. This figure was accepted on 30July I 7I 7, the day on which Mr Green was paid for executing the King's Arms.144 Finally, Mrs Jane Hill, paintress to the Board, painted the foundry where necessary. This included the painting ofeigh~een wa~er cisterns on the stacks ofthe pipes there, ten
ofwhich were gilded with the letters 'G.R.' and the date of the year, the other eight being gilded with the letters 'G.R.' and the Crown. The price ofeach cistern was 7s. 6d. Her warrant for this work was dated 7 August r7r7, and she presented her bill for £157. 3s. o½d. on 30 September r7r7, a sum which included several other la rge
items besides her work at the foundry.145 As soon as the ~oun~ry was in operation the boring 'engine' was i~t~lled. Henry L1dgb1r~ was ordered to dig the pit for it,146 while Wilham_ Ogborne w~s P~1d £57. gs. 4-}d. for erecting a cupola over it.147 Tius was no engme in the modern sense of the word· but a very elementa~ typ~ ofhorizontal boring machine worked b); horses. To mo~ern mm~s it appears a most antiquated contraption, but doubtless 1t s~i:ved its J?urpose _at the time, though hardly with any degree of precmon. This machme was constructed in situ as we are told that fine copper mixed with other gun metal was issu~d to Mr Schalch for the 'female of the great screw of the boring engine at the Royal
149
;oun~ery'. ~n those days no private manufacturer dealt with machme tools of that description. On 30 April , Andrew
171 7
Schalch rep?rte~ that he ~as ready to make the moulds for the two 24 pdrs. ~hich, ~t was decided, should be cast.149 He then prepared a memorial relative to the service of the fco d fc h t" of
Th. . un ry or t e atten 10n
d 18 th
the Boar · e Prmcipal Officers read and approved. In it he
m OrdnanceJoumal Book PRO/WO/ / m Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/W0/47 3°, P• 89, 2 April 1717. m Spanish meaning Faithf;l though unrorf13°, P• 104, 16 April 1717. 144 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO vvi5 unate. m Ordnance Bill Book Series II /PRJ47/3o, p. 210. m OrdnanceJournaJ Book PRO/WO /W0/51/100, p. 132.
m Ordnance Bill Book, Se;ies II, PRJ/'VJ3 1, P• I 11, 22 April 1718.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/ /0/5i/rn5, p. 74, 31 March 1720.
u, OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/3°, p. 166, 21 June 1717.
47 30, p. I 18,
258
THE WARREN 1701-1720
suggested casting two heavy cannon and several small mortars once a month in the great furnace, and, in alternate months, four guns from a 6 pdr. downwards, or r3 to I o inch land mortars and 8 inch howitzers in the little furnace.150 The two 24 pdrs. were duly cast.
~ndrew Schaich took the greatest interest in his work, as well as be1n?" _a very capable founder. The Board had a high opinion of his qualities, so much so that they raised his daily rate of pay from 5s. to I 2s. on 2 r March r 7r8. It is recorded that:
The Principal Officers of his Majesty's Ordnance having made a proof the I 3 th inst. of 2 brass 24 pdrs cast, mounted, bored, turned and engraved by Mr A ndrew Schalch, both which stood the full proof of powder and shot,_ and although one of them did not search so well as the other, yet cons~dering it was the first time of his casting, and he a stranger to the quality of the loom151 etc. the Board judged he performed his duty as a good and able founder and thereupon resolved in pursuance to their resolution the 30th April 1717 to make him an allowance of 12s. per diem, w ork or not work, according to the 2nd article of his proposal, from the day h e began to make moulds for the 2 above said brass ordnance, and that Mr Felton make out his certificate to the 31st December last to be
1:assed into Bill and Debenture; nevertheless, that the Board shall be at
liberty to agree with him upon any other of the three articles of his proposals if they shall think fit. Letter to Mr Felton accordingly.152
Arising from this, a warrant dated 16 May 1718, appointed Andrew Schalch to be Master Founder at Woolwich at a salary of £ 219 per annum with effect from 1 April 1718.153
The Board also approved of Andrew Schalch employing the number ofmen he proposed at the 'several allowances' stated against their names, taking as many as he could from the marching company of the Royal Artillery, their only insistence being that they must be the ultimate judge regarding the capability and the terms ofemployment of the engraver. Mr Felton was accordingly ordered to make up the pay of those men taken out of the company and of those employed as artificers• half the extra only to be paid to the persons ~arrying out their dut~ who should be next on the roll.154 Pro_cedure 1n the Royal Gun Factory has altered during the passage of time, as tradition asserts that in the days of George I, the master founder would never allow the furnaces to be opened until the workmen and spectators had joined him in prayer. Schalch was a conscientious man who looked after the interests of his workmen. For example, he
ISO A ·1 8
Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/31, P· l 11, 22 pn 171 •
161 loam. '
uz Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, P· 69.
::: M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/WO/55/502, P· 155· .
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, p. 111, 22 April 1718.
259
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
recom,mended the following increases of pay, which received the Board s approval on I April I 720 ;165
Jacob Schalch -foreman1sG 2s. 6d. to 3s. } Jacob Plaine -turner Is. Bd. to 2s. George Waugh -smith rs. 6d. to 2s. per day
John Magar -moulder Is. 6d. to Is. rod.
While the star of the Ro 1F d .
of the Laborator ass . ya o_un ry was m the ascendant, that fireworks was ply pd ed mto eclipse. In 1716, the manufacture of
ace on a care a d . . d
bombadier and · t . n mamtenance basis un er a
11
Colonel Hopkey :: ~ Y hibernated for a period of thirty years. of the times stili e t'ompdtroller of Fireworks, following the custom
' con mue to draw h. II f £ .
being transferred to r k is a owance o 200 a year, He enjoyed this ben:fitt~nown as 'the Establishments to be sunk'. had other duties under th th,e autumn of_1734.1s1 Col?nel Borgard Chief Firemaster under th; New Establishment' besides those. of his £150 p.a. for that office . old, yet _he, too, continued to receive
158
remained in retirement tilf11 the s~nng ~f 1722. The Laborat?ry allowed it to resume •t fi ~746, m which year a reconstruction W 1 s unct10nal activities
e must now return to th . . · .
building projects which wer e co~siderat10n ?f the other three main years. Owing to the method e earned ~ut dunng the e four stre:1uous it will be simpler to t ofcomposite payments before mentioned, Buildings' the con .reat the construction of the 'Great Pile of barracks 'as one vpersrn_n of the mansion at Tower Place and the
' O erat1on rather th 'b eh
individual erection se . an attempt to descn e ea
T parativelyhe story begins on l 2 J 1 . 1.d
before the Board 'a drau h~ Y 1717 ~hen the Surveyor-General 1~ room a turru'ng g and estimate for building an ingrav1ng
' room and a h' 1
Foundery', amountin to was mg room f?r the use of the Roya accepted without muct detf752• .7s. 5d. This seems to have been were ordered to b d iled discussion as contracts and warrants
e ma e out ac d' d t d
12 July 1717 and k ~or mgly.159 The contract was a e difficult to underst:~~ w:as ~ut m hand immediately. It is therefore estimate of £ Ynme months later 'the Board agree to the
nd
530 8
engraving house ·atqsW. dl. ~or building the turning, washing a
oo w1ch' 1so n·d tter
further and repent of th . · 1 they consider the ma d
nd
esti~ate finally approv:~;>u ~e ~aste, ?r was a modified plan ans earher, on g April ~It." 1mposs1ble to say. Three rnon~hd 171 7, bricklayer had been ordered to buil
m Ordnance Journal Book p ~'; ~ ~clative of the Master' fo~~/W0/47/33, p. 194. m r nance Quarter Book PROer. m grrance Quarter Book' PRO~g/54/22. 110 r nancejournal Book 'PRO l/54/80.
Ordnancejournal Book' PRO/~g/47/30, p. 191.
' /47/31, p. 98, IO April 1718.
260
THE WARREN 1701 _ 1720
a smit. h,s shop and forge according to the following dimensions :161
Breadth of forge from back to coal trough -3 feet Length -4 feet Height -2 feet
This was presumably in the Artificers' Court close to the turrun· morn. g h O!1 7 March I 7I 8, the Board approved the draft for building t e Great Room' and saloon in the mansion at Tower Place 162 an. approval followed on I o April 1 7I 8 by the following detailed eStlmates presented to the Board by the Surveyor-General as under:163 Land £2,255. 5s. 1o¼d.
_For building a carriage shed at Wool-\
Sea £2,202. 12s. 7¾d.
wich for Land and Sea Service J ~or building the Great Room, saloon,] staircas~, with 2 rooms adjoining to be done this year at Woolwich
A warrant was issued to William Edge and George Shakespear on 7 ~vember I 718 for digging the foundations for the barracks according to an estimate laid that day before the Board. Similar warrants were given to William Ogborne, HenryLidgbird, and John Burgess .for carpentering, bricklaying, and plumbing respectively, in co1;1-n~cb.on with the same.164 On 8 May I 7 1 g, the estimate for building the original barracks in the Warren, amounting to £2,038. 6s. 3l d., was placed before the Board and agreed to, the work being or~ered to be put in hand.165 On 7 July 1719, a small pair of back ~tairs 2 feet 6 inches wide were ordered to be made behind the saloon in .the re-constructed 'Great House',166 and on the same day an estimate of£503. r6s. r 1d. for fence walls for the officers' houses was
approved.167 For some reason it was decided to remove the pantiles from the roof of the 'Great Room' at Woolwich, storing them for future use, and to re-cover the new roof with lead. Henry Lidgbird received a warrant to carry out this service on 25 August I 720, and at the same time was ordered to 'new lay the bottom of the great furnace with new bricks in the Royal Brass Foundery'. William Ogborne also had a warrant of similar date, to prepare and board the new roof of the 'Great Room', while Hezekiah Walker, who had repla~ed John Burgess as master plumber, was instructed to cast sufficient lead for the purpose.168 Finally, on 31 August I 720, the
161., 0 rclnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/30, P· 98. 16; OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/31, P· 57· 16 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/31, pp. 100, 101. 164 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/31, P· 333· 165 0 rdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/32, P· 217. 166 0 rdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/32, p. 280. 187 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/32, P· 284. 188 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO fWO /4 7 /33, P· 267.
261
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Surveyor-General was ordered to lay before the Board 'draughts and estimates for another great room at Woolwich for an Academy equall to the "Great Room" already built, with a house for the mathematical master'.169
It is quite impossible to record all the detailed operations which together formed the complete programme. Many were small items such as making wooden centres for arches and windows, glazing, plastering, painting, paving, tiling, levelling ground, and other essential though minor services. They may be perused at leisure in the Ordnance Bill Books by those who have the time and inclination for such a study. There were five classes of tradesmen employed; seavelmen, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, and paviors, excluding painters whose efforts do not appear to be chronicled, and it is proposed to outline the work each did in the order indicated.
Scavel-men
Receiving a warrant dated r 2 July r 7r 7, William Edge and George Shakespear set to work to dig part of the foundations for the turning, washing and engraving house, to raise and level the floors of the Laboratory and the old fire-barn, and to erect supports in Collick Lane; jobs for which they received the sum of £84. 7s. 7d.170 Later on, they removed some heavy timber which would have obstructed
the erec~on oft~e turning, washing and engraving house, dug further foundat~ons for 1t, and, with William Meades, took the depths of the foundat10ns ofall the new buildings rising in the Warren for a further charge of£47. os. 6d.171 Between r October and 3r December 17 ~ 8, they opened up the d:ains in the new storehouses to lay pipes 1~' protected th,e foundation walls against frost, grubbed up trees ?1 front of the Great Room', screened mould there and filled up pits in the foundry. They were paid £2 o. rs. 3d. for these items.112 Later on, Edge and Shakespear were given a warrant dated 10 April 17 18 and a co~tract dated 7 ~ove_mber ofthe same year for a large amoun; of scave!lmg work. Their bill amounting to £ r 3r. ss. 1od. was fo completmg the fo~ndations for the turning, washing and engraving house and excavatmg the foundations for the Land Service and Sea Service Carriage Storehouses , the 'Gre t Room,, the saloon, the
. a , staircase and the room adioining in the 'G t H se' the artificers
h . Ar .fi , ~ rea ou , s ops m tl. cers Court, the barracks and kitchen, the outworks ~o
!he barra~ks, bog-houses, vaults, drains and digging for the fountain
m Fountam Court. In all they removed 6 302 yards of soil at 5d. a yard.11a '
m OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/WO/ /
1;0 Ordnance Bill Book S '. I 47 33, pp. 269, 270. 111 Ordnance Bill Book' S er!es 1f' t~O/WO/51/100, p. 81, 30 September 1717. 111 Ordnance Bill Book' S er~es 11, p O/WO/51/100, p. 82, 31 December 171i·
11• ordnanceBiIIBook' S;~~es 11' PRRO/WO/51/102, p. 68, 31 December 171 . ' Ies , O/WO/51/104, p. 106, 30June 1719.
262
THE WARREN 1701-1720
They next had a warrant dated 7July 171g to clear the ground for the fence wall to be built at the barracks and to raise the level of the soil within the enclosure, to finish Proof Place, to clear the Artificers' Court, to make a cartway to the old fire-barn and to lower part ofthe ground before the upper Warren gate. They carried out these tasks between I July and 30 September 1719, for which they were paid £52. 6s. 7d.17'1 A further warrant, dated 15 August 1 7 I 9, instructed them to level the courtyard before the 'Great Room' and to fill up a passage leading to the kitchen and to level the shed and the shot-yard. Their bill amounted to £26. 6s. 2d.175 William Edge then seemed to disappear as subsequent warrants were addressed to George Shakespear alone. On a warrant dated 13 July 1 720, he ducr the foundations for the two labourers' cottages and the piers whichb were to be built at the entrance to the Warren, he excavated the vaults at the barracks176 and dug the drains at the back together with three wells. He also prepared the foundations _for the fence walls of the garden which had recently been planted behmd
177
the b arracks. For these tasks his payment was £27. 10s. 2-}d. Finally, George Shakespear was paid £53. 18s. 4d. for levelling the ground and sinkincr the floor of the Great House on a warrant dated I '2. April 1720,118 :nd £g4. 6s. gd. for digging the foundations of the A cademy and of two bog-houses.179
Bricklayers
Henry Lidgbird was responsible for all the brickwork which this large b uilding programme entailed. Between l October and .31 December 1718 he carried out a series of minor jobs among which
th
Were taking do~n the great elipses (i.e. ellipse) ne:'t. to e bow window in the Board Room, on the instruction of William ~eades,
• . . h • h place and covering the
erecting a semi-circular arc 1n t e same 180
115·
Work with straw. His fee for these items was £48. 3¾d• Henry Lidgb· d d'd h • t· ofhi·s business on two large contracts.
1r 1 t e maJOr por 10n d 181 The first was dated I o April l 7l 8 and w_as valued at £4,66l. 5s. 4 .
It comprised bricklaying in the following:
(a) Building the 'Great Room', saloon, staircase and;o<~;.;5:dJo;:~:~kitchen piazza bog-house coal-house, shed next to t e i c e . shot-ya;d, and ~he fence w~ll running from the kitchen to the great pier;
also work under the stairs going up to the saloon. 3 d
£1,410. 13s. 7"4 •
11~ O/WO/ 1/io5 p 97 30 September 1719.
17~ Ordnance B\11 Book, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/11105: p: 99: 31 December 1719.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR b k. 5 the gardens of the houses.
176 These are the present cellars at the ac m 6 0 June 1720.
1
1:: Ordnance B\ll Book, Series II, P[gf{\~g~5~ ~~~t ~: 3t ;0 June 1720.
17 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, P ro/5 /l 10 121 31 March 1722.
18: Ordnance Bill Book, Ser~es II, PRROO//W'\i\ 5~ pp: 54 '31 December 1719.
01 1104'
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, P 5 ' ' J 1719
181 Ordnance Bill Book' Series II, PRO/WO/51/104, P· 55, 3o une ·
'
263
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(b) Land Service Carriage Storehouse £ 1d
. C . 920. os. I I 4 . ( ) c Sea Serv1ce arnage Storehouse £ 8 J...d
· • 1,1 o. 2s. 12 •
(d) Turnmg, was111ng and eno-ravino-t> ho t'fi , k h h
· d . t> use, ar 1 cers wor s ops, t e piers an great arc11 Ieadmg to the Art'fi , C (. h d .
marked A amongst the plans in the M ; cers ourt . i_.e. t e es1gn 'the Front Gate at Woolwich , ap oom of the Bnt1sh Museumin the Artificers' Court. 1 717 ) ' the fence walls and the bog-house
(e) The call-house, powder-house and£ . . £738_. I os. I I d. fence-walls enclosing Fou t • C ountam m Fountain Court. The
n am ourt. £ BJd
4 11. 17s. 2· •
Between the two contracts he r . d
the fence-walls vaults b h eceive £308. 7s. 3¼d. for building
' ' og-ouses d ki h ffi ,
houses in the barracks.1s2 ' an tc ens for the o cers
His next large contract dated 6M consisted offour main items 183 ~h arch 1719, worth£945. 3s. 2¾d.
· ese were:
(a) Building the tv,,0 Iabou ,
to the Warren. rers houses and the piers at the entrance
(b) Building a wash-hous d ki
Captain's apartment build' e an tchen with a shed for coals in the
' ma-vault fc ,
house and at that belonging t t> h C s or coals at the master founder s Building a room near the O ~ ~ lerk ofthe Stores (MrJohn Portman). steps going to the saloon 1a':acs -ouse at the master founder's under the
· onstr ·
and also fence walls for the ·d uctmg a necessaryl85 at the shot-yard
. gar ens heh· d h r.
these 1tems was dated 21 Ma m t e barracks. The warrant 1or
(c) Plastering in the fou yffi I 720 ·
f< r O cers' h · · h
our rooms at the entranc t F ouses m the barracksI86 and 1n t e
e O ounta· C II
on a separate contract dated 8 M In ourt. This work was actua Y I 720. ay 1719, the warrant beino-dated 2 l N.[ay
(d) Work in the saloon a d . o
. th ull n m the b 'Id'
m e sc ery and the lard ui mg adjoining the great kitchen,
er.
~enry Lidgbird next plastered
received £120. gs od I87 L the Great Room for which he
. · · astly he • ' h
~ork h. e d1d at the Academ was paid £51 r. 1Bs. Bd. for t e mcludmg the building of th y on a warrant dated r 8 April I 72 1, chimneys in the saloon of theJreat pier, fence walls and additional was dated 30June 1722 and eh reat_ House.iss The debenture for this
e received 1s9
payment on 14 May I 723. 181 Ordnance Bill Book S .
m Ordnance Bill Book' er~es II, PROfWo
1" The Mastcr-founde; 1tcsII, PRo;wOf51/io4, P· 59, December 1719.
120). a O appeared to ha 5I110,7, p. 78, 30 September 1720. m It is a somewhat c . ve a residence in Fountain Court (see note
a 'necessity' in the ei hur1ous reflection on mo
'convenience'. g teenth century had b dern civilization that what was considered .11~ These four officers' h y the twentieth century merely become a
origmally contained two oouscs ~re the present N e
on1~7housc in 1743. fficers quarters until os. l and 4 Dial Square. Both of t~es Ordnance Bill Book S . General Borgard had No. 4 rnade into
111 Ordnance B'U Bo ' cries II PRO/W
111 0 1 ok S · ' 0/5 /
rdnancc Trcasurc;'s ~ II, PRO/W0/5:/10, P• 59, 31 December 1720. ger, PROfWo; a;J~~• P· rr6, 30June 1722.
4 264
THE WARREN 1701-1720
. Peter Meades having calculated that 700,000 bricks had been used in the saloon, ~itchen etc. of the Great House, Mr Lidgbird was ordered to provide 350,000 greystock and slate bricks for the corning season.190
Carpenters
Between 1 April and 30 June 1718, William Ogborne took up the old floor and staked out the ground for the new portion of the Great House, made a fence in Warren Lane,191 carried out work on the Sea and Land Service Carriage Storehouses, fixed up iron work in the turning, washing and engraving rooms, and made good the roof to the brick chimney in the foundry.192 He did his share of the main b1:1ilding scheme on the same contract as that on which Henry Lidgbird carried out the bulk of his work. His warrants for this were date_d 7 November 1718, 7 April 1719 an~ 10 April 1719, and he received a total of £3,416. 3s. 8¾d.193 The items were:
(a)
W ork in the 'Great Room', saloon and rooms adjoining, and in the kitchen, coal-house and bog-house £8or. 15s. 6¾d,
(b)
Work in the Land Service Carriage Storehouse
£1,022. 19s. 7d.
(c) W ork in the Sea Service Carriage Storehouse £981. 6s. 8¾d.
(d) Fitting up the middle pavillion for small stores
£97. 9s. 4d.
(e) Work in the turning washino-and engraving house
' 0 £282. 8s. 7-½d.
£2
(f)
Building two sheds in the Artificers' Court I. 14.s. 6d. 35
(g)
A boa-house £7. • B¼d.
(h)
Work in the call-house and powder-house in Fountain Court
£97. 4-5· 1!d.
(i) Building four sheds in Fountain Court £97. 4-5· 7}d.
.William Ogborne received two further contracts in connection
171
With the barracks. The first for £1,018. 7s. 7{-d. dated 8 May 9, for wood-work in the construction of the barracks,10<1 and the other for £99. Is. ¼d. dated July 1719, for building outhouses a~d fence
47
Walls on the barrack site.19s He then completed the lab~urers houses at the entrance to the Warren. His contract for this was dated 16 March 1720, and his bill amounted to £251. 25· 3-}d.1~ 6 It ,~ill be remembered that Henry Lidgbird had fulfilled the bncklaymg part of the contract and had built the piers (see note 183). Between
::~ Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, P· 2.67, 2 5 August 1 7 20• •
19., Not to be confused with the present \Varren Lane, formerly called R';fged Rou:.
11
10 ~ Orclnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/51/101, P· 67, 3° June 7 · 1
u: Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/WO/51/104, P· 4, 3° September 17 19· 195 O rdnance Bill Book' Series n' PR0/\\'O/51/105, P· 67, 31 Decem~er 17 19·
1
grddnance Bill Book: Series n: PROfW0/51//105, P· i6,3 rec~:i;;r\77;~
188
r nance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 107, P· ' 3° ep ·
19 265
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
these uprights were hung a · f ·
d R . pair O iron gates made by Messrs Peters an emnant, smiths, at a cost of£68 1Bs J,d 197 •
act in enclosing th lV b · · 42 · This was the last
. t ed harren Ya wall. The total estimate for building
tile piers, ga es an t e t\,vo lab , h
ourers ouses at the entrance to the 'Varren was £ 523 gs 11 1..d fi
Mr Meades on 16. M. h·2 ., a gure presented to the Board by
arc I 720 who a d . d d h
necessary warrants and ' ccepte it an cause t e
contracts to be d A .c. b
seen the estimate was t rawn up. s 1ar as can e
' no exceeded 10s William Ogborne then fitted · h .
in the new building at Tower PI up t e kitchen, scullery and larder he also boarded the roof of th:~~on a warra~t dated 2 1 May 1720; 25 August 1720 For these . reat Room on a warrant dated
· services he 'd d
30 September 1720, a sum of £ was pa1 , on a debenture date
11
the same day and on a • il 5• 5s. 5fd. on 14 July 1721. On
' s1m arly d t d d b .
sum of£147. 16s 8.1-d .c. ki a e e enture, he received the
· • 2 • 110 r ma •
Arch and Piers' kno .. ,n • h ng a pair of gates under 'the Great
' ., in t e d .
Woolwich-1717' and t . esign stage as the 'Front Gate at
' wo pairs of r.
eastern and western si"de f F gates 1or the entrances on the
s O •ount · C 199 "d
£424. l4S. 7d. for doing th . . am ourt. He was next pa1 House on a warrant dated ~ntenor decorative work in the Great
8 200
more to accomplish before h:y 171g. ~ illiam Ogborne still had 1716-1720 building sche could claim that his share in the
me was finish d
he was, ?n a debenture dated e • On 29 September I 72 I, for odd Jobs carried out b tw 3° September 1720 paid £4.6. gs. gd. the Great Room saloo e een 1 April and 20 September 1 720 in
' n, great kit h · · d
the saIoon, and also fco . · c en and m the rooms behin
d · h r certain c .
an m t e houses ofMr p arpentenng work in the barracks three warrants, dated 22 oltm_~n and Mr Felton.201 He then received account of work in th b pn ' 2 1 May and 5 December 1 720 on
e arracks a d ffi ' . '
on 29 September 1721 h b . n ° cers houses. For this also
' e o tamed h '
a debenture dated 31 Dece t e sum of £ 195. rgs. 3¾d. on . As the storekeeper's h mber I 720.202
th · ouse was ·
e wamscoting of his ro contained within the Great House, b "Id" oms com · h"
m mg programme. Th es wit m the orbit of this large stages, why, it is not clea: ~ork was apparently carried out in two ail<l 3° September 1720 ' ut _two debentures dated 30 June r 72°
first Willi ' respective!
' am Ogborne , . Y, covered the operation. On the
vas paid £21 .
::; Ordnance Bill Book S . · 4-J. 9t d., 203 for the portion Ordnance Journal B enes II, PRO/WO/ 1
m Ordnance Treasure/or, JROfWo;47; 5 /118, P• 87, 6Junc 1723.
33 1
Ordnance Bill Book S~ ger, PRO/WO/' f1· 53•
6
200 Ordnance Bill Book' er!es II, PROfWo 4 2.
Ordnance Bill Book' ~enes II, PRo;w0 f5 1/107, p. 86, 30 September 1720. 201 Ordnance Treasure•, cries II, PRo;wo/11107, p. 91, 30 September I 720. m Ordnance Bill Boo{sL<:dger, PRO/W0/5~//6107, P• 87, 30 September 1720.
Ordnance T , enes II PROfW 4 2.
rcasurer's Led ' 0/51/108
0 rdnancc Bill Book S . ger, PROfWO/ , P• 86, 30 September 1720.
816
so• Ordnance T • enes II PRo;w 4 2.
reasurcr's Led ' 0 / 5 1 /
ger, PROfW0/4816~_7• P• 98, 31 December 1720.
266
THE WARREN 1701-1720
he ~id between 31 March and 30 June 1722, on the second he received £24. 7s. 4d. ;204 both payments being made on 14 May 1 7~3: On the same day, too, on a debenture dated 30 June 1722, Wilham Ogborne was paid £240. 17s. 7¾d._ for his part in building the Academy Room,200 and finally he supplied the furniture for the
od.206
Great Room at a cost of £46. 1Os.
Plumbers John Burgess was paid £435. 11s. 1id. for plumbing carried out at the turning, washing and engraving house, and at the foundry.207 On a warrant dated 10 April 1718, he received the sum of £298. 8s. 1o¾d. for his work in the Land and Sea Carriage Storehouses the
'G '
reat R oom' and the building adjoining.208 Later on, he received additional warrants dated 1 o April 1718, 24 October I 718, 8 May 1719 and 7July 171 7, to cover his plumbing activities in the barracks, the 'Great Room' and the Land and Sea Carriage Storehouses b et, een 1 J anuary and 30 June 1719. For these later services he
received £ 262. 4-5. 6d.209
Paviors
John M ist, master pavior, had a contract dated 19 November
171 7, to pave the Land and Sea Service Carriage Storehouses with
17,985¾square feet of Purbeck squares at 7d. a square foot. His bill
was £524. 11s. 7d.210 On a warrant dated 29 July 1718, he laid
down 2,903 square yards of rag paving, at 18d. the square yard, in
the foundry, artificers' shops and the Sea Service Carriage Store
house, and also raised the ground at the foundry. For this he was
paid £ 313. 14s. 6d.211 He next raised the level of Artificers' Court
and ofFountain Court between the two Carriage Storehouses, laying
the ground around the buildings ; the whole being well rammed. His
fee for these operations was £357. 17s. 8d.212 John Mist also laid
down pavino-stones in front of the saloon, before the 'Great Room',
• b
in the little yard behind the 'Great Room', and at the barracks, on
a warrant dated August r 71 g. On further warrants dated 2 I May
5
and 5 August r 720, he paved the roadway at the entrance to the Warren by the labourers' houses. On these three warrants he was paid £185. 19s. d.213 His final payment in this connection was a
7
20" Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/64.
206 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/64.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROjW0/51/110, p. 114, 30 June 1722.
200 Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/51 / 1 13, P· 62, 3o June 1723·
201 Ordnance Bill Book' Series II' PRO/W0/51/100, P· 122, 31 December 1717.
:os Ordnance Bill Book: Series II: PRO/W0/51/102, p. 112, 20 December 1718.
:00 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/104, P· 115, 30 June I 719·
-io Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/\\ 0/51 /102, p. 113, 30 September 1718.
211 Ordnance Bill Book' Series 11' PRO/W0/51/102, p. 113, 31 December 1718.
~:: Ordnance Bill Book: Series 11: PRO/W0/51 /104, p. 108, 30 June 1719.
-Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/108, p. 31, 30 Septemb r 1720.
267
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
sum of£43. 7s. 4d. for some additional paving work in the kitchen courtyard before the saloon, at the Warren entrance, and in front of the barracks, which he carried out in the late autumn of
r720.214
In conclu~~g t~is somewhat lengthy and detailed description of the great bmldmg impetus between the years r7r6-r720, it may be stated that Messrs ~eters and Remnant, smiths, though strictly without the five categories oftradesmen under consideration did the last embellishment to the Academy by fitting ironwork within at a cost
4d.215
of£2. 2s. ~hile it is o~vious that these four main building projects, absorb1_ng as t?ey did the main energies ofthe constructional staff, were ofp_nmary importance to the growth and effectiveness ofthe Warren dunn~ the second dec~de of the eighteenth century, there were other impr?vemcnts dunng the years in question which contributed to th~ effidc1ency of the Establishment. Some of these may be briefly
ment10ne .
Wharves and cranes were refurbished. William Ogborne pulled up the old wharf between r April and D b 6 21s and in
th fcO11 · . . 3I ecem r I 7r , e owmg year ~illiam Edge and George Shakespear were paid£32. 6s. Bd. for ramng the wharf 211 o d d April
1 18 Willi O b · n a contract ate 29 T7h ' am g orne built a new crane costing £276. 7s. 6d. zis
ere was a good deal of u·d · · 11 d
h ymg m the v\Tarren. Trees were pu e updwl erell ndot wanted, various fences Were built ground was raised
an eve e and d · '
· t · h' ~e~ rams were made. The Board took a great
m erest m t e amemtJ.es ofth y
1
'bl . e Pace. They resolved to plant as man
I
e ms as poss1 e m and d T ti
fyi th aroun ower Place with a view to beau fen:! waellsprTospteh~t, bodth al~ng the various paths and around the · o 1s en they t d h · the
S G ms ructe t e storekeeper to receive
urveyor-eneral's order5 · h · ffi s
could control th m t is respect so that the Principal O cer
1
e ayout as a wh I 219 S f ere a
menace to th15• ab · °e. torms, o course, w
oncu1tural ex · • a: ing
from the strong wi d penment, the young saplings suuer d
1.
1
therefore, to find ~;tw;~: swept the marshes. One is not surprise ~ May 1720 to stake ham Ogborne received a warrant o°: 2 water su li b 150 ofthese new elms.220 With all the new building,
PP es ecame a p bl d an
estimate on 5 Jul ro em, and the Board accepte . in Woolwich to rh17,1 for £27° to convey water from the condwt e oyal Brass Foundery' the Laboratory, the
mo '
m rdnance Bill Book, Series II p 111 g:nance B!ll Book, Series II' p~g/W/W0/51/110, p. 120, 31 December 172o. 117 nance Bill Book, Series II' p O/51/1 I 1, p. 1, 31 December 1720. datedOrdnJ~nce Bill Book, Series II ~6Wtw0/51/97, p. 82, 31 December 1716w rrant
118 0~u Y 171_7. ' O/51/99, p. 3, 30 March 1717. a llt Or nancc Bill Book, Series II PRO . 118 0~anceJournal Book, PROfWO//W0/51/104, p. 1, 31 December 1718.
anceJournaJ Book, PROfW0/47/33, P• 27, 15January 1720. 47/33, p. 230.
268
THE WARREN 1701-1720
storehouses and the storekeeper's residence; the estimate to include the laying of new pipes.221
Three large bills were paid, two to Henry Lidgbird and one to William Ogborne, for certain work carried out in I 7I 7. The first one of £500. gs. 7¾d. rendered by Henry Lidgbird,222 concerned the following items on warrants dated 25 March and 25 June I 7I 7:
(a)
At the smiths' shop adjoining the new brass foundry.
(b)
In the house of easement223 in the Laboratory.
(c)
Sheds in the Laboratory.
(d)
Fence wall between the Laboratory and the foundry.
(e)
Fence wall from Pritton's house to the foundry.
(f)
Walls and sheds in the shot-yard.
(g)
In the two porches before the mealing and driving houses.
(h)
In the piece of outward fence wall and buttresses near the angle of the moat.
(i)
For ripping the tiling off the roof of the buildin:5 where Colonel Borgard's and Captain Baxter's rooms are, the porter s room and the watch-house.
The second one of £207. 6s. 7¾d., payable to Henry Lidgbird, was for the following jobs carried out between 26 October 1716 and r r M arch 1717:224
(a)
Altering chimneys and other services in the Laboratory.
(b)
:r..-1akino-a window in the rope storehouse.
(c)
Cleari;g a way for the foundation~ in :he shot-yard.
(d)
Making a chimney and other services m the foundry.
(
e) Repairing tiling in the dwelling houses. .
(f)
Pulling down the old storehouse in the shot-yard and clearmg away the bricks. ·
(g)
Building a smiths' forge in the O~d Carriage Yard.
(h)
Clearino-foundations for the turnmg house.
• b
(1)
Making a curb for the wheels.
(j)
Making a base for a grindstone trough. d •
(k)
Making a new cistern at the conduit in Collick Lane an owermg the pipe there. h
1
and other services in t e
(1) Pulling down part of a dwelling house Warren.
ad as on behalf of William
The third one of £1,735. rgs. 94' · w
.c , k ·n.22s
0 gborne ior carpenters wor 1 •
(a)
The rope storehouse at Woolwich (over £r,ooo).
(b)
The watch-house.
(c)
Gates at the upper end of the Warren.
!!1 Ordnance J'?umal Book,. PRO/PWR00//~{5°1•;·1/::·p. 31 December 1717.
5 ~ 4
--2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, ' ::> ' ::: Another na1:1e for a 'nec~ssary' 0~~ 0/~~u/~~-/rno p. 210,11 March 1717.
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, P ::> ' J 171 7
22 s Ordnance Bill Book: Series II, PRO/W0/51/100, P· 12, 3° une •
269
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD THE WARREN 1701-1720
(d)
The Laboratory.
(
e) The bog-house.
(f)
Sheds in the shot-yard.
(g)
Door case leadino-into the shot-y ·d . h
house. -=> ai agamst t e cordage store
(h)
New fire-barn.
(i)
The weighing post at Proof Plac
(j)
The smiths' shop near the found;~
(k)
The f~nce wall going into the foundr .
(1)
Covenng the drains in Collick L Y
(m)
The timber platform at the e d a~e.
° th storehouse next the wharf
with the planking on the s'd r. n e 1• . • 1e P atrorm above the capsill ( n) Repamng and revetting the wharf next th . . . . (o) The guardhouse. e n ver.
(p) The storekeeper's house.
In addition to the above M , essrs5s. 1Oi·d., on a contract dated 1 J 1 L'd .1 gb1rd . w ere · d pa1 £395·
the cordage storehouse. 226 u Y1715, for their share in building
Other alterations and new cons . . .
tion of Proof Place 22; fu th ti uction comprised the reconstruc
' r er work on th h 22s
fence wall costing £l6g. 1 . ld. b . e rope store ouse, a
the lane with the sheds 1 4-S_ mlt between the shot-yard and Meades having prepared t~avm~ ro feet clear within the wall, Mr house 229 and the old sto he eStimate, the demolition of the saltpetre
' re ouse 2ao d h .
house on the site of the old . h' , an t e erection of a new store-bank.2a1 smit s shop near the wharf on the river
The regulations governin
eighteenth century allowed g proof at the Warren in the early
· contractors d · f • h ·
pieces, to use the butts th h . , es1rous o proving t eir
. ere at t eir own . .
corn med with an almost ent" b converuence. This laxity,
b highly dangerous, giving rise ire ~ fisence ofsaf~ty precautions, proved In I 718, MrJohn Withers 'as i~ requently did, to serious accidents. stead on the marshes facing:~: ~e Su~erer. He had a pleasant farmyards from the main Warr oolwich-Plumstead road some 350 the boundary of the estab el~hentrance. It lay about r 20 ya;ds beyond
b . h is ment and r d b f
utt m t e direct line of fi Th 50 yar s ehind the proo 1777 and presumably con~e. de far~ was still shown in a map of advancing tide of build' ~e to exiSt till it was engulfed in the must have run consider:~1· . {un-proof was frequent Mr Withers
occasion instanced he cl • e nds when firing became e:ratic On the
, a1me · ·
£4 owmg to two of his cows having
221 Ordnance Bill Book S .
m Ordnance Bill ' cr!es II, PRO/WO/-1
m Ordnance B'll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/' /100, p. 71, 30 September 1717. WO/51/105, p. 66 1:;'tks, Series II, PRO/Wor/j°~• P· 97, 30 September 1719.
m OrdnanceBiiIB3 ~P~m.ber 1719. 51 9, P· 97, 29June 1717, and PRO/
zao Ordnance Bill~ ' eries II, PRO/WO/ 1/
u 1 Ordnance Bill Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/1/99, P• 10, 31 December 171 6.
100
k, Series II, PRO/W0/5 , P· 41, 20 September 1717.
51199, P· 10, 31 December 1716. 270
cast their calves prematurely on the proving of an iron mortar. The Board accepted liability and instructed Mr Felton the storekeeper ~o settle with the outraged farmer as reasonably ~s possible,2a2 bu~ in order to prevent any repetition ofsuch an occurrence they issued an order that, in future, no merchant should be allow:d to fire his ~uns at Woolwich without the previous consent ofthe whole Board.233
hey also arranged for the butt to be raised, the ground before the butt to be levelled and the stand for weighing guns to be removed.2a<1 I n a dd'1t10n,· they considered an estimate of £96. 12s. od. for a new ~roof-butt at Proof Place presented by Mr Meades.235 At the same time, George Shakespear, who was ordered to demolish the old butt for shot recovery, scamped his work. He was told to do his work properly or take his discharge. As he still continued in the Board's employ, h e must have repented of his evil ways and abandoned his
236
effort of going 'ca'canny'. On I M ay 1716, a sale of unserviceable stores took place at the Warren. This was the first of a series of disposals which eventually culminated in the modern sale-yard. On 6 April 1716, the Board ordered the insertion in the newspapers of a notice calling attention
237
to a public sale to be held at Woolwich on I May. On 24 l\,fay 1 716, Captain Baxter and Mr Felton, the two storekeepers concerned, were ordered not to deliver any goods purchased at the sale till the purchasers had deposited the money.238 A Mr Robinson bought the complete lot, and having complied with the injunction, received from the two storekeepers the stores he had acquired.239 Three years later, Captain John Baxter asked to be relieved of his post as Storekeeper to the Laboratory, owing to his great age and infirmity. The Board agreed and ordered a remain to be taken:240 As the Laboratory had, by this time, been placed on a care and maintenance basis, the post
of storekeeper was abolished. Even as early as 8, Russians were a problem. Correspondence
171
took place between the Board of Ordnance and James Craggs, Secr~tary-at-War, about the possibility ofAndrew Tretreacuff being admitted to the Royal Foundry to be trained as a gun-founder. The Secretary-at-War wrote on 7 August 1718, saying that the King would like to gratify the Czar's wishes in this respect, but the Board's
a · 2-11 F. 11 th
Bnswer of 10 August 1718 was not very encouraging. ina Y~ . e oard wrote again on October 1 718 to James Craggs enclosing
1 0
:~: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/4.7/31, P· 122, 29 April 1718·
18
2 Ol'clnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, P· 58, 7 Marc_h 17 ·
34 9·
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/32, P· 136, 3 April 17 1 18 236 OrclnanccJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, P· 319, 28 OctC?ber 1 117 ·238 OrclnanceJournal Book, PRO[WO/47/32, P· 15°, 13 April 7 9· 237 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/29, P· 8I. 238 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/29, P· 120· 16239 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 129, 5June 17 · 1
2
40 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/32, P· 68, 20 February 17 9· 241 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/347.
271
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
a copy of a letter they had despatched to the Earl Stanhop~, Secretary of State, representing the inconvenience of the proposition and expressed their hopes that His Majesty 'would not be pre
vailed upon in this affair'. 242 During this period of growth two new posts were created on the Warren's establishment. These were the Clerk of the Stores, afterwards called the Clerk of the Cheque, and the Clerk of the Survey.
John Portman was appointed Clerk of the Stores at W oolwich at a salary of £54. 15s. od. per annum with effect from r October 1718.2 J 3 He was given assistance three months later in the shape of an 'extra clerk of stores' ·when David Stephenson became that extra clerk at a salary of£36. ros. od. a year on r J anuary r7 r9. 244 The first Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich was icholas H unton, appointed on I Oc~ober 1720, at a salary of£Bo. os. od. per annur:i-245 As ·we shall see m the next chapter, neither of these officials hved
very long.
In 1720, therefore, the Civil establishment at the arren com
prised:
Storekeeper-James Felton
os. od. p.a.
£ 160.
Clerk of the Cheque-]ohn Portman
I OS . od. p.a.
£54.
Extra Clerk-David Stephenson-
IOS. od. p.a.
£ 36.
Clerk of the Survey-Nicholas Hunton
od. p.a.
£ Bo. OS.
Clerk of the Foundry-Thomas Jones
IOS. od. p.a.
£54.
The Master Founder-Andrew Schalch
od. p.a.
£ 219. OS.
3 labourers in ordinary (Military B h)
w·1 . ranch P .
T omas ntton, 1 liam Sumpter and William Mesmer) Each £ 6 os. od. p.a.
£2
3 Extraordinary labourers E h • od p a.
ac -27. ros. • · In_adciition, there were 4 artificers working in the foundry with a certam n_umber of gunners, together with aver small mixed com
plement m the Laboratory. y
This gives a P?ssibl~ total ofthirty men in the whole ofthe Warren. Not a vast multitude m modern ey
0 h M . es. ) _n anrung, on whom the mantle ofJohn Packman had fallen,
died m 1718 and Willia M . · h
,,.6 ' m esmer took over his house 1n t e
Warren...... A glance at the building h h . .
ss ows t e changes since 1700 to have been· AD. TThhe ~GoyaltFP~lundfry o? t_he site of the demolished Greenwich Barn.
. e rea 1 e O Bmldin , . .
(a) Artificers' Co t . h ?s compnsmg the:
. ur Wit its shops.
(b) Turrung, washing and engraving house.
m Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/
m M.G.O.'s Warrants, PRO/Wo 47/3 1, p. 289, ru M.G.O.'s Warrants, PROtwo?5/5o2, P· 167. Warrant dated 27 November 1718. 146 M.G.O.'s Warrants, PRO/Wo/5?02, p. 176. Warrant dated 10 December 1718
2
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRQn~{/1 °, p. 189. Warrant dated 31 August 1720. 1" 47/3 1, p. 332, 7 November 1718.
272
THE WARREN 1701-1720
(c)
Fountain Court.
(
d) The Land Service Carriage storehouse.
(
e) The Sea Service Carriage storehouse. . . h S k ,
C.
The new building at Tower Plac~, contammg t e tore eepers residence and the H.Q. of the Royal Artillery.
D.
The first block of the artillery barracks.
E.
The turret left standing 0~ its own. ld smiths' shop near the cranes
F.
A new storehouse on the site of the 0 by the water's edge.
G.
A carcass house.
H.
A cordage storehouse. .
I.
An additional crane, making four ~n a ·
J.
A new proof-butt alongside the hol · t side where the moat still
K.
A surrounding wall, except on t e eas ern
11
remained as an effective barrier. d d inistration of the Warren ha
It must be appreciated that the a ~ cl •n the straitjacket which not alter cl since 1700. It was still con ne ~ Physically it had exhad env loped it since its commencem1n ~er number of stores, a panded. There were more buildings, a ar Mentally however, it slightly bigger staff and a greater tdur1:o~er.had not be,en increased,
h d . d I er of ecis10n 1f
a remained dwarfe . ts po~ . d centralized contro rom the storekeeper had no 1:1ore discretrn;.~: Establishment was still in
London continued to reign supreme. the chrysalis stage.
273
Chapter 8
The Warren I72I-I749
In 1 7 2 1, th r e ins of go ernment passed into the capable hands 0£ Sir Robert vValpole, tl-1e great Whig statesma n , whose policy a£ security brought peace at home and a broad by b a nishin g during the next nvcnty years the party quarrels, the dyn astic f"euds and the state orarmed conflict v,,h.ich had troubled England since the beginning or the century. This is not the place to appraise the vfrtues a nd raults or the f"uture Earl of Or£ord, but his long leadership did give the country a sense of'equilibrium she had not experience d :for several
generations and allowed her to turn h er attention to more profitable enterprises. It was only natural that this f'reedom from f'rustration should be reflected in conditions in the ,i\Tarren w·here a quiet interlude succeeded the hectic rush or the preceding four years a nd ga e time and opportunity :for consolidating the r esults of that p eriod of'
turbulent acti ity. Unf"ortunately no one has bequeathed to th e present generation a description of"the Warren under the early Georges thoug h b y piecing together the scraps of evidence available an impres ion of the first national arsenal may be gleaned from the d ebris of f'orgottcn facts. It should be realized at the outset that the place bore little resemblance to a modern industrial establishment and therefore a ll thoughts ofbustling ·workmen, busy shops and teeming traffic must b banned .from the mind. Th.ere ,vas no source of' pov.,e r save man and horse no means of artificial light except the candle and the oil l a mp and no machinery ,vorthy of the name. 1\-1:ass produc tion ,vas unknown and each operation ,vas performed as an individual act by hand. It could ,vell be described as a collection ofgarde n w orkshops s t down in a pleasant estate of' some 30 acres, each self-contained ·within its ,-valls and gardens, among ,-vhich were dotted the residences and the orchards of' the small band of men who contributed to its life and its output. Two f"ountains added their delights, and in summer the scent of flowers and the sound of' :falling water must h ave been instrumental in creating a w·orkers' paradise, a true setting :for the rural craftsman. The Warren, itself, liberally afforested with elms was bounded on the north by the river, on the east by the moat which separated it from the marshes and on the south and west by the recently constructed wall having its main entrance in what is now known as Beresf"ord Square.
Two deaths marred the serenity of the Warren's social life at this time; the clerk of" the cheque and the clerk of the survey both
274
. .
• :...-.f
'• .. .
·-· ..
-rl.~~
--~~~,~,'.1
'An exact survey of the "arren in Woolwich' 1749
2H
THE WARREN 1721-1749
dying after holding their appointments for a brief span.John Portman passed on in 1721 being replaced by Thomas Baker on r July 1721,1 while Nicholas Hunton followed soon afterwards, as on g February 1722, David Stephenson, the extra clerk, became acting clerk of the survey in his stead.2
Little ofinterest happened within the next three or four years, save the proving of guns and the inevitable round of repairs. In 1724, William Ogborne submitted a bill amounting to £42. os. 7½d. for removing the old fence and gates at the entrance to the Warren.3 In the·same year the old stables were pulled down by the Board's order dated 12 May 17244 new ones being erected in the Carriage Yard between 1 July 1 724 and 30 September 1724, for the use of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance and the storekeeper.5 On a warrant dated 29July 1725 George Shakespear was paid£126. 7s. g¾d. for making a new butt between 1July I 725 and 30 September 17256
and between the same dates the old watch-house was demolished.7
The officials in the Warren at the time we are considering were five in number, namely the Storekeeper, the Clerk of the Cheque, the Clerk of the Survey, the Master Founder and the Officer commanding the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Between them they controlled all the various activities which took place there, and each was master in his own department. In fact they were not unlike the
Persons of the T rinity in the Athanasian Creed where 'None is afore, or after other ; none is greater, or less than another'. Acorporate society, however, must have some ruling body to which items ofcommon interest can be referred so these officials, four civil and one
' .
military, were formed into a council or 'soviet', called the Respectwe Officers W oolwich who were responsible collectively to the Board for the Warren as a whole. Luckily for posterity there is a MS. book8 in the Public Record Office entitled General Instructions to the Officers at Woolwich-I725 by the Right Honourable Charles Wills Esq.-Lieutenant-General, 9 which gives an outline of the administration of ~he Warren and details the duties and responsibilities of the Respective Officers as w ell as of each individual official. It is hardly feasible to reproduce this document verbatim, but a precis will give an indication of its contents, sufficient for the purpose in hand.
1 M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/505, p. 27. Warrant dated 23 June 1721.
2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/20B, p. 73· 3 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/ll5, 30June 1724. "Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/ll6, p. 29, 30 September 1724·
5
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/ll6, p. 32, 30 September 1724· . 8 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/116, 30 September 1725. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/118, p. 87, 31 December 1725. 7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/118. 8 PRO/W0/55/1809.
9 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Wills, appointed Lieutenant-General ofthe Ordna~ce 22 April 1718, made at K.B. on 17 June 1725. Died 25 December 1741 and was buned in Westminster Abbey.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(A) General /11slr11clio11s for tlie Officers al T,Voolwic!zl0
They shall attend the office every evening, or as often as the Service shall require. They shall deal with all correspondence and decide on work for the morrow and appoint a sufficient number of men and horses for the same. Ajournal ofwork performed is to be kept by the Clerk ofthe Survey, and the expense and costs of all ,,._ ork is to be collected and placed in a ~edger kept br tl~e Clerk of the Cheque. Men may not be shifted from one Job to another mthout the consent of the Respective Officers. The Clerk of the Cheque is to keep a Minute Book wherein is to be entered minutes of everything that is ordered or transacted at each meetino-the names of tI1ose present and extracts of letters received. A fair copy b> of this book is to be sent to tl~e Board once a year or oftener as occasion shall require. To prev_ent disputes ?etween one another and the Artillery Officers and Y?u, no?e is to be s~penor to the other but each to do his work and perform lus services accordmg to his own instructions. Each is to have free access to all books, accounts, orders and letters relatina-to the business of the ?ffice. You are to see that the extra clerks attend ;egularly and keep their
Journals, books and returns which are to be compared monthly with those kep.t by the Clerks of the Cheque and Survey.
• 0 ex1:a labourers are to be hired ifthe number ofgunners and matresses are sufficient to do the extra work, for which both gunner and m a tross sh~ll be paid 6~. p.d. each by the Storekeeper from his imprests. All artificers belong!ng to the Royal Artillery, whether gunners or matrosses are. to have ~heir pay made up 2s. 6d. when employed in their several c~gs ~rovided they deserve it; otherwise only Is. od. over and above their regunental pay. If their pay is to be raised to 2s. 6d. it must be with
the consent of you all.
Established rates far engraving Brass Ordnance Nature Land Service Sea Service 42 pdr........ £5. os. od. ....... . £2. ros. od. 32 pdr. . . . .. . . £5. os. od. . ..... .. £2. 10s. od. 24 pdr. . . . . . . . £4. os. od. . ...... . £2. ros. od. 18 pdr........ £4. os. od . ....... . £2. OS. ocl. Brass
12 pdr· · · · · · · • £4. os. od. .. ..... . £2. os. od. Cannon
9 pdr· · · · · · · · £3. os. od. . ...... . £r. I5s. od. 6 pdr........ £3. os. od . ....... . £r. I5s. od. 3 pdr........ £2. os. od. . ...... . £I. OS. Oa. r½ pdr........ £2. os. od. 1 pdr...... . . 10s. od.
½pdr...... . . 10s. od. 13 inch ........ £3. as. od. 10 inch ........ £2. 10s. od.
Brass
8 inch........ 7s. od. Mortars
7 inch. . . . . . . . 7s. od. 5! inch. . . . . . . . 5s. od. 4½ inch. . . . . . . . 5s. od. Brass Howitzer 8 inch ........ £2. 10s. ad.
10 Th
· ·1· ffi ·a1s ·
c c,v, ,an ° Cl , 1.e. those who belonged to the Civil branch of the Ordnance.
276
THE WARREN 1721-1749
The Master Founder is to certify to the Storekeeper of the performance of all gravers' work before payment is made for same. (For gravers' rates, see page 276)
Established rates to be jJaid-Labourers Extra labourers Is. 6d. to be paid for Sundays and Holy Days. If employed in watching IS. od. per night. Bombardiers, gunners and matrosses 6d. per diem over and above their regimental rates.
Established rates to be paid to Brass Foundery Workmen s. d.
Foreman, if approved by the Board 5 o p.d. Foreman of the Smiths 2 6 p.d. Hammer men and Filers 2 2 p.d. Carpenter 2 2 p.d. Chief T urner 2 6 p.d. Under Turners I 10 p.d. Chief Moulder 2 o p.d. U nder Moulders I IO p.d. Firemen and Filers 2 o p.d.
2 6 p.d.
File Cutters 1 6 p.d.
Labourers I O p.d.
Boys
Apprentices to the Master shall be paid IS. 6d. p.d. the first year, t~ be raised 6d. p.d. each year until their apprenticeship be expired. Apprentic:s must first be approved by the Board. No other allowances are to be paid without the Board's authority. As many as possible are to be taken out of the marchino-companies and their pay made up to the above rates. Th:Y
t> F cl h1le
are, however, to be wholly under the orders of the Master oun er w employed in the foundry. cl
The Clerk of the Cheque shall make out a pay list of all gunners an matrosses at the end of each month for all who have worked in that mont~. This is to b e attested by himself and the Clerk of the Survey. Payment is to be made ·without loss of time in the public office in the presence of the Civil Officers. Each man is to sign in the Storekeeper's voucher.
The Clerk of the Cheque is to make out a similar pay sheet for all labourers. The pay sheet is to be attested by him and the Clerk of the Foundry. Payment to be made at the public office. k f
If any workman military or civil shall neo-lect his work the Cler 0
, ' b • k' y as the
the Cheque shall mulct them of so much of their wor mg mone crime will admit. cl' The care of each crane with its utensils shall be committed to or mary labourers while livino-and after their death to some responsible ~erson recommended by the;:,Storekeeper. They should not expend stores without
the consent of the Officers. b h The keys of the storehouses shall be locked up in a place selected Y t c Storekeeper and the master key kept by him, or in his absence by such
277
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
person as shall be deputed. No one shall show visitors or other persons the storehouses without the sanction of the Storekeeper. Instructions then follow in regard to his Majesty's ships ,._,hen they are ordered to put to sea.
The furbisher is to be allowed 2s. 6d. p.d. and £4 p.a. house rent to be paid by the Storekeeper out of contingencies. He is to repair and keep clean all arms in store.
Stores are not to be delivered to purchasers till the latter have deposited the money in the office. The lower gate of the ,i\Tarren is to be kept shut as often as possible and the key delivered to the Storekeeper. No stores, except those which normally should be, are to be kept in the Laboratory storerooms. Patterns of Laboratory stores are to be kept in the working rooms of the Laboratory. You are to see that all fireworks etc. made in the Laboratory are to be charged to the Storekeeper and securely lodged.
Barracks
Each room in the barracks which shall be occupied by the Captain, Lieutenant or others shall be allowed 1l pecks of coals p.d. and 2 lb of candles per week from 29 September till 25 March and half a peck of coals the rest ofthe year. The Storekeeper is to provide the same according to the regulations.n
Fires and candles are not allowed to any room that has lodged in it less than four men under the degree of Lieutenant.
Other coal and candle allowance
2 peck of coals per 24 hours during the winter half of the Guard room year. 2 lb ofcandles per week during the winter half of the
{
year and I lb during the summer half. Infirmary { r½pecks of coals a day and 2 lb of candles per week.
A Regulation of the number of Rooms for the Officers and Private Men allowed Fire and Candles
The Captain ............. . .... . . . . r Two Lieutenants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r Seven Fireworker Lieutenants . . . . . . . . 3 Cadets ........................ . .. 2 One Sergeant, one Corporal
and four Bombardiers .......... • • 7 Private Men six to a Room . . . . . . . . . 6
The Storekeeper is allowed £2 p.a. to furnish certain articles to N.C.O's and men. The Master Founder is not to cast any ordnance without a warrant for so doing.
11 These regulations are given in full in the MS.
278
THE WARREN 1721-1749
Any foundry stores which can be purchased cheaper locally than bei~g obtained from the Tower are to be purchased by the Storekeeper m conjunction with the Master Founder.12
No alterations are to be made in any storehouse, carriage house etc. without leave of the Board. The storekeeper shall keep similar accounts etc. of the Foundry as he does for the Laboratory and the storehouses. The Storekeeper is to deliver to the Master Founder all such tools as he may require for the service of the foundry. All fire engines etc. are to be exercised once in every three months.
(B) Instructions for the Storekeeper at Woolwich
He shall attend the office every evening, deal with the correspondence and arrange the work for the following day.
He shall receive all stores on charge. He shall examine and attest all bills and see that all are correct. He shall take a remain of the stores on board his Majesty's ships when
they return to Woolwich from sea. . He shall see that the extra clerks shall perform the business of stocktaking properly. He is to supply the correct stores to all H.M. Ships ordered to sea. He is to keep the Foundry and Laboratory stores with all the necessary
ledgers, accounts etc. He is to send up the ledgers etc. yearly to t~e Board. . h He shall not issue any Laboratory store without the authority of t e
Board or of some of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance. . He is to pay allowances, contingencies etc. out of the imprests which are given him from time to time. The remainder of his instructions are similar to those given in the general instructions under (A).
(C) Instructions f or the Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich nd
He shall attend the office every evening, deal with correspondence a arrange work for the following day. . He is to h ave free access to all books, ledgers, Journals etc.
He is to see that the Clerk of the Cheque keeps a particular account of the day's workmen, and keep a counter-book to that kept by the Clerk of the Cheque. .
He will in conjunction with the Storekeeper and other officers, assiSt in making timely demands of all stores and materials required for the Service.
· 1 · · ] · · t' w1'th the Storekeeper all
He w1l survey [1.e. mspect , m conJtmc 10n , ' . stores etc. and place them in the 'Serviceable', 'Unserviceable' or Repairable' categories. He shall examine and countersign all bills made out for stores. He shall survey and examine all servic~s perfor~ed by artificers. All building work orders shall be submitted to him.
12 The beginning of local purchase.
279
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
He is to attend the proofofall guns, and assist at the proofand gauging of all shell taking an account of the number, nature, and weight of all
such that shall pass proof. He will see that the fire-engines are exercised once every three months. He will demand from the Storekeeper in writing all tools and materials
needed for the Service. He shall take care to re-charge the Storekeeper with all iron work saved from ol~ carriages or anything else which may be fit for H.M. Service. He will attend and take account of all stores delivered to the master g~nners ofships, artificers and others and see that they are duly chargedwith the same.
(D) Instructions for the Clerk of the Cheque at Woolwich
He shall attend the office every evening, deal with correspondence and arran~e work for the following day. He IS to make a proper extract of all letters orders etc. received and enter them in the lVIinute Book. ' th He ~vill draw up all reports, representations, memorials etc. and, with ~as~15tance of the extra clerks, keep entries thereof.
h e 15 to keep a cheque book13 and call over the names of all labourers, w etber ordinary or extraordinary and ofall gunners and matrosses who may be employed in the work '
He will see that they work ~roperly and mulct them of money if they
do not.
He w~ make out pay lists every month. ~fie will make out all bills for stores received or services performed by
arti cers and others. di ~e will attend the sale of unserviceable stores and draw up the con
tions of sale. He will in · • .
mak '. coruunction with the Storekeeper and Clerk of the Survey, He o~t timely demands for stores and materials required. He ~l assist the Clerk of the Survey in surveying stores.
br : will re-charge the Storekeeper with any old iron saved from the :e-u~lof unserviceable carriages. on th ~ see that the Clerk of the Foundry keeps an exact cheque book
e ioundry. Hewillatt d d k .
ofsh· . en an ta e account ofall stores delivered to master gunners
ips artific d h •
He w·iz' k ers an ot ers so that they may be charged with the same.
1
Surv eep a counter account with the Storekeeper and Clerk of the
ey.
(E) Instructions for the Master Founder at Woolwich
He will b ·
He will be constant m personal attendance at the Foundry. materials ree ~r~ent at the purchase by the Storekeeper of all stores and He w·u qu151te for carrying out the work of the Foundry. stores a;d rnake _Proper demands in writing on the Storekeeper for such rnatenals as he may require.
11 AM
USter-roU or daily state.
280
THE WARREN 1721-1749
He shall give a quarterly receipt to the Storekeeper for the stores
delivered to him. He will assist in taking the annual survey of the Foundry. He will cast no piece of ordnance without a warrant, which shall be
lodged in the public office. When finished the ordnance which has been
cast shall be delivered to the Storekeeper. He will supply the Storekeeper with certificates of the graver's work. He is to be present at the payment of foundry workers and staff. Men
to work from 6.o a.m.-6.o p.m. in the foundry all the year round. The Clerk of the Foundry is to see them to and from their work. When foundry workmen are engaged or discharged he will acquaint
the Board with the number and quality of each. He will instruct the apprentices in all the arts of the trade. He will enter no servants without the Board's approbation.
(F) Instructions for the Artillery Officers at Woolwich
You are to keep a Sergeant's or Corporal's guard and regulate the number of men for guard, having regard to the fact that they must at least have two nights in bed. The sentinels at the Upper Gate are to prevent the entry of any unauthorized person.
Orders are to be put up to prevent smoking.
The Commanding Officer, himself, is to attend the office every evening with the Civil Officers to prepare minutes, etc. and he will attempt no superiority over Civil Officers in the execution of their duties.
He will assist in performing any work ordered for his Majesty's Service.
You are to direct the Orderly Corporal of the work to call at the office and receive from the extra clerks copies of all minutes relating to the work which shall be given to the officer having charge of the work.
Immediately guns, carriages etc. are landed from ships you will survey and inspect the same before they are charged to the Storekeeper, and distinguish and separate the ordnance according to its nature and length. Guns are to be marked 'Serviceable' or 'Repairable' according to their state, and a rrangements will be made for the exchange of pieces if they will admit of it and the Board do not think fit to continue them. You are to observe that honeycombs before the trunnions are not dangerous and that, if the cylinder from the trunnions backward be agreeable to the
nature, it is not to be refused notwithstanding it be wore above the nature at the muzzle. All ships' guns are to be carefully searched, scaled and fielded at the vent with cork before they are stacked.
You are to attest the monthly pay-lists of the Royal Artillery made out by the Clerk ofthe Cheque oftheir working money and attend thepayments in the public office and see that the men receive their correct amounts.
You are to see that the Storekeeper furnishes the barrac~s with the correct and requisite number of utensils, give him proper receipts a_nd be accountable for the same, as well as for bedding which shall be delivered to you from time to time.
Certain references drawn from these instructions throw a light on
'
conditions then prevailing.
20
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(a)
A suspicion ofjealousy, which persisted down to the first World \Var, was already in evidence between the civil and military members of the factory staff.
(b)
The Storekeeper was the paymaster, auditing and accounting officer and financial head of the Warren. He acted in the capacity of quartermaster to the Royal Regiment.
(
c) The Clerk of the Cheque was the sales officer, principal worktaker and accounting and pay clerk.
(d)
The Clerk of the Survey acted in the capacity of technical and inspection clerk.
(e)
Royal Artillery Officers acted as Inspecting Officers.
(f)
A system ofchecks and counter-checks between the various officials existed to minimize the chance of mal-practice.
(g)
Workmen worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
(h)
\,Vorkmen received overtime for Sunday work and for duties carried out on public holidays.
(i)
The skilled man drew approximately £1 a week in wages and the unskilled labourers ros.
It may seem at first sight that these sums were paltry compared to those in the "'eel<ly pay packet brought home by the worker at the present day, but a moment's reflection should convince the sceptic that in monetary value the rates of pay in I 725 were on a par with those of I 95 I.
First, there was no income-tax in the eighteenth century and purchase tax lay in the womb of the future. Secondly, commodities were then very much cheaper. As an example, the following prices are taken at random from Roger's History of Agriculture and Prices, Volume VII. Part I. To the modern housewife, of course, they appear unbelievable.
Mutton and Beef 2d. per lb.
Ducks gd. each Chickens
6d. each Geese
Is. 6d. each Rabbits
8d. each Turkeys
Is. 5d. each
Pigeons 2d. each Partridges gd. each Butter
4½d. per lb. Cheese 3d. per lb. Sugar 6d. to Bd. per lb. Tea I2s. per lb. Coffee 5s. 6d. per lb. Tobacco Is. 8d. per lb. Wine 6s. per gallon
Brandy 6s. 8d. per gallon Rum 7s. per gallon Eggs rd. per dozen
THE WARREN 1721-1749
Port and SheA sheep A Horse Beer rry 6d. a bottle 8s. £5 5d. per gallon
While the cost of these items has not risen proportionately, one or two having actually fallen, over the last 225 years, it would be fair to assume that the average increase of price is in the neighbourhood of 1,000%. This means that the skilled craftsman in the reign of George II ·was paid the equivalent of £10 a week and the approved foreman of the foundry £15 a week in our depreciated currency. Though the working day was longer in 1725, the standard of living then was on the whole comparable to that enjoyed by the tradesman of today, bearing in mind the difference in spending opportunities between the two centuries. No wonder Andrew Schaich died a wealthy man.
In I 722 the clerk of the foundry was Thomas Jones who received a salary of£ 54. ros. od. a year. There were, in addition, three extra clerks named James Delestang, Neil Campbell and James Barker drawing similar rates of pay. Since r 720 the establishment of labourers had risen. In 1722 there were nine ordinary labourers and thirteen extraordinary labourers. By 1723 the extra clerks were Edward J ackson, Peter Hunton and Thomas Fur~ss. .
The first payment of any importance in the penod under review was made to Mrs J ane Hill, paintress to the Board. On 14June 1728 she received £17. gs. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 December 1727 for painting the outside of two cranes.14 . .
The authorities had been slow to realize that gun-carnages, unlike the guns they support, tend to deteriorate when stored_ in the op~n where they are subject to all the adverse conditions ofclimate. While the seasoning of timber may be effected by outside storage under special precautions, the mere stacking of carriages exposed _to the elements rusts the ironwork and rots the wood. This fact had evidently been appreciated as early as 1718 when the Land Ser~ice and Sea Service Carriage Storehouses were build around Fountam Court, but the position must have been miscalculated because ten years later the problem again reared its head and further steps _had to be_ t_aken to rectify the situation. It was therefore decided to bmld an additl?nal Land Service Carriage Storehouse and close down the tw~ ~arnage Yards. The latter probably disappeared when the new bmldm? was completed as Barker's map of 1749 shows no trace of them. Incidentally the site of the Old Carriage-Yard in Prince Rupert's ~~ttery became the Storekeeper's orchard. Although the actual position of this new Carriage Storehouse is not stated, there can be no doubt
14 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PR0/W0/48/69, 14June 1728,
283
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
that it was the first unit of that group of buildings which afterwards became known as Carriage Square, indicated in Barker's map as the 'Lesser Square or Storehouse'. This block is now the R.C.D. main machine shop. The warrant for this new construction was dated 14 J unc I 728. Firstly George Shakespear was paid £4.. ros. 9d. for removing certain young elms which stood in the way of the projected new building.15 Then Sir William Ogborne, who had been knighted on 31 January I 727, built the new storehouse. On I o December 1729 he was, on a debenture dated 31 March 1729, paid the sum of
£1,304. 12s. 1d. for his work in this respect.16 A year later, he fixed timber grooves in the building for sliding gibbets, or what would now be called 'travelling overhead cranes'. For this additional service he received £ 128. 15s. 6d. on a debenture dated 31 March 1730.17 Sir William Ogborne, then erected on a warrant dated 25 September 1729 a metal storehouse for the foundry and a m agazine, the latter probably being the 'powder magazine' in the corner of the new carriage store-house, his charge being £142. 19s. 8d. This was paid on the 8 July 1730, the relevant debenture being dated 31 December I 729.18
The next building undertaken was a small re-housing programme. The reasons which prompted it are unrecorded but th dwellings allotted to the clerk of the foundry, now Peter Hunton, and the two labourers were presumably past repair. George Shakespear dug the foundations and removed the resultant rubbish and, though not stated, probably demolished the old buildings and cleared away the rubble as well, as the size of his bill, £173. 17s. 10d., appears to indicate something more than mere scavel work. H e ,-ms paid on a debenture dated 31 December 1 734.19 Sir William Ogborne then built the new houses at a cost of £598. 13s. gd. on a arrant dated
g April 1 734, at the same time doing some minor repairs to the storekeeper's residence. He was paid this sum on 17 February 1736, his debenture being dated 3 I March 1735.20 While Peter Hunton was homeless he received £28. 15s. od. onadebenturedated4June 1736for house rent between 10 October 1730 and 31 March 1735. This proves that his house must have been uninhabitablefor at least three and a half years before the authorities took any steps to rebuild it.21 Finally, five
years laterJoseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid £72. 16s. I od. on a debenture dated3r March I 740for buildingwash houses for the three 15 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/125, 31 March l7!.?9. 16 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/70, IO December 1729. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /125, p. 61, 31 March 1729. 17 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/71, 18July 1730. 18 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/71, 8 July 1731. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/124, p. gr. 19 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/76, 10June 1735. 20 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfW0/48/77, 17 February 1736. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/137, p. 157, 31 March 1735. 21 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/77, 8June 1736.
284
THE WARRE 1721-1749
persons concerned, the warrantfor his work being dated26June 1739.22
The next improvement in the Warren was the enlargement of ~he guard-house at the main gate. This addition became necessary owmg to the larger military guard required to keep wa_tch and ward over the growing Establishment. The work was earned out by George Shakespear and Joseph Pratt on a warrant dated 9 September 1735· The former's account was settled in two instalments. On a debenture dated 31 December 1735, he wasyaid £47. 6s. 8d. for diggin~ t\~
additional foundations and clearmg away the resultant rubbish, while some six months later he received a further sum of£13. 1Is. ~d. for completing his task.24 The necessary bricklaying and plasterm~ was effected by Joseph Pratt who received £123. 14S. od. for his share in the undertaking.25 •
The Royal R egiment of Artillery had, by 173~~ qmte out-grown its barracks and further steps to house the additional officers and men became essential. The original block built in 1719, to be called henceforward the Old Barracks, had been pl~nned solely for the original companies and therefore failed to provide the extr~ accommodation required by the ever-growing regimental estabhshme~t. The buildin g of a second block, known as the New Barracks, had m consequence to be undertaken, and for this purpose a sum of £3 590. gs. 6·\d. was taken up in the Ordnance Estimates for 1739:
' -· · l four officers
It was similar in style to the other, contammg a so houses and two barrack-rooms. In after years it became No_s. 7-10 Officers' Quarters, Dial Square. The warrant for _its cor_istr~ctlon was dated 20 arch 1739. Joseph Pratt did all the bncklay1~g m connection with th erection of the new barracks and he receiv~d £ 1,64?·
10s. 1 rd. on a debenture dated 30 September 1740 for h:5 eff~rt~ m this direction.26 Roger Morris, who had succeeded ~ir William then earned out the
Ogborne as master carpenter to the Board, d carpentering part of the programme. He was p~id £ 1,609£ ~{' 0 d on a debenture dated 31 December 1740.27 Hezekiah Walke~0 owd~
. . . Th to have been eaecte m
with the plumbmg operat10ns. ese seem d d two stages. First he was paid £100. 15s. 4d. on a debent~r~ ate 0 September 1740 28 and secondly a sum of £130 on a e be_nture
3
' h h ld h e been 'two 1tes at
dated 30 September 1742.29 Why t ere s ou av
22 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/81, 25 ~ovembMa~~t;740.
31
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/145, P· ~•1 6 23 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/77, 6 Aprt8 173 December 1735.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/13~, P· 20 ' 31September 1736. 2" Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51113 'P· 21 ' 30 March 1737. 2u Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/W0/51/138, P· 51, 3\ 2G Ordnance Treasure:'s Ledger'. PRO/W0/48/,81 ,631 Dece3~ s:;t~~ber 1740.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 14 , P· 25,
27
Ordnance T;easurer's L~dger, PRO/W,0/4B//82 ,_4J~;.174/necember 17-\0,
Ordnance Bill Book Senes II, PRO/V-.0/51 14:>, P· :>, 3 28 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/82, 4June _1741, 29 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/84, 21 April 1743·
285
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
the cherry' is not recorded. After the completion of the new block of barracks, Joseph Pratt made the areas and vaults in front of the old block.3° For this he received £ I 78. I 2s. 4d. on a debenture dated 3o_Junc I 740, h_is ~·arran~ for ~he job being dated 18 April 1740.31 Fmally John vV1lkms, pav1or, did the necessary paving at the barracks, at a cost of £161. 15s. 4d., his debenture being dated 31 December I 74_0.32 In <:onnection with the above, Henry Foucquet, clerk of the Cluef _Engmeer travell_ed to v\Toolwich to supervise operations. He received £45 travelling allowance, i.e. go days at ros. per day, between I January 1741 and 21 April 1741. Jn view of the dates involved his visits must have taken place after the main fabric had been erected. 33
The establishment of a School for Practitioner Engineers etc. afterwards known as the Ro)'al Military Academ)', under warrant dated 30 April 1741,34 necessitated considerable alterations in the 'Great House' at Tower Place. These formed the last major modification of the mansion, the final change which transformed the whilom Tudor Manor House into a State utilitarian building. After 1741 the structure assumed its present-day aspect except for the piers and walls supporting its facade which have long since disappeared. Inside too, the last 200_ years h~ve left l~ttle mark, such changes a; have occurred bemg occas10ned by its variations in occupational
use.
According to the Warrant of George II there was 'A Convenie t Room at Woolwich Warren, which is Our Property and may ~ fitted up for that purpose'. This was, of course, the Academy roo e
of 1721 devotedhto th<: interests of its ill-starred prototype, standi; on the left oft e mam entrance opposite the Board Room. Little money was therefore needed on the Academy itself, the bulk of th expenditure on this new venture being in connection with the fashioning within the large house ofdwellings for the First and Secon~ Masters. Though ~uch of these masters' quarters are now derelict some rooms are sail used as stores and offices. The First Master' house covered the site of the old brew-house of Stuart times whils that of the Second Master l~y b~t~een it and the Academy Room~ The two front doors are still v1s1ble. Each master was given an ample _garden, and t~e se_nior ped~gogue had the doubtful privilege of haVIng the turret m his. True, 1t was the sole vestige of the old
.'° Some of these vaults were converted into air-raid shelters during the Second Wo Id
\\'ar and proved of great use. r 31 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/81, 25 November 1740 Ordnance Bill Book,, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /145, p. 60, 30 June 174-o. 11 Ordnance Treasurers Ledger, PRO/WO/48/82, 4.June 1741. Ordnance Bill Book,,Series II, PROfWO/51/146, p. 82, 31 December 1740. 11 Ordnance Treasurers Ledger, PRO/WO/48/82, 21 April 1741. Debenture dat d 31 March 1741. e " Warrants and Orders in Council, 1740-1744, PRO/WO/55/351, p. 65.
286
THE WARREN 1721-1749
Manor House, but it must have dominated the scene and dwarfed the enclosure like some grim megalith of old.
Only Joseph Pratt and Roger Morris were employed in adapting the Academy Room to its new purpose. Bricklaying had first priority and so the debenture on which Joseph Pratt was paid £66. 18s. 2d. was dated 30 June 1741. Actually this sum included the payment for making brickwork piers under the cisterns at the new barracks.35 Roger Morris, on a debenture dated 30 June 1742, completed the work by doing carpenters' jobs to the value of £123. 19s. 7d.36 The warrant issued for this conversion was dated 10 March 1 741.
The masters' houses cost approximately £2,000 to build. This was not surprising bearing in mind that adaptation is usually more expensive than straightforward construction. Joseph Pratt's bill amounted to £1,085. rs. 7d. It states that the money was due on a debenture dated 31 March 1742 :37 'For cutting down a buttress from and new facing the turret where the brickwork of the old building bonded with it. Cutting out and making a new door-way into the storekeeper's garden and a doorway and windows in his cellar.38 Building a wall to divide his garden from the Second Master's garden. Levelling the ground and digging the foundations for the plumber's pipes to lay water to the masters' and storekeepers' houses. Building the foundations and tiling the bog-house. Clearing away rubbish. Digging a way for the fence between the two masters' gardens. Clearing away sinks and stoves from the old Lav-house. Works in the barracks. Fitting up the old fire-barn as an infirmary. Making a grand sewer behind the old barracks. Carrying down two drains from the old and new barracks into the water-course. Making a bridge over the water-course and a well for the foundry. Warrants
dated 2 June 1741, 17 October 1741 and 26 January 1742.' It will be noted that this bill contained items other than those connected with the construction of the masters' houses; it is not possible therefore to assess the charges exclusively devoted to that end. The carpentering was carried out by Roger Morris on a warrant dated 2 June 1741, the same on which Joseph Pratt performed the brickwork. Morris was paid £865 on a debenture dated 31 March 1742, a sum which also included the charge for repairing a stable.39 Hezekiah Walker laid on the water to the two houses. His bill amounting to £13r. 1s. 11d. was paid on a debenture dated 30
35 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, II May 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. 30, 30June 1741.
36 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/84, 21 April 1743.
37 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/148, p. 231, 31 March 1742.
38 A larder. What is now termed a 'cellar' was then known as a 'vault'•
39 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. 135, 31 March 1742.
287
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
September I 742.40 Apparently some drains were installed as an afterthought for we arc informed thatJohn Shakespear, who had by now replaced George Shakespear as master scavelman, made 'drains from the cess-pools of the two masters' houses at the Academy'. His warrant for this sanitary convenience was dated 28 January 174.3, the cost being £7. Bs. 3d.41 Finally Henry Foucquet, the Chief Engineer's clerk, received £45. rns. od. travelling charges on a debenture dated 30 June 1741 for his visits to Tower Place in connection with the Academy building programme.42
The turret must next claim attention. It was the oldest structure in the '" arren having stood for at least two centuries when the Royal Academy was founded. It was solidly built, its robust nature being attested by the fact that it still survived as a proud reminder ofa more romantic age after severance from its parent building h ad left it unsupported and alone. As a landmark it towered over the collection of shops and sheds clustered round its base, yet despite its massive appearance it did require the care which its years dem anded. First, Joseph Tarbox, glazier, repaired its windows on a warrant dated 8 May 1730.43 Then Joseph Pratt was paid £167. 16s. 10d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1738 for plastering and repairing it and for tiling the triangle shed where the fire-ships' stores were lodged, the warrants for these two services being dated 13 April 1736 and 16 May 1738 respectively.44 Misfortune seemed to have overtaken its windo~s again for Thomas Young, m aster glazier, carried out further reparrs on a warrant dated 21 October 174.0.45 After the foundation of the Academy the turret was used as an annexe to the main lecture room. Having five floors it contained ample sp a ce, so no surprise need be felt when Roger Morris received £ 48. 4-S· od.
on a debenture dated 31 December 1743 for fitfng up its fourth and fifth rooms for the use of the drawing master and model maker, and repairing the stairs to the vault in the Academy itself.46
The wharf and the butt were perennial sources of expense. Both required constant maintenance. The former was subjected to daily erosion while the latter, acting as an 'Aunt Sally', disintegrated under the repeated blows of solid iron shot.
The following entries in the Treasurer's Ledgers and the Bill Books portray the amount of work carried out on the wharves between the years 1720-1749.
,o Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/84 21 April 1743. 41 Ordnance Bill Book,,Series II, PRO/W0/51/15~, p 297, 30June 1743. 42 Ordnance T_reasurer s L~dger, PRO/W0/48/82, 14 August 1741. u Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/129. 44 Ordnance 1:reasurer's L~dger, PRO/W0/48/79, 30 December 1738.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /141, p. 78, 30 September 1738. "Ordnance Bill Book, Series 11, PRO/W0/51/145, p. 229, 31 March 1741. 41 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/85, 21 December 1744.
288
THE WARREN 1721-1749
(A)
A new wharf 400 yards from the new butt was made on a warrant dated I 2 November r 725.47
(B)
The wharfwas completely rebuilt on a warrant d~ted 19 Febru~ry 1734 at a cost exceeding £3,000. George Shakespear did the scavellmg work at a cost of£663. 7s. o½d, which he did on a separate warrant dated
I g October I 734.48 Sir William Orrborne was paid £1,087. 5s. 6d. on a debenture dated
"' . f h . 49 R
30th September 1734 for the timber portion o t e reconstruction. . oger Morris and Joseph Pratt received £1,541. ros. 11jd. for the brickwork in making the new wharf.SO Christopher Cass earned out the necessary masonry work at a cost of £424. 1s. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1734. This sum also included work on three s~all houses for laboure~s
(warrant dated g April 1734) and some repairs on the storekeepers h 51
ouse. ld fi . . h
(C) John Shakespear was paid_ £86. 18s. 0 2 _-or repamng t e wharfing at Prince Rupert's Walk."2 He also received £30: 6s. gd. for diaging the foundations and making a causeway at the landmg-stage on
o h 53
a warrant dated 22 Marc I 744·
(D)
Roger Morris received the sum of £236. 15s. _od. on a debenture dated 30 September r744 for repairing the wharfat Pn,nce Rup::t's Walk, clearing the foundation and repairing the storekeeper s house.
(E)
Roger Morris was paid £1,071. 16s. 8d. on a de~enture dated March 1745 for repairing the wharf and the firesh1p storehouse.
31
55
Warrant dated 27 November 1744.
(F) John Shakespear received £428. I 2s. 3d. on a debenture dated
31 March 1745 for repairing the wharf on a warrant dated 27 November I 744.56 .
These last two items show that over £ I ,ooo was spent on the wharf m 1745, notvvithstanding the earlier expenditure of £3,000 ten years before.
(G)
Roger Morris was paid £n3. 19s. 6d. o~ a debenture dated 30 June 1745 for repairs carried out on the landing place, wharf and fireship storehouse between I April and go June 1745.57 •
(H)
On a debenture dated 30 June 1745 Joseph Pratt receiv~d £453. 7s. d. for carrying out the undermentioned repairs between 27 November
4 1744 and 30June 1745.58
(a)
At the fire-ship storehouse. Warrant dated 27 November 1744·
(b)
At the wharf. Warrant dated 22 March I 745·
4 7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/120, P· 110• 4B Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/W0/51/135, P· 127, 3oJune 1734· 40 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/76, 26 August 1735· 5o Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/135, P· 131, 29~une 1734· 51 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/76, 10 June 173::i·
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/134, P· 211, 3° September 1734· 02 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/150, P· 298, 3oJune I7i3· 0 a Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/W0/51/161, P· 51, 30June 174::i· 54 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/86, 12 February 1745· 0s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 13 March 1745· _
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/158, P· 86, March 174:.,• 5 s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 13 March 1746·
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/158, p. 98, 31 March 1745· 0 7 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 17 June 1746. 0s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 17 June 1746. _
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/160, p. 21, 30June 174:>·
289
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
CJ At the landing place. Warrant da ted 22 March r 745 (d, At Captain Pattison's house. Warrant dated 30 Ma .l
745
(e1 At the foundry. Warrant dated 22 March y ·
1745
ff1 On the drains at the barracks and in General B d' h
Warrant dated 1745. orgar s ousc. 111 John Shakespear was paid £ 1 6 1 d 30June 174-5 for raising the ground at th~ ~:c~ ~f~~ a i eben~ re_ dated foundation for a causeway, clearing drains at th b e w arf, d1ggmg ~he he moat by Prince Rupert's Walk b . e . arracks and cleaning
. . etwecn r Apnl and 30 June 1745 59 The fol10\\,1ng entncs refer to the butts: ·
l a1 John Lidgbird was paid £32 1Is . middle platforms and making a bric.k wh~rid. for enc!osmg 1;he lower and platform for exercising against the new b ofold bnck agamst the lower GeneraJ.ro utt by order of the Surveyor
1b; George Shakespear received £6 12 .. the new exercising butt on a warr t 3d· ds. od. for repamng and raising
an ate 17 July 8 01
(c1 George Shakespear was paid £Bl 172 · 30 September l 733 for repairing th : _os. gd. on a debenture dated
. e exerc1smg butt a d • h b
and wharf at Prmce Rupert's W lk 62 n secunng t e ank ldJ Sir William Ogborne rece:ed on a the sum of£30. 4S. l d. for repairing th 1 tebenture dated 30 June I 733 target for the butt, repairing the buttanJ:~cd1}-ouse, making a _new post and
(e) George Shakespear repaired th n !~gthefence behmd the butt.G3 21 October 1735. His fee of£ 135_ 6s.e i;ercismg _butt on a warrant dated 12 ~fay 1736.64 • was paid on a debenture dated
(fJ J ohn Shakespear was paid £
301 8
and building a new proof-butt d • 1 . · s. 6d, for demolishing the old and cleaning out the bog-hou~es!~~es~;~ers for the old_and new ba rracks work was dated I 7 October h. h . barracks. His warrant for this
1741
in the foundry.65 w ic included the digging of a w ell
(g) John Shakespear received £r J.. •.
49 0
ening the exercising butt on a · Js. 2d, for repam ng and length
(h) The next entries presup;o:~:~t ated 6 February r742.66 consequent advent of flood wat Teh~ccurrence of a great storm with
1 • . . ers. 1s as we k r
natura VIS1tat1on from which Woolwich ~ft now, was a 1orm of dated 30June 1744John Shak ~n suffered. On a debenture
Ii . . espear was paid the s f £
or repamng the proof-butt part of which h um o I 53. l 5s. od. much damaged by the inroads f th Th ad been washed away and subsequent encroachments by tho . e . ames and securing it against
. . e nver m bad w th Th
repairs were earned out on a w d d ea er. e necessary
arrant ate 22 May 17 67 u Ordnance Treasurer's Led er PR 44. '0 Ordnance Bill Book SeriesgII, PRg1wg;4B/B7, 17June 1746. 11 Ordnance Bill Book: Series u' PROrw0//5r//rr9, P• 75, 30 September 1726. u Ordnance Treasurer's Led e 'PRO/ 51 120, p. 110.
" Ordnance Treasurer's Led:e;• PRO/~g14gf75, 9 May 1734. u Ordnance Treasurer's Ledge 'PRO 14 175, 16 April 1734.
Ordnance Bill Book Series Ir' PRorwg//4B/77, 23 November 1736. u Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO O 51/133, P· 189, 12 May 1736. •• Ordnance Bill Book: Series u' PRofwo;/51//149, p. 56, 3r December 174r.
Ordnance Treasurer's Led er' PRO 5r 15°, p. 42, 3r March 1742. Ordnance Bill Book, SeriesgII, PRO;w/Wg/48//8\ 12 February 1745. ' 151 15 , P• 136, 30Ju_ne 1744.
290
THE WARREN 1721-1749
(i)
John Shakespear was paid £299. 7s. 2d. for taking down and 'new making' the proof-butt on a warrant dated 16 May 1746.68
(j)
John Shakespear received £88. 4S. 1d. on a debenture dated 31 December I 748 for levelling and regulating Proof Place and for repairing the face of the butt.69
Except for these specific projects already described, constructional work in the Warren during these years of comparative tranquillity was limited to individual acts ofmaintenance and repair. These must be tabulated chronologically for purposes of record.
George Shakespear received £230. 1 7s. 3d. for scavel work between I July 1 729 and 30 September 1729. ·warrant dated 24 June 1728.70 New fences in the marsh wall behind the butt next to the sluice were erected on a warrant dated 25 September 1729.71 Roger Morris and Joseph Pratt were paid £6r. 2s. g¾d. for repairs including those on drains.72 Roger Morris and Joseph Pratt received £284. 19s. 7½d. for rebuilding the Conduit House in Collick Lane on a warrant dated 8 May
I 731.73
Sir William Ogborne was paid £147. 4>. 5d. on a debenture dated 3 I December 1731 for repairing the Laboratory, the infirmary and several houses.74
Roger M orris and J oseph Pratt received £go. gs. 1½d. for repairing the foundry storehouses and barracks. Warrants dated 19 November 1734 and 10 J anuary 1735.75
Samuel R emnant, smith was paid £110. 11s. 8d. on a debenture dated 30 June 1735 for 59 cwt. o qrs. 27 lb. of new iron work in making a new balustrade a t the shot-yard.76
George Shakespear received £135. 5s. 6d., which included the sum of £ 1 3. 1 1 s. 4d. for building an addition to the guardhouse, for digging a bomb-room for a sea mortar, fixing stepping stones in the road at the Warren gate and sinking guns to serve as posts in the footway in Warren Lane.77
Joseph Pratt was paid £16. gs. 8d. on a debenture dated 16 November
I 738 for m aking a new hearth and funnel for the armourers' forge.78
Roger M orris was paid £100. 6s. 2d. on a debenture dated 31 December I 741 for fitting up the fire-barn as an infirmary for the use of the Royal Artillery. Warrant dated 5 December 1741.79
68 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/163, p. 230, 31 December 1744.
68 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 31 December 1748.
70 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/ 51/124, p. 64, 30 September 1729.
71 Ofdnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/124, p. go.
72 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/131, 8 May 1731.
73 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/131, p. 25, 31 December 1731.
74 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/73, 11 May 1732.
75 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/135, p. 227, 31 March 1735.
76 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/,µ3/76, 21 October 1735.
77 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /133, p. 233, 30 September 1736.
78 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/80, 7 August 1739.
79 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. JO, 31 December 1741.
291
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Hezekiah Walker received £341. rs. od. on a debenture dated 30 June r 741 for plumbing repairs in storehouses and dwellings.80
Joseph Pratt was paid £76. r 7s. id. on a debenture dated 30June 1 742 for building a brick funnel for the smiths' forge and re-tiling certain storehouses. ,varrant dated 8 January 1742.81
Roger Morris received £379. Bs. gd. on a debenture dated 30 September 1742 for building a new fuel storehouse for the foundry, a fire-barn, a bog-house, a coal house and a 'corps' room; also for carrying out sundry repairs in the Laboratory. Warrant dated 15 June 1742.82
Roger Morris was paid £253. 15s. B½d, for pulling down the old clockhouse and rebuilding the same. v\Tarrant dated 15June 1742.83 John Shakespear received £12. os. 7d. for digging the foundations of the fire-barn and wood-barn. Warrant dated 15 June 1742.84 Joseph Pratt was paid £300. 5s. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1742 for bricklayers' work in building the fire-barn and wood-barn.85
Roger Morris received £34. I Is. 7d. on a debenture dated 30 June 1743 for repairing the south gate of the Laboratory and making frames and gates for the shot-yard.86
Joseph Pratt was paid £163. I4S. 11d. on a debenture dated 30 June 1743 for bricklaying in the repair of the damage inflicted on the barracks by the bursting ofa gun, for repairing the tiling ofseveral storehouses and of the masters' houses at the Academy, and for carrying out renovations in the Laboratory, kitchen and wharf.87
Joseph Pratt received £31. 5s. 3d. on a debenture dated 3r December 1743 for white-washing the houses of the storekeeper and Major M ichelson; also the room of the extra clerks.88
Roger Morris was paid £81. 7s. 5d. on a debenture dated 31 M arch 1744 for building a house for the night watch on the wharf. vVarrant da ted 8 November 1743; also for other repairs on a warrant dated 26 July 1 743.89
John Shakespear received £91. 11s. o½d, for cleaning out the moat which divides the Warren from the marshes.90
Roger Morris was paid £118. I4S. od. on a debenture dated 30 September 1744 for making a new frame and case for the large lead cistern, a new door in the foundry yard and for carrying out several repairs in the foundry.91
Roger Morris received £182. 7s. 10!d, for work carried out at the new hand crane; warrant dated 22 March 1745; and at the pallisades to the
80 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 11 May 1742. 81 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/148, p. 202, 30June 1742. 82 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/84, 21 April 1743.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/152, p. 12, 30 September 1742. 83 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/152, p. 198, 31 December 1742. "Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/152, p. 24. • 85 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/vVO/48/84, 21 April 1743. 81 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/51/153, p. 178, 30June 1743. 17 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85, 21 February 1744. 81 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85, 24July 1744. 11 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/85, 21 December 1744.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/154, p. 199, 31 March 1744.
•0 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 /154, p. 211, 31 March 1744.
91
Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/86, 6June 1745.
292
THE WARREN 1721-1749
landing place; warrant dated 25 June 1745. The sum also included payments for repairs at the foundry, barracks, storehouses and General Borgard's house.92
Joseph Pratt was paid £84. 5s. 8d. on a debenture dated 31 December I 745 for repair work carried out at the foundry, the first master's house and certain storehouses between I July and 31 December 1 745.03
Joseph Pratt received £131. 2s. gd. on a debenture dated 31 December 1 745 for repairing the Sea Service Storehouse, the Laboratory and several stores between I o October and 3 1 December I 745.94
Joseph Pratt was paid £218. 9s. 6d. on a debenture dated 3~ December 1 745 for repairing the old cranes and Mr Muller's house (1.e. the on: allotted to the first master) between I October and 3 r December 1745·9"
Roo-er Morris received £365. r rs. o½d, for building a new shed on a warr:nt dated 29 March 1745 at a cost of£294. I IS. r¼d,, and for making a foot-way from the dipping-house to the fire-ship storehouse.96
Hezekiah \!\Talker was paid £79. 3s. 4d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1745 for repairing the pipes in Mr Muller's house and ;~e conduit pipes in the Warren between I July an~ 30 ~eptember 1745·.
Joseph Pratt received £281. qs. 6½d, for d1v~r~ Jobs, among which were (a) Building a shed for the painters (b) Ra1~mg th~ fe~ce walls of the Warren and constructing buttresses (c) Makmg drams m the coa:yard. The ·warrant for the work which was carried out between 1 Apnl
. 6 98
and 30 September r 746, was dated 29 March I 74 • John Sh akespear was paid £146. 16s. rd. on a debenture dated 31
December I 745 for :
(a)
Digging the foundations for the hand crane and levelling the ground. Warrant d ated 22 March 1745·
(b)
Moving ·he west crane and levelling the ground.
(
c) Making a foot-way in the orchard. Warrant dated 26 November 1745·
(d)
Laying guns. . h k l
(e)
Makino-a causeway at the landing place all of wh1c too Pace
b 99
between 1 J uly and 31 December 1745· d d
1
Roger Morris received £223. 15s. nd. on a debenture at~ 3 · · C · M' h 1 's house the palhsades
December 1746 for repamng aptam 1c e son loo and the barracks between 1 July and 31 December 1746. John Shakespear was paid £137. 17s. 2d. on a debenture dated 3o]une d. d 101
1 7 4 7 for levelling ground and men mg roa s. S Roo-er Morris received £go. 17s. 3d. on a debenture date~ 3° eptem
0 . k h and dwellings between
ber 1747 for repairs to the barrac s, store ouses I July and 30 September 1747.102
92 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/162, P· II, io Sept6mber 1745· 93 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 October 1746· 94 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 October 1746· 96 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 Octo er 174 · 6 00 Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/163, P· 205, 3oJune 174 · 07 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/88, 17 FebruarySl747· b 98 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/163, P· 21 4, 3° ep~em er 1746 ·
1
99 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 October 748· 100 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 28 January 174 · 1o1 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 5 July 1748· 8102 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 3 October 1 74 ·
293
BIRTH AND CHILbHOOD
Joseph Pratt was paid £303. 7s. 7d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1747 for his part in the above mentioned repairs between I July and 30 September !747.10~ . .
Roger l\1orns received £9. 7s. 2d. for erecting a new flagstaff 1n the Vlarren. " 'arrant dated 4 December 1747.104
Having outlined the works services carried out during the preceding twenty years, let us turn our attention to the Laboratory which had been in a state ofsuspended animation since r 7I 6. Though not completely closed down, its output had been reduced to the level consistent with the effects of Sir Robert Walpole's administration. Since the absence of war had left stocks undisturbed, the limited demands of peace were easily satisfied, and during the first tw entythree years ofits torpidity it manufactured just enough to fulfil the
requirements of exercise and proof. Though placed under the care ofa bombardier in 1716, the gathering war clouds in 1739 quickened its tempo and demanded the presence of a more senior official to step up its production. This is supported by an entry in the Treasurer's Ledgers under date I June 1742 which states :105
Lieut-Colonel Thomas Pattison paid £222. ros. od. on a debenture dated 21 May I 742 for his care and trouble in superintending the business of the Laboratory between 20 November I 739 and 21 May I 742, being 914 days at 5s. per day.
The dates in this entry are significant. The 'peace and prosperity' era introduced by Sir Robert Walpole was rudely shaken and finally brought to an end in I 739 by a great national fervour in favour of a maritime war with Spain. This movement, founded on past m emories, was uncoordinated and amorphous, but it was the beginning of the flood-tide which twenty years later bore William Pitt to office and
swept away the French power in India and North America. The wrongs ofJenkins and his ear, said to have been torn off by an irate Spanish Customs official, brought matters to a h ead by arousing such a popular demand for action that Walpole perforce had to bow before the storm and draw an unwilling sword against Spain on rg October 1739. It was an unfamiliar implement in Walpole's hand and he resigned on 2 February 1742. With his fall from power the policy of restraint faded into the background, and the Spanish war, inconclusive and indecisive, broadened into the current whicheventually carried the country into conflict with France on 15 March 1744 whenthe Warofthe Austrian Succession once more setEurope aflame. Meanwhile, after the temporary management of Lieutenant
Colonel Thomas Pattison, who in I 742 had become the Lieutenant
Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the Laboratory slipped 101 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 3 October 1748. 10, Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/164, p. 226, 31 March 1748. 101 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, I June 1742.
294
THE WARREN 1721-1749
back under the exclusive care of a bombardier and, although its work was increasing in scope and importance, carried on for the next four years as best it could. At the beginning_ ~f 1746, h?wever, the increasing strains of war spurred the authorities to a~t1on and broucrht home the fact that if the Laboratory was to function effectively0 it must be placed on a proper footing. A Council meeting was therefore held with this end in view.106
LABORATORY AT WOOLWlCH
At the Court of St James's 12 February 1746
Present The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council v\Thereas there was this day read at the Board a report of the Lord~ of
· f C ·1 d t d 30th oflast month upon a representation
the C omnnttee o ounc1 a e f O d for the Master-General and Principal Officers of the Boar~ 0 ~ n~nce relating to the defective state of the Laboratory at Woolwich which is at
b d. Although the Works nowpresent under the care only of a Bom a ier.
. · derable and of great
constantly carrymg on there are very consi
11
consequence, and therefore proposing that the Officehof ~r-1p;o~~~
8
Firemaster and Firemaster's Mate which were put upon t e in mg s d
. . . f ) may now be restore
hshment in the year 1716 (bemg time O peace . h th Art with the addition of a Clerk to the Comptroller. By whic mean~ e . of making Fireworks for real use as well as for Triumph may e agam recovered. The Charge whereof as estimated by the sa~d MBo~rd amh. ou~ts
d num His r aJesty avmg
to Four hundred and Seventy Poun s per an · . h th dvice of taken the said Report into Consideration was pleased wit. e a h. h . h f d f the said Estimate w ic is llis P rivy Council to approve t ereo_ a_n ° rdered That the said hereunto annexed and to Order as it is hereby O b t d
' F" t , Mate e res ore
Offices of Comptroller Firemaster and iremas er s G
1
5t
with the addition of a Clerk to the Comptroller And th~ Ma erd·. enera
. . D · ctions herein accor mg Y·
of the O rdnance is to give the necessary ire W. Sharpe
Officers proposed for the Laboratory at Woolwich
A Comptroller .... • • • · · · · · · · · · at £200
l 1
Firemaster ................ • • • · at £ 15° per annum Clerk to the Comptroller..... . • • at £ 4° Mate to the Firemaster .. • • · · · · · at£ 80
£47o r6 December 1746 In Estimate 1748
. . C ·1 Charles Frederick was ap-
Arising from this Order m ounci , L. t Colonel
. F b 1745 and 1eutenan
pointed Comptroller from 12 e ruary 6 101 the James Pattison, Chief Firemaster, on 1 3 Febr:1ary 174 ' 1 remainder of the staff being posted in the following year· In 7 4 7'
· h 1748 PRO/W0/55/408, P· 113·
10a Warrants (King's and others), Woolw1c ' 1744-Warr~nt dated 13 February 1746. 107 M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/508, P· 164·
295
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
therefore, the establishment of the Laboratory was as follows :108
Comptroller-Charles Frederick ........ . ... . .... . ... £200 p.a. Comptroller's Clerk-Edward Wilkes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £40 p.a. Chief Firemaster-Lieut.-Colonel James Pattison. . . . . . . . £ 150 p.a. Firemaster's Mate-Christopher Newton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £80 p.a. Turner-John Jones • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Joiner-William Pincher ............ £54. 15s. gd. p.a. Carpenter-John Cooke ............. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Smith-Robert McGill . . . . . . . . . . . . . £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Labourers Robert Poulton ......... £27. 7s. 6d. p.a. Mathew Younger ....... . £27. 7s. 6d. p.a.
The Civil establishment of the Warren in 172 7 was as under:
Storekeeper-James Felton ................... £160 p.a. Clerk of the Survey-David Stephenson . . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Clerk of the Cheque-Thomas Baker . . . . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Clerk of the Foundry-Anthony Spencer. . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Clerks extra-Edward Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £36. ios. od. p.a.
d. Peter Hunton £ 6 od. p.a.
or mary Th F . · · · · · · · · · · · · • • • • . . 3 . 1os.
omas urruss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £36. 1os. od. p.a. Master Founder-Andrew Schalch ......... . .. £ 219 p.a.
During 1728, however, Peter Hunton succeeded Anthony Spencer as clerk to the foundry, Charles Marriot replaced Pet r Hunton as a clerk extraordinary, and Hopton Twynihoe supplanted Thomas Furniss as a clerk extraordinary. During 1727 and 1728 no labourers appeared on the Woolwich books; they were borne apparently on the strength ofthe Tower. Since the main appointments at W oolwich are given in Appendix VII it is only proposed to record here the changes which took place among the clerks extraordinary. A hoyman, by the name of Anthony Swift, was added to the establishment in I 729. Mr James Felton who had been storekeeper since 1695 died on g April I 734 after nearly forty years of faithful service. He was replaced by Mr George Campbell. In I 734, besides the change of
109 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/88. (?~dnance Establishment ~ook, PRO/WO/54/210. Ind1v1dual warrants of appointment are given in M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/ 5o8, as under:
Laboratory JohnJones to be Turner at 3s. p.d., w.e.f. 1July 1747. Warrant dated 10July 1747,
p. 168.
William Pincher to be Joiner at 3s. p.d., w.e.f. 1 October 1747. Warrant dated 1 October 1747, p. 174. John Cooke to be Carpenter at 2s. 6d. p.d., w.e.f. 1 July 1747. Warrant dated 10 July 1747, p. 169. Mathew Younger to be Labourer at u. 6d. p.d., w.e.f. r July 1747. Warrant dated
10July 1747, p. 171.
Richard Berry was later appointed 2ndJoiner at 3s. p.d., w.e.f. r August r 748. Warrant
dated 27 October 1748, p. 103.
THE WARREN 1721-1749
storekeepers, John Twynihoe had succeeded Charles Marriot as an extraordinary clerk. William Sumpter also appears again as the labourer on the establishment. In 1736 the clerks extraordinary were Edward Jackson, James Delestang and Thomas Jones. By 1739 they had become Thomas Flight, John Jones and James Delestang, and by I 740 they were changed to James Delestang, Neil Campbell and James Backer. There was a complete turnover by 1743 owing to promotions and other movements of personnel. The three extraordinary clerks in that year were John Parr, Abel Cassell and William Severn. These remained at their posts until the end of the period covered by this chapter except that in 1748 William Folkes replaced William Severn. The only other posts worthy of mention which changed hands at this time were those of chief firemaster and firemaster's mate. Lieutenant-Colonel James Pattison vacated the former early in 1_748 and was succeeded by Captain Thomas Desaguliers on I Apnl.of that year,109 while Christopher Newton was replaced by CaptamLieutenant Charles Farrington appointed I July 1749.110 Summing up, we arrive at the following picture of the total Warren establi ·hment in 1749. £160 p.a.
Storekeeper-George Campbell ....... • • • • • · · ·
od. p.a.
£54. 10s.
Clerk of the Sur,rey-eil Campbell ... • • • • • · · ·
od. p.a.
£54. 10s.
Clerk of the heque-John Twynihoe ..... •. • • •
od. p.a.
£54.
Clerk of the •01.mdry-James Delestang .. • •. • • · 10s.
od. p.a.
£36. 10s.
Clerks extraordinary-John Parr.. ....... •••••·
od. p.a.
£36. IOS.
Abel Cassell .......... . •
od. p.a.
£36. JOS.
William Folkes . .... . ... •
od. p.a.
£26. os.
Labourer-illiam Sumpter ......... • • · • • · · · ·
£219 p.a.
Master Founder-Andrew Schalch ..... • • • • · · ·
Laboratory
£ 200
Comptroller-Charles Frederick .............. • • • · · · · p.a. Chief Firemaster-Captain Thomas Desaguliers. • • • · · · · £ 15° p.a. Firemaster's Mate-Captain Lieutenant
· £80 p.a.
Char1es Farrmgton ...... • • · · · · · · Clerk to the Comptroller-Edward Wilkes ..... • • • · · · · £4o p.a. Turner-John Jones ............... £54. 15s. od. p.a. Joiners-William Pincher ........... £54. 15s. od. p.a.
R . h dB £54 i5s. od. p.a.
1c ar erry ............ • · Carpenter-John Cooke ............. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Smith-Robert McGill ............. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Labourers-Robert Poulton ......... £27. 7s. 6d. p.a. Mathew Younger ........ £27. 7s. 6d. p.a.
In addition, there was a gentleman called The Superintendent of His Majesty's Foundries who had a salary of £500 p.a. Though not ioo MG O's Warrants PRO/WO/55/·08 P· 204. Warrant dated I February 17..iS:O 110 O;d~ance Establishment Book, PRb/'V\ O/54/211. M.G.O's ·warrants, PRO/\\ / 55/508, p. 210. Warrant dated 11 May 1749· 21 297
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
exclusively a Woolwich official he must have hadjuriscliction over the Royal Brass Foundry. These officials appear as shadows in the background. They were, in turn, appointed by warrant, but after appointment their names appear to be conspicuous by their absence in Ordnance records. In I 749 the Superintendent concerned was Francis Eyles, 111 the first holder of the post being George Harrison,112 one of the sufferers in the Moorfield explosion. The complete list
of these highly paid officials is given in Appendix VII.
In addition to the foregoing were Mr Marrow, the armourer, some four or five craftsmen working in the foundry and several labourers locally employed, making in all a total of some thirty civilian employees. These, together with probably a similar number ofsoldiers engaged in production gives the managerial, clerical, and industrial strength of the Warren as some sixty or seventy persons. Its rate of
growth during the first eighty years was surprisingly slow.
There was an accident at the Royal Foundry on 18 February 1745 according to the London Magazine of February 1745, p. IOI. An old bomb shell which had been landed some days before from a tender, and from which the charge had not been drawn, took fire and bursting injured six of the matrosses so badly that two of them died.
A third man had both his legs and his right arm blown off. It was thought that if the remainder lived, they would in all probability never recover the use of their limbs.
To give some idea ofthe amount ofproof taking place at vVoolwich in the middle of the eighteenth century, the following figures are selected from a host of provings.
'One 7½ft 9 pdr, fifty-seven 7ft g pdrs and eighteen 5}ft 1 pdrs made by Messrs Wheatley and Coy. for the East India Company's ships were proved between 31 October and 1 November 174-9. Thirty-one pieces out of a total of seventy-six passed proof.'ll3
'Thirty-six out of forty-three 12 and 18 pdr iron ordnance made by Messrs Sone passed proof on 7 November 1749.'ll4
To conclude this chapter a survey of the Warren as it appeared in I 749 will be attempted. In this respect we are fortunate in having two beautifully executed plans. The first is headed An Accurate Plan oftlze Town of Woolwich, his Majesty's Dockyard and Rope Walk; Survey'd by John Barker with the Plan ofthe Warren as surveyed in 1748 with a view
from Prince Rupert's Walk of the Royal Academy, Laboratory etc. John Barker Surveyed and Drawn Ju{y 1749: while the second is called An
111 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/351, p. 175. Warrant dated 13July
1742. 111 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/348. Warrant dated 27 September
1722. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/34, 3 November 1749. 114 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/34, 14 ovember 1749. Actually from 1749 the so-called 'Journal Books' are really 'The Minutes of the
Surveyor-General', but the term 'Journal Book' will continue to be used in the footnotes.
298
THE WARREN 17111-1749
Exact Survey of tlze Warren in Woolwich drawn by John Barker at the Royal Academy. Anno 1749. For our purpose the latter is the more valuable
map. h B .. h
The original plans are kept in the Map Room of t e ntls Museum and form part of Volume XVII under the press-m~r~ k44. Together with seven other drawings they were placed _ongmally between two pages sealed together to form _a closed section of the volume. The nine maps and plans of Woolw1ch are:
(a)
An accurate plan of the Town ofWoolwich, his Majesty's Dockyard and Rope-,Nalk. Surveyed and drawn by John_Barker, July 1749·
(b)
An exact survey of the Warren in Woolw1ch drawn by John Barker at the Royal Academy. Anno 1749· .
(c)
A plan of His Majesty's Dockyard at Woolw1ch 1 774·
(d)
A plan of His Majesty's Dockyard at Woolwich. Drawn by Thomas
Milton 18 June 1753· · h Wa ren at
(e) A plan of the 2 gun battery and born? battery m t e r_ Woolwich made under the direction of MaJor-General Borgard m the
'
year 1739. .
(f)
Plan of the foundry built at Woolw1ch. Anno ~7 15· h T
(g)
Plan of part of a Great Pile of Buildings designed at t e ower Place at Woolwich g July 1717·
(h)
Front ate at Woolwich 1717 Sh' C ·
th
(i) Front of the Gate next the River Than_ies :or ~ of1X [tt1(~g)e] House desicrned at the Tower Place at Woolw1ch mStea
b
markt 1717. t d 'secret' forms rather
The reasons why these plans were trea e as fid .
. h' h highly con entia1at
an amusing story. The drawmgs, w 1c were d
. . t b the Board of Or nance
the time of their preparat10n, were sen Y d'd t to H.M. the King for his inspection. George III, hui,_~ve:, L\ no return them but placed them in his library. When the ng s 1 r~h was transferred to the British Museum in 182 8 the_ ~lahnMswent wifit
t to the Bnt1s useum or
it. In 1837, the Board of 0 rdnance wro e d Th B d the return of these military papers but the latter refuse · e ohar
d allow no access to t em
then asked the Museum to sea1them up an d d the without their permission. To this the Museu: ~r~/;i:cent's documents were placed under seal and for~otte . h t th plans
. . . A ll h ffi ·al not1ficat1on t a e ,
happy mspirat1on. ctua Y, t e O ci d ·1 ble to the being of no further military value, could be ma e a~i a Offi f U Public was not given to the British Museum by the k aru· Tche 1.
' 1 , h d been bro en. ., us is 21 March 1910 long after the seas a
history made. . b M w T Vincent
These plans were originally brough~ to light YM; F · C · Elliston~ the author of The Records of Woolwzch and, as · h · d t" Erwood remarks,m the story of their discovery 'forms t e rama ic
m PRO/WO/32/556, Gen. No/1/17?. . .
118 The Woolwich and District Antiquanan Socie91, vol. xxix, P· 17·
299
DIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
opening to his popular history, though it may be thought by some that he has allowed his sense of the theatre to overcome the demands of strict veracity'. The story of a 'sealed packet' was a flight of imagination. Actually, the edges of certain pages in a large folio had at one ~ime be_en securely stuck together and on them now appears a note m pencil to the effect that the sealed edges of this book were opened in 1869 and need not be sealed up in future.
John Barker has left no trace in history. Who he was or what was his profession is a mystery. Presumably he was a surveyor. He was certainly a skilled draughtsman and a competent artist. His map of the Warren was d~awn at the Royal Academy, yet he was neither a master or a drawmg-master, nor a model-maker there. His n am e does not appear among those of the staff in the comprehensive list given in Tlze Records of tlze Royal M ilitary Academy , nor is it mentioned i~ any Ordnance Jour,nal Book, Establishment Book, Quarter Book, Bill Book or ~reasurer s Ledger. He must have been granted facilities to produce his Wa~ren survey but he received no payment for his
work from any official source, which presupposes that his exercise in cartography w_as a priv_ate venture. Nevertheless posterity owes him a debt of gratitude. His map is the only existing one between the years 1717 and 1777.
In 1749 the limits of the Warren were similar to those of 1671 the only difference being that it was now surrounded by a fence 'wall except where the moat still stood guardian over the marshes on its eastern flank. There was a plantation of elms near the main gate and a row oftrees along the boundary which separated the Establishment from the Plumstead marshes. A double row of foliage hrew its welcome shade over Prince Rupert's Walk while the old bastion itself was dotted with numerous saplings. 'Between the Fountain Court block of buildings and the Laboratory, an avenue lined with trees led from the foundry to the gun-park. A considerable part of
the area was covered with private gardens and orchards. The principal buildings were:
A. The Laboratory as it stood in 1701.
B. The shot-yard, north of and adjoining the Great House now shut in by brick walls containing gates. '
C. The Great House_ containing the Academy, the Board Room, the Headquarters of the Artillery, the storekeeper's residence and the houses of the First ~nd Second Masters of the Royal Academy. '
D. The Firework-Barn, converted into an infirmary, almost on the site of the present surgery.
E. The Proof-Butt as in 1 70 r.
F. The Royal Brass Foundry, i.e. the present 0 .F. Garage.
G. The guardhouse by the main gate.
H. Three labourers' houses near the main gate.
300
THE WARREN 1721 -1749
I. The old and new blocks of barracks containing seven officers' quarters and two barrack barrack rooms.
J. The block of buildings containing the washing, turning and engraving house, the smiths' shops, the armourers' shops, the Land Service Carriage Storehouse, the Sea Service Carriage Storehouse, the Carpenters' shops, Artificers' Court and Fountain Court.
K. The Sea Storehouse on the site of the smiths' shop next to the water's edge north of the Shot-yard.
L. The Lesser Square or Carriage Storehouse including the powder magazine, just east of the Fountain Court block of buildings.
M. The turret in the garden of the First Master. .
N. The Boring Engine room, near the north end of the Foundry Just inside the main entrance. In addition there were two practice batteries in Prince Rupert's Walk, an extensive gun-park between the Old Carriage Yard site
and the buildings to the south of it, and the three cranes as of yore. Disappearances since r701 included:
The Old Carriage Yard which had now become the storekeeper's orchard.
T he New Carriage Yard. T he Powder-house close to the Old Carriage Yard. The Greenwich Barn. Pritton's house.
The Bricklayers' storehouse. The Kettle House. H awthorn Tree House. J ohn Packman's House and
The Smiths' Shop close to the water's edge.
It will b e seen therefore that though developments during the preceding fifty years had been small and unspectacular, p~o?ress had been achieved. Slowly but surely the country estate was givmg place to the Civil and Military Government Establishment.
301
Chapter g
The Beginnings of the Royal Regiment of Artillery
Woolwich Warren was the cradle of the Royal Regiment of Artillery ~nd, as such, was clos:ly associated with its formation in r 7 r 6 and Its growt~ to I ?i8. It 1s o~y _fitting, therefore, that the early years of the regiments story which mtegrated with that of the expa nding Warren shou~d figure in a history ofthe Royal Arsenal. In the Warren were the regimental headquarters, the houses and barracks where the officers. an? men lived and the infirmary where the sick were
tended, while Just across the way, in the Plumstead R oad, was the 0rd~ance chapel whe:e the troops afterwards worshipped.
Pr10: to the for~~t10n of the Royal Regiment, the fee'd gunners belongmg to the military branch of the Office of Ordnance were in ?me of peace quartered at the Tower and at other forts and castles m t?e country_whe~e, und~r their respective master gunners, they came~ out their daily routme. They were in fact a kind of 'District
Est~bhshme~t_' whose training for the field was nebulous to a degree. Du~mg a cnsis, or when for some other reason it was considered desira_ble to pl~ce an arn:iy in the field, a Royal Warrant authorizing a Tram ofArtillery was issued. These warrants laid down in meticulous detail the establishment and rates of pay of the personnel defi~e? with exactitude the number and types of ordnance and ~umt1ons to ?e collected, and listed with precision the stores to be issued from his Majesty's storehouses. The Train was then formed by dra~ting in ~pecified officers, master gunners and gunners from the vanous ?arnsons, mo~il~zing the necessary administrative person~el and artific:rs ~f the civil branch from the offices and workshops
m the Tower, 1ssm~~ !he guns and stores required and hiring horses and dn~ers fro?1 c1v1han sources. Experience proved that there w ere usually 1~suffic1ent_trained men to complete the laid-down establishment, so ~n the n:1~Jority ofcases, recourse had to be had to enlisting tempo~anly add1t1ona_l officers, gunners, matrosses,1 bombardiers, petardiers and _others m order to enable the Train to take the field. :-Yhen t~e Tram had served the purpose for which it was created, It "":as disb~nded. The permanent staff then returned to their normal duties, while the remainder were discharged with some form of
1
. At1,tha/rosses. Sol~iers in the Train of Artillery next below the gunners· their duty is to ass1s e gunners m traversing spo · I d" d fi · h · '
Jocks a d h • ' ngmg, oa mg an rmg t e pieces. They carry firewagg n hm~:{b a1in~ with the store-waggons, both as a guard and to help in case a
Thons ou rea own (Chalmer's Cyclopaedia). e rank of matross was abolished in r 783 when all private soldiers in the Artillery
became gunners.
302
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
monetary compensation, usually half-pay. This led to swollen Ordnance estimates and burdened the Office with a large non-effective vote.
At best, this was an expensive and inefficient method of obtaining artillery for the country's defence, as many of the specially enlisted men were devoid of training. At worst, it failed in its object. Such w as the case in 1715 when the system broke down on attempting to organize a Train of Artillery for the Scottish rebel rising. Trained personnel in sufficient numbers just did not exist and something had obviously to be done to remedy the situation. As early as 1712 the Treasury had written to the Board of Ordnance2 suggesting that their establishment might be reduced, for the feeling was growing in authoritative circles that the Ordnance were not getting value for their money. Discussions with the Treasury took place, and brains were set to work on a problem which had a long as well as a short term point of view. Eventually the Principal Officers sent the following communication to the Duke of Marlborough, Master
General, dated ro January 1716:
The Board of Ordnance represent to the Duke of Marlborough that,
upon examination of the several establishments of the military branch of
this O ffice, it appears that above the sum of £11,000 is yearly paid in
salaries to persons that are not appointed to any particular service; and are
never employed without more than double the said expense under the
titles either of travelling charges or pay. .
It is likewise evident, from many years experience, that the aforesaid
establishments are so defective that when there hath been any extra
ordinary service required, this Office hath been obliged to inlist other
persons, and to make demand in Parliament for payment of the same.
It is therefore humbly proposed, that as vacancyes shall happen ~n the
said establishments that the salarys of them be applied to the fornung ~f
one or more companies of gunners, as shall be thought necessary for his
Majesty's service.
For the better explanation hereof, we humbly lay before y~ur Grace the
annexed proposal for a regimental establishment of 4 compames ofgunn_ers
with proper officers, consisting of 379 persons and 28 engmeers amountmg
to £15,539. 17s. od. per annum. . ..
On the other side is an abstract of several establishments, cons1stmg of
369 persons belonging to the artillery and for rg engineers, the whole
amounting to £r6,82g. os. 3d. per annum, by which it appears_ that what
is now humbly offered is not only a less charge, but does consist of more
in number.
Out of the number of the 4 companies thus pro~osed, the fo:ei~n
establishment will not only be supplied, but there will also remam m
England near 200 persons at all times ready to march. upon any e~tra
ordinary occasion, or otherwise to be usefully employed m those garrisons
2 v\7arrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/404, P· 10, 8 Augu5l 1712•
3o3
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
or places where his Majesty's chief magazines are kept, of which persons there is now a great want. (Signed) Thomas Earle, Edward Ash,
M. Richards, J. Armstrong Annexed to this letter were:
(r) A list of employments on the North Britain establishment which it is proposed should be sunk as they become vacant.-A saving of £1,202.
3s. gd.
(2) A reduction in the salaries of certain posts.-A saving of £32.
I2S. 6d.
(3)
An abstract of part of the yearly charge of the military branch of the Office of Ordnance proposed, as they become vacant, not to fill up again.-An eventual saving of£16,829. os. 3d.
(4)
A regimental establishment humbly offered as more advantageous to the service; per annum-A cost of £15,539. 17s. od.
(5)
The old establishments for Mahon and Gibraltar granted annually by Parliament. The former £3,504 and the latter £3,175. 10s. od.
(6)
It was proposed that the following should continue until further orders: 217 master gunners and gunners ofgarrisons £ 4,605. 1s. Bd. Half pay of officers who had served abroad £2,7ro. 15s. 2d.
While these proposals were under discussion, the following artillery of the old establishment were serving during 1716 in the Tower Division at Woolwich and Greenwich :3
Lieutenant James Deal
Abraham Taylor Joseph Hughes
Bombardiers
Henry Mainarde
{
Henry Brown
rJames Campbell
Gunners
LJohn Warrell John Osment Matrosses Richard Mills
{
Edward Miller
The Master-General, upon receipt ofthis letter from the Principal
Officers of the Board, gave it very serious consideration. The views expressed evidently satisfied him, as after a short interval he submitted a proposal4 on the lines they suggested, pointing out that such a reorganization would in the long run effect a considerable financial saving by abolishing most of the half-pay vote. This proposal was accepted in principle though the number of companies comprising the Royal Artillery was limited to two, while keeping the local Minorca and Gibraltar companies on a separate establishment. The
1 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/199.
• Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/199, p. 137.
3o4
THE BEGIN NINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
Royal Warrant authorizing the two companies of Royal Artillery appeared on 26 May 1716.5
The Duke of Marlborough, having represented the inconvenience and defects of the present establishment of the military branch of our said Ordnance, amounting to £16,829. 11s. 3d., and therewith a scheme shewing that a greater number of gunners, engineers and other proper officers may be maintained for less than the present expense; and whereas by Our Warrant of 27 November 1715, two companies of gunners and matrosses were raised for the service of our artillery sent upon the late expedition to North Britain, and having been found always necessary that a sufficient number of gunners with proper officers should be maintained and kept ready for Our service; and whereas there are several salaries now vacant of the present old establishment which are not useful by which part ofthe two companies may be maintained, viz. 1 sergeant, 3 corporals, 3 bombardiers, 30 gunners and 32 matrosses, such as have served well abroad during the late wars; and as other salaries shall become vacant in the military branch, you will complete the pay of the rest of the officers
etc. according to the annexed list.
Establishment of the two companies:
First Company
Rank Pay per diem
Captain IOS.
First Lieutenant 6s.
econd Lieutenant 5s.
Third Lieutenant Fireworker 4S·
Fourth Lieutenant Fireworker 3s.
3 Sergeants, each 2s.
3 Corporals, each Is. 8d.
3 Bombardiers, each 1s. 8d.
30 Gunners, each Is. 4d.
50 Matrosses, each Is.
Second Company
The same establishment and pay as the First Company.
This gives the total annual pay of each company as £2,445·
. 6
10s. od., i.e. £4,891 per annum for the two compames.. .
These were the first two companies of the Royal Artillery, "vh1ch then cost the country less than £5,000 a year. They were stationed permanently at Woolwich and domiciled in the Warren. Not all ~he personnel, however, were quartered there, small detachments b:mg provided for the Tower, Portsmouth, Sheerness, and other garn~on towns. The gunners at Woolwich helped in the_ Labo~atory, earned out practice on the Plumstead Marshes and tramed with other arms in Hyde Park, Hounslow and other open spaces.
6 Original Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/491 , P· 5·
6
Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/4o6, P· 49· 3o5
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Before the barracks in the Warren were built, conditions demanded that a certain number of gunners under an officer should be sent there to attend Ordnance business. To this end, the SurveyorGeneral, on behalfofthe Principal Officers ofthe Board ofOrdnance, wrote the following letter to James Craggs Jnr., Secretary-at-War:7
Sir,
His Majesty's service at Woolwich requiring that a detachment of gunners and matrosses should constantly attend the Ordnance store there, and the high constable making clifficultys on continuing them because his Malles Ordnco have not been renewed since the Rebellion, I am to desire you (by order of the Board) that you will be pleased to assign
quarters there for a Lieut and 40 men.
I am also to acqt you that they can give you no satisfactory answer to yr Lre of 15th inst. relating to the Barracks at Sheerness and Tilbury w11•out his Matles directions are signified by one ofhis Principal Secretarys
ofState. I am, Sir, Your etc.
18June 1717
M. Richards He received this communication in reply:
It is His Matlcs pleasure that you cause a detachment of a Lieut and 40 gunrs and matrosses belonging to his Maties Ordnance to Quarter in ,voo1wch and remain untill further ordrs to attend the Ordnance store there. Wherein the Civill Magistrates and all others concerr.ed are to be assisting in providing quarters or otherwise as there shall be occasion Given at Whitehall this 21st Day ofJune 1717.
By his Matics Comand
J. Craggs
To the Principall Officers ofHis Malies Board of Ordnance, or to the Lieut wth the Detachmt above mencioned.
On 28 February 17 r 8, the Board of Ordnance requested the Secretary-at-War for one Captain, two Lieutenants and sixty-five gunners for the Ordnance store at Woolwich. This request was granted in a letter dated r March 1 7r 8. 8
The Trains of Artillery raised for the defence of Gibraltar and Minorca, after their capture, were reorganized as companies in 1717.9 These were on a different footing to the two home companies
raised in 1716, and did not belong to the Royal Artillery. On r r June 1720, the home establishments were altered and a headquarter staff
7 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/346. 1 1 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/347. Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/346, p. 355, 22 August r7r 7.
306
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
of one Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel and one Major were added. In x722, the Companies at Gibraltar and Minorca were brought on to the establishment of the Royal Artillery which then became the Royal Regiment of Artillery consisting of a headquarters and four companies; two at home at Woolwich and two overseas, one at Gibraltar and the other at Minorca.
During the days ofits infancy the Royal Regiment obtained many ofits officers from the ranks. Trained gunners graduated up becoming possibly the Chief Bombardier (who received 3s. per day) or the Chief Petardier, until finally they graduated into the commissioned ranks. The system thus differed from that of the Army where purchase was the normal method of obtaining commissions in the cavalry and infantry. But very soon afterwards, a new method of providing future officers was instituted. The establishment of the two Woolwich companies was increased to admit two cadet gunners and two cadet matrosses to each. These received the same rate ofpay as their enlisted namesakes, namely 1s. 4d. for the cadet gunner and
rs. a day for the cadet matross. They were paid monthly by the Captains in whose companies they were mustered. These youngsters, who were supposed to be taught the elements ofgunnery, fortification and mathematics to get them to be commissioned when vacancies among officei·s occurred, at first received no regular form of instruction. They were apparently under little discipline, some never even appearing at Woolwich at all, and such training as they did re_ceive was valueless for their future careers. In 1720, however, as will be described in Chapter 10, some attempt was made to place th~ir education on a better footing, but the system never prove~ satisfactory. The establishment of the Royal Military Academy m 1741 opened up further possibilities of properly training_ a~ office~ corps, so in 1744 a cadet company was formed as a d1stmct umt. The warrant authorizing this, dated 30 July 174410 stated th~t a company offorty gentleman cadets was to be formed by withdrawmg the cadets from the marching companies11 and by adding 4d. a day to the pay of twenty of them, i.e. the cadet matrosses, to bring up the pay of
every cadet to 16d. per diem. . .
The next change ofimportance after the settmg up of Regiment~l
headquarters, was the appointment of a surgeon and a surgeons
mate to the Royal Artillery on 3 r March 1728.12 A fifth c_ompa~y
was formed in 1740,13 and the formation of three ~ore m ra~id
succession brought the strength ofthe regiment up to eight compam~s
by 1743. Three more companies were adde~ in _1744, no doubt_ m
view of the War of the Austrian succession, 1.e. two marchmg
10 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/352, p. 150, 3ojuly 1744•
11
There were then ten marching companies in existence. See note 14· 12 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/349. . 13 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/350, P· 163, 21 Apnl 174°·
307
companies an the cadet company mentioned above. A further two companies were set up in 174J15 and another in 1748,16 bringing the total number of artillery companies to thirteen excluding the cadet company. Retrenchment was then effected on the termination of the Austrian succession war and actually on the same day that the 13th Company was formed a Royal Warrant17 dated 12 December 1748, was addressed to John, Duke of Montagu, Master-General of the Ordnance, reducing the Royal Regiment of Artillery to a head
quarters, ten companies and a company of gentleman cadets. On 30 April 1751 another Royal Warrant18 was issued giving army rank to officers of the Royal Artillery as under:
Artillery Colonel-Commandant as Anny Colonel
Lieut-Colonel Major Captain Captain Lieutenant First Lieutenant as as as as as Lieut-Colonel Major Captain Captain Lieutenant Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant as Second Lieutenant
Lieutenant Fireworker as Ensign
War in India and hostilities in North America stimulated the growth of the Regiment.
Four more companies were raised on 12 February 1755.19
Two adcliti?nal companies were formed on I October 1755.20 Two m?re companies were formed on I February 1756.21 One company of mmers, afterwards converted to a marching company 22 was added to the Royal Artillery by warrant dated 1 May 1756.23 ' Four new companies were raised on 8 March 1757.24
This made a total of 24 companies in all, too unbalanced a force to be. con!rolled by one small headquarters, and one moreover affo~dmg_ little scope for promotion to the higher ranks. In order to rectr~y thIS _arrangement, which was obviously ill suited for efficiency and mcentrve, a Royal Warrant on 8 March 1757,25 authorized the
:: Warrants an~ O;ders in Council, PRO/WO/55/351, p. 317, 5 March 1744. \'\( arraCnts (Kings and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/409 p. 42 4 September
1747 one ompany). ' ' :: Warrants an~ O;ders in Council, PRO/WO/55/353, p. 71, 1 December 1748. Warrants (Kmgs and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. 7, 12 December
1748. :: Warrants an1 ~rders in Council, PRO/WO/55/354, p. 25. 20 ~arrants (K~ng1s and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/ss/410, p. go. 21 \.\arrants (K!ng,s and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. 92. 11 Warrants (Kmg sand others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/s5/410, p. 98. Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/363 p. 166. Royal Warrant dated
29 March 1759. ' :: \'\;arrants (K~ng:s and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. gg. 11 \'\arrants (Kmg sand.others), ~oolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. 100. Warrants and Orders m Council, PRO/WO/55/356, p. 226.
308
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
divisionofthe Regiment into two battalions oftwelve companies each, each with its own headquarters at Woolwich. Eventually by 1761 there were 32 marching companies, the Regiment having been further sub-divided into three battalions of ten companies each on 16 August 1759.26 A fourth battalion was proclaimed by Royal Warrant dated I 8 February r771 . This warrant27 lays down the establishment of the Royal Artillery as field and staff officers, the M.G.O.'s company of gentleman cadets and four battalions at a total cost of £83,06 I. I 6s. 8d. per annum. Within a month the regimental establishment was placed on a peace-time standard, the cost being reduced to £72,549. 16s. 8d.28
Like all service under the Crown, gunners and matrosses, as well as their officers, joined the Royal Artillery for life. There was no form of superannuation and no system of pensions. In practice, of course, officers and men so incapacitated by old age, infirmity or wounds as to be incapable of doing any duty whatever, were granted some kind of ex gratia payment usually in the form of half-pay for life, or in exceptional cases, full pay, and permitted to retire or become discharged. As long, however, as they could perform some function, however inadequately, they continued to serve in the marching companies. This had the inevitable effect of reducing the over-all efficiency of the companies by compelling them to carry on
their establishment men who were quite unfitted for active service or any other strenuous task. So in I 77 I, eight companies of Invalids , ere formed29 incorporating the former 'garrison-gunners' for garrison duties in order to free the marching companies for serv_ice overseas as required. By 1774, therefore, there were 32 marchmg companies, 8 invalid companies and I cadet company born: on the strength of the Royal Regiment. An increase of establishment occurred in 1778 for on 16 September of that year a Royal Warra~t30 was issued increasing each marching company by one bombard1~r, two gunners and seven matrosses. This was followed by a further mcrease in 1 779 when the establishment of the Regiment w~s al~ered to
allow two additional marching companies to each battalion, 1.e. to a to tal of 40 marching companies in all.31 In the same year a ~urther change was introduced. Originally the eight inv_alid compames ~ad been attached to the four battalions, two compames to each, but eight years experience had proved this to be an unsatisfactory arrangeme_nt, and so the invalid companies were banded together toform a battalion on their own.a2 Finally on 12 March 1783, where we must take leave
26 Royal Warrant SP/44/191. 27 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/367, P· 1 52· 28 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/367, P· i85, 15 March 1771. 29 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/5/367, P· 152, 18 February 1771. 30 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/373, P· 79· :n Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/373, P· 299, 3oJune 1779· 32 Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/418, P· 78, 3oJune 1779•
3o9
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
of the Royal Regiment of Artillery so far as the history of the Royal Arsenal is concerned, the Royal Artillery was reduced from 5,337 officers and men (£148,488. Is. Bd.) to 3,302 officers and men (£r 10,570. 13s. 4d.).33
InJune I 743, therefore, the Royal Regiment ofArtillery consisted of eight companies, each commanded by a Captain, a headquarter staffofone Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel one MaJ·or together with
. ' '
the followm_g staff officers: a chaplain, an adjutant, a quartermaster, a bndgemaster, a surgeon and a surgeon's mate. Each company contained a captain, a captain-lieutenant, a first lieutenant, a second lieutenant, three lieutenant fireworkers, three sergeants, three corporals, eight bombardiers, twenty gunners, sixty-five matrosses and tw? drummers, making a total of 107 for each company. Two compames were at Woolwich. In June 1744, H.R.H. William Duke of Cumberland came to see some experiments and proof on the Warren, and the three companies which were then at Woolwich paraded under Major Jonathan Lewis. There were also a line of ~ ,enty cadets dra~n up on the right of the companies who appeared without arms, uruforms or an officer at their head. The three com
panies remained at Woolwich till August 1745 when, after the capture of Cape Breton, one of them v.,as sent to garrison Louisberg. In the same month a detachment of three officers and fifty other ran~s were sent from Woolwich with other troops to trengthen the gar~1son of ?xford. On 8 December 1745 two companies with a Tram ofArt~llery commanded by Colonel Jonathan L wis, marched
from Woolw1ch to Finsbury Common where a large body of troops was to have assembled under the immediate orders of the king, had the rebels marched to London as expected, but as they r tired northwards from Derby the two companies with the Train of Artillery returned to Woolwich three days later.
Five companies continued to be stationed at Woolwich till the final defeat oftheJacobites at Culloden on 16 April 1746, when two of thei:11 were sent in June with seven battalions to join the allied army m Brabant, and one embarked in May with six battalions commanded by Lieut.-General Sinclair on an expedition to the coast
ofFrance w~ere a fruitless attempt was made on Port L'Orient. The tw~ comparues left at Woolwich were increased to five by 1749, of which one was actually at Greenwich in view of the local shortage of a_ccommodation. As mentioned earlier, the King in 1751 granted equivalent rank to artillery officers whose commissions up to that date 'had only been signed by the Master-General LieutenantGeneral or Principal Officers of the Ordnance. Henc~forward such c_ommissions were to be signed by the King, as were army commis
s10ns, and counter-signed by the Master-General.
aa Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/375.
310
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
On 13 June 1753, his Majesty reviewed in the Green Park the five companies quartered at Woolwich and the cadet company. On that occasion there were present the Colonel, the Lieut.-Colonel, the Major, five Captains, six Captain-lieutenants, four First Lieutenants, seven Second Lieutenants, seventeen Lieutenant-fireworkers, the chaplain, the adjutant, the quarter-master, the bridge-master, the surgeon and his mate, fifteen sergeants, fifteen corporals, one drummajor, ten drummers, six fifers, forty bombardiers, forty-eight cadets, ninety-eight gunners and two hundred and ninety-one matrosses; a parade of 477 officers and men. The cadets were formed up on the right of the battalion as grenadiers; there were three light 6 pdrs on each flank of the battalion.
During the period of peace between 1748 and 1756, the Duke of Cumberland reviewed the Royal Regiment annually at Woolwich.
In May 1755, a detachment ofone first lieutenant and twenty-four N.C.Os and men were sentfrom Woolwich to Ireland at the request of the Lord Lieutenant towards the forming of a battalion of artillery for that kingdom. After the Peace of Paris on 10 February 1763, the three battalions consisting of the 30 companies and the cadet company, with th irrespective field and staff officers, were retained, -~mt the strength of each company was reduced from the 1743 establishment by one lieutenant-fireworker, one sergeant, one corporal, four bombardiers, twelve gunners, thirty-two matrosses. In I 771 the rank oflieutenant-firewor ker was abolished, and the establishment of officers for each m arching company was one captain, one captain-lieutenant, one first lieutenant and two second lieutenants. Each invalid company had a captain, a first lieutenant and a second lieutenant. The elements ofa Royal Artillery Band were formed in I 762. By a Royal Warrant dated 22 June 1772, captain-lieutenants in the Royal Regiment of Artillery were to take rank as captains in the army and regiment from 25 May and all future captain-lieutenants from t_he date of their respective commissions. 34 Thus was the rank of captam
lieutenant abolished.
Let us now turn to the more human side of the story. In saying this it is not proposed to tabulate a list of all the artillery officers who served in the Warren between the years specified. The muster rolls of the Regiment, preserved in the Public Record w~ll reveal them should they be required. Rather is it intended to give a_ few wellknown names and recite a few personal anecdotes relatmg to the
conditions under which the officers lived.
On 1 April I 722, Albert Borgard was appointed the first Colonel of the Regiment.a5 On 17 March 1727, Jonas Watson w~s selected as the Lieut.-Colonel, an officer who had succeeded Captam Thomas
84 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/368, P· 55· 3s M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/483, p. 59, and PRO/W0/55/5o6, P· 37•
311
Silver on 17 February 1710 as Master Gunner of Whitehall, 36 and on 1 ... ovember following Borgard, who had since been promoted Brigadier on I March 1727, became Colonel-Commandant. William Bousficld was the Major, and the captains of the two companies at Woolwich were James Richards and Thomas Hughes. Three other names which claim attention were Jonathan Lewis, a captainlieutenant at ,voolwich, who was promoted captain in February 1734, vVilliam Belford a second lieutenant at Woolwich in 1739, and Borgard . 1ichelson, a lieutenant-fireworker stationed at M inorca in the same year. Both these latter officers rose, comparatively speaking, quickly for those days. Thomas Pattison at this time was serving in Minorca. Major Bousfield died on 4 December 1736 and Thomas Pattison succeeded him in August 1738 as Major of the R egiment. Borgard in the meantime had received rapid promotion, becoming Major-General on 28 October 1735 and Lieut.-General on 2 July 1739. On I April 1740, therefore, the following officers were serving
in the '\t\'arren:
Lieut.-General Albert Borgard-Colonel Colonel Jonas Watson-Lieut.-Colonel Major Thomas Pattison-Major Captain Jonathan Lewis ) .
. -Captams
Captam Thomas James Captain-Lieutenant George Minnis ) . . · L'e t t J h M'll d -Captam-L1eutcr ants
Captam-1 u enan o n 1 e ge First Lieutenant William Belford.
There v. ere of course others, but their names are of no interest in this connection.
Captain Lewis was promoted Major on 22 May 1740 and ,vas sent out to Carthegena under Colonel Watson. The latter being killed on 26 March 1741, Major Lewis assumed the rank ofLieut.-Colonel and offered Belford (who had become a captain-lieutenant) his majority which he promptly accepted. These ranks were subsequently confirmed, and thus, as a resulting promotion, Thomas Pattison became Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment and Jonathan Lewis the Major. This was the state of affairs in 1743. In 1746 Major Belford was promoted Lieut.-Colonel for the Flanders campaign. On 28 January
I 748, Pattison and Lewis retired from the Regiment on account of old age and infirmities, and their places as Lieut.-Colonel and Major were taken by Belford and Borgard Michelson, who had in the meantime come to the fore.
At this time the officers' quarters in the Warren were apportioned as follows:
" As Lieutenant-Colonel, M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/483. As Master-Gunner, M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/489, p. 25.
312
THE BEGI N I 1 GS OF THE ROY AL REGIME "T OF ARTILLERY
No. 1 Dial Square-2 Majors' houses No. 4 Dial Square-the Colonel's house No. 7 Dial Square-the Lieut.-Colonel's house and
a Captain's house No. 10 Dial Square-2 Majors' houses.
In 1748, therefore, the officers' quarters in Dial Square were occupied (and had been so mainly occupied for some years) as follows:
Colonel Jonathan Lewis (Major of the Regiment) No. 1 Lieut.-Colonel William Belford (who succeeded
(
Colonel Pattison as Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment) No. 4 Lieut.-General Albert Borgard (Colonel of the Regiment) Colonel Thomas Pattison (Lieut.-Colonel of the No. 7 Regiment)
(Captain James Pattison . Major Borgard Michelson (succeeded Colonel Lewis
o. I o as Major of the Regiment)
(Mr Andrew Schalch (Master Founder)
General Borgard died on 8 February 1751 at the ripe old ~g~ of ninety-one ye rs, and his place as Colonel was taken by Wilham Belford.
So by February 1755, we have:
William Belford-Colonel of the Regiment Borgard Michelson-Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment George Williamson-Major of the Regiment.
The latter officer had been a lieutenant-fireworker at Woolwich in 1728. . When the Regiment was divided into two battalions we have the following picture:
1 August 1757 Post 1st Battalion 2nd Battalion
Colonel-Commandant William Belford Borgard Michelson Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Desaguliers George Wi~liamson Major John Chalmers Thomas Fhght
The first block of barracks in the Warren for the Royal Artillery was built in 17 r g.37 This is the building which formerly contained Nos I 2 3 and 4 officers' quarters in Dial Square. Nos. I and 4 each
. ' ' 'd d h
contained two houses for officers while Nos. 2 and 3 provi e t e barrack-rooms for the men. Soon after their completion the Surveyor-General, Clerk of the Ordnance and Chief .Engineer visited Woolwich to allocate the accommodation and to give orders
37 Sec Chapter 7.
22
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
that no women and children were to be allowed to reside in the premises.38 To 'lodge therein' are the actual words used. Military officers residing in the Warren were allowed a free issue of coal and candles and this perquisite was, ifnot resented, at least envied by the civilian officials. Mr Felton, the storekeeper, requested the Board on 12January 172239 that, as the military officers at Woolwich have an allowance of coals, he, as storekeeper and Messrs Hunton and Baker, as clerks of the surve)'.' and cheque respectively, might between them have the unserviceable wood. The Board did not
jump to comply with the request but cautiously ordered Mr Whittaker to examine and report on what coal was allowed to officers. The supply of fuel and the laundry work for the Regiment at Woolwich was paid for by Mr James Felton the storekeeper who in turn, was reimbursed by the _Board. He w'as paid £ 2g. 1Bs. 3i
on 22 May 1 724 for those services for the six months between 1 October 1723and31 March I 724.40 At this period, therefore, heating and laundry for the barracks was approximately £6o
R · · . per annum.
1
ugs were ongma ly 1ssued to troops, but these were exchanged for coverlets, and William Ogborne the maste t
· d , , r carpen er, was
mstructe to make the cradles' 41 Two items d.
. · regar mg pay may ~ow be noticed. On ioJanuary I 727, appears the laconic statement ;42 The acco~nt of the arrears due to officers of the artillery for the year I 726 1s to be stated in order for payment , t·k 1
·1· ffi . 1 e "'Very one e seh
t e m1 1tary o cer had to wait for his mon Tl tl k
. ey. 1e o ·1er ma es better readmg. 0~ 7 March 1727, it was laid down that the Colonel of the Artillery was to have 2/ c-.0 r l 1· d
•• , / • • • -.u every nc y en 1ste
man, v1z. I -for admm1stermg the oath and 1 /-fi Ii · o-,43
I d · b or s m0 money.
n ue course_it ecame evident that the barracks were hardly large enough to satis~ current needs, let alone accommodate more men, and as _th: Regiment was about to become enlarged a second block w~ ~mltm 1?3~,44 the warrant for which was dated '20 March 1739.
This 1s the bmlding now covering the old quarte N 8 d
fi Offi A . rs os.7, , g,an 10
or cers. gam Nos. 7 and 10 provided four houses for officers and Nos. 8 and. 9 the men's quarters. These blocks, during the greater part of the ei~hteenth century, were known as the 'old' and 'new' bar;acks respectively. Afterwards, in the early nineteenth century the bnew' barracks be~ame the 'field officers' quarters. Since both ;hese arracks were built to the same general pattern somewhat in the Vanburgh style, it appears now to the casual onl~oker after a lapse of over 200 years, as if the two had been erected at the same time.
18 OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/WO/ /
a, OrdnanceJournal Book: PRO/WO 47 ~Jil· 230, 20 May 1720.
0
: OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWo}!~}21l f.' :J·1 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ / ' N
42 Ordnance Journal Book' PROJW 47 33, P· 294, 9 ovember 1720. ea OrdnanccJournal Book' PROJW0/47/21B, p. 3·
44 Sec p B ' 0/47/21B, f. 23.
age 2 5.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
The first mention of an officers' stable in the Warren occurs in 1738 when Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid £50. 11s. 2¼d. for building a stable for the Major of the Regiment. The warrant for this work was dated 21 December 1737.45 General Borgard does not appear to have had a stable till 1747 when £73. 7s. 10d. was expended on digging the foundation for it.46
Not very long after the erection of the barracks abuses in the method of allotting officers' quarters crept in. These quarters were originally intended only for officers doing their tour of duty with the marching companies, but before long it was found that senior and staffofficers with their families were comfortably installed and refused to vacate the houses when they left the station. Instead, these more highly placed officers let their houses to strangers who had no shadow of right to live in a Crown house on Crown property. This practice in due time caused complaint in the matter of fuel. Regimental officers, who should have been provided with quarters and a free allowance of coal, were forced to reside in lodgings. These unfortunates therefore who lived in and around Woolwich, asked
' '
for coals-a very natural request in view of the circumstances. The Board of Ordnance, however, was not very sympathetic. In reply, it stated that it realized that it might be difficult to dispossess staff officers and their families but it considered it unreasonable that his
'
Majesty should be put to the expense of buying coal for use in private lodgings as well as providing it for barracks. The Bo~rd felt that officers should keep their private houses warm at their own expense, but asked for a ruling.47 In eight months time authority had relented, for on 22 September 1749, it was agreed that officers residing out of barracks should receive a free issue of coal and candles.48
Coal in the Warren was almost exclusively supplied to the troops as little at that time was used in workshops. With the expansion of the Regiment, storage facilities presented a problem. On 7_ April 1758, Mr Hayter, the overseer, reported that there was a piece of ground near the magazine which could be enclosed and paved f~r £72. 12s. 6d., suitable for storing 300 chaldrons49 of coal. This proposal was approved, though Mr Hayter was ordered to make the inclosure capable of holding 400 chaldrons. On 15 May 1766, a report on coal requirements at Woolwich was called for. In reply,_the Respective Officers stated that 400 chaldrons would be sufficient for 1766 and the following winter of 1766/67, as the number of
46
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/W0/51/141, P· 61, 3oJune 1738· 46 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/W0/51/168, P·. 96, 31December 1 747· V. arrant dated 18 April and 12 August 1747. John Shakespear did the work.
47
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/34, 3January 1749·
48
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/34, 22 Septemb_er 1749· ' A chaldron contains 32 bushels. A chaldron of coal weighs about 25cwt. Ordnance
9
Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/51, p. 338.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
officers was being reduced by their being sent to foreign stations. It ,..,as agreed that 4.00 chaldrons should be acquired, and advertisements _,.,•ere ordered to be ~nserted in public papers.50 In reply to the advertisements, the followmg tenders for coal were submitted ;51
Name Pontop Coal Tanjield Moor Coal
Christopher Masterson 30s. 6d. 3rs. 6d. James Hook 30s. 30s. 6d. John ',Yilson 30s. 6d. 3rs. 6d. Joseph Coltman 3rs. 32s.
As a result, a contract was placed with Mr James Hook for 400 chaldrons of Pontop Coal at 30s. per chaldron• the lowest te d
· h h , n er.
Th.
1s e~g teent century transaction has a peculiarly modern ring about1t. Coal allowa~ces in barracks in 1725 were as follows :52 Each room m the barracks occupied by the Captain, Lieutenant or others, was allowed 1½ pecks of coal a day,sa and 21b. of candles per week between 29 September and 25 March, and half a peck a ?ay t~e rest ofthe year. No fires or candles were allowed in any room m which less than four men under the rank ofLieutenant were lodged. Other coal and candle allowances were as follows:
2 pecks of coal per 24 hours durin. g the winter half of the year. 2lb. of candles per week during the winter Guard room { halfofthe year, and rlb. per week during the summer
half. Infirmary { I½ pecks of coal a day and 2lb. of candles a week.
A Regula~ion of the Number of Rooms for the Officers and Private Men allowed Fire and Candle states :
The Captain 1 Two Lieutenants Seven Fireworker Lieutenants
3
Cadets 2 One Sergeant, one Corporal and four Bombardiers r Private men, six to a room 6
Tl~e barracks appeared to require constant attention after their erectwn. They were often under repair for one defect or another an~ the sold~er of the time was not too gentle with woodwork o; fittmgs. For mstance, Christopher Cass, master mason, was paid on 16 July 1734, on a ~ebenture dated 3 November 1733, £2. 1s. 1d.
for a new ma~telp1ece and jambs in the barracks at Woolwich. Those mantelpieces were ofgood thick heavy slate, and one wonders
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/67, p. 365, 15 May 1766. OrdnanceJourn~I Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 37s, 27 May 1766. u 61 General Instruct1~ns to the O_fficers at Woolwich, 1725, PRO/WO/55/r809.A peck of coal weighs approximately 22Ib.
316
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
how the original became destroyed.54 There were quite a lot of repairs between r 740 and 1747. Work of this nature was carried out between I April and 30June 1740,55 1July and 31 December 1746,56 and between r January and 30 September 1747.57 Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, and Roger Morris, master carpenter, were the craftsmen concerned, and the bill of costs during the last year mentioned totalled over £400. Only nine years later, further maintenance was required. On 4 June 1756, Mr Hayter's estimate of £51. I4S. 2d. for repairing the barracks was approved and the work was put in hand.58 In r 760, extensive additions and repairs were undertaken at General Michelson's barracks which were too small. The estimate for the work, which evidently staggered the Board, was £397. gs. gd. They refused to act without the M.G.O.'s consent.59 The latter authorized the repairs and additions, and Mr Hayter was ordered to proceed, taking care that he did not exceed the approved estimate. 60
The barracks, both the officers' houses and the rooms for the men, were furnished. Such furniture was no doubt rough to modern ideas and probably lacked anything approaching luxury, but 200 years ago the officers and men in the Services had to put up with much discomfort. On a debenture dated 31 December
1740, R oger Morris was paid on 4 June 1741 the sum of £ 125. 13s. od. for supplying bedsteads, tables and forms to the newly built ;Jarracks.61
Conditions in the barracks in the middle of the eighteenth century must h a e been appalling. Dirty and verminous, with little or no sanitary arra. gements, it is a tribute to the innate toughness of man that the inmates did not die of pestilence. No wonder the Warren was said to be an unhealthy place. Mr John Cockburn, who was then the barrack contractor at Woolwich, reported on 6 November 1753, that the bedsteads in the barracks were swarming with bugs and that the men had been ordered to take them to pieces once or twice during the summer. He said that he found many of the bedsteads split and burnt as the men had put them in the fire to destroy the vermin. As a result ofthis report the Board ordered Mr Hayter to report on the state of the bedsteads and assess the cost of repairs.62 A week later, Mr Hayter rendered his report. He stated that nearly half the bedsteads were split and that nearly a quarter were burned;
5~ Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/75. 55 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/81. 56 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89. 57 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89. 58 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/47, p. 612. 59 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 220, 26 September 1760. 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 234, 30 September q6o. 61 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/82. 62 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, P· 242.
317
he estimated the cost of repair at £18. 1,µ. od. He suggested that if a carpenter were ordered to take down the bedsteads twice a year and clear them of bugs, such damage could in future be prevented. The Board directed the repairs to be carried out and informed Mr Cockburn that after things had been rectified, he was to arrange to have the bedsteads taken to pieces twice a year at his own
63 c·
expense. 1rcumstances were much the same three years later. Colonel Belford writing to the Board on 31 May 1756, complained that the barracks at Woolwich were in a bad condition the bedsteads were verminous and the tent-pins mostly split and destroyed. The tent-pins figured in the letter because two companies were encamped and they, with the company of miners, were to have marched and be lodged in the barracks on the morning of r June. On I June 1756, Mr Hayter was ordered to survey the state of the barracks and render his report, the clerks concerned being told to
report upon the tent-pins.64 A _short ti~e afterwards Mr John Cockburn, contractor for beddmg, was discharged ofhis contract.65 It must have been obvious to the meanest intelligence that he was seriously neglecting his duties. On 27 March 1765, the Quarter-Master R.A. reported that the drains of the 'new' barracks were completely stopped and that the 'necess h '66 • d ·
ary ouse require emptymg. Mr Veale, who h ad succeeded Mr Hayt~r as ove:seer, was ordered to 'survey, estimate and report'.67 On I Apnl followmg he did so, and stated that the drai1-.;; in question ~vere stopped up because they (i.e. the contents) were being carried mto the bog-house where the 'soil' was 6 feet above he drains. The expense of emptying and cleaning out the system wo uld be
£r5. 2 s. 4d. H7was ordered to expedite the necessary measures. 68 No wonder disease was endemic. On 20 August 1765 the same operation was carried out on the officers' and men's necessary houses.oo ~he following additional entries concerning the repair and mamtenance of the barracks are taken from the various Ordnance books. They give an indication of the amount of work involved.
2 8 October 1756. The Master-General decides that the cadet barracks at ':7oolwich should temporarily house a detachment of the Royal Artillery until other more convement quarters can be found. Therefore, twenty-six barrack bedsteads, bedding, tables, forms and other barrack necessities are
to be sent to Woolwich.7o
:: OOrrddnnanceJJournall BBookk, PRO/W0/47/42, p. 266, 13 November 1753.
ance ourna oo , PROfW0/47/47 p. 588_15 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48' p. 465 16 November 1756. :: ~lsd called the 'house ofeasement' or in l~ss euph~nious language the 'bog-house'.
•• r nanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 207_ OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/65 p. 224 1April 1765. :: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/66: p. 59.' OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, p. 377.
318
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
2 June I758. The two rooms in the barracks formerly used by the adjutant and orderly sergeant to be fitted up.71
29 January I762. The Respective Officers at Woolwich report that there are two unoccupied rooms in the turret, lately used by Mr Robert Hartwell and the drawing master. Ordered that the unoccupied rooms be handed over to the Quarter-Master R.A. as store-rooms and that Mr Hayter report the expense of fitting up the same in a proper manner.72
I February I763. Mr Hayter ordered to repaint the door of Colonel Cleaveland's barracks.73 I I April I 764. Mr Veale to estimate the cost of repairs to the barracks and guardroom.74
25 May 1764. Mr Veale's estimate for the repairs to the barracks and guardroom is £ 46. 7s. 11d. Approved and the work ordered to be carried out. The Board ordered the king's furniture to be marked with the Broad Arrow and that detailed inventories for the same to be kept in each house.75
3 July I764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate and report on the repairs necessary to the old and new barracks, both on furniture and buildings. The rooms need repainting.76
4 March I 766. The waterpipes in the new barracks to be repaired.77 IO M arch I766. 36 panes of glass to be supplied to the guardrooms and barracks.78
2 May I766. Mr Hargrave, clerk of the works, ordered to estimate and report on the repairs necessary in the old and new barracks; also for a hearth and grate in the adjutant's office79•
27 M ay r766. The estimate for the repairs to the old and new b~rracks including that for the hearth and grate in the adjutant's office is £80. gs. 7d. W ork ordered to be carried out.80
24 February 1767. The clerk of the works (Mr John Hargrave) to estimate the cost of repairs to the old and new barracks.81 2 I April 1769. Mr Hartwell's estimate for repairs to the old and new
barracks is £64.. Work ordered to proceed.82 • 18 October 1775. The new barracks in the Warren to be repaired. 83 . 23 August 1776. Locks and hinges at the officers' barracks at Woo\~1ch
to be supplied similar to those in the officers' barracks ~t Chatham. 6 November 1776. Major Hay's barracks to be repaired at a coSt of £ 1 1. 2s. od.85
71 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51 , P· 554· 72 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/59, P· 89. 73 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, P· 45°·
74
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 242· 75 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 363. 76 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 9·
77
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 117· 78 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 159.
79
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 317• 80 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 378. 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/69, P· 88. 82 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/73, P· 2o1. 83 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/86, P· 183.
81
Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/4 7 /88, P· 98.
85
Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/88, P· 242·
319
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
9 October 1777. Old and new barracks in the w·arren to be repaired.BG Over the period we are considering, the undermentioned officers had official houses in the Warren. The list does not profess to be exhaustive as the names are gathered mainly from the repairs carried out on their respective quarters:
Lieut.-General Albert Borgard (No. 1 Kane's List)Colonel Jonas Watson (No. 2 Kane's List)Major Thomas Pattison
(No. 6 Kane's List)
Colonel Jonathan Lewis
(No. 13 Kane's List)
Major-General \'\ illiam Belford
(No. 34 Kane's List)
Major-General Borgard Michelson
(No. 35 Kane's List)
Colonel James Pattison
(No. 55 Kane's List)
Major-General George Williamson
(No. 31 Kane's List)
Colonel Thomas Desaguliers
(No. 51 Kane's List)
Colonel Samuel Cleaveland
(No. 83 Kane's List)
Major William Hislop
(No. 93 Kane's List)
Colonel Charles Brome
(No. 70 Kane's List)
Major Abraham Tovey
(No. 92 Kane's List)
Captain Benjamin Stehelin
(No. 161 Kane's List)
Captain David Rogers
(No. 157 Kane's List)
Captain John Mollman o. 170 Kane's List)
(
Colonel Thomas Ord
( o. 49 Kane's List)
Captain William Gostling
(No. 178 Kane's List)
Some of the repairs were small while others were xtensive. On 5 September I 738, Roger Morris, master carpenter, received the sum. of £99. :s. I I d. on a debenture dated 3r March 1738 for repairs to MaJor Thomas Pattison's house ( o. r Dial Square), between 3I December r 737 and 31 March 1738,87 and on a debenture da~ed 30 September 1738, Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid on 30 December 1738 for bricklayers' work on I\ ajor Pattison's wall.88 Sometimes the internal structures of the houses were altered. Two instances will be quoted. On 21 February r 744, R oger Morris, on ~ ~eb_enture dated 30_ June 1743, made a way out of Colonel Lewis s kitchen (!'To, I Di~l Square) into the next house adjoining the barracks. This was evidently a simple task as he received only £2. 6s. 2d. for the work on 21 February 1744.89 Later on, towards the end of the same year, Roger Morris was paid £189. 3s. 4d. (Debenture dated 31 March 1744, warrant dated 20 September 1743) on 2~ December 1744 for a major conversion. This was no less than knocking the two houses in No. 4 Dial Square into one for the use of General Borgard. He was already in occupation of one of the houses, but apparently required more accommodation for his
11 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 350. 17 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/4a;79. 11 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/79. "Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85.
320
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIME .T OF ARTILLERY
purposes.90 The front of the second house facing south commanded a view of the cadets' green, as Nos. 5 and 6 Dial Square had not by then been built. When the panelling was removed from the drawing room in No. 4 Dial Square in 1934, the outlines of a bricked up doorway and two side windows could be plainly seen. The officers' houses in the barracks originally had no hall; the front door opened directly into the front living room and the staircase ran from room to room on each successive floor. This is evidenced by the fact that the present hall is only separated from the front living room and the landings from the front bedrooms by a thin panel of wood, and not by a brick wall. The same internal arrangement may be seen today in Georgetown, Alexandria, and around Philadelphia where the old houses are of the same period as those in the Warren. They are identical in design and where they have been preserved as showplaces, such as Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge, they exhibit the same features. Work was done at Captain Pattison's house by Joseph Pratt on a warrant dated 30 May 1745, and the drains at the barracks and General Borgard's house were given attention on a warrant dated 14June r 745.91 After General Borgard's death, Colonel Belford took over his quarter (No. 4 Dial Square) and, as was only natural, required certain re-decorations.92 The estimate for this was £46. 16s. 5d. for the house and £34. ros. od. for the fen e wall. The Board would only sanction the latter
expense; painting etc. in the house, had to be deferred till the following year.93 On 5 June 1752, twelve months later, it was agreed th at the work on Colonel Belford's quarter costing £46. 16s. 5d. could be undertaken, and a warrant was issued according! . 94
The follo i1 ba are the main entries taken from the Journal Books which deal with the maintenance and repair of the officers' quarters. The list is not complete, nor would a full statement of every minor 'works' service be of absorbing interest; it would, in fact, make dull reading.
r9 March r757. Mr Hayter to survey, estimate and report on the repairs necessary to Colonel Desagulier's house and the fitting up of it as a field officer's quarter.95
6 December 1757. Colonel Michelson, having signified that his ?ouse required repairing and redecorating, Mr Hayter asked to survey, estunate and report.96
90 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85. 01 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/160, p. 21, 30 January 1745 •
02
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/37, p. 507, 17 May 1751. ua Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/v\O/47/38, p. 77, 19July 1751. 94 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, P· 456. 05 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/\I\O/47/49, P· 297. 116 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 386.
321
2r Febntary r758. Mr Hayter reports to the Board the repairs required in Captain Pattison's house.97
2 r Febntary r 758. Ivir Hayter estimated that the repairs and redecorating of Colonel Michelson's quarter will cost £29. zs. gd. Approved and the work ordered to be done.98
24 October I758. Mr Hayter estimates that the repairs to Colonel Williamson's house would cost £30. 2s. 6d. He was ordered to proceed with all items, except the marble chimney piece which was to be postponed.99
4-December 1760. Mr Hayter ordered to make a bow-window in Major
5d.100
General Michelson's house at a cost of£7. 19s.
As the only house in Dial Square, which has a bow-window, excluding No. 5 which was oflater date, is No. 10, it would appear that the quarter which for so long in modern times belonged to the Secretary, Ordnance Committee, was in fact the house in which General Michelson lived.
23 December r760. Mr Hayter to estimate the cost of repairs at the subaltern's quarters.101
30 April 1763. Ordered that Captain Mollman, Assistant Firemaster, be put in possession of the house lately occupied by T homas Pritton, labourer, deceased.102
This house was sited near the boundary wall at a spot where the mainguard (recently B.W.D. offices) was afterwards built.
25 January 1763. Mr Hayter reports that the repairs to the subalterns' quarters will cost £1 I. 10s. od. and that two sets of new pokers, tongs and shovels, and eleven new chairs are missing. Ordered that the repairs be done and that Mr Hayter to enquire and report on what ha become of the missing chairs.103
29 April 1763. The repairs to Colonel Williamson's apartment costing£20. 4-f. 6d. to be carried out.104 19 May 1763. Lieut.-Colonel Cleaveland's house ordered to be redecorated, a fire-place altered and a cistern removed.105 26 June 1761. Mr Hayter ordered to put up outside shutters on Colonel Williamson's house to keep out the sun.106 10 June 1763. Colonel Williamson, having intimated that eight repairs
were necessary in his house, Mr Hayter ordered to estimate the cost of
five or six articles and what number of grates are allowed, and that all
the other articles are allowed.107
97 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 177. 98 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 175. "OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 346.
100 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 416. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, p. 445. 102 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 253. 10• OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 47. 10' OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 248. 105 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 293. 1111 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 438. 107 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 372.
322
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
7 October r763. The clerk of the works ordered to repair the pavement outside Colonel Ord's house and to do some small repairs in Colonel Pattison's cellar.10s
I6 December r763. Mr Hartwell estimates that the repairs to Colonel Pattison's cellar109 would cost £50. 15s. od. Mr Veale ordered to carry out the repair.110
I7 February 1764. Repairs to the value of £39. 13s. 3d. to be carried out in Colonel Pattison's house, but no new dust cart to be provided. This damage, caused by storms, was reported on 25 January I 765. Mr Veale to estimate and report.111
I6 March 1764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate the cost of repairs to Lieut.-General Belford's house.112
I I April 1764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate and report on the repairs necessary to Lieut.-Colonel Ord's house and to the barracks, guardroom and adjutant's office.113
8 May I764. Repairs to Lieut.-General Belford's house costing £90. I 5s. I d. approved and ordered to be carried out.114
25 May r764. Estimated repairs for barrack rooms, guardroom and adjutant's office £ 46. 7s. 1 zd. approved and work to be carried o~t. Colonel Ord's repairs estimated at £37. 7s. 6d. Ordered to be earned out and the king's furniture therein to be marked with the Broad Arrow.115
29 June 1764. T he Master-General informed the Board that Major Hislop having to do duty at Woolwich, was to go into the first vacant house, notwithstanding the order in favour of Colonel Godwin.116
6 July r 764. T he alterations to Captain Mollman's house approved. The timber required to be taken from the fir timber in stor~.117 •
4 September r764. Major William Hislop reports th~t his drams are stopped u p. M r Veale to rectify. Mr Veale ordered to estimate an~ report why the kitchen chimney of Colonel Williamson's house smokes mtolerably.118
15 December r764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate and report on Colonel Williamson's smoking chimney, and the new flooring for one of the kitchens in Colonel Ord's house. He wants ¼inch boards to prevent the damp rising from the drain which runs underneath.119 •
5 March r765. Colonel Ord's new floor in his kitche~ and the clea~~~g of the drain underneath agreed to at a cost not exceeding £6. 8s. od. I 4 February 1766. Captain Mollman's house to be repaired,121
108 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/62, P· 155· . d , l'
109 A 'cellar' was a 'store-cupboard'. 'What we should call a 'cellar· was terme a vau t · 110 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/62, p. 300. 111 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 99·
112
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 175·
113
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 242· 114 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 32 3· 115 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 363. 116 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 498. 117 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 22. 118 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 116. 119 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 261. 120 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, P· 136. 121 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/67, P· 71 •
323
14 January 1766. The clerk of the works to estimate the repairs to
the parlour floor and wainscotting in Lieut.-Colonel Pattison's house.122
31 Jam1ary 1766. Estimate of £5. 12s. od. for repairing Lieut.-Colonel
Pattison's house approved.123
26 November 1766. Repairs ordered to be carried out in Major Hislop's
house.124
5 December 1766. Repairs ordered to be carried out on Lieut.-Colonel
Ord's house.125
22 May 1767. Mr Hartwell's estimates of £65 for altering General
Williamson's kitchen approved.126
5 June 1769. Surveys of the houses of Colonel Cleaveland and Colonel
Desaguliers ordered.127
12 July 1769. vVork on Colonel Cleaveland's house at a cost of £2 r
ordered and £160 was ordered to be spent on raising and repairing the
cellars in the field officers' quarters.128
30 Warcli 1770. Colonel Desaguliers having asked for rooms for servants
and a wash-house which he proposed should be made from the old
stables (of Colonel Cleaveland which were under his house) in his garden,
the cost was estimated at £244. This was more than was contemplated.
The Board offer £150 toward the expense of alteration.129
5 March 1771. General Belford's house to be repaired at a cost of 6d.130
£50. 12s.
29 May 1771. The house of Colonel Desaguliers to be repaired at a
cost of £46. 3s. od.131
29 May 1771. General Williamson requests that th party wall between his garden and the foundry wood orchard may be built with old magazine bricks. Mr Powrie, clerk of the works, to estimate and report.132
6June 1771. Mr Powrie reports that a party wall built of old magazine bricks between General Williamson's ground and that of Messrs Verbruggen will cost £16, but if the wall be continued, at their joint request, to the bottom of Messrs Verbruggen's ground, it will amount to about £46. It was ordered to be built as jointly requested by the o parties.133
12 June 1772. Mr Powrie reports that the repairs and alterations required by Colonel Pattison in his house will cost £177. 3s. od. The repairs costing £38. 5s. od. are to be done at once, but new construction must await further consideration.134
13 August 1773. The Respective Officers and clerk of the works are to report by whom the barrack houses and other buildings in the Warren
m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/67, p. 7. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/67, p. 36. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/68, p. 207. m 0rdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/68, p. 223. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/69, p. 262. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/73, p. 281. 118 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/74, p. 18. ut Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/75, p. 168. uo Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/77, p. 198. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/77, p. 463. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PR0fW0/47/77, p. 467. 113 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0fW0/47/77, p. 489. 1" Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/79, p. 380.
324
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
are occupied and upon what authority. The houses occupied by Colonel
Brome and Captain Stehelin require repair.135 6 February 1776. General Belford's house repaired.136 8 March 1776. A wall between the gardens of General Williamson and
Messrs Verbruggen to be built at a cost of £42.137 29 March I776. Major Tovey's house to be repaired.138 I9 July 1776. Captain Gostling's quarters to be repaired at a cost of
£9,139
r3 July 1780. The Master-General having mislaid the letter from the late General Belford about a dispute concerning the quarters between Colonels Tovey and James, he requests Captain Chapman to forward a copy of the said letter. The clerk of the works is ordered t_o send a plan of, and a report on, the distribution of the officers' quarters 1? the \,Varren and the new barracks 140 when the same will be fully considered by the Board and such reg;lations framed as will, it is hoped, obviate such
disputes in future.141 27 September I780. Ordered that a servants' hall and a bedro?m above it be made in General Williamson's house at a cost not exceeding £129. od.142
2s.
The la t mentioned structural alteration would appear to identify General \ illiamson's house with No. g Dial Square, the only quarter which has such an annexe. By this time, of course, the 'new' barracks were in process of becoming field officers' quarters. .
Stabl s vere a necessary adjunct to officers' houses m those days, and refer nces to the building of officers' stables occur. On 19_June I 750, the ...,u1-v yor-General was instructed to select the mo~t smtabl_e place for i\,iajor 1ichelson to stable his horses.143 Later on m 1z66, it was agreed that additional stabling for field officers, Royal Artillery, the adjutant and the quarter-master in the Warren was to be considered in the 1767 estimates.144 On 7 April 1767, Mr Hartwell estimated that additional stabling for Colonel Pattison would coSt
£ 30. This was approved.145 • • The following entry from the Journal Book indicates the msamtary conditions under which the officers in the eighteenth century Warren lived. Mention has already been made of open drains runni1:g under floors with their concomitant dampness and, no doubt, clistaste·ful effluvia. Now it is the stench of horses and horse manure permeatmg the parlours. On 15 August 1769, new stabling at a cost of £144 was
135
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, P· 11 8, 136 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, P· 7°·
137
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, P· 191 •
138
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/V-.0/47/87, P· 22 1.
139
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/':'70/47/88, P· 36. uo That is the barracks on Woolw1ch Common. m Ordna~ceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/96, P· 597· m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO /47/96, P· 773·
143
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/35, P· 498.
144
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 372· 145 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/69, P· 156.
32 5
ordered for General Williamson and Colonel Cleaveland, because the existing stables were offensive, being too close to the houses. The entry states that the smell was particularly unpleasant in Colonel Desaguliers' house as Colonel Cleaveland's stables were under the former's best room.146 'Orses and dorgs is some men's fancy. They're wittles and drink to me' may have been the candid opinion of the 'Gentleman' on the London coach in which David Copperfield travelled, but even he would probably have drawn the line at living in such close quarters with his equine friends. It was agreed on 27 June 1771 that Captain Mollman should have stables built at the bottom of his garden at a cost of £30. I4f. od.,1 47 and
on 28 January 1772, that Mr James Irwin, the Surgeon-General, should have stables and a chaise-house built with old material from the Greenwich magazine for the sum of£ 2 8.148
There are a considerable number of references in the Journal Books to barrack furniture, mainly, it must be admitted, to that in officers' quarters. Some ofit was bought by contract, but the Board's craftsmen se~m to have made special pieces. On 21 February r 744, Roger Morns, master carpenter, received the sum of £2 on a debenture dated 30 June 1743, for making an oval wainscot table (£1. 2s. od.)_ and a sq~are table with drawers of wainscot (r8s.) for Colonel Lewis's house m the Warren; similar articles for the same price were supplied to Colonel Belford's quarter.149 Six months later on a debenture dated 3I December I 743, Roger 1forris made
similar ta?les for Captain R?gers's house. The price, ho vcver, seems to have nsen as he was paid £2. 3s. od. for this work on 24 July
1744.150
On 22 September r 749, certain fittings and furniture were approved for the officers' quarters in the Warren i.e. for the Colonel's Lieut-Colonel's, Major's and the three Captain~' houses. T hese wer~ leaden sinks,151 grates, fire-irons, tables and leather chairs. It was
ordered that the houses of Majors Michelson and Williamson should be so completed and warrants made out to artificers for such articles as should be wanted.152 On r 7 August I 750, Lieut-General Borgard reported that though other officers' quarters had been furnished according to schedule, his had not. Mr Hayter was then ordered to rep~rt what i~ems were required to complete the schedule.153 Captain ~att1son, havmg reported on r 7 June I 757, that the stove-gates in his house had become unserviceable and that he, too, wanted certain
m Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/74, p. 83. 147 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 568. 148 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/79, p. 47. m Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85.160 9rdnan~e Treasurer'.s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85.
m No. 4 Dial Square still had leaden sinks in 1920.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/34.
161 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 100.
326
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY furniture and utensils to bring his quarter up to standard, Mr Hayter was ordered to survey and report.164 Owing, no doubt, to theft or to selling official equipment, the Board on 25 May I 764, ordered the king's furniture in government houses to be marked with a Broad Arrow, and a detailed inventory to be kept for each house.155 The following month eight chairs at Colonel Cleaveland's house required repair at a cost of £1. 4-S· od. and steps were taken at the same time to mark them with the Broad Arrow.166 On 4 September 1764, Major ,i\Tilliam Hislop reported that eight chairs in his house wanted repairing, that a grate, tongs, poker and shovel were missing in the parlour, and that a set of fire-irons were required in the kitchen. As, even at that date, the loss of a grate struck the Board as peculiar, they ordered Mr Veale to investigate the matter and report how the grate had disappeared.157 Mr. Veale reported on II December 1764 that he had failed to ascertain how the grate and the other utensils had vanished from Major Hislop's house, and with his reply enclosed the inventory of furniture handed over by Colonel Cleaveland to Major Hislop when the latter took over the house.158 By the following
June, it was agreed that Major Hislop's house should be supplied with a grate and two sets of fire-irons; it was also ordered that the chimneys in the garrets should be altered to prevent smoking.159 On
23 May 1765, Captain Mollman, who had retired from the Royal Artillery with a pension of 10s. a day to take up the post of ~sist~nt to the Chief Firemaster, was granted his request to be supphe~ wit~ fire-irons, et small grate, a copper, and other utensils for use m his house.1 6 0 Or! 5 _ arch 1765, a peculiar entry appeared in the Journal Books, r Veale apparently being told to do the impossible. He reported that the grate, fender, poker, and shovel asked for by Colonel Williamson would cost six guineas. He was ordered to provide the same, but at a cost not exceeding three guineas.161
A normal accessory to barracks is a guardroo~, or guard~ouse as it was called in the Warren. The first suggestion of placmg a sentry on the premises was in 1717 when on 15 February of that year 'one sentinel box for use at the Warren Gate is sent from the Tower'-162 The guardhouse originally was the powder house. The I 7I 7 plan of the Warren shows this small building (marked 4) near the west end of the battery fortification and close to the Old Ca_rriage Yard. By I 749, a new guardhouse was in being at the old mam gate and had
154 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, P· 609. 155 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 363. 156 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 451. 157 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· u6. 158 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 247. 159 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, P· 335· 100 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/65, P· 321. 161 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, P· 136. 182 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/30, P· 32 •
327
been there a_t least since I 735, because a warrant dated g September I 735 authorized George Shakespear, scavelman, to dig the foundation and remove the rubbish for building an addition to the guardhouse. The de~enture for this work was dated 3r December 1 735, and he was paid £-J:7• 6s. Bd. for the job on 6 April r 736.103 This must have been 9mte a large construction judging by its cost, for Joseph Pratt received £123. 14s. od. for his share, that is bricklaying,~6~ and George Shake~pe~: received another £89. 2s. 10d. for
1
addit10nal work on the site. " Three years later, on a debenture dated 30 September I 738, Joseph Pratt was paid another £143. IOs. 6d. for brickwork on the barracks guardhouse and wall of Major Pattison's house.166 On 26 August ' 1755, a sentry-box was ordered ~o be placed at the Laboratory gate.167Nine years later, further security measures against fire were taken when a sentry was posted_ at each gate.of the Laboratory with orders to prevent any fires, lights or smoking near the premises.168 In this order can be seen the first steps toward Danger Building Regulations. Two more ite~ns concern the guardroom. On 18 February 175a, l\1r H ayter estimated that the cost offitting up the two rooms over the guard for the us~ ofthe adj_utant and orderly sergeant, would cost £4o. 6s. 6d., an estimate which was approved and the work hastened.169 On 6 November 1 759, Mr Hayter was ordered to repair the a-rate in the
officers' ?ua~droom; redecorate it, repair the furniture : nd supply the deficiencies.170 The establis~ment of a military garrison, even in the eio-hteenth century, necessitated two ministering agencies; one for th; care of souls, the other for the cur: ofbodies. These were represented in the Warren by the ch~pel and infirmary respectively. For the ~rs_t thirty year~ of the Regiment's existence the troops att~nded Divme. Service 1n the parish church. The increase of regimental estabbsh~ent and the growing population of Woolwich eventually made this arrangement no longer feasible, and, on 1 I December_ I 750, the_ Reverend William Leaver, Chaplain to the Royal Artd_lery, was informed that as the parish church (St Mary's) was becommg overcro"":ded~ artillerymen could no longer worship there. The Board, cons1denng such a state of affairs bad for the men's morals, ordered Mr Leaver to conduct a service himself or obtain a substitute, in the Academy Room which would be allo:ted
m Ordnance ~reasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/77 6 A ril 1 6. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/ / ' p 8 73
m Ordnance Bill Book S . II' PRO/ 51 l 37, p. 20 ' 31 Dccem ber I 735.
m Ord . ' er~es , WO/51/138, p. 151, 31 March 1737.
nance Bill Book,, Series II, PRO/WO/51/138, p. 21, 30 September 1736. ::: Ordnance Treasurers Ledger, PRO/WO/48179, 30 December 1738. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/46, p. 195.
118 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 259, 13 April 1764.
10 OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. x6o.
170 OrdnanceJournaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/54; p. 378.
328
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
for that purpose.171 On r6January 175I, Thomas Stevens, a labourer, was appointed Clerk of the Chapel in the Warren. He was to take care of the books and hassocks, and clean Mr Simpson's172 staircase. He was to be allowed 1s. 6d. a week for this additional duty to be paid quarterly by the storekeeper.173 On 8 October 1751, Mr Hayter was instructed to buy at a cost of £5. 8s. od. the undermentioned articles for the purpose of administering the Holy Sacrament at the chapel in the Warren:174
I
Flagon
I
French Plate Pint Cup
Salver for bread
{
Salver for offerings
A few weeks later, Mr Hayter was ordered to purchase a tablecloth, two napkins and three yards of blue cloth for £3. 12s. od. for the chapel in the Warren.175 On I November 1751, it was ordered that the Board Room at Woolwich should be used as a chapel in place of the Academy Room, and that no more plays should be performed in it.176 A fortnight later the Reverend William Leaver asked the Board to let him have a house 'to lie in' and change his vestments, and give him an allowance of coal and candles similar to that issued to officers, because divine service was held at any time in all seasons of the year. T he Board were not very sympathetic to this request. They m erely refused it stating that they had no funds at their disposal, no provision being made for such a disbursement by the establishment of the Regiment.177 Mrs Sumpter, who cleaned the Board R oom, tried to shirk her task saying it was now a chapel, but the Board were adamant. They informed the Respective Officers at Woolwich that it was her duty to clean the chapel as it was the room where the Board met, and for which she had a particular allowance.178 An old newspaper cutting about Woolwich, dated 24 April 1756, says: 'The old chapel in the Warren at Woolwich is filled with bombs, grape shot, chain and double-headed shot, ready to be embarked at a minute's warning.' The truth of this news item seems doubtful. Possibly another building had been mistaken for the chapel. There is no record of the Board Room being used as a temporary store. Later on, at the end of the century, a chapel with a chaplain's residence attached, was purchased in the Plumstead Road almost opposite the main gate. The last reference to the chapel is the
171 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 407.
H2
Mr Simpson was the Second Master at the Academy. 173 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/37, P· 55·
174 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 219. 175 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 281, 29 October 1751. 176 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 307.
177 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 342, 13 November 1751. 178 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 355, 17 April 1752.
23
appointment of William Wigzell as Clerk to the Chapel on 6 September I 764 vice Thomas Stevens.179
The infirmary at the Warren started in a very modest way when the proposal to convert one of the laboratory houses into a sick room was approved on g November I 720.180 This, of course, must have been in the nature of a make-shift though it was dignified by the name of 'Infirmary'. It was evidently considered necessary to
segregate this building from the rest of the workshops, as Henry Lidgbird, master bricklayer, erected a pair ofgates there at a cost of £3. 3s. 5Jd.181 Soon after the sick had been admitted, it was realized that a necessary house for the infirmary was essential and this was built by William Ogborne, master carpenter, who was paid for the work on 14 May 1723, the debenture being dated 30 June 1722.182
It seems strange that this 'house of easement' was not erected at the time of the conversion; one would have thought that it would have been a first requirement. Some nine years later the place required repair, and Sir William Ogborne, as he had by then become, again came to the rescue. He effected the necessary work for which he was paid on 1 I May I 732 on a debenture dated 3r December 173 r .183 With the expansion of the Regiment and the growing toll of sick from overseas, it gradually dawned on the authorities that their arrangements for dealing with the incapacitated were too cramped and that other and more commodious accommodation m ust be afforded. The fire-barn was therefore fitted up as an infirmary on a warrant dated 5 December 1741. On 16 November 1742, Roger Morris, master carpenter, received the sum of £ 100. 6s. 2d. on a debenture dated 13 December 1741 for his share in the new under
taking, and on the same day, Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid for the bricklayers' work in the same connection.184 The site of this second infirmary was just east of the present main gate. The firework barn was an old building standing in the days of 'Tower Place', and therefore probably not in a very sound condition. At any
rate, on 11 December 1750, Mr Hayter was instructed to have it renovated and to look out for a house as a reception centre for men suffering from smallpox. He was to inform the Board on what terms such a house could be hired.185 On 18 December, M r Hayter reported that he could find no dwelling to house the sick of the Royal Artillery, but that Mr Edward Wilkes, clerk to the Comptroller ofthe Laboratory, having three small houses near the Warren Gate,
179 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/64, p. 145. iso OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, p. 293. 181 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/112, 31 December , 722. 182 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/64. m Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/73.
m Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. 107. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 409.
33°
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
was willing to evict his tenants at Christmas and let the tenements to the Board at a rent of £7 p.a. each. In reply the Board informed Mr Wilkes that if he were prepared to receive the same amount as the tenants were paying, and would put the properties into tenantable repair and maintain them at his own expense, the Board would guarantee to take the houses for one year certain.186 There was one nurse allotted to the infirmary and she received 1s. a day for her attentions to the sick. She must have been a long-suffering woman living under intolerable conditions. Eventually even her patience was exhausted, and she complained to Major Williamson. An entry in the Journal Book under date 13 September 1751, states:187
Major W illiamson having signified by his letter of 10th inst. that the nurse of the infirmary acquainted him with the badness of her dwelling place which he found to be a dark gloomy hole offensive from the smell of vermin, and that a small expense would make it convenient to her satisfaction, ordered that Mr Hayter survey, estimate and report.
It was ordered that the nurse's dwelling house should be renovated at a cost of £4.188
Not many years elapsed before it was realized that the question ofproper hospital accommodation had to be faced. With the increase of regimental establishment, it became evident that tempo~ary or semi-temporary arrangements were inadequate to cope wit~ the problem. Medical science, too, was improving, and w~at ~atisfied the Board's conscience in r720, failed to achieve that obJect m r756. So when on 13 February 1756, Colonel Belford reported that the infirmary ,vas quite unfit for the reception ofsick men, Mr Ha~te~ was ordered to 'find a proper place and estimate the expense ofb~ildmg a new infirmary'.189 The work was put in hand as soon as possible and on 13 M ay 1757, it was announced that a sum of£442. 2s. gd. would be required to complete it.190 Meanwhile, Mr Hayter ~ad b~en
busy in d rawing up a schedule of the furniture and utensils which would be required in the new building, and this was laid before the Surveyor-General on ro May 1757.191 This schedule was accepted on 5 July 1757, and was ordered to be valued.192 Contracts for the items were placed and the whole project must have been governed by a sense of urgency, for the contractors were hastened on. 16 August 1757.193 The new infirmary, which was actually the third, was :finished by the autumn of the same year, because on 2 O~tober
r 75 7, it was ordered that the same amount of coal was to be issued
186 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 446.
187
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 176. 188 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 219, 8 October 1751. 18 9 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/47, P· i62. 190 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/49, P· 481. 191 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/49, P· 455· 192 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, P· 5· 193 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 126.
331
to air the new infirmary as was delivered to the old. Mr Hayter was ordered to report on the number of fire-places in the new building, and on the facilities there for storing coal.194 When the new infirmary was taken over by the medical staff, MrJohn Cockburn, storekeeper, was informed that he would be made responsible for the bedding and utensils.195
A survey of the Warren in 1777, which was drawn up and prepared by pasting new pieces over an older map, is held by the ,!\Tar Office Records. Unfortunately, it is so torn and mutilated, particularly that part which shows the buildings in the Warren, that it is of little value in locating sites. It does not show the location of the third infirmary, but it was in all probability close to the site of the present surgery, adjacent to the cadet barracks.196
On 7 September I 759, Mr Hayter was ordered to fit locks on the infirmary doors.197
Apparently the water at the infirmary was found to be too hard, and Mr James Irwin, surgeon to the Royal Artillery, asked for the hospital to be supplied with softer water. As a result, the indefatigable Mr Hayter was ordered to report how good v,,ater could be laid on.198 Eight months later, on 3 June 1760, he reported that he had found a good spring to supply the hospital with water in the lands of Mr Pattison, about 700 yards from the main pipe of the office conduit, and that the cost of laying it on would be £ 150. Ever careful of its finances, the Board ordered him to report whether he couldn't find a nearer source of water.199 On 2 r December r 759, a lamp was ordered to be put up at the infirmary, and the officers at Woolwich were informed that they would be held responsible for seeing that the lamps were lighted.200 It was next considered that a cold bath would be beneficial for the sick and wounded soldiery, so on 22 August 1760, Mr Hayter was instructed to look out for the best place for the purpose and report the expense.201 O n 29 August 1760, Mr Hayter reported that the most convenient site for a cold bath would be at the angle of the garden wall adjoining General
gd.202
Belford's and Michelson's stables. The cost would be £57. 3s. Thus was the first bath in the Warren installed. On 22 August 1760, Mr James Irwin asked for additional furniture for the hospital, and for repairs on the fabric to be carried out.203 The barrack master
IH OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/50, p. 260.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/52, p. 174, 18 August 1758. m Map No. 33. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/54, p. 241. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/54, p. 312, 5 October 1759. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/55, p. 464.
l!oo OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/54, p. 524. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/56, p. 140. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/56, p. 149. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJW0/47/56, p. 140.
332
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
was ordered to ascertain what was actually required. The additional furniture was doubtless supplied, but the repairs apparently went by default as nearly four years elapsed before Mr Veale, the overseer, was asked what repairs were necessary.204 He replied that the cost would be £go. 15s. od. He was ordered to carry out the work.205 Shortly after this had been done it was decided to erect two pavilions at the new infirmary, and Mr Veale was ordered to prepare a plan, elevation and estimate for the same.206 As the estimate proved higher than was expected, i.e. £478. 15s. 2d., it was finally agreed that only one pavilion should be raised at the moment at a cost not exceeding £239. 7s. 7d.207 On 21 May 1766 the surgeon was allowed the extra furniture and utensils in the infirmary for the use of gentlemen cadets,208 and on 7 August 1766, the proper schedule offurniture
and utensils was ordered to be supplied.209 It was then decided that the west, i.e. the other, pavilion should be built, and fitted up in a suitable m anner as apartments for the doctor. Mr Hartwell reported that the cost would be £226. IOs. od. and work was
ordered to proceed.210
Silence reigns over the affairs of the hospital during the next six years until rg February 1773, when Mr James Irwin, now SurgeonGeneral to the Royal Artillery, said that he must have an additional nurse to cope with the increase of work. The Board agreed.2u About this time trouble was being experienced in the Warren owing to the cadets br eaking bounds by climbing the walls. As part of a larger plan, the clerk of the works on ro August 1773, was told to prepare an estimate for :
(
1) Securing the infirmary wall to prevent persons getting over.
(2)
R aising the infirmary wall with brick.212 The surgeon-general, however, did not like the suggestion of raising the h eight of the wall at all. He considered it might prevent the
free circulation of air and injure the sick. Bowing to his representations, it was ordered to be secured by glass bottles at a cost not exceeding £7.213
On 9 August r 774, the surgeon-general, having represented that a hot bath would be of great benefit to officers and men of the Royal Artillery the clerk of the works was asked to suggest an
' . 214 0 1
appropriate place and prepare the necessary estimate. n
204 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, p. 147, 5 March 1764.
205
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, p. 166, 13 March 1764. 20 G Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, p. 209, 27 No~rember r764.
207
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 231, 3 April 1765. 208 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 369. 209 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, P· 55·
210
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/70, p. 101, 4 August 1767. 211 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p. 127. 212 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 78.
213
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 182, 13 October 1773· 214 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 37·
333
November I 774, Mr Powrie, clerk of the works, was ordered to install the bath in the surgeon-general's garden, adjoining the surgery, at a cost of£1 I 7. IOs. od.215 One wonders why the surgeon-general's garden ,vas selected for this balneary experiment? Was it a neat method of registering disapproval, or did he wish the bath to be under his personal supervision? It is an intriguing question. This innovation took a long time to build, for on 21 April 1775, Mr Powrie stated that the cost of finishing the hot bath would be £28. 15s. od. He also reported that the surgeon-general would like about an acre of ground in the Warren for the purpose of raising medicinal herbs for use in the bath. As a result, the Surveyor-General was asked to mark out sufficient ground for the purpose.216 MrJames Irwin was no~hing i~not thorough; one suspects that the Board may have foun~ h!m a tnfle ove~·-conscientious. His next request was for a small building to house his precious herbs in the medical garden. This was ordered to be built for him on I May 177 7 at a cost of
217
£53. 1_os. od. By the end of I 776, both hospitals, that is the one for the artillery an~ the other part for the cadets, required repair.21s
By now, as will be seen later on, the new barracks for the Royal Artille~ were getting well under way, so on 25 September 1777, Mr Latimer was ordered to remove the fume and bath from the Warren and install it in the new hospital on Woolwich Common.210 On 13 November 1779, Mr Latimer was told to speci fy the sums to be laid out on the infirmary in I 779 and 1780. He ,vas to keep the expense of the works ofthe new barracks on the Common from that of all others.220 A~ last, instructions were issued on g M arch 1780 that the new hospital at Woolwich, which stood near the site of the present military (women's and children's) hospital near the Garrison Chapel, should be occupied.221 This is now the Connaught Barracks. Hencef~rward w_e are not concerned with any further arrangements for healmg the sick. Only three more items need be noticed. It was arranged on 16 March 1780, that the hospital (referred to as the old hospital) _in the Warren, was to be fitted up to accommodate cadets and provide quarters for the Inspector,222 a conversion which was to ~ost £275. Bs. ?d. 223 There seems to have been some delay in supplymg pr~per furru~ure, as an order went forth on 5 October 1780, that _the artid~s reqmred for the seven rooms being fitted up in the 'late
infirmary for the cadets were to be supplied at once.224 The new ::: OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO{WO/47/84, p. 136. OrdnanceJoumaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/85, p. 311, 21April 1775. m 217 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 509. m Ordnancejouma1 Book, PRO{WO/47/88, p. 26g, 15 November 1776. Ordnancejouma1 Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 210. 120 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 324. m 121 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO{WO/47/95, p. 177. m OrdnanceJoumaJ Book, PRO{WO/47/95, p. 198. OrdnanceJoumaJ Book, PRO{WO/47/95, p. 274, 15 April 178o.214 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 801.
334
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
hospital seems soon to have become crowded. Mary Cheeseman was installed as a second nurse there on 27 June 1780 owing to the large number of sick. It was made clear, however, that her services would only be required so long as the number of patients warrant
ed it.22s
Several Trains of Artillery were formed at Woolwich between the years 1757-1762. There was a warrant dated 20 June 1757 for forming an artillery park at Woolwich so that it could be in constant readiness to serve wherever it was required.226
The Train was to consist of:
II
Light Brass 2 pdrs 14
Ordnance 16 pdrs 20
3 pdrs 6
Brass Howitzers s½ inches 6
Pontoons 10
r
It was to be formed immediately and be marched from the Tower to Woolwich, there to form an artillery park.
There was a letter from Mr Pitt dated 26 June 1759 to form an artillery park at Woolwich227 which occasioned an order to Mr Hayter to allot a shed in the Warren to preserve the wagons and other impedimenta belonging the the Train through the rigours of the winter.228 Jo shed, however, was forthcoming. Mr Hayter was, therefore, instructed to choose a proper site on which to build a shed to house thirty-four new ammunition wagons being sent to the Warren from the Tower, and then arrange to have the shed erected.229 There was a further warrant dated 9 O ctober I 761 to form an artillery park at Woolwich.230 The list of staff officers, ministers and attendants appointed to attend appears on page 336.
Later on there were two more warrants to form artillery parks at Woolwich; one dated 29 October 1761231 and the other 13 August
I 762.232
One or two odd items of interest come to light during the years under review. They cannot be said to form part of any connected whole, yet in themselves they do give an insight into conditions then pertaining. General Borgard was paid £289. 3s. 3d. on a debenture dated 6 October 1737 for work done by Royal Artillerymen in making batteries and approaches at Woolwich between 13 July and
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, P· 476.
226 Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/412, P· 138.
227 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/359, p. 186.
228 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 405, 16 November 1759·
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 456, 30 November 1759.
230 Original Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/429, no. 73·
231 Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/415, P· go.
232
Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/415, P· 193·
335
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Officer Pay per day £. s. d. 1\1aster General of the Ordnance
4 0 0 Secretary to the M.G.O. I O 0 Inspector of battalion guns 12 0
A.D.C. to the M.G.O. 10 0 Commissary of Horse JO 0 Clerk of Stores
5 0
Clerk to the M.G.O.
3 0
4 Conductors at 3s. p.d. each 12 0 Messenger to the M.G.O.
3 0
2 Carpenters at 3s. p.d. each 6 0 2 ,i\Theelwrights at 3s. p.d. each 6 0 2 Smiths at 3s. p.d. each
6 0 2 Collarmakers at 3s. p.d. each 6 0 I Cooper
3 0
I Tinman
3 0 Total:
£9 5 0
6 October I 737.233 This fortification was put up prior to the General's plan of1739 ofthe two-gun battery and bomb-battery in the Warren now in the British Museum.234 '
. 24 July 1750. Mr Hayter's estimate for making new lines on the parade m the Warren (£33. I rs. 6d.) to be considered next year.235 20 October 1752. The Royal Artillery to be mustered once a month at Woolwich.236
9 September 1757. Colonel Desaguliers, Chief Firemaster, reports in July 1757 that he cannot get any more men from the Raval Artillery to work in the Royal Laboratory and he has, therefore, had to engage labourers at rs. 6d. per day which has greatly increased the cost of the
work carried out there. He considered the same could not be lessened while the war lasted.237
31 December_ 1764. A warrant transfers master gunners and gunners in forts and garrisons from the establishment of 'Our guards garrisons and Land Forces' to that of 'Our Ordnance'.238 '
9 February 1764. ~aptain John Mollman allowed ros. p.d. on retiring from the Royal Artillery and becoming Assistant Firemaster in the Royal Laboratory.239
28 January 1774. Sir Richard Sutton, solicitor to the Board states that offi~ers living in government houses are liable for poor rat~, but that soldiers accommodated in barracks are not.240
213 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/79.234 In the King's Map Room.
235 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 42. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/40, p. 177. 117 OrdnanceJo!-1111al Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 183.
m Warrants (Kmg's and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/416.
Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/364, p. 229. m Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/364, p. 130. Ho OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[WO/47/83, p. 43.
336
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
Although the main body of workers in the Royal Laboratory were artillerymen, the few technicians in the establishment were civilians. There w as, however, no bar to an ex-soldier becoming a civilian craftsman were he qualified. TheJournal Books record the following:
29 March r768. John Porter, late a matross in the Royal Artillery to be employed as a turner in the Royal Laboratory.241 27 February 1770. Sergeant John Cook, late Royal Artillery, to be employed in the Royal Laboratory vice Joseph Herring deceased.242
The uniform of the Royal Artillery, when they were quartered in the Warren, was as follows:
The uniform dress of the officers was a plain blue coat, lined with scarlet, a large scarlet Argyle cuff, double-breasted; and with yellow buttons to the bottom of the skirts; scarlet waistcoat and breeches-the waistcoat trimmed with broad gold lace-and a gold-laced hat. The sergeants' coats were trimmed, the lappels, cuffs and pockets with a broad single gold lace; the corporals' and bombadiers' with a narrow single gold lace; the gunners' and matrosses' plain blue coats; all the nonconunissioned officers and men having scarlet half-lappels, scarlet cuffs and slashed sleeves with five buttons, and blue waistcoats and breeches; the sergeants' hats trimmed with a broad, and the other non-commissioned officers' and men's with a narrow gold lace. White spatterdashes were then worn. The regimental clothing was delivered to the noncommissioned officers and men once a year, with the exception of regimental coats, which they only received every second year; receiving in the intermediate year a coarse blue loose surtout which served for laboratory work, cooking, fatigue duties, etc.243
Mr Sam uel London provided the regimental uniform and, ~o doubt m ade a good thing out of it. On 18 July 1738, he was paid £306.' 19s. 2d. (Debenture dated 7 June 1738) for half ~lathing provided by him to the two companies of the Royal Artillery at Woolwich.244 On 17 June 1740, on a debenture dated 4_June 1740, he was paid £476. os. 2d. for clothing the two compames of Royal Artillery at Woolwich;245 and a month later he received the ~u_m of £ I 084. Is. od. for full clothing the new company, and the add1t10nal
' W 1 . h 246 0
men of the two old companies of R.A. at oo w1c . n 30 November 1747, Mr London submitted his new proposals for clothing the Royal Artillery,247 and on I r December 1747, he was told that his tender had been accepted and that he would secure the contract.248
2 -11 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/71, p. 160.
242 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /75, J?· 98.
2 13
· History of the Royal Artillery, Major Francis Duncan, vol. I, P· 140, 1879.
2-1<1 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/79.
us Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/81. t d
2" 6 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/81, 17 July 1740. Debenture da e 8 July 1740. 247 Warrants (King's and others) Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, P· I. 248 Warrants (King's and others): Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, P· 2.
337
As a finale to this chapter on the Royal Regiment of Artillery in the Warren, a brief description of the building of the new barracks on Woolwich Common will be given. Although such a description is, strictly speaking, outside the scope of this inquiry, it does bear indirectly on the subject since until the new barracks had been completed, the artillery had perforce to remain in the Warren. Their
construction was the gunners' passport to pastures new.
The first move in the new venture was on 28 September r772, when the Surveyor-General was ordered to prepare plans and an estimate for building a barrack for one battalion of artillery without the Warren at ,iVoolwich.249 The plans were drawn up and finally approved on 5 July 1774.250 Meanwhile, on 19 January 1773, l\,1r Edward Bowater was asked to name his terms for leasing ground at Woolwich by the Common for the building ofthe artillery barracks.2°1 There is a map in the War Office Records showing a plan of the fields 'formerly belonging to Edward Bowater Esq and now in possession of the Board of Ordnance'.252 The map is dated r March 1773 and gives the area concerned as approximately 40 acres. Dr Pollock, Professor ofFortification at the Royal Military Academy,
who had been ordered to survey this ground of Mr Bowater's was on r2 February I 773 directed to extend his survey to cove; all the ground and buildings from the road to Mr . Bowater's farm, to_ the Rope Walk on the west,_ and on the east to take in everythmg on the left of the road which leads from the Jolly Shipwright Tavern to the Warren.253 On 5 March 1773, Dr Pollock reported that it would be necessary to take in an additional rg acres of land for the building of the new barracks; the Board therefore asked Mr Bowater whether _h~ would agree to lease this extra acreage on the same terms as the ongmal, and stated that ifhe were willing
instructions for carrying out the agreement w;uld be drawn u~ immediately.254 On 12 March 1773, the Board informed the Master-General that
they considered it necessary to construct barracks at Woolwich outside the ~arren, for one battalion of artillery including officers: and that Parliament had granted £3,000 that year towards building the same. They stated that they had surveyed the land and treated with Mr William Bowater for a lease. They also forwarded the plans and papers to the Master-General for his consideration before they made any final agreement about the ground.255 On r 6 March
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/80, p. 148. 250 War Office Records, Plan 35. m OrdnanceJournaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 5.
152 Map no. 1 1. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 105.
•
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 174.
•
ss Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 196. The name 'William' is obviously
an error. It should be 'Edward'.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
following, Mr Edward Bowater agreed to lease such land as was considered necessary for the erection of the barracks on a 99 year lease renewable at the end of that term for £3. 10s. od. per acre. He informed the Board that the first field, consisting of r 1 acres, would necessitate £500 goodwill to the tenant for his house. He stated that the additional I 9 acres consisted of small plots so close to the town that they are let at 10s. per acre more than the other property. He therefore proposed to tender the 19 acres at £4 per acre and the 22 acres at £3. 10s. per acre, free of taxes. He also stated that Messrs Hare and Salmon had agreed to surrender their lease of the field containing the conduits, and would endeavour to obtain leave of their tenants to have a wall built on the said ground. The Master-General and Board agreed to these proposals and instructed their solicitor to prepare the necessary lease.256 On 5 April I 773, Mr Bowater forwarded a draft lease for a term of 99 years at a rent of £153 per annum free from all encumbrances whatsoever, and renewable every 99 years. The Board accepted the draft and arranged that if Mr Bowater were agreeable, he was to cause the lease to be engrossed accordingly.257 Dr Pollock reported on 2 7 April I 773, that the five fields on the south side of Love Lane
near W oolwich contain as under :258
Acres roods poles
General ·w illiamson's lower field 3 2 7
Callis's next above it 5 2 4
General Williamson's next above this 3 I
Small field of ditto on the left
of Callis's I 4
T he 5th called the Conduit Field
adjoining the last 6 30
Total: 20 0 0
Another competitor now entered the field. On 7 May I 773, it was recorded that, as Nathaniel Pattison had tendered to the Board part of his estate opposite the south part of the Warren for the purpose of erecting barracks, the Board requested Mr Bowater to give an answer as to whether he would execute the lease for his land at Woolwich on terms which they understood had been agreed, i.e. 99 years renewable for ever.259 On 18 May 1773, Edward Bowater replied. He said that if the Board would consent to pay £200 per annum for 53 acres, 3 roods and 4 poles ofland belonging to him at Woolwich, he would article for the same. The Board agreed and ordered the necessary lease on those terms to be prepared.260 There was still a
256 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 206. 257 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 277. 25s Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 325. 259 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 391 . 260 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 426.
339
slight hitch in these negotiations. On 28 May 1773, Mr Bowater, having represented that there were two water conduits in one of the fields lately let to the Board from which a tenant supplied water on sale to the people of Woolwich, and that he (Mr Bowater) expected these conduits to be reserved to himself as the Board agreed that he might erect one or two others for that purpose, it was ordered that the supply of water should be continued for the present use of the town and that Mr Bowater would be at liberty to repair the pipes in case offailure. 261 Sir Richard Sutton, solicitor to the Board, having perused the draft ofMr Bowater's lease, announced on 15June 1773 that it was in order. Mr Carleton was then ordered to engross the
lease without further loss of time.262
On I July I 773, Mr Edward Bowater represented to the Board that he had computed the value of the hay on the ground let to the Board at £42 and claimed rent from Michaelmas last for 23 acres of it amounting to £Bo. ros. od. At the same time he proposed that, if the Board would permit him to cart the hay away, allow him the after pasture of t~is field !ill C_hristmas next, and pay him £38 in cash, he would give up his claim of rent from Michaelmas last to Michaelmas next. In this manner the lease to the Board of the whole premises at a rate of £200 a year would commence from next Michaelmas. The Board agreed. 263 The ground agr cment being settled, things began to move. On r 3 July I 773, the Surveyor-General was ordered to submit plans for the intended barracks, and describe the situation. The master carpenter and the master bricklayer were instructed t~ P:epare their materials.264 On the same day Captain BJomefield sigrufied that the Master-General would like plans of the Warren and of the land lately purchased from Mr Bowater and these were sent to him.265 On IO August 1773, Mr J ohn G;oves, bricklayer, reported that a considerable saving in cartage fees would be effected were the bricks for the new barracks made in situ. The Board gave their blessing to this suggestion and ordered the work to be paid for at £7. 15s. od. per rod of brickwork wrought of grey stocks and £6. 5s. od. per rod of brickwork wrought of common
stocks; all materials and expenses were to be included.2Gs Mr Carleton wrote to the Board on 13 October 1773, stating that Mr Bowater had executed the lease. It was therefore ordered that the rent should be paid by bill and debenture from time to time as it
due.207
became The next action was to mark out the ground
purchased from Edward Bowater. This was done by fixing
261 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p. 446. 262 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p. 482. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 6. 164 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 22. 246 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJW0/47/82, p. 23, 13 July 1773.
119 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 92. 117 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJW0/47/82, p. 204, 2 November 1773.
340
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
the necessary boundary stones engraved with Broad Arrow.268 On ro June 1774, Mr Latimer, clerk to the Board of Works, was appointed overseer of the construction of the new barracks,269 and on 5 July 1774, Captain Jardine was made overseer of the new barracks at 4S. a day. His duties were to commence at the same time as those of Mr Latimer.270 When building operations commenced, it was found that the site originally selected was inconvenient owing to the foundations; it was therefore decided on 5 July 1774 to erect the barracks 600 feet further to the front.271 Mr John Sanders was the next appointee. He was made clerk of the works for the new barracks at 3s. 6d. per diem on g August 1774.272 On 29 August 1774, the Board proposed to let the field in which the new barracks were being built, but Mr Latimer pointed out that this would cause great inconvenience to the work unless it were fenced off from the actual buildings. The Board therefore permitted Mr Latimer to rent the field for his own use at £3 till Lady Day, provided he fenced it at his own expense. 273 For security reasons a night watchman ~rmed with a sea service musket was approved for the new barrack site on
29 August 1774.274 Although the cost was £500 more than the expense of tiling, the Board ordered the new barracks to ~e roofed with W estminster slates.275 On 10 October 1775, Mr Latimer was ordered to select a suitable site of 2 acres for a kitchen garden for the n ew barracks care being taken to see that the site selected would not interf:re with any future building which might be ordered . 276 T he plumbers informed Mr Latimer that milled lead was n e er used by the Board of Ordnance, and conseq~ently ~hey would not deliver any for the new barracks. On reportmg this to headquarters, the Board on r I October 1775 ordered the plum~ers to deliver such lead as Mr Latimer might require. At the same time, Mr Latimer was informed that a cupola was to be erected for housing a bell, and that provision was to be made in the pediment of the new barracks for the reception of a clock. Mr Thwaites_, cloc~maker, was ordered to look into the matter.277 After due cons1derat10n, Mr Thwaites proposed to make and install a strong 30-hour clock t? strike the hours and quarters for £68. The Board agreed to this proposition and at the same time placed an order for a 3cwt bell to be cast by a bell-founder.278 By the end of r 776, the barracks had
268
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/83, P· 33, 25January 1774· 269 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/83, P· 335·
270
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 15· 271 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 22. 272 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 36. 273 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· Bo. 274 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 94·
276
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/85, P· 414, 29 May 1775·
276
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO /4 7 /86, P· 164. 277 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/86, P· 169. 278 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/86, p. 270, 21 November 1775·
341
taken shape and were near completion. On 11 October 1776, tables and chairs for the officers' quarters were ordered to be provided.279 Iron work for the necessary bedsteads (i.e. 108 sets) was ordered on 1 ovcmbcr 1776, and the guardroom was to be fitted up in a similar manner to the one in the Warren.280 The Respective Officers at \Voolwich were instructed on 12 November 1776 to render a return on the state of the barracks at Woolwich, and to state what officers and men inhabited them, what furniture there was and what items were required to bring the furniture up to schedule.281 As winter approached, Major Tovey reported that the rooms in the new barracks contained more men than those in the old barracks in the Warren and, as a consequence, he hoped that the allowance of coal and
candles would be increased. Arising from this, the storekeeper was ordered on 17 December 1776, to make the necessary issue as the Artillery were ready to occupy the new barracks; it was agreed that the actual allowance for the new barracks would be settled at the next Board meeting.282
On 20 December 1776, the Respective Officers at Woolwich were ordered to report:283
(1)
The present state of the new barracks on the Common.
(2)
The steps taken to air them and render them fit for occupation.
(3)
The names of the officers and men who now inhabit them.
(4)
The number ofofficers and men still accommodated in the Warren barracks, and what additional numbers could be accommodated.
They reported with great promptitude, as their report on the barrack situation was laid before the Master-General the next day. 284 On 23 December I 776, instructions were issued that all the furniture and stores in the custody of the Respective Officers were to be sent to the new barracks and handed over to Captain Bruyers who had been appointed Inspector and Barrack Master there at 10s. p.d.
Also all barrack rooms and quarters for men and officers were, as soon as finished and furnished, to be locked up and handed over to the barrack master in readiness for the incoming troops.285 Captain Bruyers' appointment must have been a blow to Mr Latimer, as the sequel was the discontinuance of Mr Latimer's salary from 3 I December 1776,286 and the appointment on 10 January 1777 of MrJohn Sanders as Deputy Barrack Master.287 On 20January 1777,
279 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 164. 280 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 232. 281 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 259. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 374. 283 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 376. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 379, 21 December 1776. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 382.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 385, 24 December 1776. 187 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 19.
342
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
:rvir Remnant, the iron-master who had a foundry at Woolwich, was asked to supply 10 iron lamp-brackets for the new barracks.288 The lamp-brackets were finished by 26 February 1777, for, on that day, Mr Sabe was ordered to light them.289 When the clock had been made and fixed on the new barracks, Richard Sumpter was selected to look after it with the same allowance as he received for maintaining the clock in the Warren.290 Mr Latimer evidently complained bitterly about the loss of his emoluments and, as a result, the stony heart of officialdom melted. On 10 March 1777, it was announced that Mr Latimer would still be employed and receive his pay from the Ordnance Office until the new barracks were finished.291 On 27 March 1777, it was agreed that a wall surrounding the soldiers' garden at the new barracks should be built at the costof£220. 6s. 6d, and that a boundary wall, adjoining Mr Bowater's field, amounting to £377. 16s. 6d, should be erected.292 Nothing more is heard of the progress of the work till g July 1777, when General Williamson v~as asked to survey the ground in front of the barracks for extendmg the range as near the barracks as was first proposed, and to ascertain what opening could be made into the old range by constructing a Ha-Ha in the front hedge.293 Mr Latimer, on 23 July 1777, was ordered to complete the barracks on the Common by papering the rooms and laying brick floors in the lower rooms while the detachment was away at Landguard Fort.294 In the 1777 Estimates, £2,000 was allowed towards the completion of the new barracks and £500 for any n ecessary repairs, what would now be called Part I and Part III services. It was stated in the estimate that Mr Latimer was the Chief O verseer at 10s. p.d., Captain Jardine the Overseer at ,µ. p.d. and John Sanders the Clerk at 3s. 6d. p.d.295 O'?-r August
1777, Mr Latimer reported on the state of complet10n ~f the barracks.206 There was still quite an amount of work outst~nding ~s a sum of £7,078. 3s. 8¾d. for this purpose was to be considered m the 1778 Estimates.297 On 12 December 1777, 288 earthern cham?erpots were ordered for the new barracks.298 To use an American expression the question of 'hospitalization' for the new barracks now arose and a new hospital on the hill not far from the barracks, was
' ' k 300
ordered on 12 May 1778;299 also a house for the barrac · master.
288 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, P· 71.
259
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 237. 290 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 281, 7 March 1777· 291 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 296. 292 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 384. 293 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 49· 294 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/90, P· 97·
295
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 738, 24June 1777· 296 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, P· 154.
297
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 523, 2 December 1777• 298 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 585. 299 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/91, p. 4o9.
300
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/91, p. 431, 19 May 1778.
343
Final work in completing the barracks still hung fire for on 1 o August I 780, Mr Latimer was ordered to specify immediately all work still outstanding and to report when the whole project was complete.301 On receiving Mr La timer's report, the Board, on 4 November 1780, proposed to go down to the site and discuss it.ao2 It may be assumed that the pile of buildings known as the 'New Barracks' on Woolwich Common, was completed by the end of 1781. This is evidenced by the fact that on 19 December 1781, the pay of Mr Latimer as Chief Overseer was to terminate on 3 r December 1781, and all the shops and other old buildings were to be demolished, save Mr Latimer's house. This was to be surveyed
and reported on by Mr Powrie.303
Two years later there was a last afterthought. The parade ground in front of the New Barracks was ordered to be gravelled on 3 January 1784304 and, with the laying down of the gravel, comes the end of the gunners' cradle-time.
301 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/96, p. 708. 303 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/96, p. 879. 303 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/98, p. 1277. 80~ Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/103, p. 31.
344
Chapter 10
The Establishment and Early Years of the
Royal Military Academy in the Warren
Captain F. G. Guggisberg~ R.E., opens his book THE SHOP second edition published in 1902, with the following words:
'When was the Academy started?' The point is frequently in dispute. The existence of cadets so far back as 1722 has led some writers to contend that it must have been already established in that year; but we have no less authority than that of his Majesty King George the Second, for fixing upon the 30th of April 1741, as the right and proper date. Here are the words of the Royal Warrant signed on that day; the word 'instituted' seems to leave no room for doubt.
Unfortunately Captain Guggisberg's deductions were wide of the mark and 'some writers', whoever they may have been, were correct in their contention.
THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMYI also
asserts positively that 'the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
(according to the earliest public document to be found) was
instituted and endorsed by warrant of His Majesty George II, bear
ing date 30th of April 1741'. Since the works in question are the
only histories of the institution and are naturally regarded as 'the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth', these ex cathedra
statements have been particularly unfortunate. They have resulted
in the existence of an earlier or original Academy being passed
through the waters of Lethe, to the great disadvantage to present-day
scholars.
The proposal to set up an academy for educating youth and
improving the minds of the officers of the artillery and engineers
originated in 1720 four years after the formation of the Royal
Artillery. It is recorded2 that on 31 August 1720 the Board of Ord
nance having long since been of the opinion that a mathematical
master should be maintained for educating of youth and improving
the officers of the artillery and engineers in their respective duties,
that a school or academy should be erected with other necessary
buildings for the exercise of the long gun etc., and that proper books
and instruments should be provided, but being unable hitherto to
save anything out of the Ordinary of the Office for so useful a
1 1st ed. 1851, Colonel W. D. Jones. 2nd ed. 1892, Lieut.-Colonel H. D. Buchanon
Dunlop R.A., pub. F. J. Cattermole, Woolwich.
2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/33, pp. 269,270.
24 345
purpose, the Surveyor-General acquainted the Board with the action he had taken. For promoting so useful an undertaking, he said, he had at last with the assistance of Mr Secretary Craggs,3 secured £3,000 in the third subscription to the South Sea Company. Resulting from this announcement the Board issued the following orders:
(1)
That lli Plumptree do pay the Surveyor-General, who is to pay it over to the Treasurer of the South Sea Company the sum of£3,000 as a first payment.
(2)
That Mr Plumptree do keep a distinct and particular account of the said £3,000 subscription and of any orders he may receive from the Board relating thereto. .
(3)
That the Surveyor-General be desired to pay the same to, and receive the receipt from, the South Sea Company for the said £3,000 subscription in order that it may be delivered to the Treasurer and that the Clerk of the Ordnance do charge the Treasurer therewith.
(4)
That the Surveyor-General do lay before the Board draughts and estimates for another Great Room to be built at Woolwich for an Academy equall to the Great Room already built, with a house for the mathematical master. Also draughts and estimates for a house for the exercise ofthe long gun and mortar at Blackheath in lieu of the old one now past
repair.
(5)
That the £3,000 subscription and the produce thereof be applied to these sever~! ~ses according to such directions as the Board shall give, and that a d1stmct account thereof shall be kept in the offices of the Surveyor-General and the Clerk of the Ordnance.
(6)
That material be timely provided by the several artificers for the aforesaid buildings, and that the Surveyor-General be desired to forward the same this winter so as to begin early next spring.
(7)
That provision be made in the new establishment for a salary of at least £100 per annum for a mathematical master.
The academy, i.e. the second 'Great Room', was duly built on a warrant dated I 3 April I 72 I.
Mr Burnett Godfrey, a fireworker, was selected to fill the prospective post of mathematical master. He was recommended to the Master-General for a commission as a Second Lieutenant in one of the marching companies of the Train ofArtillery, and given a room in the Warren barracks for the purpose of teaching mathematics to the cadet gunners on such days and at such times as did not interfere with their other service duties. The sting of this appointment lay in its tail, and the cadets, who were unlikely to be thirsting for knowledge, doubtless considered it adding insult to injury when they were notified that 'cadet gunners are to be stopped £4 a year each toward gratifying the said Mr Godfrey or such other officers who shall instruct them in gunnery, fortification etc'.4 It must be confessed
• Secretary, General Post Office, formerly Sccrctary-at-War in 171 7. 4 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, p. 315, 23 December 1720.
346
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY I N THE WARREN
that this educational effort, though admirable in conception, was abortive in practice. The instruction, such as it was, never became properly organized, and to parody the words of a famous poem:
'Yet the lessons failed entirely Failed, because they slumped a little Slumped, because they couldn't help it.'
It can be understood, therefore, that the benefits accruing to the pupils must have been infinitesimal. The cadets profited little by their £4 annual cut in pay. Being young gentlemen of hedonistic disposition, the claims of scholastic attainment sat lightly on their shoulders, the cult of learning being honoured more in the breach than in the observance.
Nothing further is vouchsafed about this original academy and the efforts at schooling cadet gunners. A veil shrouds the scene for the n ext twenty years. How long Mr Burnett Godfrey,5 who was commissioned as a fireworker on 3 July 1719 and as a Second Lieuten ant on 1 August 1728, stuck to his unenviable task is passed over in discreet silence. His name disappears from regimental records after 1731 and he seems to have no successor. Unless his heart were of an exceeding stoutness, he must soon have given up all hope of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The fate of most things connected with the South Sea Bubble was to be as evanescent as the shares out of which they were financed.
The Royal Military Academy as the term is usually understood was founded by Royal Warrant6 dated 30 April 174r.
Warrant for Establishing a Sclwol for Practitioner Engineers etc.
George R
Whereas you, Our Right Trusty and Right Entirely beloved Cousin and Councillor John Duke ofMontagu, Master-General of Our Ordnance, hath laid before Us a representation of Our Principal Officers of Our said Ordnance setting forth that it would conduce to the good of Our service, if an Academy or School was Instituted, Endowed, and Supported for Instructing the raw and inexperienced People belonging to the Military Branch of this Office, in the several parts of Mathematicks necessary to qualify them for the Service of the Artillery, and the business of Engineers, and that there is a Convenient Room at Woolwich Warren, which is Our property, and may be fitted up for that purpose, We having taken the same into Our Royal Consideration and Approving thereof, Our Will and Pleasure is and We do hereby Authorize, Impower and direct you to Nominate, Constitute and Appoint an able and Skilful Master and Assistants, and to prescribe such Rules, Orders and Regulations from time to time, as you shall think fitt and expedient for the Instruction and improvement of the people, and for the good Government of the said Academy or School. Also to provide such an Aparatus of Instruments,
6 No. 25, Kane's List. 6
Warrants and Orders in Council, 1740--1744, PRO/W0/55/351, P· 65.
347
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Books, and other necessarys as may be proper for the use hereof, the Expence of all which not Exceeding FIV.E hundred Pounds per annum Communibus Annis to be defrayed out of such Money as shall at any time be paid into the Treasury of Our Ordnance either for Land or Sea Service, And for so doing this shall be as vvell to you as l:o the Auditors of Our Imprests and all others herein concerned, a sufficient Warrant Given at Our Court at St James's the thirtieth day of April 1741 in the Fourteenth Year of Our Reign.
By his Majesty's Command
HOLLES NEWCASTLE To our Right Trusty and Right Entirely beloved Cousin and Councillor John Duke of Montagu, MasterGeneral of Our Ordnance,
or to the Master-General of Our Ordnance for the time being.
The 'convenient room' was of course the Academy room built in 1721 in Tower Place, Woolwich, which as we have seen in Chapter 8 required extensive alterations. A further Royal Warrant7 dated 18 November 1741 increased the Academy grant £500 to £ 1, 000 annually. As soon as these warrants had been executed the M asterGeneral drew up the 'Rules, Orders and Regulations' prescribed in the first warrant and published them without loss of time. They described in considerable detail the organization and administration of the Academy and gave very fully the curriculum for I 741. First came the general orders and then the two sets of 'Directions', that for 'Teaching the Theory', and that for 'Teaching_the Practice'.
After the usual preamble the 'Rules and Orders for the Royal Academy at Woolwich' stated:
It is ordered that the underwritten Rules and Orders be duly observed and obeyed by all persons whatsoever whorri. they may concern:
I That an Academy or School shall forthwith be established and opened at the Warren at Woolwich in Kent, for instructing the people of the Military branch of the Ordnance, wherein shall be taught, both in theory and practice, whatever may be necessary or useful to form good Officers
ofArtillery and perfect Engineers.
2 That the said School or Academy shall be held everyday in the week, Sundays and Holidays excepted, and except all such times as the MasterGeneral of the Ordnance, or, in his absence, the Lieutenant-General and Principal Officers of the same, shall think fit to direct the discontinuance
of these daily exercises. 3 That there shall be two Masters; a chiefMaster, who shall be allowed a yearly salary ofTwo Hundred Pounds; and a second Master, who shall
7 Warrants and Orders in Council, 1740-1744, PRO/W0/55/351, p. 103.
348
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
be allowed a yearly salary of One Hundre~ Pounds; b~th which_ shall be employed three days in the week in teaching t~e practice of the~r art.
4 The School of the chief Master to open at Eig~t of the Clock m the morning in summer, at Nine in Winter, and to continue three hours each day; the School of the second Master to open at Three in the Afternoon and to continue likewise Three hours each day; both Masters shall hold their Schools for theory on the same day of the week.
Storekeeper's House
First Master's Hause
'--------~-----
Second Master's Houoe
______L----~I
I
I 'I
I Boore! Room
Royal
I I (also used for Divine
Military Academy
I I . d h . I)
e
I I service on t eatr1'o,>. I I I I
L-------,'--\ -------
[""-l--1
FIG. 3. Plan of the old Academy
Then follow the two sets of Directions previously mentioned. Those for T heory comprise 5 sections while those for Practice are expanded into 15. They are too long to q~ote, but for t_hose wh.0 would care to study them, and their perusal will be w~ll repaid.by their interesting and thorough nature, they are printed in extenso m THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY, pag_es 2, 3, and 4 and in THE SHOP by Captain Guggisberg, Appendix XIX.
The lectures on theory were to be duly and regularly attended by the Practioner Engineers, Officers, Serjeants, Corporals and Ca~ets of the Royal Artillery when off duty, and also by such Bo_mbardiers, Miners, Pontoonmen, Matrosses and others of the Regime~t who had a leaning in that direction and a capacity to absor? the ~nst_ruction. All who attended the classes were to be constant 1_n the~r. timekeeping behave decently and take down such notes m wnti?-g as were pr~pounded by the Masters. Each lecture was to be held m the presence of a Captain or Lieutenant of the Artillery who acted as Duty Officer and maintained discipline. The syllabus taught by the second master included arithmetic with the elements_ of geometry
and the principles of algebra, while the chief :11aster :nstr~ctcd his pupils in trigonometry, conic sections, mecharucs, fortification, land
349
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
drainage, survey and levelling, gunnery, fireworks and artillery materiel. In fact, his real task was to teach anything which was supposed to make a competent, well-trained, or 'complete' as the Rules say, Officer of Artillery or Engineers.
All ranks ofthe Royal Artillery including cadets were to be taught 'the Practice', which consisted of such practical gunnery, bridgebuilding, magazine technique and artillery work as the eighteenth century could provide. Attendance was limited to three days a week. Lectures or practical work commenced at 6.o a.m. in summer and
8.o a.m. in winter and lasted at least four hours.
The course in fact envisaged for the 'raw and inexperienced people', which included Officers, N.C.O's and men, as well as cadets ofthe Royal Artillery was eminently sound and for the age in which it took place, very comprehensive.
Contrary to accepted opinion, the first Chief Master at the Academy was Martin Folkes, who was appointed on 25 September 1741 at a salary of£200 per annum,8 and not Mr J ohn M uller who is usually accor~ed that honour. Though no mention of this appointment appears in any published account of the life and activities of Martin Folkes, the Antiquary, who was President of the Royal
Society from 30 November 1741 till 30 November r 752 and President ofthe Society ofAntiquaries from 1750 till 28June 1754, the day of his death, nor do his descendants know ought of the matter, there can be little room for doubt that the first Chief Master of the Academy and Mr Martin Folkes LL.D. F.R.S. F.S.A., were one and the same person. The following pointers seem conclusive evidence:
(1)
The warrant appointing Martin Folkes Chief Master was signed by the Duke of Montagu as Master-General of the Ordnance, and Martin Folkes, the Antiquary, was a great friend of the Duke of Montagu.
(2)
There was a very close connection between the Royal Society and the Royal Academy, as it was then called, in its early years.
(3)
The name is uncommon, and the Antiquary had a brother called William of whom more anon.
(4)
During the tenure of Martin Folkes as Chief Master frequent reference is made in the Ordnance records to John Muller ;s 'Deputy Head Master'. In fact, Robert Sandham, whose letters are mentioned later, reg?rded Mr Muller as the head of the Academy, though he was
not appomted to.that post till I October 1754, after the death of his predecessor, Martm Folkes, had occurred.
(5) Martin Folkes, the Chief Master, died in the summer of 1754. Martin Folkes, the Antiquary, died on 28 June 1754.
There is i?-deed no evidence that Martin Folkes after his appointment as Chief Master ever lived in his official house at Woolwich · in fact everything points to the opposite for on 12 June r 752 a~
8 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/508, p. 103.
35°
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
estimate for painting the house of Mr John Muller, the deputy head master of the Academy, was ordered to be prepared. Further than that, he does not appear ever to have visited the Establishment at all. It would appear that Martin Folkes acted like some Lord Great Chamberlain of old, holding the position and having a Lord Chamberlain to do all the work.
It was probably considered necessary for the well-being of the infant Academy to have at its statutory head a distinguished man of letters· it was a cachet the Establishment could ill afford to lose.
'
And who more suitable than a personal friend of the Duke of Montagu. This did not mean, however, that Martin Folkes had to perform the actual function of teaching; he merely accepted the emolument. For this service he secured a deputy, Mr John Muller, who was a mathematical instructor borne on the books of the drawing office in the Tower, eking out a living on a salary of £:oo a year. The two might be compared to the Chancellor and ViceChancellor of a University, to the Master and Deputy Master of the Mint, or to the Keeper and Deputy Keeper of the Records, except that in Martin Folkes's case, the post was not honorary. This assumption seems to be the only solution of a somewhat
puzzling mystery. .
The first Second Master was Samuel Derham who was appomted on 25 September 1741 with a salary of £100 per annum. 9 !he pay of both masters commenced 1 July 1741, the day on which they
took over their duties. In order to carry out the administrative work inseparable from a scholastic institution, a third official was appointed on 25 September 1741 with a salary of £100 P·~· to commence on 1 July 1741. He was Talbot Tutchet, Assistant and Secretary at the Royal Academy.10 This staff of three ~as soon expanded to five by increasing the establishment to provide fo: a French and a Drawing Master. John Fayram was made Drawmg
Master to the Academy at a salary of 3s. p.d. to commence on 1 o October 1743, warrant dated 19 November 174311 and Abel Cassell was constituted French Master at a salary of £40 p.a. to commence on 10 October 1743 on a warrant dated 7 December 1743.12 Three changes in the staff took place within a few years of the Academy opening. These were:
Gamaliel Massiot to be Drawing Master at the R.M.A. vice John Fayram deceased. Salary 3s. p.d. to commence I January 1745· Warrant dated 20 December 1744.13
9
M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/5o8, P· 104· 10 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/5o8, P· 105·
11 ·
M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/508, P· 121 12 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/508, P· 122· 13 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/5o8, P· 153·
351
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Thomas Simpson to be Second master or Assistant to the Chief Master at the Academy vice Samuel Derham. Salary £100 p.a. to commence I 0c_to_ber 1743. Warrant dated 25 August 1743.14
\V1lham Folkes to be Assistant and Secretary to the Academy vice Talbot Tutchet. Salary £roo p.a. to commence 1 January 1745. Warrant dated 6 December 1744.15
William Folkes did i:ot remain in office for long. He was replaced on r October r746 byChristopher Mason, Assistantand Clerkat£r00 The earlier establishments of masters may thus be tabulated·:~ follows:
r74r
Chief Master Martin Folkes (£200 p.a.)
Second Master Samuel Derham (£100 p.a.)
Assistant and Secretary Talbot Tutchet (£100 p.a.)
r743
Chief Master Martin Folkes (£200 p.a.)
Second Master
Samuel Derham/ Thomas Simpson (£roo p.a.)
Assistant and Secretary Talbot Tutchet (£100 p.a.)
French Master
Abel Cassell
(£40 p.a.)
Drawing Master
John Fayrarn
(3s. p.d.) r745
Chief Master Martin Folkes (
£ 200
Second Master p.a.)
Thomas Simpson (£roo p.a.) Assistant and Secretary William Folkes (£100 p.a.) French Master Abel Cassell
Drawl·ng Master G (£4o p.a.)
amaliel Massiot (3s. p..d )
T_h_e next increase in the headquarter establishment was the add1t10n oftwo model makers who each received 2s. 6d. a day pay The ~st two to hold these appointments were William CrosbyIG and
17
Francis Dean both selected in 1749. William Crosby only survived for two ye_ars as he was replaced by William Whittakeris in
1751. The c1v1l staff at the Royal Academy in 1752 was thus:
Chief Master Martin Folkes (£200 p.a.)
Second Master Thomas Simpson (£ )
As . d roo p.a.
s1st~nt an Clerk Christopher Mason (£roo p.a.) Drawmg Master Gamaliel Massiot (£54. r5s. od. p.a.) French Master Abel Cassell (£40 p.a.)
Model Makers { Fr~~cis Dean (£45. r2s. 6d. p.a.) Wilham Whittaker (£45. r2s. 6d. p.a.) 14 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754) PRO/WO/ /
8
1s M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754); PRO/W0/5555/55~8' p. l 19.
11 Warrant dated 22 F b MG ' P· 152·
soB. e ruary 1749• · .O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/ss/
~: Warrant dated 23 February 1749. M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/ss/
5
18
Warrant dated 25June 1751. M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/W0/55/soB.
352
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Martin Folkes died in the summer of 1754, for a warrant dated 6 November 1754 states that John Muller was to be Chief Master at the Academy vice Martin Folkes. Salary at £200 p.a. to commence I October 1754.19
In r 744 the cadet gunners were taken out of the marching companies and formed into a company of forty gentlemen cadets. The twenty cadet matrosses had their pay raised by 4d. a day so that all the forty cadets received 1s. 4d. per day.20 This 'Company of Gentlemen Cadets' consisted of a captain, three lieutenants and a drum major in addition to the forty cadets, a number increased to forty-eight in
r746.
The following account of the working of the Academy and the status of the gentleman cadet appeared from the pen of Colonel Griffiths Williams who was himself a cadet gunner in I 744 before the formation of the cadet company.21
His Grace the late John, Duke of Montagu, was Master-General of the Ordnance; to him the chief master of the Academy reported the first of every month what progress the cadets, non-commissioned officers and private men who were his pupils made, and in what way they distinguished themselves most; the names of the officers who attended were likewise carried to his Grace by the chief master.
At this time the Regiment of Artillery consisted of seven companies only, and five cadets to each company. They were distinguished by cadet gunners and cadet matrosses. The cadet gunners (of which I was one) had sixteen pence per day. The cadet gunners, when the companies were formed, took the right of the gunners, and the cadet matrosses the right of the matrosses.
T hey were mustered in the companies to which they belonged, and the Captain of the company had the sole command of them, in like manner with every other part of his company. They were treated as officers and gentlemen by all the officers of the regiment, who frequently had them to dine with them when their spare hours from their studies permitted.
The cadets lodged and boarded at the most creditable houses _in and
near Woolwich, which many of them were able to do on their pay.
Government was at no other expense, except the uniforms that were given
the cadets without any stoppages being made out of their pay.
A pretty picture, but what of the reverse side of the medal which
will be turned over presently? .
Meanwhile a boy wishing to become a cadet had to obtam a
nomination from the Master-General who was Governor of the
Academy. In his hands alone lay all the appointments. Should a
nomination be forthcoming and no vacancy exist, the aspiring cadet
could either study at Woolwich as a gentleman attendant or wait at
19 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/W0/55/508, P· 253.
20 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/352, P· 15o. . .
21 Williams's MS. Notes, Rules and Orders R.M.A. 1741. In the R.A. Institution.
353
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
home or elsewhere till one occurred. No regulations regarding age of entry then existed, in consequence of which the roll of cadets covered a period from the nursery to the college. Some candidates were thirty while others were of a most tender age. When James Pattison was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor ofthe Academy in 1 764 he discovered that many cadets on the muster roll had never reported at Woolwich; in fact he found the majority of absentees at their homes. He wrote and ordered them to join at the Warren forthwith. The answers from the adoring parents may well be imagined by the fact t!1at shortly afterwards a letter dated 7 September 1764 gave a list of gentlemen cadets who had obtained
the Master-General's leave to remain away from the Academy till they had reached the age of 12 years viz. Walter Dav,,son Fawcitt 10 years; Thomas Fawcitt g years; Frederick Scott I r ¾years; John Pelham Jones 10 years; Edward Morrison 3 years; Frederick Flight 4 years; and William Buchanon 6 years.2 2
As the Academy building at Woolwich lacked living accommodation the cadets, whose ages as we have seen, varied from 12 to 30 years had to board and lodge in the town, a most pernicious arrangement despite its eulogy from Colonel Williams. They presented themselves at the Academy only for study and p arades, and, once away from the Warren, behaved as they choose and went where they pleased. No wonder scandals became rife. VVoolwich a seaport, was not the best milieu for developing youth. Control dur/noclass was little better, for the young officers, hardly noted for thei~ decorum, turned the place into bedlam and set a very bad example to their juniors. During the first twenty odd years of the Academy's existence, training and teaching were very faulty. T he MasterGeneral supervised from London, sending down such instructions as ~e.consider~~ necessa_ry. This lack of control combined with dreary living condit10ns, no mternal amusements, the great discrepancy in the ages ofthe cadets, the uncertain length ofresidence varying from one month to five years, and the situation of the institution almost
in the ~eart of the worse portion of a riverside town were naturally subversive o:goo~ or_der ~nd military discipline, especially in an age when excessive ~nnking, 1fnot extolled as a virtue, was certainly not regarded as a vice. The cadet had thus little encouragement to lead a sober and orderly life.
When at last the cadet, having survived his environment finished his course of tuition, he was given a commission in the' military branch of the Ordnance when a vacancy occurred. For his 'passingout' he app_eared before a Board of Officers and answered verbally
a few quest.I?ns; no proper ~nal examination existed. The military branch consisted of the Artillery and Engineers, but the latter was H Records ofthe Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 13.
354
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
orps of warrant officers only. Consequently all · ·
a C . R . comm1ss1ons were
·ven m the oyal Regiment of Artillery The c f E •
gl f · • · · orps o ngrneers as a body o comm1ss1oned officers was first formed by Royal yVar:at1;t dated 3 ~arch 175~,23 but until 1761 the custom of commissioning cadets in.the Art1:Uery as second lieutenants prevailed and the1:, after sufficient service and training, transferring them to the Engineers. ~ter 1 761 cadets were commissioned direct to the Corps as v~~ancies occurre~. ?ft~n, however, the unfortunate cadet, tired of waiting for a c?mrmss1on m the Royal Artillery or Engineers, woul~ enter :he service of the. East India Company or seek an appointment i~ o?-e of the regiments of the line. Such transfers, however, were incidental, the Academy never having been intended to supply officers to other branches of the fighting forces. An insight into the life of a cadet in 1750 can be gained from the letters of ~r Robert Sandham to hi~ parents. He joined the Academy as a cadet 1n August I 7_ 50 though his warrant as such was not signed till ro July 1751. He died at Fort St David's, East Indies on 16 May
5.24 The first letter is to his mother.
175 Honored Madam, I perceive by my Father's letter that he had not received one that I wrote the day after I came here, the contents of which were only to acquaint him of my safe arrival off an eight-mile journey; I received my box safe on Saturday, my clothes fit very well. I suppose, mamma, you are desirous of knowing what acquaintance I have commenced during the short time I have been at Woolwich. I believe I need not inform you of the caution that is required in choosing an intimacy among a set of young fellows whose most honourable epithet is wild, the generality of them bear the worst of characters, being ever engaged in riots and drunken broils, in one ofwhich a Lieutenant of the Train was lately wounded in the hand, and has lost the use of his little finger; he lodges in the same house with me. I suppose your fears are heightened by this description of the Cadets, but to your comfort I must inform you there are some who most dese~edly should be excepted from this general character, amongst these is Sir
G. Morningham's son (I was recommended to his acquaintance _by Mr Winnington of Blackheath), he is a middle-aged gentleman, t~at 1:s, near 30, of a sober, sedate aspect, and something resembles Mr ~mnm~ton; a very good scholar, an entertaining and agreeable co_mp~ru~n, w_1:h a calm and mild temper, and has a vast deal ofsweetness m his disposition; in short, he is respected by everybody, and I flatter myse~f to. be very happy in his acquaintance. He was ready to go to the Umversity wh~n
he first came to W oolwich and indeed he has more of the Clergyman m · o'ffi · 11 s he is in mourning so much
his appearance than the cer, espec1a Ya , 23 \i\'arrants (King's and Others) Woolwich PRO/W0/5~/414Tfo1i~rtr warr~;t
001
dated 25 April 1787 W':rrants_ (King's and OftRhersk~ ,';:~~~pand allow~J Ji~9~1Iice~ made the Corps of Engineers mto a Corps o . oy ngi to rank with those of the Army and Royal Artillery. R bert Sandham is No. 206
8 0
24 Records of the Royal Military Academy 2nd ed. PP· 7, · Kane's List. 355
so, that when the woman of the house directed me to his room, I thought I had disturbed the reverend gentleman in his study, and was going to retreat. Mr \Vinnington came to see me at Woolwich the Saturday morning as I came in the evening; he and his lady came again one day last week, and sent for me to the Anchor and,Crown, and invited Mr l\Iorningl~a~ and myself to dinner on Sunday. I went, but Mr Morningham was indisposed; tl1ey were extremely civil, and offered to send horses for me every Saturday nig~t. I don't think of troubling them so often; I have had the Matron ofBndewell (Mrs Crook's relation), with two more Ladies and nvo Gentlemen, and Tommy Crook, to drink tea with me· I dined with t~em at tl~eir Inn. Our situation here is vastly pleasant, ~ great many dehghtf ul v1ews all round us, from my window I see all the ships that go to London, and an extent of land beyond the river. The Cadets act a Play once a month. There is a room opposite the Academy
in which th~ Board of Ordnance sits ;25 this makes an exceeding good Theatre, their scenes, stage, etc. are so contrived as to take down or erect in ~alf an hour's time, they perform the Constant Couple, or the Trip to the Jubilee. Next Saturday I attend, and will attend constantly, at the Acad~my._ I_ find, Mamma, you have overlooked some of my books, as Coopers Dictzonary, and Old Horace, and a Greek and Latin Testament which I wish you would send when convenient; please remember me to ~II that e_nquire after me; give my duty to my Father, and love to Harry, and my sisters.
I am, honored adam Your most obedient and most dutiful Son.
R. Sandham
P.S.
Since I have been at the Academy, I have drawn a Cannon and a Mortar-bed by a scale, and begun a Landscape after Mezzotino manner; the French master has been ill ever since I came, so I have not seen him.
The next letter dated 2 November 1750 from Robert Sandham is to his father:
Honoured Sir, I received the ham and fowls safe on Monday night; Mr Muller gives you many thanks; I asked leave on Monday to go to London that I might see the_pres_ent ;ent to the van; I took this opportunity of waiting on Sir Joh~ L1goruer,2 but was told he was engaged in business, so I went away !e~vmg my name and my duty. As to the affair of cashiering the Cadets, 1t 1s all hushed up ~t present. There is no person to fill up the two vacancies I to!~ you of, which I wonder at. I am certain you must be desirous of
learnmg_ the progress I have made with my masters. In the first place. I have written all Mr Muller's Artillery, which is forty octavo pages ;27 I am " 'fhe Board Room. Now the luncheon room of the Armaments Inspection Depart
ments Mess. The room on the left of the entrance, i.e. the Academy is now the ante-room of the _Armaments Inspection Department's Mess. 11 Lieut-General of the Ordnance.
17 Mr J?hn _Muller'.s Treatise of Artillery was published in London in 1768. He also wrote Fortijicatzon, Artillery and Malhematics in 8 volumes. At this time John Muller was Mathematical Master at the Drawing Office in the Tower. Salary£100 p.a. and acted
as deputy headmaster at the Academy.
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
now constructing the plates with Mr Simpson; I am in multiplication of fractions; Mr Mossiott approves ofmy drawings; as to the French Master I have not seen him these two months, but I can read Telemachus with the help of a Dictionary. I am now a little busy on Mr Morningham's account, in drawing some plans of mines for Sir John Ligonier; after they are done, he is to be a preceptor to me in French. It is my opinion he will shortly be on the Engineer Establishment. Tuesday, being the King's birthday, there were some fine fireworks viz. a building composed of three
arches; in the middle one, Liberty with her hat and club; in the other two, I--Ielmets, Shields, Trophies Etc; over the middle arch was Vivat Rex, and over that the Ordnance Arms; the whole was conducted with the utmost regularity, and the evening concluded with bonfires and illuminations throughout the dirty town of Woolwich.
Further letters are not worth quoting in full as much of their contents h ave little or no bearing on the cadets' life at Woolwich. One or two extracts therefore will suffice.
26 N ovember 1750. I hope my dear Mother will not think me extravagant ·when I inform her I have two guineas and a half left of my pocket money, I assure you I spend it only on necessaries viz. coals, candles, and tea, when any acquaintenance visit me; I have not been in a tavern since I have b een in ,,voolwich, except once, which was on the King's birthday, which I could not avoid without being thought particular, or perhaps a disaffected person. You may be certain Mr Muller did not take the ham and fowls amiss, by his inviting me sometime ago to spend an evening with him, he made me a bowl of punch and made me very welcome ...
8 J anuary 1751. I am obliged to you for the tea, it will save me buying a great while, and I shall use it very sparingly ...; Our Academy has been con erted into a Chapel, but we are taught in it as before; I am very well and enjoy my health as well as I ever did in my life; my French Master says I translate French fort bien (that is 'very well') ... All this I have learnt of myself for I have seen the French Master but two after
noons ...
Robert Sandham may have been a little priggish in his outlook but his letters confirm the state of indiscipline which has already been described. If a gentleman cadet was normally 'wild' in 1750 he must h ave been an unprincipled young scapegoat entering with zest into the toughest practical jokes and frequenting the lowest haunts wherein he engaged in his 'riots and drunken broils'. As Captain Guggisberg says in his book: 'The Shop ofthe early days may be described without hesitation as a "small Hell" upon earth.'
On g July 1751 an estimate for £529 for building barracks for the company of gentlemen cadets was approved28 and work was put in hand. A year later the Board agreed that the cadet barracks should be finished at a cost not exceeding £125. 3s. 2d. and issued
28 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, P· 8.
357
a warrant accordingly.29 It must have been feared, however, that the accommodation envisaged would be unequal to the demands v,1hich assuredly would be made upon it, because only three weeks later it was ordered that a sum of£720, which had been appropriated towards erecting a new office in the Tower of London, should instead be applied to the building of additional apartments at the Warren barracks for gentlemen cadets. Mr Hayter was instructed to take the necessary action at once subject to such directions as might be issued to him by the Surveyor-General.30 The barracks were constructed facing the regimental parade-ground on the lower part of the Warren bounding the Plumstead Road on a site now covered by H Avenue. Things improved a little after living accommodation had been provided for the cadets, discipline was better though licence was still in evidence. A duty officer was detailed each week; he attended meals and parades, inspected the barrack rooms and saw that his charges were safely locked up for the night. He was also supposed to be present during lectures as a deterrent to rowdiness. Up to eight cadets shared a room and until I 766, when new single bedsteads were installed two had to sleep in a bed. Dotheboy's Hall could not have been less congenial. These barracks contained no recreation room ofany kind, no attempt was made to interest the
cadets when off duty. No wonder boredom and idleness sowed the seeds of libertinism and loose conduct.
The earliest muster-roll of the Cadet Company extant is dated January 1753. It contains the names of the following officers viz. Captain-Lieutenant Charles Farrington, Second-Lieutenant Thomas Pike, Lieutenant-Fireworker Jasper Leigh Jones, four corporals and forty-three cadets, two ofwhomwere marked on command in Scotland and nine on leave.31 On I April 1753 Colonel William Belford was appointed Assistant and Clerk to the Royal Academy ( as it was then called) vice Christopher Mason superannuated. The warrant appointing him, issued by SirJohn Ligonier stated 'You are carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of an Assistant and Clerk in the said service, by doing and performing all manner ofthings thereunto belonging, likewise to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from the Master-General of the Ordnance, the Lieutenant-General, and Principal Officers of the same for the time being. '32 This was the first attempt to place the administration of the Academy on a military footing. One can imagine that a civilian clerk and civilian masters had little aptitude for controlling the turbulent cadets. The Master-General and the Lieut.-General, the only military officers connected with the
29 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/39, p. 456, 5June 1752. 30 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/39, p. 518, 30 June 1752.
31 Records ofthe Rqyal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 8.
31 Records ofthe Rqyal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 8.
358
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Establishment, seemed too far off in London to exercise much day to day authority and the company officers had other fish to fry. Colonel Belford was a strict disciplinarian and his presence was felt at once. As a result, a host ofStanding Orders were issued, and while some no doubt were disregarded by the more truculent, the subjection of the cadets had begun.
Some of Colonel Belford's orders were:
February r757. Cadets shall on all occasions pay due respect to commissioned officers. The first that is known to pass an officer without pulling off his hat shall be sent to confinement.
20 March r757. Gentlemen Cadets are in future to parade for Church at the same time and place with the rest of the Regiment, and their orderly corporals are to call over the names, and to march them in good order to Church; all those who absent themselves, to be reported to the Colonel or to the Commanding Officer.
3 April r757. No officer lately made, or to be made, to go to the Academy unless it be to study under the different masters; and should any officer, after the receipt of this order, interrupt or otherwise disturb the cadets in the Academy, the Officer on duty is to order the offending officers to their rooms, and report him or them to the Commanding Officer.
8 April r757. The first cadet that is found swimming in the Thames shall be taken out naked and put in the guard room.
Other orders were as follows:
Cadets are to be in the Academy at g.o a.m. and at 3.0 p.m, at which time the officer attending is to see the corporal call the roll, and to report the time they enter after Academy hours, as well as those who are absent.
The officer on duty at the Academy is to attend constantly during school hours, and if any cadet shall make any disturbance, play, or be inattentive to his business, the officer is immediately to send him to the guard room and report him to the Colonel-Commandant or the Colonel of 2nd Battalion to which the Cadet Company has been posted.
No cadet is to wear at any time a shoulder strap or any other part of the uniform of an Officer of the Regiment.
The officer on duty for the week is to eat in the barracks, and attend regularly at meal times to prevent noise or other incidents. He ~s to report in writing to the Commanding Officer and confine such as nusbehave at table.
The officer on duty is to see the orderly corporal call the roll at b:eakfast, dinner, supper and tattoo; after which the ?arr~ck doors will be locked, i.e. at 10.0 p.m. in summer and g.o. p.m. m wmter. The officer is to keep the key till next morning. The Qu~rter-~aster of the 2?~ Battalion with the officer on duty and the one JUSt rehev~d, are _t? v1~1t the barracks every Monday morning and report on their cond1t1on m writing to the Commanding Officer.
If any cadet shall presume to go out of the Warren, either over the wall or any other way after tattoo, or out ofbarracks after the doors have been locked, he will be punished and dismissed the Regiment.
359
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
.,r. 11 or carelessly spoil, break or dirty any of th If any cadet shall ww~ Y or nasty the walls or chimneys he . e
. b dding wnte on ' Will
furniture or e , r d to repair such damage. be punished and be ob_ ige tt d all parades, exercises and other dut·
ffi duty 1s to a en W 1es
Theo cer on cl d on and is not to leave t11e arren during h" the cadets may be or ere d ;ed with the cadets. is
duty-week, except whe~ otr eee the cadets appear clean and well-dres d
Th ffi on duty 1s o s fi se
e o cer . to reprimand or con 1ne those that
II' 1·n the morning, . are
11
at ro -ea mg b t at any other time, and 1s to march the cad t
1
otherwise not only t ien u e s
to and from the A;ate1?Y;0 visit all the rooms every day before dinner•
The officer on r:{/\ clean, and the bedding a~d furniture in good to see that they a P thing that may be otherwise. order, and tho rehport eve:;niform are immediately to provide thernselve
Cadets w o ave no · s
with it.
On 12 uneJ Mr HayterI 752 was instructed to prepare an
fc r pai·nti·n(7' the house ofDr John Muller, the deputy head
. t
est1ma e o b . • h · h
master of the Academy.33 This estimate, w b1c . amount~d to gd was postponed and ordered to e inserted in the
£22. I2S. ., h"l D
t. t s fcor the following year. 34 Meanw 1 e on 11
es 1ma e h 135 ecember 1750
th Academy room had been adapted as a c ape , an arrangement he·ch was altered on r November 1751 when Divine Service was
1
w Th" 1 d .
ordered to be held in the Board Room. 1s resu te 1n the order that no more plays in it should be performed by cadets. 36 Thirty pounds were spent in May 1754 in erecting a pump and a cistern in the cadets barracks. 37
The cadets had two months annual holiday a year, a month at Christmas and a month at Whitsuntide; the masters also received the same benefit.38 This first attempt at State education therefore savoured of the main 'terms' of present day universities. It must be remembered that the conception ofa State military school was novel and we should not be too critical of the Academy's first halting footsteps in an age when laxity was a normal feature of life. Within six years of the erection of the cadet barracks, accommodation became cramped and on 24 January 1758 Mr Hayter prepared plans and drew up an estimate for building two additional wings. This was referred to the Surveyor-General.39 The cost of these improvements was £382. 18s. 2d. and the work was approved and
., OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/39, p. 482.
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/40, p. 109, 11 Aug. 1752. 11 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 4.07. 17 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 307. 38 OrdnanceJournal_Book, PRO/WO/47/43, p. 279. .
The Board authorized masters and cadets to have a months holiday at Christmas (OrdnanceJournal Boo_k PRO/WO/47/42, p. 319, 13 December 1753). The gentlemen cadets were allowed holiday for the month ofJune (Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/ 47/'f3, P·.3°5, 20 May 1754). Masters and cadets to have the usual months holiday at
~ 1tsunt1de (OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/45, p. 451, 13 May 1755).
Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/51, p. 72.
360
(
.,.
~
-J
I
.,.
,---1
1
l
,..
'.,J
...,
u =-=
(:
[,_,,
-
r--r---
..c
-~
0 ~
0
;>
C/l~
bi)
::: ::9
::l
..a '
0
r.)
·-0..
....,
(1;l
$)
bi)
r.)
..c
'
0
_,._,
;...
(1;l
P-4
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
ordered to be carried out at once.40 Three rooms in the cadet barracks were ordered to be papered at a cost not exceeding 6d. a yard. Furniture and utensils were also to be provided viz. a range grate with poker, tongs and shovel together with a fender deal
. '
tables and forms.41 On 12 Apnl 1758 the storekeeper was ordered to
supply the cadet barracks with 3 coal tubs, 3 dust tubs, 3 hearth
brushes and 6 birch brooms.42 Six days later 8 pairs of bellows
were issued.43 There must have ?een some arrangement whereby
the cadets were allowed to practise the art of fortification on Mr
Bowater's property, as Mr Muller, the head master of the Academy,
informed Mr Bowater on 11 August 1758 that his field lying between
the Thames and the lower road to Greenwich was quite unsuitable
for digging trenches in it. This was presumably due to the presence
of water below the surface.44
The cadets were looked after by a housekeeper, Mrs Elizabeth
...--...
>James, widow of Captain James late Royal Artillery, who had the
..a
--0 assistance of two house-maids to help her. She catered and cooked
s:::
ro
for the cadets. Although in THE RECORDS OF THE RO yAL
en
-----MILITARYACADEM Yp. 13, it states that MrsJames was appointed in 1765, the statement is incorrect. She certainly formulated her proposals for feeding the cadets during that year, but she was housekeeper as early as 1758, the year probably in which she was installed. This is evidenced by the fact that on 23 July 1758 Mr Hayter reported that garrets could be made in the roof of Mrs James's apartment in the cadet barracks at a cost of £61. 13s. rnd. The work was ordered to be carried out.45 ........ ro Now that the built up portion of the Warren was increasing in
>
0 size the question of lighting at nights became pressing, and lamps
~
V were installed at various points. It was considered that four lamps
...c:
b would be required to illuminate the way to the cadet barracks. These, costing £4. IOs. od., were ordered immediately.46 The staff of the Academy was now increased by one. This was the addition ofa fencing master, a post to which MrJohn Palladin was appointed at a salary of £100 a year with effect from r April 1759. Actually it would b e more true to say that the staff remained constant in size owing to a change of establishment for the post of Assistant and Clerk, held by Colonel Belford, was abolished from that date.47 In the meantime in February 1758 M. Felix Hugonin had become French master vice M. Abel Cassel superannuated. Since fencing now
40 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 184, 24 February 1758. 41 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 275, 17 March 1758. 42 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 369. 43 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 396, 18 April 1758. 44 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 149. 45 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 104. 46 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 346, 24 October 1758. 47 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/53, p. 408, 5 April 1759.
25 361
became part of the Academy's studies Mr Lexham was ordered to supply 12 pairs offencing foils for the use of cadets.48 The inevitable repairs were required to SHOP houses and premises; in this respect they were no more immune from the ravages of decay (and negl~ct) than other buildings in the Warren. Mr Simpson's house reqmred renovating and Mr Hayter on I June I 759 was instructed to survey and estimate the cost.49 In March 1759 Major James Pattison was appointed Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company vice Borgard Michelson, and on 10 April 1759 he reported that when the Lieutenant-General appointed him to this post, he ·wished to live in the Warren, so that he would be better able to attend his duties. The house, however, which had been originally allocated to the Captain-Lieutenant was now occupied by cadets and therefore he had proposed some addition to a little house on the east side of the Warren gate occupied by Thomas Pritton, a labourer. He stated that he (Major Pattison) was willing to pay Mr Pritton for his house any reasonable annuity which the Lieutenant-General might approve, and had asked him to lay his petition before the Board. 50 R esulting from this report by Major Pattison, Mr Hayter was ordered to estimate the cost of the additions to Mr Pritton's house and to look out for some other place in the Warren for a house for the CaptainLieutenant and to estimate and report upon the same. On 29 May 1759 Mr Hayter reported that a kitchen and a servant's room over
it could be built for Major Pattison, adjoining the cadet barracks for £140. 7s. od. He was ordered to proceed with the work and keep the bills separate from all others.51 The repairs to Mr Simpson s house were estimated to cost £44. ros. od. and were carried out. 52
Since the cadets were locked in at night like cattle and the barracks lacked any indoor sanitation, some means had to be provided for night use. Therefore 48 pewter chamber pots and 48 pewter washhand basins, a set for each cadet, were provided for their use on I 2 October 1759.53 Both these types of bedroom equipment had the Ordnance Arms and the Broad Arrow engraved on them, and one wonders whither they have all disappeared. Such a chamber pot would make quite a collector's piece. What method of relief was afforded before the purchase of these pewter receptacles must remain a subject for speculation. On 15 December r759 the cadet barracks were repainted at a cost of £49. ros. od.54 Major Pattison reported on 21 December 1759 that Mrs James at the cadet barracks badly needed a pantry for provisions and a storage place for coal.
48 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/53, p. 477, 1 May 1759. 49 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/53, p. 578, 1 June 1759. 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/53, 10 April 1759. 61 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/53, p. 565. 62 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 156, 15 August 1759.
63 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROf\-VO/47/54, p. 329. 64 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 508.
362
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Mr Hayter was ordered to estimate and report.ss On 22 April 1760, Mr Muller's house required repairs.so By this time of course Mr John Muller had become first master. He was appointed to this position on ro October 1754 after the death of Mr Martin Folkes,57 whose name, except in the warrant appointing him first master, and the warrant to John Muller to succeed him, is conspicuous by its absence in official records. Martin Folkes is not mentioned in the Journal Books, nor in THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY, nor in THE SHOP by Captain Guggisberg. He seems to have been a man of retiring disposition. The repairs to Mr Muller's house were estimated to cost £13. 10s. od. and were ordered to be
carried out.58 The cadets, as a whole, were probably careless in regard to their
arms. Damage to their weapons was not likely to cause them much loss ofsleep. So on 2 7June 1760 the Respective Officers at Woolwich were ordered to direct the armourer to repair the arms belonging to
the gentlemen cadets from time to time as occasion should demand. The arm ourer was to report to the Respective Officers the number of arms r paired and the details of each repair, such reports being submitted to the Board at intervals.59
Mr Thomas Simpson, the second master, died in 1761 and his place was taken by Mr John Lodge Cowley with effect from 8 July I 76 1 •Go J ames Pattison was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on 5 August I 761 .Go The only items of interest in the next two or three years were certain minor repairs as follows:
8 June r763. Colonel Pattison, desiring the cadets barracks to be repaired during the vacation, Mr Hayter ordered to estimate and report.61 September r763. The clerk of the works ordered to repair the
30
Academy Room.62 r6 D ecember 1763. Mrs James, having reported that the high winds had damaged the tilin(J" in her apartment at the cadet barracks, Mr Veale was ordered to survey, o estimate and report. 63 I I October 1763. The clerk of the works to surv~y ~nd esti1;1ate the repairs necessary to Mr Muller's house.64 The rep~1rs m question were ordered to be undertaken at a cost of £g. qs. od.6" 27 January 1764. The damage to the tiling of Mrs James's apartment due to storms to be made good at a cost of £4. rs. rod.66
55 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, P· 52 3· 56 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P· 328. 57 See note 1 g. 58 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 75, 25July 1760. i;o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P· 541. so Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/58, p. 156, 28 August 176i. 01 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/61, P· 363. 02 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 128. ss Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 301. 6 4 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 161. G5 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 282, 6 December 1763.
ss Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, P· 47•
363
· to the value of £39. 1 3s. 3d. to be carried
17 Febnwry 1764 . .Refar e but no new dust cart is to be provided out on Colonel Patasondsb 0 ~::ms and was reported on 25 January 1754This damage was caused yds to investigate and report.67
when Mr Veale was or ere . ~ •t 1 changes were made 1n the Academy which
6
On I July 1 / t_via ocedure and administration. It may be said completely alter~ its P~ing towards establishing a seminary for that the tentative ~ro·on had at last secured a foothold and was
. ts to a comrmss1 .
aspiran . t ards educational realism. The changes may
henceforth movmg ow
be summarized as follows:
L. nt Governor was appointed.
A ieutena -med The Royal M ilitary Academy .
The Academy was rena . d 6
• f tI1 cadet was raised from Is. 4 . to 2s. d. The d~ilyMpayto b ecame The Professor ofFortification and Artillery.
The First as er e if ~,r ·
ter was redesignated The Professor o .1.v.1.athem. atzcs.
The Second Mas h 1 · · ·
An additional master was appointed to teac c assics, wntmg and
arithmetic at a salary of £100 per annum. . . C O's and men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery were no
Officers, . • d fi h
·ve 1·nstruction with the ea ets rom t e masters of the
1onger to recei
Academy.
L. t -Colonel James Pattison was the first Lieuten ant-Governor,
ieu. f C . L.
· promoted to that position from that o apta1n -1eutenant of
b
emg · · h. d d
the cadet company. The warrant appo1nt1ng 1m, ate r 2 July 1 764, runs as follows: Whereas, his Majesty by warrant be~~ing date 30 April ~nd r 8 N o:ember 1741, did approve of a Royal Military Academy bemg established at Woolwich and authorized the Master-General of the Ordnance to make such R~gulations as he should from time to time judge proper for the good government thereof; and whereas, it is requisite and necessary for the good of his Majesty's service that a Lieutenant-Governor should be appointed to superintend and see that such Rules and Orders are duly observed by the several Professors, Masters and Students; and having received a good testimony and assurance of the loyalty, integrity and ability ofthe bearer hereof,James Pattison, Esquire, I do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint him to be Lieutenant-Governor of the said Royal Military Academy; these are therefore to pray and require you to enter him in the books ofthe office ofthe said employ, and to cause an allowance of£200 per annum to be paid unto him, or his assigns, by quarterly bill of debenture out of the money allowed for defraying the expense of the said Academy, to commence on the rst ofJuly instant, and continue so long as it shall be thought requisite and necessary for his Majesty's service.
Given under my hand and seal the I 2 ofJuly in the fourth year of His Majesty's reign Granby68 117 OrdnanceJournaI Book, PROfW0/47/63, p. 99. 18 Master-General of the Ordnance, r763-1 770.
364
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY I N THE WARRE N
At the same time, the Marquis of Granby published two sets of Regulations, one for the staff of the Royal Military Academy, and the other for the gentlemen cadets. The Lieutenant-Governor who presided over the institution and was virtually its commandant issued these regulations. All instructions henceforth emanated from the Lieutenant-Governor and not from the masters. The chief master was no longer to make a monthly progress report to the Master-General. All future reports, whether concerning study or points of discipline, were to be made to the Lieutenant-Governor who was held responsible for the good government of the whole Establishment in all its aspects. Beside gentlemen cadets, the Royal Military Academy appears to have been open to a type of student know n as 'Gentlemen Attendants'. These were admitted only on the exp ress permission of the Master-General, communicated to the Lieutenant Governor and by him notified to the professors and masters. These 'Gentlemen Attendants' were at all times subject to the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor and had to observe the rules m ade for gentlemen cadets. They were not however permitted to reside in barracks nor mess with the cadets.69
Jam es Pa ttison was the right man for the job. He knew the devils born of idleness, drunkenness, bullying and corruption which flourish ed and he was determined to exorcise them. This task was far from easy but, being enthusiastic, he managed to bring order out ofchaos by guiding the cadets in the right direction and thus reduced considerably the bad habits so long openly displayed. Like all innovations his reforms m et with little encouragement from those to whom they were meant to apply. The masters unused to any supervision openly resented them and the cadets, a choice collection of lazy yo ung ruffians who were allergic to work, hated them. But Pattison was a man of character. He rejoiced in his work which was always congenial to him no matter how little assistance he obtained from quarters where he might at least have expected it. It may be said tha t h e alone really laid the basis of the modern 'SHOP'. His main source of trouble was, strange to relate, the masters. Until his appointment they had been a law unto themselves, and answerable to no one for the performance of their duties, except a vague and shadowy Master-General in the background. They were unpunctual in their habits and often a class of rowdy young cadets might wait half an hour before the master concerned would deign to appear
and deliver his lecture. They allowed their private business to interfere with their work and often took fees for outside work or extra coaching to the detriment of their proper functions. Since promotion from class to class depended solely on masters' reports, the evil of bribes was not unknown and presents of money were
69 Records of the Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. I I.
365
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
. d b asters from parents. James Pattison put an end
openly receive Ym . l Th ules a d I ·
to all this but not without a gnm strug~ e. er _n regu at1ons he framed for the Master-General to issue_ were _designed to make d of instruction. That thmgs did not always go an orhler1?' p 1_adce ced by the address he gave on 15 December 1764
smoot y 1s evi en d k b
rtam. gentlemen ea ets were nown to e unruly
h
to the effiect t at ce · · f k d h · '
. . . to masters and rmsch1e ma ers an t at if after
boisterous, insu 10ng d b h · h
<let was reported for ba e av10ur e would be
that date any ea G I' I
. . d h A · demy until the Master-enera s p easure should
disrmsse t e ea · · b a· ·
be known. That Pattison's battle agamst msu or mat1on wa~ long . . d b the 11r0 11owing letter dated 14 March 1766 which he
is witnesse Y addressed to the Master-General. fcor this disagreeable occasion of troubling your Lord
I am very sorry k" h"
h. d fc the necessity I am under of ma mg t 1s unfavourable
s 1p, an or f
Report of many of the Gentlemen Cadets; a contempt o orders, a?d a [authority of both Officers and Masters have been shewn m so
d fi
e ance o b b · d ·
many instances for several months past; ut emg etermmed that a complaint to your Lordship should be.my_ lathst reds?u:ce_, I have tried 1
every other method I could suggest to mamLtamd h~t h1s_c1pk me, subordination, and good order which I know your ~r s ~p t m s necessary and wishes to see established, but have the mort1ficat10n to find that neither Jenity, nor the punishments we can inflict (such as c~nfinement to_ a darkroom, being fed on bread and water 7tc), are sufficient to restrain them within any tolerable bounds, for which reason, I am persuaded that, without some occasional examples of severity, it will be impossible to attain the end desired, and therefore I am induced to hope yo r Lordship will be pleased to confirm the opinion of the inclosed Court-Martial, that it may have a proper effect in terrorem on all the rest. The lot could not fall on two fitter objects, as they are both such Scabby Sheep that they are capable of corrupting many of their young associates. That your Lordship may judge of my endeavours to operate on their minds, and cause an emulation in them to behave well by lenity and encouragement. I beg to take the liberty to enclose some extracts from the orders I have
given out from time to time for the Cadet Company.
P.S. of the two delinquents Mr His the worst; he is quite a reprobate.
On receiving this report Lord Granby wrote to order Messrs D and H to be suspended from attending the Academy and to remain under arrest till he should arrive in London when he would fix
upon the most exemplary manner of dismissing them. They were both dismissed on 14 April 1766.70 The establishment of the Royal Military Academy in 1764 was as under:
Staff
Lieutenant-Governor (Lt.-Colonel James Pattison) £200 p.a. Professor ofFortification and Artillery (John Muller) £200 p.a.
70 Records of the Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 15.
366
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Professor of Mathematics (John Lodge Cowley) £100 p.a.
Drawing Master (Gamaliel Massiot) £54. 15s. od. p.a.
Master for Classics, writing and arithmetic (The Reverend William Green) £40 p.a.
French Master (Felix Hugonin) £40 p.a.
Fencing Master (John Palladin) £100 p.a.
Francis Dean
£45. 12s. 6d. p.a.
2 M oed 1 M aersk JhP.
{ o n owne £45. l2S. 6d. p.a.
Cadet Company
Captain (i.e. M.G.O)
£474. 10s. od. p.a. 1 Captain-Lieutenant (Major James Pattison) £109. 10s. od. p.a. 1 First Lieutenant £91. 5s. od. p.a. 1 Second Lieutenant
£73. OS. od. p.a. 1 Lieutenant Fireworker £66. 18s. 4d. p.a. 48 Cadets (each at 2s. 6d. p.d.) £2,190. os. od. p.a. 1 Fife Major £25. 6s. 8d. p.a. Total £3,855. ros. od. p.a.
Whether the high spirits of the cadets had been responsible for breaking the windows in their barracks is not disclosed but on g April 1764 Mr Veale was ordered to repair the said windows and to draw up a list of unserviceable articles in the barracks.71 The necessary repairs were carried out and the messenger was asked to comment on the price of the chairs mentioned by Mr Veale in his report.72 On I g J une I 764 Mr Veale was instructed to find a suitable site in the vVarren for building a house near the Royal Military Academy for the use of gentlemen cadets during school hours and to estimate the expense. Accommodation for classes was obviously becoming limited as the Establishment was soon to be divided into the Upper and Lower Academies.n On 29 June 1764 Mr Veale reported that the most convenient place for building this house would be in the east corner of Mr Cowley's garden, and that the cost would be £30. 11s. 4d. Orders were given that building operations should commence at once.74 One of the innovations introduced under Lieut.-Colonel Pattison's regime was the formation of four classes in the Academy, one for each subject. The fourth class was the highest. In 1766, however, it was considered advisable to set up a lower school in addition to the existing one for many of the cadets, who had been admitted solely on the nomination of the Master-General without any form of educational test. Thus was the Royal Military Academy divided into the upper andlower academies. In the latter no attempt was made to teach military subjects except
71 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 228.
72 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 273, 17 April 1764.
73 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 461.
74 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /63, p. 49 I.
367
drill and exercises. The backward cadets were taught to write properly and to become able to express themselves lucidly; they were grounded in the elements of mathematics, classics and French; and they were instructed in the principles of drawing. Having satisfactorily surmounted these educational hurdles the cadets from the lower academy v,,ere promoted to the upper where their military instruction, fitting them for commissions, was given. In modern parlance the lower academy would be termed a junior preparatory school. The lack of printed books increased the difficulties of teach
ing in the early days of the Academy. There were none to help the cadets in their military studies. Knowledge could only be acquired by taking :1-otes ~t lectures, copyi?g the maste:s' M?S· and keeping the attenf:Ion strictly to the subject under d1scuss10n. With other subjects conditions were easier as copies of treatises on mathematics dictionaries, and French and Latin works were less difficult t~ obtain.
The house of MrJohn Lodge Cowley, the second master seems to have suffered considerable damage at this time. It may have been due to the storm which seems to have produced a certain amount of havoc in the Warren. The roof was so damaged that he had to remove his family. On 3 July I 764 Mr Veale was ordered to effect the necessary repairs.75
On IO July 1764 new chairs were ordered for the cadet barrack Mr Veale :"'as instructed to get the drains cleared and certain repai:~ were put m hand. On the same day Mrs J ames, the housekeepe rep~rted that the c~vering of the _well in her cellar belonging to t{~ engme pump had g1ven_way. Th1s nearly led to a fatality as one of
her servants had fallen m and been saved with difficulty. She also reported that the well covering in the yard had ea ved in. The Board ordered Mr Veale to clean the well (presumably the one i th
. . n e
d) d
yar a1: secur: 1t_~n a proper manner. No doubt he dealt with both wells sat1sfactonly.' The lack of a lock-up for recaltrant cadets now began to be felt, so Mr Veale was instructed on 27 November 175 ~o get out plans and estimates for a 'room ofconfinement' and a shed
m the yard of the cadet barracks for cleaning knives.11 The cost of these two came to £22. ms. od. and they were ordered to be built 1s On I 4 ~ecember I 764, the storekeeper was ordered to purchase fo~rteen chairs at I4J. each for the officers' rooms in the cadet b k .
. . arrac s, at
h
t e same t1me 1t was arranged that a third lamp should be hung on th~ c~det barrack~ so that there would be one at each end of the bmldmg and one m the middle to light the way at night.10
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{W0/47;64, p. g. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47;64, p. 2a.77 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47;64, p. 209.
71
1• g;~~anceJJournall BBookk, PPRRO{W0/47/64, p. 247, II December 1764.
ance ourna oo , O/W0/47;64, p. 257.
368
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY I N THE WARREN
The Reverend William Green actually joined the Royal Military Academy as classics master on 2 7 October I 764,80 though in the warrant appointing him it was stated that his salary of £100 a year would commence on I July 1 764,81 the date of the great changes.
The beds and bedsteads in the cadet barracks were ordered to be cleaned on I g June 1764. 82 This was not an isolated instance as the bedsteads had got into a shocking condition after twenty years hard wear without proper due care and attention. According to the Lieutenant-Governor their condition was such as to require daily r epair. H e also stressed the fact that many inconveniences had arisen due to the 'young gentlemen lying two in a bed', particularly in case of slight illness, and recommended that new sets of iron single turn-up bedsteads should be provided, with mattresses instead of feather beds.83
On 20 March 1765,84 the Master-General signified that with his Majesty's approbation he dispensed with the attendance ofsix cadets: W alker D anson Faucitt, Frederick Flight, John Pelham Jones, Edward Morrison, Thomas Faucitt and "\i\Tilliam Buchanon until they arrive at the age required by his Majesty's warrant. They were to be paid gd. a day subsistence and 6d. a day arrears notwithstanding the general directions in the said warrant as the same could not take place with respect to them at present.
The pay of gentlemen cadets was to be as follows:
Ireat subsistence gd. p.d. Clothing 6d. p.d.
Arrears to be issued once a year,
1
but no assignment to be regarded, 6d d as no person is permitted to remain · p. · a cadet after 20 years of age To pay for diet gd. p.d.
Clothing was to be provided annually and delivered on or before
23 May, but no money was to be paid in lieu of clothing.
There were already two men in attendance on the cadets besides
the two house-maids under the housekeeper who attended the
rooms. There was now to be a third man who was to receive Is. 6d.
per clay. A coarse frock and waistcoat were to be issued to each
attendant annually. The men were to be fed by contract and the
contractor was to receive gd. per diem for the diet of each man.
These servants were not to be mustered with the regiment. On
80 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, p. 191, 10 November 1764. 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 109, 22 February 1765. 82 OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/v\0/47/63, p. 461. 83 Records of the Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 14, 6 February 1766. 84 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 176.
369
h Is of Mrs ElizabethJames for feeding the 20 March I 765 t e pdr~r;~ey were as follows: cadets were approve · . . d day for each cadet accordmg to the corn
(I) She was to receive gb • ~ ning of every month. piete establishment at the ~gm d a day more for each cadet who wa
( ) Sh also to receive 3 • II s
2 e ~~s r d' in barracks. This extra a owance was to be
actually res1dmg and iee mg, b . tence
"d kl ut of the cadets su sis · . h
Y O
pa1 wee • er day towards defraying t e expenses ofthe
( ) She was to receive 2 s. P d h · b
3
. h cleaned the cadets' apartments, ma et e1r eds etc. two housemaids w O • d per day for boarding each of the 3 men
(4)
She was to receive 9 · allotted as servants to the cadets.
In consideration of the above she engaged: 'd b kfast dinner and supper in sufficient quantities of
(I) To prov1 e rea , 'd' · b k
· · s for all cadets resi mg m arrac s.
ood wholesome provision g B d d milk milk-porridge or water-gruel.
Breakfast. rea an ' Dinner. Id ·th t t
Sundays Roast veal, fillets or shou ers, w1 po a oes or greens. Mondays Roast legs of mutton and potatoe~. Tuesdays Shoulders of mutton and apple-pie. Wednesdays Buttocks of beef and g:eens. .
Thursdays Roast legs of mu.tton, with salads and pickles. Fridays Boiled legs ofmutton with greens. <' t J 711s Roast beef with greens or potatoes every other Saturday,
.Ja urua_, k h l . .
roast pork when in season, and on those wee s w en por < 1s given, the Sunday dinner to be roast beef. . Supper. Bread and cheese four 1:1ghts a week; bread and butter two nights, or cold meat when left at dmner.
(2)
To supply the cadets in case of sickness with broth and such other food as the surgeons may recommend.
(3)
To provide at her own cost and ~har~e whatever m~y be necessa:y for dressing the provisions, together with lmen and all kmds of utensils requisite for the public table; also to provide a clean table-cloth for the
table every day.
The question of sickness now began to loom in the official eye. Illness was bound to occur among forty-eight young gentlemen whose conduct was not normally conducive to health. Sanitation, too, as we have seen, was not of the best and the state of the drains must have contributed in no small measure to the ills of the flesh. The indefatigable Lieutenant-Governor therefore brought to the notice of the Master-General and Board that provision had never been made for a proper sick-room for the gentlemen cadets, the only method ofdealing with sick cases being to send them to the common regimental infirmary. He stressed the point that the 'young gentlemen' rather than submit themselves to that disagreeable ordeal,
16 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 182.
37°
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
preferred to remain in their barrack-rooms, the consequences of which were that they were disturbed by their comrades, they could not receive the care and attention that was necessary, the risk incurred by the healthy lying in the same beds as the sick (this was before single bedsteads were issued), and the absolute necessity of removing the latter in cases of infectious disorders. He therefore recommended that two rooms, one for common ailments and the other for contagious diseases, should be added to the infirmary in the Warren and be allotted to the exclusive use of the cadets. This representation was made on 14 March 1765. These additional rooms were the two pavilions already referred to in the previous chapter and on 2 I May I 766, the regimental surgeon was allowed the extra furniture and utensils in the infirmary for the use of gentlemen cadets. 86
In order better to regulate the Royal Military Academy, the Master-General approved a design for a medal to be given as a prize of honour. On the face of the medal was the 'King's head' in profile with a lanceated legend Auspiciis Georgii III Opt Prin P.P.; on the reverse the figure of Minerva with her proper attributes and the legend Proemia Laudi; and in the exerque D.M. Granby Mas Gen Ord M D CCLXV. H e asked the Board for a die to be made and twenty medals in gold to be struck ( value £5. 5s. od.), twenty medals ( weight about one ounce) to be struck in silver and forty medals to be struck in copper. He also desired the Board to provide six cases of instruments not exceeding £2. 10s. od. each. The whole to be ready by 23 M ay I 765, the day he had appointed for the public examination instead of the date mentioned in the printed instructions.87 Owing to the indisposition of Lord Granby the examination was postponed till 30 May. Eventually it was held on 5 June 1765. On that day the following gentlemen attended the Royal Military Academy to examine publicly the cadets in their several classes under their respective professors and masters :88
The Earl of Morton, President Royal Society. The Commanding Officers of the three battalions Royal Artillery. The Chief Engineer. The Reverend Mr Masculine, Astronomical Observator at Greenwich.
The prizes were awarded as follows:
Thomas Page John Cridland Thomas Napean Charles Green Gold medal Gold medal Silver medal Silver medal Fortification Mathematics Fortification Mathematics
Henry Rudyard Case of Instruments Drawing
86 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/67, p. 369.
87 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 126, 26 February 1765. 88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/65, p. 345·
371
Cadets were still giving trouble in breaking bounds to carouse in the town, where drink and other attractions exercised a strong pull on their emotions. On 7 11ay 1765 Mr Veale was ordered to proceed with the raising of the wall at the cadet barracks by 3 feet to prevent the cadets' climbing over. The cost was 10 guineas.89
The masters were not without their petty squabbles. The second master's house Jay directly between the first master's house and the Academy and the normal method by which the first master would reach the' Academy was through his front door into the open and into the building again by the main entrance. This was no doubt a nuisance, particularly ifit were raining, bu~ whether raining or not Mr Muller preferred the more direct route, which lay through the second master's house. Doubtless remonstrances were made but they seemed to have been of little avail. Eventually Mr Cowley had to report the
matter to the Board who on 13 March 1765 informed Mr Muller that neither he nor anyone else had any right of passage through Mr Cowley's house without the express permission of the latter.90
A few minor incidents occurred during 1765-1766. Mr Muller's house was repaired at a cost of £9. 13s. 7d.91 On 27 August 1765 the storekeeper, Woolwich, was ordered to pay £6. 13s. 6d. window tax on the cadet barracks to the Surveyor of \!\Tindow Lights at Plumstead.92 On 13 December 1765 Mr Veale was ordered to repair the tiling of Mrs James's house which had become damaged by high winds.93 Catherine Sinclair, who cleaned the Academy, had her allowance increased to £20 p.a. owing to increase of staff.94 On 13 June 1766 a new departure was made in the Academy. Captain Richard Chapman, who had been acting unofficially as paymaster to the cadets and keeping the pay books, was appointed the first Clerk to the gentlemen cadets at 2s. 6d. a day.95 Mr Thomas Butler who had been appointed 3rd modeller at the R.M .A. in December I 765 was given the turning shop in the Carriage Yard as a workshop. Mr Hartwell was instructed to fit it up and supply the necessary tools for him.96 On 2 r May I 766, the repairs outstanding
at the cadet barracks were referred to the Surveyor-General.97
TheJournal Books state98 under date 28June 1766 that 'Mr John MuIIer having been 36 years at the R.M.A. is allowed to retire by the Master-General from r July r766 and receive full pay till he is
89 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, p. 293. 90 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, p. 159. 91 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/66, p. 164, 22 October 1765. H Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/66, p. 97. 83 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/66, p. 250.
"OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/67, p. 410, 3 June 1766. 85 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 442. 98 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 448, 16 June 1766. 97 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/67, p. 367.
98 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 641.
372
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
added to the superannuation list. He is to be succeeded by Dr Pollock.' This statement cannot literally be true for in 1730 there was no academy for cadets except possibly the original one founded in r 720 on the strength of the South Sea Bubble. It must mean thirty-six years of teaching under the Office of Ordnance and thus included the period he spent in the drawing office in the Tower. Dr Allen Pollock thus became the next Professor of Fortification and Artillery. Mrs Elizabeth James apparently undertook the repair of the utensils for the use of the cadets in the infirmary. Presumably she contracted for the work to be done. At any rate she was ordered to report to the Board at Greenwich on 13 June 1766 the rate per annum she would charge.99
There was continued pressure on the very limited accommodation assigned to the Royal Military Academy which normally consisted only of one large room, so on I July 1766 it was agreed that the Board Room should be made available for the use of professors and masters when not actually required by the Board.100 This adaptation necessitated a change in the lighting arrangements. The problem of lighting the Academy at night to facilitate studies in the winter . evenings had already received attention and it had finally been decided to install lamps in place of candles to save expense. Chandeliers, therefore, were ordered to be fixed in each room ofthe Academy to hold lamps, the order being the direct result of taking over the Board Room as the lower school or academy, when not required by the Board. T he Board seldom met at Woolwich, so the room, after having b een used as a chapel (and as a theatre on Saturday nights) became mainly the lower academy and a masters' common room. The chandeliers were to have branches holding three lamps each
and to be suspended by chains from the bottom of the gallery. In other rooms, iron brackets to hold the lamps were to be affixed to the walls· those in the Board Room being made removable so that they could be taken away when the Board met. Twenty-eight lamp brackets to hold three lamps each were ordered in all.101 Equipment still appeared to be due for the use ofca~ets in their :7arious activiti:s as it was ordered on 7 August r766 that proper furruture and utensils be supplied to the Academy room, infirmary and cadet barracks'.102 On the same day orders were given for the repairs to Dr Pollock's house to be surveyed and estimated.103 Mr _Thomas Butl:r the modeller had to wait four months before his workshop m the
Carriage Yard was ready for him, as it was not till 27 October 1766
99 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 433. This may be an error in names.
Probably 'Mrs Elizabeth Poulton' was meant. 10° Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 1. 1°1 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 154, 29 October 1766. 1°2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, p. 55· 193 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 54, 7 August 1766.
373
that ]\fr Hartwell reported the room to be complete. Mr Butler actually purchased the tools he requested at a cost of £6. 18s. 8d. which was afterwards reimbursed him.104
As mentioned in footnote 99, Mrs Elizabeth Poulton was in all probability intended instead of Mrs Elizabeth James, the housekeeper. Mrs Poulton had acted as nurse in the cadets' infirmary since November 1765 without receiving any pay. Whether she offered her services voluntarily or whether the mechanics of payment in her case had not operated is not recorded. The position, however, was rectified on r9 May 1767 when she was appointed official nurse at Is. p.d. with effect from 8 November 1765.105 It was she who dealt
with the infirmary implements. It was arranged that she should be paid £31. 10s. 8d. for providing the necessary utensils for the infirmary at the cadet barracks and granted an allowance of £10 per annum for their maintenance.106 Good news arrived for Mr Cowley the Professor of Mathematics on 7 February 1767. H e
learned that his salary was to be increased by £ 100 a year, 1.e. doubled from 1 January I 767.107
A second public examination under the chairmanship of the President, Royal Society, was held on Tuesday 30 June r 767 .108 As a result the following prizes were awarded:
James Mayaffre -Gold Medal Fortification {
Thomas Harris -Silver medal Mathematics Francis More -Gold Medal Drawing -Thomas Napean -Case of instruments
Other medals must have been awarded for twelve in all were presented. As the Marquis of Granby resigned from the M asterGeneralship in January I 770, their issue was probably suspended in I 769. The British Museum has several inscribed specimens of this
medal which are thought to be Mint copies handed in after its discontinuance. The Royal Mint is unable to trace this medal, since in I 765 such jobs were put out to contract. A descrip tion of this medal also appears in the Annual Register for I 766.
The demand for higher wages is no modern phenomenon, even in the eighteenth century people liked to get as much as they possibly could. Mrs Ann Sumpter's request was a case in point. On 23 June I 767 she represented that she had been employed for several years
in cleaning the Board Room at 6d. a day and asked for an increase
as the room had now been handed over to the Royal Military
Academy. The kindly Board granted her £20 p.a., an additional
104 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/68, p. 138. 106 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/69, p. 257. 108 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 226, 5 December 1766. 107 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/69, p. 63 108 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/69, p. 305.
374
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
37s. 6d. a year, from I January 1767.100 The Board must have been
feeling generous at this period as it made up the pay of Captain
Chapman as paymaster to the cadet company between 1 July 1764
and 3 1 December 1 765.11° An incident occurred, which was reported
to the Board on 4 August I 767, between the overseer of the works
and the Lieut.-Governor of the Academy. Lieut.-Colonel Pattison
may have been a hot-tempered man. He certainly had enough to
make him short-tempered. On the other hand he may have had
great provocation as the overseer, Mr William Barber, was by his
record an unpleasant official. Mr Barber complained that, on 4
August r767 when according to instructions he had gone to Colonel
Pattison's residence to give instructions about building a dairy for
the colonel, Colonel Pattison freely abused him and struck him in
the face because he could not enlarge the dairy according to that
officer's wishes. He (Mr Barber) therefore wished for the Board's
leave to seek redress in a legal manner.111 The Board sent a copy of
the p etition to Colonel Pattison for his remarks. What they were does
not transpire but a year later this laconic statement appears in the
Journal Books, 'Owing to his unpleasant character and untrustw orthiness, William Barber is dismissed from office as Overseer of "\tVorks, Woolwich. He has been dismissed twice before but has been employed again out of compassion and of his promise of amendment. '112 It might well be therefore that Colonel Pattison was more sinned against than sinning. On 21 June 1768 the salaries of the drawing and French masters were raised to £1 oo a year113 and on 2 7 J anuary r 769, Paul Sandby was appointed Chief Drawing Master at the Royal Military Academy vice Gamaliel Massiot with effect from 22 Augus_t 1768.114
On 30 June I 768 it was ordered that two additional rooms should be built over MrsJames's apartment at a cost of£94.115 In connection with building operations and works services it should be appreciated that the Academy building itself and the cadet barracks needed constant repair. Maintenance charges, though small in terms of modern currency, were a considerable drain on funds. Every year repairs of some kind had to be undertaken, but this recurrent item of expenditure will be referred to again on only one or two special occasions after the reparations carried out on 23 May I 769.116
In order to save fuel or labour or both, stoves were installed in the Academy to heat both the upper and lower schools. They were
109 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/69, P· 332. 110 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/70, p. 101, 4 August 1767. 111 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/70, p. 105. 112 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/72, p. 42, 2 August 1768. 113 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/71, p. 306. 114 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/73, P· 37• 115 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/71, p. 321. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO /4 7 /73, p. 269.
375
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
hardly a success. At last the long-suffering professional staff could abide them no longer. On 20 December 1768 the masters with one voice dubbed them 'unsatisfactory'-'useless' would have been a better epithet to bestow; they gave off a suffocating smell and failed to warm the rooms. The staff therefore asked that they might be removed and the fire-places reinstated. This was agreed to.117 To light the ·way at night one lamp in front of the houses ofDr Pollock and l'vfr Cowley were authorized.118
Clothing for the cadet company's fife and drum major and the three servants was authorized on 27 March 1770, and warrants were issued accordingly.119 The Board evidently took a fatherly interest in the studies of the gentlemen cadets. One knows that their standards were not high but a good deal of importance was attached to their drawings and plans of fortification. Vauban's system still held sway and the attack and defence offortified places was an important part of the students' work. After 15 May 1770 all drawings made by the cadets were to be preserved so as to be available for the Board's inspection.120 Ong February 1770, Francis Dean was dismissed from his appointment as modeller to the R.M.A. and as his post was abolished, the number of modellers on the establishment reverted to two.121 On 13 November 1770 Joseph Mallard became fencing master vice John Palladin.122 Paul Sandby put in an application to receive allowances for house rent, coal, and candles, but it was not favourably received by the Board. He received an answer in the negative on 5 March 1771.123 Dr Pollock's garden v. as next to that of Mr John Cockburn, the storekeeper, and within it stood the turret, the old tower which had once formed part of the original mansion of Tower Place. Dr Pollock required certain alterations to
his house and garden, what these were does not transpire, and on 12 June 1771 Mr Powrie, clerk of the works was ordered to report on their cost.124 Part of his request was, no doubt, for stables and a chaise house as on I 8 February I 772 he was definitely informed that these could not be allowed.125
The year I 77I saw several important innovations in the life of the Academy. Firstly on I I October I 77 I, it was agreed that the French and classics masters should be allowed £10 p.a. house rent and the French master four chaldrons of coal and six dozen candles, so that both might be placed on the same footing as the drawing and fencing
117 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/72, p. 235. 118 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/73, p. 171, 7 April 1769. 119 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/74, p. 156. 110 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO[W0/47/75, p. 268. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/75, p. 74, 9 February 1770. m OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO[W0/47/79, p. 104.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/77, p. 199. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/77, p. 515. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/79, p. 104.
376
i; ,.,, of Woolwich Warren (S. & N. Buck), 1739
The Granby Medal
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
masters. This additional emolument was to be effective from 1 January 1771.126 Much more revolutionary than this was the appointment of Captain George Smith as Inspector-a new post which carried much responsibility. He was appointed from 1 July 1771 at a salary of£200 p.a. with an additional £30 a year in lieu ofhouse rent, coal, candles, and travelling. He also officiated as Professor of Field Fortification and Mining.127 Captain Smith's warrant signed by the Lieutenant-General and Principal Officers ofthe Ordnance read as follows:
By virtue of the authority to us, by the King's most excellent Majesty in this behalf, given (in the absence of vacancy of a Master-General of the Ordnance) upon the testimony and assurance which we have received of your loyalty, integrity and ability, we do hereby nominate and appoint you, the said Captain George Smith, to be Inspector ofthe Royal Military Academy at Woolwich; you are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Inspector, by doing and performing, likewise to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from the Master-General of his Majesty's Ordnance, the Lieutenant-General and Principal Officers ofthe same, for the time being, or any other your superior Officer; in pursuance of the trust hereby reposed in you, and for your care and diligence to be taken herein, you
are to have and receive the allowance of £200 per annum, to be paid you quarterly out of the treasury of this Office, and to continue so long as shall be thought requisite and necessary for His Majesty's Service.
The Lieutenant-Governor at once issued the following order:
The Inspector of the Royal Military Academy will give in a monthly report to the Lieutenant-Governor of the state of learning in the Upper and Lower Schools, with such remarks and observations as he shall think necessary to make; and in order thereto he will receive from the several Professors, at the end of each month, a regular class-list of all the students under their respective tuition. Captain Chapman will immediately deliver to Captain Smith a copy of the Rules, Orders and Regulations established for the good government of this Academy, that he may be able to regulate his inspection accordingly. The Professors and Masters are directed to make out their monthly returns of the class-lists for the LieutenantGovernor, conformable to the one that will be given them as a model, and that they may be regularly sent the first of every month.
The duties of the Inspector were broadly speaking to supervise the education at the Academy by seeing that it was carried out in an orderly and efficient manner. Masters as well as cadets came under this supervision. The former were to bend all their energies to their tasks and the latter to work diligently and to keep strict hours. Captain Smith applied himself to his duties with alacrity and the results soon became noticeable. Before two months had elapsed the
126 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0{W0/47/78, p. 137. 127 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0{W0/47/78, p. 140, 11 October 1771.
26 377
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Lieutenant-Governor had, at the Inspector's suggestion, made the following alterations:
(1)
The Upper and Lower Academies were each to be divided into four classes with qualifications and courses of instruction clearly laid down.
(2)
Promotion from the lower to the upper academy was to be by examination held in the presence of the Inspector.
(3)
Lists of the classes, showing the seniority of cadets were to be displayed in each academy.
(4)
Professors and masters were to render monthly reports on the progress of the students.
(5)
Professors and masters were to give more individual attention to each cadet. It is not proposed to give a comprehensive list of the various
studies which were undertaken in 1772. These are set out at length in THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY but a synopsis of the course is as follows: '
First (or Lowest) Class Lower Academy Mathematics Elements ofArithmetic
Classics Latin Grammar Drawing Simple pencil drawings French Grammar and simple translation
Second Class Lower Academy Matlzematics Elements ofArithmetic applied to practice Classics Translations from Latin authors Drawing Simple drawings in Indian ink French Translations
Third Class Lower Academy Matlzematics
Vulgar and decimal fractions Square and cube roots Classics Ovid, Caesar, Virgil and Sallust Drawing Landscapes and military embellishments
French Translations
Fourth Class Lower Academy Mathematics Algebra up to quadratic equations Class£cs Horace and Cicero Drawing
Theory and Practice of perspective
French
Translations into French
First Class Upper Academy Fortification
Elements offortification Matlmnatics Euclid
Drawing Landscapes in Indian ink
Second Class Upper Academy Fortification
Attac~ and defence offortified places Pr?ct1cal geometry and surveying
Mathematics
Trigonometry as applied to fortification mensuration
Drawing
Large and more difficult landscapes, coloured
378
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Third Class Upper Academy Artillery Theory of artillery Constructionofcarriagesandordnance Mathematics Conic sections Mechanics Drawing Landscapes coloured from Nature Fourth Class Upper Academy Fortification Theory of mining Use and construction of fougasses Mathematics Ballistics Drawing Perspective applied to buildings, fortifications etc.
The arrival of the proverbial bull in a china shop could hardly have aroused more apprehension than did the advent of Captain Smith in the midst of the easy-going masters. They resented his presence for they knew that it would spell the end of their laissezfaire existence in which amusement, quiet laziness and good living counted for more than their aptitude and ardour for teaching. Like criminals awaiting sentence they feared the worst, and their fears were justified. First, the qualifying examination for admission to the upper academy. This meant fair dealing and no favouritism with its inevitable loss of backsheesh. Secondly, their time-keeping watched by the Inspector, they must attend classes punctually in future. Thirdly, the 'individual attention to each cadet', the unkindest cut of all; they must apply themselves vigorously to their professional duties. T ightening the bonds of discipline over the civilian staff was a long and arduous business which encountered much resistance.
Old dogs do not like new tricks and the masters resisted the innovations with all the skill and subtlety at their command. For several years the struggle raged till eventually conditions simmered down and the collegiate life became more amicable.
Dr Pollock was the arch-villain of the piece. He resisted the Inspector's authority at every turn and continued to be very irregular in his attendance and instruction. In February I 773 the Inspector informed the Lieutenant-Governor that Dr Pollock seemed vastly put out at not receiving a proper order from the Master-General or Principal Officers to carry out Mr Cowley's duty during the latter's illness and questioned whether he should obey any order to this effect not emanating from them; also that Dr Pollock was highly indignant with Mr Green for offering to assist him in this additional work and said he would do all or none; although he had frequently complained of the double use position. In reply, the LieutenantGovernor ordered Dr Pollock, in view of his own suggestion, to carry out unaided Mr Cowley's work in addition to his own. In his monthly report under the same date-February 1773-the Inspector stated that Dr Pollock was most unpunctual and that when he did arrive in class, he went back into his house to prepare materials for the lesson which considerably shortened the two hours allotted to
379
his teaching. In December I 773, complaints were made of Dr Pollock neglecting and leaving his pupils in total ignorance ofimportant aspects oftheir curriculum. In this month, too, he quite surpassed himselfin discourtesy. Interpreting the order 'that no person except the students will be admitted to attend these lectures unless by leave of the Lieutenant-Governor' quite literally Dr Pollock locked the class room door and refused the Inspector admittance. Other instances of his curmudgeonly behaviour could be quoted, for he seemed to spare no opportunity to make himself a nuisance. He was the stormy petrel of the Academy. Eventually the LieutenantGovernor, his patience exhausted, brought Dr Pollock's conduct to the notice ofthe Board ofOrdnance in a letter dated 4January r 7 7 4. In a reply dated 26 March I 774 the Board very politely administered
a reprimand, but all to no purpose. Dr Pollock had to be dismissed from his post in I 777.
In July 1772 a dancing master was added to the establishment, MrJohn Ware being the first appointed at a salary of £100 a year. In I 772 also, Mrs Elizabeth James, the faithful housekeeper to the cadets died after at least fourteen years honourable service. Her place was taken by another widow, Mrs Elizabeth Mountney, under the same conditions ofservice.128 She was put into the possession of the
housekeeper's apartments and the clerk of the works was ordered to estimate any repairs necessary.129
In the following year only four episodes, except the peccadilloes of Dr Pollock already mentioned, are worth recording-. A pattern coat for the cadets was approved on 23 April 1773 ;13 ° Charles Hutton was appointed Professor of Mathematics vice John Lodge Cowley superannuated with effect from 24 May 1773,131 in consequence of which the house attached to the appointment had to be repaired at a cost of £10;132 and Dr Pollock-the trouble makerreported that he and his predecessors had always used the room at the top ofthe turret as an observatory, but that now the LieutenantGovernor had given orders that the key of the room was to be handed over to Captain Smith, the Inspector. The Board displaying the wisdom of Solomon ordered Captain Smith to deliver the key into the keeping of Mr John Cockburn, the storekeeper, unless the
Master-General should decide otherwise.133
On 2 I April I 774 the Lieutenant-Governor represented to the Board that many advantages would accrue from throwing a floor across the upper room in the Academy for the purpose of placing
128 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/79, p. 380, 12 June 1772. 129 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/79, p. 425, 27 June 1772. 130 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p.311.131 Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 346, 25 May 1773 and PRO/WO/
47/82, p. 109, ID August 1773. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 491, 28 June 1773.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, 28 April 1773.
380
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
models, maps etc. thereon; it would also be of advantage for giving lectures on fortification. The Board were willing to investigate the scheme and ordered the clerk of the works to submit a plan and estimate.134 It was eventually resolved that the building of such a floor should be considered in the following spring.135 There can be no doubt that the floor was eventually built, as it is still in position and spoils to a large extent the proportions of the room. The floor has naturally now been modernized and is supported on steel girders. In the same year the Master-General on the recommendation of the Lieutenant-Governor instituted the entrance examination thus abolishing the mere nomination of the Master-General himself. This was a move in the right direction, as it did at least mean that the gentleman cadet designate could manage the three R's. The subjects obligatory for qualifying were the first four rules of arithmetic with a competent knowledge of the rule of three and Latin grammar. Not a very advanced standard to be sure but it would produce cadets of a better elementary educational level than did the simple act of nomination. The examination itself took place in the presence of a board, usually composed of the Lieut.-Governor, the Inspector and one or two masters. There were no fixed dates and the board was convened whenever a candidate was nominated by the Master-General. The aspirant for a cadetship paid no fee except that on passing-the test successfully he had to contribute thirty shillings for the Master-General's warrant appointing him to the coveted post.
On 1 O ctober 1775 the Reverend William Green, the classical master h ad his salary increased by £50 a year. At the same time an appeal was sent to the staff of the Academy to live in harmony with one another for the good of the Service.136 This was no doubt occasioned by the intransigeance ofDr Pollock who was still causing trouble to the authorities. The letter he received from the MasterGeneral's Secretary on 8 March 1775 was a good deal stiffer than the one he had received the year before.
On g May 1777, Colonel Pattison on promotion laid down the reins ofgovernment at the Academy which he had held_so firmly for sixteen years during a time of transition and stress. His task could not have been enviable; as not only had he the cadets to contend with but the masters as well and where he might reasonably have expected assistance in car~ing out his duty, met nothing but opposition. He was replaced by Lieut.-Colonel Bramham, Roral Engineers, while Captain Benjamin Stehelin took over the Capta.m-
Lieutenancy of the cadet company.137 Poor CaptainChapman, paymaster to the cadet company, appeared
1 34 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/83, p. 213· 135 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 209, 6 December 1774· 136 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 274, 21 November 1775·
131 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 546.
381
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
to have sustained financial losses by being over-generous or too trustworthy in his monetary dealings with the gentlemen cadets. During 1777 they, no doubt were even more worthy of the epithet which was bestowed over a hundred years later on their successors, i.e. 'Almost an officer and not quite a gentleman.' On 30 May 1777, Captain Chapman asked the Board to make good the losses he had sustained in advancing money to the cadets. Their reply was not very sympathetic though no doubt just. It baldly stated that 'The Board opined that as these were in the nature ofprivate transactions, no relief could be given'.138
In November 1777 Mr Isaac Landmann, late Professor of Fortification and Artillery at L' Ecole Militairein Paris was appointed Professor of Fortification and Artillery at the R.M.A. at a salary of £100 p.a. vice Dr Pollock. The travelling expenses of himself, his family and his effects from France were to be reimbursed; in addition his salary ( or allowance as it was then called) would continue to be payable to his wife in event of his death. At the same time his Majesty granted a pension of £50 a year to Dr Pollock and an additional £50 per annum to Mr Muller on account of his great age and honourable service to the State. There must have been recrim
inations over this appointment as the Board refused to enter into any argument with Dr Pollock concerning his dismissal.139 Mr Landmann had taught projectiles and fortification at the school in Paris and left the military academy there on reduction of staff. He had been
A.D.C. to Marshal Broglie.
Captain George Smith was the author of a military dictionary which must have been ofgreat value to the artillerymen and cadets of his time, and is certainly of great interest today, being a mine of information on all aspects ofthe military art. It is invaluable to those who study the artillery of the past. Its full title is An universal military dictionary or a copious explanation of the technical terms etc. used in the equipment, machinery, movements and military operations of an Army and it was published in London in I 779 'Printed for J. Millan, near
Whitehall'. Captain Smith dedicated this work to the King, somewhat it would appear to the annoyance of the Board of Ordnance. In order to assist publication, he had requested a grant of money from the Board and offered to place an inscription to them in the book. The Board's reply was somewhat curt. Captain Smith was
informed that 'the Board do not consider an inscription to them of his Military Dictionary after a dedication to the King will be consistent, nor can they comply with his request for a sum of money to be advanced at present'.140
138 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/89, p. 644. 139 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 530, 2 December 1777u o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 393, 25 November 1778.
382
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
On 16 March 1780 it was ordered that the old artillery hospital in the Warren should be fitted up to accommodate cadets and provide quarters for the Inspector of the Academy.141 Seven rooms w ere to be allotted to the cadets and the cost of the conversion was estimated at £257. 8s. od.142 The work was done in a few months as on 5 October 1780 the articles and furniture required for the
143
new inmates were to be supplied at once. In January 1781 Lieut.-Colonel Benjamin Stehelin replaced Lieut.-Colonel Bramham as Lieutenant-Governor and Captain William Tiffen was appointed Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company in his stead.144
On 30 May 178 r, four or five of the ablest cadets were ordered to survey the Warren and describe every building accurately therein.145 It is feared that this map is no longer in existence, it may possibly have been destroyed in the second World War when many old maps and other papers in the War Office Records disappeared under hostile bombs. A companion sketch drawn by cadets at approximately the same date shewing the Ordnance lands on Woolwich Common is still preserved with War Office archives at Stanmore. During that year extensive repairs and embellishments were made to the Upper Academy at a cost of £238. 16s. od.146
Although there had been a vacancy for a second drawing master on the establishment of the civil staff of the R.M.A. since I 776, the post was not filled till September I 782 when Mr Robert Davey was appointed. Also a warrant dated 4 September r 782 reduced the establishment of the drawing office in the Tower and transferred the math ematical master there to the Academy on a salary of £100
p.a. Four draughtsmen from the Tower were also to be attached to the R .M.A. for instruction. Their pay was 2/-a day each.147 During the same year the number of cadets was increased to sixty. One more item of interest appears in the Ordnance Reports for the year 1782/1783. Therein appears the following from the Surveyor-General :148
Pursuant to your reference to me of 31 December r782 of the enclosed account certified by Colonel Benjamin Stehelin, Lieut-Governor, Royal Military Academy for framing several drawings and paintings presented by Messrs Sandby, Landmann, Verbr_uggen and others ~mounting to £ 3o. 17s. od., I have examined the said accounts and as 1t appears by Colonel Stehelin's letter enclosed that the late Master-General and Board approved of these drawings being put up in the R.M.A., I am of opinion the above expences of framing should be allowed.
23 February 1783-Approved and ordered.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, p. 198. . m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, p. 274, 15 April 1780. 143 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 801. 144 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 626, 16 June 1781. 14s Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 575• 14o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 966, 15 September 1781. 147 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/375. 148 Ordnance Report, PRO/WO/55/9, f. 57•
383
On 8 March 83, Captain Scott, 1:-ieutenant of the cadet
1 17
company proposed a new pattern of umform f~r the ca_dets at £ 7. 6s. od. per two suits and ofa !1at for I 8s.149 This sugg~stion was received with due attention and tailors were asked to submit tenders. On 21 March 1783 :rvfr Wagner reported that he could suppl~ a hat, gold button and Joo}: for r8s., and !Vlrs Benford ~nd Son_said they could provide the uruform for the pnce stated. M1 Wagner was then instructed to produce a sample hat for I 8s. and another at 14..s.; M Benford and Son being asked to send samples of the cloth int;nded for the uniform.150 On 24 April _1783 the Master-General nd Board approved the sample hat submitted by Mr Wagner at a ;rice of i6s. and ordered it to be _sealed.151 The new uniform, too, was approved and orders were issued on 7 June 1783 for the
d 152
necessary warrants to be prepare . Lady Morden, widow of Sir _John Morden, Bart, founder of Morden College, and sister of Sir Joseph Brand of_ Edwardstone, Co. Suffolk, died in June 1721 and the estate of Wncklemarsh left her by her late husband was sold, under a de:ree in Chancery dated 31 May 1723 to Sir Gregory Page of Greenwich, 2nd Baronet, who, demolishing the old house, erected on the estate a magnificent edifice ofstone, being then one of the finest seats in England belonging to a private gentleman. Wricklemarsh was described as in Charlton, Lewisham and Eltham. The new mansion was designed byJohn James and built within one year. The idea of the house was taken from Houghton. It consisted of a basement, state and attic storey. The wings contained offices and stables, ·which were joined to the body of the house by a colonnade; the back front had an iron portico of four columns but without a pediment. It stood in the middle of the park, with a large lake before it, on a beautiful rise, about a quarter of a mile from the heath at Blackheath. The estate, comprising gardens, orchards, walks and shrubberies, was a delightful pleasance. Sir Gregory Page died 4 August I 775, aged go, without issue and devised this estate with the res( of his property in this country to his great-nephew Sir Gregory Turner of Ambrosden, Bart, in tail male. Lord Townsend, Master-General of the Ordnance resided there for some years after Sir Gregory Page's death, after which it was sold by auction together with its surrounding lands on 7 April I 783 by Messrs Christie and Ansell to Mr John Cator of Stumps Hill, near Beckenham for £22,550. This must be considered a bargain as the house cost Sir Gregory Page £90,000 to erect. Mr Cator evidently bought the property as a speculation since he, shortly afterwards, offered it to the Board of Ordnance. On I 6
::: OrdnanceJoumaI Book, PRO/WO/47/101, p. 297.
OrdnanceJoumal Book, PROfWO/47/ror, p. 316. 161 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/101, p. 420. 162 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/101, p. 560.
384
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
October I 783 Mr Wyatt, architect to the Board, was ordered to survey the property and estimate its value agreeable to the proposal made by Mr Cator to the Master-General. He was also instructed to make a plan of the house's surroundings. Mr Cator was told of this projected survey and was informed that the Board, upon receiving Mr Wyatt's report, would come to a definite conclusion as to purchase. The Board also told Mr Cator that they had no doubt that his offer was a reasonable one, but that, as they were acting for the public, they must first await the report from their own architect. The house was being seriously contemplated as the new home for the Royal Military Academy, which was becoming very cramped for room in the Warren.153
Lord Sheffield was then appointed Chairman of the Committee set up to consider the advisability of purchasing the property which had been offered to the Government for £18,100. Before this Committee reported, the whole project had been discussed in the House of Commons on r 2 December r783 when the Ordnance Estimates including the item in question was debated in committee. Arguments and counter-arguments were heard. Some considered it an excellent, economical and most necessary action, while others flatly dubbed it a waste of public money.154 On 18 December 1783, Lord Sheffield took the chair to consider the expediency ofacquiring the house, offices, gardens and 56 acres ofland for the Royal Military Academy, and it was decided to appoint a proper officer to lay before the said committee an account of all the savings, either ofimmediate expenditure or on annual establishment, which might be made by the purchase proposed according to the plan drawn up by the Board of Ordnance, and an estimate of the expense accruing from the purchase. The considerations of the Committee were to be laid before the H ouse of Commons.155
Lord Sheffield reported on 23 December I 783 and on that day the report was considered by the House. The main supporters of the Academy's move from the Warren were Lieut.-Colonel Benjamin Stehelin, the Lieutenant-Governor and MrJames Irwin, the SurgeonGeneral. Their main contentions were that the Warren was unhealthy, being too close to the Essex and Plumstead marshes, that the proximity ofWoolwich town was bad for the morals ofthe cadets, that arrangements for dealing with the sick were circumscribed,
153 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/102, p. 396.
154 Cobbett's History of Parliament, vol. 24, p. 120. The deb~te on 12 December 1 783 was quite inconclusive and the project was referred to a Committee of the whole House. It is quite wrong therefore for C. M. Clo<le in his Niilitary Forces of the Crown_, vol. II, P· 46_0 to give this reference as an authority for stating that the Go~ ~rnment did purc~ase Sir Gregory Page's house at Blackheath and that the Royal M1htary Academy did move
there from its old quarters in the Warren. 155 v\'arrants and Orders in Council, PR0/W0/55/376, P· 93, 18 December 1783. Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/102, p. 748, 19 December 1783.
385
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
d •t lf was too cribbed, cabined and confined ;~d that th:et~:iee:c:~/:hat the Warren in 1783 wa~ an unsuitabl~ ere can . . d The cadets slept five m a room the
Place for a military aca emy. d ld '
11 that only eight ea ets cou receive
lecture hall was so sma · · th h II ·
. . · the accommodat10n m e a was little
1nstruct10n at a time, · c: I .
t , hospital was far from sat1s1actory. t was quue
better and the eade s h I ifs· G
' did h romoters of the sc eme, t 1at ir regory true to say, as t et pbought some new building away from the
Page's house were no ' Warren would have to be erected. The follm~ ing financial statement was put forward:
SAVINGS AT WOOLWICH
Granted in the Estimates of I 78~ ~or a chapel £3,000 for bmldmgs £7,000 " " " " £4 200
Deduct for Sea storehouse ~-'-'_ Remains to be applied to the Academy £2,800
Allowances now made to ojftcers for /zouse rent
Inspector of Academy p.a £30 4 Masters of Academy at £ro p.a £ 40 Comptroller of Laboratory £60 Assistant Fire master £ 30
£r6o At £5%on a capital of £4,200 £10,000 Besides several other houses and offices to be applied to the Department of the Inspector of Artillery which will save £3,000 £ 13,000 Purchase of Sir G. Page's house and lands £ r8, roo
This statement was signed by Humphrey Minchin, Clerk of the Ordnance.
The savings at Woolwich were calculated on the assumption that if the Academy did move to Blackheath the buildings it would vacate in the Warren could be utilized as a chapel, storehouses etc. and thus save the estimated money for new building.
After the debate on 23 December I 783, the project was referred for further consideration to the Committee of the Supply granted to his Majesty.156 This seems to have been equivalent to postponing the whole question to the Greek Kalends, as no further mention of the subject appears in the Journal of the House ofCommons. As a result the
whole proposition came to nought and the Crown did not buy the property. It therefore suffered the fate meted out to most large houses which nobody wants. It was demolished in I 787, the Paragon and other houses being built on its site.
m Journal of the House of Commons, vol. 39, p. 850.
386
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Mr Bonnycastle was the mathematical master transferred from
the drawing office in the Tower. He joined in October I 782. In
January 1783, Michael Dorset, Esquire, a Warrant Inspector was appointed Inspector of the R.M.A. vice Captain George Smith, deceased. In May 1783, George Ware replaced John Ware as dancing master. The Civil Staff of the R.M.A. in I 783 was therefore:
Lieutenant-Governor (Colonel Benjamin Stehelin) ..... . .... . .............. .. .... £200 p.a. Professor of Fortification and Artillery
(Isaac Landmann) .. . .................... £200 p.a. Professor of Mathematics (Charles Hutton) .... £200 p.a. Mathematical Master (John Bonnycastle) ..... £roo p.a. Inspector of the Royal Military Academy
(Michael Dorset) . . ...... . ............... £200 p.a. Chief Drawing Master (Paul Sandby) .... .... £150 p.a. Drawing Master (Robert Davey) ............. £100 p.a. Fencing M aster (Joseph Mellard) ............ £100 p.a. French Master (Felix Hugonin) .... . ......... £roo p.a. Master for classics, writing and arithmetic
(William Green) ......................... £150 p.a. Dancing 1v1aster (George Ware) .............. £roo p.a. Clerk and Paymaster (Major Richard
Chapman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £45. r2s. 6d. p.a. Geor.ge Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £73. os. od. p.a.
M d 1 M l
o e are~ { . 6d
Thomas Powne . . . . . . . . . . . . £45. I 2s. • p.a.
In addition the Lieutenant-Governor received £50 p.a. in lieu of coals, candles and travelling and the Inspector £30 p.a. in lieu of the same services.
Captain Caroline F. Scott, who introduced the new unifor:11 for the cadets became Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company m January 1 783 vice Captain William Tiff en invalided. .
Little more remains to be told. This chapter does not claim to be a complete history of the Royal Military Academy between I 741 and 1806 when the Academy left the Warren for i~s ~ew building on the Common, such a history would fill a book m itself and far greater details are to be found in THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY. It merely offers some aspects of the early life of the Academy which had a bearing ?n the W?r:en wherein it was situated and supplies certain facts which are m1ssmg from other records.
The remaining items may be outlined briefly. d ts 157
2r July 1784. Cross belts instead ofwa1st · bets1 to be issue. d to ~a ~ 26 September 1785. Great coats for cadets' servants to be supplied. 58
167 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/104, P· 88.
158 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/106, P· 415·
387
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
April r786. Daniel Anderson becomes 2nd modeller vice Thomas
Po;;ie. 8 S I Short becomes I st modeller vice George Short. 23a{:i ;;87~~: Charles Hutton, Professor of Mathematics, allowed
159
£30 pa house rent aIIowance. . r6 Oc~ober r 787. I 28 pairs of fine sheets and I 2811ioairs of fine holster cases to be supplied for the use ofgentlemen cad_ets. r7 D ecember r787. Repairs to the R.M.A. costmg £107. I Is. 5d. to be
carried out.161 . . . Marclz Dr Allen Crawford appom:edL~ecturer 1nMch;mistry and
r788.
Mr Cruikshanks to be his assistant. Captam-ieuten3:nt . N._ Burslern to be Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company v1~e Cap tam Scott. Mrs Ann Roskinge to be housekeeper to the cadets vice Mrs Elizabeth
Mountney. . . IJ8g. Sergeant Richard Robinson to be Clerk to the Academy vice Major Chapman. I r February rJ8g. The cadet company to be attended by the surgeon, Royal Artillery.162 • . 2 oFebruary r789. Mr Gustavus Irwu~ appomt~d surgeon to the cadets.163 December r789. Mr Rouviere appomted assistant to the Professor of Fortification. 2 r November r790. Repairs to the R.M.A. costing £ 328. 4>. Id. This probably included the cost of a new dining hall and additional barrack accommodation which was commenced during the year.164 r5 November r79r. Mr Felix Hugonin, French Ivfaster at the R.M.A. to retire on I January 1792 with a pension of£75 p.a. To be succeeded by Mr Louis Catty on 1 January 1792, though his pay was to commence from 15 November 1792.165 22 June I792. Mr George Williams Phipps appointed Inspector R.M.A. vice Captain Michael Dorset deceased.166 On 7 December 1792 it was agreed that the rank of Captain should be conferred on ir Phipps; he was also to retain the post of Quarter-Master to the R oyal Military Academy.167 r3 September r792. Mr Charles Blumenheben appointed Assistant Professor of Fortification vice Mr Rouviere deceased, and to be paid the same allowance for house rent, coal and candles as his predecessor.IGS
The main changes ofstaff between I 792 and I 806 were as under:
April IJ93· Mr De Can, Assistant to Mr Catty, French Master. October IJ93· Joseph Barny, 2nd Drawing Master vice George Davey deceased.
::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/109, p. 860. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, p. 462. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, p. 813. Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/113, p. 320. 163 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/113, p. 359. ::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, p. 808. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/r 18, p. 510.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/119, p. 1061.
187
118 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/120, p. 564, 7 December 1792. OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/120, p. 27r.
388
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
February r794. Captain John Godfrey, Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet Company vice M. W. Burslem, retired. July r794. David Jolly, Assistant to Mr Catty, French Master vice l'vtr De Can, retired. January r795. Lieut.-Colonel William Twiss R.E. Lieutenant-Governor Vice Colonel Benjamin Stehelin, promoted. Jvlay r79(i.. Mr C. Fabrier, Assistant to Mr Catty, French Master, vice David Jolly, resigned. r796. Mr Cruickshanks, assistant to Dr Allen Crawford to be Lecturer
in. Chemistry vice Dr Crawford, deceased.
July r796. Mr Fabrier to be 2nd French Master.
January r797. Thomas Sandby, Chief Drawing Master vice Paul Sandby. Richard Robinson, clerk to the Academy, to be quarter-master. Richard Robinson, Junior, to be Clerk to the Academy vice his father promoted.
January r797. Captain J. Harris, Captain-Lieutenant cadet company vice Captain J ohn Godfrey, promoted. January r799. The Reverend Lewis Evans, master for classics, writing and arithmetic vice William Green, pensioned. January r8or. Captain "\!\Test, Captain-Lieutenant cadet company vice Captain J. H arris, promoted.
D ecember r802. Mr Thomas Evans, 1st Mathematical Assistant.
January r803. M r Olinthus Gregory, 2nd Mathematical Assistant. _,fr George Ware, Junior, Dancing master vice George Ware, pensioned. October r804. Foley Mascal, Clerk to the Academy vice Richard Robinson, deceased. Dr M'Culloch, Lecturer on Chemistry. r J uly r8o6. Mr S. H. Christie, 3rd Mathematical Assistant. Charles Martem ont de M alortie, 2nd Assistant for Fortification.
August r 8o6. David Anderson, 1st Clerk to the Academy vice Foley Mascal, retired. Charles Warren, 2nd French Master, Thomas Compton, Assistant drawing master for ground.
By a warrant dated r I September I 793,169 the cadet company was augmen ted by thirty gentlemen cadets, making ninety in all. Their pay was to be 2s. 6d. per diem.
There is an entry in the Ordnance Reports under date I o September I 800170 which seems to show that the masters at the Academy were paid on 'piece work'. Whether their salaries included a definite number of lectures and any additional lecture above that number entailed an 'over time' payment, or whether they received a fee for each lecture over and above their salary is not clear. The entry reads:
A report that MrJohn Geast, acting storekeeper paid Mr Blumenheben, Assistant Professor of Fortification at the Royal Military Academy for 2 1 7 attendances when the maximum number allowed by the Board was
2 10. The Board, being satisfied with the explanation given by Major
1o9 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/379, p. 248.
170 Ordnance Reports, PROfWO/55/48, f. 23.
389
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Phipps on behalf of Lieut.-Colonel T~iss, Lieut~nan~-Governor of the Royal Military Academy, on this occasi?n, auth0nzed the payi:nents, but 'd h h Id t be allowed m future unless the L1eutena
sa1 t at sue cou no · nt~
Governor represented that such additional attendances were necessary.
Gentlemen cadets were still wild. ?n 1_7 January 1 792 , a cadet was dismissed for presenting a fowlmg-piece a~ a young wornan. when returning from shooting on Sunday mornmg, on account of some abusive language she had uttered. He ~eclared he would shoot at her and did so, wounding her severely m the f~ce and breast. Twenty guineas were paid to the father to prevent him from takin.g
legal action. . In 1794 further regulations for supplymg candles to .the Royal Military Academy were announced. These were no do~bt Introduced in the interests of economy rendered necessary by the Increased cost of living brought about by the Napoleonic wars. The regulations were as follows :171
During the montlzs ofFebrua1y, March, April, August, September and October
Location Candles to the lb. lb. per week
24 barrack rooms-2 candles each 8 42
For the Chandeliers in the
passage-16 candles 8 14
For the Hall 16 candles to last 2 nights 8 7
For the housekeeper's use 8 5
T otal 68
During the months of November, December and January
24 barrack-rooms 2 candles each 6 For the Chandeliers in the passage r6 candles 6
r9
For the Hall 16 candles to last 2 nights 6
7
For the housekeeper's use 6
7 Total 89
During the months of May, June and July
24 barrack rooms-2 candles each to last 2 nights 8 21 For the chande1iers-r6 candles 8
7
For the Hall-r6 candles 8
7
For the housekeeper's use 8
3
Total 38
Candles are to be demanded in the above proportions for such rooms only as are actually inhabited and for the chandeliers in use. On]y half
171 Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series I, PRO/W0/47/2365, p. 603.
390
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
the above allowances for the hall and the housekeeper are to be demanded
during the vacations, and not any for the hall between 24 May and
18 July.
The demands for candles are to be made weekly by the housekeeper
and to be certified by the commanding officer previous to being supplied.
The candles for the hospital of the gentleman cadets to be supplied as
at present.
The supply of candles for the Academies to be discontinued, the Master
General having approved of a plan for carrying on the studies by day-light
only.
The Barrack-master to take charge of the candlesticks which were used
in the Academies and to issue them when wanted for the barracks of the
cadets.
These regulations to take place on r November r 794.
The regulations are endorsed:
28 October r794. Approved of the above regulations and ordered that they be established in future.
Science was on the march and medical arrangements benefited accordingly. For instance, an 'electrifying instrument' was installed in the Royal Artillery Hospital which also was the proud possessor of movable water-closets. The latter so impressed Lieut.-Colonel T,-viss, Lieutenant-Governor ofthe Royal Military Academy, that on 6 January I 795, he asked that a similar contrivance should be procured for the cadets' hospital. This was approved by the Board on 8 J anuary I 795 who ordered Mr Binns to provide that sanitary appliance.172
The increase in prices offood and other necessaries oflife at the end ofthe eighteenth century became a pressing problem; years ofwar had depreciated the value ofmoney. By 1800 Mrs Roskinge, housekeeper to the cadets, found it impossible to feed her charges on the statutory allowance of IS. a day per cadet which she was allowed. On 1 January I 800, therefore, the unfortunate cadet was stopped ½d. a day from his pay in order to close this dietary gap. Mrs Roskinge thus had 1s. } d. a day per cadet with which to play.173 This proved insufficient and so on 22 April 1800 it was ordered that 'Mrs Roskinge be allowed I d. a day from each cadet instead of the -½d. so long as the high price of provisions lasts'.174 No doubt, the cadet and his parents also felt the impact ofhigh prices, but the authorities decreed rhat any increase in feeding expenses were to be borne by them and not by the State.
The opening of the nineteenth century saw the commencement of the new Academy designed by Wyatt on Woolwich Common. By
172 Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series I, PRO/W0/47/2366, p. 99·
11a Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2568, p. 173.
174 Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2568, p. 443·
391
1805 it was nearing completion and on 22 March of that year the Cube House on the Common, near the new building, was purchased from Dr Hutton, Professor of Mathematics, and ordered to be converted into a hospital for gentlemen cadets. In August 1806, the new building was occupied though the accommodation it afforded was insufficient to house all the cadets. The lower barracks in the Warren were therefore retained, and 128 cadets moved up to the Common leaving sixty in the Royal Arsenal, as the Warren, had by then come to be called, where they remained till 1856 when the last
link between the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Arsenal was severed.
Here we take leave of these wild 'young gentlemen'; naturally by 1856 their general character had greatly improved and they were no longer the undisciplined company of young hooligans they had been a century earlier. Even a hundred years ago, however, the
cadet was by no means a plaster saint. He was still full of mischief and Jacked the sense of decorum which a later and more sedate epoch has imposed on his present-day successor. The subsequent pilgrimage of the R.M.A. cadet is, however, another story.
392
Chapter I I
The Warren I750-I775
Notwithstanding Clive's campaign in India and the sense of disquiet which troubled the civilized world during the period of European peace which separated the War ofthe Austrian Succession :from the outbreak of the Seven Years War, the second half of the eighteenth century opened unobstrusively in the Warren. No great change marked its advent and few innovations disturbed the rhythm of the future arsenal.
The first building to require attention was the armoury, that workshop wherein the fire-arms of the Artillery and the gentlemen cadets were maintained in working order. This, during the course of time, had become too cramped to deal satisfactorily with the increasing quantity of weapons which periodically came forward for repair. Structural alterations therefore became pressing. To save expense, however, Mr Hayter on 13 February 1750 submitted a cheeseparing estimate of £20. rs. od. to the Board. He suggested lath and plaster for the roof and, as a substitute for widening the stairs which experience had shown to be too narrow for effective use, a sack for lowering the muskets at an additional cost of£11. 6s. 8d.1 This estimate, whatever its merit of cheapness, proved unrealisable in practice though it was accepted by the Board on 27 February r 7 50.2 On a warrant dated 27 February 1750, James Morris, master carpenter, put the work in hand but found that he had perforce to remove the old staircase, build a wider one and put up new racks. How much these alterations increased the bill is impossible to say as Morris's account for £236. 6s. 2¾d. included repairs to store~ouses, dwelling houses the guardhouse and the infirmary, all of which he
' 3N h.
carried out on a further warrant dated 18 May 1750. or wast 1s the end ofthe matter. A year later, on a warrant dated 14 May 1751 , he had to lower the armoury floor and lengthen the racks. This additional work, together with other sundry repairs about the Warren, were effected between I July and 31 Dece~ber 1751 at a cost of £324. 2s. 1-½d.4 One is faced with the conclusion, there~ore, that the careful estimate ofMr Hayter must have been ove_r-cautl~u~.
Not only did the armoury itself show signs of d:cay, its ~dnumstrative integrity seems to have deteriorated pan passu with the
_i Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/35, P· 108. 2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/35, P· 150. Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO[WO/51/175, P· 120, 31 December 175°·3 4 Ordnance Bill Book'. Series n'. PRO[WO/51/176, p. 156, 31 December 1751·
27 393
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
building. Mr Marrow, the armourer, found guilty of improper practices, was ordered to be discharged on 5 May .1 75°: In addition the conduct of the clerks, who had collaborated with him, was to b~ closely scrutinized.s Mr Hartwell was asked to. recommend a new armourer and on 2 June 1750, Solomon Spittle suc_ceeded Mr
G s:1,z'ttle and Marrow queer names but not so weird as som
Marrow. r ' Id O d e.
One ofthe most curious features about the o r nance documents · th oddness ofsome ofthe names ofthe seventeenth and eighteenth
is e d h' ·
centuries. They certainly strike the mo ern.ear as w. imsical to a degree. For instance, a Warren. labourer m the . rruddle _of the eighteenth century bore the peculiar name of 1:felclzzaz ~ek Misery.
On 22 September 1749, the officers at Woolw1ch, having suggested that the piece ofground beyond the Laboratory wall where the piles of 42 and 32 pdr shot stood should be enclosed as an additional shot-yard, the Surveyor-General was instructed to ascertain the best
locality.1 Arising out of this, it was agreed that a new shot-pound should be built at once,8 and that Mr Hayter's estimate of £ 56. 1Bs. 3d. less £8 for the painti~g, shou!d be accepted. Warrants were issued for the work to be earned out.
Transport ofguns and stores in the Warren was now carried out by indirect labour under a contractor, and in 1750, the SurveyorGeneral came to the conclusion that the current contract was
exorbitant. On 22 June of that year, therefore, it was approved that a new seven-year contract for furnishing four horses and drivers for his Majesty's service in the Warren and Royal Brass Foundry should be advertised in the Gazette and other public papers.10 The terms of the
new contract were to be as follows:
(a)
The contractor to provide, maintain and keep four strong, able draught horses with harness.
(b)
The drivers to be ready for service at his Majesty's stables in the Warren.
(c)
Should the four horses not be required, the Board may at their discretion reduce the number on giving three months' notice.
(d)
Carts and carriages to be furnished by the Board.
(e)
The contractor to have the use of his Majesty's stables and to cut the hay near them. He may carry away the manure for his own use.
(f)
Payment to be made to the contractor by bill and debenture according to the normal custom of the office.
On 24 July 1750, William Hallick, master scavelman obtained
on behalf of himself, Mrs Ann Withers, Thomas Hunt 'and Peter
Harwood, the contract for horses at the Warren for seven years. : OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PRO/WO/47135, p. 347. OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PRO/WO/47135, p. 450. : OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PROJWO/471
• OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/4713345, . p. 319.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/35, p. 328, 25 April 1750.10 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47135, pp. 518, 519_
394
THE WARREN 1750-1775
When the horses were mustered in the Warren, Mrs Ann Withers
was to be discharged.11
A good deal of trouble now arose with Mr James Pattison,12 the owner ofthe Burrage Estate in Plumstead, which he had acquired by his marriage with Miss Mary Maxey. He was then about seventy-four years old and possibly advancing years had made him cantankerous and autocratic. On 27 November 1750, Mr Hayter reported to the Board that Mr Pattison, in order to supply part of the town of Woolwich with water, was digging a conduit in a field of his just below, and within a few yards of, the conduit which the Board had built at great expense to furnish the Warren with water. There was nothing underhand in this operation and Mr Pattison expressed the opinion quite openly that if he found water he might well jeopardize the Warren supply. This threat naturally caused a great deal of perturbation and the Board ordered all papers relating to the purchase of the Warren and the piece of ground containing the conduit in 'Cholick Lane' to be investigated at once.13 A further
report by Mr Hayter on 30 November 1750, informed the Board that Mr Pattison had refused to suspend his excavations, that he maintained that the ground was his and that he could, and would do what he liked with his own property. Mr Pattison also claimetl that the field where the Board's conduit lay belonged to him. He asserted that the Board had merely rented it and that the lease had expired. With the air of a grand seigneur he refused to defer to the wishes of the Board in any way and was prepared to face the
consequences of his action. On receipt of this communication the Board at once referred the whole matter to Mr Lough, their solicitor, for his consideration and opinion as to what steps could be taken to put a stop to Mr Pattison's proceedings.14
In the meantime, Mr Hayter had been making enquiries on his own about the conduits at the Warren from the oldest inhabitants at Woolwich. From them he learned that formerly the Warren, the conduit field and the Burrage estate all belonged to the same individual, and that the Board had exchanged the gunwharf, which lay higher up in the town, for the Warren, upon which stood a very old mansion housei5 on a spot now occupied by the storekeeper's residence. M r H ayter was told, too, that the mansion was supplied with water by leaden pipes from the conduit which had since become the property of the Office of Ordnance. Later on, as the number of buildings in the Warren increased, the old pipes had been replaced by others of a large diameter at the Board's expense. As
11 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 49. 12 General James Pattison belonged to this family. He was born at Burrage Court. 13 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 356. 14 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/36, p. 365. 15 Tower Place.
395
BIRTH AN D CHILDHOOD
the Ordnance wharf (i.e. gunwharf) had by this tim~ become part of Mr Maryon's estate, whose steward w~s Mr Furms, storekeeper of the Greenwich magazine, the latter was mstructed to ask Mr Maryon whether he could throw any further light on the matter. Meanwhil Mr Pattison, still undaunted, continued to pursue his damagine,
operations whereby the Board's water supply was ~educ_ed by half.i~
On 11 December 1750, Mr Lough submitted his opinion on th 'Pattison Conduit Case'. ~e said he understood that the . Boar~ possessed no title deeds relatmg to the Warren and the conduit field but there was in existence an old abstract made at least as early a~ 1725 in which 'a conveyance by way of feofment (and therefor
probably not enrolled for ifit is it might be come at) dated 25 Marc~ 1676 is recited whereby it appears that 1:"ower_ ~lace (now called Woolwich Warren) was conveyed by S1r Wilham Prichard ·
M . 1nf h.
consideration of £3,210 to the use o 1s aJesty, his heirs and successors for ever, and it is very probable that the conduit field wa included in that conveyance for that he is told that Mr Pattiso~ derives his title to this estate as well as the Crovvn doth for th
reasons above from Sir William Prichard'.17 Mr Lough went on t~ say that 'it appears from the conveyance of 25 March 1676, that as the Crown is possessed of the Warren absolutely for ever it is probable (as Sir William Prichard was possessed not only ~f the Warren and conduit field, but also of Mr Pattison's estate) that the conduit field also belongs ~bsolu~ely to the Crown without paying any reserved rent or other cons1deration, and not as Mr Pattison suggests'. After more legal arguments Mr Lough brought his submission to an end. H~ was instructed to refer the w~ol~ cas_e to. the AttorneyGeneral without delay and to carry out his directions 1mmediately.1s
On 29 January r75r an injunction from the Court of Exchequer was served on Mr Pattison to stop his attempts to draw off water from the conduit and_ the Warr~n. Th_e Board, in announcing this, told Mr Lough that if Mr Pattison still persisted with his scheme
further application to the Court with the privity of the Attorney~ General was to be made as thought desirable.19 As there are no furt~er references to this somewhat high-handed action of Mr
Patason, we may ass~me that_ at last he bowed to the majesty of the Law and ceased makmg a nmsance of himself.
Wbil~ the action against MrJames Pattison was proceeding, steps were bemg taken by the authorities to deal with a scandal of the first_ magnitude, the illicit selling of stores to Mr Samuel Remnant, the iron-founder, whereby the Crown was cheated of over £10,000.
It was fraud on the grand scale in which the elements of conspiracy :: OrdnanceJournal Book, PR_(?/W0/47/36, pp. 385, 386. Chapter 6 has made the posllwn quite dear. Jt 18 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47;36, p. 415. Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47;37, p. 107.
396
THE WARREN 1750-1775
"vere not lacking. Nothing comparable had ever happened before in
tl-:ie history of the Warren, and the Office of Ordnance naturally
tC>ok a very serious view of this nefarious transaction.
Mr Remnant, a master smith, had his foundry at Woolwich between Bell Watergate and Surgeon Street. He had many contacts vv-ith the Board, and contributed much in the way of iron-work to th_e construction of the Warren. Although a private founder, who C(:::mtracted to supply the Crown and foreign princes with ordnance cl.:nd shot, he was more of an agent than a manufacturer and acted i~ the former capacity for some of the largest gun-founders in the Weald, notably John Fuller of Heathfield, Sussex, and John Legas
O:f Wadhurst.20 Many hundreds of guns passed through his hands on their way to proof at Woolwich. He was thus a man in a big way
O:f business.
The first indication that things were amiss was revealed by Mr L eslie in a letter to the Board dated 3 June 1749. Arising from this, ~harles Frederick, who was appointed Surveyor-General on 10 A.pril 1750, was instructed to investigate and report on the whole n:-iatter. His long and comprehensive report, dated 11 October 1750, is in the Public R ecord Office21 and it goes meticulously into all the ramifications of the plot. There were defalcations in regard to Mr ~ emnant's guns perpetrated by Mr Monger, and there were n:-ialpractices concerning 'round-shot, double-headed hammered shot, tampions, shells, hand shells, oblong carcases, swivells, standing carriages, ships' carriages, the repair of ships' carriages and ax-tree hoops'. The abstract of losses incurred by the Office of Ordnance as shown by this report for which all the Respective Officers were equally culpable was:
£. s. d.
(a)
On old guns delivered to Mr Remnant 375 13 2i-4
(b)
On the deficiency of weight and loss ofmetal on round shot 2,146 16 5¾
(
c) On round shot certified above their natures 25 3 6½
(d)
On double-headed hammered shot 232 19 2 (e) On tampions 1,708 3 0
(f)
On shells from 12¾ inches to s½ inches both inclusive 1,648 3 5¼
(g)
On hand shells 8 14 I l (h) On oblong carcases 20 16 8 (i} On swivels 573 12 s¾
(j)
On ironwork for binding standing carriages 156 II 9½
(k)
On ironwork for binding ships' carriages 2,766 17 0
(1)
On repairing ships' carriages 7°7 3 10} Total loss: £10,370 15 7¼
20 Woolwicl1 and District Antiquarian Society, vol. xxix, p. 34, F. C. Elliston-Erwood. 21 PRO/W0/55/1548 (14).
397
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
It the old story of the unjust steward. The storekeeper and the c~;~s of the cheque and the survey had all been previously . l · They appear to have been unt
reprimanded for ma practices. . rust~
t d had they been more severely pumshed when
worthy servan s, an . . they first shewed signs of deceit this nefarious transaction might
have been avoided. .
Charles Frederick suggests that certam questions be
In his report, . h . put to the Respective Officers at Woolwic ·
(I)
Why did not your storekeeper acquaint the Board with Mr Monger's fraud? d ·
(II)
Have not the Resp~ctive ?fficers a?ntedate all certifications on warrants to the great discredit of this Office• . .
(III) Do the weights in the Day Books agree with those certified on the warrants? .
(IV) Why did your Respective Officers certify and receive shot
whose weight exceeded their natures when they know they never weighed any? . .
(V)
Did not the Office pay for crutches, elevatmg pms, chains etc. both by weight and tale? . . ,
(VI)
Why did not the storekee~er charge hunself with the swivells' for half-pounder guns? And why d~d not the clerks of the survey and cheque see him duly charged therewith ?
(VII) Are their books in anywise as office bo?ks should be? Do not their entries disagree? Have they regularl_y transrrutted to the Board their accounts of receipts and issues and in due time obtained all their proper discharges agreeable to their instructions?
(VIII) Are there not at this time proportions wanting to di,;charge the storekeeper of issues for some years past, and even after his accounts of issues for those years concluded to be adjusted ?
(IX)
Has not your storekeeper charged frequently for travelling when he never did travel?
(X)
What is become of the 136 24 pdr tampions deficient in a warrant to Mr Remnant bearing date 16 December 1740 and certified 30 June 1742?
(XI)
What is become of the 4,697 5½ inch shells certified on a warrant dated 3 1 March 1745 ? Likewise the 1,321 g! inch shells certified 31 January 1745?
(XII) Why did your clerk ofthe survey and clerk ofthe cheque charge on the repairing ship carriages, old iron work repaired and new iron work added when they were both fictitious articles? And why did not your
storekeeper do his duty by examining these quarterly bills?
(XIII) Why has Mr Twynihoe had the sole management of the warrants, and why did the storekeeper and he certify several bills for extra service to Captain Ayres when Mr Leslie did refuse to certify the same
having strong suspicions that they were false?
The report is endorsed:
r5 March r75r. Ordered that a copy of the quenes be sent to the
398
THE WARREN 1750-1775
Respective Officers to answer them as soon as they can, and they have leave, if they desire it, to take a copy of the whole report upon their sending some one for that purpose to do it at the Office at the Tower, but not to take it out. This report to be minuted at length.
In the Journal Books under date 15 March 1751, appears this entry:
Read this day the Surveyor-General's report on how certain officers sold stores etc. to Mr Remnant-the iron-founder-so that a loss of £10,370. I 5s. 7¼d. was sustained by the Board. Thirteen questions put to Officers as to how to regain the whole or part of this sum. Mr Leslie commended for his diligence in assisting the discovery.22
On 26 June 1751, the Board finally considered the Woolwich report concerning this conspiracy.23 They agreed the following resolutions:
(i)
The Board being greatly defrauded by Mr Remnant, Mr Lough, solicitor, to take counsel's opinion as to how to proceed to obtain satisfaction.
(ii)
T he storekeeper to be told that he had incurred the highest displeasure, but in regard to his age and infirmities and hurry of business, and as no fraud has been fixed on him, the Board do not proceed to that severity his offences require.
(iii) Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey, to be reprimanded for his negligence in the execution of his duty and to be cautioned to be extremely careful in future.
(iv)
Mr Twynihoe, clerk of the cheque, having misled the o~he~ officers, has ? een the principal instigator of the frauds. He is to be d1srmssed the service.
(v)
The Surveyor-General to be thanked for his great services and pains he took in the enquiry.
The aftermath of this disgraceful episode was a changeover of
appointments. The only official among the Respective Officers who
weathered the storm was Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey, who
retained his appointment till February 1790.
The following appointments were duly made:24
Mr John Cockburn, to be storekeeper at Woolwich vice
Mr George Campbell, superannuated with effect from I July 1751.
Mr John Parr, to be clerk of the cheque at Woolwich vice
Mr John Twynihoe, dismissed the service, with effect from I July 1751.
Mr Francis Stephens, to be extra clerk at Woolwich vice
Mr John Parr, with effect from I July I 7 5 l •
Mr Edward Nickson, to be clerk to the Royal Laboratory vice
22 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/37, P· 265.
23 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/37, P· 62 1 •
24 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, p. 49, 12 July 1751•
399
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Mr Edward Wilkes appointed clerk of the survey at Chatham, With effect from I October I 751. Mr John Leslie to be supernumerary clerk in the Surveyor-Genera}' branch vice Mr Edward Nickson, with effect from I October I 75 I. s
The Board, in its gratitude, awarded_ Mr J:oh:1 Leslie an honorarium of twenty guineas for his part m brmging the 'Remnant frauds' to light.
The last act in this drama is recorded m the Journal Books as follows:25
8 March I 753. Received fro:11 SirJosep~ Ayl~sse a ~opy ofhis_ Majesty's writ of Privy Seal dated 6th mst. by which lus Majesty for hnnself, his heirs or successors, in consideration of the sum of£10,370. r5s. 7d. being paid by Stephen Remnant, Executor_and Sa~ah Redwoo_d, Executrix of the late Samuel Remnant, Master-smith to this Office, bemg so much b
him fraudulently received, doth effectually acquit, indemnify, exonera/ and discharge the estate and effects of the said Samuel R emnant and the persons, estates and effects ofhis said ~xecutor and Executrix, their heirs: executors and administrators of all claim and demands whatsoever, both
in Law and Equity.
Samuel Remnant died at Brentwood in Essex on I I April 1752 and was buried in Woolwich Churchyard.
There is little ofmoment to record during the n ext ten years, such events as occurred being the daily happenings in a small establishment devoted to manufacture, proof and storekeeping. There was no increase in factory capacity and the only new buildings erected
in the Warren were those connected with storage. The Bill Books change their character after the middle of the eighteenth century. No longer do they afford the meticulous detail whereby the historian can depict the development ofthe Warren, and without such information it is difficult to present a composite picture. Under the new system the amounts paid quarterly to the various master craftsmen for th~ work they did in the foundry, laboratory or in the Warren as a
whole, are merely stated without any attempt to specify its nature. From the sums involved it is evident that maintenance was a growing charge, although some new construction of a minor type must have
taken place. On I August 1751,John English, assistant to Mr Robert Hartwell and overseer of the carpenters and wheelers at Woolwich wrote to the Board as~ng that he and his family might have the use of
several rooms 1n the upper part of the turret. With what success we
are not told. 26 The next day the Respective Officers reported that the
turret clock needed repair.27 The repairs were duly carried out by
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/41, p. 230. 17 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, p. 102, 2 August r75r. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, p. r r4, 2 August r75r.
400
THE WARREN 1750-1775
John Barston at a cost of £2. gs. od., eight shillings of which went
to the rope-maker for a new piece of rope. In addition, Mr Barston
claimed 6s. for his travelling time to and from Woolwich. On 29
C)ctober r 7 5 I, the Respective Officers affirmed that the clock was in. working order.28 On 8 October 1751, it was ordered that the office boat at Woolwich should be reconditioned at a cost of £5, no repairs on her having been effected since she was built in 1746.29 The estimates for works and repairs at Woolwich and Greenwich for I 752, amounting to £2,288. 15s. 8d., were referred to the SurveyorG-eneral.30
Another burst at proof occurred in the late autumn of 1751. When 157 guns for the East India Company were being proved at Woolwich, two of them burst causing a large hole and breaking a rafter in N ew Square. In addition, the wall of the New Square and the tiling of the Land Storehouse were much damaged. Since these guns were being proved on behalf of a contractor, he was held to be responsible for the occurrence, so Mr Hayter was instructed to assess the damage and charge it to Mr Sone, the gun-founder concerned.3i
To indicate the scope of proof which was now taking place at Woolwich, two statements, one referring to merchants' iron ordnance and the other to brass guns, are appended. These give the figures from the spring of I 750 to the early summer of 1753.
Before the days of McAdam the roads in the Warren must have been little better than cart-tracks, and, carrying the heavy traffic they did, tended to become little better than quagmires in winter. The ordinary road in the eighteenth century was nothing to boast of, and the Warren thoroughfares conveying numerous guns in springless drugs and carts, must in rainy weather have defied description. No vvonder therefore that we read 'Owing to the road at the Vvarren Gate being so deep and dirty in winter so that men frequently fall in and spoil their clothes on going to the barracks, the Respective Officers were ordered to set up two lamps at the gate and keep them in order for the six winter months only.'32 In order to put this into effect, M r Hartwell was ordered to prepare the iron-work for the two lamps and to search for two unserviceable guns to act as lampposts.33 This initial effort in lighting did not apparently last very long for eighteen months later two new lamps of 12 inches diameter were affixed to the piers of the gate at the entrance to the Warren to replace the former pair which had in the meantime become unserviceable.34
28 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 287. :?o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 218. :io Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 279, 29 October 1751. :ii Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 453, 13 December 1751. :i3 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 19, 7 January 1752. :i3 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 62, 17 January 1752. :H Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, p. 95, 14 August 1753·
401
'
:
'
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
STATEMENT i:35
z t w iron ordnance proved and received at Woolw. h
An account oiftrze z merc,zan ne J, zc
from I9 Marc/z I750 to 9 une I753
NatureWizen proved
32 pdrs 24 pdrs16 & 17 18 pdrsMarch 1750 g pdrs
6 pdrs
1
r8 pdrs 12 pdrs
21 & 22 g pdrs
May 1750 [ 6 pdrs
18 pdrs
12 pdrs
24July 1750
Number
5 27 38 7 7
38
To wlzom they belong
Mr John Fuller
Mr William Bowen William Bowen and Messrs Crowie Mr Sone y
Mr Sone
Messrs Andrews and Harrison
Messrs Crowley
7
I Messrs Crowley 6 Messrs Crowley
{Mr Sone, Mr John Fuller
28
Messrs Andrews and Harrison {Messrs Andrews and H arrison
26 Mr Sone, Mr John Fuller Messrs CrowleyMr Sone
3
Messrs Crowley
3 {MrJohn Fuller
29
Messrs Andrews and Harrison Mr John Fuller
9 18 Mr John Fuller
{Mr John Fuller
17
Messrs Andrews and Harrison {Mr John Fuller
27
Mr William Bowen 14 Mr John Fuller
{MrJohn Fuller
17
Messrs Andrews and Harrison{MrJohn Fuller
27
Mr William Bowen 14 Mr John Fuller
II Mr John Fuller Mr John Fuller
7 15 Mr John Fuller
32 Mr William Bowen and Mr Sone
6 Mr Sone
24 Mr William Bowen
15 June 1751 ½pdrs ro6 Mr John Fuller
u Ord.nanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/42, p. 27, 14July 1753. 402
THE WARREN 1750-1775 STATEMENT 1 (continued)
When proved Nature Number To whom they belong
17August 1750
14January to 23 February 1751
14January
to
23 February 1751
21 & 23 March 1751
g pdrs 6 pdrs
[ 18 pdrs
g pdrs 6 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs 6 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs 6 pdrs
{
4 pdrs 3 pdrs
½pdrs
{24 pdrs
2 & 4 May 1751 18 pdrs 12 pdrs
5 & 8 August 1751
I I & 12 October 1751
I 7 January 1752
20 & 23 May 1752
6 & 7 August r 752
10 & I I August 1752
28 & 30 M ay 1753
6 & 8 June 1753
rpdrs
24 pdrs
18 pdrs
{ 32 pdrn
24 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs
12 pdrs
{ 24 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs
{ 18 pdrs
12 pdrs
r
18 pdrs 12 pdrs 9 pdrs
{32
12 pdrs 12 pdrs 6 pdrs
{ 24 pdrs
18 pdrs 12 pdrs 9 pdrs
Mr John Fuller
9 {Mr Sone l I Mr William Bowen 42 Mr John Fuller
Mr John Fuller
9
Mr William Bowen
9 32
Mr John Fuller 26 Mr Sone
6 Mr William Bowen
{Mr William Bowen
27
Mr Sone 21 Mr William Bowen 19
Mr Sone
{Mr William Bowen 34
Mr John Fuller {Mr Sone
19
Mr William Bowen
Mr John Fuller Mr John Fuller
29
3
Mr Sone
7
10 Mr John Fuller
18 Mr John Fuller Mr Sone
14 12 Mr William Bowen
2 Mr John Fuller
6 Mr William Bowen Mr Sone
5 2 Mr Sone
Mr Sone
29 Total: 895 guns
Upon being superannuated, Mr George Campbell, the late storekeeper, was given an allowance of £100 for life paid quarterly. At first sight this seems to have been a generous action.on the pa~t of the Board towards an old public servant who, unhke Caesars wife had not been above suspicion. Magnanimity, however, fades into' the background when it is realized that this 'pension' was granted mainly at the expense of Mr John Cockburn, the new
36
storekeeper, whose salary was cut to £15 per quarter. The latter
36
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/39, P· 83, 23January 1752· 4o3
II37
STATEMENT
Tile statement of brass ordnance, mortars etc. proved al Woolwich between r7 March r750 and 23 July r753
111/un proved Nature Number To whom they belong
Received 24 Much { 24 pd,s I I 1750 but does not 3 pdrs 6 state when they 1½pdrs 3
were proved 2
17 March r750 6 pdrs 8 inch mortars 5 10 & r r May I 750 {5½ inch mortars JO
Mr Andrew Schaich,
4} inch mortars 7
i.e. the pieces were 4
made in the 'Royal12 pdrs
rpd,s 7
Brass Foundery'
ro & 11 May 1750 6 pdrs 6 3 pdrs 6 r½ pdrs 2
23 February 1751 41 inch mortars 2
11 May 1751 8 inch howitzers 4 12 October 1751 3 pdrs 2 23 May 1752 8 inch howitzers 2
14 April 1753 6 pdrs 4 Mr v\ illiam Bowen
8 & 13June 1753 ½pdrs 14 Mr Richard Gilpin
Total: 97 pieces
did not recover his full rate of pay till r July 1756 , hen it was arranged that Mr Campbell should in future be paid by bill and debenture.38
Theft now again reared its ugly head in the Warren which was still accessible to the public who during the hours of darkness could avoid the watch, pilfer and escape. This time it was 'deals' which were disappearing, and Mr Hayter was ordered to survey and report on the best method ofenclosing the Warren. A reward of£5 was offered to anyone who could discover the thief or his accomplices upon conviction of the person who stole the timber.39 Mr Hayter put forward four methods of safe-guarding the Warren, and these were passed to the Surveyor-General on 18 February 1752.40 As a result, Joseph Pratt repaired and raised the Warren Wall between r January 1752 and 30June 1752 on a warrant dated 5 June 1752.41
37 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, p. 88, 14 August 1753. 18 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/48, p. 218, g September 1756. 11 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 108, 4 February 1752. co Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 138, 18 February 1752. '1 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, p. 140, 30June 1752.
4°4
THE WARREN 1750-1775
The storekeeper's house now required painting and this was carried out at a cost of £47. 18s. 2d.42
The Board at this time appeared to become very 'mark' conscious, a precaution no doubt necessitated by the occurrence of petty thefts. The Proofmaster General of England was instructed to inscribe the symbol ::tvI on all guns proved or refused,43 and Mr Robert Hartwell was ordered to see that a Broad Arrow was struck immediately on every tool belonging to the Board in the temporary possession of Mr Whittaker, modeller to the Royal Academy at Woolwich.44
On 11 August 1752, the Board ordered the construction of a floor in the Laboratory store-room No. 14 to hold empty chests, grape-shot etc. at a cost of £32. gs. 4d. They also arranged for bins to hold iron tampions and pins to be fitted in the same room for £7. 9s. 5d.46 On 7 September 1753> Mr Hayter was told to ascertain the best site and draw up a plan and estimate for a small powder magazine to hold fifty or sixty barrels of powder. He was to insert the same in his estimate for the following year.46 In 1754, £120 was allowed for the service and the powder magazine was ordered to be built.46 John Shakespear dug the foundations on a warrant dated 28 May 1754.47 Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill did the brickwork on the same warrant48 and]arnes Morris fitted out the magazine on a later warrant dated 24 June 1755.49 On 15 May 1754, the office boat was ordered to be repainted,60 while a month later a shed in the shot-yard was converted into a wash-house and brewhouse at a cost of£23. 12s. od.51
A considerable amount of entertaining took place at the Board Room in Woolwich. Meals were constantly being served there to officials and other visitors whose duties necessitated journeys to the Warren. The Board did not experience the tribula6on of breakages since china was not used for the table, nevertheless the eighteenth century counterpart of the modern kitchen-man could, with comparative ease, dent and batter the pewter dinner service. On 25 June 1754, therefore, the Board came to the conclusion that their equipment required replenishing, so the storekeeper was ordered to purchase twelve napkins, eighteen knives and forks of the design in current use, and two floor mats, one 4 by 6 yards and the other 4 by 3 yards. In
42 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 209, 10 March 1752. 43 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/40, p. 113, II August 1752. 44 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/40, p. 141, 3 October 1752. 45 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, p. 145, 7 September 1753. 46 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/43, p. 279, 15 May 1754· 47 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 130, 31 December 1754. 48 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 92, 30June 1754· 411 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 156, 30June 1755. 60 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/43, p. 287. 61 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/43, p. 372, 25June 1754.
4o5
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
addition Mr Hayter was instructed to have a Jack case and Plate ' d Mrjames Walker, the master plumber, was told t
rack made, an b d o
.d ter d1·shes plates, ladles, oats an spoons. AU th
prov1 e pew , • h l B d' A e
. l to be engraved wit t 1e oar s rms exc
pewter art1c es were . B d ept
h. h e to be marked with the roa Arrow.s2
the spoons w 1c wer 11
On 13 November 1754, Mr R~bert Hartwe ~eported to the Board that the conditions under which the carpente1s and wheelers who repaired carriages at Woolwich, ,~orked were very ~ad: Thei;
• d out 1·n two of the carnage storehouses :& . onting the
work was carne river, and in winter the doors had_ to be left open to _obtain sufficient light to perform their duties. Tlus made the prerms~s so cold that they were unable to do their job. He suggested t~1at if a shed Were erected on the north side ofthe call-yard on :ach side of the armoury door working conditions would be much improved, and the men would be nearer the smiths. This would free much more room for storing carriages and wou~d allow the Warren to present a mo~e tidy appearance; also the carnages woul_d not ha:7e to be stacked m the open. He pointed out that, should his suggest10n be approved, there would be room to build an enclos_ed shed to house the carriages awaiting repair and to store the old iron work ~aken from broken-up carriages until it could be handed over to the st~rekeep r. Mr Hartwell also reported that the storekeeper would like one of the small offices, formerly used, in lieu of the room he now had in the turret, as the office he desired was in the call-yard near the place where the proposed shed should stand. These proposals were referred to the Surveyor-General.53 On 19 August 1755, Mr Robert Hartwell was instructed to prepare a plan and estimate of·his proposals and lay them before the Surveyor-General. It was agreed that he should have one of the old unoccupied offices and hand over the key of the room in the turret.54 The estimate of£125. ,µ. od. for building two sheds for the carpenters and wheelers was approved, and the work was ordered to be carried out.55 It was effected by Mr James Morris between r October and 31 December r 755 on a warrant dated 24 June 1755.56 On 9 March 1756, Mr Hayter's estimate for a shed to house the contractor's additional horses was approved and the work was ?rdered to be put in hand.57 On rg March 1756, M r Hayter was Instruc~ed to esti1:1ate the cost of a windlass for stretching rope before It was cut Into breechings.58 He submitted his estimate on
:: OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47;43, p. 372. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/44, p. 271.
6 : OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/46, p. 175.
6 66 OrdnanceJC?umal Book, PRO/W0/47/46, p. 277, 24 September 1755. Ordnance Bill Book, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 179, 31 December 1755.
67 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/47, p. 246.
68 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47;47, p. 292.
406
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 March 1756 amounting to £13. gs. 4d. and the necessary appliance was constructed.59
The turret clock was evidently unsatisfactory as a time-keeper. It was probably old and partially worn out. Mr Elliott was ordered to repair it again at the end of I 754 but it still failed to give the service required.6°Finally, on 20July 1757, the Respective Officers, in view of its shortcomings, asked for a sun-dial to be erected near the parade so that by its means the turret clock could be regulated. 61 The clock with the turret in which it was placed, has long since passed away, but the dial is still proudly displayed over the entrance of the Artificers' Court which, as a result, became known as Dial Square. Its primary purpose has disappeared and no one in these days accords the dial that attention which it once deserved. Nevertheless, it is a graceful reminder of a less strenuous age and long may it continue to add a touch of old-world elegance to the doorway over which it presides.
On 23 August 1756, Mr Hayter's estimate of £502. Is. 7d. for building a storehouse and offices in the Upper Laboratory yard was accepted, but the work was ordered to be postponed till the following year.62 It was then duly carried out on a warrant dated I June 1756 during 1757 when James Morris received £256. os. 1¾d. in part payment for his share of the work.63
The outbreak of war with France on 28June 1756 quickened the manufacturing tempo in the Warren. On 19 November 1756, the Comptroller, Royal Laboratory, having signified that there were only enough fire-ship stores to equip five fire-ships, he was ordered to produce sufficient for three additional fire-ships as soon as possible, and to arrange that in future twelve portfires were to be added to the proportion of stores for each fire-ship.64 The same stimulus doubtless was responsible for the order to Mr Hayter to repair the wharf roads and other parts of the Warren as expeditiously and effectively as possible.65 Supplies in this time of stress could not be wasted so, as the wood from old carriages was utilized in the making of grape-shot bottoms and other purposes, the storekeeper was to be allowed seven guineas a year, and the clerks ofthe cheque and survey each five guineas annually, in lieu for firing. 66
Mr Cockburn the storekeeper was a careful man. He refrained
' '
from buying the dozen napkins which he had been instructed to do on 25 June 1754 because he found that such articles could be
69 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/47, P· 336. 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/44, p. 331, 6 December 1754· 61 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/50. 62 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, p. 170. 63 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, P· 234, 31 December 1757. 64 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/48, p. 496. 65 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/48, p. 252, 23 September 1756. 66 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, p. 218, 9 September 1756.
4o7
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
"udiciousl made by cutting up table-cloth~ which had ceased to J h Y e for which they were designed. On 2 7 Janua serve ~ e_~urposd the Board that the linen for the Board Room ,,/Y I 7 5 7' e Ih orme 1 ge and two small table-cloths were torn by thas
so worn .t at one ar h d d fifi e
. d h hung up to dry. He therefore a ma e teen napkin
w1n w en h. · 67 s
out of them. He was commende~ for is action. . the Respective Officers, havmg stated that th
0 n 14 JuIy I 757' . W L d h e
k I d" to the waterside in arren ane an t e orchardb
r. ac -gate ~a mgtate of decay Mr Hayter, who by the way Was th
1ence were 1n a s , . h e
D. f W ks 11r.0 r Woolwich and Greenw1c , was ordered t
irector o or o t 6B He estimated that the fence could be repaired
survey and repor . Id £
r: d that the new gates necessary wou cost 2 1. 3s. 6d
1or 15s., an . d 69 •
The work was ordered to be put m han at once. William Hallick's seven-year contract for supplying
B M
Y 1757, r S b
h t the Warren had expired, so on g eptem er of that year
orses o • · h · h '
he proposed new terms for its contmua~on w ~c. webre_accepted. A new contract was therefore drawn up, its prov1s1ons emg:
4 horses at Is. 6d. each p.d.
I driver at IS. 6d. p.d.
Extra horses at 2s. p.d. each
Drivers for ditto Is. 6d. p.d. each70
During the winter of 1757/1758, a ship dri~ng against t~e hand crane before the Sea storehouse damaged It to a considerable extent. As a result, the Respective Officers at Woolwich requested, on 3 February 1758, that two gib cranes with shifting bars might be
erected one before the Sea storehouse and the other at the end of the wh~rfnear the landing place. The indefatigable Nir I-Iayter was instructed to estimate the expense and proceed with the new project without delay.71 The work was carried out by James Morris between 1 July and 30 September 1758 on a warrant d ated g June 1758.72
On 17 March 1758, Mr Hayter estimated that the cost of erecting four sheds, one for the smiths, one for the carpen ters, one for the wheelwrights and the other for seasoning timber, in the square between the Land storehouse and the Ship C arriage storehouse would be £396. os. 6d. This was approved but it was ordered that the account should be kept separate.73 James Morris built the four sheds between 1 April and 30 June 1758 on a warrant dated g June
1758.74
67 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/49, p. 103.
68 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 30.
611
70 OrdnanceJournaI Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 50, 20July 1757.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/50, p. 182. 71 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. 106. 78 72 Ordnance BiII Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/208, p. 43, 30 September 1758. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. 275.
74 Ordnance BiII Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/210, p. 59, 30June 1758.
408
THE W A RREN 1750-1775
At last the need for more room in the Warren became pressing. Its activities had undergone an expansion since its purchase from Sir William Prichard, yet its acreage had remained constant. Less cramped conditions for further growth were essential. .
The Board therefore entered into negotiations with Mr Maryon ofCharlton for the lease ofmore land, and on 3 April 1758, he agreed to lease the Board 11 acres adjoining the Warren at £3 per acre clear of all deductions, and to grant a lease for 21 years in the nature of a college lease to be renewed every 7 years upon giving 6 months notice in writing and paying one and a quarter year's rent for a fine. Should, however, the lease be not renewed at the end of 7 years, the fine was to be increased according to Sir Isaac Newton's tables and the ground left level with all erections and fixtures to the freehold. It was also agreed that the land might be enclosed, that guns or durables stones might be marked and set up in proper places to distinguish the different bounds, and that, as the farm houses adjoining must suffer greatly from guns being fired so close to them, the damage from time to time after due notice should be repaired by the Board forthwith. In addition, any damage done to cattle, hay, corn or other stock of the tenants by firing should be made good to them. Finally, if the rent were not paid and the covenants performed, the lease should be forfeited and Mr Maryon's agent might draw the leases and be paid for them by the Board.
The Board agreed to these terms and ordered the leases to be drawn up . 75
Within two years further land from Mr Maryon was required by the Board, and on 7 March 1760 Mr Hayter was instructed to forward the Dlan to the Board of these additional lands.76 The plan, amounting t~ rg acres, r rod, 22 perches, was received on r3 March 1 760 and despatched to the Reverend Mr Maryon.n On 7 April 1760, the Reverend John Maryon stated that the plot of land required by the Board was inconvenient and he expressed a hope that the Board would select a more convenient site, but the Board in reply stated that no other ground was so suitable for artillery purposes and trusted that Mr Maryon would treat with th:m ~n~ so 0 bviate a r ecourse to Parliament. The Board expressed their w1llmgness to make good any damage that might occur by their action on any of Mr Maryon's adjoining property.78 •
On 25 April 1760, Mr Maryon answered, and said _that, as ~he land selected by the Board was taken from the rest without bemg fenced in, he would prefer the Board to take a renewable lease or to
75 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/51, p. 355, 8 April 1758. 70 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /55, p. 208. 77 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/55, P· 235· 78 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P· 303.
28
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
f. and compensate his tenant for the rem .
1
purchase t~~ :"'fo e ~{~e stated that his farm at Plumstead Waa;n-~ mg term o is e~t· for £128 p.a. for which he expected 40 y: et to Ttomas ~~~e !rees paid for according to their value. Thor:;rs pure ase an . "fi d that he would expect £250 in considerat· as
Humbly also s1gru e d , • ion
ofthe im rovements he had effected an. a years ':arrung. He Would P h r. the Board to abide by their former intent· ,
however muc pre1er uld . ion
' . nly 20 acres so that he co remain Mr Marya ,
0 f purehasmg o M H t th n s
tenant for the rest of the land.so r _ay _er wash en ordered to Of the 20 acres and indicate t ereon where h
execute the map e Proposed to erect the fire-barn. .
f the Warren was therefore increased from 31 to 6
The acreage o . . ~
Mr Hayter's estimate of £328. 5s. rod. for raising another floor in the S.E. storehouse ofthe Laboratory was approve~ on 1 1 August 8 and the necessary work was ordered to be earned out.si The
175
alteration was effected by Joseph Pr~tt and Thomas Churchill, master bricklayers, and James Morns, master carpenter, on a warrant dated 9 June 1758, and took place between I October and 31 December 1758. James Morris. was p~i? £250. 3s. _8½d. for his share,s2 Morris, Pratt, and Churchill re~e1v1ng the remamder.S3It is
not possible to state whether the est1m~te was exce:~ed as the bricklayers' bill of £195. 1s. 8¼d. contamed the add1t10nal item 'and sundry repairs'.
Although the proof-butt had been refaced from time to time, the limit of its repairable capacity was now reached. M~· Hayter, on 16 January 1759, reported that 'the proof-butt at ooh ich is in a dangerous condition', and asserted that a new one m :.1st be built at the estimated cost of£375. os. od. The Board bowed to inevitability
and ordered that a new butt be constructed 'wi th as much frugality and expedition as possible' and that Mr H ayter do it in 'such a manner that roo guns may be proved at a time during the execution thereof'.84 The new butt was erected between I J anuary and 31
March 1759 by John Shakespear who was paid £339. I 7s. 3¾d. for the task.85 Mr Hayter's estimate was therefore a little on the high side.
Mr James Pattison, although a considerable land-owner at Plumstead, was not above earning an honest penny by acting as a 'dustman'. On 21 December 1759, he agreed to carry aw ay all dust
and rubbish from the barracks in the Warren once a week or oftener
;: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 337.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/55, p. 406, 16 May 1760. 81 OrdnanceJ<;>urnal Book, PRO/WO/47/52, p. 151. 81 Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/51/199, p. 274, 31 December 1758. 88 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/200, p. 318, 31 December 1758. 84 OrdnanceJ'?urnaI Book,_PRO/WO/47/53, p 70.
85 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/211, p. 64, 31 March 1759.
410
THE WARREN 1750-1775
on his being allowed a sum of£18. 5s. od. for a term ofseven years, and guaranteed to clear away the existing accumulation immediately. The Board agreed to a three-year contract, rubbish to be cleared twice a week.86
A serious fire broke out in the Warren on 26 January 1760. It was the first ofany consequence and caught the fire-fighting services quite unprepared. It started in the fire-barn ofthe Royal Laboratory adjoining the junk house and stables, wherein were stored carcases, junk breechings, tackles, axle-trees, grape shot boxes and empty Dutch powder-barrels. All these stores with the stables were burnt. The m aster builder with men of the Royal Navy from Woolwich Dockyard assisted to extinguish the conflagration. As a result, a new junk shed was required; junk was to be sent down to the Warren as quickly as possible; junk deliveries from Messrs Eade and Bolton were to be expedited, and Mr Pownell and the gentlemen of 'Woolwich Dock' were to be thanked for their great services.87 An enquiry was ordered and Mr Adam Nuttall reported that at Woolwich there were one large engine requiring repair, a middling engine and four small engines with leather hose decayed so as to be quite useless, and two large and one middling engine with serviceable hose on order. The Board asked Mr Nuttall for his proposals in regard to keeping these three engines and the three already ordered for the Royal Laboratory in good repair. He was instructed to repair the unserviceable hose.ss ·
Let us now glance at the changes of staff which had taken place during the previous nine years. In I 752 the Woolwich establishment was as follows:
Storekeeper John Cockburn Clerk of the Survey Neil Campbell Clerk of the Cheque John Parr Clerk of the Foundry James Delestang Master Founder Andrew Schalch
Abel Cassell -rWilliam Folkes
Clerks extraordinary
lEdmond Hayter89
Francis Stephens Superintendent ofFoundries Sir Cecil Bishopp Comptroller of the Laboratory -Charles Frederick Clerk to the Laboratory Edward Nickson Chief Firemaster Captain Thomas Desaguliers ChiefFiremaster's Mate Captain Lieutenant Charles Farrington
86 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/54, p. 519. 87 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, p. 89, 29January 1760. 88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, p. 105, 5 February 1760. 89 Edmond Hayter, the clerk, must not be confused with Mr Hayter, the Director of
Works for Greenwich and Woolwich.
411
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Laboratory Staff
John Jones
Turner W"illiam Pilcher
Joiner Richard Berry
2nd Joiner John Cook
Car!'enter Robert McGill
Smith Labourers _ Robert Poulton and Mathew Youn . ger9o
This was altered by the following appomtments: d N' ks clerk to the Laboratory, to be additional clerk t h
Ed
war Gl ic oln,Hugh Brown to be clerk to the Laboratory o t e
Surveyor-enera . b vice
91
d N. ks Changes to date from r 0 cto er I 752.
Edwar l 1c on. I · h ·
Jacob Perry appointed armourer at Woo w1c vice Solomon Spittle deceased.92 J . . William Folkes to be storekeeper at ama1~a vice Joshua Goodall deceased. Edmond Hayter to be clerk extraordmary at Woolwich vice William Folkes. Alexander Arbuthnot to be supernumcra1:Y clerk at Woolwich vice Edmond Hayter. Changes to da~e from r Apnl 1755_93 Alexander Arbuthnot to be clerk extraordmary at Woolwich vice Francis Stephens promoted. Thomas Bates to be supernumerary clerk
Woolwich vice Alexander Arbuthnot. Henry Champion to take the pla;t ofThomas Bates who is to deputize for Edmond Hayter. Changes to dat: from I July 1755.94
John Parr, clerk ofthe che~ue at Woolwich, to be storekeeper at Upnor vice Mr Turner. Robert Atkmson, extra clerk at Plymouth, to be clerk of the cheque, Woolwich, vice John Parr. Richard Burgess to be extra clerk at Plymouth vice Robert Atkinson. Changes to date from r October I 755.95
John Dixon, extra clerk at Portsmouth, to be clerk of the cheque Woolwich, vice Robert Atkinson.96 Alexander Arbuthnot, clerk extra~ ordinary at Woolwich, to be extra clerk at Portsmouth ice John Dixon.
Benjamin Allen to be clerk extraordinary at Woolwich vice Alexander Arbuthnot. Changes to date from I October 1755.97 Thomas Jones appointed carpenter at the Laboratory on 16 March 1756 at 2s. 6d. a day.98
Thomas Bates to be clerk extraordinary at Woolwich vice Benjamin Allen ~ppointed supernumerary clerk to the Surveyor-General. Henry Champion to be supernumerary clerk at Woolwich vice Thomas Bates. William Sumpter to deputize for Edmond Hayter vice Henry Champion.99
William Sansom, extra clerk at Chatham to be clerk of the cheque Woolwich, with effect from 1 July 1757.100 ' ' :: Ordnance Establishment Book, PROfWO/54/21 r. 92 OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PRO/WO/47;40, p. 122, 15 August 1752. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/41, p. 41, 9 January 1753.
88
"OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/45, p. 507, 27 May 1755. Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/46, p. Bo, 22 July 1755.
95
96 frdnance.J:ournal _Book, PROfWO/47/46, p. 367, 29 October 1755. 97 O0Jert A~mson did not assume his appointment as clerk ofthe cheque Woolwich. u O;cfu:::~=J~::i,i;::] :~~t• i:O/W0/47/46, p. 490, 2 December 1755. ' u OrdnanceJournaI Book' PRg/W0/47/47, p. 305, rr Ma~ch r756.
ioo Ordnance EstabI' hm 'B k/WP0/47/47, p. 402, r3 Apnl r756.
15
ent oo , RO/WO/54/212.
412
THE WARREN 1750-1775
William Sumpter to be clerk extraordinary at Woolwich vice Abel Cassell who is a bad time keeper. Mr Holmes to be supernumerary clerk at Woolwich vice Henry Champion who is old and of no further value. James Wright to deputize for Edmond Hayter vice William Sumpter. Changes to date from r July 1758.101
Henry Forman appointed a clerk in the Laboratory vice Edward Rollinson who declined the post. Henry Forman to be supernumerary clerk and ordered to commence work on r 4 July r 7 58.102
The three extraordinary clerks at Woolwich in 1760 were, therefore, Edmond Hayter, Thomas Bates, and William Sumpter. Of these Edmond Hayter went to India and Thomas Bates became storekeeper at Guernsey; they were replaced in the following year by Mark Warcup and James Wright.103
Among some of the more specific items of building work activity which took place during the decade 1750-1760 may be instanced the following:
30 June r75r. J ames Morris received the sum of £ro3. 3s. 1¼d. for fitting up the Academy for a chapel, making targets and sundry repairs between I J anuary and 30 June 1751. Warrant dated r4 May r751.104
30 J une r752. J oseph Pratt was paid £203. 15s. 2¾d. for (a) Repairing Colonel Belford's house, (b) Repairing the storekeeper's house, (c) Finishing the cadet barracks, ( d) Sundry repairs to storehouses, and
(e) Repairing and raising the Warren wall between r January and 30June 1752. Warrant dated 5June r752.105
30 J une r753. James Morris received £107. 17s. 1£d. for building two new fire-barns and carrying out sundry repairs between I January and 30 June 1753. "\A/arrant dated 20 February 1753.106 .
30 J une r753. James Morris was paid £603. 6s. o!d, for finishing the officers' houses and the housekeeper's apartment at the cadet barracks, for building an office for Colonel Michelson and for sundry repairs between I January and 30 June 1753. Warrant dated 20 February 1753.10~
30 J une r753. John Shakespear received £37. gs. 4½d. for cleaning and repairing the landing stage, and digging the foundations for the two new fire-barns between 1January and 30 June I 753.108 .
30 September r753. James Morris was paid £154. 2s. 8¼d. for repairs to barracks and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1753· Warrant dated 20 February 1753.109 • •
30 September r753. John Shakespear received £33..12s. od. for d1gg.ing wells for bog-houses in the cadet barracks, for cleaning barrack drams,
101 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. 620, 13 June 1758.
102 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/52, p. 54, 14July 1758.
103 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WO/54/212.
104 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, P· 74·
105 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, P· 140.
106 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 12.
107 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO/51/187, P· 10.
108 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 6.
109 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO/51/187, P· 40.
413
and clearing mud from the landing stage between I July and 30 September I 753. vVarrant dated 20 February I 753.110
31 December 1753. John Shakespear was paid £36. os. 1½d. for digging wells to supply the cadet barracks with water, and carting away rubbish between I October and 31 December 1753. Warrant dated 20 February I 753.lll
30June 1754. James Morris received £130. 9s. 5Jd. for repairing storehouses between I January and 30 June 1754. Warrant dated 29 May I 754·112
31 December 1754. James Morris was paid £268. 16s. 4d. for repairing storehouses and cranes between I July and 31 December 1754. Warrant dated 29 May 1754.113
31 D ecember 1754. John Shakespear received £124. 16s. 3¾d. for:
(a)
Repairing foundations for a new magazine
(b)
Repairing the wharfing and clearing ooze from the landing place
(c)
Digging a well in the Laboratory Yard
(d)
Clearing away rubbish
(e)
Assisting the carpenters to mend the powder bridge at the Greenwich magazine between I June and 31 December 1754. Warrant dated 29 May 1754.114
30 June 1755. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £1 2 7. 7s. 4¼d. for repairs to Laboratory storehouses and other places between 1January and 30June 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.m
30 June 1755. James Morris received £156. 11s. 6fd. fo r repairing storehouses and fitting up the new powder magazine between I April and 30June 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.116
30 June 1755. John Shakespear was paid £74. 12s. od. for clearing drains, ditches, and rubbish between 1January and 30June 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.117
30 September 1755. James Morris received £257. 4S· g~d. for repairing storehouses between I April and 30 June 1755. Warrant dated 24 June
I 755.118
31 December 1755. James Morris was paid £171. 19s. 3:id. for building shops for making carriages and for repairing storehouses between 1 October and 31 December 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.119
31 December 1755. John Shakespear received £1 14. r3s. 3¾d. for digging a well in the Laboratory Yard, cleaning the moats and the landing place, and clearing away rubbish, between 1July and 31 December 1755. Warrant dated 24 June 1755.120
110 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/187, p. 29. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 65. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 91. 111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 126. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 130. 115 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 152. 111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 150. 117 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 149. 118 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 164. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 179. 110 Ordnance BilI Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 183.
414
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 June 1756. John Shakespear was paid £146. 3s. 10½d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt between I January and 30 June 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.121
31 December 1756. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £653. os. r}d. towards building a new infirmary between I July and 3 r December 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.122
31 D ecember 1756. James Morris was paid £357. 9s. 2¾d. towards building a new infirmary between I July and 31 December 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.123
31 D ecember 1756. John Shakespear received £200. 9s. r½d. for digging foundations, emptying bog-houses and carting away rubbish between l July and 31 December 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.124
30 September 1757. John Shakespear was paid £153. 16s. od. for mending roads, cleaning ditches and clearing away rubbish between I July and 30 September 1757. Warrant dated 13 May 1757.125
31 D ecember 1757. James Morris was paid £256. os. r¾d. towards building a new storehouse and offices for the Laboratory and for sundry repairs between I July 1756 and 3r December 175 7. Warrant dated I June 1756.126
31 D ecember 1757. James Morris received £615. 6s. 2½d. for fencing the gardens of Colonels Michelson and Williamson, finishing the new infirmary and repairing the barracks and guardhouse between I July and 31 D ecember 1757. Warrant dated 13 May 1757.127 ••
31 D ecember 1757. James Morris received £208. 10s. 2½d. for repamng offices, s orehouses, cranes, the wharf and sluices. Also for making a new gate to v\Tarren Lane and two new travelling offices between I July and 3 I D ecember 1757. Warrant dated 13 May 1757.128 •
31 December 1757. John Shakespear was paid £160. rs. 8¼d. for clearmg out the, oat between 1 October and 31 December 1757. Warrant dated 13 M ay 1757.129
31 March 1758. James Morris received £413. l4J. 2¾d. for:
(a)
Building new rooms for Colonel Desaguliers
(b)
Partially erecting two wings at the cadet barracks_
(
c) Fitting up three rooms over the guard for the adjutant and orderly sergeant
between 1 January and 31 March 1758.130 • • 31 March 1758. James Morris received £188. 10s. 6d. for fi1:1shmg two offices and a storehouse in the Laboratory and for sundry repairs between I January and 31 March 1758.131
121 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 204. 122 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/187, P· 217. 123 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 233. 124 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 220. 125 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/197, P· 221 · 126 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 234· 127 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO {WO /51 /202, P· 258. 128 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/209, P· 24· 129 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /209, P· 24· 130 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, P· 44· 131 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, P· 46.
415
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
30 June 1759_132 Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid£
2
.µ. 1o¾d. for building a new coal-yard between I January 1758 and 30Jt;~ 1758 133 30"June 1758. John Shakespear received £186. 2s. 1_½d. for diggin foundations for the new shops in t~1e ~oal-yard and l~vellmg the grounl for repairing the proof-butts; for digging th<: ~oundation for a new era ' for gravelling the road; for digging and P1!mg the foundations for ~ ; new coal-yard; and for clearing away rubbish between I April and 3~ June 1758.134 June 17·1:8. James Morris was paid £152. 13s. rn! d. for erecti
30
J • • h" h ng a
new gib crane, for making sheds m w ic to engrave. guns, and for repairing storehouses, offices, cranes etc. between I Apnl and 30 June 1758. Warrant gJune 1758.135
30 June 1758. James Morrisdrebc~ivd~d £463: gs. 2½dd. for building four
new workshops for making an m mg carnages, an a1so for makin conveniences for the housekeeper to the cadet barracks between I Aprn and 30June 1758. Warrant dated 19June 1758.136
30 September 1758. James Morris was paid £168. r5s. 2¾d. tov,,a d building a new coal-yard and shed, and for repairing storehouses a:~ cranes between I July and 30 September 1758. \!\Tarrant dated g June 1758.137
30 September 17-?8. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £178_ 7s. of d. for erecting a shed over the new coal-yard and for raising th storehouse in the Laboratory between I July and 30 S ptcmber
1758e
Warrant dated g June 1758.138 ·
30 September 1758. James Morris was paid £88. 16s. 6d. for making staircase and garrets in the apartments of the housekeeper to the cadet: between 1July and 30 September r 758.139
31 December 1758. James Morris received £ 192. 4>. 3d. for finishing the additional wings to the cadet barracks between I October and I December 1758. Warrant dated gJune 1758.140 3
31 December 1758. Jo_hn Shakespear was paid £78. gs. 6);d. for digging a large cess-pool, cartmg away rubbish and repairing the face of the proof-butt between I October and 31 December 1758. Warrant dated
gJune 1758.141
31 March 1759. James Morris received £62. r rs. 2½d. for repairing the barracks, infirmary, guardrooms, and officers' houses between 1 January and 31 March 1759.142
m The entry in th B"ll1 B00k · ' J
e is 3° une 1757'. This is obviously an error for '30June
1758,_ m Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ / . .
'30June 1757, Th" · ' fc ', 51 200, p. 185. The last date 1s given as
• 1s 1s an error or 30 June 1758, ::: gr~nance B~ll Book, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/51i209, p. 46_ m o:d~::;~; :::: :oa:, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51/210, p. 57. m Ordnance Bill B~~k' i:;::: n,:RROO//WW00//51//2089, p. 59, See note 74.
138 0 d 51 20
r nance B"llI Book, ' Series· II ' PROfWO/511210• P· 43·
6
:8:::::::m :~~t: ~:;:: :{ :fg/W0/51/210; ~: 8;:
m Ordnance Bill Book Series n' PRO//WW00//51//199, p. 2765.
10 0 dnan B"II ' . ' 51 209 p. 17 .
r cc i Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/208,' p. 65.
416
THE WARREN 1750-1775
3r March r759. James Morris was paid £158. 7s. 8½d. for making shot spouts, for taking up and remaking a bomb room, for making targets for experiments and for sundry repairs to the cranes between 1January and
3 :r March 1759.143
3r March r759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £55. l os. 11¾d, for relaying the tiling on the foundry and other repairs between :r January and 31 March 1759.144
31 March r759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £58. :r ls. 4.½d. for building bog-houses to the additional wings to the cadet barracks, resetting the grates and other repairs to the barracks between l January and 31 March 1759.145
30 J une r759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £37. l 8s. 6d. for carrying out minor repairs in the barracks between I April and 30 June 1759. Warrant dated 29 May 1759.146
3 0 J une 1759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £124. l gs. i¾d. for making a brick drain to carry off the rain water, for ripping off and relaying the tiles on the roof of the Laboratory storehouse, for renewing the tiling at the foundry and for sundry repairs between 1 April and 30Ju ne 1759. Warrant dated 29 May 1759.147
30 J une r759. John Shakespear was paid £96. 9s. 6¾d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt and laying a pipe through the moat between r April and 30 June 1759.148
30 June I 759. J ames Morris received £ 179. 7s. 1d. for repairing the roofs and making rain-water gutters to several Laboratory buildings between I April and 30 June 1759. In addition he repaired a gib-crane.149
30 September 1759. J oseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £191. 18s. Id. for building an additional apartment to Major Pattison's house, and for sundry repairs between 1 July and 30 September 1759. Warrant dated r July 1759.100
30 September 1759. John Shakespear received £87. 6s. 2¼d, for repairing the face of the proof-butt and clearing away rubbish between I July and 30 September I 759. He also duo-certain foundations.151
30 September 1759. Joseph P:att and Thomas Churchill were paid £ I 48. 18s. 3¼d. for repairs to storehouses between I July and 30 September r 759.1s2
31 December 1759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £40. 3s. r rd. for repairs to barracks and officers' houses between I October and 31 December 1759.1s3
31 December 1759. James Morris was paid £529. 12s. 8¾d. for building a new apartment to Major Pattison's house, repairing furniture in the cadet barracks, building two large sheds for waggons and repairing
143 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5 I /208, p. 66. 144 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\1\1O/51/208, p. 173. 145 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/vVO/51/208, p. 177. 146 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/206, p. 25. 147 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/206, p. 29. 148 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /21 I , p. 74· 149 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/211, p. 52. 150 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/'208, p. 184. 151 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/208, p. 122. 152 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /209, p. 240. 153 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, p. 258.
417
t
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
d Ooms etc. between r October
barracks, officers' houses, guar r ' and 31154
December 1759. . • d £ ad f;
I March r760. James Morns recei~e r74. r rs. 2;i_: . or repairs t b 3 ks h dhouse and officers houses between r January o
arrac , t e guar and 3 r March r 760.155 ·
A.r , r.: Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £
3r .1v.1.arc,z r7uo. . • • 255
3d d b i'lding a new carnage store11ouse, raising the Wa •
r7s. rot . towar s u d M rren
wall and for sundry repairs between r January an 3 I. arch r 760,Iss
A.r , r.: Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £
3r .1v.1.arc1z r7uo. . fi d .ffi , I 14
r3s. 6fd. for repairs to the barracks, m rmary an o 1cers houses, i~
nd 3 1 ;.
addition to building dust holes between I Ja1:mary a -rarch r 760 .1s7
3r March r760. John Shakespear was paid £60. gs. 6-:i:d. for diggin the foundations and levelling the ground for tbe waggon ~nd new carriag! sheds, for repairing the face of the proof-budtt,fcfor cle~nmg the dock for the office boat, for gravelling Proof Place an o~ ~artmg away mud and rubbish between I January and 31 Marc~ i76o. 5
3
3 I A,1arclz I?6o. John Shakespear received £27. os. 64 d. for diggin holes for laying ashes from the barracks and officers' house ; for digging foundations for the pantry and coal-shed and dressino-the ground . g front of the cadet barracks and paving the same; and for arting aw~n rubbish between I January and 31 March 1 760.159 Y
30 June r760. Joseph Pratt a_nd Thomas Churchi!l received _
£223
7s. 3d. for building a new carnage storehouse, making drains to the conduit and carrying out sundry repairs between I April and 3o June I 760.160
30 June 1760. John Shakespear was paid £rg. 1 r_s. ?. { d. for levelling the ground in front of the cadet barracks for the pav10rs and digging the foundations for a common sewer behind the barracks between r April and 30 June 1760.161
30 June 1760. John Shakespear received £r 12. 15s. gd. for digging the foundations and drains for the new storehouses, felling and grubbing up the trees adjoining, cleaning the dock for the office boat, repairing the
face of the butt, searching for and leading springs to the office conduit between I April and 30 June I 760.162 30 June 1760. James Morris was paid £II3. 1 os. 7 2d. for repairs to barracks, officers' houses, guardrooms etc. between r April and 30 June 1760.163
30 September 1760. James Morris received £239. 19s. ol d, for building an addition to Major Pattison's house, and for sundry repairs to the barracks, infirmary etc. between r July 1759 and 30 September 1760.164
m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/210, p. 289. 155 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/206 196 ::: Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO{W0/51/210; p. 3°17.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/211 p 169 ::: Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/215; p: 39.. ao Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/215, p. 40. m Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /2 r 1, p. 234.
m Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/216, p. 69. m Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/216, p. 69. m Ordnance B1_ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/217, p. 19.
Ordnance ,Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, p. 257. Possibly the date '3o September 176o should have read '30 September 1759'.
418
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 September 1760. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £98. 6s. 3½d. for building a cold bath for the officers ofthe Royal Artillery and for sundry repairs between I July and 30 September 1 760.165
30 September r760. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £322. 3s. 7¼d, for raising a storehouse and two pavilions in the Laboratory and for repairs to certain storehouses between 1July and 30 Septem
ber 1 760.166 30 September r760. James Morris received £732. 13s. gd. for raising the roof and making an additional floor over the N.W. storehouse in the Laboratory and erecting two pavilions; for making new oak platforms for exercise; for laying the foundations of a new storehouse and for various repairs to storehouses and offices between I July and 30 September I 760.167 30 September 1760. John Shakespear was paid £34. zos. B¼d, for digging the foundations for a common sewer behind the barracks, for digging the foundations for the cold bath and for carting away rubbish between I July and 30 September 1760.168 3I December 1760. James Morris received £189. 5s. 5d. for laying new floors, for making closets and shelves and for putting up new skirting etc to destroy bugs in the barracks. Also for repairs to the guardroom, infirmary and officers' houses between I October and 31 December I 760.169
3r D ecember 1760. John Shakespear was paid £25. 2s. 3d. for digging the foundations and drains for bog-houses at Colonel Desagulier's house, for digging the foundations for Major-General Michelson's new apartment, and for levelling the ground for new platforms in Prince Rupert's Walk betwc n r October and 31 December 1760.170
3I D ecember r760. John Shakespear was paid £114. 8s. 3fd. for digging the founda io s for the new junk shed, repairing the face of the proof-butt and digging trenches for conveying water between I October and 31
December 1760.1n
Besides the above, the Ordnance Books specify many other items dealing wi th works services between the dates mentioned. These, however, give no detail but merely indicate the sums paid quarterly to the various master craftsmen. The greater proportion are concerned with bricklaying performed by Messrs Churchill and Pratt. T~ey throw little or no light on the development of the Warren.. It will be noted that the practice of indicating the warrant on which operations are carried out tended to fall into abeyance about I 758.
Another point to be noticed is that the proof-butts still continued to require constant attention. It has already been stressed that proof was a perennial source of worry and trouble. Either the butts
165 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/212, p. 141. See Chapter 9, P· 332.
166 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfW0/51/212, p. 142.
167 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/215, P· 99·
168 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/217, p. 68. See Chapter 9, P· 332.
189 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/215, p. 103.
170 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/217, p. 68.
171 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/218, p. 29.
419
\ND CHILDHOOD
BIRTH F
t damage or accidents involving d
ffi ed constan '. c. ang
themselves _su er . d The following extract 1rom a news er to life or limb occun e ~ although some twenty years prior foaPer dated 29 Sept~mbe~ 1 74 .' es a vivid account ofthe dangers inh the
period under d1scuss10n, g1v erent in eighteenth century proof: . _ proof of iron ordnance at Woolwich
On Friday last there ~as a f metal flew near 300 yards over the :hen a 24 pdr. burst, and a ~1eJ~:e proof and over a storehouse and fell eads of the people W?0 attenf e I ouse adjoining the founder's, broke th Upon
h f a chimney o a 1 . d rough
t e top o fi II through three stones own to the ground fi the roof ~f tha_t hou~~d e other mischie£ The gun in its agitation b £oar and ~rov1dent1dallyh t1w~i~h lay next to it so as to point its muzzle ;oweaodre
bursting turne t a , h d h d · t t r s
the spec~tors and the storekeepers. oh~sef, an Id a lb nbol shtruck out the
h. h 1• hted great nusc 1e wou pro a y ave ensu d
portfire, w IC was ig ' . e . Little ofinterest occurred in the Warren dunng the n ext ~en years. No major construction work took place _and the record is one of . • The clocks continued to give trouble, especially th
minor repairs. . II e
• th turret and Mr Thwaites was a owed £6 a year t
one 1n e , . . d o
1.
• t ·n it provided he first put 1t 1n wor nng or er at his own
main a1 r. k . .
expense.112 Only £6oo was allowed 1or wor s services 1n the Warren for the year 1751.11a On 28 August 1761, the ~torekeeper requested that his stables and those of the contractor which w r destroyed in the fire ofJanuary 1 760, should be rebuilt. Mr Hayter was ordered to consider the matter and prepare an estimate.174
On 1 September 1761 Mr Hayter, in conjunction with the Comptroller of the Laboratory, was ordered to select the best site for a fire-ship store and estimate for the same.175 I-Ie stated, however, that he could not recommend any place on which to erect a storehouse for fire-ship stores, but considered that during the existing emergency they could be placed at the east end of the new junk shed, the enclosing of which he estimated at £15. 7s. od. H is estimate was accepted and the work was ordered to be put in hand. Mr Hayter on the same day reported that the most convenient place for the new stables for the contractor and the storekeeper would be in the storekeeper's orchard close to the site of the original ones, but
further from the powder magazine and away from other buildings. He estimated that the cost would be £163. 12s. 4d. He was instructed to proceed with the work,176
Now that a system of lighting, however primitive, had been installed in the Warren, the question of its nightly illumination became pressing. The Respective Officers reported on 2 7 October
::: OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 215, 4 April 1761.
OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 301, 6 May 176r. 174 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/58, p. 151. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/58, p. 165.
OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/s8, p. 185, 8 September 1761.
420
THE WARREN . 1750-1775 hat Richard Amie was wiU1·n
t · g to li h
176J, er lamp. The Board, howev g t the latn fi qtlarte~~red that Mr Sabe was expee~, lonsidered th~s or I 2s. per alld or nd light the lamps at Ios ; e to find the oi~ost too high cotton ha ge 177 . er quarter for e h,supply the
I c ar . ac lam h
tlstla 30 October I 76I' Mr Hayter Was t ld P, t e~1 be built to house the carts used for ~art~ ascertain when a shed coll t·rnate for the same.11s He repl1"ed hry1ng shot and tor d
-5 es 1 • t at th b 1orwarh1
Id stables, damaged 1n the fire and h e est place ,. .
the o , t at the .vas 1n
Id be £96. 19~. od. The Surveyor-Gener cost of conversion w~tl 'th other estimates.179 . al Was asked to consid
thlS WI . R er
;\!though Jv!agazine egulations was still a . . . nt future, its want was evidently felt• publication of the
d1sta O in I 762 by th C
f the Laborat~ry. n 12 }anuary of that ear ~ _omptroller0 gerous cond1t10ns preva1hng in his depa ty he intimated the
dan . r ment owi h
fsuitable stora?e accommodation for 'stores of a co ng_to t e lack 0 sufficient distance from the actual work h tustible nature' at a rnunication the Board ordered Mr Has tops. a result of this
corn Y er to attend th •
rson and report what had transpired in the treaty . h M em m P~out the lands in Woolwich.1so On 9 June ~t Mr Maryon
2
a h . M. J · . . 17 , f r Hayter
signifi~d t at I ones was quite willing to grant a lease of lands adJ•oirong the Warren for 21 years renewable during th i·c: .
· ·fi b h e 11etime of
himself and his w1 ·e, ut t at the Reverend John Maryon h d 1 d
· · h a sett e
the revers10n 1n sue a manner that he could do nothing 181
.c-£ d more.
6
The sum 0.1. 7 2 • 155: o • was allotted to Woolwich and Greenwich for works and repairs for the year 1762 .182 Centralization was still the order of the day and the Board were jealous of th eir supreme authority. On 6 August 1762, Mr Hayter was asked on whose authority he had repaired the pavement outside the Board Room. In view of the fact that this small job required doing, Mr Hayter's action seemed quite reasonable. However, he obsequiously bow ed to his masters. He replied on g August that he had carried out the work without any specific mandate 'thinking that he might do so', and he hoped the Board would excuse him for this act and give him such orders as 'would prevent the like happen183
ing again'.
Blackheath at this time was a gangsters' paradise. Bands of toughs and hooligans lay in wait for the traveller, and robberies were of frequent occurrence. To avoid such dangers of the road, moSt
177 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/58, P· 304, 27 October 1761 · 178 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/58, P· 310· 6179 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/59, P· 379, 4 May 17 2• 180 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 59, P· 36· 181 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/59, P· 5oo. M 17
182 52
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/59, P· 44B, rA ;Jst l76~ 183 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/6o, P· 112• u •
421
DIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
journeys to Woolwich were made ~y water. !"fence the necessity of keeping the landing pier and official boats m good order. On November 1752, the Respective Officers reported that the planki~2 on the pier head wanted renewing and that the boat-slip becanig silted up from time to time. Mr Hayter was to~d to get out an estiniat e for the work but to execute it without specific approval if a del e
' . Offi 1 ~
would be preiudicial. The Respective cers were to d to rep
•
;i • 184 M H t Ort
the state of the slip from time to t1me. . r ay er reported that the slip would cost £ 12. 18s. od. to repair, and he was told to tak the necessary action.185 Mr Bennet also reporte? that the sailin; boat at Woolwich would cost £29. Bs. gd. to repair. H e was ordered
. · d t 186
to have the repairs carne ou .
It will be remembered that MrJames Pattison had in 1759 a thr year contract to remove rubbish from. the Warren ba~racks.187 ~~ died on 22 March 1761, at the age of eighty-five, and his widow did not propose to renew the contract. On 22 December 1762, she wrot
' . e
to the Board saying that she wouId cease removmg dust from th barracks' at the end of th: year.188 M: _William H allick, seeing hi~ opportunity and discovermg the pos1t10n before the Board had received Mrs Pattison's intimation, offered to do the work himself
for £2 per annum. Since this was cheaper than Mr Pattison's price the Board agreed.189
Theft of government stores occurred again in April r 763 when Elizabeth Oliver, having been detected in stealing linchpins out of carriages in the Warren, was committed to Maidstone Gaol by a J.P. She was caught red-handed with the stores upon her person. Mr Cockburn, the storekeeper, Job Perry, the armourer, and Thomas Blake, the foreman of the labourers, entered into recognizances to appear as witnesses in the forthcoming assizes. It was ordered that Mr Sergeant Stanyford should proceed with instructions for the necessary prosecution and that the moat, being filled up with sand so that persons could enter the Warren without difficulty, should be cleared out so that the water could flow again.190 Robert Woodbine, the constable at Woolwich, was paid £3 for keeping Elizabeth Oliver
and attending her trial.191 On 2 I June 1763, the storekeeper reported that the frame for
venting guns was rotten and had collapsed, that the head of the dock
for securing the sailing vessel was damaged by ships making fast to
::: Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/60, p. 270. Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/6o, p. 302. 186 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/60 p. 430 17 December 1762.
187 See note 86. ' ' ::: Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, p. 441. Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, p. 441. m 190 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 253, 30 April 1763. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/62, p. 96, 2 September 1763.
422
THE WARREN 1750-1775
it, and that the moat next the field required cleaning out. Mr Hayter Was ordered to carry out the necessary work.192
Andrew Schalch was getting an old man. He had been master founder since 1716, and it was realized that he could not retain that Position for very much longer. Preliminary arrangements were therefore set in train to find a suitable successor. As a result, John Verbruggen, head founder of the United Provinces of Holland
. ,
1:n.dicated that he wished to enter the service as a founder at Wool-Wich. Since it was obvious that his Majesty's service might require such a person to be employed in the Brass Foundry, the Board asked I-I. E. General Sir Joseph Yorke, envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Netherlands,193 to give them an account of Verbruggen's character and abilities as a founder and to state in what station he had served in the United Provinces.194 Sir Joseph Yorke gave the required information and informed the Board that Baron de Harik stated that MrJohn Verbruggen was pressing for an answer as he had received an offer of employment from another Crowned Bead. The Board in reply informed the ambassador that they could :not, at present, enter into any agreement with Mr Verbruggen.195 Actually seven years were to elapse before there was a change-over of m aster founders.
Another minor casualty: Mr John French was, on 4 November I _763, paid £ 6 in compensation for the loss of a cow killed by a ball fired from the Warren on 15 October.196
M r V eale, who had now taken the place of Mr Hayter, was ordered to repair at once the roofs ofthe storehouses and offices which had been damaged by the high winds which had occurred in the winter of 1763/64. He was also told to estimate and report the cost of repairs to the gates of the smiths' yard, the gates at the end of the old wall and those at the end ofNew Square.197 On 25January 1764, he estimated the cost of repairing the Warren gates at £60. 6s. Bd. and was told to have the work carried out.198
The Peace of Paris on 10 February 1763 inaugurated a policy of retrenchment, and men who became redundant were dismissed from the Warren. Ong April 1764, the Comptroller of the Laboratory reported that owing to the termination of the war he could dispense with the services of I clerk at 2s p.d., 1 tinman at 3s. p.d., g invalids
(gunners belonging to the Invalid Companies) at 1s. p.d. each, g labourers at 1s. 6d. p.d. each, 2 supernumerary clerks at 2s. p.d.
192 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/61, p. 410. 1 ~ 3 Created 1st Lord Dover, 18 September 1788. He died 1792 when the barony became
extinct.
10<1 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/62, p. 175, II October 1763. 195 Ordnance Journal Book'. PRO/WO/47/62, p. 246, 18 November 1763. 196 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 214. 197 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 285, 7 December 1763. 198 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 31.
423
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
each and the watchmen at £82, I!ZS. 6d, .p.a., making _a total saVi of£657. ios. od. p.a. This left the establishment consisting of: ng
1 Clerk at 2s. p.d. 1 Foreman at IS, 6d. p.d. I Turner at 2s. 6d. p.d. I Smith at 2s. 6d. p.d. I Carpenter at 2s. 6d. p.d.
I Invalid at IS. 6d. p.d. 8 Labourers at IS. 6d. p.d. each Total Wages Bill: £447. 2s. 6d.
The Board agreed and ordered the reductions to take pla
ce on
14 April 1 764.199 The amount allowed for repairs at Woolwich and Purfleet fo h
d 200 rt e
year 1764 was £495. 19s. :4-• . The Surveyors of the Highways of the parish of Woolwich w responsible for paving the road leading to the Warren, the spacee;~ front of the Warren gate and thence along the wall and round th
corner. As, however, they could not raise sufficient money from th; parishioners to con:plete t~e work, t~ey ,vere granted £20 by the Board to aid them m carrymg out their task. 201
The Respective Officers at Woolwich stated that they employ d the 'constant' horses at leisure times in bringing gra el from Wo~lwich Common to repair the roads and paths in the \,\Tarren without any extra expense save that ofan additional horse or two, and that a Woolwich gravel will not bind without an admi 'ture of that fro~
Shooters Hill, they proposed to buy some at 3d. a load from Mr Lidgbird's pits. They also requested that posts and a rail should be fixed at each end of the two walks to the foundry so as to prevent horses from going on the foot-ways. The Board approved and
instructed Mr Veale to estimate the cost of the posts and rails. 202
On 14 December 1764, it was decided to increase the lighting in the W~rren by three additional lamps :203 one on the bridge leading to the mfirmary, one at the cadet barracks in addition to the two
already there, i.e. one at each end of the building and one in the centre, and one at the necessary. On 15 December 1764, Christopher Baldock replaced Samuel Forman as a supernumerary clerk.204
On 22 March 1765, Richard Veale, now officially known as the 'Overseer, Woolwich' and paid Ios. a day, was ordered to estimate
;:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 23 1. Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ /6 M 6
201 Ordnancejournal B k' PRO/WO 47 3, p. 375, 25 a);' 17 4. 202 OrdnanceJournal B~~k: PRO/W0/47/63, p. 303, 27 April 1764. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i3, p. 423, 8 June 1764. m Ordnance Journal Book PRO/W0//47// 4, p. 257. . ' ,
in that appointment h ld b' 47 64, P· 278. See note 102. Possibly Henry
s ou ave read 'Samuel', or 'Samuel' here should read 'Henry'.
THE WARREN 1750-1775
an.cl report on the repairs required to the wharfing, landing steps, the parapet wall at Prince Rupert's Walk and the gates to the shot-yard.205 On 29 March he replied that the gates of the shot-yard could be repaired for £5. 3s. 8d.2os
A new triangular gyn was ordered for mounting and dismounting guns and rnortars at Woolwich to replace the existing one which had become unserviceable.2o1
In reply to the storekeeper, the Board on 14June 1765 stated that in. case the trustees for putting into execution an Act of Parliament f"or altering the roads near Woolwich208 should have occasion to take any part of their property in Conduit Field, the Board would consent thereto upon a proportional consideration being made for the same as had b een done to other proprietors, and that they had ordered the tools desired in his letter to be sent to Woolwich, upon the trustees' engaging to keep them in repair and return them when they had cornpl ted their work.2D9
John P owell was appointed fireman at Woolwich at 2s. 4d. vice Thomas B acon deceased.210 Woolwich and Greenwich had no allotment of funds for q65. On 6 June 1766, the overseer of the W-orks a t W oolwich, having reported that the cost of a stone curb and iron railings for the front of three houses in Warren Lane would cost £ 41 . 12s. 6d. was told that wooden rails must serve for the present. zu T he dangers of moving about at night were still acute, for on r r -ovember 1766 it was ordered that five defective guns were to be plac d between the footpath and road in front of the houses of ~r Sumpter and Mr Dysart to prevent the sand carts from encro~ch1.ng on the foot-way 'which had been so cut away that _at rug~t people are in danger of falling off it into the road and losmg their lives'.212
Mr I-Iartwell, who had recently taken up the new post of 'Clerk of Works', W oolwich, reported on 11 November 1766 that the only place h e could suggest for housing the fixed carcases ~afely w_as th: junk storehouse near Prince Rupert's Walk, a proJect ~h1ch, if carried out, would mean another storage room for the Junk. He suggested that this might be effected by adding to the length of the
carriage shed at the lower side of the Warren next to the moat. The Board ordered that the fixed carcases should be immediately transferred to the junk house and that Mr Hartwell should estimate the expense ofadding to the carriage shed. Mr Hartwell also reported
205 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, P· 1 86. 206 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, P· 21 4· 207 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /65, P· 348, 6 June 1765. 208 5 George III, cap lxxxvii, 1765. 209 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, P· 372, i4June 1765.
210
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /65, P· 394, 28 June 1765. 211 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, P· 420• 212 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, P· 164.
29
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
that after a survey he had discovered that the fire-engine and h required repair. He suggested sending them to the Tower for re ~se This was approved.213 On 22 ~ovem?er 1766 a platform andP~r. sliding cranes were installed m the Junk house to deal With th~
carcases.21-1 'Hope springs eternal in the human breast.' Mr v\Tilliam Mo 1
· b d h . rand
thought he saw a way of turnmg a ouses mto good money b was disappointed. On 5 December 1766 he wrote to the B Ut saying that several years earlier application had been made ~ard
l · r i.rorn
fh.
the Office of Ordnanc_e to_ soWme o Lis re at1v~~ i.or purchasing two houses with their premises i~ alrredn anedco_n igul~us to the Warren wall that now these dwellmgs 1a passe mto 11s possession
' b d . and
were for sale, and that he would e rea y to tre_at with anyone the Board might appoint for the purpose. Upon receipt of this letter th storekeeper was ordered to report upon the matter. Mr Cockbur; replied on 10 December that when the three new houses near 1\1 Morland's property were built for the clerk of the foundry etc., th: Board had wished to ?uf Mr Morland's two houses on that side of
the lane, either for bmldmg upon or to enclose by a wall within the bounds of the Warren, but that as they were then in the hands of person who had not the power of disposal, the matt r had droppeda He also stated that the two houses concerned were two low woode ·
ruinous hovels not worth the cost of demolition. T he Board ordere~ that Mr William Morland be told that they did not require his houses.215
P~oof for foreign monarchs was carried out in the 't\'arren. On
7
Apnl r767 the Comptroller of the Laboratory was instructed to transmit the account of the expense incurred in pro ing shell for the King ofPortugal and the shipping charges which were o be charged to 'His Most Faithful Majesty'.216 Ten 24 pdrs were to be proved on
'Monday next' for the Emperor of Morocco and an account of the cost to be rendered.217
The dismissal ofWilliam Barber, Overseer of Works at Woolwich has already been mentioned in Chapter 10.218 H e appears to hav; been thoroughly unsatisfactory in every way and the Board, no
doubt, were glad to get rid ofhim. His place was taken by Thomas ~allard at 3s. a day with effect from 2 August r 768.219 At the same time the senior overseer, John Hargrave, was superannuated and
granted an allowance of a guinea a week. He was replaced by John Hempsall who drew a salary of ros. per diem. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, . 16 . OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, ~-r8~. 216 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, p. 227. 218 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/6g, p. 158.
217
21, SOerednCanhacpeteJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/71, p. 66, r r February r768.
r r o, note I rr. 211 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47172, p. 42_
426
THE WARREN 17 50-1775
On 1 I. November I 768 improvements took place in the heating ra.cilities m the Warren when Bath stoves were installed in all the offices there at a cost of £10. is. od.220
On 5 June I 769, the clerk of works was ordered to survey the state and estimate the cost of repairing the following:221 (a) the
harfing and fender piles, (b) the ground and foundations which had SQnk, ( c) the tiling in the carriage and pontoon store-houses, ( d) the cr-anes, and ( e) the floor of the watch-house. . Mr Hartwell forwarded his estimates on 3 August 1769:222 wharf-1::n_g and cranes £ I I o; and roofing of pontoon and carriage storehouses £107. The work was ordered to be carried out.
A minor change in appointments was effected on 16 November _r. 769 when George Read became the foreman ofthe Royal Laboratory 1:n_ place ofJoseph Herring,. deceased. 223
We now come to a land-mark in the history of the Warren, to
hat might almost be described as the end of an epoch-the retirern..ent ofAndrew Schaich who had been master founder for fifty-four Years. He had had a wonderful innings. Andrew Schaich had served his adopted country well, and England should revere his memory. l-I:e undertook the complete responsibility of initiating government gun-founding and, starting from scratch, had placed the casting of brass ordnance on a solid foundation upon which his successors could b1.1ild. He ·was at this time seventy-eight years old, and increasing Years had slowed down his vigour and rendered him incapable of carrying the increased burden which the work of the foundry entailed. \1Vith regret, therefore, the Board realized that he must be replaced by a younger man. Andrew Schaich survived his superannuation by six years and, dying at the ripe old age of eighty-four years in 1776, was buried in Woolwich Churchyard.
The minutes of the Board of Ordnance under date 12 January
I 770224 state :
Sir J oseph Yorke, his Majesty's Plenipotentiary at the Hague, having signified in his letter of 26 December 1 769 that Messrs Verbruggen, gunfounders there, are taking the proper measures to be able to transport themselves to England as soon as possible to be employed in the King's service which at present they regard as their only object, and having also signified that he is convinced the above gentlemen will give satisfaction to those who employ them.
The Master-General and Board approved thereof and ordered an
agreement with Messrs Verbruggen as Founders at the Royal Brass
F oundery at Woolwich to be carried into execution as soon as possible.
220 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/72, p. 157. 221 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/73, p. 281. 222 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/vV0/47/74, p. 68. 223 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/74, p. 170. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/75, P· 12.
42 7
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Ordered that l'vfr Schalch be acquainted that the Master-Gene l Board have no further occasion for his _attendance at Woolwich,r~u~~d consideration of his age and long service have agreed to conti 1n allowance ofTwelve Shillings a day and that they desire he will ;u_e his House he at present inhabits in Woolwich Warren as soon as con/lt_the as it will be wanted for his successor sometime in March next. enient
From the correspondence one gains the impression that Mr Sch 1did not like the prospect of retirement and disliked having to 1a eh his house in the Warren where he had passed the greater paeave
rt of
his life.
On g February r770 the Board, on ~ccount of Andrew Schalch's age and long service, agreed_ to allow ~Im .J;20 p.a. ~ouse rent frorn r March r770, at the sa~e,time ordermg h:m to quit 'his dwellin and all other conveniencies as soon as possible as the new found g
. . E I d d 22• S ·11 I ers
were expected to arrive m ng an any a)'."· "' t1 o d Andrew did not move, and on 23 F~brua~y the Respectn~e Officers at Woolwich were instructed to remmd him to vacate his house promptly. On 2 March r770, however, he did reply to the effect that he had b unable to obtain a house and had been ill in bed for the past theen
weeks.226 Although Schalch had ceased officially to be mas:ee founder, there were three r3 inch brass mortars , hich he had I ~: in an unfinished state, so on g March r770 the Board ordered hi~ to return to the foundry and complete them or they lvould emplo some one else to do the job and charge Andrew Scha.lch accorl ingly.227 Andrew Schalch presumably could not do this Jast act of service owing to the state ofhis health, but he intimat d that he had no objection to hi~ nephew-Lewis Gashlier-turning and finishing the three mortars m the foundry. The Board agreed and ordered the
expense ofengraving and finishing to be deducted from Mr Schalch' bills.228 The nephew, however, 'remained a rumour' and as nothin; had been done by the following December, Messrs Verbruggen were ordered to finish the three I 3 inch brass mortars.229
March moved into April and still Schalch remained in his official residence .. Finally, on 24 April I 770, he was, to all intents ~nd p~rpos:s, evicted. On that day the Board sent him a letter
mformmg him that the goods and furniture of the Verbruggens had been _ship~ed and were expected any day, that they insisted on his vacatmg his house and handing it over to the Respective Officers at vyoolwich without delay, and that the said Officers had been dire~ted to take possession ofit.23 °Faced with this ultimatum Schalch
'
bowmg tO the mev1ta. · ble, left the Warren and settled at Charlton.
m Ordnance Journal Book PROfWO/47/ ::: Ordnance Journal Book: PRO/WO/471?l' ~: ;64.
; Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47175' p. 120. 28 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ / ' .
m Ordnance Journal Book: PRO/WO 47 75, p. 181, 3 April 1770. 210 OrdnanceJou 1B k PR /47/76, P· 325, 13 December 1770.
00
rna ' OfWO/47/75, p. 212.
428
THE WARREN 1750-1775
Upon Schalch's departure the master founder's quarter was I<:::)und to be in a bad condition, no repairs having been carried out ~<:::)r many years. On 22 May 1770, Mr Hartwell, having surveyed it, 1 :t:":tformed the Board that £86 would have to be spent to put it in a 4abitable condition. The work was ordered to be put in hand at
O::t1.ce.231
John and Peter Verbruggen duly arrived and on 22 May 1770 the Bt._espective Officers at Woolwich were ordered to clear the foundry a..::t1.d its associated buildings ofeverything that was not Crown property a.:nd hand over the keys to the new master founders.232 The V-erbruggens, like most new brooms, swept clean. They instituted ~any innovations and disdained to follow in the 'Schalch tradition'. ~either the founder's house nor the existing foundry was good e:t:iough for them. On 29 May 1 770 they wrote to the Board saying that 'the Founder's house in the Warren is so very small and so much Out of repair that it is impossible for the family to live in it. They b.ave therefore had to take a house at Plumstead for 52 guineas per a..::nnum. They pray they may be allowed a larger and more conVenient house at Woolwich to be ready against the time that the :taundry is in a state to begin gun-casting.'233
Mr Richard Hale, Land Surveyor, and Mr Vincent Stokoe, Land VVaiter of H.M. Customs, attended the landing of the effects of the 'Verbrugg ns, each being paid the usual fee of one guinea by the Messeng r. The Messenger was also instructed to pay Mr Boddington of the Office of Ordnance £7. ns. 6d. disbursed by him at the ~ustom H ouse, and for the freight of five cases with models and
1. nstrumcnts for Mr Verbruggen.234 On 22 June 1770 the Verbruggens ~ent in their travelling claim for £214. 19s. 4d., the cost oftransport-1._ng themselves and all their possessions from Holland. On the receipt ofthis account it was ordered that their pay should commence on New Year's Day 1770 and that their bill less the amount they Paid for provisions, should be settled. 235
Once in the saddle, the brothers Verbruggen got busy. They said t-hey wanted alterations in the foundry and the clerk of the works "VVas ordered to prepare the necessary estimate.236 The Board informed t:hem that there was no objection to their undertaking the building of the boring machine and furnaces and providing the metal. They "VVere asked to submit an estimate. The Verbruggens complained t:hat the furnaces lacked foundations, a condition they considered dangerous in view of the weight of the falling liquified metal, that
231 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 29o. 232 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 293·
233
Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/75, P· 321 · 234 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 384. 236 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 39· 238 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/76, P· 40, 7 August 177°•
429
the washing room required a brick floor, that the foundry yard was in need of repair, and that there was no water to hand. The Board ordered the necessary work to be carried out as requested.237 As Messrs Verbruggen promised to do their utmost to put the whole foundry in order as soon as possible, warrants were ordered to be made out on 26 October 1770 for the carpenter, bricklayer, smith,
plumber, and glazier to undertake such tasks at the foundry as the master founders should direct. In addition, Mr Hartwell, clerk of the works, was ordered to give these craftsmen the draughts of all ordnance in order that the brick and iron work for the new boring engine should be correctly laid and set up.238
This boring machine, designed by the Verbruggens, was actuated by four horses, which by their combined effort caused the gun slowly to revolve, the borer-head remaining stationary. This antiquated arrangement remained in operation till a t least as
late as 1842. This can be quite understood when it is realized that until t:ie advent of modern power units gun-boring was a difficult operat10n and. accuracy as understood in a present-day workshop was honoured m the breach rather than in the observance.
On 20 December I 770 it was agreed that a beam and scales capable of weighing up to 10,000 lb. of metal should be supplied to the foundry, 239 a~d on the same day the Verbruggens reported that the large_ furnac_e m the foundr~ was worn out. They asked permission to take 1t to pieces and rebmJd it. The Board reluctantly agreed that th~ master founders must do what they consid~r'3d best for the service but stressed that the new improvements must be carried out 'in a most frugal manner'. They demanded more capable workmen for finishin~ the morta:s, and were told that they would be allowed the same pnce for cuttmg, filing and finishing mortars as Mr Schalch and that they could advertise for fresh hands if they
thought fit. They were given sufficient old metal out ofstore to make the engines of the boring machine.240 By now the Board must have thought that they had nursed a viper in their bosom for on 2 2 January 1771, the Verbruggens reported that the wood~n tower of the foundry was rotten and should be repaired with brickwork. The Board asked them to forward a sketch of the proposed alterations.241
The master founders, having transmitted a sketch of the tower of th: foundry with the proposed alterations, the Board asked for an estimate of the expense ~nd wished to be satisfied more fully 'about the arch marked X-X m the plan'. At the same time, the Verbrug
gens asked leave to make an engine in the turning shop which would
m Ordnance Journal Book, PR0fW0/47/76, p. 163 13 October 1770• m 0rdnanceJournal Book, PR0/W0/47/76, p. 185'. :: 0rdnanceJournal Book, PR0/W0/47/76, p. 336.
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/76, p. 357. 141 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47;77, p. 47.
430
THE WARREN 1750-1775
also be capable of boring and turning guns, on the same principle as that of the horizontal boring engine. This machine, which would be much shorter, 'should replace the existing lathe which is much out of repair'. As usual, they were ordered to submit a plan and an estimate of the expense.242
While all this was under discussion the question was asked 'What has become of the old foundry weathercock?' Nobody knew and so on 22 May 1771 the Respective Officers were asked to report on the matter.243 They replied on 24 May that they did not know what had become of the old weathercock, as when it was taken down from the foundry during the overseership ofWilliam Barber it was not handed over to the storekeeper and enquiries had failed to elicit any information.244 Knowing William Barber, we may suspect that he purloined it. The present weathercock on the old foundry building, now the 0.F. Garage, representing a gunner in a three-cornered hat in the act of touching off his piece, although a fine and artistic conception, is obviously not the original and cannot be dated before 1771. On 26July 1771, Messrs Verbruggen forwarded a drawing of the boring-turning machine for mortars with an estimate of erecting the same amounting to £2 76. 5s. od. They pointed out the advantage of h aving two such engines, one for guns and the other for mortars. At the same time they transmitted a plan and elevation of the arches under the foundry's tower with estimates for brick and iron work totalling £105, their suggestion for making the arches near the furnaces (as a part of the work) to prevent danger of fire as proposed in their plan, and their proposition for pulling down the old boring engine so as to utilize some ofits timber in the new work. The Board approved these changes and ordered them to be put into execution.24,5
On 3 September 1771 John and Peter Verbruggen reported that they had finished the five 13 inch and one 10 inch Sea Service mortars. I t was ordered that they be paid and the money deducted from Mr Schalch's bill,246 On 15 October 1771 the foundry yard was ordered to be paved.247 On 1 November 1771 the Verbruggens were allowed house rent of £54. 12s. 6d. and informed that all occupants of official houses pay the Window Light Duties. They forwarded a bill of £S9· l4,J. 6d. on account of their rent for the Plumstead house inclusive of taxes.248
There can be little doubt that the Board were becoming alarmed at the rising costs of the Verbruggen improvements. Evidence of
242 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/77, p. 351, 24 April 1771. 2 n Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/77, P· 433· 244 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/77, P· 476. 245 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, p. 32, 27 July 1771. 246 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, P· rn4. 247 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, P· 147. 248 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, P· 189.
431
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
their state of mind can be gathered from an entry in the J Books under date 7 December 177r :249 ourna1 Messrs Verbruggen are desired to state as soon as possible h money they think will be necessary to finish the foundry a odw much
n bo ·
~~ ~
Such apprehension can be readily understood as the B
d. 1 M oarct ct·
.
not have unlimited funds at their 1sposa . eanwhile fi id expenditure was visualized. On 31 January 1772, th~ ;rther founders were asked to report whether the marble conta• . aster
d . r:. 1n1ng th
Ordnance Arms at the Tower cou Id be p 1ace m 1ront ofth fc e as an ornament.250 This plan, however, never materiali~ ~Undry Ar~. were certainly _re~oved from their resting place in ethe The bmldmg but were bmlt mto the wall on the south side of 'C S 0 1d near the Salt Tower. Later on, on 28 September th tore'
1 772
bruggens were ordered to forward a sketch of the small' e Verwhich they proposed for the back front of the foundry th0 rn\rnent Board considered that an adornment there would be ou't ofoulg t~e
h· d M P ace 2.,1
In the end not mg was one. essrs Verbruggen report d · steps still remained to be taken to complete the foundry e dwhat . d k h f h · ·1 T an sub
rrutte a s etc o t e iron ra1 s. he Board, however d· l"k d
'd f b · k · · ' is i e the
i ea o nc piers to support the rails an~ asked Mr R .
• r:. • h ·1· . emnant his
pnce1or castmg t e ra1 mgs out ofthe king's metal. 252 Ivir R price being satisfactory he was ordered to make the ,·ail efm?a?t's
d. . h . B .l , o similar
1mens10ns tot ose m erkeley Square.253 Meanwhile ,
, more money
was expended on the Verbruggens. The Board approv<> f h
0
in the Warren being built for them at a cost of£ T 00, ~ d a douse
. b ~' -v an or ered
it to e constructed at once.254 This house afterwai·ds b ecame for
many years the home of the Ordnance Committee and o d Board and is now used as a Regional Pay Office 1 V br nance
. d . 1e er ruggens
w:re _m eed an expensive luxury. The master founders about this time were experiencing trouble with th . 'fi
fi di diffi • eir art1 cers and
n ng culty m securing _good workmen. Why this should
t:'::;:;~;ou~~e1 n~; t~ansp:e; the impending troubles in the of 1 b h ar y ave een the cause. To aid recruitment staffa_ our t ey were told that they could accommodate their d in the Warren house, lately allotted to Mr Schalch 255 and in ~7r7;rt~~tprevent any misconception the Board stated o~ 29 June no one was to be put in • f h. .
till further ord 25a I . possesswn ° t IS particular house u, ers. t Is, of course, possible that militia service 210 OrdnanceJournaI Book PRO/WO/ /
Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/W0/47 78, P· 272. z.sz Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/WO/47/79, p. 69. m OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/WO 47/80, p. 154. m OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0//47/79, P· 207, 3 April 1772.264 OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/WO 47/79, P· 306, 15 May 1772.
161
OrdnanceJournal Book' PRo;wof47179, p. 210, 7 April 1772. m OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0/47/79, P• 309, 15 May 1772. ' 47/79, p. 430.
432
THE WARREN 1750-1775
may have acted as a deterrent in obtaining craftsmen and this may have bred a spirit of discontent. In any case the question must have been raised, for the solicitor to the Board was asked on 18 December
1772 to give his opinion as to whether foundrymen could in future be exempted from such service.257 On 26 January 1773 he replied in the negative.258
In the Estimates for 1772 £6,000 was allotted for the foundry at Woolwich.
At last on 22 January 1773, over a year after the master founders had been asked the question, they replied that the estimated cost of completing the foundry was £3,888 11s. od. The Board ordered the buildings to be finished as soon as possible adding the pious hope 'that the estimate will not be exceeded' .259
H ere for a time we must leave the Verbruggens and their story except to outline a curious report which they rendered to the Board.2Go
They reported that while selecting metal to cast tools for the boring engine they found nine guns made of brass 'inside and out' but of lead in the middle. Being curious, they had ascertained from General Williamson, who had learned the facts from the storekeep er , that these peculiar guns had been sent down to Woolwich fron1 the T ower in 1763 as unserviceable. They had been made at
Chelsea by a Colonel Ludwig Widenman, a Saxon under the patronage ofH.R.H. the late Duke of Cumberland in 1747 and 1748 at the Duke's foundry. In March I 749 the guns in question had been sent, ,vith oth ers from the Tower, to Windsor for proof, which G eneral Belford and the late General Michelson had attended. W hile proving one of these curious 6 pdr pieces against a light
En glish 6 pdr gun, the former had burst whereupon Colonel Widenm a h ad refused to experiment further. By the interest of the late Duk e of Cumberland the guns had afterwards been purchased by the Office of Ordnance and put into store at the Tower. Some time afterwards they had been condemned as unserviceable.
Upon the receipt of this report the Board ordered that one gun of each nature should be sent to the Tower and engraved 'with the occasion and time they were introduced'.
Where does the actual truth about the foundry lie? Only three explanations are possible:
(a) Did Andrew Schalch with advancing years tend to neglect some of the less obvious duties and allow the foundry buildings and their equipment to deteriorate to a large extent? We know he had not troubled to have his house repaired for years.
257 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /80, p. 342• 258 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /8 I, p. 39· 250 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /8I, p. 30. 260 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 169, 5 March 1773.
433
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(b)
Had Andrew Schalch, as h~ be~me older, got so set in his ideas that he refused to move with the times · .
(c)
Did the Verbruggens have all the ~Iterations done to prove their • • • • d ffic·ency which though desirable, were not essential ;i
1n1tiat1ve an e 1 , .
It is difficult at this time to say. Proba~ly _all ~hree explanations have some bearing on the matter, and it is difficult to absolve Andrew Schalch entirely of blame. .
Although the Bill Books by l 770 h~d become smgularly reticent in regard to details, the foIIowing entnes refer to the charges in the foundry: March IJJI. Thomas Churchill and John Groves paid £ _
30
200
I os. I r½d. for work in the found1~etween r January and 30 March I 77 r. Board's Order 26 October r 770. 30 March I;JI. James Morris received £220. 15s. 1 r 4 d. for work in the foundry.262 30 June IJJI. Thomas Churchil_l and John Gro~es. were paid £
549_
7s. sfd. for carrying up the medmm f~rnfiace, fimsh1dng th~ chimney, making part of the drains for the. smal urnace, an gettmg up the buildings for the boring and turnmg rooms at the foundry between 1 April and 30June 1771. Board's Order, 26 October 1770.263
JO June IJJI. James Morris received £274. 12s. Bd. for repairs at the foundry.264 •
JO September IJJI. Th?mas Church!ll and J ohn r~ves were paid £ 720. 5s. 6½d. for finishing the medmm. fu_rnace, tak1 g down and rebuilding the south side of the foundry, fimshmg the ro f of the turning and boring rooms, carrying up the foundations for the boring engine and making the drains for the air-holes between I July and 30 September r77 • Board's Order, 26 October 1770.265 1
30 September IJJI. James Morris received £194. 15s. 8:}d. for laying a floor in the turning room of the foundry.266 JI December I7JI. Thomas Churchill and John Gro es were paid £780. 6s. od. for work done at the foundry. 267 31 December 177I. James Morris received £400. 19s. 3¾d. for fixing the turning bench and wheel in the foundry.268 JI March I772. James Morris received £177. 6s. Bd. for work at the foundry between I January and 31 March 1772.269 JI March 1772. Thomas Churchill and John Groves were paid £709. Is. 7f d.forworkinthefoundrybetween 1Januaryand3r March 1772.270 30 June I772. James Morris received £162. r6s. 2 4-d. for work at the foundry between r April and 30 June 1772.271 m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\VO/51 /252, p. 95. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/253, p. 6.
283
Ordnance BiJI Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/248 p. 223. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/253: p. 7. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/248 p. 231.
281
7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{W0/51/25/ p. 74.
1t Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/25/ p. 151. ::: Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO{W0/51/257: p. 35. 270 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/250 p. 144. 271 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /256' p. I 1.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /257: p. 36.
434
THE WARRE · _
175 0
1775 3 0 September I772. James Morris was paid £ ~d r
d b l 174. Is. 104 . 10r work at
the foun ry etween I J u y and 30 September I 772.212 3 0 September I772. John Groves received £62 i6s 1d r k the founclry between 1 J uly and 30 September4· 1772 • c32 • 1or· wor hat
h . arrymg up t e
brickwork to t e large furnace and paving the bott f h
· h · om o t e same,
carrying up t e piers and arches under the cupola and b t h
· · h 11 f . e ween t e
furnaces, repa1nng t e wa s o the pits ofthe medium and s 11 r,
· 1 h. d ·1· ff ma urnaces,
ripping at mg an tl mg o the large roof, and pointing and re airin
the front of the foundry.273 p g 3 I December I772. John Groves was paid £899. 7s. od. for work on the foundry between I October and 31 December 1772 .214 3 I March I773• James Morris paid £134. 16s. 11 ¾d. for work at the foundry between I January and 31 March 1773.215 30 June I773• John Groves received £327. ,µ. 3d. for work on the foundry between I April and 30 June 1773.276 30 June I773• James Morris was paid £182. 3s. 9¾d. for work on the foundry between I April and 30 June 1 773. 277 30 eptember I773• James Morris received £495. os. o¼d. for carpenters' work at the master founder's new house between I July and 30 September 1773. Board's Order 7 April 1772.278 3 0 eptember I773• James Morris was paid £153. 16s. Bi d. for work done at the foundry between I July and 30 September 1773.279 3 cptember I773• John Groves received £187. 7s. 7d. for work in the foundry between 1 July and 30 September 1773.280 30 June I774• John Groves was paid £76. 1,µ. od. for work in the foundry 1 etween I April and 30 June 1774.281 30 J une I774· James Morris received £69. 13s. 6¾d, for work in the foundry betvveen I April and 30 June 1774.282 30 June I775· James Morris was paid £60. 1,µ. 5¾d. for work in the foundry between I October I 774 and 30 June 1775.283 . 30 J une 1775. James Morris received £22. 12s. 8½d. for work m the foundry between I July and 30 September 1774.284
Although these above bills do not cover every item of expense in connection with the rebuilding ofthe foundry, they total over £7,_300 in four years. Quite a considerable sum of money for renovation. Did the Board ever regret their decision to employ John and Peter Verbruggen as master founders?
21
2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/250, P· 142· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/256, P· 95·
2
"' Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/256, P· 20!· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/259, P· 1 3:J• 210 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/258, P· 24· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/258, P· 320· 218 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/257, P· 39o. 219 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/2~9, P· 137• 280 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/2 °, P· 27· 281 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO//51 1/264, P· 12· 282 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO 51 2 64, P· 132· 283 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO//5 1 //2i4, P· 132· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO51 2 4, P· 133·
435
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
We must now return and see what else had transpired in th Warren during the years 1 77° to 1 775· . e 0 I 770 a causeway 6 feet wide from the foot of th
n 19 J anuary , k d d t b e
stone steps to the lower water-mar was or ere o e constructed at a cost of£50.285 On 27 March I 770, a newhframe for the we· 1ghd fcol. £40 280 On 4 May I 770, t e new stables in th
stand was ma e · d fc · e W d the ground around was enclose to orm a stable-yard.
arren an t be erected Th· '
also two new coach-houses were o . ' is totalled d 287 On 4 January 1 77 I, the storekeeper s garden w II
£
57. Idos. dot. be rebuilt 288 and on 29 January following repairs at
was or ere o , . o 1 • fi mary amounting to £20. 18s. od. were earned out
t ie upper m r f PI fc h .280 Dinners were always provided at Proo a~e or t e sta~ carrying
f f guns This was an old custom which had long since bee
out proo o • . . J n . John Fuller, h' efferson Mile
the gun-founder, wntmg to
m vogue. s, who had succeeded Samuel Remnant, as 1s agent, says:
I ld stand the whole proof dinner, which I shall leave to you
wou . . h' h I d . r
discretion, and begin a new regulat10n m w 1c es1re all the clerks ma be handsomely provided for and the under officers, but none of the
y · h 290
rabble of Woolw1c . 'Gate-crashing' was evidently not unknown on these occasions. Many visitors attended proo£ It was a spectacle not to be missed. A newspaper cutting of 8 March I 770 states: There was a great proof of brass mortars and about I oo large cannon in the Warren. Two iron cannon burst but no damage was <lone, notwithstanding the large number ofspectators present.
One fancies that the young men of leisure regarded the proving of guns in the eighteenth century much as the Sp niard of today regards a bull-fight. Something exciting with a strong element of risk to add zest to the entertainment.
Latterly these proofdinners were paid for by the Messenger to the Office of Ordnance.291
Their Majesties, the King and Queen visited the Warren in August 1770. A newspaper cutting dated 25 August 1770 records the occasion as follows:
Last Saturday, their Majesties honoured the Royal Artillery with their presence in the Warren. They were first taken to the Royal Laboratory attended by Colonel Desaguliers, and shown around. Next they went to the waterside where several shot were fired from an iron gun by means
of a lock fixed to the vent. A Sea Service I 3 inch mortar was next fired
286
88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, p. 3r. : 87 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, p. 155. -OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, p. 245.
288
289 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. r. 290 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47/77, p. 68. . q.uoted from the_ Sussex Arch Collins, vol. Ixvii by F. C. Elliston-Erwood m the Pr~~fedmgs ofthe Woolwzch and District Antiquarian Society, vol. xxix, p. 34. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 116, 12 February 1771.
436
THE WARREN 17 50_
1775 three or fo:1r ti~es,. entirely filled with round shot, which had a good effect. Their :"1aJesh<:s next_ saw a heavy 12 pdr brass gun fired twentythree times with shot ma ~mute, spunging between each fire and loading with the grea~est sa_fety. This surpassed any quick firing ever yet practiced. The method 1s entirely new and supposed to be the invention of Colonel
Desaguliers.
Fears for the safety of the turret in the garden of Dr Pollock's house now bega1: to be felt. It was, as we know, nearly years old.
350
On 3 May 1.771 It was ordered to be surveyed and a report rendered on the possibility ofits collapse.202 Mr Powrie in his report of May
24
set all doubts _at :est. He stated that !he _old tower stood as perpendicular _as It _did on the day on which 1t was built and that he considered It unlikely to fall down. He stressed, however, that patches of brickwork were missing, especially round the foundations. It was
· d 29a
ordered to be repaire . An entry in the Journal Books under date 19 June 1771 shows that Russian mortars were being proved in the Warren.29'1 Three
13 inch mortars were proved for the Empress of Russia in July.2os In 177 I £800 was allowed for repairs at Woolwich and Greenwich. O n 24 April I 772, Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson informed the Board that he could not let them have the exact piece of ground
they required next to the Warren, but that he would indicate the
portion he was willing to part with if the B_oard would ap~oint _a
negotiator. General Skinner was duly appointed to deal with Sir
T homas, the Board having already intimated that they would
procu:re an Act of Parliament if necessary to secure the land they
wanted .296
On 7 M ay r 773, the Surveyors of the Highway of the P~rish of
Woolwich were again in trouble. They lacked the wherewithal to
carry out their duties.297 They stated that there_ was a very bad and
hollow way leading into the water-course which ran through the
Warren, which could not be made good without building an ar~h
to cross the road. They intimated that they had soi:ie money 1n
hand but not enough to construct the arch. They prormsed to supply
the labour and gravel to complete the road if the Board would find
the materials for the arch which they estii:iated at £18. 2s. 8d. T_he
Board agreed to this proposition and instructed the Respe~t1~e
Officers at Woolwich to pay the required sum to the Surveyor o t e
Highways.298
202 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, P· 38o.
20:i Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, P· 449· m Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/77, P· 52 3· J 1.
1
177
295 Ordnance Journal Bookk·, PPRROO//~g//4477//~g'. ~: I~,1 ~3 JJiy I 771.
Ordnance Journal Boo ,
Q
29a Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/79, P· -49·
201 See note 201. /WO/ /8 p 393
29s Ordnance Journal Book, PRO 47 1, • •
437
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
The sum of £1,000 was allotted to Woolwich in t~e 1773 Estimate~.
On I July 1773, the Respective Officers were mformed that his Majesty King George III would visit the Warren at g a.m. on t~e morning of Tuesday 6July. Twenty-two g pdr guns were to be laid down at Proof Place for a royal salute of 2 I guns to be fired, and such howitzers, mortars, and stores as the Commanding Officers, Royal Artillery, might direct. A breakfast :was to be prepared for the king in the storekeeper's room above stairs . .rt was ordered that a 13 inch Sea Service mortar should be placed m the Well and one 10 inch howitzer to be got ready. The officers were also ordered to have ready for the Master-General's signatur~ a general state of the Land and Sea Service guns, mortars, howitzers, shot and sh~ll, expressing the number and nature. of each, and the number ?f ships of each rate that could be supplied from stores under their care. Messrs Verbruggen were told that his Majesty would visit the foundry in the morning. The Comptroller, Royal Laboratory was instructed to provide the necessary stores. The best flag in the Tower was to be sent to Woolwich for use on this occasion.299
The Gentleman's Magazine gives the following description of the royal visit :300 Tuesday 6 July 1773. His Majesty visited Woolwich attended by a party ofLight Horse. His Majesty was received by Lord Townshend, as MasterGeneral of the Ordnance, and saluted by a discharge of 2 I 12 pdrs. The guard rested their arms, and the drums and music beat the march : the Royal Standard was displayed on the Mortar battery, and his Majesty passed in front of the old invalids to the new-erected Foundery where Mr Verbruggen shewed him the different processes of casting brass guns. The King then entered the boring room, for boring guns cast solid by a horizontal boring machine, the most curious and best contrived of any in Europe, where a 42 pdr was bored in his Majesty s presence. His Majesty then viewed a very curious contrived light piece of artillery which, on emergencies, might be carried on men's shoulders; its use and effects were tried by several charges of grape shot to the great amazement of his Majesty. This ingenious piece is the contrivance of General Pattison who explained it to his Majesty. From thence his Majesty went to the Royal Military Academy where he saw a very curious model of a fortification, together with the lines of approach, parallels and saps, explained by the Inspector of the Academy, Captain Smith, who is said to have been twelve years in the Russian Service. His Majesty then viewed the drawings and other exercises ofthe Upper Academy, explained by Dr Pollock, Professor of Artillery and Fortification, after which he retired into the Grand Room of the Academy and was regaled by a breakfast banquet. Lastly his Majesty reviewed the Royal Regiment of Artillery and expressed the utmost satisfaction in all their manoeuvres. Colonel Broom, in parading in front of the regiment before his Majesty on a very beautiful and
2tt Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{W0/47/82, p. II.
100 Volume XLIII, p. 347.
THE WARREN 1750-1775
ellbroke horse, but very tender-mouthed, checked him, which made the ;orse rise upon his hind legs and fall backwards on his rider who is so greatly bruised that his life is despaired of. '
To G eorge III is attributed the annual privilege still enjoyed by Arsenal workers of observing the second Saturday in July as a 'Bean Feast' holiday. Local legend says that the prandial entertainment he experienced on his visit recorded above was so much to his liking that, as a memento ofthat occasion, he caused the 'Bean Feast' celebration to be inaugurated. There may be a modicum of truth in this suggested origin as the second Saturday inJuly corresponds very closely to the date of 'Farmer George's' visit, although confirmation from records is lacking. There is no official corroboration anywhere
to b e found.
The new residence for the master founders was nearing completion by the summer of 1773. On 10 August of that year, it was ord ered th at the rooms of the house were to be papered at a cost not exceeding 6d. a yard.301 Finally the Verbruggens, on 29 November
1 ... 73, informed the Board that they had taken possession and t:ndered their thanks accordingly.302 O n 13 July 1773, a new shed for the purpose of storing timber for th Royal Laboratory was ordered to be built adjoining the Blue od.303
stor h s at a cost of £125. 7s. On 10 August 1773, the
· d 301
proof-butts were ordered to b e repaire . · As the walk along the Warren wall had become dangerous for pedestrians and for the horses employed in t1:e bori~g mill, a s':1g
(J"
tion of Messrs V erbruggen was adopted. This consisted of making 0 eslopi'ng descent for the horses on the inside of the roa.d supported
a s d · h b · k 3os
by a little w all. In addition, the smiths' shop was pave wit nc. s:
Questions of law relative to government servants and others hv1n_g in the W arren were always being asked. On 28 January 1_774 S_ir Richard Sutton, solicitor to the Board, stated that officers hvin~ 1n government houses were liable for the poor rate, but that soldiers
accommodated in barracks were not.306 • • • Trouble was still experienced with unauthorized persons ga1rung admittance to the Warren, and on 10 August 1773 the clerk of the works was ordered to prepare an estimate for: .
(I)
Securing the infirmary wall to prevent people gettmg over.
(
2) Securing the boundary wall ~o the.east.
(3)
Raising the infirmary wall with bnck. b 1 307
(4)
Securing the boundary wall with glass ott es. 4
3 01 Ordnance Journal Bookk, Pp~g1fygl1 ~~:~• ~: ;~6, 1 December I 773.
soz Ordnance Journal Boo , 1 4 ' 303 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/:2, P· ij0 · 47
304 Ordnance Journal Bookk, PPRR0 1fygl // ;, ~: 3l 25 January 1774·
30° Ordnance Journal Boo , O 1 147 3 ' aos Ordnancejournal Book, PROJW0//47//:3, P· 4ij· 307 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO 47 2 , P· 7 ·
439
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
It may be noted in passing that such security_ measures had a dd. • 1 • that ofpreventing cadets and soldiers from bre ki n
a itlona aim, a ng out of barracks.
Additional security measures were taken on_ 9 August r 774. The clerk of the works was instructed to have spikes placed over the gate leading into Warren Lane and over the gate near the stor
keeper's orchard; also locks were to be placed on ~he barrack doo;; t On the wall ao8 Thefts, however, still continued
and glass pu · A . and Charles Wall was prosecuted at th~ Kent ss1zes for purloining a lead pipe from the master founder s house. He was sentenced to transportation.309 . . . The improvement in balhstI~s, though sma!l, _did have an effect on the range and muzzle ve~oc1ty of ?uns. This 1n turn produced a 'more vigorous' proof with ~ts resultmg dangers of more powerful b rsts and an increase of ricochets. The proof-butts were not a u~due distance from the Woolwich-Plumstead hig_hroad, and th~ possibility of danger yearly increas_e~.. One cann? t b~ _surprised, therefore that the patience of the c1v1han popula t10n hv1ng in th immedia;e neighbourhood became stretched to breaking point. 0~ 7 November 1774, MrJohn Martin ofPlumstead '"'rote to the Board saying that the inhabitants of that pla~e request_ed the removal of the butts to a site further from the highroad since they were in danger of their lives every time proof was carried out. The Board realizing the seriousness of the position, acted quickly. On 8 ovem~ her, they called for the papers relative to the removal of the butt and for the newly proposed site to be laid before them, and on 22 November General Skinner and Dr Pollock were asked for a plan of the ground.310 On 10 October 1775, approval for the repair of the large and small furnaces in the foundry were approved,311 and on the following day the piling of the wharf adjoining the landing place was ordered to be repaired at a cost of£74.312 A curious order appeared on 22 August 1775, namely that 'labourers and horses in the Warren were to work overtime for the despatch of public business'.313 Payments for the more important of the works services carried out between I 76r and r 775 were as under:
JI March r76r. James Morris was paid £171. 18s. gl d. for repairing the powder bridge at Greenwich, finishing the junk house, laying new
::: OrdnanceJournaI Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 34. 310 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 44, 1o August 1774. 311 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 166, 8 November 1774.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 165.
313
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 156. aia OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 117.
44°
THE WARREN
1750_
1775 platforms and repairing shops and storehouses between January and
I
31 March 1761.314
3 I March r76r. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Church"ll · d £
· · · ff d . . i receive . 103.
19s. od . in nppmg o an retihng New Square and the artificers' sho s
between I January and 31 March 1761.315 P 3 r March r76r. James Morris was paid £121 IO!d t d
105
building a new apartment for General Michelson a~d £o.r 2 d. owar_ s
ks · fi sun ry repairs
to the barrac , in rmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between r
January and 31 March 1761.316 3 r March r76r. John Shakesp:ar received £148. 5s. 3d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt, gravelling the roads and clearing away rubbish between I January and 31 March 1761.317 3 o J une r76r. John ~hakespear was paid £78. 15s. 7½d. for gravelling Proof Place and certa1n roads, and for repairing the sluices between
1 April and 30 June 1761.318 30 J une r76r. James Morris r~ceived £166. 19s. r rd. towards erecting a new apartment for General Michelson and for sundry repairs to officers' houses and barracks beti.-veen I April and 30 June 1761.319 30 J une r76r: Joseph _Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £7o. gs. 1 ¾d. for makmg a dram from the cadet barracks and for sundry repairs between I April and 30 June 1761.320 30 J une r76r. James Morris received £79. 6s. 3£d. for sundry repairs to shops and storehouses between I April and 30 June 1761.321 30 September I 76r. John Shakespear was paid £1oI. 7s. 7½d. for digging drains to the new storehouses, gravelling roads and cleaning out the dock for the office boat between I July and 30 September 1761.322 30 September r76r. Joseph and Thomas Churchill were paid £161. 16s. 2¼d. towards erecting a new apartment for General Michelson and for sm~dry repairs to the infirmary and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1761.323 30 September r76r. James Morris received £130. 19s. o£d. towards erecting a new apartment for General Michelson and for sundry repairs to the infirmary and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1761.324 30 September r76r. John Shakespear was paid £2~. 4-S. 5}d. fo: digging drains and cess-pools and for clearing away rubbish from the mfirmary' b 6 ~
and officers' houses between I July and 30 Septem er 1 7 1. 30 September I76I. John Shakespear receiv~d £82. IIs. 11¼~-for repairing the proof-butt and Proof Place, gravellmg the roads, pullmg up
314
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/216, P· 140.
315
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/217, P· 128.
316
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/220. P· 16.
317
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/221, P· 41.
318
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/216, P· 158.
319
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/2 1 7, P· 245·
320
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/219, P· 60321 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/219, P· 107.
322
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/218, P· 39· 323 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /2 1 9, P· 87.
324
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/219, P· 178.
325
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/22 1 , P· 4°·
30 441
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
piles at Greenwich Magazine and clearing away rubbish betw and 30 September 1761.326 een I July
31 December 1761. J ames Morris was paid £165. r2s. gf d. for b . new stables for the storekeeper and for the contractor to house thUilding horses; also for sundryrepairs between I October and 3r Decemb e 0ffice
31 December 1761. John Shakespear received £32. r Is. 6d fc err?6r.327 drains and cess-pools, and for clearing rubbish away from th 0~ digging guardhouse and officers' houses between I October and eD arracks•
31
I 76r.32s ecernber 31 December 1761. John Shakespear was paid £7I. ,µ. 81-d r.
h r. 11· p f Pl 4 • ior repai .
t e 1ace ofthe proof-butt, grave mg roo ace and certain roads b ring
I
October and 3r December I 76I.329 etween 31 December 1761. James Morris received £ 497. gs. d
3
building a new apartment in General Michelson's house and !0 ':"ards
1
room to Colonel Pattison's house from the cadet barracks; also for Ying_ a to the guardhouse, infirmary and officers' houses between r Octobrepairs 3I December 176r.330 er and
31 March I762. James Morris was paid £68. r rs. r rd. for re . offices, storehouses and shops between r January and 31 M h pairs to
1 762 331
31 March 1762. James Morris received £93. ss. 2t d. for s:~~r -_ to the barracks, infirmary, guardrooms and officers' houses b Yrepairs January and 31 March 1762.332 etween 1 31 March 1762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill we .
6d fl d . h , re paid £7
gs. . or sun ry repairs to t e barracks, infirmary and officer , 1• betvveen I January and 31 March r762 .333 s houses
JI March 1762. John Shakespear received £86 r8s .1.d r .
h fl f h . . 0 2 • ior repai .
t e ace o t e proof-butt, gravelling roads and clearin awa n_ng betvveen I January and 3r March 176Q.334 g Y rubbish
31 March 1762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill ·= • Bs. gl d. for rep_airs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse andv..o...,[; pa~d £ 19, betvveen 1 April and 30 June 1 762•335 cers houses
30 June 1762. James Morris received £ 58 gs .J..d r ·
k h · fi · · 52 • 1or repairs to b
racJs, t em rmary, guardrooms and officers' houses bet,veen l A ·1 ard
30 une 1762.336 pn an
JO June 1762. James Morris was paid £107 r6s 2. ?•d f; .. shops, cranes, the wharfandstorehousesbetween I .Ap ·1· 4d . Jor repamng
Siple b . . n an 30 une1762.337
;:fri;Ei:~~~£;:d:~:~~t:tv~~ ~~;;;:db~::~~s1::~:~;
a2e Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ m Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/Wo/1//221, p. 4r. m Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/W0/51/216, p. 278. a2, Ordnance Bill Book' Series u' PRO/W 51 221, p. 123.
a30 Ordnance Bill Book' Series u' PRO/Wg//51/221, p. 123. a31 Ordnance Bill Book' Series u' p 51/221, p. 16r. 332 Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' p;g~g//51/219, p. 287. ::: Ordnance B!ll Book: Series u' PRO/W0/51/221, p. r65.
Ordnance Bill Book Ser· u' 51/222, p. 86. 331 Ordnance Bill Book' Seri: 'PRO/WO/51/223, p. 22.
334
Ordnance Bill Book: Series ii' :;g/W/W00/51/221, p. 196.337 Ordnance Bill Book Seri ' /51/221, p. 202. aa, Ordnance Bill Book' Seri: Ji' ::OO/W/W00//51/223, p. 3·
, ' 51/216, p. 298.
442
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 September z762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid
£115. 1,µ. od. for building a new cart shed and sundry other repairs
between I July and 30 September I 762.339 30 September z762. James Morris received £202. os. I 1d. towards building a new cart shed and sundry repairs between 1 July and 30 September 1762.340 30 S eptember z762. John Shakespear was paid £69. 13s. 6 ¾;d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt, cleaning the moats, demolishing the old stables to build the cart shed on the site and clearing away rubbish between 1 July and 30 September I 762.341 30 S eptember z762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £ 14. 1s. 7½d. for repairs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1762.342 30 September 1762. James Morris was paid £56. 6s. g! d. for repairs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between 1 July and 30 September 1762.343 3 r D ecember 1762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £?I 8s. 1 ½d. for repairs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between 1 July and 31 December 1762.344 3r D ecember r762. James Morris was paid £35. I4S. 2d. for repairs to b arracks, gu ardhouse and officers' houses between 1 October and
3 1
1762.345
D ecember
3r December r762. John Shakespear received £53. 12s. 6d. for repairing the fac of the proof-butt, building a cart shed and cleaning the dock for the storekeeper's boat between 1 October and 31 December 1762.346
3 r 11-larch r763. John Shakespear was paid £42. os. 5 ¼;d. for cleaning the doc< for the storekeeper's boat, clearing mud from the moat, repairing the face of the proof-butt, opening the ground for mending conduit pipes after frost and clearing away rubbish between I January and 31 March
I 763.34.?
3r March r763. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £35. 4-S· 7¼_d. for opening and repairing barrack drains, and repairing the infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between I January and 31
348
March 1763.
3r March r763. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £25. 6s. 6 ½d. for repairs to storehouses, offices and stables between I January and 31 M arch 1 763.349
3r March r763. James Morris received £79. 6s. 6¾d. for repairs to shops, offices, storehouses, cranes and the boat dock beh-veen 1 January and 3 I March 1 763.350
339 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/218, p. 224.
3 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/218, p. 244.
do
341 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/220, p. 87. 342 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /221, p. 196. 343 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/221, p. 201. 3H Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/220, p. 212. 3 ·15 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/222, p. 252. 346 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/224, p. 8. 347 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /223, p. 67.
348 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/225, p. 99. Mo Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /225, p. 99. 360 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfW0/51 /227, p. 15.
443
3r A-farcll r763. James Morris was 1;aid £43. 10s. 3t d, for rep . the guardhouse, barracks and officers houses between I Janua;,1rs to 31 March 1763.351 . . and 30 June r763. James Morns recen~ed £rog. I Is. 2! d. for repairs shops storehouses the moat and slmce, and the powder rnagaz· to Gree~wich betv,,ee'n I April and 3o June 1763.352 ine at
30 September IJ63 . Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid 3s 3_l.d for repairs to officers' houses between I July and 30 Sept £97,
• 4 • ernber
1763,353 .
30 September rJ63 . John Shakespear received £110. 6s. IoJ...d pumping water for Colonel Pattison and the cadet barracks, a~ct icor emptying the moat between I July and 30 September I 763_354 or
3 0 Sehtember IJ6ry. James Morris was paid £181. 6s. 64 d. for re .
r .J • h b k d pairs to
dwelling houses the mfirmary, t e arrac s an storehouses b tw
' 6 355 e een
I July and 30 September I 7 3· . . 3 I December r76ry. James Morns received £79. I Is. 7d. for rep .
.J L d S . h a1rs to
the Academy, cadets' hall, the an erv1ce store ouse, Major J arnes' house Colonel Pattison's house, the cranes, Mr M uller's wash-hous s
' b 6 HG ee~
between I October and 31 Decem er 17 3. · 3r Marc/z r764. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were p aid £ 7s. ofd. for repairs to officers' houses, building party wall, plastering at~ sundry services between I January and 3 I M arch I 764.357 3 o June r764. James Morris received £70. rs. 3¾d. for :repairing th roofs ofthe carpenters' and turners' shops, for fixing gates in the Artific ?
. . . ffi ers
Yard, and m carrying out repairs on o ces and storehouses between 1January and 30June 1764.358 30 June r764. James Morris was paid £124. r6s. 3;],d. for taking u
and laying a new floor and repairing the wainscoting in Colonel Pattisonp house (~~ard's Orders 16 December 1763 and 17 Feb uary 1764). Als~ for repamng the tables at the cadet barracks and other services between 1January and 30 June 1764.359
. 31 Dece,;zber 1764: James Morris_ received £134. 6s. 9 d. for repairs
2
m officers houses, m bog-houses m the barra cks and in the shed for cleaning shoes at the cadet barracks between I July and 31 December
I 764.360
30 June 1765._ !oseph ~ratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £120.
1
3s. 52d. for repairing the mfirmary, for raising the wall at the back of the cadet_ barracks, fo_r raising the East Pavilion of the new infirmary, for cleanmg_and opemng drains, for building a new washhouse and wine-bins
at the assistant firemaster's house and for other minor alterations between I January and 30 June 1765.361
::: Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/227, p. 16. 35; Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/224, p. 34. 364 Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/228, p. 29. Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/s1/22a, p. 20.
355
au Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/s1/22a, p. 27. Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/sr/229, p. 83_
367
m gr:ance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/s1/22g, p. 115. m o~:~;N:H N~~:; ~:;:: };, PRO/W0/51/229, P· 113. ::: gr~nance B[ll Book, Series II: ::g~g~~:~::i; ~: ;g!:
r nance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/sl/229, p. 301.
444
THE WARREN 1750
1775
30 Jun_e _1765. Jose~h ~ratt and_1:homas Churchill received £8. os. d.
7
[or repairing and pointmg the t1lmg of the carpenters', wheelers' and srniths' shops by order of t~e Board dated 26 April 1765. The work was carried out between 1 April and 30 June 1765_a62
31 D ecember r765. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid£34. os. 3}d. f~~ repairs in officers' houses between July and
3 I 31
December 1765.
31 D ecember r76-?. Joseph Pr~tt and Thomas Churchill received £111 . 18s. 3}d. for bmlding a new bndge over the ditch at the lower end of the proof-butt, and ~or repairing storehouses, the storekeeper's house, white
washing, plastering etc. between 1 July and 31 December 6 .3s4
17 5
31 D ecember r765. James Morris was paid £7. 2s. o! d, for minor repairs to officers' houses between I July and 31 December 1765.365
30 June 1766. James Morris received £27. os. 10d. for repairing Colonel Pattison's house, for making tables and forms for the Royal Academy (Board's Order dated 2 1 March 1 766), and for repairing the wainscoting at the cadet barracks (Board's Order dated 3 June 1766) between 1 J anuary and 30 June 1766.366
3o September 1766. James Morris was paid £147. 15s. 2¾d. for work at the Academy between 1 July and 30 September 1766.367
30 ej1tember 1766. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £59. q s. 2-;l;d. for minor building alterations between I July and 30 September 1766.368
3 1 December 1766. ] oseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £83. 3s. 1 od. for resetting coppers and tiling the bog-house at Dr Pollock's house between 1 October and 31 December 1766.369
3 r March 1767. James Morris received £79. tµ. 6d. for repairing the Sea Service storehouse and sheds between 1 January and 31 March 1767.370 . 3 •
30 June 1767. John Shakespea_r was pai_d £22. 12s. g~d. for le~el~ng the ground, clearing away rubbish, cleaning out cess-pools and d1i~mg the oTound for the plumbers between I January and 30 June I 767 •
3; J une r767. Joseph P~~tt and T~omas C:hurchill received £72. i8s. o}d. for repairing the tilmg and brickwork m the New Square, and for repairing the parapet of Prince Rupert's Walk and the Vvarren wall between I April and 3o June 1 767 (Board's Orders dated 2I August I 766,
372
6 M arch 1767, 7 April 1767 and 22 May 1767). . . September r767. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill "':ere paid
0
£;
36. 18s. 11 !d. for taking down the old a1:d building a new k1_tchen fo~ Colonel Williamson, for erecting a new dairy for Colonel Pattison, an
362 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO fWO /51/229, P· 3°3· 363 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/23o, P· ~4· 364 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/231, P· 0• 365 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51//237, P· 9·
366
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 235, p. 322.
367 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO f/5 11238, P· ;~2· 3oa Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO 51 1240, p. o· 360 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO I51/238, P· 9 · 370 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0//51/23°, P· ~ii·
371
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO 51 213°, P· 6 · 312 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/237, P· 4 ·
445
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
for repairing the tiling at Colonel Pattison's house between I July and 30 September 1767 (Board's Orders dated 2 I August 1766 22 May 1 767 30July 1767, and 3 August 1767).373 ' '
JI December I767. Joseph Pratt received £ 48. 10s. 6Jd. for sundry repairs between I October and 31 December 1767 (Board's Orders dated 21 August 1766, 3 August 1767 and I December 1767).374
JI .March I768. Joseph Pratt was paid £31. 16s. o;td. for repairs between I January and 31 March 1768 carried out on Board's Orders dated 21 August 1766, 20 August and I December 1767.375
I I July I768. James Morris received £12. 15s. 1fd. for fitting up an office over the guardroom. 376 30 September I768. John Shakespear was paid £132. 13s. od. for raising and repairing the proof-butt between I July and Septemb
1768.377 30 er JI December I768. John Shakespear was paid £107. i6s. od r _
. h . b d 1 . h . . ior en
Jargmg t e practice utt a~ c eanmg t e drams between I October and 31 December 1768 (Board s Order dated 14 June 1768). 378 30 Judne I7~9· JamCes MorGrisdre~ei,vehd £45. 4S. 11 ¾d. for minor altera
1 1
tions an repairs to o one o wm s ouse between I April a d J
6 379 n 30 une
17 9· JI December 1769. James Morris was paid £195 18s d r •
, · . 5 . 1or repairs to
officers houses and the cadet barracks between I J uly and December
31
1769 (Board's Order, 15 August 1769).380 30 June 1770. Thomas Churchill and John Groves were 'd £
8 .ld fc h . k b pai 1 95·
s. 11 2 • or t cir wor etween l April and 30 J une 1770 (Board's Orders dated 3 August r769, 27 March 1770 4 May 1770 d M
) 381 ' an 22 ay
1770. 30June 1770. James Morris received £141 6s 6 d orb 'Id' h
· · 2 · m mg coac
houses for Generals Belford and Williamson and for rcpa· . · tl
r. d , h 1ung 1e master
ioun er s ouse between 1 January and 30 June r 770 (.Board's O d
5June 1770).382 r er,
30September 1771. Thomas Churchill andJohn Groves , ·d £ I 7s. od. for building a stable for Captain Moll man fo .,beziledi:iai 15 r.
, 1 u mg a wallb h d f
etween_ t e gar ens o Messrs Verbruggen and General Williamson and for repairs to R.L. storehouses and dwelling houses between J I
1
30 September 177r,383 u Y and
30 September 1771. John Shakespear received £80 17s od c d' ·
h r d · f · • . 1or 1ggmg
t e ioun anon o a wall between the gardens of Messrs V b
General Williamson. 384 er ruggen and
::: Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 102. m Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /237, p. 142.
• Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 142. ;;; Ordnance B!lJ Book, Series II, PROfWO/51;242, p. 13. m Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 167.
Ordnance B!JJ Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 201 . 379 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO;51;242
p 98
"° Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II: PRO/WOI 112 8• : 6: ::: Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO /WO/~ 1/2!5: ~-~30. Ordnance B)ll Book, Ser~es II, PROfWO/51;248, p. 36.
381
314 Ordnance B)ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51 /248, p. 280. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51;253, p. g.
446
THE WARREN 1750-1775
3I December r771. James Morris was paid £42. 1 IS. 02d. for repairs to the Royal Laboratory and storehouses between I October and 3 I December I 77 I .385
3 I December I77r. James Morris received £52. 2s. 10d. for repairs to dwelling houses between I October and 31 December I 77 I •380
3r March I772. James Morris was paid £4_7· I 5s. I I d. for minor repairs to the cadet barracks, dwelling houses, engine house and at the houses of the messenger and Mr Sumpter in Warren Lane between I January and 31 March 1772.387
31 March r772. John Shakespear received £41. 18s. 3d. for digging a new necessary and opening drains between I October 1771 and 31 March 1772.388
3r March 1772. James Morris was paid £30. gs. g½d. for work in the Royal Laboratory between 1 January and 3 l March I 771 .389
30 June r772. John Groves received £155. 2s. 1 1 ¼d. for repairs to dwelling houses, the old and new barracks, the Academy, the cadet barracks, the turret. Also for building a ne,v stable and chaise house for Dr Irwin the Surgeon General. Work carried out between 22 February and 30 June 1772.390
3r March 1773. James Morris was paid £218. 10s. 7½,d. for work on dwelling houses, the Academy, the cadet barracks, the housekeeper's apartment, the old and new barracks, the Lieutenant of cadets' apartment; the guard-rooms and the master founder's new house between
r October 1 772 and 3r March 1773.391 3r lvfarch 1773. James Morris received £108. 15s. 4¾d. for repairs to storehouses between r October 1772 and 3 I March 1773.392
30 June r773. John Groves was paid £141. 2s. I 1½d. for work in se eral chvelling houses, the master founder's new house and the cadet barra ks between I April and 30 June 1773.393
30Junc 1773. James Morris received £97. 13s. 7¾d. forwork on officers' houses, the Academy, the old and new barracks, the infirmary, the cadet barracks and guardrooms. Also for making targets for practice on Woolwich Common between 1 April and 30 June 1 773.394
30 September 1773. John Groves received £214. 8s. s½d. for repairing officers' houses, the barracks and the cadet barracks between 1 July and 30 September 1773.396
30 September r773. James Morris was paid £152. 10s. 6l;d. for repairs to dwelling houses, the Academy and the cadet barracks between 1 July and 30 September 1773.396
385 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/5 1 /249, p. 225. 386 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO /51 /256, p. I 86. 387 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /249, p. 226. 388 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/252, p. 225. 389 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfvVO / 5 1 /256, p. 36. The year '1771' should
probably read '1 772'. 390 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /256, p. 63. 391 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /258, P· 83. 392 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /258, P· 84. 393 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5 1 /258, p. 130. 394 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5 1/258, p. 97. 306 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /258, p. 95·
398 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{W0/51 /258, p. 89.
447
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
31 December 1773. James Morris received £155. I Is. 2d. for repairing storehouses, the cranes, the Royal Laboratory and the magazine between I July and 31 December 1773.39~ • •
31 March 1774. James Morns was paid £71. 4,S, gd. for repairs to several houses the Academy, the old and new barracks and the cadet l M h 398
barracks between r January and 31 arc 1774. 31 Marclz 1774. John Groves received £22. 14,.r. 2f d. for repairing Royal Laboratory storehouses between r October and 3 1 December
I 774,399 .
3 1 March 1774. John Groves was paid £49. 7s. 6½d. for repairing storehouses between I January and 31 March 1774.400
30 June 1774. James Morris received £47. 3s. 3d. for repairing officers' houses, the Academy and the barracks (Board's Orders 5 April and r o May 1774).401 . .
30 September 1774. James Morns was paid £119. 18s. 8¾d, for repairs to the Royal Laboratory storehouses, the fire-barn, magazine and cranes between 1July and 30 September 1774. Board's order 5 April 1774.402
30 September 1774. John Groves received £68. 8s. 6½d. for repairing dwelling houses. 403 . . 30 September 1774. James Morns was paid £56. 16s. o¼d. for repairs to officers' houses between 1July and 30 September 1774.404
31 December 1774. James Morris received £162. 14,.r. r4 d. for repairs to Royal Laboratory storehouses between r October and 31 December r774.405 31 March 1775. John Groves was paid £63. r5s. r¾d. for work in the
Royal Laboratory between r January and 31 March r775.1os
31 March 1775. James Morris received £ 48. 7s. od.for repairs to cranes, storehouses, magazines and the fire-barn between r January and 3r March 1775.407
31 March 1775. James Morris was paid £7r. r2s. rod. for repairing officers' houses and the barracks between r January and 3r 1 Iarch 1775.408
30 June 1775. John Groves received £r34. r rs. 7}d. for repairs to officers' houses, the Academy and the barracks between r pril and 30 June 1774 (Board's Orders JO March, 24 March, 7 April and 27 April
I 775).409 30 September 1775. John Groves paid £1,149. 7s. gd. for work on the new barracks on Woolwich Common between r July and 30 September 1775.410
397 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/VvO/51/265, p. 67. 398 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /258, p. 286. 399 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 /264, p. 44. Either the date should
read '3 I March 1775' or the work must have been carried out between '1 October and
31 December, I 773'. 400 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO /WO/51 /258, p. 281. 401 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/261, p. 127. 402 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/259, p. 155. 403 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 /264, p. 32. 401 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/264, p. g.
405 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/264, p. 46. 40 • Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/261, p. 258. co7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/264., p. 113. ,a, Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/265, p. 87. ,a,Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/259, p. 224. cio Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/259, p. 261.
448
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 September 1775. James Morris received £158. 6s. r i¾d, for work at the Royal Laboratory between I July and 30 September 1775_4ll
Although the above extracts from the Bill Books constitute a formidable list, it is by no means comprehensive and certain items of lesser importance have been omitted. It does, however, clearly indicate that, except for the foundry reconstruction, the erection of the master founder's new house and one or two minor constructions the whole of the building services carried out between 176o antl
1775 were devoted to n:iain~enance. The fac~ that the proof-butts required constant attention 1s also made marufest. From a development point of view, the period in question is singularly lacking in interest.
Before closing this chapter, the changes of staff between 1760 and 1775 must b e recorded. In 1760, the establishment of the Royal Laboratory was :412
Comptroller Sir Charles Frederick £260 p.a. Chief Firemasler Colonel Thomas Desaguliers £150 p.a. Mate to Chief Firemasler Captain John Mollman £80 p.a.
,lerk of the R .L. Hugh Brown
Turner John Jones Joiuer William Pilcher 2nd Joiner Richard Berry Carpenter John Cook
mith Robert McGill Labourers Robert Poulton, Matthias Pedder
George Ayres to be clerk of the R.L. vice Hugh Brown promoted with
effect from I January I 764.413 Christopher Baldock to be supernumerary clerk vice_Samuel Forman.414 J ohn Powell appointed fireman at 2s. 4d. p.d. vice Thomas Bacon
deceased.415 . Gaeta no Ruggieri to be 2nd Joiner R.L. vice Richard Berry with effect 6 416
from 1 o August r 7 2. . • ffi et William Dine to be carpenter in the R.L. vice John Cook with e e 417
from 8 April 1762. . · h B ld k
hn Morden to be supernumerary clerk vice Chnstop er a oc
J
0 • . 66 418
promoted with effect from 1 Apnl 17 • . . '11' Thomas Mallard to be Overseer of the Works at Woolwich~~ce W1 iam Barber dismissed at 3s. p.d. with effect from 2 AuguSt 1768· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\", 0 / 5_1/2: 4, P· 229·
1
Hz Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WOl::,4/ t 6 December 1763. 413 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/"':0/47/62, p. :78' 1"' December 1764. This Samuel ~u OrdnanceJ<?urnal Book, PRO~\", 0/47t,~;J~n,7re'rer~ed to in note 102. Since Henry
Forman may possibly have been the Henr . .
11 8
Forman did not become ClerkptoROthe/v\~0/• ti/6~17/ 394, 28 June 1765.
415 47
Ordnance Journal Book, . ::i , ~ /
4 16 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/\\ 0/~4 21 4· 417 Ordnance Establishment Boo~,/~~~/~~l::,:.';~t 27 May 1766. 418 Ordnance Journal Book, PPRRO/W0/4 • P· 42, 2 August 1768.
419 Ordnance Journal Book, 47172' 449
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
John Hargrave, overseer of the works at Woolwich to be superannuated and allowed 3s. p.d. pay.420 John Hempsall to be overseer of the works vice John Hargrave421 at 10S. p.d. George Read to be foreman in the Royal Laboratory vice Joseph Herring, deceased.422
Thomas Powrie to act as overseer of the works, Woolwich at .µ. p.d. paid from John Hempsall's salary with effect from I March 1771, John Hempsall being ill. 423
Francis Matthews is appointed extra clerk vice William Sumpter promoted.424 Thomas Powrie appointed clerk of the works, Woolwich, vice John
Hempsall at 6s. p.d. with effect from 1? Ma:ch 1772.425 Robert Hollis to be foreman ofthe snuths viceJohn Wilson, deceased.426 Anthony Genet to be extra clerk vice Francis Matthews.427
Matthew Martin to be foreman of the smiths vice Robert Hollis, deceased.428
uo OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/72, p. 42, 2 August 1768.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/73. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/74, p. 170, 16 November 176g m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 183, 1 March 1771. · m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 503, 7 June 1771. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /79, p. 189, 24 March 1 772.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 169, 5 March 1773 . m Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WO/54/215, 1773. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47/83, p. 82, 1r February I 77 .
4
45°
ll_=:d~_~::::::::::::::;;.:...,,,r.;.;:;-:p(;;;::r;;;E;;-,igi: ~
1780 • "--..__
I 1780 :
,_-----.. J '------... ~
i,.11.~'(..--==-==-==----=---=--=-==-=-=-==-===-~
~-PLAN OF WOOLWICH WARREN :::,,-----and tlit additional land pur,;has~d from 5,r Thomas W,lson bJ tbt Board of Ordnance •
j]]] S.lt for tbt pu~ of making a nt.., Proof Bull .md Slccl..lxiu~ Scale,-100 r,et to lht 111ch.
4.51
'Plan of \Voolwich \,Varren
f \Voolwich \Varren' 1777
Chapter 12
The Warren I776-I800
An Act of Parliament which had a profound effect on Woolwich was passed in I 776.1 It was 'an Act to authorize for a limited time the punishment by hard labour of offenders who for certain crimes are, or shall become, liable to be transported to any of his Majesty's Colonies and Plantations'. Judges had previously been given the power of sentencing offenders to transportation 'into any of his
Majesty's Dominions in North America',2 but this form of penalty
came to an end with the loss of the American Colonies and was replaced by sentences of imprisonment. The sudden increase in prison population brought about by this change gave rise to such a critical situation in existing gaols that some expedient to obviate serious overcrowding had to be adopted. Convicts were therefore incarcerated in old hulks moored in the Thames and other rivers near centres where their labour could best be utilized, and Woolwich was one of the places which had the doubtful privilege of receiving these unwelcome visitors who were brought there to undertake the new constructional work contemplated in the Warren and Dockyard. It must be admitted that these hulks provided as black a spot in n ational penal history as the common gaols of those days did in local government, and many a poor wretch eked out an existence ofmisery in these floating hells till the discovery of Australia once more made possible the resumption in 1787 of transportation for the more serious offences. The hulks were not abolished till 1858 though transportation was superseded by penal servitude in 1853.3
Dickens in his Great Expectations gives a vivid impression of the convict, his 'home' and his work on the marshes during the latter years of this harsh experiment.
The three hulks stationed off Woolwich were the Warrior, the Justicia and the Defence, old battleships capable of housing 600 men each. They were originally farmed by a contractor, Mr Duncan Campbell, who undertook the maintenance and safe custody of the convicts for a consideration which the government were doubtless glad to concede in order, like Pilate, to wash their hands of a distasteful duty. In a pamphlet published in 1 782 entitled Hints for the Regulation of the Convicts in the Hulks o.ff Woolwich and other Places, it is stated that when the hulks were provided, the original contract
1 16 Geo. III, cap 43. 2 18 Car. II, cap 3. 4 Geo. I, cap 11. 3 16 and 17 Vic., cap 99.
451
rate was £32 for each convict per annum, a sum which was a:fterwards reduced to £26. The vessels, all three-deckers, were di~ided into wards, galleries., workshops, and store rooms. Each contamed also a hospital and a chapel. How far the cure ofsouls succeeded is not recorded but the cure of bodies was an essential ingredient of hulk life. The 11.ealth of the convicts was on the whole b~d; and the mortality rate was high due no doubt to overcrowding, insa_~tary con~itions, the proximity of the marshes and the harsh condit10ns of pnson existence. Fever claimed many victims for t_he scourge of typhus had not by then been eradicated._ The c~nvi~ts were segreg~te~ into three groups according to their behav10ur, good, bad or md1fferent. At the end of the day's toil they were allowed to associate with others of their own class only. The ~ells ~hroughout the hulks were numbered consecutively commei:icmg wit~ those on the lower deck a nd ranging upwards. Those bearmg the higher numbers were occupied by the better characters, who were gradually promoted from the d ecks below. Every pr~soner, after ~wo years incar~eration, was ligible to commence a penod ofprobat10n w!1en a port10n ofhis arnings were reserved for his own use. No convict was allowed to be without iron upon one or both hi_s legs and, ~f engaged on board, h had :: undergo the same restrarnt as was imposed on thos who work d during the day in the Warren or the Dockyard. T he hours of lab e · · d h lf d ·
ranged from e1g~t to rune an ~ a · a1ly according to the s asonourof the year; the convicts therefore did less work than manyanind pend t
. . d . l en
labourer engaged 1n m ustry or agncu ture. 4 This is born out b some interesting figures about the cost ofconvict labour when the y
. . l Th era
ofthe hulks was drawmg_to its c ose. e author of Summer Excursions in the Counry ofKent published about I 855, states that:
Every adult convict, too, costs on the average a yearly sum of£
1 8
12s. 11d., equivalent to 7s. 2d. a week, being 2d. a week more tha th · agricultural labourers in Dorsetshire and Wiltshire with wives and fa;ilie~ to support, and who work longer hours, are receiving at the present t· The labour ofa convict is valued at £10. 12s. gd., leaving a loss ther fcime.
[£ d . , e ore,
o 7. I4f. 4 . per annum on every pnsoner engaged on board the E li h
hulks. ng s
. There seems to have been no doubt that the use of forced labour 1n the Warren was uneconomical and that the Board would have saved large sums by employing free men. The malefactor of course
had to _be house~ and fed somewhere and his well-being while undergoing detention was the responsibility of the State, but as the Board had to accept the ex.pense over :~e eighty years without any transfer offunds from the prison authonties, their loss could not have
been much Jess than half a million pounds.
. Greater London, vol. II, p. 16 by Edward v\ alford.
452
THE WARREN 1776-1800
The original purpose in bringing the convicts to Woolwich was to assist in making the large extensions to Crown property there which were brought about partly by the natural growth of the establishments and partly by the advent of the Napoleonic wars. This class of work was eminently suitable to men of this calibre but when it was eventually finished the convicts were employed in the heavier non-technical jobs inseparable from a busy and growing arsenal. A considerable portion of the heavy work of proving shell was performed by these unfortunates of whom upwards of five hundred were daily brought on shore from the Justicia for that purpose, and for other laborious routine work in the Arsenal.5 This type of employment, however, proved unsatisfactory in many ways and the convicts were withdrawn and sent away to Chatham and more appropriate places in 1856. .
One or two writers have commented on the presence of convicts at Woolwich. Pennant says :6
l\l.[ay 8th. On our way to the boat, we had. a melanchol~ pr?of of _the profligacy of the times by a sight of the mulutude_of conv~cts m chams, labouring in removing earth; eight are employed m drawmg each ca~t. They were well clad and, by their appearance, seeme~ well f~d; but m o-eneral the sense ofshame is lost. Ifthey had any at first, it soon is changed into hardened impudence by the depravity o~ their fellow pr~soners. At this time there were about three hundred busied on land, besides others who are employed on the shoals of the river in the ballast lighters. At night they are all lodged on board four great hulks.
Another reports that:7
At the entrance to Woolwich Reach from Eby S, we see two or three old ships wherein are kept near three hundred felons here punished by working in lighters to clear the sand-banks in the Thames and on _shore in the \t\Tarren or Gun Park. Here also the matrosses are employed m the composition of fireworks and cartridges, and in extracting saltpetre from
damaged gunpowder.
A report on the hulks, which had just been. instituted, was published in a magazine on 15 July, 1776.8 The wnter says:
The law for sentencing the convicts to work upon the Thames is in~eed severe but we trust it will be salutary. They are to be employed m as much 'labour as they can sustain, to be fed with legs and shins of beef, ox cheek, and such other coarse food; to ~ave 1:othing for drink but ':~ter or small beer· to be clad in some squalid umform; never to be v1S1ted without the c~nsent of the overseers; and whoever gives them the smallest
6 A guide to Woolwich, John Grant, 1841. 6 Journey to the Isle of Wight, 1801. 7 The Water Companion, 1802. ,. 8 Quoted from Records of Woo!wic/1, vol. I, v\ • T. \ mcent.
453
reliefincurs a penalty offorty shillings. The expense ofkeeping and maintaining them is to be paid by the Government and not out of the County rates.
The first vessel launched for the above purpose was constructed on a plan approved of by his Majesty in Council. It cannot be called a ship or tender, neither is it so flat or open as a lighter; it is calculated to hold twenty-seven tons ofballast. On the larboard side the gunwale is considerably broader than in the common lighters, on the starboard side is a flooring about three feet broad, for th~ _men to work on, and a machine called a david, with a windlass, for raising the ballast. Part of the vessel is decked in abaft for the convi~ts to sleep in, and another in the forecastle is formed into a kind ofcabm for the over~eer. Her outward appearance differs very little from that of a common hghter.9 On 5 August, the convicts, chained by the leg, two and two, began to work in her about two miles below Barking Creek, under the direction ofDuncan Ca~pbell Esq., who has been appointed_ governor of this new kind of Bridewell~ Their behaviour, in general, smc~ they came on board her, and other
lighters employed in the same serv!ce, has bee? very becoming; the clause in the Act which says that the time for which they were sentenced to work may be shortened, on a representation o_f their good behaviour, having operated very powerfully. A few ofthem, mdeed, employed a little below Woolwich, attempted t? get out of their chains, and were guilty
of some slight outrages to their commander, when a severe flagellat·
. l lOil
ensued on their being agam proper y secured. Eight others, a short time after, found means to seize on the arm-eh t and pres~nting pistols t~ the ~eads o~ their keepers, threatened to bl~s~ their brams out if they did not nnmediately go down into the hold 1 · h
· 1 · h . , w -iic
they wer~ obliged to comp'( wit ; upon which the villains jumped into a boat which had been designedly brought alongside by yome of their friends, and got clear off.
One form ofp_unishment ~eted out to recalcitrant convicts was to shackle thei:n wnst to_ ankle ma_ bent up position. The leg-hand cuff used for this degradmg operation looked like a figure of eight ·
steel. One of !he:5e implements was discovered in the long grass ~~ the marshes '"'.1thm the Royal Ars~nal some thirty-five years ago. The followmg newspaper cuttmgs throw further light on th convicts and their doings. e
IJJJ. The heads ofoxen slaughtered on Tower Hill are daily sent d to Woolwich hulks for the convicts. own 23 April IJJJ. One day last :veek the ballast lighter working on the Essex Coast was dro~e over the nver to Woolwich by the high wind, when ~ourteen of the convicts rose U_POn their keepers, cut one of them terribly m the s~oulder and mad_e their escape. A naval officer, meeting them at Greenw1c~, persuaded eight to return to their duty, but the other six have not smce been heard of.
9 This descriptio!1 applies to the barges employed and not the hulks which were simply
hulls ofold war smps.
454
THE WARREN 1776-1800
I December r777. Last week one of the convicts at Woolwich, being at work on shore, concealed himself among some rushes, and in the night got in at the chamber window of a gardener in that town, and stole some plate, wearing apparel and other things; but the gardener's wife, hearing him, alarmed her husband, who pursued and took him. He was carried on board the ballast lighter and severely flogged.
r780. The convicts at Woolwich are now employed in making a new wharf at the Warren, opposite to where the hulks lay for the purpose of the Ordnance hoys loading and unloading, which they at present are obliged to do above the Warren, a practice attended with great inconvenience.
Escapes from the hulks were not infrequent, though like those from Dartmoor at the present day, most of them were unsuccessful. One can thus appreciate the nervous apprehension with which the townspeople of Woolwich regarded their unwanted and unpleasant n eighbours. Crime was not unknown in those days, and some of the d esperadoes held in captivity were not above committing it to gain their ends. The Gentleman's Magazine under date Thursday 27 June I 80510 states:
This day five of the convicts on board the hulks atWoolwich endeavoured to make their escape in a boat. They were pursued, and not surrendering were fired at. Two were shot dead and another so much wounded that he soon died. The other two were taken unhurt.
Three other newspaper reports may be quoted:
November r832. Out ofa gang of24 convicts going to work at Woolwich, I 2 attempted to escape. On Saturday morning last about 8.30 a.m., these convicts, who had been employed in the Lower Marsh, Royal Arsenal, were going to work as usual. "\,Vatching their opportunity, 12 of them jumped over the high ledge which divides the marshes from the hi?h roa~. T hey took to the fields. The sentinel (a gunner) ofthe gang fired 1mmed1ately, although he missed all of them, eight returned and gave themselves up. The other four continued across the fields in the direction of Plumstead Common. The keeper procuring additional artillerymen from the Arsenal pursued the four and after an hour discovered ~o of the~ concealed in a quick-set hedge in a mos_t secluded spot behmd the rrull on Plumstead Common. They had taken off their shirts and put them over their jackets and pulled their stockings over the iron's on their legs. They made no resistance and were conveyed back to the Arsenal. The remaining two were secured behind a large haystack in a field between Wickham and Welling. These were also returned to their quarters under
strong guard. , 3 May 1832. On Saturday afternoon a party of c~1:victs, em.ployed in Woolwich Dockyard in charge of an officer and nuhtary sentinel, four
10 Vol. 75, p. 673.
455
most determined characters, named Boutel, Wallace, Dalton and Ban suddenly rushed upon the sentinel, a rifleman, on duty at the west and forcibly took away his rifle. On one or the officers approaciBoutel, who had the rifle, swore to blow his brains out, and all £our .n their escape by scaling the gate. On bz:eaking iz:ito the London Road,
convicts betook themselv~s to the bnckfiel?s on the other side. TI: ignorance of the localities induced them to clun.b a steep hill on the
. k" . f h h ce1
ofCharltonsandpits, thin_ mgitwasparto t e angingwood, but, find · a ravine of great depth Jntervened between !hem and the only spot which they could.expect to.escape, they rap1dl~ descended in full vi of the excavators into the pits. Boutel, abandoning the rifle to Bannt heavily chained as he ·was, and compel~ed to_ employ one hand in holdir up his fetters, squatted down, and folding his arms over his knees 11 . l1imself. bounding like a ball, down a steep precipice full eio-hty .c:e 't rdo •
' · · D It t k li 5 .11 e ee
without sust~ining any mh~ury.J a on odo tha ne up the face ofthe asce1.._, to the J1ang1ng ,-vood; t e ot 1ers passe rough an orcha rd d
· h · h b · f an som
ardens greatly alarnung t e In a itants o that rural and r t· d
g, h 1 . e ire spo
'\I\ oodland Place, who shut t emse ves m and watched the eh
d. 1 · 1 h · h ase, as th
Yao-ersu followed, 1sc 1arg1ng severa s ots w:it out effect. Cap t . G ·
o . k. di.er a 1n rove
observing that the convicts were ta ing .uerent directions e ' t d d .
• • TA r 11 d T , x en e h1
men and in this way vva . ace was capture . he oth ers gain ed t-h . ofth~ hill crossed a bridle road, and struck into a close sha ~•, of edsununit
, . d v, un erwood
and furze and when the troops atta1ne the summit th"" .
' · · 1 b dl ' · ~ convicts wer
not to be seen. A tinker 1n t -ie n 0 e road refused to give . . e
· · b · d fi any tidings 01
them but 1nte111gence was o ta1ne rom two boy s and the b to en~ompass this part of the wood. If they had been a hu ~g 1 ~s~unded of three they must all have been captured in the Jessenino-c? rle InStead
' d fr h · 1 ki O ire e and the
villains were dragge om t eir ur ng places, the rifle pi '
• 1 ece r ecovered
and they were mareb ed back to W oo1w1c '1. On board the 11 ll· h ' severely flogged. u ~ t ey were
February z84z. A convict escaped and was captured.
However harsh the conditions under which the con ict r d worked and however stern the discipline under which th e;11~e ~nd they were plentifully supplied with food and small beer M a oui ed,
. . · en cannot
do heavy manua1 tasks on a starvation diet. Not only
. 11 d 11 b f h . were the
convicts a owe sma eer as part o t eir prison rations th supplied with additional amounts by the Board of Ord' ey were
nance at a
cost of about £r25 a year. In the Ordnance Reports a h
following entry:12 ppear t e
z78,1b. I beg t?dladybbef<ho~e you the enclosed bill of Mr Edward Ball for sma11 eer provi e y 1m for the use of the convicts k.
. war 1ng at the
new w h ar,f. proof.-butts etc. 1n Woolwich Warren fcor th D b
8 · e ecem er
Q. uart:r 17 3, amounting to £33. 15s. od., and to submit to your cons1derat10n the great expense of this article, which for the last years
7
amounts to:
11 Light Infantrymen. 12 Ordnance Reports, PRO/W0/55/11, f. 84.
456
THE WARREN 1776-1800
1778 £94. 17s. 6d. 1779 £ 1 37. 2S. 6d. 1780 £128. IS. 1d. 1781 £127. 17s. 6d. 1782 £125. 12s. 6d. 1783 £126. I IS. 3d.
Total £74o. 2S. 4d.
As these bills have been regularly certified by Mr Powrie, Clerk of the Works at Woolwich, I am of opinion a letter should be written to him, directing him to inform the Board how this great expense arises, what number of men are usually employed and whether the beer is distributed to the convicts in general or to the working party only, and that he also be directed to inform the Board whether this expense (being a part of their subsistence) should be defrayed by the Office. 10 April 1784.
IO September 1784. Ordered that the bill of £33. 15s. od. be allowed and that a letter be written to Mr Powrie proposed herein.
It is obvious that the Surveyor-General was seriously concerned about the cost of this liquid refreshment.
The Board, however, considered it politic to continue the supplies. They must have realized that the abandonment of this form of gratuity would have resulted in a curtailment ofwork. Even convicts employed under the Inspector of Artillery enjoyed this privilege. This is proved by the following letter addressed to Major Blomefield:
Office of Ordnance 25 July 1785 Sir,
In return to your letter of 22nd inst, the Master-General and Board command me to acquaint you that they approve of the allowance of one Pint of Small Beer per day to each convict employed in cleaning and arranging the Iron Guns at Woolwich. And you are to appoint a Proper Person to distribute the Beer regularly, as it is meant that this allowance be in addition to what they are allowed from Government.
I am,
Sir,
Your Most Obedient
humble servant
Aug Rogers Major Blomefield Secretary
The year 1776 saw a recrudescence of building activity in the Warren, and in the following years quite a lot ofconstructional work was carried out. Alterations were made in the Royal Brass Foundry and the Royal Laboratory, new proof-butts and a new wharf were
put up. On 26 April 1776, the Verbruggens-thrusters if t~ey were nothing else-reported that, as the Master-General had instructed
31 457
BIRTH A N D CHILDHOOD
them to erect another boring engine, they suggested it shouJd be placed in the left wing of the Artificers' yard as being the J'.llost convenient site available. They admitted that this would meaO the removal of the blacksmiths' shop to the lower yard where there: was a building which, with small additions would suit the pu::CJ>Ose admirably. The Board ordered them to proceed in this matter-7 but not to hold up any other work by so doing.13 Messrs Verbn_1ggen submitted on 29 November 1776 a plan of the square granted them by the Board in addition to the foundry and stated that they had purchased from Holland for the sum of £61: gs. od. a small bor~ng engine, which would prove of great use m boring and tu:r:::xung Coehorn mortars, light 3 pdrs and other small guns. Faced w-:J. th a fait accompli, the B~a.rd agree~ t_o take ov:r the machine at the :17~ice quoted.14 The add1t10nal bmldmg for this new boring and tuc:JUng machine was approved at a cost of £95. 2s. od. on 6 Febrvary
THE WARREN 1776-1800
On 6 August 1 776 it was ordered that the new buildings adjoining the fire-barn in the Royal Laboratory should have a parapet wall with lead guttering.22 It was agreed that the deal lining at the new East Laboratory might remain but the rest of the walls were to be lathed and plastered,23 and that the N.E. wing ofthesame, commonly called the Fire-barn was to be demolished and rebuilt in the same style asthe otherwingatacostof£1,117. 15s. od.24 0n21 October 1777 it was ordered that the carpenters' shop in the Royal Laboratory was to be extended 3 feet in front and to be built ofbrick.25 All these extensions led naturally to an increase in output with the result that the capacity of the magazine became inadequate. The SurveyorGeneral was therefore ordered on 11 September 1778 to prepare plans and estimates for building a new magazine for the Royal L aboratory.26 As the convicts were now working in and around the W arren in their hundreds the question of guarding vital points be
1~77 15 the Verbruggens being allowed to complete its furnist:i.ings
Jth'their own artificers.16 T~e m~ster founders, though they had
had large sums spent on their eqmpment and premises since t:heir
arrival were still not satisfied. They next asked for a refining fuc.J'.].ace
in the foundry, a request which was granted on 7 August 17 77.17
Their last demand appears to have been for two or more boring
engines for iron cannons. Colonel Bramham, the Chief Engineer at
Woolwich, was asked to comment on this proposal and prepare the
necessary plans.18 It was suggested that these new engines should be
worked by water instead of horses.19
The Royal Laboratory was the next department to come under review. Plans and estimates for the additional buildings proposed, having been considered by the Board, were laid before the MasterGeneral on 26 April 1776 who was told that in the opinion 0£ the Board the proposed structures would afford sufficient room for all purposes of the Royal Laboratory.20 Three days later the M asterGeneral having transmitted to the Board a paper on the intended Laboratory buildings, the Board informed the M.G.0. that they would issue immediate directions to begin the construction of the square brick building adjoining the fire-barn and of the boarded storehouse next to the Blue storehouse. They considered that the latter might be ready to receive 'unfixed' stores in a short time and that both buildings should be erected with the utmost despatch.21
13 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, p. 372.
14 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /88, p. 330.
15 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PROfW0/47/89, p. 154.
16 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 236, 26 February 1777.
:; OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 179.
Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/91, p. 514, 6 June 1778.
10 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/91, p. 525, 12June 1778.
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/87, p. 372.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/87, p. 382, 29 April 1776.
458
came pressing, and on 3 October 1778 General Williamson and C olonel Bramham were requested to consider seriously the safeguarding of the magazine from danger in case any convict should escape and 'cause confusion' .27 Ong October 1778 General Williamson reported that he had posted an additional guard on these nerve centres 28 on the same day it was ordered that a new guardhouse for the Laboratory magazines should be built.29 Not only was danger from an escaped convict to be anticipated, there were other sources of possible trouble which had to be watched. Riots in Woolwich itself were not unknown as many undesirable characters tended to gather in sea-port towns. Trouble broke out in 1779 as on 25 June of that year the storekeeper was ordered to 'pay four guineas to the p ersons who appraised the damages done by the late riots at that place'.30 A newspaper of 13 June 1780 states:
The number of suspicious people who have lately appeared in Woolwich, especially the v\ arren, has obliged General Belford to give orders that none but the inhabitants shall be admitted; and as guns and men are changed from post to post every two or three hours, it is impossible that any information should be given where he intends to fix them, so that the mob will be at a loss where to make their attack and be warmly received when that happens. On Wednesday several expresses arrived at Woolwich from the Secretary of State, Lords Townshend and Amherst acquainting General Belford that a large mob was assembling, determined
22 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 74· 23 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 173, 11 February 1777. 24 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 208, 18 February 1777. 25 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, P· 407. 2G Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, P· 230. 27 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, p. 282. 28 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, P· 303. 29 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, p. 299, g October 1778. 30 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/93, P· 480.
459
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
to march on that place, in order to set fire to the Laboratory, st0rehouses . h" l General Belford beat to arms a d
ctc and release the convicts, upon w ic 1 . n
ds of 30 guns, loaded with
posted both officers, and men to upwar . . case
h. h I d" d f. that it would have been impossible for them
shot w ic 1e ispose o , I h
to h;ve executed their design ; on the contrary great s_aug ter must have h th marshes were always alight and everything
been made among t em, as e h. h they had orders to d
ready to fire on their first appearance, w ic o. . made the authorities very 'security-minded'
1
This perpeOtua mbenac~81 they ordered that palisading for the and on 13 cto er 1/ h rf h Id b
. f h ters' shop and the R.L. w a s ou e erected
security o t e carpen . h d b k
. d • 31 E en four years earher steps a een ta en to guard
1
imme ~ate y. ftvh Warren On 16 August 1777 a wall was ordered
the perimeter o e · 1· I
. h w boundary of the Estab 1s 1ment as far as the
to be bm1t on t e ne . fi
. d ti ed and another m the ront next to the road. hiighdgd~o.un cofcenncneuwas to be sunk and 'paled from the part as the
n a 1t1on, a h. d h b ' AI
t the marsh wall be m t e utt . so a small
O
boundary runs h h rf 32
uardhouse was to be erected near t e w a : . -. . g S modation was now becommg msuffic1ent 1n the
torage accom BI h
Royal Laboratory, and on 1 April 1779 the ue. store ouse was transferred to that department for the purpose ofst_ormg grape shot.33 not defined a shed was to be erected m the old Labora-
For a reason , d" · 34
t according to the Surveyor-Generals irect10ns.0ft will be recalled that in the previous chapter Mr!ohn Martin of tead had called attention to the dangers resultmg from proof
PI
urns h · f ·
and that the Board had at once consider:_ed t e propriety o movmg the butts to a more appropriate spot.3., On 15 August 1776, Mr Powrie was ordered to make a plan of the ground at Woolwich for the removal of the proof-butts with sufficient spac_e for proof to be carried out.30 This must have been prepared qmckly because on 2 8 August 1776, Mr Carleton, the Board's solicitor, was instructed to call on Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson with the plan of the Warren and ask for his terms for either selling or letting the nine acres ofland shewn in the plan for the erection of the new butts.37 T h ere must have been the inevitable delay which always seems to accompany the conveyance of property, as almost a year elapsed before the Master-General informed the Board through the Lieutenant-General that his Majesty had signified that sufficient land must be procured from Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson as soon as possible in order th~t the proof-butts could be rebuilt in a safe place. As a result of this
31 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1090. 32 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 218. 83 OrdnanceJournaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 258. 84 OrdnancejournaJ Book, PROJWO/47/95, p. 433, 14June 1780.
86 See Chapter I r, note 3 I o. 36 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, p. 86. 37 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, p. r 14.
460
THE W A RREN 1776-1800
communication the solicitor was instructed to prepare all the necessary documents to bring the agreement into execution immediately.38
Following the legal opinion in regard to the agreement with Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, the clerk of the works was ordered to proceed with the erection of the new proof-butt.39 Convicts were employed in digging the necessary ditches for these butts; they were given a pint ofstrong beer a day and could be allowed in addition a little small beer occasionally, should such a practice not be contrary to Act of Parliament.40 In due course the lease for this new piece of ground was prepared and on 19 May 1778 Mr Carleton forwarded a draft copy to the Board informing them that all that remained to be done was to measure and mark out the actual site, for which purpose Sir Thomas would nominate some person to act on his behalf.41 The new butts were finished by 1779 and no doubt for safety reasons it was decided on 19 October 1779 to install a new bell. 42 This bell, purchased from Messrs Peck and Chapman, cost £15. It was erected at the beginning of the following year.43 On taking the new butts into use, the old ones were ordered to be demolished on 19 February 1780. For security reasons a guard was to attend the whole operation. The Respective Officers were to receive all the old shot recovered from the soil.44
Mr Duncan Campbell first mooted the idea ofa new wharfin the Warren. He represented to the Board that it would be of advantage if a wharf some 1 oo to 120 feet in length could be built on the river bank opposite and adjoining the target butt so that the convicts employed in raising sand and gravel from the river bed could land and screen it there for public use, as for instance in the raising of the new proof-butts. The Board were impressed and on 3 December 1776 the Respective Officers and the clerk of the works were ordered to consider, and report on, the suggestion.45 They reported favourably and the proposal was adopted, General Skinner being asked to supervise the project which was being undertaken by convict labo~r. H e was also asked to report on the materials being use~ and app01~t an engineer to take charge of the whole construct10n under his direction.46 The following month General Skinner was informed t~at this wharfwas to be a permanent structure and that he was to satisfy himselfthat the work was being carried out in an efficient and proper manner.47 The operations up to this point were purely basic, i.e. it
38 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 676. 39 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 117, 25July 1777. 40 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 292, 9 September 1777· u OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47/91, P· 430. 4 2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, P· 264. 43 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/95, p. 10, 3 January 178o. 44 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, P· 139. 45 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, P· 344· u OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 738, 24June 1777·
47
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 53, gth July 1777•
461
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
was preliminary work necessary for any type of wharf. On 8 May 1 778, however, the Board agreed to Colonel Bramham's design at a cost of£8 61248 and on 17 June 1 778 he was told to proceed provided the Mast;r-General approved.49 The M.G.O. gave his blessing and the work went ahead. In order to aid construction it was found necessary to employ more convicts in removing mud from the Thames
d so thirty orforty pairs ofadditional boots were issued to the hulks.50 ~n"'o years later in 1781 another twenty pairs of boots were issued to
' victs for a similar task.51 James Morris, master carpenter, was ~~n chief craftsman employed in building the wharf. He received la;ge sums of money for his work. Even by 30 September 1777 he h d been paid the sum of£507. 3s. 10d. on account ofa Board order
a 52
dated 20January 1777. . . . Another expensive construction was envisaged m 1776 when a new workshop for the use of smiths and carpenters was ordered on 10 May at a cost of£1,640.53 A few months later sheds were ordered to be built in the New Carriage Yard.54 As the 'New Carriage Ya rd' had by this time disappeared, these sheds were in fact to be put up on its site. An ever present danger in crowded premises where the m ain building material employed was wood, was fire. This is an obvious truism but to the eighteenth century mind it presented a serious problem. This risk was felt ~o be a pressing matter in the Warren and it was one which exercised the thoughts of the authorities in view of the recent increase in the number of sheds and shops, especially when there was a firework factory in their midst. On 2 g June 1776 a common pump was ordered to be erected for the houses of Messrs Delestang, Sumpter and Edwards as precaution against such a happening.55 A few months later Mr Powrie, clerk of the works, was ordered to ascertain the names of the proprietors of the houses outside the Warren so situated as to be a menace to the Royal Laboratory in case a conflagration broke out and to find out whether there was a possibility of the Board purchasing them, and if so, on what terms.56 On 28January 1777, Mr Powrie forwarded the list of houses required with the information that the rents paid totalled £444. 4-S· od. per annum. Unfortunately he could not discover the terms, if any, of purchase,57 and the matter appeared to drop.
48 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 397. 49 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 545. :: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 301, 17 April 1779.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/97, p. 96, 1 February 1781. 62 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /266, p. 285. :: Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, p. 420.
Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, p. 117, 28 August 1776. :: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, p. 548. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 363, 10 December 1776. 67 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 100.
462
THE WARREN 1776-1800
The new East Laboratory, which was being erected on the site of the present block of Ordnance storebuildings was approaching completion in 1777 and on 20 January of that year iron guns were placed as posts there.58 More work for the convicts was envisaged when a dock for vessels under the Upper House crane was ordered on 6 February 1777; at the same time cranes and wharfs required repair.59 To assist in these operations an old shed in the brickfield was fitted up for the convenience of workmen and convicts.00 The sun-dial which had been placed over the gateway into the Artificers' Court, now re-named Foundry Square, to act as the 'governor' to the Turret clock, seemed to have failed early in its mission. It had only been in position some thirty years when on 22 May 1777 it required recalibration. The order issued for its repair also covered the painting of the foundry rails.61
A human touch now appears in the records, proving that the Board of Ordnance were generous employers. Colonel Pattison on the understanding that he had been appointed Lieut.-Governor of t~e Royal Military Academy for life spent £100 of his own money m building a coach-house and stables at his official quarter in the W arren. On leaving his appointment he appealed to the Boai:d who on 22 J\1ay 1777 agreed to refund him the costs of his outlay.02
\tVater for the Warren mainly drawn through the Conduit House in Cholick Lane, had al;ays been limited in amount and while it may have satisfied the wants at the beginning of the eighteenth century the lack of water became more and more noticeable as the century advanced. The new buildings which had sprung up an~ the increas~d production in the factories greedily swallowed the availabl_e suppl~es and complaints were voiced about the scarcity of the precious flmd. The foundry used more, the Royal Laboratory wanted lar?er amounts and the general amenities of the Establishment reqmr~d ~reater quantities, particularly when the water proof ofguns was mstituted. The additional boring engines in the foundry meant th:3-~ more horses had to be kept and these all required water, t~us raismg the demand. This could be met domestically from the well in the foundry garden by installing a better type of pump. The old pump ':as very heavy and required eight men to work it. A new one costing £10
was therefore approved on g October 1777.63 •• More land now came into possession of the authorities of the Warren which increased its area by about seventeen acres. On 9
58 Ordnance journal Book, PROfWO/47/89. 59 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 155·
60
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, P· 57, 9July 1777· 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 596. 62 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/89, P· 6tr. 63 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, P· 366.
463
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
July 1777, Thomas Humbly of Deptford, shipwright, demised to th Board for the sum of£100 for the use ofhis Majesty all that part e the sand-pit field containing 400 feet by 680 feet from north to sou;{ from the Warren wall to Woolwich, and all the marshes adjoini to the said Warren called Harden's Marshes, by estimation ten a ng
. fi Id d. . . cres
as also one acre part of the six acre e a lJ 01nmg to Hard , '
' . en s
Marshes called the Bull Marsh next the nver Thames containing . acres, by the same more or less, and the Reed San~ f~onting the B:7z Marsh containing near an acre to hold to the Principal Officer f the Oi~dnance or such persons as they should direct from midsum~;r last for the term of t~ree years _and a quarter being the
1777,
remainder ofthe term he had m the premises at and under the yea 1
. f h. ry
rent of a pepper-corn. On the receipt o t is communication M Carleton and Mr Powrie were deputed to take possession of the Ian~ on behalf of the Board.64
On 16 August 1777 it was ordered that the lower part of the garden behind the but~ should be cleared a~ far as the angle of the wall in order to store timber. At the same time a saw-pit was to be made and a sufficient number of sheds erected for the purpose in hand. In order to preserve the same area ofgarden, it was arranged that the ground beyond the house ofthe Lieutenant-Governor of the
Royal Military Academy up to the new boundary should be marked out and planted.65 A small alteration to the foundry was carried out on 22 J uly 1778
when it was agreed that the mill rooms there should be lathed and plastered within the tiling and that a new dormer window should be made in the mortar mill room.66
The system of proving naval guns by subjecting them to water pressure was now initiated. It appears by all accounts to h ave been rather a drastic test and was probably soon abandoned. In order to carry out this proof General Williamson asked for the assistance of the Respective Officers on 19 June 1778. He was inform ed that he would be told the nature of the ordnance which h ad been selected to undergo this somewhat violent treatment and that Mr Butler would make the necessary piston.67 A few weeks later he uttered the cry as to the absence ofsufficient water in the Warren.68 The attempt to rectify this nuisance seems to have been very dilatory as it was not till 16 November 1779 that Mr Phillips was ordered to survey and discover fresh sources of water for supplying the four pumps set up for general purposes.69 The first water proofrecorded appears to have
:: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 52. See Chapter 11, note 80. u OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 218. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 77. ;; OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 562. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 588, 26 July 1778. 89 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 332.
464
THE WARREN 1776-1800
been that ofan 18 pdr carronade (No I 19). The report states that 'the w~te~ by the force of the engine _discharged itself in every part of the !<mg s mark between the trunruons on the upper side of the piece; it was therefore ordered in future that the King's mark was not to be put on the carronades, but on the right hand trunnion of each' Thfs I?rooftook place on 21 December 1780.70 On 30 December 178~ a similar traged_Y occur~ed with a 12 pdr carronade (No 116). The statement on t~1s proof1s laconic. 'Water discharged itself in several pl~ces. The piece was condemned.'71 Messrs Verbruggen were ev1d_ently very averse to their products being treated in this cavalier fash10n. On 8 December 1781 they reported on the 'inutility' of ~ubj_ecting their brass ordnance to a water proof. The Board were mclme_d to agree with them. They stated cautiously that 'they do not thmk brass guns are in the same predicament as iron ones and :ecommend no water proof'.72 On 22 December 1781 they came out into the open and ordered that no brass ordnance were to be so subjected until further orders.73
A sc~ool of instruction in Artillery exercises and machines was set up m the Warren in 1778, under the title of a 'Repository for Military Machines'. This supplied a long felt want by giving proper courses of theoretical training in the various stores and equipment used by artillerymen. The work was carried out mainly by the use of models. On 12 June 1778, the Master-General of the Ordnance received the king's command appointing Captain William Congreve Superintendent of .Afilitary Machines and requested the Board to give orders for the immediate provision of the several articles mentioned in the paper entitled Military Machines necessary for the Practice of A rtillery which he laid before them.74 Thereafter events moved quickly. On 17 June 1778, persons were ordered to attend the Repository for Military Machines under Captain Congreve and the four labourers he required in connection with his post were to be paid by the storekeeper.75 Captain Congreve submitted a plan and estimate for the buildings he required and on 2 July 1778 Mr Powrie was ordered to erect the storehouse for the machines according to the Superintendents' instructions taking care to see that the lower windows were made circular and unsashed.76 On 31 July 1778, rno laboratory frocks were issued to Woolwich and placed under the charge of Sergeant Pritchard for the use of artillerymen undergoing training at the Repository.77 Once the scheme had been
:; Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 1,000.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 1,042. 72 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1,252. 73 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1,289. 74 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 527. 75 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 540. 76 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. I 1. 77 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 103.
465
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
launched the Master-General transmitt:~ to the Boa:d his Majesty's orders for building a Repository for Military Machmes, which was henceforth to be known as the R0J1al Military Repository, and instructed them to send copies of th~ re~eva~t pa~ers t~s the Commanding Officer, Woolwich, for pubhcatwn m Oi ~ers. The exercises, known colloquially as 'scotch-up', w~re taught m the Repository and to assist in this task unserviceable 1ro1: 0rdnance wer_e supplied to ·t the use of the hand-spike together with the other
teach recrm s . d 79 additional unserviceable stores require · . There is no doubt that Captain Congre~e got his way. The whole
• t as a new departure under the direct patronage of George
proJec w d d · h' /
III and anything the Superinten ent wante wit m reason he d 'th little trouble. On I May I 779, the clerk of the works
obtaine• w1 d' C · C
was told to fit up the Repository accor mg to ap~am ongreve's
t. ns so The Repository was also used as a kind of museum
direc JO • W 1 . h C
· the fore-runner of the Rotunda on oo wic ommon today
b
emg · f xh'b' '
·n order to assist in the collecnon o e,• 1 1ts, several curious
d
an i . h W h
ieces of ordnance lying about m t e arren wer anded over
0 Id
p d . h R . · 1 Th
to Captain Congreve and lodge m t e epos1t0Iy. e Super. tendent was to be allowed the same house rent, coal and candle :~owance as officers of the Royal Military Academ . 2 The issue of candles to the Repository itself was 2lb. a week and very fire-place therein was allowed the same amount ofcoal as that in the adjutant's office.s3 On 29 February 1780 it was ordered that the articles required by the modeller at the ~epository and the chair~ demanded were to be sent84 and those which could not be supplied at once were to be issued as soon as possible.85 Originally no tools were allotted to the Repository, those in use being the personal property ofLewis Gaschlin, the modeller, but on the price being pronounced fair and reasonable by Mr Butler, the Board purchased them outright for £105. r5s. gd.86 In order to help with instruction Captain Congreve asked for the services of Sergeant George Anderson of the rst Battalion, Royal Artillery, and Bombadier James Stevenson of the 2nd Battalion. The Board ordered the two Commanding Officers to be asked whether they had any objection to these proposals.87 In due course it was agreed that the two N.C.O's should be so employed,88
78 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 446, 22 December 1778. 78 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 56, 22 January 1779. so Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 339· 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 427, 7 June 1779.
82 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 10, 8 July 1779. 83 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 372, 7 December 1779. 84 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/95, p. 157. 85 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 963, 9 December 1780.
81 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 557, I July 1780. 87 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 269, 17 Ma~ch 1781. 88 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 402, 10 Apnl 1781.
466
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Sergeant Anderson being appointed under the same terms as the other two sergeants.89
Captain Congreve had no intention of letting the grass grow under his feet. He was a thruster, full of energy and resource, determined to make his Repository a success. He therefore laid before the Board on 29 May I 78 I, a plan and explanation of the new addition he proposed for the Repository, stating that an estimate would follow in due course.90 The Board hedged at this proposition. It cost money and they had many other expenses on their hands. They asked Captain Congreve whether he could not give the teaching he proposed by a rearrangement of the existing rooms and so avoid further building, and whether the ground he required could not be fenced off by a picket-line instead of being enclosed by a brick wall.91 Captain Congreve, however, stuck to his guns and refused to be sidetracked. He stressed the inconvenience of having soldiers in the present rooms and again asked for an additional wing and pressed for the wall saying that a picket-line would not serve his purpose. Finally a compromise was agreed; Captain . Congreve obtained his additional wing, but had to accept the picket-line.92
The next entry in the Journal Books concerning the Repository is ofparticular interest as it shows that towards the end ofthe eighteenth century the building was used for Divine Service. There was by this date (Anno 1788) a regimental chapel envisaged in the new Artillery Barracks on the Common,93 but it was prior to the opening of the Ordnan e chapel in the Plumstead Road. The entry reads :94
28 January I788. Colonel Macbean, Commanding Officer of Artillery at Woolwich having in his letter of 28th inst requested that the forms in the R epository might be repaired and eighteen more provided for the accommodation of the Regiment who assemble there for Divine Service the Clerk of the \t\Torks was ordered to comply with the request.
There are only two more items in connection with the Repository worth recording at this stage. The first concerns John Read the draughtsman there. He appealed for a rise in salary to compensate him for the loss he had sustained by being deprived of any advancement in the Drawing Room95 whence he was ordered to the Repository by the Master-General. His petition received favourable consideration and the Master-General directed that his pay should be increased from £63. 17s. 6d. to £gr. 5s. od. per annum, i.e. the salary of the class of draughtsmen to which he might reasonably
89 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 342, 28 March 1781. 90 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 569. 91 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /97, p. 687, 30 June 178I. 92 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 734, 14July 1781. 93 The present Royal Artillery Theatre, Woolwich. 94 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/111, p. 123. 85 In the Tower of London.
THE WARREN 1776-1800
have been expected to have risen had he remained on the staff of the ~ra"".ing Room.96 The o_ther was an agreement that the gun and carnage invented by Mr Blight and bought by Messrs Prickett and Handaside should be purchased from them and placed in the
Repository.97 There is a map of the marshes showing the proposed new range
of 3,000 yards among the War Office Records at Stanmore. The map consists of two plans undated though the approximate year is 1787.98 The bank covering the range extends from the convict wharf
CRAB-TREE LEVEL
Average annual expense of wallscot to each tenant at
Proprietor Tenant Acreage 3/I p er acre
£. s. d.
Sack Baile George Bodle r
7
Thomas Caps Thomas Caps 7 I
31 4. 15
7
Middleton Onslow William Weller
47 7 4 I l
Humphrey Haywood Thomas Harwood 24 3 r4 0Clothworkers' Company Thomas Milson
I 3 I
Mrs Hoskins John Martin99 40 6
Charles Earl George Bodle I 3 4
3
Heirs of Dr Pelliwood Mr Cole I ~ 5
15 Total 156 £24 l 0
OLD CORN MARSH LEVEL
Wallscot 9/8Proprietor
Tenant
Acreage per acre
£. s. d.
William Coltman Mr Jackson 54 26 2 0Charles Earl George Bodle
9 4. 0
Henry Lidgbird Mr Loggin 7
22 10 12 8
Mr Luxford George Bodle
18
8 14 0William Cole George Bodle
22 10 12 8
Mr Luxford
John Lows
14
Thomas Kirby John Martin 6 15 4
32 15
Sir John Boyd, Bart 9 4
Thomas Harwood
12 5 16 0
Mr Cook
William Davy
Bo
38 13
Clothworkers' Company 4
John Martin
28 13 10 8Mathew Anthorp George Bodle 3 I 0
Heirs ofDr Pelliwood 9
William Cole
12 5 16 0 Total
352 £170 2 0
OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/WO/ /II
,1 OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0/47/ 3, p. 184, 26January 1789.
H Map No. 30. ' 47 116, P· 355, 10 September 1790.
" Doubtless the same John Mart' h d
1 .
butts in l 774. See Chapter I I m w o comp ame about the dangers from the proof
' note 310.
to Crab-tree Sluice-known as the Crab-tree Level-and from Crab-tree Sluice to the next sluice, known as the Corn Marsh Level. Inset is a list of proprietors and the then occupiers of the two Levels assessed on an average assessment of the years 1 767-87. This list is valuable in shewing the acreage concerned and the expense of
wallscot due from each tenant.
The rate ofexpansion of the Warren was now gaining momentum. Every year the maintenance charges had to be increased. In 1777, £500 were allotted to Woolwich for repairs and incidentals; in 1780, £1,300; and in 1782 £2,000. This can be attributed to the wars between this country, Spain, France, and Holland, which had the effect of initiating an armament drive.
In 1780 a new carpenters' shop together with a shed and special wharf were under consideration and on 6 July of that year, Mr Thomas Powrie having marked off the site on a plan of the Warren, their construction at a cost of £1,620 was ordered to be put in hand immediately.100 Purchase or renting of more property followed.
On 14July 1781 Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson agreed to lease some additional land at Woolwich and Mr Carleton, the solicitor, was ordered to arrange matters.101 Arrangements went smoothly and on 26 July Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, having agreed to treat for a 99 years leas for fifty acres of land wanted for a powder magazine at Plumstead, Colonel Bramham was ordered to mark out the flrea necessary and instruct the Board's solicitor to negotiate for the same. At the same time, Mr Carleton was asked to enquire the terms upon which M r Knap would sell to the Board the wharf and houses which had recently been offered for sale at Woolwich.102 The land obtained from Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson on the 99-year lease, together with an additional twenty-four acres, was eventually purchased for£ 20,000 and conveyed to the crown on 30July 1808. Meanwhile Mr Knap had expressed his readiness to sell, and on 30 August 1781 it was agreed that his property should be bought if the price were reasonable.103 After a survey, Colonel Bramham, Chief Engineer, reported on 20 September 1781 that Mr Knap's wharf required repair.104 Finally on I December 1781 the Board agreed to acquire the wharf for £900.105 It took seven months to complete the transaction and it ·was not till 8 July 1782 that Lough Carleton reported that he had completed the purchase of the houses and the wharf. The clerk of the works was ordered to take possession.106
100 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, P· 575· 101 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 787. 102 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, P· 787. 103 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, P· 91 I. 104 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, P· 993· 105 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1,223. 106 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/100, P· 39·
469
ii
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Luckily there is an ancient tracing of the Warren among the old maps and plans deposited in the War Office Records at Stanrnore. Unfortunately it is highly fragile and breaks at the slightest touch. It is called PLAJ\ OF WOOLWICH WARREN with the additional land purchased from Sir Thomas W ilson by tlze Board of Ordnance I 777 for tlze purpose of making a new Proof-Butt and storehouses. Scale IOO F eet to the Inch. It appears to have been traced from an elegantly coloured
map of the Warren, which at some time had had additions gummed to it to bring it up to date. It was probably so amended to accompany some report. This map,107 also at Stanmore, is sadly mutilated, so much so that the portion relating to the western, or built-up, area of the Warren is missing. This in its way is a minor tragedy since little of value remains, save a survey of the marsh lands. The titular heading has also disappeared and with it the date, but at a ha zardous guess it might in its present form represent the Warren about
1777, and have been originally executed circa 1750. The latter supposition is based on the fact that it represents the site of th e Old Carriage Yard in much the same condition as it appears in Barker's Survey of 1749. The tracing itselfmust have been drawn subsequ ent to 1777 as it shows buildings erected up to 1780. Since, however" the turret, which was demolished in August 1786, is indicated, it rnust have been made prior to that date.
By the careful use of cellophane tape and a judicious blending of the tracing and the map, a composite sketch plan has been prepar ed which gives a fair indication of the Warren in the year 1780. W h a t does it reveal? A very different picture from 1749. The area is now approximately one hundred acres, the number of buildings h a s increased, the quantity of trees has diminished. The Establish rnent has assumed more ofthe shape ofa small factory and stores depot and less of that of a collection of isolated garden workshops. Many old landmarks have disappeared. The plantation of elms near the 1ain Gate has given way to gardens, and most of the trees on the site of the old Carriage Yard have fallen to the axe of the woodman.
The principal buildings were:
A. The Laboratory as it stood m 1749, though containing more buildings.
B. The shot-yard much as it was in 1749.
C. The ~rea~ House, containing the Academy, the Board Room, the
storekeepers residence and the houses of the two senior professors at the Academy.
D. The Infirmary or Cadets' Hospital.
E. The proof-butt on the site of the present Central Power Station.
F. The Royal Brass Foundry, i.e. the present 0.F. Garage.
G. The guardhouse by the Main Gate. 101 Map Ko. 33.
470
THE WARREN 1776-1800
H. Three labourers' houses near the main gate.
I. The two blocks of barracks which have become Officers' Quarters (Old Barracks) and Field Officers' Quarters (New Barracks).
J. Dial Square and Basin Square (or Grand Square) containing foundry workshops, the Land Service storehouse and the Sea Service storehouse.
K. The Sea storehouse next to the water's edge north of the shotyard.
L. The new shot-yard east of the Sea storehouse.
M. The new Carriage Square, containing the smiths' and carpenters' shops built in 1 778. The site of this Square is now occupied by the main machine shop of the Royal Carriage Department.
N. The turret in the garden of the senior professor.
0
. The Boring Engine Room in the Foundry.
P.
The stables built in 1779.
Q.
The Blue storehouse.
R.
The East Laboratory built in I 776.
S.
The sheds, more stables, the coal-house and the magazine (Note P, Q, and S, are situated on the southern edge of the Old Carriage Yard, whilst R is in the centre, on a site now covered by the central ordnance stores).
T
. The saw-house, on the site of the New Carriage Yard.
U
. The new convict wharf.
V.
The Ordnance wharf.
W
. The new carpenters' shops and wharf built in I 780.
X
. The new waggons sheds built along the new boundary line to house the waggons collected from the Tower and various camps, authorized 25 September 1779.108
Y.
Two blocks of cadet barracks (the present H Avenue).
In addition, Prince Rupert's Walk, tree-lined as of yore, still remained and there were some half dozen cranes.
In I 780, a new post was created in the Warren-the Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, and the first re:ipie~t was Captain Thomas Blomefield. How his functions dovetailed 1n with the official designated The Inspector of Brass and Iron Ordnance, whose post was created by royal warrant dated 26 May I 778109 at a salary of £500 per annum does not appear clear. There was a great need at this time of military supervision over armament manufacture, as it must be confessed that the guns supplied to the naval and military services had degenerated to the lowest point in quality. Proof passed into the hands of Captain Blomefi.eld, the proofmasters being directly subordinate to him and not to the Board in the Tower. The new Inspector of Artillery applied himself diligently to his tas~ and attacked the existing abuses vigorously. In the first year of his appointment he condemned no less than 496 pieces in proof; and so
108 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /94, p. 209. 109 Warrants (Kings and Others, Woolwich), PRO/W0/55/418.
47 1
fully were the advantages of the new post appreciated that a Royal Warrant was issued in r 783 reorganizing the whole department, which was placed under Captain Blomefield's entire direction. The warrant dated 24 January r 783110 authorized a new establishment for the Office of Ordnance and granted new rates of pay. At Woolwich the proposed rates were: Storekeeper £ 160 p.a.; Clerk of the Survey £100 p.a.; Clerk of the Cheque £80 p.a; 3 Clerks at £60
p.a. each and one at £50 p.a. Master Founder £21 g p.a.; Draughtsmen £gr. 5s. od. p.a. It will be noticed that some salaries were not
increased. In 1 782 the establishment at the Warren was as under:111
Storekeeper Clerk of the Survey Clerk of the Cheque Clerk of the Foundry
Extra Clerks
Master Founder
Comptroller Chief Firemaster
Mate to Chief Firemaster Assistant Mate Clerk to the Comptroller Turner
Joiner Second Joiner Carpenter Smith
Labourers
Overseer ( Clerk of the Works) Armourer
THE 'WARREN 1776-1800
Four Clerks
Master Founder Foundry Draughtsmen
Comptroller Firemaster Assistant Firemaster
Clerks
Surgeon's Mate Refiner Chief Foreman
Inspector Assistant Inspector
Clerk and
Draughtsman -
Clerk -
Proofmaster -
s~IThcr -
Instrument Keeper -Modeller Assistant M odeller Constructor of
Artillery
William Chambers -£60 p.a.
Francis Genet J ames Foster
{
Henry Dugelby -Peter Verbruggen -Frederick Groves
Royal Laboratory
Colonel Thomas Jones Captain Samuel Tovey Lieut Thomas Sutton George Ayres114 Henry Forman115 Robert Pollock Lewis Charles Okes John Doubleday Joseph Newell Thomas Guy
George Reed William Piper John Turnbull
-£60 p.a. -£60 p.a. -£50 p.a. -£219 p.a. -£91. 5s. od. p.a.
-£300 p.a.
----
£230 p.a. £200 p.a. £200 p.a. £100 p.a. £80 p.a. £80 p.a. £70 p.a. £70 p.a.
£54. x5s. od. p.a,
£63. 17s. 6d. p.a.
£63. I 7s. 6d. p.a.
£54. 1 5s. o d. p.a.
£54. 1 5s. o d. p.a,
£350 p.a. £120 p.a.
£80 p.a. £70 p.a. £80 p.a. £50 p.a. £73 p.a. £54. 1 5s. od. p.a. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a.
John Cockburn -
Neil Campbell
William Sansom
James Delestang
Anthony Genet -
-
Miles Sansom
(
William Chambers Peter Verbruggen
Royal Laboratory
George Napier Captain Samuel Tovey
George Ayres William Piper
John Turnbull Thomas Walton {Robert Poulton Matthias Pedder
Thomas Powrie Abraham Howard
£160 p.a. £54-15s. £54. 1 5s. £ 54. I 5s. £36. 1 os. £36. ros. £ 36. 10s. £ 219. os.
-£200. OS.
-£150. OS . £80. OS . £ 80. OS. £40. OS. £54. IOS .
£54.
IOS . £54. IOS . £ 45. I2S. £45. l2S. £ 27. 7s. £27. 7s.
£10. 10s. -£54. 12s.
Establishment in 178J112
Storekeeper
John Cockburn -£160 p.a.Clerk of the Survey
Neil Campbell -£100 p.a.Clerk of the Cheque
William Sansom113 -£80 p.a.
110 Warrants and Orders in Council PRO{WO/ss/375 m Ordnance Establ~hment Book, PRO/W0/54/216. · ::: Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/217.
Succeeded byJohn Broadly Wilson on 16 December 1783.
472
od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a.
od. p.a.
od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. 6d. p .a. 6d. p.a. 6d. p.a. 6d. p.a.
od. p.a. od. p.a.
and 3 other vacancies
{
at the same rate of pay
Inspector of Artillery
Major Thomas Blomefield Captain Edward Fage
John Hookham Thomas Huntington
Lieut William Robe ~hnBill John Walton
Thomas Greenstreet
Benjamin Hartley
Carriages -Thomas Butler -£200 p.a.
Assistant
Constructor - William Eaton £91. od. p.a.55•
Second Assistant
Constructor - Charles Gilbert £73 p.a.
Clerk - Thomas Butler £60 p.a.
The salaries quoted above were basic, some of the officials were allowed house rent allowance in addition. 114 Succeeded during the year by Henry Forman. 115 Succeeded during the year by George Herriot.
32 473
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
These extracts from the Establishment Books are a convincing proof that the Warren was growing in size and importance.
On 21 August I 778 the Board agreed to enter into a new contract with the Verbruggens for casting, boring, turning and engraving brass ordnance at the following prices :116
Heavy guns, 13 and 10 inch sea mortars -£ 44 per ton Medium guns, 13 inch land mortars and 10 inch howitzers -£54. per ton Light guns under 6cwt, 10 and 8 inch mortars
and 4½ inch howitzers -£64 per ton
5½inch land mortars 4½inch land mortars -- £5. £3. 5s. 3s. od. each od. each
In addition, the Board considered that in order to preserve
continuity, the Verbruggens should nominate a successor in case of their death, who should come forward under instruction. They left the choice entirely to the Verbruggens, but stipulated that the person selected must be under the Board's absolute authority and not quit the foundry. The Verbruggens took more than a couple of years to forward their recommendation. On I I November 1 780 they proposed that Mr Frederick Groves was a 'proper person to be instructed in the business' and expressed the hope that the Master-General and the Board would agree.117 On 30 May 1781 Frederick Groves was
granted 5s. p.d. since his pay as a draughtsman at Plymouth ceased, he having been appointed to the foundry in ovember 1780.118 He will be heard of again.
On 5 August 1778, a chief foreman at 3s. p.d. and three assistant foremen at 2s. p.d. were added to the establishment of the Royal Laboratory.119 About this time the smiths' wooden shop in the Artificers' yard was ordered to be pulled down and rebuilt in brick
od.120
at a cost of£76. ros.
In the autumn of r 780 it was evidently considered that th e danger of local rioting at Woolwich had passed, for on 23 September it was ordered that the boxes of grape shot, tin case shot and hand grenades which had been sent to the Tower for safe custody during the recent riots were to be returned to the Royal Laboratory.121 War was having its effect on labour problems in the Warren.; gu~ners ':ere being mustered for training and thus ceased to be available ~n the workshops. On 16 December 1780 Captain Samuel Tovey, ch1ef firemaster, asked to be allowed to employ two smiths,
116 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 178. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 899. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/49/97, p. 575.
119
ao OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. r 26. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 3, 1 July 1778.121 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 762.
474
THE WARR EN t 77 6-1 800
~w? carp~nters and two coopers in the Royal Laboratory as he found 1t 1mposs1ble to procure at all times the services of artillerymen. The Board, however, were unwilling to increase the establishment of the Laboratory while the Regiment was quartered in the Warren and not encamped, and considered that artificers might be obtained from the Royal Artillery. They ordered enquiries to be made as to whether men could not be furnished from the marching companies at Greenwich or in the neighbourhood.122 In order temporarily to ease the situation convicts were employed in the Royal Laboratory under the inspection of the master turner,123 and an additional smith was taken on the books.124 The numbers working in the Laboratory had now assumed such proportions that the question of medical attention became pressing and it was agreed that Mr Gustavus Irwin, surgeon's mate, should attend the sick. He received rs. 6d. per diem and 2d. from the men exclusive of all other
allowances.125 One of the first signs of Captain Blomefield's regime was the acquisition of two 'spying glasses' at the proof-butts for the proof of mortars. On 12 June 1781 they were ordered to be supplied at 36s.
each.126
A small fire broke out in a house near the back of the Royal L aboratory, but luckily no damage occurred.127
I n 1782, Colonel the Hon. George Napier succeeded Sir Charles Frederick as Comptroller, Royal Laboratory. The latter had continued to hold this post as well as that of Surveyor-General.128 Colonel Napier did not retain his new appointment for long as in the following year he was replaced by Colonel Thomas Jones who was serving in India. Passages from the Orient in the eighteenth century took time to arrange and, in order to have some responsible official to take charge of the Royal Laboratory until Colonel Jones should arrive, Major William Congreve was on g April 1 783 appointed Deputy Comptroller and acting Comptroller.129 There is an entry in the Journal Books under date 17 June r 782 which is difficult to understand. It states 'An arch to be turned over part of the Common Shore at Woolwich Warren at a cost of £46. 8s. od.'130 Possibly this construction was to form some kind of river entrance gate to the Establishment since most of the traffic between London and Woolwich was water-borne. Three repair operations were carried out
122 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 993· 123 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 1,041, 30 December 1780. 124 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 70, 27 January 1781. 125 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/97, p. 358, 31 March 1781. 126 Ordnance.Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 603. 127 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 945, 12 September 1781. 128 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/99, p. 418, 31 May 1782. 120 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/101, p. 393. 130 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/99, p. 501.
475
about this period. The foundry at £67. 5s. od,131 the cadet barracks
at £146. 12s. gd.,132 and the Royal Laboratory at £628. 8s. 6 J d.133
A large contract was placed on 4 April 1783 for a new Sea store
house134 and on the following day Mr Latimer was instructed to
supervise its construction.135 Samuel Nicholson was the bricklayer in
charge and on 22 May 1783, he asked to be allowed to erect a
lime-kiln near the new wharfin order to burn the 'stone lime' for the
storehouse in question. He was curtly informed that he could not
set up any kiln on the king's land as any spot in the Warren would
be offensive. He was however, told that there was a site close to the
new wharf belonging, it was thought, to Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson
and that Mr Powrie had been ordered to approach the owner as to
whether he would agree to the erection of a kiln, and, if so, upon
what terms. Sir Thomas flatly refused. The unfortunate contractors
were therefore told that they must themselves find a suitable locality
for their kiln elsewhere.136
This slight contretemps no doubt delayed matters, but on I 5 July
1783 orders were issued for the building to be started at once.137
There still seems to have been some hitch as on 13 August 1783 the
Board ordered Mr Samuel Nicholson in no unmeasured te rms to
commence his bricklaying activities at once and explain his delay
as 'all had been ready for him for the past fortnight'_13s The project
was an ambitious one and the Sea storehouse took some years to
complete, money still being spent on its construction in r 786.139
On 12 Novembe: 1784 Samuel Nicholson received £506. 14-S. o½d.
on account for his work between 20 July and 12 ovcmber r 784,140
while on 31 July 1785John and John T. Groves plasterers were paid £89. 14s. 5-½d.141
On 5 April 1783, Mr Butler and Mr Powrie were asked to submit an estimate of cost for erecting temporary sheds to house gun carriages.142 It does not transpire whether these were ever built. The posi~ion in ~egard to ~rtillerymen had become less difficult by I 783, possibly ow1?-g to the 1mpe?-dingTreatyofVersilles between England, France, Spam and the Uruted States which was signed on 3 September. So on 13 August 1783 Major Congreve was informed that Royal
;:~ OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/rno, p. 475, ,8 October ,782. 133 g;~~:~:J~:~:! :~~t, ~~g/~0/47/101, p. 101, 21 January 1783. m Ordnance Bill Book, Se;ies nl1f/J7{tJ~/' ;' 460, 23 October 1783. 135 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/ /rn/5 :7'l' 7·
136 OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/Wo/7;rni' P 3 5· 137 Ordnance Journal Book; PRO/W0/!~;10/ ~-~~:· ::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/102'. :
: 21
3
Ordnance E?'pense Ledger, PROfWO/48;2l. 140 Ordnance Brll Book, Series III PRO/WO/s:/7
7
m Ordnance Bill Book, Series III' PRO/WO/s2/ ' p.
10
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRo';wo147 j,o,, p. 73fr·. 18 o.
476
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Artillerymen could be employed in the Royal Laboratory provided work for them existed.143
William Sansom, who had been clerk of the cheque for twentysix years, was on 2 1 October 1783 recommended to the MasterGeneral for superannuation on the rate of pay he received prior to the new establishment of 24 January 1783 on account of his good character and long service.144 He was succeeded on 16 December 1783 by John Broadby Wilson145 He did not long enjoy his wellearned retirement as he died in August I 784.146
The turret clock still gave trouble and was repaired in November 1783 at a cost of £12.147 In the first quarter of 1784 a considerable number of employees in the Royal Laboratory were superannuated. On I 5 J anuary the following were superannuated on the recommendation of the chief firemaster.148
John Atkinson at 1s. p.d. David Hexton at gd. p.d. William Pritcons at 1s. 6d. p.d. Francis Matthews at gd. p.d. Prosper Batsford at gd. p.d.
And on 31 March following, the Master-General directed that the following should be superannuated from the Royal Laboratory with effect from 1st April 1784.149
Thomas Hare -Extra Clerk -Is. 6d. p.d. John Round -Assistant Foreman -IS. p.d. Nathaniel Walker
gd. p.d. J ohn Sales
IS. 6d. p.d. T homas Johnson
IS. 4d. p.d. John Atkinson
Labourers 1s. p.d. David Hexton
gd. p.d. gd. p.d.
Prosper Batsford Francis Matthews
gd. p.d.
On 5 March 1 784 a press was installed in the Royal Lab~ratory for the experimental extraction of saltpetre,150 and on 5 Apnl _1 ?84 Mr Powrie submitted an estimate of £376. 17s. I 1}d. for repa1nng the wharves, cranes and armoury at Woolwich which was referred to the Master-General.151 Meanwhile the alteration proposed by the
143 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, p. 2o8. 144 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, P· 4-13· 145 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, P· 710. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/104, p. 240, 25 August 1784. 147 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, p. 710, 6 November 1783. 148 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/103, p. 107. 140 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/rn3, P· 527. 150 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/103, p. 388. 151 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/rn3, P·-543·
477
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Commissioners of the Turnpike Road to be made to the road from the lower Barrack gate to the Warren had been authorized at a cost of £41. 12s. od.152 On 30 July 1784, Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey 153 was allowed £15 p.a. house rent allowance with effect
' b "1,..,.; 1-4
from 1 January I 784 until a quarter could e provided for .1-~m. 0 On 25 August 1784, Messrs Jackson and Moser, submitted a bill for £ 111. 7s. od. for fi,'<..ing lightning conductors on the new East Laboratory. The account was settled.155
On 17 June 1785, John King, lately employed in the foundry, requested that his son might receive pay from 16 December I 784 t1!l 30 April 1785, t:ie period during which he (th~ son) had assisted his father in repairmg brass guns, and that on his return from a broad when he intended to send him for improvement, he might be employed in the foundry. The Board forwarded this request to Major Blomefield to report whether John King's son was entitled to these emoluments and to the Master-General as to whether he could be employed in the foundry after his return from abroad. U n.fo_rtunately for the son, it transpired that John King had no a uthority to employ him till the expiration of his apprenticeship. I t w as ruled
156 In the spring
therefore, that he could receive no pay. of l 785, Colonel Thomas Jones assumed the Comptrollership of the Royal Laboratory.157 On 26 March 1785 the Board agreed that small beer should still be issued to convicts.158 This was a charge on the imprest payable to the storekeeper and worked out at about 450 barrels a year at 7s. 6d. a barrel. On 10 August 1786, the storekeeper was ordered to payJames Campbell, brewer £44. 16s. 3d. (119{-barrels) for the beer expended by the convicts during the June Quarter
1786.159
On 25 July 1785, Peter Verbruggen asked for an honorarium of 100 guineas for the extra trouble he had had in casting brass carronades for the King of Naples. The Board in reply referred him to the contract entered into by him and his late father160 whereby 12s. p.d. was allowed for casting all sorts of cannon ordered by the Board. They also pointed out to him that he enjoyed the use of a ~ouse in t~e Wa:ren, ~11 of which the Board considered 'an ample indulgence for his duties as master founder. However the Principal O~cers ~ere themselves in an indulgent mood as, conceding that this particular order was out of the ordinary, they did agree to an
::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/~03, p. 167, 23January 1784.
Brother of Duncan Campbell who supermtended the convicts. 164 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/104, p. 131. 155 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/104, p. 235. 158 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/105, p. 873.
1 :1 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/105.1" 8 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/105 ;:: Ordnance Bill Book, Series III, PRO/W0/52/24.
·n thJoBhn Vd~rbruggen who had died in 1782. Actually John and Peter were brothers so
1 e oar s reply 'father' should read 'brother'. ·
478
ex gratia payment of £50 which they hoped that Mr Verbruggen
would consider adequate recompense.161
With the increased number of personnel working in the Warren,
the provision of more 'necessaries' became essential. The Respective
Officers reported on 29 September 1785 that the 'necessary' in the
Artificers' Yard had become so full as to constitute a nuisance and
'
that they had demolished those used by the office staff and workmen
which they requested to be re-erected in a more convenient place.
They asked for the one in the Artificers' Yard to be emptied, Mr
Powrie was instructed to perform this task and to estimate the cost
of erecting new necessaries in the place of those pulled down.162
Two deaths were reported by the Respective Officers on 22 February 1786, those of Peter Verbruggen, master founder and Thomas Powrie, clerk of the works.163 On 12 May 1786 Catharina and lVIaria Verbruggen requested the state of the accounts of Messrs Verbruggen so that the same could be settled.164 Catharina, daughter of Peter Verbruggen, having on 19June 1786 submitted a list of the fixtures put up in the house occupied by her late father, asked the Board whether they would be willing to purchase the same. The Respective Officers were ordered to appoint a valuer to deal with the matter, the two garden seats to be excluded. Catharina and her aunt Maria, who was a sister to Peter Verbruggen, then reported that they had fifty stacks of drywood suitable for casting.165 On 5
July I 786 the Board informed Miss Catharina Verbruggen that they would take over her late father's fixtures at a valuationof£11. os. 6d.166
After the demise of the V erbruggens, the post of master founder was left unfilled and the casting of ordnance was carried on under the supervision of John and Henry King who were each allowed £6 p.a. house rent allowance.167 This decision caused considerable heartburning on the part of Mr Frederick Groves who had assumed, somewhat naturally, that he would succeed to the coveted position. He therefore wrote to the Board on 26 October 1786 saying that, as since 1 780 he had been led to expect that he would succeed Mr Verbruggen as master founder, he tendered his resignation in view of the present circumstances and thanked the Board for their past favours and protection.168 After the two Misses Verbruggens had departed their late house in the Warren was repaired at a cost of
£35. 7s. 6ld.169
161 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/106, p. 168. 162 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/106, p. 479. 163 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/107, p. 245. 22 February 1786. 164 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/107, p. 600. 165 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/107, p. 878. 166 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 41. 167 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 393, 25 September 1786. 168 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 482. 169 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 392, 25 September 1786.
479
Repairs to the value of £29. 15s. 7d. were carried out on the convicts' wharf, approval being granted on 5 May 1786.170
The turret or 'old tower' in the Warren was pulled down in August 1786 owing to its unsafe condition. Thus disappeared the last remaining landmark linking the growing Establishment with Tudor England. It was an anachronism, a giant of an earlier age serving no useful purpose; but one cannot help regretting its passing. Had it survived to the present day it would in all probability have been scheduled as an 'ancient monument' and been cared for by the Ministry of Public Building and Works as a timely reminder of Elizabethan glories. Autres temps, autres m(]Jurs. Its demolition is not specifically recorded in any of the Ordnance Books, but the money for this act ofvandalism may be included in the sum of £1,046. I Is. 4¾d. paid to Isaac Ashton, Master Bricklayer, on 30 September 1786 for his work in the Warren between I July and 30 September 1786 carried out on the M.G.O.'s order of 17 June 1786.171
On 11 December 1786 on Major Congreve's suggestion it was agreed that the roofs of the new proof house and part of the roof of the mortar platform should be slated.172
Increased allowances were now approved for certain officers at Woolwich. On 15 February 1787 field officers wer granted 20s. per week in lieu ofquarters173 and by Royal Warrant dated 25 A pril I 787 the commanding officer was given 'command pay' of 20s. a day.174 Colonel Maclean, who took over command on I 2 October 1787 was the first specifically appointed officer to receive this additional emolument.175
The experimental press in the R.L. for the extraction of saltpetre evidently proved a success for on 21 September 1787 the r emaining kitchen there was ordered to be fitted up with two more presses.176
There were three houses adjoining the Royal Laborator y w hich belonged to Miss Jones, a minor. For obvious reasons the Board were anxious to obtain possession of them, but as the tr ustees had no power of sale during her minority, they could only be rented. On 22 October 1787 it was ordered that the houses be so rented.177
They were eventually purchased from Miss Betsy Jones on 2 July I 793 for £400.
Maintenance costs continued to rise. In 1785 £1,200 was allowed for Part II and III Services, whereas by 1788 the figure had risen to £3,000.
::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/107, p. 577.
OrdnanceJournal Book, Series III, PRO/W0/52/23, p. 163. 172 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 641. 178 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/109, p. 287. 174 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/377, p. 247. 176 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/no, p. 809, 17 December 1787. 111 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/110, p. 277
177 OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/110, p. 529:
480
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Mrs Catherine Hallifax, coal merchant, signified on 27 May I 788 that she was willing to rent the wharf, late in the possession of Mr Knap, for £20 per annum and the tenement adjoining for £8 per annum. She agreed to have the house and wharf repaired for £23. 6s. 2d. and rent the premises.178 Danger of fire, however, still exercised the mind of authority, so on 5 January 1789 the MasterGeneral approved of the five old houses adjacent to the wharf rented by Mrs Hallifax being razed to the ground and the space they covered being added to that of the wharf. He considered, however, that Mrs Hallifax should pay more rent than she proposed, i.e. the rent for only two houses.179 Mrs Hallifax was conciliatory and proposed that she could pay £31 per annum rent for the old houses scheduled for destruction, a proposition which was accepted.180 R egarding the houses in Warren Lane, which being close to the Royal Laboratory constituted a serious fire risk, the Master-General intended that they should be demolished and the boundary wall of the Warren made good in their place as soon as they became Ordnance property and the tenants could be evicted; and that such houses as could not for the moment be pulled down should remain em pty. The Master-General understood that one of the houses in question which had been built some time previously by the Office of Ordnance, was inhabited by Mrs Sumpter, the widow of one who had been employed in the Warren. This woman being addicted to liquor had on several occasions created an alarm of fire, and as she was thought to be insane she was considered to be a most improper person to inhabit a dwelling so close to the Royal Laboratory. The M aster-General therefore desired the Board to give orders for her removal and at the same time to instruct the storekeeper to bribe her
with two or three guineas to leave the house quietly and consent to being transferred to the workhouse, where her friends wanted her to be placed.181 Apparently the storekeeper was successful in his delicate mission. The Respective Officers reported on 20 February r 789 that Mrs Sumpter had left the premises in Warren Lane, having accepted the storekeeper's three guineas.182
On27 M ay 1789 MajorWilliam Congrevewasappointed Comptrol
' . d iss B . d
ler, Royal Laboratory vice Colonel ThomasJones res1gne . . ~s1 _es being in charge at the Warren his appointment gave him certa1nJunsdiction over the powder factories at Waltham Abbey and Faversham.
After a period of three years during which no master founder was appointed, the Board suppressed the post with effect from I January
178 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/vV0/47/111, p. 817.
179
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, P· 19· 180 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/ll3, p. 89, 16January i789. 181 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, p. 19, 5January 1789. 182 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, P· 373· 183 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, p. 826.
481
I 789 by their order dated 11 January 1 789. John King being placed in charge in the capacity of foreman. His younger brother Henry wanted to receive the same emoluments as his elder brother but was told by the Board that they could not both be put on the same footing as one man alone could be in charge. To soften the blow he was granted an additional shilling a day.184
'Be civil to all' wrote Beajamin Franklin in 1756 and this advice certainly paid Mr Samuel Harden, farmer at Woolwich. It is the prerogative offarmers to grumble but not so the worthy Samuel. He had his land damaged when the Royal Regiment of Artillery was reviewed on it. Did he clamour for justice? No. H e refused all compensation, and as on se':'eral occasions he had shown civility, he was given by the Board a piece of plate worth £20.1ss
There was a project in the air towards the end of the eighteenth century for rebuilding the gunwharfat the Warren in masonry. The initial expense would have been high but the maintenance charges would have been considerably lessened. Two estimates with plans were forwarded to the Master-General on 30 June 1788. The first of £2,567. 3s. 8d. was planned by Lieut.-Colonel D' ubant and the second designed by Lieut.-Colonel Morse came out at £2,905. 15s. 5d.186 No action, however, was taken and further proposals were submitted in 1789 and I 801. Several of these d esigns are to be found among the War Office records at Stanmore,1s1 but it is doubtful whether the complete set is in their possession. The new wharfwas not built till the following century. Curiously enough on the same day as the estimates for the wharf were forwarded to th~ ~aster-General, Isaac Ashton _was paid £461. 19s. r }d. for buildmg the guardhouse at Woolwich according to the M .G.O's order dated r4 January 1788.188 This was the }\,fain Gua rd the estimate for which was included in the Ordnance Estimates for ; 788. It has a handsome portico and was formerly used as a B.W .D. office.
Only a few items of minor interest remain to be told before the century closes. No further building schemes matured till the nineteenth century opened and the only works carried out were those connected with maintenance or repair. This does not mean that
::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/n6, p. 692, 26 November 179o. Ord_nanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/n3, p. 221, 2 February 1739_ ::: Engme~r Papers, 178~-1810, PRO/w_O/55/756. Map No. 16. Woolw1ch Wharf Project for reconstructing the wall in
28 June 1788. masonry, Map No. 18. Proj~ct for rebuilding part of the wharf in wood, 1789. Map No. I 7. Section of the proposed gun-wharf at Woolwich, 1789. Map No. 15· Plai; ofa wharfproposed to be erected in Woolwich Warren, 1801. Map No. 14. Project for a new wharf proposed to be built at Woolwich 1801 Map• To. 13· Method oflaying the masonry for the new wharf. Woolwi~h 18~1 Map No. 12. General section ofmasonry for the new wharf, Woolwich, 180 1. • Map No. 9· Progress plan of new wharf and buildings, Woolwich 29 March 1803
tog June 1807. ' 188 Ordnance Bill Book, Series III, PRO{WO/52/35, p. 75.
482
THE WARREN 1776-1800
little took place in the Warren; on the contrary, it hummed with activity. The imprests to the storekeeper had been gradually rising over the years and by 1790 they were running at the rate of at least £10,000 per year.
On 3 July I 789 a boat for the use of the Royal Laboratory was ordered to be built at a cost not exceeding £35. 5s. od.189 The house occupied by William Pritcons, who had been superannuated in _1784,190 ':"~s or~ered to be pulled down on 17 July 1789 provided its demoht10n did not endanger the adjoining dwellings. This was to obviate the risk of fire. Even if it remained standing, it was to be unoccupied.191 There seemed to have been some doubt as to what ?fficial~ were 'privil~ged' in respect to rates, particularly if they lived 1n official quarters 1n the Warren. The matter was set at rest on 12 November 1789 when it was notified that all officers of the Civil Branch, including Major Wood, the chief firemaster, were assessable for poor rate, church rates and highway rates.192
The following repairs were ordered to be carried out:
3 I D ecember 1789. At the Royal Military Academy and the house in Warren Lane, let by the Ordnance at 15 guineas a year. Cost not to exceed £112. 12s. 1 i½d.193
2 J une 1790. The Master-General directed that the two new storerooms in the Warren should be fitted up as barracks and barrack furniture supplied.194
I November 1790. The two houses, lately belonging to Mr Knap, to be repaired at a cost not exceeding £13. 12s. 3d.195
5 November I790. Minor repairs at the smiths' shop.196
23 D ecember 1790. Minor repairs at the New Square.197
Although not a repair, orders were given on 5 September 1791 to erect a shed in the Royal Laboratory to house old ammunition boxes.198
On I 2 April I 791, the Master-General and Board laid down the rules governing the occupation of quarters at Woolwich in order to avoid misconception. The regulations adopted stated that no allowance for quarters would be entertained except in the following circumstances :199
189 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, p. 22. 190 See note 148. 191 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, p. 102. 192 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 1 1 4, p. 396. 193 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, p. 535. 19~ OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/115, p. 791. 19 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 116, p. 4 78.
a
196 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, p. 608. 197 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 116, p. 824. 198 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/118, p. 271. 199 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/117, p. 474.
483
(a)
That the officer claiming such allowance did at the time his claim commenced, make application to the Commandino-Officer for a lodging in the barracks. t>
(b)
That the Commanding Officer could not accommodate him in the
barracks.
(c) That he did reside and do duty at Woolwich during the period of
his claim. (a), (b) and (c) to be certified personally by the Commanding Officer.
(d) That the Officer making such a claim must certify under his own hand that during the period claimed he did actually hire lodgings and did not reside with any other officer in barracks or in any other house belonging to the Ordnance.
They also stated that no allowance prior to 1 790 would be considered, and that when the Commanding Officer gave his certificate that no quarter was available, he was to render a return of the quarters during the period in question declaring how and by whom they had been occupied.
The lodging rates were to be as follows:
Field Officers 20s. a week Captain and }Captain Lieutenants IOs. a week Subalterns 8s. a week
The regulations bear a striking similarity to those 1n force up to 1945.
One of the models which now made its appearance in the Royal Military Repository was that of Gibraltar.200 It was commenced on the Rock a1;1-d finishe~ at :Woolwich. It was a magn·ficent piece of work. In this connect101;1-, 1t was agreed on 30 ovember 1792 that Mr Brand and !"fr Richmond, draughtsmen of Gibraltar, who
brought t~e u_nfini_shed model to this country wh ere it as completed under their direct10n, should have their extra pay continued. It was also agreed that Anto_nio M~rquez, the modeller employed on the work, who had received hIS pay at Gibraltar till the end of O_ctober 17~2, should be paid 3s. a day by the storekeeper at Wool
wich. Subsistence pay wa~ also ordered to be granted to Joseph Bethell, a carpenter belonging to the Corps ofArtificers at Gibraltar from the en~ of October, who had come to England to assist in the wor~. Working_pay was to be issued by the storekeeper from time to time accordmg to the number of days worked as certified b
Messrs Brand and Richmond.201 y
The r~e in the cost ofliving now began to rear its ugly head. The long stram of war and the unsettled state of Europe contributed to this phenomenon. Prices rose all over the country and hardship
10°Formerly in the Rotunda Museum 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/120, p. 120.
484
THE WARREN 1776-1800
was felt in many homes. It is a problem with which we of this generation are familiar. It was the perennial question of supply and demand. Lack of consumer goods producing scarcity and this enhanced values. The economic laws governing inflation are the same in any century though expedients to circumvent them vary from age to age.
Three extracts will suffice to show these effects in the Warren:
7 January 1796. The labourers in the Storekeeper's Department at Woolwich having petitioned for an increase of pay owing to the excessive dearness of provision of every description.
'The Master-General and Board having considered the above petition together with several other applications which have been made by the labourers employed by the Ordnance, were pleased to direct that in consideration of the present high price of every necessary of life that the several labourers upon the fixed establishment at each station should be allowed their pay for Sundays and that the Respective Officers at the several outports and places be acquainted therewith.'202
17 J uly 1794. Mr Allen, who entered into agreement with the Board to do the painting at Woolwich was, owing to the enhanced price of oil and colours, allowed an increase as follows:
Painting twice in oil common colour per yard 3d. · d 203
,, thnee ,, ,, ,, ,, , , ,, 4 •
I 8 AjJril 1 Boo. The Surveyor-General wrote to the Board on 3 April I 799 saying that Mr Peter Miller, the chimney sweeper at \,Voolwich Warren had intimated that he could not keep the number of apprentices requisite out of his allowance of 6d. per chimney with any degree of profit to himself and that the said allowance was of long standing and made when everything was much more reasonable than at present. He entreated for some small advance in the rate to enable him to meet his unavoidable expenses. The Surveyor-General stated that the chimney sweep at the Tower was paid rs. for every kitchen chimney and 6d. for all others and considered that Mr Miller should receive those prices from I April 1799. The Board agreed and approved the higher rates pertaining at the Tower.204
In addition, the salaries of certain officials were increased.
To give some idea of the rise in cost ofliving which took place at the close of the eighteenth century, the following prices quoted from Roger's History of Agriculture and Prices, Volume VII, Part I, may be conveniently compared with those given in Chapter 8. .
Besides these few articles selected fortuitously all other rose 1n prices in proportion; clothing; fuel; general commodities and labour. Life was hard during the Napoleonic wars.
202 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,560, P• 20.
203 Ordnance Reports, PRO/WO/55/28, f. 9·
20t Ordnance Reports, PRO/WO/55/46, f. 217. Extracts of Minutes, Serie. II, PRO/WO/47 /2,568, p. 435.
485
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
r725 r790
Mutton and Beef 2d. per lb. 5d. per lb. Ducks · gd. each gd. each Chickens 6d. each 8d. to 1s. 4d. each Geese rs. 6rl. each 2s. each Rabbits 8d. each 8d. each Turkeys rs. 5d. each 3s. each
2d. each 6d. eachPigeons
Partridges gd. each Is. gd. each Butter 4½d. per lb. 4d. per lb. Cheese 3d. per lb. 7d.-8d. per lb. Tea 12s. per lb. 6s.-r2s. per lb. Coffee 5s. 6d. per lb. 6s. per lb. Wine 6s. per gallon 7s. 6d. per gallon Brandy 6s. Bd. per gallon I4S. per gallon Rum 7s. per gallon gs. 6d. per gallon Eggs rd. per dozen • 2d. per dozen Port 6d. per bottle 2s. per bottle Sherry 6d. per bottle 2s. 6d. per bottle
A Sheep Bs. 25s. Sea-coal 25s. per chaldron 3 r s. 6d. per chaldron Candles rs. 6d. per lb. 2s. 6d. per lb. (approx.) Beer 5d. per gallon rod. per gallon
On 18 February 1794, it was agreed, on receiving the MasterGeneral's letter of 17 February, that the Sea storehouse at Woolwich should be reslated when the weather became propitious. 20s
John King, foreman of the foundry was granted ros. a day travelling allowance when ordered by the Board to leave w oolWlC• h
. .
on specific business. This concession was approved on r7 o t b
. , . h c o er
1793.206 John Kmg s star was 1n t ~ ascendant. It had gradually bec_ome ap_Pa:ent to the Board th~t it was a bad policy to have no seruor official 1n charge ofgun-casting at the Warren. Their econom measure of 11 January 178~ ~ad not borne its expected fruit and th~ feeling w·ew that the abolition of the ~aster founder's post had been a rmstake. The last act ofa far reaching nature which took place therefore before the century closed was the recreation of th• important office. On 20 April I 797 it was ordered that the found is was to be placed under the care and direction of the Inspecto r{
0
Artillery. At the same time the posts ofMaster Founder and Assis; t Founder were reintroduced. John King was appointed ma~n founder at £219 p.a. with effect from I April 1797 and his broth er Henry, assistant fo~nder at ros. p.d. In addition, the mas;;; founder was authorized to select a foreman at the usual pay £ that post provided his selection was approved by the Inspector ~~
206 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,557, p. 129. 108 Ordnance Reports, PRO/WO/55/26, f. 163.
486
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Artillery, and the extra clerk in the foundry should in future be considered as a clerk on the establishment of the Inspector of Artillery and Foundry.207 John King was in addition to his salary allowed £30 house rent allowance, 12 chaldrons of coal and r 44 lb. of candles per annum.20s
On 25 February 1800 it was agreed that £2,551. 13s. 6}d. should be spent during the year on works services at Woolwich,209 out of which the East Laboratory was to be repaired at a cost of £22.210
At last after forty-seven years good and faithful service as storekeeper, John Cockburn retired on 2 May 1798. He was superannuated on full pay and allowances. He was an old man and past his work. Had he lived a hundred years earlier he might have lingered on in his post till his death. Then things were quiet, no rush and little worry, and a modicum ofenergy sufficed to cope with the small routine of business. In the midst of a European situation fraught with danger and Napoleon conquering half the continent circumstances were very different. Then a man in his prime was required.
On 3 May I 798, therefore, he was succeeded by John Geast, a younger man, the Board stating that 'the war strain requires a man of more active years'.211
In r8oo therefore the establishment at Woolwich was as follows:212
Storekeeper John Geast -£500 p.a.
Clerk of the Survey Evans Marshall -£200 p.a.
Clerk of the Cheque Henry Matthews -£150 p.a.
Clerk of the Works Charles Weaver -£129. IOS. od. p.a.
Samuel Walsall - £70 p.a.
Four Clerks William Marshall - £70 p.a.
William Pritchard { R. Gray - £70 p.a. £60 p.a.
Royal Laboratory
Comptroller -Colonel William Congreve -£360 p.a. ChiefFire-Master -Colonel George Rochfort -£230 p.a. Assistant
Fire-Master -Lieutenant Thomas Sutton -£230 p.a.
Inspector of Royal Manufactories of Gunpowder -Major John Finlay -£200 p.a.
Surgeon -George Moore -£54. 15s. od. p.a.
207 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47 /2,560, p. 414. 208 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,563, p. 527, 18 May 1797• 209 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,568, p. 203. 210 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,568, p. 217, 26 February 1800. 211 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,564, p. 484 212 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WO/54/217.
4,87
Henry Forman -£300 p.a. Joseph Newell -£150 p.a.
Six Clerks Lewis Okes £go p.a. William Caffm £go p.a.213 Moses Hambleton £80 p.a. Thomas Heyv.rood £80 p.a.
Inspectorate of Artillery
Inspector of Artillery} and Royal Brass Colonel Thomas Foundry Blomefield -£441. 5s.
od. p.a.
Assistant Inspector -Colonel Edward Fage -£120 p.a. Clerk and Draughtsman -John Hookham -£138. l2S. 6d. p.a.Clerk -R. White £80 p.a.
-Proof Master -Lieut. William Robe -£100 p.a. Instrument Keeper -John Walton
£73 p.a.
l'vfodeller -Thomas Greenstreet
-£63. r7s. 6d. p.a.Assistant Modeller Constructor of Artillery Carriages -Thomas Butler
-£400 p.a. Assistant -Edward Burford
-£150 p.a. Second Assistant -C. Gilbert
-£100 p.a. Clerks { Thomas Butler (Jr) -£70 p.a.
H. Eaton
-£70 p.a.
Master Founder -John King -£21 9 p.a.
Assistant Founder -Henry King
-£182. l OS. od. p.a.
The principal appointments since r 776 were as under :
I5 April I777• Miles Sansom appointed extra clerk at v oolwich vice Mark Warcup andJohn Pretty supernumerary clerk vice iiles Sa 214 :8 Jury I777• William Ch~mbers appointed supernumerary c1::~~ice Miles Sansom and to be paid for the time he had done duty s· th dismissal of Mark Warcup.215 mce e
20 November I777• John Bradbridge to be overseer vice Th
Mallard.216 omas
27 December I780. George Read appointed supernumerary clerk 21, JI Marclz 178I. Gustavus Irwin, surgeon's mate, to attend the ~ick at the Royal Laboratory. Pay Is. 6d. p.d. and 2d. from the men exclusive of all allowances. 21a
26 June 1781. Charles Weaver carpenter at Pur·fleet to b
· Th . ' , e overseer
vice omas Bradbndge, deceased. Ordered to commence work in next post at once.219
213 The im·entor of 'Caffin's Grape Shot' 214 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/8g ::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47;90: ~: t~~
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/go, p. 506_217 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/g6 or
1
::: OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/W0/47;97: ~: 358_.:>· OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W.0/47197, p. 667.
488
THE WARREN 1776-1800
26 July I784. Thomas Austin to be overseer at 3s. p.d.220 5 April I785. Major Congreve reported on 4 April the death ofThomas Hare, late extra clerk of the Royal Laboratory.221 22 April I785. Thomas Guy appointed Surgeon to the Royal Laboratory instead of surgeon's mate. Salary to remain the same.222 24 February I786. Major James Wood to be Chief Firemaster, R.L. vice Captain Samuel Tovey.223 25 February 1786. Gregory Bond is recommended to succeed Robert Perkins deceased, as foreman R.L.224 5 February I787. Frederick Groves resigns his position as a clerk in the foundry.225
27 March I787. James Delestang, clerk to the foundry, died.226
18 July I787. George B. Moore appointed Surgeon to the R.L. vice Thomas Guy, placed on half-pay.227 18 July 1787. Charles Weaver appointed Clerk of the Works at 6s. p.d. vice Thomas Powrie, deceased, with effect from 1 April 1787.228 24 February I790. The death of Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey is reported on 22 February 1790.229 29 March I790. Evans Marshall to be Clerk of the Survey vice Neil Campbell deceased.230 I7 September I790. Mr Townsend appointed refiner of sulphur at the
R.L. at a salary of £63. 17s. 6d. p.a. to be paid by the storekeeper of Faversham.231
28 December 1790. Major Congreve reported the death of George Ayres formerly clerk of the R.L. who was in receipt of a pension of£roo p.a.232 I No vember I790. Richard Wilkinson appointed assistant armourer at 2S. 6d. p.d.233
13 April 1791. Kenelm Chandler appointed clerk vice Tullok resigned. 234
7 June I792. Henry Langley to be clerk vice William Chambers. Samuel Walsall to be clerk vice Foster dismissed.235
I6 July I792. The Reverend Mr Jones officiating as assistant chaplain for nearly g years. The Reverend Mr Barton, chaplain, died in April I 790.236
I7 April I795· Roddam Marshall appointed assistant clerk vice H. Eaton who is acting for Mr Langley.237
220 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/104, P· 97· m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/105, P· 3oi. 222 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/105, P· 634. 228 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/107, P· 249. 224 OrdnanceJourna!Book, PRO/WO/47/108, p. 387. 225 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/109, P· 202. 226 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/109, P· 535· 227 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, P· 41 • 228 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, P· 7· 229 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/115, P· 253. 230 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/II5, P· 447• 231 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, P· 376. 232 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/II6, p. 836. 233 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, P· 394· 234 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/117, P· 487. 235 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/119, P· 895. 238 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/120, P· 65. 237 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/2,558, P· 415•
33 489
,,
r-,
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
7 May r795. John B. Wilson, clerk of the cheque allowed £15 p.a. house rent allowance with effect from 1 April r 795.238 7 May r795. Charles Weaver, clerk of the works, allowed £20 p.a. house rent allowance with effect from r April r 795.239
24 November r795. \,Villiam Penn appointed assistant clerk in the storekeeper's office vice Roddam Marshall with effect from r October I 795.240 r 1 March r796. Pay of Thomas Weaver, overseer, increased to 4f· p.d.
Pay of Thomas Edwards increased to 3s.. p.d.241 . 25 April r796. Mr Penn, Jr. to be paid Is. 6d. from the time he first attended the office.242
3 February r797. Lieut.-Colonel George _Rochfort appointed_ Chief Fire-
master vice Lieut.-Colonel J arnes Wood with effect from 1 Apnl r 797. The
additional ros. p.d. attached to this post during the war to be discontinued
from r April 1797.243 14 February 1797. Thomas Heywood to be assistant clerk at the R.L.244 January r798. Thomas _Heywood to ?e clerk at the R.L. vice William
3
Gunn. John Reid to be assistant clerk vice Thomas Heywood.245 r7 August r798. The salary ofT. H. Penn, assistant clerk, to be increased to £50 p.a.246 17 October r798. T. H. Penn appointed assistant clerk in the storekeeper's office. 247 r2 November 1798. The salary of John Wolff, clerk to the foundry, increased to £70 p.a. with effect from I October 1798.248 14 May 1799. John Wood to be overseer of the works in the arriage Yard vice John Dear, deceased, at 5s. p.d.249 20 August 1799. The clerks in the Engineer Department to have their 250
pay increased to £70 p.a. 31 December 1799. Mr Gribble to be an assistant clerk at £50 p.a. with effect from r2 October I 799.251
28 November 1800. The pay of the foremen of the shot piles and the junk house to be increased by 6d. a day i.e. their pay is to be raised to 6s. p.d.252 ·
28 November 1800. The pay of the coxswain of the Office boat to be increased by 6d. p.d.253
As the responsibilities of the Warren became heavier, the number ofworkmen grew and the amount ofstores expanded, theft somewhat
238 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,558, p. 498.
289 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,558, p. 503.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,559, p. 1,384.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,560, p. 252.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,560, p. 413.
243 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,562, p. 126.
244 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,562, p. 166.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,564, p. 14.
246 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,565, p. 975.
247 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,565, p. 1,212.
248 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,565, p. 1,315.
241 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,566, p. 507.
250 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,567, p. 909.
::~ Extract ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,567, p. 1,429.
Extract of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,569, p. 1,355.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,378, p. 533.
490
THE WARREN 1776-1800
naturally increased. Doubtless the pressure of events contributed to this evil by the employment of less desirable characters. The following cases were reported during the period under consideration in this chapter.
1 August r776. John White sentenced to hard labour for stealing boring chips.254 20 March 1777. William Smith convicted at the Maidstone Assizes for stealing I 61b. of iron.255 r8 January 1786. John Ackroyd and Thomas Chivers convicted of stealing stores. The former to be whipped and imprisoned. The_latter, on
2"6account of his previous good character to be imprisoned only.
22 March 1786. Richard James Smith, convicted and_sen~enced at th_e
Maidstone Assizes to transportation for 7 years for stealing iron from his
Majesty's stores.257
3 April r787. Andrew Reading sentenced to transportation for 7 years
for stealing a mortar.258 • •
16 April r788. Edward Brazier, labourer in the foundry, dmmssed for
stealing tvvo guineas from the pay table.259
15 October r788. John Day, late labourer in the War:en, sentenced to
a public whipping and 4 months imprisonment for stealing copper hoops
from the Royal Laboratory.260 • •
23 October r789. Richard Oldham convicted at the Maidstone Assizes
261
for stealing lead was ordered to be whipped privately and discharged.
One last economy by the Board before the century ~lose_d. It was
ordered on 6J une r798 that in future the cost of drawing iron guns
from the v\Tarren wharf to the proof-butts would be borne by the
contractor and not by the Crown.262 • • •
The Warren had now reached the point m its history where
contemporary descriptions of it were appearing in print. There were
of course occasional references to it in earlier literature but these
were confined to short paragraphs and thus quite ~seless for
posterity. T he following quotations give a bird's eye view of the
establishment as it appeared to observers.
'There is both a civil and military branch of the Office of Ordnance
established at Woolwich. The civil branch is under the conduct of a
storekeeper clerk of the foundry and other officers, who have many
' ·1· b h 0 f the
inferior servants and workmen under them. The IID itary ranc Office of Ordnance is under the direction of a Chief Engineer, wh? ranks as a Colonel, two Directors who rank as Lieut-Colonels, four Sub-dir~ctors as Majors. The engineers in ordinary rank as Captains, the engmeers
254 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, P· 67.
255 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 35°·
256 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/107, P· 39·
257 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/107, P· 393·
258 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/109, P· 557·
259 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/1u, P· 6i8.
260 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/n2, P· 3o6.
261 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, P· 358.
262 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,565, P· 620•
491
r
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD THE WARREN 1776-1800
extraordinary as Captain-Lieutenants and the Sub-engineers as Lieutenants. Besides which are several practitioner engineers. Under the direction of this Office in a place called the Warren where artillery of all kinds and dimensions are cast; and afterwards proved before the principal engineers and officers of the Board of Ordnance, to which many of the nobility and gentry are often invited, who are afterwards sumptuously entertained by them. Gunpowder, likewise, contracted for by the Office of Ordnance, used till within these few years to be proved here as to its strength and goodness and whether it was fit for the public service. Belonging to this Office there is a Laboratory under the direction of a Comptroller, a Chief Firemaster, a firemaster's mate, a clerk and other workmen and labourers. Under these the companies of matrosses are employed in the compositions and making-up fire-works and cartridges, and in charging bombs, carcases, grenadoes, and such like matters for the
public service. '263 'The Warren at Woolwich is the grand depot ofthe Ordnance belonging to the Navy; the guns of most of our men-of-war being laid up there in time of peace. There are also mortars of all dimensions in great numbers and immense stores of shells and cannon shot. Within this arren is a foundry for brass cannon, a laboratory (under the direction of a Comptroller, a Chief Fire-master and other officers) for making fireworks for the use of the Army and Navy; and a repository of military machines both for Land and Sea Service (under the direction of a Superintendent) in which are also various models ofbridges, fortifications etc. The Academy for the education of young gentlemen destined for the artillery and engineer services is in the Warren, which is the head quarters also of the regiment of artillery, but, since the great increase of that regiment, the Warren (which contains between 50 and 60 acres) has been found very insufficient for that purpose. A piece of ground containing about 50 acres was taken on lease by government of Mr Bowater (the rent being £184 p.a.) and spacious barracks built for the accommodation of officers and privates of the regiment of artillery for whom there was not room in the '\,Varren. All ordnance for the use of government, as well as iron cannon made by contractors at various places as the brass cannon cast at the foundry here, must be proved in Woolwich Warren. The chief officers of the Warren are: A Storekeeper, a Clerk of the Cheque, a Clerk of the Survey etc. The number of artificers and labourers (exclusive of the convicts) employed_ in the various departments is about r 500, including 300 boys. The making of canvas bags for the use of the Warren furnishes employment for a great number of poor women in the town. Two hulks are stationed in the river at Woolwich for the reception of convicts who are employed in the most laborious offices at the dockyard and W;rren having proper persons to superintend them and accountfor their labour.,2~
Ambulator writes the Gentleman's Magazine under date 8July 1798. _I_ walked yesterday to Woolwich Warren, that immense repository of
military arts, the palladium of our Empire, where one wonder succeeds
::: History ofKent, Edward H~ted, 1778, vol. I, p. 46. The Environs ofLondon, Darnel Lysons, 1796, vol. IV, pp. 568, 569.
492
another so rapidly that the mind of a visitor is kept in a cont~nual g~ze ofadmiration. Should I be asked what has made the strongest 1mpress1on on mine? It is a magnificent view of the Rock of Gibraltar, which _was made there formed on the very rock itself on a scale of 25 feet to an mch and presents a most perfect view of it in every point of perspecti_vc. ... Rejoicing at the escape of the King's Rope yard had_ from bcmg destroyed by fire the other day. I was sorry to find how ea~ily I was admitted into the Warren by enquiring for a gentleman I.rrught_ not even know, or wish to see. When we consider how many d1sappomted and disaffected vagabonds are about the Country, I think ?overnment_ should be more vigilant. On my return, the number of artificers entermg the Warren surprised me. How easy a thing it is, said I to myself, to d~troy this arsenal. Should not every man wear a numbered badge, referring to a book describing his age and figure so that when a suspected person enters, the sentry may assist to detect the fraud. It would be ~asy for a man, knowing all or most of the artificers to sit at th~ gate durmg egre_ss and regress. This with a particular jacket for the different branches 10
' d · , 265
which they are employed, would go far towards etect1on •
The above quotations add little to what has already b~en recorded, their authors being unable to study the documents which alone can yield the secrets of the past. They prove, however, that the "':arr~n was becoming an institution of national importance and making its
presence felt in the minds of citizens.
This then was the scene at the close ofthe eighteenth century. What
a change during the last hundred years! Gor_ie were the gar~;l:
workshops amidst the pleasant orchards, varushed was the ht
communi y of some fifty souls. In their place had arisen under the
stress of war the outlines of a modern factory with its team of busy
workers, its regulated hours of work and its securi~ reg~lations.
M achinery it is true was still in its infancy but even rn this sphere
the shape ~f things t~ come was casting its shadow on the _screen of
time. The peace establishment ofsome 1,500 was soon to be 111:crea~ed
to 5,000 during the second phase of Napoleon's t:iumphal victones.
Even centralization that bugbear of earlier officialdom, had slo~ly
crumbled under th~ assault of events and more latitude was bemg
granted to local officers. . f hildh d
00
Birth pangs had been safely surmounted and the trials O c were over. Henceforward the Warren would tread t~e path of · · 'Wh n I was a child I spake
adolescence and grow mto matunty. e . ' as a child I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I
' . '
became a man I put away childish thmgs: This was to be the keynote for the ensumg century•
493
Adolescence
L-·
lf
·Chapter 13
The Warren during Napoleonic times
The sound of war drums ushering in the nineteenth century brought a sense of foreboding to European peoples. In February 180 r, the month in which France and Austria made peace at Luneville, Pitt the Younger resigned as Prime Minister and was followed in office by Henry Addington, an ineffectual and narrowminded man almost as bigoted as his royal master. At the same time, Lord Hawkesbury, who succeeded Lord Grenville as Foreign Secretary, was quite unknown to the British Public. Small wonder, therefore, that in the circumstances a feeling of anxiety swept the country as news from the continent daily grew more ominous, bread approached famine levels and taxes mounted. After Luneville, England stood alone while France secured a guarantee against attack by other Powers. It soon became apparent that the Peace of Luneville was an astute move on the part of Napoleon to isolate England and free his hands for an all-out assault upon 'this sceptre'd isle' which had turned his dreams of conquest into nightmares of defeat. Britain was the world's main carrier of commerce and Europe's workshop. While her ships gave her a monopoly of trade, her mineral wealth and machinery guaranteed her almost complete industrial hegemony. She must therefore be crushed. The 'continental system' designed to effect this was luckily foiled, and Bonaparte having suffered a reverse in Egypt was willing to conclude peace at Amiens on 27 March 1802. This proved to be but a short-lived armistice as England, realizing the trend of events, declared war
again on France on 18 March 1803. It was against this background that the Warren entered on its period of adolescence.
It was a time of high endeavour and growing activity tempered by the difficulties inherent in war. The ever-increasing rise in the cost of living was becoming a serious factor in the lives of the poorer classes of the community, and the scarcity of bread which drove up
the price to unprecedented heights affected industrial workers to a marked degree. To afford some relief to his employees, Colonel Congreve asked the Board on 6 January 1801, whether all the foremen, artificers and labourers in the Royal Laboratory could have their increased emoluments continued for a further period. The Board, well aware of the circumstances, received this request sympathetically and agreed to the extra day's pay per week, already granted to persons employed in the Royal Laboratory and other
497
Ordnance Establishments at home, being extended till 28 February.1 Actually the price of bread began to drop soon afterwards, so that the additional money, though not given for long, did probably assist household budgets during the most difficult period.
The ground level of the Warren at this period had been little altered. That was to be rectified within the next twenty years. The open stream ran through and formed the moat as of old, and most of the area was marshlike and swampy. There was the old wharf at the Laboratory end of the river front, known as the West Wharf, terminating in an iron gate which led to the mud flats, and the East Wharf at the eastern end of the boundary. The main buildings were concentrated at the western end of the property where the soil was firmest, and covered approximately four acres though the density of structure was not high.
The principal blocks of buildings standing when the century opened were:
A. The Laboratory Square.
B. The Shot-yard.
C. The Royal Military Academy (The Great House).
D. The Old and New Sea Storehouses.
E. The new Shot-yard.
F. The Foundry.
G. The Foundry and Basin Square.
H. The Carriage and Painters' Square.
I. The Guardhouse at the Main Gate.
J. The blocks of Colonels and Field Officers' quarte!"s.
K. The Chief Firemaster's quarter.
L. The quarter of the Inspector of the Academy.
M. The Laboratory Storehouses.
N. The new Carriage-sheds.
0. The Cadets' barracks and hospital.
P. The East Laboratory.
Q. The Laboratory Carpenters' shop.
R. The Inspector of Artillery's workshops.
S. The Inspector ofArtillery's Proof Office.
T. The Laboratory House for making fire composition.
U. The Coal-yard.
V. The shed for wood.
W. The house for chipping iron mortars and beds.
In addition to the above there were various groups of stables, odd sheds and workshops, a marsh guardhouse near the eastern boundary and the proof-butts on the site of the present gas-works. Open spaces included the parade green, now the Dial Square green; the cadets' green, now the green opposite H. Avenue; the store
keeper's garden near the Great House; the storekeeper's orchard,
1
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfW0/47/2,570, p. 3.
498
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
now covered by the main block of storehouses; the chief firemaster's
garden where the wharfsheds now stand; and various other g~rdens.
The rest was meadow land. Since 1777 the farm belonging to
Mr Withers had become the property of Mr Harwood. .
Eastward of the stream, the marshy meadows, still depending for
their safety on the protection of the ancient embankment of the
Thames, harboured wild life as of yore.
Little of further interest occurred during the opening year of the
nineteenth century and only three other items are worth recordi?g.
The first, that all allowances in cash due to officers at W oolw1ch
should in future be paid at the Tower instead of by t_he storekeep~r,
Woolwich, who would, however, continue to make disbursements m
kind;2 the second, that the C.R.E. Woolwich would be allowed to
incur expenditure on the repair of buildings and furniture up t? a
limit of £5 without the prior sanction of the Board, a concess~on
due no doubt to the war;3 and the third, a contract connected with
provision for the Naval Service.4 •
This last item dealt with the supply of carronade carriages for
his Majesty's ships. . .
The international situation in view of Napoleon's determmation
to invade England if possible,' urgently demanded the ~treng0e~ng
of the fleet and its armament. This, among other thmgs, implied
the manufacture of goo carronade carriages for the quarter decks
and forecastles of ships of the line. Thomas Butler, the constructor
of carriages under the Inspector of Artillery, therefore suggested to
the Board that Mr Friend should supply the following:
r50 -32 pdr carronades Carriages and slides for 50 -24 pdr carronades
(
150 -18 pdr carronades
The Board agreed to this proposal and instructed Mr Friend to proceed with the construction of the carriages for the. 18 pdr and 24 pdr carronades, and to name his price for undertakmg the provision of the 150 carriages for the 32 pdr carronades. . .
As an indication of prices for non-ferrous metals ruling at this juncture, it may be stated that Mr Greenfell was ordered to supply copper to the Royal Brass Foundry at £154 per ton,5 a figure identical to that paid for the same material at Woolwich forty years earlier.6
The year 1802 opened with the death on 15 January of ~o?n Cockburn, who as storekeeper had reigned so long over the destlrues
2 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,571, p. 837, 27 August x8oi.
3 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,571, p. 1,228, 4 December i8oi.
4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,571, p. 863, I September 1801.
5 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,570, p. 473, 19_Ma)'. 1_8o1. .
6 Prices and Wages in England from the 12th to the 19th Century, Sir Wilha.n1 Beveridge, vol. I, p. 656.
499
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
of the Warren. His executors were Mr Thomas, a clergyman, and Mr Cotterel, a surgeon.7 It was a year of promise and frustration. It saw the initiation ofa large building programme already planned on the drawing board, and one of the most disastrous fires in the history of Woolwich Warren.
In order to assist in the contemplated construction, Colonel Twiss
and Captain George Hayter, C.R.E. of the Thames Division (after
wards called 'C.R.E. Woolwich Division'), proposed on 22 January
1802 that the following additional staff should be sent to Woolwich
to strengthen the Engineering Department :8
One Chief Clerk of Works One Assistant Clerk of Works
Two Overseers of Works One Copying Clerk
One Assistant Copying Clerk One Draughtsman
and recommended that the posts should be filled as follows:
Chief Clerk of Works -Charles Weaver at 8s. per day and £20
p.a. house rent.
Assistant Clerk of Works -Mr Lamb, Copying Clerk in the Engineer's Office at Dover, at 5s. per day and £ 12 p.a. house rent.
Principal Overseer -Thomas Weaver, at 5s. per day and £15
p.a. house rent. Second Overseer -Mr Burkett, Master Bricklayer at Dover, at 5s. per day and £ 12 p.a. house rent. Copying Clerk -Mr Watkins at 5s. per day and £12 p.a. house rent. The Assistant Copying Clerk -to have £50 p.a. and£ 2 p. . house rent.
The Master-General agreed to this temporary increase of estab
lishment on 2 March 1802, but appointed William Croft, Assistant
Clerk of Works, in place of Mr Lamb who had been recommended
by the Board.9 William Croft tarried but a short while in this post;
he was moved on 26 March 1802 to the Treasurer's Office at the
Tower, and was replaced at Woolwich by Thomas Durnford.10
The first of the great works to be put in hand was the new wharf for which an original contribution of £10,000 had been allotted in the Ordnance Estimates for 1801. The whole project took the best part ofeleven years to complete, being finished in 1813, and cost the Exchequer £197,289. It was an immense undertaking, 2,440 feet long, which at last provided a real bund for the Warren. Henceforward, the loading and unloading of stores to and from lighters would be more easily effected. There are several drawings of this projected wharf among the War Office records at Stanmore,
notably a plan of the general section and the suggested method of
: Extracts ofM~utes, Se~es II, PROfWO/47/2,572, p. 50. Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PROfWO/47/2,572, p. 58. 1 Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, p. 212. 10 Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PROfWO/47/2,572, p. 332.
500
laying the masonry prepared by Major-General Morse on 24 December 1801, the design which was finally approved. Another was one drawn by Colonel Twiss a few months earlier in August 180r. The first foundation pile was driven in on 29 March r803. Timber and stone obtained by contract were used in constructing this wharf, purchases extending over eight years. Timber was bought by the load11 and stone by the ton. There were three contractors for the timber, namely Messrs White and Sons, Messrs Adam and Rober~son and Joseph Harris; and one merchant for the stone-Geo~ge Milne. The negotiations for these materials ranged over the eight years already mentioned and the ·story of the various transactions runs
somewhat as follows: It was agreed first of all on 12 January 1802, that the fir trees
which were about to be felled on the land recently leased from Mr Edward Bowater, should be purchased and used in the building of the wharf.12 Secondly, on 22 January 1802, the offer of Messrs
13
White and Sons was to be accepted if their prices were reasonable. After these preliminaries some years had naturally to elapse before the bulk of the timber was required, so it was not till 15 !ebruary 1805 that Captain Hayter was ordered to purchas~ one th1:d of the total amount required from some merchant who rmght possibly offer more attractive terms than Messrs White and Sons. Tenders were therefore placed in order to obtain a competitive price. !"1r W:hite offered some Memel timber at £4. 15s. od. per float, or 1f specially
picked at £5 per load.14 Eventually Messrs Adam and Roberts?n supplied some of the timber at £6. 10s. od. per load,14 while Messrs White and Sons provided 70 loads of Memel and 30 loads of D anzig timber.15 On 30 June 1809, Messrs White and Sons were allowed 7s. per foot cube for the oak plank they supplied for th_e wharf,16 while finally on 5January 1810, the tender ofJoseph Hams for English timber was accepted.17 The prices charged by Joseph
Harris were as under:
To meet at 60 feet; no tree to be less than 55 feet; roo loads
Hewn oak at £g. 15s. od. per load . . . timber Small, straight and handsome for pile dnvmg 50 loads at
{ £7. 10s. od. per load
One can only assume that the word 'handsome' means 'free from blemish'.
11 A load consists of 40 cu. feet of unhewn timber or 50 cu. feet of squared timber. It was estimated to weigh one ton. 12 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, P· 37· 13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, P· 57· 14 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,582, P· 600. 15 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, P· 1 ,399· 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6o8, P· 2,oo3. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJWO /47 /2,6 l 3, P· 64.
Ii 501
II
Between the deliveries off these contracts, the C.R.E. Woolwich Division apparently ran out of timber for the wharf, a circumstance for which he had to assume responsibility and in consequence drew upon himself a slight rebuke. This little incident is recorded in the Extracts of Minutes:
12 September 1806. Captain Hayter reported that in consequence of a want ofoak timber to carry on with the wharf, he agreed with Mr Skinner of Greenwich for a small quantity-665 feet of 10 inch cube-at 7s. per foot. He requests the Board's approbation of the purchase which he considers a good bargain. The Board approved the purchase for the reason given and the reasonableness of the price. They would prefer, however, that he should make timely demands for such materials and stores as may from time to time be required, rather than that he should make agreements to purchase without the Board's previous sanction.18
The stone all appears to have been 'Dundee' and George Milne had the monopoly of supply notwithstanding the fact that he sometimes gave short measure and delivered many 'stones that were chipped and damaged'. Perhaps he had no competitors for, instead oflosing the contract, he was merely informed ofhis misdemeanours 'so that he could use proper precautions in future and supply stone exactly as specified'.19 This was in 1802. Six years later his offer to supply further consignments ofDundee stone at 46s. 6d. per ton was accepted.20
The yearly estimated expenditure on this wharf after the initial grant of£10,000 in 1801 was:
1804-£18,400 1805-£18,000
1806-£17,000 1807-£23,000
1808-£24,007. IOS. 6d. 1809-£16,068. 5s.
1810-£20,000 18n-£11,854. I IS.
1812-£13,324. 5s. IO£d.
and a final sum of£9,466. 1Is. id. in 1813
The sum voted in 18II was for the continuation of the new wharf 100 feet to the eastwards, while that in 1812 was for the completion ofthe eastward extension and for 160 feet ofthe 360 feet of wharfing to complete the structure to the westward. In addition to the above
£3,983. 18s. 4d. was spent between 1811 and 1813 on paving the ground in front of the wharf. These figures have been extracted from the Ordnance Estimates 1801-18rn and from the Works Estimates 1811-1813. Some land was now purchased in the Warren for the use of the Ordnance. It was an area of 51 acres and contained a dwelling house and barracks. William Tull, surveying clerk, forwarding to
:: Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,684. 10 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47 /2,572, p. 1,509, 23 December 1802. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,606, p. 279, 30January 1809.
502
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
the Board the particulars respecting this purchase, lately the property of Mrs Harwood, by Mr John Martin of Plumstead, stated that he considered the proposition made by Mr Martin to be fair and reasonable. The Board approved Mr Tull's statement as well as the purchase of the lease of Mrs Harwood's farm. They also agreed to the rent that Mr Martin offered for the portion of land of which he was to retain possession, and that the account between the Board and Mr Martin should be adjusted conformably to Mr Tull's recommendation.21
On 20 May 1802, one of the most calamitous fires at the Arsenal broke out in the Warren. Strange to relate, official records do not mention it, they only refer to the damage in general terms after the conflagration had happened and the Annual Estimates laconically approve large sums of money for repairs. The damage was said to have exceeded £200,000 in value, which was a large sum in those days. The following account is taken from The Annual Register 1802:
The Chronicle 22nd May p. 404
A dreadful fire broke out at Woolwich, and from the investigation which has taken place into this calamitous circumstance, there is but too much reason to believe that this disaster was not the mere effect ofaccident. The fire broke out at one and the same time in three different places, besides which a great mass of combustible materials has been discovered. The loss to government will be immense. The damage done at the model room is particularly to be lamented, as several choice works of art have been destroyed, without the power of reparation; however, the injury done to the beautiful model of the Rock of Gibraltar22 is not so great as was at first represented, it having sustained but a slight damage, which can be easily repaired, and the whole restored to its original state.
Lieut.-Colonel A. H. Burne in his book The Royal Artillery Mess, Woolwich, states :23
The fire had an amusing sequel: troops were sent down from the Artillery Barracks to help to extinguish it, and they did such yeoman service that General Lloyd, who commanded at Woolwich, in his largehearted way, authorized the publicans to serve out free beer to the troops. This was done and the said troops made such good use of the opportunity that the bill came to £23. 2s. 5}d.24 Somewhat abashed, the General applied to the Honourable Board of Ordnance for the amount expended to be refunded, and the Honourable Board, mirabile dictu, granted the sum in full even to the odd halfpenny.
The Times, for some reason best known to itself, made no reference to this national disaster. The Warren premises at this date were not
21 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, p. 477, 4 May 1802.
22 This model was formerly in the Rotunda Museum.
23 Page 6. Lieut-Colonel Burne quotes as his authority PRO/WO /4 7 /2,573, but no such account appears in this volume. 24 As the price of beer in 1801 was 10d. a gallon, the sum involved represented over 500 gallons.
very extensive, and the loss of stores and equipment during that anxious period must have caused the authorities considerable apprehension. The Royal Military Repository was more or less gutted, being damaged so extensively that it was never rebuilt on its old site, but was moved to Woolwich Common where it continued to function till natural death supervened. Luckily, a certain number of models were saved from the wreckage and, at Major-General Congreve's suggestion, orders were given that the new buildings destined to house these salvaged objects should be completed with all possible speed. 25 The sumof£80,000 was provjded in the Ordnance Estimates for 1802 and 1803 for rebuilding storehouses, reconstructing the Royal Military Repository on the Common and replacing timber
destroyed in the fire.
The need for a larger labour force in the Warren was now felt, and to the early nineteenth century official mind what more suitable type of man could be found than the convict. He could be made to
work harder and do rougher tasks than the ordinary labourer, and if, on the whole, he cost the country as much if not more than the free man, he was certainly not an expensive luxury. It is true that his extra beer and biscuits, presumably the forerunner of 'elevenses' and 'afternoon tea', cost the Board in the neighbourhood of £1,500£1,600 annually between the years 1810-18i20, reaching a maximum of £1,990. 4-S· od. in 1814,26 but his assistance was too valuable to be overlooked. The Master-General therefore agreed on 25 Novem
t ber 180227 that the allowances proposed for con icts by Captain Hayter to encourage them to work with alacrity should be made in the manner prescribed, that three more lighters similar to those already in use should be provided under the direction of M r Webb, and that application should be made to the Secretary of State for the assistance of 400 extra convicts. Convicts' beer evidently loomed large in the Ordnance conscience as many references to this liquid refreshment occur with an almost monotonous frequency. It was, somewhat naturally, considered to be an important item when convicts were responsible for so much of the heavy manual labour undertaken in the Warren. The small beer supplied was additional to that obtained by the convicts as their 'official rations' and was paid for as already stated, presumably as an inducement to work conscientiously, out of the Ordnance vote. The annual cost of this service naturally varied with the price of beer and the number of convicts employed, but a careful analysis of the figures shows that the average convict consumed over a quart of this free beverage a day. For some reason best known to the authorities, convicts' beer was dealt with by the Engineering Department ss Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,573, p. 1,047, 16 September 1802. 11 Works Estimates 1814, PRO/WO/49/131.27 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47 /2,573, p. 1,390.
5o4
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
instead of by the storekeeper as might have been expected. It was probably because the convicts, as a whole, worked mainly for the
C.R.E. Certainly the Works vote bore the 'Beer and biscuit' expenses. It was therefore the duty of the Officer commanding the Royal Engineers at Woolwich to satisfy himself that the beer supplied was up to standard. It is learned that on 28 December 1804, Captain Hayter, having reported 'the bad quality of the beer issued to the convicts gratuitously for work performed by them on account of the Ordnance, and that no brewer could afford to supply a better brand at 10s. a barrel, submitted a sample of beer at 30s. a barrel for the Board's approbation agreeable to the suggestion of the Honourable William Pole,28 it was ordered that the sample of beer produced by Messrs Bird and Ball be approved as the beer to be issued to convicts employed on Ordnance duties at Woolwich, and that Messrs Bird and Ball be paid at the rate of 30s. a barrel (i.e. 10d. a gallon).' Captain Hayter was informed of this decision and told to take care that the beer supplied to convicts in future was to be up to the sample produced.29 On 28 January 1806, Mr C. Page of Greenwich obtained the contract for supplying small beer to the convicts working in the Royal Arsenal. 30
R ather a pleasing habit on the part of the Board prevailed about
this tim . It was the giving of bonuses to officers and others who
showed ability and zeal in their professional capacity. For example,
on 28 December 1802, Mr Burkett, the second overseer of works,
was paid 36 guineas 'as a reward for his diligence and exertion as
Foreman of Bricklayers at Woolwich while the new buildings were
in course of erection there',31 and 14 months later Captain Hayter
was 'awarded a gratuity of £300 for his energy and meritorious
service in pushing forward the works so rapidly at Woolwich during
the preceding 12 months'.32 He himself had modestly asked for £200
on this account. The same dose was repeated on 25 February 1805
when Captain Hayter was again given another gratuity of £300 'for
the zeal with which he had carried out his work at Woolwich' .33
These were lucky men! That particular plum-tree has long since
ceased to bear fruit.
By the beginning of 1803, the Royal Brass Foundry had fallen into a bad state of repair and required not only renovation but alteration. On 13 January, therefore, Captain Hayter was instructed to carry out forthwith services amounting to approximately £2,704. us. od. based on a request submitted by Colonel Thomas Blomefield, the
28 Clerk of the Ordnance. 29 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,58 l, P· 3,728. 30 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 341. 31 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,573, P· 1,526. 32 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 446, 27 February 18o4. 33 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 736.
34
Inspector.34 The dilapidations in question must have been of long standing to account for such a large sum, and one wonders why, when Napoleon was still the prime menace to Europe and this island such a state of affairs should have been tolerated. The Peace of Am'iens cannot be blamed for this regrettable lapse as it was only signed ten months previously.
John Noble had been appointed Master Furbisher at_ Woolwich on 1 October 1802 and, on 2 I January I 803, the Respective Officers enquired ofthe Board whether he, like his predecessor, was to receive £4 p.a. house rent as well as an allowance for drilling and cutting the pans of locks for H.M. Service, since the Board's Order of 1 October 1802 restricting this allowance referred to locks for merchants' guns only. The Board in their reply stated that John oble's pay of 41"· a day, afterwar~s increased to 4-f. 6d. ': day on 8 _March,35 was intended to be in heu of the allowance enJoyed by his predecessor for drilling and cutting the pans of locks for guns and carronades whether for the royal service or for that of merchants. They agreed, however, that Mr Noble should receive his £ 4 p.a. house rent at the hands of the storekeeper.36 As an afterthought, the Principal Officers of the Ordnance decided that the master furbisher should be paid for drilling and cutting pans for locks up to and including 31 December I 802. Thereafter this practice was to cease. 37
Captain Hayter had built a temporary wharf in the Warren in 1802 while the permanent wharf was under construction. This had been deemed necessary since stores and equipment still had to be loaded into, and unloaded from ships, and the situation in Europe would not wait upon Warren improvements. This arrangement had proved so beneficial that the C.R.E.'s suggestion to build another to handle light traffic was adopted on 15 March 1803.38
The proof-butts once more became 'news'. Considerable damage occurred to nearby buildings by the bursting of some old guns at proof on r6 March 1803 which resulted in an order to suspend all works within 300 yards ofthe butt during subsequent firing. Captain Hayter, therefore, on r 8 March, suggested the erection of new proofbutts for proving old pattern ordnance, and that pending the
completion of their construction, which he hoped would be effected within three weeks, new guns only should undergo proof at the present butt.39 The Board, always sensitive to accidents ofthis nature, gave priority to the work and ordered the engagement of additional labour to expedite matters. They instructed the C.R.E. and the
34 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 57. 35 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,574, p. 418. 36 Extracts of Minutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 108. 37 Extracts ofM!-Ilutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 152, 27 January 1803. 38 Extracts of~utes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 468. 18 Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PROJW0/47/2,574, p. 484.
506
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEO IC TIMES
Inspector of Artillery to confer with a view to deciding the best and most efficient manner of completing the new butt which was to be set up as quickly as possible.40
There were only three incidents worthy ofrecord which took place before the great event of May 1803. Since they are non-sequential items they are best quoted in tabular form.
( 1) The Respective Officers are henceforth to hire sufficient labourers of good character for carrying on the work of their department instead of employing gunners, as the Master-General considers that the instructions ofrecruits and soldiers at Woolwich is being impeded by the number of artillerymen at present employed as general labourers.41
(2)
The Master-General approves Dr Rollo taking over the duties of 'chymist' in the Ordnance Department during the indisposition of Dr Cruickshank. It is agreed that he should conduct the business of the 'Chymical' Department of the Ordnance at Woolwich for 12 months should Dr Cruickshank be ill for so long a period. Dr Rollo to report quarterly or oftener on the state of Dr Cruickshank's health.42
(3)
Captain Hayter is ordered to proceed with the additions to the new wharf and is told that it will be necessary to remove the boat-houses and landing stages occupied by the Royal Laboratory and the Respective Officers, and re-erect them in a more convenient position at the eastern end of the Warren. Also that the store timber stacked in the yard at the back of the R.L. carpenters' shop should be removed.43
The outstanding circumstance of the year, one which was to affect profoundly the future of the Warren and subsequently of the Royal Arsenal, was the establishment of a Royal Carriage Department. Carriage building and repair was originally done by the master carpenter of the period until the work, increasing in volume and complexity, outstripped his capabilities. Towards the last quarter of the eighteenth century, manufacture was carried out by the Constructor of Carriages, an official under the Inspector ofArtillery, until, in turn, the job grew beyond his capacity. By 1803 it beca~e evident that sterner measures were necessary in view ofthe increasmg output demanded by the war, and of the growing variation in carriage design, and that the gun carriage could no longer b_e regarded as the Cinderella of artillery equipment. Hence~~rth it must rank with the 'ugly sisters' of ordnance and ammurutI?n so that the three would form a trinity of equal partners so essential to the Royal Regiment in the field. . .
A third manufacturing department was thus set up with this object in view.
40 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 503. 41 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 531, 28 M~ch 1803. 42 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 571, 5 April_ 1803. 43 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 620, 12 April 18o3.
5o7
The warrant of establishment, dated 21 April 1803, reads as follows :44
Warrant for an Establishment to conduct the business of the Royal Carriage Department of the Ordnance
George Rex, Whereas you have represented unto Us that it will tend to the Advantage of Our Service if the Business ofmaking Gun Carriages, Mortar Beds and all other Description of Carriages Necessary for Our Army and Navy was to be conducted by an Establishment of Officers distinct from the Department of the Inspector of Artillery under which that Duty is at present performed and whereas you have submitted to Us an Establishment hereunto annexed which you consider necessary for Conducting the Business of the Ordnance Carriage Department in future We have thought proper to approve thereof and do hereby authorize you to carry the same into immediate Effect and charge the Expence ofSuch Establishment amount
ing to the sum of Three thousand one hundred and two Pounds Ten shillings per annum in the Ordnance estimates which shall be from time to time presented to Parliament. Vve have also thought proper to direct
that such Appointments and the salaries appertaining thereto as are contained in the present Civil Establishment of the Ordnance approved by Our Warrant bearing date 13 June 1801 and which relates to the Carriage Department be annulled. And We do hereby authorize the same to cease and determine from the 1st day ofJanuary last when the New Establishment for that Department is to commence and for so doing this shall be as well unto you as unto the Commissioners for Auditing the Public Accounts of the Kingdom and to all other Our Officers and Ministers herein concerned a sufficient Warrant. Given at Our Court at St James's the 21st Day of April 1803 in the Forty third Year of Our Reign.
By his Majesty's Command PelhamTo Our Right Trusty
and Right Well-beloved
Cousin and Counsellor, John, Earl of Chatham K.G.
Master-General of Our Ordnance.
Proposed Establishment for conducting the Business ofthe Roy al Carriage Department of the Ordnance I803
Pay per year
£. s. d.
Inspector of the Ordnance Carriage Department 440 0 0
Assistant Inspector " " 250 0 0
Constructor of Carriages 250 0 0
First Assistant Constructor 200 0 0
Second Assistant Constructor 180 0 0
Clerk of the Cheque having the charge of the stores
of the Department 200 0 0
~' Warran~ (Kings and Others, Woolwich), PRO/W0/55/421, p. 115. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,575, p. 733, 3 May 1803.
508
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Two Clerks for the Inspector's Office at £70 p.a. each 140 o o One at 100 o o
Four Clerks for the Clerk of the Cheque {
Three at 70 o o each Draftsman g I 5 o First Overseer 120 0 0 Second Overseer 100 0 0 Four Master Smiths at ,is. 6d. p.d. each 328 10 0 Three Master Carpenters at ,is. 6d. p.d. each 246 7 6 Three Master Wheelers at ,is. 6d. p.d. each 246 7 6
Total per annum: £3,102. 10s. od.
This warrant was followed on 5 May I 803 by an announcement of the Board in the following terms :45
The Board having taken into consideration His Majesty's warrant bearing date 2 1 April 1803 for forming an Establishment to conduct ~he Business of the Royal Carriage Department of the Ordnance and which is to commence from 1st January last were pleased to order that such officers as may be appointed to employments in the said Establishment, and who have held offices in other Branches of the Civil Department of the O rdnance, shall be paid the difference between their salaries and allowances upon the new Establishment of the Carriage Department and the salaries and allowances of their former stations from 1st January last to the date of their respective appointments.
I t will b e noted that the Royal Carriage Department, like the
two older factories, was a Civil Establishment of the Ordnance;
thus, although the senior appointments in all of them were, and
w ere for many years to be, held by military officers, the officers
concerned were classed as holding 'Civil appointments' and drew
pay at the lowest civil rate of the post.
The principal posts in this new department were filled by the
undermentioned:
Inspector Colonel Edward Fage R.A.
Assistant Inspector Major George Scott R.A.
Constructor of Carriages 46
First Assistant Constructor Edward Burford
Second Assistant Constructor Mr Tull
Clerk of the Cheque Adam Fife
Adam Grinton Clerks for the Inspector's Office George Cleveland Scott
{
Francis Shepherd (additional)47
First Overseer John Wood
though some of these gentlemen were soon replaced by others.
46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,575, P· 752 • • •
46 The post of Constructor of Carriages was vacant, Thomas Butler havmg left. Captam
Joseph Maclean R.A. was appointed to this post on IS June I 803.
47 Francis Shepherd was appointed an extra clerk because George Cleveland Scott had
to remain at Rotherhithe (PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 830).
5og
l
lr
ADOLESC E CE
Besides their pay, certain of these officials received allowances as under, with effect from 1 January 1803, according to the Boa;d's regulation dated I 3June 1801. Should any ofthem be accommodated at the public expense, they were to lose their house allowance from
the relevant date :48
Appointment
Inspector -Colonel Edward Fage R.A. Assistant } .
-MaJor George Scott R.A.
Inspector Constructor 1 st Assistant} Ed d B fi d
Constructor -war ur or 2nd Assistant} _ Mr Tull
Constructor Clerk of the Cheque -Adam Fife
House R ent Coals and Candles
£52 p.a. £25 p.a.
£52 p.a. £25 p.a.
£52 p.a. £25 p.a.
£12. IOS. od. p.a.
£ 26 p.a. £12. 10s. od. p.a.
£26 p.a. £12. 1os. od. p.a.
Colonel Fage, up till I January 1803, had been the Assistant Inspector under the Inspector of Artillery; Edward Burford had been assistant constructor in the same department; and Adam Fife had been storekeeper at Athlone. The latter, before being posted to Athlone, had been the searcher under the Inspector of Artillery. He never actually took over his new duties in Ireland because on 13 February 1803, he was instructed to act as clerk of the ch;que in the Carriage Department under Colonel Fage, and as such to be head timekeeper and in charge of the clerks until some final arrangement for the department should be laid down.49
I T~e sto~ekeeper was ord~red to pay the postal charges on all public b~smess connected with the Royal Carriage Depar tment.so Exp~nence soon proved that the directing staff of the R. C.D. laid down m the warrant of 21 April 1803 was insufficient to deal ·th
h . . WI
t e ever.mcreasmg amount of work. One year was sufficient to detect thIS flaw. It was remedied by the issue of a further warrant dated_ I April 180451 ~hich allowed a total sum of £ 4,128. 5s. od. p.a., 1_.e. an annual mcrease of £1,025. 15s. od. As a result the followmg staff were appointed ;52
Captain William Second Assistant { at £200 p.a.53
Miller R.A. Inspector Ist Junior Constructor
John Wood { at £130 p.a.54
of Carriages
48 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ /
o Extracts of Minutes, Series II' PRO/W0/47/2,575, p. 1,445, 22 August 1803. 60 Extracts of Minutes Series II' PR 47 2,574, p. 291.
u Warrants (King's a'nd Oth ' WO~'W_OJ47/2,575, p. 602, 9 April 1803.
Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ e/rs, 8 °0 wic ), PRO/W0/55/421, P· 121. Extracts of n Extracts of Minutes, Serieih2,i;, p. 2,322, 22 August 1804. u Extracts of Minutes S . II' PRg/W0/47/2,580, p. 2,171 , 6 August 1804. H See footnote 52 i e 'p:oetws0/ / /W0/47/2,579, p. 1,806, 29 June 1804.
• · · 47 2,580, p. 2,171, 6 August 1804.
5rn
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEO . IC TIMES
12nd Junior Constructor
John Viney £120 p.a.54
lof Carriages William Fulbrook J3rd Junior Constructor £120 p.a.54
lof Carriages J4th Junior Constructor
John Stradley £120 p.a.54
lof Carriages Master Artificer of £109. 10s. od. p.a.54
John Watts {Carpenters Master Artificer of £109. 10s. od. p.a.54
George South {Wheelers Master Artificer of 54
Robert Walker { £109. JOS. od. p.a.
Wheelers Master Artificer of 54
v\Tilliam Clark { £109. 10s. od. p.a.
Smiths Master Artificer of 54
William Young { £109. 10s. od. p.a.
Smiths Master Artificer of 54
£109. Jos. od. p.a.
William Jarratt {
Smiths Senior Clerk in the
£100 p.a.54
John Lobban {Inspector's Office
Thus launched upon the sea of life, the Royal Carriage Department became one ofthe most progressive establishments in the Royal Arsenal, being the first to introduce steam as a prime mover. It had a branch manufactory at Rotherhithe which was closed down and removed to vVoolwich by the Board's order dated 10 May 1813.55
In order to keep abreast ofthe continual demands for ammunition, it was agreed on I June 1803, that certain artificers in the Royal Laboratory could be employed on Sundays if required at an extra day's pay per week.56 Thus was introduced the 7-day week during war-time which was to become a familiar feature in the wars of the
twentieth century. 57The following proposals were put into force on I July 1803 :
As it was contemplated proving contractors' guns during working hours, foremen should not be permitted to perform the work in their own time or make a charge to the merchant for the time of the labourers used in executing any part of this service. Such a practice was considered to be against the good performance of work in the Warren. As, however, this would entail financial loss to foremen, they should be allowed the following
rates of pay: Chief Foreman in the Warren 2s. 6d. to ,is. a day First Foreman employed in the )
Carriage Yard under the Store-2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. a day keeper Assistant Foremen 2s. to 3s. a day
56 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,847. 56
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 890. 57 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 949, 10 June 1803.
511
That as John Strudley, Foreman of the R.C.D. smithy, who had had a principal concern in doing the smiths' work in contractors' guns, would also be a loser by this arrangement, that the work on both King's and contractors' guns should be done by smiths in the shops under his superintendence and that he should be compensated by an additional Is. a day to his wages.
During the year the following minor works were ordered to be carried out by the C.R.E.:
I June I803. A temporary shed for accommodating men at the new
proof-butts to be erected.58 IJ June I803. A storehouse for the R.C.D. to be built.59 24 June 1803. The iron gates at the Warren to be repaired and a design
for new gates to be forwarded in accordance with the Board's request of 18 April 1803.60 5 October 1803. A waggon shed to be constructed at a cost not exceeding the estimated price of £1,727. 8s. g½d.61 I I October I803. An addition to be made to the turners' shop in the
R.L. to accommodate 8 more lathes.62
Work was by now becoming so excessive that the storekeeper felt he could no longer control both storage and disbursements of cash. He had come to the conclusion that the combined responsibilities were too heavy for one man to assume. On 8 J uly 1803, therefore, he forwarded to the Board proposals for dividing the duties of storekeeping and payments. The Board agreed to this suggestion and on their recommendation the Master-General appro ed a post of Paymaster to undertake payments on behalfofthe Ordnance Department at Woolwich. The salary was to be £350-400 p.a. with house rent, coals and candles. The person selected for the post was to find
security for £2,000, his own bond for £1,000 and two others in bonds of £500 each.63 The 'person selected' was J ohn Henderson who on 15 July 1803 was appointed Paymaster at £400 p.a. to take charge of the new department from 1 August 1803. 64
John Henderson at once commenced to make the necessary arrangements for organizing his office. Somewhat naturally, he began by demanding a safe which the C.R.E. was ordered to procure.65 On 6 October 1803, he was authorized to employ an office keeper,66 and was told to engage 'a person he can trust' who would be included
in the Warren establishment of labourers.67 William Liddon was
58 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 575, p. 894. 69 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2;575, p. 996. 00 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,048.41 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,750. 68 61 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,796.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,148. u Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,267. 88u Extracts ofMmutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,431, 19 August 1803. 87 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,755.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 2,074, 19 November 1803.
512
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
appointed Paymaster's Clerk on 27 October 1803.68 One of the first special payments made by the paymaster was a sum of 5s. each to the artificers and labourers and one of 10s. each to the two foremen for the part they had played in extinguishing the recent fire in the Rotherhithe factory.69
Captain Dickinson, the Superintendent of Shipping, was on g September 1803 ordered to provide a new boat for the Respective Officers and to dispose of the old one which was past rep~ir.70 At the same time, he was instructed to supply as soon as possible two extra barges and a large boat to augment the fleet_ of craft employed at the military ferry which plied between Woolwich and the north bank of the Thames so as to effect the passage of a light brigade of
. artillery in one trip: In this respect he was to ta~e his instructions from Lieutenant-General Duncan Drummond, Director-General of Artillery.71 This instruction shows clearly that. the military_ ferry connecting the Warren to the Essex shore was m fu!l operat~on at the dawn of the century, notwithstanding the assertion of Vmcent that it 'was established shortly prior to I 81o'.72 This ferry was instituted for the conveyance of troops from southern England to the northern counties, as well as for the carriage of stores. It therefore had a strategic in addition to its transport value. The road ~o_m_ the military ferry on the Essex side led to East Ham when: 1t Jmned the main highway, and on 1 February 1806, Captain Hayter received in tructions to repair that road on Ordnance charge on the representations of the Commissioners for Sewers.73 On I 7 Octoher 1804, a punt and a lighterman's skiff to replace one worn o~t were ordered to be provided for the military ferry.74 On I 4 Apnl .I 806, Captain Dickinson was told to provide a new boa~, 25 feet m the keel for the service of the ferry, the old boat having become unserviceable.75 Four days later Captain Hayter was informed that the n ew ferry-boat had been ordered and that, in addition, four more ballast lighters and four lightermen to handle them had been
supplied.76 • •
The year 1803 closed with another case of co:1'1pensat1on. This time the recipient was William Murray who receive_d £13. Is.. 4d. for the loss of one of his bullocks which had been accidentally killed during artillery practice in the Warren.77
os Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, P· 1,919· 00 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 2,231, 9 December 1803. 70 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\VO/47 /2,576, P· I ,570. 71 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4~/2,576, P· 1,571. 72 The Records of the Woolwich District, W. T. Vmcent, vol. I, p. 344· 73 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROf\i\1O/47/2,588, P· 441. 74 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, P· 2,914. 75 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, P· 1.553. 76 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, P· 1,633. 77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\i\'O/47/2,576, p. 2,392, 28 December 1803.
51s
There was little of major interest in the following year save the building of the wharf which proceeded according to plan. The year 1804 may be compared to the trough between the wave peaks of 1803 and 1805, both of which were momentous in their own particular way.
The best method of presenting the principal events which did take place is in the form of a diary.
3 January 1804. Captain Dickinson ordered to provide craft for the removal of the mud and shingle in front of the new wharf. Captain Hayter to provide a temporary stage for this purpose. 78
6 January 1804. Charles Hockstretter the new clerk of the cheque, submits his travelling claim from Dublin to Woolwich amounting to £44. 7s. Bd.79 The agreement to pay this claim was obtained on 1 1 November 1803.80
6 January 1804. Captain Hayter is ordered to expedite the repairs of the house allotted to Evans Marshall, clerk of the survey.s1
2 February 1804. The Board sanction a timber yard in the upper part of the Practice Ground and of the necessary enclosure. They also agree to have the boundary wall towards the Plumstead road raised, and to have erected some temporary saw-pits, provided they do not interfere with artillery practice. 82
27 February 1804. Captain Hayter ordered to construct a fence round the storekeeper's garden at a cost not exceeding the estimate of £ 336. IS. 8¾d.83
28 February 1804. On William R. Marshall84 representing that the new arrangement concerning the proof of contractors' guns ordered by the Board to commence on r July 1803, caused him a loss of emoluments which he computed at £20 p.a., he was granted a n increase of £ 10 p.a. to his salary. 85
5 March 1804. Field officers' quarters Nos. 4 and 7 in the Warren to be repaired.86 These houses are not the present Nos. 4 and 7 Dial Square. The latter were numbered G and H in earlier years.
9 March 1804. The Master-General decided to postpone the buildinoof the Commandant's house in the Warren and the erection of th: magazines on the Essex side of the Thames till the following year.87 The Commandant's house':as the quar~er rece1:1t1y ~nown as o. 5 Dial Square, then calle_d No. 19. '!'his reference 1s puzzlmg_smce the quarter in question was certamly there m 1804. Research has failed to disclose any evidence as to when Nos. 5 and 6 Dial Square were built. The Minute Books of
;: Extracts ofM\nutes, Ser\es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 23.
Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 5a. 80 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 2,o26. 81 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 61. 82 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PROfW0/4.7 /2,577, p. 3 11.
83
H Ex~racts ofMmutes, Series I!, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 537 . . _This must be an ~rror. Obviously Evans Marshall, Clerk of the Survey, is meant. Wilham R. Marshall did not become Clerk of the Survey till 5 April 1813 :: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 548. · Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PROfWO/47/2,578, p. 608. 87 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 659.
514
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
the Surveyor-General, which cease after I 792, are dumb on the subject,
nor do the Extracts of Minutes Series II between the years 1793 and 1 797
make any reference thereto; and as all works services at the close of the
eighteenth century were carried out by the Engineering Department,
under the C.R.E. Thames Division, and not by master craftsmen engaged
on contract, the Bill Books are of no assistance. The missing Minute
Books between 1793 and 1797 may hold the key to the mystery. If so, the
lock must for ever remain unturned.
The lack of eighteenth century Warren maps does not help matters.
Barker's map of 1749 does indeed show what appears to be a L-shaped building on the site of the recent No. 5 quarter, though its outline is dissimilar and it is unnamed: there is no trace of No. 6 quarter. The map of 1777 portrays the same feature. When, however, the plan of the Warren, drawn by Lieut.-Colonel Edward Fage in January 1797, is studied,88 the matter is placed beyond doubt. In that map Nos. 5 and 6 Dial Square are clearly shown and appear as they do to-day. The only assumption to be drawn, therefore, is that the two quarters in question were built between 1793 and 1796, an assumption reinforced by the style of architecture employed. Both quarters are also plainly visible in a plan of the Royal Arsenal dated 2 March 1808, prepared and submitted by Captain George Hayter.B9
What then did the Master-General's decision mean? Certainly not the actual construction of the house, since it had already been standing at least seven years. It must have referred to some internal alteration. or embellishment more suited to a commandant than to a field officer.
A wing stretching into the garden containing kitchens, sculleries and other service rooms was subsequently added to No. 5 quarter, an addition which had the effect of increasing the size of a house already large.90 Rumour whispers that this extension was specially built for the entertainment of William IV, the sailor king. Unfortunately Arsenal rumours are as 'thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks in Vallombrosa', for although that monarch did visit the Royal Arsenal in the latter half ofJune 1834, this tale has no basis in fact.91 This is evidenced by a plan of the Commandant's house and garden dated April 1836,92 which does not contain the additional wing. It does, however, prove one point. The greenhouse in the garden of No. 5 quarters, the tesselated pavement of which still exists, is shown as standing in April 1836. A later plan of the Commandant's house, dated 20 February 1839, which accompanied
88 Essex Map Catalogue Supplement, D/D By, p. 16. 89 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756. 00 This extension was demolished between the two World Wars. 91 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759. 92 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760.
a report on the erection ofanother coach-house and other alterations to the main structure at a cost of £77. 1s. 1 r ¾d. for which sanction was given, omits the new kitchens.93 They could not, therefore, have been in existence in 1840. Ten years later, however, when sanction was given on 13 September 1850 to convert the Commandant's late house into two Field Officers quarters at a cost of£124. 6s. r r ¾d., the plan, which together with the report and estimate was dated 28 August 1850, clearly shows the kitchens extending into the garden. The extension therefore must have been put up between the years 1840 and 1850 though the reason for it has been obscured by the mists of time.94 This conversion, called for by the Master-General and Board on 3 April 1850, entailed among other alterations the building of a second bridge from the dining-room into the garden. The other bridge which led from the small sitting-room was part of the original design.
Anyhow the map of 1808 and the sketch of I 836 prove conclusively that this additional wing cannot have been the reason for turning No. 5 Dial Square into the Commandant's house.
The estimate for the magazines on the Essex shore is given as £130,400 in the Estimates for 1804.
13 April 1804. The Comptroller, Royal Laboratory having requested that a building might be erected immediately to accommodate 6 melting pots for casting lead bullets for S.A.A. and thicker cutters than those then in use, the C.R.E. was told to prepare a plan and fon'l:ard an estimate.90
14 May 1804. As payments of poor rate and taxes for the marshlands purchased by the Board in July 1803 have been demanded by the Parish Officers, and as possession was to begin to the purchaser at Michaelmas according to the conditions of sale, although the deed had not been completed and actually did not take place at Michaelmas Mr Robert Smith assistant solicitor to the Board, considers that the rat~s and taxes should be paid. The paymaster is ordered to pay them from Michaelmas last.96
17 May 1804. The paymaster is ordered to p ay the fine levied on Willia.~ _Caffin-4th cl:rk in the Royal Laboratory-for not serving in the rruhtia, and charge 1t to his account.97 4 June 1804. The painters' shop is to be repaired and put into proper order as soon as possible.98
13 JufJ 1804. Water boots for convicts were supplied at 27s. 6d. a pair, but owmg to employing additional convict labour on the wharf, the contractor was unable to provide the extra quantity required. The C.R.E. was therefore ordered to purchase them at 30s. a pair from another
merchant.99
"E . p
" n~eer apers, PRO/W0/55/76o.Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/763. :: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 1,063.
Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,383. ,. 97 Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,422. "Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,588.
Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,579, p. 1,961.
516
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
zB July 1804. The C.R.E. is ordered to report on the present position regarding the new proof-butts at Woolwich, and to state what portion still remains to be completed. He is to proceed on the work with all dispatch and report the probable date of completion. The Board wish all proof to be carried out at the new butts as soon as possible.100
.27 July 1804. A pump is to be installed in the new lead rooms of the Royal "Laboratory so that water may be available for cooling the bullet moulds.101
8 August 1804. The footpath between the barracks and the Warren to be paved.102
17 August 1804. Twenty-one foremen of artificers at 5s. per day and two foremen oflabourers at 3s. 6d. per day to be established at the Royal Carriage Department from 1 August I 804. Pay not to be increased when these foremen attend the extra daily work ofthe artificers in the Warren.103
17 August 1804. A well to be sunk in the storekeeper's garden.104 17 September 1804. Repairs in the Royal Laboratory to be carried out as soon as possible.105 I 4 No vember 1804. Captain Dickinson allowed the services ofa labourer for six months, after which time he shall report whether he still require
him.106
16 No vember 1804. The Blue storehouses in the Warren are to be handed over to the Respective Officers as soon as they are vacated by the Field Train which is to move to the Barrack Field. Two ranges of sheds are to be erected in the Barrack Field.107
21 D ecember 1804. The pay of the labourer who was killed by the explosion of a shell in the Royal Laboratory is to be continued to his widow until further orders. The paymaster is to defray the man's funeral expenses. The Comptroller R.L. is to inform the Boards of the man's name.108
24 D ecember 1804. The paymaster is to pay such charges for beer at
Woolwich as Captain Dickinson shall certify to have been given to the
men who are employed in loading the transports with Ordnance stores
which have been prepared for foreign service.109
The year 1805 was a notable year in the life of the Warren. It was the year in which its name was changed to the Royal Arsenal, and one which saw the second disastrous fire, the first application of steam to manufacturing processes, the placing of fire fighting on a better footing, the inauguration of rocket manufacture, and the beginning of the great storehouse development.110
100 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,019.
101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,090.
102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,202.
103 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,287.
104 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,292.
105 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,580, p. 2,521.
106 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 3,206.
107 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 3,230.
108 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 3,646.
100 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,581, p. 3,674.
110 The Warren in the seventeenth century was called 'Tower Place'.
It might be said to have commenced a new era.
On 29 January 1805 orders were issued to construct a mortar platform on the convicts' wharf in order to ascertain the range of mortars on the river Thames.m The witnessing of official payments came into operation about this time, for on 4 March 1805, the paymaster at Woolwich was directed to employ one of his clerks to witness his payments.112 On 1 April 1805 the working day was shortened, thenceforward 2 hours were to constitute a quarter of a day's work in place of the 2-} hours formerly worked.113 On 24 April 1805, the C.R.E. was ordered to erect a stockade in front of the 'great storehouse' on the Cadets' Green.114
We are afforded the first glimpse of the new Congreve rocket on 29 April 1805, a weapon which its inventor considered would supersede the gun. On that day Major-General Congreve, Comptroller of the Royal Laboratory, was ordered to afford William Congreve, his son,115 such assistance as might be required 'in preparing the different articles so far as their provision is connected with the R.L., and that he (Major-General Congreve) be acquainted that the Board have given directions to Lieutenant-General Lloyd116 that when the articles are ready, to cause experiments to be made with Mr. Congreve's invention before the Committee,117 and Mr Congreve will give Major-General Congreve such information as may be required for forwarding the same'.118 The Board took the new rocket seriously and ordered the project to be pushed forward with all possible speed. On 30 August 1805, the Comptroller R.L. was informed that the experiments with rockets by Mr Congreve were to be carried out immediately, and that the assistance of the Royal Laboratory together with certain R.L. stores would be required. M ajor-General Congreve was ordered to furnish all the assistance he could with the experiments which would be explained to him verbally by the inventor. At the same time Major-General Blomefield, Inspector of Artillery, was warned that Mr Congreve would require the use of a shed at the back _of the old proof-butt at Woolwich as a temporary workshop for driving rockets, and was asked to render any aid that his staff, or that of the Royal Brass Foundry, could give.119 This directive was followed next day by one to Captain Hayter to instruct twelve men ofthe Engineering Department to fit up that shed with all expedition on the ensuing Monday so that the driving of the rockets
111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 355. 112 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 851. 113 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,257. ::: Ex_tr~cts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,578.
Wilham Congreve was a Colonel in the Hanoverian Army.
116 Lieutenant-General Vaughan-Lloyd was Commandant, Woolwich Garrison.
117 The Colonels' Committee.
118 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,805.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,585, p. 3,244.
518
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
could be put into operation at once.120 On 5 September 1805, Major-General Congreve was informed that the R.L. were authorized to obtain iron rocket heads for Mr Congreve by a contract or by any other means.121 The flow once started surged to a flood, and the Board became quite overwhelmed with the magnitude of'Operation Rocket'. Mr Congreve's requests grew in number and his experiments branched out in all directions, so much so that the Board admitted that 'they were much greater than they had first imagined'. To keep the problem regulated and to prevent duplication, the Board arranged that all future demands from Mr Congreve should reach the Master-General and Board through the Secretary of State. Meanwhile they had authorized the storekeeper at Dover to issue carronade stores and to hire a storehouse to accommodate the stores pre
' • · 122
pared for the launches fitting out under Mr Congreve s m.struct1ons.
By the following year, Congreve's rockets were really getting into their stride. On 29 April 1806, the departments at Woolwich were asked to devote the maximum help to Mr Congreve in his new venture.123 This was followed by two orders to Captain Hayter. First, on 21 July 1806 to construct a temporary shed of weatherboard 60 feet long by 20 feet broad for the manufacture of rockets under Mr Congreve's superintendence, in place of the Laboratory tents in which up to then such work had been carried out. Mr Rea?, the draughtsman at the Royal Military Repository, was to be paid an extra 3s. 10¾d. a day during the time he worked for Mr Congreve.124 Secondly, on 8 August 1806, to erect another temporary shed at an estimated cost of £246 for rocket production in the Royal Laboratory.125 Major-General Congreve was on 29 April 1808 ordered to afford Mr Congreve such assistance as he might want_to alter rocket frames to satisfy service requirements, and to lend him the services of three or four R.L. artificers according to his choice to work under his direction.126
From then on rocket work steadily progressed and the manu
facture of these missiles became for many years to come one of the
standard productions of the Royal Laboratory.
Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, as he afterwards became,
brought a powerful imagination to bear on his project. T~ hi~, !he
chief advantage of a systematic construction of pyrotechruc rrussiles
appeared to lie in the fact that the force compelling projection was
exercised without any reaction on the point of departure. He the~e
fore visualized boats' crews inflicting considerable damage with
120 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,585, P· 3,255. 121 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,586, P· 3,317• 122 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,586, p. 3,891, 21 October 1805. 123 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, P· 1,789. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,069. 125 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, P· 3,309. 128 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,601, P· 1,237.
519
ADOLESCENCE
little effort, and individuals discharging with ease missiles equivalent in destructive power to those fired from the heaviest cannon of the day. He foresaw also the dispersing of large concentrations of men and the enfilading of trenches by the lightest of mounted troops suitably equipped. As Congreve himself says, 'The rocket carcass is not only fired without reaction upon the point from which it is discharged, but is also unencumbered with the necessity of heavy ordnance to project it as is the case with every other carcass. These are points which first induced me to speculate upon it; it is on these properties that depend its peculiar fa~ilities for sea and land services, as will be hereafter more fully explained. It is ammunition without ordnance; it is the soul of artillery without the body; and has therefore from the first principles ofits flight, a decided advantage for the conveniency of use over the spherical carcass.' Owing to the limitations ofartillery in his day there is no doubt that Congreve was sound
in his conclusions, but his vision, unrealized by him, penetrated
further into the future, and has a peculiar significance for use in the
twentieth century. Congreve did not invent the rocket per se, for as
a weapon of war it has flashed through the pages of history like a
comet across the starry heavens. ~t appears, reaches its zenith,
declines, disappears and reappears with startling regularity. Its chief
rival has been the gun, and for more than 600 years th e struggle
between the two systems of translation-jet propulsion and pressure
projection-has endured. Both these destructive agents have had
their advocates and much has been proclaimed on the virtues of
each. The rocket was the first in the field, and ifrecent developments
be any guide, it may well be the last, or failing the complete eclipse
ofits competitor, it will become entrenched as an alternative method
of long range bombardment. Congreve's words had more truth and
substance than he knew.
On 19 June 1805, Captain Hayter was ordered to b uild a larger office on the wharf for the use of Captain Dickinson and his assistants.i27 The storekeeper by now was evidently becoming 'precisionminded'. He objected, quite rightly, to the inaccurate method in force of weighing guns by means of a gyn and an old piece of ordnance instead of by some species of balance and standard weights. He therefore suggested to the Board on 2 r June 1805, that a proper apparatus should be procured from the Carron Company together with a suitable crane. The cautious Board referred the matter to the C.R.E.i2s The latt~r must have reinforced the storekeeper's plea for,
on 26 July followmg, a scale and beam to weigh up to 5 tons were ordered to be provided immediately.129
~:: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,584, p. 2,342. Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,584, p. 2,377. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJW0/47/2,585, p. 2,835.
520
THE WARREN DURING
NAPOLEONIC
'fhe first steam engine and planin . TIMES Department, which incidentally wag mthachine for the Royal Ca .
. h W 1 . s e first 1· rnage
ower in t e oo wich factories wer d app 1cation of ste
P. r. , e or ered fi M am
6 June 1 805 in con1ormity with th . rom r Bramah
2 · H Th e specific t · on
Captain ayter. e record says. 'A a ion provided b
· M R b · greement Y
entered into. r o ert Smith to be ll d as to price to be
' · t t· · ea e on to ·
J-Iayter s ins rue ions in order that h receive Captain
. . h M B sue an agr
entered into wit r ramah as will eement may be
. d 1 . ensure the Boa d h .
steam engine an p arung machine erect d r avmg the rnost approved by Captain Hayter ue comple_tely in the manner certain time.'1ao or a certam sum and by a
Another .disastr?us conflagration swe t the W
805. Again official records maintain pc ar~en on 30 June
1. T'z. rr.· omp1ete silence o h"
occasion ue .1. zmes was on the spot and re t d h · n t is full.1a1 The Annual Register also recorded th~o~. e tt e1a~atastrophe in in Tne T imes is as follows: isas er. The account
At about a quarter before ten on Sunday night l .
fi h d b k · an a arm was given
that a i.lre_ ha W ro en out in a large range of wooden Blue storehouses in Woo " 1c arren, not far distant from the M · Th
·11 . 1 . agazme. e Royal
Artl ery were instant y turned out, and ran down to th l h .
1 • ·bl e P ace, w en 1t
was fiounc:. impossi e to save any part of the building on fi Th fi
·d · re. e rst
and grand consi eratlon was to ~revent the_ destruction of the Magazine; the second to save a large clothing store, 1n which were sm·ts c-8
f h" h 1or ,ooo
men, both o w ic . were not more than 30 paces from the buildings on fire. The Royal Artillery ascended the roofof the Magazine, and, notwithstanding the great heat from the buildings on fire, they continued there covering the top of it with wet blankets and wad-mill-tilts (generally used to cover large waggons) until it was declared out of danger. At one time the heat from the premises on fire was so intense that the soldiers on the Magazine requested to have water from the engines thrown upon themselves, to enable them to stand to the work they were employed on.
The two buildings consumed were full of what is called 'dead ammunition', such as grape and cannister shot in boxes, ready to be sent to different garrisons at home and abroad. The boxes are supposed to have amounted to half a million in number. The buildings consumed were situated beyond the Mote and were about the length of 160 to 170 feet, and two stories high, not a vestige ofwhich remains. The buildings with what they contained were very valuable; the estimate of damage is not yet ascertained, but it is supposed to be from fifty to one hundred thousa~d pounds. In the Magazine were several thousand barrels ofpO\vder, which
must if they had exploded have destroyed the greater part of the Warren, and ~aused the loss of seve~al hundreds ofvaluable lives. Notwithstand~ng the imminent danger that almost every instant threatened the destruction
1110 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,5S4, P· 2,443·
131
The Times ofTuesday 2 July 18o5. . 132 The Annual Register 1805 (The Chronicle 30 June), P· 4°2•
521
35
of the whole of the Royal Artillery by the blowing up of the Magazine, not an individual was absent from his post. The orders of the General to his officers, and of the officers to their men, were equally prompt and judicious.
It was not until near 4 o'clock yesterday morning that the fire was so far extinguished as to place the Magazine out ofdanger. Had it once been permitted to communicate with the Clothing Store-house, its continuation, it is more than probable, would have extended a great way, as it was joined by a large building full ofdry wood, and with that building several others are connected, equally liable to catch fire.
The Huntingdon and London Militia were also under arms, and rendered much service in keeping of! officious or improper persons; but from the great number of Royal Artillery employed in extinguishing the fire, they could not have been called on to assist further with any advantage.
To General Lloyd, Major Spearman and all the officers and privates of the Royal Artillery, the greatest praise is due for their respective exertions. Thejudicious orders given by the superior officers were executed with an alacrity and intrepidity which could have alone saved the whole of that valuable depot from total destruction.
We have one painful remark to make on the above unfortunate circumstance: there is every reason to believe that the fire did not originate from accident. The storehouses, in which it broke out, were, by the proper officers, locked upon Saturday night and not opened all day on Sunday. and, what is very remarkable, five centinels and a watchman o-ave th; alarm at the same instant, and in t~e shortest time imaginable ~he Blue store-houses were so far envelloped m flames as to render any attempt to save them ineffectual.
Some persox:15 a:e in custody on suspicion, but nothing yet has been found out, wluch It would be proper to communicate to the public. We are happy to announce that no lives were lost and only a few trifling accidents happened.
George III, ~hose earlier visit has been mentioned, came again to the Warren m 1805, though the Board's Minutes do not record it. At least, the Extracts ofMinutes do not, for the Minutes themselves for the year in question are missing. This second visit gave rise to the present name of Royal Arsenal. The word 'arsenal' is derived fro~. arx navalis, whence arthenal signifying primarily a naval citadel. Ongmall~ the_ wor~ wa~ used in the modern sense of 'dockyard' as Camde:11 m hIS Britannia, published in 1695, speaks of Deptford, Wool~ch, C~atha~ and Sheerness as 'the arsenals of the Royal ~avy m Kent •'!'he c1rcumstances ofthe re-christening ofthe Warren 1s thus narrated m the Gentleman's Magazine ofThursday 27July 1805:
The ?rdnance Boar~ having signified to General Lloyd who commands the Artillery at Woolw1ch, that the Warren at that place is no longer to
522
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
bear that name, but from this time to be denominated the Royal Arsenal. The old name had its origin from the place having actually been a rabbit warren, but the name of one of the tamest of all animals was certainly ill-suited to the nature of the place. On the recent royal visit to what is called the Warren, where all ordnance, stores, ammunition etc. are lodged, His Majesty noticed how little appropriate was the name to the place and suggested the propriety of changing it to that of Arsenal. The MasterGeneral admitted the justice of the idea and instantly adopted it; henceforward, therefore, in compliment to His Majesty's suggestion, the Warren
is to be called the Royal Arsenal.
The Grand Storehouses, as they were called, were a splendid conception, vast yet elegant in design. They certainly deserved to be considered an example of architecture which has been defined as 'the art of producing in space forms significant of their functions'. Ruskin tells us133 that 'we require from buildings, as from men, two kinds of goodness: first, doing their practical duty well, then that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it'. On the first postulat: it must be admitted that the great experiment failed; the translation of the idea into stone bricks and mortar fell short of its creator's
'
dream. It is doubtful whether the actual builders can be blamed for
this lapse from grace, for the site selected close to the river was by
nature unsuited to sustain the weight it was destined to bear.
The original designs, which are quite a masterpiece in their way,
are to be found in the Public Record Office.134 They are undated
and unsigned, a peculiar omission, but they were probably drawn
in 180 I or 1802 as a plan dated 15 December I 802 shows clearly
the proposed site of the various blocks. Incidentally, the same plan
shows two pieces of land, one on either side of the Ordnance new
road on the Essex shore, lately purchased from Mr Matthews. The
plot to the west of the road contains 2 acres, 2 roods and 4 perches,
while the other to the east has an area of 6 acres, 2 roods, 2 perches.135
The central feature of the group was originally to have been a
building adorned with six columns facing the river. It was to have
been surmounted by a domed roof crowned by a short square tower
carrying a clock and a wind vane. It was never built. For the rest,
the designs in the Public Record Office indicate buildings much as
they appear today except that much of their orname~tation was
sacrificed to expediency. To give some idea of the magrutude of the
layout, a letter written by Captain Hayter to Lieutenant-General
Morse, Inspector-General of Fortifications, on 22 May 1805,
expresses the writer's opinion that the new storehouses would cost
£237,000 for the superstructure alone, exclusive of the foundations,
183 Stones of Venice, vol. I, chap. 2.
134 Maps, PRO/W0/78/Bundle 851.
136 Engineer Papers, PROJW0/55/756.
the expense of which, he says, would be exceedingly difficult to forecast.136 There can be no doubt that the means to be adopted in erecting
the Grand Storehouses were under discussion for at least three years. The costs were prodigious and the risks known to be great. Their construction necessitated the destruction of certain buildings, the chief among which was the East Laboratory. The storekeeper's orchard and the chief firemaster's garden would also have to be sacrificed. Finally, Lieutenant-General Morse, in his letter of 1 o December 1805, having recommended that driven piles would be the only means ofobtaining a secure foundation on the site envisaged, Captain Hayter was on 12 December instructed to commence pile driving immediately.137 Thus was the work, which was to last till 1813, put in motion. Trouble appeared soon after the storehouses were completed, and for many years afterwards the buildings became a nightmare to the authorities involving much expense. The sum
actually expended on repairs over the years cannot b e stated, as the Estimates covering the period in question do not specifically mention the amount allotted to storehouse renovation.
The diary ofevents in the building ofthe ground storehouses may be recorded as follows:
6 January I8o6. It was agreed on General Morse's recommendation that Mr Brock, clerk of the works at Chatham, where the new barracks were almost completed, should be transferred to Woolwich to superintend the erection of the new storehouses in the Royal Arsenal, that M r Walker, clerk of the works at the Armoury, Shrewsbury, should be appointed to succeed MrBrock at Chatham, and that Swanage stone should be accepted from Messrs Breeds at £1. 6s. per ton. Also a return of the Dundee stone
for the plinth of the centre storehouse should be furnished.138
22 September I8o6. Lieutenant-General Morse, having by his letter of 20 September transmitted one from Captain Hayter, stating that it was desirable to commence another storehouse as soon as possible and that in order to carry on piling for its foundations, it would be necessary to remove the East Boundary Wall of the East Laboratory, the old Bavin House, to fill up about roo feet of moat, and make a fence across the chief firemaster's garden; and that it would also be necessary to take down a part of the East Laboratory in February or March 1807; and LieutenantGeneral Morse, having stated that the erection of the second storehouse had met with the approbation of the Master-General. It is ordered that the Respective Officers be apprised of the removals necessary and be directed to cause the same to be performed at the proper time. Lieutenant
General Morse to be informed.139
m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/750.
117
118 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,587, p. 4,550. Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 74. m Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,826.
524
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
20 May 1807. The Master-General instructs Captain Hayter to demolish part of the East Laboratory in order to build ~other storehouse. The Comptroller, R.L., to be informed and told that m c~e h: has no cover for the stores in that part of the East Laboratory which is to be pulled down, he is to deposit them in the old Academies.140 .
30 December I807. Captain Hayter or~ered to proceed with the found~tion of the third storehouse and tower m the Royal Arsenal and submit an estimate of the expense.141
20 May 1808. In order to prevent the risk offire to the new storeho~se, Captain Hayter proposed to pull down the pres~nt wo_od shed belongmg to the foundry and erecting another wood shed m a different part o_f the Arsenal at an estimated cost of £196. gs. 3d. The Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry to be asked 1"f he had b' . 142
any o ~ect10n. As the latter saw no objection to the proposal, the work was approved.143
30 November 1808. Messrs Chinchen of Swanage to supply 600 tons of rough Purbeck Platna Ashlar stone for the foundation of the third storehouse before 31 March 1809.144
30 June 1809. Thomas Breeds to supply Platna_Ashlar stone and backing stone for the additional storehouse at the followmg rates: 800 tons of Purbeck Platna Ashlar stone for foundations at £1. 7s. per ton.
200 tons of backing stone at £1. 2s. per ton. Duty to be paid by Thomas Breeds. This offer was better than that of M essrs Chinchen.145
28 December I809. The remainder of the East Laboratory to be pulled down. T he Superintendent of Shipping was requested t? engage a pr~per vessel to receive the r,568 boxes ofunprimed carcases which were deposited there until they could be disposed of otherwise.146
30 Nlarch 1810. Messrs Chinchen obtained the contract to supply 200 tons of Purbeck Platna Ashlar stone for the new storehouses. Messrs . d 1· d 147
Harden and Breeds informed that their offers were ec me .
24 October I8ro. Ordered that the co~str_uction of the o:namental gateways designed for the quadrangular bmldmgs on each s_1de of ~he storehouse fronting the wharf shall be postponed! an_d th~t m1mediatel_y ~he quadrangular building now under construction 1s firushed, the bu1ldmg on the other side shall be commenced provided the season wi}l allow it.148 This was the east quadrangle storehouse to correspond with the west quadrangle storehouse. .
25 February IBI I. Instead of erecting a storehouse to cont~m 2,500 tons ofrefined saltpetre at an estimated cost of £6,186. 5s. 2-½d., it was agreed that another story should be added to the building which united the
140 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,596, P· 1,283.
141 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, P· 3,510•
142 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, P· 1,479•
143 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, P· 1,524, 25 May 18o8.
144 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, P· 3,273.
146 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,6o8, P· 2,002.
146 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 ,6ll, P· 3,879.
147 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, P· 995•
us Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,617, P· 3,680.
525
towers on the western side of the west quadrangle and also at the eastern side of the east quadrangle. This would be less costly.149 25 February 1811. On this day the Board wrote a letter instructing the
C.R.E. Woolwich to add another story on the western range ofstorehouse buildings, and also on the eastern side of the east quadrangle to accommodate 2,500 tons of refined saltpetre.150 The C.R.E. Woolwich was at this date Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington, R.E.
15 l\lfay 1811. The Master-General approved the Woolwich estimates for 1811 (£84,854. 10s. 1fd.) provided that all parts of the storehouses which, being purely ornamental, did not contribute to the strength and stability of the buildings were omitted.151 Among these estimates is one of £40,126. 13s. 6½d. for the east quadrangle storehouse152 which did not include the expense of the gateways.
22 March 1813. Authority was granted for putting up racks for sponges in the lower part ofthe towers of the centre range of the grand quadrangle of the storehouses, and for fitting up two rooms on the second floor of that building for the reception of sponges at an estimated cost of £1,135. 4S· 1Id.1s3
14 July 1813. The flooring of the west tower of the centre storehouse (grand quadrangle storehouse) to be put down at an estimated cost of £602. 5s. 5d.154
30 May 1814. The east tower of the centre storehouse (grand quadrangle storehouse) to have a boarded floor at an estimated cost of £ 311 . 10s. 4¾d., the estimate dated 27 May 1814. This charge to be inserted in the Estimates for 1815.155 On 30 May 1814 the Board wrote authorizing the C.R.E. to put the work in hand.156
The Grand Storehouses were by that date virtually completed, and although shorn of some of their intrinsic beauty and without their ornate gateways, they did present to the world of that time a fine example ofpublic buildings.
Extracts from Ordnance Books for 1811 and 1821 will help to get the whole picture into perspective.
Ordnance Book 1811157 West Quadrangle Storehouses
Centre part of ~est building } Brick building, 2 stories; slated south tower contams stores of roof with tower at each end various descriptions 2 1 o feet x 46 feet
The north tower is used as an office
N?rth building contains gun } Brick building; slated roof carnages 147 feet x 39 feet ::: Ext~acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 786.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/757.
151 Ex~racts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,700.162 Estimates for 18u, PRO/WO/49/124. ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,630, p. 1,092. m Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 3,799. m Exu:acts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 3,799.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/757. 167 W.O. Records, Stanmore, Book 346.
526
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
South building contains gun Brick building; slated roof }
carriages 147 feet X 39 feet
Painters' store and shed for l Brick building, arched; slated painting carriages in the centre of roof with shed surrounding 60 the quadrangle J feet X 60 feet
Grand Quadrangle
Principal storehouse. Stores of } Brick and stone building; slated different descriptions roofs 312 feet X 46 feet. Ends 71 feet West storehouse: ditto Similar construction 2 I 3 feet X 71 feet East storehouse: ditto -Similar construction 2 1 3 feet X 71 feet
S.E. tower. Offices for the Re-l Similar construction 71 feet X spective Officers' department J 71 feet
S.W. tower. Stores of different l Similar construction 71 feet X descriptions J 71 feet
Ordnance Book, 1821 158 Grand Quadrangle
Brick and stone buildings,
Principal storehouse 308 feet X 39 feet } West storehouse 208 feet X 39 feet the centre part ornamental East storehouse 208 feet X 39 feet
Stores ofthe Department
S.W. Tower. Offices of the Respective } Brick and stone building Officers' department 69 feet square
S.E. Tower. Stores-Brick and stone building 69 feet square
West Quadrangle Storehouses
The centre part of the west building } Brick buildi~g, 2 stories, and south tower containing travelling slated roof with tower at carriages and stores. The north tower each end. 202 feet X 35 feet is occupied as offices
North building } Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet Gun Carriages South building Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet
East Quadrangle Storehouses
The centre part of the east building Brick buildi~g, 2 stories,
1
and north tower contain stores and gun slated roof with tower at carriages. The south tower is used as an each end. 202 feet X 35 feet oil store
North building } Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet Gun Carriages
South building } Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet Gun Carriages
158 W.O. Records, Stanmore, Book 394·
Painters' store and shed for painting } Brick buildings, arched; carriages in the centre of the west quadslated roof with shed surrangle rounding 30 feet X 30 feet
Painters' store and shed for painting l Brick buildings, arched; carriages in the centre of the east quad-J slated roof with shed surrangle rounding 30 feet X 30 feet
In visualizing this great group ofbuildings it must be remembered that the Royal Arsenal in Napoleonic times was much more of an open space than it is today, and the Grand Storehouses viewed from any angle presented a picture in brick and stone well worthy of the growing empire it served. Their gradual encroachment by less pretentious workshops and offices, a later development dictated by production pressure in an age having little time for charm in factories, destroyed the aesthetic value of the original so noticeable in a less strenuous era.
Incipient cracks in the walls first appeared in 1815, but the warning was ignored. The trouble spread and seven years later the authorities were forced to take action. A report dated 23 March 1822159 on the state of the pile work in the foundations when opened up disclosed a disquieting situation. The N.E. tower was particularly affected. On 19 April 1822, the principal storehouses were ordered to be repaired.160 By ~828, the eastern tower ofthe grand quadrangle storehouse had deteriorated to such an extent owing to subsidence that _on 19 March of th_at ye~r orders :vere given for it to be emptied and its use as a store d1scontmued owmg to its settlement. A further report was urgently called for.161 On 16 April 1828, the north wall
of the eastern tower of the grand quadrangle storehouse was to be taken down with a view to repair.1G2 A general report on the sinking of the foundations of the Grand Storehouses was submitted on 15 March 1828.163 This was accom
panied by an estimate for a new foundation for the east tower of the grand _q?adrangle store~ouse, the masonry to be 3 feet longer than the ongmal and the piles to be 32 feet long. The estimate was £7!1~4. IIs. 1d. There ':as also an estimate with a plan of the new bmldmgs to be ~rected m 1831 in the S.E. portion of the Royal Arsenal. ~he ~stimate was for £6,000 on new buildings to replace others falling mto decay as authorized by the Master-General and Board on 29 September 1830. Since this second estimate does not
159 Engineer Papers, PROfW0/5s/7s8. ::: Ext~acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 731. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/
2,693, p. 4771801 /WExtora,cts/ of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,693, p. 632• Engineer Papers
PR
55 759. '
181 _Sinking of/olJ!ldfitions ofthe Grand range ofstorehouses, Royal Arsenal, and the Eastern Tower. Erection ofnew building 1828-1832, Report on, PRO/W0/44/292.
528
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
concern the Grand Storehouses, it would be out of place to consider it here, except to say that in this connection the Board wrote a letter on 29 September 1830 approving the C.R.E.'s plan for reconstructing the main storehouses at a cost of £35,000. The £6,000 for the new work was to be taken up in the Estimates for 1831.164 On 19 October 1831, the C.R.E. was ordered to demolish without delay the walls of the storehouses which were in a dangerous state owing to the failure of the foundations.165
A Board Minute dated 16 March 1832 states:166
In the year 1829 the walls of the northern low building of the eastern square of the principal range of storehouses became crippled in consequence of the sinking of the foundations. It therefore had to be relieved from the weight of the stone cornice and have shores fitted up to support the brickwork. Since then it had ceased to be regarded as a regular storehouse. At an inspection on roth inst. [ro March 1832], it was revealed that about JO feet of the upper part of the brickwork on each side of the
S.W. angle of this building had bulged so much and pressed so heavily on the shores, as to threaten their immediate fall. To ensure safety and avoid accidents, 30 courses of the overhanging brickwork for 10 or 12 feet on the S.W. angle were taken down at a cost of £5.
O wing to the gradually deteriorating condition of the main pile of storehouses, it was decided on 28 November 1832 that a special committee should be set up to investigate the whole problem, and report on the several points mentioned in paras 28, 29, 30 and 3I of the paper of observations submitted by Colonel Sir John T. Jones, C.R.E. Woolwich.167
The Committee was to be as follows:
President Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, R.N.
Principal Storekeeper to the Office of Ordnance
Major-General William Millar-Inspector ~f Artillery
M embers Colonel Sir John T. Jones-C.R.E., Woolw1ch(Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer-Director R.L.
with power to add thereto any of the heads of the other departments at Woolwich if necessary. The paras mentioned in the observations of Colonel Sir John Jones were as under:
Para 28. To report on the nature and propositions, the state and condition of the various articles now housed, which it may be considered desirable to retain in store to meet every probable contingency of the service, in order that the useless, perishing and surplus quantities may be sold or transferred to other stations.
164 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758.
165 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. I ,428.
186 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,567, p. 2,217.
167 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,592, p. 10,359.
529
ADOLESCENCE
Para 29. This curtailment of the stores being arranged to the satisfaction of the Master-General and Board, the Committee are to propose a change of occupation and appropriation of the various buildings so as best to meet the wants and add to the convenience of the several departments.
Para 30. To consider and report what buildings should be taken down and what others erected; also the best method of converting and turning to account the materials of the decaying structures, and for the ultimate renovating the whole establishment and rendering it more complete and efficient than it has heretofore been either during a period ofpeace or war.
Para 31. To consider and report on the benefit likely to arise to the service by the deputy storekeepers of the several manufacturing departments retainino-charge of the manufactured articles until issued for use
0 '
instead of returning them to store as at present.
The Committee were also to enquire into and report upon the state, ages, etc. of the labourers, and to submit any suggestions that might arise as to putting them on a more efficient footing.
While the inevitable delays in connection with the findings of the Committee were being experienced, the state of the buildings did not improve, and on 2 January 1833, the C.R.E. was authorized to use his discretionary powers in demolishing such portions of the main storehouse as he should consider necessary in view of the continued shifting ofthe foundations and the cracking ofthe walls.IGs By 25 February 1833, a low storehouse had been taken down and the materials fro~ its ~emolition carefully saved. Also a beginning had been made m taking down the dangerous portion of another storehouse. As the special Committee on storehouses and storage problems in general was in the process of digesting its evidence, the Inspector-General of Works and Fortifications suggested to the Board that the question of appropriating the materials, particularly the framework of the roof of the demolished building, should be referred to it. The Inspector-General also asked whether approval nnght be granted to proceed with new building within the sum of £7,000 already authorized. The Board in reply stated that construc
?on up to this figure had already been sanctioned, asked to be kept mformed ofthe progress made and wished to know how much money was likely to remain available for the Inspector-General's new
proposal.169
On 25 March 1833, the Committee of Officers, convened by the Board's order of _21 November 1832, issued its first report dated 5 March 1833. This dealt purely with stores and labour. The final composition of the Committee was :170
Presz'dent Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, C.B., R.N. -Principal Storekeeper
::: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,596, p. 14. 170 Ordnance ~nutes, PROfWO/47/i,6oi, p. 1,627. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,604, p. 2,552.
53°
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Major-General .William Millar-Inspector of Artillery Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson K.C.B.-D.A.G. R.A. Colonel Sir John T. Jones, Bart., C.B.-C.R.E. Woolwich
J
Members lColonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B.-Director R.L. Colonel Sir John May, K.C.B.-Inspector R.C.D. Mr William Stace-Storekeeper, Woolwich
Hon. Secretary Captain Hall, R.E.
Their terms of reference being those already quoted, namely paras 28, 29, 30 and 3r of Colonel Jones's observations and the additional clause concerning the age and condition of labourers.
Briefly the first recommendations of the Committee were as follows:
(
1) That all surplus stores should be sold or transferred to other stations.
(2)
That all demands for stores should be forwarded to the Board for contract action, but that delivery should be made to the departments themselves and not to the clerk of the survey as at present, as the former are better judges of the fitness of the stores purchased.
(3)
T hat general stores such as metal, oil, paint, tools, etc. should be continued to be demanded, dealt with and issued to the departments by the storekeeper.
(4)
That all stores after manufacture should be delivered to the storekeeper for issue, except certain R.L. stores which should be on charge of the R oyal Laboratory.
(5)
Orders for manufacture should be issued direct by the Board to the Manufacturing Departments. . .
(6)
There should be a certain re-allocation of storage _amoi:ig _existmg storehouses in view ofthe unsatisfactory condition of certam buildmgs due to subsidence.
(
7) T he new fire-proof buildings when completed should be handed over to the R.L.
(8)
That powder cases for the Royal Navy should be made, lined and finished in the R.C.D., and when completed handed over to the R.L.
(g)
That sticks for Congreve rockets, though m~de in the r?ugh in_the R.C.D., should be finished in the R.L. and retained there till required for issue.
(10)
That men of 65 years and over may be discharged together wi_th those under that age who are medically unfit. That men of special qualifications over 65 years, if fit, may be retained as a special case. They recommend that those discharged for age or health reasons should be eligible for pensions on the scale existing in the Dockyards.
(
11) That it would be preferable to work less hours per week than to discharge fit and efficient men if the work does not demand full numbers. In this way the department would be better prepared to face an emergency.171
171
Working on short time. 531
These recommendations of the Committee were approved by the Master-General on 25 March 1833.172
The Committee also made a comprehensive report on the state of the storehouses dated 18 October 1833, which is the question with which at the moment we are mainly concerned. Observations on these buildings with a suggestion for their gradual renovation were submitted by Colonel Sir John T. Jones, C.R.E. Woolwich, on 30 October 1832.173
A precis of this voluminous statement is as follows:
The Principal Storehouses, though only commenced in 1806 and not completed till 1813, began to settle and their walls to crack as early as 1815, but no action was taken till 2 March 1822 when a report with a detailed plan showing settlements was sent to the Inspector-General of Fortifications. As a result, he made a detailed inspection of the whole range of the buildings in the same month and reported the same to the Board, who ordered the C.R.E. to watch the state of the storehouses and when danger supervened to 'take down such part and rebuild it from the foundation'. Watching was instituted, and in 1828 the northern wall of the eastern wing of the building on three floors was seen to overhang its base by 9 inches, and it was stated that it could no longer stand with safety. Lord Beresford, the Master-General, made a personal inspection and ordered the wing to be taken down without 'an hour's delay'. A plan and estimate for rebuilding was prepared and approved, and rebuilding would have commenced except for the suggestion that the pile driving might affect the stability of other parts of the lofty structure. Lord Beresford considered that new storehouses should be built away from the
I
wharf as the old buildings became unserviceable, thus gradually shifting the store-keeping centre. However, he left the ultimate decision to Sir James Kempt, his successor. The latter concurred generally, but considered that the block of highly ornamented storehouses should stand and be renovated by erecting other more substantial and appropriate structures on a solid foundation out of the materials salved from the crippled buildings, thus preserving the site as a whole. Early in 1831 it was decided to commence renovation in the S.E. quarter, and in the two years which have elapsed one important and long sought for object has been attained,
i.e. the formation of a secure and isolated Fire-proof and Magazine Establishment, thus avoiding the use of the two floating magazines. Meanwhile the Principal Storehouses began to decay rapidly and to demand immediate attention. There were strong objections to moving the Grand Storehouses and rebuilding them as isolated structures in other parts of the Arsenal. These were:
(a) At present they form an imposing structure, are conveniently sited, and are a credit to the naval and military reputation of this country in compensation for their great cost.
171 PRO/WO/44/6o6.
171 The Report of the Committee on the stores and storehouses in the Royal Arsenal-1833
PRO/WO/44/6o6. ,
532
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
(b) Considered as storehouses they arc badly planned and too elabor
ately ornamented externally, so ~hat mo:e sto~age accornrnodatic:m coul? be obtained by new buildings, simpler in design, on the same site. This would cost less than demolishing the present buildings and re-erecting others elsewhere. It would therefore be better not to dismember this national pile of buildings with a view to the erection of its several edifices unconnected on some other site.
Accepting this thesis the Committee considered that there were two methods of tackling the problem.
( 1) An immediate outlay of£50,000-£60,000 to re-establish the whole on a firm and lasting foundation.
(2) To dismantle the present ornate ensemble, _se_ll the ori:iamen!al stone and with the proceeds of the sale and the rema1nmg matenals build on the site eight or ten storehouses of the most convenient and solid structure in simple and appropriate construction at an outlay not exceeding £xs,ooo. This would _g~ve the ~u:r~ple stora?e accommodation re<;iuired, particularly ifone additional bmldmg on solid ground_for the heaV1er and more combustible R.L. stores were constructed. The site suggested would be the garden on the south of the fire-proof establishment. This would
cost about £2,000. The C.R.E. finally suggested that a Committee might be set up to investigate the whole question. .
Apparently nothing concre:e arose from the findings of th~ Committee with regards to the mam storehouses. They were certainly not m oved n either was either recommendation of the Committee impledi.ented. Money, of course, was tight and the ~~ms involved in m aking good the initial errors were large. In add1t1on there could b e no guarantee that if £60,000 were spent, the same trouble inherent in the site, would not in time re-occur. The fire-proof and m agazin e establishment had been approved and was under way, other storehouses were built and conversions carried out. In the circumstances, therefore, the policy pursued was one of 'patch and
mend'. Each building, as it started to fail, was underpinned and repaired and where repairs proved unavailing it was demolished. The following extracts prove that the rot had not been stemmed:
June I833. Agreed that the north end of the southern half of the east
3
storehouse, east quadrangle, should be enclosed by a weather-board
partition.174
March r84I. The C.R.E. reported th_at the winter had held up the
31
repair of the east wing of the south store, 1.e. the plast~r work had to be
suspended. £547. 18s. u½d. ha~ been expended leaving £_178. 4S. 1d. still to be spent. Authority was given to complete the operation after the conclusion of the working year.175
114 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,61 I, P· 4,886. 115 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,892, P· 3,973·
533
On I June 1846 the Principal Storekeeper rendered a report on the dangerous state of some of the storehouses at ,iv-oolwich with consequent difficulties of storage.176 He said that a failure in the foundations of the storehouses built since I 800 had occurred. Large cracks v. ere to be seen in the walls which in several places had bulged outwards. He reported that several of the arches over the doors and windows had given way. He stressed that the new storehouses would collapse if prompt measures were not taken to repair them. He recommended that the Inspector-General of Fortifications should prepare an estimate of the repairs necessary.
In other paragraphs of his report he recommended that:
(a) An estimate for substantially repairing the Blue sheds built in 1 7
93
should be demanded. They were in a bad state except for the main timbers, part of the rafters and slates.
(b)
An estimate should be prepared for repairing the seasonino-sheds which were much decayed. He pointed out that loss to the publi/occurs when stored timber is exposed, as now, to the weather.
(
c) That all surplus, obsolete gun carriages, carts, etc., of which there was a large quantity, should be surveyed. Those of no use to the Servic should be removed thus rendering the provision of new storehouse: unnecessary.
The Board's re~ctio1:1 to this report was to request the InspectorGeneral to submit estimates as suggested by the Principal Storekeeper, and to ask the Surveyor-General to inspect and report 0 the old and unserviceable stores in the storehouses. n
Deterioration was still in progress.
Sanction was given on 31 January 1848 for the temporary en
closu_re of the east quadrangle to a pla1:1 dated ro January 1848 for hous1_ng shot and shell. The reconstruction ofpart of this quadrangle and. its p~rmanent enclosure at a cost of £6,000 as postponed.
Durmg this ye~r funds were_obviously at a low ebb and any expenditure not essential was drastically cut. This may be gauged fro instruction i~s~ed by the Board _on 3January 1848 which starts:i~~ these words. In order to av01d any expenditure at the mo t
h. h Id . men
w 1c cou convemently be postponed etc.'i77 The storeho
h. h h d ffi . uses
w 1c a . su ~red m. the past from this form of false economy could continue m travail. The same story continues.
23_ June 1848. In the 1848/49 Estimates £8,000 was allotted for the erect10n of two storehouses on the south side of the east and west quadrangles of store~ouse~ on the wharf in the Royal Arsenal. The InspectorGe?eral of Fortifications forwarded a letter from the C.R.E. stating that owmg to the deep layer of soft mud, a concrete foundation at a cost of
mod M'
_r nance mutes, PRO/WO/47/2,079, p. 8,672. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
551761 177 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4712,136, p. 49.
534
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
£1,600 would be indispensable. He proposed that they should be constructed on a site near the Blue sheds. It was a question of whether the original site suggested, which would increase the cost by £1,600 for the concrete foundation, or the new site should be selected. The Board in view of this decided to postpone the issue and stated that when it was again brought forward the question of site could be settled.178
IO October 1849. It was agreed that steps should be taken to counteract the effect of the sinking foundations of the Grand storehouses, and that the cost should be inserted in next year's estimates. Also the storekeeper should consult the C.R.E. on the best method of storage in view of the situation.179
Two additional reports, dated 2 August180 and 3 September
I 852181
on Arsenal storehouses were render,.;d, but since these do not dilate on the dilapidations under discussion their findings may be postponed to a more fitting season.
On 18 December 1854, the Treasury sanctioned the immediate commencement of the additional storage capacity required by the storekeeper's department at an estimated cost of £16,315, on the understanding that payments made for that object in the financial year 1854/55 would be charged against any surplus on the Ordnance Works Vote for that year, the remainder of the expense being provided in the Estimate for 1855/56.182 This was the construction of large storehouses within the east and west quadrangles and the rebuilding of the northern block of the former, demolished prior to 1841. T he new work was completed by 1858.
This tale of hope and disappointment happened long ago, yet this saga in stone still stands foursquare, disfigured but undaunted. 'Like a four-bottled man in a company screwed Not firm on his legs but by no means subdued.'
These Grand Storehouses have lost all the grace they once
possessed. Their unity has been broken. The east quadrangle was
swallowed up by the central power station in 1908, certain blocks
have disappeared and other buildings jostle them rudely. Two world
wars have scarred them, and the passage of time has eaten into their
freshness. No doubt further settlement has occurred during the
preceding century, and without being unduly critical the word
'derelict' rises to the lips. An air oftarnished glory pervades the scene
where the spirit of the Iron Duke caught in effigy gazes out over an
alien world.183
178 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,153, p. 9,291.
179 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,199, p. 14,007.
180 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,301, p. 8,841.
181 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,304, P· 9,854.
182 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,538.
183 This statue of the Duke of Wellington was executed in 1848 by Thomas Milnes
for the Board of Ordnance and erected in the Tower of London. In 1863 it was moved
to its present site in the Royal Arsenal.
535
ADOLESCENCE
Putting the diary of events concisely into contemporary language, piles were driven for buildings B38 and B45 in 1806. The foundation for the east wing was proposed in 1808 and was started on 19 May of that year. Settlement in B34 had occurred by 1828. In 1858 intermediate floors were added to the east end and extensions to the first floor were made in 1883. Buildings B40, B41, B42, LL, MM and NN have been replaced by new buildings numbered B41, B42, B42/2 and B43. Buildings B, B25, B27 and AA have made way for the central power station.
Returning from this flight into the realms of time to the opening decade of the nineteenth century, we find that on 30 July 18o5, Captain Hayte~ was inst~ucte~ to prepare an estimate for erecting two or three bnck magazmes, agreeable to the recommendation of Lieutenant-General Farrington', who commanded the Field Train to house boxes ofammunition which were to be taken from the gun; and wagons in the new storehouse situated in the Regimental Garden.184 This Regimental Garden housed the guns and wagons of the Field Train together with various workshops such as wheelers' carpenters', painters', etc. used by artificers for maintaining th; equipment in a serviceable condition. This artillery park was in the course of construction, and was not finished till the following year owing to the decision of the Master-General that the erection of the third or centre shed should be postponed. The fourth shed was to be constructed.185 Lieutenant-General Farrington's command was a
gro,-ving one and his headquarters required enlarging. This was effected by giving him more accommodation at tl e expense of the paymaster whose office was removed to the building lately used as battalio_n offices, clo_se to the Arsenal Gate, at a cost of£35. 4-f. 2 ¾d.1ss
Nothmg else of importance happened during this year. It was perhaps as well since 1805 had proved a momentous twelve months on the whole for the Royal Arsenal. The only items to record are a few instructions to the C.R.E. to carry out routine repairs. Five of these may be mentioned:
6 September 1805. Captain Hayter to repair the road for which the inhabitants of Woolwich stand indicted.187 II September 1805. Captain Hayter to build temporary stables in the
field east ofthe Storekeeper's garden. He is informed that the storekeeper's garden and the Survey Yard ~re to be reserved for permanent buildings.Isa 14 September 1805. The chief firemaster's house to be repaired at a
cost of£34. 6s. 5½d.1s9
::: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,585, p. 2,879. m Extracts ofM~ules, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,585, p. 3,191, 25 August 1a05. 187 Extracts of~utes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3424, 14 September l8os.
Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47 /2,586, p. 3,336. 188 Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3,387.189 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3,425.
536
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
2 October z805. A new shed according to the Comptroller's requirements to be erected for the Royal Laboratory.190 All buildings in the R.L. to be repaired as soon as possible.191 Captain Hayter ordered to proceed with the work according to his estimate.192
4 December z805. Captain Hayter to erect the guardhouse next the wharf, proposed by Lieutenant-General Lloyd, instead of the one at the Proof House. Cost not to exceed the £280 allotted for this service.193
As a matter of interest, we learn from the Minute Books that officers living in official quarters in the Arsenal had certain of their furniture made in the Engineer Department. During 1805, Captain Hayter was instructed to make a set of tables for Lieut.-Colonel Scott194 and Colonel Wellington.195 Towards the end of the year Mr Thwaites, the official clockmaker to the Board, was, on the representation of Lieut.-Colonel Scott, Inspector R.C.D., directed to provide a clock for the Royal Carriage Department.196
The opening move of the following year was on I 7 January 1806 when the C.R.E. was instructed to build eight or ten saw-pits with covers near the marsh guardroom for the use of the Royal Carriage D ep artment, as the ground where the timber for that factory was deposited had a tendency to become damp.197 This need causeno surprise as until the Plumstead and Erith marshes were properly drained, the soil there, though rich and fertile, was normally very moist.
Curious how little perquisites in days gone by came to light from time to time; small ingenious ways in which clerks and workmen w ere able, unsuspected by the authorities, to supplement their meagre earnings. It was of course an age of perquisites and emoluments in kind, which helped considerably towards the expenses of living. The bare salary was usually none too high. These transactions no doubt added to the spice oflife when football pools were unknown, but today under the stricter code which prevails, such practices have no place in the Arsenal where they would be rightly condemned as improper. It appeared that since 1796, the two master smiths in the Royal Carriage Department had been in the habit of making additional wages to the value of £18. ¥· od. a year by selling the ashes to the coal consumed in the smiths' shop. The ash was a waste product, it had to be moved, so what more profitable arrangement to all concerned could be made. So ran the argument of the master smiths. Unfortunately for their peace of mind, one, Samuel Harden, in 1806 offered to purchase such ashes from the Authorities at 6s. 6d.
190 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47 /2,586, p. 3,653.
101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p. 4,067.
102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p. 4,583.
193 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, P· 4,443·
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3,437, 16 September 1805.
195 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p. 4,110, 6 November 1805.
Colonel Bailey Wellington was Assistant Director-General of the Field Train.
106 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p.4,11O, 6 November 1805.
197 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,588, P· 232.
36 537
ADOLESCENCE
a chaldron. This offer was naturally too good to be refused, so on 10 February 1806 the order went forth for this unofficial practice to cease. The Board, however, were scrupulously fair. They increased the pay of the two master smiths in question by £18. ,is. od. p.a. but rightly refused to extend such a concession to their successors.198 The large building programme and the necessity for raising the ground level of the Royal Arsenal now demanded large quantities of gravel. Once the construction of the wharf and the Grand Storehouses were under way, the need for raising the Arsenal ground-level in order to do away with its swampy nature, became paramount. The latter work was carried out over a number of years being eventually completed about 1820. Its cost averaged between £3,000 and £8,000 a year, and possibly entailed a total sum in the neighbourhood of £100,000. To facilitate the requisite supplies of gravel,
Captain Hayter transmitted a draft agreement between him; the Provost and Scholars of Queen's College, O xford-the Lords of the Manor of Plumstead-and the officers of the said 'parish' for permission to dig such quantities from Plumstead Common as might be necessary upon an annual payment of £20 to the Lords of the Manor and of a like yearly sum to the parish of Plumstead. The Board agreed and arranged for the necessary payments.199 On 15 May 1807, the Bursar of Queen's College, Oxford, was paid £20 p.a. for such a privilege.200
Theft was still rampant, and the purloiner ofgovernment property was just as much in evidence in the nineteenth century as he had been in the eighteenth. We read, for instance, that on r I June r8o6 the Respective Officers 'are to be informed that Mr Tomlins of th~ Thames Police Office, having stated that the examination ofJoseph Millanby, Master of the brig Slade lying at Church H ole, Rotherhithe, who stands charged with the illegal possession of six doubleheaded and fourteen round cannon shot, all marked with the Broad Arrow, will take place on Fridaynext at I 2 noon, desires one ofthe Respective Officers who can best be spared to attend the re-examination at the time specified in order to identify the shot'.201 Again,John King, the master founder, was instructed on I September I 806 to attend the Thames Police Office on the following Wednesday at 12 noon, when the two men James Clark and George Butler, who stood
committed respectively of stealing from the Royal Arsenal, 4olb. weight of new composition, metal rings and filings, the supposed property of H.M. the King. Mr King was requested to identify the
202
same. The men were found guilty by the magistrate, as on 20
198 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,588, p. 568. 199 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, p. r,806. 190 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,596, p. r ,238. 201 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,590, p. 2,472.101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,569.
538
THE WARREN DURING N
APOLEONIC TIMES
.,. ,f rch 1807, the master founder was d
1v.1-a zoa I dd" . or ered to att d
:µaidstone. n a 1tion, Henry Dugleb h" en their trial at Laboratory, reported on 12 December I~~~ ~~a~ler~ ~f the Royal Porter at the Arsenal gate, had detected Ch' ~ilham Roach
a L · • ar1es Sp '
·n the R. ., carrying sixteen beech blo k f; leer, a labourer i arching the man's lodgings he had d? s or fuzes and that on
se . . ' iscovered a h
Spicer on being hailed before a magistrat finnot er twenty.
. e was ed 40 I .
ase the paymaster was instructed to pay Will" s. n this
c ' f h 1 . . . 1am Roach 2 h 1
the value o t e pena ty inflicted as a reward c: d . os, a f
. . . ' 1or etecting th .
and Charles Sp1cer was d1srrussed from the Ro e cnme,
ya1 L a boratory 204
Changes now b egan to be made in the Royal Ar ·
sena1 consequent
upon the remova1 of th e R oyal Military Academ t •
. h C A y o its new home
on Woo1w1c ommon. s the new buildings opened ·
. 1 1 in I 8o6 were
not yet suffic1ent y arge to accommodate all the cadet .
· d h d · h s, certain of
them remame ouse 1n t e Arsenal for many years · c: ill
. , 1n 1act t
h
1352: The c anges mentioned took place over a number of years and 1n I 806 three are recorded. On g July I 806, the cadet hospital in the Arsenal was ordered to be converted into two academies to house sixty cadets who were boarded out.205 The Inspector-General of Fortifications w as instructed on 4 August 1806, to convert the premises then u sed by the modellers of the Royal Military Academy, who were soon to be moved to the new Academy on the Common, into a sick-bay for all the Arsenal departments, a measure urgently needed in view of the unsatisfactory nature of the rooms so far allotted for the purpose. This change-over was agreed to by Sir
T. M . H ayes, Inspector-General of Ordnance Hospitals.206 The space in front of the Academy in the Royal Arsenal was, at the suggestion of Major-General Twiss, Lieutenant-Governor of the
R.M.A ., to be enclosed by a double-railed fence and the dying trees
cut down.207 • The remaining happenings in 1.806 were in t~e nature of rou~e measures such as might normally be expected 1n a manufacturmg establishment. They may be summarized as follows: IB July I8o6. Two lightning conductors to b~ affixed to the floatin~ · M nshz:,1, ·n accordance with MaJor-General Congreve s
magazine a r 1 instructions 208 d h 23 July r8o6. Additional sheds ~or the ~:ee~t::ea!~o~:ti~n\::r~~ keeper's department were authorized.IT t shed to the shed used for
0
be effected by adding a temporhardy eant~ ous to the wall at the back
. . b b ·1d· a double-s e con igu .
painting, y m mg . . g the sheds on the practice
d by continuin
of the Cross storehouse, an . · II PRO/WO/47/2,595, P· 712·
20a Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es n' PRO/WO/47/2,592, P· 4,767. 201 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es 11' PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 2,900. 205 Extracts of M~utes, Ser~es n' PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,258. 200 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es 11• PRO/WO/4 7 /2,592, P· 4,269. 201 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es 11• PRO/WO/47/2,591, P· 3,044· 208 Extracts of Minutes, Series '
539
ADOLESCENCE
ground. The proposal to construct further sheds at the back of the eastern range on land rented by Mr Marshall was to lapse till further orders.200
20 August r8o6. John King, the master founder, was ordered to direct Mr McNaughton to erect a cast-iron oven in the Royal Brass Foundry for the purpose of drying the cores over which pipe-boxes for the R.C.D. were cast; and to proceed to London to procure the necessary workmen and patterns. The paymaster was instructed to pay for the goods on delivery.210
25 August r8o6. Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd reported to the Board that none of the military personnel employed as artificers and labourers had received the extra allowance of one day's work a week awarded in 1801 to civilian workers on account of the higher cost ofliving. This report was referred to the Surveyor-General.211 othing seems to have come ofit. The soldier presumably was considered to be on duty at all times, for which he was housed, fed and paid a statutory army wage. The pay of a gunner at this period was on the average rs. 6d. per day.212
I September r8o6. The offi~es and workshops belonging to the Department of the Inspector ofArtillery were ordered to be repaired.21a
I2 September r8o6. The paymaster was instructed to pay a sum equivalent to two days' wages to the men of the R.C.D. who attended a fire on board H.M.S. Dover with the department's fire engine.214
r5 September r8o6. Mr Lloyd of Morris Lloyd and Ostell authorized to repair the steam engine used in the construction of the ,;,harf at a cost not exceeding £350.215
I October 1806. Captain Dickinson instructed to repair six old ballast !ighters a_nd provide a new skiff for the Engineer Department, the skiff muse bemg too small to convey ro lightermen ·with safety to the barges
at night.216 20 October 1806. Captain Hayter authorized to repair the fences in the marshes east of the Royal Arsenal with the temporary railings of the new academy now to be removed.211 27 October 1806. A shed to be erected, at a cost not exceeding the estimate of£297. 6s. 6¾d., for examining and airino-the ammunition from the Grand Depot of Artillery near the Royal Arse~al.218 12 November 1806. The old clock from Woolwich to be re-erected at Warley Barracks.219
In order to re~lize the developments in the Royal Arsenal since the close of the eighteenth century and to obtain a bird's eye view of its buildings, a brief survey follows. It does not make exciting
::; Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,157. m Extracts of~nutes, Ser_1es II, PRO/WO/47/2,sgr, p. 3,41 7. Extrac~ ofMin~~es, Se_nes II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,491.
2u A Treatise on Military Finance 1801 p. 104 ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PR.O/Wa°/47/2,592, p. 3,541.
Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,691.216 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,715.216 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,592, p. 3,923.217 Extracts ofM!nutes, Se~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,146. 218 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,216. 119 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,418.
54°
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
reading, but it does help to give a mind picture of the place during that year of grace in which members of the Buonaparte family were assuming the thrones in Naples and Holland.
The houses in the Royal Arsenal, according to the system of numbering then in force were occupied by: No. r Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd-Commandant, Woolwich Garrison.
No. 2 Major-General W. Twiss-Lieut.-Governor of the R.M.A.
No. 3 Major-General Robert Rochfort-Chief Firemaster
No. 4 Colonel (Brig.-General) Robert Douglas-Commandant, Corps
of R.A. Drivers No. 5 Colonel William Cuppage-Inspector, Royal Carriage Department. No. 6 Colonel Bailey Wellington-Assistant Director-General of the Field Train
No. 7 Lieut.-Colonel William Cox, R.A.
No. 8 Major G. W. Phipps, R.E.-Inspector of the R.M.A.
No. g Major David Meredith, R.A. . ...
No. ro Captain George Hayter, R.E.-C.R.E. Woolw1ch D1v1S1on
No. r 1 Captain Frederic Griffiths, R.A.-Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department. No. I 2 Captain Charles Bingham-Assistant Firemaster. No. 13 J ohn Geast-The Storekeeper. Each of the above houses had a coach-house, stable and garden. No. 14 Isaac Landmann-Professor of Fortification at the R.M.A. No. 15 John Guest-a clerk in the Storekeeper's Department.
(Note : Houses No. 16 and 17 were in the R.A. Barracks and Nos. 18-22 on W oolwich Common) The wharf west of the Royal Arsenal was let to Messrs Rolfe and Halifax at £42. 10s. od. p.a.
William Hope rented an Ordnance house outside the Arsenal at a guinea a week pursuant to the Board's order dated 22 March 1805, and two ho;ses at 18s. per week, pursuant to the Board's order dated g October I Sos. These were used as lodgings for contract drivers.
BUILDINGS IN THE ROYAL ARSENAL
Entrance
Paymaster's office and Porter's lodge. Brick building; tiled roof, 2 stories, 50 feet X 20 feet. Guard house. Brick building; slated roof, stone portico, 66 feet X 32 feet. Offices of the Field Train and main guard.
Royal Brass Foundry The Foundry. Brick building; tiled roof, I 30 feet X I oo feet. Casting and founding of guns; making moulds; offices of the Department of the Inspector of the Royal Brass Foundry.
541
ADOLESCENCE
Chipping room. Brick building; 2 stories, tiled roof, divided by a party wall, 45 feet X 4 7 feet. One part used for chipping guns, and the other for a boring room. At the back of the boring room is the mill a brick building with a tiled roof. '
Smiths' shop with 2 forges. Brick building; tiled roof, 32 feet by 20 feet. Dial Square. A range of brick buildings with tiled roofs 370 feet x 22 feet divided into different workshops as under: '
No. 1 Engraving room No. 2 Mortar boring room No. 3 Mill for boring No. 4 Turning trunnion room No. 5 Smiths' shop No. 6 Chipping room No. 7 Venting room No. 8 Rough filing room No. g Boring room No. 10 Mill for boring
New shops adjoining Bason Square. Brick building; slated roof, 1 40 feet x 22 feet. No. I Luping room Nos. 2 and 3 Materials, hop poles and small turning room. Charcoal room
Inspector ofArtillery's Department Brick building, tiled roof, 48 feet X 30 feet. Offices divided into 5
· h 1 bb · r. rooms
wit a o y m 1ront. Range workshops, weather boarded, tiled roof. 193 feet x 25 feet. No. I. Proof Lobby and part stable-yard, enclosed with wooden ates to hold tools. g '
No. 2 Instrument Keeper's shop and cabin. No. 3 Smiths' shop, modeller's room and shop No. 4 Smiths' shop. One forge. No. 5 Shop for venting guns.
Brick building, tiled roof. 18 feet X 10 feet. Boiling and mixing lacquer.
Brick building, tiled roof. 20 feet X 1 I feet. Materials for coating guns.
Part of the ~ooden shed near the machine for breaking up guns is used for an engme house and scrapers for guns. A wooden tent is used b searchers when the water proof of guns takes place. y
Royal Laboratory
Upper Guard. Brick building, tiled roof, 1go feet x 2 r feet divided into
fcour rooms. No. 1 Chemical Room. Nos. 2, 3 and 4 Melting Rooms.
Back building adjoining. Drying room.
Lean-to. Vice Shop. Brick building. 20 feet X 16 feet. Ash room. Weather-boarded shed, pantiled roof 67 feet x r2 feet. Chief Foreman's
office and surgery.
Brick building, tiled roof 58 feet X 20 feet. Master Founder's and turners' shop.
542
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Brick building, 2 stories, pantiled roof. 66 feet X 1o feet. Chiefand assistant firemen's offices. Modellers', Chief Clerk's, Comptroller's offices and porters' lodge. Brick building, pantiled roof, 2 stories. 50 feet X 18 feet. Clerks' offices. Ground floor-paper curers.
Back part of Upper Yard Brick building. 80 feet X 30 feet. Smiths' shop and vice-room. Brick building, adjoining. go feet X 30 feet. Paper curers.
Wood erection, pantiled roof, paved. Drying paper.
Wood shed. Ashes. Back part of Lower Yard
Brick building, 2 stories, Ct,llars } 78 feet X I g feet. Divided into and garrets, pantiled roof, yard paved. different rooms. Making portfires, rocket cases and small arm cartridges.
D rying shed, tiled roof. 48 feet X 16 feet. Drying Paper. Range of b1ick ships, tiled roof, 9 in number, divided by party walls I 70 feet X r6feet.
No. r Coopers.
No. 2 } Tin shop and cabin. No. 3 No. 4 Coopers' stores.
No. 5 Sandshot and tin stores. No. 6 Pitch, rosin, etc. No. 7 Stores. No. 8 Lead balls. No. g Coopers' stores.
Three wooden tents, each 32 feet X 15 feet. Small arm cartridge manu
facture. Brick building, tiled roof and ditto adjoining. Tinmen's shop and store for drying. Brick building, tiled roof. r 5 feet X 13 feet. Small tin shop. Weather boarded building 2 stories, } 22 feet X I g feet. Cutting paper pantiled roof and winding thread for cartridges.
3 Brickshops, pantiled roofs ad-1 Each 15 feet X 13 feet. Making joining ditto. J cartridges.
Small brickshop. g feet X g feet. Cutlers. New brick building, slated roof. 76 feet X 21 feet. Divided into 3 melting
rooms. Brick building, tiled roof r 2 feet X r 2 feet. Painters' storeroom.
Lower Yard
Weather boarded building, tiled } 46 feet X 20 feet. Turners' shop.
roof.
543
Brick building, tiled roof. 16 feet X 13 feet. Engine house. Brick building, tiled roof, containing 50 feet X 23 feet. No. 5 shop, two shops. store shot and tin cases. No. 6
}
shop, making quill tubes. Brick building adjoining. 23 feet X 23 feet. Tailors' shop. Brick building,part stone, tiled roof, }
58 feet X 20 feet. Different sorts
2 stories and garret. The central store
of stores.
house. Brick building joining the central ) 130 feet X 24 feet. No. g Old store house, 2 stories, tiled roof, divided unserviceable stores. No. 1 o Cases into four shops. filled with cartridges. No. 11 The staircase. No. 12 Sand shot, tin case shot and filling ditto. Weather-boarded shed, tiled roof. Packing room and shop for
}
examining ammunition.
Porters' Lodge
Weather-board shed, tiled roof 46 feet X 20 feet. Driving port
}
fires and fuses.
Range of brick buildings, 2 stories,
130 feet X 24 feet. No. 13 Sand
tiled roof, in 2 stores.
shot, wooden bottoms and cartridge store. No 14 }
No: 15 Sandshotett. Upstairs-Paper store.
Model Room
Brick building, similar to central \ 58 feet X 30 feet. Store for storehouse, opposite. J paper, fuses, portfires, etc. Brick building, opposite tailors' }
23 feet X 23 feet. Stores.
shop.
Brick building, tiled roof. 50 feet X 23 feet. Quilting} grape shot and stores. Weather-board building, tiled roof. 40 feet X 20 feet. Turners' shop.
Shed in the corner.
1 16 feet X IO feet. Used forJ lumber.
Six wooden tents. Each 18 feet by
No. 1 Drying tent. No. 2
I 4jeet.
Finishing rockets. No. 3 Making rocket cases. No. 4 Mixing composition. No. 5 Mealing powder. No. 6 Driving rockets.
Three Wooden tents outside R.L. } Each 34 feet X 15 feet. Heading Gate.
barrels, making cartridges and mixing powder.
544
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Practice Ground
Three large and two small weather } Dimensions 66 feet X 44 feet;
board sheds. 45 feet X 26 feet; 62 feet X 2 1 feet; 1 7 feet X 1 4 feet; and I g feet X I o feet. Driving rockets.
Dipping Square
Brick building, enclosed with brick } 107 feet X 40 feet. Fixing wall. carcases; and fix-ship stores.
Carpenters' Shop
Brick building, tiled and sheds } 120 feet X 43 feet. Making adjoining. cases and carpenters' work.
East Laboratory Brick building, arched over maga-} 60 feet X 45 feet. Magazine; zine. filling room; charcoal, barrels etc.
East Laboratory Square. Brick Nos. I & 2 Case and spherical building, tiled roof, 2 stories enclosed shot. No. 3 Leaden balls, boxes, by a brick wall. Area 180 feet by 160 etc. No. 4 Articles for shipping. feet. Divided into different shops by Nos. 5-9 Case shot and leaden J;arty walls.
balls. o. 1 o Round shot. Kos. 1 1-13 Case shot. The whole of the upper story is filled with empty boxes and turners' wood.
T wo small open sheds, tiled. Boxes etc.
Royal Carriage Department New Square Brick buildings, slated roof. Area 474feet X 2oofeet. Divided by party walls into different workshops, viz:
o. 1 87 feet x 30 feet Modelling room
os. 2-3 Each 61 feet x 30 feet Carpenters' shops No. 4 32 feet X 32 feet Saw-pits Nos. 5-7 Each 75 feet x 30 feet Carpenters' shops Nos. 8-g Each 32 feet x 32 feet Engine house privies Nos. 10-11 Each 61 feet x 30 feet Carpenters' shops No. 12 87 feet x 30 feet Collar makers' shops
os. 13-14 Each 61 feet x 30 feet Wheelers' shops No. 15 32 feet x 32 feet Saw pits Nos. 16-17 Each 88 feet x 30 feet Wheelers' shops Nos. 18-19 Each 88 feet x 30 feet Wheelers' and iron turners' No. 20 32 feet x 32 feet Steam engine No. 21 61 feet x 30 feet Turners' shops No. 22 61 feet x 30 feet "\¥heelers' shops
There are 3 large smiths' shops in the centre of the Square Brick buildings, slated roofs. Each \ Binding offshops and contrac138 feet x 88 feet. J tors' offices.
545
Storehouse-Cadets' Green New brick building, slated, with Nos. 31-32 Manufactured iron-additional floor at each end of the work of gun carriages etc. building and paved. Divided by party No. 33 Garrison carriages. walls into different storehouses. Dimen-No. 34 Ships' carriages. sions 42oftet X 55ftet. No. 35 Spokes, felloes and articles for Land Service. Stockade fence attached to the above l 420 feet X 42 feet. Iron store building. J and other articles.
Storehouses and Sheds, in charge of the Storekeepers' and Carriage Departments Blue Cross storehouse, weather-} 287 feet x 27 feet. Travelling boarded, patent slated roof. carriages. Old Blue storehouse, weather-} 5r2 feet x 26 feet. Travelling boarded, tiled roof, paved. carriages, waggons and carts.
Blue storehouses and sheds in the o. r Travelling carriages, centre part of the Square. Each store-carts, spare articles for Land and house 436ftet X 32ftet. All weat/zer Sea Services. boarded, patmt slated roof and paved. No. 2 Waggons, carts and spare
ammunition boxes.
No. 3 Part junk.house and part containing waggons and travelling carriages.
No. 4 Ships' and garrison carriages and spare articles. Part occupied by Field Train Department.
No. 5 Travelling carriages and carts. No. 6 Travelling carriages. Mounted park of artillery.
Large White Carriage storehouse
340 feet X 30 feet. Ship and weather boarded building, tiled roof }garrison carriages. and paved.
5 weather sheds, slated roefs, Mortar mill engine. Depart
en-}
closed by gates. Each 50 feet x 42 mental timber and plank. R.C.D.
feet.
and Engineers' Department.
Practice Lobby and Fence
Brick building, tiled roof. 1 150 feet X 26 feet. Ammunition J and depot for practice stores.
Practice Ground Open waggon shed, pantiled roof.
430 feet X 28 feet. Pontoon carriages and boats; trave11ing carriages, storekeeper's and Field
} Train Departments.
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Guard House
Military
Brick building, slated roof. } 32 feet X 29 feet. guard.
R.C.D.
Weather-boarded sited, slated roof. } 180 feet X 67 feet. timber and plank store.
Saw-pit Pantiled roof, 58feet by 24Jeet. } Royal Carriage Department. Slated roof, 58Jeet by 24feet. Wooqyard, enclosed by stockade }
The Storekeepers.
fence, z7ofeet by 65feet.
Royal Carriage Department.
Timber yard, adjoining 200 feet X
}
2rofeet. W eather-boarded shed, tiled roof, Laboratory.
}
53 feet X 51 f eet.
Backyard adjoining Arsenal Wall
T emporary planksheds and saw } 60 feet X 30 feet. R.C.D. and
pits. W eather-board roofs. smiths' shops. Field Train Depart
ment.
W eather-boarded shed, pantiled. } 169 feet X shops R.C.D. 18 feet. Wheelers'
Blue weather-boarded shed, tiled } go feet X 20 feet. Smiths' shop.
roof. Chipping and drilling mortars.
Department of Inspector of Ar
tillery.
Blue weather-boarded shed, tiled \ 52 feet X 30 feet. Smiths' shop roof. J R.C.D. and Engineers' Depart-
I
ment.
T wo weather-boarded crane houses
} Storekeeper's Department.
and cranes. Convict Wharf. New Guard House, wharf, weather boarded, } 40 feet X 20 feet. Military and brick building, slated roof guard.
Royal Engineer Department Brick building, 2 stories, slated } 39 feet X 36 feet. Offices of the roof. Department.
Corresponding brick building at the } 39 feet X 36 feet. Store-rooms, entrance. ground floor. Upper story, Assistant Clerk of Works. 239 feet X 21 feet. Carpenters,
Brick range of shops, slated roof, } Civil and military artificers. Collar
west side.
makers' shops. 63 feet X 21 feet. Smiths' shops.
Brick building, slated roof.
547
ADOLESCENCE
Brick building, slated roof. 63 feet X 2 r feet. Wheelers'
}
shops. Brick building, slated roof, east side. 239 feet X 2 I feet. Painters'} glaziers', coopers', bricklayers' and masons' shops.
In addition beyond the confines of the Royal Arsenal there were:
J11eatlier board buildings, slated roof } 372 feet X 92 feet. Stables for in a square, Plumstead Road. contract horses. A similar type of building, Wool-} 106 feet X 16 feet. Stables for wich Common. contract horses.
Storekeeper's Department
New Sea storehouse. Brick building, } I 86 feet X 35 feet. Sea Service 2 stories, stone plinth, cornice slated stores and offices of the Departroof. ment. Old Sea storehouse. Brick building, ) go feet X 30 feet. Ground Floor:
tiled roof, 2 stories and a garret. Se~ Service stores. Upper Story: Pamt covers for waggons, dragropes, harness etc. Garret: Wadding for guns and other articles.
Bason Square
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof, }
I 70 feet X 4.5 feet. Harness paved. storehouse.
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof.
56 feet X I g feet. Collar makers'
}
shops in 3 shops.
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof,
Arms for Sea Service. Smiths'
r70 feet X 6r feet and sheds covered
shop R.C.D. Lead and musket
with patent slating.
}balls. Grape shot in boxes. R.L. Department. Painters' shop.
Brick building, tiled roof, east side,
}
Smiths' shop, modelling room
r5ojeet X r6feet.
armoury, glaziers' shop, Store~
keeper's, R.C.D. and Engineers' Department.
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof,
I 50 feet X 20 feet. Storerooms
west side. }
and offices of the R.C.D.
2 weather-board sheds, pantiled roof. Eaclz 45 feet X }
20 feet. Wheelers' shops, R.C.D.
Brick building, pantiled roof.
Each 45 feet X 20 feet. Smiths'
Weather board building, pantiled roof }
shops. R.C.D.
Clot/zing Store.
Brick roof. building, 2 stories, slated } 92 feet X 38 feet. clothing and sandbags. Artillery
548
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Buildings lately occupied by the Royal Military Academy Principal Academy, brick building, }
Academy and masters' offices.
2 stories, lead roof, rn5feet X 62feet. Lower Academy, brick building l
Academy.
slated roqf, 43 feet X 3 r feet. .J Academy barracks, old brick buildBeing fitted up as reception for ing, tiled roof, 460 feet X 52 feet. gentlemen cadets, officers and
}
servants. Hospital, brick building, slated roof, Being converted into two acade
}
65 feet X 37 feet. mies as above.
Outside the boundary of the Arsenal on a site where the Grand Depot Barracks now stand, was situated the:
Field Train Department R egimental garden workshops.
No. I Wheelers' store.
No. 2 Collarmakers' shop. slated roofs, r69feet X I 5feet divided Weather-board buildings, brick ends,
No. 3 Painters' shop and
into 6 shops.
coopers' shop. No. 4 Carpenters' shop. No. 5 Wheelers' shop. No. 5 Wheelers' shop. No. 6 Office.
No . r Field Train-Shed. Wooden } building, the ends brickwork with 12 pdr. guns, ammunition, fra med open gates, divided into bays waggons, carts etc.
237 feet X 43 feet.
No. 2 Field Train Shed. Similar } g pdr. guns and heavy 6 pdr.
building, 256feet X 43 feet. guns.
No. 3 Field Train Shed. Similar } 6 pdr. howitzers and waggons. building, 292 feet X 43 feet. 2 bays partitioned off for the fire engme.
No. 4 Field Train Shed. Similar \
Guns etc.
building, 3r2feet X 43feet. J
Two magazines, brick building, slated roof made fire-proof. 55 feet X
17 feet.220
In addition to these buildings, listed in the preceding pages, there
were the proof-butts and the practice range.
It was considered too dangerous at the opening of the nineteenth century to store large quantities of gunpowder ashore. The area of the Royal Arsenal was limited and, though not overcrowded, distances between the various brick and wooden structures were insufficient to eliminate risk in case of an accident. The marshland
to the east was still undeveloped and fire-proof buildings in isolated
220 These details are taken from Ordnance Book, no. 252, W.O. Records, Stanmorc.
549
ADOLESCENCE
positions had yet to be erected. Although powder was known to be sensitive and a healthy respect was paid to it, the modern rules for handling explosives, now codified in Magazine Regulations, were lacking in those days when fires were too frequent and fire engines too
few. 'Better be sure than sorry' was therefore the principle adopted, and for reasons of safety, bulk powder in barrels was kept in floating magazines anchored in the Thames.
There was one such magazine in the period under discussion, the 111ansllip purchased for £5,833. I Is. gd. and moored off Gallion's Reach. This vessel was replaced on 2 June 1823 by the brig Convert of 200 tons burthen, bought for £525 including £85 paid for repairs.221 The Convert in turn was sold for £256. 2s. 4d. by order of the Board dated 24 October 1827, when the design of the first 'proper' magazine on Arsenal terrain was accepted and approved.222 Thus passed the first six years of the Royal Arsenal's adolescence.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,678 p. r 004. m PRO/WO/44/643. ' '
55°
Chapter 14
The Royal Arsenal during Napoleonic Times
Owing to the demolition of the East Laboratory rendered necessary by the erection of the Grand Storehouses, further laboratory accommodation became pressing, and it was decided to extend the original Laboratory Square towards the river. Money for this extension was taken up in the Estimates for 1806, 1807, 1808 and
1809. It is not possible from the Estimates themselves to determine the exact amount of money to be spent each year on the project, as the work is included under one head with other services such as a new hospital. Academy buildings and storehouses, but for the four years mentioned the total sums were as follows:
1806 £149,170
1807 £II8,769
1808 £104,181. 12s. rd.
1809 £121,629. 13s. 10d.
Little detail is forthcoming about the actual construction, it was presumably started in 1806-1807 when the East Laboratory began to be dismantled, nor is there any reference to the completion. In these circumstances maps are the only guide. The new factory was substantially in being by 1810, for in a plan of the Royal Arsenal dated 8 September of that year, the site shows a range of buildings in the form of a square called the 'New East Laboratory Square'. In a later map dated 26 October 1811, the whole conception appears to be finished being then denominated the 'New Laboratory Square', the name by which it was afterwards known. By then, too, the Academy buildings, having become vacant, were in process ofbeing handed over to the Royal Laboratory to form a museum or model room.
The Royal Laboratory, therefore, by I 8I I formed a compact block stretching from the Royal Brass Foundry to within a short distance of the river bank. These buildings were still used for S.A. bullet manufacture until the First World War, during which they were replaced by more up-to-date workshops elsewhere in the Arsenal. The old laboratory lingered on in a saddened condition after the Treaty of Versailles, some buildings being used as stores till eventually the bulk of them was demolished a short time before the outbreak of the Second World War. A few of the original structures still stand 'as a remembrance of things past'.
551
Mr Payton, master tinman of the R.L., was on 4 February 1807 awarded a sum of£50, partly as a reimbursement of the expenses he incurred in making his machine for forming cups from tin tubes, and partly as a reward for his invention._ It is noticeable that the Board were always willing to encourage their servants to promote new ideas and stimulate inventive genius by cash bonuses.1 On the same day another workshop for the use of convict smiths, and a small shed close by for those employed on the military ferry were ordered to be built. The order for the latter arose as a direct result of an accident in a boathouse wherein a temporary fire-place had been installed for the purpose of providing warmth for the men. Prudence necessitated the removal of that fire-place.2
Before the days of railways and proper posts, all letters, reports and communications from Woolwich to the Board were carried by a mounted messenger whose life was mainly spent in riding backwards and forwards between the Royal Arsenal and Westminster. Richard Finch, the official messenger, had the misfortune on 6 February 1807 to be thrown from his horse on Westminster Bridge, breaking his leg and injuring his mount to such an extent that glanders set in. The animal had to be destroyed, and Richard Finch, when his leg was healed, had to spend 14 guineas on the purchase of another in order to carry on with his job. He asked the Board to
refund this sum, to which they graciously assented. 3
There seems to have been some misconception at this time about the pay and allowances of John King, the master founder. The situation was summed up and a new rate was suggested by John Angell, chief clerk to the Surveyor-General. He noted on a memorandum dated 4 February 1807, that the pay and allowances of Mr King were as follows:
Pay on the establishment £249 p.a. Allowance for house rent according to regulations £26 p.a. Allowance for coal and candles according to regulations £12. ros. od. p.a.
in addition to which the master founder had drawn in kind:
Coal, chaldrons-12 Candles, dozens -12
on the authority of an old order. Mr Angell drew attention to the fact that as soon as this issue in kind had been realized in the Surveyor-General's office, Mr King's
~ Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,594, p. 311. Extracts of M!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,594, p. 3 r J. 3 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,594, p. 339.
552
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
allowances for house rent, coals and candles were stopped, and would continue to be stopped, till the whole over-payment was refun~ed. At the same time Mr Angell showed his angelic character by pointing out that if Mr King's salary were advanced from £249 to £250
p.a. he would be entitled to a higher allowance for house rent, coals and candles and would in that case receive:
Salary £250 p.a. House rent £52 p.a. Coals and Candles £25 p.a. Total: £327 p.a.
which would give him approximately £36 p.a. more than when he was appointed master founder in 1 797.
Mr Angell also submitted that Mr King's allowance should be calculated at £30 p.a. for the past period, instead of £_26 p.a., as_ the Board had intimated that no one should suffer by their Regulations of 1801.
The Board forwarded this statement to the Master-General and recommended his Lordship's approval, suggesting at the same tim~ that the new rate of pay should be operative from 1 January 18o7.
I t is rather refreshing in these matter-of-fact days to_ come across an official who deliberately went out of his way to devise a met~od of increasing the emoluments of a Crown servant by a slight
financial adjustment. . Evans Jvfarshall, clerk of the survey, now found h_imself _cas~ m the role of Naboth, though unlike Naboth he lost ne_1ther his vm~yard nor his life. He had rented from the Board a piece of land m the Arsenal which he cultivated as a garden and was presumably happy in his possession. One day it was d~cided to appropriate pa~t of this ground to make a garden for MaJ~r-General !lochfort, t e chief firemaster whose own had been sacrificed to bmld the Grand
h
Storehouses. As ' a result a fence and a tool-shed were erected on t e area transferred. Mr Marshall, much distressed, wrote to the Board on 1 7 March 1807, begging them to rescind this order as the val~e of his land would be gravely diminished by the propose~ appropnation. The Board, always fair to its servants, acted qmckly. On I8 March they ordered the C.R.E. to remove the f~i:i-ce ~nd tool-house and restore the land to Mr Marshall in the cond1t1on it was when he
gave up possession.5 • • On 13 April r8o7, Messrs John Hall ofDartford were given t~:Job of removing for £62. 7s. ad. the chain pump westward to facilitate the progress of the new wharf.6
4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,594, P· 354· 6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,595, P· 927• 6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,595, P· 927•
37 553
ADOLESCENCE
Poor Colonel Cuppage, In~pec~or Royal Carriage Department, got into trouble over sick pay m his department. He committed the unpardonable sin of showing initiative. Although the Board were generous, often to a_f~ult, they ~d ~ot lik~ their prero~atives usurped in an age when ngid centralization, like procrastination, was a thief of time. Under the regulations for the sick and lame in the Royal Carriage Department, Colonel Cuppage submitted for approval the following:
To objects of distress who have been upwards of 1 2 months in the service, there has been paid between
£17. 4S.
7d.
12 February and 31 March 1807 the sum of } There is due to men not considered as objects of
l
distress, between 12 February and 3 1 March 1807, J £12. OS. gd.the sum of Total Sick Pay list
£30. 5s. 4d.
and enclosed the surgeon's return of the sick showing the causes of their absence.
The Board's reaction was sharp and peremptory. Colonel Cuppage was called on to explain the principle on which he had caused sick payments to be made to artificers between the dates specified; to
give th,e names of those wh~m he had stated are not 'objects of distress but to whom he considered that half-pay should be granted while on the sick list, and to forward the names of those whom he considered should receive no pay at all. He wa ordered in future to divide his lists into 3 classes:
(a)
Those who should have full pay during sickness
(b)
Those who should receive half-pay while sick
(
c) Those w~o should be granted no pay while ill, i.e. either those under 12 months service or those who had brought on their malady by vice
· d or
rmscon uct
and to render his returns quarterly, except in peculiar cases of hardship when a special return was to be forwarded. Colonel Cuppage was warned to make no advances of pa without the Board's instructions. 7 y On rg May 1807, Captain Hayter was instructed to make arrangements for dismantling the mortar mill at the new barrack and re-erecting it in the Royal Arsenal.8 He did so, and the offer }
0
Messrs J. Hall of Dartford for carrying out the transfer at a cost of
£23r. 2s. 6{-d. less £64. 8s. 5d. on account of the old iron delivered
to Mr Hall at £6 per ton, was accepted and the work sanctioned on
10 August 1807.9
; Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,595, p. 936, 13 April 1807. Extracts ofM!nutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,596, p. 1,264.9 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,597, p. 2,070.
554
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Mr Thomas was compensated for the loss of one of his cattle
killed by a shot fired from the Royal Arsenal.10 This was by no
means an unusual occurrence. On 24 July 1807, the Respective
Officers were authorized to send any labourer injured on govern
ment service to the Artillery Hospital on Woolwich Common.11 This
custom long survived the Board, as after the local Arsenal hospital
had been closed as a measure of economy between the two world
wars, it was revived with the Royal Herbert Hospital.
The Royal Laboratory still had its garden, kept up at government expense, in the beginning ofthe nineteenth century. On 2.September 1807, it was ordered that the chief firemaster, MaJor-G_eneral Rochfort, should be refunded the sum of £47. IOs. od. which he had spent on labour in the garden in question.12 On 23 September 1807, the steam engine in the R.C.D. was ordered to be repaired at once.13 Mr Bramah probably carried out the work as the engine at Woolwich which Mr Lloyd renovated for £107 in the beginning of the following year, was presumably the one used in the construction of the new wharf.14
The prosecution of the war with France was making increasing demands on the Woolwich factories. On 28 September 1807, John King, the master founder, requested that three new additional pot furnaces should be built in the Royal Brass Foundry as the output from the existing ones was insufficient to meet the increased needs of the Royal Carriage Department and other departments. He also asked for two windows to be made so that more light would be available in the foundry. The pot furnaces were to have cast-iron tops and covers. The C.R.E. was ordered to comply with the request.15 A little later on the C.R.E. was instructed_ to provide two re erberatory furnaces in the R.C.D. at an estimated cost of £ 177. 11s. 1i¼d.16 At the same time Colonel Cuppage was authorized to purchase a large circular saw for his department at a cost not exceeding £30. This was to be driven by the steam engine and used for ripping boards, etc.17 . . .
A good deal of unserviceable ammurnt1on now found its way home from the battle fronts, and on r r November 1807, '200 of the most diligent boys' in the R.L. were put on to examine and break up such ammunition. On the same day three foremen of the Rocket Works, John Crake, William Rogers and James Finlay, were pai_d one guinea each-the same as given to R.L. foremen-for their
10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,597, P· 1,697, 3July 1807. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,597, P· 1,92I. 12 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,598, P· 2,307. 13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /47 /2,598, P· 2,525. 14 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /4 7 /2,600, P· 56. 15 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,598, P· 2,572. 18 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, p. 3,031, 9 November 1807. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,598, P· 2,755, 14 October 18o7.
555
exertions during the preparation of the Baltic expedition.is The ditches surrounding the Arsenal on the eastern side were now becoming fouled and Captain Hayter reported to the Board that about 350 rods of the boundary and divisional ditches in the marshes east of the Royal Arsenal required cleaning. On his recommendation that the price was fair and reasonable, the Board agreed that the necessary work should be carried out by James Dew, a labourer, for 3s. 6d. per rod.19
One of the consequences of handing over the old Academy to the Royal Laboratory was the necessity of acquiring alternative accommodation for the storekeeper whose house had been in Tower Place for over a century. This could only be done by further building. As early as 23 September 1807, the Board wrote that the new house for the storekeeper was to be put in hand as soon as possible at a cost of£1,200,20 but nearly tw? yea~s were _to elapse before anything definite emerged from that p10us mstruct10n. On 9 August 18og, Lieutenant-General Morse, Inspector General of Fortifications and Works, was told that there had been a misconception in Mr Crew's
letter of 15 May 1809,21 regarding the estimate ofworks to be carried out at Woolwich in 1809. Instead of the statements therein made the items in the estimate should have been as follows : '
Captain Hayter's general estimate for the } £ r67,7rg. IOS.
I Id.
Woolwich Division Repairs and Contingencies
I ,OOO. OS.
od.
Total:
£r68,719. IOS. 11d.
From this the following deductions were to be mad :
New gunwharf
£ 4,000. os. od.
Storekeeper's House
3,000. OS.
od.
New practice butts
1,330. 18s. IOd.
Stables for the Surgeon-General
850. 13s.
3d.
Building to correspond with the Riding House
5,000. OS.
od.
Houses of Inspector ofAcademies
5,000. OS.
od.
Field Officers' quarters
2,000. OS.
od. Total: £21, r8 I. I 2S. I d. Leaving the total allowed £147,537. 18s. 10d.
At the same time General Morse was informed that, owing to the transfer of the storekeeper's quarter and adjacent buildings to the !{oyal ~aboratory, a new house for the storekeeper was to be built immediately, and that the £3,000 in the Estimates for 1808 originally voted for the houses of the Lieutenant-Governor and Inspector
:: Extracts of ~nutes, Series II, PRO /WO /4 7 /2,599, p. 3,059. 20 Ext~acts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, p. 3,271, 4 December 1807.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/7s6.21 Mr R. H. Crew was Secretary to the Board of Ordnance.
556
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING . APOLEO "IC TIMES
of the Royal Military Academy, would be appropriated for that purpose. General Morse was also instructed to ensure that the storekeeper's new dwelling was commenced as soon as the plans and estimates had been passed by the Board.22 In view ofthe urgency which had by that time become paramount, no time was lost in drawing up the designs. They were dated August 1809 and arc at present in the Public Record Office.23 The plan of the original house shows a butler's pantry and all the usual offices, with three reception rooms and a number of bedrooms. At the back was a garden with stables and a coach-house. There is no evidence to show why the oriuinal estimate was increased or the actual cost of the house when
0
completed. It is obvious from the layout that the storekeeper of those years was a man of some substance who was expected to keep up a considerable state. The house, standing by the second gate of the Royal Arsenal, is now known as Middle Gate House. After the formation of the Ordnance Store Department it became for some time the residence of the Superintendent of the Building Works Department. When the fire on the water front in 1922 gutted the premises of the Naval Ordnance Inspection Department, Middle Gate Gouse was greatly enlarged and transformed into the headquarters office of the Inspector of Naval Ordnance, Woolwich. It is still used as such.
On 13 January 1808, the officers' quarters in the Old Barracks (Nos. 1-4 Dial Square), were painted and whitewashed at a cost of d.24
£ 229. rgs. s¼ How often have these quarters been renovated since then?
The bill submitted by Mr Bramah (Bramah & Son) for the machinery he supplied in 1805 in connection with the steam engine and planing machine for the Royal Carriage Department did not satisfy the Surveyor-General who sent it to Colonel Cuppage for his remarks. The latter reported ruefully that 'a respectable house in London would have supplied the articles for £33. 6s. 6d. but that Mr Bramah had a patent for the machine'. The bill for £49 was therefore paid by the Board, but they ordered that in future tenders should be sent out 'to all tradesmen'. 25 The bills sent in by Mr Francis Bernasconie for sundry materials supplied and work performed on the new buildings at Woolwich between I April and 30 September r807 also came under criticism. The Board received the Surveyor-General's report on the matter and were 'pleased to direct
26
that a reference be made to the Office of Works as recommended'.
22 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJWO/47/2,609, p. 2,410. 23 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756. 24 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 134. 26 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 294, 25 January 18o8. 26 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 406, 5 February 18o8.
557
Captain Hayter was instructed on 12 February 1808 to prepare an estimate for providing windows and skylights in the shops of the Royal Carriage Department to give the workers additional light. He estimated the cost at £366. 13s. 7fd.27 On 26 February 1808 he was ordered to proceed with the work in conformity with his suggestion and estimate.28
Presumably more privacy in their gardens was required by the Field Officers living in the quarters originally known as the 'New Barracks in the Warren' (Nos. 7-10 Dial Square), as the C.R.E. was instructed to divide the said g~rdens by a 14 inch brick wall in place of the existing fence at an estimated cost of £32. 6s. gd.29
During the early spring of 1808 a gun burst at proof and one of the fragments damaged the flywheel of the steam engine used on the new wharf. This was not the first time trouble had arisen at these butts which had by then become in close juxtaposition to new buildings. As the new butts (on the site now occupied by the gas factory) were ready, Captain Hayter suggested on 24 March i8o8 that they should be taken into use forthwith and the old butts levelled by convicts. The Board approved the suggestion and ordered all old shot discovered during the demolition to be taken on charge by the storekeeper.30 On 27 April 1808, it was decided that a new road should be made on the east side of the land about to be purchased fro_m ~r P~t.tison, the_ Ordnance agreeing to pay half, and Mr Pattison s sohc1tor was mformed accordingly.31 Arrange
ments were satisfactorily settled between the C.R.E. and l\tfr Pattison's solicitor on 8 August 1808, and Mr Smith, the assistant solicitor to the Board, was instructed to report as soon as the conveyance had been completed. 32
William Roche, a constable, was a lucky man. It must have been a red-letter day for him when he was awarded £20 for his diligence in apprehending three men for stealing ordnance stores.aa
It was considered necessary to build a new Dipping Square in the Royal A:senal and on 23 May 1808 an estimate of£3,979. 19s. 5½d. for erectmg the same was forwarded to the Master-General.34 This was approved and the C.R.E. was instructed to proceed with the work and contingent accommodation for the Royal Laboratory on 22 June 1808 agreeably to his estimate which was submitted to the Surveyor-General.35 Unfortunately the work cost more than was
:; Extracts of~nutes, Ser\es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 477,;» Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 609.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 490. 30 Extracts ofM?lutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 837. 31 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,601, p. 1,236.12 Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,603, p. 2,308. u 33 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, p. 1,253, 2 May 1808.
Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, p. 1,499.16 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, p. 1,800.
558
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
contemplated and although the estimate of £3,979. 19s. s½d, was forwarded to the Board with a letter dated 15 February 1908,36 it was afterwards amended to £4,182. 7s. g{d.37
The advancing tide ofstorehouse construction alongside the wharf rendered the demolition of the old R.L. carpenters' shop on the river front, established in 1780, necessary. It was therefore agreed on 24 June 1808 that as a temporary measure, the harness storehouse should be fitt;d up as a carpenters' shop for the Royal Laboratory. At the same time, a blacksmiths' shop contiguous to the harness storehouse was to be adapted as an office for the foreman of carpenters and as a safe place for heating glue. It was al~o ordered that only two days' consumption of deals should ~e kept m the yard at one time.as This plan was adopted, but experience soon proved that the converted buildings were too dark to make a good workshop. On 10 October 1808, therefore, twelve skylights were ordered to be installed so as to allow the carpenters more light, as well as a stove
in the master carpenter's office.39 The old R.L. carpenters' shop was ordered to be I?ulled. down on 22 July 18o8,4o and on 2g August 1808 two lea~-lmed cisterns capable of holding one pipe of oil each41 and a lead-lined table were
42
to be supplied to the ex-harness store. .
Another far-reaching innovation took place m the Roy~l A:rsenal during the year. It was the proposal to erect a saw-mill m ~he Royal Carriage Department. The sc~eme was eventually earned through and the credit for this undertaking belongs to Marc Isam?ard Brunel. Sir Marc, as he afterwards became, was the famous engmeer
of that name born at Hacqueville, near Rauen, in I7?9· He must not be confused with his equally famous son, ~sambard Kmgdom_Brunel, who was responsible among other thmgs for const_ructmg the Great Western Railway. During the French Re~olut1on, Brunel, the elder, escaped to the United States where m I 794 he was appointed surveyor of the projected canal scheduled to run from Lake Champlain to the Hudson at Al~any. He after~ards beca~e an architect in New York and chief engmeer for that city. Returning to Europe in 1799, he settled iri England. His first cont.act with t~e English Government arose as the result ~fa plan submi~ted by him to make block-pulleys by machinery. This was adopted m 1803 and on its completion in 1806, the saving on the first year was about £24,000. The grateful government gave him £17,000 as a reward. He was responsible for public works in the Royal Arsenal, Chatham
36 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/756.
37 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,6o6, P· 453·
38 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o2, P· 1 ,8i3.
30 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o4, P· 2,882,
40 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o3, P· 2, 134·
41 105 Imperial gallons.
42 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,603, P· 2,520•
559
Dockyard and other places. His most remarkable undertaking, in which he was helped by his son, was the construction of the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe between the years 1825 and 1843. He was knighted in 1841 and died in London on 12 December 1849.
Colonel Cuppage, Inspector Royal Carriage Department, wrote to the Board on 25 April 1808 proposing that an engine should b e introduced into his factory for the cutting of timber. In that letter he stated that Mr Brunel, th~ Director _of Block M achinery at Portsmouth, who worked a vertical saw mill there, was understood to be the most experienced person to consult and that he proposed to visit him. The Board approved of this suggestion on 27 April 1808. Colonel Cuppage then_vi_sited ~ortsn:iouth and on 10 May 1808 reported the result of his mterview with Mr Brunel. In this report he suggested that the Royal Carriage Department should be equipped with a 12 HP engine and machinery for vertical and other saws. On receiving this report the Board asked Captain Hayter to comment on its contents. The ?.R.E. repli:d favourably on 20 May 1808 and suggested that considerable savmgs should accrue from the erection of a saw mill in the department. On the same day the Board asked Mr Brunel, then living in Chelsea, to submit his proposals for the steam :ngine. ?n r July I 808, Mr Brunel replied that he would forward his plans m due course, but pointed out that
a 12 HP engine would not be sufficiently povverful to deal ,vith the load contemplated; he would recommend an r8 HP engine. In a letter dated 3 August I 808, Mr Brunel forwarded to Mr R. H. Crew Secretary to the Board of Ordnance, his terms for convertina th~ Royal Carriage Department to machinery stating that in addition to the power required for operating the saw mill, the department would want some 4 HP for working lathes. His calculations led to the conclusion that an 18 HP eng_ine would be necessary though he
recom~ended on<': of 20 HP. This _wo~ld cost only an extra £ioo and ?em proport10n more economical m fuel since it would not be reqmred to run at full capacity. With his letter he enclosed th
following complete specification: e
A 20 HP engine with cast iron beam and water cistern · the whole t
b fix d · · ' 0
e_ e ~pon an entire cast iron foundation plate. Also two wrought iron boder_s with fire appara~us, steam pipes, etc. The whole to be on the most improved construction.
Then followed specific details regarding the machinery re shafting wheels, the saw and its essentials, the frame, clamps, table etc.: in all two sets. ~r Brunel guaranteed to provide the 20 HP engine with all the machmery he had mentioned and erect it ready for use for £6,000. Should, however, the I8 HP engine be preferred his figure
would be £100 less.43
43 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/7s6.
560
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Unfortunately the practice ground and butts stood in the way, both literally and figuratively, of this modernization s~hem~, for the saw-mill if built on the selected site would interfere with firmg. The hands of the Board were therefore, tied until a solution to this problem could be found. 'rt was one which wo1;1l~ obviously take time to effect as it meant the procurement of add1t10nal land on the marshes for a new range. While the Board cogitated, Mr Brunel chafed. On 5 September 1808 he wrote to the Board somewhat querulously, intimating that he had, by the ~ono~rable Boar~'s direction, submitted plans and an estimate for mstalling. a saw-mill in the Royal Carriage Department. As, for no fault of ~1s own, ~he project had been postponed, he now hoped ~hat he m1ght receive some remuneration for all the trouble to which he had been put. The Board admitting the justness of h_is plea, g:ante~ him ~he s~m ~; £ 1 oo for the expense he had incurred m preparmg his specification.
After much thought and neg~tiation, arrangeme~ts to move the offending practice ground and butt to another site were made possible by the agreement, dated 25 February 1811, to buy from Mr Crossingham 20 acres of marshland, the property ~f the late Mr "\1\ illiam Cole, for the sum of £200 per acre s~bJect ~o the deduction of the value of the wallscot. Mr Smith, the mdefatigable assistant solicitor to the Board was instructed to make the purchase, and the Master-General and Board, overjoyed at the turn of events, thanked Mr Crossingham for the very handsom~ manner. in wh~ch he had made his offer.45 There is a sequel to this tale ofJOY which shall be told later in the chapter. For the moment,_ however, all was well and this obstacle having been removed, MaJor-General Cuppage, as he had by then become, asked the Board if the subject of the saw-mill could be reopened. The 11aster-General agreed, and on 2 1 March 18 r r Mr Brunel announced that he was ready to begin erecting the machinery when instructed. On 22 May 181 ~ the C.~.E. forwarded an estimate of £4,104. 3s. 1¼d. for constructmg a bmlding to house the saw-mill's machinery.46 This was accepted by the Master-General who ordered the work to be put in hand.47 Meanwhile, on 16 April r8II, Mr Brunel had submitted _an amended
estimate for supplying the complete engin~ and ma_chinery-._ It was for £ 4,600, a reduction of £1,400. He said that, m ad~1t1on, an extra boiler would be required which with its accessories would cost £450. This would make a grand total of £9,154. 3s. 1¼d, for the whole undertaking. This extra boiler was approved on 27 May
·d · 4s
181 2 and Mr Brunel was ordered to prov1 e it.
44 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o4, P· 2,57°· 46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,620, P· 784. 46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,621, P· 1,913, 24 May 1811· 47 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,621, P· 2,o55, 4June I8II. 48 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,626, P· i,6i6.
561
One man's meat is another man's poison, and the storekeeper and the clerk of the survey viewed these proceedings with horror. They, in their corporate capaci~y as Respective Officers, reported on 6 April 1812 that, as the site selected for the R.C.D. steam engine was in close proximity to their dwellings, life would be rendered intolerable for them. They asked that the engine should be made to consume its own smoke which they understood could be contrived at a trifling expense. The Board agreed and issued the necessary instructions, Mr John Geast and Mr Evans Marshall being informed.49 On 24 August 1812, Mr_Brunel reported that his total charges would now be £5,080, of wh1ch he had only received £i,ooo on account on g May 1812. These included certain improvements which he strongly advocated; they would cost £850. On
19
October 1812, the Board agreed to Mr Brunel's alterations, so having given him on 10 October a~other advance of £2,000. As time slipped by, Mr Brunel, becommg out of pocket, asked on 25 August 1313, for additional payments. On being consulted, the Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, stated on 30 August 181 3 that he considered Mr Brunel's request justified, for although the installation was not yet complete, the department had already derived considerable benefit from it. Thereupon the Board forwarded Mr Brunel another £1,500 on 4 October 1813. On 30 May 1814. Mr Brunel announced that he had incurred a total expenditure of£6,394. 1s. 1d.,
i.e. £1,894. rs. rd. over the £4,500 he had already received. Five days later he pointed out that he had encountered unforeseen difficulties in constructing this saw-mill for the Royal Carriage Department and begged the Board for a further sum of money on account.51 This appeal _was fo!lowed by another on I o August 18 ,
14
when Mr Brunel, agam asking for extra remuneration, told the Board that the erection of the saw-mill had actually cost him £6,378. os. Bd., and that his profit had only been £ 16. os. 8d. which was not included in his bill of costs. The Board w ere no~ entirely happy over the affair and there was a certain amount of haggling over the final claim. Eventually they said that if Mr Brunel would make an affidavit concerning his expenses and profit they
would give serious consideration to his case.52 The Board were not long in making up their mind. On I 2 August I 8I 4 they announced that, although they realized Mr Brunel had performed good work for the country, they could not pay more than the saw-mill cost albeit the estimated price was £4,600. They proposed, however t~
give him a pension of £300 p.a. and settle his account as follows':
60 0 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,096. 61 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,628, p. 3,254. 61 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,636, p. 2,302, 3June 1814.
Extracts ofMmutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,637, p. 3,262. 562
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURI N G NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Amount of original estimate -£4,600
Amount of authorized additions thereto, namely
£450 and £850 . -£1,300
Expenses incurred in addition to the estimate -£494. Is. 1d.
Item omitted -£116. 16s. od.
Total £6,512. 17s. id.63
The closing scene of this comedy is a,mino_r trag~dy. ~fr _Brunel's
remises in Battersea were destroyed by fire, 1nvolvmg him m heavy
ioss not only in buildings but in machinery. He _therefore asked that
his pension of £300 p.a. might be commuted mto a lu11;-p sum of
£4,500. This request was granted on 14 _September 1814."4•
The faint dawn of the steam and machinery age was breakmg over
the Royal Arsenal. It was a dawn of promise which in due course
blazed into the light of noon.
On 12 September 1808 the roof and o~th~uses_ of Colonel Cup
page's quarter were reported to need rep~ir."" This _quarter was an
Ordnance house situated on Shooters Hill. An estimate was pre
ared and forwarded to the Surveyor-General for examination. On
; 7 October 1808 the repairs were ordered to be. carrie~ ou~-56 The
next recorded incident at Woolwich was somethmg qm:e different.
It was an instruction to drive in two piles an~ a cro_ss-p1le to s_ecu:e
each of the two inshore anchors of the Manship floatmg magazme m
Gallion's Reach.57
In preparing his estimates for the year 1809, Captain Hayter
stated that his staff should be as follows:
In the Royal Arsenal
2 Foremen of ground labourers at 3s. p.d. each r 2 Labourers at 2s. p.d. each 12 Labourers at Is. gd. p.d. each
For incidental work at the barracks and on Woolwich Common
1 Foreman of ground labourers at 3s. p.d.
8 Labourers at 2s. p.d. each
8 Labourers at is. gd. p.d. each
The matter was referred to Lieutenant-General Morse.58 The Works Estimate for Woolwich for 1808 was £182,361. 16s. 2-½-d.,59 and for 1809 was £147,537. 18s. rnd.60
53 Extracts of Minutes Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, P· 3,321·
54 Extracts of Minutes: Series II, PRO/WO/47/~,?37, P· 3,8~6. _A very full acco~t of these transactions regarding the building of the ~ngmal saw~m1ll m the Royal CarnageDepartment is given in paper PRO/WO/44/524 m the Pubhc Record Office.
56 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P· 2,632.
56 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P· 2,932•
57 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P• 2,738.
58 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P· 3,070.
69 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756.
60 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756.
563
Samuel Harden, the gentleman who bought the spent ashes from
the R.C.D. at 6s 6d. a chaldron was on g December 1808 paid
£157. 10s. od. for dunging and ploughing the land recently acquired
from Mr Pattison.61
Captain Hayter was directed on 14 December 1808 to make
additions to the sheds allotted to the convicts allocated to the Royal
Laboratory by employing convict carp~nters and using old materials,
and also to erect an enclosure for a timber yard. The expense was
estimated at £40.62 On 16 December 1808, Mr Wallis of Blackwall
was asked to supply two mud barges for the Engineering Department
at £6 per ton, the barges being from 45 to 50 tons each.63 On 2 1
December 1808, Captain Hayter was instructed to provide accom
modation for the one conductor and ten drivers which Mr Willan
the contractor, had secured for the service of the boring mill.G4 Tw~
days later he was told to erect a new shed near the proof-butts for
the R.A. detachment which carried out proof.65
Finally, an estimate dated 26 December 1808 for the sum of
£r,674. gs. 7d. was prepared for the construction of a tank at the
new wharf to receive the main flow from the barracks and east side
of the Arsenal; so constructed as to serve as a backwater to cleanse
the proposed recess or open dock in the new wharf.66 This tank was
ordered to be built on 25 January 1809.67
The question of further steam-driven machinery in the Royal Carriage Department now came under reviev. . While the other factories were content to jog along with their antiquated methods the Carriage Department was determined to forge ahead. This tim~ the choice fell on Mr Henry Maudsley. Henry i,1Iaudsley was one of the notable sons of Woolwich who brought honour to the ancient borough. The family hailed from Lancashire. His father, William Maudsley, was a native of Bolton and being a sergeant wheelwright in the Royal Artillery, was, after being wounded, sent to the headquarters of this regiment at Woolwich where he was soon afterwards discharged from the service. He married at Woolwich Church in July 1763 Margaret Laundy, and had by her seven children of whom Henry was the fifth. Henry was born on 22 August 177 I in a
house which stood in the court at the back of the Salutation Inn the entrance to which was nearly opposite the Arsenal gates. Th~ boy was soon put to work and at twelve years of age was employed in the Warren in making and filling cartridges. After two years he was moved to the carpenters' shop and thence to the smithy.
81 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,341.
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,605, p. 3,381.
13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,400.
84 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,438.
15 Exn;acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,461, 23 December 1808.
H Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756.
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /4 7 /2,606, p. 239.
564
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
He showed remarkable ability as a smith and a worker in iron. His manual skill gave him a considerable reputation and his fame spread to London where he was considered to be one of the most dexterous hands in the trade. He thus came under the notice of Bramah the locksmith and engineer who because of young Henry's acumen and skill, offered him a job in his ~orks. Eventually he rose to the position of manager of Bramah's works, but as his wages were only 30s. a week he determined to leave his employment and strike out on his own. He opened a small shop in Wells Street, Oxford Street, and success soon followed. His inventions were many, the 'slide-rest' being one of the best known. In 181 o he moved from Oxford Street to Lambeth Marsh where he built his factory which lasted for wellnigh a century. Henry Maudsley, the founder ofthe firm ofengineers which bore his name died from the effects of a cold on 14 February
'
1831. He was buried in Woolwich Churchyard.68
Captain Hayter had received instructions _to vi~it the w~~k_sho:ps of Henry Maudsley with a view to assessmg his capabiht.J.es m supplying the required machinery. On 25 January 1_809, the_ C.R.E. reported that he had inspected the 'manufactory' m quest10n and that Mr Henry Maudsley would be capable of making the required steam engine and machinery for the Royal Carriage Department .as follows:
A patent portable steam engine of 6 H.P. with boiler, steam} £ 500 pipe and other accessories complete, to be erected in the R.C.D.
A second boiler for the present engine, similar to the first, so } £ioo
as to be capable of working either engine.
Two 4 feet drums, g inches wide with straps et~. for con }
necting the engine with the shaft, and a tighterung drum, £45
lever and carriage for the same.
Delivery complete in 3 months.
The Board ordered the engine to be made by Mr Maudsley.69
In this connection Captain Hayter stated that it woul~ be necessary to make some alterations in one of the R.C.D. shops m order to sink a well and lay the foundation for the engine. The work would cost £260. Captain Hayter on 27 January 1809 was ordered to carry out this work and submit a deta1·1ed est·1mate. 70
On 24 February 1809, Mr Bramah reported that he had repaired his steam engine in the R.C.D. "A piece of strong copper for the boiler ofthe steam engi~e, ~eight ~ 6 lb. and repairing the same. Repairing injection pump, takmg it to pieces, grinding valves, adjusting safety valve, cleaning etc."
The Board asked him to forward his bill.71 68 Industrial biography by Samuel Smiles deals inter alia with the life of Henry Maudsley.
69
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,6o6, P· 238·
70
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6o6, P· 26o. 71 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6o6, P· 548.
565
After ploughing and dunging the land recently purchased from Mr Pattison, Mr Samuel Harden recommended on 24 February 1809, that he should sow the 8 acre field in question with barley and grass seed at £3. 15s. od. an acre. He observed that he could make no firm offer for the first crop as the fences were in such a bad condition, but he would suggest a fair price. The Board agreed and ordered Captain Hayter to repair the fences as a precaution against damage by cattle. 72 On 15 March 1809, Mr Lloyd offered to repair the steam engine at the new wharffor £48.73 This offer was accepted and on 7 March 18ro it was agreed that the work should be carried out and the engine moved to another site by Messrs Lloyd and Ostell.74 On 20 March 1809 Captain Hayter reported that Mr Noble and Mr Samuel Harden had offered to surrender the land in their possession for the good of the Ordnance service. The farmer's gesture was accepted and Mr Noble was offered £100 for his holding which was required for extending the Royal Military Repository. Regarding Mr Harden's land, however, it was decided to ask LieutenantGeneral Morse his opinion as to whether it was really required. 75 It was reported on 15 May 1809 that Mr Noble would not take less than £200 for his interest in the plot lately purchased from Lady Wilson for extending 'the exercising ground'. Captain Hayter stated that the land in the occupation of Samuel Harden could be resumed on paying him £5 p.a. an acre for the unexpired portion of the lease which would amount to £200. The question as to whether possession should be taken was referred to the Master-General.76 T h e MasterGeneral decided that if Mr Harden's ground were reoccupied after the present harvest it might answer the purpose for which it was
originally obtained.77
Lieutenant-General Anthony Farrington, Commandant of the Field Train, who was ipso facto Chairman of the Ordnance Select Co~~ttee, pr~posed on 24 ~-a~ 1809 that a space might be partitioned off m the store adJommg the Select Committee room and be fitted up as a model room for housing the exhibits which came before the Committee from time to time. He also requested that a large parallel rule, a case ofmathematical instruments Indian ink, articles for grinding the same and hair pencils might be ~upplied for the use of members, stressing the point that the instrument case ~hould be marke? 'Select Committee'. The Board acquiesced and mstructed Captam Hayter to provide the accommodation obtain the instruments and hand the latter over to Mr Commissary Gibson.1s
;: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,606, p. 551. _ Extracts ofM!nutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o7, p. 751. ;. 4 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,614, p. 689.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Se~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o7, p. 816. 71 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o8, p. 1,484. 77 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,608, p. 1,599, 24 May 1809.78 Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,608, p. 1,586.
566
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
It was agreed on 30 June 1809 that the house in the Royal Arsenal, lately occupied by Colonel John Harding, R.~., who died on 18 June 1809, should be allotted to the Royal Carnage Department and allocated as the residence of the Inspector of that department with the proviso that if Colonel Cuppage preferred to remain in his house on Shooters Hill, the quarter could be inhabited temporarily by the Assistant Inspector, Major Frederic Griffiths.,
R.A. The house which Major Griffiths would vacate was to be allotted to the clerk of the cheque, Joseph Cheetham.79 In these circumstances the house naturally required some repair and on I November 1809 Captain Hayter submitted the necessa~y estimate for £42. 145. 6d. The repairs were ordered to be earned out on 13 November 1809.so At the same time, Joseph Cheetham's quarter in the Royal Arsenal was also repaired.81 •
Little of importance occurred during the remamder of 1809. There were no new building projects envisaged and the only items recorded were those of a minor character.
I 2 J uly 1809. Mr Phillips of Messrs Phillips and Hopwood to repair the pump in the foundry yard as soon as possible.s2
28 July 1809. Consequent upon new buildings in the Royal Arsenal! ~he weigh-bridge has become useless. It is to be moved to another position where it can be of use to the Royal Carriage Department.S3
3 1 J uly 1809. A shed to hold 30 chaldrons of coke for the use of the foundry to be built at an estimated cost of £45. 15s. 9½d,s4 • I 4 August 1809. The east end of the turners' shop to be continued to the boundary wall so that an extra space of 22 feet will be o?tained.~5 25 August 1809. A blast furnace for constructing patterns of iron castings is authorized for the Royal Carriage Department.SS . 8 September 1809. A building for drying blocks for fuzes to be erected m the Royal Laboratory.s7 •
25 September 1809. The weather-boarded building between the tmmen's shop and the paper stores and lead room in the Royal Laboratory to be pulled down as it constituted a serious fire risk.SS
9 October 1809. Messrs Phillips and Hopwood, engine makers, to supply two 6 inch brass barrelled lead pumps 4 inch bore and I o feet long for
' · ' 89
the purpose of emptying the wells when the latter reqmre repair. I I October 1809. The building for seasoning beechwood for fuzes proposed for the Royal Laboratory is estimated to cost £394. os. 3d.90 (See Note 87) ·
79 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,608, P· 1,986. 80 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,611, P· 3,294.
81
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,611, P· 3,4°4, 17 July iSog.
82
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,609, P· 2,13°· 83 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,609, P· 2,285. 8'I Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,609, P· 2,315· 85 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,609, P· 2,469. 86 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,609, P· 2,564. 87 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 2,7o2. 88 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 2,9o5. 89 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 3,o59. 90 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 3,088.
567
ADOLESCENCE
11 October 1809. Mr Penn's cottage on the marshes is to be removed.or
Two more cases of compensation occurred this year. Both are laconically reported.
20 October 1809. William Goosey paid £24 for the loss of his cow killed by a cannon ball fired in the Ro~al Arsenal on 26 May i8og.02 4 December 1809. Mr West paid £26. 5s. od. for the loss of his co killed by a cannon ball fired from the Royal Arsenal. oa w
The artificers and labourers employed in the Royal Laboratory for~1~rded a petition /o the B_o~rd on ~ 3 September r809. In this pennon they stated: The peht10ners will be great sufferers by the re~ulations of 4 August 1809 for the division of_the 7 days pay when losmg any part of the 6 days; for should an artificer lose one day · the week he will be clzecqued 4-S· 8d. and a labourer 2 s 8d whe in
. . . ., reas when the Service requires the extra labour of the petitioners th are paid only on the wages of 3s. 6d. p.d. for the former and ;s eJ
O
p.d. for the latter, by which the disadvantages are all on the sid f the petitioners.' They therefore requested that 'the regulatio: ~f the ~ay may be 4-J. 6d. a day for the first class of men, and so in rotat10n for 6 d~ays, anhd at t~e same time they may be checqued correct y 1 a~cor mg_ to t e por~1?n of the time they may lose'. The Board having studied the petition stated that it was found d
. . h d . e on
error as the pet1t1oners a conceived the 7 days pay for 6 da k
. h . d f . d ys wor
to be a ng t mstea o an m ulgence. Since the Board considered that the 7 days pay acted as an inducement for the me t b
. d . d . h 6d n ° e
m ustnous urmg t e ays, the regulations were to rem · Th
d f a1n. e
1 .
checking comp ame o was based on the general rule of th ·
d h e service,
an t e men had the me_ans of abolishing the hardship by unctual attendance at the fixed time of call.04 p
. The main constructional works carried out in the Royal Arsenal m 1810 were:
The new wharf, No. 3 stor_ehouse, the west quadrangle of the Grand Storehouses to house gun carnages, the north and east storehouses for the Royal Laborat~ry, workshops and offices for the Department of the Inspector of Artillery, a new coal-yard alterations to the eh 1 d h
h 1 · , h • ' ape an t e
c ap am s ousc, m the Plumstead Road, which are treated in a later chapter~ and the house for the storekeeper by the second Gate.95 In this connect10n, there was an undated estimate for sundry works p d
h · ropose at
t e_ gun carnage sheds and storehouses amounting to £7 206 8d
12
This was referred to as a saving in a letter from the Board da~ed ; As. ·
r8ro.96 7 ugust
:: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser\es II, PRO/W0/47;2,610, p. s,og1. ta Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47;2,610, • , 18 . H Extracts ofM~nutes, Se~es II, PRO/W0/47;2,611, t. t6i
Exn:acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, p. 2,755.
16 Eng!neer Papers, PROfW0/55;756. 11 Engineer Papers, PROfWO/s5/756.
568
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
The works estimate for 1810 was £162,007. 14-J. 8d.97
On 24 February 1810, John Piper and George Fife, clerks in the R.L., were paid £20 p.a. in lieu of house rent, coals and candles under the Board's order dated 27 February r8og.98
Captain Hayter after his years ofgood service as C.R.E. Woolwich District, now got into serious trouble. The extent of his peccadilloes was not disclosed, but his misdemeanour was considered sufficiently grave to warrant a court-martial. He was replaced by Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington, R.E., as C.R.E. Woolwich Division on 7 March 1810,99 and on 14 March he was informed that he was no longer to be Inspector ofBuilding Materials and Tools. It was arranged that the inspection of building materials would for the present be carried out under the superintendence of the Officers, Royal Engineers, and the Respective Officers, while that of the tools and ironmongery would be under the Receiving Clerks at the Tower, assisted by a party from the Corps of Royal Military Artificers from Woolwich.100 On 3 May 1810, Thomas Weaver, clerk of works, Woolwich was ordered to attend the court-martial on Captain Hayter at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on 4 May 1810, and bring with him the monthly
pay lists of the Engineer Department for June, July, August, September, October, November and December 1809.101 Two days later,
i.e. on 5 May, the two Lunns, father and son, Mr Giles and Mr Peake of the Engineer Department were instructed to present themselves at the Royal Hospital to appear as witnesses in Captain H ayter's defence.102 Whether the late C.R.E. Woolwich was found 'guilty' or 'not guilty' does not transpire, but the finding was probably the latter for by the following October Captain Hayter had become Inspector of Building Materials at the Tower. In any case he disappeared from the annals of the Royal Arsenal, and is of no further account in this story.
On I 6 March 181 o, maps were ordered to be supplied for the use of the Ordnance Select Committee.103 On 28 March 1810, the house allotted to the clerk of the survey was ordered to be repaired at a cost of £96. gs. 8¾d.I04
The increase ofwork which the war brought in its train is reflected in the additional hours worked and the new plant required to cope with the extra output. On 27 April 1810, it was agreed that R.L.
07 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/756. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/
2616, p. 2,496. 98 Extractsof Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6 r3, p. 531. 99 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 691.
100 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,614, p. 772. 101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 1,425.102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 1,455.103 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,614, p. 797. 104 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 960. 105 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /47/2,614, p. 1,337.
H 569
employees should work overtime during the summer months.105 Sheds were now required for housing carriages during painting or awaiting embarkation, and on 1June 1810 it was suggested that they should be built in front of Bason Square on the site called 'The Mounting Ground'.106 Four sheds were also wanted for the Royal Carriage Department for which an estim_at~ was submitted on r o August 8
1 1 0
for £4,730. ros. 8d., but as this item had not been included in the current Annual Estimate the erection of only one shed was authorized, the remainder having to be postponed till the following year.101 Authority ,-vas given on 31 August I 8 IO for four lead lined cisterns fi_tted with ?rass _cocks each containing one division, thus making eight contamers m all. Each compartment was designed to hold 600 gallons of oil, i.e. a total 4,800 gallons.108 The Comptroller R.L., advocated four additional coppers on 26 October t~
1s1O
increase the output of cured pape~ cartridges for cannon, but the Board were not wholly co-operative. They authorized two onl which they said were to be installed at once.109 The new storehous~ which had been erected for the Royal Laboratory had gates er t d
for its enclosure on 17 December 18ro.110 ec e Another unfortunate loss of cattle occurred as a result of lo
. . h R I Ar 1 Th" · ng gun
practice m t e oya sena . 1s time the sufferer was William Johnson of Plumstead who, on 18 May 1810, received compensation for the death of two cows. 111 _It seems strange that this senseless slaughter was allowed ~o contmue unchecked. Not only must the expense have been considerable to the Board, but one would h thought that the owners of grazing rights would have tak ave
. p b bl h . . .en somef
sort o action. ro a y t ese killings were looked upon A t if God, and as such 'the Lord's will was done' provided thas.c. c s 0
. , e !armers
received adequate recompense. Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd, who as Commanda t W I
. h "bl .c. n ' oo
w1c , was respons1 e 1or the security of the Royal Arsen 1 .c. It c:
fj · fi d h" · a , le lar
rom sat1s e at ~ 1s Juncture, and he submitted a report upon the lack of such security to the Board. He stated that the eastern boundary, closed by the moat, was most vulnerable the moat ·
. , 1n many
1 b
p aces emg so narrow as to be useless as a barrier 100 Th t
. • ewes ern extremity of the Arsenal :1ear Warren Lane was also easily accessible from the to_wn of Woolw1ch and at low water evilly disposed persons could pass m and out along the hard foreshore. He stressed that th· ease ~f entry led, or was inclined to lead, to pilfering. The Boar~: duly impressed, forwarded the report to the Inspector General of
::; Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PROfW0/47/2,6rs, p. r,ns. Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PROfW0/47/2,6r6, p. 2,672.
108
Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,6r6, p. 2,927.
109
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,617, p. 3,
110 7o6. Extracts ofM!nutes, Se~es II, PROfW0/47/2,6r8, p. 4,358.
111
Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,6rs, p. r,sgg.
570
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Fortifications and Works so as to receive his opinion on the best methods of achieving better protection.112 As a short-time measure the wooden lobby at the end of the old Sea storehouse on the western edge of the domain was ordered to be removed.113 The problem, however, was more complicated than that and the authorities realized that a longer term plan was needed if unauthorized persons were to be kept out of the Arsenal. As a result of close study, the canal scheme was evolved which would not only secure privacy but expedite transport. The first mention of this waterway was in Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington's letter to Lieutenant-General Morse on 3 July 18rn, in which he enclosed an estimate for £1,338. 6s. 8d.,
the details of which were as follows:
To excavating, removing, dressing, puddling and
forming a ditch 10 feet deep and 45 feet wide; also
establishing with earth an embankment I I feet high
and 12 feet wide at the top with proper slopes.
32,000 cubic yards at 8d. per cu. yd. To excavating and removing 6,000 yards at 6d. £1,066. 13s. ¥•
per yard £150. OS. od.
£1,216. I 3s. 4d.
Contingencies 1 / 1 oth £121. 13s. 4d.
Total: £1,330. 6s. 8d.
The canal was to serve, first, as a deterrent to illegal entry on the eastern side of the Royal Arsenal, and, secondly, as a means ofcheap and quick transportation for stores. It was to be dug in conjunction with an embankment 1 ,ooo yards long, where it would meet higher ground, to keep out the tide at high water.114 This proposal of Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington, which also included an iron clzevaux de
frise stockade on the outer bank for additional security, was forwarded to the :Master-General on 22 April 1811.115 On 5 May 18II, the Board sent a letter authorizing the C.R.E. Woolwich Division to proceed with the preliminaries of this boundary canal,116 a letter followed on 15 May 181 1 by the Master-General's official approval after the project had been agreed to by the Commissioners of Sewers.117 The Board then proceeded to call for a more detailed estimate so that the work could be put out to tender.
Among the firms who tendered were Messrs Brough and McIntosh. Their proposals for cutting the projected canal as an eastern boundary to the Royal Arsenal and also for performing part of the work necessary to establish a new practice butt in the Plumstead marshes,
112 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 1,779, 1June 1810. 113 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 2,066, 25June 1810. 114 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756. 115 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,490. 116 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/757. 117 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,791.
571
were accepted by the Board in a letter dated 29 May 1812.118 The specification and terms proposed by William Brough and Hugh McIntosh were dated 1 1 May r 8 r 2. Their proposed prices were as follows:
I. Cutting and removing the earth out of the line of the canal and forming the proposed embankment at 7d. per cubic yard.
II. Removing any earth not deeper than the canal bottom such as may be required in order to form a puddle wall at 5d. per cubic yard.
III. Puddling at 6d. per cubic yard.
IV.
Dressing and trimming the embankment to an even surface where necessary to receive a coating ofsoil at 2s. per rod.
V.
Digging earth and filling the same into carts to form the butt at 4d. per cubic yard.119
The sum of £6,014. 17s. 6! d. for a lock at the entrance to the canal was taken up in the Works Estimates for 1812 (PRO/W0/ 8/
4
r26), and the work of const:uction c~mmenced in r8 r2 . In 1814, however, £600. 4S. 8d. was mcluded m the Annual Estimate for a branch to run alongside the timber yard. The use of such an additional arm was obvious; it would allow timber in vessels to be carried up to, and off-loaded at, the yard itself which was adjacent to the saw-mill. It would therefore be highly beneficial and laboursaving.120 The main canal was completed by 1814 and the branch together with the extension of the lock-wings was finished during 1816 at a cost of £7,082. r8s. I rd. The coffer-dam in front of the lock entrance was also under construction at the same tim e. This allowed an extension of 75 feet to each wing without any additional coffer-dam. The entrance was so arranged that extra wharfi.ng could be added if required. Convicts as usual were employed on this enterprise.121 According to a return forwarded by the C.R.E. on 24 March 1817, the complete canal and lock cost £15,000· £
2 500
for the canal including the £600. 4J. 8d. for the branch a'rm, 'and £12,500 for the lock and extending wings. Incidentally in the same return Lieut-Colonel Pilkington stated that the new wharf had
saved £20,000 a year since 1809.122
On 5 June r8ro, Mr Whitehurst was instructed to supply one of his own time-pieces for trial by the Royal Laboratory.123 A return dated 24 June r8ro rendered by the Respective Officers of the c~ndles co~sumed in the Royal Arsenal for the year r809-1810 gives some idea of the paucity of artificial light in which employees both clerical and industrial, had to work. The annual consumptio~
118 Exti:acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,650.
119 Engineer ~apers, PRO/WO/ss/7S?• ~:: Works Est~mates, 1814, PRO/W0/49/131.
Wo~ks Estimates, 1815, PRO/W0/4g/134. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/7S?•123 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,615, p. 1,8IO.
572
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING N APOLEONIC TIMES
of candles of various sizes for the year in question was 220 dozen.124 Admitting that few must have been burnt during the summer months, it may be assumed that each point of illumination accounted on an average for 8 candles a year. This would give a total candle power of 330, a figure which seems almost incredible by m?dcrn s_t~ndards. There was of course a certain number of lamps m add1t1on, but these were mainly in use outside premises. On the other hand, the charge for emptying privies seems high. The bill for this essential sanitary service between 1 January and 30 June 1810 amounted to £355. as. gd.,125 a rate running into £700 p.a. . .
On 5 October, Major-General Cuppage submitted a_ list of comparative prices for certain stores made in the Royal Carnage Department and by the trade, recommending that the department should manufacture them in future and that the contracts for them should be terminated. The Board agreed.126
The details were as follows:
Store Contract price R.C.D. price
Bail hoops, average for dozen 18s. 8d. I4f. od. Double hand barrows 28s. gd. 23s. 8d. Single hand barrows gs. 4d. 7s. 6d. Park pickets, shod 5s. gd. 3s. rod. (with
cast iron) Park pickets, unshod 3s. 6d. 2S. 8d.
Handspikes 3s. 3d. 2s. rod. H andlevers, unshod 3s. od. 2s. 8d. Spunge staves, average
per foot run 3d. 2{d. R ammerheads { Value not kno~•vn, b1;1t g~eat advantage will accrue Tampions from the materials bemg little more than scrap.
There was a list of statistical information prepared in 1810, running to four or five pages, which gave, among _other items, rentals rates and taxes on Ordnance houses in Woolwich, the poor rate a~d the amount of land tax payable on Ord~ance l~nds in t~e vicinity. The following lists are extracted as bemg of mterest m connection with this history.127
A list of houses with their rentals upon which assessments are to be made In the Royal Arsenal
Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd, } £ o
4
Commandant, Woolwich Lieutenant-General Robert Douglas, } £go Commandant, Corps of R.A. Drivers m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,616, P· 2,444. 125 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,616, P· 2,8o8.
126
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfW0/47/2,617, P· 3,413· 127 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,617, P· 3,438, 8 October I8Io,
573
ADOLESCENCE
Major-General Robert Rochfort Chief Firemaster } £26 Lieut.-Colonel William Mudge Lieut.-Governor R.M.A. } £40 Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Phipps, R.E. Inspector R.M.A. } £35 Colonel Bailey Wellington Assistant Director-General of the Field Train } £30 Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington
C.R.E. Woolwich Division } £25 Major Frederic Griffiths Assistant Inspector R.C.D. } £30
Mrs Robe, wife of Lieut. William Robe, Proofinaster
} £25 Major Edward Vaughan Worsley
£25 Major Charles Bingham Assistant Firemaster } £25 Mr John Geast Storekeeper } £ 30 Mr Joseph Cheetham Clerk of the Cheque ) £25 MrJohn Guest Clerk } £ ro William Roche Principal Porter at the Arsenal Gate } £5 Total:
£ 401
Property tax on houses in the Royal Arsenal
£r-1-cr Parochial tax on houses in the Royal Arsenal
£ ,pr
Ordnance houses in Plumstead
Captain William Hall Assistant Inspector R.M.A. £ 10
Captain James Gomm
£10 Lieut. George Foot
£10 Lieut. Samuel Wyatt Mr Hamilton Sergeant Footman Evans Marshall Clerk of the Survey
Total
It was decided on 8 October 1810 to erect a fence round th I d recentl~ purchased from Lady Wilson. Samuel Harden wh: ~:d rented 1t was allowed a reasonable time to remove his crop of
574
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
turnips.128 It was agreed on 16 November 1810 that the south lodge in the lower R.L. yard should be handed over by the Engineer Department to the Royal Laboratory for the accommodation of watchmen. A porter was to be stationed at the new entrance into the lower yard to superintend the men and boys employed in the manufacture ofsmall arm ammunition.129 The last entry of the year was to the effect that the house of Mr Joseph Cheetham, clerk of the cheque, was to be repaired at a cost of £318. 10s. 6½d. This seems an excessive amount in those days for repairs, so perhaps alterations or extensions were included in the estimate.130
There are two returns of convict labour employed in the Royal Arsenal for the years 181o and 181 1. The convicts were used as labourers, artificers and pile-drivers. There were 328 convicts employed in 18IO and the value of their labour for one day was £44. rs. 2d., i.e. a total of £13,790. 5s. 2d. for the year. By 1811, the number had increased to 441, whose daily combined work was valued at £54. 18s. 6d. or £17,191. ms. 6d. for the year.131 The Works Estimate for 18II was £814,854. 10s. i¼d. which shows a decided drop over that of the previous year.132
The C.R.E. was ordered on 1 February 181 I to erect partitions in the storehouses as required,133 and on 25 February 181 I the Board authorized the rebuilding ofthe cast iron foundry in the Royal Carriage Department at an estimated cost of £603. 18s. g¼d.134 A letter from the Board dated 25 March 18I I gave permission to the storekeeper to have venetian blinds fitted to the four front windows of his new house. These windows faced south and this was no doubt the reason for the Board's decision. Careful of their funds, however, they would only allow canvas blinds in the rest of the house. A Marriott patentjack was also installed in place ofa smokejack which had become unserviceable.135
War demands for cartridges ever rising, two more coppers for curing paper required for this purpose were installed in the Royal Laboratory on 10 April 181 r.136 About this time further land was about to be bought from Mr John Warde. As the purchase had not been completed by 26 April 18II, it was agreed that he should be paid a rental of £200.137
128 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,617, P· 3,447• 120 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,618, P· 3,974· 130 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,618, P· 4,o21. 131 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/757.132 Works Estimates, PRO/WO/49/124.138 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,620, P· 496.
131 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 781. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/757. .
135 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,620, P· 1,109. Engineer Papers,
PRO/WO/55/757.136 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, P· I,314· 137 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,621, P· 1,531.
575
In this year the habit apparently started of engaging certain ~raftsmen _or firms on contract to effect specified building requisites m Woolwich. These. men worked und_er the aegis of the Engineer Department and their contracts sometimes ran for as long as three years. During 1811 the following were appointed:
2 4 May 1811 Benjamin Kent : Glazier's workl3B 28 June 1811 Cornelius Brand : Painting workl39 3 July 1811 Messrs Gunner and Randall : Plumbing workl40
The question ofimproving and completing the road leading from Charlton to the Royal Arsenal now came to the fore. It was becoming essential for this work to be carried out and the Office of Ordnance had to pay for it. It was calculated that the road and fences could be completed for £1,678 and that the annual cost of maintenance, for which the Board were to be responsible for two yea would be £262. IOs. od. Mr Percival, the owner of one of t~s, houses which had to be bought in order to construct the roade demanded £400 ~f the purchase mo~ey in advance. This shook th; Board and they instructed Mr Smith, their assistant solicito t0enquire from Mr Martyr, Clerk to the Trustees of the e, , ~'
. . h " ross
Turnpik·e Roads and so1icitor tot e Trustees of the road in que ti whether or not the Office of Ordnance had a liability under asgr~:~ ment t? make the advance requested. The Board also ordered Mr Smith to collect fr?m Mr_Martyr the sum beyond the £ demanded by Mr Percival which would be necessary to I400
h . cO mp ete
the pure ase alluded to m the latter's letter.141 On July 8
24 11 1 the Board agreed that the road between Charlton and the Royal Arsenal should be constructed by contract and that th
· h. . e n ecessary
houses m t is connect10n should be purchased 142 Mr· M tyr •
' . ar ' in
rep y I to the Boards reference of 2 March 1812 relative t M.
1
Eattell's land which was required for the Charlt~n-Ars 1° d
d · h. 1 ena roa
state m is etter of 14 April 1812 that he had agreed to accept th~ sum of £150 for that portion of Mr Eattell's ground which was needed. He also observed that pursuant to the arrangement approved by the Board on 13 November 181 r an agreement had in add't•
b I d d . h M . ' i ion,
een co_nc u e w1t r Pnest for his land, the value of which amo~ntmg to £478. 12s. gd. had been fixed by two market gardeners' In his letter, Mr Martyr signified that the Committee of th · Trustees had c?~t~acted for the requisite quantity of railing to fenc~ off the land adJommg the road and for posts to protect the footpaths.
THE ROYAL ARSE TA L DURING NAPOLEO IC TIMES
The price for the former would be 400 rods at gs. 6d. per rod, the figure agreed to, amounting to £190, and the latter would mean 200 posts at 10s. per post, a total of £100. He therefore requested that an imprest might be granted for the total amount as under:
Mr Eattell's ground Mr Priest's ground Railing Posts £150 £478. £190 £100 I 2S. 9d.
Total: £918. 12S. 9d.
The Board ordered an imprest for this amount.143 On 21 August I 8r 2, MrJ. Martyr stated that Lady Wilson had made an application for the payment of the money due to her for her land laid into the new Turnpike Road from Charlton to Woolwich which consisted of I acre, 2 roods and 19 perches. At the price agreed, namely £250 per acre, this amounted to £404. I 3s. od. At the same time he asked for that sum together with £700 required for completing the contract and keeping the road in repair for two years; in all £2,000. Imprests were granted to Mr Henderson, the paymaster, for £404. 13s. od. on Lady Wilson's account and for £600 to enable him to pay l\fr Martyr the remainder of the sum agreed for making and maintaining the road, the balance of £r,400 having already been advanced on that account.144
Certain experimental work, in addition to production, was _being carried out in the Woolwich workshops. On 10 July 1811, it was agreed that a 32 pdr carronade carriage designed by _Mr John Bennett of Plymouth, a model of which had been exammed by a Committee of Colonels and Field Officers, should be constructed in the Royal Carriage Department for trial.145 Again on 27 November 1811, a store carriage to the design of Captain Lawson was ord~red to be made for experimental purposes in the Royal Carnage D epartment.146
Alterations in Royal Laboratory workshops costing £639. gs. 1¼d. were approved on 21 August 1811,147 and on 1 November 1811, the
C.R.E. was authorized to construct a shed in the Upper Laboratory Square for painting boxes for Sea Service grape and case shot.I4s
The buildings in the Royal Arsenal, like others of their kind, were over-run by rats, or rather, they would have been had steps not
143 Extracls of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,228, 17 April 1812,
l4'1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,627.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,622, P· 2,527.
HG Extracts ofMinules, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,623, P· 4,321· .
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,622, p. 3,066. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
148 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,623, P· 4,017. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
577
ADOLESCENCE
been taken to try and eradicate the pests. Cats were on the establishment of the Royal Laboratory as early as I 782 when 1s. 6d. was allowed for their upkeep.149 There was also an official ratcatcher whose successor was still functioning in the twentieth century. The ratcatcher in 1811 was Driver Keeble and on 7 October of that year Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd represented that his allowance for destroying rats was inadequate owing to so many of his ferrets getting killed. The Boar~ agr~ed_to reimburse Driver Keeble for the loss of his ferrets and to give him m future Id. for each rat and 3d. for
each mole destroyed.150
The poor rates for Woolwich were £200 p.a. in 181 r.151
The convict hulk Retribution, an appropriate name, started to leak
very badly during 1811, so it was suggested that she should be laid
on shore. There was 'a spot of bother' connected with this vessel.
Michael Bailey, o~e of the _guards, acc~sed Captain Reid, Super
intendent of Convicts, of usmg the conVIcts to make him furniture
from materials brought on board from the Arsenal. They were stated
to have converted these into chests, bedsteads, etc., which were then
taken ashore and conveyed to Captain Reid's house. The sworn
statements were dated 26 December 1811 but the end of the story is
not recorded.152
A piece ofground roo yards long and 40 yards ·wide running from
the rookery to the river on the other side of the road before the east
front of the new storehouse was requested by the Co,nptroller R.L.
for the reception of empty shell. This request was granted by the
Board on 21 October r8r r.i53
The question of the proper establishment of a;:tificers (exclusive
of military artificers) and labourers in the Enginee1 Department at
Woolwich now came under review, and on 23 October 1811 the
Board directed that:
(a)
The persons mentioned in Lieut-General Mann's statementI54 of 16 September 1811 as working in the department could be considered as its establishment, subject to the appellation messenger which was to be discontinued and to the increase of two office keepers to three.
(b)
Clerks of the Works, clerks and others were to be continued in employment in the department, subject to the abolition of the titles of the clerks who were in future to be styled Clerks in the Engineer Department.
(c)
Foremen who worked extra hours were not to receive additional pay.
149 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/W0/51/312, p. 172.
160 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,623, p. 3,678.
151 Exti:acts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,623, p. 3,908.
151 Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/757.
m Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/757.
iu Lieut-General Mann had succeeded Lieut-General Morse as Inspector of Fortifications and Works on 24 July 1811 .
578
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
(d) The substance of the report was to be communicated to LieutenantGeneral Mann.155
On 16 December 1811 the Board agreed to rent 3½ acres of land at £ 2 1 p.a. for 7 years f;om Mr N. M. Pattison for the purpose of digging loam. The loam was to be paid for at 6s. the load. Mr Pattison was asked to forward a draft lease for perusal and approbation.156
The chronicle for the year closes with the melancholy fact that during the preceding twelve months many e~ployees w_ere_ f?und to have been in illegal possession of ball cartridges. The mdiVIdual cases of thefts of this character are too numerous to record. Presum
ably lead was the lure. Ordnance Book No. 346 (Woolwich 1811-W.O. Records, Stanmore), throws a further side-light on th~ Royal Ars~nal for the year in question. The houses therein ar~ li~t:d by appomtment holders and not as quarters occupied by mdiv1dual officers. The following were in residence: (Major-General Robert Rochfort)
The Chief Firemaster (Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Phipps R.E.)
The Inspector of the R.M.A. The omrnandant, Corps of (Lieut.-General Robert Douglas)
R.A. Drivers (Major Charles Bingham R.A.)
The Assistant Firemaster
The O ffice Commanding (Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington R.E.) R oyal Engineers
The Lieutenant-Governor (Lieut.-Colonel William Mudge R.A.) of the I .M.A. (Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd)
The Commandant
The Assistant Director(Major-General Bailey Wellington) General of the Field Train The Assistant Inspector Royal (Major Frederic Griffiths R.A.) Carriage Department Three Field Officers' houses. The Clerk of the Survey (Evans Marshall) The Storekeeper (John Geast) th
On the south side of the Plumstead Road lived the clerk of e cheque (Joseph Cheetham) and the chaplain. ksh There were no additions worth recording among the wo_r ops and factories except in the storekeeper's department which had been renamed the Respective Officers' department. Then, of course, certain blocks of the Grand Storehouses had already been erecte~. st th
These have been listed in Chapter 13. As already ate~, eir erection entailed the demolition of the East Laboratory which had
156 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,623, P· 3,9o8. 166 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,623, P· 4,524·
579
been built in 1776, the removal of a coal-yard and the filling in of a pond, besides the sacrifice of the storekeeper's orchard and the chief firemaster's garden.
Two high-lights illume the year 1812; the Clarence canal scheme and the acquisition by the Board of Ordnance of the manorial rights over land in the parishes of Woolwich and Eltham.
The proposal to cut a waterway, to be called the Royal Clarence Canal, for the use of warships and merchant vessels between Woolwich (Gallions) and Erith was first mooted in this year. Its object was to by-pass the bend in the river wh~ch occurs _between these two points; to afford a safe anchorage for ships on their way to or from the port of London; and to save mon~y and expense. The canal was to be
4
miles in length and to contam at each end a basin 'for the accommodation of such outward bound ships as may have occasion to wait on their voyage where they may _lie at all times in perfect security'. The basin at the western extrermty was to be formed in the Royal Arsenal. The canal, in addition, was to have a tow-path along its bank, docks and passing ~laces. The project was under the good-will of the Lords of the Adrmralty who welcomed the notion and were willing that the scheme should be launched. It was estimated to cost £300,000. It was proposed to raise the money in shares of £roo each by a Joint Stock Company bearing interest at 5%-All profits not exceeding 10% were to be divided among the shareholders in proportion to their shares. It was intended to raise the revenue by a tonnage. toll. This was expected to produce Di6,ooo annually together with £6,000 as dues from outward bound ships waiting in the docks. Thus the annual income was hoped to be £ 32 ooo. Popular opinion asserted that the saving to Government and'ship owners would be enormous. All the papers and plans connected with this enterprise are to be found in the Public Record Office.1s1 A bill to lay before Parliament was actually printed in 18 r 3 and the full
reports are dated 1814. The Royal Arsenal, of course, was intimately concerned since one of the basins was to be within its boundaries. For this reason it was studied by the Board of Ordnance with deep interest, being referred to the_ C_olonels' _and Field Officers' Committees.158 The plan never maten~lized. If 1t had,_ the future of the Royal Arsenal might have been different. In the light of future events it was lucky that money and labour were not wasted on its construction for the advent of stea.m would have rendered the whole undertaking obsolete. Smee we are at the moment discussing vessels, it would be as well at this point to give a return of the boats attached to the Engineer
157 PRO/W0/44/290.
151 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
580
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEO TIC TIMES
Department which was dated 13 April 1812.159 These were as follows:
(a)
Two ferry barges of 40 tons; capacity 40 horses. They each need 11 men for their handling, 8 men to row the two boats and 3 men in the barge.
(b)
One ferry barge, a punt of 12 tons; capacity 12 horses. It needs 7 men to work it, 4 men in a row boat and 3 men in the barge.
(c)
One horse boat, 6 tons; capacity 6 horses. It requires 5 men to handle it, 2 men in a row boat and 3 men in the horse boat itself.
(d)
Two 4-oared boats used in towing (a) and (b) above.
(
e) One 2-oared boat ,, ,, ,, (c) above.
(f)
One lug-boat-1 o tons with sail-used for the transport of men and stores.
(g)
One lug-boat-7 tons for rowing only-used for the transport of men and stores.
(h)
One small lug-boat with a sail used for the transport of men and stores.
(i)
Ten lio-hters and 6 barges of about 40 tons each.
(j)
Three ~kiffs to carry on the service of the ballast lighters and barges.
The persons employed with this fleet were:
One Superintendent at ,is. per day. Two Masters at 3s. per day each. Ten Bargemen at 2s. 3d. per day each. Sixteen Lightermen at 3s. per day each.
On r8 May 1812, Messrs Smith and Son were directed to prepare a bill for the Surveyor-General to allow for £rr,r86. 17s. od. to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests for the purchase of the M anorial Rights and Premises in Woolwich as described in a T reasury Warrant.160 The sequel is described in these words:
The Commissioners of the Woods and Forests having submitted a draft of the contract for vesting in the Board of Ordnance_ the lands and hereditaments therein described in the parishes of Woolw1ch and Eltham, it is ordered that it be returned as correct and that an imprest for the sum of £11,186. 17s. od. be granted to the Treasurer ~o make the payme~t as prescribed to the Bank of England upon due notice from the Comnussioners of Woods and Forests.161
In the Ordnance Estimates for the year I 8 I 3 occurs the following item:
For the purchase of 147 acres of land with the teneme°:ts_thereon in the neighbourhood ofWoolwich, transferred from the Comnuss1oners ofH.M. Woods Forests and Land Revenue to the Ordnance-£11,186. I 7s. od.
'
159 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
160 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,626, P· 1,526.
161 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,627, p. 2,695, 31 August 18 12.
581
The ~ottage in Ditchwater Lane,162 lately appropriated as a l:.'ield Officers quarter, was on 8 January 1812 handed ov tO M p ·
I d h · I k . er r nt
~1ar , t ~ semorf c ~r °J; th~ establishment of the storekeeper. The ommkan ant ? t 1e arnson and the Inspector of Ordnance arrac s were informed, and Mr Pritchard's house t 11
B . • ren a owance was discontmued.163 After Mr Pritchard's death in 18 J h G
· I k • 17, o n uest
the new seruor c er ' was placed m possession of the h 104 '
C . M b R N h . ouse.
aptai_n d~n ~ •.., avmg_s~ate~ o~ 25 March r8 12 that he had receive instmct10ns to exhibit his life-saving .·
. k d · b expeuments for
shipwrec e manners efore H.R.H. the Duke of yO k c
· Chi f k dfi th d r ' ommander
il~-h bel,lasfil·le d or_ hree ozen fu~esof different composition and three 1g t a s e wit stars for a 5-mch mortar with a 12 d and a 5-inch mortar complete with ammunition H P1 r ca~ronade
k h h I ld · e a so wished to
nowl to lw omd eds lTOUh Bapply ror the 200 quill tubes and I 2 port-fires ate y or .ere . e oard instructed the Com troll supply Captam Manby's wants.rn5 Captain Mar{b , e~ R.L._ to
apparatus was known as Manby's Slzot. It wa .· . Y sll h~e-saVIng
s ongma y invented about I 803, though many years were to pass ber. · .
r. . Th iore it was officially
approved 1or service. ere were two sizes the 6 d d
2
and both were fina~y approved on 25 August 1~ 6:~~ ;~e 4 pdr became obsolete, bemg superseded by Bo , , l"fi . ey soon
xer s i e-savmg r k t approved three years later.167 An improved fi Of l'fi . oc e based on Boxer's principle is still used by thorBm di ef-savmg rocket
. . h e oar o Trade
At th1s time t e Royal Laboratory was d d _ ·
·11 b or ere to make brass
washers,_ Im oxe~, etc. for the Royal Powder Mills . quence 1t was considered necessary to app . t '. and in conseassist the master founder R L wi"th thi"s om ka s0pecial foreman to
· · wor · n 8 A ·1 112 therefore,John Henderson was appointed t th." pn 8 ,
d 16s T d . 0 is new post at 4-S 6d
a ay. wo ays 1ater it was approved that the . ' . . . the Royal Laboratory should be taken do d pba1~ters store in
td d h wn an re mlt at a cost of £155· 4-l'· 7·2 • an t at the two spaces at the e d f Laboratory storehouse should be roofed . d ~ s o the East I Is. 6¼d.169 m an sated for £30 I.
On 15 May 1812 we are given a r f h . the bread and beer for convicts for r\:~p~u~ ~ e ~te~izefd cost of z6s. ud. spent on this sustenance th .b do a ota o £1,391.
6 d , e rea accounts for £'l
I s. I I ., and the beer for £66o.17o 31.
::: Known after ~852 as NighJingale Place. Extracts ofMmutes Series II PRO/WO/ 2 62
iu Extracts of Minutes' Series II' PRO/W 4 7 / , 5, P· 93· 185 Extracts of Minutes'. Series n' PRO/Wg//47//2,655, P· 214, 16January 1818. ~:: L. of C., para. 633, 57;29/4og. 4 7 2,625, p. 956.
m ~~i~cCts.,opfarMia: i,to47,S75/10I/367., 15 March 1865.
nu es, enes I PRO/WO/ / 6 6
m E~tracts of Minutes, Series ri, PRO WO47 2, 2 ' p. 1,116. ' 10 April 1812. Engineer Papers PRO/Wd/ /47/2,626, P· 1,143· Boards letter dated
110 Extracts of Minutes, Seri~ II PRO/J81757/. 6 6
' 47 2, 2 'p. 1,220.
582
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Before the establishment of the Metropolitan Police Force security at night was effected by a watch maintained by the parish o~Woolwich. On 18 May 1812, Mr Henderson, the paymaster, was directed to pay £100 towards the support of such a service and to inform Mr Moore, the vestry clerk, accordingly. This assistance was provided so that a trial could be made to ascertain whether the effect of a nightly watch would be beneficial to the Arsenal· the
. . '
position was to be reviewed in twelve months time. As the Navy maintained military guards at the Dockyard and Rope Yard, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty did not subscribe to this
undertaking.in On 1 o August 181 2 the Board issued an order increasing the pay offoremen, assistant foremen, artificers and labourers. This had been occasioned by a rise in the cost of living brought about by the continuation of the war. This did not go unchallenged for long. On 28 August 1812 the Respective Officers pointed out that foremen and assistant foremen of labourers would not benefit in proportion to labourers, since the addition proposed to their pay would make them liable to income tax, and they submitted that their pay should be increased by a further gd. to enable them to pay this tax. What a delicious thought! The Respective Officers also drew attention to the fact that the porter, the assistant porter and the water director did not come into the category of either foreman or labourer, that the porter at present received 3s. 6d. a day and the assistant porter 3s. a day for 7 days in the week and one day's pay for their attendance on alternate Sundays, and that the water director was paid 2s. 6d. a day for 7 days including Sundays. They recommended that 5s. per day should be granted to the porter,.µ. 6d. a day to the assistant porter and 4-S· od. daily to the water director for 6 days in the week including their attendance on Sundays. The Board, in reply, stated that the porter, assistant porter and water director would receive another 4d. a day under the regulations governing the increase to labourers, and that the porter and assistant porter would be entitled to half a day's pay when attending on Sundays. They wished to know the duties performed by the water director on the sabbath and what proportion those duties bore to a whole day's work. They quite rightly rejected the income tax plea and informed the Respective Officers that the pay of foremen and assistant foremen of labourers would be governed by the regulations
in force.172 Another case of compensation. On 10 June 1812, Mr Hudson received IO guineas for the loss of an ox on the East Ham Marshes
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,520. 172 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,627, P· 2,662.
583
ADOLESCENCE
owing to Colonel Congreve carrying out rocket trials in the neighbourhood.173
In a letter dated 12 August 1812, the Board authorized the removal of the steam engine used in carrying out work on the new wharf from its eastern to its western end. It was also arranged that the engine should be adapted to drive piles as well as keeping the cofferdam clear of water. The work was done by Messrs Lloyd and Ostell at a cost of £387.174
A good deal of repair work was carried out in the workshops this year. The floors in the R.C.D. shops had become badly infected with dry rot a~d new floors had to be. laid down at a cost of £ 2,052. 15s. g¾d,110 On roJune 1812, two cisterns were fitted in the painters' storeroom in the Royal Laboratory at a cost of £46. os. 3d.,110 and a Board's letter dated 2 October 1812 authorized the repair of workshops, storehouses etc. belonging to the R.L., to the value of £ 1,681. 4S· 6d. to which was added a further sum of £59. 1 Is. od. beyond the estimated cost.177
Only three small items remain to be chronicled.
1 June 1812. A wainscot press 6 feet 7 inches in length and 2 feet ro inches in height is ordered for the Ordnance Select Cornmitte Room.i;s e
18 December 1812: Messrs Alexander Donall and Son undertake the contract for plumbmg work at the Tower, Lewisham, v\ oolwich and Gravesend for three years, on the same terms as Messrs Gunner and
1•9
Randall. '
The Woolwich Works Estimates for 1812 were £83,423 . 6s. g!d.tso
ove~ thhe fi~st twelve years of the ~neteenth century the ordinary Woo1wic estimates, as contrasted with the extraordinary estimate remained fairly constant and an average figure for the separats~
departments may be stated as follows:
Royal Laboratory £3,000
R.L. wages
£20,000 Department of Inspector of Artillery
£2,000Royal Carriage Department £4,000Royal Military Repository £425 The Storekeeper's Department £2,000The Military Ferry
£Boo
:;: Exn:acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,785. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/551
757.
175 Works Estimates, 1812, PRO/W0/49/126. :;: Ext~acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,780. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/ /
2,628, p. 3,060. 47 :;: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,676. Extracts of M1_nutes, Sen~s II, PRO/WO/47 /2,628, p. 3,974. 180 Extracts of Mm~tes, ~enes II! PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,220. The figure given in PRO/W0/49/126 vanes a little. It 1s there stated to be £83,773. 15s. r rfd.
584
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
The above sums, except that for 'R.L. wages' were for salaries and were known as Ordinaries. The remaining items in the Estimates such as repairs, new buildings, purchase of land, etc. were class~d as Extraordinaries. For instance, the sum of £II,186. 17s. od. paid to the Commissioners of Wood and Forests for the Manorial rights of Woolwich and Eltham appears in the Estimates for 1813 under
Extraordinaries.
It might be of interest at this poin! to state that the Ordna~ce Annual Estimates for the undermentioned years, many of which particularly from 1700 onwards mention expenses at Woolwich, are
to be found as under:
1639, 1660-1678, 1661-1685, 1687-1691, 1687-1698, Public Record 1701-1715, 1705-1710, 1731-1739, 1729-1743, 1745, Office { 1749-1755.
(Special) Woolwich Estimates 1680-1682. \,Var Office { 1761, 1783-1814, 1821, 1825, 1827-1832, 1834, 1835, Library 1837-1839, 1841-1842, 1844-1855.
The estimates for Woolwich after this date when the War Department took over the duties of the Office of Ordnance are to be found in the Army Estimates which run in an unbroken series from 1856 to 1887. From 1888 onwards to the present day, except for the pe:iod of the two world wars, the O.F. Estimates give the reqmred
information. A study of these records, therefore, gives a very good idea of the gradual development of the Warren and Royal Arsenal. . Approval was given on 20 January 18 I 3 to co~truct a chenucal lecture room contiguous to the upper c~dets barracks. at an estimated cost of £ 2,855. ¥· s¾d.181 The Pemnsular War which had been in progress since 18o7 now began to 1?~ke deman~s on the factories at Woolwich. It was of course a subsidiary campaign to the general struggle in Europe but it needed munitions like any other theatre of war. On 24 February 1813, 600_ pick-axes, 600 shovels and 300 felling axes to a light compa~t des1g~ were ordered to be made at Woolwich under the inspect10n of L1eut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington C R E for the use of troops in the Peninsula. When
' · · ., · b 182 L
completed they were to be forwarded to Lis on. ater on, on 3 May 1813 Lieut -Colonel Pilkington was ordered to prepare the ' · · 1 r. th me theatre '183
following additional entrenchmg too s 1or e sa · 20 sap forks 20 pu~h rake~ 20 flat push picks 20 painted picks
The demands for S.A.A. grew. On 2 April 1813, the Comptroller
R.L. was directed to manufacture at once 10,000,000 musket ball
181 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/263o, P· 259· 182 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,63o, P· 716· 183 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,63 1, P· I,724·
585
30
ADOLESCENCE
cartridges as a reserve for storage in the Royal Laboratory.1a4 Jn order to keep pace with this excessive demand, the Comptroller demanded four additional lead pots to supply the necessary leaden balls.185 This was approved, but was followed in turn by a statement from the C.R.E. that it would be 1:ecessary to erect a new building 50 X 20 feet to house the pots. This shed was also approved,1aG and the building was commenced on 20 September 1813.1s1 Even this
a~commodation _p~oved insu~cient and on 29 December 18 13
L1eut.-Colonel Pilkington was mstructed to submit an estimate for building six temporary sheds for making ball cartridges in the R.L. 76 feet from each other between the Laboratory east storehouse and the offices of the Respective Officers, the buildings meanwhile having been authorized.188 On the same day he was ordered to construct a new shed for driving portfires and fuzes in the middle yard ofthe R.L., the existing one being too small and badly located.1a9 Finally on the last day of the year, a number of wooden tents were ordered for filling flannel and musket ball cartridges with gun
powder.190 The detached furnace belonging to the Royal Brass Foundry in the eastern part of the Royal Arsenal was on 5 April 18 ordered
13
to be removed at a cost of£237. 14.s. 5f d.191 Colonel Henry Shrapnel was at this time carryino-out experim t
. h h" h . l h .c: 0 en s
w1t 1s sp enca case ~ ot, a1te~wards known as shrapnel shell. f!e had put forward the idea of this pro~ectile as early as 178 , but
4
e1gbht:endyears were t? elapfse b:fore his proposals were formally su rrutte to a comrruttee o a:t11lery officers. Although spherical case shot was appro_ved for service towards the end of 18o , it still
3
suff<:red from teethmg troubles and experiments nd trials were earned out over a number of years to try and eradicate it h t
. Th A ·1 . s s or
corrungs. us on 30 pn r8r3 1t was agreed on the recomme d _ tion of the Select Committee of Artillery Officers that expe · n at
· h h · nmen s
wit sp encal case sh_ot should be again carried out, the C.R.E. and other departments bemg asked to afford the inventor such a · t
h · h · 192 As ss1s ance
as e rrug _t reqmre. Lieut-General Shrapnel, as he afterwards becam~, died ~n r3 March r842, he did not live to see either the perfection of his shell nor to learn that it was for ever to b . h"
193 L • . . . ear 1s
name. ater on m this series of trials, the shed in which spherical
::: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,63 1, p. 1,262. Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/¼ O/47/2 631 p 1 394 1 A ·1 8
181 E t t f M. S . ' ' . ' ' 2 pn I I 3.
x rac s o mutes, eries II, PRO/WO/47/2 63 1 p 1583 A ·1 8
187 E t t fM' S . I ' ' . ' ' 23 pn I 13.
188 x rac s o ~nutes, er~es I, PRO/WO/47;2,632, p. s,6gs. Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47;2,633, p.
189 7,115.
190 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!cs II, PRO /WO/4 7 /2 ,633, p. 7, 11 g. m Extracrs ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 7,146. m Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,2g2. m Extr~cts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,63 1, p. 1,704.
Sphmco/ case s/10! were renamed shrapnel shell by an order dated 11 June 1352.
586
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
case shot were examined and proved was slated to make it water
proof.194
Mr West was given the painting contract for Woolwich on 10
May 1813.rns
Ever since the Royal Carriage Department had been set up in
1803, it had had a subsidiary factory at Rotherhithe. It had been
gradually brought home to the authorities, however, that such an
out-station was uneconomic, and did not tend towards efficiency. It
was therefore decided to close down the work at Rotherhithe and
move the branch to Woolwich on 10 May 1813.196 After that date,
no further new production was undertaken, and its work in hand
being completed by 11 May 1814, the few remaining operatives
were transferred to Woolwich; the resident clerk and foreman being
retained at Rotherhithe to take charge of the stores.197 The Royal
Carriage Department was rapidly becoming mechanized. On 10
September 1813, Messrs Lloyds and Ostell were ordered to supply
the department with a machine for cutting elevating and other
screws.198
On the death ofJohn King, the master founder, on 25 March r81 3, the question concerning the disposal of his private residence arose. His brother Henry, who succeeded him as master founder, already had a house, so it was decided to put the building up for sale. The property consisted of a substantial brick house with a two-stall stable and outhouse standing in 1-½-acres of garden on Windmill Hill.1°0 The Board of Ordnance decided to buy it on 15 September 1813 for £1,655, the sum being made up as follows: House and grounds £ 1,515, the trees £80 and the fixtures £60.200 The purchase was effected and on 13 October 1813 it was announced that 'Mr
John Henderson, the paymaster, would occupy the premises of the late Mr John King' as his official quarter, and would cease to draw house rent allowance from that date.201 Mr Henderson had evidently more grandiloquent ideas than Mr King, for he submitted a request on 22July 1814 that alterations to the tune of£675. 5s. 11¾d. should be carried out. This shook the Board; they decided to consider the matter and in the meantime ordered that no action should be taken.202 Mr W. Atkinson, architect to the Board, was called into
194 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,111.22 October 1813.
105 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,845.
196 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,847.
197 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,947.
198 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 5,50~.
199 The entrance is now in Woolwich New Road almost opposite St George's Chapel.
200 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,63~, p. 5,582. There is an error in this minute. It refers to the house of the late George Kmg. The next entry (Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 5,662, dated 22 September 1813) rightly calls the house that of the late John King.
201 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, P· 6,004.
202 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,011.
587
consultation and, having scrutinized the plans submitted to him, drew up a new specification and design whereby the same accommodation could be obtained by far less alteration, thereby effecting a saving of two or three hundred pounds. The Board accepted this reduction and instructed the C.R.E. to proceed in accordance with Mr Atkinson's proposals. 203 Apparently, Mr Henderson was still not satisfied. He put up a further request that a chaise house and another stab!~ should be added to the _q~arter. A sum of £70. 1os. 4t d. was mvol~ed, but the extra _bmldmg was approved on 3 1 March 1815.204 _F1v~ years later_ repairs were need;d. Mr_ Henderson put in an application amounting to £87. 3s. ]'4d. This, containing two
items, was forwarded by the Board to the Master-General on r
3
March 1820. The items were:
(a)
The repair of the privies in the garden which were almost tumbling down.
(b)
The removal of the coal cellar entrance, ·which was irnmed· t ly under the sitting room windows, to a spot nearer the kitchen wh~:: a dust hole could be roofed over to form a convenient cellar.
Reading ~etwee_n the lines one gets the impression that the Board were becommg a httle weary of these exorbitant demands Anyho on forwarding it to the Master-General they expressed the. view th:; only expenditure on the privies should be allowed. 20s
The paymaster's post was abolished on 31 December 1a2 1 206 but John Henderson was allowed to remain in office till 1 Febr ar' 8
. d 1 h' u y I 22,
m or er t? comp ete 1s accounts.207 After he had retired from the scene of his labours, the house on Windmill Hill was take b Colonel Frederic Griffiths as a private tenant. He was m:c~v~~s~
on 15 November 182_2 at receiving a bill from the rent Waterworks Company for four guineas-the annual charge ofhis water 1
. . supp y, or
as we sh?uId no~ term 1t-h1s water rate. His surprise was perhaps natural m the circumstances since he had understood th t t
'd d · T a wa er
was ~rov1 e . gratis. he Board, however, came to his rescue and gave mstr~ctlons that such_ a charge should be paid out of public funds durmg Colonel Gnffith's occupancy.2oa He lived in the house for only.another_ e~ght months, as on 12 June 1323 he retired by the sale ofhi_s comm1ss10n. He died at Southampton on 15 October
1846. Meanw~1le, the 9uarter again became vacant. Finally on
13
October 18241t was decided to appropriate the building as the official quarter of the C.R.E. Woolwich with effect from 1 November
::: Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,638, p. , 22. 206 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO;47 /2,640, p. ;,; 6. 10, Extracts of ~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 736:
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47;2,672, p. 2,375.207 Extracts ofM~utes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47 /2,673, p. 3,374.108 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,822.
588
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
1824.209 It had remained such till recently, being now known as Mill
Lane House.
There was a small explosion in the Royal Arsenal on 20 January 1813, but no damage occurred. A fire broke out on Monday 1 September 1813 which a daily paper described in the following words:
'About 5.0 p.m. on Monday afternoon a very alarming fire broke out in the Royal Arsenal owing to the folly of one of the workmen employed in the Dipping Square. A female, expressing a wish to see a rocket star, the man, to gratify her curiosity, let one off in his hand, which corning into contact with the fire, he threw down with the result that some combustible matter caught fire. The alarm was sounded; artillery and marines with their engines were soon on the spot. No lives were lost and the fire was subdued after about an hour.'210
The following minor works services were carried out during the remainder of the year. 17 September 1813. Repairs and alterations to storehouses under the Respective Officers amounting to £324-os. 2}d.211
24 September 1813. The wall at the eastern end of the Rope Yard which intercepted the principal road into the Arsenal, to be taken down and the corner rounded off at Ordnance expense; the 1 -avy Board having previously given their consent.212
2.9 September 1813. Lead lined cisterns for holding oil to be installed in the Royal Carriage Department.213
18 October 1813. The Dipping Square to be repaved at a cost of 4d.214
D 206, I IS.
3 December 1813. Pressure of work necessitates a shed in the Royal Carriage Department being converted into a workshop.215 Messrs Shears and Sons are authorized to supply copper, instead of iron, boilers to the Royal Carriage Department.216
O n 8 November 1813, Mr Bramah was requested to provide the Enaineer Department with a hydrostatic machine of his own inv~ntion at a price of £go for lifting guns and drawing piles.217 It was presumably some form of hydraulic jack. .
A new technique in fixing iron tyres to wheels _was evolve~ m the Royal Carriage Department during the year; it_ w~s the idea of Major-General Cuppage, the Inspector. After a tnal 1t was ordered on 19 November 1813 that the tyres of all gun-carriage and ~agon wheels in the equipment ofthe next brigade ordered to the Perunsular
209 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,682, P· 1,777. 210 Woolwich Newspaper Cuttings, British Museum. 211 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,632, p. 5,6II. 212 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO /WO /47 /2,632, P· 5,695. 213 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,632, p. 5,781. 214 Extract!> of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47 /2,633, P· 6,065. 215 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,633, P· 6,738. 216 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,633, P· 6,74o. 217 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/vV0/47/2,633, P· 6,355.
589
should be fixed in place by screws and nuts instead of nails. The additional expense of the nuts and screws would only be 2½d. per lb. and the felloes would be protected from damage since the nails when driven home had a tendency to split them. Major-General Cuppage was instructed to inform the Board of the extra cost involved.21s The experiment was evidently a success as on 31 March 1 8 i5 the use of nuts and screws instead of nails for this purpose was adopted as standard practice. 219
A shortage of craftsmen now occurred, a phenomenon only too familiar in war. On ~2 Dece_mber :8_13, the Comptroller R.L. pointed out the great difficulty m obtammg the requisite number of turners.220
Colonel Congreve reported on l December 1813 that although he had 26,000 rockets on ord~r, ~e could only manufacture 5 a day
3
with the present means at his disposal. He therefore asked for further facilities in order to keep abreast of the demands made upon him. At the same time he suggested that all new buildings erected to thi end should be equipped with machinery and form part of a plan t; construct, apart from the Royal Laboratory, a permanent Rocket Establishment at Wooiwich. He calculated that the substitution of machines in place_ ?f manual labour would sav £6,soo on the
26,000 rockets awa1tmg _m~nufactur~. The C.R.E. was instructed to erect the temporary bmldings reqmred bearing in mind that they might ultimately form part ofa permanent Rocket Establishment 221 This was the first occasion on which such a pro,Josal had b ·
. k . h . 1 een
moote_d and rt t_oo root ~n t e mmd of authority, the Rocket Establishment bemg set up m the fulness of time. The estimate for the special buildings, the engine a d the machinery necessary for the manufacture of rockets according to the views put forward by Colonel Congreve was dated r 8 March r 8 r a d th
4
plan _accompanying it, ro_ April 1814. The steam en;in~ an~ machmery were to be supplied by Henry Maudsley. The details of the estimate were as follows:
Two driving houses Engine house and machinery-£3,798. Smiths' shop Carpenters' shop -£4,443. -£504. -£447. 12s. 45. 5s. rgs. 8½d. rfd. 4d. 4¼d.
Total: £9,194. rs. 6d. 222
, A ~um of£r,8oo was included for ~his service in the abstract of Services ordered to be performed durmg the year 1813 in addition
::: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PROfWO/47/2,633, p. 6,529. m Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,640, p. 1,248.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 7,024. m Ext,:acts ofMmutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,713. m Engmeer Papers, PROJWO/55/757.
59°
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
to those included in the annual estimate'. With this £1,800 in hand the sum included in the Annual Estimates for 1815 to defray the 6d.223
whole cost of the new establishment was £7,394. rs. The
two driving houses, ordered to be built by the Board's order dated
1 December 1813, were under erection by April 1814. They were of
weather-board construction, each 70 feet by 46 feet. The two work
shops were of brick, their dimensions being 59 feet by 23 feet. This
small rocket factory, which was the nucleus of the future Rocket
Establishment of later times, is shown completed in a map of the
Royal Arsenal as it appeared in 18r 5, though the map itself was not
drawn till 29 November 1858.
The Morning Chronicle of 2 July 1814 referred to this rocket enter
prise in the most scathing terms. The editor of the paper, much
incensed, was most sarcastic about the manufacture of Congreve
rockets and pyrotechnics in the Arsenal in place of orthodox muni
tions. He went so far as to suggest that 'an Address should be moved
to ascertain who is responsible for the tomfoolery'. Progress, however,
is never stemmed by abuse and conservatism of mind is not wholly
unknown in our own day.
This new manufactory in Woolwich and the collapse of Napoleon
together spelt the doom of the rocket establishment at Dover where
the bulk of these stores had been assembled. The workshops there
were ordered to be closed on 26 October 1818, the rockets being
returned to the storekeeper, and the foreman and labourers
discharged with a fortnight's pay.224
For those sufficiently interested to investigate more fully the
history of the Congreve rocket there are, besides the inventor's own
works, several bundles ofpapers in the Public Record Office devoted
to the subject; notably those named 'Colonel Congreve's rockets',
'Congreve's life-saving rocket' and 'Colonel Congreve's rockets'
establishment at Dover'. They are to be found under index numbers,
PRO/WO/44/642 and PRO/WO/44/643.
Works Estimates for Woolwich for 1813 was £59,214. as. rofd.225
The cloud which had for so long darkened the European scene lifted perceptibly in 1814 though the hope, undo~btedly held by many, that it had vanished was premature. The Perunsular War had been decisively won and France was facing virtual defeat that New Year's morning when the Allies, crossing the Rhine, swept ~nto French territory, to be joined five days later by Mur~t. Two-thirds of the country capitulated without a struggle and Pans was entered on 30 March. Napoleon, abdicating on 1I April, was sent to the Island of Elba, and upon his departure, Louis XVIII ascended the
223 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/WO/49/134.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,658. P· 3,469. .
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,630, p. 228. Works Estimates 1813, PRO/WO/49/128. 591
throne of France. The first Peace of Paris was signed 30 M~y 1814. All these joyous happenings had a profound effect upon the government and people at home, and the Royal Arsenal did not escape its repercussions. The engines of employment went into reverse heavy discharges took place and money for the appurtenances ' 0 r war shrank. Expansion was out and retrenchment was in. The discharges from the Royal Arsenal are given in Appendix VIII, and the tide rapidly receded from the peak figu_re of 5,000. Nevertheless, in spite of the shrinking economy, the life of the departments had to go on. The individuals still employed had to work and live and the future had to be safeguarded.
The Peace of Paris was celebrated by a firework display in St James's Park for which the Royal Laboratory under the Office ofOrdnance was responsible. On 3June 1814, two London artistsMr Sadler Crumpton and Mr Monk.ham-were engaged at £ioo each to assist in the preparation of the fireworks. Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., who had succeeded to the Comptrollership of the Royal Laboratory on 1July 1814 after the death of his father on go April 1814,226 having advanced money to these two gentlemen had it refunded by the authorities.227 Arrangements were m ade '
. 1 'fi on
10 June 1814 to se1ect spec1a arti cers and labourers to unload th fireworks in London, to take care ofthem and to assist in fixing th e for the exhibition. They received the usual extra pay while em employed.228 Captain By, R.E., the C.R.E. at 'Waltham Abb so was ~ske~ to lend ~ertain articles ~n 22 June 18 r4, to aid ;i;; erections m St James s Park and to give all the assistance he Id
. . . h . 229 T cou
m superv1smg sue erections. he display under the direct" f Sir William Congreve took place on r August r8r4, the day ~~:gchosen to mark the_ centenary of the accession of the H ouse of
Hanover to the Engbsh throne.
. Thhe billkfodr t~e offih~ers a~d men of the Royal Artillery employed m t e par unng t 1s nat10nal fete, amounting to £ g2• rgs. 6d., was paid by the paymaster. It was made up as follows:
Officers and men, R.A. £66. is. gd. Corps ofR.A. Drivers £26. r7s. gd.230
There was one fatality in connection with this celebration J h
. . o n
T 1
ay or, a carpenter m the R.L., lost his life in the fire which b k
· h d . ro e
out m t e pago a set up m St James's Park for that occasion. On
26 September 1814, the paymaster was ordered to pay his funeral
expenses.231
::; Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,630, pp. 1,971 and 1,794. Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,297. · m 228 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,403.
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PROfWO/47/2,636, p. 2,575. 230 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,375. 231 Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 4,000.
592
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
There were further functions to mark the signature of peace. On r4June r8r4, H.R.H. the Prince Regent visited the Royal Arsenal. Normal work proceeded except that certain overseers and men were detailed to show and explain the various pieces of machinery to the royal visitor, and to act as guides round the several departments. Officers were instructed to attend their own establishments and were held responsible for all persons employed on the day in question. Employees who for any reason were prevented from working received a day's pay.232 Four days after this visit a civic banquet for the allied sovereigns was held at Guildhall. One more gala occasion brightened the year. There was a grand jubilee held on 25 October 1814 to celebrate the fifty-fourth year of King George's reign. The Royal Laboratory as usual were concerned in the arrangements, and for the expenses incurred the paymaster was on 16 November 1814 authorized to pay the sum of
£23. rs. od.233 The authorities were still much exercised in their minds about the
problem of security. To modern ideas the Royal Arsenal was very poorly protected at the beginning of the nineteenth century. True, there were several guardhouses, such as the main guard near the
Entrance Gate, the guard by the western water front and the guard by the eastern marshes, but until these were reinforced by some kind of continuous barrier, it was impossible, especially during the hours of darkness, to prevent undesirable persons from trespassing. D uring 1813/1814 therefore determined steps were taken to remedy this defect. They were three in number or rather three separate parts of one whole scheme.
( 1 ) Raising the wall from the Entrance Gate to the cadet barracks at a cost of £ 2,527. 6s. gd. This part of the boundary was far from satisfactory particularly owing to the shocking condition of the old and dilapidated buildings connected with it. This work, long under consideration, had been postponed while services of a more pressing nature had been given priority.234 During this operation, the quarter allotted to John Guest, a clerk in the storekeeper's department, became temporarily untenable, he was therefore granted house rent allowance in lieu on 3 January 1814.235
(2) Building a wall from the wood-yard adjacent to and behind, the dwelling of the clerk of the survey, to the storekeeper's house and the Plumstead stables to join up with a similar wall. This would form a complete 1enclosure to the Royal Arsenal when connected to the canal on the eastern boundary. Estimated cost £2,169. 14.s. s¼d.236
232 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, pRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,425. 233 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, pRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 4,645. 2s4 Works Estimates, 1813, PRO/v\/O/49/128. 235 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, pRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 7• 235 Works Estimates, 1813, PROfv\/O/49/128.
593
(3) Alterations and repairs to the boundary from the Entrance Gate along Warren Lane to the river. This particular part of the boundary had become very defective, chiefly owing to the bad state of the water spouts of the R.L. buildings abutting the wall. This had caused deterioration of the brickwork. The renovations necessary cost £394. 19s. rod.237
By the end of 1814 the raising and strengthening of the Arsenal boundary wall had been completed. Ong March 1814, Sir William Congreve, 1st Bart., Comptroller of the Royal Laboratory, reporting th~~ the smelting furnace in the
R.L. was situated in a dangerous position, suggested that, as there was no other site in the R.L. free from risk, it might be removed to the neighbourhood of the Dipping Square.238 The C.R.E. was ordered to report on the suggestion with the result that on 2 May 1814 the smelting furnace was ordered to be moved to the location selected by the late Sir William Congreve.239
The raising of the level of the Royal_Arsenal, a gigantic undertaking lasting from 1811 to 1820, was 1n the main carried out b
. . f y
convicts under the superv1S1on o . contractors. The material for raising the ground level_ was obtamed by a steam engine which hoisted ballast from th~ nver bed. ~n 18 r3, this engine was expected to lift 400-600 tons daily, a figure mcreased to 500-Soo tons durin the following year. ?n 2 1 March 1814, William -icholson offere~ to raise ballast for this purpose at 5d. a ton for five years or longer if necessary.240 His off:r. was accepted ~nd ~n ro May 1814, John Hughes was made aJomt contractor with Nicholson in this wo k 24.1 As well as obtaining ballast it was intended to dredge the rive: bd
alongside the wharf where the longer vessels were usually moored e that they could complete their loading at their moorings. This so an essential adjunct to the building of the wharf s until suchwas operation had taken_place ships of a greater draught than
r6 f:e~
had _to drop down nver and load the remainder_ of their cargo at Gallions or Long Reach, a procedure both inconvenient d
· B 8 "d an
expensive. y I 15 a cons1 erable area had been added to th eastward side of the Arsenal in consequence ofthe canal formin the new boundary. This portion of the Plumstead marshes wa g 1 e
. 1 d d . h 'l 1 · · s a so
me u e m t e eve -ra1smg' plan. 242 The annual cost of this work was as follows:
18u, £3,000; 1812, £4,868. 7s. 7d.; 1813, £6,645. rgs. o½d.; 1814,£8,385. IOs. 4d.; 1815,£7,071. r5s. B¼d.; 1816,£6,3gg. 16s. gfd.;
237 Works Estimate, 1814, PRO/W0/49/131. ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,635, p. 952. HO Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,636, p. 1,802. m Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,635, p. 1,122.
Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,636, p. 1,931.
m Works Estimates, 1813, PRO/W0/49/128. Works Estimates, 1814, PRO/W0/49/131. Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/W0/49/134.
594
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
1817, £3,470. 16s. 7d.; 1818, £3,477. 7s. 2½d.; 1819, £1,125. xs. I f d. A total of £4I ,424. I. 1¾.
The contract of Messrs Nicholson and Hughes ran for five years. In a letter dated 2 1 April 181 g, the Board announced that they did not propose to renew it.243
The new practice range and butt, essential because of the erection of the saw-mill, and the land bought for that purpose in 1811 from Mr Crossingham, has already been referred to. The Board's order for the construction of the new range was dated I June 1811.244 It seemed as simple as that but unfortunately things turned out to be much more complicated. 'Man proposes but God disposes' was particularly applicable to this whole transaction. There is a large file on the subject in the Public Record Office,245 and the correspondence runs from 1807 to 1823. The salient facts are these:
In 1 8 r r, a quantity of marshland and reed-shore adjoining the Royal Arsenal had been purchased from Mr Crossingham for the purpose ofre-siting the practice range. So far so good. But in 1815 it was discovered that the reed-shore ostensibly bought from Mr Crossingham did not belong to that gentleman at all. It was the property ofQueen's College, Oxford, held by Mr Thomas Farncomb under lease. Mr Crossingham, on being approached, refunded the purchase money, and the Board then proceeded to negotiate with l\l[r Farncomb whose lease expired on 5 April 1819. As a result they bought out the remainder of this lease. On 8 May 1815, £230 was paid to Thomas Farncomb for the absolute purchase ofhis unexpired term, estate and interest of and in two pieces or parcels ofreed-shore called Pound Shore and Upper Raines, containing together 3 acres, 1 rood and 35 perches, situate in the parish of Plumstead. The deed goes on to say 'which said premises have, by indenture of assignment bearing date 8 May 1815 and made between the said Thomas Farncomb and the Principal Officers of H.M.'s Ordnance, been assigned to the said Principal Officers and their successors i~ trust for His Majesty, his Heirs and Successors for all the then residue of the term of r 3 years therein commencing 5 April I 806 and were purchased under the Board's order of I May 1815'.246 The land was duly conveyed. Mr Farncomb then renewed his lease for a furthe_r
20 years and in 1822 demanded £102 for arrears ofrent _from 5 ~J?nl 1819 to 5 April 1822. He offered to hand over all his remam1ng interest in the property for a further sum of £312. 10s. od., or to rent it to the Board for £25 p.a. The Commandant, \Voolwich, reported on 21 October 1822 that the reed-shore was not required
m Engineer Papers, PROfW0/55/757
244 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/W0/49/134.
245 PRO/W0/44/291.
246 Buildings and lands, PROfW0/55/1,611 (3).
595
ADOLESCENCE
for the extension of the range. The Board on 13 January 1a
23
ordered the arrears ofrent to be paid to Mr Farncomb and instructed their solicitor that the premises should be surrendered on the next Lady Day with the additional rent due, i.e. £34. Mr Thomas Farncomb was therefore hoist with his own petard.
The story is worth continuing, though the finale did not happetill 1853. n After ascertaining that this reed-shore, east of the Arsenal · 1r. h · f l · ' was
~ot essentia 1or t e extension o t 1e practice range and surrendering 1t on Lady Day 1823, the Board made arrangements to re t ·t direct fro~ Queen's College, Oxford, for £32 p.a. This lease exp~re~ on 25 Apnl 1842. The actual annual amount paid to the college agent, Mr Hayward, banker,. of Dartford, was £32. 12s. od. The Board on 17 January 1845 decided to renew the lease. Eventually in 1852/53, the Ordnance bought the property from Queen's C Oxford, for £1,200. The sale was concluded at the end of °11eOge,
• 52. n
5 January I 853, the Treasury sanct10ned the provision 18fc h.
b d . h O d E . or t 1s
£1,200 to e ma em t e r nance stimate for the ensuin 247
h·1 · h g year.
Meanw 1 e an estimate to meet t e Board's order of 1 J
une 1 8 11
was prepared.
A battery with merlons for 5 pieces of ordnance at 700 yards £ 495. 2s. 1o½d.
A battery for 3 pieces of ordnance on traversing platforms at 1,ooo yards } The top of a Martello tower at 1,200 yards
£786. 5s.
lid.
A guard room contiguous with a room £1,105.
for officers } 4S. 6fd.
2 small splinter proofs £r35. ros. 2½d. Total: £
-2,522. 2s. gd.24s
and the following arrangements in regard to the new p -,.;
d b 1· G racuce range
propose y 1eut.-eneral Vaughan Lloyd were agreed to r June 1814:249 on
. (a) The ra~ge which was to be 1,250 yards in length should be di ·d d
mto four port10ns. VI e
.(b) At 450 yards the 'bar bet' battery already erected should be armed with one r 8 pdr, one r2 pdr and one g pdr 011 iron carriages and
24 pdr carronade. , one
(c) The '~arbet' _battery at 700 yards should be raised with merlons,200 and be provided with one 24 pdr, one 18 pdr and one 8 inch howitzer
m PRO/W0/44/297. ::: Works Estima_tes, 1815, rR0/W0/4g/134_ Extracts ~£Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6 6, p. 2, 6 .
250 2
33
A merlon IS that part of the parapet which is termi'nated by t b f
b tt th t · h · h d h" k wo em rasures O a
a ery so a its eig tan t 1c ness are the same as those of the t I
cover those on the battery from the enemy. parape · t serves to
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
on field carriages; also one I o inch howitzer and one 68 pdr carronade
on garrison carriages.
(d)
At 1,000 yards there should be erected a battery for three pieces on traversing platforms, viz. one 32 pdr, one 24 pdr and one 18 pdr; the platforms to be constructed with their pivots in front centre and rear as practised in the Service.
(e)
At 1,200 yards there should be built the top ?fa martello tower similar to those on the coasts of Kent and Sussex with one 24 pdr gun and one 24 pdr howitzer mounted in the usual manner.
(f)
A small house to contain a guard with a room for officers who attend the practice should be erected.
(g)
A small lobby should be adde~ to the magazine already _Provided f'or in the C.R.E.'s estimate, and splinter proofs should be bmlt at the flanks near the butt to afford a measure of protection against accidents.
Two other moves were contingent on the building of the saw-mill and the consequent move of the practice range. The lobby storeroom had to be moved to a more convenient site, a transfer costing £ 128. 13s. 8fd., and the Long Carriage or old Blue storehouse, near the range, had either to be raised or removed. In the latter case the suggestions communicated by the Inspector-General of Fortifications and Works on 23 October 1810 were adopted, i.e. the taking down of the woodwork in f:ont and rebuilding i: in brick to r e nder it more secure. It was considered that the covermg afforded by this capacious building 490 feet long by 26 feet broad was indispensable.251 •
This new practice ground which was laid out by 1815, appears to have been completed before 1821. . The moorings at the wharf now required repair and the order to effect this was issued on 3 June 1814.252
Two octagonal guardhouses, the one to the west being for officers and the other for men, were built in I8I4-I815 at the head of the principal landing stairs near the west end of the wharf, and in the Works Estimates for that year a sum of £654. 15s. g¾d. was appropriated for this service.253 They were designed to replace the_exis~ng -west guard for the protection ofthe_Royal Arsenal from th~ nver-s1de -which was situated in R.L. premises. In the Works Estimates for 1815, a further £467. 17s. i¼d. :was allocate~ f~r this purp?se, considerable progress with the landmg place having 1n the meantime been made. Since the latter, however, was Unsuitable for the embarkation and disembarkation of horses and Wagons, a causeway -was also constructed for horsed traffic at the eastern end of the wharf -where the ferry craft were stationed.254 The Master-General's barge must have come alongside this 'water-entrance' on many occasions
2s1 Works Estimates, 1813, PRO/WO/49/128. 252 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 / 2,636, P· 2•340. 25a Works Estimates, 1814, PRO/WO/49/131. 254 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/WO/49/134.
597
ADOLESCENCE
during the following forty years. These guardhouses, 23 feet across, still stand though they no longer keep watch and ward; as strong points they hav~ outlived their usefulness. ~n fecent years they have, among other thmgs, housed petrol and stationery for the Armaments Inspection Department. The stairs they guarded have disappeared the order to fill them in having been issued on 7 July 193 r. '
There was a~ explos~o~ in the Royal Laboratory on 20 June 18
14. It took place m a dnvmg shed v,,hen one of the wheels then in process caught fire_. Four men-James_ Nowland, John Haynes, John Chilton and Darnel Storey-were killed and one man-Michael Scalley-injured. Some stores in the building and certain articles of clothing belonging to the men emplofed there were damaged.255 The Comptroller R.L. reported the cJrcumstances of the disaster
256
on 6July 1814, a lapse ?ftime which seems rather excessive. Both Chilton and Storey left widows who were authorized to draw the·r late husbands' pay till their possible re-marriage. The paymast:r was ordered to pay the funeral expenses of the deceased amounting to £14-. 5s. od. ~nd to reimburse the men.the sum of£1 1. 13s. gd.,
the value of the1r destroyed garments. Sir William Congreve was asked to inform the Board o~t~e natur~ of Michael Scalley's injuries and to assess the degree ofhis mcapacitation.
The advance in gunnery and ballistics, necessitated the measurement of time on a mo_re and more accurate basis, so it was agreed on the recommendat10n of the Ordnance Select Committ t
. ee o
h h
purchase a c ronometer-t e mvention of Mr Hardy-recording up to _one three hundredth part of a second. The order to purchase was given on I2 August 1814 and the instrument was to be u ed ·
special artillery trials. 257. s In
It was agreed on 7 September 1814 to purchase 6-:1-acres of 1 d near ,voolwich belonging to Andrew Strakan for £ r~o per acr:1:ss
. Two awards were made by the Board during the year for inventions. Joseph Cheetham? ~1erk of the _cheque, was given £so on 12 S~ptember 1814 for his Leaver Packmg Press', an instrument for
packmg sandbags, the Board having ordered a sample on M
259 S
8 dl M B . · 4 aY
I 14. econ y, r ennett was awarded 50 gmneas for h ·s h t
1 . h. S I S 0
c earung mac me on 30 eptember 1814. This was the outcom f
. . 1 b e o
a comparative tna etween the inventions of Mr Nicholso d Mr Bennett. The trial demonstrated that I ooo g pdr shot clean:da~ ~r Nicholson's proce_ss cost r5s. 2d. whereas Mr Bennett's apparatu: did the same operat10n for 5s. 11 ld.-a saving of gs. '2-i-d. 2so The
266 PRO/WO/44/4-62. ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 2,762. 258 Extracts ofM!nutcs, Scr!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 3,3or. m Extracts ofM!nutcs, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 3,712. 280 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 3,767. Extracts ofMinutes, Scnes II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 4,04r.
598
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Board were evidently of opinion that Bennett's shot cleaning machine, which had been under trial in 18 13 and 1814 was a good investment. Eleven of these machines were ordered under the Board's instructions dated 13 August 1813 and 13 July 1814. As the machines cost £go each, a sum of£990 was involved. Ofthis ~mount £77. 8s. 2d. was included in the Estimate~ for 1813, wh1~e the remainder, i.e. £912. 11s. od. was taken up 1n the Works Estimates for 1815.261
On 28 September 1814, 1,000,000 S.A.A. cartridges for the English musket-the Brown Bess-were ordered ~rom the_ Roy~l Laboratory by the Admiralty for despatch to _V1ce-Adm1ral_ Sir Alexander Cochrane, commanding the West Indian and American Station.262
Sir William Congreve stated on 20 October 1814 that, ':lt~ough climatic conditions in Ireland had demonstrated the supenonty of quill over tin tubes in that c_ount~y,_ and alt~ough ~uch tubes were efficient for Sea Service their pnmmg was 1nsuffic1ently protected to withstand the rough ~sage associated with the carriage of Land Service packed ammunition. He therefore recommended, not only for Ireland but for the Land Service as a whole, that brass should be substitu~ed for tin as the material for tube bodies, experience having shown that the former metal was more robust. He also suo-o-ested that all tubes for Ireland should be made in the Royal
0
Laboratory, Woolwich, and be sent over to the R~yal Laboratory, D ublin, for filling. This would cut the cost by one third, manufacture in Dublin being more expensive. The Board ordered 5,000 brass tubes for trial and instructed the Comptroller R.L. to render a report in due course, indicating t?e e:'~ense involved in the substitution.263 In regard to rockets, Sir William Congreve was a'7thorized to obtain the necessary cast-iron cases from Mr Kendrick, a founder in West Bromwich, on the express understanding that he was not to disclose the use to which such articles were to be_ put.26,1
To vary the monotony a horse instead of a cow was now killed by a rocket. Ong December 1814, Mr Cook was awarded £63 damages for the loss of his steed.265
The new wharf, the raising of the ground level and the many extra buildings erected during the preceding hundred years had altered the old Arsenal water courses to such an extent as to r~nder them incapable of carrying away surface water; and such ~rains as did exist were inadequate of purpose. Sluices and new drains were therefore required. Conditions having become more complex, a free
2G1 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/WO/49/134. 262 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, P· 4,o47. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, P· 4,4o5. 2s4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 5,289, 30 December 1814. 266 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,638, P· 4,986.
599
ADOLESCENCE
passage from the sewers into the river was necessary and steps had
to be taken to guard against both frost and excessive rainfall. Luckily
foresight was in the ascendant and the opportunity of installing a
more modern system of drainage and sewerage was seized. The
former was to replace the water courses and the latter to take the
contents of the privies, thus effecting a considerable annual saving
by abolishing their clearance by hand. The cost of this new layout
was as follows :
The sluices in connection with
the wharf and the lock -£1,157. 3s. g½d.
New drains and sewers -£2,385. 16s. 2d.26G
The house of the clerk of the survey in the Plumstead Road was rn¼d. 267
repaired this year at a cost of £253. 1Is.
The Works Estimates for 1814 were £60,693. 4S· 14 d. 2GB
As a fitting finale to the year which had witnessed the fall of
France and the first abdication of Napoleon, the Respective Officers
on 25 December 1814, forwarded a list, together with an account,
of the trophies of war captured by the Duke of Wellington's armies,
which had already been off-loaded from transports at W oolwich.269
The year of destiny, 1815, culminated in the final overthrow of
Buonaparte on the field of Waterloo on 18 June, his second and last
abdication on 22nd June and his banishment to St H elena on 8
August. It is true that other minor operations were proceeding.
Britain declared war on the King of Kandy in Ceylon on 16 January,
and there was an incident in Cape Colony, but such factors did
not ruffie the surface at Woolwich which from now on was gradually
to sink into a state of lethargy. The lack of any important Arsenal
happenings in this notable year makes this fact self-evident. There
are only a few isolated incidents to record:
1 February 1815. An estimate amounting to £ 88. 4S. 3¾d. for moving
two stable sheds alongside the Sea Service Carriage storehouse to a more
isolated position for the storage of junk to be included in the Annual
Estimate to be laid before Parliament.270
10 April 1815. Two sheds for artificers working under the Inspector of 2d.271
Artillery to be erected at a cost of £62. Is.
3July 1815. Repairs estimated at £126. 13s. 2¾d. are to be carried out in the Commandant's house. 272 Lieut-General Lloyd is to have the type of kitchen stove he wishes installed in his quarters.273
m Works Estimates, 1814, PRO{WO/49/131.
m Works Estimates, 1814, PRO/WO/49/131.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 1,046. Works Estimates 1814, PRO/WO/49/131.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 5,230.
170 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,640, p. 444.
171 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 1,377
171 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 2,727.
171 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,643, p. 4,103, 6 October 1815.
600
,.......,_
......
:;s
......
E
u
u
C-::l
< u
c
·-~
~
C-::l
.,..
0
~
u
-
r
GOO
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
2 6 Julv r8r5. William R. Marshall, clerk of the survey to h
::.r • h k · h f h. h • ave
a laundry room bmlt over t e 1tc en o is ouse at a cost of£
6
ros. r}d.274 9 •
rB September r8r5. £46. 16s. 7½d. to be spent on covering certain windows in the R.C.D. with wire lattices.275 rB December r8r5. Messrs Alexander Donall and Son to have th • plumbing contract renewed for 3 years (see note r 7g).276 eir 22 December r8r5. Henry Maudsley's bill am_?unting to £ . s. d.
44 13 2
for casting the metal beam for the steam-engine in the R.C.D. to be paid.211
A driving shed was burned down ?n 3 1 ~ay 1815. Luckily no one was hurt though some of the men s clothing was damaged. As a consequence, the Comptroller, R.L., considered that the old wall between the upper and lower yards and the old sheds adjacent thereto should be demolished. He also asked that four wooden tents similar to those previously supplied should be erected in place of the destroyed building. The Board agreed and instructed Lieut.Colonel Pilkington to report whether such tents were available.21s On receiving his negative reply, the Board ordered four to be made immediately.279 The men who lost their clothes in the fire were compensated by the paymaster on I I August 1815.2so
The Works Estimates for 1815 were £60,557. 3s. 6-~-d.2s1
There can be little doubt that the appearance of Napoleon in a principal role on the world's stage during the opening years of the nineteenth century, threw a considerable strain on the resources of the Royal Arsenal which had only just emerged from its nursery. It quickened its tempo and induced a more rapid growth than would have otherwise occurred. Speculation is idle, but the thought does arise as to what the years 1800 to 1815 would have brought to the Woolwich factories, if the Corsican had not survived the French R evolution.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 3,078. 275 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 3,863. 276 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{\'\ O/47/2,643, p. 5,024. 277 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,643, P· 5,163. 278 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 2,527, 19June 1815. 279 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 2,580, 23June 1815. 28° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, P• 3,342. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 5,251. Works Estimates,
1815, PRO/WO/49/134.
601
40
Chapter 15
The Doldrums IBI6-I839
The overthrow of Napoleon supplied the key which unlocked the door to the Industrial Revolution in England. Prices fell steeply and suddenly many farmers and business men were ruined; multitudes were thr~wn out of employment, and misery and unrest stalked the land. For the Royal Arsenal the Second Peace of Paris spelt the axe with a capital 'A'. There may be 'no dischar_ge in war' as Kipling aptly remarks, but. its aftermath tells a different story. He?-vy discharges at Woolw1ch became the order of the day, and establishments there during the years 1816 and 1817 were cut to the bone. Details given in Appendix VIII reveal the extent of these reductions which can only be described as 'drastic'. It was a phenomenon from which the Arsenal had suffered to a limited extent before and one which it was to experience again in the bitter years of the twentieth
century. The scale of manpower shrinkage in the years which followed the final defeat ofFrance can be seen from the approximate strengths in the years 1814, 1830 and 1835:
r814-5,000 employees
r 830 -700 employees
1835 -500 employees
Although the term 'care and maintenance' if applied to the Woolwich factories would be an exaggeration, the future tendency was to concentrate on the improvement ofbuildings, plant, workshop practice and technique, rather than to aim at a large output. It was
a time ofconsolidation, not of expansion.
The year opened on 11 January 1816 with Major-General Cuppage putting forward his proposals for reducing the Royal Carriage Department to the level at which it stood a year earlier; 18 1 artificers and 436 labourers whose daily pay amounted to £43. 1 gs.
gd. were to be discharged during the ensuing quarter.1 This was the beginning of the landslide which gradually eroded the Arsenal's strength till it became a small industrial establishment starved of men and money. The Royal Carriage Department had had a proud record in the war recently ended, due in the main to the efforts of its Inspector. This was recognized by the Board on 15 March 1816 when they awarded Major-General Cuppage a gratuity of £1,300 'to cover the preceding five years as a reward for his great devotion
1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, p. 150.
602
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
to duty and for his excellent public record in directing his department, and on account of the money thereby saved to the public by his inventive genius'. 2
The opportunity was now taken of putting matters at Woolwich on a more business-like footing. Since there was no age limit for workers or automatic superannuation, men tended to stay on the pay-roll and draw their wa~es whether or not they were capable of performing any useful service for the State. There was thus an eleemosynary thread running through the fabric ofproduction which reduced the efficiency factor of the factories as a whole. The Royal Laboratory was the first to put its house in order in this respect and it discharged and superannuated its elderly contingent who were 'passengers in the coach'. The ~ld staffw~s e~amin~d by the I?edical authorities and treated according to their d1agnos1s. There 1s a list of 70 artificers and labourers in the _R.~. who were superannuated in 1816 which gives their names, their ailments and their pensions.a Most of the men mentioned were quite incapable of work being blind or otherwise incapacitated. The doyen of these was William Tisoe, aged g I years, whose medical report announced 'quite worn out. Is not expected to live more than a few days'. He was an artificer and was allowed to retire on half-pay, i.e. 2s. per day.
There is little to record over the next few years. The amount of money made available was much reduced, and the emptier the purse the less the purchases. The Works Estimates for 181 6 were £43,2 06. 2s. 11¾d.,4 still on the high side but showing a distinct downward trend. On 28 February 1816, Messieurs Holtzapsseld and Deyerlein supplied a turning lathe for the s~th_s' shop in ~he Royal Laboratory for £225.5 Two other small bmldmg operations were carried out in the year. On 17 May 1816 two boilers to consume th eir own smoke were ordered to be installed for the two small engines in Carriage Square,6 and on 22 November 1816, £10. 2s. od. was spent in erecting two small sheds and a tempor~ry bulk-he~d to represent the side of a ship for the_ purpo~e of car11:ng o~t a tna~ of Captain Manby's device for ext1ngmshmg fires m their operung stages.1 On 2 7 March 1816, the Royal Carriage Department was ordered to make only two out of the six rocket carriages originally
demanded· a sign of the times.8 As was t~ be expected, sales of surplus st?res increased during the eriod and trouble was experienced 1n getting purchasers to remove fhe goods they had bought. To remedy this, deposits of purchase
2 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, P· 1,o35.
3 PRO/WO/44/642. 4
PRO/WO/49/137.
6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, P· 795· s Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,646, P· 2,o36. , Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,648, P· 4,991• a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, P· 1,189.
603
money were increased from one fifth to one th~d and 31 wo:king days only was to be allowed in future for the receipt ofthe remamder of the purchase money and the removal of the goods. 9
On 21 October 1816, Mr Page agreed to supply beer for the
. f
convicts at 28s. a barrel, a re
duct10n o 2s.10
Two more contractors were appointed for building services in the Royal Arsenal. Mr Bruss was engaged for painting workll and Mr B. Kent for glazing.12 • •
TI e Works Estimates dropped considerably m 1817, the figure bein; £1a,494. r2s. 3¾d.,13 a reduction of 80% _since 1811. T~e only item of interest was the removal of the weigh-stand and its crane to a site nearer the wharf and the Proof Department, a move
dered necessary by the gradual growth of the Arsenal over the
ren . d~
years. This taking down and re-erecbt10n a_cdco;1nte 1or £103. Bs. r¾d.
Further compensation had to e pai 1or damage caused by rocket experiments. This time the vegetable rather than the animal kingdom suffered. On 19 March 1817 Mr Gibbs of Plumstead was awarded £100 for the loss of his bean-stack which had been consumed by fire, and Mr Milson o~ Plumstead was granted £ 20 for damage caused to his haystack m October 1816.14 Two quarters were repaired in the Royal Arsenal: F.0. quarter No. 6 at a cost of £84-. 3s. 2d.,15 and the Commandant's house.16 It was agreed on 8July 1817 that the Office of?rdnance should bear half the expe~se of promoting the Act of Parliament ne~essary for the c?nstruct10n
of the turn-pike road between Woolw1ch and Greenwich and of extending it to Bexley via Plumstead.17
Experiments still took place notwithstanding the financial straitjacket confining the factories. Lieut.-Colone_l Robert Pilkington, the C.R.E., on 23 July 1817, was ordered to build a full scale traversing platform for service according to a model received from the Duke of W ellington.18
The expense of casting guns in the Royal Brass Foundry for the year ending r July 1817 was £3,577. 16s. gd. This included labour and materials, but excluded the value of old metal. The weekly wages bill was £4:7. gs. 6d. It was decided that costs could be
lowered by limiting output and discharging the redundant workmen. The wages bill was therefore reduced to £26. rs. od., a saving of £21. Bs. 6d. a week, which in effect meant a cut of almost 50% of
• Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,648, p. 4,662. 1o Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,648, p. 4,518. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,646, p. 2,301, 31 May 1816. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,651, p. 1,822, 12 May 1817. 13 PRO/WO/49/139.14 Extracts of.Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,650, p. 1,024.15 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,651, p. 1,627, 30 April 1817.
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, p. 3,148, 22 August 1817. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/21652, p. 2,461. 11 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, p. 2,809.
604
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
the establishment. It was also agreed by the Board that in the event of the removal of the master founder, the assistant founderMr Cornelius King-could well take charge of the foundry in the
· t 19
altered circums ances.
Beer for the convicts still exercised the mind of the Board. That august body considered, no doubt rightly, that only the best beer was suitable for convicts who worked harder than the labourers and required wholesome nourishment to keep up their strength. They ao-reed therefore, that the contract for beer should be renewable e~ery ;ix months, and that the brewer who supplied the beer for 'l.4-S. the 36 gallon barrel should have the contract. All samples, even if rejected, were to be paid ~or as they would be is~ued as rations. ft was considered that by this means the comparative value of the different beers could be judged.20 Messrs Heath and Co. got the contract. Their product was evidently satisfactory for on 2 1 December 1 8 1 8 they were instructed to supply the beer on the terms oftheir
orio-inal contract.21· The custom ofburying convicts in the Royal Arsenal had persisted since such forced labour had first been employed. But over the years this practice had become repugnant to the authorities who felt, no doubt, that an enclosure d:voted to the manufacture and storage of munitions was hardly a smtable place for a cemetery. Interment in around over which experiments were carried out proved noxious
and distressing. The C.R.E. therefore, on 15 November 1817, suggested that a burial place for convicts should be provided on Ordnance land on the Essex side of the river. The Board in a letter dated 31 December 1817 granted this request22 and informed the
C.R.E. that a portion of ground north of the Thames had been set
h. 23
aside for t 1s purpose.
The Woolwich Estimate for 1818 was £15,050,24 and the Works Estimates £13,509. 3s. 8¼d.25 An:iong the l~tter was the su1:1 of £s7. 7s. 3d. to heighten the practice butt which had sunk consider
ably since it had been built, and alterations to the paymaster's office and the porter's quarters at the main entrance costing £51. 7s. 7¾d. From now on many of the items originally included in the annual works services were deleted, money being provided only for the more important projects. .
Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington subrmtted to the Master-General three plans of the Arsenal with a report date~ 2 r Febr1:1ary 1818~ suggesting improvements in layout by making certain alterations and
10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, P· 4,021, 3 N~vembcr 1817. 20 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, P· 4,217, 21 ovembcr 1817. 21 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,658, P• 4067. 22 PRO/WO/44/290. 20 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/757. u Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,655, P· 250, 25 PRO/W0/49/140.
605
ADOLESCENCE
demolitions. Among these suggestions was one affecting the Royal Laboratory. The C.R.E. proposed that that department should be divided into two parts (a) Manufacturing and (b) Explosives and filling. He recommended that manufacture should be concentrated in the existing R.L. buildings while the more dangerous part of the work concerned with explosives and filling should, for safety reasons, be removed to the canal area.26
The last recorded incident in 1818 was an order dated 16 December authorizing the digging of a ditch by convicts to serve as a boundary between the reserve land at Woolwich and that sold by the C.R.E. on 23 November 1818.27
It was decided in 1819 that certain land on the north shore of the Thames should be sold. The land in question had been originally purchased as follows :
26 and 27 December 1801 -2 acres 3 roods 26 poles 27 and 28 July 1802 -7 acres 14 poles r6 and r7 March r803 -ro acres 3 roods r2 poles
Total: 20 acres 3 roods 12 poles
These parcels were conveyed on the dates shown by Samuel Matthews to H.M. the King.
The prorosal w~s to retain only a strip ofland on the shore about 26 yards wide behmd the sea-wall, and sell the remainder except for a piece of ground reserved as a stand for horses and carriages adjoining the new Ordnance road leading from the causeway i three lots. The three lots were (a) 5 acres 2 roods, (b) 8 acres ;n~
(c) 3 roods and 30 poles, and the price was to be £ 160 per ac The auction actually took pl~ce on 23 November 1818, thou;~ conveyance was not effected till the following year. Mr Sylve t paid £1,670 for 13½ acres.28 Mr John Punter purchased the 3 ro~~r 30 poles at £124 per acre, the sum involved being £116. 5s. od. H; alreaddy owned~ the house, stables and fences, valued at
£ 314.
I4J. o ., stan mg on the ground in question. Mr Punter paid over the sum _of£n6. 5s. od. to MrJohn Ayres on 15January 181g, who handed 1t over to the Ordnance Treasurer.29
Owing to the drastic reduction in the Royal Brass Foundry (see note 19) Lieut.:Gene:al_ Sir Thomas Blomefield, the Inspector, sugge~ted that, _as its bu~dmgs were old and unsuitable for the
~ac~mery then installed, 1t might be shut down, the remaining staff distributed elsewhere and its fabric surveyed. The Board d"d t
k ki ell h" 1 no
ta e n y to t lS suggestion, merely refusing on the ground that
11 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/757. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2 658 p 4 o ro
18 PRO/W0/44/290. ' ' . ' . 11 Buildings and Lands, PRO/W0/55/1,611, (3).
606
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
such a survey would be inconvenient.30 On 14 May 1819, Lieut.General Rochfort's quarter was ordered to be repaired at a cost of £28. gs. g¼d.31 The foundry no doubt was getting out of date, it had been standing for I oo years, but the Board was loth to let it fall into disrepair. On 6 September 1819 it was agreed that repairs to the casements should be carried out at once at a cost of £45. 15s. 8-½d.,32 though on the same date the Board wrote saying that the estimate for this work was to be put forward in the Estimates for 1820 and not in the 'unprovided' items for 1819.33 Apart from this, £167. 16s. r½d. was spent in that year on general repairs to the Royal Brass Foundry including some new floors, lime-washing, painting and the construction of light new dormer windows.34
The Works Estimates for 1819 amounted to £11,390. ros. 11}d. which included a sum of £204. rs. 1 i½d. for repairs to R.L. offices and the old and new Sea Service storehouses.35
The Woolwich Estimate itself was £17,014. Is. r id.36 Lieut.-Colonel John T. Jones replaced Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington as C.R.E., Woolwich Division, on 22 January 1819.
On 30 August 1819, it was agreed that a pair ofopen gates should be erected for Dial Square at a cost of £15. 19s. ro{d. The cost to be included in the 1820 Estimates.37
The breaking-down of ammunition, an operation which always follows the cessation of hostilities, now commenced to take place. On 2 1 May 18r g, 23,000,000 ball cartridges were ordered to be broken up. In order to carry out this work which would mean a recovery of 700 tons of lead at £16 per ton, a total of £II,200, the Board, on the Comptroller's recommendation, authorized the employment of fifty extra boys. Although this meant a small island of recruitment in a sea of dismissals, the additional juvenile labour would effect a saving in cost by cutting down the ~me for the job from two years to 2 6 weeks. The wages of these boys were£I 2 a week,
i.e. £312 for the half-year. The difference in time between the two programmes was 78 weeks, and the interest on £11,200 for 78 weeks was £840. Another consideration was that magazine accommodation would be greatly relieved by the operation.38
The Commissioners of Sewers now asked for a communication bridge to be built across the ditch cut by the authorities through Crabtree Level where the counter wall formerly stood, in order to
30 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,660, p. 155, 11 January 1819. 31 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJW0/47/2,661, P· 1,597. 32 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,662, p. 2,870. 33 Engineer Papers, PROfW0/55/757.34 PROfW0/49/141.35 PRO/W0/49/141.36 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,660, P· 833. 37 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,662, P· 2,784. 38 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,661, P· 1,670.
607
enable the wall men to communicate with the Sheepwash Sluice. This was approved on 25 June 1819.39
Two unrelated items only remain to complete the year's activities. On 28 June 1819, it was agreed that Messrs Heath should continue to supply beer for convicts at 2,ts. per barrel for another six months 4o and on I September 1819, two stag?s used in the unloading 'or colliers were ordered to be constructed m place ofthe two which had become unserviceable.41
There is little ofinterest to record during the next few years. No important event occurred and those which did eventuate were of a routine and maintenance nature. The Estimates had been reduced so drastically since 1815 that little scope remained for indulging in new schemes.
It was true that on 24 April l 822,_ the Master-General did approve certain sums to be spent on the vanous departments and these were ordered to be i1:serted in the Estimates,42 b1:-t this outlay appears to have been a tnumph of hope over experience. The items given below, were not included in Estimates nor is there any record of the
work having been carried out. The amounts were:
Brass Foundry Department of Inspector of Artillery Royal Carriage Department Royal Laboratory Total: £1,027. £1,4.65. £6,372. £ro,075. £18,940. 1,µ. 1d. 8s. od. os. 1 d. os. 6d. '2.S. 8d.
Over t he years in question the Estimates were:
Woolwich Estimates
1820-£12,704. 5s. 7½d.43
1821 -£12,503. 16s. 1 d.44
Works Estimates
1820 -£ro,533. 11s. 1821 -£12,000. os. B¼d.45 od.46
1822 -£n,295. ILµ. gf d.47
There were some ~undry repairs at Woolwich amounting to
£348._ 14.s. 6d. aut~onzed on 26 January 1820,48 and in the two followmg years repairs and painting took place in certain workshops
39 Extracts ofM0utes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,661, p. 2,067.40 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,661, p. 2,090. :; Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,662, p. 2,809.
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 761. 43 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,666, p. 1,090.44 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,670, p. 1,798.46 PRO/W0/49/142.
48 PRO/W0/49/143.0 PRO/W0/49/144.41 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 254.
608
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
and officers' quarters. In 1820 and 1821 the planting of the canal bank was carried out by convicts at a cost of £80. 5s. od.,49 in 1821 the sum of £210 was authorized for building a road parallel to the interior of the boundary canal and for maintaining roads generally; also a further £ I oo to plant hedges as fences instead of posts and rails,50 and in 1822 the practice butt, which had settled 6 feet, was raised at a cost of £73. 17s. 3Jd.51
The following contractors were authorized to do building services at Woolwich:
IO April I820. Robert Seager painting work for 3 years at Woolwich.52 I7 May 1820. Messrs Kent and Earle glaziers' work at the Tower,
Pall Mall, Woolwich, Greenwich, Lewisham and Purfleet for 3 years.53 24 June I822. R. Rutlidge plumbers' work at Woolwich.s.1 26 July 1822. John and Samuel Dickson carpenters' work at Woolwich,
V\Taltham and Enfield.55 26 July 1822. John Barton plasterers' work at the Tower, Pall Mall, Greenwich, v\Toolwich, Purfleet and Tilbury.56 I 4 August I822. Robert Ashton masons' work at the Tower, Pall Mall a nd Woolwich.57
Mr Robert Seager of Fulham, however, defaulted on his contract. In 182 I, he disappeared without leaving an address after having been 'neglectful of his contract'. On 4 July I 82 I the Board called on him to state whether he could proceed with his undertaking. In the meantime the C.R.E. was authorized to employ Messrs Kent and Earle in painting till another contract could be effected.58
The suppliers of beer for the convicts for the three years were as under:
Messrs Bryden and Field to continue the supply for one year from I July 1 820.59 Messrs Stirling and Page to supply beer at 24f. per barrel for one year from I July 1821.60 Messrs Stirling and Page to supply beer at 22s. 6d. per barrel for one year from 1 July 1822.61
By this time the annual beer bill for the convicts had shrunk to the neighbourhood of £450.62
49 PRO/W0/49/142 and PRO/W0/49/143.50 PR0/\1\ 0/49/143.51 PRO/W0/49/144.
52 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,666, p. 1,014. 53 Extracts ofMinuces, Series II, PRO/VV0/47/2,666, p. 1,379. 64 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 1,206. 55 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,451. 50 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/Vv0/47/2,676, p. 1,452. 57 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,576. 58 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,672, p. 1,918. 59 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,667, P· 1,875. 60 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\V0/47/2,670, p. 1,875. 61 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 1,200. 62 Works Estimates, 1821, PRO/W0/49/143.
609
The only other items worth mentioning in this quiet period are best tabulated.
10 March 1820. Guns to be placed as posts along the foot-path leading from Green's End to the Arsenal Gate owing to its dangerous condition. These were requested by the Parish Officers of Woolwich for the protection of passengers.63
3 July 1820. The paymaster was instructed to pay £40 as the Board's contribution toward the enlargement ofPlumstead Church. The Reverend
G. B. Tuson was informed.64 14 August 1820. Lieut.-Colonel Frederic Griffiths vacated his quarter in the Royal Arsenal and was placed on the lodging list. 65 23 March 1821. £20 for moving the ballistic pendulum from its incon
venient position in the Royal Arsenal was authorized.66 _May 1821. The Board notified Mr Pattison that they would no longer
30 reqmre the land called the Roughs and would cease to occupy it at the end ofsix months from Lady Day last.67 21 January 1822. The Ordnance sea-wall, which had been damaged b high tides, to be repaired. 68 y 15 May 1822. The price ofgunpowder, packed in hazle-hooped roolb barrels, to the East India Company was £2. r7s. 6d. per barrel,69 · 2o May 1822. All barrels of S.A.A. when issued from magazines fit
. . b a er
having been a Iong time m store are to e unheaded so that the pa k of the barrel may be tightened by the addition of paper waddi c XI~ hoops to be carefully driven up.70 ng.
1 July 1822. Mr Grinton, the Overseer of the Poor for gaol rate · th parish of Charlton is to be paid the rate.71 m e 19 July 1822. Mr Milsted, a farmer at Plumstead was paid £r 1 0d for the loss of a sheep killed during ricochet practice.72 · !2s. ·
4. October ~822.. ~he Board appr~v~d Lieut-General Cuppage's su _ gest1ons for s1mphfymg and econom1zmg the establishment of tlle R gl
. D H . oya
Carnage epartment. e was mstructed to forward a retur f th proposed establishment for 1823.73 n ° e
6 November 1822.. Two new powder boats are to be purchased for the Royal Laboratory m replacement of two which have become · able and are to be sold.74 unservice-
The. ~rig Convert. had not yet come into possession of the ~u~hontle~ as adfldoa~mghma~azine-it ':as not bought till _
1323 80
1
1t IS n?t 1~c u e m t e list of floatmg magazines stationed at Woolwich m 1821.
:: Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 712. Extracts of M~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,667, p. 1,863. 86 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,667, p. 2,266.
88
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,67o, p. a74. 87 Extracts ofM!11utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,670, p. r,s83. ., 88 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 137. Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,67s, p. 913. 70 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 942. 71 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,256. 71 , Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. r,396.7• Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,914.
7 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 2,084.
610
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The return, headed Floating Magazines at Woolwich 182r, contains the names of two vessels, Manship and Lady Chatham. Their particulars are given as follows ;75
MANSHIP goo tons 1 Master at £9 per month Crew 2 Mates at £7. 10s. od. per month
{
1 Seaman at £5 per month
Total pay bill £318. os. od.
Expense of repairs 82. 11s. 3d.
Total: £400. . 11s. 3d.
(Used as a floating magazine)
LADY CHA THAM 63 tons
1 Master at £9 per month I Mate at £7. I os. od. per monthCrew
{ 3 Seamen at £5 per month each 1 Boy at £3 per month
The Master has also £20 p.a. house rent allowance. Total pay bill £434. os. od.
Expense of repairs 115. os. od. Contingencies 33. 19s. 4d. Total: £582. 19s. 4d.
(Used as a powder vessel)
In the 'Ordnance Papers presented to the House of Commons I 821' also appears a complete return of the various departments in the Royal Arsenal dated 12 March 1821. Although it is somewhat lengthy it is worth recording in full for the information it supplies. In addition to the clerical establishment based on Woolwich, there were g assistant clerks working there on loan from the Ordnance Department. Of these one was in the Royal Laboratory and eight worked under the storekeeper.
ROYAL LABORATORY Comptroller Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., Salary £360, Quarters, Total: £360 p.a. Firemaster Lieut.-General George Rochfort, Salary £230, House, Total: £230 p.a. Assistant to Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bingham, Firemaster Salary £230, House, Total: £230 p.a. Inspector of Royal Captain William Maling, Manufactories of Salary £200, House, Total: £200 p.a. Gunpowder
76
Ordnance Papers presented to the House of Commons 1821. 6II
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839 Foreman of Brass William North, Salary £127. 15s. od., Gratuities
Foundry £15. Total: £142. 15s. od. p.a. Total Salaries £1,462. 5s. Total Gratuities £485. os. Total House rent allowance £162. 16s. Total Coals and Candles £58. os. Grand Total £2,168. Is. od. od. od. od. od.
ROYAL CARRIAGE DEPARTMENT
Inspector Lieut.-General William Cuppage, Salary £400, House. Total: £400 p.a. Assistant Inspector Lieut.-Colonel William Millar, Salary £250, House, Coals and Candles £25. Total: £275 p.a. Junior Constructor George Salter, Salary £120, Gratuities £15. Total: £135 p.a. Clerk of the Cheque { George Robinson, Salary £200, Gratuities £180,
4 Clerks
ChiefForeman
Henry Dugleby William Caffin
Charles Ellis John Piper
Salary £300, Gratuities £200, rent allowance £52, Coals and Candles D25. Total: £ 577 p.a. Salary £150, Gratuities £180, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £368. IOs. od. p.a.
Salary £100, Gratuities £ 5o, House rent allm,vance £ 12, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £i 70. Salary £100, Gratuities £ 5o, House rent allowance £i2, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £I 70.
v\ illiam Castledine, Salary £n8. 12s. od. Total: £n8. 12s. od.
Total Salaries Total Gratuities Total House rent allowance Total Coals and Candles Grand Total
£2,088. 12S. od.
£480. OS. od.
£102. OS. od.
£78. IOS. od.
£ 2,749. 2 S . od.
DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTOR OF ARTILLERY
Inspector
2nd Assistant Inspector and Draughtsman
Clerk
Clerk
Proofmaster
Searcher and Instrument Keeper Modeller
Inspector of Brass Foundry Founder
Major-General Sir Thomas Blomefield Bart Salary £350, House rent allowance £;2. · Total: £402 p.a.
J. 0. Hookham, Salary £200, Gratuities £ 200, House rent allowance £26, Coal and Candles £12. ros. od. Total: £438. 10s. od. p.a.
R. 'White, Salary £100, Gratuities £120, H ouse rent ailowance £20. 16s. od., Coal and Candles £12. ros. od. Total: £253. 6s. od. p.a.
Thomas Monk, Salary £go, Gratuities £rno, House rent allowance £12, Coal and Candles £8. Total: £2rn p.a.
Lieut. Alexander Reid, Salary £120, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. ms. od.
Total: £158. ros. od. p.a. Thomas Walton, Salary £roo. 7s. 6d. Total: £100. 7s. 6d. p.a.
Samuel Eccles, Salary £roo. 7s. 6d. Total: £100. 7s. 6d.
Major-General Sir Thomas Blomefield, Bart. Salary £91. 5s. od. Total: £91. 5s. od. p.a.
Cornelius King, Salary £182. ms. od., Gratuities £50, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. ms. od. Total: £271 p.a.
612
having charge of the Stores Clerk in the Inspector's Office
2 Clerks in the Office of the Clerk of the Cheque
lvlaster Carpenter Master Wheeler Master Smith
House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles
£12. 10s. od. Total: £418. 10s. od. p.a.
Adam Grinton, Salary £100, Gratuities £50 House · rent allowance £20. 16s. od., Coals and Candles
£12. 10s. od. Total: £183. 6s. od. p.a.
Richard T. Tussell, Salary £100, Gratuities £50,
House rent allowance £20. 16s. od. Coals and
Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £183. 6s. od. p.a.
Edward Dell, Salary £go, Gratuities £35, House
rent allowance £12, Coals and candles £8.
Total: £145. p.a.
P. McDonald, Salary £109. ros. od. Total: £109. rns. od. Charles Dibblin, Salary £109. 10s. od. Total: £109. 10s. od. William Clerke, Salary £109. ros. od. Total: £109. 10s. od.
Total Salaries £1,588. 10s. od.
Total Gratuities £330. os. od.
Total House rent allowance £79. 12s. od.
Total Coals and Candles £70. 10s. od.
Grand Total £2,068. 12s. od.
STOREKEEPER'S DEPARTMENT Storekeeper John Geast, Salary £500, Gratuities £200, House. Total: £700 p.a. Clerk of Survey William R. Marshall, Salary £250, Gratuities £200, House, Coal and Candles £25. Total: £475 p.a. Clerk of the Cheque Joseph Cheetham, Salary £200, Gratuities £150, House, Coals and Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £362. 10s. od. p.a.
613
II
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Paymaster John Henderson, Salary £400, Gratuities £100,tJ House, Coals and Candles £25. Total: £525 p.a. John Pitfield, Salary £70, Gratuities £35, House
•
rent allowance £20. 16s. od. Coals and Candles
£12. 10s. od. Total: £138. 6s. od. p.a. Paymaster
Clerks to the
Thomas Mortimer, Salary £70, Gratuities £15,
House rent allowance £12, Coals and Candles £8.
Total: £105 p.a.
Clerk of Works Thomas vVeaver, Salary £182. 10s. ad., Gratuities £50, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £271 p.a.
The clerk working in the Royal Laboratory was Thomas Hague. His emoluments consisted of a salary of £go and allowances of £20. Tota]: £r ro p.a. The clerks employed under the storekeeper were as follows:
Name Salary Allowances Total p.a.
Joseph Pellatt £go £20 £1 IQ
William Green £go £20 £110
John Tapner £go £20 £1 IQ
Edward Breeze £go £20 £110
Joseph Cheetham Jr. £go £20 £110
William Morris £go £20 £1 IQ
John Dozell £go £20 £110
Evans Marshall £80 £80
These lists submitted to Parliament soon went out of date because the posts of Paymaster, Clerk of the Survey and Clerk of the Cheque were shortly afterwards brought to an end.
On I August 1821 it was stated that the following posts were to be abolished and the occupants retired:76
Clerk of Survey William R. Marshall Paymaster John Henderson John Pitfield
2 Clerks to the Paymaster { Thoma~ Mortimer
4th Clerk in the R.L. John Piper
On 16 August 182 1 it was agreed that Mr Marshall, clerk of the survey, should retire on 31 December 1821,77 and that Mr Henderson the paymaster should also retire on the same date.78 Later, on 2 1 November 182 1, it was decided that as the paymaster could not complete his accounts before 1 February 1822, he could remain on till that date.79
The post of Clerk of the Cheque was also abolished with effect from I August 182 1. Also on 31 December 182 1, the two assistant clerks of the Ordnance Department working in the storekeeper's Department, i.e. under the Respective Officers, John Dozell and Evans Marshall, were discharged. The third clerk who was due to leave, namely William Morris, was retained for a short period.80
The coronation of King George IV took place on 19 July 1821, and according to custom the Royal Laboratory was charged with the manufacture and display in Hyde Park of the official fireworks on that auspicious occasion. This entailed extra work on the staff
76
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,672, p. 2,194. 77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,672, P· 2,373.
78
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47 /2,672, P· 2,375. 79 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,673, P· 3,374• 80 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,673, p. 3,705.
615
4 Clerks under the Storekeeper
John Guest, Salary £100, Gratuities £50,
Appartments, Coals and Candles £12. rns. od.
Total: £162. IOs. od. p.a.
WilliamJones, Salary £80, Gratuities £50, Appart
ments, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £ 138 p.a. John Knight, Salary £80, Gratuities £ 35, House rent allowance £12, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £135 p.a.
Cornelius Sharp, Salary £70, Gratuities £15, House rent allowance £12, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £105 p.a.
Total Salaries £2,002. 10s. od. Total Gratuities £goo. os. od. Total House rent allowance £82. 16s. ad. Total Coals and Candles £132. os. od. GrandTotal £3,117. 6s. od.
ROYAL MILITARY REPOSITORY
(On the Common) Superintendent Sir William Congreve 2nd Bart. Salary £101. 5s. od. Modeller James Flarty, Salary £120 Clerk
George Chubb, Salary £80, Gratuities £15, House rent allowance £20. 16s. od., Coals and Candles £12. rns. od. Total: £128. 6s. od.
Drauglztsman
John Read, Salary £138. 12s. 6d., Gratuities £ 215 House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles ' £12. 10s. od. Total: £392. 2s. 6d. p.a.
Total Salaries Total Gratuities £ 439· £230. I 7s. os. 6d , od.
Total House rent allowance £ 64 . 6I S, d0 ..
Total Coals and Candles £25. os. od.
Grand Total £741. 13s. od.
The return of the Assistant Clerks in the Ordnance Department is dated r5 March r82 r.
614
ADOLESCENCE
concerned, and on 30 July 1821, £190. 5s. od. wa~ paid in supplementary wages to officers, masters, foremen, artrficers, labourers and boys who had been employed in the production and exhibition
of these pyrotechnics.81 • v\Tilliam Caffin, the clerk in the R.L. ment10ned i~ the foregoing list who eventually became the deputy storekeeper 1n that departme~t invented a form ofgrape shot, known as 'Caffin's grape shot'. Ther~ is a file in the Public Record Office82 relating to this invention. The letter forwarding the specification and drawings is signed 'William Congreve, Comptroller R.L.' and is dated 18 May 1822 • The pattern was approved on 2 September 1822, but was not manufactured till 1856. Before leaving the subject of clerks, it is as well to mention that on the abolition ofthe paymaster's post,John Geast, the storekeeper, >':
:
-0took over Mr Henderson's duties on New Year's Day 1822.83 s::: ::s Though not strictly relevant to the Royal Arsenal, a great change µ., 0 now affected the Office of Ordnance. On 24 May 1822, a very long Treasury minute transferred to the Office of Ordnance the future arrangements of the Barrack Department for the general service of the Army in Great Britain ~nd !reland, and in the Colonies, and of the Store Branch of tlze Commzssarzat At Home and Abroad. 84 Henceforward (.)
..c::
....
the Board were responsible for housing all British troops.
E
The following extract from London and its environs or the General 0 Ambulator 1820 gives some idea of the machines installed 1n the c.=:
"' 00
Royal Arsenal in the year indicated: s:::
Amongst the great variety of important machines employed in the -"'~
u
Royal Arsenal are those for sawing and planing timber. The straight saws, (.) ..c::
set in motion by the steam engine, which were the invention of Mr Brunel .....
00
ofBattersea, work with extraordinary quickness and save immense labours. s::: The apparatus is almost wholly composed of iron and brass; and the "i
~
transmission and the suspension of the movements are effected with o-reat
i..
b
precision and simplicity. The machine called the compass-saw was so named -0
..s:::
....
from its being applicable to all purposes of circular cutting, or of any
~
irregular sweeps. It was invented by Lieut.-Colonel William M illar of the Royal Carriage Department for cutting felloes, etc. which it performs at less than halfthe expense ofthe old mode. Its principal peculiarity consists in the application ofa piston to the upper part of the saw, which at every stroke makes a vacuum by which means the saw is kept tight and what the workmen cail buckling prevented. The planing machine is a most skilful application of the hydraulic presses of Pascal who, by solving the hydrostatic paradox, led the way for the late Mr Bramah to apply its solution to mechanical purposes; and which he did with the most consummate judgment and effect, this machine being one of his inventions. It •
81 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,672, p. 2,167.
81 PRO/WO/44/643. 83 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,673, p. 3,574, 14 December 1821. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 1,240, 28 June 1822.
6r6
in less than a minute, the sides or cheeks of the largest ship gun-carriage are planed. The vertical axle of the gouge-wheel is raised or depressed by a particular hydraulic press when it is necessary to plane pieces of timber at different thicknesses.
The Arsenal, which is surrounded on the land side by a brick wall contains between one and two hundred acres. The Laboratory contains some very ingenious machines for boring cannon and other purposes.
W. H. Ireland, in his History of the County of Kent 1828-29, vol. iv,
p. 669, also gives some details of the Royal Arsenal. They are very general and add little to our knowledge of the times. He does point out that the largest furnace in the Royal Brass Foundry can melt
\ icw from Rupert's v,,a lk, r 749 about 17 tons ofmetal at a time, and that the period oftime required for the operation of boring depends on the size of the piece, a 12 pdr taking about five days. He mentions the two boring machines in the Dial Square building, talks about the storehouses and adds a few remarks about the Royal Laboratory. He also makes reference to the steam-driven planing machine installed in the Royal Carriage De
f" \•
' partment.
A new departure in policy was made in 1822 when, on New Year's Day, a post of Deputy Storekeeper was instituted. The first holder was Joseph Cheetham who had held the office of Clerk of the Cheque which had been abolished. This change was the direct result of the cancellation of the appointments of the Paymaster, Clerk of the Cheque and the Clerk of the Survey.
On 1 October 1822, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson took over the Inspectorate of Artillery and the Royal Brass Foundry, his predecessor, General Sir Thomas Blomefi.eld, Bart., having died at Shooters Hill on 24 August 1822.85
The year 1823 again had little history to contribute. The Works Estimates were £10,990. 16s. g½d.,86 a sum which did not allow much scope other than maintenance and special repairs. On 18 April 1823, William Stace, Chief Commissary of the Field Train Department, took over in addition the duties of storekeeper with effect from 1 May, in place of John Geast who had retired after
The Royal Laboratory, c. I 750 85 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,676, p. 1,709, 2 September 1822. 86 PRO/WO/49/145.
617
.,J 7 41
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
consists ofa horizontal wheel armed at equal distances with 32 gouges and with two planes, situated at the extremities of a diameter of that wheel, which is turned at pleasure by a steam engine. The piece of timber to be planed is moved in a straight line on a carriage which is made to advance uniformly by the hydraulic powers moved in like manner by the same steam engine. By these means, in every revolution of the gouge-wheel, 32 distinct grooves comprised in the breadth ofthe third ofan inch are traced on the timber, and immediately after, the slight asperities that separate the grooves are taken off by a stroke of the planes which follow the gouge by being placed nearer to the axis of the gouge-wheel. In this manner,
ADOLESCENCE
24 years service in that appointment. The pay of the combined offices was fi,'<ed at £500 p.a.87 The sale of the house of the 1 t clerk of the cheque also took place this year. The house was in~; Plumstead Road between the Ordnance chapel and the R I Mortar public house, being almost opposite the entrance to th Royal Arsenal. The Board had originally purchased on 30 June Be oyha
· d f M J N 11' · · 1 10 t e
remain er of r_ . efwe s idnteredst m the unexpired term of 25~_ years 1ease o a piece o groun an two messuages which h d b united to form o_ne dwelling house. On 23 May 1823 the sal: of~~~ house and premises was postponed,88 but it was eventual! .er d
. Y e.uecte
on 16 June 1823, the purchaser bemg Mr West who acquired th property for £203.89 e The only work of major construction visualized durin tl
g 1e year
was a new wooden wharf 200 feet long and 30 feet wide h a · .c:
6 fi d h f · ving irom
. to dlf eeth ept ~ watfer m a gradual line along its whole leno-th
0
inc1u mg t e erect10n o two cranes capable of raisin b t
. .c: • g e ween 3
and 4 tons each. The estimate 1or this project was dated J 182390 and amounted to a gross total of£ 10 6g4. Jd 4d une
1 1
as follows: ' rs. 4 · ma e up Materials £ 6 8
9, 7 . 15s. 6d. Carpenters' work £671. r2s. 1id. Smiths' work £203. .l.d
L b 2S. 32 .
a ourers' work £ 14r. os. 4¾d. Needless to say the work had to be spread out ov
. d . er several years
The remam er of the items can best be set out in a· .c. •
iary 1orm. 7 March I823. Church rates to be paid to Mr Farnfield
church rates.91 , collector of
3I March I823. The C.R.E. to revet with a low wall b . the boundary ditch.92 a out r50 feet of
7 April I823. The shed used by convicts da . d · repaired at a cost of£4r. 8s. o½d. 93 ' mage in a fire, to be
I 4 April I823. The C.R.E. proposes to clear the ditches bet ofOrdnance property and some marshland on th E . ween Board
1 e 'ssex side f th ·
sod to Mr Sylvester in r8r8 It was ao-reed that th t , o e nver share the costs equally.94 • b e wo owners should
25 April I823. A portion ofa scarfwall to be built on th • for certain experiments ordered by the Master-General.~/ractice ground 28 May I823. J. T. Earl to do the painters' work at VVool . h r
next three years.96 w1c 10r the
87 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/ / .88 Extracts of Minutes Series II PROfW0/47/2,66788 , P• 722, r8 April 1822. 89 PROfW0/44/2 gr. ' ' 47 2 , 7 , P· 945•
; °Engineer Pap~rs, PROfWO/551758.
1 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II PRO/WO/ /2
92 6 8
Extracts of Minutes, Series II: PRO/Wo/7; '/8• P· 438,
., Extracts of Minutes Series II PROfW 47 2, 7 'p. 586. 36
" Extracts ofM0utes: Series II: PRO[W8f!;f:•~;~• p. ~ ·
" Extracts ofMinutes Series II PRO/WO/ / '6 8' p. gr.
18
Extracts ofMinutes: Series II: PRO/W0/:;1::6;8: ~: z~~: 618
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
2 June I823. Captain Dickinson, Superintendent ofShipping, authorized to purchase the brig Convert of 200 tons burthen for a sum of £525, including £85 for repairs as a floating magazine to replace the Man.ship.91
2 July I823. Mr Page of Greenwich to supply beer at 18s. the barrel to the convicts for one year from I July 1823.98
IJ October I823. The Royal Carriage Department is allowed the assistance ofone N.C.0.and ten gunners as labourers, also two horses, to assist in unstacking and restacking the depot ofrepairable carriages at \,Vool"vich.99
The Works Estimates for r824 reached a new low level, namely £5, I 79. 6s. g¾;d.Ioo As the allowance of beer and biscuits :for the convicts was from now on to be strictly confined to those acting as artificers and those working in the mud, the amount spent on such commodities fell considerably, being only £164. 10s. od. :for the year in question. This was ~ reduction of almost 90% from the peak years during the Napoleonic wars.IOI The re-erection of the ballistic pendulum was postponed to save money. In 1821 £20 had been approved for this object.102 It was originally set up on the level of the marsh and had to be removed when that level was raised. When the building was taken down in 182 1, the frame and pile were found to be rotted through and the building useless.103
The house inhabited by the deputy storekeeper now began to exhibit serious defects. It was evidently a ramshackle building in a very bad state of repair. It was a cottage in Ditchwash Laneio4 on Woolwich Common appropriated as a dwelling for an inferior clerk. Originally a wooden stable, it had been converted into a small farmhouse and purchased by the Board. By 1824 its northern wall had bulged so badly that fears were entertained for the safety of the structure. It was therefore considered essential to add a buttress for its support. This was not the only trouble. The staircase was a positive menace to children and could not be allowed to remain as it stood. It was therefore decided to replace it, at a cost of£145. 15s. II¾d., in the brickwork which was to be put up to support the bulging wall, thereby achieving both objects in one operation.105 On 2 March 1827, the house had to undergo further repairs amounting to £84. 3s. rod.106 It was however no use putting old wine into new
07 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,678, p. 1,004. 98 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/vV0/47/2,6i9, p. 1,187. 99 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,679, p. 1,866.
100 PRO/W0/49/145.
101 PRO/W0/49/145.102 See note 66. 103 PRO/W0/49/145.
104 Probably a corruption ofDitcl1water Lane. This lane in 1800 was known as Dishwattr Lane; it did not become Ditchwater Lane till about 1850. About 1852 it ,vas renamed Nightingale Place. (See Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society. Proceeding Vol. IV, p. 34. Paper read by W. T. Vincent 6 October 1898) (See Chapter 14, note 162.)
105 PRO/W0/49/145 and Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758. 108 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,690, p. 462 and Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
619
ADOLESCENCE
bottles. The C.R.E. repo;ted on I I June 1827, that the edifice as a whole was extremely frail and would not stand any alteration additions. He strongly advised the Board to consider building a s or quarte r for the deputy storekeeper.107 This they did in due new Resulting from the :8oard's letter of 26 July 1830, the whol/~~:~e~ old cadet barracks m the Royal Arsenal, except the two q t
. . . uar ers
were converted mto store-rooms 1nc1udmg the empty A d ' buildin_g on the East Parade. The two quarters were
:tO~:-y
respectively to the clerk of the survey108 and the deputy st k d
11 d h l ore eeper
T~e.quartebr a ocahte tffiot. e atte_rdwas on the East Parade which had angina11y een t e o cia1 res1 ence of the Assistant I
R.M.A. and recently vacated by Lieut.-Colonel G nspector
• f< fi • • . b ravatt. The
est1mate or£re ttmg 1t ads absmtahle abode for the deputy storekeeper was 568. 12s. 2 ., ut t e Board would onl h .
· · · d I · Y aut onze
pamtlng, papermg an c eanmg, the alterations a d dd" . originally proposed being refused.109 n a 1t1ons
The question of finding quarters for the clerk of th t~e old cadet barracks had become pressing since the d:ms::~ey in his house had been ordered on 4July 1827_110 htion of
The Halifax Wharf, situatedjust outside the western bound
the Royal Arsenal, was sold by auction on l8 May fc ary of
182
Mr Farnfield, who had been the tenant since 182 4 ~r £ 1,600.
2
for the improvements he had carried out.in was given £ 260 Jn a letter dated 15 November 1824 the Bo d . practice butt, which had sunk considerably to b ~r . adutb~nzed the
h • 1 £ r: , e I a1se to its n
e1g 1t o 30 1eet at a cost of£227. 6s. lf d.112 Mone fc ·. orma1 was ta~en up in the Works Estimates for 1825_ Y or this service
113
Again the only way ofindicating the unspect 1 is to present them in the form of a diary. acu ar events of 1824
19 January 1824. Henry Maudsley to su l a st . Royal Carriage Department for Dwo.114 PP Y earn engme to the
19 January 1824. Last summer's hay from th o d sold by public auction.us e r nance marshes to be
14 May 1824. Thomas Hate paid £8. 3s 8d £ · . horse and cart.116 What occasioned the d . . or m}ury done to his disclosed. amage or how it occurred is not
::: Engineer Papers! PRO/W0/551758. 109 EThe_post was remtroduced on 8 September 1826 ng_meer Papers, PRO/W0/551758. ·
110 Engmeer Papers, PRO/W0/55/r8 m PRO/WO/44/291. :) · m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ / E .
2,682, p. 1983. 55 757. . xtracts of Mmutes, Series II PRO/WO/ m PRO/WO/49/145. , 47/
m Extracts ofMinutes Series II PRO/WO/ / m Extracts ofMinutes' Series n' PRO/WO/4 7 I2,~8l' p. l l 6. m Extracts o£Minutes' Series n' PRO/W0/47/2,6881, p. l 17.
' ' 47 2, l, p. 907. 620
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
30 June r824. Mr Stirling to supply beer to convicts at 18s. a barrel for one year from I July 1824.117
r6 July 1824. The Navy Board asked to supply the Royal Laboratory with a new boat 28 feet long to replace the old one which has become unserviceable.118
2 4 September r824. Cornelius Brand to do the painting at Woolwich for 3 years.119
29 September 1824. The boats belonging to George Gray and John Pearson, fishermen ofBarking, which were damaged by gun practice from Woolwich, are to be replaced in one case and repaired for £8 in the other.120
22 October 1824. Mr Earle asks for his glazing contract to be
121
terminated. 6 D ecember r824. A small blast furnace to be erected in one of the sheds in the Department of the Inspector ofArtillery at a cost of£49. 10s. 6½d.122
A fundamental change in regard to stores and storekeeping now took effect in the Royal Arsenal. Up to 1825, each department had jealously dealt with its own stores, both receipts and issues, and had maintained its own storehouses. To this extent they were independent of the storekeeper. Such a system was obviously unsatisfactory in many respects for centralization under the storekeeper would simplify bookkeeping and effect economies. In 1825 all this was changed as a result of the recommendation of a select committee. The department mainly concerned in this new departure was the Royal Laboratory though the Royal Carriage Department was affected to a considerable extent. This change, which was afterwards recommended by the Committee which reported in May and June, was foreshadowed in two executive orders issued in February. On 11 February 1825 it was announced that in future the storekeeper would receive and issue all stores, which would be transferred to his department, and that the issue of stores to outstations by other departments would be discontinued.123 The other was dated 2 1 February 1825 and stated that 'all iron and timber required by the Royal Carriage Department will, unless under active appropriation
124
for manufacture, be stored by the storekeeper'.
The Select Committee, on responsibility for stores and storage, was set up by order of the Master-General and Board dated 1 3 April 1825. It was to consider:
The proportion of articles to be retained in charge of the Storekeeper for purposes of manufacture in the Royal Laboratory.
117 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. 1,073. 118 Extracts of l\1inutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,278. 119 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,681. 120 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,712. 121 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,833. 122 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 2,117. 123 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,684, p. 283. 124 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,684, p. 342.
621
ADOLESCENCE
. Th~ sa_me ~ommittee was also ordered to report on certain mvestigations m the Royal Carriage Department. It presented two reports on the Royal La?oratory dated r4 and 29 May 1825. Its report on the Royal Carnage Department was dated 13 June r 82
5
The members of the Committee were : ·
Lieutenant-General Robert Douglas Major-General William Millar
Lieut.-Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B.
Lieut.-Colonel John S. Williamson, c.n.
Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson, K.C.B.
The reports the Committee rendered were very voluminou b
. f h . d . . s, ut
the gist o t eir recommen at10ns was that 1n future all sto fc
. . res or
the Ordnance service were to be received and issued by th t
· h d h • e s ore-
keeper at Woo1w1c. , an t at the issue of stores to outposts by the other departments 1n the Royal Arsenal was to cease.12s . The recommendations were accepted, and on 25 November 1
325
1t was ordered that all manufactured stores and all raw . ,
. . material
reqwred for future production, except such as may be re · d fc
· b r. J qmre or
convers10n e1ore r anuary r826, were to be handed over b the Comptroller R.L. to the storekeeper immediately R L t . hy
r. . · · · s ore ouses
were a1so to be trans1erred.126 This meant additions t0 t h
· £ 6 6 • s ore ouses
amountmg to 7 g. s. rod. which was approved on 1 -r
r82 6_121 ovember
The Works Estimates for 1825 were £ 8 925 n 6d 128 Tl
· 1 d d £ ' · .c;S. • 1.ese
me u e r,ooo towards the sum of £3 328 8s nd •
· h B ' · · ""' · req mred for
repairs to t e rass Foundry, Dial Square and the · ·
b"ll d h d· £66 ' pamtmg of the
1 et woo s e , 3. r3s. I rd. for the conversi f h floor of the north Sea storehouse for R L office on ° ti eduJ:>p er
d £ 6 . . accommo at1on. an I o. os. 7½d. for the repair of Lieut.-General C , ' house on Shooters Hill. uppage s
Mr Page again got the contract to supply beer to the convicts fc one year from 1July 1825 at 18s. a barreJ.129 or The storekeeper's house now required repair d £
6
approved for this service.130 The temporary bu1·1a· ank 25 was
D" · S , mg nown as 'the
1pp1ng _q_uare had by this time fallen into a ruinous conditio Its demoht10n was therefore ordered on D b n.
23
Th 1 d . h d ecem er 1825 131
. e year c ose wit amage to the landing stage b the o~d ship Eggenton. On 30 December 1825 the repair ofythe s:age,
126 PRO/WO/44/291.
121 Extracts ofMinutes Series II PRO/WO/ /
127 Engineer Papers PRO/WO/' / 8 47 2, 685, P• 2,441. i 2s PRO/W0/49/145. 55 75 . 1211 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ / no Extracts of Minutes Series II PRO 47 2,685, p. 1,283.
E~f1neer_Papers, PRO/W0/55;758: /W0/47/2685, P· 2,420, 23 November 1825.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/551758.
622
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
estimated at £13. 1rs. s½d., was ordered; also the hood of a crane which had been put out of action by the schooner Lark was to be made good at a cost of£3. 8s. 5d. The shipowners were called upon to pay for the damage their vessels had created.132
The general layout of the Arsenal had altered but lit.tle since the cessation of hostilities. Ordnance Book 394, which gives details of the buildings in 1821, shows that little change of importance had occurred since 18I 1, except the emergence ofa Rocket Establishment and the development of the Grand Storehouses, both of which have been mentioned in earlier chapters. It cannot be stressed too strongly that the period succeeding the downfall of Napoleon was one of stagnation on the whole. The records provide only items of trivial interest in a world subject to strict retrenchment. The Works Estimates for 1826 are missing, but it may be assumed that the money voted was in the neighbourhood of £5,000-£7,000. The year again presents little of note, except for two changes of policy and the adaptation of the practice range. It was decided that ricochet practice should now become part of the normal training of the Royal Artillery, and this entailed an alteration to the practice range. The necessary changes were considered and put forward by the Committee ofField Officers who suggested that the approximate cost would be £500. This was approved by the Master-General on 3 M ay 1826, who ordered the necessary work to be carried out.133 Actually the detailed estimate proved to be £555. 10s. 8¼d., but the alterations went ahead.134 Mr Walters was the excavator employed and his charges were 4d., 4½d. and 5d. per cubic yard depending on the nature of the soil.135
On 2 August I 826, it was agreed that in future convicts should receive an allowance of 3d. a day in lieu of their rations of beer, biscuits and tobacco which had been their portion for so long. Thereafter the item 'Beer and Biscuits for convicts' disappears from the Works Estimates and is replaced by one headed 'Pay of convicts and Mates superintending'. Actually the disbursement of money was greater, sums in the neighbourhood of £500 replacing the beer money which had dropped to under £200 when the system was changed.136
The other change of policy was the introduction of a Clerk of the Survey. This post was, in effect, a new one, the duties differing somewhat from those carried out by the earlier official of that name, whose appointment was abolished by the Board's Order dated 1 August 182 1. A minute dated 8 September 1826 states:
1811 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,685, p. 2,704. 133 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 943· 13~ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,303, 22 June 1826. 136 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,153, 3 June 1826. 136 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,617.
623
ADOLESCENCE
. In o:der that the Sur'-'.eyor-General may have a local deputy for the mspectJ.on of stores supplied by contractors at Woolwich and Gibraltar a post of Clerk of the Survey is to be instituted and will be borne as a ' addition to the civil establishment of the station. n
The Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich is to have a salary of£ oo-£
3
with annual increments of£20 subject to the regulation of 21 Decemt~~ r825, and a house.
Joseph Cheetham, Deputy Storekeeper, is appointed Clerk of th Survey, and John G~est, rst Clerk in the Storekeeper's Departmente Deputy Storekeeper vice Joseph Cheetham.137 '
Actually the new office was short-lived. There were only two holders, Joseph Cheetham and John Guest. The office was fi
11
abolished on I July 1833. na Y Mr Wallis was most unfortunate. He always seemed to be .er •
· ·11 · Th su11enng
losses owmg to artz ery practice. ree times in 1826 and h
182
was compensated for the death of his animals. On 23 August
; 826e
he was awarded £30 on account of his horse which .c. II'
· · d h"l · PI d was 1ata y
m1ure w 1 e grazmg on umstea Common. The poo b h d
· h· d 1 h d d · · r eaSt a
its 11_1 e? s ate;/ I urmg an expe:1ment being carried out under the direct1~7 ~ t e ~pec~or of Artillery.13B Shortly afterwards his cow ~as kil e on 7h. cto erh~826 by a 24 pdr shell fired on the
practice range. 1n t 1s case 1s compensation was £ 8
1 1 £ 2
18s. ad. the value of the animal's carcass.139 Finally M . w' iel~s ·
1
· £ .c. h · h · h a 1s was
given 17 1or IS cow w 1c was accidentally killed
. h PI d on I ovember
1827 m t e umstea marshes by a shot fired fr .
1 d · • om a new 1 o inch
na_vlli~ guMn_ ur!~g an expenment conducted by M ajor-G eneral W1 am 111ar.
The following additions and alterations we .
1 e approved on I
November I 826 for the following storehouses W k
. · or was to be
commenced and the money provided in the Estim t .c.
a es 1or 1827 ;141 Fuze store
£346.
5s. 2½d.
P~int store, racks for paint kegs
£77. OS. o½d.
Oil store, racks for tin bottles
£107. IIs. IId.
Shed for proving tin bottles
£132. 13s.
3d.
Shed for hoop iron. Iron Yard
£ro5. 16s.
5d.
Total:
£769. 6s. IOd.
One particular installation is worth noting bee . . h
· h" h ause It IS t e first
occas10n on w ic such a convenience had b . 11 .
ffi b "ld. 0 een insta ed In an
o ce UI mg. n i4June 1826 Messrs T T 11 .
' · u ey were instructed
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO /WO/ /
688 1
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/Wo/J/•688, p. ,889·
2
139 Extracts of Minutes, Series II: PRO/WO/ 1, 'P• r,76o.
m Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO 47 2•688, P· 2,3°0, 3 November 1826.
141 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II PRO/W0//47//2,6691, P• 2,232, 23 November 1827.' 47 2, 88' p. 2,288. 624
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
to supply one water-closet complete for the new Laboratory office od.142
in the north Sea storehouse for £3. 5s. The diary for the year tells us that on: 5 April I826. William Carter was paid £go for repairing the military communication from the Thames to East Ham.143 I2 June I826. Henry Maudsley submits his bill for £262. 16s. 7d. for repairing the steam engine in the Royal Carriage Department.141
IO July I826. Mr Page of Greenwich to supply beer for the convicts at r8s. per barrel for one year from I July 1826.145 In view of the change of policy whereby convicts were in future to receive money in place of rations in kind this was the last contract of this nature.
28 July I826. Andrew Sanderson to do plumber's work for 3 years from 24 June 1826.146
I September I826. The unoccupied officers' quarter in the old cadet barracks in the Royal Arsenal is to be repaired and painted and reappropriated as a military quarter. It is to be allotted to William Jones, 2nd clerk in the storekeeper's department.147
4 September I826. Colonel Charles Bingham, assistant firemaster in the Royal Laboratory is to lose no time in remaking 554,250 rifle ball cartridges.148
8 November r826. _ otices to be issued that members of the public are not to appropriate pieces of old iron shot and shell which they may find lying about.149
8 November r826. Owing to the death ofJohn Thwaites, the Ordnance clockmaker, the Master-General has appointed Mr B. Vulliamy to succeed him from 15 October 1826 at the same salary, i.e. £37. 16s. od.
p.a. for taking care of the following 18 clocks. Pall Mall-7; Tower-5; Woolwich-4; Purfleet-1; and North Hyde-1.150
A little more money for works services was made available in 1827, the Works Estimates for that year being £7,954. I Is. 9!d.151 Included in this figure are £500 towards the repair of the foundry,
£785. I Is. 3d. for repairs in the Royal Laboratory, £259. 9s. 4¾d. for repairs to the Royal Carriage Department and £769. 6s. I od. for new building in the storekeeper's department. Also approved on 5 December 1827, was a sum of £24. gs. 7d. for two ceilings in '"'orkshops belonging to the Inspector of Artillery.152 Other essential services carried out were the repair of the Commandant's house at a cost of £371. 6s. 6¼d. authorized on 26 February 1827,153 the
142 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,229. 143 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 718. 144 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,211. u 5 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/vVO/47/2,688, p. 1,430. 146 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,577. 147 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,835. 148 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/VvO/47/2,688, p. 1,856. 149 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\\'O/4.7/2,688, p. 2,334. 150 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,336. 161 PRO/WO/49/146. 1 52 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. 153 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\VO/47/2,690, p. 424.
625
ADOLESCENCE
repair of the sea-wall on the Essex side of the Thames at a cost of £40. 3s. 5½d. approved on 18June 1827,154 a portion ofthe Carriage Yard to be macadamized by convicts at 3d. per day each,155 and a short platform with a porthole to be constructed at a cost of £ 25 at the practice range for the trial ofnaval ordnance.156
Inventions again came to the fore thi~ year: On r 6 April 1s27, Joseph Cheetham was awarded £120 for 1nventmg certain machines which had been adopted wit~ advantage to the Service.157 On r
3
August 1827 four shot machmes to Mr Cheetham's design were ordered from Messrs John Hall ofDartford at £46 each.I5s William Caffin al~o had other i_deas ~esides his grape shot. On 4 May r8
27
he was given £30 for mventmg an apparatus for filling small ar cartridges.159 m
A record in the Extracts of Minutes dated r3July 1827 states:
The large gun taken in Bhurtpoor and sent home by Lord Combe is to be mounted and displayed in the Royal Arsenal• cost to be rbmere
. ' mne
by the Honourable East India Company. Also two handsome field ·
d L c . pieces
presente to ?rd ombermere by the Indian Army to be similarl mounted and displayed; cost to be borne by his Lordship_IGo Y
Bhurtpore was finally taken by storm by Viscount Comb
ermere
on r8 January 1826,161 and the gun captured at that siege was presented by the commander to H.M. George IV The ea. ·
h · I nage was
du1y constructe d m • t e Royal Carriage Department b t th . was never exhibited in the Royal Arsenal. It was set u'p u -u~ trlo~hy
r. . on vvoo wich
C
ommon 1acmg the South Arch of the Royal Artille • B k
K. . 1y arrac s on
h b h
a spot c o~en Y t e mg himself. He selected this site as 'a bl · and conspicuous situation for this splendid memorial of t pu _1c and gallantry, and also in order to place it in cha . f enberpnse
h. h h d . . rge o a ody of
men w re a 1n so emrnent a degree merited his Ma·e , attachment and approbation'.IG2 The Bhurtpore ~ s~ s
th f h B . . gun now stands In
e corner o t e arrack Field bemg ousted in 186 fi ·
0
of hon b th C · rom Its place
o~r y e nmean Memorial. It is a beautifully chased ?ronzliebp1ece,dcast in 1677, being r6 feet 4 inches in length 8 inches rn ea re an r7! tons in weight. '
f £O~: ~ugu~t r827 an additional £150, over and above the sum
o 2 area y authorized, was approved for making repairs and 164 Extracts of Minut s ·
u 5 Extracts ofMinut::' S e~ies/I, PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. r,218. Papers, PRO/WO/551758 enes I, PRO/WO/47/2,69r, P• r,426, 20July 1827. Engineer
lH E ~-ts fM" .
x...ac o mutes Series II PRO/W ;:; Extracts of Af0utes: Series u' PRO/Wg//47//2,69r, P· r,804, r9 September 1327.
Extracts ofMinutes Series u' PRO WO 47 2,690, p. 793.168 Extracts ofMinutes' Series n' PRO//W /47/2 :69r, p. r,697. u o Extracts ofMinutes' Series I' O/47/2,690, p. 937.
m Not in 1828 as stat;d I, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,386. Colonel A. H. Burne. on Page 235 of The Royal Artillery Mess, Woolwiclz, by Lieut.
• 111 Letter in the Adjutant-General' Offi .
his Records of Woolwich voJ II s ce, Wo0Iw1ch, quoted by vV. T. Vincent in
' · 'p. 431.
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
the requisite alterations in the Royal Brass Foundry for the installa
tion at a later date of steam-driven machinery for boring guns.163
On 10 November 1827 a design for a magazine to be built in the Royal Arsenal for the Royal Laboratory was forwarded to the Board. This magazine, estimated to cost £1,554. ,µ. 6d., was planned to contain r,ooo barrels of powder. It was considered to be eminently desirable and was approved in principle. On 5 December 1827 it was ordered to be considered in the Estimates for 1829. The proposed site was to be south of the branch canal, almost on the spot where the Box Canteen now stands. Its situation was to be about 250 feet east of north of the wooden stables which then graced the Arsenal with their presence.164
It was ordered on 8 August 182 7 that a warning notice should be painted and affixed to the wharf defining the mooring chain to extend to 60 fathoms.165
Finally we have notices of three contractors. On 18 July 1827, M r Jolly was instructed to perform such plasterers' work and supply such workmen and materials as Mr Mears might fail to provide.166 The contract of Messrs John and Samuel Dickson for carpenters' work which expired on 3 1 December 1826 was renewed till 31 D ecember 1827,167 and the contract of Cornelius Brand for glaziers' work was renewed for a period of three years from 1January 1828.168
The year 1828 followed much the same pattern as 1827, a year of quiet interlude with general repairs only taking place. The Works Estimate was £7,803. I 7s. 5¼d.I69 which included among its main items £500 towards the maintenance of the foundry, £294. gs. ol d, for the Royal Laboratory, £350 for repairs in the Royal Carriage D epar tment and £284. r7s. o½d, on account of the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. In addition, there was a Board's order dated 18 April 1828 approving the building of a ceiling in the loft over the Commandant's stable and the erection therein of a fireplace. The estimate for this service was dated 24 April I 828 and amounted to £15. Is. 2¼d.170
A new clock was now provided for Woolwich by Mr Vulliamy. The C.R.E. suggested that it should be put up on one of the public buildings in a central situation between the R.A. barracks and the Royal Arsenal. The clock was intended to replace the old one in the Royal Laboratory. The Board, however, wondered whether this
163 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,556. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
164 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758, PRO/WO/44/643.
166 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, P· 1,553.
166 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, P· 1,417.
167 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 2,262, 28 November 1827 .
168 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 2,419, 24 December 1827.
169 PRO/WO/49/148.
170 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
627
ADOLESCENCE
new time-piece was essential and referred the matter to Ma·
. :JOr-
G I S.
enera ir George Fisher, who had replaced Lieut.-General Joh
R in C d W n
_ams:Y. as o~man ant, oolwich, on 10 February 1827, for ?Is op1ruon as to Its necessity, and, if so, his recommendation as to its most suitable position.172
On 28 January 1828, the renewal of wall plates at the saw-mill were approved at a cost of £4r. 14,S. _6 f d.173 On 22 February 1a a the R.L. boat was ordered to be repaired for a sum not exce d" 2
d 114 e 1ng
£8• 8S. l . The Woolwich Estimate is once more recorded. It amounted to £48,096 for 1828.175 A Board's letter dated 16 June 1828 authorized the form t· f
. b d ·1 d d f1 a 10n o
a t1m er yar , ra1 roa an oatage for lumber in connect· · h
·11 · d 10n wit
the saw-mi at an est1mat~e cost of£339. 5s. 8½d. and £ 58. 8s. 6J..d . a total of£397. 14,S. 3d.11 G 2 ·, Various appointments, occasioned by the death of Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., on 15 May 1828, took place in the de artm
during the year. P ents
C~lonel Sir Augustus Frazer,_ K.C.B., Assistant Inspector Ro al Carnage Department, was appointed Chiefof the Ro I L b . y vice Sir William Congreve, at a salary of£ 350 pa y~l ~ oi_atory Director, Royal Laboratory. · · wi 1 t e title of
Colonel John S. Williamson, C.B., was appointed s ;
l M ·1· R · uper..nt ndent
of the Roya 1 itary epository vice Sir William c .
· Ri h d • ongr eve
C
aptam c ar Hardmge was appointed Assist t I ·
h R I c · D an nspector of
t eC 1 oyal Cahrnlage .epartment ~ice Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer o one ar es Bmgham, Assistant Firema t R L ·
· d F" • . s er · •, was ap
pomte iremaster R.L. on his existing salary of £• Major-General Joseph Maclean. 2 3° p.a. vice
The appointment ofAssistant Firemaster R L 1 .c.
the moment.In . . was eit vacant for
A~other aJ?pointment was abolished on 3 r December r 828 post m quest10n had only an indirect bearing· on W . h b. T~e
. th d. oo1wic ut it
1s wor recor mg as a matter ofinterest It th f '. the Board. Mr Atkinson the holder who.. w~s d at o architect to
' , receive a salary of£2
(
p.a. salary £200 and gratuities £2s) was in future to b 2J
1
by the Board as a civil architect or su e.emp ~ye
demand.178 rveyor as occas10n might
111 L" G
112 1eut.-enera!John Ramsey died 9 Februar 18 Extracts ofMrnutes, Series II, PRO/WO/ y/ 6 27• 173 Extracts of Minutes Series II PRo;w'8;2' /93, p. l 12, 18 January 1828. PRO/WO/55/758. ' ' 4-7 2,693, P• 169. Engineer Papers
11~ E f . ,
116 xtracts o Mmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/ /Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/Wo/7;2•~93, P· 322. rn Extracts of Minutes Series II PRO/ 47 2• 93, P• 1,332. PRO/WO/55/758. ' ' W0/47/2,693, P· 1,022. Engineer Papers
111 E f . ,
xtracts o Mmutes Series II PRO/WO/ /178 Extracts ofMinutes: Series II' PRO/W0/47 2,693, P· 926, 30 May 1828.
' 4712,694, p. 1,862, 24 November 1828.
628
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The conversion of the old cadet barracks into storerooms and two quarters, one for the deputy storekeeper and the other for the clerk of the survey, has already been mentioned. The executive order to carry out these plans was a Board's letter dated 8 September 1828 which ordered the C.R.E. to fit up the two officers' houses in question and appropriate them as civil dwellings, and to strip completely all the wood-work from the remaining twenty-two disposable rooms and convert them into storerooms.179
The outstanding event of the year 1829 was the construction of the improved entrance into the Royal Arsenal. Not only were new gates and gatehouses set up, but opportunity was taken of altering
CJ
FIG. 4. Elevation of proposed gateway, 1828
the approaches with a view to facilitating traffic to and from the barracks. Three drawings were prepared on I I August I 828 by Colonel John T. Jones, R.E., the C.R.E. Woolwich Division, which indicated clearly the work envisaged. No. I (A/1725) showed the existing entrance arrangements with the proposed alterations in yellow dotted lines, No. 2 (A/1726) gave the proposed layout, and No. 3 (A/1727) was a plan and elevation of the new gate and gatehouses. From these designs it is easy to understand the changes proposed. These necessitated the demolition of the chieffire-master's quarter and the destruction of the gardens allotted to Field Officers' quarters Nos. 6 and 7. The garden belonging to No. 8 Field Officers' quarter was for some reason to be detached from the quarter, enlarged to meet the new eastern gate house, and made into an open space. Drawing No. 3 indicates that the brick gate-posts were to be surmounted by four cannon balls each mounted in pyramidal form and that a mounted mortar was to be established on each gate-house. The eastern gate-house was to contain the 'Warders' appartments' while the western was to house the porters on duty and contain the messenger's delivery room. The original drawings are to be found in the War Office Records at Stanmore, but copies exist in the M.E.D. drawing office, Royal Arsenal.
179 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,694, p. 1,465. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758.
ADOLESCENCE
The plan and elevation of the improved entrance was approved by the Master-General and the Board on 27 August 1828, though Colonel Jones was called on to explain to the Master-General why the space marked 'garden' was left on the right hand side of the new entrance.180 The new alignment of the improved entrance was approved by the Master-General and the Board on 15 October 1828.181
A Board's letter dated 26 January I 829 authorized a coping of Yorkshire stone, surmounted by an iron palisade to be placed on the new boundary wall of the military dwellings facing the entrance gates. This was to cos~ £4_7· IOs..ofd., the expense of the iron railing being defrayed by d~hvermg old iron (gun) posts no longer required, and ofequivalent weight, to Messrs John Hall, founder at Dartford.1s2
Although the introduction of gas lighting in the Royal Arsenal is dealt with in Appendix XIV, it is worth recordino-here that the
0
opportunity was seized ofsubstituting two gas lamps for the four oil lamps hitherto in use at the main entrance.183 The bill for the iron fence and railing on the dwarf wall next to the entrance submitted by ~essrsJohn Hall amounted t~ £255. 2s. 2d. This was settled by handmg over to the firm the required amount ofold iron (gun) posts at £3. 6s. 6~. pe~ ton.184 The ne': iron gates for this improved entrance, which still stand pro~dly 1n position, were cast by Messrs
John Hall ofDartford and suppl1ed for the sum of£686. os. Bd.185 This account was met by issuing the requisite amount of old metal at £3. 6s. 6d. per ton and paying for the small balance of£ .. 8s. 2 _a_d
4
• 1 186 Th . f h 4 •
m caS1. e_erect10n o t e new entrance and the alteration of the approach entailed a small exchan?e of land in front of the gates be_tween the Board and Mr J. Pattison of Plumstead. The deed for this exchange was ~ent to the Respective Officers in order that the
necessary record might be made.187 The whole expense incurred on the above undertaking was approved by the Board on Jul 1829.188 3 y
On th_e gates of the Royal Arsenal facing Beresford Square will be found displayed the letter 'B'. This was inset in honour of L d Beresford, during whose tenure of office as Master-General the :e~
p;~,~~i~~;;J/,finutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,694, p.
1,410. Engineer Papers,
181 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/47/2 694 p 1 6 9 E · p
PROf\VO/55!758. ' , , · , 4• ngmeer apers, 182 Extracts of Minutes Series II PRO/WO/ /" 6 6 E ·
PRO/WO/ss/7s8. ' ' 47 -, 9 , P• 124. ·ngmeer Papers, 183 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ / 6 6 N
Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ / a'. 47 2, 97, p. 1, 21, 23 ovember 1829.
m E fM' 55 75
185 xtracts o ~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,697, p. 1,779, 21 December 1829. 188 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47;2,599, p. 505, April 1s
10 30.
187 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2 ,599, p. 400. 19 March 18 o.
3
Ext.t;acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 702 p. 314' 4 March 1831.
188 Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. ' ' '
630
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
entrance was made. The inner wall of the staircase under the bell
turret bears the following inscription:
This Entrance to the Royal Arsenal was planned, and the Gateway constructed by order of General Viscount Beresford, G.C.B., G.C.H. Master-General of tlze Ordnance in the tenth Year oftlze Reign of His Majesty King George IV A.D. r829
Part of this plan was to move the main bulk of gentlemen cadets up to the new Academy on the Common. The houses occupied by the Assistant Inspector R.M.A. and the Instructing Officer were, as has already been stated, handed over to the deputy storekeeper and the clerk of the survey respectively. As a result, the cadets' dining hall, a room 50 feet long by 25 feet broad, became a storeroom. The cottage in Dishwash Lane, vacated by the deputy storekeeper, was let on a 7-14 years lease by public tender at a rent of £20-£30 p.a. The firemaster's house, which had been under sentence ofdemolition for twentyyears was pulled down. The house in the Royal Arsenal occupied by Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Phipps, R.E., Inspector of the R.M.A., was handed over to the Deputy AdjutantGeneral R.A. This made a Field Officers' quarter available. The two light mortar beds to adorn the gate-houses or lodges were cast by the Inspector of Artillery in the Royal Brass Foundry, on an order signed by the Master-General on 30 May 1829. The total
4d.189
expense of the new entrance amounted to £1,295. 6s.
Originally there was ofcourse no top storey over the gateway when it was first erected. This superstructure was added in 1891. Several alterations at the entrance have taken place since the original construction in 1829. An extension to the west side of the gateway on two floors, which included an office for the Superintendent of Police and the bell-tower, were built on in 1859. An extension on the east side of the gateway (one floor) was added in 1889. The superstructure, as stated, was put up in 1891. Lastly the side gates were widened, double gates being introduced in 1936. This main gateway suffered in the Second World War as the result of blast from bombs. The central arch developed cracks and had to be shored up. The damaged part was rebuilt soon after that ,var terminated.
Little ofimportance except the building of the new entrance took place in 1829. The Works Estimates were £10,503. gs. 8¼d., a
189 PRO/W0/44/292.
ADOLESCENCE
slight increase over those of previous years. In these were included £158. 18s. 6d. towards the Arsenal Gate. Repairs were approved as follows. Foundry and Dial Square £478. Bs. 2d., Royal Laboratory £354. 18s. 3d., Royal Carriage Department £483. 15s. 3¾d., and the Department of the Inspector of Artillery £147. os. 5-i/;-d.1 90 Other services were a further raising of the practice butt,191 the conversion of the blacksmiths' shop in the R.C.D. into an iron store at the cost of £283. rns. 6d., sanctioned by a Board letter dated 24
April 1829,192 and the adaptation of a ?uilding in the R.L. to house a steam-driven boring apparatus; sanct10ned by a Board letter dated 21 December 1829.193
Lastly the Board announced on 9 November 1829 that the Treasury had approved, at a cost of£879. rns. 4fd., the erection of a wooden wharf to enable the new convict ship at Woolwich to lie opposite Convict _Square in the R?yal Arsenal.194 ••
Before proceedmg to the followmg year, the loss of a pnv1lege in 1829 must be mentioned. This was the abolition of Watering-time. In the early part ofthe nineteenth century the custom ofsuspending work for half an hour morning and afternoon prevailed. These
intervals were known as 'watering-time' and during them barrels of beer were brought in from public houses by potmen in order that the liquid refreshment might sustain the spirits and energies of the workmen. These interludes were the fore-runners of the present 'elevenses' and 'tea-hour'. One can imagine that this order did not
prove ofoutstanding popularity. The Works Estimates for 1830 showed a slight decrease over those of the preceding year, being £9,179. 17s. 4¼d. The bills for repairs were somewhat heavier being £1,580. 5s. 6d. for the storekeeper's department, £963. r 1s. 6d. for the Royal Laboratory, £r 13. 2s. 2d. for the Royal Carriage Department, £gr. r6s. od. for the house of the Inspector R.C.D. on Shooters Hill and £192. rs. 6d. for the
195
boundary wall. The remainder ofthe year provides little ofinterest, yet for the sake of record the items must be quoted. A Board's letter dated 27 January 1830 referred to a plan and
estimate of the expense of constructing a fire-proof building for the secure storage of rockets in the Royal Arsenal. The estimated cost was £962. gs. r rd.196 A further letter from the Board dated r2 May
r830 authorized the repair of the roof of the Model Room of the Royal Arsenal, which was of course the old Academy or Tower uo PRO/WO/49/150.
191
192 Extracts of Mi~utes, Seri~ II, PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 382, 18 March 1829. Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 569. Engineer Papers,
PRO/WO /55/758. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. m PROfWO/49/153.
m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
632
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Place to give it its original name, at a cost of £114. os. s¼d, The cost was to be brought forward in the Estimates for I 83 I ,197
r2 May r830. A crane to be fixed on the upper floor of the R.L. store for materials at a cost of £24. I 3s. 3½d.198 • • 30 August r830. £35. 8s. 6d. was paid for altering lamp irons and painting and lettering the lamps.199 • 27 September r830. Additional store-houses for preservmg wooden planks t0 be erected in the Royal Carriage Department.200 There was, however, ·ng of £100 effected on the estimate for laying the foundations of
a sav1 . r • d
these buildings and this, it was agreed, should be used m re1ormmg an raising the boundary wall.201 25 October r830. Trees for shelter and amenity are to be planted on Ordnance property at Woolwich.202 • 24 November r830. Messrs John Hall of Dartford are to supply the iron
1. ade fence for the Royal Arsenal. Payment is to be made as heretofore
pa IS 203
by supplying old iron guns valued at £3. 6s. 6d. per ton.
It was agreed in October 1830 that owing to the difficulty of obtaining civilian bricklayers, all available bricklayers in the Royal Artillery should be placed at the disposal of the C.R.E. so that ~he foundations of the new Arsenal storehouses under construction could be completed during the good weather.204 • •
O n 18 December 1830 there was an explos10n 1n the Rocket
1 •
Establishment, but there appear to have been no casua ties. 20-.,
Ordnance Book No. 598 gives the particulars of the Royal Arse_nal for 1830. There is little change from the earlier books as new ~uild. h ad practically been at a standstill since r815. The houses 1n the
ing . .r. 11 • ffi .
Royal Arsenal were in that year occupied by the i.o owing o cers •
The Commandant (Major-General Sir George Fisher)
The Director-General ofArtillery (Lieut.-General SirJohn Mac_leod)206
The Deputy Adjutant General R.A. (Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson)
The Director, Royal Laboratory (Colone~ Sir Augustus Frazer)
The Chief Firemaster (Colonel Charles _Bm~ham) .
The Assistant Inspector R.C.D. (Capta1? Ri~h~rd Hardmge)
The Superintendent of Shipping (Captam Dickinson, R.N.)
Besides these there were four Field Officers' quarters, the houses occupied by the clerk of the survey and by the deputy storek~eper (not yet in residence), an unappropriated house vacated by Lieut.Colonel G. W. Phipps, R.E., the Inspector of the R.M.A., and two
m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. 19s Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,699, P· 666. 199 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 , 193· 200 Extracts of Minutes Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,7oo, P· I,34B. b 201 Extracts of Minutes: Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 ,437, 15 Octo er 183o. 202 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 ,484. 203 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 ,643. 204 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. 206 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700,. P· 1,sar 20s This house was temporarily in the possession of a Field O ccr.
42 633
ADOLESCENCE
small tenements. The latter were inhabited by the 2nd clerk of the storekeeper's department and the issuing clerk of the R.E. Department.
Apart from these there was the storekeeper's house (Middle Gate House), and the chaplain's quarters at the Ordnance chapel in the Plumstead Road.
The year r83 r might be described as one ofconsiderable unimportance. By now the number ofemployees had dropped to the neighbourhood of 700, ofwhich the Royal Laboratory accounted for r20. The Works Estimates were down again to £7,481. Bs. g-}d., the main items in which were a new stone floor to the old Sea storehouse £
307.
r8s. 7fd., a new stone floor to the copper store £roo. r3s. ro½d., repairs to the junk wad sheds and fences £304. 2s. 2¾d., and a sum of£353. Is. 5i d. for the renovation of the Long White storehouse which had recently been transferred to the storekeeper from the Royal Carriage Department.207 Regarding the latterit was agreed on g December r 83 r, that all the money allotted for this service ~hould not be ~s_ed 01_1 the L?1:g White store~ouse, but that part of 1t should be utilized m repairmg and reformmg the adjacent brick
building known as the Pontoon Carriage Store. 20s
Two contractors are mentioned. The contract of Cornelius Brand for painting and glazing which terminated on r J anuary 1831 wa renewed for another 3 years,209 and John Edwards was given th s
contract for paper hanging for 3 years from 8 J une r 831.210 e
Messrs John Hall of Dartford obtained tv. o contracts during the year. One on 2 March I 83 I to cast twelve hollow iron columns t complete the Lodge or Auction Room at Woolwich,211 and the othe~ on 5 ?ctober 1831 to cast the iron work required for the palisade
fehn~ehmtendedbto securde _the approach to the fire-proof buildings w 1c were to e erecte m the following year.212 A Board letter dated 10 June 1831 stated that Mr Smith th solicitor, had been instructed to prepare documents for obtainin; the leases of the cottages near the entrance gates of the R I
Ar 121a Th b" f . oya
sena . e o ~ect o this move was to demolish these prope t·
· h · k" r 1es
wit a view to ma 1_n_g a new approach road across what is now
Be~esford Squ~re. Ansmg out of this decision Messrs Pank, Eve and
C
n~p. were p~1d the annuities granted to them in consideration of the1r mterest m these cottages.214
On 9 March I 83 I it was ordered that the platform of the mortar
207 PRO/WO/49/153.
::: Extracts of M~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,694. ;10 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 18, 5 January 13 1. 111 Extracts ofM!-11utes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 784, 8June 1831.3
Extracts of M!-11utes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,7o2, p. 301.
211
m Ext~acts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,369.
Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/551759.
114
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,019, 23July 1831.
634
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
and other practice batteries on the practice range were to be replaced
as necessary.216
Poor Mr Wallis was in the wars again. He had another cow killed during artillery practice and was awarded £12. 10s. od. compensation on 7 September 1831.216
This was the year of the coronation of King William IV and his consort. The ceremony took place on 8 September 183 1 in Westminster Abbey. As usual the R.L. supplied fireworks in Hyde Park for the occasion, and on 21 September 1831 the storekeeper was instructed to pay the expenses.217
Things brightened up a little in the following year. There was quite a burst of renewed activity in new building. Old storehouses which had served their purpose for so long were now falling into such a state of dilapidation that more up-to-date ones had to be constructed, and the question ofstoring what were called 'combustile stores', i.e. rockets, carcases, etc., which had been exercising the minds of officials for some time now, became resolved. A new fireproof establishment was therefore set up. However meagre the funds available, and money for armaments was still at a minimum, the march of progress could not be indefinitely stayed.
The n ew fire-proof establishment, which still stands, though it is now mainly devoted to the tinsmith's art, was built in the S.E. portion of the Arsenal of that date on the site of the old wooden stables which had housed contract horses. A Board's letter of 30 March 1832 authorized their demolition for this purpose.218 It stated that 'In order to clear the ground for the erection of the fire-proof establishment the old temporary wooden stables occupying the said ground should be carefully demolished so that when the estimates for the new buildings are authorized, work could proceed.'219
The Works Estimates for 1832 show quite an appreciable increase. They totalled £14,889. 15s. 6d., a sum mainly accounted for by an item of£6,000 towards new building.220 On 2 May 1832, an interim sum of £1,000 was approved in order to commence the construction of the fire-proof buildings pending the anticipation of the proposed grant as it was thought that the Ordnance Estimates would not be voted till the end of the month.221 Later on, i.e. on 29 August 1832, the two sums were merged and £7,000 in all was granted for the erection of new buildings in the Royal Arsenal during the year, provided they would be completed for that sum.222
215 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,702, p. 344· 21 G Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,703, p. 1,216. 217 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,703, p. 1,286. 218 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/759.210 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,568, P· 2,738. 220 PRO/W0/49/155.221 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,572, P· 3,748. 222 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,583, P· 7,404.
635
ADOLESCENCE
When the estimate of£6,000 was submitted, it was accompanied by a plan of the new fire-proof establishment in the S.E. portion of the Arsenal. It also included details of the new buildings to replace during 1831 those falJing into decay, the replacement of which had been authorized by the Master-General and Board on 29 September 1830. There is a bulky file on this subject in the Public Record Office,223 containing two plans, one before the suggested building in 183 I and I 832 took place, and the other showing the suggested
developments. There were five projects in all.
( 1) To erect and finish a fire-proof building (No. 1 the western-most building) to contain in safety carcases, rockets and other highly combustible stores. Length 60 feet, width 18 feet, height of piers 8 feet and rise ofarch 10 feet. This was estimated to cost £1,252.
(2)
To lay the foundations of two other fire-proof buildings similar to the first. Cost £450.
(3)
To build a powder magazine to hold 1,000 barrels of gunpowder. Cost £1,550.
(4)
To construct a building for seasoning timber near the saw-mill.
Length 286 feet, breadth 24 feet and height to plate 15 feet. Estimated cost £2,400.
(5) To lay the foundation of a new storehouse amounting to £ 8.
34 In this connection there was a design dated 15 December 1331 accompanied by an e~timate for £264.. 17s. 4fd., dated 5 Januar;
1832, for the construct10n ofa double series ofarched shot-bins under the floor of No. 2 fire-proof building already contemplated under the £6,000 estimate.224
The powder magazine mentioned at (3) above is ofcourse the one the design for which was forwarded to the Board on r o ovemher
225
1827. The actu~l cost was est~mated to be £r,554. ,µ. 6d. As ~vents turne~ out 1t was not considered in the Estimates for 3;
1 29
1t had to wait for those_ of 1832. The building for seasoning timber ~as that fore~hadowed m 1830.226 We are told that it was complete m every detail by 18 June 1832 when it was ordered to be handed over to the Royal Car~iage_Department.227 Two reports withfour plans
were prepared on this building development. They are voluminous documents and are preserved in the Public Record Office.22s Th are_ headed ~Completion of S.E. portion of the Royal Arsenal'. T~: mam report 1s dated 18 August 1832 and the remarks ofthe Director Roya! Laboratory, upon it are dated 13 September r832. It give~ the history of the development of the fire-proof buildings and of the gunpowder magazine establishment to the east of them. It points
123 PRO/W0/44/292. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/759. 115 See note 164.
11• See note 200.
217 Ordnance Minutes, PROfW0/4711 576 p 5 242
m PRO/W0/44/292. ' ' . ' .
636
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
out that there were some private houses between the magazine
establishment and the Plumstead Road which should for security
reasons be purchased and demolished. An iron plate on the wall of
No. 1 fire-proof building still testifies that the establishment was
completed in 1832.
The removal of the wooden stables damaged and laid bare part of the boundary of the Royal Arsenal at this point, so authority was given on 13 April 1832 to make good and raise the wall at this point
gd.229
at a cost of £203. 2s.
The Board by letter dated r g October 1832 authorized an iron palisade fence to be built across the space between the fire-proof establishment and the magazine guardroom.230 We have already learnt that Messrs John Hall of Dartford got the contract for the iron work of this 'unclimable fence' on 5 October 1831.231
The gap left by the demolition of the stables was not the only part of the boundary which required attention. On 22 June 1832 it was agreed that the wall next to the storekeeper's garden should be reformed at a cost of £185. ¥· 6¾d. in anticipation of its approval in the estimates.232
The practice which had persisted so long and which the authorities had been at pains to regularize, namely, the admittance of unauthorized persons, was now dealt with in a proper manner. At one time, Woolwich inhabitants roamed the premises at will and thefts were a common occurrence. Circumstances improved later when the walls and canal were set up, but no proper system of regulating visits had developed. On 11 April r832 there appeared Orders for admission ofpersons into the Royal Arsenal.233
A. Extract from the orders of the Main Guard
The N.C.O. at the Arsenal Gate is to conduct all strangers presenting themselves for admission to the Captain of the Guard who is to be guided by the following rules in regard to allowing them to enter, as well as by the instructions in the Book at the Gate.
(
r) No strangers are to be permitted to go round the Royal Arsenal without a responsible person to conduct them; one of the guard to be always in readiness for this duty. .
(2)
No foreigner is to be admitted on any account without an order from the Master-General through the Commandant of the Garrison.
(3)
As a general principle, strangers, unless accompanied by an Officer in uniform are not to be admitted without an order from the Commandant's ~ffi.ce but discretionary power is lodged with the Captain of the Guard to ad~it such as are personally known to him, and strangers ofrespectability from a distance, who present themselves and are ignorant
229 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,570, P· 3,299. z3o Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759. 231 See note 212. 232 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,577, p. 5,385. 1133 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,570, p. 3,116.
637
ADOLESCENCE
of the necessary forms, taking care to have their names entered in the Book, and to send a man of the Guard round with them.
B. Extract from tlze orders for tlze N.C.O. at tlze Royal Arsenal Gate
All strangers presenting themselves at the gate for admission into th Royal Arsenal, unless accompanied by an officer in uniform of the Armye Navy or Marines, arc to be conducted to the Officer of the Main Gua d'
The names, professions, residences, etc. of all strangers admitted rt · view the Royal Arsenal-whether accompanied by an officer or not-0 to be inserted in the Book, and the name ofthe person who goes round w:;~
them. The names of pe:sons in the habit of going frequently to the different depart1:1-ents on business-and are known personally to the porters-need not be inserted. When_ persons require admittance on business with any of the departments-if they are not kno~--one of the porters is to be sent to show them the way, and to ascertam that they go to the department · d
r. enquire
ior.
When persons not known to the porters at the Gate apply for ad "tt
"d · th R rru ance
to any of th e res1 ents m_ e oyal Arsenal, they are to be conducted b one of the Guard who IS to see that they go to the person h y
. d r. H . k ' or ouse
enqmre ior. e IS not to ta e any gratuity for so doing or show the ' round the Royal Arsenal. m
No foreigner is to be admitted on any account without a d r.
nor er irom
the Master-General, through the Commandant of the Garrison.
C. Extract from the Orders for the West Wharf Guard
Strangers are not to be allowed to land in the Royal A. 1 · h
' . . . l sena Wl t OUt
the Commandant s special pernussion, except they are upo hi M · , service, in which case a man of the Guard is to be sent ton sd aJehsty s
. con uct t em
to the department enqmred for. Naval and military offi · ·r.
cers 111 un1.1orm
b
are to e allowed to land and the Officer of the Wharf G d
h. d" · · • uar may use
Is IScretion m a11owmg persons known to him as con t d · h h
. nee e w1 t t e
G
arnson or departments to land or embark during the day.
D. Extractfrom the Orders for the N.C.0.'s on the Wharf
He is not to allow any stranger to land in the Royal Ar I · h
· 1 1 sena wit out
h
t e specia eave of the Commandant military and na I ffi ·
·n d H · • ' va O cers In
um orm excepte . e 1s to mform the Officer commanding th W t Wharf Guard when other persons wish to land and his d e .es
the t b b d Th , Or ers respecting
m ar~ o e o eye . e officers and persons known as belon in to the convict hulks, or actually employed in th br d g g not to be interfered with. e pu ic epartments are
. The.following are al_lowed to land and pass into the Royal Arsenal 1mmed1ately on presentmg themselves and giving their names:
The Master-General The Right Hon. Sir James Kempt G c B The Surveyor-General Lieut-Colonel William Leader M~be;ly. ·
M.P. ' Clerk of the Ordnance
Thomas Francis Kennedy, Esq., M.P.
638
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Principal Storekeeper Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, C.B., R.N.
The Treasurer Thomas Creevy Esq., M.P. Secretary to the MasterGeneral Lieut.-Colonel Couper
A.D.C. to the MasterGeneral Lieut.-Colonel York
Secretary to the Board Richard Byham, Esq.
The above regulations were altered slightly in 1836. Cards were then printed for the admission of visitors to the Royal Arsenal. The cards were printed by Mr E. Jones and the Commandant of the Garrison submitted his bill to the Board on 19 September 1836. Later on an order appeared on 7 October 1840 to the effect that all visitors to the Royal Laboratory were forbidden except on business without an order from the Master-General, a Principal Officer of the Board, the Commandant of the Garrison, the Director R.L. or his deputy.234 The Master-General was greatly disposed to limit visitors to all parts of the Royal Arsenal and not confine the restrictions merely to the Royal Laboratory; he asked the Board to discuss the question with the Commandant.235 On 14 October 1840, the Civil Officers transmitted to the Board a copy of the regulations admitting British visitors to the Royal Arsenal. They enclosed the cards by which the public had hitherto been allowed to enter, and a copy of a temporary order issued by the Commandant on 5 October 1840, stating that 'no strangers whatever are permitted to enter any of the public departments in the Royal Arsenal, or to leave the road marked out for their guidance' which accompanied the card issued to visitors. This was approved and ordered to be adopted at other out-stations.236
These regulations, laid down in 1832, remained in principle in force up to the First World War and much of their substance is applicable today. W.D. Constabulary have replaced troops and messengers have taken the place of porters as guides; otherwise the main precepts embodied in the rules are still observed. The permanent pass and the trader's pass are of course more modern developments.
These new instructions and the new guardhouse for the magazine near the fire-proof establishment demanded additional sentry-boxes I id.237
and five more were purchased for £36. 10s.
234 PRO/W0/44/296.235 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,875, p. 12,257, 7 October 1840. 286 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,876, p. 12,451. :ia1 PRO/W0/49/155.
639
ADOLESCENCE
Other principal works services carried out in 1832 were the draining of Beresford Square at a cost of £52. 16s. 1¾d., repairs to the Royal Laboratory at a cost of £163. 14.s. 10d., the fitting of a new roof to vice shop No. 24 in the Royal Carriage Department for £214. r rs. o¾d., and the erection of a large public privy for £r 16. 9s. 9-!d, The latter appears to have been the first public lavatory built in the Royal Arsenal, the earlier 'conveniencies' being attached to specific offices and workshops.238 One other authorization was made on 22 August 1832. This was the approval to build at the cost of £492. 16s. 3}d. a house to contain the new steam engine
installed in the Royal Carriage Department in lieu of the two
engines already there. Mr Hague supplied the new engine.2so
The wooden wharf for the convict hulk Justicia which the
Treasury had approved in 18~9240 was completed on r 1 July
r832
at a cost of£855. I4S. 9d. which was some £24 under the original estimate.241 The Woolwich Estimate for the year, amounting to £45,662, was not approved till 5 November 1832.242
It was agreed on 23 January 1832, that William Stace, the stor~keeper, sho~ld repr~sent the _Ordna1:ce Department in parish affairs at Woolwich and 1n the ne1ghbounng parishes.243
Turning to technical affairs for a moment it was ordered on 30 May 1832 that the upper deck guns ofH.M.S. Castor, commanded by Captain Sir R. Grant, should be fitted in the Arsenal with percussion hammers. A sufficient quantity of tubes were to be despatched with the guns to the ship which was being fitted out at Chatham Dockyard.244
The storekeeper's position was further strengthened on M ay
30
1832 when all stores on charge of the Engineer D epartment were handed over to that official.245 On 18 July 1832 the Home Department was informed that the burial place on the Essex sh~re allotted to convicts who might die aboard the hulks was not available for those succumbing to cholera. T~e Departme?-t was also told _that the Board had no other ground smtable for this purpose on either the Kent or Essex side of the river.246 The health of the convict establishment was generally bad due no doubt to overcrowding and their harsh conditions of life' working for the most part in mud and water. There was a good deai
238 PRO/WO/49/155.239 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759. 240 See note 194.
::; Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,579. p. 5,962. Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,590, p. 9,663.143 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,561, p. 539.
144
145 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,574, p. 4,688. m Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,574, p. 4,691. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,579, p. 6,207.
640
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
of cholera at this time, and as an inquest had to be held on every prisoner who died, the public conscience was deeply stirred by the high death-rate among the unfortunate wretches.
It was decided on 5 September 1832 to let for the public benefit, the piece of marshland on the N .E. side of the practice range containing I 1 acres, 2 roods and 38 perches, as there was, in addition, ample pasturage available for any horses which might be turned out to graze.247 Lieut. Alexander Reid, the proofmaster, expressed his desire on 29 October 1832 to rent this holding and offered £2. r2s. od. per acre per annum. His offer was accepted.248
Although the property concerned was outside the bounds of the Royal Arsenal, its sale was indirectly connected with that place when the Board of Ordnance offered a plot of ground and buildings near the Royal Dockyard, and a tenement behind the Coopers' Arms in the High Street, for cUsposal. The auction took place on Friday 28 September 1832, the reserve price of the former being £75 and that of the latter £20.249 These figures seem to show that the premises must have been in the nature of what we should now term 'slum property'. Mr Shott, who bought the premises near the Royal Dockyard for £182, had the conveyance refused owing to a defective title, so it was agreed to accept Mr David Slater's offer of £ 100.250 H e w as in a great hurry. He would not wait for the necessary conveyance to be drawn up. I-le paid the £roo down promptly in cash and asked to be put in immediate possession of the slip of ground, an action which was agreed to.251
Towards the end of the year William Jones, the deputy storekeeper, whose garden had been taken for the erection of the 1:ew buildings in the eastern end of the Arsenal, asked for another piece of land to cultivate. He pointed out that there was a vacant plot at the eastern end of the breaking-up yard which had lain derelict for many years and said in his application that the Master-General and Board had always been happy to sanction such requests from officers of the Department. Perhaps the Master-General did not appreciate the advice on what made him happy for he replied t~rsely to M r Jones informing him that nothing coul~ be done until the Committee appointed for the new arrangements 1n the Royal Arsenal had reported.252 Not one whit abashed, Mr Jones repeated his request; this time for a piece of land near the canal as a garden. This was refused him on the grounds that the appearance ofa great National Establishment would be spoilt by such an encroachment.253
247 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,584, p. 7,653. 248 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,589, p. 9,426. 2'19 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\VO/47/1 ,586, p. 8,202. 250 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,613, p. 5,395, 21 June 1833. 251 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,613, p. 5,612, 28June 1833. 252 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,593, p. 10,663, 7 D<:_cember 1832. 253 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/VVO/47/1,628, p. 10,155, 20 November 1833.
641
ADOLESCENCE
Somehow, in studying the records of this period, one gains the impression, perhaps uajustly, that William Jones was an unpleasant person, self-opinionated and inclined to be a little truculent. His official life came to a bad end as will be unfolded later. By his later action he lost for ever his opportunity of succeeding Joseph Cheetham as storekeeper.
Thus ends theyear whenaslightbreeze ruffled the calm. Itdied away at once and in the following years the doldrums are enteredonce more.
The Works Estimates for 1833 were £6,320. os. 8fd.,254 a decided drop on those for the preceding year. There were no outstanding items listed, the money being spent on maintenance and routine repairs.
The main interest during the year was the reorganization of the Engineering Department. On 6 June 1833, the Committee which had investigated the Engineer Department at Devenport, was ordered to transfer its attentions to the Engineer Department at Woolwich.266 The Committee submitted a very full report in the
following August. Their recommendations, endorsed by the M asterGeneral, were ordered to be put into practice on 20 August 1s _256
33
The recommendations were briefly as follows:
( 1) As the whole Royal Corps of Sappers and Miners257 were in future to be concentrated at Woolwich, and as there would always be a minimum of two companies of ~trength ninety each st_ationed there, this m ilitary labour would be sufficient to carry out the mam work of the Engineer Department i? the ~oyal -'Ysenal,_except that of_glaziers, plumbers, painters,
plasterers (mcludmgwhitewashmg and colouring), paviors, slaters, cabinet makers, boot makers, scavengers and engine makers. The latter work should be executed under contract.
(2)
Civil workmen were to be discharged as soon as their places could be taken by men of the Royal Corps of Sappers and M iners.
(3)
~though norma~ly cartage work should be carried out by contract horses, 1t would be advisable to find work for Royal Artillery horses.
(4)
The civil establishment of the Engineer Department was to be as under:
! Clerk of Works, 5 clerks, I office keeper, I sluice and bargemaster and 2 Foremen of Works.
(5) The following redundant posts were to be abolished: r Foreman of Carpenters, I F~reman of Smiths, 2 ~oremen of Labourers, 2 gutter cleaners, I Supermtendent of water engmes and water supplies, 1 porter
and I storehouseman.
In addition to the above there were some other minor modifications in procedure proposed.
m PROJWO/49/157. ::: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,611, p. 5,001. m Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,619, p. 7,361, 23 August 1833.
Renamed the Corps ofRoyal Engineers in October r856.
642
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The Board approved this report on 23 August 1833. The two foremen of works in the new civil establishment were to be the existing overseers on the same rates ofpay. In place of the discharges foreshadowed in (5) above, there were to be posted one N.C.O. of bricklayers, one N.C.O. of carpenters, one N.C.O. of smiths, two N.C.O.'s of labourers and an N.C.O. and three privates for water engines and water supplies.258 The new civil establishment was to operate from 1 January 1833.250 Since change-overs take time to become effective, the Board on 21 October 1833 stated that until the Sappers and Miners had been taken on in the Engineer Department, convicts might be employed therein as artificers.260
As a result of this reorganization the following employees were discharged : Recommended for superannuation
James Barling l William ~inter } Labourers
John McArthur Henry Wam w· kh IForemen
W1.111am. 1c am
James Larkin
Not eligible for pensions-Discharged with a fortnight's pay
W illiam Allender : Foreman of Carpenters
George Poe : Superintendent of water supplies
William Inch : Gutter cleaner
John Quinn : Porter, Engineer Gate ,I\Tilliam Allender was to be noted as a possible foreman of works.261
I t w as felt that the Ordnance lands at Woolwich should now be properly surveyed in order to assist the storekeeper in the assessment of rentals. The Board were very large landowners in the Woolwich district and it seemed merely common sense that a correct survey of their property should be made. The survey ofthe lands in Plumstead was ordered on g January 1833,262 and as the Vestry of Plumstead agreed, the C.R.E. was instructed to start work on 28 January 1833.263 The surveys in question were completed on 19 August 1833 and handed over to the Civil Officers.264
Under the regulation of 27 February 1833, it was ordered that the future occupiers of the Arsenal houses listed below should pay rates, taxes and a proportion of the repairs, instead of the charge falling to the public.265
Owing to the recommendation of the Committee on Stores
268 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
2°0 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
200 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
261 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
262 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,596, P· 225.
263 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,599, P· 997•
264 The name adopted from now on for the Respective Officers. . .
266 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,607, p. 3,797, 26 April 1833. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
ADOLESCEN CE
No. 1 The Director, Royal Laboratory
Under No. 4 The Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage one Department roof No. 7 The Chief Firemaster
/ No. 10 The Superintendent of Shipping House Clerk of Survey House Deputy Storekeeper
Tenement Receiving and issuing Clerk: R.E. Department Tenement Clerk, Storekeeper's Department
Plumstead Road
House Storekeeper
whereby goods after manufacture were delivered to the departments and not to the clerk of the survey, the latter post was abolished with effect from 1 July 1833 and the duties connected with it transferred to the storekeeper and the manufacturing departments. Mr John Guest-the clerk of the survey-was granted a reduced rate of £280 p.a. on the abolition of his office and was to be reemployed at the first opportunity. 266 The first reaction to this new policy was a request_ for _upgrading by the Director, Royal Laboratory, for the clerks m his department, for in accordance with the Board's orders of 25 March and 17 April, certain stores and storehouses were to be han~ed over by the storekeeper to the Royal La_bo~atory. The followmg stores were to be kept in the fire-proof bmldmgs when completed; Congreve rockets, fixed carcases light and smoke balls, Valenciennes composition, fi.)ced hand grenad~s and
fire-ship stores. It was also proposed that three foremen and fifteen 1abourers_shou1d also_ be tra:15ferre?, but on the Director R.L. stating that he did not reqmre the1r services they were discharged ther b effecting a saving of£669. os. gd. a year. It was because he conside;e~ t~: _transfe: of these stor_es would increase the duties and responsib1lities ofhis clerks, thatSir Augustus Frazer-theDirector-propo d that William Caffin, the rst cler½, should become deputy sto:eekeeper and that Messrs Charl~s Ellis and Augustus Wright, the nd
2
and 3rd clerks, should be appomted rst and 2nd clerks. Sir August added that he did not consider that the post ofjunior clerk shou~~ be filled. In other words he was out for upo-rading and not fcor
· f bli h O an
mcrease o esta s ment. This proposal was forwarded to the Clerk of the Ordnance on 29 May 1833.267 The Board did not take overlong to make up their mind. They rejected the suggestion out of
hand on 24June 1833.26s
It ':as, ~owever, eventually accepted in 1835. The minute recordmg this acceptance dated 20 July 1835 states:
::; Ordnance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,610, p. 4,576, 24 May 1833. 218 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,610, p. 4,717. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,513, p. 5,458.
644
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
As the clerks in the Royal Laboratory had represented that their chance of promotion had been worsened since 1828 when the post of D eputy Storekeeper, left vacant by the superannuation of Mr Henry Dugleby, had remained unfilled, it was agreed that a new establishment should be set up with effect from I July 1835.
Proposed establishment
Deputy Storekeeper-William Caffin-£250 rising by £10 to £350.
1st Clerk-Charles Ellis-£180 rising by £10 to £250.
2nd Clerk-Augustus Wright-£150 rising by £10 to £180.
After 7 years this will increase costs by £8r per annum.269
The C.R.E. now got into trouble and received a sharp rebuke from the Master-General. It appeared that in view of the recommendations of the Committee, Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Jones need only have demanded £200 at the time he asked for an additional £ 1 ooo 270 when Parliament had voted £6,000 for the new fire-proof
, '
establishment and other storehouses.271 It was a sort of valedictory message in reverse since he vacated his appointment of C.R.E. Woolwich Division on I I September 1833 being replaced by Lieut.-Colonel George Harding R.E.272
Mr Francis Pellatt, 3rd clerk under the Civil Officers, was granted permission on 30 September 1833 to reside in the quarter in the R oyal Arsenal allotted to Mr Cornelius Sharp, 2nd clerk in the same department who did not wish to live there.273 Mr Pellatt was nut in possession of the quarter on g October.274 ,. On 28 August 1833, the Board approved of experiments being carried out in the Royal Arsenal on Mr John Howard Kyan's antidry-rot process. It may perhaps 1:ot be a~preciated that this p~rticular form of timber decay was bemg studied so closely at the tlme.275 T he tests were exhaustive and took three years to carry out, but the results w ere so promising that the authorities decided to adopt the process. Articles were originally treated at the firm's works, but on rg September 1836, the Anti-Dry-~ot Company offered to install a tank in the Royal Arsenal at their own expense and to treat all timber and wood there with Kyan's anti-dry-rot solution at the same price as they did previously at their own premises, namely 20s. per load of 50 cubic feet and 5s. per cwt for canvas, cordage, bags etc. The firm also agreed that the processing at Woolwich should be under the superintendence of any person whom the C.R.E. might nominate. This offer was accepted and on 28 September 1836, the
269 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,687, p. 6,664.
21° See notes 221 and 222.
271 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/v\TO/47/1,610, p. 4,505, 22 May 1833.
272 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,621, p 8,007, 16 September 1833.
273 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,622, p. 8,371.
274 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4:7/1,625, p. 9,224.
275 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
645
ADOLESCENCE
C.R.E. was instructed to select a convenient site for the tank.276 The tank was ordered to be set up on 5 October 1836.277 Stores for hot climates were treated by this process, for it is recorded that:
300 pick-axe handles 200 shovel handles and I 25 sets of materials for arms chests were to be processed before despatch to Bermuda.27B
On 7 August 1833, a building to act as a shifting house was ordered to be built in the Magazine Yard at a cost of£101. ros. 6d.270 Sea levels at Woolwich were to be repaired on g September r833 at a cost of£29. 18s. 5f d. 280 A wooden building near the East Wharf, erected during the war with France, was authorized for demolition on 28 August 1833.281 On the other hand, the repair of the bulkhead at the old butt at an estimated cost of£281. 1os. 7½d. was disallowed,
no funds being available. 282 There are only two other items worth mentioning:
(I)
Hay cue from the canal banks amounting to 45 loads to be sold in the usual manner.283
(2)
Mr Baker, foreman ofworks, is allowed a couple of vacant rooms
in the Engineer Office in the barracks, as the house he occupied in James Street is ordered to be sold.284
Affairs reached a new ebb in 1834. The Woolwich Estimate was only £3,165285 and the Works Estimate £3,530. r3s. old .28 6 Nothing at all ofimportance happened and the records for th""e year are devoid ofinciden~. !here was a suggestion that a piece of ground in
~ront of Holy Tnruty, _then a new church, should be given up to improve the entrance mto the Royal Arsenal in exchange for the Board's erecting an iron railing estimated to cost £68. r5s. 2d., but the Master-General declined to intervene in the affair. 287
Three visits ofimp~rtance to?k place in the latter half of the year. On 29 M~y 1834 _Pnnce Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and his suite, accomparued by Sir James Kempt, the Master-General visited the
Royal ~senal_a~d witness:d some excellent rocket shoo~ing, and in June, King Wilham IV paid a royal visit.288 On 31 July 1834, Earl
276 PRO/WO/44/293.
::; Engineer Pa~ers, PRO/WO/55/760. Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,782, p. 3,098, g March 18 8.
2; 0
280 Ordnance M0utes, PRO/WO/47/1,617, p. 6,g12. 3 Ord;11ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,620, p. 7,839. ::: Engineer Pa~ers, PRO/WO/55/759. Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,628, p. 10,155, 22 November 18
: 83 33.
Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,618, p. 7,1 36, 1g August 18
; 84 33.
286 Ordnance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,626, p. 9,796, 11 November 1833. Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1 648 p 5 493 288 PRO/WO/49/158. ' ' . ' .
287 288 Ord;11ance Minutes, PRO/WO/t7/r,646, p. 4,861, 30 May 1833. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
646
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Grey and his family in company with Sir James Kempt, came to look over the Arsenal. The day was wet but they were shown around.
William Painter, a bargeman, was on 4 June 1834 allowed to occupy a small wooden b~ilcling adjoining the la_n~ing ylacc ~n the Essex shore on the condit1.0n that he kept the bmldmg 1n repair and took charge of the landing stage.289 A letter from the Board dated 15 August 1834 authorized _the re~~ir of the Arsenal clock at an estimated cost of £40-£45 in add1t:1on to £5. 10s. od. to £6 for new Iines.290 Another letter from the Board dated 13 June 1834 sanctioned the installation of racks in one of the fire-proof buildings to take 3,650 rockets at a cost of £65. I 2s. 4d. The racks were to contain the following rockets:
2,450 24lb. rockets 500 61b. rockets 500 12lb. rockets 200 3lb. rockets291
The fire-proof buildings were ready to be taken over by the Royal Laboratory on 10 October ~~34· ~though they were by then dry enough to receive ammurub.on, it was proposed at that mom.ent to store therein only Congreve rockets, hand grenades, field anununition and fire-ship stores received from Barking Creek. It was possible to store 22,000 fixed carcases ~n these buildings if the Board so wished, but as these were placed in a good sound store, albeit not fire-proof, it was decided that they should not be transferred to the new buildings in view ofthe expense. It was also agreed that powder should not be placed in the princ~pal ma?azine as this buildino-had not, as yet, its platforms for receipt and issue, and th e presenc~ of houses outside the _Arsenal within 200 feet of it constituted a considerable danger nsk. As a porter was not then required, the porter's lodge was appropriate~ for other purposes. T his partial occupation of the fire-proof estabhshment rendered one of the powder vessels unnecessary.292 On 17 October, therefore, the Director Royal Laboratory, and the Superintendent of Shipping,293 agreed that the barge Susan and Mary and the sloop Little Ben could be dispensed with and that the Ordnance sloop Ebenezer should be used for the Royal Laboratory as a temporary vessel. This meant some slio-ht structural alteration to the Ebenezer at a cost of £30 includini materials. The Board approved of this plan, which would also allow the Superintendent of Shipping to use this Ordnance
2s9 Ordnance 1\,1.inutes, PRO/WO/47/1,647, P· 4,998. . , 2oo Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,654, p. 7,396. Engineer Papers, PROf\\O/
55fl_5brdnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,648, p. 5,310. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ 55/759.
292 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,659_, P· ~,9~1.
293 Captain Soady. He had replaced Captam Dickinson.
647
ADOLESCENCE
sloop as a coaster if occasion demanded.294 Since the object of the fire-proof establishment was to concentrate all combustible stores ~hus removing them from_ other storehouses, and to store gunpowde; m order to do away w1th the powder vessels, it was considered essential from the safety point ofview for the Ordnance Department to purchase all private dwellings adjacent to the magazines. This would lessen the risk of accident. The C.R.E. was therefore ordered on 24 October 1834 to ascertain as quickly as possible the terms on which these private buildings could be obtained. 295 He reported on 8 December that the possession ofthe seventeen houses and gardens in Plumstead contiguous to the fire-proof buildings could be acquired for about £3,715. The Board, however, decided to pursue the matter no further. 296 It was stated on 17 November 1834 that the erection of the fire-proof establishment and ~aga~ine w?uld effect a saving of £978. .g.r. od. per annum by dispensmg with certain powder
vessels and other small ships. 297 From this year onwards all military officers allotted houses b virtue of a civil app~intment were liable for the repair of thei~ quarters u_nder ~n ord~nance_dated 28 February 1834_29s Stagnat10n still contmued m force during the next few yea d the events which did take place are so trivial that they are ~' ad~ worth an allusion, yet for the sake ofrecord they must be me t· ar dy
. r. n 1one .
The Works estimates 1or 1835 were only in the neighbourh d f
. 00 0
Th
£3,000. e exact amount 1s not given as it is amalgamated with that to be spent at Purfleet. The total for the two pl
1..d 299 Th . . aces was
£3,857· I Is. 54 · e on1Y1_tem of any magmtude was a sum of £332. 5s. Id. to be ex~ended m cleaning and repairing the main sev\:er ofth~Arsen~I. ThIS was to have taken place early in 18 6, but
3
owmg to t e persistence of wet weather the repairs, estimated to cost about £200, were postponed until drier conditions prevailed.300 There can be no doubt that 1836 was a bad year in th f
h £ · · d d e way o
weat er _or It IS recor e . that the clocks at Woolwich were sto ed by snow m the storm which then took place.so1 pp Numbers in 1835 were at a new low figure. The Brass Foundry employed only r o men, though the Inspector of Artillery had
3
others working u~der him apart from the foundry, making a tota1 of 45 men for his department. The Royal Carriage Department employed 95 workers and the Royal Laboratory had upon its books 136 men and boys all told. Approximately 200 more functioned
m Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47;1,66o p.
9 138
m Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47;1661' ' · ::'7 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/W0/4711:667; ~: ~•?;~6. Ord!lance Minutes, PRO/WO/47;1,663 p. 10\
298 Engmeer Papers, PROfWO/55/76o. ' ' 97· m PRO/WO/49/159.800 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /
ao1 Ordnance Minut 'PROfW0/47 1,7r2, p. 3,219, 23 March 1836.
es, 47/1,758, p. 7,317, 10 July 1837.
648
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
under the Civil Officers, and some 20 to 30 labourers and artificers may have been working in the Engineer Department. This gives a total of approximately 500 civil employees in the Royal Arsenal, one tenth the number during the peak of the Napoleonic wars. It was a five-day working week. The wages bill was as follows:
Inspector of Artillery's Department £1,990 Royal Laboratory £5,738 Royal Carriage Department £4,732 Storekeeper's Department £8,561302
The above numbers of course are exclusive of military labour and
convicts.
On 8 June I 835 Colonel Stephen G. Adye was appointed Firemaster, Royal Laboratory, with effect from gJune 1835 vice Colonel Charles Bingham, who died 4 June 1835.303 He only remained in this subordinate position three days because Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, the Director, died on 11 June 1835. On 12 June 1835 it was announced that Colonel Stephen G. Adye had been promoted to Dire ctor R.L., his place as firemaster being taken by Major Thomas Dyneley.304 Both these appointments were for 5 years. It was the first time on record that military officers appointed to civil posts in the Ordnance Service were to hold them for a specified tenure.
Willi a m Stace, the storekeeper, made an application to reside temporarily in rooms above his office while his house was undergoing repair. The Board refused this request on 22 June 1835 on the grounds that a fire-risk was involved and that the presence of domestic servants among stores was most undesirable. They stated that dwellings and storehouses should be kept apart.305 It was agreed, however, on 13 July 1835 that the vacant rooms above the storekeeper's office should be used temporarily for the storage of correspondence and light stores.306 On 3 1 July 1835, William Caffin was called upon to name two persons as securities for £1,000 for the faithful performance of his duties as deputy storekeeper, Royal Laboratory.307 His sureties were accepted on 14 August 1835.308
The Blue sheds in the Royal Arsenal which had been built in the eighteenth century now began to show signs of rapid deterioration, and owing to their bad state it was agreed on 2 September 1835 that they should gradually be repaired over a course of years with the initial expenditure appearing in the Estimates for 1836. It was
302 Ordnance Estimates, 1835. 303 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,683, p. 5,188. m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,684, p. 5,337. 305 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,685, p. 5,647.808 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,687, p. 6,399.307 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,688, p. 7,o82. 308 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,690, p. 7,581.
43 649
ADOLESCENCE
also approved that before any permanent measures were adopted the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, and the storekeeper should confer and report whether the arrangement of these sheds was suitable and on the extent to which they should be refashioned.ao9 A few weeks later it was ascertained that by a judicious rearrangement o:f stores, the more dilapfdated portions ofthe sheds could be evacuated. It was therefore decided to postpone their renovation.310 Sanction was given on 13 August 1841 to repair in a temporary manner the roof and weather-boarding of No. r Blue shed so as to render it weather-proof at a cost of £5 I. 14.s. 4fd. The estimate and re t
. por
on the suggested type of repair were dated 31 July 184r.3u Owing to lack_ offunds the Blue sbheds, though ripe for demolition, received a rep:1eve. 0 n 27 0 cto er 1848 £5. 3s. rod. was expended on repairmg the roof of No. 6 shed.312 The question of their 1
· 1 d · remova
now senous y arose an m I 848 there was a good deal ofco d
, rrespon
ence on the subject; one ofthe proposals being the erection f
. . o a newf h h
range o storde ouses on t beir site.313 No action, however, followed. It was agr~e on 15 0 cto er 1849 that the structure envisaged to house the timber for the Royal Carriage Department would have to cover not only the Blue sheds but the intervening spac t h
. h dd" . I ·1 f h e oget er
~1t a~ a 1tiona p1 e o t e same length as the sheds close to and immediately to the eastward of No. r shed As the Ro I C ·
· ya arnage
Department couId suppIy the necessary wood and na'l tl nl
• 1 Id b -1 s, 1e o y
cost fcor matena wou e £1,193 for corrugated iron. Work was to commence when funds became available and the servic t fc d
· h E · fc 8 314 • e pu orwar
m t e stimates or 1 50. Resulting from a visit b th p · · I
. Y e nnc1pa
S k
tore e~per an estimate for the repair of these moribund buildings
3
amountmg to £60. Bs. 1 r4 d. was accepted on J 8 d
. 1 d . 4 une I 52 and d b
or ere to e me u ed m the Estimates for the following year 31s Eventually they were pulled down and more mod . t h ·
·1 · h · d eI n s ore ouses
bm t m t eir stea .
The Royal George, a m~n-of-war of 108 guns, was lost off Spithead on 29 August 1782. While heeled over for the repair of ·
dd f · d d a pipe, a
su en gust o wm .rove the sea into her ports and she ea sized and sank. Rear-Admiral Kempenfeldt the crew m p ·
d J · ' , any marines
women an ews, ~n. all about 600 persons, perished in the water/ By the use of a d1~mg bell, the submerged ship was surveyed in May 1817 and dun~g the following years, portions of the vessel, her cargo and some p1:ces ofher ordnance were salved and brought
to the surface from t1me to time Certain b d ·
ao • rass an iron guns,
'Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4:7/r 692 p
8 17
810 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ / 16 ' · ' 3·
au Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ /476 1, 94, p. 8,880, 20 September 1a35.
au O d ' 55 7 o.
r nance Minutes, PRO/Wo/47/2 16
5 1 6
au Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ / 6 ' ' p. 5• 39·
314 0 ' 55 7 I.
316 rdnance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,200, p. 14,229. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/4:7/2,295, p. 6,423.
650
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
collected from the wreck, which had been lying at Portsmouth since December 1834, were on 23 September 1835 ordered to be sent to Woolwich at the first available opportunity with a view to being offered for sale.316
On 14 October 1835 the C.R.E. handed over to the storekeeper for sale 47 loads of hay, the produce of unoccupied lands and plantations at Woolwich.317
The lease of the field behind the practice butt, which had been held by Mr Auchindackay for three years and who did not wish to renew it, expired on 5 November 1835, and the Civil Officers were given authority to re-let it.318 The lease was put out to tender and on20 January 1836 the field was let to Mr Knight for £30 p.a., the highest bidder.319 On 24 August 1836 he was permitted to rent the river wall contiguous to this field for £2 p.a. as a sanctuary for his cattle during artillery practice on the understanding that he would forfeit this place of bovine refuge should any damage accrue to the trees.a20 Finally on 1 g April 1837 it was agreed that Mr Knight's rent for the field should be reduced from £30 to £25 per annum from the following Michaelmas.321
T he new Director, R.L., considered that a porter should be provided for the fire-proof buildings and on 16 November 1835 he made a request that ~ man he had in mind-a married soldier employed as a labourer-should be given the post. He considered that the new porter should live at the entrance of the establishment and that the additional accommodation for the man's wife and family would cost £78. 15s. 11d. The Board recoiled from the idea both in view of the expense and the fire-risk involved in having a dwelling so close to the magazine. They refused the requ est.322
Another storm in a tea-cup now arose with Mr James Pattison. It will be remembered that as early as I 750 his ancestor and the Board at that period were at loggerheads over water supplies. There w as a piece of land which was supposed to have been purchased along with a larger amount from Mr Pattison. He, however, claimed the plot in question and threatened to take proceedings in the Courts.323 This plot had been let by the Board to Major-General William Millar. In order to arrive at the rights of the case, Mr William Green, senior clerk of the 2nd class in the storekeeper's department, was instructed to attend Mr Smith, the Board's
316 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,694, p. 8,791. 317 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,696, p. 9,485. 318 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,699, p. 10,792. 310 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,705, p. 636. 320 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,727, p. 9,133. 321 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,750, P· 4,194. 322 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,699, p. 10,669. 323 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,700, p. I 1,156, 30 November 1835.
651
ADOLESCENCE
solicitor to explain matters.324 On realizing that the ground in question was only a strip some 30 feet by 10 feet, which was of no use to the Ordnance, the Board decided to hand it over to Mr Pattison. In the circumstances it was certainly not worth fighting an action about.325 The C.R.E. was ordered to fence it off and Major-General Millar was informed that the 'parcel' rented by
him had been assigned to Mr Pattison.326 The porphory column sent home by Richard, seventh Earl of Cavan, was on 20January 1836 ordered to be moved from Woolwich to Windsor Castle at the express wish of William IV.327
Mr Ismay who rented five acres of Ordnance land on the Essex shore opposite the Royal Arsenal complained on 4 May 1836 that persons were removing sand from the river bed in front of the land he rented. The Board at once made application to the Commis
sioners of Woods and Forests.328
H.R.H. the Prince of Orange visited the Royal Arsenal on Saturday 21 May 1836. In view of this the R.L. employees were ordered to work on that day.329 As however this order arrived too late to be effective no work was done on that Saturday.330
On 11 July 1836, the storekeeper was authorized to become a member of the Plum~te~d Association for the Protection of Property at an annual subscnptlon of £r.331 What the Association did to further its aims or what specific part the storekeeper was to play
are left to the imagination. The Mary Rose, a vessel of 60 guns going from Portsmouth to Spithead was upset in a squall. All on board perished on 20 July r545. Guns and shot were eventually recovered from her and on 28 September 1836 it was ordered that these cannon and the two shots, one an 8 inch and the other a 24 pdr., should be sent to the Royal Military Repository.332 The three pieces are now in the Rotunda Museum at Woolwich. They are:
(1) A b:ass, demi-cannon of Henry VIII; A.D. 1542. The dolphins represent lions heads. Length of gun r r feet, calibre 6·4 inches. Size
32 pdr.
(2) A brass culverin bastard ofHenry VIII; A.D. 1542. On the reinforce a crown and rose relief, with a motto in a scroll around it. The letters 'H.R.' underneath, and then the inscription This colveryn Bastard weys q
2 2
T~e hin~e fitt~ngs _are still on the gu_n for the vent cover; the vent is largq~
bemg I mch m diameter at the orifice, but gradually growing smaller.
::: Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,701, p. 11,392, 7 December 1835. au Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,704, p. 37, 4January 1836. 117 Ordnance Af0utes, PRO/WO/47/1,704, p. 179, 8 January 18 6.
3
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,705, p. 596. ::: Ordnance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,716, p. 4,885. 110 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,717, p. 5,596, 20 May 8 6. 131 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/r,718, p. 5,785, 27 May 11836.
3
.,. Ordnance Af0utes, PRO/WO/47/1,723, p. 7,504. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/r,730, p. 10,402.
652
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
This gun is twelve-sided. Length of gun, 8 feet 6 inches; calibre, 4·56 inches. h ·
(3) A brass cannon royal of Henry VIII. O? t e chase are roses m relief; fieurs-de-lys hinge fittings for a cover remam on t~e vent field. ~e dolphins represent two lions' heads; the loop or handle 1s form~d by their
ths being closed only at the front teeth. On the first reinforce an
:~:ription ofwhich the words 'JOHN OWEN' and 'CANN~N ROYAL'
legible. The royal arms are surrounded by a garter with the motto
~:ieONY SOYTE QUY MALY PENSE'. Length, 8 feet 6 inches; calibre,
8·54 inches.
John and Robert Owen were _two well-known Tudor gun
founders of Houndsditch and Calais between the years 1529 and
1553. They were King's gun-founders in 1546. John Owen was
drowned at London Bridge in 1553.333
On 23 November 1836, the Civil O~cers forwarded to the Board a petition from the la~ourers wor~i?g under them for an increase of pay owing to the high cost of livmg. In those days such a happening was quite unorthodox. _Shop_ steward's demands and trade union representations were still things of the_ future. The Board refused to consider such a petition from the parties themselves but informed the Civil Officers that if they agreed with the request and represented the matter, it would receive favourable consideration at the hands of the Board.334
The Board wrote a letter on 5 October 1836 sanctioning an ex;enditure of £205. 3s. o½d. on erecting_ a new pra~tice battery in th marshes and fixing beacons on each side of the nver t_o prevent ships from anchoring within range when practice was earned o~t.335
The Works Estimates for 1836 were £3,600. They contained nothing of importance.336
The Works Estimates for 1837 were even lower than those for 1 s36-just a paltry £2,424. 8s. 6d. The only item of any significance was ~ sum of£156. gs. 1¾d. for repairing the workshop floors in the Royal Brass Foundry.337 ••
At the beginning of the year the C1v1l Officers requested that officers and clerks should be allowed to purchase coal at contract price through the storekeeper. On 16 January 1837 they were informed that the Board after due consideration had to refuse their application owing to the administrative difficulties involved; it would create a precedent for other statio1;1s. T~~ Board made it clear that they regretted having to make th1s decision a~ they_were, at first sight, disposed to give the request favourable consideratlon.338
ass The Gun-founders ofEngland: Charles ffoulkes, 1937, p. 123.
334 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/ 1,736, p. 12,309.
3s5 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/760.
33G PRO/W0/49/160.
a31 PRO/W0/49/161.
m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,741, p. 440.
653
ADOLESCENCE
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
At this time some young Turkish officers were undergoing tuition at Woolwich. They lived in the R.A. Barracks and were under the charge ofLieut.-Colonel William B. Dundas, the Assistant Inspector of Artillery. Four sets of horse appointments were on 8 February 1837 issued for their use.339 On the stairs of the Central Offices, Royal Arsenal, between the world wars, there stood a Turkish head-stone in the form of a pillar which had been found in some stables in the R.A. Barracks. This no doubt came from the tomb of Arif Bey, one of the Turkish officers in question, who died while undergoing this course of instruction. A newspaper cutting of 12 August 1836 states:
One of the young Turkish gentlemen at present pursuing their studies in the military academy died suddenly in the beginning of the week. The funeral took place on Friday in the ground adjoining the Depot near the Royal Sappers' Barrack. No one was admitted but those conducting the funeral. The body was deposited in a brick grave, and the screws of the coffin were withdrawn after it was lowered. The grave was then bricked up in the presence of the friends of the deceased.
A plain but massive monument was erected amid the stables of the Grand Depot Barracks bearing this inscription:
Here is buried Arif Bey, _a yo~1:g T~rkish o!ficer sent to England by Sultan Mahmoud II to receive military mstruchon. He died at V\ oolwich on the rnth day of August I 836, aged 20 years. Let no man distw·b the
remains of the stranger.
Since the Second World War this headstone has disappeared.
Some clerks in the storekeeper's department now became dissatisfied "."ith their lot. No doubt others had felt aggrieved before and certamly many have been discontented since. The Civil Officers reported on I2 April 1837 that Messrs William Green and William Morris, 4th and 6th clerks in the storekeeper's office, complained tha~ under ~~e arran?ements in force they were placed in subordm~te po_s1t10ns, w~le the responsibilities attaching to one part of ~heir duties were _g~ven to a clerk who was much their junior. In the1r re~ort the . Crvil Officers explained why this was so. The ~o~r~ ~1ghtly sa1d that they could not interfere with the local Junsdi~t:10n of the ?ivil Officers upon whom fell the responsibility for seemg that thelf work was carried out in the most efficient
manner.340
~illiam Jon~s, the deputy storekeeper, made another request which was a?"a1? refused. He seems to have been unlucky in his ?emands. Th~s time he asked for an iron railing to replace the fence m front of his house. On 24 April 1837 the Board refused their
::: Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/W0/47; 1,743, p. 1,425. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47; 1,750, p. 3,925.
654
permission saying that the railing would cost £ I oo, that no funds
were available, and that in any case the proposed change was quite
unnecessary.341
Owing to the insecure state of the foundations of the north store in the R.L. yard, an authority was issued on 5 May 1837 to take down the building and to transfer the few stores therein to other
R.L. storehouses. The question of rebuilding was deferred till a later date.a4z Meanwhile, an estimate amounting to £955. 1,µ. 11 ½d. to cover demolition and re-erection was prepared. No doubt the amount of the forecast expenditure induced second thoughts because on 13 October 1837 the whole matter was postponed.343 ?n 31 May 1837 the repair of the proof-butt was ordered to be earned out at a cost of £153. os. gd. This was to be item No. 18 in the Works Estimate for 1837.344 That item, however, states 'Repairs to proof and practice butts £76. 10s. 4}d.'345 Authority was granted on the same day (i.e. 31 May 1837) for the practice butt to be repaired at a cost of £76. 10s. 4-½d,346 which repair was ordered to be done on 18 April 1838.347 It appears therefore that insufficient money was forthcoming for the repair of both butts and that the proof-butt was sacrificed on the altar of economy.
In order to assess the amount that Francis Pellatt, clerk in the storekeeper's department, should be charged for repairs to his auarter in the Arsenal, a plan of the house was ordered to be prepared.348 Domestic improvements were slowly coming into fashion. Already gas was beginning in a small way to eliminate the candle as an illuminant, and now on 21 June 1837 a water-closet , . as ordered to be installed in the quarter of the Reverend J. Scott, the Ordnance chaplain at Woolwich, at a cost of £41. 1 rs. 3d. T he price clearly shows that considerable plumbing and drainage alteration was required.349
A new steam engine for the Royal Carriage Department was now set up in Carriage Square. This necessitated the construction of a cast-iron conduit from the canal to the tank of the engine at an estimated cost of £597. 6s. 3¾d,35o The Eagle Insurance Company obtained the contract on 13 December 1837. The details were to lay r,500 feet of cast-iron conduit pipe at 4S· 5d. per square, to
341 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,751, p. 4,341.
342 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,752, p. 4,813. Engineer Papers, PROf'VO/ 55/760.
343 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,768, p. 10,861.
344 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,754, p. 5,853.
316 PRO/WO/49/161.
346 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760.
347 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,786, p. 4,613.
348 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/V•lO/47/1,755, p. 6,135, 7 June 1837.
349 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,757, p. 6,612.
360 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,768, p. 10,666, II October 1837.
655
ADOLESCENCE
supply and fit 2 stop-cocks at 12 guineas each, and to supply and fit a ball grating for £3. 5s. od.361 A little light on this period from an external source is furnished by Cock's Guide Book of 1837 which says:
The weight ofthe largest gun cast in the Arsenal is ninety cwt. Although a gun wiII require, however much the manufacture may be accelerated eleven or twelve days to complete it, yet they are completed at the rat~ of one and a quarter per day, including Sundays. The mould is secured by being strongly bound with iron hoops and the gun is cast solid. The next process is that of boring and turning which are both performed at one time. A large bit of the di~meter ~anted is fixed, and against this
the gun revolves, four horses bemg required to move it.
During the late war the number of men and boys employed in the Laboratory alone amounted to nearly 2,500; there are not at the present time more than 500 engaged throughout the whole establishment.352
The Works Estimat~s for 18~8 are also missing, but the sum involved was probably m the neighbourhood of£2,500.
A small piece of 'mud-land' on the Essex shore nearly opposite the Royal Arsenal was to be l~ased for a term of years to en able the Ordnance Department or their tenants to resist the encroachm t
. . b en s
made from time to time y persons who claimed a right to dig d
d 363 Th B d . an
carry away san . e oar acqmred this site for 3r years fr ro October 1836 paying £1 p.a. acknowledgment.3s4It was arran;e~ on 22 August 1838 that .N!r French should lease this mud flat_sss Mr Ismay who had ongmally rented the hinterland was
dead. now A long letter emanated from the Surveyor-General on M h
B B · · h · 30 arc
1 3 ra1smg t e quest10n as to the sums chargeable for repa· ·
h f · d" "d 1 "d" . 1rs 1n
t e rents o m IVI ua s res1 mg 1n government quarters in the Royal Arsenal. The matte~ arose on the amounts charged to Messrs Pellatt and Green, clerks m the storekeeper's department d
M Ch f . ' an to
r apman o the Engmeer department. Mr Francis Pellatt was assessed at £7 p.a. i.e. the sum applicable to the class of dwell" h should inhabit, an~ he asked for this to be reduced to £ p.a. :fie~
4
was really appropnate to the 'tenement' in which he lived h b"t
· h · h · , a a 1 a
t10n ~ 1c was m fact be!ow the standard laid down for his class of appomt~ent. He based his appeal on the regulations of 28 February l 834 which promulgated the rates concerned. In these regulations
appears the sentenc~: 'An officer, however, occupying a house of a class_ below that which corresponds to his own class or rank will be reqmred to pay only according to the class ofhouse he may inhabit.,
151 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55;76o.
::: gdoted by "Y· T. Vincent in his Records of Woolwich, vol. I, p. 34r. m O;d~=~~: ~;~~:• ~~g/~0/47/i,778, p. 1,097, 26January 1838. 111 Ordnanc Min t 'PRO//W00//47//1,793, P• 7,575, 22 June 1838.
e u es, 47 1,799, p. 10,074. 656
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The Surveyor-General submitted that the three small quarters
inhabited by Messrs Pellatt, Green and Chapi:na~ ~hould be rated
at £4 p.a. instead of £7 p.a., the amount the 1nd1v1duals.had been
charged. The Master-General agreed and the regulat1ons were
amended according!y.356
On 4 April I 838 orders were issued drawin~ attention to the
dangers to the public especially in regard to shipments of powder
by laden colliers which anchored off the Arsenal wharf.357 .
An item oflocal Woolwich interest may now be recorded showing
the respectable age of the firm Furlong and Son. An Ordnance
Minute dated I 8 April I 838 states:
'The tender of Furlong and Son for upholstered work at 15%
above scheduled prices is accepted. Contract to run from I April
1838 to 31st March r84r.'358 . . .
The o-reat occasion this year was the coronat:Ion of Queen V1ctona which fook place on 28 June at Westminster Abbey. It was deci~ed to display fireworks in Hyde Park and Green ~ark on th~ e~enmg in question in honour of the event. The expenditure was linnted to £ r ,500, the same as had been authorized for ~he firework exhibition at the coronation of King William IV. The Director, Royal Laboratory, was ordered to prepare and exhibit these fireworks taking care not to exceed the sum laid down.359 The necessary stands were built and on 2 2 June the police were ordered to protect the enclosures in the two parks in which the pyrotechnic display was to be carried
360
out. According to the precedent of r 3 September I 83I,361 M3:jorGeneral Stephen Adye, Director R.L., was on 25 June 1838 given an imprest of £500 payable on 26 June ~y the Paymaster-G~neral on account of the coronation fireworks.36 On 6 July he received a further imprest of £1,000 on the same account, i.e. for defrayment of expenses.363 The cost of the fireworks on this occasion was £ 1, 132. 8s. 3d. in addition to those furnished by the Royal Laboratory which amounted to £360. There was thus a balance of £7. r 1s. gd. from the Treasury grant of £1,500. The Director R.L. was therefore ordered to refund the sum of £367. I IS. gd., i.e. the difference between £1,132. 8s. 3d. and his hvo imprests, to the Paymaster-General.364 Actually Major-General Ste~hen A~ye died on r 3 September r 838, six days before the last 1nstruct10n was issued, so it was the firemaster who on 10 October 1838 reported
35G Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,784, p. 4,010.
357 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,785, P· 4,184.
358 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,786, P· 4,693.
359 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,790, p. 6,545, 30 May 1838.
360 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,793, P· 7,561.
861 On the occasion of the coronation of William IV on 8 September 1831.
362 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,793, P· 7,673.
368 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,794, P· 8,106.
364 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,801, p. 10,967, 19 Sept mbcr 1838.
657
ADOLESCENCE
that the balance from the coronation fireworks, amounting to £367. I rs. gd. had been paid to the Paymaster-General. 365
On General Adye's ~eath permission was granted to MajorGeneral Peter Fyers, acting Commandant at Woolwich to dispose of the deceased's effects by auction at his late residenc~ at Woolwich.366 Colonel James P. Cockburn succeeded General Adye as
Director, Royal Laboratory, on I October 1838 · the appointment to be for 5 years. 367 As Colonel Cockburn had a h~use on Woolwich Com~on, he was aII?wed t? retain possession of it during his new appomtm:nt, and his o~c1al quarter in the Royal Arsenal was
reappropnated temporarily as a Field Officer's quarter. It was made clear, however, that the house concerned in the Arsenal was to be recognized as the official residence f th D · t
R.1.sos o e irec or,
On_28 March 1838 there was a letter stating that the Inspector ofArtJIIery and of the Royal Brass Foundry was to be re-established as a separate o~ce. It ~ad been combined with that of the Director General of Arnllery smce 30 January h L' G I
W ·11· M'll 1333 w en 1eut.-enera
1 iam 1 ar took over the latter ap · t t o A ·1 8 8
s· J h M 1 porn men. n l pn I 3
ir osep ac ean K.C.~. became Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry vice Lieut -G I u1·1li ·11 d
A ·1 · en era vv 1 am 1 ar an ,
1 18 8
on I . P~1 3 , Lord Bloomfield was made Commandant at Woolw1ch m place ofSirJoseph Macl aG9
L. . ean.
1tt1e more of mterest transpired d • th A
8 8 M V 11' urmg e year. O n 3 ugust
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Finally, all the engines, machines and other stores which had been handed over by the Engineer Department to the storekeeper were by him to be transferred to the care of the deputy storekeeper, Royal Carriage Department.373
The Works Estimates for 1839 were £2,515. 7s. s¼d. and the only items warranting attention are £179. 14.s. 6~d. for renc,ving the wheeling platforms at the Royal Laboratory, £240. 5s. 11¾d. for renewing the flooring and driving blocks in driving house No r in the Royal Laboratory, and £245. 4-5. 9¾d. for renewing fourteen pile fenders on the wharf.374 The £99. 19s. 11d. allotted for clearing away the mud from in front of the wharf was already exhausted. Since this service was essential, especially during the winter, to allow barges to come alongside and convicts to land, it was agreed on 2 January 1839 that £4 a week could be spent during the winter quarter, i.e. £70 above the sum approved in the \Vorks Estimates for 1838.375 On 18 January 1839 the Board approved the construction of a new chimney with a circular shaft and flue for the saw-mill at a cost of £423. 8s. 9Jd.3 i 6
More alterations were required in the Commandant's house. No doubt Lord Bloomfield was an exacting tenant. Sanction was given on 27 February 1839 for erecting an additional coach-house and making further alterations. The sketch, estimate and report dealing with these changes were dated 20 February 1839, and the cost estimated at £77. Is. 11¾d. From the sketch it is clear that the
1 .3 . r u iamy was authorized to clean the Arsenal clock and wmd dial at a cost between £3. IOs. od and £ d Th were pres bl h . . 4· Ios. o . ese .li~ma Ay t e mstruments over the doorway of the lateRoyal M1 tary cademy 310 o A • · t £ · n 2 9 ugust 1838, alterat10ns amount-O 8 18~g 17 ·, s. I04~were ordered to be carried out on the ommandant s house m the Royal Arsenal.371 b It ;as ;greed on 14 September 1838 to move the OrdnanceJ;n try e~ce to the Ordnance side of the sluice at the eastern end 0of Se sena at_a cost of£3o. gs. Bid. to enable the Commissioners ewers to gam access to the sluice at their pleasure. Till thishc ange was effected the c • . . obtain the ke of the . omm1ss10ners or the1~ servants had to t f h Af gate m the fence near the slmce from the main ga e_do t de senal. This small alteration in the boundary fence was cons1 ere preferable to g f kbelong t th O d ran mg a ey to persons who did not o e r nance Department.372 m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / 8m Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO 47 I, 03, P• 11,837. 317 Ordnance Minutes: PRO/Wo?7//~,Bo3, P· 11,471, 1 October 1838. m Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO 47 •803, P• r 1,471. 119 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ 1711,Bo5, P· 12,772, 29 October 1838. 170 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/Vv8} 7 ~· 1371 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO 47 /797, P• 9,33o. 172 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0//47// ,799, P· lo,344.' 47 1,801, p. 10,805. 658 official house I in 1839 is the modern No. 4 Dial Square.377 It was all to no purpose, however, Lady Bloomfield refused to live in the Commandant's quarter and rented a house at Charlton. It was this action on the part of the new Commandant's wife which caused the card ofOrdnance to purchase the house on Woolwich Common for long known as 'Government House'. It became the official residence of future Commandants. T he question of a new practice range was now being seriously considered, but as it is a long story extending over hventy years it will be given in the following chapter. On r May 1839, William Stace, the storekeeper, who had been seriously ill, was granted 2 months sick leave from 30 April. His work was to be done by William Jones, the deputy storekeeper.378 This rest was of no avail, however, for he died on 31 May 1839. His place, as storekeeper, was taken by Joseph Cheetham, late 373 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,802, p. I 1,088, 21 September 1838. 374 PRO/WO/49/163.376 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,812, p. 49. \Vorks Estimates, 1838, PRO/WO/ 49/162.376 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,813, p. 836. Engineer Papen, PRO/WO/ 55/760.377 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760.378 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,824, p. 5,6o4. 659
ADOLESCENCE
deputy storekeeper, Royal Arsenal and storekeeper, Gibraltar, with effect from 1July 1839.379
George Lucy, a waterman at Woolwich, made application to land passengers, carriages and cattle at the Ordnance ferry on the Essex bank opposite the Royal Arsenal. This request was refused on 12 June 1839 on the grounds that such permission would create a precedent and establish a free causeway whereby the Board would lose their rights.380 Sanction was given on 17 June 1839 to convert part of the stable in official house Finto a coach-house. The sketch and estimate were dated 28 May 1839, and the sum involved was
£14. IIS. 5d.381
On r 2 July 1839 the Board approved the setting up of two new boilers on brickwork stands for the engine in the saw-mill at a cost of £87. os. 5d.382 They also approved the construction of a new bulwark battery and platform at the proof-butts on r2 July 18 _
39
The cost was to b<: £541. ros. 9!d.383 On 4 September 1839 it was ordered that _convicts at Ordnance Est~blishments should be paid 2d. per day mstead of 3d. a day. This would effect a saving of £130. Bs. 4d. upon the sum paid by the Ordnance under the authorized order of 20 December r830.384 The new scale of pay was to commence on 2nd September.385
A horse belonging to Mr C. Jewell was killed on the Plumstead marshes on 30 Sept~mber 1839 b~ a r_ocket fired on the practice range. MrJewell claimed £50 for his ammal but artillerymen on the spot assessed the value between £15 and £20. When the 'eterinary surgeon came to see the dead beast it had been moved and could not be found. The Board refused £50 and said that if M J 11
· fi d h • r ewe
was not sans e t e quest10n of compensation could be rer . d t
b. · N 1ene o
38s O
ar 1trat10n. n 25 ovember 1839 MrJewell was paid 40 g ·
r. h I f h. h . u1neas
ior t e ass o 1s orse, the sum fixed by arbitration.387
Mr B. Green, a clerk in the Engineer Department, was on 20 November 1839 allowed to occupy three rooms adjoining the Engineer ~quare on the understanding that such occupation was at the
Board s pleasure. 388
Sir_ Thom~s Hastings of H.M.S. Excellent reported that at a pract1c~ earned ou_t there with naval shells, Marsh's fuze proved msuffic1ently sure m exploding the shells after bouncing in the
178 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/47/r 827 6 d380 Or~ance Minutes: PRO/W0/47/r:a2a: ~: rf/0 p. 7,rgo.381 Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/s5/76o. '4 182 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/47/ 8 8 .
55/76o. ' r, 3r, P• ,749. Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/
::Engineer Pap_ers, PRO/W0/55/760.
Ord!1ance Mmutes, PROfW0/47/r,836 p. II 044_186 Engmeer Papers, PRO/W0/ss/76o. ' ' 181 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/47/ 8 6
H7 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/ /r,840, p. 12,53 ' 17 October r839.
181 Q dn Min ' 47 I, 44, p. 13,940.
r ance utes, PRO/W0/4:7/ 1,a43, p. 13,766_
660
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
water to admit of its being adopted for service. He recommended
on 23 October I 839 that further experiments to improve it should
be conducted.389
Mr James Marsh, the inventor of the fuze in question, was born on 2 September I 794. He was a man of considerable scientific attainments both in civil and military life. From small beginnings he earned a place at his death in the Dictionary ofNational Biography. As a young man he was employed in the Royal Laboratory which he left on 29 January I 824. He then studied chemistry with great success. Although in some works ofreference he is referred to as 'The Arsenal Chemist' and the 'Ordnance Chemist', he did not hold any regular appointment on the civil establishment of the Ordnance Department. The Office of Ordnance chemist and assayist of metals, formerly on the establishment of the Ordnance, was abolished in 1825 when the new civil establishment was formed, and Dr McCulloch who had held that appointment for nearly twenty years was granted a pension of £248 p.a. on the Board's order dated I 1 July 1826. James Marsh, after leaving the Royal Laboratory, became the surgery man and dispenser of medicines to the surgeon apothecary in the Royal Arsenal for which he was paid,µ. 1d. a day for 6 days in the week, i.e. £63. 18s. Id. p.a. He was also chemical assistant to Dr Farady, Professor ofChemistry at the Royal Military Academy, for which he (James Marsh) was paid I5s. a lecture for 25 lectures a year, or £18. I5s. od. p.a., making his total emoluments up to the princely sum of £82. 3s. Id. a year.
James Marsh was the originator of the percussion tube. In the evolution oftubes for firing guns, an article ofstore which superseded the portfire, the percussion or detonating principle was in due course introduced and the first tube of this description was invented by Mr Marsh. His tube consisted of a quill body 2½ inches long with a side quill one inch in length filled with a detonating composition. The latter, having a priming of0.2 inch ofmealed powder continuous with the powder in the main tube, was otherwise packed with a mixture of chlorate of potash and sulphide of antimony in equal parts. The tubes were varnished over completely with red sealingwax dissolved in spirits of wine. Known as Rectangular percussion quill tubes, they were approved for the Royal Navy in 1831 and for the Army on 21 November 1845, the Royal Artillery being supplied with them on 20 May 1846. For this invention Mr Marsh was awarded a gratuity of £30 by the Board's Order dated 25 January
1832. James Marsh also invented a new flexible shell tube which was tested on Sandwich flats in 1839. In fuze design he was not idle. He was, in addition, the in entor 889 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,841, p. 12,747.
661
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
ADOLESCENCE
of a type of concussion fuze which purported to explode shells on striking their target. From the report ofSir Thomas Hastings quoted above, however, it was not sufficiently reliable to warrant acceptance by the Service and failed to receive eventual adoption. This fuze was based on the principle of percussion priming which was generally adopted for Service uses on 3I March I 842. Several other patterns of fuze on this principle besides Marsh's were tried before a mixed Committee of naval and military officers presided over by Sir Thomas Hastings in 1845. They all failed, however, to make the grade till Quartermaster Freeburn, R.A., s1;1bmitted his concussion fuze which was approved for the Land Service on 12 October 1846.
A newspaper cutting of 17 September 1841 records:
Experiments were mad~ at the mortar battery on the barrack-field, Woolwich, with a newly mvented fusee for exploding shells at a given number ofseconds after they have been projected from the mortars. The first six fired were 13 inches in diameter, fitted on a principle invented by Mr Marsh, chemis~ ?f the _Royal Ars:nal, the fusee being in the form of a screw, the compos1t10n bemg placed m the hollows, and when ignited or discharged burns at the rate of one inch in two seconds.
Turning to his scientific attainments in civil life, Mr Marsh was the inventor of the electro-magnetic apparatus for which he was awarded the large silver medal and thirty guineas from the Society of Arts390 on 26 April 1823. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame was his invention of a test for d:tecting arsenic. For this he r ceived a large gold medal on 22 Apnl 1836. The Crown Prince of Sweden also presented him with a small silver medal in appreciation of his contributions to scientific knowledge.
Marsh's test for arsenic long held the field. It was described in detail in the Globe of IO August 1889 and is quoted in full by Vincent in his Records of Woolwiclz, volume II, p. 81 I. He was a witness for the Crown in the famous murder case ofJohn Bodle of Plumstead in 1833, having identified arsenic in the remains of the coffee drunk by the Bodle family at breakfast.
James Marsh died 21 June 1846 leaving a widow Mary and two daughters, one Mrs Hallon of Burnham and the other Mrs Cram ofPlumstead. Mrs Marsh received a small pension for her husband's services from the Government in 1847, and the nation promptly and spontaneously raised for her a subscription of £500.391
Let us conclude this chapter by a newspaper cutting dated 14 December 1839:
On Tuesday 26 pieces of ordnance-32 pdrs-were proved at the butt and found perfect. These pieces were cast from Royal Arsenal patterns
390 Kow the Royal Society ofArts. 191 PRO/W0/44/295, Records of Woolwich by W. T. Vincent.
662
· d d by ,. K -Monk and present a chaste and light appearance
intro uce iv~ ' • Th
combined with great strength compared with thosebf~rmerlyd~nfii use. cf · · weight of metal is considerable, there emg a 1 erence o
saving in . h fi d
6 t on a 32 pdr. A piece of 8 inch bore firmg an 8olb. s ot was re ; :h~';a~ge being 3¼ miles. Two ro inch g~ms, firing a 10olb. shot, made to Mr Monk's design, have a range of 3 miles.
Thus ends the story of the Royal Arsenal in the immediate post-Napoleonic era which has been termed the Doldrums. It w~s a time offinancial stringency, reduced output and general depression. Such a fate always overtakes a national arm~ment fac_tory aft?~ ~n
h usting war. Money which flows so plentifully durmg hostilities
~:ie: up at source immediately peace is proclaimed. Like the old
fashioned trade cycle, decline follows boom.
From 1 340 onwards, however, things gr~dually improved till the
of the Crimean War once more infused new energy and
threat -h c. • d
poured additional funds into the Woolwic manu1acturmg epart
ments.
663
Chapter 16
The Beginning of a Trade Wind I840-I850
It may seem an act of faith to have assumed that the period of quiescence outlined in the previous chapter did come to an end with the advent of the year 1840. Yet a faint stirring of activity can be detected in the Royal Arsenal at that particular time owing to a progressive move on the part of the Admiralty. Since the beginning of the great wars at the close of the eighteenth century and the increase in establishment resulting therefrom, there
had been little variation in method and control, the ensuing changes being more in the nature of degree than of kind. T he Peninsular campaign and the struggle which culminated at Waterloo had kept the departments uniformly busy over a long series ofyears, and then had come depression, stark depression, which had wellniah crushed the initiative of the manufacturing departments. The db emand for munitions and other war material had necessarily declined with the prospect of a long era of peace, and the system of obtaining the bulk of stores :rom priv~te firms had further stifled the aspirations of the Woolw1ch factones. The statement that 'prior to 1856 all cast-iron guns were obtained from the trade' is accepted as a simple
fact, but during the Doldrums a feeling of despondency among the workmen must have been created by seeing all the n ew ordnance for the flee~ and the army arriving at Woolwich solely for the purpose of undergomg proof at the hands of the Inspector of Artillery.
The year 1840, however, did witness a new development consequent upon the rearmament of the Royal Navy, in which the Admiralty by a stroke ~f the pen rendered some rn,ooo guns and ca:ronades obsolete and mtrod~ced the new 32 pdr and 8 inch gun. It 1s true that these weapons bemg ofcast-iron were furnished under contract, but orders for 14,000 new cannon extending over 14 years ?id entail mountings and equipment and spelt an appreciable mcrease of_work ov_er the period in question in the various depart
ments, particularly m the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Carriage Department. Hope, 'that star of life's tremulous ocean' thus arose and was justified by events. Figures tell their own tale. Between 1841 and 1854 the annual wages bill for the Royal Arsenal rose
approximately from £35,000 to £94,000 and numbers swelled from the neighbourhood of500 to that of 2,000. The question of extending the practice range on the Plumstead marshes, or of providing a new one, now seriously engaged the
664
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
attention of the authorities. For some years impro~ed ballistics ~ad
made the existing range too limited in extent for sa~sfactory practice,
and it was realized that, unpalata?le thou?h 1t would be, the
expense of new construction or drastI~ alteration would have to be
faced. The first move in this drama, which lasted_a~together for twenty
years, took place on r September 1838 with a v1s1t to the s~ot by the
Clerk of the Ordnance and the Commandant of the Gamson.. As a
result of their investigations they asked for a repo~t and an estimate
on the proposed alterations and for the construction of a new butt.
These dated 4 September 1838, were forwarded as requested, the
estim;te being £1,286. 5s. od.1 Meanwhile more ambitious plans
were maturing. These burst upon the Ordnance world on 21 March
1839.2 They may be summarized as follows:
As the present practice range of 1,200 yards is too limited, it is s1:1ggeste~ that a new practice range of 2,300 yards should be construc!ed. Smee this cannot be done over the old range, new land and new nght:5 must be
btained. After an investicration the C.R.E. reports that there will be great ~ifficulty in making arra~gements with the par~ies holding_ the land, and that the estimate for constructing the new practice range will be £22,651.
gs. 8¾d.
The shock to nervous systems can be imagined. The MasterGeneral was staggered at the figure proposed and stated quite bluntly that however desirable such a new practice range might be, he could n~t contemplate such an expenditure of public money. The scheme was therefore postponed sine die. 3 Schemes, however, die hard when they are sponsored by keen technicians. This colossal figure w~s reduced on I 5 May I 840 by an infinitesimal amo~nt to £ 22,650, but no action was taken.4 On 25 June 1840_ a new estimate of £7 32 r. gs. 1-!d. was submitted, afterwards revised to £7,308. 2 s. 1 r'¼d., but the heart of authority was untouched.5 On 17
J anuary 1842 a further estimate of£10,648.. 5s. 7¾d. was forwarded.
This was increased to £11,809. 2s. gd. With roads, etc., the total
expense amounted to £17,263. os. od.6 Certain arguments were
now put to the Treasury with the result that on_ 10 February 1842
the latter agreed to a capital sum of £2,000 to improve the range
and an annual sum of£390 for rent. They agreed to the insertion of £2,390 for this purpose in the Ordnance Estimates for 1842.7
The C.R.E. was authorized on 2 I February 1842 to delay the engineering portion of the practice range e~tension unti_l the Ordnance solicitor had made some progress 1n the rentmg of the
1 PRO/W0/44/298. 2 PRO/W0/44/298. 3 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,822, p. 4,719. 4 PRO/W0/44/298. 5 PRO/W0/44/298. 6 PRO/W0/44/298. 7 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,924, P· 1,895.
665
44
ADOLESCENCE
additional land required.8 Alterations to the practice range at an estimated cost of£300. I 7s. I I }d. were approved. They were to be financed fro~ the £2,000 capit~l sum voted in the 1842/ 1843Ordnance Estimates devoted to this service.9
There was a report, plans and an estimate for extending this range in the Plumstead marshes. They were dated 25 June 1846 and the cost reached the enormous total of £50,695. r8s. rd. The Master-General and Board decided that the undertaking was not worth the expense, and that the proposed construction should be abandoned._ 7:'hey stated that the advantages to be gained, if any,
would be tnflmg compared to the large outlay involved. In a letter to Major-General Sir J. F. Burgoyne, Inspector-General of Fortifications, dated 29 July I 846, the Secretary of the Board of Ordnance stated:
I am directed to acquaint you that the Master-General and B d
· h · th · • oar
concur "".1flt. you m de opm10n t~at such a sum should not be expendedfc
or ~fio tnfmg an ~ ~antadge which, even jf gained, would be by the sacn ce o some existmg a vantages.lo
In the proposed 1843 scheme, land would have had to have been purchased from twenty-nine owners as follows :
Name Acres Roods Perches
r. T. Barne 49 0 272. H. Berens 40 2
32
3. John Cook 33 2 84. The Clothworkers Company 2I 0
25
5. Mr Crossingham 25 0 r6
6. The Revd C. B. Cook
23
3 57. Mr Chapman 14 2
5
8. Daniel Connell 14 2 20
g. John Colyer 9 2 24r o. Miss Crosswiller
8 I
24
r r. Mr Colyer 23 0
3
12. Miss Cartwright 43 I 2413. F. Dashwood
rg6
3 20r 4. R. H. Dowling 64 I
35
15. Colonel Gubbins 37 0 16
16. T. Gilbert 48 3 I I17. Sir T. Hawley 63 0 1618. Mr Lenton 13 0 12
19. W. Martyn (Atkinson) I
42
33
20. John Plaisted 9 I 42 r. Representatives ofReed (Eves)
11 I
6
: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/W0/47/r,925, p. 2,355. Ordnance M~utes, PRO/W0/47/2,003, p. 5 152.10 Ordnance Mmutes PRO/W0/47/2 8 ' .
PRO/WO/55176r, PRO/W0/#/ g8. ,o 4, P· 1 r,742, 29 July 1846. Engineer Papers,
2
666
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Name Acres Roods Perches
22. Mr Renshaw I
19 35
23. John Russell 18
3 3
24. Andrew Strachan 21 2 l 25. Captain Sturrocks 32 0 16 26. E. Stoneham 14 2 0
27. Lord Saye and Sele 22 0
9
28. Urquhart and Darby 22 2 8
29. The heirs of Wheatley 26 0 2
Total: 971 acres o roods and 37 perches11
The final decision of the Master-General, the Board and the
Treasury on the proposed long range (Plan marked No. 3 and
estimates Nos. 3 and 4) is dated 29 January 1844. As we know it
was a reasoned objection to the scheme.12
By 1850 nothing, except some repairs and maintenance, had been
done, but in that year the subject was re-examined. The Board
wrote to the Treasury putting forward fresh proposals. The last
estimate in the correspondence was dated 7 October 1850 and ran
as follows:
The estimate covered the expenses of constructing two ranges: (A) for 3,000 yards, and (B) for 1,500 yards.
(A) 3,000 yards
Probable cost of purchase £42,902. OS. od. contingent expenses £495. OS. od.
"
Total: £43,397. OS. od. Probable annual expenditure
£ 199. OS. od.
(B) r,500 yards
Probable cost of purchase £13,360. SS· od.
contingent expenses £495. OS. od.
"
Total: £ 13,855. 5s. od. Probable annual expenditure £387. 6s. 6d. Sale of 39 acres of Ordnance lands £3,900. OS. od.1a
A complete precis of these abortive negotiations is recorded in a large file in the Public Record Office.14
There were two series of repairs carried out or contemplated in 1849. On 19 March of that year it was stated that 'the practice batteries and platforms require repairs costing £160. As no money for this service was taken up in the 1849/50 Estimate, it must be postponed and brought forward in the 1850/51 Estimate.'15 On 16
11 PRO/WO/44/298.12 PRO/WO/44/298.13 PRO/WO/44/298.14 PRO/WO/44/298.15 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,179, p. 4,51 I.
667
ADOLESCENCE
June the repair of the platforms of the practice batteries at a cost of £5 was authorized.16 The last statement concerning this project was dated 1 March 1851 which states that 'the rebuilding of the practice range has been postponed for a year'.17
Meanwhile some land at Shoeburyness had been purchased in 1842, and on 27 July 1846 the Master-General, being desirous of ascertaining what additional acreage would be required there to form a practice and experiment~! range for the Royal Artillery, asked Major Henry Sandham, actmg C.R.E. Woolwich, and Lieut.Colonel James A. Chalmer to report on the matter. Their report was dated 3 August 1846. Later the Master-General asked for a
further report on 18 December 1846. This extra information was submitted on 16 January 1847.18 More land on the marshes around Shoeburyness was acquired by the Crown in 1855, and by Act of Parliament 1862, the whole was set apart as 'ranges for the use and
practice of artillery'.
This flirting with the possibilities at Shoeburyness no doubt slowed down the negotiations at ,!\Toolwich. One can understand the objection of the Treasury to 'being landed with twins'. H owever the progress at Shoeburyness being so protracted, the new practice range on the Plumstead marshes was eventually built. In the Estima~es for the _year 1854/55 appears the item: 'For improving
the art:J.llery practice range on the marshes. Vote required for the year 1854/55, £85,000.' In the last annual Estimates for the Board ofOrdnance, i.e. for the year 1855, _the year ~fthe Board's disappearance, occurs a further item relatmg to this service. 'Moving the range in the Ordnance marshes to another site and extending it to
3000 yards in length. Total estimate £ro, 102; already voted £rn,ro2; already spent £3,000. Estimate 1856/57 £ g,ro6.'
Since no further references to this practice range occur in subsequent annual estimates, it may be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that, after twenty years of argument and stalemate it
was at last completed. ' A reorganization of the Civil establishment at Woolwich was approved by the Treasury on 25 January 1840. It was made retrospective to 1July 1~39. The details were as follows ;19
The Director, Royal Laboratory
£350 p.a.20
The Firemaster, Royal Laboratory £230 p.a.
Deputy Storekeeper, Royal Laboratory
£250-£350 p.a.
:: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,188, p. 8,829. 18 Or~ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,250, p. 2,296. Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 19 PRO/WO/44/6o6.
20
Act~y-~e sal~ry o~ the Director, Royal Laboratory, had been raised to £400 a year to bring 1t 1!1to lme w1th those of the heads of the other two Manufacturing Departments at Woolw1ch. (Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO/47/1,841, p. 12,759.)
668
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Inspector of Artillery £400 p.a. Assistant Inspector of Artillery £200 p.a. Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £400 p.a. Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £200 p.a. Deputy Storekeeper, Royal Carriage Department £250-£350 p.a.
The Storekeeper, Woolwich £600-£750 p.a.
Deputy Storekeeper, Woolwich £250-£350
A careful analysis of these figures shows that t~e pay .of the
firemaster had remained stationary since I 783, notwithstandmg the rise in the cost of living, and that of the heads of the departments had risen by only £50 p.a. On the other hand, th~ s~orekee~er had had his emoluments quadrupled. Presumably this 1n~quality was based on the old theory that military officers had private means. Possibly in those days it was true. It certainly is not now.
A porch to the breakfast parlour of the storekeeper's house at a cost of £12. 16s. o!d. was approved on 29 January 1840. This service had been postponed for the estimate was dated 26 October 1839 and the report which accompanied it 6 November 1839.
Joseph Cheetham, the storekeeper, however pressed stron~ly for _it
as h e said his wife and family felt the cold after I 2 years residence 1n
Gibraltar. The stony heart of officialdom was thus melted.21 .
A committee under the chairmanship ofSirJohn Webb, DirectorGen eral of the Ordnance Medical Department, was set up on 28 F ebruary 1840 with the following terms of reference:
To investigate the cases of the several indi~duals named ~nd to r~port how far they may be respectively fit for contmued and efficient service.
T he members of the Committee were Lieut.-Colonel William
B. Dundas, R.A., Inspector of Artillery, and Mr Joseph Cheetham, Storekeeper.22 •
The Committee reported on the state of the labourers 1n the storekeeper's department on 23 March 1840. They divided the men into three categories:
(
1) Healthy and effective
(2)
Effective for the present
(3)
Unfit for further service
and recommended that those unfit should be superannuated at once. The Master-General agreed but considered that the report should not be implemented till the state of the labourers at other outstations had been ascertained.23 On 5 June 1840, the Treasury
21 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,850, p. 1,193. Engineer Papers, PROf'VO/ 55/760.
22 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,853, P· 2,604.
23 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,856, p. 3,627.
669
ADOLESCENCE
agreed to the superannuation ofthe following labourers at Woolwich as the result of the findings of the Webb Committee :24
N. Wakeman £15 p.a. John Pennyfeather £15 p.a.John Burke £15 p.a. Thomas Clare £15 p.a.Thomas Woodcock £10 p.a. Matthew Bowden £10 p.a.John Devlin £10 p.a. Michael Crow £10 p.a.
The Treasury, while agreeing to these retirements, stated that they wished to be furnished with the usual certificate in cases where men under the age of 65 years were recommended for retired allowances.
Another casualty on the range. This time it was the storekeeper's cow which was ki1led by a splinter from the proof-butts. The animal was valued at £14, but as the carcase was sold for 35s. , Mr Cheetham was compensated by being paid £12. 5s. od., the difference.2s On 16 March 1840 a copy of the Board's Order dated 19 March 1332 relating to the age of entry of labourers into Ordnance Establishments was sent to th_e departn:ie?ts at_ W?oh~ich; that place having been overlooked durmg the ongmal d1stnbut1on.26 This appeared to be an act of sheer carelessness. The Board, feeling in a generous mood, surrendered to Mr James Pattison a small piece of ground
near the Arsenal Gate.27 . In ~ay 1~40, M~ Napier reques~ed that he might be employed m erectmg his machme for compressmg bullets in the event ofsteam power being applied to it. This request was approved in principle no action at the moment being taken, but as the Master-General wisely remarked: 'To steam we must come.'28 Mr apier then
decided to run his machine by steam, and, as a result, the M asterGeneral c~ll~~ for a report from the _Director, Royal Laboratory, on_ the fea~1bihty and th~ advantages, 1f any, of Mr Napier's project bemg earned out, showmg the probable costs compared with those o~ the present method of making compressed bullets. 20 In reply the D1rector, R.L., reported on I 7 July I 840 that the application of ste~m power to bullet compressing machinery would only cause a savmg o~£402. 13s._ 2d. p.a., and that if applied to the working of a!l turrung lathes m the Royal Carriage Department and the circular saw, the amount of money saved annually would amount t~ £~5 I. 6s. ~d: As a result of these figures, the Master-General,
Sir Richard V1v1an, wrote the following minute ;3o
:: Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,863, p. 7,082. 18 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,855, p. 3,301, 16 March i84o. Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,855, p. 3,347.
17
sa OOrdnandnance MM~utes, PPRROO/W/WO/47/1,856, p. 3,658, 23 March 1840.
r ce !nutes, O/47/1,860, p. 5,623.
19
10 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,865, p. 7,963, 2 June i84o. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,867, p. 8,786.
670
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
13 July 1840. Before I decide this, the general question of an extended application of steam power to our manufactories in Woolwich Arsenal is one to which I am desirous of directing the especial attention of the Board. At present in very many instances the work is done in a primitive manner by manual labor, and at a very great expencc; in the Carriage Department only is steam power employed as it should be. I am fully persuaded that by a more general application of such power, although in the first instance a considerable expence would be incurred, in the end not only would thousands of pounds be saved to the Country, but a very great increased means would be afforded for supplying any extraordinary demand for the munitions of war.
Instead, therefore, of erecting a machine for the manufacture of compressed balls only, I am desirous of having the opinion of the heads of the different branches of the Civil Department, viz, The Director of the Laboratory, the Inspector of Artillery, and the Director (or his assistant) of the Carriage Department on this very important question. With the steam engine now erected for the Carriage Department it might not be desirable to meddle, and I conclude it would be difficult to extend its power so as to assist in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. The question then will be whether it is advisable to increase our manufacturing power by the application of steam, and, if advisable, ·whether one or more steam engines should be erected in the Departments of the Inspector of Artillery and the Director of the Laboratory. I am aware that, at present, from the distance at which the buildings are apart, in which different descriptionsofwork is done, that might be assistedbysteam power, there would be a difficulty in applying to each the power of one engine, but if such work were removed to the houses immediately adjoining the road, was to have that only to intervene. I think means might be devised for carrying the power underneath the road and rendering it applicable to both Departments, and of this I am perfectly certain that if the work now done by manual labor in many instances in the Arsenal was required from an individual manufacturer, advantage would long since have been taken of the power of the steam engine, and a public department of such importance as that of the Ordnance should not continue subject to the opprobrium of not having kept pace with the improvements so generally adopted in private manufactories.
Mr Napier appears a very clever mechanist and the heads of the Departments would do well to consult him when taking into consideration the question I have now brought under notice.
The Board concurred in the principles and views expressed by the Master-General and desired the whole question to be referred to the Heads of Departments named, viz. The Director R.L., the Inspector of Artillery and the Inspector, R.C.D. These officials were instructed to consider the same jointly in all its bearings and consult with Mr Napier as necessary. The result oftheir deliberations were to be forwarded for the information of the Master-General and the Board.
ADOLESCENCE
Sir Richard Vivian was a far-seeing man and his minute was the prime mover in equipping the factories at Woolwich with powerdriven machinery.
On 19 June 1840 it was agreed that two official quarters for the 1st and 2nd clerks of the storekeeper's department should be fitted up in the ~oyal Arsenal. It was considered essential that such officials should live 'on their job'. Th_is mo:'e was necessitated by the two houses on the East Parade, m which these clerks lived being appr?priated for officers of the R~yal Military Academy wh~
had to reside near the _c_adets housed m their vicinity. An order went fo~th for the requmt_e plans a~d e~timates to be prepared.31 The estimate for convertmg premises mto residences for th
· 1 · £ ese
clerks provmg very arge-1t was r, 128. rs. od.-and as the ~torekeeper, d~puty storekeeper and a clerk already had houses m the Arsenal, 1t was finally approved that the two clerks in question should be granted allowances for house rent in lieu charg bl t
A d h' h ' ea e o
the RoyaI Mil. ea emy w 1c had taken over thei · · I
1tary ·
. . . r on g1na
quarters, with the st1pu1at1on that these allowances were n t t b
0
continued to the succes_sor~ of these rst and 2nd clerks. 32 ° e Although the use ofzmc m place oflead as a roof-covering b
r. ·1· ecame,
because of expense, 1am11ar after the Second World w . ·t
. . . J . ar, 1 was
not ~n mnovat10n, smce on r u1y I 840 1t was decided that as the repairs to the Grand Store-house were to be of a tempo a
. ·1 b . . h Id b r ry nature
a s1m1 ar su stitut10n s ou e made.33 ' When the old cadets' hall in the Royal Arsenal 1·n w1 · h I
. , 11c e evat
mg screws had been st~red, was required for the practical work of the cadets, the screws m question had been moved t th
O
floor of the south wing of the Land Store The subs et uppelr
. . · equen resu t
was disastrous; the weight proving too heavy the flo The repair of this store costing £176 gs Id wi'th or gad,d'~ _wayl.
. · · ·, an a 1t10na
£10. 45. od. for fit~mg up the ground floor to receive the elevatin screws, was authorized on 8 July 1840 and the wo k d dg
. r was or ere
to be earned out at once. At the same time the c1·v1·1 Offi
d · d · • cers were
w~rldin~ agamst _epos1tm? heavy objects on the upper floors of
b
m ngs not specially designed to accommodate the 34 ~he st~rekeeper, Jos,eph Cheetham, was a pertina:;us man. He believed m the motto If at first you don't succeed tr t · ,
H k d r. . , Y, ry again .
e as e 1or an entrance mto the Arsenal to be made through his garden wall so that he co~Id gain access to his office without havin to walk_round b~ the mam entrance. Such an amenity would hav~ saved him a considerable amount of time and effort each day. The
81 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/W0/47/i,864, p. 7 685.11 Ordnance Mmutes PRO/W0/47/ 1 8 '
aa Ordnance Minutes: PRO/WO/ I 'aJi' p. I 1,327, 16 September 1840.
u o dn Mi PR /W 47 1, , p. 8,130. 55/76o~ ance nutes, O 0/47/i,866, P· 8,443. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Board refused this request on 11 September 1840. Nothing daunted
he applied again. The Board made its second refusal on 10 August
1842.35 At the third attempt he was lucky, the Board gave way and
on 15 May 1843 gave authority for 'an entrance into the Royal
Arsenal to be made from the Storekeeper's garden'.36
On 2 October 1840, Mr Wall, clerk of the Sewers to the West
Thorock Levels, informed the Board of certain repairs which had to
be made by the Ordnance under an order issued by the Commis
sioners of Sewers.37 On the same day John Wright was given the
contract to erect a guardhouse in the Royal Arsenal, the expense
to be provided for in the 1841/42 Estimates.38
There was a royal visit to the Arsenal on 28 August I 840. After
reviewing the troops at Woolwich, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge
proceeded to the Arsenal where he was shown Napier's invention of
making balls by pressure. Afterwards he witnessed gun, rocket and
ricochet practice, and dined with Lord Bloomfield, the Commandant
of the Garrison, at his house in the Arsenal.
Perhaps this dinner party was the origin of the story mentioned
in Chapter I 3 that the additional kitchen accommodation in
No. 5 Dial Square was expressly built for entertaining William IV.
On 7 October 1840, the Director, R.L., applied for the erection of a pair of gates leading from the Royal Laboratory to the yard at the back of the West Store, the communication with which was circuitous and inconvenient. After consideration the Board postponed the proj"ect for the time being.39 An artillery horse, escaping from the R oyal Arsenal, ran into the shop window of Mr E. Jones, the printer, causing damage valued at £3. 15s. od. On I I November 1840, M r Jones received compensation to this amount from the storekeeper.40 On 11 November 1840, also, it was ordered that a wooden bulkhead at the practice ground should be repaired and enlarged. It was to be made one third greater in height and half as long again in length, in order to show the effect of experiments with percussion shells.41
The Works Estimates for 184042 are missing, but from an Ordnance M inute dated 17 June 1840,43 we learn that the figure was £4,361. 6s. 3¼d., a decided improvement over the rather miserable allowance for 1839.
Three newspaper cuttings tell of events during the year. 35 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,941, P· 9,608. 36 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/VvO/47/1,969, p. 6,300. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ 55/761.117 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1 ,875, p. 12,120. 38 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,875, P· 12,153. 119 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,875, P· 12,196. 40 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,879, P· 13,750. 41 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,879, p. 13,866. 42 PRO/WO/49/164.43 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,864, P· 7,599·
673
ADOLESCENCE
11 September 1840. On Friday last a party ofRoyal Artillery commanded by Major Chalmers44 proceeded to the proof-butts at the Arsenal at I p.m. to try a plan, which has been in operation for some time in France for discharging heavy ordnance by means of a hammer and deton;ting powder, instead of the usual portfire. Sir John May,45 Colonel Dundas46 and Colonel Dansey47 attended the experiment. The gun was a 32 pdr (1olb. charge) ·with a 32lb. ball (the charge is a flannel cartridge). It seems to be a success and it is hoped that the Ordnance Department will adopt it.
14 October 1840. Previous to the Dockyard fires, the public could wander anywhere in the Arsenal. In the last few days they have had to obtain a p~ss and are res~ri~ted in their movements. They may not enter shops without the perrrussion of the head ofthe department under which the shop comes.
12 Dec~mber 1840. Firing t?ok place in the Arsenal to commence experiments with the new shell invented by Messrs Napier, Wilkinson and
Reece.
The Works Estimates for 184148 again dropped in amount the sum v~te~ being £2,~20. 11s. 3t d. A good deal of lime wa;hing ~nd pamtmg was c~rned out durmg the year, but th only specific items worth a ment10n are (a) £597. 6s. 3fd. for cast-iron conduit pipes to supply the steam engine in the R~yal Carriage Department with water, (b) £274. 11s. 1d. for renewmg 14 pile fenders at the wharf, and (c) £173. Bs. 6fd. for the repair of the lock-gates of the
canal.
There was still a lot of mud and ice which had to be cleared in front of the wharf, and? as the 1:1oney authorized for the year had been expend:d, authority was given to carry on with the work of clearance which probably amounted to another £30 before the d
of the financial year.49 en On 29 January 1841, repairs to the main sewer in the Arsenal to the value of£85. 7s. 1d. were authorized.so On ~ February 1841 sanction was given for certain additions and alterations to the store-:ooms and workshops ofthe Royal Laboratory consequent upon the mtroduction of steam power and mach·
. h n· I S . inery
m _t e ia _quare bmldings amounting to £2,759. 3s. 4Jd. The estimate, which was afterwards amended to £2 758 " (' J._d
. d h ' . '1"' ' 32 .,
accompame t ~ C.R.E.'s report o~.the ~roject dated 3 February
1841. The terr:1 Royal Laboratory m this context is undoubtedly
an error. The Department of the Inspector of Artillery' must have
:: irobably MRajorJam~ A. Chalmer, afterwards Inspector of Artillery.
nspector, oyal Carnage Department. 48 Ir_ispector ofArtillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry.
47 Firemaster, Royal Laboratory. 48 PRO/W0/49/165.
:: OOrddnance MM!nutes, PPRROO//WW0/47/1,886, p. 1,089, 27 January 1841.
r nance mutes, 0147/i,886, p. 1,233_
674
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
been meant. Authority to commence the necessary work was given
on 8 March 184r. The main items of expenditure were:
(a)
The erection of a boring, turning and drilling manufactory £1,942. IOS. 8f d.
(b)
Engine house, steam engine and the setting up of boilers £442. 14-f. 2Jd.
(c)
Form well and conduit to supply the
steam engine with water £392. 1gs. ¥• Total: £2,758. ¥· 3 ½d,s1
On 4 January 1842 orders were given for the buildings receiving this new apparatus for boring cannon to be completed without delay.52
Further sanction was given on 5 September I 842 to expend another £433. I 5s. 5¾d. on additional services to complete the arrangements for this new manufactory. The plan, estimate and report were dated 12 July 1842.53 This was the introduction of steam-operated machinery in the department of the Inspector of Artillery which swept away the old horse boring mill introduced by the Verbruggens. The plan accompanying the estimate and report shows 'the present horse boring mills' placed in the S.E. and S.W. corners of Dial Square. These antiquated pieces of machinery were not finally dismantled till 1846.
On 3 March 1841 the Board decided to manufacture percussion caps for the small arms of the Army and Royal Navy up to total of 20,000,000 a year. The C.R.E. was therefore instructed to discuss with the Director, Royal Laboratory, the premises he would require and forward the estimate for the same to the Board for their perusal. The Director, R.L., was asked to ascertain the best maker of the presses and the other machinery required to enable the Royal Laboratory to produce 20,000,000 caps per annum. The caps when made were to be inspected and tested at the Tower in a similar manner to those supplied by contractors.54 The estimate for the necessary alterations to the Royal Laboratory and Royal Brass Foundry to render them fit to become a percussion cap factory for small arms, amounted to £426. 45'· 1d. It, and the report and plan accompanying it, was dated 15 November 1841. The estimate was approved and sanction was given on 8 December 1841 for the work to be put in hand in due course. The service was to be brought forward in the 1842/1843 Estimates.55 On 3 March 1841, also, the
51 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/760.
52 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,920, p. IOI.
53 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761.
5 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,890, p. 2,554.
<1.
55 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/'W0/47/1,917, p. 16,165. Engineer Papers, PRO/\ 0/ 55/760.
ADOLESCE CE
erection of a shed in the West Yard of the Royal Laboratory, estimated to cost £89. 7s. Bd., was postponed.56
Trouble now began to be experienced through officials, who should have known better, making unauthorized statements to the press contrary to regulations. To put a stop to this the Board circulated the following letter to aJI heads of departments in Woolwich :57
No. 1277
Office of Ordnance
M
24 March 1841
Ill
Many instances have lately occurred in whichnewspapershavepublished information in respect to different proceedings in the Royal Arsenal and other branches of the Ordnance Service at Woolwich, which could only have been furnished by Persons belonging to the Department.
Your attention is directed to the Circulars of the Master-General and Board of r December r820 and 2 October I 835, and you are to call on all those under your superintendence strictly to attend to the orders therein contained, and, should it again be the case that information having relation to occurrences in your Department such as ought not to be made generally known, finds its way to the public journals, you are at once to take every
possible means of discovering the author and report his name to the
Master-General and Board.
I have the honor to be Your Most Obedient Humble Servant
It was laid down on r June r842 that the only local paper in which official advertisements might appear was the Kentislz Gazette. 58 Apparently the circular letter quoted above did not stop this practice of illegal news reporting because on 7 February r 844 the Board again stressed the impropriety ofpublishing matters touching the Royal Arsenal in the local press. Another irregular communica
tion was made to the Woolwich Gazette and the Civil Officers were instructed to ascertain the name of the offender.s9 On 5 April r841 notice boards were placed on the practice range to mark the range ofshot.60 They were short-lived. They were taken down on 27 October following on the representation of the Commissioners ofSewers.61
On 7 April 1841 it was arranged to set up a committee in each department in the Arsenal on the efficiency of foremen, artificers, and labourers, similar to the 'Webb Committee' constituted on 28 February 1840 to deal with a similar problem in the storekeeper's
67 68 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,890, p. 2,569. 68 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,892, p. 3,594. 69 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,935, p. 7,016. 18 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,995, p. 1,728. 1 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,893, p. 4,179.
• Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,913, p. 4,033.
676
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
e · composed gentlemen :02
department. Th Comm1ttees were of the following
Department Committee
The Director-General, Ordnance Medical Services
Royal Laboratory The Director R.L.
{
Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office rThe D~ector-General, Ordnance Medical
The Department of Services the Inspector of -<l The Inspector of Artillery Artillery Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office
The D~rector-General, Ordnance Medical The Royal Carriage Services De artment The Inspector, R.C.D.
{
p Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office The Director-General, Ordnance Medical Services
The Storekeeper's
The Inspector of Artillery
Department The Storekeeper Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office
Heads of Departments were instructed to prepare and. forward h Sary returns of their personnel for these committees on
t e neces . C · · h
IS April r84 r.oa On 13 May r842 the Efficiency omm1ttee m t e storelceeper's department submitted their report and those considerecl unfit for further service were recommended to the Treasury for superannuation.64 • •
Sanction was given on 12 May 1841 to erect a we1gh-bndge and ffi the wharf at an estimated cost of £270. 17s. 4d. The
o
1cc on . d A ·1 8 os
t.
ate and the report accompanying 1t were date 10 pn 1 41.
es 1m • 0 ·
T he Blue sheds again come into the picture. wmg to a storehouse in the storekeeper's department being transferred to the Royal M ·1·t A cademy the storekeeper asked for two of the Blue sheds
1 1 ary , . 1 · Ii to be repaired in order to obtain a serv1ceab1e storage pace 1~ eu. On 2 6 M ay r8sr, one Blue shed was ordered to be renovated. 6 On i6 June 1a4 r Mr Napier's tender for a new crane at £350 was accepted.67 On r8 June r841, a half-holiday was granted to all en:iployees of the Royal Arsenal on Monday 21 June on the occasion of the launching of H.M.S. Trafalgar (I 20 guns) from the Royal Dockyard
62 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,893, P· 4,2 34· 03 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,894, P· 4,538. 64 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/i,933, P· 5,9J9· E . p PRO{\\rO/
65 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,897, P· ,048· ngmcer apcrs, 55/76o. 6 8 6
66 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,898, P· , 1 · 67 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,900, P· 7,825.
677
ADOLESCENCE
by H 1\1. the Queen.68 This was a great occasion at Woolwich. A short report of the launching is given below:
Of all sights which have attracted pleasure-seekers within the last twelve years, none will be recorded as having produced greater interest than the launch of the Trafalgar. The roads from London swarmed with carriages and pedestrians~oaches and_ four by dozens, coaches and pair by hundreds; barouches, gigs, phaetons mnumerable · -coronets and mitres
rich hammercloths emblazoned in sih,:er~ the more h~mble carriages, and the patent cab, passed before the eye m mcessant line. Almost eve hop in Woolwich was closed. From fifty to a hundred steamers andry schts
. d . fi . h f I · ya
carne Joyous re~g ts o peop e on the nver, and if ever there was life upon the waters 1t was that day. The nueen accompani·ed b p ·
. . . X; , y nnce
b d 1
Al ert an an immense smte, a 1gh~ed at a stage covered with green cloth £or her soft feet to tread upon, she m whom were centred all the nation's
hopes: 'The fondly reared, the fair, Gladdening all eyes to see.,
Her Majesty wore a bright blue silk dress and a whi"t d b
. . e rawn onnet
with roses. Prmce Albert also looked very well-pale a h 1 d
· l ·th , s e a ways oes,but certam y w1 no symptons of consumption. The b ttl f · "h
h. h th hr" · o e o wme wit
w 1c e c 1st:nmg was performed was one of those which elson had on board the Victory at the battle of Trafalgar Lad B ·d ls ,
· r. d h · Y n port, e on s
niece, penorme t e ceremony. Nelson's sister Mrs M t l I
. , a c 1am, was a so
present, and the survivors ofthe memorable battle As th d h
. . e ogs ores werek k d h L
noc e away t e great ev1athan glided slowly and · t· 11 ffks ·d th d f maJes 1ca y ostoTc ,ha_rm un edrsdoLapplause and the booming of guns. h t e
o t 1s we may a ongfellow's elegant lines:
'She sta~ts, she moves, she seems to feel
The thnll oflife along her keel .
A~d, spurning with her foot th; ground
With one exulting joyous bound '
She leaps into the water's arms.'69
Owing to the insufficiency of the collar mak · - , h I
A ers s op, approva
was g1ven on 4 ugust r84r to form a collar mak , 1
f . . -ers s 10p at a cost
o £6 r. os. rod. under the C1vil Officers in th t t f h east tower storehouse. 70 There was some dela _e op s?rey o th_e
. r. y m carrymg out t 1s
convers10n 1or on r2 July r844 the CivI·l Offic t d h h"
h • ers sugges e t at t IS
s op, which had been provided for in Item r2 of the r8 /
44 4h5
Estimates, should be constructed in the s E T • t d f .
Grand Store. 71 • • ower ms ea o In t e
On r r August r84r MrJoh w·1 l k
. , n 1 son, c er of works, was ordered to supermtend the construction of the testimonial to be erected to
88 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/r
8
19 Records oif Woo/wick W T v· ,goo, P· 7, 52 •
' . . mcent vol. I PP 285 286
70 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ 1' ' · ' ·
n O d Mi ' 47 r,905, p. 9,903.
r nance nutes, PRO/W0/47/2,011 , p. 8,600.
678
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
the late Sir Alexander Dickson.72 This testimonial took the form ofa stately monument erected in the Royal Military Repository in 1847 by the officers of the Royal Artillery to the memory of this gallant and distinguished officer.
While digging certain foundations in the Royal Arsenal in 1841, specimens of ancient Roman pottery were discovered. These were sent to the British Museum.73
Sanction was given on I g April 1841 to construct a cast-iron pipe from the canal to the saw-mill to supply the well of the steam-engine of that establishment with water. The estimate amounting to £203. 3s. 10!-d. and the report accompanying it, was dated 19 February 1841.74 The saw-mill of those days, the first to be erected at the beginning of the century was just opposite the present site of the south boring mill and the timber-seasoning sheds were grouped around it. Sanction was also given on 15 September 1841 to surround the field works thrown up on the Cadets' Green, where the gentlemen cadets of the Royal Military Academy were instructed in field fortification, with park pickets and ropes. This minor service cost £g. os. 4¾d. and the estimate with its accompanying report were dated g September 1841.75
A new innovation was now instituted in the Royal Arsenal. On representations being made by the Civil Officers on 20 September 1841, it was agreed that the porters at the Arsenal Gate should be provided with uniform in order to enhance their prestige. The actual proposal that the uniform to be supplied should be similar to that worn by the police was not countenanced, the Board deciding that the porters' uniform should be analogous to that worn in the Ordnance Department. The Civil Officers were instructed to submit a pattern for the Master-General's approval.76 The Civil Officers had a sample suit of uniform clothing made up by the Artillery clothing contractor as a pattern for the porters and constables at the R oyal Arsenal Gate, and it was forwarded on 22 October 1841 to the Master-General for his approval. It had the Ordnance Arms on the coat collar and the great coat in three devices. The Civil Officers reported that the price of such uniform made of the same cloth as the jacket worn by gunners of the Royal Horse Artillery would be annually as follows. (See page 680.)
They suggested that a uniform per man should be supplied yearly and a great coat every three years, that because of its durability the hat should be of police pattern, that the cloth should be of the same quality as that of the R.H.A. gunners'jacket, and
72 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/V\70/47/1,906, P· rn,275. 73 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,9o8, p. I 1,go6. 74 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/760. 76 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/766. 76 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,909, P· 12,381.
679
ADOLESCENCE
Body coat and trousers £3. 2S. od.
Great coat, one third of£2. 18s. od., to last 3 years 19s. 4d.
Estimated cost of hat ofpolice pattern 14-S. od.
£4. 15s. 4d.
Deduct average at which returned clothes will sell for IOS. od.
Total yearly cost £4. 5s. 4,d.
Estimated cost of belt, staff cases and buckle, made in}
the Royal Arsenal and calculated to last a man's lifetime with care. 4-S. 6d.
that the bodycoat, trousers, great coat and hat should be inserted in the Artillery clothing contract. The Master-General agreed and approved the proposals.77 This sartorial improvement evidently tickled the fancy of the separate departments as on 3 December 1841, the Director, Royal Laboratory, asked that the porter at the
R.L. gate might be supplied with a similar uniform. This request was refused by the Master-General on the grounds that he did not wish to extend the practice. 78
Owing to the plank covering ofa tank in rear of the wharf which was in the line of traffic to the wharf, having given way, it was decided to cover the tank with a brick arch at the cost of£35. ss.s¾d. 79
The bulkhead in the butt now required repair. On 5 November I841, the renovation v, as ordered to be carried out in elm, at a cost of£98. 3s. rrd. The report and the estimate accompanying it were
dated 21 October r84r.80 The arch and gateway at the end of the Sea Service storehouse now began to show signs of age. An estimate for its repair was therefore_ called for on 26 Nove~ber r84r.81 It has not been possible to_ establish whether the b~autiful gateway originally designed for th1~ storehouse ~as e~er bmlt, but ~om the plan accompanying the estimate ofrepair, which together with the report detailing the work was d_ated 7 Dece~ber 1841, it would appear that the gateway then standmg was not The Front ofthe Gate next the River Thames for the Ship Carriage House designed at Tower Place, Markt 1717'. The estimate for this service amounted to £179. 4s. 7fd.a2 and on 28 December 1841 sanction was given to take down and repair the arc~ and t~e gateway. As, h?wev~r, there was no money immediately available, 1t was to be provided m the Estimates for 1842/43.s3 It was agreed on 1 December 1841 that moveable huts or sheds should be erected to protect the Bo convicts who cleaned shot and
;; Ordnance Minutes, PRO{WO/47/1,913, p. 13,816. 71 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO{WO/47/1,917, p. zs,8gz. 80 Ord!1ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,912, p. 13,502.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/5s/76o :: Ord!1ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/z:g,6, p. ,5,539.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760 "Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1:919, p. 17,004.
680
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
shell for the Inspector of Artillery from the inclemencies of the weather. The lack of such shelter in the past, exposing them to the elements while carrying out this duty, had caused a high sickness rate among the unfortunate inhabitants of the hulks. The expense of this amenity was considered to be in the neighbourhood of £100 and an estimate was ordered to be prepared.84 The estimate was actually £76. 4>. gd.85
We get a contemporary view of the Royal Arsenal at this time from John Grant's Guide to Woolwich 1841. It does not afford us much which is not already known but passages therefrom are worth quoting.
The new foundry was erected by Vanburgh in 1719. It contains three furnaces with extensive accommodation for making moulds and weighing the materials used in forming the ordnance. The largest furnace will melt about 1 7 tons of metal at a time. On 5 June I 840, I 6 tons of metal were used, amongst which was an old brass gun cast in the same foundry by Andrew Schaich in 1742 and raised from the wreck of the Royal George at Portsmouth in 1840. The moulds used on this occasion were for ten 24 pdr and two I 2 pdr brass howitzers. After being placed in their proper places, and firmly embedded in sand, burning charcoal is introduced into them, and the supply continued until the moulds become red hot, thus expelling all moisture. The old brass (worth about £1,280) having been placed in the furnace and fire communicated, pieces of hard wood were thrown in and supplied for 14 hours at the rate of three a minute, consuming five stacks each three feet broad, three feet high and 12 feet long. The furnace was lit at g.o p.m. At 1 I .o a.m. next morning the metal was run into the moulds in the presence of Lord Bloomfield and others. Near the foundry
is the boring mill, moving power being supplied by two horses. (This is for iron ordnance.)
In the Laboratory, boys are employed in making ball and blank cartridges. Here is a machine invented by Napier for making balls by compression from leaden rods. It is worked by hand but a steam engine is about to be introduced to work the machine. There is the Laboratory Model Room. Between the Laboratory and the river is the gun and shot park-28,000 guns and 4,000,000 shot and shell of all sizes erected into pyramids. A considerable portion of the heavy work of proving shell is performed by convicts of whom upwards of 500 are daily brought on shore from the Justicia hulk for that purpose and for other laborious nontechnical work in the Arsenal.
There is the saw-mill with moving steam power of 20 horses. A new method of tinning copper is also carried out. There is a planing machine by Bramah and Son, moving power is steam. There are also circular saws.
Lieut.-General Lord Bloomfield resides in the Field Officers' quarters.
There are three errors in the above account. One, the boring mill is worked by four and not by two horses; two, it is for brass and 84 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,917, p. 15,787. 85 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,928, p. 3,710, 23 March I~.
681
45
ADOLESCEN CE
not iron ordnance; and three, Lord Bloomfield resided 1n the Commandant's house alongside the Field Officers' quarters.
Ordnance Book No. 758 of 1841 gives the particulars of the Ordnance lands and buildings in Woolwich for that year. The v,hole extent of the Ordnance lands in the neighbourhood was then 799 acres 2 roods, of which the Royal Arsenal covered about 266 acres. The land was all freehold with the exception of a small piece for which rent was paid to Queen's College, Oxford. The book states: 'It is supposed to be included in the Arsenal but the position or extent is not known.' There was no arable meadow or pasture
land properly speaking; the whole, though grass land, being used for exercise and practice ground for the Artillery.
The houses in the Royal Arsenal were then occupied by the deputy storekeeper, a clerk in the storekeeper's department, a clerk in the Engineer department, the firemaster, the Deputy Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, and the Superintendent of Shipping. The list thus given is not complete for there were also houses for the Commandant and the Director R.L. and other officers. The buildings in the Royal Arsenal are scheduled as follows:
Storelzouses applied to tlze service of the Ordnance StorekeejJer
Six Blue sheds Each 411 X r8' Wooden sheds; slated roofs.
West Quadrangle
West store 208' X 39'
Painters' Shop 30' X 30'
North store 143 1 X 35 1
South store 143 1 X 35 1
Grand Storehouses Centre Quadrangle West store j West tower South store East tower East store 208' X 39' 69' X 69' 308' X 69 1 69' X 69' 208' X 39' Brick and mortar. Slated roofs. Foundation-Fir platforms on fir piles.
East Quadrangle
Painters' Shop 30' x 30,
South store r43' x 35,
East store r r 8' x 39'
1
Building for artillery carriages 324' x 30' Brick; tiled roof. Junk and wad store ro6' X 30' Wood; slated roof. Store for empty boxes 507' x 28'}
Sand shot store r83, X 64' . Brick and mortar; Iron store tiled roofs.
454, X 56, White storehouse 3401 X 30' Wood; tiled roof. East store, East Parade r38' x 3r' Brick; tiled roof. Store for boxes 88' X 31' Brick; tiled roof.
682
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Workshops and Storehouses applied to the Royal Carriage D epartment
Store for seasoning timber and plank 2881 X 281 Brick; slated roof. Blue storehouse 271' X 27°} Store for spokes and felloes 181' X 67' Wood
Store for seasoning timber l 75' X 22' slated roofs. Store for spokes and felloes 50' X 25' North store, East Parade 420' X 42' Brick; slated roof.
Carpenters' shop 122' X 30' Sawpit and store 34' X 32' Carpenters' shop 2 16' X 32' Store 34' X 32' Carpenters' shop 122' X 32' Store and ditto 87' X 32'
Carriage
Workshops 122' X 32'
Brick and mortar•
341
Sawpit and store X 32'
Square
with slated roofs. ' Sawpit and store 34' X 32' Wheelers' shop 134' X 32' Machinery and ditto 122' X 32'
Smiths' shop I 39' X 87'
Smiths' shop 139' X 87'
Smiths' shop 139' X 87'
1
Iron store 47' X 23' Collarmakers' shop 58' X 20' I
Basin
56, x J Brick and mortar•,Square
Iron store 1 5,
Vice shop 60' X 16' wilh tiled roofs. Foundry 47' X 22' Saw-mill and engine-house 1 26' X 521 Brick and mortar, slated roofs.
W orkshops and Storehouses applied lo the Royal Laboratory
North store 107' X 40' }
X 0 , Brick and mortar;
I 86,
West store 3
X , slated roofs.
I 86,
East store 30
Sand shot store I 33' X 24' } Foundry store 70' X 24' Brick and mortar; Workshop 58' X 27' tiled roofs. Turners' shop 6o I X 34I
181
Chemical laboratory and Tailors' shop 69' X
Smiths' and founders' shops 119' X 21'
Brick and
Carpenters' and turners' shops 46' X 34'
1 7, ,
mortar;Smelting room X 2 3
tiled roofs. Store room 77' X 17' Saltpetre manufactory 49' X I 7' Coopers' and tinmen's shops 173' X 17' Brick and mortar; slated roof. Painters' shop 43' X 19'} Brick and mortar; Sand shop store 36' X I g' slated roofs. 13 Ammunition tents Each 18' X 13'. Wood; roof covered 0 th patent canvas.
683
ADOLESCENCE
Driving rooms 72' X 24'} Brick and mortar·
Sh , , l '
ot store 131 X 24 s ated roofs.
Store-room 58' X 27'} Tube rooms 67' X 23' Brick and mortar• Stove and lead rooms 1 73' X 20' tiled roofs. ' Painters' store 18' X 14'
Rocket workshop, east 26' X 23'} Wood on brick found-Rocket workshop, west 59' X 23' ations; slated roofs.
5 wood tents Each 24' x 16' Driving house, east 20' X 18' Driving house, east 70' x 46'
Wooden brick found-Driving house, west 7o' x 46'
ations; slated roofs. 2 Composition rooms Each 26' x 32' Nos. 1 to 5 Each 60' x 18'
Fireproof No. 6 40' X 18' Brick and mortarand Nos. 7 and 8 Each 19' x 14'
arched; fireproof
Magazines No. 9 40' X 18' slated roofs.
Buildings No. ro 60' x 20' Shifting house Octagonal Brick and mortar;{ 23' 6" in diameter } slated roof.
Workshops and Storehouses applied to the Roy al Brass Foundry and the Department of the Inspector of Artillery
Royal Brass Foundry 130' X 100' Brick and mortar · slated roof. '
1
Smiths' shop and store
55 X 21'}
Chipping room, Boring} Brick and mortar; machinery 46, X 29, tiled roof.
Boring machinery and chipping room 62' x 26' Boring mill, turners'
Dial
shop and store 1oo' X 12 1,
Brick and mortar;
Square Workshops X , slated roofs.
122, 21 Boring machinery 95, x 2 1,
Chipping rooms 62 ' x 26'
3 Store-rooms Each 23 1 x 23, Workshops x ,
145, 23
I [
Workshops 221 x
Proof 23, Store-room , x
Brick and mortar,· Square 30 23, slated roofs.
Workshops 88' X 23' Workshops 30, x
23, Workshops x
125, 23,
Coal yard
( 2 Wh_eel~rs' shops Each 48' X 121 } Brick and mortar;
near
-< 2 Smiths shops Each 64' x 201 slated roofs.
Proof Square l
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Workshops applied to the Royal Engineer Department
Founders' shop 65' X 21' Smiths' shop 73' X 21' Cabinet makers' shop 27' X 2 I' Collar makers' shop r8' X 2 r' Carpenters' shop 89' X 2 r' Bricklayers' store 32' X 2 r' Store-roo01S 22' X 2 I'Engineer
,
Brick and mortar;
Store-rooms 69' X 2 r
slated roofs.
Square Plumbers' shop r 4' X 2 I' Glaziers' shop 25' X 2 r' Painters' shop 36' X 2 r' Wheelers' shop 42' X 2 I' Sawpits and timber
store 127' X 49' Storehouse r 66' X 2 1'
Storehouses and Magazines applied to the Field Train Department
One 259' X 43' }One 241' X 43' Brick and mortar; Gun sheds One 2 82 ' x 45' with slated roofs.
{ One 311' X 43' Workshops 140' x 15' Brick and mortar; with slated roof. 2 Magazines Each 51' x 13' Brick and mortar; arched, fireproof with slated roof. Shifting room 30' x 16' Brick and mortar; slated roof. Practice magazine} 231 x 13' Brick and mortar; arched, with slated and store roof.
On the occasion ofthe birth ofthe Prince ofWales at Buckingham Palace on g November 1841, brevet rank was conferred on the officers of the Army and Royal Navy. The Civil Officers at the Royal Arsenal solicited on 7 February 1842 that the same mark of favour might be granted to the storekeeper, deputy storekeeper and clerks, who, in their daily duties, were intimately connected with naval and military officers. They suggested that a period of years should be added to the length of their service which would entitle them to a proportionate advantage on their superannuation. It was a pious seed ofhope which fell on stony ground. The MasterGeneral merely endorsed the solicitation 'Read' and ordered it to be entered in the Board's minutes.86
The C.R.E. reported on 29 April 1842 that the repair to the proof-butt would cost £2 1. 3s. 1o¼d, and that, weather permitting, the work could be completed within three weeks.87
86 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,923, p. 1,662. 87 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,931, P· 5,393·
685
ADOLESCENCE
The IO ton crane on the wharf having become unserviceable a similar one being on order Mr Napier's tender having been ~ccepted,88 th~ Civil Officers s~ggest~d that a heavier type with a 20:-25 ton hft s_hould be obtamed mstead owing to heavier loads bemg expected m future. The Board, with a lack of vision frowned on the suggestion. 89 '
An 181b. rocket exploded on 22 September 1842. There were no casualties but d~~age to the value of £g. 11s. o½d. was caused to No. 1 rocket dnvmg house. Repairs were approved on 30 Se t-
ember 1842.90 p The Arsenal clock was transferred from the Engineer Department to that of the stor~keeper_ on I 4 October I a42.91
A.smaJl fmagazme, r.w1thh privy under the same roof, to store I
fu mmate o mercury 1or t e percussion cap manufactory was on 31 Octo?er 1842 approved at a cost of£y2.. rgs. sJ.-d. and ordered
92
to be built at once. 2 Two newspaper cuttings refer to this period.
28 Apnl 1842. Yesterday experiments with gun t k l · h
· h s oo p ace In t e
marshes m t e presence of Colonel Cockburn c 1 I L L"
, o one acy, Ieut
Colonels Dansey, Dundas and Chalmer Majors Ha d · d H · Captain Grant. Firing was with 32 pd;s. at one t· r mgedahn hope and
· d" ' ime re -ot s ot were
to be fired but this 1d not take place.
~ ,r ~ctobSer 1842. On MConday_ last Colonel R. J. J. Lacy, Colonel G. Turner
maJor trangeways, aptam PaUiser Captain G t d '
R l Ar ·11 ffi ' ran an a number of
oya tI ery o cers assembled on the marshes t ·t ·
· h d · · f o w1 ness expenments
wit a new escnpt1on o brass gun denominat d , 1· h
. . d d ' e a 1g t 9 pdr , The
savmg m pow er an metal by Captain Grant' · · -·
·d bl I h s mvention w1 11 be very
cons1 era e. t was t ought by many that the i · · h £ •
.1 b C . nvent10n rrug. t ad from
too great a reco1 , ut aptam Grant has so pro t· d l
· h h · por 10ne t 1e metal and
wit sue good Judgment, that no fears are now entertained i 'th respect; and from the elegance of the model light d h n at
f 1 h f . , ness, an at t e same
1me amp e strengt o the carnage it is likely to b . t d d . Service and will be far easier of dr;ught for the hor;e:~ ro uce mto the
The Works Estimates for r8439a totalled £ Bd A
4 0 8
the chief items were £375 3 Id r. ' o : I 7s. . mong
h £ . · s. 22 · ior refloormg the wheelers'
s op, 385 to provide a _new ro ton crane, £160 to provide a new 40 t~n barge for the Engmeer department and £69 d fc h repa1r of the proof-butt. ' · 3s. 3 · or t e
The proof-butt appeared at this moment to be .er. • fi suuermg ram grave
88 See note 67. 89 Ordnance Minutes, PROJW0/47/1'° Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ / 935, P· 6 8 , 72, 3June 1842. Papers, PROfWO/ss/761. 47 1,946, P• II,606, 30 September 1842. Engineer 11 Ordnance Minutes, PROfW0/4711 .n " Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / ,9't'-', P· 12,160
u PROfWO/49/167. 47 1,949, p. 12,796.
686
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
defects. On r February r843, it was ordered to be repaired at once for the sum of £69. 3s. 3d. mentioned in the Works Estimates.°'
In the same month the butt had to be refaced at a cost of £148. 11s. id.95 This repair was authorized on 20 February 1843.96 The bulk-head on the marshes, too, required attention and authority was given on 27 September 1843 to renew the same at a cost of £161. 17s. 7¼d.97
The new crane for which the money had been provided in the Works Estimates for 1843, was not quite satisfactory, so alterations by the C.R.E. to improve its efficiency were sanctioned on 30 June 1843.98
On 9 October I 843 the Arsenal clock was ordered to be cleaned and repaired by Mr Vulliamy.99
On I 3 December I 843, Mr Orwin, the surveyor, was ordered to inspect the sample iron window submitted by Messrs Duley and Thomas, before they carried out their contract.100
Mr J. Hudson, on 27 December 1843, applied on behalf ofJames Pattison, M.P., for permission to turn the drainage of some houses being erected on his property at Woolwich into the Ordnance sewer a t Waterman's Fields. As the C.R.E. stated there was no objection, the Board granted the necessary permission on payment of one shilling a year for the indulgence.101 Later on 16 June 1s45 Mr Pattison was given leave to run a g inch barrel drain into the O rdnance sewer for the acknowledgment of one shilling annually.102
The years I 842 and I 843 were quiet years and there have been few items of interest to record. Three short newspaper reports close the chronicle for the latter year.
22 May 1843. Further experiments were carried out on the marshes with Mr Reece's shells and Captain Grant's light g pdr gun. The trials were carried out in the presence of distinguished officers.
18 September 1843. General Esparturo visited the Royal Arsenal and was shewn some firing practice. 9 October 1843. H.I.H. The Grand Duke Michael of Russia visited the Royal Arsenal and the convicts hulks.
The Works Estimates for 1844103 again showed a decline, standing as they did at £2,219. 8s. 1o½d, The only two items of importance were, £202. gs. g-}d. for re-flooring the collar-makers' shop and
94 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4 7 / 1,959, p. I ,509. 95 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,960, p. 2,379. 96 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761 • 97 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761 • 98 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/ 1,973, p. 8,512. 99 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/vVO/47/1,983, p. 12,907.
100 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47 / I ,990, p. I 6,070. 101 Ordnance Minutes, PROJWO/47/1,991, p. 16,612. 102 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,044, p. 8,324. 10a PRO/WO/49/168.
ADOLESCENCE
£72. 10s. 8½d. for repairing the proof and practice butts. Sanction was granted on 28 April 1844 for _refacing the practice butt, forming a road from the present road to it, and for converting the concrete arch in the officers' room from which the effect ofshot was observed. The estimate for this work amounting to £300. 17s. 4½d., the plan and t_he report ac~ompanying. it, were. dated 22 March 1a44.104 Sanction was also give~ for erectmg machmery in the Royal Carriage
Department, to be driven by the steam engine already installed to effect the more spe~dy production of ~heels. The cost was £;11 • 1os. od. The alterat10n of the shop, costmg £15 to receive this new machinery was approved on 6 November 1844}os
The_ Royal Arsenal now began to .be troubled by thefts of stores committed by unknown persons, which assumed alarming proportions. The baggage ofLieut.-Colonel Frazer, R.A., which had been placed in a sto:ehouse, disappeared in the beginning of the year, and on 24 April 1844 a Court of Enquiry was held to investigate
106
the occ~brrence. AIM~hkio.ugh the Court failed to discover the culprit
1
respons1 e, 1ames 1s n, the foreman of the storehouse concerned, was suspended from duty for a week with the loss of a week's pay as a mark of the Master-General's displeasure.101
The Master-G_ene:al and Board had had under consideration sundry commun_1cat10ns fro?I the Commandant and the Civil Officers, Woolw1ch, expressmg the opinion that th t f
' h" d di , • e sys em o
watc _mg an war ng 1~ fo~ce in the storekeeper's department had failed to prevent the J:>Ilfermg of stores which had of late been both numerous and extensive. After deliberat1'on the B d
. , oar came to the co~clus1on and strongly recommended the substitution of a force of police for the three gate-keepers and the .c.0 rem d ·
•
, 11 an an s1x men who watched m the Royal Arsenal each night Th t th f h
r.
• . e s reng o t e
Ii
po ce 1.orce envisaged was to be r sergeant and · t l
b s1x rs c ass con
sta les, the.annual co~t ofwhich would, according to the estimate of Mr Mallalieu, Supermtendent of the Greenwi'ch n· · · b
follows: 1v1s10n, e as
6 police constables I st class
£37r. 8s. od.
1 sergeant
73. 12s. od. Total: £445. OS. od.
The Mas!er-G~neral in answer to the Board's minute dated r M~y 1844: m which they recommended the employment of police an _sub.nutted the 2nd paragraph of the Commandant's letter
relati~e to t~e re-employment of the three gate-keepers to his attent10n, havmg stated as follows:
1°' En~eer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/76i. ::: Engmeer Pa~rs, PRO/WO/ss/76i. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2 003 p
5 15
107 Ordnan M' t PRO/W ' ' . ' 5·
ce mu es, 0/47/2,007, p. 7,006, 5June 1844.
688
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WI1•o 1840-1850
3 May 1844. I approve of the arrangement re_commen~ed, ~nd I shall be disposed to pay such attention to the suggestion contained m the 2nd paragraph of Lord Bloomfield's letter as circumstances may admit of.
approved that instructions should be given for the employment of
a party of police, subject to such preliminary arrangements as,
upon communication with Mr Mallalieu and th_e Civil Officers,
might be deemed advisable. The Master-General directed that Lord
Bloomfield and the Civil Officers should be informed and that the
individuals at present employed on 'watch and ward' should be told
that their services would be discontinued after the police had assumed
their new duties.108
Before the police were introduced, the cost of guarding the Royal
Arsenal was as under:
Roy al Arsenal 1 foreman at 2s. p.d. £36. IOS. od. 6 men at Is. 6d. p.d. £164. 5s. od. £200. 15s. od. p.a.
Royal Laboratory 1 foreman at 2s. p.d. £36. IOS. od. 3 men at Is. 6d. p.d. £82. '2S. 6d. £118. l2S. 6d. p.a.
Total £31 g. 7s. 6d. per annum The cost of a police constable would be: 1 police constable at 19s. p.w. £49. 8s. od.
Clothing for I man 6. os. od.
Coals for r man I. 5s. od.
Total for one police constable £56. I 3s. od. p.a.
T welve constables, the minimum ultimately suggested, would cost
£ 679. r6s. od. per annum. The police were to be under an
Inspector.109
On 21 June 1844 an Inspector of Police at £r 18. 6s. od. p.a. was added to the establishment of I sergeant and 6 constables originally proposed. The two lodges at the main gate and the one at the Plumstead Road gate were handed over to the police. The three gate-keepers to be displaced were:
John Amos appointed in 1811
John Bloss appointed in 1839
Robert Robinson appointed in 1842
John Amos was recommended to the Treasury for an allowance of£24 p.a. till other employment could be found for him. The other
108 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,004, p. 5,666, 6 May r8+l,.
109 PRO/W0/44/296.
689
ADOLESCENCE
two men, being in receipt of military pensions, were not entitled to any other further consideration on the removal from their posts. The orders for the installation of the police went ahead. 110
Meanwhile, more mysterious thefts in the Royal Arsenal now occurred. These were of valuable plate and brass ordnance. On 20 August 1844, therefore, MrJ. Hignott, solicitor to the Ordnance was authorized to employ the services ofa special Bow Street office; for private investigation. The solicitor was also granted permission to prosecute before the Woolwich magistrates should such a course be deemed advisab1e.lll Losses had occurred previously on 15 June and 25 November 1843. On 31 August 1844, nineteen brass howitzers 4 2 / 5 inch were taken. The records give long and detailed reports
of the Courts of _Enquiry. The value of these stolen goods was £463. 2s. 6d. as pieces ofordnance or £218. ms. od. if regarded as old metal. The total deficiency ofstores was valued at £ 486. 2 s. 6d.
7d.112
with a scrap metal value of £246. 5s. The Board in their Order of1661 dated IO December 1845, called on Joseph Cheetham the storekeeper, to refund the sum of£246. 5s. 7d. , the scrap metai value of the brass ordnance stolen from the Royal Arsenal. He somewhat naturally, recoiled from this fiat and appealed agains; ~hat ar_noun~ed to a ~ubstantial fin:. The Board on gJanuary 18 6,
4
m consideration of his long and faithful service and because of h'
. . h IS
mnocence m t e matter for which he was in no way responsible, recommended that he should be relieved ofthis charge. The MasterGeneral concurred.113 A fire broke out in the oil store in the Royal Arsenal on 10 J
8 b · d li une
I 44, ~t 1t cause_ . ttle damage and was soon extinguished. After an enqmry the C1VIl Officers were satisfied that it was caused b spontaneous combustion. Mr James Marsh suggested th t y
. . a , as a
precaution agamst fire, the buckets and strainer used in th k"
f ·1 · · fl e pac 1ng
o 01 many m _ammable matter, should be treated with a solution of chlorate of lime and sulphate of soda. This was agreed to u4 Appar~ntly Mr William Jone~, the deputy storekeeper, was late·in appearmg on the scene. He ?1~ not arrive till the conflagration was
over. On 2l June 1844 the C1v1l Officers explained the reason for his absence and suggested that more vigilance should be displayed.us
On ~ November 1844 the sinking of a well and the erection of a pu~p m the straw yard on PJumstead marshes was authorized at an estimated cost of £30. 12s. 7d.ll6 On 13 November 1844 the old
110 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /47 2•00
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO 9, P· 7,724·
111 PROJWO/44-/2 . ' /W0/47/2,014, p. ro,251. JU Ordn M" 95
ance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2 o64 p. 441 m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ I ' ' ·
m Ordnance Minutes, PROJWo/71:•~~7, p. 7,231. 118 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/47/ ' 9• p. 7,744.
' 47 2,022, p. 13,697.
690
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
office of the Sluice and Barge Master near the canal lock was ordered to be demolished.117
The Works Estimate for 1845118 show a pleasing increase, namely £4,200 approximately. There are four items worth recording. The sum of £385. os. od. for providing and fixing the new 10-ton crane on the wharf, £185. os. 7d. for the repair of Blue sheds Nos 2-6, £781. 15s. 6½d. for the building of groynes and paved slopes to protect the embankment on the north bank of the Thames opposite the Arsenal, and £88. I 1s. 3¾d. for repairs to the proofand practice butts. Sanction was given on I 1 October 1845 for a building near Proof Square to contain two smiths' forges estimated to cost £263.119
Two events stand out in this year of grace; the disgrace and dismissal of Mr William Jones, the deputy storekeeper, and the serious fire and explosion in the Royal Laboratory.
On 16 April 1845 Daniel Tozer, a labourer in the storekeeper's department, made the following charges against the deputy storekeeper:
(
1) Misappropriating public stores, namely paint and wood for his own private use.
(2)
Employing men paid out of public funds on his own private work.
(3)
Employing two official painters in painting his house.
(4)
Employing the labourer, Bryant, most of his time.
(5)
Employing other labourers occasionally, particularly George Burbridge and Robert Wilkie.
(6)
Employing John Cope, coxswain, with men fishing for shrimps.
(
7) Causing a washing bath to be made from public materials and to be removed by Stephen Clare, a labourer, from the coopers' shop for his own private use.
(8)
Employing a collar-maker for two days in altering one of his carpets.
The M aster-General instituted a Court of Enquiry, consisting of Mr Payne from the Surveyor-General's office, Mr Griffiths from the Civil Officers and Mr Roper from the Principal Storekeeper's office, to investigate the charges without delay. As all these gentlemen normally functioned in the Tower, they were ordered to proceed to Woolwich for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of the alleged malpractices, if any, with reference to regulations and to the extent if committed, that the public suffered by them.120 The Court of Enquiry found the charges against Mr Jones substantially true. He had defrauded the public of £214 by misappropriating labour and materials over a series of years between 1838 and 1845. In a long statement dated 12 May 1845 the Master-General
117 Ordnance Minutes, PROJW0/2,023,/47p. 13,865. 118 PRO/W0/49/169.119 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761.120 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,038, p. 5,234.
691
ADOLESCENCE
authorized his removal from the Ordnance Department,121 and Edward M. Sparkes, deputy storekeeper, Chatham, was appointed Deputy Storekeeper, Woolwich, in his stead.122 On 6 June 3
1 45
Mr Jones w~ ordered to pay the stor_ekeeper the sum of £214, th~ amount of his frauds; at the same time, William Green the nd
2
clerk in the storekeeper's department was fined £8 for so:ne minor delinquencies.123 The storekeeper reported that Mr Jones had paid this money by 131une 1845.124 Th~nceforward Mr Jones vanishes from the seen~ and 1s e~veloped by silence. There is a whole volume devoted to his peccadilloes among the Ordnance archives stowed away in the Public Record Office. 'The Case of Mr William Jones.,
How true are Shakespeare's words:
'The evil that men do lives after them• The good is oft interred with their bodes.'
Had William Jones been faithful to his charge his nam · ht all the sooner have passed into oblivion. ' e nug
The new deputy storekeeper, Mr Edward Sparkes n t 11
· h d h . , a ura y
wis e to ave some repairs done to his official quarter, and this was agreed to on 20 June ~845. A new kitchen range was supplied as the old one had been domg duty for 15 years.12s It was ordered on 25 July 1845, that if an indi'vi·d 1 · · d
· h · • ua Jo1ne
wit out permiss10n a party ofpersons who had been g· I
. . 1ven eave to
vis1t the RodyaBI Arsen~l, he might be excluded, but the Master-Genera1 an oard d1d not consider it necessary to , I d
· di 'd l b b exc u e an
m v1 ~a y name efore he had applied for admission.12s The Woolwich Ste;mpacket Company was granted on 16 September a
1
45
the_use of a 4:i-_ton crane belonging to the storekeeper's department to lift out a boiler from one of their vessels.121
An explosion occurred at IO a.m. on 17 September I s in a small
45
workshop near the southern end of the Model Room belonging to the Royal Laboratory used for breaking up condemned fuzes It was caused. by the splitting of a fuze during dismantlement. ·Mr Joseph Carlisle, master _turner, R.L., was one of the first to arrive ~t the scene of the accident, but, finding the doors which opened inwards ~losed, had great difficulty in getting them forced open. On entermg he saw the huddled bodies ofthe victims. The fire which fol!o':ed the explosion was quickly mastered but not before half the buildmg was gutted and seven persons had lost their lives.12s The
121 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0/47/2,042, p. 7,341, 28 May 1845. m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/Wo/7;2,042, p. 7,326. 28 May 1845.
2
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/47 •043, P· 7,813•
mod M" ' 4712,044, p. 8,216.
m r nance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,044, p. 8,641 . 117 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,048, p. 10,471. m Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47;2,053, p. 13,426.
Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/2,054, p. 13,774, 22 September 1845.
692
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
deceased were : John Crake, Master rocket maker, who had had upwards of fifty years in the service. Henry Butters (Senior); Labourer. Henry Butters (Junior), his son; Labourer. Robert Burbage; Labourer. Michael Purtell and 2 boys, Alexander Leonard and Samuel Hindley.
The inquest was held at the Mortar Tavern by Mr C. Carttar, the coroner, and a jury of twenty men with Mr Matthew Smith as their foreman, was empanelled.
Colonel Cockburn, Director of the Royal Laboratory, gave evidence at the inquest, but the principal witness was Lieutenant
A. Oldfield, R.A., who was engaged with a party under instruction at the Royal Arsenal. He said that on the morning of the explosion, shortly before 10 o'clock, he had visited the room in which the men were at work breaking up unserviceable fuzes and saw several of the latter taken to pieces. The method was to cut with a copper knife the string which fastened the paper folded over the cap end of the fuze and disengage the paper, which was done by the principal man, John Crake. The fuze was then handed to a boy to take out the mealed powder, after which it was passed to a man to break up, which was done by means ofa steel chisel erected in a block ofwood, on the end of which the fuze was placed. The fuze was then struck by a wooden mallet in order to split it into two and afterwards into quarters, when the composition was taken out and thrown into pans of water. The block of wood in which the chisel was placed was standing in a copper pan. The floor was of stone, wet all over, and the men had hides to stand on. He had noticed large quantities ofcomposition in the pans ofwater. The room had folding doors and both were wide open when he left. A few minutes after he had left he heard two distinct explosions, and saw that the doors had become closed. About 30,000 fuzes had been broken up there during the
previous month. He had seen two men breaking up the fuzes and one of them had put first one end and then the other upon the chisel and strike it each time, which he had understood was incorrect, as the small end only should have been put upon the chisel to prevent any grains of mealed powder coming in contact with the steel.
Colonel Cockburn, Director R.L., said the fuzes had been sent home damaged from Gibraltar, and were broken up to save saltpetre which was of value to the government. They were 10-inch fuzes. The smaller ones were usually buried, not being , orth the trouble of breaking up. The method adopted was the best he kne , but the small end only should have been put upon the chisel. He would have no objection to breaking up a thousand so. Steel chis
693
ADOLESCENCE
were not always used but the foreman, John _Crake, preferred them. The witness added that he thought the accident had been eaused by an ignition of the accumulated mealed powder.
Lieutenant-Colonel Dansey, R.A., firemaster at the R.L., gave similar evidence and said that after the powder had been removed there was little danger in the fuze, the co~position not being very inflammable or likely to ignite by concuss10n. The men worked 10 hours a day and destroyed about 3,ooo fuzes daily. Doors were usually made to open outwards in rooms where powder was used but the room in question had only been in temporary occupation. '
Benjamin Rowland, a foreman, who supplied the fuzes to be broken up, and William Field, a labourer, who removed the fragments gave evidence, the latter saying that he had frequently seen the fuzes split from the cap end.
William Caffin, deputy storekeeper R.L., said that had he seen men acting in such a manner, he would have stopped them. He did not regard the steel chisel as particularly hazardous, for sparks had been seen to fly from copper hoops when driven on to a woode barrel. Much more work could be done with a steel than with n
copper chisel. a The jury consulted in private and returned a verdict that th accident arose from circumstances ofwhich they had no knowledge: but they rec~mmended that the steel chisel should be discarded for a copper kmfe and that men should not wear nailed boots when employed upon such work. Colonel Cockburn said that in future he would have th
. . . , , e corn~
pos1t10n boded before remova1.120 As a result ofthis catastrophe the following promotions took place:
Christopher Pickering, Fireworker at 4-f. rd. p.d. to be Master Rocket Maker at 7s. od. a day vice John Crake, killed. Dennis Dwyer, Labourer at 2s. 4d. p.d., of r3¾years service in the R.L_., to be ~xtra. Foreman at 3s. gd. a day to perform the duties of
Christopher Prckermg. R The following boys of20 years ofage, William.Ieffreys, HenryBroughton, .euben Courtman, and_ThomasJohnson of2 r years ofage to be labourers v~ce Henry Butters (semor), Henry Butters (junior) and Robert Burbage
k1
1 ed; and Dennis Dwyer promoted.130 ' !he funeral expenses of the seven victims of the explosion were
paid by the Board as under:
John Crake £rn. 2s. od.
Henry Butters (Senior)} Henry Butters LJunior) £1 r. 15s. gd.
Robert Burbage £4. os. od.
:: Records of Wo?lwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 744.
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/'2,054, p. 14,016, 28 September 1845.
694
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Samuel Hindley £4. 1 IS. od. Alexander Leonard £2. 14,J'. od.
6d.131
Michael Purtell £4. 5s.
The Surveyor-General was asked to indicate what compensati~n should be paid to the six men whose clothes were damaged while extinguishing the fire.
As an outcome of this explosion it was ordered on 29 September 1845 that the eight ammunition tents with platforms? Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, g r r 1 2 and 13 in which gunpowder work mamly took place should be removed from the Royal Laboratory itself to a suitable spot in the vicinity of the canal, where they would be ~mmune fr?m the numerous visitors who had made a constant habit of entermg the tents. This would in future make the R.L. and neighbouring buildings secure from' the threa; of any future explosion within ~ts walls.132 The estimate for such a move was £515. 2s. 8½d., and this, together with plans and a report dated 24 October 1845, w~s forwarded to the Board. Sanction for the removal of these ammurution tents was given on 10 November 1845.133 • •
One lesson was evidently learned from this accident. On 6 O ctober r845 all doors in R.L. workshops were ordered to be made to open outwards at a cost of £10. gs. I z¼d.134
The bills for the funeral expenses of the seven employees were on ro October 1845 transmitted to the Board for payment. The following sums were allowed for damaged clothing:
James Burnett, £3. os. od. Peter Rich, 3s. 6d. Robert Morrison, rns. od. Joseph Carlisle, £r. ros. od. and John Henderson, 7s. 6d.
The four artillerymen concerned were each i~sued with a new p~r oftrousers from store in free replacement of their own trousers which 135
were soiled beyond repair.
The Treasury was approached on 13 October 1845 with a view to granting some compensation to the families of those killed on r 7 September, and the Board on their own authority to~k on Michael Purtell of ro years of age, the son of the dec~ased Michael Purtell in the storekeeper's department. They also paid £5 each to the fathers of the two boys killed, Samuel Hindley and Ale~ander Leonard.136 Michael Purtell was replaced as a labourer 1n the storekeeper's department on 15 October 1845 by John Mecki:ff.137
131 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,054, p. 14,120, 29 September i845. 132 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/,p/2,054, P· 14,173· 183 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. 134 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,055, P· 14,537. 185 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,055, P· 14,734. 186 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,056, P· 14,923. 137 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/2,056, P· 15,o4i.
695
ADOLESCENCE
The following allowances were granted by the Treasury to the dependants of the victims of the explosion:
Sarah Crake, single, aged 4.0 years, daughter ofJohn Crake £25 p.a. Elizabeth Butters, aged 52 years, widow of Henry Butters (Senior) 14-f. p.w. Elizabeth Butters, aged 28 years, widow of Henry Butters (Junior) 14-f. p.w. Mary Burbage, widow of Robert Burbage, gs. p.w.138
The Director R.L. requested on 2 December 1846 that the damage caused by this explosion in the Royal Laboratory might be repaired as soon as possible. This was agreed, and an estimate was ordered to be prepared and provision brought forward in the Estimates for 1847/48.139 The estimate proved to be £ 356. 3s. B¼d. and on 21 December 1846 the work of repair was ordered to be put in hand at once.140
This explosion was one of the worst which had ever occurred in the Royal Arsenal. It was more serious than the one which visited the Royal Laboratory on 20 June 1814, but it was to be eclipsed by others of greater magnitude which were still mercifully hidden in the future.
The Annual Estimates for 1845, a series of Estimates quite distinct from those connected with Works, give a detailed picture of the various Ordnance vessels stationed at Woolwich. They were employed in conveying stores to and from the Royal Arsenal to the various stations in Great Britain and Ireland. They were the forerunners of those ships which formed the W. D. Fleet in the twentieth
century, which under the general superintendence of the Assistant Director of Military Transport, Woolwich, was based on the Royal Arsenal.
There were five vessels in all under the orders of the Superintendent of Shipping who in 1845 received a salary of £500 a year. By 1850, this had been reduced to £300 per annum. Details of the vessels were as under:
Sir James Kempt Bo tons, built in 1832. 1 Master, 1 Mate,
3 seamen and 1 boy. Total crew 6.
Somerset Bo tons, built in 1830. 1 Master, r Mate,
4 Seamen and I boy. Total crew 7.
Queen 82 tons, built in I839. r Master, r Mate,
4 seamen and I boy. Total crew 7.
138 0 d M'
m r nance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,057, p. 15,758, 27 October 1845. Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,097, p. 1a,159.
140
Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/2,099, p. 19,256.
696
T H E BEGINNING OF A TRADE Wli ·o 1840-1850
Nettley 82 tons, built in 1841. 1 Master, I Mate, 4 seamen and I boy. Total crew 7. Lord Vivian go tons, built in 1841. I Master, I Mate 4 seamen and I boy. Total crew 7.
Needless to say, all these craft were sailing ships.
The Works Estimates for 1846141 amounted to £3,342. I IS. 5d. They contained nothing of importance. Sanction was given on 2 February r 846 for strengthening the beams of the wheelers' shops Nos. 18 and 19. The estimate amounting to £64. 10s. 8¼d. and the plans and report which accompanied it were dated 26 December 1345_142 Owing to the Board's order that guns were to be despatched as soon as possible to H.M.S. Belleisle at Devonport, the labourers under the Civil Officers were ordered to work on Sunday 10 May 1846 so that a lack oflabour should not del~y the work.143 _Authority was given on 20 M ay 1846 to effect alterations to th~ ch1m,?ey and furnace in the founders' shop, Royal Laboratory. This entailed takinu down the old and building a smaller chimney. The estimate of £;2. rs. I1½d., the plan and report of the work were dated 2April 1846.144
There was a large reappropriation scheme of buildings near the main gate authorized on 13 July 1846. This altered the quarters for cadet officers and the Inspector of Police. The plan, report and estimate amounting to £197. 14->. 8¾d. for these alterations were dated 2~ June 1846. In the report, a map is given showing the existing allocation ofbuildings and room with the new uses proposed. This map is reproduced below:
J
I K ~ """ ""'""
to Arsen31
F
~
A. Study; B. Waiting room, cadets stores and servants' quarters. Br. Store; C. Instructor Cadet Officers' quarters;
D. Kitchen, Instructor Cadet Officers' quarters;
E. Cadet barracks; F. Cadet Officers' quarters;
G. Store; H. Deputy Storekeeper's quarters;
J. Clerk, Storekeeper's department quarters;
K. Clerk R.E. Department quarters;
L. Stables; M. Entrance Lodge Inspector of Police;
N. Entrance Lodge.
rn PRO/W0/49/170. 142 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761. 1· 13 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/'}7/!2,077, P· 7,535• rn Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761.
40-(1 2 PP,) 697
ADOLESCENCE
Present Occupation Proposed Appropriation
!\f. Entrance Lodge, Inspector Four unmarried constables. of Police.
J. Clerk, Storekeeper's Inspector of Police. department.
F. Cadet officers' quarters. Clerk, Storekeeper's department.
C. Instructor cadet officers' Instructor Cadet officers and quarter and part of store. Cadet officers.
B. Waiting Room and cadet vVaiting room, cadet store and store. Academy servants' quarters.145
The increase of salary requested by Edward M. Sparkes, the deputy storekeeper, was refused on 24 July 1846. The Board saw no reason to depart from their decision of 1839 that Mr William Jones's successor should not have his maximum increased.146 Approval was given on 24 July 1846 _for conve~ting two small buildings behind the quarters of the Bngade MaJor and Deputy Assistant Quarter-master General into their servants' quarters and constructing a covered way to the same. The cost of this work was to be £303. 5s. g½d., and the plans, estimate and report were dated 22 June 1846. This would seem to offer evidence that the two quarters in question are now No. 8 Dial Square.147
It was now considered desirable to allocate bathing places in the canal for cadets and soldiers. So on 10 August 1846 authority was given for constructing two platfo:ms for this purpose, one for gentlemen cadets and the other for soldiers who could not swim. These were placed on the arm of the canal. The estimate (£55. 4-5. 4¾d.), the sketch and reports were dated 4 August 1846.148 In the interests of safety two sappers and miners were ordered to patrol in a boat in fron~ of the bath~~g platforms. Wit~ an eye to the main chance they applied for add1t10nal pay for this service. The Board, however, were not to be bluffed and on 18 August 1848 refused the application 'that the two sappe:s and miners acting as bathing guard in flatbottomed boats while men of the Royal Artillery bathed should receive extra pay for this service'.149 The sappers and miners still made difficulties so the C.R.E. suggested that two gunners should undertake the duty instead.150 This, however, was obviously not adopted as on 4 Sep~ember 1848 it was stated that 'owing to the number of fatal accidents among the bathers in the canal the bathing platform is to be removed at once at a cost of£3. 1 rs. od.'151
m Engineer Papers, PROfWO/55/761. 148 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2 084 p. 11 ~20
147 0 d M' ' ' ,:J •
r nance mutes, PRO/WO/47/2,084, p. 1 r,571, 29 July 1846. Engineer Papers
PRO/WO/55/761. ' 148 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. 10 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 160 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 151 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,160, p. 12,949.
698
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
As far as is known the bathing platform for the cadets still continued
in use till the latter finally migrated to the Academy on the Common.
A 6 pdr rocket exploded in the Royal Laboratory on 5 August 1846. No injuries occurred to personnel and there was only trifling damage to the premises. The explosion took place during a driving operation.152 On 10 September 1846 sanction was given to take down the chimney ofthe refining furnace in the Royal Brass Foundry and rebuild it 6 feet higher, and also to demolish the furnace of the right-hand steam engine in Dial Square and reconstruct it. The estimate amounting to £59. 13s. 1o!d., the plan and accompanying report were dated 26 August 1846.153
Since Colonel Richard Francis Cleaveland commanded the Field Batteries, it was considered that he was entitled to more amenities than were normally to be found in a Field Officer's quarter. It was therefore decided that the house where he lived should be deemed the official quarter for his appointment and that £492. 12s. g¼d. should be spent on altering and repairing it. The Board granted this concession on 20 October 1846.154 On 16 November 1846 they also agreed to the raising of his coach-house.155
The Treasury on 26 October 1846 authorized additional expenditure, which they had been convinced was necessary, to assist the arious departments of the Royal Arsenal as under:156
For machinery in the R.C.D. £4,800. os. od.
For machinery in the R.L. £600. os. od.
Additional labour for ammunition £743. 1,µ. od.
Additional labour for one year only £4,104. 2s. od.
Total: £10,247. 16s. od.
This was a comparatively large sum in those days and proves, if proof be needed, that the factories had been stan1ed in recent years.
An estimate for £168. 5s. 7}d. with a report dated 5 October 1846 , as submitted for the repair of Lieut.-Colonel James L. Colquhoun's quarter (F.O. Quarters Nos. 2 and 3). Sanction for the repair was given on 6 November 1846. This house afterwards became No. 1 Dial Square. The repairs, ordered to be carried out at once, were to drains and sewers and also consisted of certain papering and painting. There were in addition certain alterations to cure defects to be undertaken. At the same time it was agreed that houses in the Royal Arsenal inhabited by military officers holding civil appointments should in future be under the charge of the
152 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,o86, p. 12,448.
153 Ordnance Minutes, PROf'VO/47/2,o89, p. 13,948, 14-September 1846. EnginPaper, PRO/WO/55/761.
154 Ordnance Minutes, PROJWO/47/2,091, p. 14,828.
155 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/V-/O/47/2,095, p. 17,345.
LoG
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/,VO/47/2,093, p. 16,005.
699
ADOLESCENCE
barrack master through whom, all requisitions for repairs, etc. were to pass.157
On 7 December I 846 an order from the Commission of Sewers for the repair of the river wall and wharfing on the Essex side of the river opposite the Royal Arsenal at a cost of£r7. ·os. 4-d. was carried out.158 On the same day sanction was given for altering and constructing additional buildings with improvements in the Percussion Cap factory, the smiths' and founders' departments in the Royal Laboratory. The cost was estimated at £1,323. Is. g½d., and the estimate, plans and report relative to these improvements were dated r7 November 1846_.159 Lastly on 2r December 1846,
authority was granted to rebmld Lead shop No. 47 and repair Lead shops Nos. 43 and 44. The sketch, report and estimate were dated 4 December I 846 and the cost of the operation was £356. 3s. 3!d.1Go
The system ofpaying by ticket instead of by call was tried out in the Royal Arsenal in I 846. There were three metal tickets: (a) Plain circular disc-First call; (b) Plain circular disc with a circular hole -Second call, and (c) Plain circular disc with a triangular holeThird call. Samples of these original metal tickets are preserved in the Public Record Office. After a trial, t~e Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, recommended the adoption of check by ticket on 2 r May r846, the Director, Royal Laboratory, doing like, ise on g February 1847. The Inspector of Artillery also followed suit. The system was introduced into the Royal Carriage Department and the Department of the Inspector of Artillery at the end of rs45 _1G1 On r2 February 1847 it was adopted in the Royal Laboratoryrn2 and extende~ to the storekeeper's department on 15 February 18 .7. It
4
was considered to be more efficient than the old method ofpayment and was calculated to save £800 per annum.1s3 _Th_e W?rb Esti_mates for 184]164 totalled £3,680. r7s. 2d. The
pnncip~l 1t,ems of mterest v~ere £706. r5s. I d. for new flooring for the smiths shop No .. ~ m the Royal Carriage Department; £327. gs. IId. for repamng the steps at the east and west wharfs· £204. qs. 4¾d. for :enewing the piling and planking of the eas~ wharf?n the canal side; £55. 4s. 3d. for constructing the bathing places i~ ~he Royal Arsenal already mentioned; and £56. 18s. 1old,
for repamng the gates and machinery of the canal lock.
11
_ • 0rdnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,094, p. 16,739. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
.J5176r.
::: Ord?ance Minutes, PROfWO/,p/2,097, p. 18,449. IGO En~eer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/5s/76r. 111 PROfWO/44/297. ::: Ordnance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,104, p. 2, 104. Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/2 014 p 2 619184 PROf'-NO/49/171. ' ' . ' .
700
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
On 20January 1847 the issue of thirteen canvas frocks and trousers to labourers engaged on small arm work was authorized,165 but on r o February r847, the issue ofa great coat, canvas frocks and wooden shoes to foremen, which was allowed in the present instances according to past practice, was to be discontinued in future.166
The increase in the number of gentlemen cadets admitted to the Royal Military Academy now made additional accommodation imperative, so alterations to the cadet barracks in the Royal Arsenal were ordered to be carried out at once at an estimated cost of £2,348.167 A report dated 28 May 1847 together with an estimate of £99. 4S· 6¾d. was put forward for papering, painting, and whitewashing official house K, the quarter allotted to the Inspector, Royal Carriage Factory, and inhabited by Lieut.-Colonel Henry W. Gordon, the Inspector. The Board on 7 June 1847 decided that they could not sanction the expense, but stated that it would be considered were it to be brought forward again in the following year.168 This house afterwards became No. g Dial Square. A letter dated I I August r847 laid down regulations as to the payment of rates and taxes by officers living in public quarters. The position was broadly as follows :
Regimental Officers : Rates and taxes paid by the public. Officers holding I ivil or other >-: Pay their own rates and taxes.169
. I
appom.tments J
T hese rules held good till the twentieth century, except that no rates were chargeable on Arsenal quarters. Officers either regimentally employed or temporarily employed in staff appointments paid no taxes, but those appointed to a staff appointment for a definite term of years, paid income tax duty on their quarters.
On 6 September 1847 an estimate of£85. 12s. o¼d. for constructing windows on the east side of the Carriage Square was presented. It was ordered to be put forward in the Annual Estimates.17° Sanction was given on 1 o September I 847 for these nine windows for ventilation purposes to be built.171 On the same day, an estimate of £15. 4-S· 5-}d. for raising a portion of the roof of the saw-mill to admit of an alteration in the height of the standfeed head of the engine was accepted. This was also ordered to be included in the Annual Estimates.172
165 Ordnance Minutes, PROfW0/47/2,101, p. 1,159. 166 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,103, p. 2,328. 167 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,109, p. 5,394· 168 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762. 169 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762.170 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,124, p. 14,532. 171 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762.172 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,124, p. 14,533, 6 September 1847.
46A 701
ADOLESCENCE
On r S_eptem~er 1847 the ~urveyor-General proposed a new system of mspectmg stores obtamed from contractors. He did not wish the clerks at Woolwich to be involved in the matter and suggested that officers of his own establishment who und;rtook inspection ,vork at the Tower should proceed to v\Toolwich three or four _days a week_ to carry out these duties. The Surveyor-General admitted that this would mean a small increase in his staff who could be specifically trained for the purpose. He considered that the officer carrying out the inspection at \,Voolwich should receive an additional £70 a year to cover travelling and other expenses in
lieu of travelling and other allowances. The Clerk of the Ordna
. . ffi nee
suggested two mspectmg o 1cers for the Tower and Woolwich h 0 should be independent of the establishment of office clerks. ;h Board reserved their decision on the permanent solution of thi: problem, but as a temporary measure agreed to the proposals of th Surveyor-General.173
The estimate amounting to £48. I 7s. 41-d. for enlaro-ing th
k h1· ..hh. 4 o e
sto e o e m connectron wit t e mstallation of new boilers fo th
HP . . h r e
I 2 • • steam engme m t e Royal Carriage Department was accepted on 13 October 1847, and the work was ordered t0 b
carried out at once.174 e As it was not considered safe to install a stove in the collar-m ak , shop, it was decided that the place should be warmed by t ~r s
. . . . s opp1ng
up theJomts m the floor and sealmg the shop at a cost of£r 3d
· 3· 5s. 3°4 •
At the same time, the Board called attention to the need f<or a
·1 · h proper
f
system_ ~ vent1 ation w en the 'stopping and sealing' took place A part1t10n and folding door in the workshop costing £ 3d.
· d 5· s. l l 4
was also sanct10ne on 29 November 1847.175 0 · On 24 May 1846 the Civil Officers had complained of the 1 k ofstorage accommodation in the Royal Arsenal, and as a result, ~~e
C.R.E. on 15 June 1846 proposed four new storehouses two near t~c Blue sheds alongside the R.E. department, and on; on either s1~e of the Grand Storehouse. On 5 October 1846 the C.R .E. submitted plans for new storehouses on the site of the Blue sheds which were to be pulled down, and the completion of the great block of
the G~and Storehouse. The latter were to be on the site of buildin s de-?1o1ished m 1832. On 15 September 1847, four plans and :"n estimate for £63 746 6 8d r. .
,. • s. . were put i.orward covermg the probable expense of, erectmg the storehouses and sheds for timber for the sto_rekeeper s department on the site of the Blue sheds.176 This
estimate was not accepted in its entirety, but the work it envisaged gradually took place over the years.
17• Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /
174 Ordnance Min t , PRO 47 2,124, p. 14,245. 17• Ordnance Min~t:' PROJW/Wg//47/2,128, p. 16,300. x;• PRO/W0/44/297.' 47/2,132, p. r8,go3.
702
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WI D 1840-1850
The 18 December r847 marks a red letter day in the history of the Royal Laboratory. It is the date marking the conversion of that department to steam power.
This was the beginning of converting the two remaining manufacturing departments, the Royal Laboratory and that of the Inspector ofArtillery, to machinery to bring them into line with the Royal Carriage Department. Henceforward, mechanization was gradually to take place and the day of manual handicraft to be superseded. This was the realization of Sir Richard Vivian's vision in 1840. To use a vulgar expression the authorities at last decided 'to pull up their socks' and place the Royal Arsenal on a footing more in keeping with the commercial practice of that time. On 18 December 1847, James Nasmyth ofNasmyth, Gaskell and Company ofBridgetown Foundry near Manchester, submitted an estimate for £893. 6s. od. to deliver, erect and install in the Royal Laboratory a 10 H.P. engine, boilers, shafting and gearing for the introduction of steam power.177 This tender was accepted and on 20 December 1847 sanction was given to expend £150 on a small engine ~ouse.178 On the sa1ne day both services were ordered to be put m hand immediately.179 On 6 January 1848, this sum of £150 and other services connected with the steam engine estimated at £630 were ordered to be included in the Annual Estimates for 1848/49.180 On 1r J anuary 1848, James Nasmyth's estimate for £400 for machinery to convert the Royal Laboratory to steam power was accepted and the cost was ordered to be included in the Annual Estimates for 1848/49. M r Nasmyth was asked to provide this necessary machinery.181 The engine-house to house this 10 H.P. engine was ordered on 24 January 1848 to be built without delay as the machinery etc. was expected to be delivered either on or before 31st March.182 At the same time sanction was given to erect a new carpenters' shop in the Royal Laboratory.183 These new arrangements for the Royal Laboratory sanctioned by the Board's order of I o March I 848 were
to be operative from that date.184
Machinery now began to take the centre of the stage in the Royal Arsenal, and during the next seven years money was lavishly expended in equipping the Woolwich factories with the latest types of machines for increasing production. The year I 848 ushered in the industrialization of the manufacturing departments and bade farewell for ever to the era of the manual craftsman which had persisted
177 PRO/W0/44/644.
178 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762.
179 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,134, p. 21,043. .
180 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/,1:7/2,136, p. 274.Enginecr Papcrs,PROf\\ 0 /55/762.
181 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,137, P· 534·
182 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,138, p. 1,231.
183 Engineer Papers, PROJW0/55/762.
184 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,149, p. 7,585, 15 May i84,8.
7o3
ADOLESCENCE
for so Jong. This revolution in technique was hastened by the adv t of the Crimean w·ar but it had commenced before that camp ~n
. Ii d Th . d · a1gnh d
a ~atefinila ze_ . r. e m ustnal revolution in England had already been m u swmg ~or many years and government establishments could no longer resist the oncoming tide. 'Steam' as John w·1
"d ,. , , 1 son
sai , 1s a tyrant. The_ Estimates for 1848 provided for the repair of the wharf and the fixing of two cranes on the convict wharf at the cost of£ .
· · h kh · 1,200,
1m~rovmg t e wor s ops m the department of the Inspector of Artillery for the sum of£2,900; and allowed £8,ooo for the erection of~o new storehouses. The Works Estimates of 1a4s1s5 also showed an mcrease at £4,809. 15s. 4d. The main items were :
R.L.
Buildings Nos. 4 and 22. New slating ofroofs, repairino-brick and stone work £554. 17s. 4fd. 0
R.L.
Buildings ~ os. 5-8 and 18-21. Repairing timber work, utterin eaves etc. ~e~ slatmg of roofs £790. 17s. 4f d. g g,
R.L.
Bmldmgs Nos. 23 and 24. Repairs £81. 13s 63d
R.L.
Buildings Nos. 25 and 26. New entrance do~rs ! ~d ste s I ·
guttering £140. 45. 8¾d. P, s atmg,
R.L. Carpenters' and Turners' shops. New slating s1 1· 1t ·
etc. £603. 12s. gfd. ' <y ig 1 s, guttering,
R.L.
Fireproof magazines Nos. 1-5 inclusive and NT 6 d
F.
· hi h R · • os. , 9 an I o and
the m1s ng ouse. enewmg zmc spouting to ea e £ 8 J..d Iron store No. 40 R.C.D. Renewing 6 pairs ofd v s£84 · r5s. 3_,,2d •
oars I. r3s. 92 . andki ff h ld f
ta ng o t e o roo and re-roofing with corruo-t d I · d ·
ld ba e ga vanize lfon
£572. l 8S. 92 . Rebui1ding dthe storeroom and boathouse of the R.E. department £314. 17s. 021 • Repair of proof and practice butts £295. 12s. 6d.
The sum of £_1,698. r~s. od. was taken up in the Estimates for 1848/49 to provide and mstall a new steam engine in the Ro al Brass Foundry. On 6 January 1848 the CR E t t d h y ·
. . , . . . s a e t at this
fi
gure was mduded m the amount of£2 goo · t d · h" ·
. b . , mser e m 1s tentative
estimate su m1tted on 23 December 1847 1ao Th' · h
b . • 1s engme m ust ave een procured without delay because on 5 April I 848 th d
went forth that_ the building for its reception was to be com~::cee~
at once ~s po:t10ns of the equipment had already been delivered is; The engmes m the 11r.ound ·
ry were to work concurrently for ·t ·
1
stated on 4September 1848 that £61 2s _1_d t ' is
• • 72 • was spen on masonry to s~pport the c_onnec:ing frame of the new engine with that of the one at presen_t m use , which sum was to be charged to Vote 7 in the Works Estimates I 848/49 ifpaid before 1 Apri1.1ss
185 PRO/W0/49/172.181 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/W0/47;2 136 p. 276187 Ordnance Mmutes, PRO /W0/47;/1 ' • 188 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ / ' 45• p. 5•259·
' 47 2,160, p. 12,921.
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WL ·o 1840-dJ50
The Master-General on 7 "March I 848 sanctioned the removal of
the convict hulk Justicia from the Royal Arsenal wharf to a spot
beyond the reach of danger from guns which might burst at proof.
This meant cutting away a portion of the causeway to effect the
removal and then making good the damage. The expense was borne
by the Naval Department.180 It was agreed on 17 April 1848 that
drains and drain-pipes to catch water from the roofs ofR.L. buildings
abutting Warren Lane should be put up at a cost of £6. 13s. od. in
accordance with the wishes of the Commissioners of the Parish.190
The Royal Carriage Department was the next to receive attention. Although it had used steam power for nearly half a century, much progress and invention had taken place in the machinery world during that space of time. It was therefore necessary to re-equip its shops and generally bring it up to date.
The foundations for the I o H.P. steam engine were to be constructed at a cost of £55191 and the following alterations were to be carried out at once :192
(
1) The dilapidated shed east of No. 29 was to be demolished.
(2)
The flyplane was to be removed.
(3)
Two forges were to be removed and the hearths and chimneys built.
(4)
The existing gate-way between the Iron store and the Engineer office was to be opened.
T hese various alterations to shops and general improvements were estimated to cost £12,465. 19s. 1o¾d.193 There is an Ordnance minute dated 12 June 1848 showing how these various services in the R .G.D. were to be charged.194 Apart from these major items there were two s1nall alterations which were ordered to be put in hand at once. Certain urgent and essential items were to be carried out at a cost of£12195 and on 2 August 1848 services amounting to £14 were approved.196 Sanction was given on 24 November 1848 for certain further services in the Royal Carriage Department to be carried out and for the undermentioned tenders to be accepted:19;
Messrs Nasmylh a,zd Co.
High pressure boiler with settings W rought iron chimney and
os. od.
}
engine feed pump
Scrap cutting machine £120. os. od.
180 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,142, p. 3,694, 8 March 1848.
100 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,146, p. 5,936. .
101 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,146, p. 6,504, 29 Ap~l 1848.
102 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,146, p. 6,509, 29 April 1848.
103 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,151, p. 8,574, 7June 1848.
194 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/Vv0/47/2,152, p. 8,76o.
105 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/4712,153, p. 9,674, 30 June 1848.
196 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/Vv0/47 2,157, p. I 1,230.
m Engineer Papers, PROf'A/0/55/762.
ADOLESCENCE
lvlessrs Fox, Hendrrson rznd Co.
Enclosure and roof of the foro-e } including the brickwork O ' £r,369. I 2S. 6d. Partitions from the road and throuo-h }0 £r 70.
No. 5 shop OS, od. Foundation of steam hammer } Brickwork of boiler and buildings
od.
Two air furnaces and stacks
The firms concerned were told to a-et ahead · th h · consultation with the Inspector Roy:I Ca . wDi t eir orders in
. d ' rnage epartment Ear1ier, an or er for the foundations of a se d H · for the R.C.D. was put in hand at once at con fIO .P. engine
a cost o £41 Th·
charged to the sum for machinery allocated to the d · IS viras . On IO :May 1848 a defect in the drainage of the :rart1;1ent.1os rn the Royal Arsenal was ordered to b 'fi d dets quarters
e rect1 e at
I . rs. 3td,,1903 and five days later the rep . . f l . a cost of
£ 6 11 0
and the clamping together ofgranite block ; t le s.J?lmter proof
. s 1or an expenme t b
1
0 rdnance Select Committee was authorized t n Y t 1e
. . a a cost of£20 8 d 200
Sanct10n was given on 24 May 1848 for s· k r h · s. 5 · the turning and boring rooms of the Ro lXI sBy ig Fts to be placed in
ya rass . oundr t
of £36. 5s. 7!d.201 This expenditure was t b h y a a cost
sum of£2,900 in Item 109 in the Estimat o fc e c 8 arged against the On 5 July 1848 the Director Royal Lesb or r 48/49.202
th d . . h" d ' a oratory recom d
e a option m 1s epartment of som dd' . ' men ed The details were as follows: e a itional machinery.203
(r) An additional lapping machine in co . .
shell. The one in action does not wo k r. nnection with bushing naval
. r 1ast enough to k
output. The Director stated that this ext h' eep pace with
. If. . ra mac me wo ld
itse ' I.e. £70 by releasing the services of . h u soon pay for and "".ould be cheaper if constructed in th:~: s:t and two labourers, ofArtillery than ifpurchased from M J Np ment of the Inspector
An h . r ames asmyth
(2 ) ot er mgot mould for castina-bars i . . . order to take advantage ofsteam po o s r~qmrcd unmediately in
wer, as work 1s at p b .
up bY want of this extra mould. resent emg held
(3) Napier's machine for c •
with advantage. ompressmg bullets could also be added to
The Board approved proposals ( ) d .
stated that item No. 3 must stand ov:r t~f h (2) im~ediately, but On 7 August 18 8 th n· t e followmg year.
4 e irector R L was a th . d
.firam the Inspector of Artiller 'I . : u . onze to obtain us Ord . y a appmg machme and lathe to nance Mmutes PRO/WO/ /
~= Ordnance M~nutes: PRO/Wo/7;,;si, P· r2,347, 23 August 1848.
1
Ordnance Mmutes PRO/Wo/7/ , 4 , P· 7,125. 201 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/Wo/7/,149, P· 7,3or, 15 May 184.8. 201 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0/47 2,150, p. 7,866. to, Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0/47//2,154, P· 10,141, 10July 1848.
' 47 2,154, p. 9,848. 706
THE BEGINNI!'\G OF A TJ:~·\DE WI 'D 1840-1850
facilitate the bushing of naval shell·_It was to be charged to the estimate of R.L. stores for the yca-:C 1n question.204 On 11 August 1848, two or three sheds in the uppc~ part of the R.L. yard near the new steam engine were ordered to be Tcmovcd at a cost not exceeding
£3.205 At the instance of the Inspecto~-Gcneral of Fortifications, the Board postponed on 7 August 184--B the repair of the old convict wharf and the erection thereon of" two cranes for the purpose of landing timber, which had been ~uthorized in Item 108 of the Estimates for 1848/49.20G This postp0 ncment made it too late in the season to carry out this service aod on 11 October 1848 it was decided to postpone it further till the following year and take up the expense in the Estimates for 184-9/50. It was also recommended that the wharf should be continued. in masonry eastward from the old convict yard to the canal sluice7 the work to be brought forward in portions in the Engineer Estin:'"3. ates for the next and following years. The old convict yard was tO be dealt with first so that the Royal Carriage Department might avail itself of its use.207 On I 6 September r848 the Board decided that a part of the Royal Engineer Square should be appropriated for the erection of scrap hammer furnaces. The Inspector~ R.C.D., therefore, requested permission to send Mr Lamerto::n, foreman of carpenters, and assistants to take the necessary measurements of the lower part and of the western side of the Square and of the contiguous workshops. The Board asked the Inspector-General of Fortifications to grant
208
the necessary facilities without delay. The Arsenal clock which had stopped was ordered to be repaired and cleaned on 13 October 1848.209 Whether the clock was repaired at this time and broke down agai.:O, or whether the work was postponed is not clear, but on 21 February 1851 three tenders were received for this service:
£2. 10s. od.
Mr Webber Mr G. Barrell £5. 5s. od. os.
Mr H. Westaway £3. od.
Following the universal custmn of accepting the cheapest tender, Mr Webber got the contract.21 °Four years later '1fr H. '\Vestawa, was more lucky. On 19 April 1855 his offer to repaint and gild the figures and hands of the two clocks in the Royal Arsenal for £4 each
20i Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,1 57, p. 11,490. 205 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/,\0 0/47/2,1 58, p. 11,747. 206 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/'\ 0/47/'i,1 57, p. I 1,468. 207 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\V0/47/2,1 64, p. 14,687. 208 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\V0/47/2,I 61, p. 13,533. 209 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\V0/47/2,I 64, p. 14,897. 210 Ordnance Minutes, PROf'W0/47/2,249, p. 2,001.
7o7
ADOLESCENCE
\\as accepted.211 These two clocks were the one on the R.L. model room (the old Academy building) and the one in the turret of the
main machine shop, R.C.D. Because of encroachment on the Essex shore opposite the Royal Arsenal by bargemen taking sand from the shore between high and low water marks, Mrs French was prepared on 16 October 8 8 t
14
surrender the remainder of her lease. The offer v1ras accepted an~ the property was ordered to be re-let.212 The trouble evident! continued as on 4 August r851 notices were erected on that shore ty warn persons against removing sand at the river's edo-e o.cre d 0
a . 111 n ers
were to be reported. 213 On r8 October 1848 an expenditure of£47. 7s. 6d. wassanct· d
r. ki • . 1one
1or ta ng UJ? certam pavement m Carriage Square and sinking the earth to receive concrete. It was stated that Item ro6 in the Estimates for 1848/49 would cover the cost.214 The arch in Carriage Square was on 22 November 1848 ordered to be repaired at a cost f £
-id 215 Al . dfi 1 f . . o 7.
1 ;s. 72 • ways mm u o the1r animals the Board on 6 December 1848 approved ~fa shed being built in the Arsenal fo2 r £15 to protect horses from mclement weather.21G It now transpired that the building to house the steam · ·
. . engine 1n
Dial Square would cost £2,500 in place of the £r 8oo · · 11
. , ong1na y
estimated. It was lucky that the former figure had been t .c. d
· h E · E · pu 1orwar
m t e ngmeer st1mates for 1849/50 instead of the latter.217 It w as proposed, however, to mov~ the .Dial Square steam engine to the proof department at an est:J.mated cost of £2 Tl B d
. ,500· 1e oar on
29 December 1848 authonzed the Inspector-General ofFo t"fi ·
• · 1 d h" · • . r 1 cations
to me u e t 1s service m the Estimate for 18 ; _21s On Ma
4950 22
184~ the Board stated t~at before !aking steps to install the ne; engme ~nd erect.an engme house 1n the proof department the would like a special contract to be obtained Th ·d d' y
• ey consi ere thatsuch a course would produce better results than ·
· h · a runnmg contract
w1t mixed labour. They ordered that notices c. • th h Id h · 10< 1 e contract
s ou , among ot er notices, appear in The Builder 219 Th I sp~ctor-General of Fortifications reported on Augu~t 3\ n
24
1 4 1
as it was too late to advertise in The Builder, tenders had no~ b::~ sent out. He brought to the Board's notice however that M
K · k d p f W · ' , essrs
1~ _an arry _o oolw1ch had put in a quotation of £ 4 o for bmldmg the engme house, an offer considered fair and reaso~abl
e.
~u O d M'
-r nance mutes, PRO /WO/
/2
m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO 47 /{i3, P· i,3o8. 213 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47//264, p. 1,5028.
214
Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0//471 ' l' P 7,7o4.
m Ordnance Minut 'PRO/W0/4712,1 4, p. 15,128. 21a Ordnance Minut:: PRO O 47/;,:68, p. 17,089.217 Ordnance Minut PRorw /4:7/ ' 7r, p. 18,943.
218
Engineer Papers ~RO/W0/007/2,r7r, P• 19, 11 5, 29 December 1848.
tlP O d . ' 55 762.
r nance Mmutes, PRO/WO 47;2,186, p. ,
7 684_
708
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
He recommended that this should be accepted without further
competition. The Board, however, did not agree and ordered tenders
to be called for this work.220 Tenders were therefore put out for the
complete specification of erection and installation and in a letter
dated 7 November 1849, the Board accepted the one submitted by
Messrs John Knight and Son for £2,856, provided the building were
completed within four months.221 In the Annual Estimates for 1849
appears the item 'for erecting an engine house in the proof depart
ment £2,500'.
The Works Estimates for 1849 are missing.
On 5January 1849 four notice boards announcing the prohibition
ofsmoking were ordered to be put up in the Royal Arsenal at a cost
of £3. 10s. 7½d.222 This ban on smoking outside in the Arsenal was
not removed till 1 September 1948.223 On 16 February 1849 an
increase of 'privy' accommodation at the East Wharf guard was
sanctioned at a cost of about £5.224
It was stated on 26 February 1849 that work at the Royal Brass
Foundry was to be completed by the end of the financial year or,
failing that, as early as possible,225 and on 30 April 1849 that the
alterations and improvements in the department of the Inspector of
Artillery were to be commenced at once.226
As a result of the Committee's recommendation227 on the Woolwich Establishments, the Master-General approved that all stores in the Royal Arsenal should come directly under the storekeeper and deputy storekeeper, thus saving the posts of the DeJ?uty St~rekeepers ofthe R.L. and the R.C.D., and making the receipt, holdmg and issue of stores more efficient. Departments were therefore ordered to collaborate and draw up a set of necessary instructions.
This new policy was considered to inaugurate a far better arrangement than that laid down by the Board in their order dated I I February 1825.22s No longer would Heads ofDepartments have any direct control or authority over their deputy storekeepers. It was considered that this system would act as a check against any_ undue expenditure in either of the manufacturing departments, 1.e. the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Carriage De~artm~nt.22~ The Board took the necessary steps to implement this pohcy without
220 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,195, p. 12,039. . .
221 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,202, p. 15,264. Engineer Papers, PROf\\0/
55/763. . f f 6
222 OrdnanceMinutes,PRO/W0/47/2,172,p.265.EngmeerPapers,PRO/WO 55 7 3·
223 O.F. Circular 492.
22~ Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,176, P· 2,904.
225 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,177, P· 3,391.
226 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,183, P· 6,457. ,
227 The Committee consisted of the Principal Storekeeper and the Master-General s Secretary.
m See Chap. 15, note 123.
m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,184, p. 6,514, 3 May 1849.
47
ADOLESCENCE
delay, the Civil Officers being asked to work out the details concerning the consequent transference of staff.230 On 26 May 1a the
49
Civil Officers i_nformed the Board that, as instructed, they had held a conference with Messrs Hope and Porrett, chief clerks respectively of the Surveyor-General and the Principal Storekeeper and th Heads of the manufacturing departments. Complete agre~ment hal been reached and they (the Civil Officers) were ready to introduce the new syst~m when instructed. Since they had no surplus storage
accommodat10n they suggested that the buildings containing the stores to be handed over should be t~ansferred to them. They also suggested that aII clerks connected with stores in the departments should be posted to the storek~ep_er's department. In this manner when the new system was funct1omng properly they could decide on the number of clerks to be retained. The Board agreed to these proposals.231 On 26 June 1849 the chief clerks of the s .
P . . ur veyor-
General and the rmc1pal Storekeeper, Messrs Hope and p
· 1 d. orrett,
made certam proposa s regar mg the transference ofstores c. th
r. · bl" h 1rom e
Manu1acturmg esta 1s ments to the storekeeper's de artment. They were broadly as follows : p
(a) Tools, machinery and materials in the process ofm r
• f anu1acture were
to be left m charge o the Head of the manufacturi·ng d t
. epar ment con
cerned or of a clerk specially deputed for that purpose
(b) Future deliveries by contractors were to be m.ad t l
· h . e o he store
keeper, who, with t e manufacturing department involved would c •
for payment. ' erhfy
(c) Rough timber in the log was to be treated as c:a ·bl b
232 1' r as poss1 e eforetransfcer.
Some difficulty still remained about handing ove. t 1.c:
. r me a 1or gun
product10n to the storekeeper. Storage capaci·ty ,.,as · ffi ·
.. msu c1ent and
the storehouse concerned had to be retained by th r
e nspector of
Ar .
t1l1ery to house the gunmetal required for current .c.
. manu1actureTh.
1s was regarded as a kmd of teething trouble · h t · ·
. . . . m eren 1n a move
f
o this kmd, and further d1scuss10n with the Inspector of Artiller eventually took place. Meanwhile the necessary transfers from th:
R.L. and the R.C.D. proceeded.233
. It is ~ore tha~ likely that some resentment was evinced at the mtrodu:t10n of this new system. Heads of the factories probably felt that their p_owers ~ere bemg usurped.
A set of ~nstruct10ns for the clerks in charge of the stores in the manufacturmg departments were issued on October r8
21 50.2a4
230 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/47/ 8
saz Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/ /2,1 5, p. 7,521, 18 May 1849.
HI O d M' ' 47 2,186, p. 7,885.
r nance ~utes, PRO/W0/47;2,1a9 p. 9 242. 211 Ordnance Mmutes PRO/WO/ 7/ '
114 Ordnance M" t , PRO/W0/4 /2,190, p. 9,•813, IO July r849.
mu es, 47 2,237, p. 10,850.
710
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
The transcript was as follows:
Instructions for Mr ............. Clerk in Charge of Stores in the Royal . ... . ..... Department at Woolwich
(r)
You are to take duly on charge and be accountable for all articles of every description received into the Royal ...... . ... Department and to render bills and just accounts ofthe same in the method herein required.
(2)
You are to take care that proper accounts are duly kept of the Receipts and Issues of all articles with the necessary vouchers, which are to be made out in strict conformity with the Forms adopted by the Board. You are to see or be satisfied that all stores are correct as to their number, weight etc. as they may be charged, and you are to be particular not to receive in or issue out of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . any article whatever without a Board's order, or, in case of emergency, an authority from the
. .. .... ..... .........
(3) You are from time to time to issue the arcicles that may be required • • . ... . . ... . . . ... . .. for manufacture, repair or conversion, which are to be shown in the Monthly Voucher adopted by the Board's Orders of 9 February 1850 (T/72), I May 1850 (E/2,602) and 12 June 1850 (E/2,663), and you are to report and deliver the manufactured articles to the Arsenal Storekeeper for issue.
(4.) You are to keep a Departmental Store ledger, together with the necessary Vouchers, which are to be kept posted up and examined, so that no arrear whatever shall ever be suffered to accrue of such posting and examination.
(5)
You are to make up an Annual Store Account from the said Office Ledger terminating on 31st March, which is to be transmitted with the Vouchers to the Store Account Office, the Tower, by the 30th June following, with the Annual Account of tools, machines, models, patterns and articles in use etc. showing the Receipts and Issues during the year and the charge on each 31st March, with all Vouchers appertaining thereto, so as to admit of a due Audit.
(6)
You are to transmit the Account of Fixtures triennually, showing any alteration that may have been made in the interim, and inserting the Board's authority for such alteration.
(7)
You are to keep the necessary cheque of the workmen and to prepare, examine and certify the Cheque Books and Pay Lists, and all cash and store documents, agreeably to Regulations.
(8)
You are to witness the payment of the artificers, labourers and others employed in the Royal . . . . . . . . . . and certify the same.
(g)
You are to transmit a Quarterly Return of Persons employed and services performed, as per Form HOME E. Book of Regulations.
( 1 o) You are to make and transmit the monthly Expenditure D emand of Stores.
( 11) You are to have the custody of the Office Books and official correspondence of the Department.
711
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1 840-1850
ADOLESCENCE
not consider it admissible to comply with the request of the Royal
(12) For the due performance ofyour duties, in addition to the services
Arsenal Cricket Club for the loan of an old tent-241 This is the first
of the other clerks of the Department, you are to obtain all necessary
mention of this cricket club in the records, but it shows it to be of
information from the Constructors, Masters, Foremen and others in
matters belonging to their respective employments under the sanction
more ancient lineage than the Royal Arsenal Football Club, known concurrence and support of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . as Head of the Depart~
now as The Arsenal, which was formed in 1886. ment.
Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English, the C.R.E., Woolwich, became
seriously ill in the summer of 1849, and on 4July 181=-9 Major John the practice.ad~pted by your predecessor, as Deputy Storekeeper, and
(13) You are a]so further referred for your guidance in your duties to
Walpole, R.E., was made acting C.R.E. temp?ranly during the the commumcations made by him on the subject from time to time which
illness of his senior officer.242 Lieut.-Colonel English must have died are presumed to be recorded in the Books of his Office, so far' as the
immediately afterwards because a letter dated 5 July 1849 stated same may be applicable under alterations which have been recently
that 'Lieut.-Colonel William Reid, R.E., should be C.R.E., Wool
made in the mode ofcarrying on the duties of the Department.
wich Division vice Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English, deceased'_243 Given at the Office of Ordnance in London under the seal of the said
Lieut.-Colonel Reid was confirmed in the appointm~nt on 10 August
Office this 21st day of October 1850.
1849 when he took over the duties being temporarily performed by By order of the Master-General and Board.
Major Walpole.244
G. Butler A wooden shed for the examination of live shell was on 3 August Secretary235 1849 ordered to be erected near the S.A. Cartridge sheds on a
Office of Ordnance ·1d· 245
convenient site not far from the fire-proof bui 1ngs.
21 October 1850 E/2,845
On 13 August 1849 it was laid down that in future 5% rejections
245
As a ~esult of this change of policy the posts of deputy storeshould be allowed on all shot and shell contracts. On 27 August keepers m the R.L. and the R.C.D. were abolished. They disappear 1849, William Murphy, a labourer in the storekeeper's department, from the Annual Estimates for 1850 onwards. being found in possession of six lucifer matc?-es by the police in
On g March 1849, it was proposed that the main s wer from the contravention of the 2nd paragraph of the C1:cular Order, L/68,
R.A. Barrac~s and the Royal Ordnance Hospital should be carried dated g March 1846, was suspended by the Civil Officers from duty und~r the railway ~t New Road, Woolwich. The Ordnance solicitor for on month. It was directed that the orders concerned were to be was mstructed to bmd the South Eastern Railway to keep th · read over to all workmen and that they were to be told that in future
· · k e iron
tubes m repa1r, to eep clean and empty the cess-poolJ man-hole, any workman found in possession of matches would be punished.247 tr~p, etc., and to take every responsibility in case of accident On 26 October 1849, Henry Bill, a labourer, had his pay stopped without expense to the Office of Ordnance.236 for 3 days for having a pipe in his pocket, contrary to regulations,
Ed_ward M. Sparkes, t~e deputy storekeeper, was on 3 May 18 during working hours.248
49
appomted ~torekeeper vice Joseph Cheetham, retired, with effect During September 1849, certain convicts, employed in opening from 1 Apnl 1849.237 up and cleaning a sewer and drains in the Royal Arsenal, had their On 8 May 1849, the repair of the small bomb-proof in rear of the labour withdrawn because the doctor reported that such work was butts on Plumstead marsh~s was sanctioned at a cost of£1. 4-5. ld.23s injurious to life. It was pointed out that Sappers and Miners did
There were no outstanding events during the remainder of 8 similar work in Woolwich outside the Arsenal and that the Home the only recorded facts being in the nature of administrative d:t!R: Office, on being consulted, stated that they saw no reason why On 15 May 1849, the completion of the alterations and repairs in
convicts should not be continued in this work. Meanwhile the the Royal Brass Foundry costing £155 was to be undertaken at once
Sappers and Miners volunteered for the specific task in the Arsenal and charged to I tern r09 in the Estimates for 1849/50.239 Grass on the marshes for the use ofartillery horses was to be mown by convicts
241 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,189, p. 9,056.
as heretofore and not by troops.240 The Board on 2 1 June 18 did
242 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,190, P· 9,531.
49
243 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/763.
286 Secretary to the Board ofOrdnance 244 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,193, P· 11,393.
238 Odr nance M'~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,.178, p. 3,952.
245 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,193, p. 10,91I.
237 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,184, p. 6,573.
246 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,194, p. I 1,588.
118 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,184, p. 6,g25.
247 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,195, p. 12,101.
118 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,1a5, p. 7,337.
248 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,201, p. 14,665.
140 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,187, p. a,469, gJune 1a4g.
713
712
ADOLESCENCE
and were highly commended by the Master-General for their action.249 The Board agreed on 1 7 SeJ?tem?er 1849 that the best way to supply water for_ the steam e,:igmes m the Royal Carriage D epartment was by laying branch pipes and taking water from the W t Company. They sanctioned the expenditure of£88 on this servic:.2~~
It was arranged on 17 October 1849 that a blast for the cu I and forges of the smiths' shop in the R.E. Department shouldoba obtained from the steam-powered fan in the Royal Carriage D t~
2-1 S . epar
ment at a cost of £ 20 . ., anct1on was given on 29 October 1349 t0
close the road between the Royal Carriage Department and En ·
252 d I d d g1neer
Square, an a etter ate 10 December 1849 gave the cost 0 f th
operation as £186. 5s. iod.253 This closing of the road wa tO bat
. h d b · · h · s e
accomp11s e Y contmmng t ~ lme of the wall on the south side of
the R.C.D. to the angle of ~ng1neer Square. The cost for this work
was to be added to the Estimates for 1850/51·254 This closure arose
. .
as th~ result of a dec1s10n taken on 29 October 1849, that the Royal
Carnage Department should occupy and use the whole of th
up to the wall of the Engineer Department.255 e space
The bulk-head in. the marshes required repair and Mi-Graham-
the contractor-ob~ected to the work being put out to te d h
.d d . h Id r. n er as e
cons1 dere ~ s o~ 1orm part of his general contract. The Board agree d to £t s an dc~lled for no tenders. They assumed the cost to be un er 100 an instructed Mr Graham on 28 o ic.i11 "' ber 1 849 that he would be nominated to. undertake the repai·r 2;;G. A letter
· dated 7 December 1849 authonzed the repair of the bu1I·-h d Mr Graham for £48. 251 ~ -ea by
A letter (M/2407), dated 19 December 1849, emanating from the Office of Ordnan~e stated that the post of messenger b tween Pall Mall and Woolwich would be abolished on the s ·
. . uperannuat10n of Richard Fmch, which had been recommended t th T
F J 8 ° e reasury
ram I anua:r 1 50, letters between the several departments of the Ordnance m London and at Woolwich would be d b
ost 2ss A fi th conveye y
P . ur e~ 1etter, however, (A/100) dated 4 March 18 o
5 cancelled the earlier one, s~ating that it was considered advisable t~
return to the former practice, and that to this end the Board had
20 0dr nance Mmutes," PRO/WO/47/2 196 p S
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / ' 6, · 12,432, 3 eptember 1849.
Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/7/'196, P· 12,559, 6 September 1849.
2~0 Ordnance Minutes: PROJW0/7,:,;9 , P· 12,5~2, 7 September 1849.
M Ordnance Minutes PRO/Wo/7/ ' 97, p. 12,9.J8,
2 200 1 2
251 Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ , , P· ,4 1.
i76
::: Engineer Pa~ers; PRO/WO,;;¼~6t Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO /
m Ordnance Minutes PROJW0/7/,205, P· 16,708, 10 December 1849.
2 201
158 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/47 , , P· z4,758.
1
sn Enuineer Papers PRO/WO/ 47 2,204, p. 16,137.
0
m E : ' 55/763.
ngmeer Papers, PROfWO/551763.
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WI D 1840-1850
reintroduced the post of messenger to which they proposed to appoint Charles Lomas who was about to be pensioned from the Royal Artillery.259
In 1849, Mr William Tozer, master of the Percussion Cap factory, Mr Joseph Carlisle, master-turner R.L., and Mr Fyer, master-smith R.L., were granted pecuniary rewards for introducing labour saving improvements. The estimated savings over 3 years by
adopting their methods were computed to be:
Mr Fyer, ·£500. os. od. Mr Carlisle, £467. 5s. 7d. Mr Tozer, £254. 14.s. 3d.
260
They were awarded the sums of £35, £30 and £20 respectively.
The Works Estimates for 1850261 give no details but the Annual Estimates for the same year contain an item of £1,193 for providing corrugated iron roofs for the seasoning sheds of the Royal Carriage
Department. Sanction was given on I February 1850 for the construction of a convict 'privy' in the Royal Arsenal at a cost of £5 in order to prevent convicts using those provided for soldiers and workmen. This was done as a precautionary measure as the Gover:1or of the convict hulks considered that common 'privies' led to an increase of crime.262 It seemed a little late in the day to come to this conclusion. It v,, s notified on 4 March 1850 that the Admiralty intended to apply to Parliament for an Act to authorize the building of a dock opposite the Royal Arsenal, to be called the Victoria Dock. A public enquiry on the matter was held at the Brunswick Hotel, Blackwall, on 12 March 1850 at which the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, was present to represent the views of the Office of Ordnance on the question.263 The scheme was launched and on 21 February 1853 the sale of 27 perches of land on the Thames side opposite Woolwich to
264
the Victoria Dock Company for £20. 5s. od. was sanctioned. The Royal Victoria Docks, as they were called, were completed and opened in November 1855. In July 1876 a great enlargement was proposed. They were finally completed and named the Royal Albert Docks by the Duke and Duchess of Connaught on 24 June I 880.
On 27 March 1850 a nursery for young trees on about a rood of ground was sanctioned, the annual upkeep of which was not to exceed £5.265 Mr Stralian, whose property on the Plumstead marshes
269 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/763. 260 PRO/WO/44/644. 2Gl PRO/WO/49/174.
2 r. 2 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,211, p. 1,179. Engineer Papers, PROf'\"0/ 55/763.
263 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,214, P· 2,379. 264 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,746. 265 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,216, P· 3,391 •
715
ADOLESCENCE
adjoined Ordnance land, requested on 28 March 185o th t h ditch dividing . the. holdings should be cleaned. The Board, however,a t e stoo on t e1r rights. They told Mr Stralian that as the d · t h
d h
h' 't 1 h' 'b'l' l c was
1s, 1she eara?-cebwas 1s ~espons1 1 ity.266 It was agreed on 18 April 1 50 t at notice oards, s1gn~d by the Secretary of the Board, should
8
be put up on ~he boundaries of Ordnance property to warn off trespassers and mform owners that t~ey must not allow their cattle toffistray on government land and 1~jure the trees.2G1 The Civil cers drew up the necessary notice of caution and th'IS was
O
approved by the Board on 12 June 1850.2Gs On 16 May 1850, stores for the Sir John Franklin Ex d' ·
t b · d 209 Th pe 1t10n
were or ere o e issue . ese were required for on f h
d d
· h' h · e o t e
rescue parties w 1c went m search of Sir John Franklin b bl for t!'e Prince Albert under Captain Forsyth which sailed 'ttr~a:-Co; Straits from Aberdeen on 5 June 1850. Two years later A il
. r. . ' on 7 pr1 52, overtime 1or certam employees in the Royal LaboI· t
8 . d A ·1 8 . d a ory was
sanct1fioneh onAr7 yn 1 d5~ _m or er t_o complete some of the articles or a urt er ctic expe ition.270 This was undoubtedly th d'
fc
tion under Sir Edward Belcher which sailed from w le ~xphe I
· Th . oo w1c on 15 pnl 1852.. ere were five ships involved , the Asszs· tance com-
A manded by Sir Edward_Belcher, the Resolute by Captain Kellett CB the North Star by Captam Pullen, the lntre'1id by Capta· M c1·' · ·'
· b · '1' m c mtock an t e Pioneer y Captam Sherard Osborn· Theexpe w.on arnv• ed
dif.; '
d h at Beechy Island on 14 August 1852. The Ass· t . d p·
zs ance an zoneer procee e through Wellington Channel and th R l
'dd dM I '11 I ' e eso ute and
Lntrepi to e v1 ~ sland; the North Star remaining at Beech I 1 nd The search for S1r John Franklin and his co • Y sa . attention of many ships between l 848 and I 87mgpamons fengh~ged the
Am . Th d' . 'some o w _1ch were . encadn. e exh~e 1t~on under SirJohn Franklin which culminated 1s third Arctic voyage of d' .
m trage y was 1scovery. It consisted
of HMS.. . . . E11rehus and Terror (Captains Croz1.er and F' itzJames) carrymg m a 138 persons. It sailed from Greenhithe on 1 M
184-5. 9 ay The two following extracts from Ordna .
sh I k f . nee mmutes appear to ow a ac o co-ordination in the contracts branch:
0
na:e!r~h: :~k~~e~~~c=:~0~; ,o: :i;:;~dpipes _are in ~u~ure to omit the stone with glass linings' Since th 'fi :o s~Ipulate pipes of terra cotta for the work of repairi~g dra· e spec1 bcatlon IS to be revised, new tenders
ms are to e called for.271
tell O d r nance M'mutes PRO/WO/ /2 21
1117 Ordnance Minutes; PRO/W0/47 , ~, P· 3,5oo.
4712121 2
1118 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO 'P· 4, 79•
22 6
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0//47 47 1/22,22114, P· ,395·2 270 Ordnance Minutes'. PRO/WO 2'28 P· 5,4° ·
ll7l Ordnance Minutes· PRO/W0//47// , 9, P· 4,136.
' 47 2,223, p. 6,318.
716
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-18 50
20 J une 1850. Specifications for drain pipes are not to be revised as Messrs Knight and Sons' tender for the work has already been accepted
on 30 May 1850.212 Somebody slipped up somewhere.
Because all the departments in the Royal Arsenal had to be in attendance on the anniversary of Queen Victoria's coronation consequent upon the review and the royal cortege at Woolwich, it was decided that 29 May should be observed as a holiday to be kept
273 in honour of the anniversary of H.M.'s coronation. Lieut.-Colonel Richard Hardinge, the Director R.L., was given permission on 17 July 1850 to reside away from his house in the Royal Arsenal in view of the state of his health on the understanding
274 that no allowances in lieu were to be granted to him. Even a hundred years ago the Arsenal was considered to be an unhealthy locality, the old theory that miasma and low fever arose from the p roximity of the marshes still continuing to hold the field. Captain E. M . Boxer's new fuze for spherical case shot, having u nd rgone extensive trials with such projectiles and with common shell, was pronounced satisfactory and introduced into the Land
275 Service. The Garrison Service was the first to be supplied. letter dated 3 September 1850 authorized the appropriation_ of a plot of ground immediately in rear of the butts on the Woolw1ch
276 m ars es (i.e. the proof-butts) as a burial ground for con:victs. There was an occupied building in the Royal Arsenal which was
1
th subject of certain correspondence with the Board, and on 3 S eptember 1850 it was ordered to be used as a guardhous~; at the same time the place fitted up by the storekeep:r as a d~bbing shop was to be used for that purpose. The shed which had till then been u sed as a guardhouse and the old dubbing shop were ordered to be
277
demolished and the materials sold.
Mr Graham, who had a general running contract for r~pairs_ in the Arsenal, objected strongly to convicts being emp~oyed in whitewashing buildings in the Royal Laboratory. He said t~at such ~
practice was in direct violation of his contract. In view of his representations a Board's letter dated 4 October 1850 ordered the
278
work to be discontinued at once.
Sanction was given on 7 October 1850 to erect a cupola i~ s~op No.21 in the Royal Brass Foundry, and to alter and fit up a bu1ld1ng,
272 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,224, P· 6,758.
2
273 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,225, P· 7,048, 9 June iB5o.
20
274 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,227, P· 7,6 · 1
275 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,232, P· 9,291, 3 Sept~mber S5o. .
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,232, p. 9,253. Engineer Papers, PRO/\\ O /
276
55/763.
277 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,233, P· g,68o. .
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,235, p. 10,372. Engineer Papers, PRO('VO /
278
55/763.
ADOLESCENCE THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
now a stable, to receive a metal ass~ying furnace in Proof Square at the cost of £201. 3s. 7-a3 ;d. The estimate and report on the matter additional 6s. 6d. a day pay subject to the deduction ofthe allowance
was dated ~3 September l 850. The service was ordered to be added to the Estimates for 1851/52.279 The Treasury a th · d
. u onze on
21
October 1850 the expe~dlture of£209 in introducing shafting from the ste_am power plant m the Royal Carriage Department to d ·
lathes m the R.E. Department. 280 nve A suggestion was made on 13 November 1850 th t d · cleared from the canal to render it suitable for coaat mlu mlighTt ~e
d d h C R s a vesse s. his
was approve an t e · .E., Woolwich Divis ·
1·O
· h · f h • n, was instructed
to forms an estimate o t e sum involved in s h
1 · bl uc a proposal 281 To
make the cana nav1ga e for coastal vessels w · d ·
d D as estimate to cost
£185,2s2 an on 13 ecember 1850 the necessar d .
ordered to be carried out.283 Y redgmg was Sanction was given on 11 November l8
50
James Nasmyth and Co. a 1o H p h • h to purchase from
. · · ig pressure steam eno-in fi
the Royal Carnage Department at the price of £ a 6 e or
800
Messrs Fox and Henderson the sum of£98 d fc 'b ~d _to pay necessary foundations provided the wo~k4-S. 0 Id 0{ uildmg the certified and paid for bef?re 31 March 185 r.28~ou e approved,
On 8June 1850 a meetmg was held in the R A . ..
S h 1 1u 1 · h · oya1 rt111ery Riding
c oo at vvoo w1c m support ofthe Great E ·h·b· ·
1
of Industry ofall Nations 1851 Gall • x itwn of the Works . enes were erected by 11r G H
Graham and Mr J. Tricket and 2 ooo perso · · Sir Thomas Downman presided 'and add ns were seated_. General C d Ed ' resses were deltvered b
ommo ore en, RN. . , Colonel Reid R E h R · Y Mare, the Revd Dr Carlisle, Messrs 'R. · Ru: e evd A. De.La
F. Bossey and others Mr T R R · h d gg, D. W. Wire,
. . . ic ar son spoke for the Do k d
workers and MrJohn Anderson for the Ro A c yar 1 1 h ty d • . ya1 rsena 1. It was a very
oya , ear an enthusiastic meeting 2ss F II • . gathering a letter dated 13 November ; ° owmg this _local
8
Colonel William Reid RE ret • . h. 5° approved of Lieut.
' .., a1mng is appomtm t C R E
Woolwich Division, while holding the t f e~ as · · ·, Executive Committee ofthe Great Exhibiii~~ o~ l 8Chairman of the that he should attend at Woolwich occasionall M5 I. It ':as agrered John Walpole, the next senior R E officer . yt.h ed~n~ ~1Ie, MaJor ffi . C R E h. . . . in e 1v1s10n was to
o c1ate as . . ., is signature on docu t b . '
such. While acting as deputy C R E M ~enWs emg accepted as · · · aJor a1pole received an
279 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / 55/763. 47 2,235, p. Io,402. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
280
181 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ /
Ordnance Minutes, PROJWO 47 ;,;37, P· 10,861. 281 Ordnance Minutes PROJWof471, 39, P· 11,720. zaa Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ 47 2>242, P· 12,839.
1u E · ' 551763.
'" ngmeer Papers~ PROJWO/551763. Records of Woolwuh, W. T. Vincent voI I
' . 'p. 141.
718
in lieu of quarters, coals and candles.286 Woolwich thus took a
prominent part in the 1851 Exhibition and the success of that great
undertaking was in part no doubt due to the excellent work per
formed by Lieut.-Colonel Reid.
Sir William Reid, as he became in 1851, had a remarkable career.
Born in I79I, he was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in I 809.
He served in the Peninsular War 18I0-1814, in the expedition against
New Orleans in 1815, and in the expedition against Algiers in I 8 I 6.
While in the West Indies ( 1831-1834) he materially developed the
circular theory of hurricanes, publishing in 1838 'An Attempt to
develop the Law ofStorms'. He served in the British legion in Spain,
commanding a brigade 1835-1836. In 1839 he was elected a Fellow
of the Royal Society. He was appointed Governor of Bermuda in
1839, where he was so active in promoting the welfare of the people
that he is still remembered as 'the good Governor'. He was trans
ferred to Barbados as Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands
in 1846 but resigned from that post in 1848. Upon completing his
work with the Great Exhibition, he became Governor of Malta in
1851, beingpromotedMaJor-Generalin 1856. Hediedon31 October
1858. During this year ofgrace, r 8 50, there was correspondence between the dmiralty, Woolwich and the Board of Ordnance about mud from the Dockyard being used in raising the level of the Arsenal.
(
This deposition of material had been going on year after year and sums appeared annually in the Works Estimates for this service. The Admiralty had no obJection to mud scoured from the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, (mainly from the basins) being deposited at the east end of the Arsenal provided it were done through Mr Peter R olt the contractor under his terms of contract. Mr Rolt offered to deliver the mud on a piece of ground near the convict shed averaging one run of 60 feet from the barge at 2ld. per cubic yard. All mud deposited beyond that distance was to be paid for _in addition at the rate of 1¼d. per cubic yard per 60 ~oot ~un: This offer was made on g April 1850 and was agreed to 1n pnnc1pl:·. The Home Department agreed that convict labour could be ut1hzed for the
work.2s1
On g May 1850 the practice of having apprenticeships in the manufacturing departments was discontinued. Since I 83 I apprentices in the Royal Laboratory had been taught the work generally, hut not that of a specific trade.288
286 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,239, p. I 1,746. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
55/763.
287 PRO/WO/44/296.
288 PRO/WO/44/524.
ADOLESCENCE
The clerical establishments in the Royal Arsenal according to the
9
Estimates for 1849/50 were as under:28
R.L. { ; g~~? Storekeeper £527 £703
R CD ( I Deputy Storekeeper · · · L 7 Clerks £350 £993
Storekeeper's 116 Clerks
Department J £2 ,303 In all 30 persons -£4,876
After the abolition of the deputy storekeepers in the t .. ,0
. ., manu
facturing departments, the proposed new establishment was:
R.L. 4 Clerks R.C.D. 4 Clerks Storekeeper's} 1 Clerks
7
Department £2,440 In all 25 persons -£3,700
a saving offive persons and £ r, r 76 p.a. In addition to the above, there were of course the sto 1
. re <eeper the deputy storekeeper and some clerical assistance in th D ' ment of the Inspector of Artillery. e epart-
It may be fitting to close this chapter with a short ace t f h
. oun o t e career of Mr, afterwards Sir John Anderson the ma t h
. . , n o w om
possibly more than to any other, IS due the credit for 1 · h
r. • d p acmg t e
government manUiacturmg epartments on a sound and -t d
b · H h' • up o-ate
r. as1s.. e was a ~ac _meryhe~pert In the days when machines in .1actones were commg mto t e1r own and to him the t
. h . ' coun ry owed
durmg t e Cnmean War a debt ofgratitude for his vi · · d st and ability in putting the Ordnance factories abreast ~ifot~l' :n. ub ~y
h ·1 . . . ieir JO In
t ose pen ous times when mhented prejudice and · • conservatism resisted change. mgrained
John Anderson was born at Woodside near Abe d
D b , r een, on
9
ecem er 1814,_ and ?ecame a foreman in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery m I 842. By 1853 he had risen to th · ·
f E · · e pos1t10n
o ngmeer m the Royal Brass Foundry, and on 17 August of that year the Treasury granted him an increase of salary of £
On 24J 8 h B roo p.a.
anuary_ I 54 t e oard wrote to the Treasury asking for his salary to be raised from £250 to £500. On 13 February 1854 th Treas~ry approved his appointment as 'Engineer to the Jnspecto; ofArtillery s Department', salary £400 rising by annual increments of £_50 to £7?0 p._a:290 Meanwhile, Mr John Anderson had been making extensive visits to other manufacturing establishments with
m PR0/W0/44/524. Ho Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,948, PR0/W0/44/524.
720
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
a view to setting up a government factory for the exclusive production ofsmall arms. On 26 February I 853 he and Lieutenant Warlow were authorized to visit certain factories in the north of England.291 He also, in company with Lieut.-Colonel Burn, R.A., Major Turbeville and Lieutenant Warlow, R.A., visited the principal government factories in the United States where the manufacture of small arms by machinery was effected. As a result it was proposed on 6 1.farch
292
1854 that a musket factory should be set up in the Royal Arsenal. This was the view held byJohn Anderson who considered it essential that all government factories should be under one head and located at Woolwich. This proposal, howev~r, was never put into effect as the government decided to open their small arms factory at Enfield Lock where there was already in existence a small establishment devoted to the repair and partial manufacture of musk:ts..
John Anderson was by now a very busy man, funct1onmg _as he did as Inspector of Machinery. He required a proper office and this ~as sanctioned on 2o October 1354 by appropriating par~ of a clo~hmg store at a cost of £12_293 An office, however, requires furmture, and on 27 October 1854 an estimate of £60. 4-S· 1 r¾d, for su~plying furniture to this office was approved and the expenclitur_e sanctioned.294 In the minute recording this, Mr John Anderson 1s referred to as the Inspector of Machinery, and so presumably he had become independent of the Inspector of Artillery. He therefor_e required staff for his new department and on r ~ecember 1854, It was agreed that the necessary application for this staff should be m ade to the Treasury.295 It was agreed on 28 May 1855 that Mr
296
Sissison should assist Mr Anderson for 6 months at a cost of£1 5°A department having been formed, more furniture was naturally required and on 11 October 1855 a sum of £61. 125· 6d. was sanctioned for purchasing office furniture for the department of the Inspector of Machinery.201 On 8 May 1856 Mr John_ ~derson
t10
presented a famous report on the 'Past and Present Con?1 ~ of t~e several Manufacting Branches of the War Department which will be considered in the following chapter. Mr Anderson eventually became the Chief Engineer of the Royal Arsenal, and may thus ?e said to have founded the line recently represented by the Chief
Mechanical Engineer. . In his time John Anderson invented several useful mac~nnes, had
a good deal to do with the founding of the Shell Foundry in 1854/55
291 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,746·
292
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,748, P· 548· .
293 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\V0/47/2,751, P· 985. Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/764.
294 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751 , P· 1 , 0 44· 295 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, P· I,375· 296 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0{'A'0/47/2,753, P· 1,85B. 297 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,755, P· I,o7B.
721
ADOLESCENCE
and fitted out a floating factory for the Crimea. He was employed as Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Gun Factory under Sir William Armstrong and Superintendent of Machinery in r866. He retired in r 874. In his time he had been a lecturer on machinery to the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Artillery Institution. He was a Lieut.-Colonel in the 28th Kent Rifle Volunteers. He was made a LL.D of St Andrew's University and a F.R.S. Edinburgh in 1871. He was .knighted and received the French Legion of Honour in 1 878. He died at St Leonards-on-Sea, 28 July 1886.298
us Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. I, p. 302.
To find a word use CTRL KEY + F on a PC
THE ROYAL ARSENAL
PART I -THE BACKGROUND
r. Armament administration-the Wardrobe-1066-1414
3
2. Armament administration-the Office of Ordnancer414-1670
32
3. Crown Establishments at Greenwich
83
4 . Woolwich prior to the advent of the Warren 112
5. Crown Establishments at Woolwich pnor to the advent of the Warren
P A RT II-BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
6. The beginnings of Tower Place 177 7. The Warren 1701-1720 231 8. The Warren 172r-1749 274
g. The beginnings of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 302 r o. The establishment and early years of the Royal Mili
tary A cademy in the Warren 345 1r. The Warren 1750-1775 393 12. The Warren 1776-1800 451
PART III-ADOLESCENCE
13. The Warren during Napoleonic times
497 r 4. The Royal Arsenal during Napoleonic times 551 15. The Doldrums 1816-1839 602 r6. The beginning of a Trade Wind 1840-1850 664
VOLUME II
r 7. The last years under the Board of Ordnance and the Crimean War 723
18.
The early years under the War Office 787
19.
The Morley reforms 840
20.
The closing years of the nineteenth century 870
l
CONTENTS PART IV-MATURITY
21. The opening years of the twentieth century 9II
22. The First ,t\'orld War 949
23. The uneasy years between 991
24. The Second World War and afterwards 1024
APPENDICES
I. List ofKeepers ofthe Wardrobe, Masters and l\!Iasters
General of the Ordnance and subsequent Arma
ment Chiefs 1035
II. Principal Officers of the Ordnance 1041
III. Constitution of the Board at various dates 1047
IV. Armament administration-Board of Ordnance, War Office, Ministry of Supply and War Office. From
1671 to the present day
V. Complete list of armour held at Greenwich in June 1611
VI. Officials at the Royal Arsenal at various dates
VII. Certain establishments and rates of pay
VIII. Certain employees and rates of wages in the Royal Arsenal between the years 1800 and 1855
IX. Woolwich establishments in certain years
1099 1102 1123
1133 1280
X. Number of workers employed in the Royal Arsenal 1289
XI. The acreage of the Royal Arsenal at various dates 1292
XII. Transport in the Royal Arsenal 1293
XIII. Divine worship, schools, police and security 1317
XIV. ,vater, fire services, gas and power 1349
XV. Survey of some of the principal stores made 1n the Royal Arsenal 1374
XVI. Other Departments in the Royal Arsenal
XVII. !vfanuscripts relating to Ordnance matters
Bibliography 1457
Index 1459
Illustrations An Ordnance Officer of the time of Charles II
Frontispiece
I Edward III inspecting his artillery
facing page 142
2 The Royal palace at Greenwich, 1558
143
3 (upper) Tower Place, 1545
158
3 (lower) Burst gun at Moorfields
158
4 (lejt) Front gate for ships' c':1-rriage house, 171 7
1 59
4 (right) Front gate at Woolw1ch, 1717
1 59
5 Part of the great pile of buildings, Woolwich 1 71 7
360
6 The Royal Foundry, Woolwich (Sandby)
361
7 (upper) View of Woolwich Warren (S. & N. Buck), 1739
376
7 (lower) Cadets' Barracks at Woolwich, I 752
376
8 (upper) Carriage shed for Land Service
377
8 (lower) The Granby Medal
377
9 The Royal Military Academy (Sandby)
600 10 A gun being bored in the Royal Foundry, 1773
601 I l Withdrawing the castings from the pit. Royal Foundry,
1 773 616
12 (upper) View from Rupert's walk, 1749
617
12 (lower) The Royal Laboratory, c. 1750
617
13 Laboratory Square, c. 1750
842
1 4 M oulding pellets in the Royal Laboratory, c. 1750
843
15 Pumps in the Royal Laboratory
858
16 The visit of George III to the Royal Foundry, 1773
859
17 Making charges, Royal Laboratory, c. 1750
97°
18 V iew of hulks and convicts at Woolwich, 1779
971
The seat of Sir Gregory Page at Blackheath, 1783
19 986 20 (upper) The main gate, Royal Arsenal, 1825
987
20 (lower ) The entrance to the Royal Arsenal, c. 1850
987
2 1 T he Royal Arsenal, 1 847 22 (upp er) Model of horse boring-mill 22 (lower) Girls making cartridges, I 862
TEXT ILLUSTRATIO S
Fig. l Bodham's sketch of the gunwharf Fig. 2 Two plans of Tower Place Fig. 3 Plan of the old Academy Fig. 4 Elevation of proposed gateway, 1828
MAPS
I. Woolwich Warren in 1701
2. W oolwich Warren in 1 7 1 7
1002
1028
1028
167
facing page 206
349
629
facing page 231 " ,, 258
'An exact survey of the Warren in Woolwich', 1749 ''
3. " 274
4.
'Plan or"Woolwich Warren', 1777 " ,, 451
5.
The Royal Arsenal, 1867 " " 8
.
lX
Vlll
Preface
Up to now no Boswell has appeared to interpret the Royal Arsenal to the British people; its story therefore has remained untold. From the historical point ofview this is a minor tragedy as in recent years the_ han~ of the winnower has been busy, and many documents, which might have shed light on certain aspects of the subject, have been ruthlessly destroyed. Had such a history been written only forty years ago, much valuable material, now irrecoverable, might have been preserved.
For wellnigh a hundred years Woolwich was the only Crown Es_tablishment which manufactured warlike stores and thus may be sa id to have been the matrix out of which all other government fa ctories evolved. Today circumstances are different; the Woolwich w orkshops are but the few among the many which supply the equipment required by the Fighting Services. The Royal Arsenal has therefore shed some of its ancient glory and, though still of national importance, has lost its proud position ofpre-eminence. Nevertheless it still clings to its traditions. ·
Having lived and worked in the Royal Arsenal for many years, I
was overjoyed at the opportunity afforded me of adopting Boswell's
mantle and presenting a historical account of the establishment in
which so many happy years of my life have been passed.
F irst and foremost my most grateful thanks and appreciation are
d ue to the late Sir Henry Tizard who urged and encouraged me to
persevere in what has proved to be an immense task, and to the
'Tru stees of the Leverhulme Research Fellowships, whose generous
two y ears Research Fellowship enabled me to undertake it. Without
th e Trustees' kind and welcome assistance, this history could not
h ave appeared in print.
I should also like to record my gratitude to various officials and
official bodies who have unstintedly preferred their help. In particu
lar, I would mention the assistance I have received from the staffs
of the Public Record Office, the War Office and the Royal Arsenal,
all of which took great interest in the task I was attempting. To
single out names is perhaps invidious, but I do most earnestly wish
to pay tribute to the unfailing courtesy and ungrudging aid rendered
me by Mr E. K. Timings of the Public Record Office; by Messrs A.
S. White and D. W. King of the War Office Library; by Mr G. J. Roberts of the War Office Registry; by Mr W. H. Davison of the War Office Records Division; by Mr J. S. Grew of the Armaments Research Establishment; and by ColonelJ. C. E. Pellereau, Mr T . G. Taffs, Lieutenant-Colonel P. A. S. Holmes, Miss Sheryer and
.
Xl
PREFACE
others of the staff of the Chief Superintendent, Royal Ordnance Factories, all of whom have sacrificed time and energy to come to my assistance.
Finally, homage should be paid to all those countless and forgotten clerks and scribes who, throughout the centuries kept such meticulous details of all the incidents, trivial or otherwise, which occupied the Office of Ordnance throughout its long career of statecraft.
Blackheath OLIVER F. G. HOGG Autumn I962
..
Xll
Introduction
Voltaire once remarked that ifyou wished to converse with him you had to define your terms. It is a logical statement and one that should obviously be applied to any history dealing with an Establishment so difficult to define as the Royal Arsenal. Is it a specific area on the m a p or is it a government department where equ_ip~ent_for the fightino-forces is manufactured and stored? Many mstltutlons have chan~ed their locality and continued their work in new surroundings and among these must be included the_ Royal Arsei:al ' hich functioned in a humbler capacity at Woolw1ch half a_ mi~e further up the river before it was transferred to its present site m
1671. Before a standing army in England was authorized, the Office of ~d · · d · 1 · g ships of the Royal
0 I n a n ce was mainly preoccupie in supp yin d N avy and the connection between that Department of state afin
' h. • · t ociation accounts or
t h e A d miralty was very close. T 1s 1nt1ma e ass h
· t Deptford Chat am,
th e early development of Ordnance services a ' .
Portsmou th and other dockyards, which thus allows the presumptio~ with a fair d eg ee of certainty that Ordnance storehois~ wer~~:t up at Woolwich when Henry VIII built the royal doc t ere a
the year 1518. h •te of the present Origin ally housed on the gunwharf near t e s1 ed to To wer free ferry, the Ordnance depot at vVoolwich w~s m~:hat property Place on Woolwich Warren when t~e Cro"':n pu;~ a~his new home,
1 1
of 30 acres from Sir William Prichard 1~ h/ • •ghteenth century
originally referred to as Tower Place, was inTth eRe1, zArsenal a name k 1 · 80 5 as e 0) a '
nown as The W arren, and final Yin 1 d to mere storage, suggested b y George III. Manufacture, as oppose. built there and
commenced in 1696 when the new Laboratory ~v~ Palace and rethe Tilt Y ard Barn was removed from Gr;:nwic1 therefore, as an erected on W oolwich Warren. The Royal rsena '
entity has survived for some 4oo years. d ·t derived from four
1
As a public institution on its present groun sources:
(a)
The Wardrobe and Ordnance O~ce
(b)
Crown Establishments at Greenwich ( ) W · · 67 I h e of Tow r
c oolw1ch town pnor to 1 ich before the pure as
(d) Crown Establishments at Woolw Place . h . .,0v n the tap ry. f
wh1c is ,~ ·1 ·f · 1
a 11 of which form the threads from lected at p n 1 JU the Arsenal's saga and these sources are neJ e. lopm nt. is to be done to the story of its subsequent
xiii
TRooucTION
IN ·m 1
d the greatest di cu ty in reco .
would fin h · ht h glliz
could they but retur?, twhile labours. In t e e~~ eent centll ing the scene of their ers . . g both civil and military member ryf
·tcontairun h w so
Woolwich was one uru o distinction between t e_ arren and the the Ordnance. There was~ poses they were integrated. b th
. . t ative pur R 1 A .oo
Garrison; for adnums r A .11 ry and the oya c.aderny fc
. t of rti e 1 b 1 . or
the Royal Regimen . erienced peop e e onging to th
. and inexp .c. d . h e
'instructing the raw Office were .1orme in t e VVarr
Ordnance 1 d en,
military branch' of the 1 .cactories was c asse as milita
k · n the ear Y .1, . ry
and much of the wor i C R E. Woolwich w as appointed
when a · · d '
employment. Later on, d ds on the marshes an dealt With he had his headqu~rters an ~ar as a whole. The transfer of the building problems in the statibon acks on Woolwich Common m·
. h . new arr .
Royal Artillery to t eir R 1 Military Academ y to its new
0
1 778 and the removal of theSh ~\s Hill in r806, fostered the premises on the slopes_ ofh 00 ere beginning to d evelop. In the
• d · which t en we •
separatist ten encies . s departments in the Arsenal
. h t ry the vanou .
early runeteent cen u , . d from the soldiers on the hill became more and more di:o~ce Woolwich Garrison still resided though the Commandant O t e th titular head of the Establish
d
within the Arsenal walls au w~s e th century there were five
"ddl f the runeteen
ment. By the nu e O • the Royal Arsenal namely
. d d t departments in
comp1ete1y in epen en G F tory the R oyal Carriage
the Royal un ac '
the R oya1 Laboratory, . t t and the Storekeeper's
1 Engineer Depar men
Department, the Roya . · t the other and they
. h aid much attention o
Department. Neit er ~ he head uarters of the O ffice only corresponded officially through t ~ t f
. L don They each paid their own r a es o w ages
of O rdnance 1n on · 1 t· s Such common
d
and functioned under separate rules au regu a wn · . d t h
· · b ooled were ass1gne o t e
services which had perforce to e P 1. ·t d t t t d
· · · · h t a very 1mi -e ex en ac e
O
Junsd1ct1on of the Storekeeper, w O E br h t as the chief administrative official of the whole s~a is ;1~n Offi After the War Department took over the functwns O t e . ce · · ·1 d ·1·t ry elements at W oolw1ch
of Ordnance 1n 1855 the c1v1 an nu 1 a became still more seg;egated. The Royal Laboratory, the Royal Gun Factory and the Royal Carriage Departments became three of_the manufacturing departments of the Army, the Arsenal works services became independent ofthe C. R. E. Woolwich and the Storekeeper's organization became part of the Ordnance Store Department. Subsequently the Ordnance Store Department, having passed through the stage of the Control Department, developed into the Army Ordnance Department from which in due course the Naval Ordnance Department hived off. In 1888, as the r~sult of the recommendations of the Morley Committee, the three independent factories were united under a chief executive with a headquarter staff, since when they have gradually become three sections of one
.
XVI
INTRODUCTION
organization. This Director-General of Ordnance Factories since
'
I 899 renamed the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, was charged among other responsibilities with those of all common services; police, fire-fighting, buildings, roads, gas, water, power, etc. Another result of the Morley Committee's deliberations was the settin~ up of a~ in~ependent ins1:ection staff, thereby relieving the factor~es of being Judges of their own and of trade production. Certain research organizations which had been formed within the Arsenal were grouped together in 1907 to become the Research Department. After the ~nd of the first World War a Naval Inspection Department and a Design Department were established. In addition
to these, other bodies like the A.D.M.T, the W.D. Chemist, the Ordnance Commi~tee and other minor offices had come into being so that by the third decade of the twentieth century, the Royal Arsenal sheltered many departments besides the factories which were quite independent of C.S.O.F. save for essential services common to the whole area.
T~ese _ramific~tions have made the presentation of the latter part of th i~ h~story d:~cult. Up to the end of the eighteenth century the story is simple; it is purely that of a slowly evolving single organism. As such it has been treated chronologically. Volume II has presented more complex problems. Although the chronological approach has 1-r1uch to recommend it in theory, it is apt to fail where many factors, only vaguely related, are expanding in divergent directions. Again, treatment on the lines ofindividual factories is unsatisfactory, especially a s, in la ter years controlled by a central staff, they have tended to b ecome homogeneous. A third method of procedure, namely by
considering fundamental services essential to all, also has its obvious d rawb a cks. A compromise has therefore been adopted.
During the course of their long history, the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolvvich have been under the jurisdiction of four D epartments of State, one of which was a temporary war-time
M inistry. These are : Up to 1855 the Office of Ordnance 1855-1915 the War Department 1915-1920 the Ministry of Munitions 1920-1939 the War Department
1939-1959 the Ministry of Supply 1959-the War Department When the Secretary of State for War received by Letters Patent,
dated 25 May 1855, the mantle of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance on the abolition of the Board, the change of overlordship was final and complete. The Ordnance Board Act of 14 August 1855 (18 and 19 Victoria, Cap. CXVII) makes this quite clear. All Pow r , Authorities, Rights, Privileges, Lands, Hereditaments, Estates and
XVll
2
INTRODUCTION
Principal Officers and 'be trans"
r .
s from the ' p . .1.erre...i
Property were to pas . ble by Her MaJesty s nncipal Secret
\l
to and vested in a~d ex;:f~sa to whom Her Majesty shall think 6.:1:y of State for the Time W g Department'. Woolwich Arsenal Pa to intrust the Seals of the th:rWar Office. The Ministry of MunjJ~eq over body a?"d soulIt~xistence on 9 June l 9l 5 as a result of ths entered on its lega ( and 6 Geo. V, Cap. 54-2July 19 e Munitions ofWar Act 19; 5 ~trol of the Woolwich factories. A.t ;g) and on that date ass_ul_rr:e ~ November 1918 the question of the
. . of host! ities i f . . . e
termmation_ . tion of Woolwich and o its reorganization Was future admimstra . Its fate however, was closely bound
Committee. , Upd
referre to a . t d Ministry of Supply, and, pending with that of hthe prot~teecr e little could be done about the Royaal
. . on t at ma ' C b. .
dec1s10n . When in March 1920 the a inet decided not
Ordnance Factories. M" . f S 1
d "th the Bill for establishing a inistry o upp Y, it Was to ~roceeh WI h Woolwich factories should be retransferred to the
decided t at t e 6 J
tment-their spiritual home for 5 years-on l une I 920.
War Depar M" . .
This temporary control by another i;11~try w~s a passing phase and had no lasting effect on the Arsenals inner life.
The Ministry of Supply Act (2 and 3 Geo. -yr, Cap.. 38) dated 13 July 1939, was mainly an enabling Act_ by whic~ functions could be transferred to the Ministry by Orders in Council, when and where considered advisable. Under this Act the Royal Ordnance Factories acquired a new overlord-the Minister of Supply. It would appear from this Act that the transfer was not to be absolute and could be revoked by an Order in Council should circumstances dictate such a policy. Eventually such a change of policy did occur, for on 21 October 1959 the Ministry of Supply under Statutory Instrument 1959, No 1768 became the Ministry of Aviation and its military
departments including the main bulk of Woolwich Arsenal again reverted to the War Department.
In a work of this character it is inevitable that the end should be less detailed than the beginning. In this way it differs somewhat from the norm ofhistorical surveys. Three reasons account for this. First, security must be observed; secondly, little of universal interest has happened since the Royal Arsenal reached its zenith in size and
~mportance in 1918, and, thirdly, modern records, owing to increase 1n ~ulk and lack ofstorage space, are more prone to destruction than their counterparts of yester-year. Much that has taken place in the '!1°yal ?rdnanc~ Factories in recent times is mirrored in all large1n?ustnal establishments, and is thus out of place in a narrative of th~s nat~re_whfch is primarily based on antiquarian interest.
We ~vein time, and the past must always be the most momentous
part of1t.'
xviii
The Background
Chapter 1
Armament Administration The Wardrobe Io66-I4I4
In feudal time all monies connected with the provision maintenance
' '
and storage of warlike equipment were regarded as a court charge personal to the ruler and not as a liability falling upon the national exchequer. Records of household expenses rather than other state archives must, therefore, be explored for the origin and early history of armament administration. Pandora's box in the case of weapons and their development was the royal treasure chest of long ago.
In the middle ages the standard of life was much simpler than it is today. Not only was a bathroom unknovvn but few even of the wealthier nobles enjoyed the luxury of a private bedroom. Those who did so usually had a closet attached to their sleeping apartment in which their clothes and valuables could be placed. In the royal household the bedchamber, constructed on a more pretentious scale, normally had a room leading off it wherein the sovereign's personal belongings could be safely stored.
Although in the empire of Charlemagne the highest officer ofstate was the m onarch's camerarius or chamberlain who was assisted by a nu1nber of minor officials termed cubicularii, there was no corresponding court functionary in Angl?-Saxon England. Instead, there existed a group of royal servants entrusted with analogous duties who were sometimes referred to in continental parlance as cubicularii or camerarii or more often by their English names burthegn, bedthegn and hroegelthegn. The two latter corresponded to the cubicularius and vestiarius respectively and might in modern language be described as 'the groom of the chamber' and 'the keeper of the robes'. With the coming of the Normans the terms camera and garderoba were introduced, but owing to the wardrobe being a mere coffer in the chamber at this time, the distinction between the two nouns was vague. The words thus became almost synonymous; so much so that in the eleventh century an official could equally well be designated camerarius or garderobarius. By the following century, however, the word garderoba or wardrobe had assumed its contempora:y me~ning and indicated a place for the custody of clothes. In particular 1t denoted a small apartment like the present-day dressing-room, communicating with the chamber, in which apparel and other objects could b
deposited.
3
THE BACKGRovND 11
ore liberal a owance of
. • had a rn •
king as befitted his majesty,. b. cts and, 1n consequence
Th
e ' · · f his su ~ e ' d · '
·ment than the maJonty o . . safe custo y in an annexe
fine r ai fc k · g 1t 1n h b
h d re cogent reasons or eep1n . s roorn t us ecarne a
a thmoroyal bedchamber. This contlg~olus of value of which the to e . fc d" g artIC e . ' d b
. of safe-deposit or guar m lt the kings war ro e in
species . d As a resu ,
h had immediate nee . d . to a treasury, a strong
monarc d lope 1n . .
f his castles and manors eve b but for his Jewe1s, ornah
eac o . fi d "lken ro es 1 fi .
room not only for his urs an s1 . late and cost y urmture. store of coined money, bullion,k:p 's devotional books, the
ments, . Id I h the mg . .
Such repositories wou a ~o ouse d other diplomatic records, nts of his chapel, his charters an
orname
and lastly his arms and armour. re certainly no less prevalent da)'S when theft and larceny we f kings was constantly
I
n d h ty even o . . h
th n they are to ay t e proper d the penpatetic abits
.;osed to the risks of robbery and ?re, ~ess travel during which
e; medieval life involved the court 1? r-f the precious contents of
~he utmost vigilance had to be exerc1s;e ~arded. It is _not :urprising
the w·ardrobe were to be adequately sa g kings stress is laid on the
therefore that under the early Norrnanf; ture of the wardrobe. In
strong-box rather than_ on the strong-:oo;ee~rne ofJohn, for prior to
f. et such an emphasis endures until E r h camera had followed a t king's reign the development of the. ng ibs. th to an exchequer
th
a It had given ir '
the normal European pattern. . h ld affairs and quite
-f: t in house o
but was still the d om1nant ac or d d to break away as a oYer-shadowed the wardrobe which had ten e
separate institution. . blic records occurs in the The first mention of the wardrobe in pu fG"lbert the wardrober
h · 111 speaks o 1
reign ofHenry II vvh en t e pip~-ro d Middlesex accounts in I I 67. Again in l l 76 the sheriffofLondon anf I shillings author-
h yment o I o · '
fc
in the pipe roll2 ° £that year or t e pa . 't0 make the king's
·t t0 Al th the engineer'
ized by roya1 wn , no ' however rare and it wardrobe at Westminster'. Such references :e the king's wardrobe is not until King John ascended the thr?1:1e t .: ortance. The first in England assumes a measure of nsmg _1 dprefer to it simply as allusions to it in the chancery rolls of th~ peno . d. later on the a place or receptacl_e which can ~e built o~rep;;~ ~s the place of term is extended to include the obJects store as . ft rds th storage All through this reign and for a long time : ~rwa t ~ wardrobe is described as something which has to e ransp:r e with the king as part of his luggage. These ceaselehss ~oveme~-! ;~e
1
meticulously detailed in the chancery rolls of t e tlfmhe :1n e
. d d t existence o t eir own a
wardrobe accounts assume an 1n epen en d H IiI change in the financial system which occurred_ ~n er enry · From about 1222 to I 322 the membranes containing the wardrobe
1 Pipe Roll, IO Henry II, p. 20. 2 Pipe Roll, 23 Henry II, P· 1gB.
4
THE WARDROBE 1066-1 414
accounts, which included military expenditure, were placed at the end of the pipe roll in each year and are referred to in the ro11s themselves as the Rotulus Computarum, but from the sixteenth year of Edward II separate rolls for these accounts were made up.
This changed aspect of the wardrobe was the outcome of natural growth stimulated no doubt by the wanderings of the court from place to place which frequently exposed it to the vicissitudes of nomadic existence. To protect the king's valuables therefore agairist the hazards of the road a special staff of officials became necessary to perambulate with the wardrobe. Such a body of men had to include not only carters, sumpters, guards and sergeants but, in addition, persons of trust who could rise superior to the temptatic:>ns to which they were subjected and who could undertake the administrative work connected with their task. Courtiers placed in positic:>ns such as these were thrown into constant intercourse with their sovereign and thus, if honest and competent, became in course of time the king's confidants and advisers. This ultimately resulted in the wardrobe having a special organization of its own which o"""Verlapped and eventually overshadowed the parent organization of the ch amber. The latter had survived with difficulty the birth-pangs of the exchequer, now it was assailed again in like manner. This second parturition was further to limit the progress of the charriber and stunt its growth. As regards the wardrobe the results were f"arr aching for it developed into a powerful institution assuming a -role of prime importance in the royal household.
At one time John's ward.robe was carried about in two co-ffers placed on two long carts.3 The c~rter in charge ~ad control of nine h orses4 and received 3¼-d. a day 1n wages.5 Bullion, arms, arrriour, saddlery, cloth, etc. packed in the boxes followed the king ori. his journeys, and their carriage was usually effected by hired waggons as when in r2 r2 three shillings was paid for conveying the 'ha.:rness of the wardrobe' from Lambeth to Odiham in two days.6 Sometimes resort to water transport was made, for in the same year 4d-was paid for the hire of a boat to ferry the wardrobe belongings from Westminster to Lambeth when London Bridge had broken down.7
The staff of the wardrobe was steadily increasing. Whereas under Henry II there appears to have been only one official, under John the number of officers and servants specializing in this wor"k had grown apace. In 1212 there were four car~ers of whom Odo vv-as the chief,s but later on in the same year their number had swe11ed to
3 Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227, vol. I, p. 182. 4 Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227, vol. I, P· 159. 5
Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227, vol. I, p. 218. 6 (Misc. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records, p. 231. 7 (Misc. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records, p. 232. s (Misc. Rolls 14 John). Cole's Records, p. 236.
5
II
.
THE BACKGROUND
eight and they had charge o~. twenty horses.9 In addition to. these were five sumpters (summetarzz garderobe), drivers of pack arumals, whose names wereJohn Cointance, Luke, Hugh, Ralph and Walter.10 Of superior status were ~erymus, valet of the wardrobe (valettus garderobe) in 120711 and Simon, the Portevin, 'our sergeant of the wardrobe' in 1203,12 both of whom were persons of sufficient standing to receive considerabJ~ s_ums of money. Then there was Ives, usher of the wardrobe (ostzanus garderobe) in 1212 or 1213 who had charge of the wardrobe carts and seems to have been responsible for the repair of the boxes ~nd for the maintenance of their contents.13 Finally in a class by himself was Odo, the clerk of the wardrobe (clericus de garderobe)-not to be confused with Odo, the carter-who was functioning at any rate between 1213 and 1215.14 He was responsible for the expenses and receipts of the wardrobe, for drafting writs and warrants affecting his office, and for the custody of departmental rolls. He also d_rew up the annual account, presenting it to the exchequer, and was 1n fact the wardrobe's official chief and the first recorded recipient of this dignity. The wardrobe like the chamber, was supplied with funds partly from sums transfe;r d from the exchequer, partly by sums paid in directly from th cou n try,
and the accounts are careful to distinguish between the allotm ent from the exchequer and the direct receipts. The latter varied between £3,000 and £5,000 at the period under review namely the beginn ing
of the reign of Henry III. '
As the activities of the wardrobe expanded in ever-widening circles its staff of clerks grew, and the head official of these, ho controlled~ the ~ffice, was in turn ca!Ied ~he treasurer and finally in
1234 the keeper. 5 These :lerks were lzteratz, not knights or territorial magnates, though occas101~a~ly lay officials were appointed. C onsequently the keeper and his immediate subordinates, if not in w hat we should now term holy orders were neverth 1 1 d lly
ended their days presiding ov'er s ~ es~ c ergy an u_Su~
ome ecc1es1ast1cal see or en1oy1ng
some lesser benefice. J The Household Ordinance issued by Ed d I W .
N b war at estm1nster on
13 ovem er 1279 throws further light upo th d b d
except for minor eh fc • n e war ro e an ,
. anges, oreshadows its organization for the next I 50 years. I t conJures up a kaleidosco ic . . . sergeants-at-arms, marshals h P ~Icture ofknights, esquires,
, c amberla1ns, yeomen, ushers and
• (M~. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records
:: (Misc.. Rolls 14John). Cole's Records' p. 2462. Rot. L,t. Pat. 1201-1216 p 79 ' p. 23 ·
11 RtL" ' ..
u o : it. regnanli Johanne. p. 105.
u (MISC._ Rolls 14John). Cole's Records
Rot. Lit. Claus. 1204-1227 vol I ' pp. 2 42-244.
Rot• L ·t C'' ' · • p. 132·
i • ,aus. 1201-1216 p
141 u Walter ofKirkham was m'ad~ Kc;per of the
Roll o. 79• 19 Henry III, m i8d.) wardrobe on 17 May 1234. (E.372. Pipe
6
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
laymen among whom move the various classes ofclerks few in b
and po . k O f h" ' num er
. ~r fi1n P?C et. ut o. t 1s motley emerges the wardrobed efin1te 1n unct10n and establishment, the governing bod • • '
f · h· f ffi · Y cons1st1ng
o six c 1e o cials, five of whom had the following sp · fi •
and duties: eci c tit1es
The Keeper who, as chief executive officer, was respo 'bi fc
. li d d . . . ns1 e or
generaI discip ne an a m1n1strat10n. He forwarded his roll of
accounts to the exchequer at the end of every regnal year.
The Controller who, as general secretary, guided office routine. He sent a counter-roll to the exchequer annually as a check h roll furnished by the keeper. In addition, he enrolled allupoln t e
· k · re evant
muruments, ept the pnvy seal and acted as the king's •Private
secretary.16 The Cojferer who, as the fin_ancial and accounting authorit h andled the monef ~nd dealt with the household bookkeeping.17 y, T he Usher (Ostzarzus) who was concerned with expenses d
. 1 d. h an
arrang~1:1ents 1nvo ve 1n t e ~onstant movements of the wardrobe.
In add1t10n, he was charged with the safe custody ofthe wax-candl
and the fuel, an important duty in those days. es
T he Sub-Usher (Subostiarius) who had to proceed in advance of th king and arrange for the necessary lodging of the ward.robe. e
The detailed duties ofthe keeper ofthis period have been preserved by Fleta, who in his book Fleta Seu Commentarius Juris AnglicaniIB gives the follm,ving passage:
To him is com_mitted the care o~ the ex~enses_ ofthe king and his family, who together with a clerk, associated with him as a comptroller shall keep a record of what belongs to their office. He shall keep the 'king's money, jev els, gifts and private receipts, and shall make a separate roll thereof, which shall be returned annually into the exchequer. And in another roll, which shall be examined by the steward, treasurer (or keeper) and comptroller, he shall enter the daily expenses (expensa quotidiana); also necessary expenses, in which the buying of horses, carriages and many other articles shall be comprised; also gifts, alms and oblations; wages of knights and archers; messengers, foreign fees, presents or accommodations; also the expenses of the wardrobe, in which the buying of cloth, furs, wax, spices, linen, and such like, shall be comprised; also of jewels, foreign expenses, ambassadors, falconers.
16 !~e counter-roll presented byJohn Benste~, Co_nt~oller for the )'.ear 1299-1300_ (Liber Quotidianus Contrarotulatoris gardrobae 28 Edwardi I) 1s m t~e possession of the Society of Antiquaries of London and was printed by that Society m I 787. The roll for the same regnal year presented by John de Drokensford, the keeper, is in the British l\{useum.
17 The clerks of the Cofferer became in a later age the source of the Board ofGreen Cloth. still the accounting office of the royal household, presided over by the Lord teward. The Cofferer and the Clerks of the Green Cloth were abolished in I 782 by Burke's .\et for Economical Reform (22 George III, Cap. LXXXII).
18 ~ook II, chap. 14. Fleta seu Commentarius Juris Anglica11i is an ancie_nt En li h law treat1~e, an abridgment of Bracton, dated about 1290 (ed. Seldon 1685) said to hav b n com_P~led in Fleta, in the Fleet prison by some lawyer. Henry Bracton wrot D ,·o ,. etuduubus et legibus Angliae about 1269.
7
E BACKGROUND TI-I onvene every night the stew er) ought also to c rn troller and his clerk• ard The treasurer (or teepharnberlain, the co Jd knights sergeants of the
:a:~a~1:~•~~;1:~1\ (a:~\~da~~\~:~:\:~b;i:~ee:~:~?:~ of:~:
rnarshal; the ushers oft e an baker, and :ler s:read wine an'd al~-Were
::~~~nt!~~:t:££iiS::.~~:i~k~'.e~~;:if;;::;{';~~t;~f,~~:~~%?1
cup~, sal\: sc~llery or sauceryrnat :at p;ssed in their respective offices. pou tryrn ' to ive an account o w eant for the care ofthe sumpter~ ,vere neceslsary fhe door-keeper, the serlg who should answer for th
lso the a rnoner, h rnarsha sea, e
a d carriages; the clerk of_ t e showing of horses, harne_ss or trappings an f hay and corn, litter, f sergeants, esquires, clerks and expenses o d carriages and the wages oho were newly admitted to the for horseds ~;was his ducy-to know those wt of duty; and to withhold the
boys; an i ho went OU . 1 r
f the king, and those w . h kin<T's specia 1cense, or were
wages o b t without t e o
es of such as were a sen
g
wa . ' . &c h
not in the kmg s service, . . . f the fourteent century Was
O
The wardrobe at the_ be~in~fsg late, cloth, linen, furs, wax., responsible for purcha~1ng JeWd 'Jchment, ar~s, armour, equip-ices leather, timber, iron, lea ' P.th other perishable and non
p
s ent' food and wine together Wlh k' g's household including his
m ' . fc h se of t e in h 11
perishable supplies or t e u as thus very muc swo en in men-at-arms. The annual account w
19
times of national emerg~ncy. ed by the wardrobe are clearly The financial operations co":er . t which the counter-roll of indicated by the thirteen he~d1ngsb iln: cover a wide field : . di .d d These given e o
1299-1300 IS Vl e .
( 1) Charities and alms. nnected with the royal house
. d 11· g expenses co
(2) Necessaries an trave m
hold. h al household.
(3)
Victuals and stores for t e roy ard I and his consort.
(4)
Gifts and rewards made by E~w , household, and wages due to
(s)
Payments to knights _of the kmg s bannerets, knights and ~sqmres. and ser eants-at-arms of the king's
(6)
Wages due to engineers, archer_sh a~ents and defensive works.
d connected wit arm d ·
househoId an expenses Id' d workmen employe 1n war.
(7)
\,Vages due to archers, foot-so iers an ses in the war with Scotland.
(8)
Wages due to seamen and naval expen
(g)
Expenses of the king'~ m~ssengers. d falconers, and expenses (io) Wages due to the kmg s huntsmen an
connected with the chase. kn' hts and esquires for their robes. ( I l) Moneys allowed to bannerets, ig t .ewellery plate
(12) Money expended on gold and silver ornamen s, J ' '
&c. fi &c
(13) Money expended on wine, cloth, urs, wax, · . . . h diture is one concerning the period
11 The earliest MS. extant regarding sue expenf h • • t clerks Walter of Brackley5January 1224-10 April 1227 when the accounts o t eJom and Walter ofKirkham were presented to the Exchequer.
8
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
The functions of the wardrobe, therefore, included certain of those which in these times have devolved upon the Service Ministries, the Board of Trade, the Ministry of Supply and the Ministry of Food, and the wide range of its activities outlined even then the corning shadow of totalitarian war. Among its more specific duties in the military sphere may be mentioned the supply of a certain quota of fighting men including specialists, the provision ofwarlike and other stores, the appreciation of horses, the purchase of chargers at home and abroad, the numbering of casualties in action, the transmission of orders, the conduct of diplomatic missions, and the payment and mustering of troops. Besides carrying out its household duties the
'
wardrobe acted as a naval and military pay office as well as a clearing and supply department controlling the purchase, manufacture and maintenance of equipment. It co-ordinated such engineering, mechanical and technical services as then existed.
Let us glance for a moment more closely at the counter-roll to ascertain the armament then in use. As is to be expected these weapons were not very formidable, and in essential design had not differed from those current at the fall of the Roman Empire. They m ay b e summed up under two headings: personal arms which included the long-bow, the spear, the sword, the gisarme and the crossb ow; and warlike engines (ingenia) such as the balista, the tribulus, the belfry, the cat, the ram and the espringald. The latter were under the charge of a chief engineer, termed attilator or artillator.
Almost a century before the period we have just been considering it b ecame apparent that wardrobe purchases fell into two distinct cat gories, namely items such as food and other daily consumable con1.modities which had perforce to be obtained locally, and nonperishable goods which could be bought in bulk in the cheapest markets a nd stored against emergencies. In the latter class would figure cloth, timber, metals, leather, arms and armour. Buyers from the wardrobe, therefore, scoured the country and even the king's overseas possessions in search of provender, visiting fairs and other marts on behalf of their royal master. In due course the transportation of such produce in the main itinerant wardrobe was found to be highly inconvenient, consequently the practice developed of storing it in special buildings set apart for the purpose. The wardrobe therefore, tended to extrude a daughter organization which rem~ined stationary and spent its energies in acquiring and holding stock while the parent stem dealt with routine administrative ,vork, followed the court, and attended to the wants of the hospicium. Since
cloth was still the prime necessity to be considered, the king's tailor took charge of the buying at fairs. Thus was the great wardrobe (magna garderoba) born from the wardrobe p~op,er, .attaining its independence in 1253 under Roger de Ros, the king s tailor, although
9
!{GROUND
THE BAG •
me twenty years earlier u
• 11 ·ndependentso ncter
. h d b me virtua y i
1t a eco ·11 .,o · th t the great w
William of Haverhi .~ d rrom the forego_ingM~ fi hardrobe
t be assume ii d be hke Inerva rom t e he It mus\~o med from the war r_o d the king on active service ad
sprang fu y ;\it never accompa:efor its expenses as the coun~ It of Zeus, or t aount to the wardroCe mplete financial autonomy ....~rstill had to ace 1 shows. 0 M vvas
11 f 8 Edward I clear y Ordinance of ay r324 pronounced ~~t :Ca~ized until the E~chequ~rthe great wardrobe b~came_a distinct fthis separation an ertain proportion ofIts ofiic
the terms o . E en then a c . ers
and separate institut10n. v r during foreign ":ars to cope With the . d to leave the count y bl s inherent In an overseas Car,..
continue 1 pro em d · h N
•q
adrninistrative and supp Y, last tour abroad was unng t e ether. Th great wardrobe s bl. hed at Antwerp b etween th
Paign e . as esta IS 1 1 . e
· paign when It w . . ed permanent y sett ed 1n thi
Iands earn Thereafter It remain s years 1338-I34°·
h. f runctions. The first w as that
country. b h d five c ie J. 1
•
The great wardro e _a b the agency ofpur~hasers, pnsers_and ·on. the assembling Y d·t· fcor which 1t was responsible
of collecti · . mmo i ies .
urveyors of the various co llected his stock.21 The second Was p m,htor etprovisor, the keepekr. co p of raw material ob tained froin
As e r th wor Ing u · d ·
t ofmanufacture: e . d t· le ready for 1mme 1ate use. As
th
a h finishe ar IC h 22 Th
ther sources into t e . d d the royal works ops. e third
o perinten e .c. d
fiabricator the keeper su terials and manu.1acture goods.
' both of raw ma 23 Th r
was that ofstorage, . h of the storehouses. ...e J.OUrth
was in c arge d f
As custos the keeper d Ii ofitems from store an o output
' . .b . . the e very . d d d
was that ofd1stri utwn · t whom the long h a or ~re such
. tO the persons o . d h
from the factories z·b t the keeper dehvere o t e con-
d As z era or, bli . f
delivery to be ma e. d 0 f accounting: the o gation o the
th
sumer.24 Lastly came e u~ nd to render detailed testimony
11 ·t transactions a .bl
office to record a 1 s As l • s the keeper was r espons1 e for
. d penses c erzcu , . . d
ofits receipts an ex · 25 What a lesson in cont1nu1ty own the finances of his department.
to the present day! f . . tence the great wardrobe, like its
ly stage O its ex1s . . .
At a very ear d clivi·ty towards d1ssoc1ation, one
· · showe a pro •
parent orgamzatwn, teri·als cloth and the business of
. ti g on raw ma ,
portion concentra n . .t lfwi.th the king's personal property
. . h Oth concerning I se
tailoring, t e er f fi ht" requisites. This pril!J) wardrobe soon
including the supply O g ing . .
Th. · the first occasion on which the title Great 10 Close Roll, 37. Henry III,rdm ~i~ Gr:ai: Wardrobe was abolished in I 782 under Wardrobe appears m the reco s. Geor e III Cap. LXXXII) •
2 2
Burke's Act for Economical R~form if( 0 d ~ Stor:s between the two world wars. u Typified by the Deputy Director O r naOdnance Factories. aa Tow typified by the Con~ro~lerl oSif, Roka~he/of the Board of Ordnance. Now typified by u Corresponded to the Przncipa ~oredneer D ts
. Offi Of Central Or ance epo . .fi d b eh· f
Ch1ef Ordnance cers k ifD 1. . fthe Board ofOrdnance. Now typ1 -ie Y 1e
u Corresponded to the Cler. 0 e zvmes 0
O rdnance Officcrs h k oifthe Ordnance of the Board of Ordnance.
dcd. ,..,
u Correspon to t e uer.
10
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
portrayed a similar tendency, for even the meagre weapon programme of the time necessitated a technical background not called into play in dealing with the monarch's clothing, jewellery and documents. This background perforce contained a modicum of skilled craftsmen and workshop facilities, and thus the separation of the arsenal branch was only a matter of time, especially as the great wardrobe's munition section was located in the Tower of London. A further sub-division therefore eventually took place when the wardrobe ofarms became the privy wardrobe in the Tower on 17 July 1323 under the keepership ofJohn Fleet.26
Again it is necessary to stress two factors which appear to contradict the foregoing delineation ofwardrobe evolution. One is that the great wardrobe still continued to take an active interest in warlike stores after 1323, the other that the inception of the privy wardrobe long ante-dated its emergence as a separate institution. In support of these contentions the following may be instanced:
(a) T he king's armourers and pavilioners received their wages from the great wardrobe up till I 399.
(b) In 1328 the arms and armour contained in the itinerating garderoba armorum were still under the jurisdiction of Thomas Ousefleet, keeper of the great wardrobe, and the expenses of their movements were charged to the great wardrobe account.27
(c) In 1334 John Fleet, keeper of the privy wardrobe, was paid his
ages by William de la Zouche, keeper of the great wardrobe,28 and the earliest surviving account of Fleet's expenses is dated de tempore magistri W illelmi de la Zouche, tune clerici (magne) garderobe regis.29 Later William
orwell, another great wardrobe keeper, paid Fleet not only his salary but also his expenses in connection with making and repairing the military quipment belonging to the privy wardrobe.30
(d)
Down to the middle of the fourteenth century the keeper of the great wardrobe was delivering bows, cross-bows, sulphur and saltpetre, in addition to m etal, for the manufacture of war-machines and missiles.
(e)
As early as 1226 there was in existence a parva garderoba (small wardrobe) which by the latter part of Edward I's reign had become a modest organization controlled by a clerk with two valets of the chamber to assist him.
(f) In 1253 a subordinate clerk of the great wardrobe, William of Ax.mouth, described as custos ingeniorum, had charge of all arms and warlike apparatus.31
Four chief stages can be distinguished in the history of the privy wardrobe. The first began in the early years of Edward I and lasted till 1323. During this period a parva garderoba existed as a repository
2o Issue Roll of the Exchequer, No. 225, 1 Edward III (mid-term).
27 Exchequer Account, 383/19.
28 Issue Roll of the Exchequer, 276/11, 8 Edward III (Easter term).
29 Exchequer Account, 386/15.
30 Issue Roll of the Exchequer, 294/19, 11 Edward III (Easter term).
31 Roles Gascons, Paris 1885-1906, vol. I, p. 437.
II
TI-IE BACKGROUND
. ment It was under the char for the storage of military equi)Iy ac~ompanied the court Oge _of
. I nd norma. . I b d" n It
permanent offic1a s a d being strict y su or 1nated to s
. depen ence, b I . the
travels. It had no 1n d b and the cham er. t was, 1n short wardrobe, the great warhro e three institutions could deposit ' a
. d here t ese d I a11y
species of epot w. he had need. The secon stage asted fro special article ofwhich t . Y .d nt with the long keepership ofJ hrn.
d was co-1nc1 e . . ffi d b o n
1323 to 1344 an_ became an orgaruzat1on sta e y its ow11Fleet. The repos1tory_no:i . t woven with the wardrobe, the gr
1
clerks, but still inextncab Y ~~~ough it was still liable to follow ~t
wardrobe and the cham edr. y to go extra curiam, as a branch wh1· he h Id . t h wed a ten enc T c
house o , 1 s o . d uarters settled in the ower. Over thi may be term~d it~ heah~ s ecial control though he still exercise~ sedentary sect10n Fleet di t P. The third stage covered the Yea
h · · t noma c WI0 • rs
aut onty over 1 s . which the Tower establishment complete! 1344 to. 136o, dur:ng "th the privy wardrobe at court. T he las~ severed 1ts connectwn WI when the privy wardrobe at the Towe
6
stage was subsequent to_ 13ti~n both administratively and financiallyr ained complete emancipa . · · ·
g . . d till 1407 when its energies were, 1n turn
This phase continue t '
absorbed by an embryonic Ordnance departmen . Besides this headquarter establishment, however, some body of the capital had perforce to guarantee that the
persons away from S f w· ·11 (
arms held in the provinces under the tatute O inc _eSter Stat Wynton Edwardi I: Statutes of_ t/ze Realm, vol. I, p. 95) ~~d oth~r mal.ntained 1n a proper state of repan, and It
ordinances were C · ·d d ,
t th·s J"uncture Lieutenants of aunties, a1 e oy two
appears that a 1 • "bl .c.
· hundred were in the main respons1 e 1.or the
constables 1n every , .
provision and care of offensive weapons and armour. Skilled craftsmen oftheir several trades, such as master bowyers, m aSter fletchers, master carpenters and master smith_s _had patents a nd_ recei~ed salaries from the Crown by way ofreta1n1ng fees so that their services could be secured on demand for putting the limited armament ofthe period into a serviceable condition. These pers?ns,.famous for concealing their art, styled themselves maste1:s of th audznances, the word according to some authorities being denved from Thor, the Scandinavian God ofThunder. At this period the monks, who were often fighting men seeking the salvation of their souls, undertook the care of earthworks and defensive masonry, being entrusted with the necessary moneys for their upkeep. The responsible headquarter, i.e. household, official in charge ofsuch arrangements was the clerk ofthe king's works, two well-known holders of this post being William of
Wykeham and Geoffrey Chaucer. Upon a governor being appointed to a garrison or castle, a special commission was issued under the great seal appointing commissioners to take an inventory of all the impediments of war. The governor then entered into articles of
12
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
agreement with the st~~e, where??', in return for the supply of armour, ar~s, ammun1tlon, prov1s1ons, victuals, soldiers, artillers, gunners, artificers, and for th~ money wherewith to pay them, he wo~ld undertake to defend his command against all enemies and traitors.
From the dawn of the constitution, the Tower had been the country's workshop in which the king's artificers plied their trades. Among these may be ~ited the cissor (tailor), the pavillonarius (tentmaker), the fab~r (snuth), the carpentarius, (carpenter), the sellator (saddler), the pzctor (painter), the tapicer (upholsterer), and the armator (ar~ourer). The latter office was naturally of prime importance since the king's success in war depended in no small measure on the capabilities and character of his armourer. Consequently, as early as 127532 the armourer's duties had become too 01:erous for one man to discharge, and certain functions in connection with the office were transferred to subordinates who in time developed into independent specialists on their own. These were the erubiginator (polisher ofarms), the lanceator (lance-maker), the galeator (helmet-maker), and the broudator or embroiderer. In addition there was the ~echnical officer who dealt with the heavier type of offensive weapon 1n contrast to those who concerned themselves with defensive equiprn.ent. I--Ie was known as the balistarius, afterwards denominated attilator,33 who was responsible for the manufacture ofcross-bows and other more massive types of military engines (petrariae balistae springalds, mangonels, etc.). ' '
As early as I 213 Geoffrey de Mandeville was commanded to hand over the T ower to the Archdeacon of Huntingdon and to deliver to that functionary all the incarcerated prisoners together with the arms and other stores there.34 During the reign of Henry III many instances are recorded ofnotices and orders concerning engines ofwar arms and other military items which reposed in that fortress: R eferences also occur in connection with payment for materials and the wages p aid to smiths and other artificers employed in fabricating the elementary types of weapon then current.35 In 1217 the Archdeacon of Durham was directed to deposit in the Tower 26 suits of armour, 5 iron cuirasses, one iron collar, 3 pairs of iron fetters and 9 iron helmets which had been left in his charge by King John the year before.36 In 1290 and 1294 orders were given to issue certain
32 Hugo le jleccher, artillator quarell?rurn regis _in ~urri reg is Londoniarum. Issue Roll, No. 25. 2 Edward I. (Hugh, the arrowsm1th, the kmg s maker of cross-bow bolts in the king's Tower of London.)
33 Also spelt artillator and finally artiller.
34 Rot. Lit. Claus. 15 Hen. III, m 5.
35 Rot. Lit. Claus. 2 Hen. III, m 13; 5 Hen. III, m 4, 8 and 12; 6 Hen. III, m 4; 8 H n.
III, p. 1 m 15; 8 Hen. III, p. 2 m 2; g Hen. III, m 8, g, 10 and 17; 12 Hen. III, m 3; 17 Hen. III, m 17; 19 Hen. III, m 15; 39 Hen. III, m 7d; 53 H en. III m 6 36 Rot. Lit. Claus. 2 Hen. III, p. 1 m 13. ' .
-ACKGROUND
THE B
d dispatch them to Dover Castlea7 .
engines from the Tow.~ a~ce three others which had been Use~nd for returning to the sa1 p ·ham3s and Bedford.39 at the sieges of the castles at B~dward III was underta!<-ing his w
Later on in 1342 when tain formidable machines Were a.rs
fi d that cer . sent
against France we n d . h with a view to accompanying from the Tower to SUan /VltCunately for Edward there appearectthe
s n1or . · , h d to
king's army O\ ers~a ·. d thus his 'siege train a perforc
hi Pmg an . th L. e to
be a dearth of s p bsequently given to e ieutenant
. d O ders were su h . . h of
remain beh1n . r t r carpenter aut onzing t em to s .
king's mas e h . eize
the Tower and the h recious cargo bac1< w ence it cam 4-o enough vessels to transport~ te pd by letters patent and received le.d
. • s app01n e 2 •
The balistariu.s wa Henry III, m 4 states: d 41 Liberate Roll, 11 . .
per ay. k" a's cross-bowman, staying in the Tower f
Liberate to Roger, the Illo for the arrear of his wages for 220 da o London, who ha~ 12d. ~:~b~ 7t:~h year until St. Peter ad Vincula, b~~ to wit from Christmas nd to William, the cross-bowman and Philip le days being reckoned. A h . by the king's order, each of whorn h
t ·no-t ere1n . as
Conyers (converso) s ayi f their wages for the same tune. And t
b
fc the arrears o d o
7½d. a day, 75~· or k" a ·n the said Tower, who has 4 . a day, 5s. for
Thomas le Smith, wor mo I . the arrears of his pay for the same time. . . folds it will become apparent_ that such an arrear As this history :1n d . ·dent With sorrow 1t must be recorded
no isolate inci · .
of wag~s was ( was commonplace up to the eighteenth that this regrett~?le p:a~;fitarius was provided with a suit consisting century. In addit10n t et fi rred with lambskin42 and h ad a n allowof a doublet and surc;a43 ~e was in fact a very important official. ance for three shervanffis.. I named attilator balistarum who furnished
There was anot er O cia H d" ·
nts for the cross-bow. e was 1st1nct and
the harness and accoutreme d b h d I
robabl under the orders of the balistarius. No ou. t e ~a t with p y • • ·d , Of the weapon on behalf of his superior. The
the 'ammumtion SI e Ed I
h. ffi · the reigns of Henry III and war d were
wages of t 1s o ce In d
l.d d 44 The master smith who temp Edward I, ha a fee of4½d.
72 • a ay. ' h d T
a day from t e war ers or ower
a day firom the Crown and 3d• .
· tment oftwo messuages on Wharfham, 1.e. Tower
guards, an app01n . . .
reel of land within the Palace of Westminster 1n
Wh rf. d
a ' an a pa h. f f h ki
W .lliam de Ramsey was made c 1e mason o · t e ng
I 445• In I 335 I . ' 1 . 11 '
in the Tower and chief overseer of all the king s wor {S in a his castles on this side of the Trent with an appointment of one robe
31 Rot. Lit. Claus. 5 Hen. III, m 4· 18 /wt. Lit. Claus. 5 Hen. III, m 4· 39 Rot. Lit. Claus. g Henry III, p. 2 m 2. ,o Rymer's Foedera, vol. II, pars ii N.E. 41 Cal. Lib. Rolls. Hen. III, 1226-1240, p. 43· 41 /wt. Lib. Claus. g Hen. III, p. 2 m 2.
Rot. Lib. 46 Hen. III, m 16. "Rot. Lib. 1 Edward I, m 3.
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
yearly and 12d. a day paid at the Exchequer; and at the same time and manner William Hurle was made chief carpenter. These men were of co1:1r~e a master mason ~nd a master carpenter respectively. In 1377 W1Jliam Snell was app01nted Keeper ofthe king's armour in the Tower at 12d. a day.45
In 1377 also Richard Glovere was granted 'armurer of the office of the king's helmet-maker (galeatoris) within the Tower of London to hold for life during good behaviour taking for his wages in the office 12d. a day by the hands ofthe keeper of the great wardrobe as William Swynley last helmet-maker within the Tower took in his life time'.46
On 28 May 1395 Stephen Sedar jleccher was granted for life the office of keeping and repairing the king's arrows in the Tower of London with 6d. a day at the Exchequer for his wages.47 There was also a king's plumber for we read that William Robert was granted for life on 4 November 1399 'the office of king's plumber with wages at 12d. daily at the Exchequer and a livery of cloth for his vesture yearly at the hands of the keeper of the great wardrobe, as other esquires of the household have'.48 In 1398 Robert Bridford was by patent appointed to the office for keeping and making the bows and allowed certain houses pertaining to this office, and in 147 3 the like p atent passed to Thomas Masburgh. The further patent dated 8 Feb r uary 147449 states:
Grant for life from 3rd August last to Thomas Masburgh of the office of surveyor of the king's bowmakers within the Tower of London, the office of keeper of the king's bows within the Tower and the office of keeping, making and providing the king's bows in the said Tower and the town of Calais, the land of Ireland and elsewhere and cords for them
'
receiving 6d. daily from the issues of the counties of Surrey and Sussex, as granted to Robert Bridford, late holder of the office to Richard II by letters patent and a mansion within the Tower with a garden adjoining situated between the tower called 'the rounde toure of the artric' on the west and the tower called 'the kinge's loging' on the east50 with a livery of the suit of yeoman of the chamber yearly at Christmas at the great wardrobe; in lieu of a like grant to Nicholas Wydower by letters patent dated 20th November 6 Edward IV surrendered.
Ins_tances of appointments such as these could be multiplied, but
45 Rot. Pat. 1 Richard II, p. 2 m 30, dated 17 July 1337. This patent reads: 'Appointment during pleasure of the king's yeoman William Snell to the office of king's armourer in the Tower, receiving 1 2d. a day for himself, 6d. a day for a yeoman under him and 3d. a day for a groom, besides his vesture every year at the great wardrobe. The like of John Warde to the office of tent-maker with the same fee as Thomas de Thorneton the tent-maker of the late king, 4d. a day for a yeoman under him and his vesture as above.'
46 Rot. Pat. 50 Edward III, p. 2 m 4, dated 13 January 1377.
47 Rot. Pat. 18 Richard II, p. 2 m 12.
48 Rot. Pat. 1 Henry IV, p. 2 m 25.
49 Rot. Pat. 13 Edward IV, p. 2 m 12.
60 Wakefield and West Smithfield towers.
3
enough evidence has been produced to show that by the middle of the fourteenth century the Tower had become the principal store, factory and repair depot in the kingdom.
These men, who fell into two classes-esquires and yeomen-were respectively masters and men, and they formed a small permanent nucleus who spent their lives working in the royal service. Although their annual turnover in terms of money may seem of little account to modern ideas, they did, to the best of their ability, take such steps in peace as would_ meet ~ei:nands in war. Their wages were not excessive-the officials r~ce1v1ng a shilling and the workmen usually
4d. to 6d. a day-and th_eir total numbers were small, rarely exceeding The peace establishment of this cadre in 1344_ 134 751 com
350. prised: 24 masons 24 pavillioners 138 carpenters 60 warriners 1 cooper
7 armourers 13 smiths
12 artillars and gonn rs 57 engineers
?ffici~l terms were ver; confused in Plantagenet times a nd the des1gnatwn ofJohn Fleet.:> who presided over the destinies of the Tower workshops was no exception to th· I h . · ·nal
. 1s ru1e. n IS ong1 app~m~ment_,on 1 7July 1 323 he is described as keeper of the part of the kings wararobe zn the Tower oif London at f h"lli s a
53 H d d h • a wage o roo s I ng
year. e ten ere is earliest surv1·v1·n l k if the
54 s · h . g account as c er o
chamber. omet1mes e Is referred to as · if h h b t the Tower of London, at others he is mentionedrecezver ol kt e c ham er da obe
. as a c er~of i e war r ·
In a fiurther account he 1s called clerk if th k. , ll
he has been named keeper ofth . ' o e ~ng s arms. I1:-close ro s
. , · t l • h e kzng s armour zn the To wer5i) a nd keeper
oif the kzng s vzc ua s zn t e Tower 56 F" reappointed by patent in which h Ina11Y on 17 May 1338 he _w~s
jewels, armour and other thin s in th e wa~ styled keeper of the ~zr7:g s day s1 Despite the v g . e Tower with the wage ofone shilling
a
· aganes of h · ffi ·
clearly the head of the w d b is O _cial nomenclature he was
ar ro e orga · · h nd
under him worked an • mzat10n 1n t e Tower, a
assistant Tho f p h s
J'eoman of the king's arms in th ,..,.., mas o etersfield w o wa
. d E e .I. owerss and II ff I ady
describe . ven prior to Fleet i e . a sma sta as a re household official Albinus s r' · · in February 1290, there was a the king's chamber) who' cu ifer de camera regis (Aubyn, esquire of
' as custos armorum regis (keeper of the king's 11 Addl MS. 5758, fa83
11 Sometimes spelled Fl;t, 11 Issue Rolls of the Exch; u :: Exchequer Account, 386/1;~ No. 225, 1 Edward III (mid-term)
Cal. Close Rolls, 1339-1341 ·
H Cal. Close &lls, 1339-1341 ' p. 83· ., Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1338-1340 ' p.8140.11 Enrolled Accounts (W cl' p. 2•
ar robe and Household) 3/37d.
16
THE WARDROBE 1 066-1 414
arms) in London and Gascony, appointed a valet named Alexander to act as his deputy in the Tower armouries.59 These records show the slowly evolving shadow of an ordnance system on the screen of progress.
The store inventories of the privy wardrobe indicate that large stocks were held on charge but a glance at the individual accounts show that the type ofstore ":'a_s slowly changing during the fourteenth century. Thus 1n. 1360 Wilham Rothwell, the keeper, had in his custody 4,062 painted bows, 11,303 white bow staves and 23 643 sheaves of arrows.60 In addition to these there was an imm~nse variety of other arms and appurtenances, such as quivers, saddlery, cross-bows, bolts, shields, pikes, lances, helmets, hatchets hauberks Gl habergeons,62 balistae, tools, tents and raw materials gen~rally. Lat~r on the number of bows and arrows held on charge decreases while the amount of armour increases. For instance in 1381 when John Hatfield handed over the keepership to John Hermesthorpe, he transferred among other things 1,469 breast-plates, 77 cross-bows, 2 1,000 bolts (quarrels) and 21,000 caltraps.63 The reason for this change is not far to seek. It was a time ofcrisis in armament development corresponding to that of the twentieth century. Then it was the voice of the fire-arm clamouring to be heard, now it is the stentorian tones of the guided missile and atomic weapon ringing across the world. Man being a conservative animal alterations were slow to appear; thus the turnover partook of the inevitability of gradualness. Legend records that Berthold Schwartz, an Augustinian monk and alchemist of Freiburg im Breisgau, built the first cannon in Europe in 1313. Whoever may be credited with its invention, howe-er, the original gun must have been extremely primitive, and during its infancy cannon could only have played a very minor part in the symphony ofwar. Thus, although artillery in the modern sense of the word began to assume a definite place in the country's arma
m ent by I 450, it had taken a century of effort on the part of the gunner before he could convince the world that the new weapon had come to stay and could no longer be denied. The earliest mention of guns in this country occurs in the City of London archives.64 The record mentioned states inter alia that 'in the Chamber of the Guildhall there are six instruments of latone, usually called gonnes, and five roleres for the same. Also pellets of lead for the same instruments,
69 Chancery Miscellanea, 4/5, 2d.
00 Exchequer Account, 392/14.
61 A complete suit of mail, a hood jointed to the jacket with sleeves, breeches shoes
and gauntlets of double chain mail. -'
62 A small coat of mail without sleeves.
63 Exchequer Account 100/14. A caltrap was a four-spiked iron instrument in the sha p
of a skeletal tetrahedron which was thrown on to the ground to maim cavalry. It , ·as so constructed that one spike always assumed a vertical position.
64 13 Edward III, 1339. Letter-Book F, fly-leaf. Quoted from Riley's ~H morials of London and London Life in xiii, xiv, and xv Centuries. p. 205. 1868.
17
THE BACKGROUND
which weigh 4½ cwt. Also 32 pounds of p~wder fo~ the sai~ instrut , This passage which 1s of such singular interest 1s worth
m;:ti~g in the original. 'Item, in Camera Gildaulae sunt sex Instrumenta Je !atone, vocitata Gonnes, et quinque role~~~-ad_eadem. Item? peletae de plumb'!. p eisdem Jnstrumentis, quae ponderant zzzzc lzbrae et demzduum. Item, xxxzt z[:rae de pulvere pro dictis !nstrumentis.' These_weapons are und?ubtedly the gunnae mentioned 1n the Chamberlain's accounts which were delivered in September 1339. From this extract we learn that these cannon were made of latten,65 fired lead balls and were moved 0 1! rollers. The use of the word vocitata which means 'usually called
shows that guns even by 1339 have become comparativ~ly well known. These particular gonnes, together with certain sp~1nga~ds, quarrels, etc. were provided by the City against an expected invasion by the French.
We learn from Fleet's chamber account (25 January 1333-3 I July 1334) that gunpowder ~1;d its ingredients were being used in ~ngland at this early date for nnhtary purposes, though no evidence 1s shown therein to what purpose such use was put. The City chronicle, ho ever, leads to the assumption that it was employed as a propellant. Obscurity then prevails till almost halfway through the century when Robert MildenhaII's privy wardrobe account (17 Oc ober 1344-2 9 October 1351) again throws some light on the artillery po ition. On I February 1_345 Ed~ard III orders his privy wardrobe keeper to repair and ship all available guns and projectiles overseas for his pro
di · 66 L" l d bt
jected expe tI?n. . 1tt e came ofthis, but the preparations no ou proved useful 1n VIew of the forthcoming Crecy campaign, for on 1 October ofthat same year Mildenhall was instructed to con struct l 0? ribalds for the _king:~ passage to Normandy (ribaldos pro passagio regz: ~ersus f!ormanmu":)-These m~chines were groups ofsmall bombar?
1n which the uruts could be either fired simultaneously or in rapid s~ccession. The sma_ll barrels, assembled together and mounted in a smgle portable carnage fitted with two or four iron-hooped wheels some~hat a~ter the style ofa road sweeper's cart, discharged quarrels, ~ sRec1es ofiron dart feathered with brass or latten. The quarrel w~s snmla~ to a ~ross-bow bolt. Additional information concerning this or~er 1s furmshed by the Issue Rolls of the Exchequer 1345-1347 which show that between 1o October d M h 1346
Mild nh 11 "d 1345 an 13 arc
e a was P~1 _£124. 18s. 4d. from exchequer funds for the cost ofthese guns 1n eight different sum f . t On the
ti th fc s o varying amoun .
assump ?0, er~ o_re, that the account was not closed till the goods were delivered, 1t 1s reasonable to h h "b lds were
h suppose t at t ese rz a
finish d b fc
e e ore t e commencement f th C , . F ther
o e recy campaign. ur
11 Latten or !atone; a hard yellow 1 ·es 3rd series, vol. xii has an exhaustive a ~-ef , clos~ly resembling brass. Notes and Queri ' " Pipe Roll, 27 Edward III m r ic e on th1S metal. 17 Pipe Roll, 27 Edward 111; m 34:
34 18
THE WARDROBE r 066-I 41 4
evidence is also adduced from these rolls that the work was carried out in the Tower of London by Crown artificers. The iron-work was fashioned by Walter, a king's smith (faber regis in turri Londonarium), and Richard of St. Albans, the king's carpenter, prepared the woodwork.
On 4 March 1346 Edward III ordered the repair and shipment ofcertain guns kept in the Tower in the custody ofThomas Rolleston, a clerk. The latter, a subordinate of Mildenhall, clearly had charge of the artillery for the 1346 expedition. In March 1346 'powder for engines' was actually being produced in the Tower, for the great wardrobe, in obedience to a writ of 10 May of that year supplied Rolleston with 912lb. of saltpetre and 8861b. of quick sulphur for the 'work of the king for the use of his guns'. Further issues were ordered three days later. Obviously manufacture was proceeding apace, since between May 1346 and September 1347 no less than 3,6381b. ofsaltpetre and 1,662lb. ofquick sulphur were released from the great wardrobe's stocks to meet the needs of Rolleston and his band of powder makers. These supplies were obtained through
illiam of Staines, a citizen and spicer of London68 who was described in 1344-1345 as apothecarius regis. 69 About the same time money was being received by Rolleston from the chamber for warlike purposes. These and other entries indicate that the main purpose of these efforts was to supply a train of artillery for the siege of Calais whi h terminated in the fall of the town in August. The part played by th e bombards in the concluding phase is described by Froissart in his Chronicles. 70
T h ere h as been much controversy over the probable employment of cannon at Crecy. The celebrated historian John Villani, who is noted for his scrupulous regard for truth, states emphatically that E dward I II during the battle had, intermixed with his archers 'bombs which, by means of fire, darted small iron balls for the purpose of affrighting and dest:oying the horses; and_ that this ki~d of missile caused so much noise and tremor, that 1t seemed like thunder from Heaven, whilst it produced great slaughter amongst the soldiery and the over-throw oftheir horses'. Villani died ofplague at Florence in 1348 and therefore must have written his account of the battle ofCrecy immediately it had taken place when all facts were known. Rapin says that the English first used guns at Crecyn and quotes Mezeray as his authority. Francois de Mezeray writes: '11 faut aussi remarquer que les Anglois avoient en cette fameuse journee quatre ou cinq pieces de canon qui donnerent bien de l'efpouvante,
68 Cal. Close Rolls, 1343-1346, P· 340.
69 Enrolled Accounts (Wardrobe and Household) 1 ro. 3, m 42.
70 Johne's Edition, vol. I, cap. (?XLI_Y, p. 185.
n Rapin's History of England written m French. Eng. trans. . Tindal. London, 1732,
2nd ed. vol. I, book X, p. 425.
THE BACKGROUND
car c'etoit la premiere fois qu'on est vu de ces 1:1achines foudroyantes clans nos guerres.'72 The evidence for and agamSt has b~en exhaustively summed up by Lieut.-Colonel A. H. Burne D.S.O., in the Royal
Artillery Journal.73 By now the gonner had made his appearance: He must _not, however, be confused with, or ac~epted as, the ~ttzlat~r or artzller und~~ another name as both were simultaneously in existence by 1346. The latter was the cross-bow and balista expert w~ereas the forz:1er specialized in the casting and handling ofgonnes. ~either :Vere so_ld1ers in the fourteenth century, but engineers followmg their parucular callings who, as the common soldier of the period was quite un~ble to understand the simplest technicality, usually manned the engines they had made when occasion demanded. They were often hired for this purpose, and in times of emergency functioned under a rnaste~ gunner specificallyappointed to take charge of 'artillery' operations.7" At the siege of Calais gunners received 3d. to 4d. a day. Hurn.an nature remains a constant factor in life, and just as the coa cbrnan ofthe last generation changed his trade and became a chauffeu r wh~n he realized the automobile was replacing the brougham or victoria, so did the artiller turn his hand to the art of founding when he saw the demand for firearms growing and that his own ind ·stry was fast becoming moribund. Thus the first makers of cannon and shot w ere those manufacturers of springalds and balistae who had the vision to appreciate the weapons of the future such as the Byker fa mily· Arter considerable efforts made for the siege of Calai rearrnarne?t fell mto abeyance. Only one reference to warlike stores occurs 10 o~c~al accounts during the following thirteen years, i.e. in those of William Rothwell, keeper of the privy wardrobe from g M ay r353 ti~ 2:4-June 1360, wherei? the purchase offour guns de cupro made b~ Wilham ofAldgate, bras1er, and the provision ofa pestle and rnor_ta for the manufacture of gunpowder is recorded. During this per~od John, the first ofthe Bykers, as artillator regis was known to be making and r~pairing s~rin~alds though the exten~ of his industry does not transpire. As balzstarzus domini regis infra turrim Londoniarum he received wages of 6d. a day in 1353 and rs ad • 76 I he was
. . ay Ill 1354. n 136l succeeded by Patnck Byker his son h d d J ly r 36I
'G . , , w ose patent ate 1 u f
ds
rea : rant dunng pleasure to Patrick, son ofJohn de Byker, 0
71 Abrege Chronologique de l' histoire d F. d fJ'l
16~8, vol. 3, ~.P· 26, 27. e ranee by Francois de Mezeray. 7 vol. Amster a ' ' Vol. lxxvu, no. 4 p 33 ~ 1' Wrotesley. Crecy dniCal7'is p
76 Th . ' . 203.
e appointment of master-gu · . befl Roger de Leyburn took office As th.nner is said to have been instituted in I 263 t ve been fired in action this content• is was some 60 or 70 years before any gun could a e ofwarlike engines a~d was som 1{:P cannot hold water. Roger de Leyburn had cha_tj,,
0
(C.O~table of Roch ter) and a e rnddof balistarius. He was actually Constabular de .~ .u~ machines. There were masters 6f~"¥15 to have a roving commission to inspect nuhta 71 llluc Ro.U. Pe.U.. 27 Edward III .
, m 20.
20
THE WARDROBE I 066-1 4 I 4
the office of king's artiller to make bows, cross-bows and all other things which pertain to the office of artiller in the Tower of London, he taking in that office r 2d. a day for his wages in the same manner as his father, John de Byker, had in the office.'77 Again in 1370 a William Byker had 6d. a day from the Exchequer as 'engineer of the king's war slugs within the Tower of London',78 who by r 382-88 was styled artillator domini regis in turri Londoniarum and was still supplying the Crown with cross-bows at 8s. and ros. a head. In addition, he is cited as the maker of two small iron cannon.79
The next keeper of the privy wardrobe, Henry Snaith (30 June 1360-19 January 1365) held his office during years of comparative peace. He did little to add to the country's stock ofweapons. His sole purchases were five guns from John Cornwall, artiller, and a diminutive piece on 1 August 1361 from John, brasier of Cornhill. Edward p resented the latter to Lionel of Antwerp before his departure for Ireland. Snaith's only issue during the whole of his keepership appears to have been this royal gift. With the passing ofHenry Snaith war again loomed on the horizon and under the next keeper, John Sleaford (20 J anuary 1365-19 July 1378), the use of artillery was steadily extended. Fortresses were now coming in for their share in the d efence of the realm and were being equipped with cannon. In
1365, two large and nine small bronze guns were issued on 12 June to J ohn Foxle, constable of Queensborough Castle in Sheppey. Intak s were also made in addition to outgoings. John Salmon, merchant, delivered into store thirty guns and five barrels ofpowder on behalf ofthe king. On 4 March 1371, Sleaford was ordered to deliver
i,-x o-uns, a barrel ofsaltpetre and a barrel ofsulphur to Dover Castle. By fhis time Calais had already acquired nineteen_pieces ofordnance, includino-three large guns of bronze and one of iron.
D etail~ in the various accounts become ever more illuminating as the years progress. This fact gives a clear proof that the gun ·was beginning definitely to assert itself over the earlier engines o~ _war, however lonrr this change of outlook took to mature. Military
0
commanders were conservative. Even the close of the Middle Ages had its 'Colonel Blimps'. Witness the cry against the hand-gun voiced by Montaigne in I 580:
Except for the noise in our ears, to which we will henceforth be accustomed I think that it is an arm of very little effect, and I hope that we
'
shall one day give up its use.
Artillery was regarded as an encumbrance. It was un,vieldy, heavy to drag and far better left behind when serious fighting w as
77 Rot. Pat. 35 Edward III, p. 2 m I I. •
78 Brantingham's Issue Roll, ed. Frederick Devon, p. 33.
7o Privy Wardrobe account of 9 May 1382-19 January 1386 (Lord Tr ur r
Remcmbrancer, Foreign Accounts, No. 30, 19 Richard II E).
21
THE BACKGROUND
contemplated. In the minds of some, it must have borne almost a similar relationship to the personal weapon as mechanization does to the horse. Something threatened the chivalry and pageantry of the battlefield and was therefore to be wholly and resolutely discouraged. This could and was to a large extent done by the gentlemen of England who lived in an age when strategy and tactics determined weapons instead of the converse which holds today. Added to this, it must not be forgotten that the gun at this period was not only feeble in its effects but dangerous to the gunners who manned it. The initial success derived from the employment of cannon was no doubt largely psychological due to the inspiration of fear in superstitious minds, for the damage that ordnance in action was able to inflict during the first halfof the fourteenth century must have been far less than that meted out by balistae and bowmen.
Between 1370 and 1374 the hum ofactivity was heard in the Tower workshops_; guns, gunpowder, carriages and ammunition were being m~?e and 1s~ued. Gu_ns were being definitely classed apart from other rrul~tary eng1n~s, for 1n the former year an official,J ohn Derby, called clerzcus pro officze gunnorum regis (clerk of the king's guns), appeared upon the scene and rendered his account from 1 March 1370 to 30 March_ 13z4-80 He was a clerk, not a mechanic or a soldier, but his subordi1:at10n to the_ k_eeper of the privy wardrobe proves that the accounting and adrmnistrative work in respect to cannon m ust have increased t~ a considerable extent. In other fortresses besides the Tower special officers were being selected to take charge of the ne,v wea~ons. By 1375 William Newlyn was magister gunnorum de villi
82
Calesze81 and John Arblast v . h
. er 1. eoman of artillery at Oueensboroug ·
There were 1n add.itio ........ 1
' n, sources of supply other than the roya
factory. Castles up and d h • • ds
own t e country furrushed their nee
through other channels c bl .
· onsta es and captains made purchases
firom merchants as and wh . y
fi th E h en required. They received sums of mone r~m e dxc equer to settle these accounts without reference to the h~ivy war robe office. They would sometimes even go so far as to iret cannon complete with cannoniers when occasion demanded
Ins ances were the purch f d 83
and the disbursement base O a gun for S~uthampton for 5f. 8 · f
£26. 5s. od. to the late kthe Exchequer in I 394 of the surn ?
connection with h' • eeper of Carisbrooke for his expenses in
buying powder.84 ~n~1 gu_ns an~ gunners to man them and with
'artillery' portion of:h e ~ime Richard II ascended the throne the greater dimensions th:J:11wardrobe accounts had assumed rn~ch t ad under Edward III demonstraung '0 Archaeologia vol xxx.·. ' 11 E~chcquer Ac~unts·c•tP· ~86-387.
81 H11 name h mg s Rememb )
11 Roger's H.~::;s that he was original! rancer 396/15. 6 November 1375.
"Devon's 1::ue &hAgHriculture and Price;~ YC?~s-bow expert.
s, enry III-Henry 'v10 . u, p. 559.
'p. 226. 22
THE WARDROBE I o 6 6-141 4
that, alt~ough in some years the Tower's monetary turn-over may have dwindled, the more archaic implements of war were being definitely relegated to the background.
This period of expansion is portrayed in the stained glass window mounted over.the main entrance to the Central Offices, Royal ~rse:1aL The w1ndo~, which was certainly in the Arsenal in 1750 and 1s sa1,?-to ?e la~e sixteenth century work, depicts Edward III inspecting :11s artillery. The design is supposed to have been copied from _a piece of old tapestry. The scene portrays the king, a soldier showing some ~ann.o:1 balls to his sovereign, a soldier with some gunpowder, a soldier with the match and a master founder explaining the a~vantages of a bombard over a battering ram; in addition the following courtiers surround the standard:
Sir James Audley, afterwards Lord Audley ofHeleigh, a famous soldier and one of the original recipients of the Order of the Garter.
Sir Guy Bryan, steward of the household from I 359 to I 361.
Lord Henry Percy, afterwards Earl of Northumberland, a military conunander of fame and father of Hotspur. Lord Thomas Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, Captain of Carisbrooke Castle. Sir Godfrey de Harcourt.
John Hatfield (20 July 1378-23 September 1381), the first keeper under Richard II took over from his predecessor a stock of twentytwo guns. By September 1381 this number had been reduced to eleven. Some pieces no doubt had been issued, but two were known to have been sold and two stolen when a mob broke into the Tower and raided its stores. The next keeper John Hermesthorpe (24 Sept mber 1381-8 May 1382) appears to have pursued a course of masterly inactivity during his short tour of duty and did little other than buy a small amount ofpowder. When he handed over his charge to Randolph Hatton,85 the affairs of the office may be said to have reached their lowest ebb. New brooms, however, sweep clean and Hatton, who remained at the helm till his death, accelerated matters in the first six years of his charge. During this period he spent nearly £ I ,800-a great sum in those days-on the manufacture and purchase of arms and equipment. These wide purchases indicate the growing importance of cannon founding as an industry in England. Hatton's accounts teem with details illustrative of the artillery of the time, and demonstrate the growing importance ofthe privy wardrobe as a factory, repair shop, storehouse, a purchasing commission and a distributive agency. The 'Trade' as we now term it had begun to develop. Upon instructions William Woodward, a London founder, made 73 cannon in five years.86 In common with other early
85 Keeper of the Privy Wardrobe, g May 1382-16 January 1396. 86 Exchequer Accounts, E. 101, 400/22, 23.
tructed telarza, . 87 cast pelletes -"
d also cons h h , .1.ash·
d
gunsmiths Woo war d stone shot. By now t e arc. etypal gu lolleQ qua"efsBB and prepare d of the scale. In one direction n haq evolved towards both enll ~ piece built by Woodward, in tl~as th~
en-barre e fc de Th e Ott
I
large 7cwt. e ev t by the same oun r. e normal h ''et the small 431b. w~ap~eta~ed apparently 38olb. sin~e William Beavy cannon ofthe period g ast no less than 43 specimens of th· Yker
. the Tower c b ls s" '
the artillator in h not a soldier, may e commernor 1Ze. Hatton, th~refore, :o~~ring his tenure of office he increas:~cl as a good art1ll_eryma ~arl 4,ooolb. of gunpowder and 5oolb. of the Tower su:pplies by~ the ~asting ofguns oflarge cali_bre a~d gene:alt. petre. He int~o~~cetive and technical acumen. With him the h~Uy showed admirus :~e in the fourteenth century was reached. Thigh water mar~ ofarti d dfll the turn of the century saw the rei ere. after the ode rece e_ i~g four years of Richard's reign, whengJnhof
Henry v The remain d b ( J o n
. · .d d over the privy war ro e 17 anuary
Lowick presi e Hi l t 139c
u-.1
November 1399) call for little co~ment. s as accoulnt shows that f 39 bronze and iron cannon, 2 3 trun <:s (telaria) .r
he he Id a stock o 1or
11
cannon 800 round stones, 848lb. of leaden pe ets, I 26lb. of gun. powder: 10s1b. ofsaltpetre,.14 iron fire-pans and 4 mou lds for c~sting bullets;s9 in addition to which, ofcourse, were numerous other Items of a non-artillery nature. . .
Even with the ebb and flow of supplies determined by changes in the political situation from time to time, the wardrobe a ccounts of the latter halfof the fourteenth century do show that the faculty for artillery was slowly improving and that 'the devilish iron engine wrought in deepest hell and fram'd by fury's skill' was a force to be reckoned with in a changing world. The greater proportion of the pieces mentioned was constructed of cuprum, a species of toughened brass comparable to our modern bronze or gun-metal. Iron ordnance, however, increased in number as the century advanced. W eapons of cuprum were usually cast in a primitive type offoundry whereas those of iron were both cast and built up on a mandril. Manufacture, as has b~en state?, took place either in the Tower workshops or in the prennses of pnvate traders, or as we should express it today 'either under extract or contract'. Some of these successful contractors
hesi~es William ~ood~a_rd were John Mollying of Cornhill, John Brazier of Cornhill, Wilham the Founder of London William of Aldgate, h:azier, John Corn~all and Peter the Joiner. '
Th~ equip1?ent necessary to render a gun suitable for service was
1
;:6e~7[ e ~Ix centuries ago. Besides powder and shot and a trunk e piece, the only accessories were:
:: A rough wooden trunk bound . h . ·ng,
Cross-bow bolts. wit iron, used as a primitive form of gun-mounll
•• Enrolled Acco •
unts F1, Henry IV (Household).
24
THE WARDROBE I 066-1414
(
1) A wooden tarnpion to separate the charge from the projectile.
(2)
A ramrod to drive home the charge.
(3)
A touche supplied with fire or a priming iron to fire the weapon.
(4)
An iron fire-pan to supply the fire in (3) or to heat up the priming iron. These fire-pans appear to have been carried about with live coals for that purpose.
The only propellant was gunpowder, and its composition in 1350 was
saltpetre 66·7%
charcoal 22 ·2 o/o
sulphur 11·1%
The main handicap originally experienced with gunpowder was its great liability to absorb moisture owing to the hygroscopic nature of saltpetre. Powder when stored mixed for use was therefore found to be damp and quite unserviceable when required. For this reason ingredients were usually purchased and stored separately, being made up locally as and when required for immediate use.
Comparison of prices in medieval times with those prevailing today proves interesting. They show definitely how the 'cost of living' has risen notwithstanding the fact that to obtain a true relationship, the money tokens of the fourteenth century must be multiplied by at least fifteen to attain their present value. Guns were cheap although the cost of materials was high compared with our own standards.
1. he lowness of wages in the main would account for this combined ,-vith the simplicity ofworkmanship and layout. The price ofa cannon in r353 was a mark (13s. 4d.), and the small weapon presented to Lionel of Antwerp cost only half a mark. In 1373 a latten gun with three 'pots' could b e obtained for 20s. while under Richard II small guns could be made for about 26s. each. A heavier type constructed of cuprum was worth £3. Woodward's 47 great cannon were purchased for about six guineas apiece, while his biggest and most complicated weapon was priced at only £12. 5s. 8d. Guns were usually contracted for by weight, which normally worked out at a standard price of 3½d. to 4d. per pound. The cost of a large trunk made of wood and bound with iron (telarium) was 18s. 4d. Gunpowder, in comparison, was very expensive. In 1347 saltpetre cost I 8d. and sulphur 8d. per lb. By 1349 these figures had dropped to I 5d. and 6d. respectively. Charcoal on the other hand was cheap and easily procurable. The increased demand towards the middle of the century did nothing to lower cost. Raw materials were scarce and demand over-running supply, tended inevitably to increase prices. The 4,ooolb. of powder that H atton bought from Woodward cost the former 18d. per lb. although H im in his Origin of Artillery quotes a lower figure.90 Byker sold his stocks
90 p. 156. 13! d. per lb. in 1375.
THE BACKGROUND
for i6d. per lb. Lieut.-Colonel Hime quotes from Roger's f-!istory of A riculture and Prices some illuminating figures on cost which. bear!our investigation. In 1375 the price per lb. ofthe undermentioned
0
metals is given as: iron 0·856d. bronze 2·44d.
lead 0·627d.
In a 4-25 inch gun, the cost ofone round in pence with projectiles of differing substances is as under:
Stone Iron Bronze Lead
Price of ball 0·25 7·96 26·468 8·652
Price of powder Cost of one round 5'12 5'37 14·07 22·03 15·44 41 ·908 20·496 28· 148
In present day values, therefore, it cost approximately 50s. to fire one bronze shot out of a 4·25 inch gun. Putting this in another way we ascertain that a stone shot 1·3 inches in circumference cost 6s. gd. to project.
Like all innovations, the infant science of artillery was shackled to an existing institution hoarywith age and redolentwith tradition-the privy wardrobe. As, however, this appears to be a universal law noticeable only too frequently in our own day, it i ot perhaps surprising to find that a considerable time elapsed before its control was vested in a definite organization unrelated to other crown require~ents.. Before its emancipation, a glimmer of light foreshadowmg thmgs to come became noticeable. In Rymer's Foedera, volume IX, p~ge 49, ap~ears a writ dated r September I 4 r3 address_ed Johannz Sprong, armzgere et Johanni Louth, clerico (to J ohn Sprong, esqu_ire and John Louth,. clerk) for taking up and providing horses, carnages &c. for conveymg the king's guns from Bristol to London, Who was.John Sprong? Was he a subordinate to Simon Fleet, keeper of the ~nvy wardrobe at the time in question? His name does not ~ppear m the paten_t rolls. There was, however, a Gerard Sprong who 1s constantly mentioned between d H had several
. 1401 an 1414. e d app?mtments an~ commissions connected with the transfer an carnage of the king's guns. He was also associated with Williaill Wood~ar~, the founder, and may have followed John Derby as clerf ofthe kings guns. Could 'John' in Rymer be a misprint for 'Gerard' or ~as the forme: s_ome relation of the latter? Further research rn.ay per a~s reveal his 1dentity.91 Louth is mer I d 'b d as a 'clerk,
the wnt does not st h e y escn e ' a 'clerk ofthe ward bat,e ;he~her he were a 'clerk of the guns o~t ro e · e issue, however, is not left long in doU '
,1 Cal. PaJ. Rolls, 1399-1401 .o 161 pp, 292, 3o8, 1 pp, 'f'VO, 554, 1405-1408, pp, 60, I 13, 304, 14i3-l4
THE WARDROBE 1 066-I 4 I 4
for on 22 September of the following year the famous warrant which has become almost a classic in Ordnance annals, appeared.92
This directs Nicholas Merbury, master ofthe works ofour engines, guns and other ordnance for war and John Louth, clerk of the same, jointly and severally to take up and provide stonecutters, carpenters, smiths, workmen &c. on account of the works of the said engines, guns and ordnance with sufficient timber, iron and all other things necessary for the same. It ends with the usual authority to sheriffs, mayors, bailiffs, constables &c. Two other documents are addressed in 1418 to John Louth as clerk of the works of our ordnance. In 1414, therefore, is the first recorded instance of the word 'ordnance' in this connection or of the mention of a clerk of the ordnance, and that year marks the birth of the Office of Ordnance from the womb of the privy wardrobe, charged among other things with artillery matters. Thus was instituted that embryonic body which, developing into the later Board of Ordnance, laid the foundation for a system of armament administration which has persisted ~own to the present day.
T he question which naturally obtrudes itself at this point is: 'Why should the word ordnance suddenly appear ex abrupto in documents dealing with warlike stores?' The answer is no more satisfactory than the derivation of the word itself. First appearing about 1370 as ordinatio and later as ordinatum it meant 'monastic allowance'. It did not assume a military significance till 1404 when it expressed the sense of preparation for war: This was followed in 1414 by the term ordinationum in the writ addressed to Nicholas Merbury already
92 Rymer's Foedera 1729. Tom. IX, p. 159. Cal. Pat. Rolls, Henry V 1413-1416, p. 241. Pat. 2 Henry , p. 2 m 22. Westminster 22nd September ~414.
Rex Dilectis sibi, Nicholao M erbury, Magistro operati~num Jn aeniorwn et Gunnarum nostrorum ac aliarum Ordinationum ~ostrarum pro Guerra, et Johanni Louthe, clerico earumdem Operationum, Salutem.
Sciatis quod assignavimus vos, conjunctum et divisim ad tot Lathomos, Carpentarios, Sarratores, Fabros et Laboratores, Quot, pro Operationibus I~1~eniarum, Gunnamm et Ordinationum praedictorum, necessarufuemzt, cum S1ifjicienti 1vlaeremio, Ferro et omnibus alii~. Rebus,. Operationibus praedictis, similiter_ neces_sl!rus_, a~ etza~n cum Cariagio pro eisdem, cum ratwnabilzter indzguent, quandiu in O.fficiis praedictis ster~ritis, per, vos,. et su.fficientes Def!11latos ~e~tr~~• capien1um et prov!dendwn:
Et ideo vobzs Praecipimiis quod circa Praemtssa diligenter intendatis, et ea faciatis et exequamini in forma praedicta. . . . ..
Damus autem universis et singulis Vicecomztibus, Majoribus Ballivis Constabulariis, Ministris ac aliis Fidelibus ;t Subditi; nostris, tarn infra Libertates, quam extra, Tenoro Praesentium fi:miter ~n M_andatis. quod vobis et alteri vestrum, ac Deputatis vestns huJus modz, Jn Executione Praemissorum, lntende11tes sint, Consule11tes
et Auxiliantes, prout decet. In Cujus &c. Teste Rege apud Westmo11asterium uicesimo secundo die Septembris. Per Breve de Priuato Sigillo.
27
quoted. In this warrant the word is obviously used in an omnibus sense denoting all equipment and other necessities for the purpose of waging war. Later usage has confined its sense to guns and equipment generally, e.g. Ordnance B.L. 6-inclz and ordnance stores. Sir Edward Coke, an eminent lawyer in the reign ofElizabeth I and ChiefJustice under James I, suggested its derivation from ordinance (Fr. ordonnance) because possibly the definite sizes ofbore, bulk and weights ofcharges of early cannon had been laid down in some law or ordinance since lost. This explanation is not very convincing particularly as the word in early MSS. was written Thaudinance or Tlwrdynance which afterwards became ~orrupted into Th'Ordynance and finally The Ordnanc~. Dr _J. R. Pa:tmgton considers that the English word ordnanc~ 15 denved by mistake from K(Xvwv (kanon) meaning a rule reo-ulat1on or o~dinance instead o~ from Ka.vv'YJ (kanne), a cane or 'reed.93 ~he solut10n of the puzzle lies in the reason for the chana-e of meaning ~etwee~ 137° and ~4o4. What is the connection, if°any, betwee~
monastic allowance and 'preparation .c. , ? p 'bly ordinatio
. . 1or war . ossi
deveIoped mto ordinance i e a rule O · h does bear
1 ( 111
some relationship to a pr~s · .'b d II r regu a wn w ~ . maY
. . en e a owance, whereas ordznatzonum have ongmated from a diffierent Th rri O d nee i e.
source. us 1 ,ze r na , · Tlzord)nance may be a word compo unded f ,.,...'h , or, t111e Scan dinavian
o 1.God of Thunder and dunamis (E d . ) h G k un for
power. Thordynance might . th' . yna1:11c t e ree nof Thor
£ m Is manner signify the power o '
a re erence to the explosion and lo d . . the dis
charge of a po d fill d u noise accompanying
. _w er-e weapon. It 1s uncertam wheth th' h' • · b I s
... er Is istonc document addressed to Nie O a
M b
er ury actually mitiated th tent
creating that offi h e poSt ofMaster of Ordnance as no pa
Merbury was t~e ;s ev~been found, and it has been assumed that sounded the deat~-k~:~l aSter. ~he Office of Ordnance, ho':ever~ doubtedly derived .c. • of the pnvy wardrobe from which 1t un
. . 'ior smce 1407 th 1 h d ned to
a livmg death the k . . e atter ad been con em . All keepers a;pointe~epe~s bemg m a state of suspended animation.
fees of office, rendereds;osequent to that date, though enjoying ~he neither funds at the' d' accounts. They were figure-heads havin~ accounting keeper w;r Hisposal nor authority to wield. The Ias February 1405 94 wh s_ enry Somer, king's sergeant appointed I 3
' 0 m 1407 bee B ' I · telY
ehancellor of the E h ame a aron and then u tnna 14°7 but the voice of:~ ;quer. Not only do all accounts cease after Keepers were subsequ n elmporary archivists is silent regarding theJil•
t 11 ent y appoint d d the
pa ent ro s for the h 1 e an their names appear on
O
named masterkee"er bw e of the fifteenth century but the post, re
. r ~ame · ,
SIOners. The holders w a smecure, a life appointment for pen-f
ere usually . h s o
., A 11i· ,,_, .r esquires, sergeants and us er
" ,.._, ,s_,J o., Grttk Fire and G ""'· PaJ, R.olls JAn1 unpowder P 116
' ,... -1405, p. 489, ' . .
28
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
the chamber and they held office with the appointment, fees, wages
an~ profits, houses and easements; their salary of 1s. a day either
paid out ?f the fee farm of London by the sheriffs of that city95 or
fro~ the issues of the counties of London and Middlesex96 or from
the_ issues of the counties of Essex and Hertford.97 Notwithstanding
their patents these keepers were powerless puppets. A writ of 18
February 1436 is illu~inative in this respect. It states that from 3 July
1423~ t~e date o~ which John Malpas had been appointed Keeper of
t/ze kings armour zn _the Tower of London, with wages at the hands of
;he keeper ofthe p:ivy wardrobe, the masterkeepers had not received
any m~ney, or assign~ents ofmoney, from any treasurer ofEngland to provide armour, artillery or anything else' to pay wages since that ? ate. 98 Arrangements were therefore made to pay Malpas from the issues of the County of !Zent. Poor pale-faced ghosts! the march of t~me brings many tragedi_es in its train. The powers and responsibilities ofthe keepers had evidently passed into other hands, and henceforth they and their phantom organization sank gradually into oblivion. Gilbert Par was appointed to the privy wardrobe on r6 April 1430,99 and when on 16 February 1437 he was confirmed in his appointment as K eeper oft/ze king's artillery at the Tower100 and later made M aster of Ordnance,101 it was without doubt considered a case of promotion.
During the period of wardrobe administration it will be noticed that the introduction of fire-arms in the fourteenth century caused tLree new words to appear in the English language, namely artillery, gun and cannon. Of these, the derivation of the first two, like that of ordnance, is doubtful.
The modern term artillery may be taken to cover any nonpersonal offensive weapon in which gas pressure derived from the combustion ofa propellant charge ejects a missile. It thus differs in meaning from the archaic words artiller, artillator or attilliator which referred to the craftsman who manufactured and used the springald or other early machine. In the fourteenth century the artificer who made and manned the primitive gonne was the gonner. In r208, attilium in medieval Latin meant gear or equipment and a few years later artelaria connoted a workshop wherein no doubt engines of war were constructed. By 1397, the emphasis on the word had changed and ,ve find it being employed to denote weapons for shooting, and since at that date guns were in existence it must have included them also. The
05 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1429-1436, pp. 56, 118.
06 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1441-1446, p. 221. 1452-1461, pp. 392, 624.
07 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1461-1467, p. 127. 1467-1477, p. 590.
98 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1422-1429, p. 106. 1429-1436, pp. 539, 540.
99 Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1429-1436, p. 79·
10°Cal. Pat. Rolls, 1436-1441, p. 138 .
101 In Nicholas's Privy Council Proceedings, vol. V, p. 81. Gilbert Par is r ferred t Master of the Ordnance in the year 1443.
29
THE BACKGROUND
primary interpretation was thus an apparatus for discharging yrojectiles regardless of its propulsive agency and the term persisted after the gun had superseded its earlier competitors. No :race of the word is found prior to the thirteenth century as earlier auth?rs always wrote balistariae orpetrariae when they described !arge offensi~e weapons, and it will probably remain a mystery how it_ apl?eared m literature, who coined it or what its origin was. Four derivations have been suggested. Menagius derives artillator from ars, a word sometimes used in the sense of a warlike engine. Artillator was thu~ the manufacturer of military machines; hence artilleria and artillery. Ferrarius considered that the term was introduced because the weapons concerned being cumbersome, had to be dragged by hor~es or oxen. T~a-~ere to d~aw; terrare, thus arterrare and artillery. Voss:~ in his De Vztzzs Sermonzs Volume III derives the word from arc~s. a arcualia because the ancients used primarily to furnish their military machines with bows, e.g. arcubalista. Another suggestion is t~at artillery is derived from artiglio, the hard curved claw of comb':1-t~ve and rapacious birds. Artiglio comes from the Latin articulus, the J0 ~t between two members of an animal's body. This conception is reinforced by the fact that early types of cannon were named either after birds of prey which tore their victims to pieces-to wit, the falcon, the falconet and the saker-or after reptiles, such as the culverin,.the
serpentine and the basilisk which are the very essence of articula1:1on, None ofthese derivations is overwhelmingly convincing though each might contain a modicum of truth.
Th . . f h · I first
e ongm o t e word gonne later gun is equally puzzling• t
d . I L · b · t0 the
appeare m ow atin a out 1370 as gunna. Skeat refers 1t Welsh gwn, a bowl. Some consider it to be a contraction of mangonel, a machine for throwing large stones. Others derive it from gunna, the pet f~rm of the old Scandinavian name Gunnhilde for a wornan; mean!ng battle and war; and the fact that female appellations wer
occasionally bestowed O 11 k . g Mons
n we -nown pieces of ordnance, e. · Meg, does lend some support to this view . In any c~se it i~ strange that ofthe four ~ords most commonly used
m connec~on with artillery matters the origin of three of them, name~y artillery, gun and ordnance, sho~ld not have survived the com-f paratively short space Of ..: . that o
ume which separates our age from
the great Plantagenets. With cannon we fi reed
t b h are on rmer ground. Canna in Latin means a ;~ u e, en~e the derivation is obvious. A cannon is nothing rnor~ . an .a ?1eta tube. Canon, on the other hand denotes a rule or Ja,d\
1
ma snru ar manner to ord' ' h con
n was inserted to distin z?ance, and Skeat considered that t_ e seTbiS, however would guish the weapon from the regulation, . •n of,anno; wh dappe~r to be an unnecessary assumption as the origt
en enoting a p· f
iece o ordnance is plain.
30
THE WARDROBE 1066-1414
With the disintegration of the privy wardrobe in the Tower an important milestone on the road of armament administration is reached. Henceforward the business of munitions ceased to be a function of the Household and tended more and more to become the responsibility of a special department of State.
4 31
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
Chapter 2
Armament Administration. The Office of Ordnance I4I4-I670
The early Masters of Ordnance were selected from the ushers of the chamber in the king's household and such appointments were regarded in the nature ofrewards for personal service to the mon':rch.
1th
The wages, fees and emoluments were 2 shillings per diem w a daily subsistence allowance of 4 shillings. Nicholas Merbury was a typical Court official, and evidently a favourite in royal circles. On 25 September 1401, Henry IV granted him an annuity of £40 for
th
life for bringing the first news of the success of the Earl of N or umberland over the Scots at the battle ofH elmedon in orthumber
2
land.1 Henry y confirmed this gift by patent on 12 June 141 3· Merbury ~a~ned Margaret, widow of Edward Latyiner, in 1411 b~ royal pernuss1on. As Master ofthe Ordnance he accompanied Henr) V to France and was present at the battle ofAgincourt on 25 October 1f15,-3 _Among othe~ appointments, he held the keepership of th; kin~~ Jewels and pnvy purse in 1421, for which he ·was granted a a~ditwnal £5o a year.4 Henry V in his will bequeathed him £ 100•
Nicholas Merbury died in 142 1.
The only divergence from this practice was the appointment of John Judde, a wealthy City merchant, which took place :'n 21 December _1456. The warrants appointing him is remarkable in tw o respects. ~irst, h~cause he is therein specifically credited with good pow_ers ofI?spection as well as provision, and secondly, owing to the m_obt1vedwh1ch underlay its issue. It appears that Judde had con
tn ute somewhat g . b pre
. H enerous1Y 1n the matter of armaments Y :entinf enry VI with 6o guns and the ingredients for making 20 r.onsl~ g_unpow~er. He was therefore made Master of the Ordnancde
10r 11e 1n consider ti f h ha
displayed 1-d .. a on ° these gifts and of the ability e t
0
ev1s1ng and d • · men ·
Though notate h . . . pro uc1ng weapons and other equip . ss acumen of a h"c hruc1dan in any sense ofthe word, Judde had bus1ners ig or er and k · 1 rnatte
1
touching artillery su li a . now edge of commerc1a . eJ1t PP es. To this extent therefore his appointrJl
i C.P .R. Henry IV
IC p R , 1401-1405
• .. Henry v 1 , p. 121.
• History ofthe Battle!j~\!;6, p. 62.. . :,C~ '
p.•6C.P.R. H g ourt by Sir Harris Nicholas, 2nd ed. 1832. AppendJJC
I
C.P.R. H::r ~· 1416-1422, p. 340.
ry I, 1452-1461 p. 342.
,
32
was a departure from pure patronage. His warrant of appointment is somewhat quaint and is therefore rendered in full.
Henry, by the grace of God, King of Englande and of Frannce and Lord of Irelande. To the Reverend ffader in God William Bisshop of \,Vinchester 0ure Channcellor gretying. We lete you wit that whereas we be not as yet suffisauntly fournyssed of gonnes, gonne powdre and other habiliments of werre. 0ure wel beloved servant John Judde of London, Merchaunt, hath for oure pleasir as he seith and for the suretee and defense of this oure Reaume doo make and ordeigne of his owne mocion and pre expenses LX gonnes called Serpentines for the feeld and also stuff for gonne powdre of salt pietre and sulphur to the weight of XX tonne tyght or more the which he hath offred to be delivered to 0ure Tresorer of Englande to oure use under certain reasonable condicons as he hath shewed unto us. Wherfor we considering the premisses as well as the good and feithful service that the said John J udde hath doon herbefore and yet dayly doeth unto us and namely, for the great inspeccon and providence that he hath in devising of ordinaunces and habilments of werre have of oure grace espiale graunted unto the same John thoffice ofmaister of oure ordinaunces. To have and to occupie the said office for time of his lyf with the wages and fees theronto of olde tyme due and accustomed. Soo we wol and charge you that hereupon yo doo make oure patentes under our great seel in due fourme. Yeven under our prive seel at Or Citee of Co entre the xiij day of December the yere of our Reyne XXXV.
Hamond
Memorandum that on the 21st day of December in the year above written this writ was delivered to the Chancellor of England at Westminster for execution.
I n the patent granting the mastership to Philip Herveys on 18 June 14616 n1ention is made of a wage of 6d. a day for a yeoman. Such an official is first mentioned in a patent granted to John Hampton in 1430.7 Presumably, therefore, a third post_ became es~a?lished soon after the Office sprang into being. Later 1n 1474, William Temple is definitely referred to as Yeoman of the Ordnance. So also are Joh~ Smyth in 1496 and Elias Hinton in 1526, to name but three. This post appears to have been connec~ed with_the provision, custody and issue ofstores. It did not lapse until the reign ofEd·ward VI although when the Office of Ordnance was expanded and reorganized by
6 C.P.R. Edward IV, 1461-1467, P· 14· . K. , ·
7 C.P.R. Henry VI, 1429_1436, p. 44. 'Commission toJo~n Hampton, mg s e q~1re, to provide the carpenters smiths stone-cutters and other artificers and labourers reqmr d to make carts to carry th~ king'; great cannon; also can.non stones, yoke for oxen, bowes called oxon-bowes of timber, !zokes of iron to draw the said carts, oats, beans or peas. hay and litter to feed the same oxen and horses, also brases of cord ca ll_ed l_)•11es, brases of cord called carteropes cord called hawesers for the cannon, trays for the said carts, saddl ~ call d lymoursadels do;e,s sea-coal and other requisites for the kii:tg's ordnance; al ·o to impr the carts ships b~ats carters mariners and labourers required to cart, barge or tra1r rt the things afor~said t~ any p~rt or places in the King's realms ~_f ~ngland ~nd Franc .
The like commission to Ordyerne, John Louthe, clerk and \\ 1lham Fleming, yoma .
33
..
THE BACKGROUND
Henry VIII in I 543 that monarch created the posts ofStorekeeper and Clerk of Deliveries to take over the duties ofyeoman.
The small ordnance staffat the Tower during the fifteenth century was essentially administrative, though a few artificers were borne on its books. With the exception of Merbury, none of the Masters nor any member of their staff appears to have taken the field, a practice not put into effect until the following century when professional soldiers, such as Sir Christopher Morris, were selected for the post of Chief executive officer.
The next modification ofimportance was in 14s3 when RaufBigod was by letters patent described as Knight of the body and Master of the King's Ordnance8 and given roo marks a year (i.e. 3s. 7d. a day) salary~ Thereafter all holders ofthis office have been either knights or peen,
ofthe realm. The fift~ent~ century, forming as it does a kind of 'dark age' in the unfolding hist0ry ofarmament administration obscures the Office ofOrdnance by a cloud ofalmost impenetrable gl;om through which only fitful sh~fts of light penetrate. Masters and other officials are known by the~r patents, luckily preserved among the R olls, but any account ofdaily acti 'ty f . f li y has
• VI or o actions taken as a result o po c been obliterated in the proce f . Th W d be Accounts
1 d fini . ss o time. e ar ro supp Y e te information up to the end of the fourteenth centur)'state documents reveal fi h . . and
. urt er data durmg the sixteenth century,
the comprehensive s · f h most
O
meticulous d t .1 fr enes Ordnance volumes record t e . ill . ea.is om the beginning ofthe seventeenth century t
modern times but d · 1 dge
remains with ' t fc unng the fifteenth century our know e f understandin ouU o:f1 and void and darkness is upon the face o. account of Ogd. nti Henry VIII ascended the throne therefore an)
r nance dev I · 1
The subseque t fifi e opment must be largely conJectura Odnance, save perh: sf~; years s~w little change in the Office of
:nt
of artillery Mastp some slight expansion due to the developJJ1fi n
· ers came d d O te
proceeded on acti· . an went, and under the Tu ors h. h
. ve service t th h . . w ic
then mcluded both a e ead of the orgamzat1on . Iy by the mastergunner gu~n~s and engineers commanded respectIV:he Master was overseat:ii t e trenchmaster. In one instance when rs to have handled the e Clerk fought at home and actually appeadnance was situated in~~ns. Although the headquarters of th_e o:elocal masters mast e Tower where the Master had a reside_n t
' ergunners d b d1rec
warrant from the C an gunners were appointed Y d"
• rown to • . 1s
tncts and forts and th mamtam equipment in the larger U
Th M ' erefore w y-ro ·
e aster at the To ere not borne on the centra1pa d of the establishment::~, however, was in effect the permanent be:e realm. ' as such, had jurisdiction throughout t
• C.P.R., 1476-1..o
¥'5, p. 387.
34
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1 670
Harleian MS. No. 433 mentions divers grants and minor appointments under the Ordnance and in the Office of Armoury towards the end of the fifteenth century. Some examples are:
To Richard Warmyngton, the office of the artillery within the town of Calais, with the wages of I 2d. by the day and 6d. for a yeoman under him for life.
John Stoke, the office ofClerk ofthe ordnance within England or elsewhere, for the time of his life, with the wages of 6d. by the day to be received of the lordships of Wrytell, Havering, Boyton, Hadleighe, Rayleighe and Rochford in Essex, and ofthe manors ofTunbridge, Penshurst, Middleton and Marden in Kent.
William Temphill the office ofyeoman of the ordnance for life, with the wages of 6d. by the day, to be received out of the lordships as above.
To Richard Garnet, the office of sergeant of the king's tents for life, with wages 12d. per diem for himselfand 4d. per diem for a yeoman under him, and 100s. for a house to lay the tents in; 46s. Bd. for his robes, 13s. 4d. for his yeoman's robes, to be taken from the issues of the lordships of Wrytell, Havering, Boyton, Hadleigh, Rayleigh and Rocheforthe in Co.Essex, and the lordships of Tunbrugge, Penshurst, Myddleton and Merden in Co.Kent by the hands of receivers.
J ohn Atkinson, keeper of the armour in the Tower and elsewhere within England for life with a fee of 6d. per diem to be received as above.
To Henry Grey the younger, squire, the king hath confirmed unto him the office of the keeping of the armoury within the Tower of London for term of his life, with the wages and fees accustomed to be received by the
fee farm of Norwiche. Vincent Tentler, armourer, the king hath confirmed unto him to be his armourer during his life with £20 fee by the hands of the treasurer and chamberlain of the exchequer.
Sir John Donne, Knight, the office of sergeant or master of the ar7:1oury within the Tower ofLondon during his life, with wages of 12d. for himself, 6d. for a yeoman, and 3d. for a gown by the hands of the SheriffofLondon
and Middlesex of the issues, &c.
The last grant was in 1485, the remainder being in 1483..
The sweeping changes introduc~d by Henry VIII during t~e mastership of Sir Christopher Morns (1536-1543) foreshadowed in no small degree the future Board of Ordn~nce. Being a monar:ch of vision energy and drive he was determined to foster the infant
' ' h h"
science of artillery to the best of his ability, and to st:engt en is country against the wiles offoreign princes. In 1537 he incorporated the Honourable Artillery Company by patent dated 25 August under the title of The Fraternity or Guild of St George.
The patent granted license to:
'Our trusty and welbeloved srvantes and subgiettes Sir Cristofer ?vlorr , Knyght Mayster of Oure Ordenauncys, Anthony Knevett and P t r Mewtes, Gentlemen of our Privy Chambre, Overseers of the fratern •ty
35
THE BACKGROUND
or guyld of Saynt George etc. which Syr Christofer Morres, Cornelys Johnson, Anthony Anthony and Henry Johnson that they and every on_e shall be Maysters or Rulers of the Scyence of Artyllarie as afore that 1s to witt for Longbowes, Crossebowes and Handgones etc.'
and it was therein provided:
'That they may have full power and Auctoritye to chose accept, take and admytte yn their seid ffraternytye or guyld almanr ho~este psonnes whatsorr they be.'
The main feature of Henry's reform was the institution in 1543 of an official known as the Lieutenant of the Ordnance to act as technical adviser to the Master. Thus when Sir Thomas Seymour the king's brother-in-law-afterwards appointed Lord Hio-h Admi~al of Engla~~-became Maste_r on 29 September 15439 °at approximately J shillings a day, Morns took over the duties of Lieutenant a t twice his former sala:Y. ~t the same tim.e the offices of Surveyor, Storekeeper a nd Clerk of Deliveries were added, the post of Yeoman being superseded.
I~ had always been the fashion in England mainly to employ foreigners as gun-founders, presumably because they were considered to be better craftsmen and Henr VIII d" the throne
• d th• ' . Y on ascen rng d
contmue Is custom, his principal gunmakers being Peter Ba,v e and Peter Van Collet. Ideas then began to change and the fact that England w~s almost wholly dependent on alien 'workmen for her ar;a;:i~n~s ecame o~noxious in view ofthe situation abroad. Henry,
O 1
w a :;ime~se P:1de in the capabilities of his people therefore encourage native skill and induced E . . d ' erchants
1
to co-operate in b Old" ng 1sh artificers an m h.15
· · · · h . UI ing up a munitions industry · and under iru~~lv~ t Se casting ofguns as a national vocation b~gan to flourish, no a y 1n ussex where th • 00dlands offered exceptional f: e.I:~n ore deposits and extensive w this
time was Parson Willi ~cihties. An important ironmaster at d
Buxted· in associ·at· a°: evett who had foundries in London an 5
' ion with p t B h ""'a
responsible for casting th fi ~ er awde and Ralph Hogge e fter Sussex became an im or~a rst iron gun at Buxted in I 543· Ther_ea increased considerably PB nt centre and the number offoundries_ Jl to ten and men such· ~ 15 76 the number ofgun-founders had r~~ 0 the forefront oftheir :s f1 aiker, the Owens andJohnson appeare. :U Levett as gun maker tat~ n 1573 Ralph Hogge succeeded Wilha_ts close, England was O ki e Crown. As the century drew towards_ 1 g military weapons N mta Ing her name in the art of manufactur~Jlg
. o on y wa th . rn1J1
an asset of first cla • s e Iron industry ofSussex beco the core of the cous~tm,~ortanc: to the State, but the Tower, b_eifl:S to erect foundries salryt defensive effort, attracted men of bus1ne_
·ts · di ' petre hou h es 1J1
1 imme ·ate neighbo h ses, c arcoal and sulphur hous 1r
ur ood In th . I r ha i
•Rot. Pat. R---• e provinces, too, the atte
35
•-...ur VIII, p. 4 and 1 ,ci" ·
p. 11. L. and P, F. and D. Henry VIII, vo . 36
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
of the six~eenth cent:1ry sa_w the building of the first private gunpowder mills and the Inception ofother workshops devoted exclusively to the production of warlike material. Power mills, driven by water power, appeared in Surrey in the middle of the century, and Sussex, as has been pointed out, became the home of the gun-founders. The ~ignifican_ce of t:ies~ new industries was that in all of them plant was installed 1nvolv1ng Investments far beyond the sums which groups of
master craftsmen could muster, even if they were artisans of some small substance.10
Under Henry's restless energy, the Office of Ordnance was goaded into action and henceforth took a more prominent part in the affairs of State. The Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic of Henry VIII are full ofreference to ordnance matters, particularly in regard to supply, and payments for stores and equipment. The following extract from Volume I, Paper No. 3496, is indicative of the beginnings of rearmament.
'r ovember 1512. Payments.
I V. B owstaves.
T o the bowyers of London for 10,000 bows, May 151 o and in part payment of r,ooo bows had of Sir Samson Norton, June 1510. To Anthony Baveryn for payment in full of bowstaves, June 1510. To the bowyers of London for 1,ooo bows, December 151 o To Lawrence Bonvix for bowstaves.
V. For gunpowder and saltpetre.
To Francis de Errona, Spaniard for 707lb. of gunpowder at 3-½d. per lb.;
103qrs. 22lb. of saltpetre in rock at 4d. per lb. June 1510.
To Richard Faulconer for 207lb. of gunpowder at 4d. per lb., shot and
spent in the Tower of London at the birth of the prince, January 1510.
To Richard Faulconer for making 5 last of gunpowder11 June 15I I.
To Thomas Herte for making gunpowder in Porchester Castle, February
l 5I I.
To John Stanget of Ipswich for making saltpetre, February 151 I. Total £212. 1s. od.
VJ. For guns great and small.
To I-Iumphrey Walker for making guns, December 1509. .
To William Browne, merchant of London, for money paid to Hance,
Propreter of Makelyn for making artillery, March 15I o.
To Humphrey Walker for making 50 pie_ces of ordnance at I 2s. per
1oolb. March 1510, and for 12 Serpentyns 1n 1510 &c. &c.
To Peter Corsy for 420 handguns with a bottle and mould to each at gs.
10 Econ. Hist. Review , vol. v. no. I, 5· 11 A last is 2,4oolb. Five lasts equal 12,ooolb.
37
THE BACKGROUND
the piece; also for a great gm~ ofcopper, ready stocked, with two chambers £ and two great guns of iron, ready stocked, £25. 6s. 8d. &c. &c.
35
' Total £2,797. 19s. 4½d.' The ensuing entry No. 3616 in Volume I is illuminative of the artillery of the period :
'1512.
Payments for 48 pieces ofartillery made at Mechlin by Hans Popenruyter, by order of Thomas Spinelly. The i,tla(ys, 3224lb.; the Cornwalle, 2994lb.; the Chester, 3063lb.; the Sonn, 30971b.; thePort~ulus, 3013lb.; the Gartter, 299Ilb.; and thelerland, 308db.
Remaining with the Duchess of Savoy-The Rose, 3792lb.; the Crown, 37271b.; the Yorke, 35oolb.; the Lanchaster, 3732lb.; the March, 3 79 rlb.; the ---,, 364db.; the Gyenn, 3941lb.; the Richemount, 3728lb.; the Smyte, 3792lb.; t~e Cameler, 3725lb.; and the Normandy, 3797lb.
Sum of the weight of these 18 pieces-63,229lb. weight of M akelyn.
Item. Six curtaldes that have their stocks and single wheels with all thereto belonging. The Garnade, 3075lb.; the 0strykeffed, 3047lb.; the Sann Arisyng, 3083lb.; the Callis, 304Ilb.; the Gyenn, 3106lb., and the Hartt, 30281b. The weig?t of these _6 pieces, 18,36olb.
Name and weight of 24ti Serpentines with their stocks and wheels appertaining. The Veragoo, 1168lb.; the 0lyvant, 11 621b.; the Falcon, rn36lb.; the Antloppe, 11 3olb.; the Meremayde, 1144lb.; the Ratte, 1064lb.; the Snake, I i38lb.; the Gryffon, 10381b. the Lesard 115olb.; the Ostryke, 1 r38lb.; the 0Jfe_ Walbs, 1126lb. and the Dragonn, r 17olb. Tl e weight of these 12 serpentmes, 134641b.
The names and weights of r2 serpentines. The Greyhound, r I oolb.; t1?-e Marryn, rn56lb.; the Eagle, 1164lb.; the Scrasite, II 381b.; the Lockezt, rn54-lb.; the Skorpeonn, 1166lb.; the Unycorn, ror6lb.; the T1ltrye, 1116lb. the Meremayde, 116olb.; the . , 1io8lb.; the ---, rng6lb. and the
, 1004lb. S_um of the weight of these r 2 pieces, 13,1 78lb.
~um of the_we1ght of the 48 pieces of ordnance, rn8,23Jlb., whereof delivered to S1: Sampson Norton, Master of the Ordnance, r8 curtaldes and 24 serpentmes_ as a~peareth. Sum 42 pieces.
So there ;emameth in Buldukel2 6 ofthe curtaldes that were delivered at o~ sover~1gn lord the King's commandment to the Prince of Castile for his war m Gelderland. The weight of the 6 curtaldes remaining at Bulduke,_and other necessaries belonging to the aforesaid ordnance that were delivered are not received again Th R lb . the Crown,
3727lb · the y; k lb · e ose, 3792 ·, d
., or, e, 3500 .; the Lancaster 37321b. theMarclze 37grlb., an
the ---, 364Ilb. ' ·' '
Total 22, 193lb.'
This paper is endorsed :
'The reckoning of ce ta· ·u • r
Sovereign Lord from ~thm arti cry made at.Makelyn for the King, ':'u
2
Harry the VIII until th day of December,_ m the second year of K11?! Sovereign Lord.' e last day of June m the 4th year of our sat
1I Bois-Jo.Due.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
In 1513, certain directions and appointments for the shooting of ordnance were laid down :13
Every Apostle shoots of iron 20lb., powder 20lb., may be shot 30 times a day ,, Curlow ,, ,, ,, 60lb., ,, 40lb., ,, ,, ,, 40 ,, ,, ,, ,, Culverin ,, ,, ,, 20lb., ,, 22lb., ,, ,, ,, 36 ,, ,, ,, ,, Novemburgh ,, ,, ,, 20lb., ,, 20lb., ,, ,, ,, 30 ,, ,, ,, ,, Lizard ,, ,, ,, 12lb., ,, 14lb., ,, ,, ,, 37 ,, ,, ,, ,, Bombard ,, ,, ,, 260lb., ,, 80lb., ,, ,, ,, 5 ,, ,, ,, ,, Minion ,, ,, ,, 8lb., ,, 81b. ,, Potgun ,, ,, ,, 8lb., ,, 40lb.
On 20 January 1514, the master gunner received in wages 13d. a day, a gunner 6d. a day and a labourer 5d. a day.14 On 2 r September 1523, a view of the artillery in the Tower ready for use was taken by Geoffrey Hughes, keeper of the Ordnan~e i~ the Tower. In addition, a survey ofwhat gun stores were lacking 1n the Tower, and certain monies owing to the office of Ordnance was also made.15 The
report reads as follows :
(i) Artillery at the Tower reacry for use
B ra zen ordnance. 7 bumbards, 2 bumbardelles, 4 ?ouble.courtowes, 5 courtowes, g culverins, 16 serpentines, 3 chamber pieces with chambers, 4 fawkons, 1 fawkenett.
Iron guns. 1 'hoole wetslang', 1 slang with a c~amber, 1 o stone guns with chambers, rg serpentines, 2 new serpentines with chambers, I fawkon with a chamber, 30 handguns. b b
· d o ready-made yew ows 6 ooo ow
13 lasts ofserpentme pow er, r I ,oo , ' .
. yarrows 4 ooo sheaves of arrows ofg mches
Staves, r,6oo sheaves of 1iver , , . . th D h 6 f b wstrings 7 ooo bills ready helved, 7,000 b1ll
e eat ers, oo gross o o . 1 ' 1' km·g heads and 4 ooo not fully
h eads, 1,400 spears and demi-ances, ac , ' .
I g farecarts, 80 carts complete m
d rawn and shot· 8 ooo mawres Pyks , .
' ' h l 500 ooo horse-shoe nails, 1,856
cart-horse harness 80 ooo orse-s 1oes, , .
' 'd · kl 5 ooo bits for cart-horses, straks and nails
scythes, 6,ooo hooks an sic es, , k for 70 carts, 505 latys galteropps, 6,000 archer sta es.
(ii) A view of the artillery lacking in the Tower which should be provided in
convenient time
Iron fawkons with chambers for the king's field, hand gu~powd~r, bags and bolkes to hold it· close carts for shot; iron sho~; caSlmg _gahterops;
' 11 ys and tacklm<T ropes, c argmg
screws and fernes for ordnance; pu e_ els for reoat and small ordladles; iron dice for shot; lead for s_hot' _wheades. ,fhoulvys'; 'myndyng nance; lymmers cressets; cresset. hghts' ·shed i~ bills; irons for smiths
shoulvys' · scoops· mattocks and pick-axes' g g h
, , t aws and hand saws; ammers
to work in the field; felling axes, tenaun e s ' d miths' tools. nails.
· r h mbs · carpenters an s , ,d
an piercers; 1etters; orse c? '. . soa . tallow; vinegar; stone
crows; spearheads; leather bnckets, extrees, P' shot for mortars.
13
L. and P, F. and D. Henry VIII, vol.~' no. 4633· 14 L. and P F. and D. Henry VIII, vol. ~?.no. 4658· 15 L. and P; F. and D. Henry VIII, vol. 111, part 2• no. 3351 •
39
THE BACKGROUND
To know whether the King will have his new ordnance from Makelyn stocked and bou~?, and who shall pay for it, and whether he will have any further provmon of the said stores.
(iii) Money owing in the Office of Ordnance for stores made by command of tlze Master of the Ordnance since 8 March last
For timber and board £52. 5s. 7d., for carthorses for fare carts £18. To v\illiarn Tempull, the King's fletcher for arrows £10. 1,µ. 2d. Ironwork and gunSt0nes £769. 18s. I I ½d. Barrels 50/-. Farecarts and falcon wheels £4o. Bs. 11d. To turners £46. 7s. I d. To joiners and for secret works £24. r6s. 4d. Bowstrings £30. 16s 8d N . £ 4d
l.d · . ecessanes 7 5. 5s. . Total £1,071. 3s. 0·2 .
On the report, the persons to whom these sums are due are all na~ed; and Mr Geoffrey Hughes begs the King to see that they are paid.
Among the King's payments for the year 1538 were :16
(a) Sir Christopher Morris O 8
. £ fc b ild. n a warrant dated 15 February I 53 recde1:,es'u·1~n50 oofrothu hmg a new house for the Ordnance in the Tower,
an ior I g er ouses ofOrdn h" h h I
mew heretofore caused to be made'. ance w IC the Prior ofSt Bart o o
(b) Henry Johnson, on a warrant d t d .
ordnance, besides payment in A ri a e 24 March r 538; for casting
(c) Robert and John O p I, part payment £100.
wen, on a warrant d t d ,r 8 for
ordnance, new made and cast sh . . a e 20 •1.ay I 53 ,
d) Peter Bawde gunfc d' ewn in a bill annexed £23. r 5s. 2d.
( , oun er on a · fi
£32. 13s. 6d. for casting and ne~ .warrant dated 18 Apnl 1537 or
(e)
Henry Johnson on a makmg brass guns, part payment £19. of £50. ' warrant dated 24 March 1538, full payment
(f)
CornelisJohnson, King's . h
for making certain ordnance f ~ffilt, ' on a warrant dated I r August l 538
(g) Sir Christopher Morr~eir~ as Porte peces, slynges and basses' , £ l 5o. dated 12 October 8 f; £ ' aSter of the Ordnance on a warrant
. 153 or 200 to b 1 ' f Jas
1 edeham, Hen Johnson and An 'An e emp oyed with the advice o nance house in the Towe dt thony on the building of a new ordcommitted to him• part p r an on other buildings and repairs lately
' ayment £ 100_11
. In 1539 there were additional
nee, Henry Johnson R b payments to Sir Christopher Morfurther payments to' R 0b ert and John Owen etc..1s and in I 54° Cornelis Johnson for c ~-ert and John Owen Pe~er Bawde and
The above extracts ~ ing ~rdnance.19 ' increased tempo of ord ave een quoted at length to indicate the effi ts t nance affairs d Y1;s
or ore-equip Engl d ue to Henry's accession. r ........
an and to h ·
u L and p F secure er independence offoreign u H , and D. Henry VII
cnry Johnson d An I, vol xii"
H Land I> F an thony Antho~ i, part 2, no. 1280. 11 Land p' F =~g-HHenry VIII, vol ~.were afterwards Surveyors of the Ordnance
, • cnry VIII 1· 1';', part 2, no. ?81.
' vo . xvi, no. 380.
40
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
craftsmen brought a mead of prosperity to the budding industrial class.
. The new ordnance house in the Tower must have been of considerable size and evidently took some years to complete for on 12 March 1546 it is recorded that a 'Warrant was also addressed to Mr Chau~cellour of !haugmentati~ns20 to give order for delivery unto the sa1de Fraunc1s Flemyng (L1eutenante of thordinaunce) uppon accompt to be sent with thafforesaide proportion iiij foders of leade• and for the covering of the new Ordinance Howse in the Towe; xvlen foders.'21
There are many further entries to relative matters in the Acts of the P rivy Council and other official documents for the remainder of this reign but lack of space prevents their mention.
During the succeeding years the Office ofOrdnance underwent the tribulations inseparable from development. It was growing in importance and its officials, who were poorly paid, left no stone unturned to profit in the scramble for place and preferment. Contractors, too, saw the green light and seized every opportunity to capitalize the situation. Discord and embezzlement thus became rife. O n 7 March 1552,22 a letter was written to the Lieutenant of the Tower to remove Doctor Tunstall, late Bishop of Durham, from his lodging in the Ordnance House to some more convenient habitation as the said Ordnance House was required by the Officers of the Ordnance for their official duties. Again on I 3 January I 553, Anthony Anthony, Surveyor of the Ordnance, was notified that the bowyers must vacate their workshop as it was needed for the storage of the Queen's armour.23 Indicative of the times was a commission on g August r 553 'by lettres from the Counsail to Sir Richarde Southwell, Knight, authorisinge him as well to have thordinge of the Queene's Armurye, and to collecte and gather into his hands to her Grace's use the parcells thereof that have bene purloyned and embeseled awaye, as also to gette moreover into his hands to her Highnes' saide use all suche armor and weapons as belongs to the personnes atteinted for their doings in the late trayterouse entreprise and rebellion against her Highnes.'24 England at this juncture was drifting into a situation analogous to the modern 'cold war', and while the lowering clouds gathered, the conviction was forced home that the country's stocks of fighting equipment were insufficient should a menacing emergency arise. On 18 Jul~ 1553, the Master of the Ordnance was directed to make a complete inventory ofall stores
20 Sir Edward North. .
21 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol.Ill, p. 62. A foder of lead varied b and 24cwt. It is now stabilized at 2 I cwt. 22 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. IV, P· 232. 23 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. IV, P· 385. 24 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. IV, P· 314·
41
THE BACKGROUND
and munitions under his charge so that Queen Mary might know how matters stood.25 Two days later, two Commissions were appointed to secure the provision of munitions.26
Four more extracts will suffice to show that lack of preparation for defence was causing alarm in governing circles. On 2 7 March 'it was this day declared unto the Lordes of the Counsail by
1554
Sir Richard Southwell, Knight, Maister of the Queenes Heighnes Ordinance, that there remayned at this daie with the Tower of London, for her Heighnes hole store towardes the furnyture ofall her Grace's affaires, but only fourtene last of powder, which porcion being by thier Lordships consydered t? be farre to litle for all eventes, and therefore mete to be supplyed with all convenyant speede, they dyd resolve that where_ the said Mr. Southwell had heretofore warraunt directed unto him whereby he was auctorised to give order to Thomas Gresham to provide x1m1 weight ofsaltepeter in roche, he shulde nowe for a further supplie give order in like manner to the said Thomas Gresham to make provision out of Flaunders of xxti Iaste ofwell chosen serpentyne poulder over and besides the saltepeter aforesaide; and forasmuche allso as the saide office of thordynance is amonges other thinges presently unfurnisshed of barquebuses, it was further resolved by thier Lordshippes that the said Mr. Southwell shuld in like maner take ordre with the said Thomas Gresham to provide 5 C herquebuses from oute of Flaunders over and besides other ye for the whiche he hath warraunt addre;sed out unto hym alredye; and in case he cannot convenyently make provisyon for the XXth !~ste of~rpe?tyne poulder aforesaid, that then he provide the quantltle oflx we~ght ofsaltepeter more than the x1m1 weigh t before remembred, s? as 1n the hole there may be the full porcion of one thousande weight provydid.'27 On 3 February 1555 Sir Richard S~~thwell was o~dered to J?roceed to Court and arran~e for the prov1s10n of the articles requ1red in the Offices of the Ordnance and
Armoury.28
On 6 January 1557, the Master of the Ordnance was ordered to report on the state of his office to the Lo d T th Earl of
. r reasurer, e
P b
em roke, Viscount Montagu, the Bishop of Ely and Lord Clinton, or to any three ofthem, so that they could consider what deficiencies should be made g~~d and instruct Sir Richard Southwell to effect the necessary prov1s10n with all speed.29 Fine words but empty of purpose: almost two years elapsed before Sir Richard ~as summoned to appear before the Council on 6 December r558 with a complete
16 Dascnt's Acts ofthe Privy C •t 1
H Dascnt's Acts ofthe Pri Counc~ ' vo . IV, p. 296. s1 Dascnt's Acts ofthe Pri~ c:nc~:, vo~. IV, p. 298. n Dascnt's Acts of the Pri C
nc~' vo. V, p. 4.
n Dascnt's Ads o•the p _vy Counc~l, vol. VI, p. 47.
'J rivy ouncil vol VI
' . 'p. 2 33·
42
THE OFFICE OF ORD. ANGE 1414-1670
inventory of all equipment under his care and a list ofitems deemed essential for security reasons to procure.30
On 22 May 1572, a bill for regulating the manufacture ofcalivers,31 guns and small ordnance was read in the House ofCommons, whereby anyone wishing to become a gunmaker had to make a proof-piece in a master's workshop. In addition, all guns manufactured had to conform to a steel bullet furnished by the Master of Ordnance, and after casting be surveyed by persons appointed by him.32 Here we see the narrow track leading eventually to the broad highway of sealed patterns, sealed drawings, standardization, interchangeability and inspection which distinguishes the production of modern armaments. In 1574, further ordinances were enacted, whereby no one was allowed to cast cannon without the Queen's special licence. All gunfounders, thus, gave a bond, under penalty of £2,000, not to make or sell iron ordnance without a licence from the Crown.33
On rg June 1574, the Privy Council laid down certain orders in regard to casting iron ordnance. Briefly they were as follows:
I. All furnaces formerly used in the manufacture of iron guns should revert to such use the owners entering into bond with the Master of Ordnance to obser~e existing covenants. No new gun furnace was to be erected , ithout the Queen's special licence. .
II. All cast iron pieces whether brought from the foundries by land_or sea, should be deposited on To~er "':harf an~ there sold to English merchants or foreigners who, resident in the kingdom, ~wned or partowned a ship. All purchasers should enter into agreement_with ~he Office of Ordnance that their purchases would be solely for_Enghsh ships, guaranteeing that they would not sell the ordnance to foreigners beyond the seas.
III. All gunfounders were to render a yearly statement to the Master
of the Ordnance giving the number of pieces they had cast and the names of the respective purchasers. .
IV. All masters ofships were to be responsible for the guns t?ey earned and · · d b · them back to their home port (either whole
were enJome to nng b or damaged) unless their total loss could be certified: Reports were to e
· h' th of the return of the ship, or of the Master
rendered wit m one mon should the ship have foundered. . .
V. Inventories of the number of cannon in every ship, both at its be made in all ports. In London, such
departure and return, were tO M f O d
surveys were to be taken by officials appointed by the aster O r nance,
30 Dasent's Acts of the Privy Council, vol. VII, P· 14·
31
Small muskets fired without a re5t·
:: S.P.D. Eli~., vol. xxi, no. 40. _ Amon the contractors appear the names of . _S.P.D. Ehz., vol. xcv, nos. 22 61. Yd John Duffyld, John Faulkener, Johnf1ll1am Walpole, John Thorpe, Robert R_ako R bert Whytyld Robert Gratwvck of ambard alias Gardiner, Thomas Grat~ic e, ; e Thomas isted Thomas Coll n, ~ullington Co. Sussex, George Bullen,JN~h~~~ry~{ylde, Nynyan Challoner St ph n homas Glydd, Alexander Farmer, 0 ,. r Webb icholas Fowll John Bak r,
11 1
Collins, George Maye, Edward ElvyngtonHv\ ~thur Myddleton, John Palar, ThomRobert Hodgson Thomas Dyke, Thomas aye, Ellys, Sir Thom~s Gresham and many others.
43
THE BACKGROUND THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
departure and return, were to be made in all ports. In London, sueh sun eys were to be taken by officials appointed by th M fO d
and in the pro ·inces by Her Majesty's officers for the t· astebr '? rAlnlance,
listed b k d C . e 1me e1ng. guns
were to e mar e . ert1ficates to this e.ffi t b d d
annually to the Master of the Ordnance ec were to e ren ere
VI. All bonds and agreements we;e to b d 1· d h If 1
to the Exchequer by the Officers of the O ·d e e ivere a -year y
1
ings could be taken ao-· nance, so that proceed
. t· °amSt any party who failed to abide by his obl1ga ions. 34
The traffic in arms, however as mi ht h
a profitable venture a d . ' 1 g av~ been expected, proved
' n ' since t le lure of ga1 . fi 1
tive against the virtue f t • . n is a power u correc
o pa notism the leaka · d d
went on slipping awa h ' ge continue an guns
y across t e Channel h h 1 d
annoyance of the Lords f th C . , muc to t e a arm an
o e ounc1l The h ld 1 d b
on 20 December and d · . Y e a so emn e ate
. 1579' agree that owin t ' l · ·
ofiron ordnance daily tra d g o t 1e gr ate quant1t1e beyonde the seas' a111·ro n;porte out of this Realrn.e into the partes
' n .1orges part· 1 1 .
the moste parte of the s,,;d • ' icu ar Y those 1n Sussex 'where
u...i. iron ordna · d , d
down and the manufact f nee IS ma e , should be close
ure o cannon s d d C . .
were therefore appointed t _r: uspen e . omm1ss1oners
o ew.orce th· d · ·
note ofthe forges to rende IS ec1s10n. They '"-. re to take
' ran accou t f th
to as~ertain to whom they had b n ° e numb r of piec s ca~t, remained in the hands of h een sold and whether any still were to sign an agreement m:rc :~ts. In the latter case contractors
the express permission of t~o ~o is~os_e ofany oftheir stock without This illicit tradi e . omm1ss10ners. as
ng was consider d •
January 1579, Thomas Fe e a purushable offence for on 27
. rmer gent! . . d
sent iron ordnance abroad w; e1:1an, adm1tt1ng that he ha Fleet.36 In this case howe ' hs committed to the Warden of the
. ' ver, t e L d f h . .
vie,-v and ordered his rele or s O t e Council took a lenient
h ase on 7 F b
umbly confessed his fault and r: ~uary 1579 after the culprit had There are numerous oth ~ 1:used never to repeat it.37 to h" h" er entnes 1n th p ·
uc ing t 1s growing evil h. h e nvy Council Proceedings
1
to h k I • w c the r
c ec • t continued to fl . evenue men seemed powerless ?f the darkening political ~~~;~ unti_l eventually Elizabeth, in face iron ordnance in a bill dated ;, wisely forbade the export of all ~nly factor in defence 2 ecember i6or.3s This was not the
s1tuati · measures wh· h
on m the munitions ind t ic was causing anxiety. The on1Y was the Office of Ordn us _ry at home was little better. Not rearmame t ance 1n a st t
n er f convulsion the whole
euort was hon a e O ma e gu eycombed · h · '
d ns, powder, fire-arro wit intrigue. The men who " Dasen ' ws, smoke-b 11 h k
11 D t,s Acts ofthe Privy c . a s, s ot and firewor s .. nt s Acts ofthe p . ounczl, vol. VIII
17 Dascnt' Acts ofthe p'~vy Council, vol. XI ' p. 254. • Dascnt's Acts ofthe p'!llY Council, vol. XI' p. 3a5•
S.P.D. Elizabeth 1"vy Council vol XI' p. 3 o.
1 VO •CCJxxxiii ' • ' p. 383.
, no. 5•
44
followed wha: was then regarded as an abstruse trade and th custom was still_ prevalent whereby obtaining patents wi~h salarie: by means of which they confined their art within a small corn a ~~ese worker_s forrr_ied practically a closed guild or corporation. tit'~
~ ~onopohes this led to abuses, particularly during this time of ~nsis, and opened the way for the more unscrupulous to enrich therntelves at the expens_e of the State by _engaging in fraud. It is painful
~ record that certain Ordnance officials were not immune from such dishonourable practices.
The Ordnance was a weak spot in Elizabethan administration Each of the principal officers was appointed under a separate paten~ ~o carry o~t the traditional duties of his office, and each, to prevent .poach~ng _on his preserves, spent a considerable amount of time and in~e~uity 1n defending what he considered to be his rights and pnv1leges .against his colleagues. There was little or no loyalty for
the orgamzation as a ·whole and of corporate spirit there was none 1:rom time to time attempts were made to procure discipline but with li~tle success. High officers of State were called upon to settle the difference and frame suitable regulations for future guidance. The m aking cf regulations, however, is a different proposition from enforcing them and, being busy men, the arbitrators could not be expected to secure day to day control. Moreover, the Ordnance, like the avy it supplied with weapons and stores, handled a great deal of public money, and this factor rendered it extremely prone to corrupt practices. Stores were sold illegally, balances put to private uses, and poundage from contractors extracted without authority. As e~rly as 1578, Lord Burghley attempted to curb such abuses, but he ~ailed in his purpose.39 In one sense, of course, the tense atmosphere in the Office ofOrdnance acted to some extent as a safeguard against P~blic misfeasance. With everyone suspicious of his fellows, the slightest hint of a shady transaction was at once ventilated. There was a violent outbreak when the Earl of Warwick was Joint Master of the Ordnance. Sir William Pelham, who was then Lieutenant, h?-d become perturbed at the emptiness ofthe storehouse and blamed Sir Philip Sidney who was the other Master. The latter was censured by Burghley for mentioning it to the Queen. William Paynter was Clerk of the Ordnance during this period. By all accounts he ·was a scurvy knave. It was against him and others that charges of misappropriation were first brought by John Powell, the Surveyor. He writes to the Queen on 5 September 1587 offering to e~pose sun~ry frauds in the Office ofOrdnance, and begs her to grant him a heanng before the Lord Chancellor, the Lord Treasurer, the Lord Admiral
40
and the Earl of Warwick. He accuses the Joint Master of gr at
30 Lansdowne MSS., vol. XXVI, p. 27. 40 The Earl of Warwick.
45
THE BACKGROUND
oppressions and Paynter offalsifying the books.41 These charges subsequently became the subject of litigation in the Court of the Exchequer, and Paynter was ordered to repay £2,000 for his share in the defalcations. Powell continued his researches and later implicated Lord Warwick as well. In retaliation, Paynter and his clique of cronies brou~ht counter accusations against the Surveyor himself. It has been estimated that the Queen's losses during these litigious periods ma~ have tot~lled over £60,000. It is probable that the charges agamst Warwick were not pressed home in view of his standin_g with Elizabeth, and even Paynter managed to cling to office till 1595 when death finally severed his connection. The removal ofPaynter, however, did not improve matters the cancer was more deep-seated than that. Dissensions still contin~ed. Sir George Carew, who had taken over the Lieutenancy of the Ordnance in 1592, soon became a disillusioned man. He writes to Sir Robert Cecil'2 from the Minories on 30 June 1594;43
By the favour of your father with your h 1 t her M · t I
. , e p un o aJes y, was
d fi I
remove rom my p ace in Ireland to the ffi (L · f th Ord
. o ce Ieutenant o e
nance) which I now hold. To discourse t · c. were
d. d. r. I un o you a11 my gn e1e
excee mg te 10us, 1or do not pass a da "th . d ·th
. • . Y WI out new occa 10ns an w1
mfimte repentance for Ieavmg my offic th h" h f d fit
d h . . e ere, w 1c was o goo pro ,
an w ere I Iived qmetly 1n sufficient · this
content, to wear my days 1n
troublesome pacel where I have at nO tim fc •
and thereof you cannot marvel e oun? either profit or ease,
th
d h · h · ' e allowances bemg so small as they are
an , w IC IS worse, my fellows in offi 1· ·
spirits as but in hell I think th . ce so corrupt and of such ma Ic1ous have been a careful servant to heir ma_tches can hardly be found. That I stand, who doth know that befo;r Ma_j~sty your father doth partly underrates for her munitions th e my time the Queen did pay far greater accustomed abuses, so as :an;ow. In other things I have corrected th.eir the dog in the manger I d.d yself they have often complained that like which hath won me suchl hr:rpose both to starve myself and them, shall offend in the least •t h ~d amongst them as I know when I
1
do me disgrace Hope d·J s a not be forgotten in information to discovered and· proved :he persuade me that as their falsehoods we~e almost lost, for I understand yp would be displaced, but that hope is some service, doth assure hims~l;ell, unde~ a pretence to do her Majes~ be less afraid to comnu·t r h to hold his place· if he do the rest will
I
1· .la se oods d h ' ' ·
~ trouble. His hopes are b •id d an t e office will evermore remain him that if this pretend dui e . on your father's favour therefore entreat
· · b e service d . ,
op1mon, eing no doubt b t d . o ment favour (whereof I have no that his reward may not bu evices to repair his credit ifit were possible)
· hi f. e a rest ·
nusc e . But if the office b oration to live in that office to do more I rest out of all hope to p e so.accursed that he must return then shall
u urge it from . ' I d
ea Calendar ofHaJfield Mss corruption and infamy or to ea "Robert ut Earl of Salisb . (C.H.P), vol. 3 no 81
C.H.P., vol. 4 p ury, 2nd son of W?U-· 5 , p. 280.
' · 555. 1 1am Lord Burghley.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
any quiet life in it, but must be a suitor unto your honours, as you were the means to place me in this office, to move the Queen to remove me to some other employment.
Were any proof needed that the Ordnance system was corrupt at the end of the sixteenth century, the above letter surely supplies it. It is, however, not the sole indictment.
. He had wr!tten a letter ~arlier ~n 16 May 1593 to.Lord Burghley himselfexposing abuses which he discovered on assuming his appointment. He gives instances, complains of the conduct of the Surveyor (John Powell), and accuses the Storekeeper (Thomas Bedwell) of cancelling certain warrants which he alleges to be insufficient when he (the Storekeeper) was himself to blame. He continues 'that which grieveth me is the contemptible dealing of the Keeper of the Store who (ifhe be an officer) is but to keep and deliver and not to comptroll or equal his authority with mine, who (until her Majesty make a Master) am the first in the office. Heretofore in the like unrespective n1anner he bath often used me, which I have swallowed, but if this
pass smoothly with him, I shall receive the Queene's fee and deserve but little. By your lordship I was placed, and by you my hope is to be protected in my office. If there were anything in my warrant defecti e, upon his request I would hav: amend~d it, but to return it in this indecent manner I hope you will conceive as I do, that he hath much forgotten himself.'44 Discipline quite obviously must have been at a very low ebb.
Powell did not return to the Office of Ordnance, and a year later things appear to have become a little better. On.14 S_eptember 159?, Sir George Carew had further co_rresp?nde1:ce with_ Sir Robert Ceci!. In it he reiterates his long weariness of this unquiet office where 1s small profit and infinite vexations' but promises to 'continue to work for the Queen's profit however unpala~able it ~ay_ be' provided he may live 'unscandalized in his reputat10n which 1s more dear to him than Commonwealth or life'. He affirms that he had done all he could for the Queen's benefit and that 'the monstrous abuses he knows ofin the office are reformed and the rest shall be corrected as time shall reveal them'. Yet he is told that 'the Queen is daily troubled with information and new devices, as if corruptions in the
office were yet in his infancy and daily increasing' and this only sickens him the more. He ends with the words that 'he would be glad in his soul that the Queen would command him .to some other service and in no better time than now for at l\.11chaelmas the audito; will furnish his account when, ifin arrears, he will repay th uttermost farthing. His heart is woun~ed for slanders, true or fal evermore leave a stain.' He prays Cecil that he may be remo d h
cares not whither.45
"C.H.P., vol. 4, p. 314. u C.H.P., vol. 5, p. 377•
5 47
THE BACKGROUND
In due cours~ ?is w~sh was granted for within a year or two, while nominally retainmg hi~ post as Lieutenant of the Ordnance, he was sent to lrela~d. On his departure he appointed his uncle, George
Harvey, as his deputy. When _the Earl of Essex_was appointed Master of the Ordnance on 7 Apnl 1597, Q~ee1: Elizabeth, hoping for better administration in the office, sent him instructions designed t0 t" ht h vailing laxity. They read as follows: ig en up t e pre
'\tVe would prevent your falling into the e . f d d
• rrors o your pre ecessors an
enable you to refcorm your mferior officer y
d f h s. ou sh a11 cause a survey to
be ma e o t e stores, and two books made one t b . d b d
· h ffi d , o e sio-ne y you an
kept in t e o ce, an the other to be sub "b 0
o d ance and deposited i tl E scn ed by the Officers of the :rnges to be made out ~ 1e hxlclheqier; also a yearly account ofspecial
ch · ou s a suuer no · · b k
without special warrant, which is mumt10n to e ta en away officers You shall keep th .to bfe produced and .recorded by the
. e quantity o store r. 11 b
S.., rn servants not using y k s a secret irom a u t our
.. 0 ' our own cler s t .
fore done disservice All b k ors rangers, which h as hereto-Office in the Tower. and ::. 0 s mudst be rnade and kept in the Ordnance
' o recor s or writ. . d f .
You shall render a yearly mgs carne out o 1t. and deliveries and state of tahccount to the Lord Treasurer of the issues
. ' e several star y d h
there is no waste or lavish exp d" f es. ou s h a11 take bee t at
en 1ture o p d d · I
or departure of any ambass d ow er an shot on the arnva
a or or for weI . f .
that in former times large dem d commg o any per on, seemg is to be sold without warrant ~ shwere made under such colour; nothing with a great store ofordnanc~ t ~ forts and islands are daily furnished to make a yearly certificate to' you sf all e~o~ the Governors or Captains give account how the forts ar yfiou 0. all wrthm their charge hat you may
• e urn1shed
As particular commissions h · others for special service yo ahvel to be granted to divers artificers and · d 1 ' u s a 1 see th l
contmue onger than the end f h . at t 1e bearers of them are not and that they give bond t O tde ~ervice for which they were employed,
O
· h re ehver th · f
deputat1on at t e expiration f h . e1r commissions or letters o The clerk and two other o.ffiO t e time, which is not to exceed six months.
cers at the lea t d
ance upon the receipts and d r . s are to give continual atten prevention of any practice f. eh1venes, and good heed to be taken for
offic I k . or t e burn. N
er or c er 1s to allow an ro . . mg or consumption of stores. 0 ofthe stores without directioy p vision to be brought into or taken out, months t0 h ns, and ce t"fi '
t e Ordnance Offi r 1 cates are to be sent every three Rochester and Chatham ofall t~~rs fr~n:i, the storehouses at Woolwich, ready for the speedy furnish. f prov1s1on in them which is always to be
nothing with mg o the N Th ' ·
out warrant and avy· e Storekeeper shall deliver
1
y~ron ~a_th; like the S~rve :return his accounts into the Exchequer their pro~ions hrought in a;e ; a~d they shall show you their books. at rccchan1pt, and the prices to b o e examined by the Surveyor before more t their rth e set on th h · d fc r
ordcn bscri wo . o del" em, t at they be not pa1 ° U or ~ f bed by you or your~~ry ofordnance shall be made without 0 Our Council; but fc ieutenant, grounded on warrants frorn or extra expedition or for the ordinary
48
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
service_, a ':arrant from the Lord Treasurer or Lord Admiral shall suffice. At _dehvenes, the Lieutenant, the Surveyor and Clerk of Deliveries or thei~ clerks, are always to be present, but for ships in harbour, rep~irs, castmg ofmetal for bowstaves etc. your warrant or that ofyour Lieutenant shall suffice. The Clerk ofDeliveries shall make all the indentures between you-_-the Master-and the rest of the officers in your behalf, and the parties who are to receive any munition for supply of Ireland, Berwick, Portsmouth or other places. The Clerk of the Ordnance shall keep true accounts ofall provisions brought into store, and make out the customary debentures to merchants, artificers, etc.
Every three months you shall have the warrants for issue of munition examined with the books, and then keep them and the indentures in a chest,_ to be locked with several locks, and the keys to be kept by you, by the Lieutenant, Surveyor, Clerk of Ordnance, Keeper of Stores and Clerk of Deliveries.
Yo_u shall cause the Ordnance Officers to keep exact journals ofreceipts and issues, and the clerks to compare their books together every first Monday in the month; if any neglect his duty therein, he is first to be fined a month's pay, and if his negligence continue, after three or four months admonition he is to be discharged. Upon the return of the ships from the seas, no more munition is to be left for their defence in harbour than is actually necessary, and the rest is to be put again in the stores, and charged upon the keeper there.
As upon the death of the Earl of Warwick, complaints were made that ~\~had been abused in that Office by his claiming for fees sundry quantities of munitions, We appointed certain Commissioners to enquire into what he could claim by patent, whereupon it was proved that he had acted unlawfully, and he was condemned in great sums of money. \Ve t:ierefore charge you to avoid any such courses that may bring you into like danger, both of Our displeasure and prejudice to your own estate by ~xceeding your authority and so become in Our debt, as the late Earl was
in no small sums.46
Vain hopes. Pilfering still persisted and jealousies smouldered. Conditions were hardly likely to have improved under the Mastership ofEssex since Sir George Carew-the Lieutenant-was a strong supporter of the Cecils whose power and prestige Essex had set out t? destroy. Intrigues followed and accusations against officials continued to be made. In 1598, Essex appointed SirJohn Davis Surveyor ofthe Ordnance in succession to William Partridge, and Henry Jacob keeper ofthe small store vice Fowkes. Carew then appointed Richard Palfreyman to take over from Jacob, and, during the Lieutenant's
absence in Ireland, Palfreyman acted as sub-treasurer of the Ordnance.47 The division of responsibilities between the keepers of the ?reat and small stores seems to have been very ill-defined, and this intraduced a further source of friction. John Lee, the keeper of th
:; S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. cclxii, no. 105 (C.S.P. Elizabeth, 1595-1597, P· 381).
S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. cclxviii, no. 13.
49
THE BACKGROUND
great store, ,-vrotc in June 15g8 to Sir Robert Cec1.1that ,Mr Fowkes h ad a fcormer patent for keeping the musk t li d
h. d h h E 1 f E e s, ea vers an dags On
1s eat , t e ar o ssex Master of th O d ·
Jacob to his place and on taking the re ~ r nance, appointed one to have been wasted by l\,f. F ,main £73o or better was found hope thatJacob may be h 1~ . owkes: John Lee concludes with the no loss may be attribute~ t re~ons1ble for the deficiencies and that
48
succeeded to the keepershi foth im. When, however, Palfreyman
P O e small store L ' · · d
went a radical change H th . ' ee s viewp01nt un er
. e en claimed auth 't b h
and attempted to treat Palfr on Y over ot stores Palfreyman who as a repr· elymfian as .a s~bordinate. This infuriated
' isa , re used 1n his · b
to pay Lee an allowance f £ . capacity as su -treasurer without authority. SirJohn~ ~o which he said was being drawn
avis supported Le . t p lfr
and the two factions resorted t0 . e agams a eyman, about and even acts ofph · °.J?en stnfe. Insults were freely hurled
ys1ca1v10lence d Th . f
public enquiry into the state f h occurre . e question o a
0
· • t e Ordnance b ·
and, m view of the scandals takin . now ecame p ressing, delayed. A solemn commi • g place, act10n could no longer be
ss10n was th £ . d . 8
under which a very detailed inv . .ere ore issue 1n July I 59 place.49 eStigatwn of the whole Office took
The Commissioners were inst
ructed to:
(I) Reform the office proced
down clearly the exact duties of~~e aud prevent future confusion by laying Clerk of the Ordnance and Clerke sever~l o~ces ofLieutenant, Surveyor,
(2)
Make the keepership f h of Dehvenes.
(3)
Inform Mr Lee the k O t e small store a distinct office authority over the sm;ll stoeeper of the great store, that his cl~im to have
(4)
Order Mr Lee to dere_ wafis to be submitted to the Courts.
s1st rom t t"
servants. rus mg the keys of the store to
(5) Arrange for patentees fc
Ordnance Office as heretofo or gunpowder to receive their pay out of the whe • re, and not f 1
re no one particular person ' as O ate, out of the Exchequer
(6) Remove the arms fi was accountable for it cayed d h rom the storeh ·
an w ere they are sub" ouse at Woolwich which is deof London. ~ect to embezzlement and rust' to the To\t\ er
(7) Build a proper pla . '
powder a d ce in the Wh"t1 T
n arrange matters so th e ower for the storage of gun. (8) Make arrangements to k at the oldest powder can be used first. m (st)orRe. eep a staple quantity of munitions always
9 enew to the L"
commissio fc • ieutenant and oth
ns or taking timber etc fc h er Officers of the Ordnance, the by the a sence f s· G · or t e O d "d
late S b O ir eorge Ca r nance Office rendered vo1
urveyor rew and th d h • ' "d
(io) Arr · e eat of William Partn ge, ange for some l
arge roo
48 C.H.P. vol a ms at Chatham, belonging to the
2
" S.P.D. •be' p. 42.
th, vol. cc1xv···
m, no. 13.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
Ad . h
~ira1ty, to be used for the reception of ordnance from sh·
saving £io h "d ips, t ereby
a year, t e renta1 pa1 for a storehouse at Rochest
(
11 ) Arrange for monthly payments to prevent rising priceser.
(
12) Arrange for the execution of the office of Clerk of Dei· · b
one perso t d . . 1venes y
, n, no two un er a Jomt patent, so that confusion in the r d
may be avoided. ecor s
al (1 3) Issue a_ command to the sub-treasurer to cease paying the yearl lowances which Officers of the Ordnance have lately given thems l y and the clerks. e ves
( 1 4) Reform the abuse of receipts of monies for powder and munitions unaccounted for by Ordnance Officers.
(_1 5) Remove from their posts all guilty offraud, embezzlement, falsification of records, etc.
Alt~ough the work of the Commission dragged on for months a set of instructions for the better service of the Ordnance was issded soon after it commenced its labours.50
Th~ MSS. of the Marquis of Salisbury at Hatfield51 contain vivid pen pictures of the undignified scenes which took place. George Harvey, writing to Sir Robert Cecil on 4 April 1600, says:
. On 2 February last I was deputed to the lieutenancy of the Ordnance in the absence of Sir George Carewe. I am and always have been very loth, so that her Majesty be truly served, to give distaste to any man, but now I must beseech your aid for suppressing such violent humours as are ~ome amongst us. On Thursday 13th March, myselfand the officers being in the office, Mr Paulfreyman, this bearer, being sub-treasurer, and spe~king for her Majesty's benefit and Sir George Carewe's security in paying of an allowance of£20 per annum to the Keeper ofthe Store, given and set down in the quarter-book in the interim betwixt the death of Sir Robert Constable,02 and the entrance ofSir George Carewe, by the officers ~nly without any further warrant, it pleased Sir John Davis to call him saucy companion' and to say that it was an indignity not to be endured?Y the officers, adding further that if the matter did belong unto him, as It did to Mr Lee, Paulfreyman would not dare to speak on it. And yester:ay_again, myself going to the Tower about the quarter b?ok and othe_r
erv1ces, I desired, for assistance, Mr Paulfreyman to go with me, who is her Majesty's servant a man very well experienced in the Office of Ordnance, being sub-tre;surer and the patentee for keeping the small arms, whose predecessors have ever had a place in the office. Finding the Surveyor, SirJohn Davis and other ofthe officers there present, I immediately proceeded to the ser~ices and willed the companies to depart, amongst Who:n seeing Mr Paulfre;man, I willed him to stay. Whereupon Sir John Davis replied that he was no officer and therefore he should not stay, and so commanded him out. The other answered that, ifit were my pleasure, he would depart. Herewith Sir John Davis growing in choler, threatened
. lZ., VO . 1 ·
6 lil°C.S P . El' 1 cc x1x, no. 44· . . . .
Calendared and published by the Historical MSS. Comrmss1on. uL•ieutenant of the Ordnance, 1588-1591.
51
50
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1 4 1 4-1670
THE BACKGROUND J.
to thrust him out , and s . . r. · 1 .
o nsmg irom h t
and, not being able to do it himself is s 00 t~ok hrm by the shoulders, and another ruffianly r II h ' he called his servants, William Scott
. h ie ow w ose n I k
wit whose help he viole tl . ame now not, into the office·
. n Yearned h · M p '
o this abuse to :rvfr Li"e t im out. r aulfreyman complained
f u enant of th T b
were found to be true I d b e ower efore whom the premises
· ou t not M L"
and also the indignity , ·h· h b fc r ieutenant will avouch the same
• \ IC e ore h. s· J '
saymg I was insolent and b d rm ir ohn Davis did offer me in I requested the Clerk of th u~ad eputy. On Friday, also, the 14th March the rest of the officers un: C~ nance, Mr Riddleston, to go or send with
th
fajesty's ships there, and ~ : am to take the remains of four of her upon he replied that he th O th ~ OTder for the answering thereof Where-
b tak oug t 1t ·
e en, and he did in tr th . not necessary any remains at all should no n · u ne1ther go nor send about the said service
n ·t11standmg that fcor th
e same s · '
annum. If these savao-e ervice only he hath allowance £50 per l\.1.aJesty· that service b ave passage, I shall not be able to
d her 'f" • coursesh.mah Y h 0 w ic I willingly would.53
On 4 April I 600, Sir John Pe .
an account of the seen b yton, Lieutenant of the Tower gi es
s· R e etween s· J . ,
to rr obert Cecil and ir ohn Da 1s and Mr Palfreyman
· ' wamsh· .
vanou~ officers are not cl d im that if the responsibilities of the
1
authonty, her Maiesty cear Y befined and laid down \\'ith overriding
~ annot _
11
oyce, Lady Carew ·r . e we served . .:i4
J
'Wlle ofSir G O
hushand's absence she v,....·t eorge, then enters the lists. In her
on behalf. fRichard Palfivii es to s·1r R bert Cecil. on 2 r May r 600
0
wh~ JS to hear the cause ~e~man and begs for letters to M r Attorney eo_rge Harvey then rete ween Mr Lee and Mr Palfr yman.55 . urns to th ovember
e wntes t s·rr Robert c . e attack on 28 r 600.
H 0
1
avis who h eci ·
DH m e refers to as, conceh rrung h"1s differen• ces with SirJohn ethaccused the Surveyor ofa s epstar's son, hatched in Gutter Lane'. S e can serve the n, g e the dictator of the office
o at non wantin tO b . as x.ueen b ·
orders L"ieutenant and f b ut h. imself, ofcountermanding his manner H ' o eh · ·
will b j, e warns Cecil that .f avmg generally in an offensi e ~ rought to 'the old I such a course is effected the office Wherem her MaJesty lost andcourse of R 1 .
prays r, s· . ow and and Painter ' s' services, house Hor Ir Robert's help· whas d:ceived almost £100,000'. Be In D· ' ot erw1se he will· ret:Ir• e to his· own
ecember of h
surer) the Lo t e same year L
to inv~ti rd Admiral, Mr eh ord Buckhurst (the Lord Trea-Ordnancg~!eJtbe charges and ancellor and Sir Robert Cecil rnet only afterehis _ohn Lee, howeve~ounter-charges of the Officers of the
mterrogation that '. preserved a discreet silence. It was : C.H.P., vol. ' in a letter to Sir Robert Cecil dated
C.H.P vol 10 , p. 100.
11 c.H.P·, . 10 , p• 101 •
vol .. C.H.p:' vo1· 10, p. 153. ., CAP~ voL io, p. 399.
IO, p. 411.
52
I 6 December I 600, he accused Palfreyman of er t .
regard to monies detained by him from h PMP~ rating abuses in
. 1 er a.iesty' b"
tit e of poundage and other financial offences os d s su t~ects in the matter be left to Cecil's censure. Mrs Ann~ c::e~u~~eS ed that mother, then appeals to Sir Robert Cecil on behalf ~~ G~orge's Palfreyman, in the absence of her son in Ireland a p ~chard
Munster.59 s resident of
After eighteen months offurther wrangling, John Lee writ . Robert Cecil on 1 I June 1 602, and begs his pardon fo th es to Sir he has committed in his suit to the Queen, to refer to th: Le ~ffen~e Just:Ic~ and others the hearing ofhis controversy with Mr p:i}re Chief touching the custody of the small guns. He places himself h yman Cecil's sentence on the matter.6°Finally, later on in the sw oily to he begs leave to be allowed to alienate the office and 'se~me year, place of the keepership of her Majesty's Store of th;v~~he of Ordnance to some such one as shall be held b ce Honour .and my Lord Treasurer to be sufficient for the,;{ ;:our of the same'. G1 sc arge
The Lee-Palfreyman controversy has been set out at some 1 h as it gi es an insight into the general atmosphere of the o~:eg~f Ordnance at the end of the Tudor dynasty. It was by no m
. . . eans uruque, other manoe1:vres of a s1m.i1ar _character took place. Lookin back over the centuries, one may srmle at such puerile behavio g considering it more akin to the antics ofmischievous schoolboys thur,
to the actions of men charged with affairs ofState. At the time, ho:~
eve:, it was indicative of a sinister influence within the body politic
which, inducing irresponsibility on the part of those who should
have known better, spelled danger in a time of national crisis.
The result of all these heart-searchings and commissions was a
reformation of the Office of Ordnance, and an increased establish
men~ more in keeping with later practice was laid dmvn; the senior
official being given control ofthe whole business ofordnance, by land
as well as sea, under the designation of Great 1Vfaster. Under the 1598
Commission an inventory was made of all the ordnance and stores
at every place under the charge of the Officers of the Ordnance, and
on board every ship of the Navy, whether in harbour or at sea, and
every article valued. Such a 'remain' had evidently been made twenty
ye~rs previously for in Francis Peck's Desiderata Curiosa appears an
~timate of the stores with their value in cash i~ the Office of
rdnance, both within the Tower and aboard ship for the · ar
1578.•2 •
6a CH
60
c:H·~·, vol. 10, p. 4 1 6 . so CH. ,, vol. 11, p. 500. &1 c•H.P., vol. 12, p. 1g1. s2 n· _.P., vol. 12, p. 575. P· 75·
ed., London 177
es1derala C . y Francis. Peck, ne,
urwsa b
53
THE BACKGROUND
A synopsis gives the items and their. vaIues as 10r. IIows:
I Ordnance remaining in the Tower of London Cannons 18 Cannon pieces I Demi-cannons I I Culverins
8
Demi-culverins
20 Sacres
I I
Minions
8
Falcons
7
Falconets
20
In all 104 II Ordnance remaining on b d h .
oar s zps
Cannon pieces
24
Demi-cannons
36
Demi-cannon pieces
5
Culverins
76
Demi-culverins
n8
Sacres
123
Minions
30
Falcons
39
Falconets
3
Fowlers, with two eh b
a . am ers
piece; and port .
pieces
-17 In all 471 III Shot in the Tower Cross-backed and .
iron shot round of several h . h '
Stone shot for e1g ts 47,000
cannon i
port pieces and r:o Ip ece,
i• w ers
4,500 In all 51,500 IV Shot aboard the h.
s zps
Iron shot Stone shot 100,000 1,300 101,300
V Powder and stull'fi In all
':JJ . or powder i h
Corned and ser . n t e Tower Saltpetre pentme powder SS lasts Sulphur 10 ooo weight 20 ' ooo weight
Corn and serpentine
powder (<limed) ' lasts
54
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
VI Small guns and munitions in the Tower
7,000
Calivers
5,000
Dags 63 60,000 weight
Match
8,000
Bows
16,000 sheaves
Arrows
10,000
Morispikes64
3,500
Bills65 VII Small guns and munitions aboard ships
320
Calivers 300 weight
Match
380
Bows
380 sheaves
Arrows
460
Morespikes
460
Bills
In addition there was in the Tower an assortment ofso-called rich weapons, con~isting of pikes, halberts,yartisans, jave~ns, ?oar spears and pole-axes. The valuation of this total collect10n 1s given as £38,876. rgs. d. These remains in store were over and above those
4
which had from time to time been issued by warrant to forts, castles and other fortified places. . . .
A Harleian MS. No. 5344 in the B~1t1sh_ Museu~ det~1ls the establishment of the Ordnance with their daily salaries durmg the expedition to St Quintin in the year 1557 as under:
£ s. d.
I 6 8
The master of th'ordynance 13 4
His lieutenant 10 0
Master of the carriages 5 0
The trenchemaster I 0
A chaplain 2 0
A clerke of th'ordynance 2 0
Two clerks I 0
A surgeon 6 0
S~xe bowyers 6 0
Sixe fletchers 3 0
Three carpenters n J 0
Three smythes 4 0
Three guyders of th'ordynance 3 0 0
Twelve carriages I 0
A drumme
63 p·
64 L1stols.
ss A'Y/?;e pikes. mtl of pike or halbcrt.
55
THE BACKGROUND
A phife
A hundreth and twentie symres Ten halberdyers Hacquebutters on horseback
for the lieutenant Master gonner Twelve gonners
I I 5 10 0 0 0
6 3 16 0 4 0
Another document (E c di MS . .
th t t I t bli h O ce .) published by M r P eck gives
r. lle O a es a s ment of the ordnance and artillery in I 578 as
10 ows:
Master of the Ordnance
2 clerks
Lieutenant of the Ord
Clerk nance
Surveyor of the Ordna
Clerk nee
Keeper of the great st h
Clerk ore ouse
Keeper of the small st h Clerk of the great st ohre ouse
ore ouse
erk of the small st h
Cl ore ouse aster-gunner of E
M ng1and
2 gunner soldiers, each
And each a gunner's room
I gunner smith And a gunner's room 1 gun store maker And a gunner's room 1 saltpetre maker
carpenter
1
I engineer or artificer I deli •
0 dn a tion to this headqu
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
the ~litary branch ofthe Board ofOrdnance to be placed on a sound footing.
Another Harleian MS. (No. 847, folio 4gb, A.D. 1578) entitled The Order of a Campe or Armye Royall with the duties of every officer belon · to the same: per B Con M ilit '?78 gives the_ duties of~he Master of~~! Ordnance. m the field at this date. A bnef transcnption in modern
Ianguage 1s as follows :
(I) Upon receiving his charge at the hands of the Council to sat· fy
h. ffi. ' n
1mself that a camp (of war) has a su c1ency of munitions and oth warlike stores pertaining to the ordnance before he himself arrives u er the scene. Also that there is present a lieutenant of the ordnance and~~:
necessary clerks, all in wages.
(2) On arrival to take ?harg~ of a1;1 ordnance, shot, powder, match, firework~, bows, arrows, stnng, R1kes,.bills, halberts, harquebuses, calivers, lances, light horsemen staves, Javelins and boarspears. In addition, to r~ceive all ladders, ladles, artillery spong~s, mattocks, spades, shovels, pickaxes, crow-bars, cartwheels for gun carnages, gun carnages, axletrees, hand axes, windoses66 for the defence of ordnance, cart traces, other cart equipment, cressettes, lights, lanterns, candles and torches with all other
necessities which must be foreseen.
(3) To park all such stores on the most appropriate site selected by the
provost-marshal.
(4)
To entrench the store-park against fire and to place a guard over it.
(5)
T o ensure a competent nurn~er of smiths, carpent~rs, artific~rs etc.
under him to give efficient service 1n the field. Such artificers to mclude bowyers, fletchers masons and wheelwrights.
(6) To cause the clerk of the ordnance to issue stores and munitions on demand to officers whose soldiers lack supplies and to take receipts for
the same for final delivery to the treasurer.
(7) To site artillery for battle and general_ly to ~ke charge of the guns durmg an action which were under the un.med1ate command of the master gunner who as the executive officer in charge of the artillery of a train, was re;ponsible for the training of his men and for the care ofhis
equipment.
The Board was again reorganized at the end of Elizabeth's reign so that as James I ascended the throne the Great Master and Lieutenant ~ecame respectively the Master-General a~d Lie~tenant-General, though
n succeeding patents the use ofthe new utles chd not become general for some forty or fifty years. A further committee of enquiry took place in the reign ofJames I. On I g N0vember 1618_the s_tate of the ~lf!ce of Ordnance was referred to Sir Edward Cecil!'. Sir Thom~s wtr:'\h, Sir Lionel Cranfield (afterwards ~he ~arl or:Middl sex),_ ir t illiam Harvey, Sir Edward Conway, Sir Richard Moryson (Liu
th
enant ofthe Ordnance), SirJohn Kay, Sir John Wolst nholm 66 Po ·b1 • d "th tures ( indo 1
throu ssi Y mantlets of wood as a kind of gun-sh1el Wl aper 11
gh, See Journal of the Society of Army Historical Research, vol. I, PP· -l l •
57
r nance at Berw· k arter staff, there were a M aster oft e IC , 6 other m t nd
gunners and sund . as er-gunners, a muster ma ster a
nd
333
castles ofEngland A ry artificers scattered round the forts a 53~ gunners were kep;etflurn of the 24 ships of the line showed that artillerym · a oat The ·ned
. en m England. En ·. r? were thus nearly r ,ooo tra1 . a regunental orgaru·z ti" ghsh artillery at this date was still lacking establishment of offica · It was not a regiment with a definite
on · eight_ years were to ~rs a~d 0ther ranks. One hundred and thirtY·
th
matnx. The time ho pse efore Such a formation emerged frolll e unorgamz· cd ' Wever dwas.at hand when the rubicon betwee
guildsmen n
d
an trained soldiery was to be passed, a ri
56
£ s. d.
at 151 11 8 p.a. one at I o p.d.
one at 8 p.d.
at 36 lo o p.a.
at 12 13 4 p.a.at 36 10 o p.a.
at 12 13 4 p.a.
at 50 o o p.a.
at 12 13 4 p.a. at 40 o o p.a.
p a
at 50 o o · ·
6 p a
at 3 o o · ·
66 a
at 13 4 P· ·
at r o p.d.
8 d
at P· · at 8 p.d. at 6 p.d. at 8 p.d. at 6 p.d.
at 6 p.d.
at 8 p.d. at 8 p.d. h
THE BACKGROUND
two Auditors of Imprest or one Of h
Francis Morice ( Cl k t em, Mr John Cooke and Mr Sir Richard Morys~: ~~:~e ~ rdnance), or any six_ofthem (whereof be one) to frame and mou~ n Kay and Mr Monce had always to
th
vantage of his Maj t d e same as may be most to the adsubject.67 Little es y ~n t~e State without hurt or wrong to the
O
that certain office~s ~e:-ete~t~on followed upon its findings except ractices. Further di P rushed and others removed for corrupt
or nances h 'b· ·
P promulgated durin t pro 1 _itmg the
were export of ordnance century.ss g he openmg years of the seventeenth
A MS. quoted by GroseG9 .
to the powers of the M gives some curious particulars relating duty ofthe provost-a~ter of the O~dnance intermingled with the disciplinary measur::~ t:eof the artillery. It deals mainly with the a town the best bell th . field, and states that on the conquest of gunners and their co er~m should be handed over to the m aster
F . mparues . ranc1s Markham in h' ·.
m London by Augusti ~ Five Decades af Epistles of Warre, printed tho~e of other high mi~~a attbe~s m 1622, gives the duties, among This description app _ry officials, of the master of the ordnance, In modern orthog::r~ in ~piStie VII of the fifth decad. Th M p y t e extract reads as follows : . e aster of the Ord
Artillery) is or should b nance (sometimes referred to as the General of experience, and indeede a person of great gravity valour wisdom and eh a man 0 f b ' '
os~n to the place by the p . n~ le descent and parentage, being ~ubstitute. His office is a 1 rmce himself, and seldom by any inferior mto two · ranches thP ace of gr t importance · and exten d eth 1tse1f
mam b ea · as he hath charge of th'e et?lnle ever at home, and ~he other abroad; for care ffof all th e fc d r. .' mumt10ns in the · camp so he hath
f. orts, castles ar 1 ery o · hard; hfrom the camp. yet tnth orl!fied places which are re~oved, or lie
a e only the cas; of thn. e guard and respect of that army, neither em safe d e1r safety b
th'd . 'an to that end · , ut also the manner how to keep s1 eration as th . 1s to draw d . .
inla d ' e Situations and sun ry mcumstances into }us con-co _n. or by the sea, mount . strengths ofall places whatsoever whether DJomed or · d amous or fl • ' h
and wh nuxe together· th at, or mdeed any or all oft ese fittest i:,~must be made str~n/~ what places are strengthened by nat'-'.re, fonns to defend itself. d Y art, the form of the strength as being , as wheth · ' an offend th ' 0 f
and last! th er 11 be circular e enemy, the several sorts earth t y e ~atter whereo ' shquare, or contrived into many angles: ' s one bnck . n t e stre h . . b
He is als' 'llmber or an ngt 1s made, as whether 1t e fortificatio o to draw into his coy ?~her material and binding substance. the offenc':~r"nd _that they are n:,,~ration the nature and quality of all
artillery, as to d r. e and framed as well to withstand ., Dasen' e1end and k he
"D t kts oft!,, p. eep able themselves by t Vol XXX.t' Acts oft"4 p" .l!Y C<nmcil, vol XXX
••Gr ,III, .P.· 437. "'!Y C<nmcil, voi. XXI VI, p. 307. 8
0IC Miltuw, At,tin.,;,· 'pp. 417, 430-431. Vol. xxxn, P· 4 7·I ..,-ies, 1786 cd
,, vol. I p
58 ' p. 235-237•
THE OFFICE OF ORDNAI\;'CE 1414-1670
help of artillery: and for this cause it is most necessa
o~ the ordnance be skilful in the knowledge of all fortsry t~a~ the master p1ec~s, as whether they be royal (which are the e an sizes of great 5r";.hich are the lesser) yet all to be employed in ';;;t::'.5:lte:r ~ni,r-royal
e. royal are those we call the culverin, the quarter cannon °th adtter~. cannon the c h d bl , e em1
d . , annon, t e ou e-cannon, the cannon-pedera th b T and mdeed any piece which shooteth a ball from 1 71b. weigh( or e aSi ;k atln the under-roy al are the derni-culverin, the saker the minion thup':a1r s ·
1e falcon t th b' h h ' , e 1a con
h. e , e ro met, t e arquebuss a crock and indeed an • '
w ich _shooteth a projectile from 17lb. weight downwards and t{ piecde -
nance. is. the master not on1y by h'1s authonty. and patents to ' providis or d ~':,'se; _either by purchase, prize or casting, as the ability of the place !~:re D resideth will afford, but also to see them mounted either upon carr· '7 the field, upon bulwarks, forts, castles, town-walls, or any other ~~ges 0 offence or defence, as shall appear best in his judgment: and to ;~.e1 end he shall be of approved judgment in all manner of fortifications a ~ able to direct the inferior officers under him (as the lieutenant of th; o;d~tnce_, the engine-master, the trench-master, captain of pioneers and the ~-e) in the framing of bulwarks, curtains, cavaleros, tenazas, 70 tizeras t~entes, case-mates, teraplenes,71 trenches, ditches, or anything belongin~ an their own sa~ety, or the en~my's annoyance_; as als? ho:" to refortify b Y place that 1s decayed, or 1n the first erection by 111 drrections hath
een m ade contrary to art, whereby the platform is to be new moulded
an~ reformed: and herein he ought to be capable of discerning (upon a
serious view) any hindrance and annoyance whatsoever, which shall
acc_ompany his work, as whether it be without the situation of the work,
as if there be hills, plains, rivers, lakes, valleys, rocks, woods, vineyards,
?rchards, gardens, monasteries, old churches, or any other edifices, seas,
islands, bays or the like, or else within the situation, having regard to the
;au, and every quality thereof, the height and thickness of the teraplene,
he strength of the gates the depth of the ditches, whether wet or dry
hoW waters are conveyed' into it, whether by open and natural channels,'
or by closed and secret conduits, the altitude of the place, as whether it
be above or below other buildings that are about it, with a world of other
observations; all of which if they breed any annoyance or inconvenience
he shall be able immediately to reform and cure, making the place safe
and strong, howsoever nature hath promised the contrary; and in this
wir~ he shall have great care to husba~d e;erything ~s frugally as is
!' ss1b'.e, and to be respective over the Princes purs~, usmg stone ~here
tone 1s plentiful brick where brick is made, and timber where timber
groweth; and where any of these are wanting to use either strong turf or
h
earth or any other matter which the place affordel . As thus the Master of the Ordnance hath these commandments in :en:,ote, foreign and out-of-the-way places: so hath he in the camp a a~~ent and great controlments; for ~here the general ~barge of t~e. who! !•llery dependeth upon him and h,s necessary substitutes, of which the Pnncipal are the Lieutenant of the Ordnance, the Clerk of the Ordnanc '
10 Ar
ittle stronghold made of one bulwark.
71 Earth that is made into a rampart and filled up against a wall or huh ar ·
59
THE BACKGROUND
the pay-master, the purveyor-general fc .
hinger 72 a chancellor di" . ' our scribes, four stewards, a har
' ' vers interpreter l I . . .
surgeon a trumpeter all e • s, a c 1ap am, a phys1c1an a
' , ng1neers and fi '
and foot, gentlemen of the d re ners, a guard of both horse
Or nance and h lb d" d
se,·eral places ( of the most m t . a er iers, an over all these
· • a ena1 whereof I h I d ·
1s the chief superintendent and h h h ave ~ rea y written) he according to his pleasure ;nd . d at t e power to dispose of all things choice and controlment of all JU gment, as also he hath the command,
both giveth unto them their sev gu~n~is and cannoniers whatsoever, and several attendants. era a owances, and doth allot them their
It is also in the power of the M
under him both shipwrights b ast~r of the Ordnance to press and have who at his appointment shail f:a~:r~ghts and other necessary carpenters, may be portable, and at pleas k oats, barges and other vessels which
· d ure ta en asund d · ·
portat1on an carriage of the er an JOmed, for the trans-of the sea, by fastening these barmy over any great rivers, or small arms strongly boarded and planked oa~ togeth~r, and making bridges thereof done in divers foreign armie 'and well r~iled on either side, as hath been
. h . h s, an also w1th h
e1g ty-e1g t, when the army d . · us ere at home in the year
an prov ·
etween Kent and Essex. so th isions were ferried over the T hamesb · h · at of th b
e m t e army under the b ese oats for bridges should neverb
(under the Master of the Or~um er of forty at least, over wh·eh charo-e shipl\Tights, amaster-carpentnance) should be a captain of the boats ~o
d f h er to plank th '
a guar o orsemen to cond h em, twenty sailors and caulkers, h f th . uct t em tw0 . h
c arge o e ironwork· a ' sm1t s and their 1nen to have
h 1 . h , master of th bl
w ee wng t and certain carters t . e ea es, anchors and graplings, a The Master of the Ord O dnve the carriages
nance a · ·
bers and proportions of all ppmnteth under his signature he nurnarmy d d li manner of • •
. . , an e vereth to the lieu mumtions which shall attend the d15tributed to the inferior offic tenant who seeth them provided and c~arge, and dispose or deliv ersh, and the inferior officers keep them in either from th M er t em out th .
U e aster of the O d as ey shall rece1 e w arrant nder the command of th Mr nance, or his lieutenant. master the c1 k f e aster of th o . •
' er o the car · e rdnance 1s the carnage-
master 73 a nages the h b· '
' d provost, two carpente ' ar mger, the steward the giloxen an all th t d rs, two fa · '
offi d a raw any kind f rners and all the carters, horses, alsoce: o not only calculate what o. armament; and he or his inferior weig:i a~ ~um~er of cattle shall ;;eiI5ht every carriage should draw, but denu· wit which they are laden. e m every draught, according to the
-cannon tw ty b , as to d .
beasts a d ' en easts, a culve . raw a cannon, thirty beasts; a with ~onw~~eit~e rest answerablert1;; tt;;'~nt-y_ four beasts; a saker, twelve wheels thir will draw twenty h d e1r bigness, eight beasts in a cart ' ty or forty h un redw · h · • r.
same proportio . undredweight· a eig_ t; 11:1 a waggon with 1our allow a com ns' and to the carriag ' hnd so likewise answerable to the
petent n b es t e M Jl
and last ofall h um er ofattendant aSter of the Ordnance sha
1I
the provision ': a! see that a revere ; to oad and unload the carriages; ., A ' eepmg and disposing:r=~d g_?od order be kept, both in ,. 1 T: person aent on in acfva thmgs whatsoever hath been
l'aDlport Officer nee ofan
• army to secure billets.
60
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-16 70
already rehearsed; so shall he crown himself with all the 10 1· h" an~ due to his place, and make the truth of his renown a l.~r ;: ndw ich stair by which to climb to the highest advancement. g easy
Francis Markham was fifty-seven years old when he wr t th · eulogy. He had seen much fighting in his life, both in Fland:re ~ the ~ow Countries, and, though inclined to be prolix wat anll qualified to deal with his subject. His verbosity howev~r waswe
un· · T d d S . ' , not
1q1:e m u or an tuart times, and other authors indulged 1· ~he vice of tautological immensities and fulsome sycophancy. Wh ~ is gleaned from Markham's panegyric is that the Master oft~ Ordnance must be a first class man of wisdom and experience H.e
ffi · • IS
o ~e 1s ofgreat importance both at home and on active service sine he is_ r_esponsible for the static defence of the realm, the provi;ion 0~ mun1t10ns and the command of the artillery in the field. He is in charge of all fortifications and bridging trains and of the transport of stores_on t~e ma_rch. In o~her words, he is the general of artillery, t~~ engmeer-m-ch1ef, the director of transport, and the chief prov1s10ns officer. We also gather that the duties of the office overseas are quite distinct from those exercised when in the Tower of London.
In the reign of Charles I, a warrant dated g March 162774 stated that o-wing to the frequent abuses complained of by officers of His Majesty's armoury and stores, as well as in the purloining of, and the chopping and changing of, arms issued from store for the Land and Sea Services, and likewise owing to the abuse of divisions and count~es borrowing arms from each other, 'His _Majesty th~refore, for a timely remedy thereof, and for the preventing of the like in future, hath, by the advice of his Privy Council, thought fit and appointed that all muskets and other arms to be henceforth issued out of His Majesty's stores for Land Service shall be marked with the mark C.R., and for the Sea Service with the mark C.R. and an anchor'. The remainder of the warrant forbade, under severe penalty, the selling of and trafficking in arms, and ordered that district marks Were to be stamped on the weapons of each company and _band; the officers of the Ordnance, Lord-Lieutenants and Deputy Lieutenants being made responsible for the order being c~rried out. As a result a standard arm of uniform pattern was established at the Ordnance Office; and all the arms of the trained bands were to be made conformable to it. A fixed tariff of prices was also added for the supply and repair of arms, a monopoly being given_ to the commissio~ers. The commissioners, appointed by the Crown 1n~une 1631, co11:s1sted of certain armourers gunmakers and bandoliers of the City of Lo~don who agreed' to supply the Tower stores, on seven days
notice, with 1,soo armourers and as many muskets every month, and
74 Rhym. Foed .. vol. XVIII, p. 978.
61
THE BACKGROUND
to train up apprentices to their trade so that the realm might be supplied by this means, and be independent of foreign states and princes. Thus did the connection with the Board of Ordnance and the small arms trade become forged. Although the crown mark was only to appl_y to muskets and similar weapons, this warrant of 1627 marks t~e birth of stamping or engraving the government mark on all warlike stores a?~ equipment as a symbol of serviceability.
Although.co?1miss_ions had sat and laboured during the previous forty years _m 1_nvestigations and attempts to reform the Office of Ord~ance, 1t still lacked a sound organization. Though some of its officials were untrustworthy and thought only of their own interest,
th 0th
e~e w~~e ers who honestly tried to do their duty to the best of their ability, and the blame cannot be laid entirely at the door of the staff. The trouble arose ·n1 fi f ·
Th. h d fc . mai Y rom the Crown system o service.
IS a our main weaknesses h· h b • k t th
. w 1c y their nature struc a e
root ofall efficient mana T ·
f ffi · 1 fc l'fc gement. hese were: (r) The appointment ~ ~d cit s or 1 e. (2) The appointment of each official on an inVI ua patent. (3) Low pay, and (4) Lack of any superannuation
arrangements. The inferences are obv· E
· h' d IOus. veryone considered hi1nself supreme
m IS own epartment •b h
tended to d' d h '. responsi le only to the Crown. He t us
1sregar t e in tr t' · 1
It was extremely difficult / ~c ions of_more highly placed offic1a_ 5• factory officer Th O dispense with the services of an unsatls
. ere was a great t · Ious
to augment their . emptat10n for the less scrupu fraud which had :ea~e incomes by indulging in various forms of custom. With no re: . 0 our of sanctity bestowed on them by long office which their advnng_ age and pension in view, n1en hung on to
them quite unfit to r~n~ing y_ears and increasing ill h ealth r endered the pilfering of publi ain. Given these drawbacks in an age when understand why come s_to~es was winked at in private, it is easy to
. . . . missions stru I d • . h ad
rrurustration 1n a rapid! ex . gg e 1n vain to strengt en age. y panding department steeped in patron-During the reign ofCh to place the Office of Or~~:s I, therefore, further efforts were made 1628
a survey was made b nee on a sounder footing. On I 7 May
st0 th
res held and ofthos •uy e Master-General and others of all the
· e Sti r · Th
estimates for replaci·ng th equired to complete establishment. e
Tw ese d fi · d 15
o years later there Was e_ ~1encies was £227,399. 2s. 10 • the C!erk, the Keeper of tha petition to the King by the Surveyc:r, touching the government fe Store, and the Clerk of the Deliveries
were annex d T O the Offi . . sals
al . e · he office ce to which certain propo teration the King rnigh~s expressed their willingness to adopt anY
=S.P.D. Charles I, vol . suggest.76 On 2 January I 630, the .:King.P.D. Char•-1 • c1v, no. 13
.1a1
, Vol. clxxix •
'no. 50.
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
issued a warrant to the Attorney-General to prepare a bill for a commission to the Lord Treasurer, the Earl Marshal, the Lord Steward and other high officers of state to re-survey the Office of Ordnance and to ascertain what provisions were in the hands of the officers in 1620 and what was omitted from the survey then taken.77 Matters still failed to improve. Apa:t from mismanagement, money ran short and this increased the anxiety of the Office. On 30 August 1 64r, the Offi.~ers of the Ordnance wrote to the Lords Committees appointed by Parliament to supply the kingdom with munitions and said:
v\Te have held it our duties to represent to you the n~cessity of supporting that Office whence the whole kingdom must ofnecessity be 'munited • and the rather that we understand the Parliament has already take~ into consideration the condition of his Majesty's avy, and provided for the payment of arrears and the future subsis_tence ther.eof; since the Office of Ordnance, the only magazine royal bemg defective, tho~gh the _ avy, troops and forts in all other respects were never so plentifully provided for they can be ofno real advantage or service to the kingdom. We present to ~our consideration the seasonable ordering ofa competent and unalterable assio-nment both for the satisfaction of the arrears and the necessary support ~f that 'office for the future, by the want whereof His Maj~sty by some of the late expeditions has been put t_o more than £5oo per diem unnecessary charge for divers weeks, that ~~ht have been spared, and O r.t · 0; d ·r according to the mv10lable precedents of other
1, en times 40 10 save 1 , ffi • 1 d
Co t · h" M · t , stores had been su c1ent y an seasonably re
un nes, 1s aJeS y s ffi d 1 · ·
plenished, and the ordinary (charge) of that O ce as u y paid as in the
t. f Queen El. beth. Lastly we humbly pray you effectually to.
1me o· 1za , .
r
4-~ r. t'on of the great and pressmg arrears due to this
ecommencl the sa us1ac 1 .
. es so heavy on most of the creditors that-they
Offi l b cl h f 11
ce, t 1e ur en w ereo • f cl h
f h d t perish for want of rehe , an ot ers to be cast ~rte ma_ny o t em rea y fo h1'ch arrears was lately presented to the Lords
1n o pnson · an account o w
. ' . . , y 78
Commissioners of his Majesty s treasur · S b. · d h' 1 tt is an account of the arrears due to the
u ~ome to t is e er .
79
Office of Ordnance amount1ng to £4o,959. bl~ h t of the Headquarters of the Office of
The total esta 1s men · S ·
• h T as certainly not large m tuart times
0 rdnance m t e ower w .
. h . k f funds Salaries therefore cannot be
O
d esp1te t e persistent 1ac • ff c:
.d h h ey In 1643 the total sta , apart 1rom
sa1 to ave eaten up t e mon · ' h k
th B d ·t If. consisted of the treasurer, t e ·eeper
1
e members ofthe oar se ' . wea ons the master gunner, 7 of the small guns the keeper of nch P ' b'll 1
I ' I bourers whose tota1 wages 1 on y c erks, I r artificers, and 20 a 80 ' ' ears later there "·as an amounted to £372 per annum. T" enty Y . . d .. . 'fi messenger an engmee1' an 91
increase of 2 clerks, I artI cer, a '
77 S.P.D. Charles I vol. clviii, no. 3·
78 S ' ... I O"
.P.D. Charles I vol. cccclxxm, no. -·
79
S.P.D. Charles r' vol. cccclxxiii, no. 102 (~• 80 Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/\V0/54/i ·
0 63
THE BACKGROUND
gunners.81 These numbers m t b .
the responsibilities on 1 d ~s e ~onsidered moderate in view of both at home and abr;:d ?-n hsea with which the Office was charged
in t e buddi ·
ne last extract from the S ng empire.
0
to show that 'there is no n t~~e Papers of Charles I will be quoted armament provision. ew t mg under the sun' in the methods of
John Browne, his Ma'e t ,
Charles I as follows: :J s Y s founder of iron ordnance petitions
The King of Sweden to d
shot into their country ga raw :he manufacture of iron ordnance and benefit of their slaves by veh~ertam Dutchmen woods and mines and the shot have been made' the w 1ch means such multitudes of ordnance and by them supplied, which hre, a nd of such goodness that all the world is
• • eretofo ,
pe~itw?er p~ys very dearly for re ':as furnished from this kingdom. The paidhhis Majesty £12, upo alhl his materials and labour and has also h s rong contest . h sportat1on of iron ordnance, an
as ad a very t 000 n t e tran · · d fc bh eat sums of thes. e utchmen by which and the
or earance of gr wit D · muc weakened his estate money m the Office of Ordnance he hath
He then enlarges · h.· English manuf:acture onof ·t e endeav bemg · to . the
. our made dnve mstances the iron ordna ff
case of muskets h nee o the world's markets and to the realm at the beginni , t e making of which · was entir· ely Iost ::orsa1)!estates that he ,;:g ~f the reign. He then comes to his
.ta hng o I~on-pots, kettles baskately brought into the kingdom the PIc -pans iron . ' ac s for h' .
manner' ' d weights and oth I' c ~mmes, salt-pans, soap-pans, making ' anh prays that he rn er hike things according to the French sue articl h ay ave ' I
artisans skilful i _es w ich will enab a_ grant of privilege for so e sudden occ . ?iron ordnance dle him to keep in em ployment This ha asion .s2. an shot, ready to supply on any
s a peculiar!
advocates is not y modern rin .
During the . ~nknown at the g about it and the practice it of th O civil war C present time
e rdnance ' rornwell's • ·
for the defen storehouses sh Id parliament voted that the keys appointed Sir~ 0 ~ the kingdo;~3 ;e delivered to the Committee nominated M _avid Walter Lieu~ he same parliament in 1643 duties and truatJfcor-General Har . enant-General, and five years later a COmmittee sof th erIy exercised b r649, the
orrn nson hot succeed him. In Vane, Colonel] e Council cons Jt e Master-General was put into ~-Jone! Wanto~nes, Col?nel Pur~} ng ?fC~Ionel Stapley, Sir fienrY
0
diligence in protj:;;:,d Sir Gilbert ~i~r ".Villiam Armyne, Mr Scott, and at conveni g arrns and enng. They were to use all
ent day f arnmu · · ·
Ordnan s O payrn nition at reasonable prices••11 sP cc Quancr Boo ent.84 D . h
• ~TesI, vo1 ks, "f'R.o,w unng the Commonwealt
01
"S.P.C.O SJournaJ, 2~ ~• no. io2. 54/21. • •• vol. II Day!-'8'Ust 1642.·
• p~
0Cccd1ngs • no. io.
64
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
a. new official appeared in the Office. He was known as the' tr oller of Ordnance' and the post was held b C . Comp
T li O · Y aptam Edward
om ns. n 24 Apnl 165 1 the Ordnance Committee wa · t to consider the Order of Parliament referring the m s mS ructed <?rdnance affairs to the Council of State and to rep~;;~~~ent of s1derations to the House.ss eir con-The Ordnance Department was naturally considered of · .
port . d' f pnme 1m
a1:1ce m army expen 1ture a ter the Treasury, for without th ~ssentials of war, an army or navy is useless. It thus be e
1m t · f . d • . came an
por ant mstrument o po1icy an 1n times of civil distu b particularly in the Great Rebellion, its possession as betweer ~ce, and Parliament became a matter of vital interest. The offin ~g
cha . d b h ki ld . cers in
rge appomte y t e ng wou recogruze no other auth · and would part with neither munitions nor stores except upo or~~' re~eipt of a royal order. To meet this difficulty in the case 0~ the Insh war, parliament prevailed upon the king to place the Ordnanc: Officers under orders to obey both the Lords and Commons a d whe? in later troubles the sovereign fai_led to s~tisfy its requiren'ien~s, parliament seized the prize and made 1nstruct10ns for the new dutie which were then to devolve upon the various officers.ss In 155~ parliament voted the Ordnance storehouses to be disposed of as the Council of State should direct, and on 14 January 1651 voted that naval ordnance stores were to be provided by the Committee of the Navy. Major-General Harrison, puritan and regicide, was no more t:ustworthy than many ofhis predecessors, and parliament, after considering that the poundage during his tour of duty as LieutenantGeneral amounting to £3,065 on the sum of £122,629. 8s. 6d. was excessive, annihilated the office by vote on 23 February 1652. Thereafter the office of Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance remained in
abeyance for eight years. On r November. 1654 a new set of rules
87
for the guidance of Ordnance Officers was issued. The rule of the Protector must have subjected the Ordnance to considerable strain as the whole Office underwent a radical change, but it seemed to slip back into its old ways at the Restoration and slough off its Roundhead skin. Lack of money, however, was now
~ecoming chronic and retrenchment appeared as a paramount necessity. In 1667 the Ordnance Commissioners were ordered to render r ' l .
eports on possible economies,88 and in the fol owmg year, a warrant Was issued to the Ordnance Officers to reduce the expenses of the Office to £so a year.89 This was followed on 16 l\1arch 1668 by a
fi h '000 · fhC ..
urt er warrant that from Lady Day the salaries o t e omffilss1oner
85 s
8& ,P.C.O.S., vol. XV, Day's Proceedings, no. 7·
8? 8 P.C.O.S., vol. XV, Day's Proceedings, no. 83.
0
8e S ~dnanceJournal Books, PRO/W0/47/3. a S'p•D. Charles II, vol. ccxiii, no. 66.11 · .D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxiii, no. 146.
65
THE BACKGROUND
were to be reduced from £r 000 to £6o d h
f th ffi · ls . ' o per annum, an t ose 0 0 er O ciab cut in like proportion; also the number of fee'd gunners was to e reduced from 100 to 6 b b d h d
· · I o y su sequent eat an
certain pens10ns c 1arged on the Office • ' oo
Eventuall}' the ann . . . were to be abolished.
1 91
ua estimate was stabilized t £ fi
which the king accepted.92 a 4o,ooo, a gure Since the Royal Arsenal und h
at this point of time th er t e name of 'Tower Place' emerges
' e story of arma t d · · · ·11 b
continued in Appendix IV. men a m1mstrat1on WI e The Tower of London wa th
Ordnance during the p • d s e headquarters of the Office of
nd
ofthe Office from the preeno. ~ er review. Soon after the emergence
-existin p · v
:Master of Ordnance _ g nvy Vardrobe, Thomas Vaughan,
14
stating 'that for as much50 l t>6,.presented a petition to Henry VI for youre ordenaunce t: ~s tker is no on housing certaynly assigned grete hurt and dayly doth e ept for_ lak whereof ther hath growe longing to his said office' u~~ the sa~d ordenaunce and other stuffe Majesty to grant for its d a~ llin consideration thereof he prayed his
th
\Vharf', from the watergset a e grounde and soile called ye Tour
a e of the T · ,
Gate. unto the Gate of St C . ower now called the Traitors
th
howsmg and other app a enne, together with 'all maner of
urtenance
was granted under the ro al . s sette upon the same'. This prayer nance was formerly tra y sr?nature.93 The business of the Ord-Chape1 , but between 6Bnsacted rn some smaIl houses near St Peter,s
1
former s1·te to a new b ·1di3 and 1685 the office was moved from 1 · ts the part of the precin~~ c~Yeto the south of the White Tower, near shr?'~'ll on Lord Dartmouth's d Cold Harbour. This is quite clearly l\illiam Franklyns, sorneti plan made about the year 1689.94 Mr 16 M:arch 1641,95 in whichU:t Y~oman Warder, wrote a paper dated ~owers and prisons ( or priso e Igrve~ details ofsome of the interesting ~ he states that the Whit :J:, odgings) in the Tower of London. In
of~h~~nance, that the B~cko;er, or Ceasar's Tower, belonged to Cha el. rdnance, and that the o°;er was the lodging of the Master Ip d . . ce of Ordnance Tower was by the n a dition to the act and reposit · • ual office it If h
kept b hones in the To, se 't ere were various storehouses ' ut t em . d ver where
a property ad· ain epository of or arms and ammunition w~re and wh ~acent to the T dnance stores was the Minories, ere the Lieutenant h odwer which belonged to the Ordnance
.. w a an offi . I
fcc'd arrants and Orcie . c1a residence.01o/ was r
tor~ in Council PRO/
11 5i1;6~ 136). to 100 by a furth:0/55/426, no. rr4. The establishrnentJf : :P:n: Chari II, Entry Book warrant dated g December r 669 (PR Brn,ia de p . II, vol. CCJocx •3° f40 f4 1
"D--_. 11l1alo Sigillo Vi, no 1 •
• ~ucedin Vet , 30 Henry VI 93.
M . Harl. ,.::,to Monumenta vo·l IV "Y.L,'),, no. 1326• ' · by th e Society · of Antiquaries of London•
66
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
The Minories was originally a convent established just outside the w~lls of, t_he City of London by the community of the 'Sorores M1nores m 1293. These were nuns of the Order of St Clare who were known as the Second Order of St Francis. At the dissolution of t~e monasteries, the Precinct of the Minories was confirmed to the k1ng by Act ofParliament in 1539, and by another Act96 was granted to the See of Bath and Wells in exchange for the episcopal residence near Temple Bar. After ten years occupation by the Bishops concerned, the property passed into the hands of Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk. From him it descended to his half-brother George Medley and his younger brother Lord John Grey. After a year or two it was sold to the Marquis of Winchester, who convey_ed it for an unspecified sum on 22 September 1563 to Queen Elizabeth. It would appear that the great mansion house wit?i~ the property was used as the principal storehouse while other buildings were converted into workshops and residences, one of which was allocated to the Lieutenant of the Ordnance. Among the Lieutenants who had charge of the Minories was Sir Roger Dallison, who succeed~d Sir George Carew. He was a very different stamp of man from his predecessors, all of whom had been keen and able soldiers, impressed with the responsibilities of their office. He cared nothing for the husbandry,
97
all he wanted were the fruits to enjoy. He obtained from James I in r 612 a sixty years' lease of a large amount of Crown property in the Minories and proceeded to evi~t artificers from the workshops, converting the buildings into dwelling houses. These, t~gether with the offic· 1 'd he let at considerable profit to himself to the
ia res1 ences, 1 d h. .
detriment of the Crown. His peculations final_ly e to 1s mcarc~ra
tion ·n · h h died but not before h1s scandalousbehaviour
1 a pnson w ere e , h
had brought serious depredation to the d~partment. e ':as supposed to se H' s· Rr·chard Mornson, who 1n his patent was
rve. 1s successor, If di
also d h k · f the artillery ground, had a very fficult
grante t e eep1ng o . • h ·
task · · • h nd restoring the bmldings to t err proper
1n ev1ctmg t e 1essees a . k · f
funct· D • h C onwealth parliament too possession o
10ns. unng t e omm ' h 0ffi f h
the M· • d h t the annoyance oft e cers o t e
1nones an muc o . .
Ordnance conver~ed a large proportion of the premises mto a great
' d h. hit granted to the Corpora-
Workhouse for the poor of Lon on, w ic d h tion in I 6 . Soon after Captain George Legge ~ad been_grante t e offi f f.3 G f the Ordnance 1n revers10n, Charles
1 O
ce o 1eutenant-enera fficient organization II, :ither for the sake of ec?nomy or of m;~i:ories and the Crown~
th
decided to sever the connect10n between h' • d the 0ffi Since the public purse was much depleted ~t t ihs!1mhedan u· .c
of O d d tments in w ic ras c prurung
r nance was one of the epar ffi • was the probabl Was taking place, economy rather than e c1ency
:~ Parliament Roll, 31 Hen. VIII, R.O. No. 147· Rot. Pat. 10 James I, p. I 4, no. 2 I.
67
THE BACKGROUND
spur. \,Vhatever the cause, it was decided that the official residences, the storehouses, and the workshops should be abandoned. The custody of these, which had as usual been committed to Mr David Walter on his appointment as Lieutenant-General, was by him surrendered to the king, and together with the whole of the property leased to George Leg~e was by p~tent98 dated ro January 1673 granted to Sir Thomas Ch1cheley, Krught, Master-General of the Ordnance, and his h~ir~ and assigns for ever. The patent specially provided that no e~stmg leases_ were to have any force except that granted to Captam Legge. Sir Thomas Chicheley promptly sold the property to Sir William Prichard for £4,300.99
It will be rememb:red that in his patent,100 Sir Richard Morrison was granted the keeping ofthe Artillery Ground or Garden, a liberty close to the Tower of London.
\,Villiam Maitland gives the boundaries as follows :101
,!t. begineth by the south end of a wall at Gun Street at the house of '"il~iam_ Borman a~d from thence northward to the house of Nicholas Squ1re, 1s 824 feet httle more or less fi th d t the house
fJ h B II · · , rom ence westwar o
0 0 n e amy, JOmer, r48 feet or thereabout. From thence southward to the dead wall 144 feet and from th . h" "d h "d wall
' e pump wit ms1 e t,. e sa1 I F. Street westward to the corner of Ch A . ad's and John
a ong ort
1
Stagger's houses 272 f; 1· ar es rrnste
D k S h eet ittle more or less. From thence southward along u e treeht to t e empty house of Dupre's the landlord 336 feet. From thence sout -easterly to the h f M ' ' r
f s k All 6B f; ouse O r Edward Rainford at the corne ~ou::~Tho:a; Ro~f~~oF:om along Smock Alley_ toward the East to the all which Boundary H 'shoemaker, 1 74 feet, little more or less. Upon . ty' . ouses the Broad Arrow the Royal Mark, has by
his M a_Jes s spec1a1comm d b ' .
an een affixed ever since their first erectwn.
B" ~his piece of~ound near the Spittal in the parish of St Botolph's,
b1\~1sgate, nJort -eas~ of a house called 'Fisher's Folly'-a mansion w y one asper Fisher d h . was
set aside at an earl . -an t ree hundred yards from it, Ypenod for the purpose ofshooting. It afterward5
18 Rot. Pat. Charles II 2 5 ". Rot. Claus. Charles II '2~art 12. . A History ofthe Mim,ries LJJnd ' part 7, no. 33, m 1. As E M Tomlinson in his book
Chich I l on remarks· 'It· · · · s· Thomas
• ey was on y a convenient fo f ~s quite possible that the grant to 1r h the Kmg, evidently bent on econ nn o sellmg the property. There seems no reason w y th~ooMas~er-General.' omy, should have made such a gratuitous present to
!h1s_patent, dated I Janua . d Mo~150n in reversion on the deat6 13 Jas. I (anno 1616) was granted to Sir Richa\s ; fcut~ts-General entered in ti 80~oger Dallison. It is the earliest of all paten t
0 ,~0 7 '· o. 16). The relevant po t r nance Office books now remaining (Pten.
ccecum, de uherian gracia nost r 1~n concerning the Artillery Garden is as fol ows · 1::ea,.dihis Mredibus et suecessorib:: ~ 1f.avimu~, deputavimus et constituimus, ac per prese7~C,:,. nosh. um Moryson, Militem Custodem s rzs asszgnamus, ordinamus et constituimus pre:[a l ·s ,._,."e_ ~":°J:,1ft"le Storehous/• mod: p ~0st"'.m tocius illius mesuagii sive domus man5ion~ ta -:=,:,,-::= ~~~ejuxta LJJndDniam :Cc e~,tindentzs Officio nostro Ordinacionum et scituate ext !la
6-·-,• ,..,,wrun, gard{ 1· ' us o em omniu t . l difi . m e11r I
"' t:rUtodem . ' IWTWn idem mesua . . me singu orum domsrum, e t cwru .' dum ~ CUJUSdem gardini vulgariter gio szve ~omo ma11sionali spectantium siue J1ertinend m 1t1 Mai~•~officiurn predict nuncup~ti "le Artillery Garden" habendum, tenen u ' asto,y ofUJndon, J 756":" • • •
68
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
became famous as the 'Artillery Ground or Garden', and subsequently as the 'Old Artillery Garden'. It was originally a Roman station and was used by the Roman soldiers quartered in London as a field of Mars, for training the British as well as the Roman youth in the exercise of arms.102 Later it became incorporated with Lolesworth or Spittal-fields, the upper part bein~ ~riginally a ~om~n cemetery. After the establishment of the Chnst1?-n Chur~h 1n this country, it passed to the Priory of St Mary Spitale, which was founded by Walter Brune in r 197, and subsequently surrendered to Henry VIII. It was then a spacious enclosure called 'Tassell's Close'103 from the tassel which was planted there for the use of the clothworkers by whom it was used for raising knap on cloth and carding wool. This plant was considered such a valuable commodity that ~ writ dated
May was issued at Saltwo_od, near Hythe m_ Kent, by
30 1326
Edward II to the Mayor and Shenffs of London forbidding the exportation of tassels and fullers' earth-'We do therefore desire that none of the thistles that in English are c_alled taseles and no fullers' earth shall be carried out of the same kingdom and lands.'104 The f:terwards let to the cross-bow makers to shoot at the
ground was a • 1 •
· gay In 1 S37 William MaJor, the ast pnor of the
game o· f pop1n • ' f
Convent of St Mary's Spitale, gave a lease o the grou~d for thrice
fi th use and practice of great and small artillery to the 99 years :;h ;ower It was then surrounded by a brick wall.105 The ghunnters O te d b H.enry VIII to the Fraternity of Artillery or Gunners
c ar er Oo-ran e y . .
· t l rr • ted this field to be their place of exercise, the lease
in tZe 1. ower app01n . f h O d ·
being held by Sir William Pelham, Lieutenant o t e r nance. This .c. d delivered to Lord Burghley, Lord Treasurer to
charter, a1terwar s Th" F ·
n, El" b th ppears to have become lost. 1s ratermty of
'>Zueen 1za e , a b ·
A ·u G t d Small Ordnance must not e confused with rtz Fe1y on_ reathanG ·zd o+ St George as the Honorable Artillerythe raternzty or e uz 'J ' fir 1 1
although they were at st very c ose y
lled
Company was then ea , ( ) d associated both being incorporated in th~ same _year, 1537 an
· ' d · common for their exercise. Every year at usmg the sa1ne groun in · d
Michaelmas all the gunners in the Tower were reqmre to appear
· · their names and afterwards to assemble at that fortress and give in ' d · h
. . G d the appointed day, an in t e presence
1n the Artillery ar en on d · · h
'their knowledo-e an cunnmg in t e use
o
f the master gunner prove O 1 d b h h"
, 10s As the years rol e y t e owners ip
o
f great and small ordnance · 1 · d b s· J h
of the Garden became contested, though it _was c aimc y u o n
. f h Ordnance by nght of office and patent.Beydon Lieutenant o t e ' d F. 11 "t ,
' d" t d the use of the groun . ina y 1 \\as
The H.A.C., however, 1spu e
, I 6 Ellis's Shoreditch, PP· 1 56-9· II S8
102 Leland s Collect, vol. , P· 1· Maitland's History ofLondon, 1756. vol. , P· 7 ·
103 Stow, vol. I, book II, PP· 96, 9d7L d Life i868. pp. 150, 151.
104 Riley's Memorials of London an on on ' 105 S.P.D. Jas. I, vol. clix, no. 97· 106 S.P.D. Eliz., vol. cxlvii, nos. 94, 95·
69
THE BACKGROUND
decided that Mondays and Tuesdays should be reserved for the Honorable Artillery Company. Stow describes the Artillery Garden in i633 as being surrounded by a brick wall and says that the gunners from the Tower practised every Thursday 'levelling certain brass pieces ofgreat artillery agains~ a butt ?f~arth made for that pu_rpose; they discharge? them for their exercise .107 The garden was 1n fact the main provmg ground of the Ordnance where all guns cast by the trade-there were no government made cannon in those dayswere proved by t~e proo_f masters at t~e Tower before being accepted for service; and it remained as such till proof was transferred to the Warren at Woolwich. A good deal ofmoney was spent in maintaining the butt and various buildings on the Artillery Ground; the early Ordnance debenture ledgers108 testifying to such repairs. Guns were still being proved_ on the site as late as 1669 after butts had been erected at Woolwich. Pepys attended a proof there on 2 0 April of that year. In his diary under that date he states:
In the afternoon we walked to the old Artillery Garden near the Spittalfields where I ~ever was bef~re, but now, by Captain Dean's invitation, did go to see his new gun tned, this being the place where the Officers of the Ord?ance do try all their great guns; and when we came, did find that the tnal had bee~ made; a~d they going away with extraordinary report of the proof ofhis gun, which, from the shortness and bia0 ness they do call Punchinello.109 '
In Februa:)' 1641 the !fonorable Artillery Company petitioned the_ Corpo:ation of the City of London for a convenient place for their ~xerc1se and the uppermost field near Finsbury was granted to them m May for that purpose. Possibly on account of their increase in numbers, or more probably from the weariness occasioned by the long and constant disputes as to their right to the old (or King's) Artillery Garden? the Company was desirous of obtaining a parcel of ground of their own for their exclusive use whereon they could erect an armou;r and carry on their duties without let or hindrance. They had applied for such an enclosure as early as October 1635 to the Court of Aldermen who appointed a committee to consider the request. No report was rendered how t"ll • hi"eh year
~ 1 , ever, 1 1641, 1n w a ormablgrArant_lolf a new plot of ground was made to them. TheHonora e tI ery Comp • h Old
Artill G any continued to assemble at t e as th;ry :r rout~: well as the new premises in Bunhill Fields (knowri
tl ew ti ery Garden') until about 1658 when they per-m;ne~~tran~rred their armoury to the present ground, i.e. the thew 1 •ery rden. The old ground or garden then reverted to
exc USive use of the Crown.
117 Howe'
Stow book I
IN Saia PRO ' I, pp. g6, 97.
IN n, n;_ /WO/ 49.
.,_ J and Corresftondenc ifS,
e o amuel Pepys, I 870, p. 659.
70
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
The armoury in the old garden was commenced on I May 1622 and its completion was effected by 30 November of the same year.
The opening up of Woolwich as a national arsenal and proving ground rendered the Artillery Garden obsolete for that purpose, and its growing disuse led to trouble.
In December 1673, Hansard Knollys petitio:ied Charles II, stating that he had bought the old armoury house 1n the (Old) Artillery Ground from the H.A.C. for £300 and had spent an additional £46o in repairs and further building. He had also fitted up the premises for his school-house and residence which he had inhabited and enjoyed for two years. He went on to complain that Colonel Legge, deceased Lieutenant of the Ordnance, had under pretext of his patent, s~ized the said premises by force and. kept them du~ing his lifetime and that David Walter, the then Lieutenant, findmg the propert~ in the possession of Colonel Legge at his de~th, annexed the same so that he-the petitioner-was unable to regam possession. He ended his petition with the words 'that the p~or. and aged petitioner has for above ten years been kep~ out of hi~ nght to the impoverishment of himself and his poor t:arrul-r:, he h_avmg borrow_ed a great part of the said sums, and praying_ ~is MaJes~y t? appomt
· e and report on this pet1t10n, that if his Majesty
Some one t·o exam1n see cause, he may require the Artillery Co~pany, Colonel ~e_gge's ·a Walter to repay the said £700 to the pet1t10ner
executors an d Dav1 . ,110 or may grant him a lease of the premises for ~g years. · · c red to Sir Heneage Finch, Lord Keeper, on
Th.
1s petition was re1er ..
·naninterim report, stated that the petitioner
21 Decem ber 1673 who, 1 h 1 ·
the Artillery Company w o c aimed the
was the purehaser fjrom . . · f J
Council 1n the time o ames I,
property under some Order in d b 6
• I I ti'tle The purchase was ma ea out 1 58
aIthough without any ega · • · h h' h
. . d'd 1 ut £750 in bmldmg a ouse, w ic ,
and the petitioner 1 ay O · d h
O dnance was no hin ranee to t e use
though of no value to the r ' • Th L d K
f · d 1·t fll1 the Restoration. e or eeper
o the ground, and enJoye Southampton in considerafurther stated 'that the Lord Treasurehr, did direc; a lease to be f f K II ' ty and great c arge
10n o no ys pover . d the petitioner and held the made to him, that Colonel Legge eJehcte D "d Walter pretends no
. . . 1·r: . nd t at av1d
wellmgs during his 11eti:11e a . b Colonel Legge'. The Lord other title than the possesswn _Ie_ft himh yth petitioner should be re-
K. d h' t b op1n1ng t at e
. eeper en s 1s repor Y d d or be granted a lease at some 1mbursed the sums he had expen e .
small rent and possession restored to hi;-t d June 1674. In it he
22
Sir Heneage Finch's final repor~wa~ Js~nce ascertained that the confirmed the history of the case lut a the place was affirmed to
• . b ted a ease as
petit10ner could not e gr~n T "'"er and was already granted to be necessary for the stuff 1n the 0
110 S.P.D. Car. II, vol. cccxxxviii, no. 84 .
71
THE BACKGROUND THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
David Walter and after him to George Legge in reversion, i.e. it was . manner annexed to the Office of Ordnance. He was therefore ma• fied that the only way to preserve Knollys, whose whole estate
sa tis · fc h. b . b d h '
·n danger of rum, was or 1m to e re1m urse t e money as
was i . h. 11. K • , • ,
. best suit 1s 1na_Jesty s occasions . it~:~ Old Artillery Garden was not destined to remain for long a liberty in possession of the Crown. Retrenc~ment in public spending
•mperative and property no longer serving a useful purpose must
wasi be alienated.
I i68r the Treasury referred the matter of its possible sale to s· ~hristdpher Wren, his Majesty's Surveyor-General ofWorks, and i~ d him in consultation with others, to place a value on the as e erty ~hen improved by building.111 A fortnight later the Trea
prop · . . 1 h 1 "d
sury agreed in pnncip e to t e sa e prov1 ed that:
( ) Some other convenient place could be provided for the proof of
\1 guns and the exercise of the fee'd gunners at the Tower.112 sm(2) Lieutenants ofthe Ordnance will forgo their interest in the Garden, . their custody, their herbage rights and the rents of the houses thereon :~:·nding, as Colonel Legge, the present Lieutenant, has freely done.
(3) Accommodation could be found elsewhere for the I\1aster Gunner of England113 with a house and ground 'capable and fit for the exercise ofhis Majesty's fee'd gunners, which by virtue ofhis office he is obliged to'•
The Treasury asked whether the Master Gunner could be so accommodated elsewhere.114
The following month the Attorney-General was asked to advise the Lords Commissione~s ofthe Treasury whether, ifthe K.ing should sell ~e Garden,. and 1f t~e same should prove to be within the libertes of the City, the King had power to grant a market to the purchasers.m
It was finally agreed that the reserve price for the Garden without a market was not_to be under £4,000, or under £5,2 00 provided a market were obtamed and settled within two years of the sale.116
Finally the Garden was sold to George Bradbury and Edward • oellfor£5,700 and on 18January r682 the Attorney-General was ordered by Royal Warrant to prepare the necessary grant.111 Since
111 CS P Treasury Books VII ber
1681• • · • ' 1681-1685, part I, Reference Book I, p. 500, 6 Decern 111 There were originally 6o r; ,d d · eased
to 100 and then decreased .ee gunners at the Tower, a number afterwar s incr 111 The Master Gunner ~fain as a measure.of economy. tiller}'
Garden. ngland had his official residence in the Old Ar 11t C.S.P. T~ Books VII 68 I 358,
13 Dcccmber 1681. ' 1 1-1685, part I. Out-letters (General) V ' P· iu C.S.P. T~ Books VII 16 I 368,
!23December 1681. ' 81-1685, part I. Out-letters (General) V ' P· w C.S.P. T~ Books VII 368,13u~ber 1681. ' 1681-1685, part I. Out-letters (General) VI, P·
C.S.P. Treasury Boob VI II pP·
305-307, I, 1681-1685, part I. King's Warrant Book VI '
this warrant gives an excellent description of the Artillery Garden its dwellings and workshops, it is reproduced in full: '
Charles R. Our Will and Pleasure is that you forthwith prepare a Bill for Our Royal Signature to pass Our Great Seal of England containing a grant to Our Trusty and well-beloved subjects George Bradbury and Edward Noell, Esquires, their heirs and assigns (for and in consideration of the sum of Five thousand seven hundred J:>ounds of lawful money of England which they are to pay into the Receipt of Our Exchequer for Our use before the said grant passes under Seal) ofall that part or parcel of ground commonly called or known by the name of the Old Artillery Ground or the Old Artillery Garden or by _wh~tsoever other n~me the same is called or known, situate, lying and bemg ix_i or near the City of London, and in or near the Parish of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate, upon the west side of the fields or places, commonly called Spittlefields, and containing by admeasurement five acres and one rood be the same more or less. As the same is now encompassed with a brick wall, together with the said brick wall and the ground whereon its stands and also_ all that messuage at the south-west corner of the said ground, tog~ther with the.ground paled out for a garden to it, which were formerly m the J?Ossession or occupation of Hanserd Knollys. And also all that great bnckhous~ standing upon the said piece or parcel of ground near to the aforesaid messuage and which hath commonly been used by Our Officers_ of Ordnance for laying . ·th tl1e Garden belonging to the said storehouse, two other
up of s ort es, w1 h ·d · 1
nts standing upon t e sa1 piece or parce of ground
messuages or teneme · d d
and storehouse before ment1one an also the two
near the messuage · h h.
belonging All that dwelling-ouse w ich hath been
gardens thereunto · G · ·
the habitation of Our Master unner, likewise stand-
common 1y used fcor f 1 d d 1 h
· · h' h fc ai·d piece or parcel o an , an a so t e stables,
mg wit m t e a ores h 1 h · ·
, 1 dge two powder houses, t e ong ouse or bmldmg
coach-house, porter s o , . f 11
f Ordnance for proving o sma guns and keep-
used by Our Officers o 1 • · h
· f d 1 the charging house ymg contiguous to t e
1ng o stores, an a so d.fi d b ·1d·
c ·d d h and all other houses, e i ces an m mgs
11.
a1oresa1 we mg-ouse d b ·1 ·
d. h · h shall hereafter be erecte or m t m or upon
1 ·
shtan i~g o~ ymg or w ilc f ground called the Old Artillery Ground or
O
t e said piece or parce • l h f h
h . G d · or upon any piece or parce t ereo toget er t _ehOld Artillery ar el~ or in and authority for them the said Georgewit the free liberty, 1cense • b "ld d Bradbury and Edward Noell, their heirs an~ assigns to ~rect, ~i and
set up any new houses edifices or buildings m or upon t e premises an 1 ' r hts easements, waters, water-courses, a I and singular ways, passages, . ~g 'rivile es, advantages and appurtentrees and fences, profits, commod~ties, P g f ground and other the
1
a h h "d piece or parce o
nces_ w atsoever to t e sai in or in any way appertaining or
premises or to any part thereof, belong g d parcel or member of the usually accepted, reputed or taken: as P;;::?nder and remainders, rent , same; and the reversion and reverswns, • And all Our tat
is ll d · gular the premises. ,
_sues and profits of a an sm. demand whatsoev r of, in, or to
nd
right, title, interest, benefit, claim a .d George Bradbury and Ed vard the same. To have and to hold to the sai
73
THE DACKGROU D
• -ocll, their heirs and assigns to the only use and behoofofthe said George Br~dbury and Edward Toell, their heirs and assigns for ever. Of Us, Our Heirs and Su_ccess?rs, as ofO~r ~anor_ofEast ?reenwich in Our County ofKent, not m capzte or by_ Km~~t s scr 1cc, but 1n free and common socage?Y fealty and the rent ofsi~ slulhngs and eightpence per annum to be paid ~nto Our_Exc~equer at l\,lichaelmas in every year. And you are to insert m the said bill all such covenants uon-obstante and other clauses as are usual in grants_ of the like nature and such others as you shall think fit to make the said grant to the said Georo-e Bradb d Ed d 11
· h • d . o ury an war oe , their cirs an assi~s, most firm, valid and effectual for which this shall be your ,_,·arrant. Given at Our Court at Whitehall the eighteenth day of January m the 33rd year of Our Reign 1681 ( 1682).
To Our Attorney or By his Majesty's Command Solicitor General Hyde, etc.
Although this chapter is con d . . .
. . . d . cerne pnmanly with armament ad-
th ·
nurustratlon urmg the fifteen ,sixteenth,and· sevente nth centuries
.
a survey of the arms m cur t d . '
without interest Th ren use urmg that period may not be
· ere was naturally chan d · h 6 dd
years but its tern o was slo . ge urmg t c 2 o o to shock the conp . fw, an~ no startlmg developments occurred
science o mankmd It .
session of simple ty b h · was an era ofgradual super
pes Y t ose of a mo d d h Th
cross-bow and long-bow lin . re a vance c aracter. e and more clumsy e • gered on till Tudor times, but the heavier Agincourt was wonngi;;s ofliwar had practically disappear d before not resist the destro. • ehy, dke all other human inventions, could
ying an of pro d f
powder sounded the· d h k g:ess, an the advent o gun-and comparatively u::le:ttb -nel!. Artillery originally w~s awkward of military machines wan~ t¥l~ as Its power 1ncr~ased so did the value of battle. at laSt they varushed from the scene
Pikes and halberts togeth .
though the handgun' d ~r With other personal weapons, survived
• an its late ·
tending to replace the . r improvements were gradually
O
with the gun. m. ur review therefore is mainly concerned
_I~ must not be forgotten that .
nnlitary commander w . up to Stuart times the mind of the
. as sti11 obse d b
and it was to this end that the ss_e Y_ the tactic of investment, Open warfare took pla d main artillery effort was directed. fightin~ was predomina~~t:nguns_ played a minor part, but such ~e desukratum ofartille Ja ~ffair of horse and foot. Mobility as pieces which did accomry s st1ll a concept ofthe future and those
pany troops · h ' •
movement and slow ·n . in t e field were cumbersome in
th . kill . 1 action G fc d .
e!r s on improving h · un oun ers thus tended to lavish while th eavy canno d · •
e carpenter who n es1gned for siege operations, was quite happy fashioninco:tructed t~e elementary gun-carriages g eavy unwieldy mountings. Light guns,
74
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414_16
70
when required, were carried in carts and anythin · h a field battery was delitescent. gm t e nature of
The trunk as a method of gun-mounting gave
th
end of the fifteenth century to the wheeled carria;ayS a~ e l~ttcr were crude, but their principles followed present-de. uc ~arnages basic structure was a trail, an axle-tree and wheelsa~rracti~e. The solid baulk of timber supported in front on a rough-h e trail was a of hard wood, the arms of which carried heavy rud:7nf:axl~-tree wheels. The gun rested in a wooden cradle wh· h Y ashwned
· · IC was ho ·
beanngs in the trail immediately over the axle-tree th dl rne_ in
·d d · h · fc ' e era e be
provi e ~it trunruons or the purpose ofgiving elevati T . mg effected either by a wooden arc fixed at definite positio:;b his ':as passing through it and the cradle, or by keeping the dyl a spike
. . . era e at th
reqmsite angle by a wedge or qu01n placed under its b h e
. reac end A
century later the 'siege complex' affected carriage desi As · b:came heavier, carriages became more ponderous, un~~ld guns
nd
difficult to move. They consisted of huge cheeks connected t Y, a
th
to form a rigid frame, the axle-tree being secured to the fr oge er
s T . b . li d . h . ont tran
om. runruon eanngs, ne wit iron, were cut in th h k above the axle, and trunnions, which had by this time maedc ehe.s
. e t eir
appearance, were clamped down by iron cap-squares Elevat·
·11 .rr • • 10n was
sti Ci1ected by the wedge or quoin. Manoeuvreability as a fi f to be developed was not recognized till the end of seve~~c io~ century. eent
The object of artillery is to inflict the greatest possible amou t f dama?e in the_shortest_ pos~ible time, a~d this is accomplished :i~h any given eqmpment 1n direct proportion to the excellence of th gunnery. Put into terser language, it is to bring the maximum fi ~ power t? bear on the :7ital_ spot_ with .the minii:num of delay. Suc~ea conc~pt10n, presupposing 1t existed 1n the nnnds of our ancestors was incapable of realization with the cannon they had at their dis: posal. oise, smoke, and all the features of a grand parade was their
idea offire-power. It is not surprising, therefore, that in an era when spectacular effect was considered of more value than performance litt_le mention should be made of ballistics. Old records, which ar~ :J.~ite informative as to the weights and charges ofvarious pieces, do, It 1s true, give certain ranges, but they maintain a discreet silence on questions concerning muzzle velocity. It thus becomes difficult to reconstruct a range-table for a gun of the sixteenth and seventeenth c~nturies, and any figures regarding such data should be received
With great reserve.
.The old wrought iron guns ofthe Plantagenets had, by Elizab th reign, almost passed away, and in their place bronze and iron ordnance ofstandard dimensions, cast with a central core, were b comin normal equipment for Land and Sea Services. Th se rang d from
75
THE BACKGROUND
the light robinet to the heavy basilisk, the details of which are given in the following table of 1574:
L ength
Calibre
Diameter WeightWeightJ,I eightName of in
11l
of Shot of Chargeof Shotin lbs.
Piece Calibres
inches
in inches in lbs.
in lbs.
200
Robinet
1·25
50
l
l
0·5 Falconet 500
2
48
2 Falcon 2
1·25
800
2·5
2·5 Minion 42
2·25 2·5 1,100
30
3·25
4·5
4·5
3
1,500
36
Sacre
3·5
3·25
5
5
3,000 Demi-Culverin
32
4·5
9
9
4
4,000
28
Culverin
18 Demi-Cannon
5·5
18
5'256,000
18
6·5
28 Cannon
6·25
30
7,000
16
8
60
7·75
44
8,000E. Cannon
15
20 Basilisk
7
42
6·75 9,000
14
8·75
60
60
8·25
I addition to these there were five other types pecu1iar tO shipsd
hi:h were included in a return, dated 4 April I 599, of cannon use _ ;:; the Navy. These rejoiced in the names of curt";11s; fowlers, cham bers. fowlers, hull; port pieces, chambers; port pieces,. hull. .
n' will be noticed from this table that windage 1s practica11_Y
constant, i.e. 0·25. inches, and that ~he . weight o~ th~ chargee~~ almost identical with that of the projectile. In this latter resp _ the information given is probably inaccurate, as, although th~ P~~e portion between the weight of the charge and that of the proJec f has varied from time to time, and the assessment of the amount ho the propellant has been almost as arbitrary as the compos1t10· · n °ft. e powder itself, a certain relationship between them was usually m~1~; tained. Broadly speaking, this ratio of charge weight to shot weig ranged from one-ninth in the middle of the fifteenth centuryb1° one-half in the middle of the eighteenth century, and was proba . Y about one-third at the end of the sixteenth century. The weig?ts 1~ the last column should therefore be adjusted accordingly to arnve a
a truer statement.
Earlier in 1547 references appear to pieces called bastard cannon, slings, murthiers, flankers, argues and shrimps. h Robert Norton, gunner and engineer, in a work dedicated !0 the Duke of Buckingham, gives the list of cannon in 1643, shown in t e table on page 77. f
Other odd weapons, the names of which flit across the pages 0
history, are:
Syrcn-a 60 pdr. of 81 cwt. Cannon-Royal-a 48 pdr. of gocwt. Bastard Cannon-Royal-a 36 pdr. of 79cwt.
Demi-Cannon-Royal-a 24 pdr. of 6ocwt. Dragon or Drake-a 6 pdr. of 12cwt.
76
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
Serpentine-a 4 pdr. of Bcwt. Aspik-a 2 pdr. of 7cwt. . Moyen-whic. h threw a ball weighmg 10 or 12oz. Pellican-of 225olb. Base-of 45olb. Sparrow-of 46oolb.
Length
Calibre
Weight Weight Length ofName of Piece inin lbs. in inches of charge the ladles
Calibres
in lbs. (inches)
---~--,-~~-1--;::---1-------;3-~1--, --
8
15 8 40 24
Cannon of 8 ,ooo 6 7 25 22 Cannon of 7 7,ooo 1i8 6·5 20 Demi-Cannon 6,ooo 8 5·5 15 21
2
Culvering 4,5oo 4·5 9 Demi-Culvering 2,5°0 326 3·5 5·25 20 18
10 3
Saker ,5° 3·25 3·25 16
M 1 200 30
inion , 2·75 2·5
42
Falcon 700 48 2·25 1·25 Falconet 5oo 8 9, 10, 12 3, 3·5, 4
Cannon-perrier 3,500 D emi-cannon
Drake 3,000 16 6·5 9 Culvering Drake 2,000 16 S-5 5 D emi-Culvering
Drake z,5oo
16 4·5 Saker-Drake 1,200 18 3·5
The three cannons-perner• are evidently a species of howitzer, as d h small charges.
they are short an113 ave h establishment of horses required to An old MSS. la~s do~n :h: field. The numbers are as under:
drag Elizabethan artillery in Derni-Culverin 12 horses
Falcon 3 horses Minion 6 horses Culverin 14 horses Demi-Cannon 18 horses
Sacre 7 horses 24 horses
Cannon
. f; fi ing cannon were redhot spikes or
The earliest contnva~ces ~ r nt to ignite the charge. A pair of bars which were thrust in~o t ; :;s for heating and priming irons bellows, a fire-pan and. hve 0 f artillery in the fourteenth and formed part of the equipmenht O dual increase in the size of guns,
fi · o · tot e gra
fteenth centuries. wing h . onvenient and dangerous, and this method was found to be both in:tury it was practically superbefore the middle of the fifteenth ce t with loose powder, which
• · g t e ven ..
seded by the plan of pnmin . a match of some description. could be ignited by a heated iron~~ the seventeenth century when More probably match was used un to the occasional employment
h
· d had recourse ak
r
t e gunners ofthat peno d . the vent acted as a \\e
of quick-match which when place 1~ place till the eighteenthtube. No further improvements too century.
118
Harl. MS. 168, pp. I 73, 1 74·
77
THE BACKGROUND
G~npowder, k~own_ as serpentine, was used for gun charges. It consisted of particles 1n a fine state of di·v· · d sufiiered :6rom
. 1s10n an senous drawbacks, the chief of which w ·t t · f
absorbing moisture owing t tl h . a~ Is grea p~opens1ty o
. o 1e ygroscop1c nature of its saltpetre. By the seventeenth century however the f d d h d
b · d d C ' , use o corne pow er a • . ec::ome ,_vi espre~ · orned powder was expensive and more violent m its act10n, but its other advantages O t · h d h d r d
b b u we1g e t ese e1ects, an as guns ecame etter made it gradually replaced serpentine as the standard propellant.
The ordinary proiectile• J d · · ·
unng most of the penod under review was round shot, either ofstone or iro . d 11 1 .
as the centuries wore on. B n, iron gra ua y re~ ac1ng stone
J
h II Y the seventeenth century simple shells,
eaIIe·tzd grenauoThs er. s werer being used w1t. h mortars and early types of h0\VI ers. e 1uzes ior these sh 11 .
general form emplo ed in . e s were extremely s1mple. T?e
. b Y the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was a cast iron tu e about the s· f .
a mixture of saltpet h ize O an average finger filled with
re, su1p ur and me I d d Th . . . .
proved their great t br a e pow er. eir 1gnit1onchance. s um ing block and was entirely a matter of
Cartridges during the fiftee th .
turies, except 'bagges oflinen' n , sixteenth, and seventeenth cen
from the womb of tim to keep powder dry, had not emerged
e. Owing to better forgin I
attaching the stock a d gh onger barrels, a more efficient method of primitive handgun' ; tht ~ appearance of a tang, hac or spur, the
0
caliver and hacquebus b ~e~~teenth century ?eveloped into ~he the reign of Henry VIIi h iddl: ofthe followmg century. Dunng was gradually adopted b t ;hSpam~rds invented the musket which heavy weapon fired fi Y e arnues of Europe. At first it was a
rom a rest b ·
manageable proportions fll . , ~t it gradually assumed more The musket reigned su r~.:/ a~proxim~ted the present rifle in ~ize. porary with the musk tp e till the nineteenth century. Contern
e were the ·
The first firing mech . curner and the carbine.
. d an1sm a si l a-. . •
intro uced early in th fifl ' mp e auair, was the serpentine match-lock about e t~eenth century. This was followed by the
148
about 1600 and the fl. 5, e wheel-lock about 1530 the snaphance
• Int-1ock abo t 6 ' d
into the country about th . u 1 35. The latter was introduce
by the whole army und e time of the Restoration and was adopted The bayonet was intr~~~ w~r~ant dated 14 April 1690. As a fitting conclusion t c~. Y Royal Warrant 2 April 1672. ofArmoury may be added ~t is cha}:lter, a few words on the O~ce
from the Office of Ord · !though It was quite a distinct institution
often h · nance the t h d · ·
8 anng Masters and ' _wo a a very close association,
from the same source-th ;l~rks In common. They both derived
and armour-and finall e hnvy Wardrobe which dealt with arrns y w en armour had ceased to be a useful
78
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
adjunct to the soldier's equipment, its administration with that of weapons and its control passed to the Office 0wfOas dmerged
Th fi t · · r nance
e rs mention of an official solely responsible r ·
1.or armour appears to have been John Orell. He was appointed in 1 office of armourer in the Tower o~ London with a groom !:ie:o:?e at the wages of 12d. per day for himself and 3d. for his groo b im
th
hands of the Keeper of the Great Wardrobe.no Late mh Y e
t 1 d 'S · · • r on e was
s ye ergeant of the King's Armoury within the Tower Of L don'.120 He was followed in 1431 by John de Stanley whose t o~states 'Grant, during pleasure by the advice of the Council pt :t~21 de Stanley, king's esquire, of the office of Sergeant of the kO ~ Armoury within the Tower of London, to be discharged by h. n~ s
. b d . 1£ d . im in
person, or y eputy, with the usua ees an wages, 1.e. 12d. per diem 1n the same manner as John de Orell, esquire, had when alive, Th·
. d . IS
app?mtment was vacated by surre1: er, the king on 25 May 1
37
havmg granted the said John the said office for life. John de Staj was Constable of Carnarvon Castle and Sheriff of Anglesea. In 1 ey another post comes to light, namely that of the Keeper of 1~3 Armoury. This official was evidently subordinate to the Sergeant ~ the King's Armoury as his wages were only 7½d. a day. John ~e
S~anley was followed by John Don as Sergeant on I 1 March 1451122 with Henry Gray and John Roger as Keepers under him. In the follm,ving year, John Don is styled 'Sergeant or Master of the King's
Armoury'. The office was housed in the White Tower and the main storehouse was also in the Tower of London. In addition to this depository the Master held, under crown leases, several tenements in the precincts with gardens on Tower Hill and a wharf upon the river. In addition to his headquarter charge he had responsibility for the supplies and storage of armour throughout the country notably at Whitehall, Windsor, Hampton Court, Greenwich, and Woolwich, though his control over these outstations was often not very effective. Greenwich' in Tudor times was the main establishment where in the Green
'
Gallery of the palace, choice pieces of the craft_sman's art were displayed. At Greenwich also the Master and his local Keeper had
residences in the tilt-yard. The salary of the Master of the Armoury remained at I 2d. a day till the reign of Henry VIII when it was increased in all to £100 per annum. Apart from the armourers at Greenwich, whose activities are described in Chapter 3, the staff of the Office of Armoury was modest. It was even in Elizabethan times only a small administrative department of State responsible for the provision and custody of
119 Rot. Pat. Henry VI, p. 2, m. 10, 20 February 1423.
1
120 Rot. Pat. 8 Henry VI, p. 2, m. 34d, 16 February 1429· 121 Rot. Pat. 10 Henry VI, p. 1, m. 14, 14 November 1431. 122 Rot. Pat. 1 Edward IV, p. 1, m. 17, 11 March 146 1 •
79
7
THE BACKGROUND
swords and body armour required for the forces of the Crown and for the equipment necessary for the royal tilts. Francis Peck gives123 the whole expenses of the Complete Office in the sixteenth century
as:
Master of the armorie: fee £ 31 s. 18 d. 6
For keeping the armorie in
the great gallery at Grenewich 66 13 4
Loksmyth: fee 15 12 0
Laborer: fee 10 0 0
Gyrdler: fee IO 0 0
Brigander: fee IO 0 0
Inferior armourers to the
number of 20 serving at
Greenwich: One at Five at Three at The rest a peece Lyverye among them Ordinary charges 36 20 15 9 32 9 0 I 0 2 IO 0 0 4 0 6 0 0
An ann~al expen';1iture by a department of State which strikes the mod:rn mmd as quite refreshing. With John Don commences the succession of eminent men who held_the Office o~ Master of the Armoury for nigh on 220 years till
the btle and appmntment was abolished. The most celebrated holder ~vas John Du~ley, Duk_e of Northumberland, who resigned the po~t m 1544 on ,bemg appointed Governor of Boulogne. He married his predecessors daughter and, after a distinguished career fell into disfavo~r. He "":a~ fi~ally attainted and beheaded on 22 'August 1553 for his complicity in the attempt of his daughter-in-law Lady Jane Dudley, to ob_tain a patent of succession to the Cro;n. The laSt h?lder o~ the title was Colonel William Legge, who was deprived of his post m the Great Rebellion. In 1649 William Moulins Comp
troller of the Artillery T · f h · ' · · ' d .c.
rain o t e City of London pet1t10ne 10r
the grant ofthe office 124 b h . ' . ·
t. I ' ut e appears to have failed m his expecta
10ns. n 1671 the Office fA • • · b ·
' 0 rmoury was abolished its duties eing
k
ta en over by the Offi f o d ' I
S p . ce O r nance. There appear to be severa
tate apders dwhich deal with this amalgamation The first is a warrant ate 18 M 6 • . · · I
Master of th dn ay 1 7° appomtmg Sir Thomas Ch1che ey
e r ance-i2s th di . . h s
Chi h I f h O , e secon 26 1s a grant to Sir T oma
c e ey o t e Offices Of M h
aster of the Ordnance Keeper of t e
Armoury at East Gree · h '
nwic , and Sergeant and Master of the Arms
111 Desiderata Curiosa new cd
11
" S.P.D. Intcrrcg j 6 · 779, p. 62.
i• Sp D Char 2, 492.
· · · lcs II Entry Book
111 S.P.D. Charles 11' Docqu ts 314 f 26, 18 May 1670. ' c ' vo. 25, no. 22, March 1671.
80
THE OFFICE OF ORDNANCE 1414-1670
and Armoury in the Tower and elsewhere in England• the third is a grant to Sir Thomas Chicheley of the Offices of Master of the Ordnance, Keeper ofthe Armoury in the Galleries at Greenwich and Master of the Arms and Armoury in the Tower and elsewhere in England;127 and the last is a warrant to Sir Thomas Chicheley 12s 'Master of the Ordnance, the Office of Armoury being now uni;ed to the Ordnance, to inspect all the arms in the Armoury and take an account thereof, the Ordnance clerks henceforth to take charge of the Armoury Stores, and the Or?nance Treasurer to pay all moneys relating to it; all officers therein to be appointed by himself and the present officers suspended, but their fees paid out of th~ Ordnance Office.'
Charles II was evidently taking no chances about killing the Office of Armoury stone dead. The following is a list of the
Masters of the Armoury
1429 John Orell (Sergeant). Appointed 16. 2. 1429 1431 John de Stanley (Sergeant). Appointed 14. II. 1431 1461 John Don. Appointed 11. 3. 1461 1485 Sir Richard Guilford, K.G. (Master of the Ordnance). Appointed
8. 8. 1485 I 506 Sir Edward Guilford ( son of the above) 1533 John (Dudley), Duke of Northumberland, K.G. Appointed 6. 7.
1533 I 544 Sir Thomas D'Arey. Appointed g. 6. 1544 1554 Sir Richard Southwell (Master of the Ordnance)
1561 Sir George Howard 1575 Sir Richard Southwell . 1578 Sir Henry Lee of Ditchley, K.G. Appointed g. 6. 1580 161 r Sir Thomas Monson. Appointed 1I. 3. I 61 I I 6I 5 Sir William Cope of Hanwell . . 1628 Sir Thomas Jay of Netheravon, Wilts. Appomted 25. g. 1628 1638 Colonel William Legge
(Office in abeyance 1648-1660) 1660 Colonel William Legge 1671 Office abolished
Among the Officials of the Armoury are the following:
1423 John Orell: Armourer I 461 Henry Gray: Keeper of the Armoury 1461 John Roger: Keeper of the Armoury 1557-1567 William Paynter: Clerk of the Armoury (Clerk of the
Ordnance) 1589 William Sugden: Clerk of the Armoury I 594 John Lee: Yeoman of the Armoury 127 S.P.D. Charles II, Docquets, vol. 25, no. 95, July 167 I. 12e S.P.D. Charles II, Entry Book 34 f 131, 22 December 1671.
81
THE BACKGROUND
1601 John Benion: Clerk of the Armoury
1626-1629 Roger Falkenor: Clerk of the Armoury
1627 John Cooper: Surveyor of the Armoury
1628 John Cowper: Surveyor of the Armoury
1628 John Clarke: Surveyor of the Armoury
1633 John Clarke: Surveyor of the Armoury
1633 William Burgis: Surveyor of the Armoury
1649 Edward Annesley: Clerk to the Armouries and 1,faster Armourer
Chapter 3
Crown Establishments at Greenwich
Greenwich, as an appendage of Lewisham, was by virtu f Elfrida's grant1 possessed by the Abbot of St Peters at Ghent i 0 6 September 918 until 1414 when Henry V dissolved one hund0~ and forty-two alien priories including Lewisham, thus causing :~e manor of Greenwich to revert to the Crown.2 Not for long was th estate free from ecclesiastical jurisdiction, for soon afterwards the victor of Agincourt settled it on his newly-founded house at W ~ Shene-the Carthusian Priory ofJesus ofBethlehem-for the supp;st of forty monks.3 Eight years later Henry V, dying of camp fever \ the age ofthirty-five, bequeathed his crown and country to his you:
son. g Henry's death released the pent-up stream of underlying lawlessness. While John, Duke of Bedford, one of the late king's brothers assumed the responsibilities in France occasioned by the recent con: quests, he failed to receive the necessary support from home where a lack of settled policy prevailed. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester another royal brother, became Lieutenant of the Realm, but hi; authority was undermined from the start; jealousy, enmity, and power--politics weakened his position. Thwarted by uncooperative nobl s, his Presidency of the Council availed him little in swaying the deliberations of that body. During this period of internal weakness, England's star began rapidly to set in France, and this ebbing strength overseas opened up the possibility of counter-invasion. Humphrey, though vain and capricious, was a realist and, fearing attack, determined to act upon his own initiative and safeguard the routes to London. There were two. The Roman road from the coast to the capital, and the river Thames. He t?erefore planned to bestride both these lines of approach. To achieve this purpose he entered into negotiations with the Prior ofShene, and on 30January 1433 'Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, Prot~ctor of England, and Alianore his wife had a licence under the Privy Seal to exchange a
' '
parcel of their own land with the Prior of Shene for 17 acres of pasture and rough ground which had belonged to the alien Priory of Lewisham and had formed part of Henry V's endowment to the
1 Elfrida or Elstrudis was the daughter of Alfred the Great. ~he married Bald in II (The Bald), Count of Flanders. He died 2 January 918. She died 7 June 929 and buried in St Peter's Church, Ghent.
2 Rot. Parl. vol. IV, p. 22. No. IX, m. 3· Item 21. 8 Calendar of Charter Rolls, 2 Henry V, P· I m. 8, 25 Septcm r 1414
83
THE BACKGROUND
Priory ofJesus ofBethlehem',4 and a further licence 'to enclose and empark 200 acres of land, including that obtained from the prior; pasture, furze, gorse and scrub which were without the forest bounds, and the park so made to be held of the Duke and his heirs for ever. In addition, to build a mansion, crenelled and embattled, and enclose it within walls; also to erect and turrelate a certain tower, all in stone and lime, within the park. '5 This area roughly coincided with that at present covered by Greenwich Park and the Royal Naval College; its boundaries being Maze Hill, Charlton Way, Groom's Hill, and the river.
This Duke of Gloucester, known as 'Humphrey the Good' was, like his brother Henry V, ~ull ofrestless energy. He had proved himself a capable comma?-der ~n t?e French campaigns. Shakespeare has much to say concernmg him 1n his King Henry VI. His moral life by modern standards was not above reproach; even in his own day it evoked comment. On the accession ofHenry VI he became seriously embroiled wit~ William, Duke of Brabant, whose wife Jacqueline, Duchess of Hamault, he, Humphrey, had married after her arrival in England following a disagreement with her lord and master. Eventually the affair was hushed up without recourse to armed
combat ?Y Humphrey subjecting himself to the Pope's will and abandorung the lady. Soon after he married his mistress Alianore daugh~er of Reginal?, Lor? Cobham. A few years later a complain~ to Parliament was laid against him by one 'Mistress Stokes and other bo_ld women because he suffered Jacqueline, his wife, to be imprisoned by the Duke ofBurgundy whilst he lived with an adultress'. The Duk~ of _Gloucester, whatever his faults, was a man of taste ~nd learrung m an.uncultured age. Educated at Oxford and enlightened by travel 1n Italy, he was, in addition to being a soldier and a state~man, a man of letters and a patron of the arts. He laid ~he found~tion_ ofthe Bodleian Library and built the divinit schools
m the Uruvers1ty of Oxford. y He raised his stronghold known as 'D k H h , T ' on the site now occupied by the OId R 1 u e ump rey s ower.
b nk oya Observatory while on the nver
nd
Na at present covered by the west ;ing of the Royal
i°~ g;ou ha~ah h O egedhBe erected his 'crennelled and embattled mansion' w 1c e name ella Court M h k" · h d
on this hi h · uc care, s ill, and money was laVIS e
w c represented a triu h f h · · ·t
he housed the fi t • . mp O t e bmlder's art; and In I
rs private 11brary ev tO b . .
Meanwhile t • . er e set up m this country. marriage brou~~ ~1_mo;1al troubles still pursued him and his second his Duchess J ~; ttdle comfort. It was whispered that Alianore, woman muc'h ~s a icte to_ witchcraft. Although a weak-minded
given to consorting "th h
WI soot sayers and necromancers, ' Rot. Pat. 11 Henry VI
1
I Rot. Pat. II Henry vr' :· i' m. 14, 30 January 1433. ' · ' m. 14, 30 January 1433.
84
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
she was in her silly way ambitious, and dreamed of becoming day the queen should Henry VI die. Sorcery was then cons·d 0~ the paramount sin against God and humanity, so when she ;e;r:ar sanctuary to Westminster on the arrest of her protege Roger O I an astrologer, on a charge of conspiring the king's death sh n ey,
. . h . Sh , e was
suspected of compIicity 1n t e cnme. e was brought before Ar h bishop Chicheley and Cardinals Beaufort and Kempe in St St h c ,
. d h . ep en s
ehape,1 W estminster, an on t e testimony of Onley and th accusers was adjudged guilty and ordered to be confined in ~ ~r Castle, near Maidstone. Arraigned shortly afterwards in the G e_~ds hall, London, she was charged with heresy and with having UI cl bewitchery to induce Duke Humphrey to marry her. One ch~:;e was that she had made a waxen effigy of the king so that by h diabolic arts she could cause his body to waste away. This accusati:~ was refuted to the last by Roger Onley who swore that he and th Duchess had only been trying by divination to forecast the dat ~ the King's death. Vengeance rather thanjustice followed swiftly He0
. . er
acc?mplice, Margaret Jourdayn, the _witch of Eye, was burnt at Smithfield on 27 October 1441, and Richard Wyche, vicar ofDeptford, suffered the same fate for Lollardry. Alianore herself did penance in St Stephen's Chapel, Westminster on 9 November 1441. On 14 November she was landed at Temple Stairs and made to parade Fleet Street 'bare-headed with only a kerchiefon her head' carrying a 21b. wax candle which she offered at the high altar of St Paul's. Sh performed similar acts of penance for several consecutive days in different parts of the City, attended by the Mayor and Sheriffs. After her public avowal she was imprisoned for life, deprived of her dower6 and assigned a yearly allowance of 100 mares for her support.7 Roger Wyche, her clerk, was hanged at Tyburn after the completion of her penance.
Having disposed of Alianore, Cardinal Beaufort, who hated the Duke ofGloucester, could now focus his attention on his arch enemy. This the prince of the church proceeded to do, and in due course Humphrey, incurring thejealousy ofMargaret ofAnjou, the redoubtable consort of Henry VI, fell a victim to her machinations. It was rumoured that the Duke, not content with being heir-presumptive, aspired to the throne by removing his somewhat weak nephew. Margaret had no mind to lose her position as first lady in the land, and being a woman of character, acted with vigour. Attending a parliament which had been called at Bury St Edmunds in 1447, the Duke of Gloucester was arrested on the second day of the se sion by
John, Viscount Beaumont,8 Lord High Chamberlain, accompani d
0
Rot. Parl. 25 Henry VI, vol. V, p. 135, no. 17.. 7 Issue Roll. Easter 22 Henry VI, 15 May. Frederick D evon. 8 The first Viscountcy ever created. Letters Patent 12 F ebruary 1440.
85
THE BACKGROUND
among others by the Duke ofBuckingham, the Lord High Constable, and put under guard. All Gloucester's servants were withdrawn and thirty-two of the most important were thrown into different gaols. The following day the Duke was discovered dead in bed in very suspicious circu~stances, though officially his end was ascribed to apoplexy. He died on 23 February 1447 without heirs and his property passed to the Crov,1n. Margaret of Anjou, not being the woman to _let grass grow under her feet, promptly seized Bella Court at Greenwich, a few weeks after its owner's decease.
Although Bella Court possessed great charm it failed to satisfy its new mistress. The accounts ofThomas Ketewel 'Clerk of the Quenys werkys_ of the maner of Ples_aunce' commencing Easter 1447 and extending over five years testify to this. A very considerable sum of money was spent on further embellishment and decoration so that its elegance became even :11ore enhanced. As a crowning t~uch she chang~d the name of this architectural gem from Bella Court to !~acentza. In due course the estate was granted on 2 2 April 1465 in
JOmture by Edward IV to his queen Elizabeth9 for the term of her
10
life. Richard III, however, seized ;11 her possessions but her son-in-law Henry VII on his ac · d · : · b
. . . cess10n ma e partial rest1t t10n y re
stormg some of her JOmtur Th G · h
. . e. e reenw1ch property, however, e retamed for his own use. Placentia w 1 d b Ed -d IV and
fu h . d b as en arge y wa1
3:t er improve Y Henry VII who faced its riverside frontage with
bnck. England owes much to th T d · · d
• e u ors, especially to their faun er
whose care fcores1ght and fi li . .
. b ' ' ruga ty contributed m no small measure ~o. it~ ~u sequtnt prosperity. Henry VII laid the foundations of nt~n/h~ava sudpremacy, and, in so doing secured the establishdmen doth is oTwnd ynasty firmly on the thron~. In addition he intro
uce at u or absolutis h" h ' .
and turn th · th h m w 1c made men forget past schisms
err oug ts toward 'd . h . . 1 h .
Henry VIII b . s pn e m t eir nat10na entage.
th
up within si;~ a~~ns~: e palace ~t Greenwich and, being brought
nd
that passion for sh" d of the nver, developed at an early age out life. His fathe~: ~: se~-power which dominated him throug~ambitions to the fi ll ;ncial acum_en allowed him to gratify his in the Councils ofuE an thereby raise the prestige of this country
urope. After Henry VIII beca K. d
make Greenwich th me i~g he decided to leave Eltham an possess the whole m:n::t;e of his court. This change drove him to the Prior of Shene a d . resSure was therefore brought to bear on
1
his title under plea ~ t ~hr 518 an attempt was made to invalidate
•J:?aurhtcr r 8. R" a e grant of Henry V had been rescinded Earl Ri o xr ichard Widvill I d
vcn by JIC;_quclinc of Luxcm e, or. of the manor of Lee, and afterwards i~t6r: ~~ was SirJohn Grey Lo~~' widow ofJohn, Duke of Bedford. Elizabeth 5
· at. 5 Edward IV p ' 1 r rey of Groby. ' • , m. 15, 22 April 1465.
86
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
by virtue of an Act ofResumption passed by Edward IV. The prior John Joborne, however, refused to be brow-beaten and produced ' confirmation dated g July 1461. Henry lost his case. But the Tudoa monarch was not the man to sit down under defeat and, adaman~ in his resolve, he effected an exchange with the prior on 23 Decembe 1536, thereby gaining possession of the manors of Lewisham OI~ Court, and Greenwich.11 '
In the meantime Henry VIII had ~ot b:en idle at Greenwich. He enlarged Placentia considerably making it a worthy abode for crowned head. Proud and autocratic, an accomplished horseman a
. 'a
fine athlete, and a first-rate marksman, 1t was anathema to him to think that any stranger prince could outmatch him in brilliance or that any foreign country could out-produce his own in ships, arms, and armour. He was determined to make England the fount of chivalry and the workshop of the world. To put this ideal into practice he constructed a great tilt-yard at Greenwich which was to be the envy of Christendom, he founded dockyards at Deptford and Woolwich under his immediate eye, and he introduced alien craftsmen into his service.
The Royal Palace at Greenwich was a long narrow building consisting in the main of three inter-connected quadrangles fronting the river. Up to and including the reign ofHen:'y VII the ground behind was laid out in terraces and planted with orchards, shubberies, flowe s, and vegetables. It was still a country gentleman's garden. Henry V III's schemes altered all th~t. ~y the_ ti~e his plans were executed the ostentatious tilt-yard ·with its bu1ld1ngs together with those of the armoury, flanked by two stat~ly Tudor towers, c?vered the eastern third of the area. Of the remainder, that part which lay to the west ofthe old Friar's Road became fruit and kitchen gardens, while the other portion between F:iar's Road an~ th~ armoury was laid out in flowers. It was formal in style and, with its profus10n of old-fashioned sweet-smelling herbs and blossoms, must have become a veritable haunt of ancient peace wherein the ladies of the Court could while away a pleasant hour. It was kno~n. ~s the Queen's Garden. At the southern end of the central avenue dividing the palace
ate-house which not only gave access to the park
grounds stood a g , · · ld ·
but afforded a vantage point from which roya1v1s1tor~ cou witness in comfort the spectacular shows provided for their amu~ement. Owing to the height of the terraces, t~e ar~ouJfi and ~It-yard buildings seemed to o'er-top the palace w enp':'iew~ rdo~ t en er.
1
The armoury buildings consisted of the nnce s o g1ngs, guest· 1 arters watch-towers, workshops, forges, grand-
rooms, officia qu , . . . . stands, and stables. It is uncertain when building operations actually . t must have been very soon after Henry VIII
commenced though 1 11 Statutes of the Realm, 23 Henry VIII, Cap. 2 7 •
87
THE BACKGROUND
ascended the throne. The King's Book of Payments is quite explicit on this point and, from it, it appears that the whole project took some ten years to complete. Stables and barns seem to have been given priority for in May r 5 r o Henry Smyth was paid for a new stable and barn at Greenwich.12 This was followed in September 15 r o by an entry stating that Edward Guylforde13 was paid £200 for stables and barns in the same place.14 In July 1516, two towers and a house 'on the green before the tilt, behind the manor ofGreenwich' occasioned the payment of another £200.15 This particular task must have been assigned to Henry Smyth as a year later on 1 July 1517 he received an additional £200 towards the purchase of stone, timber and brick in connection with the same 'two towers and a house'. Exactly twelve months later he finished the armoury house with its two towers for which he received the sum of£ 400 on 19 July r5r8. The next entry ofimportance is under date 2 r ovember 151 g when there is a warrant addressed to SirJohn Heron for paying £300 for 'finishing the tilt' at Greenwich and making a new bridge or landing stage by the Thames-side there.1G The last entry in the State Papers which refers to this specific building programme is one in January 152_1 when Thomas Foster17 received £100 for erecting a shed in the tilt-yard at Greenwich and for effecting certain repairs.18
Before th~se ne:-v wor~shops were ready for occupation the only armoury mill available 1n the neighbourhood was situated on the Ravensbourne at Deptford.19 This mill is described in the rental of the manor, r37r, as one for grinding steel and valued at 3s. 4d. a year. An extract from a Parliamentary Survey No. 30 dated February 1649 reads as follows :
The armoury mill consisted of two little rooms and one large room, where!n ~tood two mills, then lately altered, and ei'riployed by the pottersfo: ~ndmg colours for their earthenware. The mill with stables stood ~1thm one acre ofground abutting on Lewisham Common and was used, til! a~ou~ twelve rears before 1549, for grinding armo~r for the late ~ng s Tilt Y~rd; 1t had since been suffered to go to ruin. Mr Anthony l'\1chol1s M.P. m 1646 demised the same b h t · ht k and the
. , y w a ng un nown,
1 h d
essees a expended £250 m new mak· th -d · · the banks
f th d O C mg e m111 an repairing
0 e pon : ne, aptain Edward Woodford, claimed the mill ancl ground by virtue ofa deed, dated 13 April r4Jas (1616) under the title
11
Letters and Papers Foreign d D . 446
C:~!13g's B?Ok of Paymedts) (2 Hen; vn1mestic, Henry VIII, vol. 2, part 2, P· 1 ALcppomted Master of the Armoury in
~ 506
14 tters and Papers Foreign d D : 1448 (~!11g's Book of Paymedts) (2 Hen; VII1)estic, Henry VIII, vol. 2, part 2, P· Letters and Papers Foreign d D · . H Letters and Papers: Foreign and D omest~c, Henry VIII, vol. 2, part 2, p. 1472 •
17 Thomas Foster was Comptr ~ r°hesti~, Henry VIII, vol. 33, part I, no. 520· a Lcttcn and Papers Forei o ed o t e ~mg's Works. 11 This site is now in' the ~:h Domes~ic, Henry VIII, vol. 3, part 2, p. 1_544. ·us
Path and C.Onington Road. g of Lewisham. It is at the intersection of Silk Mi
88
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
of a water-mill running beyond a parcel of ground called Boyla d • h"
h h n , wit 1n
t e m~n~r of Shrofield, called by t ~ name of Teddersmill, but the mill was w1thm the manor ofEast Greenwich20 a~d the Captain was dischar ed attendance. The rent was £17 a year to which was added £8 a • g d
rent. s improve
An extract from the Survey of the Manor of East Greenwich I 69521 states:
All that tenement or mill called or known ·by the name of the Ar Mill and consisting of one large room wherein standeth two mills hmoury
_t; fc • d' ereto
ore used and employed ?Y potters or ~nn mg of their colours for their earthenware, together with two other little rooms, one little stabl
. b e, one
1arge pond, all situate lying and bemg etween the parish and mano f
. . r o
E ast Greenwich containing by est1mat10n one acre more or less.
All these two parcels of meadows or pasture ground called or know by the name of Armoury Meadows abutting the common meadows ~ Lewisham on the south and the fields called by the name of Sevente~n Acres belonging to the aforesaid manor of East Greenwich on the northeast containing by estimation s~---c acres _more or le~s. P.Jl that parcel of arable grounds called the Hermitage lying and bemg m the north-west end of a field called Hellen Field abutting on the land leading to the Armoury ]\,fill on the south containing by estimation one acre more or less.
Which said Armoury Mill and meadows and field called Ermitage field contains in the whole seven acres and are now in the possession of Bolden
'
an armourer who holds the same from the Officers of the Ordnance at £roper ann;m eight pounds which the ~a~d ju~ors value above the said rent of eight pounds per annum at 40 sh1llmgs 1n all.
The trustees of Morden College once claimed this mill as part of their demesne and threatened an action of ejectment against Hatch, the tenant. Being Crown property, it came under the jurisdiction of the O ffice of Ordnance when that body absorbed the Office of Armoury in r671. In May 1754, Mr Richar~ Hornbuckle made a proposition to the Board of Ordnance that 1f he were allowed to rent the Armoury Mill at £20 p.a. for 31 years, he would rebuild part of the old mill so as to make it a complete corn-mill, and add such additional features as would carry out the armoury work in a more profitable manner. He would expend £~00 on these improvements and guarantee to supply the Board with armoury work at normal prices. This offer was accepted in November 1754 and ~e necessary contract drawn up.22 In January 1770, Thomas Powne,
who had given long and honourable service to the Board o~O:dnance petitioned that he might be allowed to take care of the buildings and materials at Lewisham in the place ofJames Bargeau deceased, and
20 Greenwich. 21 P.R.O. C/205/20. / 6 8
22
22 Ordnancejournal Books, PRO/W0/47 44, PP· 2 , 1.
89
THE BACKGROUND
supply the Board with mantlets at the same pay and under the same conditions as Bargeau. On receipt of the petition the Surveyor General reported as follows:
I have to observe that on 18July 1746 the Board came to the following
resolution: . fr James Bargeau having signified that he could not pretend to contract for any set price for serving the Office with blinds and mantelets by reason the ingredients used in making them are almost as dear again at one time as they are at another, but if the Board would allow him five shillings a day certain for life for his own trouble, he would give constant attendance in overseeing and directing the labourers in preparing the ingredients and making the said blinds and to the utmost of his ~ower d~ everything in the most frugal and best manner, or if they will appomt a man they can confide in he would impart the
secret to him; the">: ~roviding a proper place 'to work in paying the labou_re~ and I_>rov1d_ing the materials and ingredients, desiring so?'1e gratmty m cons~deration of the great expense he has been at in bringing to such perfection and. making this valuable thing together with his attendance on them with a pattern by order of his Grace the Master
General. An? the Surveyor-General (General Lascelles) having considered the same m pursuance ofan order on reference 11th inst he was of opinion that the said Bargeau might be allowed five shillin~s a day during his good behaviour provided he performs what he has undertake 1 and that the same should commence from r April last.
The Board approved thereof and ordered the said allowance be paid quarterly by bill and debenture. And therefore agreeable to order Mr Bar~eau did disclose the secret to Mr Hayter who is since dead, but the particulars of the whole J:>rocess _are in the Office sealed up.
The last mantelets delivered mto store were made by Bargeau in the year I 760 and although from their being first invented a proportionable number have frequently been sent on expeditions yet I have never heard that any one was ever made use ofin actual service. The price Mr Bargeau
was paid for them was £7, exclusive of h •
f . . 1s sa1ary.
. d1 am ~ opmion that Thomas Powrie from his long and faithful services 15 eservmdgBofsome encouragement but think that the five shillings a day
grante to argeau was a re d r h · · c.
b · • h war .lOr 1s discovering his secret there1ore su nnt it tot e Honourable Board whether his decease makes 'a vacancy
or not.
S On 3° January 177°, the day following the submission of the urveyodr-heneral's report, the Board decided that no vacancy had occurre t rough Bargeau'8 d h b · h
h th h eat , ut agreed that Powrie m1g t aadive. e ouse and garden upon condition that he held himself in re ness to resume without s l h • 'f d
when required.la ' a ary, t e making of mantlets 1 an
a Ordnance Reporu, PRO{W0/554/4, f. 61.
go
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
In view of Hornbuckle's contrac~ it is possible that the mantl workshop was not the Armoury Mills, but some other et
· h . property in
Lew1s am belonging to the Board of Ordnance.
In I 807, the original mill was extended and became th R Small Arms Factory at Lewisham (known as the Royal ; oyal Mills). The erection of the new small arms factory at Enfi l~~ury and the termination of the Napoleonic wars spelt the closue f ohck
L · h . re o t e
ew1s am factory and its sale by the Board of Ordnance On .
· . · passmg
int_o private hands the establishment soon became known as th s·tk Mzlls, though the high brick walls and massive gates flanked be hzlf sunken cannon still gave an air ofgovernment ownership Th y a
. · e name
serv~d ~o cloak the real nature of the industry carried on behind the forb1ddi1:g portals, viz, the manufacture of gold and silver lace for the Se~v1ces. Much of the gold cloth a~d gorgeous brocade worn b the princes of India emanated from this source. After the disapp y
ear
ance of the Silk M ills a new workshop was erected and owned b
W arp Knitters Ltd. Except for this, ruin and decay had by
193~
invaded the erstwhile factory, the gaunt remains of the once solid gateway testifying the glories of the past. The gates had gone and one upright of masonry festooned, entan?-led and rotted by creepers mutely proclaimed the pomps of a varushed yesterday. Now even worse has befallen this historic site. True, the creepers have disappeared but so have the houses and cottages, blasted into nothingness by Hitler's bombs. A new building on part ofthe area has arisen like a phoenix from the ashes and this is occupied by T. J. Hunt Ltd a firm of printers. Warp Knitters Ltd have quitted their premises: and for the rest a car park sprawls over the remainder. What an end to the Armoury Mill of Henry VIII. 'So noble a master fallen! all gone! and not one friend to take his fortune by the arm and go along with him.' Well might the cry of 'Ichabod' a_sc:nd to _high Olympus.
All evidence tends to show that, from their 1ncep1:Ion, the Greenwi_ch workshops made little armour, probably not more than a_d~zen suits and head-pieces a year. They were set up solely for specialized products and were limited to the output ofwhat we should now term 'show-pi;ces'. Henry VIII never contemplated using the yre~ses for the production of soldiers' armour, such a com~odity being mainly purchased in overseas markets. In order to introduce the manufacture offine armour into England Henry V_III brought over craftsmen from the continent. They came from Milan, the Nether
lands A b Nuremburg Innsbruck and Cologne. In the ah
' ugs urg, , · h h
sence ofsuitable shops in the Tower and at Greenw1c , w_ ere p an had not yet materialized these foreigners were temporanly accom· · 'workrooms and stores at Southwark, once
modated 1n some repair .
the home of the Poynings family, adjacent to an old ~nn _call d :h
Holy Water Sprinkler. The Milanese were the first to arnv , th v. r
91
THE BACKGROUND
at work by 1511. The Germans or Almains, as they were termed, ?id not commence operations till 1514. On 22 July 1514 the following entry occurs in State Papers. 24
To John Blewberry for the wages of armourers of Milan £6 I 3s. 4d. ; for 2 hogsheads of wine for the said armourers 53s.. 4d.; for rewar? of the said armourers £4; for the glasyers of the same mill, and one sp1?dle to the same glasyers £4; for a grindstone and the beam to the same mill 20s.; for the carriage of the mill to Greenwich 2s.
John Blewberry, the Yeoman of the Tower Armoury,. was from time to time paid considerable sums to acquire tools, mill wheels, materials and other impedimenta for the shops both at Southwark and Greenwich. The Greenwich armoury, though in use by I 5 18, was not completed till 1520. Two further quotations from State documents clearly indicate that Blewberry was a very important personage in the armour world, Henry evidently considering him a reliable and trustworthy overseer who could with perfect confidence be despatched abroad to obtain the essentials of his craft.
18 September 1514. To John Blewberry for the new forge at Greenwich made for the armourers of Brussels; a vice 13s. 4d.; a great bekehouse 6os·; a small bekehouse 16s.; a pair ofbellows 30s.; a pype stake 3s. 4d.; a creSt stake,µ.; a vysure stake,µ.; a hanging pype stake,µ. 4d.; a stake for h:ad pieces 5s.; two curace stakes IOs.; 4 pair of sherys [shears] 4.0s.; 3 plating hammers Bs.; 3 hammers for the head pieces 5s.; a crest hammer for the head piece 20d.; 2 hammers 2s. Bd.; 2 greve hammers 3s. 4d.; one meeke h~mmer 16d.; 2 pleyne hammers 2s. ; 2 platynge hammers 2s. ; 2 chesels with an helve Bd.; a crest hammer for the curace 12d.; 2 rivetting hammers 16d.; a boos hammer 12d.; 1r fylys [files] IIs.; a pair of pynsors I Bd.; 2 pairs of tongs 16d.; a harth stake 6d.; 2 chesels and 6 ponchons 2s· ; a water trough I Bd.; a tempering barrel 12.d.; 1 anvil 2.os. ; 6 stocks to set in the tolys IOs.; 16 dobles at 16d. a doble 21s. d.; 13 quarter of colys
[ coals J6s. gd.2s 4
1
9 September 1514· To John Blewberry for a hide of leather to cover th~ same harness conveyed to Nottingham 3s.; a rest to the same harness 25·, !eath~rs, buckles, charnells and nails for the same 8s.; a lock for the hamper ~n which. the harness was kept 4d.; the hire ofa horse to clean the harness m th~_mill 2s.; for stuff and lining to the headpiece of the harness 12d.; for hinng two horses for Copyn and Peter the armourers to convey the harness_to Nottingham 13s. 4d.; costs ofth~mselves and ho~ses for 1 6 days2?s· ;_ hire of a cart for conveyance of the said stuff from London to ottmgham I6s. Bd.; 12 vices 4-J'.; a millman's wages for 3 months at 20d. ~ week. To John Blewberry for provision to be made by him in Antwerp
th
m e parts ofBrabant for stuff to make harness £36 · his costs in Antwerp
40s.; the fee of Copyn W tt d p ' If ear
din th a e an eter Fever armourers for ha a Y ' en g e feast of St Michael the Archangel,next comi;g £10.25
" Lettcn and Papen F · d .
: Henry VIII, vol. 1: /;~r, an Domestic, Henry VIII, vol. I. Henry VIII, vol. I, p. 953.
92
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
Work was evidently still in progress at Southwark in 1518 for payment was made in April of that year to Sir Edward Guildford2~ of the sum of£5. 17s. 6½d. for 'certain stuff bought for our armoury houses at Greenwich and Southwark and for wages etc'.2s After vacating Southwark, probably ab?ut 1520, the Milanese may have plied their trade for a short penod at Greenwich but they soon returned home. Possibly our damp climate did not conduce to their health and comfort. But whatever.the reason their departure left the field clear for the eleven Alma1ns who formed the core of the technical staff at Greenwich. They were at work alongside the Milanese in Southwark as early as 1514 and were still there five years later for their pay for 28 days at that place in January was
1519
£ 16. r3s. 7d. 29 There can be little doubt that they took over their new
premises at Greenwich in the following year.
A lengthy report was drawn up in _th_e hand~ting of Sir John
Cokeso and issued in 1630 by a Comm1ss10n especially appointed to
investigate the current state of the Royal Armouries. It opens with
a reference to the proposal for establishing ~rmoury shops at Green
wich upon which Henry vrr_r embarke~ ID. the early years of his
reign and states 'The institution began 1n the tyme of Henrie the
8th, who, that he might set up the manufacture of ar_mer in his own
Kingdom (wch in al former times had been bought 1n foren parts),
brouo-ht over Master workmen and other Armourers out ofGermanie
and ~ ttled them at Greenwich in dwelling and working houses wher
they have continued in succession, b~t never increased ~bove the
first number ofone·and twentie, nor raised the workmanship or store
of armer to anie considerable condition. So as foren services have
been supplied by emptions made by merchants or by armorers in
London; for which ther bath been _raised another Armorie in the
tower. And besides theis two Armones, ther have be~n armors kept
at W. d H pton Cort Westminster, Woolwich and Ports-
in sore, am , . . mouth and other places.' After detailing the_different posts held by th · ffi · 1 the report goes on to give the names and pay
e various o cia s, . . p· k · M of the Greenwich armourers when W11l1am ic enng was aster
· the warrant of I 60831 and records that all
Workman as set out 1n . • h 11., th · '· held for life with authority to t e .1.vlaster
eir appomtments are h h d h
W h Vacancies as may occur t roug eat or
orkman to fill a11 sue d 'Th M dismissal for misconduct. The report then procee ds Che b alst~r W t th ·r admittance by the Lor am er a1n
orkmen are sworn a ei G · h ·
f h K. , H . nd so are all the rest.... At reenwic 1t
o t e 1ng s owse, a d c. • d
· ours have been ma e 1or service an
appeareth not that arue arm
27 Appointed Master of the Armouries in ,?06;
28 8
Exchequer KR, account _4 1 7/2 ,d1ttJ~ti~~H~nry III, vol. 3, part 2, p. 153 •
29 Letters and Papers, Foreign an 30 Secretary of State.
31
S.P. Dom. Car. I, vol. 179, no. 65·
93
THE BACKGROUND
the workmen chalenge as their privilege to make armors only for the King's person; and for such noble men as bring warrant under the King's hand.32 And for the most part, they have made none but tilting armors, for which they demand XVH an armour besides the King's wages33•••• At the Tower in like maner no armours have been made, neither doth the office ofthe Armourie make provision ofarms for service against an enimie. But in effect is imploied only in repairing decaied armours, and making cleane the armer in store ... and this is al I can finde of the woorke donne in the Office wch cost his Mte above roooli by yeare34 ; besides new provisions.' The report ends with an exhaustive analysis of the various accounts of the armourers,35 points out defects in the organization and suggests
various reforms.
By 1520 then work was in full swing at Greenwich and the ring ofthe armourers' hammers on the anvils must have formed a constant undertone in the orch~stration of sound which daily enveloped the palace. Though small 1n numbers and select in skill, the workmen from all accounts formed a busy band in executing the King's commands. The monthly payments to the Almain armourers were always £28. r6s. gd.,36 a figure which constantly occurs in the house
hold expenses of Henry VIII, and although the establishment expanded slightly in the course of years the numbers em ployed remained on the who~e remarkably const;nt. Two documents show the developments dunng Henry's reign.
The first, of course, refers to Southwark since Greenwich was not t?en in occupati~n, ~ statement reinforced by the fact that in November 1516 Sir ~chard Guildford37 was paid £ r6. 13s. 2 d. for the wages of the Alma1n armourers at Southwark.as
20 May 151(;39
Item to John Blewberry y ff
d ur fAr ' eoman armourer upon a warrant for stu
an nage o moury: '
11 Up to the present only tv,o su h .
Hatton and the other for Richard Bc warrants have come to light. One for Christopher
./; rowne.
( )
a 30 une 1561. The Queen (Elizab th) s·
to make a complete suit of arm e to ir (?eorge Howard, Master of the Ar1:1ou~ to be delivered to him on his a o_ur for 9hnstopher Hatton, gentleman pensioner, no. 33, p. 242.) P ymg the Just value thereof. (S.P.Dom. Eliz. vol. 34,
(b) March 1603. The Queen (Elizab our Almain armourer to mak et:h) to the Master of Ordnance, You are to cause complete for the tilt, as for th:fiui~ ofgood ar1:1our for our servant Richa~d Browne, stuff thereof. (S.P.Dom. El' le 'at our price for the making, he paying for the
la £15. lZ. VO. 287, no. 70.)
" £1000.
11 S.P. Dom. Car I vol
.. Lcttcn and p . ' p' I ~9, no. 65.
88o apcrs, ore1gn and D • I
noi, . . . omestic, Hen. VIII, vol. I 5, no. 599· vo . I 7, Sir Ri~ Guildford, x.o. M . ~~~ildford who followed ii· aster of the Armouries 1485-1506. Father of Sir .. ~i.c:n and Papen Foreian und as Master.
Excheq TR ' -o·• an 0 om t' H
uer · · 215, folio 37a& B Mes ic, en. VIII, vol. 2, part 2, p. 1473. · · add. MSS. 21481, folio 189.
94
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
first to Martyn, Master Armourer .................... .
30s. IOd.
Item to Dericke Hunger ....... • • • • • • • • • ............ .
4d.
,, Hans Mery ........ • • • • • • • · · · • • • • .... . 12s.
" . · · · · • l2S. 4d.
, , Hans Clyngeldegill ..... • • • • • • ............... .
" l2S.
4d.
,, Cons van Mervanbury . • • • • • • ............... .
r I~
" 4d.
,, Hans Webbeler Poly1ery • • • • ................. . 12s.
" 4d.
,, Hans Drost .... • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ••..... r2s.
" 4d.
,, Poulys Mer....... • • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • ....... .
" l2S.
4d.
,, Gyllys the prentice • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . . . . . 6s.
" 8d.
for their bed and lodging · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . . r I os.
" od.
to 2cwt. of iron .... • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . . . . gs.
" od.
,, 1olb. of steel ..... • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · •.......... . 20d.
"
,, coals ........ • • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • • . . 20s.
rod.
"
,, their diet ....... • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · £12. os.
od.
"
,, 2016. of Emery • • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • . 5s.
od.
"
The second document is in the British Museum40 though anoth
P 41 I . er
copy is preserved among the State . ap,ers. t IS dated 1540 and contains a complete account of the King s Armoury, with the names of the armourers as follows :
The Charges of the King's Own Armoury, accounting the Master of t~e Arm ury's fee, Clerk and Yeor~an's wage and five arm~urers for his highness' wn provision with one gilder two lockyers one nullman and a prentic in the year.
In primis the Mr of the Armourer's fee by the year and is paid b y the Customery of Chichester · : · · · · · · · · · · · · £31• I IS. od. Item the Clerk and Yeoman hath for their wage 22s. the month apiece and is paid by the Treasurer ofthe Chamber by the ............... • • • • • • • • • • •. £28. 12s. od.
I temy~::~~~s· ~h~ ·Chief Armourer ha~h for his wage by the month 2 6s. 8d. and is paid by the said Treasurer. ... sum b th ........... • • • • · · · · · • • · • £17. 6s. 8d.
Ite~ ol:/::r~;~ ·h~th ~Bs. 10d. the month which is by the ....... • • • • • • • • £25. 5s. 1od. Itemy~:~h~~-D~th~~k-h;~h -~~-.·~he month which is by th ............... £15. 12s. od.
e year........... • • · · · · · · · · · · · h h · h 15 · Item Hans Clinkedager hath 24-J• the mont w IC £
by th . . . . . . . . . . . . 15. 12s. od.
ye!!e:!::~er:K~~~:~;t~;~-:~~~ ~~~~~ ~~i~h-i~-~~ '.~~ £is. 12s.
od.
Item the Gilder wage by the year · · · · · · · ·: · · · · ·h·. ·h· · · · · • 4os. od. month apiece w 1c
. I tern the two lockyers hath 2os· a . . . . . . . . . . £26. os. od.
is ~{e!~i:: j:,;;~ ~;.· ~-~~~-1j,-~i,i~I~·i~ ~y t~e ybearh.. £15. 12s. od.
11 Item for the prentice 6d. by the day which 15 y t e year ......................... £9. os. 10d.
....................
:; LB.M. Royal 89, folio 75.. d D mestic Hen. VIII, vol. Ij no. 599·
etters and Papers, Foreign an ° '
8 95
THE BACKGROUND
Item for 8 bundles of steel to the said armoury for the whole year. 38s. the bundle. Sum .................... £ 15. ,µ. od. I tern for the rest of the house at £7 the month which is by the year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £g 1• os. od. Sum £308. 8s. 4d.
In primis the wage of 12 armourers two locksmiths and 4 apprentices !o be divided into tv. o shops, every of the armourers their wage at 24S. the month and the locksmiths at 20s. a month and every prentice 6d. the day amounting by the fyear to the sum of ............... £ 155. 12s. od.
Item the wage o 2 millmen at 24S. the month. Sum by the year ......................................... £31 . 4S· od. Item for 16 bundles of steele to serve both shops a whole year at 38s. a bundle. Sum .......................... £ 3o. 8s. od. Item to every of the said shops 4 loads of charcoal a month at gs. the load. Sum in the year £ 1 0 d
40
Item one hide ?f buff leather every ~~~~h ·;0~ · 6~~1; · gs. ·
shoipts at/osb. thhe hh1de. Sum in the year .......... . . . .. £6. ros. od. em JOr ot s ops one cow hide a m th t 6 Bd the hide. Sum in the year ............. on a s. ·
6
Item one hundredth oflron every month f~; b~~h ~h~~ ~ · £4. s. Bd. atI6ts. 81. th~ hundreith. Sum in the year . . . . . . . . . . . . . £4. 6s. Bd. em m wisp stee1JOr both shops every th lb
. man 15 . at 4d· the ~oun. • d Sum m the year .......... .
Item m wire monthly to both sh lb....... . . . . . . . . 65s. od. pound. Sum in the year . . . . . . . . ops I 2 • at 4d. the
52
Item in nails and buckl r. · · · · • • • · • · • · · · · · · • • · • · • • s. od.
. th es JOr both shops monthly 5s
Sum m e year . . . . . . . · Item to every of the s~id · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·.· • • • • •.. . . . . 65s. od. millmen for their liveries armourers, locksmiths and yard 3 yard of kerse t 4 yard broad cloth at 5s. the in the year for 12 arm~ a 2s. the yard whole amounting men at 26s. for the m urers, two locksmiths and two mill-an · · · · · · · · · · · · · •............. £20. 16s. od.
That these 12 armourers two I . Sum £303. 4-f· 4d. and 4 apprentices will make ocksm1t_hs two millmen bundles ofsteel and th th yearly with the said 16
e o er stuff afo "d h
complete every harness t b resai 32 arnesses at £12 which amountetho. ~~ated to the King's highness sum of ...............~n e year towards his year the
Itemofthesaid 12arm ......................... £384. os. od. • ourers to b d · ·d d .
as IS aforesaid 4 of them shall b e 1v1 e mto 2 shops shop, wherein his grac h II e taken out of Erasmus'
e s a save y I · .
and livery the sum of ear Y m their wage Although 'Old M .......... · · · ····· ····........ £68. os. od. . artyn Van Ro ' · d
received the highest w f yne was still working in 1540 an in the post ofChiefArage O all, he had been supplanted by Erasmus ·ty . h mourer As th b'l
1 JS t at 'Old Mart , h · ere were two shops the proba 1 yn ad charge of one while Erasmus was
96
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
certainly in charge of the other. Hans Clinkedager may be th
· d · "d 1 e same
In IVl ua as Hans Clyngegill, but otherwise the personnel had
changed. When Erasmus assumed the post of Chief Armo
M t W k . . urer, or
as er or man as It IS usually called, is not known His nam fi
. · e rst
appears on 20 ebruary 1519, when he IS referred to as 'an armo ,
• . F urer
Agam In November 1519 he is mentioned as 'Asymus Ky ·
r. , . renor armourer 1or the bo~y, whe~ he IS gr~nted ?-n annuity of £lo.42 I~
1538, he was app01nted King's Brzgandarzus43 vice John G deceased, who had followed his father, William Gurre in the urre,
. d h" . . M W ' same
post. Erasmus retame IS position as aster orkman until 1 60
thus completing over 50 years in his calling. His Christian n~ '
assumed various forms, Asimus, Asymus, Asmus, Herasmus wh~le
. . , I e
h. IS surname was written Kyrkonor, Krukner and Crykoner, but he 1s usually referred to as 'Erasmus Kyskener'.
_The complete list of Master Workmen at Southwark and Greenwich is as under:
Martyn Van Royne 1511-?
Erasmus Kyskener ?-1560
J hn K elte 1560-1576
Jacob Halder 1576-1607
44
William Pickering 1607-1618 Thomas Stevens 1618-1628 icholas Sherman 1628 till the armoury closed down
The royal armour was stored in several places, the chief among which being the Tower, Hampton Court, Windsor, Portsmouth, Woolwich and Greenwich, the latter becoming the principal depot on H enry VIII's accession and retaining its pride of place till the days of the Commonwealth. It must be appreciated that armour, as an item of military equipment, had become largely redundant by the close of Henry's life. Elizabeth's reign ushered in the true era of enriched armour. The suits produced were ornate to a degree and vied with one another in richness and inlay. Ceasing to be of any practical value on the battlefield armour became a matter of display for the tournament. It was the final paean which heralded its swansong. Wealthy nobles spent large sums on exotic suits which served no useful purpose save to enhance the personal adornment of their wearers and add to the general pageantry of the tilt. By Stuart times armour had sunk to a purely sartorial level. For some time it had
42 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, H~n. V~II, v_ol. 3, part I, no. 529. 43 Brigandarius was the official responsible for bng~ndmes, _i.e. the body armour ,~orn by the common soldier. It consisted of a leathem or linen tunic covered with small pieces ofsteel.
44 The first Englishman to hold this appointment. In a ,,·-1:rrant dated I I Jul: 1614 w~erein he was paid £2 oo, the balance of £340 for arm~>U~ gilt and graven forth l t prince, he is styled 'Master of the Armoury at Greenwich• (S.P.Dom. Jas. I, 1. 77
no. 62 (Sign Manual, vol. IV, no. 29).)
97
THE BACKGROUND
been resisting the encroachments of the fire-arm but the march of events proving irresistible the bullet emerged as the undisputed victor.
The principal rooms in the palace at Greenwich allotted to the manufacture and display of armour were the Green Gallery, the Great Chamber, Mr Pickering's workhouse, the cutting house, the locksmiths' office and the staff houses. The official in charge, known as the 'Keeper of the Armour', was usually a courtier standing high in the royal favour. This position had been previously held by George Lovekyn and SirJohn Dudley when in June 1538 it was granted to Thomas Colepeper, one ofthe gentlemen ofthe Privy Chamber, who was made 'Keeper of the Armoury for the King's Body and other habilaments ofwar in the long galleries ofthe tilt-yard at Greenwich' with similar fees to those enjoyed by his predecessors and an annuity of 100 marks.45 Poor Thomas! His tenure was short. His crime was lese-maj~ste for he had the presumption to fall deeply in love with Katherme Howard, Henry VIII's fifth wife. He was attainted and,
on 20 December 1541, John Paston, another Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, ';'as appointed in his stead. His patent laconically decribes the post as lately held by Thomas Colepeper attained Ho sley 1 gth December'.John Paston was paid a salary of£r6. rss. 4d. for keeping the long gallery at Greenwich.47 Subsequent holders of the office of Keeper of the Armoury at Greenwich were Sir Thomas M orison 48 Francis_I~goldsby,4_9 Cipriano Scot,50 Sir ThomasJay 51John Cler k~s2 a~d William Burgis.53 The order of succession h~wever is com
plicat7d by the f~ct that grants to this position ~ere often' made in revers10n. Sometimes the assignees died b r th bl t
en·o th fi ·t Of Offi . e1ore ey were a e o
~ Yd eh rui s ce-.Edward Pigeon belonged to this category50 -han ot ers were appointed in their reversionary places. Sometimes t ere were two aspirants ·t· . .
. . wai mg vamly for the coveted post. This
appomtment was nominally for 1·fc b h d
it for any length oftime Th . i e ut _t e holders seldom retaine the ban ofdis l ·Ar. ey either received preferment or fell under
p easure. ruter the Tud . h d h
growing impoverishment of ors vams e from the st~g~, t e public life and und th S the Crown added to the uncertainties of
' er e tuarts this t t f .er. •
sively chronic. The Office of s a e_ o auairs became progresmalaise. Arrears in sal . dArmoury did not escape the general
. anes an wages
m the seventeenth cent were an everyday occurrence
O
ury. n r6 May 1627 there was a warrant to
: Rot. Pat. 30 Hen. VIII n Rot. Pat. 33 Hen. VIII' p. :, m. 2, 27 June 1538.
"~~and Papers, For~i~ ~nr:i'J~:n20JJecember 1541. u s:p:no::JJas.I, vol. 62, no. 14, II M~:~hH6en. VIII, vol. 17, no. 880, 1542.'° S p Do Jas. I, vol. 135, no 25 162 I I I.
.. m. as I v I • , 2.
11 S p Do . ' o. 132 no 26 (S"
II s:p:no:·~-II, vol. 117, n~. 63 2~gs Manubal, vol. 13, no. 71.) 11 July 1622.
11 sp Dom. · , vol 119 n0 ' eptem er 1628
· · •Car. I, vi • 33, 27 October 1628. ·
231 '
'no. 23, II January 1633. 98
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREE N WICH
pay arrears of wages to the armourers at Greenwich for fifteen months amounting to £575, out ofmoney raised by the sale ofCrown lands, but the most pathetic case on record must surely be that of Francis Ingoldsby who appears to have been treated in a most cavalier fashion. He was an ancient retainer of the Crown in more senses than one and probably at his age a little senile, but this was no excuse for the treatment meted out to him. In order to obtain the wherewithal to keep body and soul together, he addressed in desperation a series ofpetitions to the Earl ofMiddlesex, the Lord Treasurer. There are at least three of these documents in existence. Their sequence is difficult to determine as the dates as well as the old man's idea of his age are rather confused, but the fact remains that these piteous appeals throw a blinding searchlight on the depraved state of the public conscience then existing.
One petition dated June 162354 is couched in the following terms:
ost humbly sheweth that beinge the ouldest servant to Queen Elizabeth and his Matie and havinge nothinge in the world to relieve him but the ifee of xxd the day for keepinge his Matie Armorye at Greenwich for wh hee is behinde 6 yeares and is so far indebted that hee is like to perrish
eing aged go yeares and not able to sue_ for it_hims~lfe. !"1e 1;1ost humbly beseecheth yor honor to vouchsafe to relieve him with his said arrears of fees to enable him to pay his debts and to keepe him from starvinge. And he shall truly pray for yor honors increase of all perfect felicity.
This cri-de-coeur is endorsed: Let paymt be made to this poor olde man of one yeares fee out of six yeares arere due unto him
Middlesex.
The next one, dated 16 September 162255 runs as follows:
To the right honorable sr Lionel Cranfeild, Earle of Middlesex, Lo high Treasorer of England. . . . The humble petition of Fraunc1s Ingoldsby, Keeper of his Mattes Armorie at Greenwich. Most humbly sheweth that being decr~pit a~d aged fourscore an~ t~n is not able to sue for himself hath not received his fee of xxd a day this six ye_ares. Wheref~re he mo~t h_umbly besee?het~ yr h_ono: in tender com
miseration of his great misene to grant h_1m his renges 6 or part !hereof to pay his debts and keepe him from starvmge for he doth dayly faithfully pray for yr honrs perfect happiness.
This is endorsed:
For him soe to be payd.
u Quoted from a paper 'The story of Greenwich _Armoury~ by_ Artht~r D .... harp, published in the Transactions of the Greenwich and Lewisham Ant1quaria11 on 9·, vol. Ill
no. 4, p. 162, 1929.
55 S.P. Dom. Jas. 1, vol. 135, no. 25.
56 Arrears.
99
THE BACKGROUND
The third, dated 1623, is written in a similar vein. 67
To the Right honorable the Earle of Midd Lord high Treasorer of England. The humble petition of Frauncis Ingoldsby Kepr of his Maties Armorie at Greenwich.
Most humbly sheweth that being the ouldest servant the King hath and having nothinge in the world to releeve him but the fee ofxxd by the day for keepinge his Maties Armorie at Greenwich wch hath not byn paid him this seven yeares and more havinge not byn able to sue for it himself being decrepit and aged fourscore and eight yeares and is run soe farr in debt that he is lyke to be turned out ofhis house and all he hath seized on and like to perrish for want.
Wherefore hee most humbly beseecheth yr hon°r in tender compason ofhis great miserie to give order that hee may receive all his said reriges56 offee to keep him from starvinge and he shall spend the remaynder of his days in continuall prayer for yr honrs increases of all true and perfect felicities.
No action seems to have been taken on this particular version of the petition. It is endorsed in a later hand:
Francis Ingoldsby, Armorer at Greenwich 1623 We become tired with contemplating the abuses practiced in every ~epartmen.t under James t~e. first. This Petition from a man of eightyeight labormg under Infirmities and unpaid for seven years of his small daily fe:, is only one more.added to many Proofs of the wretched state of the Fmances under that mglorious and profuse reign.
It seems incredible to modern minds that such things could ever have happened.in the royal service, but a perusal of contemp orary docum;snts furrushes the proof. For instance, in February r627, Lord Totnes rec~mme~ds the surrender of John Cooper's patent of Keeper of Bngandmes and Surveyor of the King's Armoury a t the
T
ower and at Greenwich· but C b · · · d
t d . . ' ooper, e1ng a man ofsp1nt, refuse :e;~~n er_ 1\~ll t~e arrears of his fee of r6d. a day for r8 months th
another ~~:~:ii:;~ides e Keeper and M~ster Workman there was the Armo , w·m e ~mou~-y at Greenwich styled the 'Yeoman of for life onu~ N1 a: arwin was granted this office, in reversion, Armoury' wh ;vemher 1613·6° Finally there was the 'Clerk of the this post at Go ept ~ he accounts. William Sugden was appointed to
reenw1c as well a th f C .
the Tower ofLond A . s at o lerk of the Armoury 1n an annual allowan~:iF ~ pBrdil 16°~-His fee was 2s. 6d. a day with
2 s. . for livery.s1
,1 Saclcvillc (Knole) MSS Ser·
" Master of the Ordnance· ies 1' no. 5864 (Old numbers)
"S.P.Dom · . •• S.P. Dom:'i::_},v:o/ 55, no. 70, February 1627. ei S.P. Dom.Eliz. ~ol. ;775, no. 17, 20 N~vember 1613.
9, no. 52, 2 April i6o1.
100
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
Like any other organization, especially in which ease of living depended more on perquisites than on wages, the Armoury Office at Greenwich was not without its squabbles. In I 625, the officers and armourers of the King's Almayne Office of Armoury at Greenwich forwarded a petition to the Commissioners of the Ordnance and the Army, setting forth the institution of their office by Henry VIII and incorporating certain information laid against them by one Faulkener, 'a man not able to do anything in the Work'. They pra; the Commissioners to investigate the charges against them.62 On 2 November 1627 Roger Faulkener defends himself by assuming the offensive. He informs the king63 that the armourers at Greenwich have performed small service of late. He states that during the last seven years they have received £3,000 and have not made seven armours for the king's use. He attributes this negligence to Sir William
Cope, Master of the Armouries, and prays that the Greenwich armourers may be employed in 'translating old armour'.64 Surveys of the armour stored in the :7ari~us depots were fr~quently u ndertaken, and certain of these which included Greenwich took pla c in:
154765 13 February 156566 30 December r 56967 February 158668 June 158869 162070
These lists are far too long to quote and save ~or the exJ?ert provide little interest. A precis of the 1569 accoun~ will be sufficient to indicate the items involved and the stocks held·
I 150
Demi-lances .. • • • · · · · · · Flanders corslets. • • · · · · · 42 49 3466
Almain corslets . • • · · · · · ·
Brigandines . • • · · · · · · · · 145 I 100
Shirts of mail . • • · · · · · · · 580 pairs
Sleeves of mail • · · · · · · · ·
.•...... • 10
Jacks71 .......
14,43°
Morions ... • • • · · · · · · · · ·
62 S.P. Dom. Car. I, vol. 13, no. 96, 1625· 63 Charles I. N bcr 16"7
64 S.P. Dom. Car. I, vol. 84, no. 5, 2 ovem -· 65 Archaelogia, vol. LI. February 1565.
6
6 6 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol. 36, no. l ' 13 December 1569. 67 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol. 15, no. 135, 3o 86 68 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol. 198, no. 79, February 1S ·
528
69 S.P. Dom. Eliz., vol.211, no. 83, Jun ~ ·
101 • 162
70 S.P. Dom. Jas. I, vol. 1_18? no. be~on A padded linen garment worn
71 Jack. A Body vestment s1m1lar to a gam · a shirt of mail.
101
THE BACKGROUND
Sculls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,700
Steel saddles . . . . . . . . . . . 186
Shaffrons72 ••••••••••.. 360
Ermets73 •••••••••••••• 6
The above equipment was stored in the Tower of London, Hampton Court, Windsor, Westminster and Greenwich, and was, ofcourse, in addition to any fine suits belonging to the 'King's body'.
There was, however, a complete inventory taken by a Commission in June 1611, after the death of Sir Henry Lee, K.G., Master of the Armoury, and on the succession of Sir Thomas Monson to that office.74 As this details the whole of the items stored in the various rooms and houses at Greenwich, it is set out at length in Appendix V.
The Masters of the Armoury, or their deputies, resided by virtue of their office, in the mansion house in the tilt-yard, though in point offact it was usually the local Keeper of the Armoury at Greenwich who took up residence there.
As the seventeenth century advanced armour became of less and less moment and the work of the armourers declined in importance. No doubt the realiza~on ofits approaching obsolescence was hatef~l to ~11 concerned, and its final phase was the perennial story of man s resistance t~ ch~nge. Although Tennyson tells us that 'The old order chan~eth, ):elding place to new' human inertia against adopting new techmques 1s very marked. It even took centuries before the fire-arm
finally s?perseded the bow, for two hundred and fifty years after ~he commg of the hand-gun, Michael Montaigne could still lament its appearance 75 There di
· was a sort of halo of romance surroun ng armour and all that it represented which made kings and nobles loathdto a?andon it. It was the last vestige of feudalism wherein the
arme krught cons'd1 d h' .
foo Id' . ere 1mself a bemg apart from the common ~~o iei and It degenerated at the last into an emblem of sno ery. d uht evolution cannot be stemmed so armour had to dis
appear an t e craft to d I '
of Cha I I h' h ecay. ts fate was sealed by the martyrdom
r es w ic caused th G . . d
for ever. e reenw1ch Armoury to close its oors
Charles I spent much ti · G . .
completion of th Q ~em reenw1ch palace superintending the commenced for Ae u}e; s House for his wife. The residence was I lost interest in i;ne~ Jnmark, but after her death in I 6I gJames thus remained in atn or ered all work on it to be stopped. It had
eyance for ten years. Charles I left the palace 71 Ska./fron. A mask of iron ho:-:C~ h~ i.e. the face ancl'~~per, brass or leather covering the front portion of a .r:.nnit. A kind fl' h · ·
,. S p Do O 1g t iron cap.
" Third.: m. Jas. I, vol. 64, nos 7
10n of the Seigneur d · M' 72,,1une 1611. YI• Sec chap. 1 page 21. e ontaigne. Born 28 February 1533. Famous for his
102
CROWN ESTABLISHME. TS AT GREENWICH
at Greenwich for the last time in 1641 on a journey to the north which led ultimately to the block. After his execution, Greenwich, with other royal estates, was seized by Parliament, but when the Crown lands were sold pursuant to the ordinance of 16 July 164g, it was excluded from the sale, Bulstrode Whitelock being made Keeper of the Park and High Steward of the Manor of Greenwich. It was decided on 21 December 1651 that the Greenwich demesne should be reserved for Oliver Cromwell but the Commonwealth requiring funds for the upkeep of the navy, the House of Commons ' directed on 27 November 1652 that the property should be sold for ready money.76 On 6 December 1652 a survey and valuation was ordered, and on 31 December 1652 the House passed an ordinance for carrying out the sale. Although the palace and park could find no purchaser, portions of the estate passed into other hands; a
messuage at the north end of tilt-yard, a part of the tilt-yard and the Queen's garden being bought by Henry Henn. Eventually in 1654, the Sub-Committee for the revenue after solemn and protracted debates declared the palace at Greenwich together with Hampton Court and Somerset House to befit for the accommodation of the Lord Prot ctor and his successors. Cromwell, however, died in 1658 and the Protectorate came to an end in February 1659. On the Restoration, the manor of Greenwich, its palace and park reverted to the Crown all previous sales being cancelled.
h;t of the Armoury during the Civil War? On 1~ May 1649, the Council of State directed Edward Ansley to be admitted Master enwich and all tools etc. were ordered to be handed
W or kman at Gre .1di d h' h
h. n o the same day the Counci recte im to searc
over to 1m. n .
.c d · h · h arms and armour of the late king wherever
1or an seize t e nc ,
'th all the implements of the armourers craft
concea1ed together wi . .
· h G ' · h k hops 78 A month later he was put m possession
1n t e reenw1c wor s · • M
-9
the Ravensbourne.' In the meantime, rs
of the armoury m1.11 on ·111· · · h
'd f th last Master Workman, was stl ivmg in t e
Sherman w1 ow o e · 11 11 d h
' d bt . n the quarters officia y a otte to er
1
Armoury Office no ou . . • d
Th' did not suit the Puritanical conscience an on late husband. is C ·1 of State instructed Edward Ansley 1o September. I 649 the ?unci e the widow's reasons for retaining
0
to take possess10n of the said offic ' . r. t ry 80 Edward Ansley's Job
. . . · d red unsatls1ac o •
1 t evidently being consi e f ffi •al receiver. He had to take
. d tO that o an o c1
might be compare ttle the accounts and evacuate stock, pack up the accoutrements, s? the armour was moved from the buildings. The greater part 0
,o Journal of the House ofCommons, vo\,viiB t:;2;649 C.S.P. Dom. 1649-1650, p. 533.
1
n State Papers Council of State 1 32 ' 8 May 16_1-9' C.S.P. Dom. 1649-1650, P· ~33. ;s State Papers: Counci~ of State l b1'•~ Proceedin~, vol. ii, no. 18, 13 June 1649, 79 State Papers, Council of State, y 16-0
C.S.P. Dom. 1649-1650, P· i83. r: September 1649, C.S.P. Dom. 16-19-:.> , so State Papers, Council of State I :.>5, 10
p. 546.
103
THE BACKGROUND
Greenwich to the Tower about r644, a transfer evidenced by a petition from Edward Ansley in 1660. Thenceforward the Tower became the main armoury showroom in the country and Greenwich was left derelict, ruin and decay invading its majestic precincts. The tilt-yard was broken up. On ro May 1650, the Council of State directed that its timber was to be applied to the repair of the wharf, and that the boards of the cock-pit and tilt-yard were to be used for repairing the great barn, a building which in due course was converted into a laboratory. The Council ordered the Comptroller of Works to arrange for the necessary work to be carried out.81
What an ignominious end to bluffKina-Harry's hopes and aspirations. The tilt-yard, however, had outlived its usefulness. Constructed in the age when pageantry and chivalry still held the centre of the social stage, it passed with its pomps and vanities into the limbo of forgotten things. With its passing armour became a museum exhibit.
The epitaph of the Greenwich armoury may be told in the words of William Legge, Master of His Majesty's Armourie in I 660,82 who with three other gentlemen carried out a survey of the arm ouries at
the Tower and Greenwich.
Wee doe finde as well upon our owne view as upon the i :i orm ation of ~ivers officers of t~e Ar?1ory, store-keepers and others thD t during ~h_e rune of the late distractions, the severall armes, amunicion, and hab1hments of warr, formerly remayning in the Green Gallery at Greenwich, were all taken and carried away by sundry souldiers who left the doors open. That sundry of the said armes were afterwards brought to the Tower ~f Lon~on by M~. Anneslye, where they are still rema ning. T~at the wamscott m the said Gallery is now all pulled down and earned
nd
~way, a , as we are informed, was employed in wainscotting the house m_t~e ~ower where the said Mr. Anneslye lived. That a great part of the ceilmg 15 very much ruined and the whole house much decayed. That all
the severall tooles and other uten ·1 r k" f r0 rmerly
• • h s1 s ior ma mg o armour 1c remaynmg ~n t e Master Armourer's workhouse there and at the Ar-m~urers'. Mill, were also, within the time of the said distractions, taken an c~ried aw~y (~aveing two old trunks bound about with iron which ;re stl 1re1;1a§~mg m the said workhouse. One old glazeing wheele sold
o a cu_t er mb 00 Lane). That sundry ofthe said tooles and other utensilsh
ave smce een converted d · h ·
the time of th ·d d" an sold to private uses by those who, wit in
e sa1 1straction h d h f h aid
armes and t 1 b h s, a t e command and care o t e s the said too~ :e s~:n :t Greenwi:h and at the Tower. That diverse of bought them Th t h n °ther private men's handes who pretend th~Y the custody ~f Ma ~~ treat Anvill (called the Great Beare) is now in anvill knowne by t~ ic aell Bast~n, locksmith, at Whitehall, and the Coxe one ofhis M _e na~e of the Little Beare is in the custody ofThomas
' aJestY s Armourers. And one combe stake in the custodY 11 State Pa~ Co ·
C S p D r-u, unc1l of State D ' 1650
·,i • om. 1650, p. 151. ' ay s Proceedings, vol. ix, no. 20, ro May ' MSS. of the Earl of Dartmouth v I ...
, 0. lll, p. 3.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
of Henry Keemer, one other of his Majesty's Armourers. And that the said mill formerly employed in grinding, glazing and making cleane of armes is destroyed and converted to other uses by one Mr. Woodward who claimed it by vertue of a graunt from KingJames of blessed memory, but the Officers of the Armorye for his Majesty's use have it now in their possession.
Memorandum: That the severall distinguishments of the armors and furnitures before mentioned viz: The first serviceable, the second defective and to be repaired, the third unserviceable in their ow~ kinds, yet may be employed for necessary uses, and soe reported by R1ch_ard King and Thomas Cox, two of his Majesty's Armourers at Greenwich, who were nominated and appointed in his Majesty's Commission under his Signe Manuall before recited to be assistant in the service. And wee doe think the sam: to be by them' faithfully and honestly distinguished.83
There is little more to tell; the sands of the armoury have nearly
run out. Colonel William Legge,84 who had become Master of the
Armouries on the accession of Charles II, had really a 'care-taker'
appointment. The position was almost. a sinecure. On 5 ~ctober
1666, he was authorized to sell a certain amount of ~nserviceable
h·s charge in the Tower, so as to raise money for
armour held on i G • h as A f h
the r pair of the waterworks or armoury at .reenwic . . urt er blow occurred as the result of a report submitted to the kmg on 3 668 b th Commissioners for Retrenchment of Expenses.
J I
ahnuary Yd de y drastic cuts over the whole field of public
T ey recommen e ver d h c ·
d. B · t ecessity Charles II approve t e omm1s
expen 1ture. owing on M h 668
· , fi d" d · ed a warrant dated 18 arc 1 to put
s10ner~ n mgs ~n issu th of the same month.as Under this axe,
them into operat10n on 25 li · d
whole Office of Armoury were mite to
the annual expenses of the d d c. 1
1 ss than were to be evote to 1a conry.
£400 a year, over £I ,ooo e d . 67 I when Sir Thomas
I . li t The en came in I
t :"as a cnpp ng cu he offices of Master-General of the Ordnance, Chichely was granted t • t Greenwich and Master
11
Keeper of the Armoury i~ the gTa enes a d elsewhere in England.s,
ry in the ower an
of the Arms and Armou d d an independent existence
which ha pursue
Th Offi f Ar
e 1ce o moury bed in the Board of Ordnance and
for at least 350 years became absor
. . 1 ld ld" r J·ust faded away.
like the proverbia o so ie G · h including the 'Great
.c d h torehouse at reenwic '
H ence1orwar t e s · ely devoted to Ordnance
1
' . h "lt d became exc usiv
Barn in t e t1 -yar . . . th gh they were were utilized
ff; . d h kshops pnnutive ou '
a airs, an t e wor . h h d 1 ng been the principal powder for military purposes. Greenwic a O . b' Lieutenant of the Tower, John" ood and
83 Signed by William Legge, J · Ro mson,
Bartholomew Beale. d nd father of George, 1st Lord Dartmouth.
84 Lieutenant-General of the Or na6ce;,ntry Book 23, P· 248. 5 October 1666.
85 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. 171 , no. 1 ' 18 March 1668.
86 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. 2 36, no. 19,,35no. 22, March 1671.
87 S.P. Dom. Car. II, Docquets, vol. 1 ~ , no. 95 July 1671.
5
S.P. Dom. Car. II, Docquets, vo · -' ' 105
THE BACKGROUND
magazine in the country and supplies of that commodity were stored within the palace boundaries. There can be little doubt that on the abolition ofthe armoury the Great Barn was turned into a laboratory, and at the latter end of the seventeenth century this designation had become official. The Greenwich Laboratory manufactured fireworks among which was.funes igniarii or match which soldiers used for their muskets before the introduction of the firelock.ss In r 690 a warrant was issued directing that several grenado shells in 'Our laboratory at Greenwich' be recast into ordnance. Its site was in the N.E. corner
of the tilt-yard on gr?~nd now occupied approximately by the main entrance to the Mant:Ime Museum.
On 9 October r 694 a letter was addressed to the Lords of the Treasury by the Principal Officers of the Ordnance. It ran as follows:89
May it please your LordPPs.
Her MatY having bin pleas d · · · ·
. e some time smce to swmfy her pleasure
for removing all the Powd r. G · c · ·
. . . er 1rom reenw1ch house as L1kew1se our
Laboratory near ad1ommg wch · • . 11
d G ~ is now m Obedf e thereunto actua Y ~~rJve dto rba~esencl and Tilbury whereby the said places are quite
e an we emg restrayned b O d . C .
Great Quantit in the To Y r er m ouncill from_ laying any
. Y wer, are therefore forced to build a :.. cw Powder-
house rn some more conven · l . .
Adm. Rufsell comes home ~ent pace, wh_1ch must be got ready against have made the An d E _rom the Stre1ghts. In order ,,·hereunto we
nexe st1mate of h t h h d w
Laboratory for fixing shells a w a t_ e c arge of that an a ne
Lay before y0 r LordPPs d .n? Carcafses will amount to wch we humbly payments afsigned vs for th~s::n~ w: may have money by 50~ weekly be lost. rvice m performance whereof no time must
Wee are Office of Ordnance. May it please Yor LordPP
gth October Most Obedt humble Servants 1694. Jon Charlton, Tho. Littleton, Wm. Boulter, Rt. Honobie the Lords f h Chris. Musgrave.
0 t e Treasury Attached to the letter ·
· are two e f 'A
Estimate for building M s 1mates. The first is entitled: n wharfe for shipping a ~ new . a~azine for Powder and a convenient for building a proofe-nh unshippmg into and out of the same as also
ouse and d 11· ' '
The total estimate w £ we 1ng house for the storekeeper·
6 2 18
house was £434. 1os. 0;~ ' · 13s. gd. ofwhich the storekeeper's
. Th~ second estimate for t smce it was to be at W I .he laboratory will be referred to later Th · 00 w1ch
e estimate for the ' . October 1694 and was · ew Magazine for Powder' was dated 6
• signed b JOh
11 ~• KtnJ, vol. 1, p. _ Y n Charlton, Thomas Littleton,
28
ttaaury Papen, vol. XXIX
'no. 57.
106
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREE~WICH
and William BouJter. As will be seen, the request of the Ordnance authorities bore fruit very rapidly.
A report by Samuel Travers, the Surveyor-General, dated g June r 693, recommended that a 'Survey of His Majesty's Lordship or Manor of East Greenwich in the County of Kent' should be undertaken, and this was carried out in 1695 by virtue of a Commission under the Great Seal dated 2 November 7 William III. The map which accompanied the survey90 shows very clearly the layout then existing in the palace grounds. The survey states that the Queen's Garden, the N.E. portion of the tilt-yard and about half the buildings therein were used 'For the service oftheir Majestys' Ordnance'; from which it may be inferred that Greenwich by the end of the seventeenth century had become a consid_erable Ord~ance depo~. By this date the old powder magazine had disappe~re~, its place bemg taken by a building, known as the 'New Magazine very recently erected in an isolated position on the south bank of the Thames on t?e
promontory leading towards the pn~s~nt Blackwall Tu~nel. ~ts site is th spot where the existing Mauntms Road would, if contmued, hit the ·water's edge. . . .
The Greenwich magazine, being now in ~he public view, aroused feelirn:;s of alarm and despondency in the.neighbourhood. A pamp?let ntitled Reason for Removing the Magazine of Gunpowder ~t Greenwich
· t Place andfiurther Distance from the said Town and
to some more convemen , . . the Cities of London and Westminster91 was printed and circulated. The body of the pamphlet reads as follows: the Said Magazine is exposed to, of being blown
The apparent Dano-er . . r. .
• b •
d other Accidents, ansmg 1rom its present
up by T reachery, hghtmng, _an d" . d the extensive and scarce defenceless Situation and ruinous con t~n, a~ haps 6 or 8 ooo barrels reparable Damage with which the Exp oswn ° per . 'h .
ot but cause terrible appre ens1ons to
of powder must be attended, cann all who seriously consider it. Because of Greenwich and the places adjacent,
I. The Inhabitants of the To':nL. d Prop' erties from the Destruc
cr • · bl in their ives an , .
must suuer mconceiva Y, d the Public by the Destruction
t· f h H d Church there· an .
ion o t e ouses an e;b building the Royal Hospital for of the Royal Palace, and that sup nee ofsuch an Explosion. And
Seamen: the much to be dreaded c~n~~q~ajesty's Dockyards and Storewho will pretend to say how mWuc -~h and even the Cities of London houses, both at Deptford and 001wi. '
and Westminster, may be affected by ton the Kentish side, but also on
11. The Banks of the River, n;_~ ~;h~d by the shock, as greatly to ob
1
the Essex shor~, "':ould be so ~e . and many ships sailing, or at anchor struct the Nav1gat1on of the River, would in all Probability be deStroyed. . .re ·h John Kimbell, 1816.
oo A · · I d d 1 The Charities OJ reenwic '
copy 1s me u e •n )
111 ·
B.M. North Library, 816 m7 (134 107
THE BACKGROUND
In_the year 1718 application was mad ..
of this Magazine and his M . e to Parliament for the Removal Officers of the O;dnance to aJeStY, the late King, gave Orders to the
remove the same. b t · •
from the v\ ant of sufficient p d · u , as It IS apprehended,
. ower an Mo tO p h
bmld a new one nothing wa d ney urc ase Land, and to
' s one. In the Year 1750, the applicat' .
his Majesty gave Orders for E 1?n to Parliament was renewed, when the House:92 And in the yeatn sti?1ate 0 i: the Expense to be laid before recommending a proper Plac ) 754dt lat Estimate (together with a Survey were laid before the House .9~ ' ~~ h also a ~la~ of the necessary Buildings
1
at a proper Distance from ; w_ ~ ~lace IS situate on a rising Ground,
1
foundation, where, in case ;y ~ a~ited Place and has a solid and dry the Navigation of the River~ a~ ccid~nt the Damage would not affect of the Objections made to th an the said Place is likewise free from any
,: at at Greenwich.
Gentlemen, Whiteh_all
. 30Apn11751 I sendherew1th
last desiring "th t h · M · a copy ofan add f
laid before that~ is aJesty will be gracio r{ss o the House of Commons of I 9 March powder now beingou~~~n Estimate of the e~s Y pleased to give directions that there be place a~d further dl;:anm ~ few paces ofthe TJ;ns\cf remo~ing the Magazine of G_unand I am to sign'f, t ce rom the said Tow ndo .r~enw1ch to some more convenient
1Y o you th K· , n an C1nes Of L d d w · "
to be prepared and J 'd b ft e mg s pleasur h on on an estrmnster ,
. . ai e ore the House of Ce t at you should cause the said Estimate Pnnc1pal Officers of the 0 mmons accordingly, Board of Ordnance. I am
Gentiemen Your Most' Obedient humble Servant, Holles Newcastle.
(Enclosure)
H
. 0 use ofC
R Martis I D • ommons I esolved !hat~ humble Addr 9 ie Martii 1750 (1751 ) p eased to gI\·e directions h ess be presented t h. .
remov~g the Magazine / ~t an Estimate be Jafd bs MaJesty that he will be graciously Greenwich, to some mo 0 unpowder now b . efore this House of the Expense of Cities ofLondon and v/ co~venient pl~ce and ~mg wit~in a few paces of the Town of
estmmster. urther distance from the said Town and
u E . (Warrants and O . Servic!t~~te flfor purchasing land and . rders m Council PRO/WO/55/354, P· 8.) ur eet near the . erectmg a p
an all other necessa river Thames in E owder Magazine for Land and Sea
d
Magazine at Greenw1·cryh conveniences to a ssex, together with barracks guard-house
. nswer th ' d
The. ·ecessary d ft e purpose of the present Pow er 1
Magazine and all :n or erecting this In all about 20 a ppurtenances etc
. cres etc ·
Dwellmg houses d ·
be purchased. an corn-mill to £11,000 Building th .
wharfing etc. e magazine walls, Building barrack Ji
ofArtillery and th ~ or a company and a am••d h eir officers
,,...... -ouse. ' £ 5070 18 rt
8
Total £36,809 10
Signed •7Decembc
r 1754
by
the Principal Offi cers of th 0
J. L. Ligonier~ Cdnance
W. R. Earle· ' J harles Frederick•
(Warrants ' · S. Charlton. ' and Ord ·
ers m Council PRO/WO/55/355, P· 37.) 108
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
. And, lastly, the present very ruinous conditio f h .
Its Proximity to the Banks ofthe River the Town nr°c t e s~1d Magazine, yard, and the Capital, call for its Spe~dy Remov:l. reenw1ch, the Dock
1 This pronuncfamento appeared to have had its effect or p 'bl h s ow :1nd cautious mind of officialdom had been co~itatinos~ y the queSb.on for some time. Whatever the direct cause the g vh~r t e
govern t · • ' mac me of
men was set in motion soon afterwards and an Act f p li
rnent94 d . o ar a
a was passe m 1 76o to remove the magazine from Greenwich nd erect a large powder storehouse at Purfleet Comm· ·
· d u . . · iss10ners were
app01nte or carrying the Act ~nto execution by purchasing suitable land at Purfleet and construct.J.ng the necessary buildings 95 o ~eptember 1 760, Mr Sergeant Stanyfo~d reported that the. Com~; s10n, under the Great Seal had been issued for buying property at Purfleet an_d the Board of Ordnance ordered that every step should be taken :"'1thout delay to implement the Act as they wished the new construction work to be put in hand as soon as possible.96 As a result the Commissioners gathered at the Crown in Purfleet on Thursday 23 September 1760 at 10 a.m. to c~mn:ience their labours.97 £is,ooo was allotted to the Purfleet magazine 1n the Ordnance estimates for 1762.98 The undertaking was sufficiently advanced by 1763 to receive Supplies f powder for on 7 October of that year all wet powder at Greenwich and Tilbury was ordered to be moved to Purfleet.99 A certain amount of dry and serviceable powder was still kept at Greenwich though in decreasing quantities, but by 1768 the 'new' magazine there had fallen into decay and ceased to be ofany practicable value. The remaining powder was then transferred to Purfleet, and the Clerk of the Works with suitable assistants was ordered to
su:vey the whole property with a view to ascertaining the most suitable method of demolition and disposal pursuant to the Act of Parliament. On 22 March 1768, Mr Charles Newton, the storekeeper at Greenwich was ordered to discharge the extra clerk and labour
101
ers.100 By 1771, the buildings had been razed to the ground. There was some talk at this time of exchanging the nine or ten acres which surrounded the magazine buildings for land at Woolwich to increase the size of the Warren. Lord North, First Lord of the Treasury, was approached on the matter but the project never materialized. It is interesting to note that the 'New Magazine' must have been sadly neglected for it to have reached 'a very ruinous condition' in such a comparatively short space of time. Thus was the connection
94 33 George II, cap 11.
90 Ordnance Journal Books PRO/W0/47/55, P· 53°, 24June 176o.
96 Ordnancejournal Books' PRO/W0/47/56, P· 215, 2 4 Sept 176o.
97 Ordnance Journal Books' PRO/W0/47/56, P· 232, 30 Sept 176o.2
98 Ordnancejournal Books' PRO/W0/47/59, P· 448, 2 7 May 176 ,
88 Ordnancejournal Books' PRO/W0/47/62, P· 1 54, 7 October 1763.
100 0 ' / f 8
rdnance Reports, PRO/W0/55 4, • o. 1 1 101 Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/77, P· 496, 7 Jun 77 •
109
THE BACKGROUND
between Greenwich and gunpowder which had lasted several centuries finally severed, and the site with some adjoining ground leased to Mr Henry Vansittart, who purchased it in 1802.102
On Blackheath, itself, firing practice took place from time to time, and the mounded platform from which mortars were tried was r 6 5 yards 30° west of south from the southwest corner ofGreenwich Park. There was also a gun-shed there where the two companies ofgunners and matrosses quartered at Deptford and Woolwich were ordered on 13 September 1715 to muster for pay every Saturday at 3 p.m. On 16 ~arc~ 1?87 John Evelyn witnessed an experimental shoot there and m ~1s dia~y u?der ~hat date says 'I saw a trial of these devilish,
murdermg, mischief-doing engines called bombs shot out of the mortar piece on Blackheath. The distance that ;hey are cast, the destruction they make where they fall, is prodigiou . ' We of the t\--ve?tieth century, who have had the doubtful privilege of experiencmg two worid wars, can afford to smile at the extravagance of language used by our forbears to describe the effects ofexploding gunpowder a~d the damag~ ca:1sed by bursting 'bomb '. We know the latent P0"' er concealed in high explosive and the atom, and can only wonder what our ancestors of200 years Id h tJ,0 ght ofit.
Ch 1 II fi di ago wou av .1 u ar es . , n ng the old palace greatly dilapidated by the ra~ages of time and neglect, decided that it was no fit ::>lace for the residence ofa ~onarch. He therefore conceived the ide;_ of erecting a more magmficent building in ·t w· h ·h h 1 of Sir
1 1
Christo her Wren he s p ace. it t. e p
. 103P ' managed to complete a port10n of the new edifice for tdheCsuhm of£36,000, but funds ran out and further work
was postpone . arles ho d.
t b b ·1t J ' wever, 1d cause the Royal Observatory
O 22
;h.~ t1
Mn Gune r675 a warrant was issued to Sir Thomas 'W~c e ey~ a~er-eneral ofthe Ordnance in the following terms·104 ..r.eecr~~ansgm o~ er_ to the finding out of th; longitudes of places forPern u navigat10n and t ·Id
small observatory within as ronomy, we hav~ resolved to b1;11 a ground at or near the O ur Park at Greenwich upon the h1g~est rooms for o t p~ace where the castle105 stood with lodging
ur as ronom1cal ob ' w·u d
Pleasure is that accordin servator and ass~stant, Our 1 _an you by Sir Christopher i;o such plot and design as _shall be g1v~n observatory you h en · · · of the place and site of the said
' cause t e same tO b r. fi . h d
with all convenient s d e ienced in, built and ms e by the Treasurer f;~e' ge materials and workmen to be paid f~r
0
rd
hands for old and de d nance out of moneys coming to his last, provided that th~a~h powder sold by the order of rst January £500.' The foundati ole sum to be expended shall not exceed ioa Inland R on stone was laid on r o August r675 and Sir
1oa evcnue Office Ac iec Spa part of the Royal c~u~\]771-1802. 111 • • Dom. Car. II, Entry ~i ollege.
Duke Humphrey's Tower. 44, p. 15, 22 June 1675.
IIO
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT GREENWICH
Jonas Moore, Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, supervised the construction. John Flamsteed was appointed 'Observator' i.e. the first astronomer royal at a salary of £100 a year,106 and took up residence in the observatory on 10July 1676. The total building costs amounted to £520. gs. 1d. The following year John Evelyn had John Flamsteed to dinner, a guest whom he found to his liking. In his diary on 10 September 1677 he writes 'Dined with me Mr Flamsteed, the learned astrologer and mathematician, whom his Majesty had established in the new observatory at Greenwich Park, furnished with choicest instruments. An honest sincere man.' The astronomical observator and the labourer under him were paid on the Quarter Books of the Office of ·Ordnance up to 31 December 1817. After that all
paym nts ceased and the Royal Observatory passed ~rom the jurisdiction of the Board of Ordnance to that of the Admualty.
The palace remained in its unfinished state until William and M ary decided to turn it into a Royal Naval Hospital.1°7 This decision entailed a vast building programme and necessitated the removal of all th torehouses and workshops controlled by the Ordnance and the cessation at Greenwich of the activities of that Department of State. One of the first acts arising from this p~oposal was an _order d ated 19 December 16gs directing the demoht10~ of the ~arn m the
t·1 1 Th" · d out and the 'Greenwich Barn, the fore
1 t-yarc. 1s was carne W 1 · h w
tory was re-erected on oo wic arren
runner o· f tl1e Roya1Labora , . h r. 11 . ios
in t e io ow~ng year. Greenwich to band on the Force of circumstance thus compelled .c. fl. k . r. ny
W 1 • h where aiter 1c enng 1or ma
?
0
smoulder~ng torch to wic ' . flame. and the rudimentary decades, it burst _at last into a mightyer ed from the shadows into factory nurtured 1n a royal palace, em g
the light. cl PRO/W0/55/469 4 March 1675.
106 Warra_nts from M.G.0. and BoarC, lle e Greenwich,' by Order in Council dated 107 Established as the Royal aval O g '
16 January 1873. O/WO/ 7/18 1g December 1695.
ius Ordnance Journal Books, PR . h fi 't king down the barne at the tilt-yard
'Agreed with Mr Haywa~d and Mr Fiteforo£r ~ the latter for £28. To have warrants and to re-erect it at Woolw1ch; the former 3 and signed contracts :3-ccordingly._' £ for the bricklayer's work in ca!'1)'ing out
6_ 12_
Actually Robert Fitch was paid 3 ?al price (Ordnance Treasurers Ledgers this operation in lieu of £28, the contrac u PRO/W0/48/35, 31 May 1697). , er at Greenwich, was ordered to send all Major Francis Brockhurst, the StorekeGep 'eh to Sir Thomas Taylor, Storekeeper
• h gazine at reenwi d h t es to the
serviceable powder from t e ma . forward wet powder an ot er s or .
0
at Upnor Castle He was also directed tW l . h This was because the magazine had
· h" h to go to 00 wic · · al h 'tal
Tower except timber w 1c was . f h alace buildings mto a nav ospi •
to Qe emptied owing to the conversion°/ \~l26 November 1695) . . (Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/WO 47 G, •ich to house the timber lymg in the He was also instructed to hire a barn at reem,
magazine. ROfW0/4?/I8, 5 December 1695)
(Ordnance Journal Books, P
II I 0
Chapter 4
Woolwich Prior to the Advent of the (Warren-'
Uuluuich,1 Wulewic 2 Hulviz 3 W 1 . 4 5 6
lw:iche, Wolwiche, Wooli h'W e ~mc, Hulewic, Wolewic, Owl-
c , oolw1ch · 11 · h ·
the spelling, like certain d , spe it ow you will-for
1
fifty-seven varieties-lies m .~ectable food products, has (almost) It is nine miles from Lon~1 ~ on the southern bank of the Thames. though it has, since 1888 in 1Il_ the geographical county of I<.ent county of London. ' een incorporated in the administrative
Since 'age cannot wither h
the origin of the name a er! nor cuStom stale her infinite variety', appeared in the Charte; ; :tfht _be expected, is obscure. It first Some early English rende0 • s rudis, daughter of Alfred the Great.
nngs are Wi l . 7
n t e four~eenth century the . u ewzc, Woldwiclz and W olwic/z.
I h
two centunes later ~ol h ?1ace is usually styled Wolwiche while
wyc 1s th '
glo-Saxon wull, wul w ll e more commonplac -form . In
An
' I ' ' ' ' u e and wol m '
a P ace , camp or 'dwelli , . . eant wool' and wic indicated ,,,,r. ll · (. ng Eilert Ek ll
rru -wzc 1.e. Woolwich) d ' wa , 8 therefore suggests that
, fi enoted 'a f: '
or a Pace rom which w arm where wool was 1xoduced'
1
be no ev1.dence to supportooth.1was . exported' . There would appear to never had any extensive sh is view. So far as is known Woolwich th b eep far · · · '
ere een any suggestion that a ming_ in its neighbourhood, nor has
J. K. Wallenberg 9 on th h wool mdustry ever flourished there
' e ot er h d . .
a ~ompound ofOld English _ , an , opines that the place-name is
1
might be tr I d u e, owl' and · 'd · •
. ans ate as 'the ho wzc wellmg-place', which as m early times th' k me of the owls' Th. . .b.lit
d • 1c woodland • 1s 1s a poss1 i y, e ge.10 !fe considers that th s encroached almost to the river's corruption of th O e w forms . .
!iterated e . Id English ii o£1 are ~netymolog1cal, being a as wu, which would ' ten wntten uu and thus trans-name. Althou h • account f; h 1 . .
h dl g m archaic Ian or t e ater vanat10ns of the ar Yseem to be of suffi • gua?e wolde signified 'old' 11 it would i A.o. 918-C . c1ent anti u· '
1 A.D. 10 -c:Je~0d:U1o;ax_onicum, ed. W d; ity t~ have had any influence
14
P· ?7I· 'P atzcus aevi Saxonlci ~rjYBirch, London, 1885-1893, p. 66r.
• : ·0• I068-Domcsday Book ' c · · M. Kemble, London, 1839-1848,
•0 • 1100-Text R ·
1 A.D. u oo-Do us,J offensis.
• mtsuay Mi h
'A.D. ro89-British onac orum, ed N .
RWJTds of Wool . hMUScum. . . Neilson, 1932.
'Co · wic, W Ty
• DC.ISC Oxford Dictio~ • incent, vol. I
io Tiu Plate-mmus ofI(, ry of English PI ' p. 15. 11 Owls may still be h:.,dJ_. Kb Wallenber:cuNaies, Eilert Ekwall, 1936. 'And bet. e Arsenal at W~osal 3:, h1934.
w· In charyt~ WlC •
1th all my neghi:nd in accorde urs wolde and zyng.' MS. Cantab., Ff ii, 38 f. 18.
II2
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
on the designation under review. The An lo-Saxon . appears in the suffix 'wick' or '~ich' implJng 'town':z: ,~f1~ u;,ually this same suffix can also be denved from the Icelandic ·k g '~ut
'an open b k h f · wz connoting
ay, cree or reac o a river'. In its latter derivat· , · k' expre e th ·d f a h 'b he side of water'. Finall ion0 wic
. ss s e i ea o am1et y t . ld be interpreted 'wood', 'weald', 'plain' 'slope' or 'hill' \1:r l c_a;1
ther f; · h b k d d ' · YY oo wzc,i
e ore, m1g t eto en a woode welling-place bordering on · M' Isaac Taylor holds a different view.12 He ascribes the naa rwetr. hr
D a d 1 . . 1 me o t e
. r:es a1: exp a1ns its etymo ogy as the hill reach presumabl from its situat10n under the shadow of Shooters Hill. y . -~ost early calligraphers adopted the habit of making 'W' the irntial letter. There were, however, two exceptions to this conventi One was the compiler of the Domesday Book and the other a h~n.
· h . . s 1p
:-Vng t employed 1n the infant dockyard. The former wrote Hul · 1nterprete d as ' the d . on the creek ' . vzz, _
welling All scribes until co p aratively recent times ~pelled as fancy dictated, orthography be{::g an lastlc art. This fash10n, no doubt, had much to commend it in t~at none could be accused of inaccuracy, but among its less attractive features was the uncertainty it bestowed upon posterity. It has be n suggested that the author ofthe Great Survey of 1086 preferred his o vn tongue to that of the Saxons, thus using the Norman viz . for th Anglo-Saxon wic, and, rendering the uu sound phonetically to the best of his ability, substituted h for w. Whatever the reason Hulviz was therein recorded as being In Grenviz Hundredo. Our maste; shipwright may have had antiquarian leanings or he may have been untutored, but for some cause best known to himself he drew his inspiration from the primal source, and scorning sixteenth century
orthodoxy, wrote Owllwiche.
Woolwich is known to have sheltered human life at a remote period though the mists of time have effectually obscured the possibility of ever ascertaining whether the early Britons had a river settlement there. There is one faint clue though its evidence is by no means overwhelming. While digging a boundary canal in the marshes during the eighteenth century on ground then recently purchased to enlarge the Warren, an elegant bronze weapon, bearing certain similarities to others discovered elsewhere in England and Ireland, was found near the trunk of a submerged tree, hard and black as ebony, six feet below the surface. This might indicate the presence ofsome early Celtic community. This object, tapering to a point and broad at the haft into which it was let and fastened by two rivets, was in an excellent state of preservation, and was exhibited befor the Society of Antiquaries by Dr Jeremiah Milles, the President, on 25 March 177 .1s The Romans undoubtedly occupied the district
9
12 Words and Places, 1882, p. l 15. 11 Ahael.re o ogia, vo.l vu, p. 412.
.. 113
THE BACKGROUND
which lay close to their great highway-Watling Street-which ran from the south coast to London and beyond. Their occupation was brought to light in 1856 when convicts, digging in Dial Square, Royal Arsenal, unearthed broken pottery and fragments of cinerary urns containing human bones. As cremation of this type ceased before the end of the 4th century A.D., the finds indicate that some of the present Arsenal premises cover the site of a Roman cemetery. Further discoveries in Wickham support this conjecture and justify the statement that the Romans did settle in the environs ofWoolwich. The funeral urns were deposited in the Royal Artillery Institution.
The prehistoric topography of the locality differed enormously from that of the presen_t time. A vast forest, now submerged, stretched to the banks of the nver, the tidal waters of which, draining the boggy creeks during their ebb and sweeping over the quagmires at their flow, must _have presented a spectacle of desolation. Trunks of oak, yew ~d willow together with stags' antlers and other animal remains, dmnterred on occasions from the Woolwich and Plumstead marshes, testify to the primeval vegetation which once covered the land. The conditions described probably antedated any settled community, ifwattle huts clustered together on the less marshy ground to the. east, can b~ graced by such an expression, but when man did decide to colomze the neighbourhood circumstances could not have been muc~ more propitious. In any case, when Cae a landed, the Thames did not flow along its present embanked channel. The water spre~d over a huge expanse from Abbey Wood on the south to Barkmg on the north forming a wide delta. Right up to the eighteenth century the marshes at Woolwich must have remained a drear spot. O~e ea? picture the scene on a foggy November evening with the m1st s~rling ove~ t?e stagnant pools. Dickens in his Great Expectations has given us a vivid account of life on the marshes bordering the Thames, and yet in his day the turbulent river had been embanked for centuries. A stream descending from Shooters Hill ran through the tangled wast~ converting the low-lying ground to the east into a reedy mere, while the sandy knolls to the west covered with scrub an~ bramble harboured the ubiquitous rabbit and other wild fauna which sough~ sanctuary within. To the indigenous inhabitants living
0 th
~ e outskirts these unhealthy marshes must have been peopled with boggarts and other horrifying denizens of the night and were undoubtedly shunned b II '
R' h Ya save malefactors and outcasts. ivers_ ave_ an unpleasant habit of bursting their banks and the Thames 1s not immune fi h' h · fi rn
. rom t 1s p enomenon. It suffers at times ro a greatly mcreased flow d b • . ow
fl . . . cause y excessive ramfall or heavy sn
.~ng ov~r Its basin. Then the numerous tributaries which drain into ~t, ethcomm~ rushing torrents, discharge their superfluous contents mto e mam channel Th" · · di but
· 1s 1n itself tends to cause floo ng,
114
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
when these swollen waters on their way to the sea meet adverse conditions in the tidal reaches the result is often disastrous and low-lying ground near the river's mouth becomes submerged.
This perennial problem, an ever-present threat, was forced on man's attention at the dawn of history, and the original efforts to control these periodic flood-waters were attempted before the age of written records. Both Sir Christopher Wren and Sir William Dugdale14 credited the Romans with first undertaking this task while Walker15 states that the primitive Thames embank~nents were probably the work of ancient Britons under Roman guidance.
All through the centuries this propensity has been a menace to riparian dwellers, and many instances are reported of water rushing over tilled acres and of man's efforts to avert the consequences. As early as the reig~ of Henry III the waters of the Thames rose to such a level that many inhabitants of Woolwich perished in their ho~ses.1G John Stow is even more graphic. He says We read also that m the yeare 1236, the riuer of Thames ouerflowing its b_ankes, caused the Marshes about Woolwich to be all on a Sea, wherem ~oats and other
· d wi'th the streame, so that besides cattell, the
V esse11 s were carne . . .
women and children, mhab1tants there,
greates t num ber of men, . d d p
were drowned.'17 In 1303 Walter le Band, Rich~r e ernefor~ and
uted to view and repai.r the banks, ditches
J l e Dover were dep , h , · K 1s I ho 1n d
f. E C d those of Wolwyc e in ent. n t e
etc. o ,ssex ounty an . · d fi
£ 11 · · b d floods occurred which necessitate urther o owing reign moire 13a21 Robert de Bardelby, William de Leicestre,
counter-measures. n d · 'fi John de Merton and Robert de Kellesleye ha . anhassb1gnnkme(ntf hor
. b h then newly made 1n t e a o t e
the view of a ~erta1n re~c Wol che by the violence of the Thames) betwixt Grenewiche anddd wy . thereof'_19 These four
'd d 'd for the su en repair
t1 es; an to prov1 e d d ll" t fiossatis which became
. . on terme e wa zzs e '
men fiormed a comnnssi d . h th ermanent maintenance a kind of statutory body charge wit e precaution in view of the
Y. a very necessary p
of the Thames waterwa '. . which frequently took place. Two gales and exceptionally high tidesk t s again breached and the
the emban men wa
and a haIf years 1ater . . the incident. They were in-commission were ordered to investigate through whose fault it had structed 'to distrain all those phersonfs· f; rther informing them, that h d h k.1ng good t ereo ' a
. appene ; tot e ma hrou h whose neglect it came, not
if they should find the pe~sons t h tgthe damage and peril which
able to repair it so speedily as ~ ~t be prevented that then they
would be occasioned thereby, mig '
. . William Dugdale, 2nd ed. 1772.
14 The History of lmbanking and Draining,
15 Thames Report of 18,JI, . p 491.
16 History of London, Richard Skit1.er, 1Jj5~9~ vol. II, p. 114•
17 Survey of London, ed. Charles m~ 140M~rch 1303.
18 Rot. Pat. 31 Edward I, m. 3od, 2 Sd !26 September 1321.
18 Rot. Pat. 15 Edward II, P· 1, m. 1 '
115
THE BACKGROUND
should distrain all those which had lands and tenements in these parts, who might have safeguard by the making-up of that breach, to the end that they should contribute thereto' .20
These extracts indicate that the persons commissioned to inspect and renovate were granted wide powers, not only to carry out the necessary reconstruction v.ork but to compel the culprits to pay for the damage. This is quite understandable in view of the very serious effects which could arise from a broken dyke.
In 1323 Stephen de Chellesfield became an additional member of
• • 21 L L
the Commiss10n. ater on, awrence de Rustington and John Abel were added to the numbers, and when John Abel died, Richard de Cornewayll 'parson of the Church at Kydbrook', was appointed in his stead.22
As the years passed this type of commission assumed a position of greate~ i?1portance -~nd receiv~d extended authority. In 1474 another comm1mon de walzts et fossatis was set up, consisting of ,villiam, Abbot of the Monastery of St Augustine, without the walls of the City of Canterbury; Edw~r~ Nevyll of Bergevenny, Knight ; John, Abbot of Bermondsey; Wilham, Abbot of Lesnes · Ma ter William Hat~liff;Ja_mes Haute, esquire; John Bromston, esq~ire; John Grene,
esqmre; Richard Page; John Bamme, esquire; Roger ~ ppelton; Roger Brent; John Alfegh; William Swan· Robert Balard · Roger She!ley;John ~eth~rsole; andJohn Hert. It; terms ofr f rcn~e were to VIew and mamta1n the embankments 'by the coast of the Thames from the ,town of Wolewiche, Co. Kent to the t f thflete,
, ov. n o or
Co. Kent.23
Th~re was another very high tide on 26 December 1516 which, sweepmg over the low-lying land at E 'th d 'd ble
n , cause cons1 eradamage to Crown property Th' · •a
· 1s is ev1 enced by an order to erect a shed at Defford Stronde24 to hous th k' , d · dry
d. . e e mg s or nance 1n a con 1tion, and to pay the wages of th · h b h · the
0 d d h d . e manners w o roug t 1n { nanct a~ ~ 0 ned the cables and rope which became wet as t e r~suht O a grheat and high tide that was upon Saint Stephen's
Day m t e store ouse at Herethe' th t r
I d a year.
i)
~ ~ed~o~rse tfhehcare and protection ofall river banks came under
th
e Juns 1cuon o t e Comm · · if 0 .c.
fi . . zsszoners o iJewers, who were appointed 1.or
ve, ten or, m certain cases fift
'in all arts of the R ' een years at the pleasure ofthe Crown pro re %ata 2& B t ealm wherever needful' under the Great Seal · Y s atute 23 Henry VIII it was enacted that the
to Rot. Pat. 17 Edward II 11 Rot. Pat. 16 Edward u' p. 2, m. i4d, 6 May 1324. 11 Rot. Pat. 17 Edward u' p. I, m. 5d, 30 January 1323. a Rot. Pat. 14 Edward IV p. 2, m. 14d, 6 May 1324. u Dcptford. , p. I m. 20d, 16 July 1474.
u Letters and Papers, Foreign and D . no.~6o6for. . omestic, Henry VIII, 1515-1518, vol. 2, part 2• a special purpose'.
II6
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
Commissions were to be at the discretion and nomination of the Lord Chancellor, Lord Treasurer and ChiefJustices, and to continue for ten years unless repealed by a new commission. The duties of the Commissioners ofSewers were to superintend the repairs ofsea-banks and sea-walls, and the cleansing of rivers, public streams, ditches etc. for the carrying-off of water; they were limited to the county for which they were specifically appointed. They :vere empowered to make such laws and ordinances as they considered necessary to effect the repairs, and to assess and levy such rates as they deem~d essential for that purpose. They might decree the sale of lan~s in default ofpayment ofsuch a rate, but their decrees had ~o.be certified in Chancery and obtain the royal assent. The C?m~iss10ners we~e subject to the jurisdiction of the Court of the Kings Bench. Their own courts have been regarded as Courts of Record and the records ofproceedings before them remaine~ usually in their c_us~ody or now in that of their present representat:I.ves.21 The Comrrussioners were,
in fact, a very powerful corporation. In the earl art of the reign of Henry VIII, the names of the · · y p .c. 'E t · he28 unto Gravvsende29 by
Com 11ss10ners of Sewers 1.rom s grenewzc '../
the caste of the Themys within the shire of Kent' were:
Thos Broke lord ofCobham; John, Abbot ofW~stminSter; John, Abbo~
' B h lme ve pnor of St Mary Overys,
of St Auo-ustine's, Canterbury; art e · \; ' E h .
S. Th M s· Th evell · John Hales, baron of the xc equer,
ir os oore; ir os , h H I . J h
Sir Richard Walden; John Willowby, sergeant-at-law; C _r Ria~'b O ~ Baker· recorder of London; Edw Boughton; Wm Draper' c Y son' Thos Tonge alias Norrey.30 • · h d a direct interest since the
The abbots and pno~, of course, . ad d 1 nds in the neighrelioious houses over which they preside owne a . . . O • h nd Plumstead. Of the remairung comm1s
b 1
ourhood of Woo w1c a fi f" ortance • a man of sioners, Edward Boughton was a locald gu{e ~ i~pan early' but vital substance in Woolwich and Plumstea wh o ooof Nicholas Boveton
. b t tOry He was t e son
part 1n our su sequen s • • d th manor of Woolwich alias Boughton who by purchase acquire e ortunist who had th; It appears that Edward Boughton ;:as ant °tfe~ting winds offortune. faculty ofsetting ~is sails to catch t be m;:ans not altogether above He amassed considerable wealth Y h"p with both Wolseley
. . H terms of acquaintances 1
susp1c10n. e was on h t have had close relations and Thomas Cromwell. In fact e seems do ce between them which with the latter according to the corhrespohn Cenomwell's influence that
h . d I doubtless, t roug r
as survive . t was, . , at Plumstead where he resided at
Boughton became the kings agent
27 Guide to the Public Records, MS. Giuseppi I 923, vol. I, p. 65.
28 Greenwich. 29 Gravesend. . d D mestic Henry VIII, vol. IV, part 2, no. 275
ao Letters and Papers, Foreign an ° ' 117
THE BACKGROUND
Burwash Court.s1 The perquisites of su h ffi h
'f, . c an o ce must ave been;~?: f~~~i{~~ht~i: s1:::e:eff hiHscalibre, besides _bringing him in~o
• If r. . gn. e found favour m Henry's eyes 1n 1tse a 1act callmg for great mental T b B '.
equal to the occasion b agi ity, ut oughton proving grata at the Court at Gre;~:%~ ~der Cromwell's ~nfluence, persona on 30 May 1533 at th ·. e was made a Kmght of the Sword
When Tudor Harry~ coro.7a:on of Queen Anne Boleyn. a2 portions for himself. but?0 ~~d ~he n:ionasteries, he kept the choicest his henchmen from 'time t e ti1 n~ it a useful expedient to reward Boughton was one of th? r:me with some of the pickings. Edward
is iavoured clas cl . d r: h
monarch extensive lands b . s an receive 1rom t e
foliows: Y special grant.33 This grant reads as
Grant in fee to Sir Edward B h
the manors, lands or tenement oufi ton 10 march 1539 (in exchange for and Blakyslondys in the parish:sc~f ~d Shuldforde, Medegrave, Brodeoke near Canterbury, Kent, and all the t Stephen, Hakyngton and Sturrey,
1
manor of Plumstede and rector o/nds there, and for £52, 1 os.) of the late Monastery of St Augusti Y Plumstede, Kent, belonging to the advowson of the vicarage of~~enear _Canterbury, now dissolved, with the ofWykeham alias Est Wykeha pansh of Plumstede and of the Chapel all the lands etc. which John 1i~sKent,_annexed to the said vicarage, and late monastery held in PI d ex ahas Sturrey late abbot of the said
' umste e B II
Wel1ynge, Wolwyche Lesn E' osca , Wykeham alias Est Wykeham,
' es, reth B 1
Kent. To hold by the annu ' ex ey and Yarde alia Crayford,
a1rent of£4 · h l'b .
roth M arch 30 Henry VIII. wit 1 ert1es. Dated Vvestminster
. These properties, ofcourse wer . . .
Wich which he inherited fro~ . em addit10n to the manor ofWool-The same year he s d his father. of his Kentish lands theucure by Act of Parliament the disgavelling
, s reversmg
which had persisted th h a process of the law ofinheritance
G l'L. roug out the . I
ave 11,zn seems originally to have county smce time immemoria . of rent, or by custom . meant tenure of land by payment
fi d I ary service . z· .
eu a tenure ofKnight . s zn zeu, m place of the ordinary
th service The
e accompanying rules · . name eventually came to denote antedated the Conquest go~e:nmg succession. In Kent this custom universally accepted th atn. Its subsequent feudal laws and was so
• · a It W '
e~t in questions affectin tra as presumed by Courts of law to . eVIdence to the contrary g nsfers of land in the county unless
was forthco · T . • ·
1 Barthol ming. he mam charactensucs
1
Dover Castl~d'i!°d Lord Burghesh ra
Plumstcad named afird Wharden of the' &n oclsopn of Robert De Burghesh Constable of
r. ter irn 'B que orts h d' d · ' d J d ·n
bccame iurther corru ·, urwash' is a c .' w o 1c m 1359, owne an s 1
n Letters and p pted to Burrage' (e g B orruption of 'Burghesh' which afterwards ., Letters d papers, Foreign and D . . _urrage Road). '
'"·) an apers F · 0 mestic H v
~ ,p. 255. ' oreignandDomestic Henry III, vol. vi, no. 601 (4). 1 Rot. Pat. 30 H~rv VIII ' enry VIII, vol. xiv, part I, 1539, no. 65 --, , p. 6, m 13 Ma
' Io rch 1539.
II8
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
of such a tenure was that succession to land passed by ri ht to all th~ sons ~nd not to the eldest, thus discountenancing t~e law of pnmogeruture. In default ofsons, the estates passed to th d h
· d · e aug ters
as co-portioners an ~o-heiresses. Among other features of avelkind tenure were that a wife took as her dower one-half · t dg Of
. d f ins ea one-
thrr o the land, the tenant was enabled to alienate the land b feoffment at the age of fifteen, and that it did not esche t · yf
. r. . a 1n case o an attamder 1or felony, the n1ax1m being 'the father to the bou h the son to the plough'. g ' In 154o_Edward Boughton was one of the numerous retinue which accomparned the Duke of Suffolk to Dover to welcome An 0 f Cleves to these shores.34 He died _on 10 December 1549. ne On 2 I June 1530.a French fnar was paid £735 for undertakin to stop up a breach m the Tha_mes em?ankment at Woolwich; an~ 1n the reign ofJames I another 1nundat10n occurred whereby several acres ofland became permanently submerged owing to the river t returning to its normal bed.36 no I t can therefore be appreciated that the regulation of the Thame water_s and the preven:ion ?f ~ood dama8:e was, if not a burnin; quesb.on, one of drenching s1gnrficance, which called for continuous legislation by Parliament. Further Acts dealing with river banks and marshes in the neighbourhood of Greenwich, Woolwich, Plumstead and Erith are listed below.37 The last of these enabled William Burrell of Middlesex to complete in 1606 the task which several companies had previously attempted without success. He is a man to whom riparian owners should be grateful since his engineering skill stayed the inroads of the river and reduced subsequent inundations to manageable proportions. His work, in addition to the locks, sluice gates and other mechanical devices for water control more recently installed, have made modern floods incidents of minor importance. Woolwich, then a tiny fishing hamlet nestling on the river's bank, could not have remained untouched by the Anglo-Saxon invasion which swept the country in the fifth century. Rivers, in particular the Thames, and the roads which the Romans left behind as a memorial to their greatness afforded considerable aid to the marauding bands from Europe in the conquest of their new kingdom. Landing at Ebbsfleet in Thanet, Hengist drove towards London and inflicted a
34 Harl MS., no. 296, f. 171.
35 Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII, vol. v, 1531-1532, p. 750. 36 History of London, Richard Skinner, I 795, P· 491. 37 Rot. Parl. de anno, 22 Hen. VIII, n 10, cap. 3· Rot. Parl. de anno, 37 Hen. VIII, cap. 11. Rot. Parl. de anno, 5 Eliz., n 36.
Ex bundello de Sewers in Capella Rotulorum, n 16• Rot. Parl. de anno, 8 Eliz., n 22. Rot. Parl. de anno, 14 Eliz., n 15.
Rot. Parl. de anno, 23 Eliz., n I 3· Rot. Parl. de anno, 4 Jae., cap. 8.
119
THE BACKGROUND
crushing defeat on the Britons at Aylesford. This battle not only laid bare Eas~ Kent to ~h': victors but struck the keynote to the subsequent subjugat10n of Bntam. The massacre which followed showed only too well the nature of the struggle ahead. While the wealthier landowners fled, many of 0em overseas, the common folk took refuge in the forests and ~ills till the pangs of hunger drove them forth into the arms of their conque_rors and brought oblivion. Aylesford was
followed some years later m A.D. 45 7 by the battle of Crayford which finally ~ealed t_he ~ate of Kent, most of the population which escaped extinction fleemg m terror. The fate of Woolwich in this holocaust wherein murder ~nd pillage competed with arson, must ever remai~ in the worn? of time, but that it survived in some form throughout the succeedmg fo~r hundred years is evidenced by the fact that in the tenth century it had bec~me an appendage of Lewisham.
On ~ September _9 18, Lew~sham, with its four appurt nances, viz. Woolw1ch, Greenwich, Mot~mgham and Coombe, was given to the Abbey of St Peter at Ghent m Flanders by Elstrudis (Elfrida), 38 the daughter of Alfred the Great. This abbey had an eventful history. Founded by St Amand who built a church there in 608 it was destroyed by infidels in 611 and rebuilt in 613 by order of Clothaire, King of the Franks. In 616 St Amand dedicated the edifice to St Peter. Fire levelled it in 813. On being reconstructed, it was suppressed by Charles Martel and re-established by Charlemagne. In 851 the ~orm~ns _and Danes attacked the abbey and laid waste the surrounding district. !n 937 Arnulf, son of Baldwin II, Count of Flanders and Elstrud1s of England restored ·t b t · t years
. d II . 1 , u rune een
1ater he seize a its possessions and <list ·b t d th ng his
. Th E . n u e em amo
b.1 1
no 1 Ity._ e ng 15h lands, including Woolwich, would then have automatically reverted to Edwy, King of England, which accounts for the confirmatory charter given by his brother and successor, Edgar the Peacemaker, who in 964 declared:
I Edgar, King and Chief of th E . h b . . . ·
1 d . . e ng11s y d1vme assistance, renouncing
every ;w a~ ~randsitho_ry thmg as dross ... make known to all that I have ~ant~ toGho an( _is Peter, deservedly happy and to the s~ciety of the c ur)c at ~nt which Ghent in Mount Blemy'is a haven for merchantme~ a certam hextent of land in a place, viz. which the rustics, from
ancient custom, ave denom· t d L . '
· G · h W . ma e ew1sham, with all its appurtenances,
viz. reenw1c oo1w1ch M0 tt· h ·1
d d ' ' mg am and Coombe with their utensi s ~nthappend ag~s, and all things which the God of H;aven hath created
m e pro uctions of the earth . •
11
great and small d h . ' as we m known as unknown causes, in
11
wm· . d ' an a t eir customs and privileges etc I have with a
mg mm , granted all these th· · · ' fi
the interference of th R I mgs out of my possessions, and free rom devout and kindest f~en~yAa Tre~ury, to the prayers and friendship of my ' rchbishop Dunstan (under whose government
N See page 112.
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
and patronage this same church of St Peter of Ghent continues to be
ruled from the time of King Edwy, my brother, which same archbishop
in this renowned Church was banished for some time by the same King) ...
a_s well and as truly as I possesse_d these contingencies in my proper
nght ... and as Elstrudis, my cousm and daughter of the uncle of King
Edward, my grandfather, ... left them for the good of her soul, and of
her lord, Earl Baldwin, and of her sons, Arnulfus and Adelulphus, etc.
... and so I willingly and liberally by the advice ofmy bishop and nobles
have granted and confirmed to the aforesaid C~urch of St Peter of Ghent:
the possession of them for ever; but, finally, if a1:yone, w~ not making
effectual provision, shall consent fraudulently to violate thIS our gift, let
him henceforth consider, that at the last Da~ ofJudgment he must render
up an account before God, and th:3-t he, with ~he rep,rob~te of whom it
is said 'Depart from me, ye cursed, mto everlastmg fire, will suffer dread
ful punishment, unless he shall beforehand make atonement by lamenta
. d wort hy repentance. 39t1on an
During the reign of Edgar's son-Ethelred the Unready-a tide of calamity swept over England. Ethelred ascended the throne in 97g at th age of ten after the murder of his ~rother, Edwar~ the Martyr. Edward's assassination betokened the tnumph of~chb1shop Dunstan's enemies and the relegation of that statesman to impotence, the kingdom being thus denied ~is wise counsel. Before Ethel:ed reached manhood the Vikings again began to ~cou: the seas lookmg for fresh lands to conquer. In 99 1 the Norwegians invaded England and tt 1 d fi t d the host of East Anglia at Maldon. Faced with
u er y e ea e h hb" h , 'd
this defeat, the hapless monarch, bereft oft_ e arc is ~p s;mb a~ce, could think of no better method of procunn~ peace t an y uymg off the invaders with money raised by a sp~cial tax (Danegelt), and · h tl English lands while he hoped to strengthen
allowing t em to set e on ' v·k· h
h . · · b t with Normandy. The i 1ngs, owever,
1s pos1t10n y a trea Y . h k. h ·
. d h · ·d f h bargain and returned to t e attac , t eir
1gnore t eir s1 e o t e . . .
w ·thd 1 • b • the precursor of another 1ncurs1on 1n 997.
1 rawa m 995 e1ng . d 1
Eth 1 d fi r d knew not which way to turn an great y
e re ' ee ing cornere ' f S Forkbeard King of feared further aggression on the part O wdey~ d t' h" •d Denmark and Norway. He therefore boun ormdan hyt o fisDsike
· with Emma aug er o u e
bY contracting a second marriage ' • • h
R· h f E gland was by now precarious in t e
ic ard. Though the state O n Ethelred in a fit of extreme all might yet have been well had not_ . ll th D
. h lan of exterminating a e anes
panic conceived the treac erous P B . , D 1002 the Vvest
8t
settled in Wessex. Accordingly on nee s ayd d d , Saxons in obedience to the king's signal, rose up a~ mur e~h ~~~ry Dane 'among whom was Gunhilda-Sweyn's sister-ha h nbs iand
' .c: e who saw er us an
convert and one of the hostages ior peac ' . and child butchered before her eyes ere she fell, vowing ' ngean
38 DT~e Cl!arities of Greenwich, John KembekllS 18.~~y')P·1!4s, vol. I, p. 32. zoceszs Rojfensis (Canterbury and Yor OCl '
121
120
THE BACKGROUND
under the blows of her assassin. Swe n beside h. .
swore to conquer England. The redemy ti f h. imself with fury, delayed. Invading the country with a~a;n ° is oath ~as not long
st
land for four bitter years, leaving behind h1e hbo ' he laid waste the ravaged towns and a trail marked b , d m . urnt-out homesteads, turmoil Canterbury "'as taken and ) k esolatwn and death. In the Alphege) being dragged to G s~c ed, and Archbishop Ailheah
( ' reen wich th .
to death in default ofa ransom of£ ' was ere mercilessly done in slaying the head of a Church 3,ooo. Men who had no scruples
· · h would have h · · ·
propnatmg t ~ property of a forei n no esitatrnn 1n ex-therefore, lost its English possessio g abbot. The Abbey of St Peter, During this reign of terror Ed w ns · d
sons by his second wife, had b ar_ and Elfred, Ethelred's young court in Normandy. Edward af:en given sanctuary at their uncle's fessor, is said to have made' erwards known as Edward the Con
. a vow the d d
that, if ever he ascended the tl re ate 26 December r 006 Lewisham, Greenwich, Woolwi:~o~ of_England, he would restore _Chu:ch o~ St Peter at Ghent. Th~ ottmgham and ?oombe to t!:e mscnbed 1s among the arch· fparchment on wh1 h the vow 1s
1ves o FI d
not have been more than th an ers, but as the boy could
ree years Of
to grave doubt whether he Id h age at the time it is open
. cou av t k '
vow records that It was tak . e a en much part in it The
• en pubhcI · ·
an t aul m the time of R b Yin the monastery of St Peter
d S P
• o ert I~·
December m the year of O L ' mg of France on 2 6th day of 'th h ur ord '
w1 t ese wor~s: '!, Edward, bein' one thousand and six. It ends affix my mark. It IS endorsed 'Ed g capable of understanding, do England, made this solemn ward' son of Ethelred K.ing of
In rn13 the end came andv~w to God and St Peter.' '
thelred fleeing the country a~ey~ ~sSum:d t~e crown 9f England, rn42 on the death of Hardi J rung his children in Normandy. threcalled to the English throne canuted ' Edward the Confessor was
ev~w amplified the donation~o ~nthtwo years later in fulfilment of grantm~ the monks the manor fo L e ~bbey ofSt Peter by a charter ances, VIZ Gre · h O ew1sh ·
th • · . enwic , Woolwich M . am with all its appurtenaned1ura re?alza41 in those lands fi' _ottingham and Coombe, with exactions ro . , ree1ng th fi . . . .
TrinoJ . ' ya1, epIScopal h em rom all Junsd1ct1on
TheuaChnecessztas ,2 r ot er · · • even the
· O wise, mcludmg
I t3 b arter of Edward the Ca~pen~: as t~e Dom~day Book onfess?r was confirmed by William Ghent :e ~nfcGreenw1ch as being~ent~ons only Lewisham with its
' e 1 erence is that the ~n t e possession of the Abbot of " Di«esi onqueror somehow managed to
u V--• s Roffmsis {Cantcrb
., Th~....,, 111 Privileges ury and york S .
c thrccft Id · ociety) 8
., Dated 108o t_ax for rcpairin . ' 194 'vol. I, p. 31.
J. DUJeesis Roll'. . g bridges m . . .
:umsis (C , amtammg . . .
anterbury and y cas~1es and repelling invasions, ork Society), 1948, vol. I, p. 28.
I 22
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE W ARREN
acquire Woolwich, Mottingham and Coombe between h" fi
ti f Ed d' h Is con rma
on o war s c arter and the compilation of the s As subsequent charters to the_Abbey of St Peter by William :~:~·and Henry I refer solely to Lewisham and Greenwich, the Abbot ofGh must have tacitly accepted the position and of necessity relinq · :~ the additional holdings. Woolwich thus reverted to the CrowUIS e
The reference to Woolwich in the Domesday Book is as fol~ws:
In the half-lath of Sudtone44 and in the Greenviz Hundred H ·
h 6 f 1 · · h. h w·11· ' aimo
as 3 acres o and 1n Hulv1z w 1c 1 1am the Falconer held of Kin Edward. In this estate there are eleven bordars46 who pay forty-one g
Th h 1 . pence. e w o e 1s worth £3. This estate, remarks Lysons, is supposed to be comprehended · what is now the principal manor and which at a very early peri~~ was called the 'manor of Wulewick' and afterwards the 'manor of ?outhall' in Woolwich.47 The manor, with its social and economic implications, was an integral part of the feudal system being at the same time a unit of rural organization and a centre of local administration. Maitland calls it 'A complex of rights over lands and tenants which includes the right to hold a court.' It therefore consisted of the lord who held the manor, the land and its utilization the juriscliction of a court and the tenants, either free or bound, wh~ held of the lord. The manor lands comprised the lord's demesne, those cultivated by the tenants, open pastures, woodlands, commons and wastes. The extent of a manor varied. Often its boundaries coincided with those of the parish in which it was situated. As Blackstone says 'It seems pretty clear and certain that the boundaries of a parish were originally ascertained by those of the manor.' Seldom does a manor stretch into adjoining parishes, though often a parish may contain more than one manor. Woolwich appears to be a case in point. In Angevin days it consisted of three main divisions of land called the manors of Woolwich, Southall and Jeffreys, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that within the main manor of Woolwich were two subsidiary manors, named Southall and Jeffreys. The manorial rights of Woolwich reverted to the Crown in medieval times and became absorbed in those of the royal manor of Eltha1n though the association appears to have been loose. Southall then became known as the 'manor of Woolwich' for all practical purposes. This change of nomenclature has tended to confuse the
hiStory of the manor. .
It seems clear that soon after the Conquest the authority of the
44 'S
udtone' is 'Sutton-at-Hone'. rd
.45 Raimo was th h •ff A man of similar name was confessor to Edwa II and Bish e s en .
~p of Rochester in 13 16. 46 Bordar'-a cultivator of the soil.
47 The Environs of London, Daniel Lysons, I 796, vol. IV, P· 559·
123
THE BACKGROUND
Abbot of St Peters at Ghent over Woolwich was, if not abrogated, so shadowy as to be virtually null and void. At any rate, the church there was given by Henry I to the monks of the Priory and Convent of St Andrew at Rochester48 and certain portions of the lands were detached from the chief manor. Some of these were attached to the royal manors of Eltham and Dartford, while others were presented to the Abbot of StJean Baptiste d'Angeley in Saintonge, France, by
Henry II after his accession.49 King John, however, who was a law unto himself and cared little for the anathemas ofthe Church, seized the Abbot's lands in_ Woolwich and Mottingham to suit his own purposes though he ~d apparently repent of his rash act some years later. Whether conscience or policy moved him he did address a mandate to Geoffrey FitzPiers on 25 June 1206 'on the occasion of
his visit to the Abbey of St Jean Baptiste, instructing him. to return without delay the stolen lands to the Abbot together with any chattels which may have been purloined.so The townsmen of St Jean d'Ang~ley revolt:d in 1224 in favour of King Louis VIII of Fr ance, and this happemng together with the violent changes of ownership whi~h the~ had exl?erienced, doubtless brought home to the mo~s
the msecunty of their tenure. They therefore decided to convey their estate to Aymer de Valence, bishop-elect of v\Tinchester and halfbr?ther to Henry II!. In 1250 Aymer was consecrated Bishop of Winchester, and on his death at Paris in 1261 the lands of W oolwich reverted to Henry III who granted them to Avice de Aula, wife of th_e Keeper of Rochester, for the term of her life. This lady paid the "!{1~g £10 a year and had the assize of bread and ale and a gallows m ~oolwyc~ and Modyngham'. Prior to this grant, Gilbert de Mansco held m 1236 half a knight's .r • W · h d Warin
. -1ee m oo1w1c un er
1
d M h
e one ens1.a After the death of th .c. • J hn de
· b e 1ormer m 1255, o
Mansco,. pro ably a son answered .c. the same 1e.c. e under R lph de
, wr a Mandeville. Walter de Mandeville h h Id f h or of
w 1 · h ffi d h' w o e part o t e man
oEol wh1c a rme is portion to be an appurtenance of his manor
o
f t am and parcel of th h . _
h
. e onour of Gloucester.<>2 H e then ex c :n~ed~hes~ 1~terest~ for the manor of Luton in Bedfordshire with
J
fco nlifc e esci w ose -~dow, Isabel, held Woolwich and Mottingharn or e. 53 1ater Wilham d y · · to
Anth B k B~ h e esc1 conveyed these properties . ~nyhe ' his op of Durham54 who gave it in reversion after his own eat to t e Crown. Edward I thus became lord of the manor 0 R~gist'!'m Ro.ffenu, Thorpe Dzoceszs Ro.ffensis (Canterbu1769, p. 35. :: Rot. Pipe, 2 He~ry II. ry and York Society), 1948, vol. I, p. 433· Rot. Claus. 8 John m 6 J I
p. 73). ' · ' 25 une 1206 (Rotuli Litterarum Clausarum 1833, vol. '
11 ,,.. '
1. est~ de Nevill, 18o7, p. 209.11 Placr.ta de Quo Waranto I 8I 8 ( Ed
••Rot.Pipe, 2 1 Edward' I 7 ward I), p. 343. 14 Inquisitions post morte~ Ed . . tiom post mortem, vol. V, p. 'ili). ward II, no. 274, 22 May 1311 (Calendar of Inqu15i
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
ofEltham and Woolwich, the latter becoming a manorial dependant
of the former though it continued to hold a separate court and had
a separate jury and homage. A Court Leet and a Court Baron were
held yearly for the manor ofWoolwich, and a jury and homage were
sworn within the manor. At this Leet the jury appointed two
constables and two ale-tasters for the town and parish of Woolwich.
In the Court Baron all tenants were free and paid a relief of one
year's quit-rent on every death and alienation.55 . .
Although the legal position was clear, t_he allegiance o~ Wool"':1-ch
to Eltham was frequently disputed and ignored. Even in_ the time
of Edward III the question must have come to.a he~~ owing to the
fact that tenants of royal manors enjoyed certam pnvileges: A close
roll of that reign56 indicates that the inhabitants of Woolw1ch were
b eing treated unjustly in this respect. It states:
The King to all and singular, the king's bailiffs_ an~ ministers within the realm to whom etc. Greetings. Order not to d1str~1n the men of the manors ofModynham and Woolwich, which are ofancient demesne of the Crown for payment of toll upon their goods and property, contrary to the custom of the realm heretofore, kept and approv<:d that men of the ancient demesne of the Crown are and ought to be qwt of such payment throughout the realm releasing any distress made for that cause.
ken in which Woolwich is described as a
In r 649 a survey was ta d m ember of the Manor of Eltham but holding a separate court, an in the rei n of Charles II they were separate manors, but held g · 66 s1 The issue was finally resolved
together and so conveyed 1n 1 3· E h
· · ' · h Sh · the Court of the xc equer
1n a suit brought by Sir Jo n aw in against Mr Richard Bowater who had recently purchased thi•m an~r
O
of W oolwich from the trustees of Mrs Elizabeth 8 croop. ir 1 n whose family had leased the Crown
Sh f Eltham
aw, 2nd Baronet o , · 11 d · th rights of Eltham and Woolwich for several generauo1:sladehg~ itn lel p t nt lawfully ent1t e 1m o a
Court of Exchequer that Letters a e . h • h 1 the freehold and customary rents, fines, duties, etcd. wf1t h1n t e royah' M • t was seize o t e reversion
manor of Eltham, and that is a Jes y f 8d formerly paid and inheritance, that the yearly rent o f3·1:~d in. Woolwich and by Mr Boughton to the manor of Elthamdo; me time. that the
'd f the town had cease ior so ' h h
on t e sout s1 e ? . d ered that the boundaries were lands had been so intermixed au ai~k t b disinherited through
1
lost sight of, and that the Crown was_1 edy lo _e that he knew oughtd r. I M B d"sputed the claim ec anng
e1au t. r owat~r I n evidence that the Woolwich of the lands belonging to Eltham. ~i~ S • Thomas Trevor the estate was within the manor of t am ir ' d
1 r. d for the petitioner on 6 February 1695 anAttorney-Genera , 1oun
55 Hundred of Blackheath, Drake, 1886, P· 145· 56 Rot. Claus. 48 Edward III, m 18, 5 July 1374·
57
Records of Woolwich, Vincent, vol. I, P· 2 1.
125
THE BACKGROUND
Mr Bowater was ordered to pay the rent of£ Bd . h years' arrears and defend the bounds 1'n .c. t 5rAos. . Wlllt 30
d f h iu ure. s a coro ary to the e~ree o t e Court, a Commission was set u r Jul r 6 96 to deterrrune the actual boundaries of th 1 d p f O B y
now ofBowater h" h .r. e an s, once oughton and
Th C .. 'w ic iormed the manor of Southall (Woolwich) 69 e ommb1ss10dn reported the result of their labours and defined the necessary oun s on 2 November 1696 As before mentioned ther · .
called the manor of s th ellwas an es~ate m the parish ofWoolwich
ou a (Woolw1ch) h' h d b
a manor and was styled 'M w 1c was repute to e Kent. It was this pro ert :~or of:Vulwiche' in the Feodary Books of of the Domesday sufv y, shurmised by Lysons, which at the time
ey was eld by H . h Sh 'ff S .c:
the decease of Anthon B k S . aimo, t e en . oon a1ter
holding one fourth ( a :~i a~ma de_ Wyndlesore is recorded as
Monchensi who 1·n tu0 h ldght s fee m Woolwich of Warin de
' rn e of th kin ·
of that portion of the k . h , e g. This was probably a half remainder comprising th~g tds fee. held by Gilbert Marisco, the Isabel, widow of John J ~ s _which came into the possession of answered for this same e esc1. Later on Sir John de Pulteney 1346, for knighting th~u;r:~~ sha:e in th~ aid levied on I November Neale of Pulteney near L Prmce. Sir John, the son of Adam financier possessed of a utt~rworth in Co. Leicester, was a great of London in n amp e fortune. He was Mayor of the City
1330
consequence. He l~nt 133Eld 133J and 1336 and a man of considerable him to carry on with h" ;ar III a good deal of money to enable
1
for this service. Four ce : :ench wars and was no doubt rewarded
ennobled by its represe~t~;{~: lat~r,_on 14July 1742, the family was Earl ofBath. By a fine . d.' Wilham Pulteney, being created the a life interest in his W 1evli~ m 1347, Sir John de Pulteney conveyed
oo wich ma
estates to Humphrey d B h nor, together with that of his other remainder to himself 60 e h.0 u_n, Earl of Hereford and Essex with .ts . . 1 ' w ich mte t
ongma owner,61 Aft s· res was soon reconveyed back to
1 Sir William Pulteney er ir John's death on 8June 134g his son, ' •
conveyed h'is South 11succeeded t °the 1amily.r. estates. In 1362 h e \Vorcester, and two ~th ma?or to John de Baronetta Bishop of truste 1 ers m trust 62 d . ' h
es sett ed them i t . . , an m the following year t e
1
garet and their issue. : ~ on Sir William Pulteney his wife Marher second husband' S~ ;y de Loveyn, son of Da~e Margaret by heirs of Sir William.~ rr icholas de Loveyn; and on the rightful
Margaret, widow of Sir
Exch Nicholas Sarnefield, K.G.-the royal
11
u Exchcquer Decrees 7 Will. " Ped cqF_uerd~pccial 'eonun~_m II8I, Hilary folio 319
•
in. iv co Ed 10n, Will" III .
•1
Rot. Cla • 2 I ward III iam ' no. 6795.
II Rot Claus. 21 Edward III , no. 41 I. ta Ped. F' usd.. 36 Edward 111' p. 18, m 29d, 1347.
• m. iv co 36 Ed , m I d I9Jul 6
· ward III n'o Y13 2 and m 20d, 20July 1362.
6
' • 14• 37 Edward III, no. 627. 126
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
Standard Bearer-next comes into the possession of the Ma f Southall (Woolwich). Shemusthavebecome temporarily embar~~;s;d for money as she mortgaged the estate to Thomas Marshall and wm· Bures und~r _a coven~nt which stipulated that they were boun~a: surrender 1t 1f she paid them the sum of £100 in cash in the po h of ~ltham church before Michaelmas 1426. The mortgagees w:~e notified to attend the church and collect the money, but they did not appear. Instead they stipulate~ t~at_they required a further £ 4o. Dame Margaret refused to be 1nt1m1dated by this extortionate dem~nd. She alleged that the hold<:rs of th<: mortgage had amply repaid themselves by felling and selling the umber from the Manor and petitioned that they should be cited to appear before the Lord Chancellor. The money claimed was possibly furnished by the sale of the manor in 1424 to Richard Sturgeon for 200 marks64 who in turn made a profit of 1oo marks when he conveyed it on 13 October
1435 after sale to John Tattersall.65 John Tattersall was a gentleman of London who married Agnes da~ghter ofJohn Chichele, grocer of Lo~don, and niece of Heru,'. Ch1chele, Archbishop of Canterbury. At his decease, John Tattersall left h vo daughters, co-heiresses: Margery, who marned John Roper of Swacliff, Kent, one of the Surveyors of the Customs of the Cinque Ports,66 and Anne married to Sir Ralph Hastings who at his death
. ' .
1n 1495 left all his interest in the manor of Woolwich at the disposal of his wife. Agnes Tattersall marrie~ second~y Sir Willia~ Kene, after whose death and that of her son-in-law Sir Ralph Hastmgs, the manor of Woolwich was settled on herself. She conveyed it to Nic~olas Boughton at Michaelmas 149~-The man~r then_descende~ to Sir Edward Boughton, his son, who in turn left it to67Nicholas, his son, who sold it in to Richard Heywood for £786. The manor
1554
at that time had as its appurtenances 7 messuages, 3 barns, 1 dovecote, 4 gardens, orchards, 100 acres of arable land, 200 acres of pasture, acres 4of marsh, 50 acres of heath a~d 200 acres of ':ood
50
lands together with shillings rent in Woolw~ch ~nd Greenwich.
40
Christopher Heywood, son and heir of the sai~ Richard, ~onveyed one third of the estate in January l 57368 to Richard Patrick, ·who together, the latter on 1 July 157sso and the former on 20 ~ugust 15~0'• conveyed all their interests in the manor ~f \~oolwich ~o William Gilborne, citizen and draper of London. Sir Nicholas ~11borne of Ch · K t hi·s son was seized in 1590 of a mansion
, anng, en , , . h d h .
house in Woolwich, called Woolwich Hall, wh1c stoo on t e site
6<1 pd
65 ped. Fin, 3 Henry VI, no. 108.
0 e · Fm. 14 Henry VI no. 404. 1 H VIII
676 :ather_ of Sir John Roper of Well Hall, attorney-genera to enry ·
os pe~. F!n. 6 Edward VI, Hilary.
oo Re · Fm. 15 Eliz., Hilary.
,0 Rot. Claus. 20 Eliz., p. 15.
ot. Claus. 22 Eliz., p. 16. 10 127
THE BACKGROUND
o~the present Red Bar:a~ks; ofdivers orchards, houses etc. adjacent with the chattels rema1nmg in the house., a11 of wh'1ch he Iet on 2 o ovember 159° _to Francis eedham for 2 I years. He settled the
manor of Woolw1ch· on Henry Gilborne h'IS son, who a· d wit· h
. h · d , Ie out ISSue. From im it escended to his n1·ece El' b th d h d
· · b th Th Isa e , aug ter an
heir of his ro er omas Gilborne of W I · h Sh · d S
f L h oo WIC . e marne t
Leger Scroop o out , Co. Lincoln who di d . fi . 1d'ffi 1 .
An A t of Parliament e m nancia I cu ties. inheri~ance in trustees, :~~;;ere~ore obta~ned in I 690 to vest her to pay her late husband's debt;hich ce~tam lands were to be sold from her undertakings u d.h!"frs Elisabeth Scroop was released
n er t IS Act b . d
from the private fortune of Th . Y certam payments ma e trustees appointed under th o~as A_spm, her second husband. The
. e a1oresa1d A t D w·11· G h
Dean of Carlisle and John H c -r I iam ra am, manor \\ith its appurtenan _arvWey of Thurley, Co. Beds, sold the
ces m ool . h d . d
Bowater mercer ofLondo d h' wic an Charlton to Richar
. ' n, an is son Ri h d 1· d f
the City, for the sum of £I , c ar , a men-raper o
1
, 8oo and a · 1 / h
Mr and Mrs Thomas Aspin. 71 Th nomma. sum_of 5 -eac to family until the beginning f h e_ manor remamed m the Bowater
The manor of Jeffrey O t e nmeteenth century. Elizabeth's reign by Henr~ ~:s possessed in the b ginning of Queen.73 eney, who held it in capite72 of the
ow what of the humbler folk • men and small merchants as the Of W 0 ?lwich, the labourers, fisher-t~eir trades, bought and sold fc centuries rolled on ? They followed like that of any other small c;mough~ a~d loved, and iived and died strayed within the clutches f :;mmty in the country. At times they was just a small fishing vill O t_ e law. Until Tudor days Woolwich a few narrow lanes leadin age, its houses clustered together between bounded between the pre g to ~he water's edge in an area roughly little up the hill on the · ~ent sites of the Dockyard and Arsenal. A
ns1ng gro d
no doubt the life of the small h un stood the church round which The church was originally d ~~let revolved. wards to St Mary Magd l e icated to St Lawrence74 and after-th h a ene It ·
e mot er church of th d" · anciently paid gd. chrism rent to · h · e 10ce r A
"';It Its whole tithe to the p . se. a s before stated it was given Bishop of Rochester by H nory of St Andrew and Gundulph,
his ' enry I £
parents and his wife 1a Th. _or the good of the souls of himself, ~~arter.1_1 Fur~er chart;rs to t~eg1ft was confirmed by a subsequent the dissolution of the p . same effect followed in due course. 11 R nory of St A d ·
ot. Claw. 5 William d n rew m 1540 the church at
71
A tenure held . . an Mary p 8
n Hundred ofBtZ1cd1ately of th; so~e' ~os. 24 and 28. ,. Regist,um & aJh, Drake 1886 reign. ,1 Ta111s &1r.. ,J/tf'St, Thorpe, I 76 'p. I 51.
,. -r rutnsis, Thomas H 9, p. 696.
, atus &IT-.: Th carne 1
" Rt. . rll"'N•s, omas Hearne' 720, p. 230. !,utru,n &J/mse, Thorpe I 76 ' I 720, p. r70.
' 9, p. 35.
128
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVE T OF THE WARREN
Woolwich was settled on the newly-elected Dean and Ch t 1·
Ro h t I h h ap er o
c es er. n t e seventeen~ century the people ofWoolwich reatl feared for the safety of their church from the heavy traffi g · y to and fro between the Dockyard and the town. On 25 Acp J:>1ass6mg
th . . d . n I 50
ey p~t~t10ne t~e Council of State for an order to the Na Comrmss10ners to issue from store a certain quantity of waste ti bvy and planks, unsuitable for ship-building, to repair the wharf le~· er to the Dockyard, which, as they said, 'is so much decayed by ~~g heavy loads carted over it, that neither carriages, horses nor f. : can pass it without danger, and it endangers the falling d~wn of~~ church of the town'.78 The estimate for the repair of the wharf, 55~ feet long and 6 feet deep, total £194. 10s. od., was accompanied b a statement that it had been repaired by the Navy Commissione; in r634. Then follo'."'ed an Order in Co_u~cil, which had a curious!; modern rmg about it. The Navy Comin1Ss10ners were to enquire into the m atter and ascertain who should carry out the repairs. If the State were not to be charged they were to examine the cost and certif what waste timber could be spared towards the work without
making a precedent of it. It was agreed on 6 June 1650 that the government should bear one third of the cost of the repairs, allowed by giving the timber of old and decayed vessels then stored in the
Dockyard.
By the reign of Queen Anne the church was falling into decay as well as becoming too small to house the gro':"ing congregation. Money was therefore collected and given by charitable persons to renovate the structure. A survey, however, demonstrated that the old fabric was incapable of being either repaired or enlarged. It was therefore decided to rebuild it on a new site, and in May I 726 a piece of land I½ acres in extent and lying to the south was purchased from the Bowaters. In an Act was passed whereby fifty new churches
1710
Were to be built79 and thus, money having been contributed, the
80
foundations of the new edifice were dug. Finally in I 732 another Act was passed specifically ordering the rebuilding of Woolwich Church as one of the number directed under the former Act. The Act of George II directed that the sum of £3,000 should be paid toward the cost of rebuilding before 24 June 1732. Treasury records complete the story for on 25 May 1732? Nathaniel Blackerley, treasurer for building new churches, received the sum of £3,000 for
81
'rebuilding Woolwich Parish Church'. As early as the fourteenth century Wool~ch inhab~tants we~e getting into trouble over breaking the fishing regulations. Their
11 nd 1
~: S.P. Dom. Council of State Proceedings, vol. IX, PP· 9 a 94· 9 Anne, cap. 1 7.
80 fon y B k
5 George II, cap. 4. 1 1 2 6 (
X 81 Calendar of Treasury Books and Papers, vol. II, 173 -734, P· 3 XXVI, pp.314-315).
129
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
THE BACKGROU D
misdemh~anourf ,h,·asCt?e age-old one of poaching. An old Deed in the arc 1ves o t e 1ty of Londons2 states:
Be it remembered that on Saturd h
1farv (2nd February) in th hay t e octave of the purification of St.
• ·, , e I 3t year of King Ed d f TT •
Edward Laurence Albyn ,v·ir . war , son o ..1.~mgThomas' Sprott and five' ot~e;:m Tngge, MaSter Joh~ le Fisshmongere, 1fayor and Aldermen si ·t prnduced at the Gmldhall before the ~,-hile under the charg~ o/Jehen dnets called kide/s83 taken in the Thames
o n e Pelham fish f W 1 . h d
John Godrom, drynke~4 of Plomstede. ' monger O O WlC e, an \\no said that the same kidels belon .
Lesnes, Berkynge and Erheth h ged to certam men of Plomstede,
th
kidels were placed in the wat:~:f;0 we~e ere named, and that the said fish and salmon etc It was th ~resaid to the destruction of the small Aldermen that the kidels sho Ide~ ore adjudged by the said Mayor and on the peril which awaits th u ~ burnt, and that the said fishmongers,
em, s ould not commit the offence again.
The lawful measure ofthe
a minimum of two inche b meshes ofThames nets at this time was
s etween knots ss These sharp practices we ·
monger. Even the saintly {~ not confined to the Woolwich fish-evade the law. In 1313 a :idez°t of L~snes was not above trying to the bank of the Thame . elongmg to him was disco ·ered on and brought before thes~pposite his abbey. This was confiscated Leire, John de Wyndesor ayo~, John de Gisorz, and \ illiam de on the Thursday next af;, a~ Stephen de Abyndone, Aldermen, (25 April), at the Guildhal~~ t { Feast of St Mark, the Evangelist in the street of Chepe b in .0ndon. It was ordered to be burned
. ecause '1t w f; d d
Mockinge, Henry Lombard as oun on the oath ofJohn e
1
John de Garton, William S ' ]Laurence Aubyn, Oliver Brounyng, Richard Swote Geoffr cSot, ohn Freshfisshe, Robert de Mockyng, fish ' ey cot the y Pik
mongers, that the net ounger, and Alexander e, sufficient for fishing t th was too narrow in the meshe and in
, o eud· '
to the loss of the whole • n oing of the banks of the river, and was also pronounced th~~~:nd of the people resorting thereto'. It People of England stat d h Great Charter of the Liberties of the aforesaid shall be rem e dt at all kidels and such embankment86 as
. ove 87 Agam on 28 October I • Pesok of Plumstead wa ;14 a net called a coanet belonging to Robert s a en from the Thames brought before the " '
13 Edward II 1 20 L
nd
London Life, H. T. 'RJ ' etter Book E, folio .
, 11 A net for trappiney,fuS68, p. 135. xcix. Quoted from Memorials of London a A pretty kettle (kcdcl) h at the mouth 0 f 5.
"Probably a trinke,e of fish'. a stream i.e. keddle. Hence the expres ioJ1
" 17Edward III 1' a man who used trink ·
~Life, H. T. Ril343, Letter Book F, fol s,1i.e_. nets attached to posts. d
Thrown to make i~~' p. 21 • · xxi. Quoted from Memorials ofLondon an
5
17
6 Edward II in the rive f;
1---Life, H. T: j,l13, Letter Book Afu~ rec~iving the kidel. d
cy, 1868, p. 1 . ' · xci. Quoted from Memorials of London an
07
Mayor and Aldermen at the Guildhall and ordered to be b ,
the ~to_ne cross in the high street of Chepe'.88 urnt near . S1nular acts of lawlessness occurred in the reign of Hen IV d instances could be further. multiplied. Doubtless illegal fishm:f and
g prove a profitable occupation when undetected. In 1406 Bonar a Th
con t fi d . b 1 . ' ames
serva or, con scate sixteen nets e ongmg to certain fish of Woolwich, Erith and Barking because their meshes were coe:men to regulation. Bonar testified that the men concerned were aggrn r~ry
d h . ess1ve
an t reatened to recover their nets by force. As a result of hi co_mplaint, the offenders were brought before the court at West~ ~1nster and, after trial, found guilty. They were, however, champ10ned by the Archbishop of Canterbury who interceded on their be~alf. They were, therefore, pardoned by the Mayor, their nets
bemg returned to them.89 The presence of religious houses on _both sides of the Thames fostered trans-river traffic, and a Woolw1ch ferry was established at an early date. In 1308 a messuage and a ferry at Woolwich were sold by illiam de Wicton to William atte Hall, mason, for £rn.9o In 1320, Lambert de Trykenham conveyedcertainlandsinWoolwich and elsewhere, together with a ferry across the Thames, to John ~atymer and Joan, his wife.91 In turn, these same lands and ferry rights were sold in 1340 by William Filliol and Mary, his wife, to
92
Thomas -Iarwold and his heirs for I oo marks. Greenwich and Erith also poss...,ssed ferries, and their competition constituted a grievance for Woolw·ch people, who in 1330 petitione~ Parliament at Winchester to suppress their rivals as the Woolw1ch ferry was a royal
ferry farmed of the king.93
In the reign of Charles II there was a warrant dated 28 May 1679 for a grant to Robert Moore, Thomas Walter and John Smith, their executors administrators and assigns for a term of 30 years of a ferry from Wo~lwich to the opposite shore; also of two fairs at Woolwich e:7ery year to begin on 2 4 April and 24 O~t?~er and to continue eight days each, it having been found by inqu1s1t10n th_at such a grant w~uld be no damage to the Crown, or to any subJect, or to the
neighbouring markets or fairs.94 Much legislation has been passed since and sev~ral other ferries
have been installed but such subsequent undertakings are of much
later date. ' Woolwich grew very slowly during the centuries. Even by the
88 18 Edward III L tt Book F fol. xcii. Quoted from .Memorials of London and Lond L. ' I 334, e er '
on ife, H. T. Riley, 1868, p. 220.
811 Records of Woolwic/1, W. T. Vincent, vol. I, P· 31.
90 ;ecords of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, P· 17°·
81 ped. Fin. div. co., 14 Edward II, no. 205.
11a ed. Fin. 14 Edward III, no. 461.
u 112 f;ndred of Blackheath, Drake, I 886, p. 152.
· ·Dom.Car. II, Entry Book 51, P· !250.
131
THE BACKGROUND
reign of J:Ienr>: VII it contained only 112 ratepayers. Its location on a broad tidal nver presented possibili'ti'es h d h fc d'
· I d , owever, an t e oun 1ng
of Its roya ockyard when Henry VIII d d h h
· Ifc • ascen e t e t rone gave
the signa or expansion and s t th
• f h d e e VI11age on the road to prosperity.
The operung o t e ockyard b . h
attracted skilled artisans and d mug t_tra~e.to the neighbourhood, up for the various g eveloped its c1v1c sense. Houses sprang
overnment servants I d h d h
superintendence ofwh t • h emp oye t ere, an t e ments' brought a bettea ml1g t be termed the new 'Service Establish-
r c ass of re · d .
houses of these officials .si ent to the growmg town. The of a more substantial n' terectehd further back from the river, were
a ure t an th f h d' fc lk
Even Pepys was impressed . h ose o t e or mary towns o .
wit these ' 0 ffi · 1 , 0 J
1661 he supped with Mr p t . _cia quarters . n 14 une 'He did treat us very hande t, tfe shipwright and noted in his diary houses all the officers of th s~~e ~' and strange it is to see what neat gradually spread towards ;h ~~g ~ Yard have.' A built-up area thus
Woolwich could hardly e 1? <? ground. peasant rebellions which s remam immune from trouble during the proximity to Blackheath ~ept t~e land during early reigns. Its close have prevented that w'ha avhounte rallying ground for rebels, would
· en t e ·
und~r the banner of Wat T I msurgents poured on to Blackheath
th
menm the Kentish con tin y e~ ere were possibly some Woolwich marched on Blackheath g~nht. h~tseventyyearslater whcnJack Cade
f h Wit IS 20 ,
1 .
P_am~ o t : Commons of Kent' ,ooo men to present the Comwich inhabitants were definite! ~o the Royal Council, some Woolgentlemen pardoned for th . Y m~olved. Among the seventy-four Hethe and William No th eir part m the conspiracy were T homas the less fortunate were r_ hampton, both of Woolwich while among
W I · h eig t men b I · '
00 wic , situated as 1't • e ongmg to the town.
h d 'ts r. · is on th ·
~ 1 iarr share of alarm d e mam sea-lane to the capital, has
kin ' . s an ex .
g s enenu:s. It, together with cursrnns due to the malice of the concerned with resisting th A Plumstead and Charlton was closely be the first to suffer firome rmada as the riverside pa;ishes would
mak if. · any d d · •
Th e, ' m pursuance of th . epre at10ns the Spaniards might
ames. A battery of gun eir boast, they dared to ascend the were set up at Erith and sGwas er~cted on Market Hill and others moored acr h . reenh1th A b '
th Th oss t e river at Ch e. attery of gun-boats was
1
the K ames at Gravesend to ~r ~.n, while a bridge ofbarges spanned e ent and Essex shores Alalc hltate the passage of troops between ments to set fir · t e lo l m · h ·
. e to everythi h ea ab1tants made arrange~:v:!1~~a~a 'scorched-ea:fh~ 0~~d t~e Spaniards effect a landing, exci~ t ese preparations p icy is no development of modern ement, not to say fear . must have caused a great flutter of " s· ' in the hea t f W . s
. . u William Ralci r s o oolw1ch women a District Antiquarian s!~and Woolwich
icty, vol. X. ' R. J. Jackson, Proceedings of the Woolwich
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVE N T OF THE WARRE~
most_ of the able-bodied men of the district were, at the time, away fighting in the Low Countries.
Nearly a hundred years later history repeated itself in the Dutch wars and this time fear seems to have given way to panic. The times were certainly serious. The Dutch had long been our rivals in tr~de and a war had been going on intermittently for a couple of years. Both sides, being excellent sailors, fought stubbornly, and the battle of the Downs in June 1666 lasted four days. Parliament voted large supplies in aid of the struggle, but intrigues at Court and the King's profligacy dissipated the money and it seldom reached the goal for which it was intended. Work which should have been done was left undone, supplies and stores which should have been ordered were left unordered. Consequently the country was ill-equipped for the final assault which came on g June 1667 when a Dutch fleet, sailing up the Medway, battered down a fort at Sheerness, broke through a chain guarding Chatham docks, and burned numerous vessels sheltering there. The country feared an attack 0:1 London where the guns of the enemy's fleet in action could be plamly heard.
On 13 .June r667 Charles II wrote to Prince Rupert dire~ting him to raise batteries in or near Woolwich for the better security of the Thames against hostile raids, and instructing him to pr~ceed thither to take personal charge of the work, at the same time ordering
persons of all rank to obey him.96 As a result of the king's letter a temporary battery or wooden97 platform mounting 6o guns was erected in Woolwich_ Warr~n, where the earthworks which formed the sub-structure still retamed the name of 'Rupert's Walk' when batteries of a more permanent charact fit rds constructed by General Borgard, whose
. er were a erwa . . ss s· h'
original plan still survives in the Bntis_h M_us_eum. ix s ~ps were ordered to be sunk off Woolwich and Sir Wilham Penn advised that
·r · 1 t should be placed on board
1 possible 4 ooo tons of stones at eas ,
the h' 'b k 99 E tually nine vessels were sunk off the
s 1 ps to e sun . ven C · ·
tow 100 d J 6 J hn Cox asked the Navy omrrussioners
n an on 20 une 1 6 7 ° • · · d
for eight more ships to be sent to Woolwich for sinking m or: er to
my's fleet from coming up
h
secure the passage and prevent t e ene
highe t d L d 101 In this emergency, errors were naturally
r owar s on on. F h fl boat of440 tons rnade. For instance, the authorities sunk a r_enc y-. sent from Dunkirk by the French king for ~nsoners, havi~g on boar~ victuals for 300 men.102 Another ship carrymg £80,000 o stores, an
1 23
:: S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccv, no. 20 (Entry B~ok 7, P· 4 )·
S.P. Dom. Car. II, ccvi, no. 10~, ccx~, no. ! d 98 B.M. Royal maps and plans, foho xvi(A~irJty Paper).
99 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccv, no. 107 100 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccvi, no. 58. 101 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccvi, no. 160. 102 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. ccvii, no. 158.
133
THE BACKGROUND
a king's store-vessel laden with supplies for the fleet were also sent to the bottom.103 By now the Exchequer was wellnigh empty and Charles borrowed £10,000 from the City of London for the defence ofthe Thames. For ,~ant ofrea~y ~oney Parliament paid off the clamorous seamen with tickets bearmg 1~~erest. These were received by the sailors with dis
gust and. ma~y JOmed the enemy, being heard to call out from the Dutch ships: We fo~ght for tickets before, now we fight for dollars.'104 Two extracts which follow give a g h' d · u· f reelings
h' h . d . th rap 1c escnp on o 1_. ~ IC exist~ m e me~ropolis and its southern suburbs during this t:Ime of tension and stram. One is a letter dated I June I 667 from
5
John Rushworth to a frie d 10~ H S
M, · R l k R n · a e says that 'the Royal Charles, anta
O
ar~a, OJ; b ah Doyal James, Loyal London and Unity all great ships ~re h~r~e Y t e utch in Chatham river besides ~wo lesser ships1~ w, IC 5~~ ~en lhost their lives, and two' more ships sunk in the n~er~ 7,0~h. · et t ey got over them and the chain too and did this mIChscthe. D ISkcompelle~ the sinking of all other great ships near
a am oc ' not leav
will be recovered in tim:g one above water, but it is hoped these ready to tear their h • ff Th~ merchants are undone; people are used at Whitehall air .0 the1r heads; great importunity has been
, especially bys· G . p 1· t
but nothing will prevail. t .ir eorge Saville, for a ar 1~me1: ~ also all the bishops and ' ~ere Is one great grown man against it, cheated the king N paP1sts, and all those who have cozened and
. ews arrives t Od h fi
Brest and appear bef; h ay t at the French have come rom that they are friends oredt e Isle of Wight; some at Court give out far as Woolwich. p anl not enemies. The Dutch are expected as
'th th ' eop e are fled fi G 1 kh th
Wl eir wives and hild rom reenwich and B ac ea it will.' The other is i r;n. We are betrayed, let it light where 'In the evening came M.1 ~pys' Diary under date r 3 June r 667 ·
nd
tell me that never w elhng and several others to the office a all over at this day-er~people so dejected as they are in the City we are bought and ,s;~-~o talk most loudly, even treason, as that and
others about the Kin . hat we are betrayed by the Papists, so backward as no g, cry out that the Office ofOrdnance hath been Castle till such a ti powder to have been at Chatham nor U pnor
p · , A me and the · · a
apISt. day later p carnages all broken· that Legg is Batten and W. Pen ~pys records that 'at night ca~e home Sir w. at Woolwich and Dw ~only can tell me that they have placed guns and Blackewall andep or~, and sunk some ships below Woolwich
• , are In h ,
~onung up'. Being a pra ti opes that they will stop the enernY s amuel Pepys called on k~~1 man as well as a very inquisitive one, 111 Pcpys' . odbam, Clerk of the Ropeyard, on 23
0
lN ~rr' D~' 14Junc 1667
111 S Domiary, 14Junc 1667.
·· -Carn ·
. , vol. ccv, no. 76.
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
June and together they went out to inspect the Woolwich batteries which they considered to be excellent works to command the river below the ships that were sunk, but of small value above them.
John Evelyn who lived at Sayes Court near Deptford was also greatly perturbed by events. He writes in his diary on 8 June 1667 'To London, alarmed by the Dutch, who were fallen on ou: fleet_ at Chatham by a most audacious enterprise entering the ve:Y nve~ wi~h part of their fleet doing us not only disgrace, but incredible mischief
· b · ' 1 · t hor and moored
in urmng several of our best men-of-war ymg a anc . there, and all this through our unaccountable negligence _m not
· . • d me feanng the
setting out our fleet in due time. This a1arm cause ' .
. t London (which they
enemy might venture up the Thames even ° . )might have done with ease and fired all the vessels in the river toho ' ' f house to anot er
to send away my best goods, plate etc. rom my d c· . t
· t b th country an ity m 0
P1ace. T he alarm was so great that it pu O more•
fi • . h I hope I shall never see ,
ear, a panic and consternation, sue as 'th N there were everybody was flying, none knew why or whi ~: L:~ :tviiddleton, land fo cc despatched with the Duke ofAlbemar h ·ng to ChatPrince Rupert and The Duke to hinder the ~utc ;r~ms· but the ham, fcrtifying Upnor Castle and laying chamfis ant o:r ships and
re 1 h h 11 and set re O • '
so ute enemy broke t roug a , · h est of their fleet retreated in spite, stopping up the Thames,l~kePrepys he went to
. ' s· d later l e '
Iy1ng b "ore the mouth of it. 1X ays ' t d under the orders
. h h' h had been erec e di
see th e b attery at Woolw1c w ic . b Henry Mud man ofPrince Rupert. In another newslette:;r::te~h:atley, Doncaster106 on 20 June 1667 to Sir George Coo h mentions the fact referring to the Dutch attack on the Thar~s ; at Woolwich with that the crisis had necessitated 'raising a P ~ or f Dover Gravesend 60 pieces of ordnance and the stre1:gthenhmCg O ncil co~cluded that
' . t n t e ou h
etc.' In order to cope with the situa 10 ' board the mere ant
· b fficient to put on · t the
six weeks' victuals would e su the Ordnance to est1ma ~ ships and ordered the Officers of d · tain the batteries at
an an main
number of men required to m 107 • 1
Woolwich Gravesend and Chatha~-h n they had the ball at the r
Strange'as it may seem, the Dute ;.:ey proceeded no further up feet failed to exploit their advantag~~r serious attack. Charle~, howthe Thames and desisted from furt d nd now was determined to ever had become thoroughly ala6r6meh ~nstructed Prince Rupert to
' o 6 July I 7 e h my and
tighten up defence. n 'ble return of t e ene ' fortify the Medway against a poss1 Chatham, Sheerness and such ordered him to proceed to Ro~he~t:~cting the perfecting of all works other places as were necessary ord r. r disposing of the forces to b
. f h ·ver an io
for the security o t e n ' i no. 1oo. . p )
1011 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vo.1 ccv.? no, 26 (Admiralty aper . 107 S p Dom Car. II, vol. ccvu,
. . . 135
THE BACKGROUND
employed there according t · .
personally The ki I h o mstructions he had already received General of Kent i a:c arged the Earl ofMiddleton, Lieutenantthe l\1ayor and 'c e o cerCs emp_loyed in the Yards at Chatham by
ommon ounc1l of L d d 11 Id"
workmen etc. to obey th p . , . on on, an a so 1ers and
e rmce s direct· 10s
The scare at last di d d rnns.
nd
hall, dated g August ~ o,~n, a an Order in Council from White
667, instructed the o d C • •
to cause two-thirds of th r nance omm1ss10ners Woolwich and one third e l~nners employed in the fortifications at to discharge the Captai:s : ose_at Gravesend to be taken off; also decrease the pay of the remaippomted over the guns; and also to
109
5 October the battery at W t1:1"g gunne~s. A few months later on put back into commission a~~t;ich. ':as dismantled,110 but it was soon should further incursions position was considered advantageous in Council stipulated thoctcu~ On 22 January 1668 a further Order Blackman's land i e T a tpe battery at Woolwich in Captain
' · · ower 1
Gallions Reach should b . ace, and the one over against it in
1
. h r. "fi . e continued 1u E . ....
wic 1ort1 cation assum d · ventually m 1737 the Woo
,·ision of General Borg ed a more permanent form under the super-
Like all wars, howevar ·. .
1
called for a quick solu/r, it eft its problems behind and one which Proposals from contrac:on ;as the clearing of the Thame channel. Gould offered to clear t~rs T~wed in. On 3 September 1668 Thomas for £1,600 and the old e a~es of three ships sunk at Woolwich except ships and lab wrecks, if the king would find all materials
. our, or for £6 'f
t e s ips.112 On the sa d oo 1 the king would provide all
h h which appeared to be:.~hayJohn Gibbs put up another proposition to the Kavy Comrru·ss· er more grasping in its terms He suggested
• 1oners th t 1· f h ·
m hand and a third of th a t ey would allow him £3 500, half t~ree ':reeks was out of thee;:her half to be paid when ea~h of the give him the three wr k .Y of the vessels and if they would also
ec s w1th 11 h . ' .
guns, he would weigh d a t eir goods in them excepting s nk b I an carry f ' .
~ e ow Woolwich at his out o the channel the three ships ~1me must have elaps d b own cost before 15 May next.113 Some 1t was fin 11 . e efore the · • I
a Y decided to bl nver was cleared and ev1den t Y agency, as it was not t'll ow up the hulks by direct government
1
~dward Sherburne Su 5 July 1669 that Francis icholls and tively, reported t~ thrvior and Clerk of the Ordnance respecalltl ot~er materials fore d: a~ Commissioners that the powder woolwich and lodged ·isposmg 0 f the wrecks had been sent to
m the ·
1oe s.P. Dom company of Paul Linby, their
111 0r· • · Car. II, vol ···
u, iginal Warrants . ccv111, nos. I 19-1 . 111 ~ginal·
~m. Charles ~ldv ~rdcrs_ in Councif Ip~cJ,i,io/ok/17, pp. 251-252). 111 Sp Warrants an'd O~d~' no. 57. ' 55 425, no. 200. 111 s'p' Dom. Car. II V I crs in Council PROJW
0
· ·Dom.Car 11' · ccxlv, no. 162 ' 0/55/425, no. 137.
• , VO1 ccx1 •
• v, no. 161.
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
agent, ready for issue to Mr Young gunner of th R l r
A ' e oya James 114 pparently there was a further scare ofrenewed war. Phineas p · muster-master, reported to the Navy Commissioners at 8 et~
1
May 1672 that heavy gun-fire was heard at Gravesend At fi a.1:1. thought that the noise proceeded from scaling (prov~g ?) rsdtIt was
t w I · . • or nance
a oo w1ch, but the continuous roar undeceived Mr Pett a d d
h" r h h' . . n ma e
1m rea 1ze t at somet 1ng more s1mster was probably afi 0 t s
officers at Grave~end _believed that the fleet was engaged.115° • ea Some further hght 1s thrown on t_he Woolwich defences during the ~utch war. Annexed to an Order 1n Council on 23 December 6 2
. . fi A L . I 7
1s a pet1t10n rom nne ong, a widow. She claimed that her sec d husband, Richard Long, who had been commander of the N~~tzngale, was put in command ofthe men at Woolwich and that owi to hardships there experienced, had died ~ithout receiving; peU::;'. This fact could be substantiated by refernng to the original warrant dated 14 June 1667 at Woolwich from Prince Rupert to Captain Long in which the latter was ordered to raise as many seamen as po sible by beating the drums at London or otherwise to serve at
olwich. He was also instructed to plant what guns he could on th quay called Jenning' s Quay there and with Captain Benjamin Symonds to take under his command such seamen and others as should be needful to manage the said guns. A note dated 12 January I 67 r was added to the petition by Viscount Brouncker and Sir J. Smyth that Mrs Long 'is desired to make out what time her said late husband spent pursuant to the above warrant'. The answer to this query is supplied on the back, for thereon is a certificate dated 13 J anuary 1671 signed by W. Bodham (Clerk of the Ropeyard) that Captain Long was appointed to command some seamen and guns at the new fortifications at Woolwich from 14 June 1667 and served to the end of the month, but that he knows not how much longer he may have served. His pay was 5s. per day of which he received
6
nothing, he hoping for a greater allowance.11 Woolwi.ch did not remain unscathed in the outbreak of plague which preceded the Great Fire of London. On I 5 August 1665, Christopher Pett reported to the Navy Commissioners that that dread scourge had broken out at Woolwich in two houses, and he expressed the fear that it would be very mortal. He assured their Lordships that he would take every precaution to prevent the malady spreading to the Dockyard.111 Lack ofsanitary arrangements and ignorance of hygiene in the seventeenthcentury favoured contagion and infection.The disease therefore gained a rapid hold. A month later o~ 2~ September Pett informed the Commissioners that cases had mult1phed and that
114 S.P. Dom. Car. II vol. ccLxii, no. I 10.
116 S P .. Dom. Car. II,' cccix, nos. 4 and 41.
116 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. cccxxxi, nos. 128 ~d 1281.
117 S.P. Dom. Car. II, vol. cx.xix, no. 35 (Admiralty Paper).
137
THE BACKGROUND
many workmen were dead. 'He is afraid that soon he will be unable !o contin,ue work at th_e D?c_kyard. He would like a pest-house erected m the '\: ard and stnct lilJunctions promulgated that all infected families should be segregated, kept in and shut up.'118
T,~o Lor~ Mayors of London have been, not only intimately associated with the town of Woolwich but concerned in an indirect manner wi~ the origin of the Royal Arsenal. It was their property, th0ugh t~e1r ownership was separated by almost a century and a
hal£ which formed the 1 f .
, ' . nuc eus o the establishment known as
\ oolw1ch Warren' The· • · d s·
. . . · ir names were Sir Martm Bowes an ir Wilham Prichard The f L
b · ormer,. ord Mayor m. 1545 was a great endefactor to .the town. He belonged to the Goldsmiths' Company an , among his many acf ·t· · H
• d h . IVI ies, was sub-treasurer of the M int. e marnTe h t ree times. First, to Cecily Elyot by whom he had two sons, omas and Martin• dl d · d
o t b b ' secon Y, to Anne Barre ( who 1e I 9 c O er 155d3)hirydwhom he had three daughters Cycely· Charity and
Joanna· an t 1 El· , '
d h" ' -Y, to isabeth Harlow He died 4 ugust I 556
an 1s w111 was dated 20 S b · h Id t
Greenwich on his death f. epte~ er 1542. An inquisition e ~ Bexley, Plumstead and ound ~Im to be possessed of much land in Blackfen and was left ~oolwich. That at Bexley was known as Place;l19 and that at ~ his : 1dest son; that at Plumstead as Sujfo~k Martin Bowes was bu ?01~1ch as Tower Place in the vVarren. Sir Lombard Street d ned in the Church of St Mary -oolnoth, been painted b;a~ ~ :ontemporary portrait of him, said to have Goldsmiths' Hall B O1 em, hangs in the Committee room of the Sir Martin Bowes. y a ddeed of feoffment dated 28 September I 56o,
erecte five I h . .c. or
persons over fifty a ms ouses m Warren Lane 1or po
income arising fro~ear: of age and endowed them with an annual to each occupant in ;sira~ de_vi~ed_ for that purpose. The allowance Goldsmiths' c artm s time120 was paid quarterly by the
ompany of L d .
spection between mid on on, who were to make a yearly in-preached at the pa . ~u~mer and michaelmas; to have a sermon and the poor IId {~s c_ ~rch; and to give the churchwardens 75• they were rebuil~ b ;horinal al~shouses, having fallen into decay,
Sir William p. hy de oldsm1ths' Company in 1771.121
nc ar Lord M ..
ally a merchant tail ' E ayor of London in 1683 was origin
. h T or at ltham H l ' W 1
~c • he present al h . · ea so gave generously to oo tively modern constr~· ouses in Ropeyard Rails are of comparaground given to the t c 10°£ bu~ they occupy the site of a piece of use of the poor wh· hown Y Sir William Prichard in 1679 for the Bowes's almshouses!~ was described as 'the ground at the back of
lll SPDo
111 A · m. Car. II, vol cxxx·.. 111 £tropcrtJ formerly ~longi~~'tO·h57 (Admiralty Paper).
0
111 ~s~ t e Dukes of Suffolk. houses were abolished . . .
in 1888 and the charity converted into pensions.
138
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
Woolwich had a market at least as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century for on I June 1618 there was a grant to Sir William Barne and Hugh Ledyard, esquire, Clerk of the Cheque to the Dockyard, and their heirs, of a ma:ket at Woolwich weekly on Fridays.122 It was they who probably bmlt the old market house near the N.w. end of the Rope house on.ground afterwards occupied by Prichard's almshouses. The market nghts then appear to have passed
to Sir William Prichard who, as we shall see later, was the grantee in I 67 I of the old gunwharf. He immediately erected a ~ew market nd the market was transferred to its new site
h ouse on the wharf a ·
· fl • h d d 1·n course of years spread over Market Hill
H ere 1t -ouns e an
123
where it survived till 1807-.
. . bestowed on Woolw1ch were:
The other chant1es . . . b rde the historian of Kent (1536-1601),124 left 1575· S~r Wilham L_amb ~h's 'college at Greenwich, which he founded,
one place m Queen Eliza e t b fill d f W00lwich for ever·
o e e ram h" wife gave four small tenements to
1fr21. Richard Sims and Anne, is ' 125
the poor. fi rly minister at Woolwich, devised to the 1622. vVilliam Hawkes, ~rme t the rent of one acre of marsh land rector and churchwardens, in trus ' d Marshes and the interest of £27'
. . b L el Plumstea ' '
situated m the b .ey ev ' r the poor, one shilling's worth every to be expended m bread fo Sunday. . d ted 24 August, devised an annual rent
11
1639. Philip Roberts, by wid 'inabread for the poor. The sum issued charge of £1 to be expende· W lwich and the charge was confirmed originally out of three houses in °.~
694'
by the Master of the Rolls, 26 Ap~ :fi v.icar of Lewisham, left 8s. 8d. a 1657. The Reverend Abra~a~bu~ede\n bread, and gave the rector year for the poor to be diStr James I 1611-1618, P· 497· .
122 R p J Priv. S. c.s.P. th ~arket rights passed mto the posses
6 1
123 B ot.h abt. i_ _ac., ¥·th~ nineteenth century _e the population of Woolwich was
. y t e egmnmg ~ 'l but by this t.1.me . . . and importance at s1on _of the Maryon-W1lson f!mT~~ Arsenal too was grow~gctcfi~;d into the sere and movmg out toward Plumstea · . b then had very muc e ow occu ied by the the expense of the Ropeyard which rJ osed and in 1808 th~ a~t; Street' !as selected yellow. A new Act w~, therefo:ld. p s p and the street c~lle~ ~d not prove at all acceptold Town Hall and adJacent b~i mg ;ket Somehow this site i .fted to the space in front as the home of the new (i.e. th1rd) mMark~t Hill while 0thers dn a kind of illegal market able. Some stall-holders returned to as Beresford Square, w;~re bandoned Market Hill, ~fthe Arsenal Main Gate, now k;1o;n the proprietors; thriffiaul~ if not the legality, of
eveloped. This created difficulties 0 ~treet site, and the c fi r; an attempt was made few pe_rsons patronized the Market s a arent. In 18?8 there it had flourished for 140 collectmg tolls in Beresford Square wa epcin Market Hill where nd the proprietors were to return the market to its second h~~-ns had been brok~~ \ 1007 these tolls were Years. It was too late; the old asso~a [ocal Board of Hea bl: h~ in Beresford Square, only too glad to lease the tolls to t e ket was finally esta. is purchased outright, and in 188~ the m;-rthe Boroug~ Council. t' in 1570. It was printed the property of the local authonty,ti ,Perarnbulat1on of K~n f other standard works.
• 121 He completed his first draf~ 0 8lS6 He was also the au~ 0u°Chapel I 597; keeper of in 1574 and 1576, and reprinted in 1 2 ·r the records at the O s Bhencher of Lincoln's Inn 1579; keeper O re pulled down and a t e records in the Tower 1601. h ee small tenements we
121; B 731 t r
Y Vestry Order, August I , Workhouse erected on the site.
139
THE BACKGROUND
and church,.. ardens at v\ oolwich the right of presentation of three boys to the Free Grammar School endowed by him at Lewisham.
~everal 0~ .our own sovereigns, among them Henry VIII and Elizabeth, v1s1ted Woolwich in its early days, but the only foreign crowned head who appears to have come to the town was the Czar, Pe~er the Great, when learning the art of shipbuilding at Deptford. It is repo~ted on 4 March 1698 'The Czar-Peter the Great-went to ,voolw1ch on Wednesday where Lord RomneyI2G showed him the bomb ket_ches and afterwards entertained him to dinner_,121
Woohnch before the W b · · k5
... ' arren ecame a centre for military wor a:if activi~e\ muSt have been a delightfully rural spot. There are
s. ~noug Paces 0~ natural beauty, woodland and pasture in the d1stnct to present a vivid · f ' d 5
. picture o the sylvan surroundings orchar and meadows which must h ' W
catch a glim f. c. ave met the eye of the traveller. e can
pse o 1t irom Pep h •d • · h D k
yard. He records in hi . ys w o pa1 many v1s1ts to t e . oc Greenwich and callin s diary _on 22 May r663 how after landing at . g at a little ale-house at the end of the town to '"rrap a piece of rag r d h.
walking he a d h. oun is toe which had become sore frorn
, n 1s comp · · h
listening to the · h . amon strolled pleasantly along to WoolWl c he states 'and t~1g tmgales en route. A year later on 22 April I 664, got to some he· hence, only that it was somewhat fogg· till the sun
ig t, walked with 1 · h · rnY
way staying several f . great p easure to Wo lv. 1c 1n later on 8 May /~es to_ liSten to the nightingales'. Three years
2 166 nd
Mr Hewer to Wool .' h ~ wntes 'My wife away down \-vith Jane a
1
to-night and so to ; ~h in °rder to get a little ayre, and to be there Yarner hath taught~ e: maydew to-morrow morning which Mrs face with· and I er is the only thing in the world to wash her
' am contented . h . '
Of course the m d l wit it. The country lanes e a portrayed by the idealist has a reverse side.
Hanging Wood Chwelre not particularly safe especially after dark' ar ton had · · ' kh th
was a favourite huntin 'r a simster reputation and Blac ~a teenth century Se g g ound of toughs and roughs till the nine
· aport and r· ·d ·
able reputation of b • . iversi e towns always had the unenvi
1 nd
~o harbour more u: ~!a:mks ofiniquity and possibly they did t~ m-land. For this re p ant characters than the country districts
b ason most . . d
y water. Pepys, himself w v1s1ts to the Thames towns were rna e abroad on his busin O as not above feeling qualms as he walked 'To Deptford and ~ss.l ~ 19 September I 662 he writes in his diarY pullet. I walked by boo wich Yard, at night after I had eaten a cold
rave mo h. ' d
me to Redriffe it b · . ons me, with 3 or 4 armed to guar
th I ' e1ng a Joy t h ' . . n
at was now in th t O my eart to think of the cond1UO
me, unspoke to. I 'he a ph~ople s~ould of themselves provide this for 1• ar t IS walk d d
CMastcr-GencraJ of the d IS angerous to walk by night, an
117 O
.S.P. William III ( r nancc. , 32.9, ff. 326-327) 1698
' p. 131. 140
WOOLWICH PRIOR TO THE ADVENT OF THE WARREN
much robbery committed there.' Again on 30 June 1664 he writes 'By water to Woolwich and walked back from Woolwich to Greenwich all alone; saw a man that had a cudgell in his hand, and, though he told me he laboured in the King's Yard and many other good arguments that he is an honest man, yet, God forgive me! I did doubt that he might knock me on the head behind with his club. But I got
safe home.' Lastly, though Woolwich has been more renowned through her l~ng history for the Arts of War, rather than fo: those of Peace, she did produce one poet of the first magnitude. Ri.chard Lovela_ce, son of Sir William Lovelace was born in the town in I 6I 8. Sol~er and verse-maker, he will ev:r be remembered for his immortal lmes:
'I could not love thee, dear, so much
Lov'd I not honour more >128 and 'Stone walls do not a prison make Nor iron bars a cage '129
12s T W
o Lucasta on going to the ars.
129 T ,
o Althea, from Prison.
Chapter 5
Crown Establishments at Woolwich) prior to the Advent of the Warren
The first royal establishment at Woolwich was the dockyard. The date of its foundation is uncertain, though there must have been some provision for shipbuilding in the town early in the sixteenth century, when Henry VIII ordered the Henri Grace a Dieu erroneously referred to as the Great Harry, to be built after the Regent had been lost in an engagement off the coast of Brittany on I o August 1 5 12 •
nd
Bishop Gibson asserted it to be the oldest yard in the kingdom, a
Camden pronounced it the Mother Dock of England, a claim chal
lenged by Deptford, where a pond communicating with the Tham~s
had existed from early times within the Manor of Sayes Court. This
natural basin, though small, may well have been used as an anchor-
K. ' h. • June
age fcor the mg s s 1ps before excavatrnns were be0 ·un on 9
a . h nd
1517 by John Hopton, Keeper of the Storeho scs at Ent a
1
Deptford, and Clerk Comptroller of the King's Shios in the Thames,
who undertook before Christmas to make a ha;bour at Deptford
. d d' . . d S d to
ma mea ow a ~ommg the King's Storehouse at Deptfor tron
accommodate the Great Galle,, the Mani Rose the p ter Pomegranate,
::n ./ ' er
the Great Bar:k and the Lesser Bark. 2 Both these pretensions, howev '
'd , der
must be set as1 e, as the first dry-dock, as the term is now un
stood, was constructed at Portsmouth in 1495'.3
The Henri-Grace-a-Dieu, built at Woolwich and fitted at Erith, was
on her launching in October 1515 one of the finest ships afloat. She
took three years to complete, and her construction called for a l~rge
b f hi · h d 1nto
num er O s pwng ts and other craftsmen who were presse f
service from all parts of the realm. This influx into the hamlet o
W 1 . h . d d to be
oo w1c raise a housing problem and accommodation ha d rented by the State from local householders. Storage space a:rn wharves, too, were needed and these had also to be leased fr
. . d' 'd d ther
pnvate m 1v1 uals. All wages paid to 'Shippewrights an ° officers workinge upon the King's great Shippe called the JfarryGr, n· W ' 'hhave
ace-a-~eu at oolwiche' and other costs connected therewit blic been meticulously entered in a book 4 now preserved in the Pu d' Record Office, which commenced on~ December I 5I 2. The expen ~f ture on the vessel totalled £6,472. 8s. old. exclusive of the cost
4
1 Rot. Pat. 5 Henry VIII
• B.M. Addtl Chart 6289' p. 2, m. 10, 12 January 1514. 1 F. C. Elliston Erwood Wi00/ ·.L d . . 23
, Records of the Exch WI.Cri an D1strzct Antiquarian Society, 1949, P· ·)cqucr-Trcasury of the Receipt, vol. V (P.R.0, E3615 ·
142
-~
..c:
00
.s
-'
u
(),)
0.. "' C:
.....
H H H
"'O
:-..
ro
~
"'O
~
~ ~
.... ~
3
...:!! c::!
..a
\I'..
co
I.{") I.{")
....
........
ro
,,...
0
~
ll.l
..r:: E--.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
I ,9~7 to~s of timber presented by various religious houses, corporate bodies, bishops, noblemen and other men of public spirit. This document, being an analysis of accounts, makes, except to the research student, dull reading, but a few representative extracts may be quoted, to give an idea of its contents.
'Iren wrought in spyks, clench-nayles and ruffe, and iren unwrought with nayles of all sortes, as well for iij galeys, as for the grete shipp called the Harry-grace-a-dieu 4 Hen. VIII, f. 91 £243. 6s. 31d.'
'bedds, bought for lodgying of the shippwrights and other artificers workying appon the Harry-grace-a-dieu and the iij galeys at Wolwiche' f. 1 39 £39. 8s. od.' '
'Hyre of houses, grounde and wharfes occupied with tymber horde secole5 and other stuffes apperteyning to the making of the Har~-Grace~ a-Dieu and the iij galeys, as followeth beggnnying 4 Hen. VIII, f. 267
£19. 5s. od.' 'William Crane for his house and ground at Woolwich I year, ended Mich 5 Hen. VIII, occupied with the king's timber, secole and stuff 40s. Edward Mathewson, hire of his wharf halfe year ending Christmas, occupied with the king's timber which came from the Abbot of St Albans
IOS•
. Maryon Danyell, widow, grounds and houses occupied by the king's
timber r year ending Mich 5 Hen VIII £6.
Robert Annysby of Aylefford, for the hire of a wharf I year ending
Mich 5 Hen VIII 26s. 8d.
W illiam Crane, hire of his house, occupied with tymber, smythes, forges, secole etc. half a year ending Lady Day 20s. Edward Borgrave, for his house and ground at Woolwiche, 1 year, occupied with board, secole, fish etc. 6os. Nicholas Boveton, gent, for ground occupied with timber 5s. John Bullok of Erith, for hire I o weeks of a barn by the shore for killing beefs and motons for vitailling mariners, shipwrights and workmen etc. 3s. 4d. Edward Borgrave, for hire of his wharf a quarter of a year, for timber and secole 10s.
&c. &c.'
A comprehensive precis of this volume is given in The Hundred of Blackheath by Henry Drake.6 The King often journeyed from his palace at Greenwich to watch the construction of his cherished vessel. He took the keenest delight in maritime affairs and little escaped his vigilant eye. Henry, we may he sure, fared sumptuously on these occasions, J?hn Wo?-owse,_the steward of the ship being paid 16d. for cream which at divers times he provided for his Majesty's delectation. T~e Henri-Grace-a-Dieu was
6 6 Sea coal •The Hundred of Blackheath, 1886, ed. Henry Drake, P· 153, footnot 4·
11 143
THE BACKGROUND
launched in the presence of the King, his consort and many of the nobles and prelates of the kingdom, all of whom went on board and were regaled 'at tlze Kinge's clzarge'. The ship was of 1,500 tons displacement and when afloat took 400 men to work her to Barking. Henry VIII sailed in her to the continent when he went to attend the Fiel~ of the Cloth of Gold. Her life, however, was short as she was acc1dently burnt at Woolwich on 2 5 August 1553. Machyn in his diary laments 'This XXV day of August [ 1553] was bornyd the [great] Hare, the grettest shype in the world and yt was pete and yff yt had P!esyd God, at Wolwych [byJ ne~kelygens and for lake
of over-syth. 7 On gJuly 1518 the King bought from Nicholas Partriche, grocer and alderman of London, and Marion his wife (late wife of Gerard Daniell of London, fishmonger) a mease,s salthouse and wharf on the banks ~f the Thames at Woolwich; also a small parcel called the Pyttel. T~e purchase was probably made to increase the precincts of the ~ud1ment~ry dockyard. Henry paid £r oo for the life interest of Manon Partnche1° and th · · · b h d
. . e revers10nary mterest of Eliza et an
Alice Darnell the childr f h fir · · h
' en o er st marriage then minors, w o,
when they came of age b ' t0
. were y covenants to make a full estate
th
eWKinilli~· Thee property was bounded on the east by land belonging to am rane on th b • · h 1
' e west y land belongmg to IC o as
Boughton, on the south by the Ki , h. h d h th by
th Th Th ng s 1g way an on t e nor H;n ;.,~~~ e Pyttel was close to the highway. In August I 5 I 8, ryd u h purchased a house and land at Woolwich for £r 13·
6 B
s. ., w ere or for what • h b n
b ht fi th purpose Is unknown. It may ave ee~id or e use of the dockyard or as a storehouse for the Office
0
ft \hna~ce.1?e Royal Dockyard at Woolwich became a reality a er e_ aunc mg of the Henri-Grace-a-Dieu and its activities soon ;utgr~~ Its small compass. On 31 March 1546 therefore Sir Edward o~g Donkconveyed to his sovereign two parc~ls of land' called Bow
ton s oc s and two oth d s d
Hill h" h er parce1s called Our Lady-hill an an
b . w IC _were part of the Manor of Southall the latter probably t e1fJ rfq~I~ed for the extraction of ballast Q~een Elizabeth went
0
t k hoo Wbic on 3July 1559 to see her new ship. 'The Queen's grace
o e er arge at Gren h d
ther yt was n d wyc e unto Wolwyche to her new shype, an bankett andar;:t Elezabeth Jonas, and after her grace had a goodl~ fyre ab~ut m d e~ was grett shutying of gunes and castyng 0
a e or plesur.'12 This ship of 700 tons burden was 7 Mach ff
• A yn iary, Camden Society vol
mes.suage. , · 43.
10 • Rot.. Claus. io Henry VIII 6 Marion Partriche could oni ~ · • the Bc_>ok of Payments for the h a:r~recently married her second husband, as in ·eU
widow' in J)OSSession ofgr dnri-ace-a-Dieu she is described as 'Marion Dani ' :: ~g's Book of Payments, o~n a:~d 1yuses at Woolwich. trype Annals, vol. 1, p. 163. ry III.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
commanded by Sir Robert Southwell during the defeat of the Spanish Armada.
Other well-known ships launched at Woolwich were the Prince on 24 September 1610, a vessel of 1,400 tons built by Phineas Pett and given by James I to his son Henry, Prince of Wales; the Vanguard and the Victory in 1631; the Royal James on 14 April 1663; and the Sovereign of the Seas on 14 October 1637. The latter vessel was laid
down by Phineas Pett, master shipwright and had a tonnage corresponding to the numerical value of the year in which she was constructed. She was 128 feet long, 48 feet broad, 152 feet from the fore-end of the bulk-head to the after end of the stern and 76 feet from the bottom of the keel to the top of the lanthern. She had five lantherns, of which the biggest would hold ten persons, upright, three flush-decks, a forecastle, half-deck, quarter-deck and roundhouse. The lower tier had 60 ports, the middle one 30, the third 25; the forecastle 1 2, half-deck 14, and as many more within, besides 10 pieces of chase ordnance forward, and 1 o right off, and many loopholes in the cabin for muskets; I I anchors, one of which weighed 4,4oolb. The Dutch called this ship the 'Golden Devil', on account of her gilded ornaments, and the havoc she made in their war with our Commonwealth.13 She was accidently destroyed by fire at Chatham in 1696.
The dockyard was not immune from squabbles. Thomas Smith, farmer to his Majesty for ballasting ships, presented a petition to the Council in 1636.14 He stated that he was ordered to pay £1,450 for materials and £650 for a wharfhouse and lands at Woolwich to the Burrell family, on receipt ofwhich the materials were to be delivered and the wharfhouse and lands assured. He complained that, having paid £1,150 and being ordered to deposit £300 in the Court of Requests, he had as yet received no materials and that the £650 was likewise questioned in Chancery by Ralph Eltonhead who refused to hand over the wharfhouse and lands. He prayed that the materials might be delivered on the payment of the £300 and that he might give security in Chancery to pay the £650 to whom it should be assigned. On 25 May 1637 Eltonhead denied the same on oath. He swore that he gave up possession of the wharf the moment one of Mr Smith's servants asked him for itI5 and that Mrs Burrell's ballasting clerk made use of the wharf for b~llasting_ either for 1'1rs Burrell, Mr Smith or some other person without his knowledge or consent. The Lords of the Council considered the position on 30 September 1637 and ordered Eltonh~ad to attend ~~em _and state the action he now proposed to take in the matter. This quarr 1
13 Quoted from The Hundred of Blackheath, 1886, ed. Henry Drake, p. 154. 14 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. cccxl, No. 69. 16 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclvii, no. 82. 16 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclxviii, no. 89.
145
THE BACKGROUND
eventually l~d to litigation which dragged on for years between Thomas Smith and Mary, widow and executrix of William Burrell. After l~ngthy argument _it transpired that neither Mary Burrell nor her cluldren had any title to the wharfs and lands at Woolwich. Finally t?e Archbishop _of Canterbury was involved in the dispute and_ Parhame~t was petitioned in 1643.11 . Smee the h15tory of the dockyard is outside the scope of this work, it only suffices to record that the establishment was finally closed on l8 September 1869 and handed over to the War Office authorities who retained it as. an Ordnance Depot for some sixty years, the greater pa~t ofth: site being subsequently sold to the Royal Arsenal
Co-operative Society. Before taking leave of the famous d h th Acworth
f; mi1 will yar , owever, e a Y repay a study. Their story commences on 2 July 1614 whe~ John Acworth was granted for life the office of keeping all [na,al] storehouses at Woolwi"ch C K 1s H h d rently
. , o. ent. e a appab [Ad
een mrralty] storekeeper at D tr. d d W 1 . h r some
· · h ep 1or an oo v\IC , 1or
time pnor to t at date b · · d
th K" fc ' ecause on 25 February 1637 h pet1t10ne he Nmg or a_ grant in reversion of the office ofClerk of the Acts for t e avyl' }ayihn~ that he had served his sovereigns lizabeth and
James [ ] 1or t 1rty-five · k • d d
w 1 · h d years m eepmg the stores at Dcptfor an
°0
wic d yhar s_ together with other employments concerning the
Navy, an t erem had ' r d d
· th , H per1orme as good service as as ever one ~n d ~ s;~~ · e stressed the fact that since the late King's death he ka .os eWgreater part of his emoluments 'since onlv the store
eepmg at ool · h '
· alty h Wlc now remains to him'. The Lords of the Ad~rrCh '1 owlever, held strong views on the subject They reported
o ar es on 13 March 6 h · · f
1
posts in th N 37 t at the granting in reversion ° ti . e avy was contrary to the royal practice and that the P\tloAner wahs moreover quite unfit for the position.10 Thereafter
Jo n cwort fades from th .
sumably his e picture and William Acworth, preson, assumes the d +: d · · · · f St re-
keeper Woolw' h D k Uw.es an respons1b1ht1es o o
' lC oc yard William Acworth wa ·1 d d
actions in as II s a co ourful personality whose high-han e
ma community t 1· d the
monotony of 'ts th . mus to some extent have re 1eve doubt that h 1 o erw1Se humdrum existence. There can be little
Turbulent a:;as a rogue though shrewd and capable to a degree. trouble for long. ~~:~ntati~e b~ nature, he was seldom out of wich he was d t . gh his duties were confined solely to WoolDockyard untile e~mmded to retain his official quarter in Deptford to disobey S hor ere to quit by an authority he was powerless
rd
· uc an o er, following within a month or two of his
i, S.P.D. Char! I vol .
11 c s p J , · cccexc1x no. 1a
11 S'p' · am I, 1611-1618 p ' 0 (S p.
2
• .D. Charles I vol M_: .:. 4 · .D. James I vol lxxvii no 57).
' • ~A!VIU, no. 31. ' . ' .
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
appointment was issued as a result ofPeter Pett, one of his Majesty's
shipwrights to the Lords ofthe Admiralty, asking on 7 June 1637 for a
house in the yard at Deptford.20 The outcome of this request was a
letter from the Officers of the Navy at Deptford to the Lords of the
Admiralty saying that of late master shipwrights had been granted
places of residence at Chatham and elsewhere and they considered
that Peter Pett should receive as much consideration as his fellows.
They were also of the opinion that the habitation at Deptford of
Mr William Acworth, the storekeeper at Woolwich, would be the
most suitable abode for Mr Pett.21 The Admiralty was not dilatory
and Mr Acworth received his ~arching orders on 17 June 1637:
when their Lordships wrote to him as follows:22
'By your place of storekeeper at Woolwich you ought to reside there, where there is a house lately enlarged for your accommodation. You are forthv ith to remove from the house wherein you now live at Deptford into the said house at Woolwich, there being other occasions for the habitation you now possess.'
illiam Acworth though unscrupulous, kept a vigilant eye on the quality of his stores and refused to accept those which he considered to b of doubtful value. He was not prepared to endorse bills which were, in his opinion, detrimental to his department. Writing to Colonel Rich at Eltham on I 4 January I 654 he says that he had rec i ed 2,230 bolts of reed into store from William Sayward at 45/-per 100 bolts, but as part ofit was cu~ offthe waste near Barking Cr ek belonging to the mano: of W ~olw1~h he does not p_rop~se to sign the bill without further 1nstruchons. 3 Storage capacity in the dockyard was becoming a pressing problem ~y 1654. Provisions for the Marmaduke, for instance, could not be receive?, as the storeroom was housing the carved works for the Great Frigate a1:d th_e. ot?er storehouses were full •24 while four years later Acworth 1S pet1t1on1ng the Navy Commissi~ners for a new she~ for 'layi~g tar, pit_ch and rosin as these commodities run to waste 1n the open . At the time the storehouses were so congested that he could only take in two tons of rosin.2s This stocking of stores on ground. open to the populace, encouraged purloinment and theft, and Wilham Acworth, zealous storekeeper, requested the Navy Commissioners to erect a fe~ce on the hill against the deal yard to prevent such occurrences dunng the night. He estimated that the costwould not exceed £10 or £12 as there was plenty of waste timber available.26 On 27 July 1658, however,
20 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclxi, no. 32.
21 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. ccclxi, no. 32, I I,
22 S.P.D. Charles I, vol. cccla, no. 112.
23 C.S.P. Dom., 1653-1654, P· 559·
u C.S.P. Dom., 1654, p. 500. F b 6 8
25 S.P.D. Council of State, vol. 188, no. 37, 8 e ruary 1 5 • 28 C.S.P. Dom., 1656-1657, P· 523.
147
THE BACKGROUND
a glimpse is obtained of the reverse side of the medal· the faithful watch-dog is seen as the unjust steward. On that day a~ order went forth that the keys of the storehouses at Woolwich should be taken from William Acworth and entrusted to some faithful person the said William, 'having been suspended from office on accou~t of fr~u~s .and ~mbezzlements committed of late'.27 The publication of th15 lilJUnc~on gave the signal for attack, and on 31 August I 658 two ".'7oolwich m~n, John Kirke and Stephen Turner, writing to the Admrralty Commissioners, made serious accusations against William Acworth. The letter in essence reads as follows:
Information agaillSt lvlr Acworllz
Being in the house ofH H · . · h h
d M Wh" . enry urst m Plum Street with Josiah C urc man ~~ r itmg, surgeon of the yard at Woolwich and having some I ~scodurshe abhout Acworth, the storekeeper at Woolwich yard, Hurst
comp ame t at e had p t h' . t
h. d ·ts d h u im out of his place there the better to ac th15 ec~I ' and t ~the was the veriest knave living as he not only wasted b ~ ~a~ ~ an 1Jt er stores for his own use to the ;mount of £200 a year, hu aid ado :o two copper boilers of the value of £30 or £40, and that he cdou ec are enough to hang him. but as he had such great friends
e urst not meddle with 1• Al ' b •
formants. um. so the following propositions Y in-
r FirstllD' :Whhether the. ground at the upper end of the State's yard,
1ormer y m t e possess f M 1 ·
\\ ithin the c ion ° r Sheldon, Clerk of the Check, and ying State althou~~Aon pahle of the State's ground does not belong to ~he
' o cwort keeps p · t r r 1t ?
Secondly Wh th A ossess1on and pretends to pay ren 10 · State's chief st;re~r cwo:th's letting a person have a room ?ver t~e Thirdly Whether ~~:e, Wit~ a trap door in it, is according to his truSt · house and thrustin thecleanng out of ~ne of the lofts in the State's sto~eof corn is accord· g h~akum and hair together to lay a great quantity
' mg to is trust or not? The letter was forwa d d . h H y
Hurst late 1 k r e wit notes of the examination of enr
' c er to Mr Ac th , h • • · b ling
candles and oth wor , c argmg him with em ezz remainder. als er;tores, some of which he used whilst selling the barrels of ~ail o o 1os Lawrence, that he knows nothing of the
what he had hs codnvfieyed by Acworth to some of his tenants beyond ear rom C · T th's
tenants living at W db . aptam aylor and from one of Acwor repair his house A 00 ndge, and that when he sent the money to Willi A ' cworth sent him nails'. 2s am cworth was e · d h the
storm and return to ort ~a~e but he managed to weat er ·t for the Admiral Cp ~i~h little damage to his prospects o: ~redi ' on 5 October ief8 omm~ss1oners wrote to the Navy Comm1ss1oners
0rd
the place of stor \ ermg them to re-admit William Acworth to e eeper at Woolwich 'notwithstanding any forrner
•1 S.P.D. Council of Stat I
II S p D Co . c, vo . 192 no 5
· · · uncd of Stat I ' · I.
c, vo. 192, nos. 125, 126.
148
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
order of suspension; he having paid the fine of £80 levied on him for cordage embezzled and conveyed away by the unfaithfulness of his son, ~hen he was ~ntrusted with the management; also having entered mto a bond 1n £1,500 for the faithful discharge of that office'.29 The father was reinstated but the son, being considered the greater villain, had any payment of wages due him suspended.so
Acworth, now clad in a white sheet of repentance appears once more as the good and faithful servant. He renders accounts of his stores, pushes forward the work of the yard and generally busies himself with the duties of his office. As guardian of the public purse he arranges for the apprehension of George Miller and Richard Waterman, the former of whom is found in possession of iron work and other provisions belonging to the King's stores. Miller was caught red-handed with 2cwt. of old iron in a boat ready to make a get-a-way to London. He professed to have purchased the metal from Waterman though his cargo was identical with the supplies delivered to boatswains and carpenters for sea stores. The culprits were sent on a warrant for examination by Antony Dean and Daniel Christmas.31
There can be no doubt that William Acworth's post was far from being a sinecure. He had to battle unceasingly against the shortage of money which was such a prevailing feature of his time. He continually asked, but asked in vain, for additional accommodation for stores committed to his charge.32
He constantly demanded an increase of his establishment to meet the additional work which was ever thrust upon him.33 He suffered from labour troubles as absenteeism in the yard was rife and he applied for authority to discharge any man who absented himself, without cause, for more than two consecutive days.34 He contended that he was surrounded by evilly-disposed persons ever on the lookout to enrich themselves at the expense of the State. This was without doubt true. He was the perfect example ofthe poacher turned gamekeeper. Samuel Pepys, who made constant visits to Woolwich Dockyard writes in his diary under date I 6 June I 664: 'So I to the office where all the morning, and at noon to the "change," so home and to my office where Mr Acworth came to me. (Though he knows himself that I know him to be a very knave), yet he came to me to discover the knavery of other people like the most honest man in the
29 C.S.P. Dom., 1658-1659, p. 456, vol. 194, no. 13· 3°C.S.P. Dom., 1658-1659, p. 456, vol. 194, no. 17, 5 October 1658. 31 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxvlli, no. 31, 7 January 1661. 32 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxxix, no. 113, 31 July 1661.
S.P.D.
Charles II, vol. lxiv, no. 25, 4 December 1662.
S.P.D.
Charles II, vol. cxliv, no. 61, 8January 1666. 33 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxxv, no. 70, 17 May 1661 ·
S.P.D.
Charles II vol. lvii, no. 60, 15 July 1662. 34 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. xxxv, no. 70, 17 May 1661•
149
THE BACKGROUND
world. However, good use I shall make of his discourse for in this he is much in the right.' The clouds gathered again in 1668. This time the situation was
far more ominous and arose out ofa complaint made by Mr Clayford that William A?worth was converting government stores to his own use. The first sign of the approaching storm which took a whole year to blow over, was on 30 January of that year when Acworth asked Samuel Pepys to be allowed to defer his appearance before the Board ofAdmiralty concerning Clayford's complaint until Colonel Middleton had completed his survey of the stores at Woolwich Dockyard. He also requested a copy of Clayford's petition and a reference to be made to His Royal Highness touching the affair so that he could have time to prepare his defence and clear himself.3 5 Ever the efficient servan_t ~ho is determined to carry on despite the yapping at his heels, Wilham Acworth writes to the Navy Commissioners on 27 February 1668 in a grandiloquent and magnanimous vein. He informs them that he has stopped legal proceedings against Clayford and that he will neither molest him nor his bail till the whole matter be settled, provi~ed Clayford desists from taking advantage of his action and refrains from persecuting him. He stresses the fact that he has much work on hand and that, as he is transcribing hi accounts, he does not wish to be sent up and down to refute Clayford's charges until his accounts are in order.36 The next move was 1nade on I 2 March when Mr Wren, writing to the Navy Commi ioners, says that 'Mr Acworth, the storekeeper at Woolwich, affirms that he can answer satisfactorily an accusation of Clayford for converting stores to his own use, but being very full of employment he is straitened in time, and obtained his Royal Highness' leave to have till T hursday week to put in his answer; he desires you to allow him the time he craves, and if after that he makes any further delay, he will be without excuse'•37 On 26 March 1668 Charles Porter wrote to Samuel
Pepys as follows :
'Mr Acworth has used his utmost endeavours to procure the witnesses appointed to wait upon your Honours but the absence of one in the coun~ry and the sickness of another, ca~se him to request a week's tim_e to brmg them. I would have waited on you, but can say nothing until you have heard these witnesses.'38
The following day Samuel Bartlett writing to Charles Porter at the Middle Temple informs him that he is desired by Mr Acworth to be with him on Thursday to justify his certificate, but as the Quarter Sessions, which he attends as Deputy, are to take
11 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxiii, no. 124. " S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxv no. 103 17 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxvi, no. 83."11 C.S.P. Dom. Charles II, vol. 237, no. 68.
150
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
place next week, he cannot. attend till the Thursday following.39
Four months then elapsed till r4July 1668 when Acworth petitions the Navy Commissioners to allow him. access to his receipts, affidavits and certificates so that he may prepare his proofs against Clayford's false accusation.40 Events moved slowly as is the way with legal proceedings. On r r August Mr Wren asks Samuel Pepys to hand Mr Speaker the papers about the Acworth case as soon as possible because the latter was leaving London in two days time. He states in his letter that he cannot attend the Board on the morrow as the House of Commons is sitting. He reminds Pepys of the account which the Lords Commissioners ofHis Majesty's Treasury will expect. 41 On the following day Mr Wren announces that as the Speaker had to proceed into the country earlier than was expected Mr Pepys would
have to defer handing him the Acworth papers, but that they must be ready for presentation on his return.4_2 The w~ole_business worried Pepys; it was evidently distasteful to him. In his diary he wrote on
28 August 1668.
'After much talk and great content with him43 I walked to the Temple and staid at Starky's my bookseller till Mr Wren comes, and by appointment we to the Attorney-General's chamber, and there read and heard the witnesses in the business of Ackeworth, most troublesome and perplexed by the counter swearing of the witnesses one against the other.'
Inevitably the climax approa~he?--On 2 I November 1~6~, Mr Clerke, addressing a communication to the Navy Commissioners requests that a valuation may be made of the goods t~ken by ~r Acworth out of the stores with the names of the parues who will attest it and that all the witnesses may be ready by Wednesday at 7 O'cl 'k · tl eveni·ng.44 The Court duly assembled, the evidence
oc 1n 1e fi d • f 'N uil ,
was heard, arguments were adduced.and a n ing 0 . f otSg tyl was announced. This verdict was o bv10usly a great re11e to, amue 't · hi·s di·ary under date 2 December 1668. To-day
Pepys who wn es in . . . I h . th t M A orth's cause went for him at Guildhall against
ear a r cw d . h , his accusers, which I am well enough please wit · . . was William Acworth more sinned against
Wh t h t th ?
a was t e ru • • h fi 1 r. · d
· · h ally an astute rascal wit power u .Lnen s
than smmng or was e re . I in h" h 1 ? H 1· d at a time when Jealousy was commonp ace
ig p aces. e 1ve • • h d k d
and he certainly had his detractors. Pepys on a visit to t e oc yar at Woolwich discovered his dishonesty as early as M~y 1664, and he W 'd d d I by many who worked 1n close contact
as cons1 ere a scoun re . . • d with him. How did he evade purushment if he were guilty an
30 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxvii, no. 88.
40 s p 1 ... 3
• .D. Charles II, vol. cc xlll, no. 2 • 41 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxiv, no. 145· 42 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxiv, no. 152• f th
• e
43 s·1r William Coventry-a comm1ss1oner · O 44 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxxix, no. 137·
151
THE BACKGROUND
manage to retain his appointment till death removed temptation from his path? Perhaps the following extracts from Pepys diary may supply the answer.
14tlz January 1661 After dinner Mrs Pett, her husband being gone this morning with Sir W. Batten to Chatham, lent us her coach and carried us to Woolwich where we did also dispose of the arms there and settle the guards. So to Mr Pett, the shipwright, and there supped, where he did treat us very handsomely (and strange it is to see what neat houses all the officers of the King's yard have), his wife a proper woman and has been handsome, and yet has a pretty hand. Thence I with Mr Acworth to his house, where he has a very pretty house, and a very proper lovely woman to his wife, who both sat with me in my chamber, and they being gone I went to bed.
21st January 1663 Then came Commissioner Pett and he and I by
'
agreement to Deptford, and after a turn or two in the yard, to Greenwich and thence walked to Woolwich. Here we did business .. . Back and dined at Mr Ackworth~, where a pretty dinner and she a pretty modest wo~an, but above all thmgs we saw her Rocke, which is one of the finest thmgs done by a woman I ever saw.
2211d May 1 664 And thence by water to Woolwich where mighty kindly received by Mrs Fal:oner and her husband, who is ~ow pretty well again, this being the first time I ever carried my wife thither. I walked to the Docke where I met Mrs Ackworth alone at home; and God forgive rne ! what th~ughts I had; but I had'nt the courage to stay, but went to Mr Petts and walked up and down the yard with him.45
Comment appears superfluous.
It seems strange to modern conceptions that a man under charge of embezzlement should calmly be allowed to continue in office where he had further opportunities for peculation, instead of being formally suspended from duty. Yet such was the case. During the year 1668 William Acworth still actively functioned as storekeeper,
Royal Dockyard.
While this scandal was in progress William Acworth was exposing
another. On I 2 June I 668 he reports to the Na Commissioner as
follows: vy
'I beg ~nstruc~ions, having stopped some men from Greenwich who were loading a lighter with stones to hat town, wh" h had been
. pave t 1c
ordered for pavmg Woolwich Do k d b h . b there had
c yar , ut t e tim er "The Acworth family is a l"ttl fi . M gdalen,
Woolwich is the tomb of a M1 w·Irn using. In the churchyard of St Mary _a which the name ~four hero disa r 1 iam Acworth who died in 1671, the year 10 urchyard is 'Avice wife ofw·il'peaf from the_State Papers. Also buried in the same et eper ofthe Doc~d died h~ lft ~orth, ~ied 1643'. When William Acworth, Store ~ice and was Samuei Pep~s at;ra ~~1 bowh1?hzabeth, sister of Peter Pett. Did he marry orarY William Acworths ii B 6 c Y Is second wife, or were there two contemp agehis father's storeho~ci. I 58, the storekeeper had a son, William, old enough to man
Mr Falconer Clerk of th R . d by !\-fr
William ~-e opeyard, died in July 1664 and was succeede
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
prevented its being done. Most of the stones will be wanted for paving the
yard where they are, thus saving labour and charge in cartage; should
they be sold before this is done, it would be prejudicial to the service.'46
He had, at any rate, one champion. Mr William Bodham, Clerk
of the Ropeyard in a letter to Samuel Pepys on 24 July 1668
commends Mr Acworth's zeal in 'seeking to have the stones, so much
stickled by the Greenwich men, preserved to his Majesty's better
service in paving his own yards first and selling what remains to a
better chapman'. He affirms that the paving stones were essential for
Woolwich Dockyard and continues 'I deplore the baseness of a sub
ordinate officer who, for private lucre, has endeavoured to trapan a
sale of them to the Greenwich lapidaries at 3s. 6d. a ton, when a
paviour will give 45. 6d. and a citizen offers 8s. I am tender of the
Board's reputation, being an old servant, a_n~ wish that enquiry
might be made what inferior officer first soli_c1ted th_em to sell the
ston s, and the weight of his pretences for 1t exammed; also Mr
Acworth should be questioned why your order of the 18th June was
not put into execution. I am odious already to bad men by my
clowni h un-modish crimes of honesty and fidelity.'47
The l;st communication on this matter is one dated 25 July 1668 from William Acworth to the Navy Commissioners which reads as follows :
I am told there is a warrant for 100 tons of paving stones to ~e taken from Woolwich to pave Greenwich, but you have alrea~y authorized the Woolwich officers to agree with Robert l\llaxfield, paVIour, to pave ~he yard, taking the stones left in part payment. The pav1our has t~ken a Vlew of the places most needful to be done, where heavy carts go with cordage from the Ropeyard, and affirms that there will not be stones enough, but ifa . 1 r.t h ld allow " r. 6d. a ton for them. Whoever moves your
ny are e11, e wou --r-h K" , d · d
Honours to have any stones from the yard before t e mg s yar 1s one, it is merely a drive at their own private interest, rather than the good of
the service.48
Thereafter the subject appears to lapse. Po?r William! ~e was seldom free from embarrassment. The next. thing we learn 1s that ·s h 1 burnt down the fire being caused by the over-
hi
ouse was near y ' . • d" ·
t. f · hb 's flue The main beam 1n the l.Illng-room
h ea mg o a neig our · d
oof was destroyed and other amage was
Was ch arred through , the r d · d ·
· · t" the frost burst the expose pipes an cistern
done. Bemg winter 1me, . ft. Th thereby adding to the difficulties of quenching the ames. e building had to be shored up to prevent collaps~. No doubt he and his wife had a narrow escape. He reported the c1~cumstances to the Navy Commissioners on 21 January 1670, assessing the damage at
118 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxli, no. 102. 47 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxliii, no. 123· 48 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxlii, no. 14o.
153
THE BACKGROUND
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT W0OLWICH
£20 and asked for speedy repairs to be carried out and the services of a plumber to repair the cistern and pipes 'as the house lies open to th~ weather, "'hich is sharp, and I and my wife and servant have only JUst recovered from sickness'. He ends his letter with the words 'I thank God the fire did not happen in the night; otherwise, for want_ o_f water, we should have been burnt in our beds.'49
Wilham Acwor~h by 1671 must have been getting on in years, yet
he was as pugnac10~s as ever, always ready to take the law into his
o_wn hands. A certam John Cooke forwarded to the Navy Commis
sioners a crop of complaints. He accused Acworth of:
(I) Impounding three of l. . · horses fi . .
11s or trespassing and demanding I os. for each! notw1th~tandmg the fact the Acworth's horses had trespassed severa1 times on his garden and orcha d
(2) Impou1:ding some cows belongi:g·to John Latter and Mr Leach of Charlton, forcmg the owners to pa 1. £ fi
) I d• Y 11m .3 or trespass.
. (3 mpoun mg the horse of one Betts and takino-from him I os. for
, for his 11
himself and Is. man, a t 1oug 1 the horse being °. cross spanned
couIdn t get over the fence.
(4) Distraining all the gh d bread and cheese of a poor widow, · ea11 d
S · h h 00 s, e mit.' w ose usband died in his lvfajesty'sservice. So that having refused her victuals she had to rely on tl h . f . b
An . . 1e c anty o ne1g1 our .
( )5
action causmg the death of one of Leach's horses.
The N~vy Commissioners got 'a bit tough' over this possibly they ~ere gettm_g a little tired of Acworth after so man; ) ears. Theyfor;ed him that if he would not give Cooke satisfaction or refer t ~ ispute to disinterested persons they would request his Royal
Highness to remov ' · ·1 , ' · ht
. . e pnvi ege and thus give the petitioner the ng to sue him m the courts.so Ac~orth's reply to the Navy Commissioners dated r r January I 67 I ' is a masterpiece of injured innocence. '
'I have seen John C k' c . . 1·t to
h. h I b . 00 s 1a1se petition and the reference upon ,
w 1c su nut I pay a d c ' d hich
I h h d · ear rent 1or 12 acres of marsh Ian , on w
av\ ano beaSt since it was mowed last Midsummer but he has had;e~e~ t~ngry hard·Wrought horses and two cows at a ti:ne feeding in it. a "t e: pu: out and gave him notice three times and was at la5t ~ec~ssi ated t~ impound four of his horses but he wo~ld not give satis~~tlon, an cited me to the County Court'near Maidstone 30 miles off, :lt~re ahnhatthorney appeared for me, but he got weary of that Court, oug et reatened to k h fli d £10
until Lady-Da £ h eep met ere for three years. I was o ere t get 40s d ?: t e twelve acres Cooke's cattle fed on, and now canno ·, an is ?gs, coming through his own fence have ploughed upthe best part of mne ac f ' d fruit
trees and h' h res O an orchard, planted with rose an I
'd b is man t at fetched them from thence said it was a shamed shouI e so wronged He 1 . fi ·tan
" · a so permitted his servants to steal the rui
S.P.D. Charles II vol cclxxx..
" S.P.D. Charles 11' voJ° .n, no. 46.
' · ccxcvi, no. 9, 7January 1671.
154
roses, and he stilled great quantities of the latter before my face. He arrested a poor man for 18d. and kept him a prisoner with two bailiffs at an ale h_ouse for two days and nights. I have heard, where he came from, that he 1s a very troublesome untrue speaking fellow, and given to eat h"
. hb I . IS
ne1g ours up. f any person can Justly say that I have done him wrong or ?we him money, I will either give him satisfaction or appear to his act10n without troubling his Royal Highness or your Honours, but I beseech I may not be condemned before I have been heard.'51
One last gauntlet was flung before death finally closed his eyes and allowed his restless spirit to depart in peace. His health was evidently f~iling by 24 January 1671 when he informed the Navy Commiss10ners that he was too indisposed to attend the Board and give his version of the differences which had arisen between John Awdry and himself about a horse of the farmer's which had broken into his property and damaged his pasture.52 The last letter he wrote to the Navy Commissioners was dated 7 November 167 I; thereafter his pen was stilled for ever. The last move in the Awdry contretemps was made by Elizabeth, William's widow, who on 6 July I 672 complained to the Navy Commissioners that John Awdry, joiner, 'between whom and Mr Acworth there was a suit caused by a trespass, which by the Board's order was referred to Captain Hannam, Mr Firzer and Mr Bodham', had refused to pay the sum awarded.53
The e silhouettes outline to some extent William Acworth's character. That he was a man of energy and purpose none can deny, but assurance becomes less positive when the question of his wholehearted devotion to duty is considered. His public life was passed in surroundings conducive to dishonesty when integrity was often at a discount. Was he any different from the majority of his fellows? Strife was obviously the breath oflife to him. He drove a hard bargain and, being cynical to a degree, never missed the opportunity of protesting his innocence when his honour was impugned. Though courteous to his superiors, he was hypocritical and lacking in humility,~~ was proud and over-bearing towards his equals. A man to be propitiated rather than antagonized, with whom it would be better _to agree quickly while yet in the way lest at any time he should deliver thee
to the judge.54 . The next Crown Establishment at Woolw1ch was the Ropeyard where heavy cordage for the use of the Royal Navy was made. It was built between the years 1573 and 1576 by Thomas Allen on ?round lying between the present Beresf?rd Street and Warren L_an~, Its_ site being clearly shown on Barkers ~Iar:i of 1749. There 1s 1n existence an 'Estimate of certain newe bu1ld1ngs to be erected and
51 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxcvi, no. 15. 52 S.P.D. Charles II vol. ccxcviii, no. 143.
58 S PD C ' ..
M. · • harles II, vol. ccc:n.-vu, no. 32. 64 atthew V, 25.
155
THE BACKGROUND
sett up at Wollwich by Mr. Allen, the queen's Maties marchante', dated 22 December 1 572.55 This totals £792. is. 7d. or in the words o~the document: 'Summa Totalis of all the whole chardges viY lxij1 xixd. Endorsed Worke to be done at Wollwiche 1572.' By Royal Wa~rant dated 6July 1573 Thomas Allen 'Her Majesty's merchant' received £Boo towards the cost of erecting at Woolwich buildings necessary ~or t?e n:anufacture of cables and other rope for the use of her Majesty s ships and was to be reimbursed any sum in excess of that figure. He had to build according to specified plans and was bound to pay £rno a year rent for the houses and a-round within one year of the completion ofthe buildings or 5 per cen~ on the money actually expended. The buildings were to consist of one cable-house 600 X 3° feet, chambered with board 300 by 30 feet the other 3oo feet to be 7 feet broad and boarded throughout; o~e 'way-house' 3oo by 20 feet, ?~a:ded above and under, with a large pair of stairs, and a house adJmmng to lay yarn in, 26 by 20 feet, boarded below and above;. a tar-ho~se 60 by 21 feet, a hemp-house 55 by 6 feet, boarded, with two httle houses at each end and a shed all the
th
lengtb 0~ e said hemp-house; one storehous~ by the water 60 by21 feet with a cellar 27 by 2 r feet, walls and floor of brick; a 'pryvie' 10 by 8 feet, the vault being flint stone and floor boarded.
Between 9 July 15 7 3 and 2I October 1576 the £800 was received by the hand ofRichard Hodgstone, Deputy to Henry Killegrew, one of the Tellers under the Privy Seal dated 6July 1573. Against this, the sum expended on timber lath b · k il -d hair
. , es, nc s, t es, 11me, san , ,
des t d 3d 56
spa s raw iron-work
' . an wages amounted to £ 1 365. 8s. 44 ·
The estimate was thu 1 ' n
. . s gross y exceeded. The Ropeyard was a exiguous e~tablishment according to modern standards; even 60 years later its annual budget onl h d £ 8d 51
St Yreac e 135. rs. . ~rage accommodation was always the crux at Woolwich, not only m the Dockyard and Ropeyard, but, as will be noticed later, in the_ Ord~ance warehouses as well. The gunwharf further details of which will appear later, was used among other things for the
55 S.P.D. Elizabeth vol xc no
51 E
II d A ' . ' · 19·
nro e ccounts Pipe Offi
n Add. 9294, f. 520. ' ce, no. 398. Wages of a Clarke of the Ch
For keeping of the PI eque Per annum £18. 5s. od. For wa est M ug Per annum £ 6. os. od. For w/ o a aster Ropemaker per annum £50. os. od.
Rope r!~e~' ~~;hke fr dafly attending the Hem T th ' an taking charge of the as arep'belar, "! such other materials and tools
ongmg to ye. Rope house-yard at 25. per d"
For wa f; zem in the l~p~;~:i°a';a~hm_en nightlie watching
apiece £24. 6s. Bd.
The services of casual locall . Total £135. u .. Bd. Clerk
of the Cheque out ofhi's t· Y rec~ited labourers would have been paid by the
con 1ngencies.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
~nloading ofhe_mp. ~t suffered ext_ensively fr?m flooding duringspring tides, a fact which did not make hfe any easier for officials. In March 1662 Edward Rundell and James Matthews submitted an estimate of £468. I Is. 7d. for building a storehouse next to the great storehouse on the wharf in the Dockyard.58 In September of the same year Christopher Pett and two others estimated that £394. 6s. od. would be required to repair the Dockyard wharf or £612. 15s. 4d. to rebuild it completely.59 Nothing, however, seems to have been done, either to repair the wharfor to build the additional storehouse. On 8 March 1665 the Clerk of the Ropeyard bewailed the fact that there were no laying places for cordage in the yard and suggested that Mr Clothier's ground in the Warren might be used.60 Edward Rundell was a dishonest contractor; he submitted absurdly low tenders in order to obtain contracts. As an example he forwarded on 6 May 1665 three estimates (i) for a gallery from the old hemp loft to the street £15. 1s. od. (ii) Repairing 38 feet of wharfing in the gun-yard at Woolwich £18. 2s. 4d. ~n~ (iii) Altering and raising the shed at the Ropeyard £25. 8s. od. William Bodham commenting on 24 May 1665 to Samual Pepys says that he has ventilated Edward Rundell's estimates as much as possible and he 'can but pronounce him a prevaricating knave'.61 Affairs were becoming desperate. On 17 July 1665, Bodham begged Pepys to consider ,serio~sly the state of the wharf at Woolwich. He says that Rundell s estimate is only an audacious mockery which 'he will not stand to' while he 'suffers the wharf to be ruined for want of repair, while he beats off others from undertaking it'. Bodham stressed that if repairs were not put in hand by some one, the next tide would.'throw down the crane'.62 Nine days later he made the same pomt to Thomas Hayter.63 Edward Rundell was eventually allowed to repair the gun wharf in September r665 to the tune of £35. 19s. 6d. because two years
later he requested a bill.64 • • Conditions still remained far from satisfactory at the Woolwrch yards. Commissioner J. Tippetts, who visite~ !he Establishments to go into matters, reported to the Navy Comm1ss1oners on 24 February r670 as follows:
I went to Woolwich and viewed the old storehouse, and the portion erected of the new one. but as the ground is loose and it is too near the wharf, it ought to be r~moved and set within _10 feet of ~he old on~. If built as described in a plan drawn in the margm, there will be sufficient
58 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. Iii, no. 144. 59 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. Iix, nos. 54, 56. . d ffi ·a1
60 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cxiv, no. 76. Mr Clothier was a Ropeyar o c1 . 61 S.P.D. Charles II vol. cxxii, no. 18. 62 S•PD. . Charles II,' voI. cxcv11,.. no. 13.
63 S.P.D. Charles II vol. cxxvii, no. 87.
64 s ' 6
.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxxx, no. 9 •
157
THE BACKGROUND
cover for making masts and boats. The additional charge, including
materials will be £125.65
We are now on the eve of a momentous event which altered the subsequent course of Woolwich history. This was the conveyance of the gunwharf to Sir William Prichard in part exchange for Tower Place-the nucleus of the future Royal Arsenal. On 23 February 1671 William Bodham writes as follows to the Navy Commissioners:
The wharfin the gun-yard here [i.e. at Woolwich] which has belonged out of mind to the Ropeyard for taking up hemp and tar, and shipping cordage, and which was repaired three years ago at a cost of £30, is n?w so much ruined by the weight of guns and the ground so worn by brick and tile carts, ,vhich daily make bold to load their lighters there,66 that the men carrying down cables are forced to go up to their ankles in mire, to the injury of their health and to the loss of the service, and the ground at the foot of the wharf is so raised by tile shards that there is 3 feet of water less, v. hich daily grows worse. You will see by the sketch plan enclosed that if 8 rods of it were paled in at 15s. or 16s. per rod, it ~ould prevent all this, and if the crane and wharf be lost, the teamer will not cart to any other wharf in the town under double his present allowance which is gd. per ton, in or out, and rs. per last for tar.67
rd
and with the letter encloses a sketch of the Ropeyard and gun-ya
with a key to the same annexed.
Without waiting for the grass to grow under his feet, William Bodham follows this communication up with another addressed to Samual Pepys on 26 March requesting him to lay before the Navy Board another statement about the wharf and the possibility ~f
· his
· duc1ng sprmg · water into the yard two pro~ects dear to
mtro
• ' J h h0 pe
heart which could be carried out at small cost. He expresses t e that both will be allowed. 68 The document69 addressed to the Navy Commissioners reads as follows:
Ifyou were to view the wharf and crane where the hemp, tar, and jun~ are taken up, and the cordage is sent off-which is part of the gun-ya~ that was sold by the Ordnance Officers on the purchasing Cap~ai~ Blackman's house70 you would order it to be fenced in. It was repaire
u S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxxxii no 14a ns
.. I odd h ' . . . cl perso
tsee~ t . at no at~empt should have been made to prevent unauthonze t from entering official premises and using government property as they thought fi . :; S.P.D. Charles II, vol. ccxcvi, nos. 149 and 150.
S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxxxiii, no. 110_ 11 S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cclxxxiii no II ted
110
70 Tower Plac J · h BI k ' · ' · ompensa
e. eremia ac man owned the property in 1667 as he was c warren
by th
b -~hbTr~ury for damage done to his orchards and fishery by the battery on e n prew t Y rmce Rupert. I_t must therefore soon have passed to Captain Blac½mWilliarJl
•~ably the son ofJeremiah. The house was actually sold to the Crown by Sir familY Pn~hard,_and he may have bought the ~lace at a low figure from the Blackman 'blY as owmg to ~ts loss of amenities caused by the defensive works on its boundary, poi:ns will ~~tion? and then sold.it at a profit to the Office of Ordnance. These tra~sac:hapter.
exammcd ID greater detail as the story ofTower Place unfolds in the following
158
Tower Place 1545
Burst gun at l\tfoorfi.elds
_
r-
,
.....
r-
....,
C
0
;...
i:::..
' •.
;
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
by_ the Navy _Office, b~t is much damaged by the weight of guns, timber, bnc_ks &c. Iymg upon 1t, and_ th~ crane is of~e~ used and abused by those havmg no nght to meddle w1th 1 t, 71 so that 1 t 1s of Iittle or no use for the ropeyard to which it has been appropriated time out of mind.
The _gun-yard being about to be used as a private wharffor merchant's guns, !1mber, &c. if the wharf is not fenced in, it will be subject to much more ~nconvenience. It will only take 34 yards offencing. I -o place in the town 1s so near or fit for the purpose, and the teamer will expect double allowance if he has to work to and from any other wharf. I have leave to lay on a branch pipe from the main thatsupplied CaptainBlackman'shouse with water, which will cost 35 shillings and savehisMajestydoublethatsum
every year. I beg directions. .
Woolw1ch Ropeyard 24 March 1670.
Finally Prichard's grant of the gunwharf must bring this short survey of the Ropeyard to a close.72
A grant unto William Prichard and his heirs of his Majesty's old storehouse and wharf called the Gun-wharf at Woolwich in the County of K ent together with the dwelling house, stables and other outhouses there and a new store house thereupon built. And also two small tenements with the appurtenances there, in satisfaction of £2,959 to be paid unto him by his Majesty for the purchase of a mansion or manor house with the appurtenances called the Tower Place with divers lands and tenements in the parishes of Woolwich and Plumstead in the said county with such other clauses of non-obstantes as are usual in grants oflike nature. 73
W. Trumbell.
Another D epartment of State which had a branch at Woolwich was the O ffice of Armoury. Surviving accounts point to its having been a tiny establishment in no way comparable with its sister organization at Greenwich. The few pieces of armour held on charge were housed either in a timber shed of their own, or, more likely,
. '
1n an Ordnance building situated on the gunwharf, then a universal repository. The latter supposition is the more probable as the amount ~eld was extremely small, and a very close connection, verging sometimes on integration, existed between the Officers of Ar_moury a~d Ordnance. The periodic 'remains' of armour normally 1?cluded m one account the amounts held in the Tower, at Greenwich, Woolwich, Hampton Court and Windsor, though _there are two or three
surviving which deal exclusively with Woolw1ch. . The total stock held at Woolwich in February 1587 was 48 Alma1ne corsletts.74 In the following year-June 1588-this had increased to
71 See Note 66. . • .
72 The Ropcyard was closed down in 1833 and sold to Mr George Sm.1th of\\ ~lw1ch, a contractor who promptly demolished the old buildings which were quite unserv1ceabl • The _Church of Holy Trinity and dwelling houses etc. were soon afterwards erected on
the site 73 C.S.P. Charles II 1671 p.211 (S.P.D. Charles II, Docquets, vol. 2 5• no. 44 -pril 1671). ' ' 74 S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. cxcviii, no. 79·
12 159
THE BACKGROUND
440 Almaine corsletts and 320 black morions.75 Amounts which could hardly be called excessive.
A special remain of the armour in the Tower and at Woolwich was taken in 1603. The statement occurs among the papers of Sir Henry Lee at Ditchley, Co. Oxford and reads as follows:
A coppie of the Remaines of the armour of the Tower and Woolwich
a,zno. 76 •
Th' office of th' Armoury. A Booke conteininge ye severall prcells of Armor, yt weare found remaininge in ye severall armories hereafter followinge, after ye death of Mr John Lee, wch weare nombred ye iiiich vth and vith daies ofJanuar 1603. Anno Reg Jacobi primo and commited to ye charge ofJohn Couper by the Commandment of the right honnerable Sir Henry Lee, Knight of ye honnerable order of the garter, and Mr. of highnes Armories the pticulars whereof hereafter followe.
[Then follows the list in the Tower J
At Woolwich as in the former Remaine taken Backes and Brests for Almaine Corslets iiii iiii iiii and r od back. Callers with Bombards ................. iiii Ix.xv Burgonets and Huskins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iiii xlviii Murrions blacke ...................... cccxxxiu
Burgonets old and nothing worth . . . . . . . . xii This is a true coppy ofthe Remaine ofArmor taken at y0 Severall places aforesaid by us whose names are hereunto subscribed.
J. Kenion John Couper Lee Symonds.
The last inventory ofwhich we have record was taken inJune 1611 when the armour stored at Woolwich77 consisted of:
Backs for Almaine Corsletts ......... 287 Breasts for Almaine Corsletts ........ 278 Co1lers with bombards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 Combe Marrions .................. 322 Memoranda; that the said backs, breasts, callers and murryons are
reported by the armorers to be very good stuffe, not being oute offashion and uneasy, and to be amended before they be used for service. Burgonets and Huskins . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253
Unserviceable
Backs for Almaine Corsletts . . . . . . . . . 86 Breasts for Almaine Corsletts . . . . . . . . 132 Burgonets and Huskins . . . . . . . . . . . . . roo Collers with bombards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 7 Coombe Murryons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 r Scullis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
71 S.P.D. Elizabeth, vol. ccxi no. a3
71 ("\, cd ' •
""uot from A Parochial history ofEnstone C0 Oxon by the Reverend John Jordan I 8 5 7,
p. 105. 77 S.P.D. James I, vol. lxiv, no. 71•
160
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
Fifty years after this date armour for the fighting soldier had virtually disappeared and the stocks at Woolwich, becoming obsolete, were sent to the Tower, sold as scrap, or otherwise disposed of.
Finally we come to the ultimate 'pre-war' Crown Establishment in Woolwich: the Ordnance depot located on the gunwharf. We thus arrive at the prelude to our story proper. Before a standing army was authorized the Office of Ordnance had little to do with military affairs except the custody, maintenance and equipment of castles.78 These it supplied with provisions, stores, arms, powder and shot together with a master gunner and gunners to man the defences in case of siege. With the passing of time the emphasis shifted from the territorial castle to the coastal fort, because as the centuries advanced invasion became a greater likelihood than insurrection. The state of the coast defences therefore became the main Land Service preoccupation of the Master General, though when occasion demanded he did equip and munition such forces as from time to time took the field. In these circumstances, the main object of the Office of Ordnance was to nurture and provision ships of the Royal Navy, vessels which it regarded as individual floating fortresses. The Ordnance supplied such ships with stores, equipment, cannon and munitions, together with trained gunners to act as gu1:-crews,.and _on return to harbour effected repairs to pieces or mountmgs which circumstances had rendered unserviceable. For its part the Admiralty was responsible for finding the ships and t~e i:nen to sail them. This c!ose association-a kind of Siamese twinship-between those responsible
for buildino-the vessels and those responsible for converting them into ships ;f war obviously necessitated the furnishing of Ordnance services immediately a royal dockyard was opened. It m~y thus be assumed that Ordnance business commenced at Woolwich about I 518, the year Henry VIII bought his house, messuage, salthouse, wharf and land from Nicholas Partriche and the vendor unknown. It is, unfortunately, not possible to identify th~ subsequent g?nwharf with the wharfin question though both were 1n the same neighbourhood. Were it so, proofth~t the year 1518 saw _the birth of Ordnance activities at Woolwich would be nearer estabhsh~ent. .
The gunwharf was a small area some half acre m extent situated between the Thames and Woolwich Street,79 and bounded on the
80
west by Bell Watergate and on the east by Toddy Tree Watergate: Its river frontage was 265 feet, its western bounda:Y 210 feet, ~s eastern boundary 315 feet and its Woolwich Street side 3~0 feet. t
is shew · B k , f 1749 where it is called 'Hill's wood
n m ar er s map o ?s O • . . .1 PRO/WO/sr../425, no. 167. During the
D h ngmal Warrants and Orders m Cou~c1 d the i?epair ofall forts in England
6,6 1
utc war an order in Council dated 26 April 1 7 P ace under the sole direction of the Office of Ordnance. :: Now High Street. Now Globe Lane.
161
THE BACKGROUND
wharf' and is clearly visible in Buck's 'North Prospect of Woolwich in the County of Kent-I 739' where it is portrayed as a wharf with cranage facilities. It was, as will be seen, constantly subjected to flooding at high water. Upon it stood the Ordnance storehouses.
The first reference to the Ordnance at Woolwich occurs in a State Paper of the reign of Elizabeth I dated 31 January 1586. It is an estimate for repairing the storehouse there and-reads as follows :81
An estimate for provisions for the office of thordenance for the seas needeful to be taken in hande, as also newe buylding and other reparacions to be done at her highnes storehouse of thordenance at Woohvich, viz.:
Reparacions The crane at thordenance house at Woolwich which is to A housefor be made xxvli. The wharfs theare to be repaired xiu. The workmen palinge to be repaired vjli xiij5 iijd. Item. A woorkehouse
of Ix feet longe and xxij foot broade to be covered with rushes Jxli. Som~za £ 133. 6s. 8d.
CASTLE IRON ORDENAUNCE
De' Cannons 30 xxx d'Cannons, xl Culverins, xl d'Culverins, iiij Culverins 40 Sakers and iiij Fawcons, whiche per cstimacion will De' Culverins 40 way 250 mli wzt at vli per mli, r250\ as well to Sakers 4 furnish the ships whiche at the present doe lacke as Fawcons 4 alsoe suche as are appointed to be made. £1,250.
BRASSE ORDENAUNCE
Culverins 10 x ?ulverins, x d'Culverins and c Bases, ,vhiche p' De' Culverins 10 estlmacion will way IijD as wzt at vjli vjs -iijd p' mu Bases 100 wzt for the makinge only one with the other, £277.
6s. Bd. Note that I set nothino-e downe for he mettalle because her Matie hathe to s;rve this purpose in store as I am informed.
Garages etc. Item. Garages for the mountinge of the fore-named pieces, as also suche other as doe wante, by estimacion, £500 Somma £2,160. 13s. 4d. ~or all other needfuls th~ same may be provided in tyme excepte pouder, which I suppose her Matie bathe in store. Er of Lecistr hath-Sr Frac' Drak hath iiijxxx peces.a2
The document is endorsed 'Matters touchinge thordenaunce to be presently cared for'.
The next reference to warlike stores at Woolwich occurs some seven mo~ths Iat~r when an inventory of guns brought out of the West Indies by Sir Francis Drake is given. It reads as follows:
A n:ue note of all such ordnance of brasse as well as serviceable as uns_erviceable brought out of the West Indies by Sir Frauncis Drake, Kmght, and Layde into her Mats' yerde at Woolwich in August 1586 and
11 S.P.D. Elizabeth I, vol. clxxxvi no
40
ll 'ty' TI. ' ..
me pieces. ic ultimate sentence is written in another hand.
162
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
there receyved by the Comyshioners appointed for that voidge, as
followeth, viz. Serviceable peces disposed into her highnis shippes by
Sir William Wynter, Knight, and the Officers of the Tower. 1 Basilico;
4 Canons; 16 Di Cannons; I 3 Cannon peeices; 3 Culverings; 8 Di
Culverings; 15 Sakers, 2 I M yneons. All w'eh peeces beinge severally
wayed amount to 1 74 tons o cwt 3 qrs 4 li.
Unserviceable peeces converted into newe ordenance for her Mat's use by the said parties; 3 Sakers; 2 I Fawcons; 8 Fawconettes; 72 Porte bazes; 55 Chambers; the which being likewize wayed amounted to 59 tons
o cwts 2 qrs ro li. By me Roger Monox, Late Servant to Sir Will'm Wynter.83
These guns did not remain long at Woolwich, those which were serviceable being issued or 'laid aboard' sh!ps and those which were not, finding their way into the hands of private founders who broke them up and recast them into new pieces to be used as occasion dictated. In view of the Spanish crisis and the paucity of armaments in the country at this period, ordnance was not likely to have been left lying about and deteriorating in parks and yards.
Although the estimate of 31 January 1586 had been_ carefully prepared and was heavy according to the standard of the time, there is no evidence to suggest that work it was designed to m~et ~as ever carried out. If, by any chance, it were, the workmanship displayed must have b en of a low order and the quality of the materials used must h ave been poor in the extre°:e, b:cause only twe~ve years elapsed before a complaint was submitted 1n July 1598 statmg 1n no unmeasured terms the appalling state of the wharf, crane and storehouse. O n the contrary, the state of affairs revealed strongly suggests that nothing had been done in the interval as lack of mam~ena:ice during th t t' Id hardly have accounted for the detenoration
a 1me cou C .. disclosed. In a project addressed to the Or~~anc~ ommiss1oners
touching the reform of the Office appears this item.
Whereas the storehouse at Woolwich is of little or no use (the wharf and crane thereof being utterly decayed and ruined), and for as muc~ as a great quantity of shot, pikes, and other munitions h~ve of long trme there continued and do yet remain where they are subject to embe~zle
rnent d d d · ·n decay to the great loss of her Majesty
an o rot, rust an ruin i h t0
1
and hindrance of her service. It may therefore Pease your onours order that the same may be removed into the Tower ~f London therde to b k • h may be issued and use as
e ept m her Majesty' store so as t e sa_me occasion shall serve for her Majesty's service.Si
The advice tendered to the Ordnance Commissio?ers was disregarded no one being sufficiently interested to move in the matter. The old ~onditions continued at the gunwharf aotl stores became
ea E
84 xchequer Q.R., misc. 928-55. S(.P.D. Elizabeth I, vol. cclxviii, no. 13.
C.S.P. Elizabeth I, 1598-1601, p. 76.)
163
THE BACKGROUND
more and more 'decaied', as our ancestors put it, since the turn-over was so small. Nothing more was heard till 30 October 1613 when the sum of£18. Is. Bd. was expended on the repair ofthe storehouse and wharf.85 Eventually things became so bad that something had to be done and a brick storehouse, as being far more weather-proof, was contemplated. On 29 March 1616 a debenture was issued for 'A newe howse built at Wolwc11 for his MatY '.86 This debenture was made to John Andrews, Bricklayer, for the Office of Ordnance for the sum of£105 for building and erecting a new brick building for the use and service of his Majesty at Woolwich, adjoining the storehouse there. This 'newe howse of bricke' was to be forty foot long, twenty-two foot broad, have two stories on,e nine and the other eight foot high and a garret having three gable ends. The house was to be built according to certain articles of covenant agreed to between
John Andrews and the Officers ofhis Majesty's Ordnance.
The tempo of government activity at Woolwich now began to quicken, the growth of the dockyard necessitating an expansion in Ordnance responsibilities. The miserable accommodation deemed sufficient in the sixteenth century failed to respond to the demands of the seventeenth, and more storage capacity became a paramount necessity. Over £70 were therefore spent on 20 J anuary r 6r g. 87
Vicesimo die J anuarii I 6I 9 anno Regni Regis Jacobi decimo septimo
A debentur made unto wm Wheatley, his Majesty's M aster Carpenter for Th' office ofTh'ordenaunce for the somme of threescore and ten poundes, fowerpence; as well for timber, hordes, planck, single quarters, deales and other necessaries spent and ymploied in makinge and erectinge of a storehowse and other howses at Wolwich for his Majesty's service as also for the wages and intertaynement of sondry carpenters and other Laborers imploied both in taking downe
Carpenters t?e old howse there, and for sorting and layinge up the old
Worke and
timber and other stuffe, and for erectinge the said newe Wages in
howse, the perticulers whereof are hereafter mentioned. erectinge
Vizt
a new 89
For vj loades and xxi/Y 88 foote of timber accompting JtY storehowse
foote to the loade at Xd the foote -xxiijli viij8 iiijd at . . [£13. Bs. 4d.]
Wolwich For VJ <laxes worke for twoe sawiers about the cutting of old timber-XX8 [2 os.]
:: Ordnance Debenture Ledger, PRO/W0/49141, p. IOO. Ordnance Debenture Ledgers PRO/WO/ / f 8 M h 1616
n:c?~:a~~; ~tt 'n{OL/Wedg/C:, PROJW0'/:9J:g, r.\: :~ Ja~~~ry 161.9, also Ordu ' 54~
22,
.. 50.
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
For a grindinge stone -ys
XX
For cciiij x en 90 foote of hordes at X8 the Cth foote -xxix8
XX [29s.]For ciiij91 foote of twoe ynch plancke at vjd the foote -iiijli xs [£4. 10s. od.]
For liiij0r 92 single quarters at yd a quarter -xxij8 vjd
[22s. 6d.] For the caruage of theise thinges -xx8 For ye 93 whole deales -vij8 vjd For taking downe the old howse and for sortinge and laying up the severall stuffe -xu [£10] For the wages and intertaynement of sondry Carpenters imploied in erectinge the said _store~owse an~ fo~ the intertaynement ofsondry Laborers 1mpl01ed lykew1se m the saide
. 1 · en 94 d
worke amountinge to ccc XlX ays. . Amounting in all to the said somme of lxx11 iiijd £70. OS. 4d.
As the old storehouse was demolished-it had evidently been allowed to become derelict through lack of care and maintenancethe accommodation was not increased to a marked extent, but enough additional space was doubtless provid:d to m~et_ cu:rent demands, the future being allowed to look.after its_elf. This 1t did by always being in debt to the present. Flooding a_t high w~ter was the bane of the storekeeper's existence at Woolw1c~ especially as the storehouses were close to the water's edge and piles of sto~es of all description lay in profusion on the wharf exposed to wmd and weather. Consequently repairs to the wharf and storehouse become
Song during the first halfofthe seventeentha sort of recurrent theme I 62 7 Matthew Bankes, master carpenter,
Century. On 20 December , . W ·a £ r. b · · marsh earth to bed agamst the planks of
as pai 3r 1or nnging .
f . d t t ngthen it against the v10lence of, and the
the whar in or er o s re . . · d · b h Th and to protect the storehouse agamst
inun at10n y t e ames,
d . o~ 0 ' M h 6 8 Matthew Bankes had a debenture for
floo ing. a n 3r arc I 2
.c. • • the damaged wharf and storehouse so
£301. 1 rs. 6d . 1or repairing . hr. flooding and
. M ~ , nd at Woo1wic 1rom
as to preserve his aJesty s grou A ril 6 8 d
96 On 8 p I 30, s. 4 . was
subsequent scouring by the Thames. k th
. d h rveyor's c1er to assess e
paid to the master carpenter an t e su h f · s1 damage at Woolwich and prepare an estimate fort e cost o repair.
90 290. 91
180. 92 54. 93 5. 94 36
9
95 0 · /WO/49/58 ·' also
rdnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/W0/54/11 : • also96 Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/49/::,9, P· 77' Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/W0/54/12•87 Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PRO/V./0/5i/1.
165
THE BACKGROUND
On October 1630, Matthew Bankes was paid £58. I 7s. od. for erecting posts and rails on the gunwharf and for repairing the wharf itse1£98 On 6 November 1635, Matthew Bankes had another debenture for repairing the wharf at Woolwich.99 On 10 September 1636, Matthew Bankes obtained yet another debenture for £3. gs. 8d. for repairing the damage to the wharfand house at Woolwich occasioned by the high winds. On 2 I April r64r, Matthew Bankes had to make new fenders and extend the old ones where the water had washed away the earth. He also had to replace most of the base ofthe wharf, repair the fence, make and hang a pair ofgates, support the roof of the house, and construct a new ceiling, floor and two new dormers; in other words he had to mend and patch up the storehouse and roo£10°For this and other work he received a debenture for £332. r rs. ·3d. One last extract from the Debenture Ledgers must suffice to prove the assertion that 'Time and tide stayeth for no man'. On 31 March 1642, Matthew Bankes had a debenture for
£5r. rs. 4f d. for carpenter's work at various places.IOI Am ong the items for which he was to be paid was the repair of the wharf and pales at Woolwich in 1638. On the same day he received another debenture for £2. 10s. od. for repairing the storehouse there in r 639.
The next item of interest to record is in 1644 when an estimate for a comprehensive repair of the storehouses was put forward.I02
9 July 1644 Office of Ordnarzce
eAn estimate ofr~paratons yt must_ ofnecessity bee psently done to make y stoare-houses wmd. ~nd water tite for ye keeping dry of ye Powder Match and other prov1S1ons, and to keepe ye said storehouses from falling
down and utter Ruin. viz lmprimis for taking up and new casting divers of the Gutters and other par~s of the Le~ds and for workmanship and soda in laying the Leads agam and mendmg other defective places about the Leads etc. . £58. ros. od. For taking up and repairing tymber work ofthe Gutters and other parts ofthe_ ~eads and ~ake fitt the Leads. Repairing tymber work in the roofs. Re~amng the tylmg and brickwork etc. Making a new raft of tymber for a ci~terno and.flo~ring a stoare-house att Woolwich to keepe Shipp carnages dry. Fmdmg aII materials, workmenship and carriage etc. £108. os. od. TotaII £166. ros. od.
The next improvement on the gunwharf was a new crane in
re~lacement of the original which had become unserviceable. It was
bmlt for the use of the Royal Navy, by John Pitt Master Carpenter
"O . '
" rdnance B11l Books, Series II, PRO/WO/ r /I. Joo Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/ 5 /6 . Ordnance Debenture Ledgers PRO/WO/49 1 5 :: Ordnance Debenture Ledgers; PROfW0/49/75. OrdnanceJournaJ Books, PRO/WO/ / 49 77•
47 I, p. 65.
166
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
to the Office of Ordnance. The relevant Navy Order was dated 24 March r646 and the cost including the timber and nails was £141. ¥· 4d.103 It has already been pointed out that these government cranes were used by all and sundry quite regardless of the fact that such use was unauthorized. Consequently, persons having no responsibility for the structure, cared little if their rough handling
Mrt WILLIAM BODHAM'S SKETCH OF THE GUH ·WHAR.F
Scol• 75 F•e t. to lh• l"ch
S .P...Dnm Cha,•l~~ff Val 296. Ha./ 50 2J..-J F.S,,,."Y JCT/.
A-Thamu F C G -Wh•rf belonging to the R.opeyard , G -Ye Gate,
FD -toward D a polo1ft4y ••• set to enclose !IA R.opoyard l,b, r~_y
E -Y. "'•!I From 9• Ropoycni
gate t-o ih crone \UhaT'f by which all h,mp, tor
encl eordo9• posseth.
i h -A 9ot.wo_y whtn palrd in.
'----·------·--·
A Ill
~
FIG. 1. Bodham's sketch of the gunwharf
caused damage or not, with the result that it frequently did. No surprise need be caused therefore when Mr Scott, the surveyor, ':as told on 6 M ay r66 'to take care to repair the crane at Woolwich
4
and also the gate of the wharf',104 . a· D t h r was now making its influence felt and
Th
e impen mg u c wa . Th" ·
· the fleet and its armament. is necessi-
Steps were taI<:en to increase . d ·
tated b f ships' carriages for warships, an m
a greater num er o h r. h
modation on s ore .1or sue
consequence more storage accom J 66 10· u mountings. A contract was therefore placed on 3° u 1Y 1. 4 ~-0~ the erection of a new storehouse at Woolwich for lobd~mkg s_ ihps
. t" built of nc wit a
carriages It was to be of stout construc wn, . .
1
tiled roof having an area of 564 square feet.ms The two pn~c~pt
craftsme; employed on the work were Thomas Norfolk, master n~d-1 t 10s and they were pa1 ,
ayer,107 and John Scott, master carpen er,
103 Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/W0/49/S3. ~:: Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/5, P· 224· December 1664.
1
Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PRO/W~i5~tofwo/4g/182 _ 1o February 1664
108
Special Ordnance Estimate Book, \\Toolwic ' July 1664.
107 6 21
1
108 Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/6, P· -June 1664. Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/v\'0/47/5, P· 2 49 -2
167
THE BACKGROUND
the former £314. 4-J. 2d. and the latter £356. 17s. od. Details of the costs were as follows :
Bricklayers' Work
For laying and building in good mortar 26¼ rods and ro feet brickwork for the walls-£157. 14s. 2d. for 104 squares II foot oftyling for the roof at 28s. per square-£I45. I5s. od. for digging the foundation and levelling the ground 645 yards at 4d. a yard-£Io. I5s. od.
Carpenters' Work
For 55 square g foot of flooring and timber for joists of oak at 45d. the square-£I23. 19s. od. For 5 large doors and door cases in the brickwork, the door cases being of oak at 40d. each-£ro. os. od.
For one little door-18s. For 38 windows of oak at 15s. each-£28. 10s. od. For 104 squares of roofing of fir timber at 35s. each-£182. os. od. Pailing, posts and three gates at the front of the building, the pailing
being of fir and the posts of oak; 92 foot long and 9½ foot high at 2s. 6d. per foot-£11. ros. od.
We can, with the help of Mr Bodham's somewhat crude plan (see page 167), now obtain a picture of the original Ordnance Establishment at W?olwich. It was hardly an extensive layout by modern standards, m fact 'modest' would be the operative word, but it doubtless served the purpose for which it was intended. The gunwharf, on which the depot stood, had a go yard river frontage in the form ofa wharfand a depth ofsome 8o yards running back from the Thames to Woolwich Street. A small area 6o by Bo feet at its north western corner belonged to the Ropeyard being known as its 'liberty' where tar, hemp, and cordage were lo;ded and unloaded. Its nor~hern boundary of 6r feet was of course, part of the main wharf, its '":estern edge was a wharf8r feet long abutting Bell Watergate, and its southern and western limits were those which Mr Bodham wanted to 'pale'. A track from the Ropeyard led to the gu~wharf and, passing through the gate, continued to the crane, which stood on the river bank within the 'liberty' itself. Upon the gunwharf, or gun-yard as it is sometimes called were three storehouses with some minor buildings attached, the la~ter being probably
used for office accommodation, and a dwelling house with stables. There was the 'old' brick storehouse built in r6r6 the wooden structure er~cted in I 6I 9 in place of the original shed ~hich had by tben fallen in ruin, and the 'new' brick storehouse constructed in
166,, to 'lod h" ' · · bi
• T ge s ips carnages m'. These are clearly distinguisha e m Bodham's sketch.
168
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
Woolwich at this date had no independent Ordnance storekeeper, the stores there, in common with those at the Tower, the Minories and Chatham coming under the charge of the Storekeeper or Keeper of the Stores at the Office of Ordnance. Unfortunately we have no means of knowing which official was responsible for Woolwich stores prior to the institution of the Office of Storekeeper at the Tower. Probably the Yeoman of Ordnance, whose work was connected with the provision, custody and issue of stores, ~erformed that duty. It may be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that John Watson, appointed Storekeeper in the Office of Ordnance on I 2 February 1557, did have charge of the stores at Woolwich. This assumption is reinforced by the fact that he is the first of the form~r storekeepers mentioned in the patent to Thomas Powell and _Richard Marsh viz.,100 'in full manner and form as John Watson, Richard Bowland, Thomas Bedwell, John Lee, Amias Preston, or Samuel Hales and
John H ammond, or any of them etc.' John Watson was_followe~ by Richard Bowlandno who certainly controlled Woolwich. This IS made clear by the petition of Thomas Bedwell,111 who solicited the Office of Storekeeper for the Ordnance at Woolwich and Chatham on r 2 May 15s _n2 In his petition Thomas Bedwell, who had a good
9 opinion of himself, states:
It does not appear that the charge ofkeeping the st~re of t?e Ordnance, rem · · t w 1 · hand Chatham has been mentioned m the patents
am1ng a oo w1c f Sh' 1 h
ofSir William Winterns or that ofany other Officer_ o the 1ps! a t ough it was thou ht meet b the Com.missioners to app_omt the keepmg of that particular s~ore to be :etained in the patent ~f Richard Bowland, keeper of the general store out of which it has been issued etc. . . After the death of Bowland, the Officers of the Or~nance did per~t
S. w·11· w· · t the keeper of that particular store durmg
1r 1 iam mter to appom the vacation of the Officer for keeping the whole: · 1 h" If with his honorable goodI have satisfied my Lord Adm1ra nnse
favour and liking. . h
In respect whereof and that I may give some teSt11:1o~y to your honours ofmy endeavours in the exercise ofmy charge! may it P eadse youdrl. onours t · th remams there an to e iver me
o appoint Commissioners to view ~ b indenture if there be the charge thereof so that I may receive them Y '
nothing against me and I hope there shall not._ h t And touching th~ store at the Tower, may it please your_ r.ont~ursfi 0
. d k for my better sat1S1ac 10n or
give me leave to join one new lock an ey which ou shall think more safety of the charge of the other locks and keys Y
meet to be continued.
109 p
11 atent dated 19 June 1627.
11; Appointed Storekeeper January 1572 • Janua 1589.
Patent ofappointment as Storekeeper dated 15 ry ~:: ~:P.D.. E:lizabeth I, vol. cc_xxiv, no. 36. f the Navy 154g-158g and M t r of
1r Wilham Wynter admiral, was Surveyor 0 0 rdnance of Navy 1557_~ 589. He died in 1589.
169
THE BACKGROUND
Richard Marsh appointed with Thomas Powell, J ?i1:t. Sto~ekeeper to the Office of Ordnance on 19 June 1627 'For their JOint lives and the life of the survivor' was certainly in charge of the stor~s at t~e Tower, the Minories, Chatham and Woolwich. He continued. 1n office for many years and although temporarily suspended during the Commonwealth by John Faulknor114 was reappointed on r 7 May i66ons and functioned till his death in March 1672. Like many o!her ambitious men he attempted to exceed his powers and so fell into
conflict with the Master-General. The dispute, which arose over Richard Marsh's pretension to the custody of the stores at Portsmouth and other places in contravention of his patent, was refer_red to the two Secretaries ofState who, reporting on 25July 1661 against the claim, found that the claimant had no right to call himsel~ StoreKeeper General and that_ his writ only ran in the _four p:ace_s, 1.e. the Tower, Minories, Woolwich and Chatham, ment10ned in his patent. This finding was confirmed by the King in a warrant dated 20 _August 1661 which informed him, the said Richard Marsh, to refram. from
meddling with the custody ofstores in places outside his jurisdicti?n·116 Owing to his advancing years, his son George Marsh was appointed assistant to his father with a salary of £200 p.a. by a warrant dated 16 March 1667.117 This salary was afterwards discontinued under the economy warrant dated 16 March 1668.118
A homely touch is given byJohnFaulknor, Storekeeper ofthe Office of Ordnance at the Tower, the Minories, Woolwich and Chatham, when, as was then the custom, he appointed Edward Harrison, g~nt of London, his trusty and well beloved friend, to deputize for _him for one month during his leave of absence, which the Council of State authorized, in order to attend to the dispatch ofprivate affairs.119 There is a large vellum book in the Public Record Office120 consisting ofan abstract showing the state ofthe stores within the Of!ice ofOrdnance at the Tower, King's Minories, Deptford and Woolwich, with the receipts, returns and issues of the same from 1 September 1664 till 1 February 1667; and at that time the state of the stores according to the books of Richard Marsh, Esq., Storekeeper, compared with the like extract brought in by Edward Sherburne, Esq., Clerk to his Majesty's Office of Ordnance. This extract, unfortunately, does not detail the items specifically located at Woolwich or elsewhere, but merely gives the aggregate numbers ofeach held. The stores concerned were brass and iron ordnance from cannons of 8
m Appointed by Parliament 1648.
m Fi~~ly restored by King's warrant dated 16 June 1660.
111
117 Or~g~nal warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/426, no. 32. and 0J:1gmal w~nts and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/426, no. 106. Warrants Orders 1;11 _Councd, PRO/W0/55/332, S.P.D. Charles II, vol. cxciv, no. 28. :: Ongmal warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/426, no. 114. Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0/47/2, 13 July 1653.
110 PRO/W0/55/1698.
170
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
to falcons, standing and travelling carriages for th~ same, shot, grendo sh 11 d hand grenades beds and beddmg, general· stores,
a e , pow er, ' h lb
carpenters, tooIs, p1'kes, pistol bullets, match,. bandohers, a. erts,
b · hts, wh I b arrows shovels' turpentine, sal ammomacd b etc.
rass w·e1g ee -, · I dd. · t th warlike and general stores ment10ne a ove,
n a 1t10n o e . h ·
1 k d refined at Woolw1ch, later on t e quantity
sa tpetre was ept an • k B 66
· h to warrant a special store eeper. y I 2,
becoming large enou¥ ent had not yetbeenenvisagedofficially' for
however, suchan app01ntm h hehimselfshould fill that post.121
in that yearOwenHurst suggeSts t at .
·tie
To the King's most Excellent M aJ
. . f Owen Hurst sheweth.
The humble l?et1twn ? house for Saltpeter and the refineing That yor MaiY h~vem~ ~o~~~e of Kent which imploy yor Majty hath thereof at Wooledge m yo YII of any perticuler person.
. d tl1 e specia care
not as yett comrmtte to M ·ty t grant unto yor Petionr the same
May it therefore please yor aJ_ 0 r M •ty l1 all thmk meete
at such salery as yo aJ s And yor Petionr shall ever Pray. .d t storekeeper the Office of Ord-
Al W l · h h d no resi en · ' .
though oo wic a 1 ok after its interests, which
"d 1 1Ocal agent to o
nance d1 emp oy a • • g stores loading and un
. . h' tores receivin , .
consisted of d1spatc ing s . ' ements for transport by nver
1 d. fi h' s making arrang ..
oa ing guns rom s ip , n the Thames, superv1smg
1 O
between \.Voolwich and ?ther Paces hich commenced to arrive lighterage and dealing with t~e ~uns wasi·ng numbers after 1651,
.c. of in incre f
from the Tower 1or pro ld Artillery Garden. The amount o particularly after the sale of the ~ r .t d and any idea of a large business transacted was extreme Y irm e The agent was the only
. b d" . ssed at once. . h
resident staff must e ismi . Wh he required assistance e permanent establishment official. ~~ harged when the specific recruited labourers locally, who wedre isccompleted. It is doubtful
. ploye was . 1
task for which they were em ere ever at work s1mu
I f labourers w
whether more than a coup e O • b craftsmen from the Tower taneously. All repairs were carnet ~ut /or that fortress. They prowho were on the Artificers' Est.ab zs mi; t d local labour, performed ceeded to Woolwich when required, coT~ e were no technicians at their tasks and returned to Lond07-° h e;econsisted of bricklayers, the gunwharf. The Artificers' EStab zs men heelwrights, plumbers
l . . .ths turners, w . k
g aziers, carpenters, painters, smi ' "fie di"strict i.e. wor at
d · a speci '
and masons. Each man serve in b • klayer carpenter orW b the same nc ' k
oolwich was always done Y d k the lighterage wor
1 . . s un ertoo b
g az1er etc. The agent sometime d tract by some arge
. 11 d un er con
itself, but it was more usua Y one r. mily were lightermenf the Care1es ia 6
owner. For instance members O Th Careles from 1 0 1 to
' . omas
connected with Woolw1ch. There was . 121 Charles II, vol. l v1, no. 134.
C.S.P. Charles II 1661-1662, p. 62 5. S.P.D.
l
171
THE BACKGROUND
161 o Richard Careles from 1606 to I 6I I and Henry Careles from 1613,onwards.John Tiggins was also a Woolwich lighterman in 1606. There were others, but the names quoted are those which appear most frequently in the Ordnance Bill Books. .
The first permanent official at the Ordnance depot at Woolw1ch was George Taylor, described as the 'Cranage Man'. He had many debentures for the work he performed, sometimes averaging as much as £20 a month, though usually the amounts were less. The first time his name appears to be mentioned was on gJanuary 1649, when he received a debenture for £2. 7s. Bd.122 and the last entry of his name in the Ordnance Bill Books was on 18June 1657, when his payment amounted to £g. 16s. od.123 He must either have died or left the Ordnance employ at Woolwich soon after this date for by 1 September 1657 Paul Linby had taken over the reins of command.124 Paul Linby had a long career at Woolwich, extending over thirty years. He was originally employed by the Office of Ordnance as a labourer on the Tower establishment, at the latter end of 1653 at a wage
125
of £21. Is. Bd. per annum. Being a man of character and determination he rapidly bettered himsel£ By 1657 he had become 'Cranage Man' at Woolwich, and by 1660 'Wharfinger'. Thereafter he rejoiced in the title of 'His Majesty's Wharfinger at Woolwich' or 'Wharfinger to His Majesty's gunwharf'.126 In addition to being the Ordnance agent at Woolwich, he was a carter and barge owner. His team of horses was in constant demand for transporting guns for proof and his lighters were employed in moving government stores. Later on in the Warren he was employed in scavel work and undertook the repair of proof-butts. Linby must have become a man of some substance as on a hearth-tax return for 29 September
1662127
he paid tax on seven hearths. This was then the third higheSt tax in the town. It would be tedious to specify all the many kinds of work performed by Paul Linby for which he received payment. The number would be legion. His name occurs constantly in Ordnance Quarter Books, Bill Books, Debenture Ledgers, Treasure~'s Ledgers and Journal Books over a period of thirty-five years in connection with cranage and lighterage work, transporting guns for proof, loading and unloading ordnance from H.M. Ships and many other tasks which could well be left to a trusted servant. He survived till I 688 and, as the latter halfofhis service occurred in the Warren, his further exploits will be recorded in the next chapter. Meanwhile
m Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/49/84. Ju Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PROfWO/4g/8g. m Ordnance Debenture Ledgers, PRO/WO/4g/go. m Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/W0/54/18
m Ordnance Bill Books, Series II PRO/W0/51/4 8 March 1663 /
117 Hearth Tax Returns, Michael:nas 1662 Lower' half Blackheath PRO/E.x79/i 29
7®~~ ' '
CROWN ESTABLISHMENTS AT WOOLWICH
one or two extracts concerning his activities in the earlier part of his career may be of interest.
( 1) In December 1661 he was paid_ £20. I 8s. _od. for the use of his l1'o-hte and for cranage work at Woolw1ch; also to mclude the wages of a
o r · h' 12s
labourer for taking 250 guns out of vanous s 1ps.
(2) On 8 March r663 he recei".'ed £80. 1 Is. ~d. for ~gh~erage and
cranage work; also for digging, loading and u_nloadmg clay m lighters and · ·t firom the marshes to Tilbury.for filhng up thenewwharfthere·12s
carrying 1 d
(3)
On 13 September 1 664 he was mstructe to remove the earth and rubbish which had accumulated among the guns on H.~. wharf at Woo1w1c· h and to take a complete inventory of.all ordnance lymg there .130
(4)
On I June 1555 he was ordered to deliver and lay on board the following pieces.131
Unicorn Prize Trinity PrizeOrdnance
12pdr 4
14
8pdr
18
6pdr Mynion 10
2
Falconet 65 h was ordered to place on board the John and
(5) On 29 J u1y I 5. e d dnance and carriages:
Katherine the underment10ne or r 2pdr iron ordnance I 6
. 4132
6pdr with carnages 6 h instructed to deliver and lay on board the
16
(6) On 18 June 6 d e w~·ns master) certain pieces of ordnance for
hoy John of London (An rew 1 , transportation to the fleet.133 t f ordnance by Paul Linby between 1662
The cons ant movemen ° 'th Holland for the coming
• ed by the war w1 ,
d 66
an I 7 was occaswn 55 Paul Linby is referred to
9
events cast their shadows. 11: J~~~ 4a7nl on the 2 5 May 1670 as the
as the 'Storekeeper, Woolw1ch , 'D S I ' 135
eputy tore <.eeper · h p 1Linby also a resident of
D . h' . d th e was anot er au '
urmg t 1s per10 er f the fee'd gunners onthe Woolwich, who for twenty-two years_wasdo~eo670 when forty years of
T • H s appo1nte 1n 1 ,
ower establishment. e wa blishment in 1692,137 he was age.136 Although he left the Towe: e~aa warrant on 10 June 16961as probably the same man who obtaine
28
~ 29 Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PRg1~gi~; it
Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PR 1 ·
130
6 35
OrdnanceJournal Books, PRO/WO/47// 'f· 6 ·
~:! Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/W0//47/7, f. :
~ Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/WO 47 i, 35. ~:: Ordnance Journal Books,. PROfW°cJ4;{Jo 1-1 /II.
136 Ordnance Bill Books, Series II, PR /:> / /
12
136 Ordnance Bill Books Series II, PRO/,VO/ 51W;rrant dated 30 June 1670, PRO
W Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/WO/54 3°· p!ss/469.
37
188 Ordnance Quarter Books, PRO/WO/54/5o. M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/G&D/37/473, P· 13·
173
THE BACKGROUND
to be a conductor of the train ofArtillery at Hounslow. Finally there was a third Paul Linby who received a warrant dated I I September 1686139 to become a labourer in ordinary in the Office of Ordnance in the place ofJohn Hare, deceased. What the relationship, if any, between these three Paul Linbys does not transpire, but presumably they belonged to the same family.
Finally we come to the class of work, other than the provision, custody and issue of stores, performed at Woolwich in gunwharf days. Besides possibly a small amount of saltpetre refining, the only activity of a technical character was the repair of ships' carriages, a constantly recurring item in the Ordnance records. T wo extracts must suffice as examples of this type of maintenance. On 8 March 1663, John Scott, master carpenter, was paid £2 r. r os. I r d. for repairing ships' carriages at Woolwich,140 and in April 1666 Thomas Gasse, carpenter, received £213. 10s. 2d. for repairing 493 carriages
in the following ships lying off Woolwich.141
St. Paul; Bredah; Marmaduke; Dreadnought; Hound · Coventry ,· Freezland Fly boate ,· Pearle; Good!zope ,· Dunkirk; Seaven Oakes; Gulder de Rutter; Avis de Sweede and the M ary Rose.
Four causes may be assigned for the removal of the Ordnance from the gunwharf to Tower Place in 1670. They are as follows:
(
r) The establishment of a standing army called for an immediate expansion of Ordnance services, including the developm nt ofgovernment manufacture.
(2)
The restricted area ofthe gunwharfprecluded any such broadening of activities.
(3)
The fortifications on the Warren for the defence of the river against the Dutch had to a large extent spoilt the amenities of Tower Place as a gentleman's residence.
(4)
Proof, already being carried out on the Warren was growing in volume year by year.
Had England remained at peace during the seventeenth century, things might possibly have jogged along for an indefinite period at the gunwharf. There would have been little incentive to move; moves cost money and money was scarce. The Dutch war, therefore, may be said to have been mainly instrumental in presenting the
opportunity which Sir William Prichard and the Crown seized. How often has war upset the even tenor ofour ways and jolted officialdorn into an action which has altered the course of history. The Royal Arsenal is the offspring of such a jolt and may be said to have been born by necessity out of trouble.
:: M.G.O's Warrants, fRO/G&D137;472, p. 46. m Ordnance Treasurers Ledgers, PRO/WO/48/8. Ordnance Treasurer's Ledgers, PRO/WO/48/6.
174
Birth and Childhood
13
Chapter 6
The Beginnings of Tower Place
The earliest association between the government and the Warr took place in 1651 when the Navy Commissioners were instructed~n supply timber for making three butts at Woolwich for the trial 0~ ordnance by General Blake and the Ordnance officers, and to pay th~ workmen for making them.1 General Robert Blake, M.P. for Bndgwater in 1640 and 1645, was a staunch Parliamentarian. He was appointed Admiral and General at sea in 1649, and a member o~ the Council of State in 1651. After a successful fighting career, he d1~d of fever while returning to England and was buried in Westnunster Abbey. His body, however, was removed from those sacred precincts after the Restoration. On I 3 June 1667, as before mentioned, Prince Rupert, the second son of Frederick V, Duke of Bavaria and King ofBohemia by Elizabeth, eldest daughter ofJames
I, was given a commission2 by his cousin Charles II to raise works ?-nd batteries on the Warren as a protection against the Dutch Fleet invading the Thames. His efforts in this direction culminated in the mounting of sixty guns on a temporary platform, and the oldest known survey of the Warren, drawn in 1701 by Albert Borgard, then a ~aptain of Artillery, shows along the river bank a parapet 13 feet thick pierced with 40 embrasures at intervals of 18 feet with accommodation for an additional 20 pieces if required. Those two episodes may be regarded as flirtatious interludes prior to the courtship which led to ultimate marriage and a lifelong union between the Crown
and the marshes of Woolwich and Plumstead. The question is sometimes asked 'When was the Royal Arsenal founded?' The strict answer is that it was never founded at all. Like 'Topsy' it just 'growed'. But growth presupposes_ a beginning ~nd the nativity of the Royal Arsenal may be converuently placed rn 1 670, the year in which the Office ofOrdnance commenced to take a decided interest in Tower Place and during which the first Woolwich storekeeper-Captain Fra~cis Cheeseman-was appointed. The Royal Arsenal, as an institution, is thus almost 300 years old. 161 18
1t S.P. Dom. Council of State vol xvii, no. 114, 15 December 5 (S.P. Domestic In erre 1651 ' · I 114) , e f
gnum, Jan.-Dec Navy Papers, vo • 17, no. · • e
2
Rh_The warrant is add~esseci''To Our Deerest Cousin, pr Rupert Com t Palatmeo y'Me and Duke of Cumberland' and dated 13 June 1667. 05t Dere Cousin
Wee greet you ,;ell whereas vVe have appointed certaine \\'orks _and ~tt rys to f~rthwith raised at or'neare Woolwich for ye better security of ye River ag y att mpt (Waye Enemy in this Conjuncture of Affaires, etc. etc.' rrant Book, vol. xvii, 1663-8, p. 243.)
177
During its first thirty years of existence, the future Royal Arsenal was usually called Tower Place after the estate which was its matrix. It is therefore fitting that the early history of that property and the manner of its acquisition by the Crown should be treated at some length, especially since rumour, that lying jade, has played her part in propagating falsehoods which, lacking any foundation in fact, to-day pass for truth.
'The flying rumours gather'd as they roll'd. Scarce any tale was sooner heard than told And all who told it added something new And all who heard it made enlargements too. '3
Well might it be said of Woolwich Arsenal 'Put off thy shoes from off thy feet for the place whereon thou standeth is holy ground' for the original territory of Tower Place once belonaed to two mo~asteries; those of St Mary Overy at Southwark a;d St Augustine at
Canterbury. Let us begin our story.
. At the be~inning o;the sev:nteenth century there stood east o~ the Bishop o~Wmchester s house m the borough of Southwark in Bridge Ward Without, a church called St Mary over the Rie (i.e. over the
water) or St Mary Overy.4 Stow in his Survey ofLondon5 tells us that prior to the Conquest this chu_rch, or rather an earlier building on the same site, was a house of sisters founded by a maiden called Mary, to which on her death she left (as had been left to her by her parents) the oversight and profits of a ferry across the Thames. Afterwards, this house of sisters was converted mto a college ofpriests by Swithen, a noble lady, who
repl~ced the f~rry_ by a wooden bridge. This bridge was kept in repair and mamtamed by the priests till it was superseded by one of_st?ne. In the year IIo6, this college of priests was refounded by William Pont de l'Ar~~e and William Dauncy, Norman K.nig~ts, for canons regular; Wilham Gifford Bishop of Winchester building ~he body 0~ the church in the sam~ year and the canon; entering
mto possess10n Algodus w th fi • . · · ·t des
h . · as e rst pnor. After vanous vicissi u t e pnory was ~urrendered to Henry VIII on 27 October 1539 by Barth0Iomew Lmstead, alias Foule the last prior its value being assessed at £624 6 6d ' . ' • he
· s. · per annum. For this act of expediency t worthy Barthol~mew received a pension of£roo a year. The lands owned by the pnory a h' h . I · h
. . , mong w 1c was a certam parcel at Woo wic ' were dIStnbuted by H VIII T . . r. II · to
the h d . enry • he messuage 1n question 1e in an s of S1r Edward Boughton who had also obtained other
aPope The Temple ofFame I 468
' • ow Southwark Cathedral · 1 Everyman Edition, p. 362• • Pennants' London, 3rd ed., I 793, p. 46.
178
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
property in the neighbourhood which had belonged to St Augustine's
Canterbury. '
The salient features of Sir Edward Boughton's life have been given in Chapter IV, but to complete his personal story it may be mentioned that he was the son and heir of Nicholas Boughton of Woolwich, by Anne, daughter and heir of Thomas Thanthur. Sir Edward married twice. First, Anne, daughter of Sir William Scott, Knight by whom he had two sons, Nicholas and William, and three <laugh~ ters, Isabel, Frances and Sybil, and secondly Joan, daughter of Thomas Leykenor of Sussex and had issue Henry, Bartholomew George, Margaret (died young) and Mary.6 '
In 1480 Henry Floos claimed for himself and his wife Joan, and her heirs, 1 messuage, 1 garden, 6 acres of land ~nd 2 meadows in Woolwich and Plumstead to Thomas Bulkeley. Pnce £10.7 In 1487, Thomas Bulkeley acquired from J. Brete I messuage, I garden and
8
3 acres in Woolwich. Price £20.
In an indenture dated I o March I 538, Thomas Smythe, gent, sold to Martin Bowes citizen and alderman of London for £20, a tenement mansion houses and woods in the towns and parishes of
Woolwich, Pl~mstead, Eltham, Kidbrook and ~harlton in the Hundred of Blackheath which descended to the said Thomas after the death of Alice sm;the, his mother, one _of the daughters and heirs ofThomas V\Toode and Anne his wife; which Anne was daughter and heir of Thomas Bulkeley, late of Woolwich, gent. 9
The above mentioned mansion was undoubtedly Tower Place, for only a month later it is recorded that in an ind_enture dated 10 April 1538 Sir Edv, ard Boughton sold to Sir Martin Bowes for £44 the hope or shore called Thames Bank, 6 acr~s in Pl~mstead, abut~ng on the Th th. the lands of the said Martm, west; the ditch
ames, nor , d h h .
of the marshground of Sir Edward, sout~; an t e s ore. of Sir Edwa d t. d es of upland adjoirung the great mansion and
r , eas , an 2 acr . d 1 d ·
1
garden of the said Martin in Woolwich; part a :ea y enc ose m the garden adjoining the footpaths from Woolw1_ch to P~umstead, south, and the footway toward the mill of the said Maron, north,
. · 10
and other small accommodation pieces. . ..
. d d d Apri'l 1538 Maron Bowes, c1tizen and
In
an 1n enture ate I 2 ' · h alderman of London, sold for £3o to Sir Edward Boughton, Kmg t, of W 1 · h d' • · Pi' .a-erell Lane east, and the lands of
oo w1c , 8 acres a ~01rung w ' • I c-. ld
Sir Ed dB h t th and south· 2 acres 1n Co es1e e,
war oug ton, wes , nor ' d 1 0 f south of the highway, from Woolwich to PlumSte~d; an ~cos~ 5 acres, late bought of Thomas Bulkeley of Woolwich, esqmre, lymg
2
: Harl. MSS. Visitation of Kent, 1530-3 I (A-H), vol. 74• P· • 8 :ed. Fin. 20 Edward IV, 259. 9 ed. Fin. 3 Henry VII. 10 ~ot. Claus. 30 Henry VIII, p. 2, no. 23. ot. Claus. 30 Henry VIII, p. 7, no. 33·
179
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
at the Quyllet, adjoining the king's highway called Quyllet Lane. Martin warranted Sir Edward Boughton against eviction under penalty of refunding him at the rate of20 years purchase, at the rate of 2 shillings an acre.11
On 13 March 1539 Henry VIII granted to Sir Edward Boughton12 inter alia, the manor, rectory, glebe, etc. ofWoolwich with appurtenances which had belonged to the Abbey ofSt Augustine, Canterbury, to be held in capite at one fourth of a Knight's fee.
On 16 April 1540, Martin Bowes, alderman of London, had a grant in fee for £491. 19s. 6d. of the tenement and garden and 2 acres of land, lately leased to Sir Edward Boughton in Woolwich, Kent, belonging to the late Monastery ofSt Mary Overy, Southwark, and the lands etc. to hold by certain specified rents.13 This property was generally described as late in the possession of George Trappes, mercer, son-in-law to Sir Edward Boughton.
On 29 October 1541, a licence was granted to Sir Martin Bowes and Anne, his second wife, jointly to alienate a capital messuage, orchard, ':harf and 2½ acres near the King's field in Woolwich, Co. Kent, which belonged to the late Monastery of St Mary Overy in Southwark, and lands, etc. to Sir Edward Boucrhton. At the same
6
time? Sir Edwa~d Boug~ton, son of Nicholas Boughton (or Boveton) o~tamed for_ himself, h~s second wife Joan and his heir-apparent Nicholas, a licence to alienate 120 acres of marshland in Plumstead, late of the Abbey of St Augustine Canterbury a part of Burwash Grove in Plumstead, late parcel of the suppres~ed House of Aeon, London, and other lands to Sir Martin Bowes.14
On 20 May 1544, Sir Edward Boughton of Woolwich, Co. Kent, conveyed to Edward Dymmocke, a chief messuage in Woolwich in the tenure of George Trappes, mercer. This was the capital messuage of orchard, wharf and 2½ acres near the Kingsfield, late belonging to the Monastery of St Mary Overy in Southwark. It was bounded
on the north by the riv:r Thames, on the east by the lands of Sir E_dward Boug_hton and Sir Martin Bowes, on the south by the King's highway leadmg from Woolwich to Greenwich and on the west by the o:char~ and gardens of the rectory of Wo~lwich.15
This pa:ticular piece ofproperty passed through several hands, as th
e fol!owmg patents show, before it finally came again into the possess10n of Sir Martin Bowes. In September 1545, Sir Martin Bowes was granted by patent16 a tenure lately leased to Sir Edward Boughton in Woolwich, and other
11 Rot. Claus. 30 Henry VIII p 8" Rot. Pat. 30 Henry VIII p6· 7' no. 3 · u Rot. Pat. 31 Henry VIII' . .
1
14 Rot. Pat. 33 Henry VIII' p. 5, m. 9· Con.firmed Rot. Pat. 37 Henry VIII, p. 2, 11 Rot. Pat. 36 Henry Viii' p. ~' m. 4· ie Rot. Pat. 31 Henry VIIJ' :· 55~m.9251.6 A ·1
' ' ' • , pri I 540,
180
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
specified lands at 16d., 1 7s. 6d., 8s. I o½d,, 6s. I od., 7s. 6d., and
2s. 4d. for several parcels respectively. Part of the grant in fee for
£400. 15s. od. of the rents reserved.17
On 16 May 1548, the:e was a licence for _13s. 4d. (one mark) to Edward Dymmocke, Knight, to grant a capital messuage in Woolwich, Co. Kent, with the garden, orch_ard and 'wh~rff' adjoining in tenure of George Trappes, mercer, lying ~etween Thamys· in the north and lands of Edward Boughton, Krught, and Martin Bowes Knight, on the east of the King's highway (regiam viam) fro~ Woolwich to Greenwich on the South, and the orchard and garden ofWoolwich rectory on the west to Thomas Stanley ofLondon, gent,
his heirs and assigns.18 On 10 September 1557, th~re wa~ a licence for 1_3s. 4d. to Thomas Stanley, Esquire, to grant his capital messu~ge m Woolwich, Co. Kent, and a garden, orchard and wharf adJacent thereto, in the tenure of George Trappes, mercer, between the river Thames and the lands of Edward Boughton and Martin Bowes, Knight, on the north; the highroad leading from W?olwich to Greenwich on the south. and orchard and garden belongmg to the rectory ofWoolwich on th; ·west, to John Robynson of London, goldsmith, his heirs and assigns.19 On 23 November 1560 there was a licence for 13s. 4d. in the hanaper for J ohn Robynso~ o~London, gold~mith, to alienate by fine in the Common Pleas, a capital messuage m the _tenure of Ge_orge Trappes mercer in Wolwyche, Co. Kent, to Maron Bowes, Krught, and Wiiiiam Bo~es his son, and the heirs male ofthe body of William, with remainder to Martin in fee simple.20 After nineteen years, therefore, this capital mess~age returned to the ownership of Sir Martin Bowes. It lay approx1m~te_ly between the 't f' th Warren and the gunwharf. The Wilham Bowes
s1 es o e illi ' b Eli b h
me t' d · th bove patent was Sir W am s son y sa et
n 10ne 1n e a d h · f s· M ·
Harles, his third wife. Thomas Bowes, the son an_r: eir o rr artin
S. M ti 's first w11e
Bowes was by Cycely Elyot, ir ar n ·
1 Of land formed the small estate known as
All the above parce s · f h' d h
,..,.. Pl h' h s· M rt1'n Bowes owned at the nme o IS eat
1 ower ace w 1c ir a .
o A 66 I · quisition (post-mortem) taken at Greenwich
n 4 ugust 15 . n an 1n . M · B ·
on 23 J 6 following the decease of Sir ~rtln owes, 1t
. anuary 15 7, ti he held inter multa al, a
1s stated that among numerous proper es, W 1 • h' h ds capital messuage a house called 'Tower-Place, 00 wic 'ore-:~ etc., 15 teneme;ts or cottages and a moiety ,of a tenemefnlatnwds1 et; . . 11 d th 'Brew-house 40 acres o .
certain wharf adjacent ea e e ' ld A ·1 This, together with land in Borstall, PlumStead, was so on 14 pn
• Henry VIII, vol. xx, part 2, no. 4g6 (5, 2). 17 Letters and Papers Foreign and Domestic,
1e R •
ot. Pat. 2 Edward IV, p. 3, m. 30. :: Rot. Pat. 4 and 5 Philip and Mary, P· 15, m. 5· Rot. Pat. 3 Elizabeth I, p. 2, m. 29.
181
1568 by Thomas Bowes of London, son and heir of the late Sir Martin Bowes, to John Pears, citizen and fishmonger of London and Alice his wife. 21 '
From John Pears, Tower Place passed to Sir William Barne (or Barnes), a person ofnote in Woolwich. He was the son of Sir George Barn:, L?rd-Mayor ofLondon 1586-1587 (knighted 11 June 1587), by his wife Anne, da~ghter of Sir William Garrard of Dorny; and g:andson ofanother S1r George Barne who was Lord-Mayor in 1552. S1r Ge~rge ~~rne, the second, died in 1592 and his widow Anne in 16II. S1r Wilham Barnes_ was knighted on 23July 1503. He married
Anne, daughter of Edwm Sandys, Archbishop of y ork. She was born_on 21.Jun~ ~57o. Sir William Barnes had a daughter Anne, who marned Sir Wilham Lovelace of Bethersden Knight and became the ~other ofColon~l Richard Lovelace, the p~et, and~son William, whom turn was k_mg~ted at Greenwich 29 June 1618. Sir William Barnes~ the first, died m 1619, and at his death left, among his other possess10ns, Tower Place, Woolwich• This 1·s e ·d d b y an znqu · z"si
• v1 ence tzon post-mortem22 ordered the same year (17J I) Th· · · ·t·on
d d J ames . is 1nqu1s1 1
~te .2? une 162 3 _(21 James I) states that with other property Sir Wil~am Barnes died possessed of Tower Place. The house then passed mto the possession of Sir wi·111·am B th d ho
· d D arnes, · e secon , w
marne orothy, daughter of Sir p t M d K B f St
, C e er anwoo , . . o
Stephen s, anterbury. He had one so w·11· b . ho
d. d · h . . . n 1 1am, orn 1599, w
1e wit out issue. This Sir William B ·11 d T er
PI · f; arnes sti possesse ow ace 1~ 1643,, _or on 7 September of that year he is shewn as the owner m the Lists of Estates Wool · h 6 , 23
I . k . ' . WIC ' I 43 .
t is n~nlt n?~n ~hen Sir William Barnes, the second, died. He was certa1 y 11vmg m 1550 as the c: II . .fy
10 owmg extracts tesb. :
(a)
Sir William Barnes Woolwich A d £ 24
(b)
J; . '. . • ssesse at 500. . ffid 2.t4h u'}£ 1 644· Sir Wilham Barnes respited till further orders, on his
a av1 e 1s not worth £1oo.25
' (c) 6 Nover:zber 1650. Thomas Hulbert to M M l .
I beg a hearmg fo r o ens .
fc th • d ffir my poor countrymen who have been a year in trouble
or e1r goo a ect1on and d ·11·
Barnes will do h" b fc' are un one most unjustly. Sir W1 1am
1s est or them.' 26 th
. ri Routd.douifbt Sir William Barnes was a stout royalist. Vincent m is ecor s o Woolwich V I I h
tents ofa am hlet . ' 'o ume ' page 34, gives in full t e.c?np f P entitled A true and perfect relation of the seizing
th h
e ouse o one Maste w·11·
1
21 r tarn Barnes, a Cavalier'. It appears
Rot. Claus. 11 Elizabeth I
22 Inquisitions post-mortem S .' p. 16 , 11 March 1569.
:: PRO/E/179/128/668.' enes II, vol. 401, no. 121 -PRO.
C.S.P. Committee for adva f
or,f· 35. nee o money, 1642-1656, part I, p. 393, vol. A 65, no,
C.S.P. Committee for adv f
or p. 404. ance O money, 1642-1656, part I, p. 393, vol. A. 75, no. 11 C.S.P. Committee for ad
vance of money, 1642-1656, part II, p. 1,166.
I
182
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
likely that the house might have been Tower Place since it was only
a quarter of a mile from the town ofWoolwich and that the 'Master
William Barnes' was possibly the bachelor son of Sir William Barnes
living on his father's property. Otherwise, the coincidence is remark
able. Briefly the pamphlet states that a certain Captain Willoughby
sometime a sea-captain, had a company of roo Roundheads drillin~
and exercising at Gravesend until they should become proficient in
arms for the service of Parliament. One day, in the year 1542
Captain Willoughby set out from Gravesend with his men and rested the night at Erith. The following day they arrived at Woolwich and hearing that certain pieces of ordnance lying in the wood yard wer~ destined secretly for the King at Newcastle, marched to the spot and commenced to commandeer this art~llery. None attempted to stop them save Mr William Barnes who hved about a quarter of a mile from the town. On discovering his identity, the Roundheads went to his house and searched it very thoroughly; they also searched his stables. Having found nothing, they asked "Y'illia'? B~rnes whether he had hidden away any money or plate. Being dissatisfied with his reply the soldiers proceeded to tear up the floor ~nd dig a pit in the grounds. At last they discovered a trunk filled with plate and other belongings. Spurred on by their find, they ext~n_ded t~e a:ea of their digging till they unearthedanothertrunkcontarmn?pnests books and garments. They then apprehended Barnes and earned away the spoils.
Sometime between 1650 and 1662 To':er Place changed hands
again, as in the latter year we find Jeremiah Bl~ckma~, ~en~hant, paying a hearth-tax on fifteen hearths at Woolw1ch which md1cated that he was by that date occupying the house.27 He pai~ a similar tax in 1553_2s Alas, the rigours of war were to upset his pe~ceful domesticity. Prince Rupert's fortifications on t~e Warren spoilt the amenities of his property and tended to depress its marketable value. At a Council held at Whitehall on 6 November 1667 we read:
·re did by his report this day, read at the
Whereas Jonas Moore, Esqul , . . Board represent that in pursuance of an order from the C_omrruss1oners fco · h Offi f Master of the Ordnance, he repaired to Wool-
r executmg t e 1ce o • d d d h
W. h h h O b 1 t and having carefully v1ewe an ma e t e
1c t e 14t cto er as , Bl k E
best en uir he could into the losses sustained by Jeremy ac man, sq., b th qd y d h. alls dovehouse meadows, ,varren etc. m
y e amage one to 1s w , ' . r h" M · ,
m k" h b · 1 tforms and other occasions 1or 1s aJesty s
a _mg t e attenes, p a 1 . ed the whole loss may amount service this last summer, he humb Y conceiv d fi . Wh" h h" :M · t in all to £184 besides the spoil of the fish an nut. ~c ~s .i: aJes Y h · . • d · d being willing that satisfaction should
avmg taken mto cons1 eratwn a1: h h Ri ht Honourable the
be made unto him for the same, did order t at t e g
21 H M" h l 1662 Lower Half Blackheath, PRO /E/ 179/129/
earth Tax Returns, 1c ae mas , 7ou29, 29 September 1662. L wer Half Blackheath, PRO/E/179/249/
66 0
Hearth Tax Returns, Lady Day I 3, 31/3, 25 March 1663.
Lords Commissioners ofthe Treasur do and tl
required to give order for the speedy p; ;e~a~e hereby prayed and hundred Eighty Four Pounds to the sa·d ymen o t e same sum of One without account in full satisfaction 1 Jeremy B_Iackman or his assigns damages by him sustained as aforesaid~~9 reparat1011 of the losses and
Three years elapsed before Jeremy Blackman . d h
so much for the 'speed a , . receive t e money;
. . h d YP yment · Patience must perforce have been a virtuemt ose ays.On22 Decembe 1 6 th
to Sir Thomas Chich I M r 7° ere was a Treasurywarrant
e ey, aster of the Ordnance to £ 1 8 t
Jeremy Blackman infullsatisfacti . ' pay 4 °
b h · · h · II d onfor his losses anddamage sustained YAlitmh m h1sdwa s, ove-hou~e, meadows, warren etc. at Woolwich.30 oug ocumentary evide • 1 k. .
able that the erection of th b nee is_ ac mg, It seems highly prob
e attery m the War th d f.
or perhaps even encro h • ren on e e ge o , retreat had so marred ~c m? upon, _Mr Blackman's pleasant country residence. In which s qmeft sereruty that it ceased to be a desirable
case, o course he w Id fi l .
with his son, Captain Blackman '. ou , a ter consu tat1on to some more salubrious s ot th' deci~~ to ~ell th e tate and move twentieth century land-o~n~r ~s a~ti~ipatI~g the actions ofcertain this assumption be t s m similar circumstances. Whether
rue or not Tower Pl h d d . h
possession of Mr Wilr p . h' ace a passe into t e Tower Place as a iam nc ard by the beginning of r 670. hands before it 'was fi p~~perty ~herefore, descended through many Prichard in 6 andna y acqmred by the Crown from Sir William 1 71 ' as near as can be t . d h .
of its owners (the hou . . ascer ·ame , t e succession
se was m existe . 8 1 f
its erection is unknow ) b nee m 153 t 10ugh the year o
n can e tabulated as follows : Henry Floos Thomas Bulkeley ?-1480 Thomas Woode r480-? Alice Smythe ?-? Thomas Smythe ?-? Sir Martin Bowes ?-1538 Sir Edward Boughton 1538-1541 Edward Dymoke 154l -1544 Thomas Stanley 1544-1548 John Robynson 1548-1557 Sir Martin Bowes 1557-1560 John Pears, fishmon . 1560-1566 Sir William B gser ~nd Alice his wife l 566-? . . . arnes, eruor
S1r William Barnes J . ?-16I g
. , uruor -;>
6 6
erem1ah Blackman 1 19-1 50.
J
Sir William Prichard 1650 ?-1669
11 Council Register Oct 66 I 669-l67I 80 C,alcndar of Tr~ury 'p~ 7 -Aug. 1668, PRO/PC/2/6o
P· 3G7). pcrs, vol. III, 1669-1672, p. 706 (Warrants Early XVIII,
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Negotiations for the sale of Tower Place to the Crown d
w d · 66 were un er
ay urmg r g. Jonas Moore, Surveyor General of the o d
wa ·d £ r • . r nance
s pa1 5 .1or proceeding to Woolw1ch for thirteen days fi '
17
to 29 January I 669 in order to take a grand survey of the ~om and stores there before their delivery into the charge of Pa~~ {-a~ce storekeeper. He received 10s. a day for the first four days : /' a day for the remainder of his stay. He was also granted £:n 21s. December 1669 for going to view the house and ground to b on chased from Mr V\Tilliam Prichard in order to assess the conde.tl;>ur
ili r . 1mm
ere .1or construct.mg a wharf.31 He made many journeys to T Place with similar objects in view. On 31 October 1670 he rece~wedr
r • . h . F , 1ve
1 .1or a v1s1t e paid on 28 ebruary I 670 to discuss the detail f
£ 0
settl~ment regarding the forthcoming purchase. Similar sums wse received for subsequent visits on 14 March 1670, 4 April 167~e 15 !uly r 670 and 30 July 1670, connected with the same business' While there, he went into questions concerning the saltpetre stor~ and storehouses in general.32 Captain Valentine Pyne, Master Gunner of England,33 was also interested in the same matter. On 20 November r670, the latter went to Woolwich with Mr Jonas Moore and Mr Bennett to inspect the 'great house', view the wharf and yard> and determine the most convenient site on which to build a powder house. He received 13s. 4d. for his pains.34 Earlier, on
14 M arch 1669 he had accompanied the Surveyor-General of the Ordnanc to Woolwich to give directions for altering some rooms in the 'great house there to lay saltpetre in'. On 20 April 1670, Captain Pyne again isited Tower Place35 'to mark our ports in the wall of the shot-yard and to stake out a place to prove ordnance'.
Proof of ordnance had of course been taking place in the Warren for some considerable time prior to the Crown obtaining possession of Tower Place, and many guns from founders were proved there in the period immediately preceding the purchase preliminaries. Captain Pyne, for instance, attended a proof there on 24, 25 and 27 ~ugust 1670, and Jonas Moore was present at a proofof Mr Brown's iron guns at Woolwich on 2 November 1670.36
At a Council meeting held at the Court ofWhitehall on 4 February
167°, it is recorded that:
His Majesty being well satisfied of the want o~ room for his stores of war at Woolwich and Deptford and a proposal bemg made that the great mansion or Manor House called the Tower Place in Woolwich with all the buildings thereunto belonging, together with the sugar-houses, warehouses,
31 0
rdnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/1 I.
32
Ordn~nce Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/12, P· 104:·. ,
· 83 Appointed 14 December 166:; vice James Wemyss. Original \\!arrants and Orders in Cou ·1
84 nc1, PRO/WO/55/426, no..J 87.
: , grdnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/12, P· 135·
11 rdnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/11.
88 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/11 ·
185
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
tenements, stables smiths' f; a-cl
being betwixt the River of Ti°roes an othe~ storeh?uses situate and courts, gardens and wharv 1ames and the said ~~ns10n house, with all Warren and old orchards :~ti~~fre~nto ?pertammg together with the tenements thereon standing with:~ fve-ouse and tile-houses and two marsh betwixt the River of' Th e ong sea wall and reed ground and
. ames and the old h d c: ·d d
extendmg from the end of th t bl ore ar a1oresa1 an most easterly fort built by ceo~a~;foresa~d unto the fart~est end of the ditches and fens to the same belono-in of Pn_n~e Rupert with the moats, being the lands and tenements of J~co1:t~mmg 3_I acres or thereabouts, particular thereof made by J M Wilham Prichard according to a nance, (this day read at thonBas <lore, Surveyor of his Maj esty's Ord
. . e oar ) may b • c:
bmldmg a storehouse for po d ' e a convenient place .1or
th st
for the proof ofguns: All whi:h~it~ ? er ~res _of war, and for room pleased in Council to orde d . ~JeSty taking mto consideration was Honourable the Lords Co r, .a1: it is hereby ordered, that the Right
rnnuss10ners of th T
hereby authorised to give di· t.· e reasury do, and they are
rec 10n to the c · •
Master of his Majesty's Ord omm1ss1oners for the office of the said mansion house and lanadnce.to treat and agree for the purchase of
,n s with the
of the old storehouses and wh appurtenances and for exchange
arves at W 1 · h ·
upon report of the said Co . . 00 wic m part satisfaction. And orders to his Majesty's Att mnus5;ners of the Ordnance that they give directions for dr~wing the ~rnd-fi eneral to view the evidence and give Harbord, his Majesty's Surv ee s Gor sale thereof As also to Sir Charles old storehouse and wharf • eyo~-eneral, to make a particular of the said
1
said Lords Commissioners :f~~ e~to such exchange. And lastly that the ofsuch sums as shall be agreed e reasury d_o take care for the payment on for the said purchase.3i A few days later, Sir Geor e .
chequer, wrote on F b g Downmg, Bart., a teller of the Ex15 e ruary 167O s·
attend the Commissioners of to 1r Charles H arbord to
O rd
purchase of several ho . nance who were to treat for the
. uses mclud· T
Woolw1ch for building t 'h mg ower Place and lands at
0
to make out a particul:r :; ouses for the Ordnance ; a nd ~kewise gunwharf, which was t b a~ old_ storehouse and wharf, i.e. the faction of the said la d O e gr:en m exchange towards the satisabove.as n s accordmg to the Order in Council quoted
On 5 January r671 there
Harbord for a partic~lar of:as a Treasury warrant to Sir Charles
wharves at Woolwich b . ome old storehouses tenements and . h e1ongmg t0 h" M . '. t
m c arge before an a d. is aJesty, or 1f they were no
. u Itor he h
same, m order that ' was to make out a constat of t e Prichard, in part of a t?1°/nt_ thereof might be made to Williarn
. sa 1s1act10n £ d • t
mans10n house at Wo . h or, an m exchange of, a grea
1
and lands (mentionedo ~Ic h (Tower Place), and several tenements 11 Council R . m t e Order of the King in Council of 4 a, CaJ eg1ster, October I 66 . II endar ofTreasury Books vof 111pnl 1671, PRO/PC/2/62.
' p. 222• ' · 'part 2, 1669-1672, p. 528. Out letters (General)
186
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
February 1670, for causing a survey thereof to be made) which to be by h · d h K. . were
. . 1m conveye to t e ing according to the contract made with him by the Officers of the Ordnance.ao Things moved slowly, but they moved. On 16 March ·
157 Treasury warrant ~o Sir Heneage Finch, his Majesty's Attor~~ ~ Gene~al, ordered him to prepare a grant to pass the Great Seal ~f premises as follows :
To William Prichard, merchant tailor of Eltham Kent h.
l\lI . , ' ' viz, is
aJest~ s old storehouse and wharf called the gunwharf situate Woolw1ch, Kent, containing in length on the north part ne~t the R. at
Th b r h h .d 1ver
ames a out 2 65 1eet, on t e sout s1 e next Woolwich Street ab t 330 feet, on the east side next a certain lane there leading to a place cal~~d Toddy Tree Watergate about 316 feet, and on the west side next anoth lane there leading to a certain place called Bell Watergate about 2 10 feeet together with the dwelling house, stable and other outhouses, and a ne~ storehouse thereupon built one storey high, ":alued altogether at £so per a1:num, and also two small tenements sta1:dmg on the south side of the said ground next the street called Woolw1ch Street, now or late in the tenure of J ohn Creecher, butcher, and William Seawell, blacksmith valued at £ 4 per annum, together with all ways, waters, watercourses etc.4~
Prefixed to this warrant was the following: Constat and ratal of the premises by the Surveyor-General. The premis s are valued at £180 and are to be granted under the Great Seal to Prichard in part satisfaction for the sum of £2,957, to be paid to him by his Majesty for the purchase of a great mansion or manor house called the 'Tower Place' in Woolwich with all the buildings and outhouses thereto belonbaina toaether with sugar houses, warehouses, tenements, stables
D' 0 '
smiths' forge and other storehouses and outhouses, together also with the Warren, old orchard, dovehouse, tyle-houses and n-vo messuages or tenements, thereupon, with the long sea wall and bank, reed ground and marsh within the parish of Woolwich an? Plu_mstead; and a piece of ground containing about one acre in Woolwich with a water house thereon erected, and all springs, pipes of lead, water courses and other profits
thereto belonging.
This attached statement was dated 22 February 1671.
By April 1671 the grant was made to Sir William Prichard ~nd the deal completed in regard to Tower Place. All that was requ~ed was the official patent and the payment. The patent followed m a few weeks, but five years were to elapse before Sir William saw the
colour of his money. A grant unto William Prichard and his heirs of his l\!Iajesty's old storehouse and wharfcalled the gunwharfat Woolwich in the County of Kent
x~iv~rdar of Treasury Books, vol. Ill, part 2, 1669-1672, P· 757• Warrants Early
4o ' p. 444· 8 \ ,· E l
XX Calendar of Treasury Books, vol. III, part 2, 1669-1672, p. oo. arrants ar y
XVIII, pp. 22-23.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
together with the dwelling house, stables and other outhouses there and a new storehouse thereupon built. And also tvvo small tenements with the appurtenances there, in satisfaction of £2,957 to be paid unto him by his Majesty for the purchase of a mansion or manor house with the appurtenances called the Tower Place and divers lands and tenements in the parishes of Woohvich and Plumstead in the said county with such other clauses of non obslantes as are usual in grants of like nature.41
At the risk of redundancy the grant to Sir William Prichard is quoted:
Graunt lo S' William Prichard of the old storehouse and wharfe at Woolwich
17 Jvlay 167142
Charles the Second by the Grace of God Kino-of Eno·land Scotland,
' b b '
Ffrance and Ireland, Defender of the Faith etc. to All to whom these presents shall come Greeting. Knowe yee that We as well in part of satisfaction of and for the sum ofTwo Thousand ine Hundred and Fifty Seaven Pounds to be paid by Us unto William Prichard of Eltham in the County of Kent, Merchant Taylor, for the Purchase of a ansion or Mannor House with its appurtenances called the TO\,ver Place in Woolwich in the said County of Kent together with divers Lands and Tenements and heridiments within the Parish of Woolwich and Plumstead in the same County. As also for divers other good counsel and consideration
whereunto especially moving of Our especial Grace certain knowledge and me~e motion, have given and granted, and by these presents for Us, Our Heires and Successors doe give and graunt unto the said William Prichard, his heirs and assigns all that Our old storehouse and Wharfe called the Gunwharfe situate and being in Woolwich aforesaid in the said County of Kent conteyning in length on the North part to the River of Thames about Two hundred and sixtie five feet on the South side next Woolwich S~reete about Three hundred and Thi;ty ffeet, on the East side next a certam Lane there leading to a certain Place called Toddy Tree Watergate about Three hundred and sixteene feete and on the West side next another Lane there leading to a certain Place' called Bell Watergate about Two hundred and tenn feete, together with all that Dwelling house, stables _and other Outhouses and a new storehouse there upon built one story ~igh and also Two small Tenements standing on the South side of the said _Ground next the Streete called Woolwich Streete aforesaid now, or late, ~n the tenure ofJohn Creecher, Butcher, and William Seawell, Blacksmi_th, Together with all ways and water and water-courses possessed
comm~dity a~d appurtenances to the said promiser or any part thereof belongmg or m any way appurteyning. And the etc. etc.... where~f We have. · · · Our Letters Patent Witness Ourself at Westminster this sea~enteenth day of May in the Three and Twentyeth yeare of Our
Reign.
By writt ofPrivy Seale.
Pigott.
'1 C.S.P. Charles II 1671 p 211 (D I . )
u Warrants (King's'and 'th. ' W oc9uets, vo. 25, no. 44, April 1671 .0 er 5 oolw1ch), PRO/WO/ss/393, p. 20.
188
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
As has been said, Sir William Prichard had to wait five years before the conveyance was made and his purchase money handed over, but as he obtained about £800 in interest he was probably satisfied with the deal on the whole. Being a man of considerable fortune he could afford the inevitable delay.
The following extracts from the Calendar of Treasury Books, Volume V, 1676-1679 foreshadow the end of the transaction.
Page I I. 3 February I676. The Office of ?rdnance ~o have £4,294 in part of the £14,ooo remaining of their extraor_dmary_; the one moiety thereof in September next and the remainder m March following, to be charged upon_ the.~earth ~one~ Farmers and to be applied to the payment of Sir William Prichard s account for the
· h 43
gunwharf and houses at Woo1wic • Page I75. 25 March I676. Warrant from Treasurer Danby to Sir Thomas Chichely to direct George Wharton, Payma~te_r of th: Ordnance, to deliver tallies for £5,363. 5s. 3d. to Srr Willia?1 Pn~hard for houses and lands at Woolwich to be converted to hIS M~Jesty's service in the Office of Ordnance as by a contract made with the said Prichard: said tallies to be taken by Wharton from the £4,2~4 in tallies directed by the warrant of 16 February 1676 to be paid to him from the Ordnance.44 .
Warrant from Treasurer Danby to Sir
P age 222. 25 M ay I 676• • M Wh
M t of the Ordnance, to direct r. arton
Thomas eh1c. h e 1 y, as er . f £ to deliv · to Sir William Prichard tallies t~ the amount O 3,778. at Woolw1ch to be converted to
r gs. r d. fior houses and 1ands .
h . M · , · · the Office of Ordnance, VIZ. purchase
Is a_Je ty s service In D . e to be "d
money interest and rent to last Lady ay_. sam pai
' • k fc the said Wharton on the
out of the £4 294 tallies struc or f 6 F b Hearth money 'as by Treasurer Danby's warrant o r e ruary
1676 45 •
· • h t tortuous proceedings appears
The last episode In these somew a
in the Ordnance Treasurer's Le_d~ers.4ps . h d the sum of £3 778 Ji l 6 6 p . d t Sir Wilham nc ar ' .
O
2 I U0J I 7 · ai 6 6 £ the purchase ofdivers rgs. Id. for debenture dated_ r4June 1 ~i;rto his Majesty and for houses and lands at Woolw1ch sold by £ the same to 25 March
0
the interest of the said mo~ey an~ re~t b \he Principal Officers of
I ?7647 as appears by a certificate s1gnde yh Lord High Treasurer h M · , o d d presente tot e
Is aJesty s r nance an d' to a signification from of England for which he is allowed acc~h~n: ley Knight Masterthe Right Honourable Sir Thoma~ ;c e Ju~e 1676, 'grounded
General of his Majesty's Ordnance ate 1 2
43 Treasury Minute Book V, P· 105· 6644 Warrants not relating to money VI, P· 2 •
45 Money Book (General), PP· 353, 354/WO/ 8/I5
46 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO,•• 4yed ;0 the Crown.
47 The date on which the property was conve
189
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
upon the said Lord High Treasurer's warrant dated 25 May 1676, as by the said debenture and acquittance thereon appears the said sum of £3,778. 19s. 1d.
Having given in some detail the various actions which culminated in the conveyance of Tower Place to the Office of Ordnance, a description of the premises may now be attempted. By the aid of an old plan it has been possible to reconstruct in some measure the appearance ofthe mansion in Bowes's time, and an artist's impression, based on such a reconstruction appears in this volume. Architecturally Tudor, Tower Place was not one of the stately homes of England, but it was a well-built fair sized country house standing amid its orchards and meadows on the south bank of the Thames, and afforded attractive views to its inmates. The front of the house with its three large bays faced east, and a door in the central bay, giving access to the garden, allowed egress to the lawns and flowers. The main entrance was through the gate-house at the back, i.e. on the western side butting on to Rolt's Lane.4B On its south-eastern corner was a large hexagonal Tudor tower, five floo s in height, while on the north-eastern corner was a smaller turret containing closets. For hearth-tax purposes it was assessed at fifteen hearths and
was the largest house in the parish of Woolwich. The domain was liberaIIy provided with outhouses, barns, tile-houses, sugar houses, _a dove-house, a forge and stables which were the necessary accompaniments of a country house in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These enabled the residents to make their nails hino-es and other iro~-work and to carry out their woodwork a~d ge~eral repairs, wh~e the women preserved their food, spun their thread, and wove the1r cloth. The ample acreage made the household self-supporting in the way of fruit, vegetables herbs milk fish meat and corn, rendering 'shopping' in the modern se~se or'the ~ ord unnecessary· The only purchases would be such commodities as could not be made
or produced at home. The boundaries of Tower Place are given as follows:
The sugar house and the great mansion house butting on the lane called Rolt's Lane. The orchard butting on the weSt to several tenements of Mr John Kirby in the hand5
Butting 0~ Samuel Bartram, John Bentley and others, and Mr
to
nd
Richard Cleere in the hands of William Sherwood a
the 0thers, and certain tenements lately Widow Ellery's in the
West hands ofAndrew Bandley, Thomas Hayward and othe~s, and part of the Warren butting on certain tenements in the hands ofJohn Ellery and others.
" Afterwards called Wi La T . Warren
amn ne. his must not be confused with the present
Lanc.
190
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
The wharf in the hands of John Cloathier and John North Colegate and the long walk to the easternmost fort butting
{
the river Thames.
The islands butting on Doghouse Marshes in the hands of Anne Hatton, the warren part of it on the two acres in
East
the hands ofJohn Cloathier and the green lane adjoining
{ the field called the ten acres in the hands ofJohn Hankin.
South { The Warren butting on the common road leading to Plumstead.49
At this point it is considered desirable to expose two ~allacies which have persisted down to the present day. Both are dev01d of truth and as so-called 'facts' are better forgotten. To do so means a certain anticipation in our story. In the eighteenth c~ntury there was a hexagonal tower alongside Tower Place af~e~ It had been reco~structed and converted into the Royal Mihtary Academy. This structure known as the Turret, was quite detached from the adjacent building 'and was sometimes referred to as Prince Rupert'~ Tower; i;t fact T ower Place itself is still known by the name of Prince Rupert s Palace. A wooden model of this .tower, presen~ed by C: G. La:1dmann,so was long preserved in the Roya~ 1!nI!ed ServI~e Institution,51 though it has now vanished, and It 1nd1c~ted qmte clearly that it possessed five floors with staircases runmng from ~oor to floo • It l 1 b n assumed that this structure was bmlt as a
1. 1as a ways ee h b d
separate Tower, when, nobody knew, and for w at purpos_e, no o y
could say. Vincent in his Records of Woolwich perpet1;1ates thIS assump
t. U r 1 h s rather prone to making statements ex
10n. n1ortunate y e wa . h d I
t z d · h f to fortify the assert10ns e ma e. n
ea ,ze ra wit out any proo
Volume I on page 299 he states:
• es it would appear that Tower Place was
• .. from these circumstanc . ·cl b t uite detached a originally a family mansion, havmg cl?se ~s1 1:' t uassfgn the motive' of high substantial hexaO'onal 0 column. It is di cu O d" t hi d 11·
• 1 fi ·n s an appen ix o s we mg
the builder in providing this O ty ?1 dar a r. its ornamental aspect
PI p "bl . h been raise mere1y ior '
ace. oss1 y it may ave . . h ve been intended for a
r. h . b · cl from 1t · or 1t may a
or ior t e view to e game ' Th • however a real present
. "fi b hot tower ere is, '
sc1ent1 c o se~vatory, or a s. · cl admirable model at the United ment ofthe edifice to be seen ma large and "t rpose at leisure etc .... I Service Institution, by which we may stu y !r.s p~ that the tower was one
th· k h fi "bl ition I can ouer is
m t e most eas1 e suppos cl t ious parts of the Thames of those look-out posts which were plante a ;arnwich and the City of for the protection of the royal palace at ree
London.
· h i680-1682, PRO/W0/49/182.
49 Special Book of Estimates, Woolwic 't·fication at the R.M.A. 1777-1815.
so Isaac Landmann was Professo~ of_Foili~ Royal United Service Institution.
61 No trace of this model now exists 10
191
14
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
And as a foot-note he adds:
For instance, it is stated in the chronicles of the City that in 1380 John Phclippot, late Mayor of London, undertook, at his own cost, to build a tower on the banks of the Thames 'sixty king's feet in height' to protect the shipping and the city from hostile attacks and alarm, and the city undertook the building of a second tower.
The footnote is perfectly correct and the chronicle referred to is :
Proposal to build a Tower on eitlzer side of tlze Thames for tlze protection of the shipping, John Plzelippot paying tlze expenses ofone of them. (4 Richard II, A.D. r 380, Letter Book H, fol. cxxv (Latin)) It is not worth quoting, but the document makes it plain that the second tower, to be subscribed for by a levy of 6d. in the pound on rental, was to be built opposite the one promised by John Phelippot, so that a chain to safeguard shipping could be stretched across the river. The site of the tower on the London side was to be within the hamlet of Redeelyve-now Ratcliffe-in the parish of Stepney. It is quite obvious that only the two towers were contemplated and neither was to be within eight miles of Woolwich. As the entry is run through
with a pen, as though cancelled, Riley considers that the scheme was probably never carried out.52 The proofs that the Turret or Tower was part of the original Tower Place mansion are:
(a)
Its portrayal in Paul Sandby's sketch is that of a Tudor tower similar to those at the tilt-yard at Greenwich.
(b)
The tO\-ver is clearly indicated in the plan of Tower Place drawn by Sir Bernard de Gomme in 1682. It there forms part of the structure of the house.
(
c) The ground plan ofthe house in 1717, before its conversion, brought to a common scale with that of the plan of the building, after its reconstruction, in Barkers Map of 1749 and superimposed on it, shows the tower (which had been left standing) of the original house to be on the identical site of the later 18th century turret.
(d)
There is no mention of a tower among the appurtenances of Tower Place in any description of the property.
(e)
An Ordnance Bill Book under date 31 March 1742, states that Joseph Pratt lVas paid £1,085. 1s. 7fd. for certain items of work. One of these was 'Cutting down a buttress and new facing the turret where the brickwork of the old building bonded with it.'53
Legend No. I dissolved in mist.
The second, that Prince Rupert lived in Tower Place which therefore became known as Prince Rupert's Palace is easily dismissed. The title Prince Rupert's Palace never occurs in any official Ordnance
Journal, nor is there any record that Prince Rupert ever went into
aa Mlmllrials of London and London Life, H. T. Riley, 1868, p. 444. 11 Ordnance Bill Book, ries II, PRO/W0/51/148, p. 231.
192
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Tower Place. He certainly never resided there. After his retirement
from public affairs in I 673, he lived at Spring Gardens and Windsor
Castle. No doubt this story was invented and gained circulation
because the Prince was responsible for building the batteries at
Woolwich in 1667 on a site adjacent to Jeremiah Blackman's prop
erty. It is extremely doubtful whether he would ever even have set
foot in the precincts.
Sir William Prichard, from whom Tower Place was purchased,
was a man of many parts. He was born about 1632, the son and heir
of Francis Prichard of Horsley Down, Surrey, by his wife, the
daughter ofEdward Egleston. Francis Prichard was born in or about
1607 and was lineally descended from Ruthergh ap Richard, who
was seised of lands called Hendre in Co. Caernarvon. The said
Francis and his wife were buried in St Olave's, Southwark, and had
issue, besides William, one son Richard, a lieutenant at sea, who
was killed in an engagement with the Dutch at the age of eighteen,
and three daughters, Mary, Hannah and Marth~.
William Prichard besides being a merchant tailor of Eltham, was a large contractor t~ the Board of Ordnance, supply~g them with many commodities, such as tiles, bricks, fodder, matenals generally, cordage and tarred rope. He was knighted on 28 October 1672. He became a sheriff in the same year and was Lord Mayor of London 1683-i 684. He was also M.P. for the said ?ity in 1702. I~ r673, he purchased the Minories for £4,300 from Sir Thomas Ch1chely. J:Ie was President of St Bartholomew's Hospital,. Colonel of the vyrute Regiment of Trained Bands and Vice-President of the Ar~lery Company. He was elected President of the Honourable Artillery Company on October r 681. In r683, he purchased the manor and
4 L. I', d Co Bucks and became the patron of that
esta te of Great 1n1or , • , . living. He founded and endowed a hospital and school-ho_use at Great Linford. In 1579, he gave a piece of ~round to Woo~wich for th f h H h d a residence at Highgate, Co. Middlesex.
e use o t e poor. e a He was a member of the Merchant Taylor's Company. f F . · · · · d S h 2nd daughter o ranc1s
Sir William Prichard marne ara ,
6
Cooke of Kingsthorpe. He was baptised on I I February WI_311~ at
K. . f h· arriage was one son-1 iam
ingsthorpe. The only issue o t is m . d b · d t -who died on r6 March 1685 aged sixteen an was une a
Great Linford on 24 March following. d h l\,f · Sir William died at his house in Heydon Yar ' t e d inor~es, -0~ Sunday 18 February I 705 in his seventy-fou:th ydeaCrhan ,hvas hune d Great Linfor urc ' w ere a
on I March 1705 in a vault un er . ·n dated 29 December rnonument is erected to his memory. His wi 'ther bequests he left
0
1702 was proved on 17 April 17°5· Among . . h. -~ Sh an a~nuity of£1 200 and his house in the ~1noneGs to lSLl~; e.d
d. , d buried at reat 1uor on
ied there on 23 April 17 I 8 an was
193
6 May 1718. By her will dated 20 April 1707, she left numerous charitable bequests. 54
The acquisition of Tower Place initiated a spate of activity in the affairs of the Ordnance at Woolwich. Not only had much constructional work to be undertaken, but guns and stores had to be moved to their new depot from the old gunwharf. Paul Linby was a tower ofstrength in all these operations. He was what would now, in familiar terms, be described as a 'good old scout', and his work and energy must have been invaluable in this new venture.
On gJune 1671, he was paid £124. 12s. gd. in full satisfaction of a debenture dated r r March 1670 for three jobs of prime importance.55
(a)
For filling the forefront of the new wharf at Tower Place, which was 265 feet long, 14 feet deep, 80 feet wide and 28 feet broad with marsh clay, 7:oat at t~e bottom and 5 foot at the top, ramming do~n the same and fillmg up with earth, and covering the top with a foot of gravel and sand.
(b)
Building a gun platform I 15 feet long.
(c)
Erecting two butts. One, 113 feet long, g feet deep and 16 feet broad; and the other, 124 feet long, 8 feet deep and 7 feet broad.
. Bet~een r February and 2 r March 1670, Paul Linby was engaged m pullmg up the pavement at Tower Place in fitting and clearing the storehouses to receive saltpetre, and on'constructional work at t~e new wharf. On r8 July 1670, he received £ 27. 12s. 4t d. for disbursements to 15 labour~rs in connection with these operations. On? July 1670, an entry 1n the Bill Book states that Paul Linby received £ 17. 1rs. gd. for disbursements by him to workmen engaged_on the new wh_arf, on digging the foundation ofthe great crane, 0~ fittmg up a saw-pit on the new gunwharf and digging a new sawp~t t?erein. These ':orkmen or labourers a'ssisted the carpenters in ~ggi~g ~e foundatmns to lay the mud silts for the wharf, in helping to pitt timber and other services ordered by Mr Safrey and Mr
Rogers from 2I March I 67o to 24 M fill . ,
F h' k ay o owmg .
or t is wor the men were paid as shewn:
Richard Wahan-21 M h 6 /6 d
arc I 70 to 25 May 1670-55 days at 1 P· ·
Thomas Dasett-21 M h 6 £4. 2s. 6dd.
arc l 70-21 May 1670-51 days at 1/6 P· ·
J h G £3. 16s. 6d.
o n ronor-21 March 1670-21 May 1670-51 days at r/6 p.d. 16s. 6d.
£3
Roger Preston-21 M h 6 · d
arc r 70-18 May 1670-48 days at r /6 P· · £3. 12s. od.
" Details of the life death fi al d . · in
Miscellanea Gtrllalogica ;, Heraldic UINr an_ will of Sir William Prichard are given H Ordnance Treasurer's Ledg~~' ;R0/~()1~j/;,PP· 351-352, 1874.
194
THE BEGINNI GS OF TOWER PLACE
For digging the foundation for the great crane, the following were paid as shewn:
Richard Vayne-4½ days at 1 /6 p.d. -6s. gd. Henry Hawke-4½ days at I /6 p.d. -6s. gd. Henry Costing-5 days at I /6 p.d. -7s. 6d. John Dickinson-4½ days at I /6 p.d. -6s. gd. Paid to Richard Vayne for digging one double saw-pit and one single
one in the gunwharf 3 days at 1 /6 4-f. 6d. Paid to Henry Costing for filling up the saw-pits in the gunwharf-2 days at I /6 3s. od. Total: £17. 11s. gd. 7 July 167056
Although Paul Linby had been called 'storekeeper' the title was honorary and in no sense official. He could with more justice have been described as the Quarter-master of the Establishment, a term which would have expressed his functions more accurately. The first a1:1-thentic storekeeper at Tower Place, the one who began the line of'Arsenal' storekeeping officials which conti~ues down to the present day, was Captain Francis Cheeseman, app01nted 1 February 1670, under a warrant issued by Sir Thomas Chicheley, Master of the Ordnance. He was paid quarterly at the rate of £100 p.a. and was allowed an additional £20 a year for a personal clerk.57 Within a few years the storekeeper's salary was reduced to £30 p.a.58 and later
stabilised at £40 p.a.59 • • With the exception of firework making and saltpetre refini~g, references to which will appear later, there was as _yet no production at Woolwich • in fact Tower Place could not be said to have become
' ' . . .
a factory till the turn of the century. There ~as, 1t IS true, a certain amount of carriage repair, but as gun carnages at the end of ~e seventeenth century were still simple woo~en structures, the mamtenance of which merely required the services of a carpenter, such work could not legitimately be described as manufac_ture. Actually more than a hundred years were to elapse bef~re a Carnage Department was set up. The main operations during the_ infancy of T?wer Place were connected with the building, convers10n and repair of storehouses, wharves and cranes, the erection of butts for _the proof ~nd
· f d and shot and the construction of various
expenment o or nance , •
h. h peri·ence showed to be desirab1e. After the
appurtenances w 1c ex f
sale of the Artillery Garden a good deal of proo _converged on · h d pri·or to the sale guns were being proved on
WooIw1c , an even ' d .r. 11 f h
· "d ble numbers The recor s are 1u o sue
the Warren m cons1 era · . .
·1 b b 1 t them would besides being ted10us, serve no
deta1 s u t to ta u a e ,
12
56 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 / , PP· g3, 64·
67 Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/W0/51/ 13, P· 1 •
58 Ordnance Quarter Book, PRO/W0/54/33, 1~i~·
69
Ordnance Quarter Book, PRO/WO/54/44, 1 • 195
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
useful purpose. In October 1670, Paul Linby repaired the butts at Proof Place, Woolwich, for which he was paid £2. 1,µ. od. on 22 June 1671.60 John Colegate, blacksmith, was continuously employed at Tower Place between 1 September and 31 December 1670. There was iron work for the Warren gates, iron work for the shotyard and repairs to the 'great house' as well as to the storehouses. As usual there was a time lag in his payment. Not till 13 September 1671, was his account for £26. 14-J'. 1½d. settled.61 Woolwich by this time was obviously becoming a place of importance in the scheme of national defence for in 1672 an estimate of £125. 13s. od. was submitted for the erection ofa storehouse for fireworks in the Warren. The building was to be 70 feet long and 20 feet wide with doors and
lock complete.62 In the same year another estimate was made for the carriage of guns, mountings, shot etc. from the old yard to the office of His Majesty's Ordnance at Tower Place. Details were as follows:
Loading and drawing shot from the old yard to the new: Per load rs. 4d. Drawing guns from the} Guns {3ocwt. and upwards 4S· od. old yard to the Warren 3ocwt. and under 2s. 6d.
This referred to the prices which were to be paid in moving ordnance and shot from the gunwharf after its alienation to Sir William Prichard to their new home on the Warren. Paul Linby with his team of horses was the man who carried out this removal and he received pay at the above quoted rates.
On 17July 1672, Jonas Moore proceeded to Woolwich to settle about the houses for fireworks and later paid another visit with Sir Bernar~ de Gomm~ to set out the ground for a 'powder place'. He '":as paid £2 for his trouble on each occasion.63 On 18 July 1672, Sir Ber;11ard de Gomme was given a similar sum for journeying ~o Woolw1ch to stake o_ut ,the new fortifications there. 64 John Brewer did a good deal of glaziers work in and around Tower Place between 17 Aug~~t 1671 and 25 March 1672, in addition to which he made many vmts to Woolwich to deliver saltpetre between October I 67 1 and Ma~ 1672. The connection between mending windows and transportm~ sal~petre is not apparent and why John Brewer should have acted m this double capacity is a mystery. Trades in those days were not s~ clear!~ defined as they are today, and men were often fou~d turrung th~rr h~nds to jobs normally beyond the range of tbeir craft. Paul Lmby 1s a classic example. He acted as storekeeper,
10 Ordnance Bill Book S · I
1
11 Ordnance Bil~Book: s:;;: 1l' ::g~gf5 J13, P· 2~· 11 Ordnance &timates, PROJW0/4g/182 5l 13, P· 5 · 11 Ordnance Bill Book S · II p •
"Ordnance Bill Book' Ser~es 11' PRROfW0/51/14, p. 125.
' cries , O/WO/51/14, p. 123.
196
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
craneman, hoy-master, scavel man, carter, teemster and general factotum when the services of a useful man were in demand. John Colegate was again busy at Woolwich during the autumn of 1671 and the spring of 1672. He was there producing saws, making ironwork for the furnaces and the refining house, and repairing ships' carriages.65 For these services he did not receive his payment of £127. 7s. od. till 7 January 1673 and this sum inclu_ded his wages for the last six months of 1671.66 One wonders how artisans managed to live in such circumstances. In many ways Tower Place at this period must have been rather like a pioneer community in the New World. Everything had to be improvised till it could be rep~aced by something more suited to the ~eeds of the moment, and patience
must have been a virtue greatly in d~mand. . On 2s July 1673, Captain Francis Cheeseman was pai_d -f,272. gs. 4d. for sums disbursed y.o se~eral,labo~rers to crane ships c_arriages and other stores for his MaJesty s servic~ o_n board,for mountu~g guns of the Line and at Gallions, fo!' assis~1ng the firemaster m preparing and making materials and mgredients for fireworks, for breaking up old fireworks, and for chimney money taxes upon the official d elling houses and other services between 4 February 1671 and '26 July 16 _67 Between 1o June 1671 and 13 No~ember 1671,
73
.c. t r carried out work at the Refimng House at
H enry Sa1rey, carpen e , d M
.c h" h he was paid £15. 10s. o . on g arch
T ower Pl ace, 1or w 1c d b
68 A .r.. .c. h ti·ng ordnance was erecte etween 24 July
6
1 73. iUrnace 1or ea b il b Ed
672 at Tower Place. It was u t y ward
1672 and 12 August 1 d · h h
· b J h c 1 ate the smith was concerne wit t e
Sherw1n, ut o n o eg , ' J..d .c. h. h f h
· k H b · d yment of £8. os. 7 2 • 1or 1s s are o t e
iron wor . e o ta1ne pa
work on 17 J anuary 1673,69 f 1 fini There was evidently a considerable an1;ount60 sa 6tp8et_re ~e ng
k. W . h during the period 1 70-1 o, a 1ew ex
ta 1ng pace1 at oo1wic k h" 1 o 26 J
tracts from the records will suffice to ma e t dis £c e~. ~ une
0 1
1674 William Buckler was paid £ 275· os. • or ~ ~a f' car~ and ~ttendance in double refining several great kquant1tles ol rodug 1 • h d 1 oking after the wor men ernp oye on sa tpetre at Woolw1c an ° b and 24 June 1674. His
571
the operation between 30 Septem die: I to a signification from the
rat f £ 00 a year accor ng
O 1
e pay was S t mber 1673. Four days later
Master of the Ordnance dated 30 fe£p6e 4 11s iod for refining at
· dd" · al sum o 7 ·· · ·
h e was paid the a ition W · h' 245 tons 6 cwt. 18 lb. of
1
'h. M . ' fi . house at oo w1c
1s aJesty s re ning . . . t 206 tons 9 cwt. 2 qrs. 7 lb.
d d hvenng into sore
rough sa1tpetre an e hen refined of the amount of roughof pure saltpetre, the product w 66 . II PRO/WO/51 /14, p. 16. Ordnance Bill Book, Series ' PRO/WO/48/12.
66
Ordnance Treasurer's L~dg1f'PRO/\VO/51/15, p. l 80.
67 Ordnance Bill Book, Series 'PRO/W_O/48/12.
88 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PR0/\\'O/48/12.
811 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, 197
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
saltpetre stated above. The signification of Sir Thomas Chicheley dated 30 September 1673 was based on articles of agreement dated 14 September 1671 between William Buckler and the Principal Officers of the Ordnance.70 At this time, the Minories was the principal depot for saltpetre in the country and George Wharton was the storekeeper for saltpetre both there and at Woolwich, being appointed on r April 1670.71 His clerk was Edward Hubbald. Edward Hubbald used to pay frequent visits to Woolwich in this connection, especially between 1672-1673 to weigh out rough saltpetre. His pay
for this service was IOs. per diem. John Brewer made similar journeys for the same purpose. On 28 July 1676, Edward Hubbald was paid £266. I Is. gd. for wharfage charges and labourers in receiving and transporting to Woolwich 13,315 bags of saltpetre weighing 700 tons net, purchased from the East India Company between 14 February 1675 an~ 23 March 1675.72 Saltpetre, being such a rare and costly commodity, was accorded more deference than almost any other raw material. Hence its special storekeeper. George Wharton continued to be that storekeeper at the Minories and Woolwich till 30 Septem
ber 1681, when Woolwich was allowed a storekeeper ofits own. This was Edw~rd Hubbald who was appointed storekeeper for saltpetre at Woolwich on I October 1681 and continued there till 31 December 1694 when the local appointment was abolished. 73 After that date the _Tow~r beca~e the only repository and Edward Hubbald, trans~ernng his energies to that fortress, remained in charge of saltpetre till 31 December 1699: Incidentally, during his tenure as saltpetre
storekeeper at ~oolwich he officiated as storekeeper there from 1 October 1683 till 3 r March 1686, during the temporary transfer of Thomas Peach to Tilbury between those dates.
On 28 May r674, the following labourers were appointed by the B~ard to Woolwich:John Chard,John Packman,John Day, Richard Hill, John Wattson and John Jenkins.74 The total establishment at Tower P~ace was therefore, the storekeeper, his clerk, Paul Linby
and the six labourers. Between the years r670 and r675 the amount of maintenance normal to a? establishment of this ~ize was carried out, and the
0rdn
ance Bill Books teem with details illustrative of the repairs effected to the fabric of the 'great house' and to other buildings in Towe_r Place. A tabulation of such items would be tedious. Storms wereJUSt as responsible for damage to storehouses in the seventeenth c;;~uh_as they are in the twentieth, in fact probably more, since the 0 -as ioned sheds were not so robustly constructed as their modern
70 Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/W 71 Ordnance Quarter Book PRO/WO/ /0/51/16, pp. 4, 5. 72 Ordnance Treasurer' ~d 54 28.
,. Warrants MG O sd B ger, PRO/WO/48/15.
· · · an oard PRO/WO/ /
"Ordnance Journal Book PRO'/WO/ / 55 470.
' 47 19B.
198
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
counterparts. Wood was less resistant to the effects of weather than brick, and timber girders, subject to rot and attack by insect pests, lacked the lasting qualities of steel.
The butts, too, gave constant trouble. Baulks of fir, reinforced by rammed earth and turf soon tended to crumble under the repeated impact of solid shot fired at close range, particularly when the rain had already loosened and partially washed away the supporting sand and gravel. When guns were laid for proof on the Warren on 23 February 1675, Captain Valentine Pyne had to proceed there in order to issue instructions for the repair of the butt. For this service he received 13s. 4d. on 12 December 1675.75 This visit resulted in a Board's order dated 21 September 1675 to reconstruct the proof-butts and on 31 March 1676, Paul Linby was paid £75. 14.s. 4d. for the works as follows :76
For making 3 butts of earth containing I I 3 floors at £39. I IS. od.
7s. per floor 15. OS. od.
For facing them with turf
For making and levelling the platform where the
5· OS. od.
guns lie for proof
For 485 loads of gravel for the Proof Place at Bd. a 16. 3s. 4d.
load Total: £75. 14>. 4d.
The Board's order77 of 2 1 September 1675 was '~hat the _old butt at W oolwich for the proof of ordnance be forthwith repaired and increased in size in order to prove a greater number of ordn~nce according to the directions given by the Surveyor of Ordnance ..
howing signs of wear under the strong action
The wharf, too, was S . p · h d · d
of the tides. On June 1676, Sir Wilham nc ar rece1v_e
I
r. d't'oni'ng the wharf and bank near the slUice
£ 97. 3s. 4d. 1or recon 1 1 .
·on had taken place, according to a t T ower Place, where erosl 78
the measurements certified by John Hill.
For double landtying and shoreing the wharf45 feet
IOS. od. long, ro feet high at 30s. per foot fi h' h
6
os. od.
For foot wharfing the bank, 5° feet long eet ig
at 10s. per foot . · fter For 14 floors ofearthwork caSt out and m agam a
4. 13s. 4d. the wharf was framed at 6s. 8d. per foot
Total: £97. 3s. 4d.
. f saltpetre firework making was the
Apart from the refin1ng O ' d r. di l
. . . W . h Set pieces were ma e 1or sp ay,
pnnc1pal industry at oo1w1c •
75 . II PROfWO/51/18, P· 128.
Ordnance Bill Book, Ser~es • PRO/WO/s1/r8, p. 184.
76 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, B
:7 OrdnanceJournal Book,_PR0/1f/}J..,t6/~l/r8, p. 208. John Hill was a Cl rk of
6 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, t • =>
the Office of Ordnance.
199
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
particularly for the King's birthday, as well as types for warlike purposes. In fact, Sir Martin Beckman, who had become Firemaster on 4June 1661,i9 was by warrant80 dated 11 August 1688 appointed 'Comptroller of ffireworks as well for Warr as Tryumph'. His place as Firemaster had been taken earlier on 19 October 1670 by Captain Ernest Henry de Reus, when the former was promoted Engineer to the Office of Ordnance.81 On 24 May 1673, Ernest Henry de Reus was paid £2 for the labour and materials in fitting up two water petards for Prince Rupert on 29 March 1673, and 40s. for 4 days travelling expenses in connection with the work in question. In addition to this he was also paid £35. 6s. 8d. in making a firework for his Majesty's birthday. This must evidently have been an enormous undertaking as he was employed on its manufacture from 18 February 1671 until 2 June 1671 at a wage of 6s. 8d. a day.82 A
few years afterwards, the six Woolwich labourers who formed the
'
permanent staff, spent some five weeks, for which they received payment as under on 16 August 1667, in repairing and fitting fireworks.
John Clare83 -39 days at r/-p.d.-£1. rgs. od. Richard Hill -39 days at 1/-p.d.-£1. rgs. od. John Watson -37 days at r /-p.d.-£1. r7s. od. Jolm Packman -37 days at r/-p.d.-£r. 17s. od. Jo~~ Day -39 days at r /-p.d.-£r. 19s. od. W1l11am Sherman81 -20 days at 1/-p.d.-£r. os. od.
This was presumably in addition to their normal wage of £26 per annum. In additi?n to this they, together with Paul Linby, received '2 /-per day a~d rught for their extraordinary services in attending and ,~atc?mg for 4 days and nights to fire the ordnance on the Line
(i.e. m the Warren) and on the bank at Gallions when the Prince of Orange passed down the Thames on his return home. This made a total of £ 13. 7s. od.95 In the following year John Slade who although. graded as a 1abourer must have been an ' experienced ' workman smce he received 3s. 4d. a day ·d £ 4d on
o t b , was pa1 ro. 3s. .
22 O 6
c er_r 78 for going to Woolwich to assist in making fireworks, some of ~~1ch were for the fireships under construction.86 Mr Wilham Sheepy had I M
now rep aced Mr Henry Safrey as asterCarpenter to the Board d h • 1 · h
b , an e was busily engaged at Woo w1c etween 25 March 1678 and 30 June 1678 in repairing ships' 1, Warrants M.G.O. and Board PRO/G
ao Warrants and Orders in C ' . & D/37, no. 13. d 27 August 1688 PR011,VQ/~ / ouncil, PR0/W0/55/335 and M.G.0.'s warrant date 11 0 d Q' , • .:>5 472, p. 73.
az r nance uarter Book, PRO/WO 28 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO~~,$bi·81 6 u 81 Pe~h_aps the same man as John Chard 4 I •
" ~!i:~tn&:tadSer~plalcled John jenkins. ,. 0 dn . ' ries 'PRO/W0/51/20 6
r ance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/ / ' p. I •
51 21, p. 18.
200
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
carriages. On 28 April 1680 he was paid £197. 11s. 1 rd. for this work.87
By now the butts were again requiring attention. Paul Linby had a contract, dated 20 March 1680, for shifting the two butts of earth at his Majesty's ProofPlace at Woolwich and for 'new-making' them 14 feet broad at the bottom, 6 feet broad at the top, 8 feet high and 320 feet long. This also entailed making 187 floors for both and repairing the main butt which time and the elements had succeeded in making defective. He was paid £30 for this work which he received on 30 September 168o,ss a lag of six months, which, considering the
times, was remarkably quick paymen~. . . Early in the following year, a special experiment with a fire-shot was carried out by Captain Leake, ~aster Gun1:er of England,_ in the presence of Charles II. This was evidently considered an occas~on of great importance which required a good deal of preparation including some adaptation to the but~s._ On 18 November 1680, an estimate for these butts prepared by Wilham Sheepey, 1:1aster carpenter, which amounted to £go. 2 s. 6d.,89 was sent to Sir Bernard de Gomme for him to report 'the reasonableness thereof' to the Board
by 'next Office day'.90 Being considered reasonable, a contract da~ed 8 February 1681 was placed with Sir William ~arren fo: makm~ two b tt d 1 · latform of oak at Woolw1ch for this expen
u s an aymg a p . w·ir w
ment.91 The day before this contract was signed, Sir 1 mm . arren
had intimated that '56 faddoms92 of good fadam wood fo: filling up
· d aring at Woolwich' would
between the butts now making an prep d be sufficient for the purpose, and that the price ag:ee on, namely h·11· .c. d ·table Sir William putting the wood on
12 s 1 1ngs a 1a om, was su1 , . 93 board his lighters at his wharf at his own charge. d ull 94 The entries in the Bill Books regarding this work rea as O ows: . . W n was paid £33. 12s. od. for the
2 I February r68r Sir W1l1iam arre b d t w 1 fadoms of wood fo; the filling up between the butts t~ e ~~ ~a. tyo~ wich for a fire-shot experiment there to be presente dtod is aJes din
ary 1681 groun e upon an or er
pursuance of a warrant dated I 8 Febru ' d Bo d d t d
fi • M · t 's Ordnance an ar a e
rom the Commissioners of his aJes JFebruary 1531 according to a 1 7 February 1681, and a contract of F dom •wood-2 foot long· certificate of Mr Cricke95 and Mr Roope~-. ; [adorns at 12s. per fadom'. such fadom 6 foot in height and 6 foot broa ' 5
:; Ordnance T!easurer's L~dger, PRR00//'08/1 4~//~~: p. 35.
5
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, P 89 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W0/49/182• f. 7
1
90 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/io, · ·
91 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W0/49/182• ure or quantity in this case 72 cubic
92 Faddom, fadam, fadome, Jadom, meant a meas feet; also it meant afathom. / 0 f 1,,3
93 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/\\0/47 bi ;/2-p. III.
9
~ Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO~~ J m~e Assistant Surveyor of Ordnanc 115 Mr Cricke was Clerk to Sir Bcmar c O ' and his Majesty's Chief Engineer.
201
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
15 March 1681. Sir William Warren for building 2 butts and making a platform at Woolwich for making an experiment before his Majesty by Captain Richard Leake, Master Gunner of England according to a contract dated 8 February 1681 and a warrant of the same date to Captain
Leake.
For two butts OS. od.
For 7 squares 45 foot of platform at £4. IOs. od.
per square IOS. o£d.
For repairing the old platform with planks, a nd
workmanship £1. OS.
For roping and carriages for the experiment
Total: £66. 4£d.9s
It will thus be seen that the whole project cost £99. 15s. 4¾d. against an estimated charge of £go. 2s. 6d.
Captain Richard Leake was a person of note in Woolwich. Born at Harwich in 1629, he took service under Parliament in the Civil War and held a commission in the 'rebel' fleet under the command of the Earl of Warwick. Detesting it, however, he deserted and volunteered for the king's service. He then retired to Holland where, entering the Dutch Artillery, he improved himself in the arts of ~~nnery and engineering. Afterwards he returned to England and
JOmed the merchant service. On the Restoration he quitted this employment and was made a gunner of a man-of-war. H e was then promoted to be_master gunner of the Princess, a Fourth R ate ship of 660 tons mountmg 50 guns and built by Daniel Furzer in r 660. For good work in this vessel_ he was ~ranted £ 30 on 8 June 1667 by the Duke of York, Lord High Admiral, he, having, by warrant dated 13 ~ay, 1667 of the Commissioners for executing the offices of his ~aJ:sty s Ordnance, been appointed one of his Majesty's gunners wit~m the 1:'0 wer _of Lond~n in consideration of his good and faithful
service to his Majesty durmg the war with the French Danes and Dutch. He remained in the Princess till 3 May 166g ;hen he was ~ransferred as gunner to the Royal Prince, a First Rate ship. He served m the engage~ent ~gainst the Dutch Admiral, Van Tromp, in 1673. The Royal Prince hemg crippled in action Leake had a warrant to be gunner ~fthe Neptune, a Second Rate ship at Chatham, and about 1675 w~ _given command of a yacht, i.e. a hoy of improved pattern,
a fast sailmg vessel of fore and aft rig. Finally by patent dated 21 May 1677, Captain Richard Leake was granted for life the office of Ma~ter , Gunner of England and appointed Storekeeper of his Ma.1esty s ordnance and stores of war at Woolwich.
Lea_ke was a ma~ ofsound technical knowledge and spent his tirne carrymg out expenments to improve the efficiency of the somewhat
" Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/ /
' 51 23, p. 112.
202
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
simple armaments of his time. After moving to Woolwich he spent the remainder of his life living in Tower Place which had been adapted to meet his requirements. There he performed his duties with zeal and ability though the keeping of the stores remained in the hands of the official storekeeper• He took his share in the local government of the town, attending the meetings of the Vestry and signing the books. He died at Woolwich on 22 July 1696, his wife Elizabeth pre-deceasing him on I September 1695 at the age of sixty-four. A monumental inscription w~s erected !o their memory in St Mary's Church, Woolwich. After his death, his son, who afterwards became Admiral Sir John Leake, was offered his father's old
post but the offer was declined. . .
Before the great trial scheduled to be earned 0 1:t ~n the presence ofthe sovereign had taken place, a smaller though smular experiment was undertaken. On 18 August i 68o, Mr Sheepey was ordered to
proceed to Woolwich at once and 'erect a bu~t of elm timber according to the directions of the French firewo_rker so that the latter could make a fire-shot trial. Mr Sheepey was mstructed to use such elm as was already in store at Woolwich 9~nd to J?rovide such additional timber as might prove necessary. Forty-six pounds of o d 11 ed for this experiment and was ordered out of his
P w er was a ow d 9s Majesty's storehouse in the Office of Or nan~e. Buildings by now were beginning to deteriorate and ne:~ attenti·o o J 1 68o an estimate was prepared for reparrmg the
n. n 19 u y I ' 0 d 99 Th. £ 11 sheds at Woolwich amounting to £5°:dI?~ "6 h ~~was :V o7e~ by an order from the Board which sa1 t a~ y s e at oo w
e p r h nd ye shedds for carnages there be forthwth
along y roo1e-ouse a d · h · di 1
· d d h persons be contracte wit 1mme ate y to
R epa1re , an t at some d h h
· h d · h h provided they do not excee t e c arge
go 1n an wit t e same_ .
, 100
of the survey as the same is estimated · local 'tradesmen' at Tower Place. When
There were of course no d d
• · d the normal proce ure was to sen
any technical service was require S · 1 1 ·vili·
d h T ofLondon ometimes oca c1 an
own an artificer from t e ower · · 1 · b For instance on craftsmen were contracted for some specia JOk · t W 1 '· h I 6 N b 68 M Thomas Peach the store eeper a oo wic '
?vem er I o, r . . ' whether there was a wheel-was instructed to make enquines as ~o h h t barrows before the Wright in Woolwich who could repair t ~s ~ 101
authorities ordered a man to attend from on on.d thefts of H M
Crime, too, existed in seventeenth cent~ry a; November 1680. property took place. On the same dlayb, i.e. 1who embezzled th; Mr Peach was ordered 'to carry the a ourer
:' OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0//47//9, ~ ~~-9 September 168o.
8
Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO 47 9, · '
: 9 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/WO/49/182• October 1680.
1 ; Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/9,? 10 and PRO/WO/,,H/10, f. 16.
10 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/9, · 4
203
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
iron-work at Woolwich before some Justice of the Peace, so that he may examine him and order him such punishment as he shall deem lawful' .101
The wharfs were again giving trouble and an estimate for £37. 6s. od. was put forward on 24 January 1680 for repair.102
There was considerable proof at Woolwich during the year I 681. On 1I March 1680, a new 'camp shott' 160 foot long was to be made on the Warren for proving ordnance. This together with the repair of the old one and the making up of the proof-butts was to cost
6d.103
£103. 2s. On 26 April 1681, it was ordered that all guns at Tower Hill and on the Tower wharf which were fit to be reproved were to be sent down to Woolwich for reproo£ It was also ordered that 'the Surveyor and Assistant Surveyor of his Maj esty's Ordnance take care to see the same guns marked out, and the Clerk of the Deliveries to draw a proportion for the same and see the same immediately and send to Woolwich as aforesaid, and that a gyn, ropes, etc. be issued for this service' .104 On 5 July 1681, it was ordered that 'several brass mortar pieces now lying at Temple Mills
lately cast out of his Majesty's metal by the agents ofJohn Browne, his Majesty's late gunfounder, be forthwith removed to Woolwich in order to be proved at the first conveniency and that Captain Richard Leake, Master Gunner ofEngland, take care to see that this is effected accordingly'.105 On r2 July r68r, it was ordered that the 'old iron ordnance of his Majesty, hereinafter mentioned, lying upon Tower Hill and Tower Wharf be forthwith removed and sent to Woolwich to be thoroughly reproved for his Maj esty's Surveyor at
the same rates as former guns sent thither, and that the Clerk of the Cheque put the labour and costs upon the same accordingly, viz:
24 pdrs - r r Culverins - g
12 pdrs - 6 Demi-culverins - 25
8 pdrs - I r 6 pdrs _ 37
3 pdrs - 6 Minions - 3 r ,106
Th: great proof, a matter ofsupreme importance, was then carried out with due so!emnity. The proofmasters, who were quartered at the Tower, received £40 p.a. and normally were two in number. So august were these gentlemen that in one instance the senior was referre_d ~o as 'The Proofm:ster General ofEngland'. On ro Oc~ober
1681
, i~ is recorded that a proportion of the old ordnance laid at Woolwich and ordered for proof by order ofthe Board 21 September 1681 (and by order of4th inst.) be proved Friday next 2 rst inst. a nd
::: Ordnance Est!mates, PRO/WO/491182_ Ordnance Estimates, PRO/WO/491182_1°' Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ / f.
JOI OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0/47/IO, . 47.
1N 0rdnan ] urnaJ Boo ' 4 7 II, f. 14.
cc O k, PRO/WO/47/10, f. 65 and PRO/WO/47/11, f. 16·
204
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
a proportion of powder and shot necessary for the same shall be drawn and issued accordingly for the said proof. 'And that the officers, clerks and labourers hereafter mentioned shall go down to the proof accordingly.
OFFICERS
Surveyor, Clerk of Ordnance, Storekeeper, Clerk of Deliveries and Proofmaster.
CLERKS
James Rothwell, John Allen, John Hooper and Matthew Blyton.
LABOURERS
H enry Lincolne, James Fitzgerald, William ~onner, J ohn Beezley Lecran Jennings, George Kidd,
' h W d ,101
John Everitt and Hump rey oo , A slight difference from present day procedure. Autres temps, autres moeurs. .
b. 1 d voi'd of danger Guns occasionally burst
P roof was no t en re y e · fi f and the resultant damage had to be repa~re~. _Cases o ten _occur o injury to buildings and compensation to 1nd1v1duals. For 1~tance,
o F b 68 M Thomas Peach was ordered to mstruct ~ I 7P el-ruary r 3,. ~ 1 bourer's house at Woolwich at a cost
Jo n ac (man to repair t e a d b b ki not exceeding £3 which had been 'lately damage Y guns rea ng
108
up at last proof'. Journal Books throw light
Two further extracts from the Ordnance . h" . d on the n ormal domestic scene at Tower Place durmg t 15 peno · . k forthwith down to Woolwich
1 1
r6 April 168r. That John Hil, c er ' god ft under which the salt-and assess the damage done to the roof an ra 1~9r5 nd make an estimate petre lies next to the Bedd and Coyne-Hou~e, th aith to the Board and
f o th h h f d turn the same .1or w '
r e c arge t ereo an re . . hand to do what is necessary to put some workmen immediately m
forthwith. take care to send some person That the Surveyor and AsSt. Surveyorf 11 the breechings, tackles and forthwith to Woolwich to take a survely O ad t render an account to the
• d d viceab e an °
ropes which are ren ere unser f; . k and evading; also at the Board of what shall only be found fit rlf~he blocks and tackle hooks same time an account shall be take~ 0fi a to the Board with all con
which are serviceable and report their gures venient speed.110 p eh storekeeper at Woolwich, r9 April 168r. To send a le_tter to ;;1:,h~:h ;re appointed by John Hill to let these carpenters and bncklaye ' h use which is fallen down on
t . . h f of the store o
o work on repa1rmg t e roo 4
~:: Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W./Wg/1 ~~:;: }: fi:
O4
Ordnance Journal Book, PR 109 Bed and Quoin House. Of J f 135.
110 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W 47 9• · 205
e a·t:>e ::-e :.o· ··e: ·o ta:.:e a cia.:_: · acco ·nt o: ·· e:r vo::-.: 2.!J ·o ee L a:: · · · -· · ·. -· :. -cco ·o ~ e Boarc' , ? __ 1
,....
it =s car..e o·•• ro e:::-· a :-: to ::-a:i.s:::r:.:.~ --'--~ .::. ~ . ~ . of . e ·imber ·:1~y :~; : ·. :.e s:o::-e: o-r-e: to decide . o v muc is eq · eci for .e -0 ::-i{ : c:.e carpe:1:e::-s and co ta ·e account t" ereo a d to see at no de a: be ma ·e i:i. fi.-.=, . .ing · .e ·or · \-it' a poss·b e speed .lll
T e sa e of e O d Ar · ery Garden had a direct and immediate repercussion on Tower Place. The sale o~ ~he Minories; too, had a some\ ·hat slighter effect. One of the cond1t:Ions before the Treasury \vould consent to dispose of the Artillery Garden, was that other convenient quarters had to be found for the .i\1aster Gunner of Eno-land· also the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance lost certain
0 '
perquisites by such a sale. In addition, he lost his official residence in the ~fineries when that property passed into the hands of Sir \·\'illiam Prichard. The 'great house' at Tower Place was the obvious
answer.
It was comparatively speaking a large building and in itself illadapted for storage accommodation. Being a dwelling house it was only suitable as a residence. The Board decided therefore that its empty rooms should be utilized by converting it into three maisonettes or flats, one for the Master Gunner of England, one for the storekeeper and a pied-a-terre for the Lieutenant-General should occasion demand his presence at Woolwich for the night. T o this end
the Principal Officers of the Ordnance proceeded to W oolwich to investigate and report, in pursuance of an order issued by the MasterGeneral on 21 February 1682. Their report dated 2 March 1682 ran
as follows:
In pursuance ofa_n order ofthe Honble Col. Legg, Master ofhis Majesty's Ordnance, of 21st mst. for the Principal Officers of the Ordnance to go down to Woolwich to see the house and consider of a conversion for the ~aster Gunner and to report the same to the Master of the Ordnance,
VIZ:
That a dividing of the Great House at Woolwich belonging to the Officers of the Ordnance for the present till it should be removed.
As a seque!, Sir Bernard de Gomme went to Woolwich on 1 7
Ma~ch 1682 , 111 order to prepare the necessary estimate for the conversion. He was pai'd £1 th r. II · . 2 H.15
. e io owing day for his trouble.11
estJ.mate followed the d t ·1 · h · · h
P . . e ai s m t eir entirety recommended by t e
nnc1pal Officers of the Q dn . . .
The • . r ance as the result of their v1s1t. t es~mate, which amounted to £12 I. r 6s. 5d. is much too long tio quo;~n extenso, but the following summary gives'a fair representa
113
p;:posoed aletproJ>?sals. It was accompanied by a plan shewing the eranons The dr · · • · · I ded
here. · awmg 1s rough but a fair copy 1s 1nc u
lUOrcfnan
: Ordnan:iin&!~i!~?/~V0/47/9, f. 136. Ordnance Estima~, PRO/WO/~~fg?/51/25, p. 19.
206
Fi:-:'c-c Ce!' :;; c.,d --Pc.-,·r:t:
Grear Gate.~
Ccprc·:-L ec<~
Th e Greer Din,:-c; Roe.., (Officers of rheOrdnarce)
GROUND FLOOR
SECOND FLOOR
Li H ie Lc rq • Mottod Room Room
for Captain LoQke roG"' f« servo.nt,!}_
3Closets above the 3 .. story of ( LOd
GARRETS 9'"'1
Tower A for the Store-keeper
of Tower Place
I
FIG, 2. Two pans
15
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER p LACE
MI? M_arch ~682. A? estimate made by Sir Bernard cl .
d" ~Je~ty s Chief Engineer and Assistant Surveyor f he Gomme, His 1V1ding the Great House at Woolwich in two fj Co t_ e Ordnance for Gunner of England and the storekeeper with or apltain 1:-eake, Master
to th · d h ' severa repairs tO b d
e sai ouse for I 2 gunners according to an Order of th B de one
arch 1682. e oar dated
2 M The estimate was as follows:
( 1 ) Fitting up part of the smith's house for 12 gunners £g. 18s. 11d.
(2) Bricklayers' work to be done in dividing the 11.ouse, called the Tower Place, Woolwich, for the accommO dat10n of Captain Leake, Master Gunner
f E · 0 (, ngland and Mr. Peach, the storekeeper £22. 13s. od.
3) Carpenters' work for the same £5. 19s. 6d.
(4)
A stable for Captain Leake's horses £8. 5s. od.
(5)
Materials and other charges £75. OS. od.
Apartments for the Storekeeper
(a) B elow Stairs
The Kitchen
A Pariour The wash-house, pantry and a little room next the wash-house. The brewhouse to be common for the two families. The great gate or door at the coming in of the house shall be
common, and each to have a key of the door and gate. The cellars.
(b) Above Stairs
A room marked B in the plan.A closet in the tower marked A, and these closets in the said tower upon the third story and rooms in the tower. The large matted room marked C in the plan. T he little room marked D in the plan. The back-stairs which go down to the brew-house. The gallery from Captain Leake's room, marked E on the plan
to the end of the matted room.
Captain Leake' s Apartment
(a) Below Stairs A kitchen to be made out of the great hall. The great gate and door at the coming in of the house, to be
common to the two families. A parlour next the kitchen.
The Great Dining Room to be kept for the Officers ofthe Ordnanc~; and in their absence Captain Leake shall have the use of the said
dining-room and closet.
A room next the petre-house to be fitted up for a cellar, pantry
and other accommodation. The brew-house shall be common to the two families.
(b) Above Stairs
A large room marked E on the plan.
207
BIRTH A D CHILDHOOD
A room called the Mayors' Room. The 3 garret rooms over the kitchen the hall and mayors'
for servants. ' room
For the Lieutenant of the Ordnance A little room for his servants marked G h
1
A great bed-chamber with a'closet. on t e P an.
For the I 2 gunners
Three rooms in the smiths' house E
1
· ac 1 room to contain 4 gunners. The warrant granting Sir Christo h .
the Ordnance the use ofT p P_ er Musgrave, Lieutenant of ' ower lace is dat d M h 68 h
days prior to the date of s· B e 14 arc r 2, t ree the 'old deed' partially q ir edrnbard de_ Gomme's estimate. This is
uote y Ma F . D . h'
'HistoryoftlzeROJ'alArtillery , V ~or •ranc1s uncan in 1s
8
Duncan as the authority b;£9 k ?1u~e I, page r6 and cited, giving The warrantl14 reads ;s foll~:s~ lil his 'Hundred ofBtacklzeat!z I886'.
Sir Christopher Musgrave to have th h Ground e ouse of Woolwich in lieu ofthe Old Artillery
Charles R Whereas we have thought fi co~only called ye Old Artil~!/0 cause sal~ to be made of ye ground Parish of St. Buttolph Bis! Y Garden s1tuat near ye Spitle in ye
b I · b ' 10psgate toOo-eth th
e ongmg y means ofwch s I er w the several houses thereto
M t a e our Trust d W
~grave, K, ye present Lt Ge II Yan ell-beloved sr Christopher ant1ent perquisite granted t h. n of our Ordnance is deprived of a n houses and buildings and ~ im by Patent ofye custody of ye sd ground,
t ' Y profit thereb · · . • ·
? compensate ye loss and d t . t Y ansmg, and We bemg willing
1ke t . b e nm wch S .
1
0 sustain y reason of e d ' our ayd V of our Ordnance 1s
build· th Y s sale and I·
mgs ereto appertain· a ienacon of our ground and ye
0
these_presents declare our ~TII anur Will and Pleasure is, and W e do by
mansion or mannor house at W ld fleasure to be, yt ye custody of our name of ye T oo we 1 co I e
Olver Place wth e ' mmon y called or known by Y together w~h ye ware houses, T[n set~eral buildings thereto belonging, outhouses situate and being bet . em ' Stables, smiths' forge and other
House wth 11 C WIXt ye R. f T .
' a ourts Yard G iver o hames and ye sd mans10n ;arre~ and Old Or~hard, ~~th a:dens and Wharfs, together w th the enem thereon standing, one in 1 !)ovehouse, Tyle houses and two ~Jatt~n kately dwelt, and ye oth Y midle ofye sd Warren wherein Anne
o 0• n llery, Carpenter wth eeLr near ye south gate lately in ye Tenure betwixt ye R' ' Y ong S W
d't h iver ofThames and e ea all, Reed Ground and marsh
0
I c es, walls and fences to ye y Id Orchard aforesayd wth ye moates, acres or thereab same belon · . . ' .
Samu 1 B outs together wth ging, contammg m ye whole 3 I Elleryea dartr:m, Wtn Sheerewood sJev~al Tencmts late in ye tenure of out of : ot ers, wth one small ~ o n Bentley, Tho Haywood, John iece ; orthwest corner of ye piece of about a rood of ground taken
0
P ground conteining ab ground called Doghouse Marsh and a
114 Warran out on th '
ta (Kings and others w . e acre W a water house thereupon
1
' oo w1ch), PRO/W0/55/396, p. 40. 208
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
erected situate upon ye East_side of the Lane calle? Collick Lane Ieadin
from Woo}wch to S:iooters Hill, :ogether wth all springs, pipes of Lead an~
water-courses leadmg from ye said Waterhouse to ye mansion-house afore
sayd; be assigned unto ye sd sr Christopher Musgrave ye present V of
01:r. Ordnance for the time being in lieu and compensation of ye Peq uisi~e taken from him by ye sale ofye Old Artillery Garden as aforesayd. Provided always, and our Will and Pleasure is, yt Our great guns shali be p~oved in ye sd ground as heretofore hath be~n accustomed, and yt sufficient room be left for ye ornamental and serviceable ranging of our guns, and for placeing in convenient houses, saltpetre and such other Our Stores, as either now are, or hereinafter shall be, layd up there, and yt ye Cranes and Wharfs be employed in our Service as often as there shall be occasion thereof, and our further pleasure is, ~t a convenient dwelling, such as shall be approved of by you, be allowed m our sd mansion house for our Masr Gunr of England and likewise yt a convenient Lodging be fitted up in ye houses adjoyning for ten of our ffeed gunrs, and such of ye L abou~s belonging to y6 Office of Our Ordnance as shall be employed there for our Service, and yt ye Masr Gunr of England have liberty of exercising ye gunrs in ye ground wher~ ye rreat gun~ are proved, in such manner as was heretofore practised m y Old Artillery Garden, lately alienated by us as aforesayd, and We do further authorize and require You to cause these our commands to be duely observed and executed, and for so doino-this shall be yr sufficient Warrt Given at Our Court at Newmarket ye ;4th day of March 1681/2 in ye 3lh year of Our Reign
By his Majl5 Comand Conway.
To O ur Rt Trusty and
W ell-beloved CounceW
George Legge Esq. Masr
Gen11 of Our Ordnance,
and to ye Masr of Our
Ordnance, or Comrs for
executing ye place of
Masr of Our Ordnance for
e •
Y time being. On th 1 f the Minories, the Lieutenant-General received a
e sa e o . d h.
house allowance of£goo paid quarterly in or er to comp~nsate 1m for the loss of his official residence. The hou~e at Woolw1~h was, of cours · · t as a permanent dwellmg for the L1eutenant
e, mappropna e .
Gen 1 d h. £ ·1y as i·t was mainly used for other purposes. It
era an 1s am1 , . . was merely a flatlet in case a night's sojourn m the Warren became
necess Th fi t ·ssue ofthis allowance was made to George Legge
ary. e rs 1 . 110 ~ in I 677 under the following authority: ·n consideration that ye Mansion House \\'th yt
l
T o George Legg Esq. .
app t • h L' ttle Mynoritts heretofore appropriate to the plac
1
ur enances m t e • h h · h · ) ·
of the Lieut Gen! of the Ordnance (of wh1c e 1s t e next reversion 111, d B k PRO/W0/54/35, 1677, September quarter.
0 r nancc Quarter oo , 209
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
alienated from ye said place w111out any benefitt or satisffaction made him ffor wch w 111 other services mentioned in his Malies warrt under his Roy" Privy Signett and Sign Mannuall Dated 15th January 1677 w th ye Rt Honblo Mr Gen11 of y0 Ordnance his signification thereupon hiss allowance after Y° rate of £300 and y0 sum of £75.
The particular warrant authorizing the payment to Sir Christopher Musgrave was dated 27 February i682.m
Sir Christopher Musgrave allowed £300 p.a. in lieu ofa mansion house
Charles R Where~s b[ Our Letters Patent Dated at Westminster ye 2 8th day of January my three and thirtieth year of Our Reigne, Wee have for us, our he1res and suc;esso~s as!iigned, ordained and constituted our trusty and well-beloved S Christopher Musgrave, Knt, our Lieutenant Gen11 of all and all manner of Ordnance Mun· d h -k vi'sions
. icon an ot er war11c pro
h
of us, our eirs and successors wthin K" d f E d d Town
00 1
ofBerwick to be by himself O h · ffio~ mg ~ ng an . an . d
. r is su cient Deput1e or Deputies exercise
d 1
urmg our p easure. And whe b d f
e • h th reas Y reason of a late a-rant by us ma e o Y _ma~sion ouse w the appurtenances thereto belono-in(T in y0 Litle
0
Mmones heretofore appropriated t e L. t G 11 ° d the
same is alienated from e sd Orh ieut en of our Or. nan~e
h. w th fc b . y place w out any benefitt or sat1sfact10n to
1m. ee ere ore emg willi .
b t l"k · ng not onely to gratify him in his Just con
cerns u 1 ewise to recompe h. .
nse is good endeavours past in our Serviced t
an o encourage him to do e l"k b
to declare our Will and PI Y i e for ye future have thought fitt here Y · d . easure to be and Wee do by these Presents
authonze an reqwre you t e sd sr Chr15" toph M Y you cause an allowance to be pd unto Y
er usgrave of e b
received by him or his . Y yearly summe of £ 300, he same to e payable upon ye Quart::1~:~out 0; the Treary of our Offi~e of Ordnance ye first payment t s ofY sd Office by equal port10ns quarterly, Nativity of Our ; cdomence and be accompted from the feast of Y0
0 r now last p t d · our
Pleasure, and for so <loin th" as, an so to continue duni:ig . Officers of Our o d g is shall be as well to you as to y0 Principal
r nance and A d · h s
whome it may concern fi 11 u 1t~rs of our Imprest, and all ot er at Whitehall ye 27th d' a ~Fand sufficient warrant. Given at Our Court ay o ebr 1681/2 in ye 34th Year of Our Reign.
To Our Right trusty By his Majtics Comand
and well-beloved George Conway Legge Esq Mar Genll of Our Ordnance and t
e 1· t ' o
Y 1eut Genll of Our Ordnance, and to ye rest ofye Principal Officers ;rOur_Ordnance, now and or ye tune being, and to all
and every of them. Memorand ye Mar ofye 0
1 rd
" Warrants (K• nance significacon dated 6 March I 68 1 / 2 •
mgs and others W 1 . ' oo w1ch), PRO/W0/55/396, p. 8.
210
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Later on, when the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance gave up
his rather tenuous hold on Tower Place, i.e. when his pied-a-terre there
disappeared after the house had been reconstructed for other pur
poses, he was allowed £2 per quarter rent allowance in lieu by order
of the Board of Ordnance dated 16 December 1718.117
Repairs and new buildings are now the main items which conclude the story of Tower Place in the seventeenth century. The establishment, though small, was growing and its expansion entailed additional storage accommodation. Wind and weather also took their toll, and as the outhouses originally taken over with Tower Place were ancient structures, they required more than the normal amount of maintenance owing to their age.
On 2o June 1682, a new estimate totalling £110. 8s. od. was forwarded to the Board for making a frame for an earthen butt at Tower Place but no record exists to confirm that the work was ever carried outJ1s Thomas Moore, who had now replaced William Sheepey as master carpenter, received a warrant, dated 8 June 1 682, to repair the saltpetre house. Although the estimate was £8. 1I s. od.,119 the actual cost of the work w~s only £6: 1s. 4d. Another warrant, dated 21 June 1682, was also 1ss~ed to him to do certain work at Proof Place for the purpose of p~ovmg five mortars. This consisted of making good defects and laymg a p~atform for which both oak and fir were supplied. The whole operatic~ ~ook 15
I 7s 6d for labour and I o shillings for
d ays and the costs were £ I · · · 'd £ the platform. For this second job Thomas Moore was pai 4·
6s 3d 120 l · h
· · . revious chapters, the tides at Woo wic As has been stressed ~n P nk of the Thames and damaged made constant inroads into the ba sh. ·on was a permanent the wharfs which lined the banks.dT is eros~hey decided to divest source of trouble to the Board of Or nanTce, so Place was concerned.
h 'bT far as ower
t emselves of the responsi i ity so h t draw up a deed for Sir
0
T~ this end they instructed _Mr G~a a~ King of the covenant of William Prichard wholly dischar¥ng t ~l ce Woolwich, in repair keeping the wharf or bank at the ?;er ti : ~f which Sir William
O
any longer for the future. In consi e;a 121 O
Prichard was to receive the full sum £!.{5~er Place The estimate
Later on in the year a shed fell down at O ss od 122· and this was for repair dated 16 October 168~8:attres~lt, the storekeeper at sent to the Board on 21 October 1 ·d d to set carpenters and
Woolwich was on the same day or ere
117 Ordnance Bill Book, Series I, PR0/~~/5o/S.
118
110 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/Wg//49//~82i2 June 1682.
Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W 49 '79
x20 Ord B'II B k PRO/W0/51/25, P· f. 7 October 1682.
1., nance 1 oo , /W0/47/12 . 9,
.x Ordnance Journal Book, PRO '
1a2
122 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/W0/49/ ·
2 I I
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD . THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
bricklayers to effect the necessar .
the estimate which had be y repairs at a cost not exceeding The carriage shed 1 denb accepted by the Board.123
ia Y now fall d
expression 'fallen down' ofwh' 1 th en own. Presumably the
fc ' ic 1 e a th . .
ond, meant that the buildin had fi u ~nties were so inordinately beyond repair. On 14 Nov g b allen mto such a state as to be Officers of ye Board do em er 1682, it was ordered that ,ye
artificers at ye reasonablestcontra~t with all convenient speed wth
f rates 1or his M •ties S .
o a new shedd 18 fot broad d aJ erv1ce for building ofs~p carriages in ye place w~~rel~O fot Ion'? at Woolwch for lodging to Y survey thereof this day dd y cold one IS fallen down, according 13 Nov. 1682'.124 Thomas M toy Board by sr Ber de Gome dated dated ro February 168 .125 oore got the warrant and the contract
3
For materials and build'
zoo foot long, 18 broad fco ilnco-d ~ shed at Woolwich } . h 1 r o gmg h. ' m t .e p ace where the old shed . s ipps' Carriages cordmg to contract dated F is fallen down acro ebruar 168 £102. 10s. od.
For overwork done b Y 3·¾ a ove the3. squares of pantiliner for tl . contract, viz. for}square yard c le rnofat 20 shillina-F I . ,,s per £ 3. ros. od.
or_ ay~ng 5 squares of tilin Majesty s att 5s. per square g, the tiles being his} £ r. 5s. od.
Total: £ -d
omas Moore wa . ro /· 5s. o .
Th
which da h s paid for this wWoolwichyfc e, also_ received £18 l ork on 28 August 1683, on
or nealmg' h d · 4f. od for b ·1d· h d
22 and M an -grenad · UI mg a s e at 2
Sir Bernatd dart 1683 and a bill al' acc_ording to a warrant dated
B ' e omme.125 particulars annexed signed by } now the Warren w
country. In this re . as becoming the .
up to this date h spect It was replacin hmam gun repository in !he 12 December 16/d. been the main or/n: e Tower of London which and Io,ooo demi-:• it was ordered 'that th nee depot m England. On bins upon To ~nnon round shot b t ke number of I,ooo cannon down to Woo7e; h harf, on each sidee / hen out of the unserviceable
O
brought from ;ic ! and that the uns _t e Traitor's Gate, and sent
timber of the ~rwdbick be sent thithe er~ihceable iron ordnance latelysa1 ins b b r wit the 'd h Id
sa~e time Mr Pe e rought into h" s_a, s ot, and the o smith or other ackh was asked to a 1~ Ma_Jesty's stores'. At the carriages at Wwfr.man for breaki scertam the cost of a carpenter,
reply to the Booodwich and taking ng up eighty-nine unserviceable
ar as s out the i .
: OrdnanceJoumai 00n as possible.'" ran-work, and send hts g~dnanccJournaJ ::t• PRO/W0/ On 31 March 1683, these
111 471
i• aro:;:cc Bill Book Sc'· PRO/WO/ /2, f. 19.
ccJournaJ 13oo{1p II, PRofJ,01 f. 41• ' ROfW0/47/12,s;,t~l'. p. i55.
212
eighty-nine carriages were ordered to be broken up 121 s1·nce th
were to b t d • · ese guns
some e s o~e m the open, exposed to the four winds of heaven awa reservatlve w~s obviously desirable to prevent their being eate~ Boa;d Y rus~. Captam Leake was t~erefore asked12s to forward to the ofshi ~n estimate for the extra tarrmg and lacquering of these pieces Dart!s ordnance removed from Tower wharf, to be laid before Lord
Th out~, the Master-General, on the next office day.
e estimated stores required were: tar 4 barrels tar brushes 8 blacklead 4 lb. linseed oil 30 gallons ostrie faggots 100 4 inch nails 1oo
Th·Is estimate was agreed to on 23 February 1683 and the stores were ord red to be issued.129 The next requirement was a brick kiln. On 8 March 1683, it was ~rran ged that Mr Downs and Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, should "r,ve an immediate warrant to construct a small brick kiln about 3h eet square in the shot-yard at Woolwich 'for the trial of grenade
130
s ells and great ordnance as Captain Leake shall direct'. On the 2~th of the same month, Mr Peach was asked about the stores for a s ed to house the kiln.131The Board, however, after due deliberation, came to the conclusion that it would be cheaper and more convenient to construct the kiln and shed against a brick wall in the Warren
132
rather than to erect it in the shot yard.T Accommodation was evidently beginning to become a problem at 0 ~er Place. On 1 g April 1683, Mr Peach was instructed to remove the iron-work from the little house at the upper Warren gate as it wa~ to be converted into a gunners' lodging for 8 gunners at an estimated cost of £18. 15s. 8d.133 The carpenter carrying out the
134 alterations was ordered to supply his own materials. The next building earmarked for conversion was the refining house. On 12 May 1683 it is recorded that 'the refining house at Woolwich is to be fitted up as a lodging and for keeping saltpetre in. Workmen to be contracted for according to Sir Bernard de Gomme's estimate of oth inst. amounting to £82. 5s. 6d.,135 and not to be exceeded. The
1 storekeeper was instructed to remove the carriages and timber lying
127 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i3, f. 64.
128 Ordnance Journal Book PROJ'NO/47/13, f. 32, 17 February 1683. 129 Ordnance Journal Book: PROfW0/47/i3, f. 35· 130 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO'!W_0/47/i3, f. 45·
131 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/13, f. 53, 20 March 1683. 132 Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/WO/47/13, f. 59, 24 March 1683. 133 Ordnance Estimates PRO/WO/49/182, 31 March 1683. 134 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i3, f. 79• 135 Ordnance Estimates, PRO/WO/49/182, 10 May 1683.
213
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
withif 0 ~ Mooday next,to some other convenient place.136 In the actua es_timthate the word hooping' is used instead of 'keeping' which appears m e1ournal Book a d T ,
fore the saltpetre afit fi n reasurer s Ledger. Possibly, there
' er re nement was a k d . b I
As soon as the new 'shed for . P ~ e mto arre s. of the one which had c. d lodgmg ships' carriages in the place
ia11en own' w d
another carriage storeho as commence , a contract for a more expensive buildi use;;s p~aced on 15 May 1683. This was meticulous details regar~!s· h~ Bill Book concerned gives the most be of oak. It was to haveifg t is s~ed. The posts and joists were to shed by a passage 20 fceet ~dntern lights and to be joined to the old
wi e on on 'd d .
on the other. Its total cost e si e an to the refirung house to the value of £23. s. w~s =f,: 63· 13s. II d. including overwork
17
work and was paid on MII · h r Thomas Moore carried out the
10
arc 1684 137 It shouId be stated at th· . ·
exist in Ordnance record is pomt _that some confusion appears to
. A s concernm th . '
carnages. t least the entr· . g ese storehouses for ships
' 1es m th ·
clear. The system relatin t e Vanous MSS. are by no means
g o work a d ·
When work ofany desc • . n its payment was as follows:
. nption wa
prepared. This appears in th E . s contemplated, an estimate was to proceed is found in th J e Stimate Book. Ifapproved the order
e ournal B 00k A '
and a contract placed U . • warrant was then issued
· pon corn 1 ·
Debenture Book was m d P etion, a debenture given in the
. ' a e out fi h '
done, of which a cornplet or t e sum payable and the work · h Bill e account ·
m t e Book. Payme t Is set forth in a bill incorporated' L d n was event ll . h
Treasurer s e ger Th ua Y made and recorded 1n t e
. . ere are thus th .
tureBooks,Bill Books and T ree senes of volumes i.e. Deben
. reasurer' L d '
aspects of a Job, each fr . s e gers devoted to the financial ' h' th h om a d1ffe .
cas oug not in 'dates' rent angle. These should agree 1n In the case under review th I
that Thomas Moore was .~ re evant Treasurer's Ledger1as records 1684, on a debenture date~~8 lhe sum of£417. 5s. od. on r4 May a shed at the Tower Place, W ugu~t 1683? for making and building foot broad for lodging shi s' ool:"'1ch, bemg loo foot long and r8 shed had fallen down ace~ d_carnages in the place where the old 1682-Also on the same dat ~ mg to a contract dated r o February gat~dd2~ August I 683, for ;epea ~~s paid £68. 5s. 6d., on a debenture or. 0 gmg and keeping salt inng and fitting up the refining house estlmate dated 10 May 168 petre at T PI • an
Th 1a9 ower ace according to
3
ere are obvious d' .
0 M IScrepan . .
n 24. ay 1683, Thomas c1es in the two accounts. at Woolwich with the king's Mo~re was ordered to repair the butt 1• Ord material h · . d
n1 OrdnanccJournaI Book PROfW s, avmg agam become deface nancc Bill B k ' 0/ /
IH Ordnance T oo , Series II PROfW
47 13, f. 92.
. rcasurer' L ' 0/ /
u, Sir Bernard de Go s ,cdg~r, PROfW0/51 28, p. 97.
rnme s estrrnate S 48/22.
. ee note 135.
214
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
under its periodic ~attering.140 In the autumn of 1684 the Kin attended another tnal, staged by Captain Leake at Tower Plac g These were always occasions for further butt building. On 17 M:;
16,84, Thomas Moore was paid the sum of £4. 12s. 8¼d. for making a new proof place' at Woolwich for proving mortars. This took one man fourteen days to complete at a cost of£1. 15s. od. The sum paid to Thomas Moore also included the cost of repairing the exercising butt which took one man five days to do at 2s. 6d. p.d. The total labour costs were therefore £2. 7s. 6d. and the rest of the money was spent on m aterials. The warrants for the two operations were dated 28 and 29 April 1684 respectively, and the work was certified by Captain
Leake on 10 May 1684.141 On 23 September 1684, three mortars, the invention of Captain Leake, were despatched to Woolwich in connection with the trial b:fore his Majesty which was to take place when he returned from Tilbury,142 and two days later certain grenade shells were also sent down to the Warren for the same demonstration.143 To prepare for the great day, a new butt had to be built according to Captain Leake's directions.144 This cost £42. r 1s. od., the work being performed as usual by Thomas Moore, the master carpenter. His warrants for the work, certified by Captain Leake were dated I 5 October ·and 4 November 1684; one being for the new butt and rep~ir of the plat
145
form, and the other for a new proof place for provmg mortars. Obviously, the slings i.e. gun-drugs and carts at Woolwich had been allowed to become unserviceable, as workmen were ordered to go
146
there at once to carry out repairs. No record of this experiment before Charles II seems to have
survived. Apparently military engines were not quite outmoded, tho~gh
their heyday had long since passed. This is evidenced by the followmg
entry in a Bill Book: r6 December 68 . Thomas Moore paid £4. 10s. od. ~or elm t~ber 6 foot long 1foot4 broad 31. foot deep and 1 foot in diameter with a
, 2 ' 2 • • db
transom, and fitting the same in the place, bemg an ex:igine propose y Mr Thomas Glover for throwing stones, now lodged m the store house
147
at Woolwich. Warrant dated 20 October 1684.
The next item of interest at Tower Place seems to have been a royal visit when James II was entertained. As the Journal Books,
102
140 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/1 3, f. · 1
141 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 / 28, P· 4°·
142 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/14, f. 27·
143 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/ 14, f. 3°· 18
144 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/14, f. 4o, 4 October 6 4·
140 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/29, p. 106, 6 December 1684.
146 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/14, f. 66, 13 November 1684.
11
147 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/29, P· 9·
215
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
THE BEGINNI N GS OF TOWER PLACE
between the years 1685-1695 are missing, no description ofthis event
John Packman by warrant dated I January 1694 appointed sole survives, nor is the object of this festive occasion known; but quite
Carriage Master at Woolwich after the recent decease of Paul Linby his a number ofguests must have been the recipients ofhospitality. This co-carriage master.151 is c!ear fro1:1 the payment made to Thomas Moore on 26 April 1687
In 1688 it was ordered that 'all guns, carriages and stores now which, certified by Thomas Peach, is stated to have been in 'connec
at Deptford, be removed to Woolwich, and from henceforth new tion with the entertaining of his Majesty at Woolwich'. Moore was
ordnance and carriages be laid there'. Woolwich was fast becomingpaid £5. os. 4d. for:
a rival to the Tower as the premier Ordnance depot of England. It 3 tables 8 feet long od. was possibly on this account that the mind of authority turned I large oval table tow ards the defence ofthe place in view ofthe international situation,
I2S. od.
I table g feet long p articularly as the original fortifications raised under the orders of
gs. od.
I table r 4 feet long Prince Rupert had been sadly neglected.
r4s. od.
87 foot of quarter 3 x 4 The following letter from Lord Dartmouth, Master General ofthe
r4s. 6d.
25 foot of? Ordnance, dated 1 g April 1688, was sent to Sir Henry Tichborn,
r3s. 6d.
25 foot of? Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance:
8s. 4d.
2 days work 5s. od. These are to pray and require you immediately on y° receipt hereof to
f h. M ties O d ce ·
Total: £ d order yt Sir Henry Shere, Master Surveyor o is a r n repair t~
5. OS. 4 .
Woolwch and survey ye long Battery, Guns and Platforms there and yIt would seem from this that tables at that date cost one shilling ye M ar Gunnr of England, Storekeeper upon ye p~ace and t such other a foot.148
persons as he shall think usefull to him do attend bun and y hee report During the passage of !hese years Paul Linby had been carting to me at ye Board on Tuesday next ye Condicin o~ ye sd Batt~~y, Guns stores to and from Woolw1ch by li"ghte d 1 H ed and Platforms with yr respective defects and w he Judges requ1S1te to be
. . r an 1orse teams. e mov
the 1mped1menta from the gunwharf t T Pl · 6 671 done to put ym in a serviceable posture ~ th as little charge _as ~ay be
o ower ace m I 70-1 ·
He 1oaded and unloaded guns on to d f h' b He bringing a calculation thereof to ye Board m order to performmg y same
· d b tt hi h an out o s 1ps y crane. .c. h' M ties rv1· ce 152
a tt ye cheapest rate 1or is a se ·
rtaire duhs, s orses were employed in conveying guns to proofbace, an e often acted as master scavel man. As these duties The sequel to this letter is given in the three following extracts e~ame mo~e ~nerou_s John Packman, the labourer became first his from the Treasurer's ledgers: assisdt~nt anh t en his partner. During the latter ~nd of his life he
J\r b 688 Thomas Casse153 paid £440. 6s. 2¼d. on debenture
li I 5 1vovem er I • ~ •
ve ma ouse on the Wa d · h'
th h d rren an smce Packman succeeded 1m rr t 1688 for carpenter's work performed by him at the new
0 dat d Ae 3 uous 1 . h. . 11· d
B e ~~e 7as ;ubtless the one called 'Mr Packman's house' in Battery of 12 guns on Gallions side below Woo wic m se~nng up pa isa es a ~:gy:i asdptan ot dr701. Paul Linby died in r693 and was therefore k. d houses in setting up posts and laymg planks for the
and ma mg 2 guar , . . f · 1 ·
n rus e servant of th B d fc h' . guns. Also at the Long Battery on _Woolw1ch side _o 4-4 guns m aymg
Aft h · b e oar or t 1rty-s1x years.
· osts for the rmg-bolts according to the contract of
pIan Ics and settmg up p , s ore eeper' and 'd k , h h t a
'cran:g\ ~::!5 'eten kcalled in turn 'agent', 'wharfinger', 'labourer',
5 M ay 1688 154 •
course of twent fi eputy store eeper t roug ou
2 Jul r.68 . Paul Linby and John Packma~, labo~ers, paid £6.
'Ca · M y-ve years, he was at last by warrant appointed 6 5 Gd ~ 9 t of ballast delivered at Galhons pomt for the newmage aster at Woolwich'.
6
r s. . hor 3Wons nt dated 9 June 1688. Debenture dated 7 August
battery t ere. arra Woolwich to carry . ate 15 June 1682 to be Carriage Master at
Paul Lin by by warrant d d
I 688 155 • h . d £
·D b 68 Thomas Peach, storekeeper at Woolw1c , pa1 20shall from time to ~~ag;s; 0rdna?ce and provisions ofwar there wh!ch
I 3 ecem er I 9· . . ) · · th nd
r k (I· e pains and diligence m mountmg e guns aperformed these duf £ ent thither or sent away thence, he having 1or 111s • wor 11s car , h 1 1 dOwing to the gre i;s. or several years previously.149
attendino-the works of the new battery upon !he T amfesb a~e y ~a e
1
O d f h' small sallary and the increase o usmess smceJohn Packman are _a• ~crease of stores at Tower Place, Paul Linby and there and regar o 1s
1
1 ' o d the Board, PR0/W0/55/484.
stores by warrant d;; ~t Y ]appointed to take charge of the carriage of ~Il
~~ Warrants from M.G. ·and Board, PRO(W0/55/474, p. 14.
for some years past.~ 25 uly 1689, both having carried out these duties
1 ~~ Warrants from M.G.O..)anh d replaced Thomas Moore as Master Carpenter after
1a 3 Thomas Gasse (or Cass a :: Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PROfW
the latter's death. , d PR0/WO/48/27.
ue Warrants from M.G.O. and the 0/51/34, p. 4,8.
is,i Ordnance Treasurer,s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/28.
i~u Ordnance Treasurers Le ger,
Warrants from M.G.O. and the tardd, PRO/W0/55/470, p. 65.
ar ' PRO/W0/55/476, p. 58.
217
216
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
his undertaking that employment for all which he is allowed according to a report made by the Principal Officers of his Majesty's Ordnance and an Order of the Rt. Honble George, Lord Dartmouth, Master-General of his Majesty's Ordnance dated 25 February 1688.156
A pathetic entry occurs in Volume II of the Registers of Births and Deaths, Woolwich. It states simply 'On 4 August r688 were buried two gunners in the Warren'. The Proceedings of t!ze Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society, commenting, adds: 'Early representatives of the long line of disastrous events to be expected in the following of the many dangerous occupations pursued in the Royal Arsenal.'157 Unfortunately, the loss of the Ordnance Journal Book for the year in question precludes the historian from any further details, but there can be little doubt that these deaths were caused by some tragedy at the proof-butts. The explosion appears to have been more than ordinarily severe in its effects as it was followed by a widespread shattering of glass. In the seventeenth century factors
of safety were still an unknown quantity and no proper precautions were taken to safeguard the proofdetachments. A burst gun in those days was regarded as an Act of God and not as a piece of careless ignorance on the part of man.
The cutting of the Broad Arrow on ordnance had become a standard practice by r690. John Packman was the man responsible for this operation and many payments to him on account of this service are recorded. On r 2 December r 690, he was paid £ r 7. r rs. ud. on a debent~re dated 31 December 1689, for engraving the
~ro_ad Arrow and weight on several guns at Woolwich,1ss and for s1m1lar work between 20 October and 31 December 1690 he received the sum of£6. 19s. 9d.159 On 17April 1691, John Packman was paid £48. ros. 5d., not only for inscribing the Royal mark on various cannon, but also for drilling and securing their vents. The debenture for this was dated 30 June 1689.160 On a later debenture dated 30 September 1689, he was paid £9. 5s. 8d. for a similar job between 20 August and September 1689.161 Guns delivered from contractors were evidently weighed on receipt. After proof their weights and the
Broad Arrow were incised upon them. '
This disposes of the popularly held belief that the Broad Arrow was placed on government stores to minimize theft at the instigation of Lor_d Romney, Master-General of the Ordnance, who suggested that his own crest would be a suitable distinguishing mark. Unfortunately for the adherents of this story, the Earl of Romney did not
161 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/4B/ 8
167 Volume II. 2 • 168 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger PRO/WO/4B/ m Ordnance Bill Book Series n' PRO/WO/ / 9· ::: Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger; PROJWo/~i:2: P· 1 r4. Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/!a/2i.
218
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
become ivfaster-General till r 693, and his crest was a pheon, an arrow-head with an engrailed inner edge and not a Broad Arrow. Quite apart from this, however, there is documentary evidence that this particular symbol was used to denote Crown property as early as the reign ofRichard II, while as a Royal Mark its ancestry is long and distinguished.
On Saturday next before the Feast of Our Lord's Nativity in the 10th year of Richard II, Thomas Stokes was brought before the Mayor and Aldermen, and questioned for that he had pretended _to be an officer and a taker ofale for the household ofour said Lord the Kmg; and under such colour at divers times within the preceding eight days, had gone to the houses' of several brewers namely John at Cok on the Hop, adjoining the Brethern of the Holy Cr~ss near to the Tower of London, William Roke at Grascherche, John atte Blakeloft in the Vintry, in London, and divers other houses in the same city, and there marked several barrels full of ale with a mark, called arewehede, saying that those barrels were for the household of our Lord the King; whereas in truth he was not then any officer belonging to the same our Lord the King; and thus falsely a?d d eceitfully he received divers sums of money from the brewers aforesaid;
etc. etc.162
In order to show that continuous construction and repair work took place at Woolwich during the following few years, selected en tries from the Ordnance books are given below:
(a)
22 September 1687. Thomas Moore, carpenter, paid £124· 4-S· 5d. for carpenters' work in making a coal-shed wit~in t~e laborato:ycrat Greenwich in Captain Leake's lodging at Woolwich, m cons_tructmo a platform a~d battery at Blackheath for his Majesty's royal view of ~he fireworks. Warrants dated 26 August, 20 September and 27 Novem er I 686. D ebenture dated 20 December I 686.163 •
(b)
1 October 1687. Thomas Moore paid £17. 4-S· 4d. for work m connection with a firework experiment at Blackheath:16~ • •
(c) 1 October 1687. Thomas Moorepaid£64foq~rovidu~ganddehvermgd · W 1 · h · dem1-culverm 20 saker an
certain ships' carnacres to oo w1c , viz. 20 ,
o . f ely 163
20 mynion at 24S., 21s. and 19s. a piece respec 1v • .
(d) 8 November 1687. Thomas Moore, master carpenter paid £?9h rs 7d on a debenture dated 29 June 1687 for making a new butt ~~t
· · k h r: t d repa1nncr
ked with 4-inch oaken plan on t e iron , an o
oak posts an d p1an fi · · the platform
the old butt with oaken plank and brac:s. Also or repa1rmg 686. also at Woolwich pursuant to a warrant to him dated 30 November 1 , ~ · · h · ' carriages 163
or repamng s ips · "d £ 6d on a debenture
(e) 5 December r687. Thomas Moore pai 137. is. . . dated June i687, for work done by him at Tower Place, Woolw1ch,
O
in re Jrin two store-houses under the charge of the Maste~ G~ner of Engl~nd, daptain Leake; at Captain Leake's stable; at ~r Lmby s house 102 Riley's Memorials of London and London Life 1868, p. 489 (10 Richard II, A.D. 1386,
Letter Book H, folio ccix). / 6
102 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48 2 •
219
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
in the Warren; and for labourers. Also for repairs on the Fireworkers' sheds. According to several warrants dated 18 December 1686 and 26 April 1687.163
(f)
16 February 1688. Thomas Moore paid £36. os. 3d. for taking up the old platform and laying 800 feet of new for the wharf at Woolwich on the instructions of Captain Richard Leake.164
(g)
31 Jvfarclz 1688. Hester Moore, on behalf of Thomas M oore, paid for repairing the crane at Woolwich. Warrant dated 6 September 1687.165
(h)
28 April 1688. Hester Moore, on behalf of Thomas M oore, paid £60. 13s. 4d. for making a new butt at Tower Place for m aking experiments in great ordnance and enlarging and fitting up the old one. Debenture dated 30 June 1687.166
(i)
30 June 1688. Paul Linby and John Packman paid £30 for earth,vorks at Woolwich on an imprest dated 28 June 1688.167
(j)
30 September 1688. John Johnson paid £37. 2s. rod. for glaziers' work at Mr Peach's house at Woolwich, the windows being broken by the late unhappy accident.168 Warrant dated 4 August 1688.169
(k)
30 September 1688. Thomas Cass, Master Carpenter paid £88. 14S, 3d. for work at Woolwich for Captain Leake.170
(1)
30 June 1690. John Hayward, carpenter, paid £41. 12s. 2d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1689 for work done on the. 1faster Gunner's
171
house at Tower Place; also for building a shed there for fire vorkers.
(m)
16 January 1691. Robert Fitch paid £2. ros. od. for new setting a bottle and a copper and for repairing the old furnace at Woolwich.172
(n)
10 December 1691. Thomas Peach paid £Bo for work in connection with the Rupert and Gallions batteries and the Line at Woolw ich. Debenture dated 30 November 1690.173
(o)
19 December 1691. Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, paid £r r3. 13s. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 March 1690 for repairing the tiling on several salt-petre houses, storehouses and dwelling houses in W oolwich; the damage being occasioned by the great storm. Warrant da ted r6
January 1689.174
(p)
30 June 1693. R~bert Fitch paid £74. 5s. sd. for work done at the powder house and refinmg houses at Woolwich. Warrants dated g January 1693 and 22 June 1693.11s
(q)
12 June 1694. Henr~ Hayward,i76 master carpenter, paid £1,058. 6s. 7d. for work done by him at Woolwich as follows:
184 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/sr/35 p ,6g185 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II: PRO/WO/sr/36: p: 38_ · JU Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/26.
::: Or?nance. Treasurer's 1:,<;dger, PRO/W0/48/2 6. . . This was m all probability the accident in which the tvv'o gunners lost their lives
(see note 157). 111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/r:r/37 p170 Ordnance Bill Book, Series n' PRO/WO/1/ ' · ~ 1 · 171 Ordnance ~reasurer's Ledger: PRO/WO/ladJ: p. o. 1721 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/s1/43
111 0 d T ' L ' ' p. i2.
m r nance reasurer,s edger, PRO/W0/48/30. Orclna/nc/e Treasurer 5 Ledger, PRO/W0/48/30. Ordnance Bill Book, Series JI,PRO/W0 51 39, p. 91. 175 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/si/46
171 H H d I ' ' p. I 53.
enry aywar rep aced Thomas Cass as master carpenter.
220
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE .
(i)
At the storekeeper's house. Warrant dated 24 November 1692.
(ii)
At a shed in the Carriage Yard. Warrant dated 27 June 1693.
(iii) At the Lantern Shed. Warrant dated 24January 1693.
(iv)
Enclosing the Carriage Yard. Warrant dated 10 March 1694.
(v)
At the wharf. Contracts dated 18 February and I I September 1693.177
(r)
18 July 1694. Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, paid £6. 12s. 4d. on a debenture dated 7 December I 693 fer bricklayers' work and materials in repairing the 'Barne' where the fireworkers work between 17 July and 2 D ecember 1693, the work being certified by John Hooper, storekeeper, and J ames English, fireworke,.178
(s)
30 November 1695. Henry Hayward, master carpenter, paid £41. I 5s. 6d. for work done at Woolwich between I April and 30 November I 695 at Captain Leake's appartment, at John Packman's house and on the lower crane.179
(t)
30 December 1695. John Johnson, glazier: paid £29. 18s. 1d. for p u tting in new glass at Woolwich. Certified by William Meade,180
Proving guns at Woolwich during these early years must have been a dangerous occupation, the death of two gunners ':s a result ?f some accident in 1688 having already been recorded. Not only did gu1:s b reak to pieces, but their projectiles were apt to take an _erratic course in flight, and either miss the butt altogether or stnke ~he p arapet and richochet over into the space beyond. Such a happenmg took place in 1695. This is learned from the Journal Books and Treasurer's Ledaers. On 21 December 1695 a bill was allowed and p assed to John Wilton, secretary to Sir William Prichard for damage
to a house in the parish of Plumstead by shots from the proof-butts a t W oolwich,181 and on the same day a bill and debe:1tur~ ~as allowed and passed to John Waller for £40 payable to Sir V\ ilha~ Prich ard for damage done to the house and barn etc. of the sa~d 'John Wilton tenant to Sir William Prichard at the Half-h~use in
' r. ii at W oolwich' 182
the parish of Plumstead by shots 1rom proo s . . · Apparently only half the amount was eventually paid, for in _a ' J 6g6 we read that 'Sir
Treasurer's Ledger, under date 27 anuary 1 , . . W·11· p · h d 'd £2o on behalfofJohn Wilton, his tenant,
1 iam nc ar was pa1 h' h
15
on a debenture dated 21 December I 695, for damage to ouse, barn and wall at the Halfway House in the parish of Plums_tead, and ploughing up the ground and killing a cow in calf belongmg to the said John Wilton, occasioned by shot and shell fired from the Warren
183
at several proofs'.
111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/'i\'0/5i/49, P6~ B'll Book Series II 178 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/v\ 0/48/33. r nancc 1 '
PRO/W0/51/48, p. ro6.
170 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/51, P· 89. 180 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/51, P· 102•
181 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/17.
182 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/18.
18 3 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/34.
221
16
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
The authorities were still not quite happy over the Warren defence despite the work which had already been done to the fortifications there. On 24 February 1696, Mr Silvester was ordered to proceed immediately to Woolwich and join Captain Leake in mounting proper guns on the Line there; it was also ordered that a 'proporcon be drawn for sending down to the Warren at once, such ca rriages, and transoms out of store as would be necessary for the purpose'. Captain Leake was informed of the action taken and Mr J a mes
Felton, the storekeeper, was asked to render all the assista nce he could and to supply the necessary labour.184
Although fireworks had been broken down and remade in the Fireworkers' barn during the first twenty-five years of T ower Place, as a government establishment, the year 1696 marked an important milestone in changing the character of the place from a depot to a munition factory. Manufacture, as opposed to mere storage, may be
said to have commenced in 1696. This transformation was br ought about by the erection of the Laboratory, afterwards known as the Royal Laboratory, an event which took place shortly after the removal ofthe Tilt-yard Barn from Greenwich to Woolwich, the la tter
having already been described in Chapter 3.
William Boulter, Assistant to the Surveyor of the Board of Ordnance, was intimately concerned with the change over from Greenwich to Woolwich, the building of the new magazine at Greenwich and the construction of the new laboratory at Woolwich. In this connection he received the following payments:
17 October 1695. £1 for going to Greenwich to view the o-round for building a magazine for powder.185 ° 21 November 1695. £1 for going to Greenwich to measure the ground for the powder house.1B5 22 November 1695. £1 for going to Woolwich to direct the levelling of the ground for the Laboratory.186 6 January 1696. £1 for going to Greenwich to direct the taking down of the timber shelves at the Laboratory which are to be carried to Wool
wich.185 20 January 1696. £1 for going to Greenwich to direct the taking down of the building of the laboratory there to be sent to Wool
wich.185
24 January 1696. £1 for going to Woolwich to direct the fitting up of the Laboratory there.Iss
29 January 1696. £1 for going to Greenwich to direct the towing down ofthe great timber at the Laboratory to the place where the new Laboratory is to be built.185
27 March 1 696. £r for going to Greenwich to set out the foundations of the new powder house.Iss
JU Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i8111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/si/52, p. 41 .
222
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
The estimate for the Laboratory at Woolwich was attached to the letter dated g October 1694 addressed to the Lords of the Treasury by the Principal Officers of the Ordnance186 and read as follows:
A_n estimate for building a Labouratory in the Warren att Tower Place, Woolwich, vzz : £. s. d.
120 rodd Brickwork at £5. 15s. 690 0 0 243 Sqre. Tyling at 26s. p. square 315 18 0 Digging the foundations 56 0 0 Plaistering 37 0 0 Glazeing 25 0 0
10 16 0
2 7 Paire Window Shutters 22 2 Sqre Roofing with Plates and 0
Beams 45s. per Square 499 lO 0 0
2 0 Doores and Doorecases 35 10 16 0
I 08 Window Lights 2s. each 622 Foot Moulding at the Eaves at 12d. 31 2 0 I 02 Sqre Floareing and Boarding at £3 per Square 306 0 0
15 0 0
I Paire of Outward Gates and Posts
0 0
2 Paire of Staires 5 For Particions, Lyning the Walls, 125 0 0
l
Presses for laying up stores For I Powder house Lin'd and Shelv'd
I 15 0 0 within to keep a store of Powder
200 0 0
Oversiers and Contingent charges £2,477 2 0 434 IO 0
For Building a storekeeper's house
50 0 0
Laying the Water into y6 Laboratory £2,961 12 0
O ffice of Ordnance 6 Oct. 1694
87
(Signed) John Charlton, Tho. Littleton, Wm. Boulter1 . . . h O d E timate Books under
This estimate also occurs m t e r nance s
date 6 October 1694.188 • William Boulter who figures so prominently in these tdransactio~s, was appointed 'A~sistant to the Surveyor of Our .0 : nahn~e vice d' Th W rrant appomtmg im was
Thomas Townsend decease . e a b given at 'Our Court at Whitehall on the eighteenth day ofNovem er
1
· h fi f O · , 1s9 For getting into trouble he was ater
in t e rst year o ur reign . b fi ther warrant dismissed from office as Assistant to the Surveyor Y a ur
dated 3 July 1702.190 1 · t d
. Ri h d Leake who must have been great y interes e
C
aptam c ar ' h w n and have
over the proposal to build a Laboratory on t e arre
186 See Chapter 3, p. 106. p 329 (Treasury Papers Vol. XXIX
1 8 7 Calendar of Treasury Papers 1557-1696 , · No. 57). WO/ /
18B Ordnance Es~im,ate Book, PRO/ 1 .4g)1 , ~RO/WO/s5/4o1, f. 69.
189 Warrants (Kmg s and others, Woo wic 190 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/342•
223
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
looked forward to its completion, died on 1 February 1696, before he reached the promised land. He was succeeded as Master Gunner ofEngland by Colonel George Brown on 30 October 1696, who took over his official residence in Tower Place. His patent gives a list of his predecessors, viz. Anthony Fenruther, Stephen Bull, William Bull, William Hamond, John Reynolds, J ames Wemyss, Captain Valentine Pyne and Captain Richard Leake. It is dated 30 October
in the 8th year of Our reign.191
During the years 1695-1696, building was rapidly carried on and the new Laboratory was completed within the second year. On a warrant dated 3 December 1695, William Edge, master scavel-man, was paid £130. 19s. od. for digging and carrying gravel for raising and levelling the ground at the new Laboratory at Woolwich, i.e. 291 floors at 9s. a floor.192 On a warrant and contract dated 15 November 1694, Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, was paid £2,422. 3s. 2d. for bricklayers' work in connection with the building or the new Laboratory, a figure which included £965. 14.s. 6,l-d. paid him for bricklayers' work in connection with the new powder house at Greenwich.193 In addition, Henry Hayward, master carpenter, received the large sum of £1,122. 3s. 5d. under a contract dated 15 Novemb~r 1694 ?n a debenture dated 30 March 1696 for his sh are
ofthe ~,~rk m erectmg the new Laboratory; for building the mealing and dnvmg houses; and for work in connection with the house where the closets of Colonel Brown and Captain English were the iron house, the three kitchens, the wood house, the coal hous~ and the wat~h-tower; all p~rt ofthe new Laboratory buildings.194 He did not receive payment till 6 May 1699, nearly four years late.195 Henry Hayward was also paid on a contract and warrant dated 2o June 1695 the sum of£139· ros. 11d. for building a palisade 2 7 rods 1 5 feet long _round t~e barn in the new Laboratory at £ 5 per rod. Other work which_ he did at Woolwich and for which he was paid on the
same day, viz. 3° March 1696, was on the ProofHouse at Woolwich; on the mortar stand at Woolwich (warrant dated 23 February 1695); on the wharf (warrant dated g November 16g5) and at the Laborato~ where he put up 325 yards of wainscot costing £ 46. os. I od. H1s_payment for_these extra services was £317. gs. 5¼d.rno Later on agam he was paid the sum of £280. gs. od. for work at the clockhouse at the new Laboratory at Woolwich and for wharfing near the new powder house at Greenwich. The w~rrant for the Greenwich
1t1 u• (K"
narrants mg's and othe W I . m Ordnance Bill Book Series7i p~oO/Wi/PR/O/W0/55/402. m Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/W0/51/52, p. go.
Ordnance Treasure;'s Led ' PR 51 53, P· 42• m Ordnance Bill Book ScriesgH, PRg~~g//48/36, 26 July 1697. ;: Ordnance T_reasure;'s Ledger: PRO/Wo/M52, P· 104· Ordnance B1U Book, Series II PRO/WO/4 /37.
' 51 52, p. 95.
224
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
assignment was dated 18 June 1696 and he received payment on 31 March 1697.197
When the Laboratory, or Royal Laboratory to give it the name it acquired in after years, commenced production, Sir Martin Beckman, the Comptroller of Fireworks, obtained a new warrant of appointment dated 4 February 1697 as 'Comptroller of Fireworks as Well for Warr as Tryumph and of all Firemasters, Fireworkers,
198 To
Bombadiers and Petardiers employed in the Laboratories'. assist him, Captain John Baxter was appointed 'Storekeeper of the Laboratory' on 1 April 1698 on a M.G.O.'s warrant dated 10 April 1698.199 On the technical side the Comptroller had as his deputy the Chief Firemaster. A certain number of fueworkers completed the establishment.
There is little more of interest to relate during the remainder of the seventeenth century. A certain amount of repair and adaptation ofbuildings took place as was only to be expected, especially as many of the structures suffered from the ravages of time. Weather and accidents at proof accounted for most of the damage, though age contributed its quota in many cases.
The two men chiefly concerned in these building operations were Robert Fitch, master bricklayer, and Henry Hayward, master carpenter, and between them they received considerable sums of money for their 'care, diligence and extraordinary pains' between 1696 and I 700. The following extracts, not necessarily in chronological order, outline some of the operations they undertook.
Robert Fitch
15 December r698. Paid £30. 1os. 5d. on a debenture dated 31 December 1697 for repairing sheds in the Old Carriage Yard. Warrant dated 25 September 1695.200
31 January 1699. Paid £7. 19s. 2d. on a debenture dated 31 December
1697 for repairs carried out at Colonel Brown's house. Warrant dated
10 November 1696.201
23 May 1699. Paid £31. 8s. 9d. on a debenture dated 30 June 16~8
for bricklayers' work at Tower Place. Warrant dat~d 12 No~ember 1697. -02
30 December 1697. Paid £13. 7s. 5d. for br~cklayers work at ~he
Laboratory during 1697, i.e. repairing and m~~ng new stores, making
kilns for burning wood for charcoal; and repa1rmg the barn where the
fireworkers are lodged.203
26 July 1697. Paid £7. 12s. 5d. on a debenture dated 2 S~ptember 1696
for bricklayers' work in repairing John Pack.man's house 1n the Warren
197
Ordnance Bill Book, Series. II, PRO/WO/51 /54, P· 46. 198 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/36. 199 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/57, P· 85. 200 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/37. 201 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/37. 202 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO W0/48/37. 263 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/55, P· 104-.
225
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
damaged by the breaking up of guns at proof; also for mending the clockhouse, stables and privy of Colonel Brown in the Laboratory.204
r5 Decem~er 1698. ,Paid £_13· 7s.. 1_d. on a debenture dated 30 December l 697 for bricklayers work m repa1rmg stoves and kilns to make charcoal in the Woolwich Barn, and in renovating John Packman's house· the damage having been caused by the bursting of guns at proof.205 '
30 June r698..Paid £31. 8s. gd. for his share of the work in building the new house m the Warren for Thomas Pritton labourer and for repairs at the clockhouse in the Laboratory, storeho~ses etc. 20~ Thomas P:itton was a labourer in ordinary at Woolwich and was appointed vice Richard Church, deceased, at a salary of £26 p.a. on a warrant dated ro February 1691.207
ro Ju~ze r699. Paid £13. ,µ. 2d. on a debenture dated 31 March 1699, for repairs at the Labo:atory between I January and 31 March 1599.20s 24 February r700. Paid £16. .,µ. od. for repairing the saltpetre house and Colonel Brown's residence.209 3 May 17oo. Paid £7. os. 4d. for repairing the Firework Barn and Kettle House. 210
24February 17°~-~aid £140. 7s. 4id. on a debenture dated 30 September 1699, f~r repairs m the shot-yard, saltpetre house and old wall before the garden m the Warren. Warrants dated 17 March 16 23 A ril 16
and 15 June 1699.211 99, P 99
3 1 December 17°0 -Paid £7o. Bs. 6d. for repairing the storehouses and other work. Warrants dated 22 August and 19 November 1700_212
Henry Hayward
30 December 1697. Paid £85. 1gs BJ..d fc k d
p · , h . · 2 • or war one (a) at Thomas ttLtonbs ouse m the Laboratory (b) at the sheds in the kitchen court in t e a oratory. He was also paid £ 58 11 d r
of cubical oak timb fc h N · .'2s. • ior delivering 684-} feet
ers or t e ew Carnage yard 21a
3(1)n.;~mbelr 1698[. Paid £153. gs. o½d. for the f~llowing work: a e c osets o the Comptrolle d C .
tory (£s , '2s. d.) ran aptam Baxter at the Labora
2
5
(b) Making gates for the Laborator (£ 6 .1
1
(c) Repairsatthewharf(£85. ros.\d)~~-s. 72d.)
23 Ml!" 1699. Paid £41 15s 6d .
1695 for repairing the flo~rs i~ h · on a debenture ~ated 30 November Packman; also repairin the wh t e houses of Captam Leake and John
nd
1 April and 3o Novemb~r _:1a crane. Work took place between
1695
zo, Ord T
nance reasurer's Ledg PRO/W
20
' Ordnance Treasurer's Ledg:;, PRO/W0/48/36. ::; i}toiceJill Book, Series II', PRO/w8?~f137•
5 57 8
ioa . . s arrants, PRO/WO/5 / 'p. 9 . Ordnance Treasurer's Led 5 4 79, P• 49•
P~[?WO/51/57, p. 28. ger, PRO/WO/48/37. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II,
Ledger r;RnOan/Wce Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/ I/
11 Ord 0_/48/38, Debenture dated D 5 57, p. 129. Ordnance Treasurer's w 0 nance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WI ecember 1699.
Ill 8:::ri~r·s~fger: PROJWgflM!~: p. 40.
=~
g;:nce B!ll Book: Seri: iJ: :fgf~g11s 1/61, p. 76. IU o~ce Bill Book, Series II PRO/W0/51/55, p. 160. cc Treasurer's Ledger: PRO/WO/~fi~: p. 98.
226
28 May r699. Paid £89. 19s. 8d. on a debenture dated 30 December 1697 for carpenters' work at Tower Place.216
J lVIay 1700. Paid £117. 6s. od. for repairing the wharf and the bridge gomg to the New Carriage Yard; also for work at the saltpetre house. The work was carried out between 16 June 1698 and 3 May 1 700. The warrant was dated 14 May 1698.217
3 r December 1700. Paid £84. 6s. 3d. for certain specified iterns of work at Woolwich. Warrants dated ro November 1696, 14 May 1698, 20 April 1699 and 30 June 1699.218
The last carpenters' work in the seventeenth century was carried out by William Ogborne who had replaced Henry Hayward as master carpenter during 1700. On 17 July 1701 he was paid £10. 19s. 3d. for 85 days work between g September and 31 December 1700 in repairing storehouses and a dwelling house at Woolwich. The deben ture on which payment was made was dated 31 December 1700 ,2m the warrants were dated 22 August and 7 December 1700.
It will be noticed from the above quoted extracts that the unfortunate Packman had his house damaged twice in fifteen months by the blowing up of guns at proof. This is hardly to be wondered at considering that his residence was close to the line of fire. From the position of his dwelling on the map of 1701, drawn by Albert Borgard, it appears that he lived, moved and had his _being uncomfortably close to a local 'Hell's Corner', where he daily ran the risk of b eing 'butcher'd to make a Roman holiday'•
The only new construction during these latter years was the 'New Carriage Yard'. This yard with its sheds was built under a contract ~ated 13 August 1697 on a warrant dated 12 November 1697. It was sited within the old fortification originally planned a~d e~ecuted by Prince Rupert, being completely surrounded by its triangularly shaped ditch which was crossed by a bridge. The total cost of this project was in the neighbourhood of £1,100, for on_ 31 December 1697, _Henry Hayward was paid £315.. 6s. 8d. for his sha~~oof t?e work including the roofing, gates and gibbet for the crane, w~ile approximately a year later on 15 December 1_698 Robe:t Fit.eh received £ 4-5. 3d. for the bricklayers' wo~k 1n connectlon with
772.
the same undertaking. Actually the latter sum mcluded a ~mall payment for repairing Thomas Pritton's original house in Tower
Place.221 During these first thirty years ofthe 'Arsenal's' history, the proving
216 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/37. 217 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/60, P· 58. 218 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/61, P· 88. . .
21s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/40. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/61, p. 48. 2
220 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO fWO /5 I /55, P· 12 • 221 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/37.
227
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
ofguns was almost a weekly occurrence. The ordnance was supplied mainly by Mr Western from his foundry at Windmill Hill near l\,foorfields, the founder responsible for making most of the brass guns and mortars required by the Crown. Proof, as has been intimated, was not then a local affair carried out by officials on the spot, but was regarded as an occasion of importance attended with ceremony and pomp. Not only did the proofmaster from the Tower supervise the actual operation, but the Principal Officers and other servants of the Board, particularly the Surveyor-General and often the Chief Engineer, foregathered at the Warren in strength. Even the Lieutenant-General was present at important trials. For instance, between 11 April and 30June 1687, he attended the proof of a nine
cylindered mortar-piece at the Woolwich butts.222 Blackheath, too, witnessed many experiments with mortars, carcases and fireworks, though actual gunproof never took place there.
Summing up the impressions of Tower Place made by a study of the years 1670 to 1700, eight main features stand out.
(i)
T1:e:e was a complete lack ofdecentralization. Every transaction, however tnvial, had to be sanctioned by the Board in London.
(ii)
All issues and receipts of stores had likewise to be confirn1ed by the Board.
(iii) There was no technical staff at the 'Arsenal'. All maintenance and
repair, whether of munitions of buildino-s had to be carried out by artificers sent down from the Tower. b '
(iv) Except for a small nucleus of 'established' labourers local labour
~~ras en?'aged for each_specific commitment. When the parti;ular need for its services was over, 1t was dismissed.
(v)
During the years r683-1685, there was a constant issue of guns, mortars, shot and shell to Woolwich, as the place tended more and more to be~ome the main munition depot of the country.
(vi)
Tower Place was an important centre for refining saltpetre. Between 1681 and r694 there was a special additional storekeeper for
saltpetre.223
(vii) During_ the earlier years of the period under review, most of the wor~-~t Wooh":'ich had to do with 'Sea' rather than with 'Land' Service.
(vm) M~ny issues ofstores and special equipment were made to Captain Leake for his numerous experiments.
It is fortunate that a survey of the Tower Place drawn in I 7°1 by Al?ert Borgard, still exists, since by its aid a vis~al picture of the establishment at the end ofthe seventeenth century can be glimpsed. ~h~ area was thirty-one acres. There were no boundary walls and
t e ocal populace, ifthey so desired, could roam the ground at will. It was bounded on the north by the river Thames, on the weSt by
::~:~H;bb:i:;r~rbLedbeger, PRO/W0/48/26.
' cto r 1681-31 December 1694.
228
THE BEGINNINGS OF TOWER PLACE
Rolt's (afterwards the Old Warren) Lane, on the south by the Woolwich-Plumstead road and on the east by the marshes. The ground was well covered with elm trees. There were many gardens and orchards.
The principal buildings and yards were:
A. The Laboratory; a series of shops built round an open rectangular space, in the centre of which a fountain played. It had a clockhouse gate-way at its southern end. It was situated where the remains of the pre-1914-war Royal Laboratory still stand.
B. The Old Carriage Yard on the site now occupied by the M.I.D. Offices built in the first world war.
C. The New Carriage Yard facing the river and surrounded by a ditch on the space now covered by the main Ordnance Office, stores, wharf and sheds.
D. Prince Rupert's Walk; the walk between Prince Rupert's battery and the Thames. Now covered by the Ordnance wharf.
E. A powder house; close to the Old Carriage Yard.
F. Three cranes along the Water-Front between the western tip of the ditch surrounding the New Carriage Yard and the western boundary of the property.
H
. Shot-yard attached to the Master Gunner's and Storekeeper's houses situated between the mansion house and the Thames.
I.
The Old Mansion house of Tower Place in which the Master Gunner of England and Storekeeper lived. It stands on the site of its successor. It is now used for stores, offices and the Officers' Mess of the Armament Inspection Department.
K
. The Greenwich Barn on the site of the Old Foundry, now used as an O.F. Garage. .
L.
Pritton's house, near the present Mam Gate.
M.
Bricklayers' storehouse, just west of the present !"1ain Gate.
N.
The Firework Barn, just east of the present Mam Gate. . .
O.
The Kettle House, on a site now occupied by the houses m Dial Square. . .
P.
Hawthorn Tree House, on a site now covered by the main machme shop of the Royal Carriage Department.
Q.
Gun for experiment.
R.
Mortar for experiment. . .
S.
John Packman's house, on a site now covered by the main machme shop of the Royal Carriage Department.
T.
Stand for guns.
V.
Stand for mortars.
X.
The Proof-Butts, on a spot occupied by the present Central Offices.
Y.
A smiths' shop, close to the water's edge, between the shot-yard and the river.
Who were the staff that happy band of pilgrims, living and working in this sylvan'retreat? Their number was small and their pay, to our way of thinking, even smaller.
229
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
They consisted of:
The Storekeeper, James Felton, paid £40 p.a. He was the official
head of the establishment. He arranged the work, was the
Board's local agent, was the financial and accounting officer,
and made all necessary payments out of Imprests received.
The Storekeeper's Clerk, paid £20 p.a.
The Carriage Master, John Packman, paid £26 p.a.
6 labourers, each paid £26 p.a.
The Master Gunner of England, Colonel George Brown, paid
£190 p.a.
20 gunners each paid is. p.d.
The Comptroller of Fireworks, Sir Martin Beckman, paid £200
p.a.224
The ChiefFiremaster, Major John Henry Hopkey, paid £150 p.a.
The Chief Firemaster's Mate, Captain John Baxt r, paid £80 p.a.
The Storekeeper to the Laboratory, Captain John Baxter, paid
£40 p.a.
Captain English, the Fireworker, paid £40 p.a.
A total of 34 souls, of which 32 were whole time appointments.
There were no 'industrials' in the modern sense of the word, and
very little trade distinction. Labour was 'fluid' and trade unionism
unborn. The gunners under the Master Gunner of England manned
the guns for proof and carried out artillery practice at the exercising
butt. They did, in fact, all the elementary 'munition' work required, acting as fireworkers when occasion demanded. Life was indeed simple.
2~4 This.was not a whole-time appointment. In addition, Sir Martin Beckman was sti11 Ch1efEngmeer to the Board ofOrdnance, for which post he received a salary of£300 p.a.
....
0
r-
....
5
1--o 1--o
ro
~
..g "§:
......
0 0
~
---=-==
Chapter 7
The Warren 1701-1720
The daw:1 of th~ eighteenth century had little effect upon the W ~r~en ·which contmued to preserve the even tenor of its ways. No striking cha~ges took place till some sixteen years later, but these, when the_Y d1~ occur, were of major importance. They stamped for ~ver the 1mprmt of the factory on the erstwhile storage depot, and ~ntroduced those mechanical devices which in due course developed into the machines of modern industry. Firework manufacture, proof
of guns a:1d minor repairs made up the trivial round, the common task, durmg the opening years of the century, so that in the first d e~ade the slate of the recording angel or the books of the Ordnance scn~es, whichever metaphor be preferred, were singularly free from
entries of any consequence.
Tower Place still preserved its air of ancient peace. Trees abounded e er!':"'here, and the gardens and orchards ofthe old mansion, though p art1t1oned to form the private grounds of the few residents, still flourished and continued to gladden the eye with their colour and1 their produce. The Warren itself, which according to John Harris was then known as Woolwich Green, stretched away to the Plumstead marshes and beyond where the tenant farmers tilled the soil, kept
their cattle and cultivated their holdings. The road from Woolwich to Plumstead was a tree-bordered country thoroughfare. No brick walls shut it in or marred its vista of light and shadow. Scattered along it were a few farms, mostly belonging to the larger estates of the neighbourhood. It was a vision of the Kentish countryside at its best, a slice of rural England. The main entrance to the Warren butted on a green which in later years became known
as Sappers' Green, from the engineers carrying out their exercises
there.
Several changes of staff arose during the first few years. These are sometimes a little difficult to follow because the posts often appear to have been filled for some time before the warrants appointing the holders were issued, and appointees to positions of importance obtained subsequent warrants to the same posts on the accession of a new sovereign. Thus, although Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Hopkey, Captain John Baxter and John Baxter were functioning
respectively as Chief Firemaster, Mate to the Chief Firemaster and Storekeeper to the Laboratory at the end of the seventeenth century,
1 History of Kent by John Harris, 1 71 g, p. 340. 231
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
they all had warrants of appointment dated 1 February 1703.2 At the beginning of 1702, Colonel George Brown, Master Gunner of England, died; he was the last ofthese officials to live in the Warren. His successor, appointed in April 1702, was Captain Thomas Silver, who by virtue ofhis appointment as Master Gunner ofWhitehall and St J ames's Park, already resided in the Gun House, Spring Gardens,
the site of which is now covered by the Admiralty. Sir Martin Beckman ceased to be Comptroller ofFireworks on 1July1702,3 but was not apparently replaced till four years later when LieutenantColonel J. H. Hopkey, the Chief Firemaster, was appointed in his stead with effect from 1 April 1706 on a salary of £200 p.a. His warrant of appointment was dated 1 May 1706.4 H e, in turn, was
followed as Chief Firemaster, by Lieutenant-Colonel James Pendlebury with a salary of£150 p.a.5
A considerable number of guns had been steadily pouring into Woolwich from contractors during the closing years of the seventeenth century, and the flow continued at the beginning of the eighteenth century in an ever increasing stream. For example, on
4July 1678 the following pieces were received into store at Woolwich from Thomas Western:
40 Demi-cannon g} feet 16 Culverins I 1 feet 8 Culverins g feet 2 12 pdrs. 1ol feet
Iron ordnance 12 12 pdrs.
g feet 2 Sakers
8~-feet 8 Sakers
7 feet
The contract was dated 10 September 1 6 77, and the value was £3,440. 2S. l d.
Again on 17July 1678, a quantity ofiron ordnance, to the value of £3,387. 13s. 6d., was received into store at Woolwich from the assigns of Mary, widow and administrix ofJohn Browne late his
. ' C'. 'M
aJesty s guniounder, deceased.6 These were not isolated instances, bu~ were symptomatic of the large intake of guns which regularly arnved at the Warren. The main contractors supplying these sinews
of war were Thomas Western, WiIIiam Benge Thomas Silvester,
Mr Jam~s and Mr _Gott. In consequence, a lar~e amount of proof
was earned out, which, besides testing the guns, wore out the butts.
2 Lieut.-CoJoneJ J H H k d . w ts
PRO/WO/ I · · op ey an Caplam John Baxter, M.G.O.'s arranWarrants w~~/~!te~· /tiohn Baxter, M.~.O.'s Warrants, PRO/WO/55/488, P· 39· a Ordnance Quarter Boor1~1otw703, salaries to commence I January I 703.
•MG O 's Warr ' 0/54/60.
I M"c'o\ Warr::::, :ROfW0/55/488, p. 59. t
0
co!1'1111~n~e ~ Ap!il 17o6. RO/W0/55/488, p. 59. Warrant dated I May 1706, salary
Ordnance Bill Book, Series r, PRO/WO/so/i3.
232
THE WARREN 1701-1720
This kept John Packman busy with his teams and his drugs. By the beginning of Queen Anne's reign, the Warren had become the largest gun repository in the country. All these lay in rows in the ~pen, exposed to the gaze o:f the curious. This, perhaps, occasioned httle harm as ordnance, being heavy, did not attract the petty pilferer, but it was otherwise with lighter and more portable stores. The temptation to acquire those must have been overwhelming. It seems astounding that the Warren was still unfenced. One would have thought that its enclosing would have been one of the first acts subsequent to its purchase by the Crown. Nowadays such property is said to be 'publicly owned', though the public is, nevertheless, excluded for a variety of reasons. Not so at the beginning of the eighteenth century; what the State owned, the local inhabitant made use of according to his fancy. No wonder government stores became 'lost, stolen or strayed'. This communal outlook with its distressing effects gradually convinced the official mind that privacy and security h ad their advantages, so it was decided to enclose the Warren. The contract for building the wall was dated 23 June I 702. Three men, W illiam Edge-master scavel-man, Robert Fitch-master bricklayer, and William Ogborne-master carpenter, who were mainly responsible for all building and repairs at Woolwich, participat~d in the work. William Edge cleared and prepared the foundations, grubbed up trees and levelled the ground between 17 July and
26 September 1702. Although his debenture was dated 26 September I 702 , it was 4 May 1704 before he received his just reward of £32. 3s. 6d.7As soon as these preliminaries were completed, Robert Fitch, like Balbus, built a wall for which he was paid £499. 17s. I rd. on 28 March 1705, though his debenture was date? 30 Sept~m?er I 702. This sum, besides being the payment for his wall bu1ld1ng activity, included a sum for erecting a shed 'to perfor~ fireworks in'.8 William Ogborne then completed the undertaking. On 28 March 1 705, on a debenture dated 30 June I 703, he was paid
£87. 9s. 9-}d. for:
(a)
Putting up stockades at the eastern end of Prince Rupert's Walk as a further measure of security. .
(b)
Erecting the o-ate and posts in the new wall gomg out of the Warren into the road, and ~he wooden gate near the bridge in the bottom that leads to Proof Place. Warrant dated 26 September I 702. .
(
c) Putting a new roof on the_she~ lately belongi~g to ~,1r. Fitch, an?
a new gate next to the street gomg mto Mr Felton s-the storekeepers house. Warrant dated 17 October I 702.9
7 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/42 • 8 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/43. Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51 /68, P· 87 · 11 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/43. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /68, P· 99·
233
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Messrs Edge, Fitch and Ogborne between them, therefore, built the first wall ever to be erected round the Warren, which consisted of 94 rods, 133 feet of brickwork, the cost being £5 per rod.
The storekeeper's house was the first building to receive attention at the turn of the century, and its repairs were quite extensive covering, as they did, the walls, roof and flooring. The warrant for the work was dated 19 November 1700, and payments were made on 19 July 1701, on a debenture dated 31 December 1700, to Robert Fitch and William Ogborne ofsums amounting to £70. Bs. 6d. and £13. os. 9-J-d. respectively, for carrying out these renovations in addition to some work on the Greenwich magazine. i0 T h e carriage sheds were next in the queue. Their repair was effected on a warrant dated 25January 1701, as on 5 October 1701 Robert Fitch was paid £6. 5s. 3d. on a d~benture dated 31 March 1701, for this service.11
A catalogue ofmmor works services hardly makes thrilling reading, but as it cannot be woven into the pattern ofthe narrative, the items must be stated for purposes ofrecord. Sundries repairs were as follows:
28 Januaiy. I702. Robert Fitch, on a debenture dated 30 September 1701, was paid £25. _7s. 6d. for repairing the smiths' shop, the refining house, the Old Carnage Yard sheds, John Hesket's dwelling and the
labourers' house.12 I~ March I7°2-Robert Fitch, on a debenture dated 31 December I 70I, received the sum of£137. l4S. 3d. for 8 rods 28 feet ofbrickwork reduced
in the wall between the Old Carriage Yard and the pontoon h~use '½ith other work at Woolwich. The warrant for this was dated 22 M ay 1701.13 ;2 Jwze I7°2-Robert Fitch, on a debenture dated 31 March I 702, was paid £ 15·,6s. 1od. for erec:ing a ~hed to house a copper for brewing for John. Hesket, ~_labourer m ordinary, at Woolwich; for opening up, cleanmg, :epamng and reclosing the drain belonging to his house, together with other necessary work. The warrants for these services were
dated 16 October 1701, 17 January 1702 and March 1702_14
5
20 M_arch IJo4. William Edge, on a debenture dated 30 September I 7°3, was pa:d £io. 4J. od. for making up the breach at the end of Prince Rupert s Walk. He used 34 floors of earthwork.15
3~ June 17°4• William Ogborne, on a debenture dated 30 June 17°2, received the sum of£16 d fc • Id rt
; 5s. 0 • or 325 yards of wainscot, part o pa new, at the storekeepers house, the warrant being dated 16 October
16
1
~~r. On the same day, on a debenture dated 30June 1702, he was paid Ordnance T_reasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/ Bf Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ ;40 .
11
Ordnance 1:reasure;'s Ledger: PRO/Wo/a;6~, p. 76· Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ / · u Ordnance 1:reasure;'s Ledger: PRO/WO/a;6~, P· 54· Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ / ·
:: Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger: PRO/WO/a;6J: p. 3r. Ordnance 1:reasurer's Ledger, PROfW0/4B/\Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/W 4 4 ·
u Ordnance T;easure;'s Ledge~ PRO/W°d5r//64, P· 63. Ordnance Bill Book Series II 'PROfW ½48 42.
11
Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledge~, PRo;w°oirJTI;. P· 7•
234
THE WARREN 1701-1720
£ I 2. 7s. 6d. for repairing the pontoon chests, the proof-butt at Proof Place and John Packman's house at Woolwich, the warrants for these last three items being dated 29 December 1702, 8 February 1 703 and 1 6 March 1703 respectively. Also on the same day, on a debenture dated I 3 August I 702, he was paid £3 I. I 2s. 6d. for repairing the wharf at Woolwich.i7
Woolwich suffered from severe weather during the winter of I 703 / 1 704 which caused a good deal of damage in the Warren. This is confirmed by the statement that, on a debenture dated 19 February 1 704, carpenters and bricklayers were paid £24. IS. 4d. for repairing the Laboratory and storehouse 'after the great storm'.is
The three cranes in the Warren now began to give serious trouble. The truth was they were worn out. They were constructed of wood and, b esides being subjected to considerable overwork, were adversely affected by climatic conditions. ReJ?airs were_ or?ered, but the 'tinkering' they received proved a short-sighted policy m the long run, leadin o-merely to waste of money and labour. Eventually, two of them had to be completely overhauled and :he third one rebuilt. A warrant for repairing one ofthese cranes was issued on 23 September 1 703, and the work was carried out between 1 o January an? 6 1V1ay 1...04 William Ogborne being paid £83. 3s. 8d. for this service or/ 5 M ay 1705, on a debenture dated 6 May 1704.19 Matters reached a head in The upper and lower cranes had to _be
1707. thoroughly reconditioned, and the middle one had to be reb:11lt. William Ogborne, as usual, carried out the work. He received £144. 1s. s-~-d. for repairing one between 12 May and 28 June 1707,20 and £24. 6s. 2 ¼d. for renovating _the other_betvveen I July and 2 Auo-ust 1707.21 A warrant to rebmld the middle crane was issued on ; 4 August 1707 as under that date the Journal Book states: A v. arrant issued to Mr Ogborne and other proper artificers for rebuildino-the middle crane at Woolwich Warren and to make new gates for the ;hot-yard there. Mr Howell to repaint the upper and lm,·er cranes which have been repaired.22 The Journal Book, under date 30 October l 707, also states: Warrant to Mr Ogborne to fix at such a proper place near the cranes at Woolwich a standing gibbet to weigh the ar~ifice_rs' ordnance before the d t k" the Surveyor-General's directions \\·here the same
y are prove , a mg must stand and how made.23
i; Ordnance Treasurer's Ledgers, PRO/\t\T0/48/42•
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/\\:0/51/67, P· Bo.
18 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/\'\ 0/48/43.
19 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/vV0/48/43.
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51 /68, P· 1oo.
20 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/47, 2 4 May 17°9·
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/75, P· 41, 28 June 17o7.
:n Ordnance Bill Book: Series II, PRO/\\ 0 /51 /75, P· 39, 2 Augu5l 17°7 ·
22 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/2 5, P· 58.
23
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{\'\ 0/47/2 5, P· 163.
235
17
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
'Mr Ogborne and other proper artificers' then proceeded to their allotted task. On 30 June 1708, William Ogborne submitted a bill for £345. 16s. o¼d, for (a) Building the middle crane; warrant dated 14 August 1707. (b) Erecting gates at the shotyard; warrant dated 30June 1708. (c) Constructing a standing gibbet for weighing gun
founders' ordnance, and (d) Making a small wharf before Prince Rupert's Walk; warrant dated 11 June 1708.24 Out of this amount £43. 16s. 3d., on a debenture dated 20 June 1708, was on account of the new crane.25
The wharves were another constant source of anxiety at the Warren. Subjected to the ebb and flow of the tides, and to the destructive agency ofsalt water, they called for periodic attention. On 8June 1705, the Surveyor-General ordered that 'a warrant be given to Mr Edge to lay well in clay from the moat at Woolwich the wh a rf by Prince Rupert's Walk between the earth bank and timber wharf
ing, to be 3 feet in front and from the foundation 1 foot above high water-mark. Every floor to be very well rammed, and the rest of the earthwork for filling up and making good the embrasures to be done by the day unless it can be easily measured.'26 The work was put in hand at once, and on 30 June 1705, William Edge presented his account for £7. 4S· od.,27 William Ogborne claiming £87. 19s. gd. for his share in the undertaking28 which he carried out a year or two later. In 1712, further maintenance became essential and a nevv wharfhad to be built. The first warrant for this reconstruction, da ted 6 May 1712, was addressed to Wiliiam Edge and William Ogborne.
Between them they made good the parapet and embrasures before Prince Rupert's battery, replaced the defective timber at the front ofthe wharf, and laid down under it a new chalk bed. ,t\Tilliam Edge received £rn3. 5s. od. for his share of the work 29 and W illiam
'
Ogborne £62. 12s. 2-½-d,30 The big reconstruction took place a few :nonths later on a contract dated 28 August 1712, the warrants being issued on I September and 30 November ofthat year. William Edge and George Shakespear, as scavel-men entered the lists first. They took up the foundations of the old wh;rf, prepared the way for the carpenters to lay th~ new, and supplied 305 loads of gravel and I I I tons of clay. For this they were paid £76. r6s. ad. on a debenture dated 31 December 1712.31 William Ogborne then came into action. Between 6 October and 6 November 1712, he dismantled the old
:: Ordnance Bill Book,,Series II, PRO/WO/51 /Bo, p. 26. 21 OOrddnanceJTreasurleBr s Lkedger, PRO/WO/48/50, 21 August 171 r. r nance ?urna oo ,. PRO/WO/47/22, p. 18 .27 Ordnance B!Jl Book, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/51 17 1, 7p. 36.
18
:§E~E~:i;JJ E~!: i:~;:: n: ::grwgfg:fi?: ~:~~:ii~~: :~~i:
11 0 d n ce l o ', cries II, PRO/WO/51/87, p. 39, 17 May 1712. r nance 1:reasurer s L~dger, PRO/WO/48/52, 23 July 1713. Ordnance B1U Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/88, p. 9, 31 December 1712.
236
THE WARREN 1701-1720
wharfing, took it away and prepared the site. For this he received the sum of £13. I IS. 3d.32 He then rebuilt the wharf at a cost of £332. 15s. 3¾d,33 Even after all these exertions, trouble still persisted and further steps had to be taken 18 months later. On a warrant dated 4 May I 714, William Edge performed more scavelling work at Woolwich for which he was paid £51. 16s. od.; he also raised the ground on the wharf, cleaned and made good the sides of the moat and built up the level of the soil next the wharf before the batte~ of guns at Prince Rupert's Walk. For these latter tasks he received
£7 I. IOs. ad. having used 143 floors of earth at Ios. per floor.34
T he Journal Books shed little light on the Warren's activities during the first thirteen years of the century. Unfortunately all of them, except those covering the years I 705 to I 708, are missing. Later on, too, there are gaps, namely those for the years 1721 and 1723. This series of Books, with the exception of one volume (2 August -3 December 1781) abruptly ceases after 1727, and the
J ournal Books, as such, disappear from the records of history. Their loss can only be deplored. In I 749, however, the Minutes of the Surve_)'or-General take up the tale, and this sequence runs on till I 792. These minutes contain a full record of the Board's daily proceedings and are a welcome addition to our sources of information. For the years they cover, they form a framework round which the Warren's story can be hung. These various lacunae make it extremely difficult to depict a complete pen-picture of the lost years since bills and debentures, though useful in themselves, are not an author's best m aterial. As the warp and woof of history they have their uses, but they lack the colourful threads of romance so necessary to a weaver of tales.
Little of interest seems to have occurred in I 705. The firework storehouse needed repair, and Messrs Fitch and Ogborne received warrants for undertaking the necessary work.35 On 1I August, 1705 fireworkers and bombadiers were drafted into the Laboratory for fixing hand-grenado shells for twenty Coehorn mortars for Newfoundland,36 and five days later, Mr Waterman was ordered to provide 32,000 'fuzees' for grenado shells in the Laboratory, presumably in part satisfaction of the Newfoundland order.37 On 6 October 1705, a Mr Francis Lavey was paid £5 for making a plan of Woolwich.38 What would not one give for a copy ofthat map now! Incidentally, on 28 October 1718, the Board paid £20 to Lieutenant John Hargrave
3 2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/88, p. 36, 6 November 1712. 33 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/88, p. 39, 31 December 1712. 34 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /93, p. 64, 1 March 1714. 35 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/22, p. 4, 29 March 1705. 36 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/22, p. 293. 37 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/22, p. 301, 16 August 1705. 38 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/22, p. 382.
237
BIRTH AND CH I LDHOOD
for making a survey and sketch of Tower Place.39 This may conceivably be the existing plan of the Warren dated r 7 r 7 which is unsigned. The following labourers were sent to v\Toolwich between r March
and 2 r April r706, to be employed in fixing fireworks :40 Edward Howe Stephen Baggott Robert White Thomas Saunders Andrew Cadmern Richard Davis Andrew Sherlock John Sheppard Christopher Taylor Edward Saward
John Harding George Finman On r October r706, £r ro. os. gd. was paid to the labourers in the Warren for dealing with stores and £or acting as night watchmen between r July and 30 September r706, both dates inclusive.41 The Board wrote a letter on 7 November I 706 to Mr J ames Felton, the storekeeper, authorizing MrJones to set up a furnace in the saltpetre refining house, for the purpose of casting shot for her M ajesty's service.42 Shot seems to have been in urgent demand at this time as all unserviceable ordnance at Portsmouth '\ as ordered to be sent to the Warren for conversion into shot.,43 and to assist at proof six sacks ofcharcoal were despatched to ProofPlace.44 On 24 June I 707 warrants were issued to 'Mr Fitch for perfonn ing the bricklayers' work in repairing at Tower Place, at the labourers' house, at the barn where the fireworks lye, and at the house inhabited by John Packman according to an estimate laid before the Board by Mr Meades'.45 In due course Robert Fitch carried out the work and sent in a bill for £63. 13s. 7d. for repairing the pontoon house, firebarn and the labourers' houses between 18 July and 27 October 1707.46 William Ogborne, too, was employed between r and 16 September 1707 on the labourers' houses £or which he was paid £ 13 ·
5s. 1d.47
Flammenwerfer or flame-throwers are usually considered to have been evolved in the first World War when, in 1915, the Germans used them in surprise attacks. In the second World War their use was
greatly extended by all belligerents. The following extract from the Journal Books shows the fallacy of this:
3 1
January 1708. The experiments of the Orlebar and Powell engine for projecting liquid fire are to be made at Woolwich on Saturday next
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, p. 3 1 g. 41 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47123, p. 1 6 2, 26 February 1706. ,.. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47124, p. 94. ; Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/24, p. 1 5 r. u 4 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47124, p. 1 6 1, 12 November 1706. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/24, p. 3 16, 18 February 1707.
0 11 Ordnancej'?urnal Book, PRO/WO/47/24, p. 5 x3. 47 Ordnance B~Il Book, Ser~cs II, PRO/WO/5r/8s, p. 12, 27 October 1707. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5i/8s, p. 7, 16 September 1707.
238
THE WARREN 1701-1720
7th February. Mr Felton to let the projectors have any assistance in labour or materials they want. Mr Whitaker and Mr Baxter to issue the necessary items from their stores.48
As Ecclesiastes so truly says: 'There is no new thing under the sun.' On 2 March 1708 £r. 2s. od. was paid to the fireworkers in the Laboratory as under :40
s. d. John Baxter 2 days at 5s. IO 0 Thomas Heydon 2 days at 3s. 6 0 Thomas Howard 2 days at rs. 6d. 0
3
Francis Howard 2 days at rs. 6d. 0
3
Total: £1 2 0
There seems to have been a minor strike in the Laboratory in I 708. On 5 March of that year, the Board wrote to Captain Thomas Silver Master Gunner of England, asking why four fireworkers on the es~ablishment James Fimsy, William Cahoon, Robert Leslie and
J ohn Tongue ' their. work .50 H' answer
absented themselves from 1s u nfortunately is not recorded. The Laboratory was very busy at that time, Marlborough's wars making heavy _deman~s on the country's liniited armaments industry. It was working at high pressure as the storekeeper received an imprest of£80 ~n 13 ~arch I 708 to p~r t~e fireworkers and bombadiers who constituted its labour force. No
orkers however were kept on the books a moment longer than w as nec~ssary. No\passengers' were carried and no senti~ent shown. On 30 M arch r 708 the Journal Book baldly states that all the men employed in driving' "fuzees" are to be discharged owing to lack of
· d' s2
w ork, the operation being no longer require_ • .
Three small jobs had been carried out pnor to t~e time we have just been considering. These were two by Robert Fitch and on_e _by William Ogborne. The former was paid £1 r r • 8s. 4d. for repairing dwelling houses, storehouses, the Warren watch, etc., ?etween : 1 July and 23 September 1703,s3 and £2. 2s. 2¼d. for minor repairs to houses and the Warren wall on a warrant dat,ed 2~ Septem?e~ 1703_54 William Ogborne renovated the barn for lodging fireshirss stores' at a cost of £8. 5s. 1d. on a warrant date? 10 June 17°4
On 17 August 1709 William Ogborne was paid £266. I 7s. 541 d. on a debenture dated ~ 1 August r 707, for carpenters' w?rk executed by him in making a route from the Manor Way leading from the
48 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 299·
49
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 3r· 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 3 o. 51 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/25, P· 392 • 52 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/2 5, P· 4o7.
63 6·
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/V\'0/4i/71. P· 38, !gJuly 17° 54 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /7 1 , P· 3~, -1u Y 17°6· 65 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /69, P· B.:>, 3° June 17o4.
239
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Woolwich Road to the marshes, for the purpose ofconveyingpowder to the magazine near Greenwich. His warrant was dated 6 March 1706.56
Robert Fitch, the master bricklayer, died either in the autumn of 1710 or the spring of 1711, as, in the latter year, Henry Lidgbird took over his post. Lidgbird's warrant of appointment, however, was not issued till 3June 1712. It states that Henry Lidgbird, senior, and Henry Lidgbird, junior, are to be master bricklayers to the Office of Ordnance.57 Another appointment changed hands towards the end
of 1710. Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Hara was made Chief Firemaster vice James Pendlebury, on a warrant dated 4January171 r, the change-over to be effective from 1 October 171o.5s T h ereupon the latter became Master Gunner of Great Britain. Incidentally, in the same year, Lieutenant-Colonel Jonas Watson became Master Gunner of Whitehall on the death of Captain Thomas Silver,59 but as the Master Gunners of England no longer had their official resi
dence in the Wa~re~, they pass beyond the ambit of this vvork.
The ~s_t repair JOb to be carried out by Henry Lidgbird was some re-tiling ofthe Laboratory roo£ The warrant for this was dated 23 August 1711, and he received £14. 1os. 2 t d. for his work.Go In 1712, the_ firework barn and the mealing hquse required attention. The repairs were effected by WiIIiam Ogborne and H enry Lidgbird
on a warrant dated~ ?ctober 1712, pursuant to the Board 's order of 7 August 1712. Wilham Ogborne was 'd £ 8 d
pa1 12. 1 s. 11 ., on a debenture dated 30 December 1712 r.0 h' h f h k GI d
. . . , 1.1 r 1s s are o t e wor anHenry L1dgb1rd received the sum of £62 l 7 8ad r b . k'l . g
h' h · 1 d d h · s. 4 • ior nc ay1n
w ticd mNc u e bt at carried out at the labourers' house on a w arrant
da e 4 ovem er 1712.62 The last payment to Joh p k .
n ac man as Carnage Master in the
Warren, was dated 3o Septe b H
to Paul Linby d b m er 1712· e was a worthy successor
, an etween them the d h · · fi 11
at Woolwich for ov fifi Y serve t eir country faith u Y e~ ty years. One is glad to be able to record that
John Packman received the . h
· 'P fi promot10n e so richly deserved by
beconung roo master to Her M . '
strangers' on a warrant dat aJeStY s subjects and merchant : the Warren, he still contin e1 .31 January 1712,63 Although lost to The fire-barn seems t :e I~ the service of the Crown. carpenters' hands N ~ ave. een unlucky. It was always in the
0
William Ogborne ~e . J~bt its age contributed to its fragility. pa1re it again between lo and l 5 August l 7 l 3
61 Ordnance Treasurer' L d 17 M.G.O's Warrants PR~/~6 PRO/WO/48/48. 11 M.G.O's Warrants' PRO/W0//55/499, f. 62. " M.G.O's Warrants' PRO/WO 55/488, p. 71.
•0 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II ~j/_(}fivp. 25, Warrant dated 1 7 February 17 1 o. 11 g:ceI-u5urer's Ledger' PRO/wg/~,'85, p. I 14, 16 November 171 I. ,. O~ce ~ Book, Series n: PRO/WO/ 52, 23July 1713.
•• ,ce Bdl Book, Series II PROfW 51/88, p. 36, 3 December 1712.
M.G.O I Warrants, PROfW0/551499, f~i:/go, P• 78, 30 September 1713.
24-0
THE WARREN 1701-1720
for a sum of £5. 14S, od., paid on a debenture dated 15 August 1713.64 It then promptly collapsed, for we learn that 'William Ogborne was paid £11 for work done on _t~e barn which fell do':n at Woolwich'.65 Also on 23 July 1713, Wilham Ogborne was paid, on a debenture dated 8 December 1712, £13. 17s. od. for repairing the Laboratory in accordance with the Board's order of30 September
I 7 l 2.66 Another small service carried out by William Ogborne between 20 July and 8 August 1713, was the repair of the roof and gutte:ing of the saltpetre house, and of that of the shed in the New Carnage Yard. He also set up three posts in the yard. The warrant for the work was dated 5 June 1713, the bill was presented on 8 !'--ugust 1713,67 and the payment of£9. 8s. 1~~-was made on 27 April I714, on a debenture dated 8 August I 7I 3· . . T he year 1714 is the first year in which an estabh:sh~ent for Woolwich is shown in the Establishment Books. It 1s given as
follows :69
The storekeeper The storekeeper's clerk The storekeeper of the Laboratory 2 labourers in ordinary at 7 extraordinary labourers at
£40 p.a.
£25 p.a.
£40 p.a. £26 p.a. each
£ 27. 10s. od. p.a. each
In addition to this there was the militar~ s:aff which, e~cept for the absence of the Master Gunner, was s1rmlar to that in l 700. Actually the civil staff had not altered in establishme~t! except for
or two additional extra-
d
the post of Laboratory storekeeper, an one dTh p ·u ordinary labourers, since I 683. William Sumpter anf h omas ih 0:1 became the labourers in ordinary at the end_ 0 t e y~a£r· eir warrant was dated 24 December 1714 and their salary O 2 6 p.a.
was to commence on 1 January I 7I 5· William Sumpter ~a; api pointed vice Thomas Quelch, deceased.70 On 9 AugustH1712, oCoh~ef
L. C 1 1 Alexander ara as 1eAlbert Borgard replaced 1eut.-o one
p·
iremaster.71 f th round in front of
1 1 O
After William Edge had raised the eve e g ) h
· h mer of 1714 (see note 34 , t e
Prince Rupert's battery 1n t e sum
, L d PRO/WO/48/52 27 April 1714.
64 Ordnance Treasurers ~ ger, WO/ /8 ' p 100 15 August 1713.
Ordnance B~ll Book, Ser_ies 11,PPRROO/'w0/ 5/ (' p.· 33, 31 December 171 3. Contract
66 Ordnance Bill Book, Series 11, 5 19 '
dated 7 August 1713. JWO/ 8/ 2
66 Ordnance T;easurer's L~dge1~, ;~g/WO/!i/~8: P· 36, 8 November 1712.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series • 6
67 Ordnance Bill Book, Series 11, PRO/W0/51189, P· 10 •
88 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/52·
69 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/igg.
70 M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/Wth0/55/5o~, P0~~fFiremaster dated 24 December 1714.
71 Colonel Borgard had a fur er warran as ' M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/WO/55/502, P· 55·
241
.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD THE WARREN 1701-1720
guns and carriages in that part of the emplacement became redundant. They, therefore, had to be removed. 72 On 25 October 1714, Mr Felton, the storekeeper, wrote to the Board asking for instructions regarding the same. The Board replied on 10 December 1 7 14 to the effect that he was to certify the number of days worked and the amount ofmaterials used in breaking up the carriages removed from the battery,73 that the resulting iron-work was to be put into store, and that he was to render particulars as to weight, etc. 74 William Mesmer, one of the three ordinary labourers in the military (as opposed to the civil branch) was injured while dismantling these old gun-carriages. He was, thereupon, attended by the surgeon who, in the Board's opinion, submitted a fantastic bill. On 8 March 17 15, the Board wrote to Mr Felton and queried the charge of £10 'demanded by the surgeon in curing Mr Mesmer'. They considered
it very excessive and asked the storekeeper 'to ascertain the worth of it', saying that they were prepared to pay a reasonable sum.75 Eventually, on 25 March 1715, they settled the account by giving £5 to the surgeon and 30s. to the apothecary.7G
On IO December 1714, a warrant was issued to the glazier to proceed to Woolwich for the purpose ofmending the windows in the storekeeper's house, the labourers' house and the cordaire house. A strict account was to be kept of the time worked and the materials expended.77
By 1714, the Laboratory required repairs, and John Baxter, storeke~p~r to the Laboratory, rendered a report on the condition of the bmlclings and recommended the course of action to b adopted. These proposals were accepted by the Board on 17 December 171478 and referred to the Surveyor-General,79 John Baxter also proposed that the fixe~ shel! lying in the Laboratory should be drawn. In order to obtam ~n !~dependent opinion, the Board ordered Colonel Borgard, the Ch1efF1remaster, to proceed to Woolwich on 18 December _and report his views to the Board.so The outcome of the discuss10ns between Colonel Borgard and Captain Baxter is not recorded; so presumably they agreed on the desirability of 'drawing the shell: T~e. Su:veyor-General evidently pursued a policy of masterly mactivity m :egard to the Laboratory, because on 6 May 1 715, John Baxter again complained to the Board and stressed that
72 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/
?
73 Ordnance Journal B k' PRO/W 47/27, p. 67, 2 October 1711. 7t Ordnancejournal B~~k' PRO/Wg/47/20A, f. 5. 6 Ordnance Journal Book: PRO/W0~4712J• p. ~?0·
1
·• Ordnancejournal Book PRO/WO 47 2 'p. ::>·
77 Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/W0/47/28, p. B3.
78 OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0//47/27, P• 100·
71 Ordnance Journal Book' PRO 47127, p. I IO.
•0 OrdnanceJournal B k' PRO//W0/47/20A, f. 10, 17 December 1714.
Ordnance Journal ~k' PROfWW0/47/20A, f. 10, 18 December 1714. ' O/47/27, p. 110, 17 December 1714.
242
the necessary repairs must be carried out. Stung to action, they sent down Colonels Borgard and Hopkey-the Chief Firemaster and Comptroller of Fireworks-to view the buildings,81 with the result that on 17 May 1715, Mr Meades was instructed to prepare the necessary estimate.82 The repairs were duly carried out on 1 July 1715 by Messrs Lidgbird and Ogborne. William Ogborne was paid £52. 19s. 5d. for the carpenters' work involved, a sum which included payments for repairing the 'Greenwich Barn' and for work carried out at the conduit house in Collick Lane which supplied the Laboratory with water.83 Henry Lidgbird re-tiled the Laboratory roof where necessary between 2 August and 29 November 1715; he also, between those dates, made drains for the New Carriage Yard. The warrants for the Laboratory and the New Carriage Yard were d ated 1 July and 12 July 1715 respectively. His bill amounted to £ 60. 6s. 8d.84 On 23 August 1715, Mr Windmill was ordered to go down to Woolwich to mend the Laboratory clock,85 and his warrant for the same was dated 26 August 1715.86 On 18 October I 715, a plumber was sent down from London to repair the lead work in the L aboratory,87 and some days later a warrant was issued to Mr John Burgess, master plumber, to line the Laboratory fountain with lead, keeping the old lead as his perquisite, a plumber's practice which
still obtains.as William Edge was instructed on 12 July 1715, to make a walk 25 feet broad sloping from the sheds of the New Carriage Yard into a ditch which was to be dug around the yard. He also was ordered to dig and prepare the ground for d~ains which Mr Li~gbird had a warrant to make in the ditch on each side ofthe yard, 18 inches wide and 2 feet deep (see footnote No. 84). Hen~y Lidgbird was als,? instructed to build a chimney in the dovecote 1n order to adapt 1t for use as a watch-house.89 George Shakespear assisted William Edge in this undertaking and they received the sum of £68. os. 1o¼d. as their due reward.90 They received another warrant dated I July 1715 to clear the foundations where the old building, known as the smiths' shop, had stood by the wharf, and those_ in the old foundr~. The work was carried out almost a year later, 1.e. between I Apnl and 30 June r 7 r 6. Their bill amounted to £ 50. I 2s. ?d.91 •
Very soon after the establishment of the Royal Artillery. 1n I 7I 6, a set ofinstructions were sent to the storekeepers at all garrisons and
81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4.7/28, P· n8. 82 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/28, P· 129· 8 3 Ordnance Bill Book, Sc;ies II, PRO/WO/51/95, P· 23, IO ~ecember 17 15· 8'1 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\VO/51/95, P· 42, 29 T\ovcmbcr 1715·
85
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/28, P· 239·
86
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/VlO/47/28, P· 24.6. 87 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/28, P· 297. 88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/28, P· 309, 27 October 171 5·
89
Ordnance Journal Book,_PRO/WO/47/28, P· 189. 90 Ordnance Bill Book, Scnes II, PRO/WO/5 I /96, P· I 'l. , 3I March I 7.1 6. 91 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROf'-\ 0 / 5 I /96, P· 96, 30 June 1716.
2 43
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
magazines.92 While the document is undated, it was probably issued in 1716.
Instructions to t!ze Storekeepers at tlze Several Garrisons and Magazines
Having made Instructions and regulations for the Companies of Gunners which are at present to be employed in the Service of his Majesty's Artillery at the Several Garrisons and Magazines, and there being not yet Vacancies enough to defray the Charge of these two Companies but by saving the Expense of hiring Extraordinary
Labourers, the respective Storekeepers are to observe the following Directions:
Not to hire for the future on any account whatever any Soldiers or others if the number of Gunners and Matrosses are sufficient to do the same Extraordinary Work for which both Gunners and Matrosses shall rec_eive Sixpence ~ day as likewise the Sergeant, Corporal or Bombad1er employed with them to be paid out of Contingencies.
When any Vacancy happens of an Extraordinary Labourer constantly employ'd it shall not be filled up.
Part of the Gunz:iers and Matrosses shall give daily Attendance at the Storehouses with the Labourers Ordinary and Ex raordinary which_ are in consta?t pay ai:i,d, if they work, shall be paid sixpence per D1em and the like for Night Watching, and if the Service shall
require more than a quarter part they are likewise to attend and be paid sixpence for t!1eir Extraordinary Work out of the Contingencies.
The Commanding Officer shall every Monday Morning give to the Storekeeper a Return or Abstract ofthe Men and the Storekeeper shall advance him subsistence for the same on Account according to the an_nexed Regulation, and every Kalendar Month the said Officer
shall sign ~hree Muster Rolls, two ofwhich shall be sent to the Board and the third for the Storekeeper with a Pay List for the said Month's subsistence received. T?e Account ofSubsistence thus received shall be kept apart and rerrutted to the Board. T~e ~ate of any Man's Death, Discharge or Entry shall be specified ~n the Muster Rolls and no Vacancy to be filled up but by approbation of the Board. To take to their Assistance and Advise with the Commanding Offic~r for putting the Stores, Artillery etc. in good order for the Credit and Benefit of h · M · , S · h t
Is a_Jesty s ervice and to represent w a may be ~ecessary t~ accomplish the same.
f Tfiessaid Officer Is also to attend with the Storekeeper at the taking
o a k urveys and Remains, and jointly to sign the same with the
Store eeper.
" Ordnance Establishment Book PRO/WO/ /
' 54 199.
244
THE WARREN 1701-1720
In order to procure a true State of all the Ordnance both for Sea or Land Service, all the Men that can be spared from time to time shall be employed in taking an exact Account of the same specifying Natures, Lengths and Weights, whether over or under proportion, and whether serviceable or unserviceable as Honey-comb'd vented, Broken or Taperbored to which purpose they must be carefully examined with Searcher, Rammer and Caliper in which service the Master Gunner of each place is to attend under directions of the said officer with such ofhis Gunners as are capable and can be spar'd and to be allowed Sixpence a Day as the other Gunners mend.
A Centinel or Watchman to be kept at the Gate in the Day as well as the Night, particularly at Portsmouth and Chatham to prevent strangers coming in or anything being taken away by them. You are upon the Departure of this Detachment to advance to the Comm anding Officer if he desires it as much money as shall be requisite to subsist the Effectives during their March to the next Garrison they ar to go to.
A REGULATION OF SUBSISTENCE FOR THE
DETACHMENT OF THE MARCHING COMPANY
OF GUNNERS APPOINTED FOR THIS PLACE
Employs Total Pay Subsistence
s. d. s. d.
2 0 I 6
Sergeant Corporal and Bombardier I 8 I 3 I I 0
Gunner 4 Matross I 0 9
I n 1716 occurred the explosion at Moorfields. It was an event which had a profound effect upon the future. o~ _th~ Warren ~y directing its energies towards manufacture and 1rutiat1ng that train of causes which led ultimately to the Royal Arsenal of to-day. The original foundry for casting brass ordnance_ belonging to th~ Crown was at Windmill Hill in Upper Moorfields 1n the present City Ro~d near Finsbury Square,93 and in 1684, Mr Western, who was m charge, was responsible for making all bra~s guns and mortars required for his Majesty's Service. Cannon, 1n those days, were cast from new metal and from old pieces considered to be of no further fighting value. For example, a warrant dated 24 May I 690, addresset to Sir Henry Goodrick, Lieutenant~General of the Ordnance, directed that a quantity of broken iron ordnance an~ shot then lying at Woolwich, and several grenado shel!s at Greenwich I:aboratory, should be recast into ordnance. This work was earned out
11a The site of this factory was afterwards occupied by the famous 'Tabernacl • of Messrs Whitfield and Wesley. 114 H.O. Military Entry Book 3, p. 18, car. II. (See page 106)
245
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
under contract since Government casting was then confined to bronze guns. The factory at Moorfields was taken over by Mr Mathew Bagley95 in r704., who, by warrant dated r 8 April r 706, was appointed founder to the Office ofOrdnance.96 Mr Bagley continued to supply the Crown with artillery weapons till his tragic death in I 7 r 6. After the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, the guns captured from the French by the Duke of Marlborough were displayed outside the Moorfields foundry on Windmill Hill. In 1716, it was decided to utilize thisvaluable metal by recasting it into suitable natures of English ordnance, and on ro May of that year a distinguished gathering assembled to witness the operation, a normal procedure in those days when the art ofcasting was still somewhat of a curiosity. On the day in question the spectators included Colonel Armstrong, SurveyorGeneral of the Ordnance, Mr George Harrison, afterwards Superintendent ofHis Majesty's Foundries97 and Colonel Albert Borgard, Chief Firemaster ofEngland. At a given signal pouring commenced but the moulds unfortunately were still damp. The effects were disastrous. The moisture and consequent generation ofsteam, caused the metal to fly with terrible consequences. Seventeen persons, including Mr Bagley, his son, and Mr Hall, a clerk of the O rdnance, were kiIIed, and a number of others amono-whom were Colonel
' b
Borgard and Mr Harrison, were injured and burnt. The Mercurius Politicus of 18 May reports the incident as follows:
Several gentlemen were invited to see the Metal run which being a very gre~t and curious Piece of Art, a great many Persons' of Quality came to see 1t, and some General Officers ofthe Army among the rest; but whether it was some unusual hindrance in the Work or their ] etter Fate that occasioned _the !Vfetal to be longer preparing than usual we lmov\ not, but be that as 1t will, the Gentlemen waiting till past Ten a Clock went all
or most of them away. About 11 at night the Metal being ready, was let go· · · the burning Metal no sooner sunk down to the Bottom ofthe Mould, but wi~h a Noi~e an_d Force equal to that of gunpowder, it came pouring up agam, blowmg like the Mouth of a Vulcano or a little Vesuvius. There was in the place about 20 Men, as well as Wo~kmen as Spectators, I 7 of whom were so burnt that nothing more horrible can be thought of, neither
M•~TheB hj been a tendency to confuse Mr Mathew Bagley the founder, with Major 0 a ew ay ey, the p~oofmaster. Colonel A. H. Mockridge i~ his paper The Proving of (dianb and Propellants m the R. A. Joumal Vol. LXXVII, no. I' p. 84, suggests that t:1:eY ~ugJ t ~i°ne ~nd tbe same person. ·othing could be further from the truth. MaJ~r \\~y ey 'pr;fe to an older generation. A warrant dated 29 March 1662 (M.G.(? 5 I 'arrants, Od/Gd& D/37/i3) appoints him Keeper ofthe Gunpowder Store in the MinortCf·
n a warrant ate 22 Sept~mber 1663 (M.G.O's Warrants PRO/G & D/37/1 5) he 15
~a~e ie~er ofthe
~':'all Guns in the Tower vice Mr Hooker deceased His name also occurs
0
i~ 1666.B~6~g ,i;"_uarter Book in March 1664 (PRO/W0/54/22)·. He was Proofma5ler ,. M G b• W e had become Governor of Upnor Castle. ,1 G~orge ;.Iarrf°a~ts, PR~/W0/55/515, no. 25. of
£ son 5 appointment as Superintendent of H.M. Foundries at a salary
a13°c:frd;:i~°cnced_{0/{{8r,wry I 722. Warrant dated 27 September I 722 (Warr,an;s
p. 8). ounci • 0/55/348 and M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55 52 '
THE WARREN 1701-1720
can Words describe their Misery. About g of the 17 are already dead, the other 8 are yet living, but in such a condition that the Surgeons say they have very small hopes of above 2 of them.
The autobiographical memoir of Lieutenant-General Albert Bor?ard, which incidentally was damaged by enemy air action in r940, Is preserved in a MS. in the Royal Artillery Institution, Woolwich. It contains the following account of the accident:
1716. On our arrivall at London I was order'd by the Board of Ordnance to lay before them Tables and Draughts ofall Natures ofBrass and Iron Cannon, Mortars, etc., which was done accordingly and approved of. After the said Draughts 2 Twenty Four Pounder Brass Cannon were order'd to be cast by Mr. Bagley in his Foundry at Windmill Hill, at the Casting of which I was order'd to be present. In the Founding, the Mettall of one of the Guns blowed into the Air, burnt many of the Spectators of whom Seventeen dy'd out of 25 Persons and myself received 4 wounds.
The gun itself, the casting ofwhich cost so many lives, is exhibited in the Rotunda Museum at Woolwich. It is about I I feet long and show s distinctly the signs of a faulty cast. In the catalogue it is n u m bered 'Class II, no. 32'.
From fact, let us turn to fiction.
There has been a story regarding this accident which has been current for I 50 years. Lacking any basis in fact, it belongs to that group of fables concerning the Royal Arsenal which should be publicly contradicted and discountenanced for ever. It first appeared in
John Moser's Vestiges, Vol. IV, October 1802, and is repeated in the Beauties of England and Wales, Vol. VIII (Kent by Brayley), published in I 808. It is also printed in extenso in Cleaveland's Notes of the Royal R egiment of Artillery. Although completely unsupported by any corroborative evidence, it still has its champions. Official records, by their lack of any mention of it, prove the tale to be a mare's nest. It runs somewhat as follows:
Andrew Schalch, founder, a native ofSchaffhausen in Switzerland, who by the common law of his Canton had to travel abroad for three years to improve his professional abilities, at last reached England during _his wanderings. Being interested and hearing about the proposed ca~t~ng operation at Moorfields, he decided to attend on 10 May 1716. Arnvmg early on that bright spring morning he ·was by virtue ofhis calling, allowed to inspect the moulds before the day's work began. At once he detected dampness in the moulds and, addressing Colonel Armstrong in French, warned him of the dire consequences which would result were casting to take place. Realizing the force ofSchalch's remarks, the Surveyor-General questioned him as to his experience and, satisfied with his bona fides, decided to follow his advice and leave the foundry as soon as possible. He, therefore, collected his friends and others who had been per uaded
247
DIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
of the danger, and quitted the premises.98 Scarcely had they reached a safe distance when the furnaces were opened and the explosion occurred. A few days later an advertisement appeared in public prints stating in substance that 'if the young foreigner who, in a conversation with Colonel Armstrong on the day of the accident at the foundry at lVIoorfields, had suggested the probability of an explosion from the state of the moulds, would call on the Surveyor-General at the Tm,ver, the interview might conduce to his advantage'. Schalch, informed of this intimation by an acquaintance, visited Colonel Armstrong who, after some preliminary remarks, told him that the Board of Ordnance were contemplating the
erection of a new foundry at some distance from the metropolis, and that he, Colonel Armstrong, was authorized, owing to Schalch's qualifications, to offer him a commission to choose the best spot within twelve miles of London for the construction ofsuch a building, bearing in mind the nature of the works involved and the carriage of heavy material. In addition, he v,ould engage him as superintendent of the whole concern.
This advantageous proposal was readily accepted by Schalch, who at once set about to select the most suitable site for the enterprise, and, having inspected various localities, decided that the Warren at Woohvich offered the best facilities.
Such was the singular train ofcircumstances which led to the establishment of the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich.
A pretty story, but one which unfortunately collapses like the proverbial house of cards when subjected to a critical scrutiny . Five reasons may be adduced to prove its utter worthlessness.
(a)
There is no record of Andrew Schalch being present at the Moor.fields foundry on IO May r7r6.
(b)
There is no record of the apocryphal 'public prints'.
(
c) The 'Warren' had already been in existence for some considerable time prior to the events recorded.
(d)
The Board ofOrdnance had for long considered building their Ov\ n brass foundry.
(e)
The appointment of Andrew Schalch as Master Founder was brought about by quite different means.
Two other journals-the Flying Post and the Week{y Journal-of 12 May 1716, refer to this matter. Neither mentions the presence of the founder from Schaffhausen.
There can be no doubt that this heavy blow shook the Board to the c?re: As a cal_amity it was unprecedented, and for armament supplies 1t was a mmor national disaster. The following day, 11 May, the Board dire_cted ~hat proper clerks should go down to Mr Bagley's
foundry at Wmdrrull Hill to investigate the accident and render a detailed report.99 They were also concerned about the state of their . "This supposed episode does not place the Surveyor-General in a very favourable
light. Instead of adopting a policy of sauve qui peut he would naturally have at once
countermanded the order to cast. ' "OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47;29, p. iog.
248
THE WARREN 1701-1720
servants and, on 15 May 1716, directed that Mr Bamber and Mr Pawlett, surgeons, were to attend Colonel Borgard, Mr Mercator, Mr White, Mr Gibson, Mr Michelson, Mr Huchinson, Mr Ogborne and Mr Silvester, all ofwhom had been severely injured and burnt.100 On 20July 1716, the Board wrote to Dr Gardiner, their own surgeon, to examine the accounts presented by Messrs Bamber and Pawlett, for their professional services. These were subjected to careful scrutiny by Dr Gardiner, who was not backward in coming forward for an additional fee on his own account owing, he said, to 'his extra trouble in this affair'.101 Thereupon the bills for attendance by the two doctors were considered by the Board, who once more, on 18
January 1717, referred Mr Bamber's 'bill of cures' to Dr Gardiner.102 Finally Mr Bamber's account of £245. 1,µ. 10d. was accepted and settled on 25January 1717.103 Mr Pawlett was paid £30. Is. od. for the same service on 8 February 1717.104
M eanwhile, on 18 May 1716, Mr Wright, clerk of the cheque, was ordered to proceed to the foundry on Windmill Hill with two labourers and demand the keys from Mrs Ann Bagley, widow of the late founder. The labourers were to remain on the premises to watch the m etal.1°5 The Board on 12 June 1717, forwarded to Mrs Bagley a statement of the brass ordnance which had been sent to her late husband for recasting, and informed her that she was expected to return such guns to his Majesty's stores. They appointed Mr Henry Robinson to adjust, on their behalf, any differences with such persons as M rs Bagley might select as her agents. She was to inform the Board, from time to time, when she was in a position to return 'mettle' (metal), and they would detail proper persons to receive it.106 The Board, although accepting liability in the case of their own dependents, resolutely refused to be moved by compassion on account of other unfortunates involved in this catastrophe. They rejected without argument the pleas of Ann, widow of John Wightman, mould-maker, and ofJohn Davis, labourer, both employees of the late Mr Bagley, who had been blown up in the foundry, the former
fatally. The petitions prayed for the Board's charity, which they obviously considered should begin at home.107
On 30 July 1716, the Board agreed to purchase the utensils from the late Mr Bagley's foundry, on the petition of Ann his widow, at reasonable rates, for the use of the new 'Royal Foundery' which was
100 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 111. 101 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, p. 173, 20July 1716.
Ordnancc)ournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, p. 183, 30July 1716. 102 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/30, P· 15. 103 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/30, P· 20. 104 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/30, P· 25. 105 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 119. 106 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 137. 107 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, p. 154, 3 July I 716.
249
contemplated at_ Woolwich.108 The Board were not completely stonyhearted and their bowels of compassion were capable of movement. They stated on 30 November 1716:109
Upon examination th!s day of Mr Bagley's account of metal from 1 704 to 1 716, th<: balance be!ng 12 c:1 t. 2 qrs. 28 lb., in consideration of the grea~ suffering the family sustame~ by the loss of the father, son and
seveial "orkrnen at the late blast m recasting g d I h ·
• r d uns, an t 1e c arge 1n
fittmg t11e roun ry, ordered that the whole acco t b 11 d d h
balance remitted. un e a owe an t e
The construction ofthe foundry at Woolwi"ch · fi t c: h d d
. . 1s rs 1ores a owe
m the fo11owrng extract from the Journal Bo k d d J
o . s un er ate rg une
J7I6: A1artis 19° die Junij, 1716 It havino-for
ofthe most experienced otri . th \ many yeares been the Opinion Foundery of their O\\n a 1dce1s1 at t e Government should have a Brass
, n w 1ereas Mr Ba l , F d .
1
own [sic one] for Casting Brass Ord . g ey s oun ry is the on y Accidents wcli cant be prevented. nance and 1yable to dangerous
It is therefore order'd that a Pro .
1
Building a Royal Brass Foundery at Hbo~ _and, Estimate be made for wich; and the Charo-e thereof D fi aJeStY s Tower Place at WoolYear by Parliament for recasting eBrayed out of the £ 5 ooo given this
. . rass 0 rdnce and t · b 1 t
herem, masmuch as there are but p Y no time e os
2 1 2
Pounder for Land Service. ounders, and not 1 I 8 or 24 A Jetter to Mr Henry Lidgbird t about providing Bricks for the Ro rBattend the Surveyr ·en1 the 20th Once the b 11 h d y~ rass Foundery at Woolwich.110
a a started rollmg it . gathered speed. No grass was allow: s momentum increased as 1t new foundry. The Board must have d to _grow under the feet of the cariousness ofthe position No ffi . reahzed only too w 11 the pre
O 1
as Mr Bagley's had been ·dis ~la brass foundry in the kingdom, of for the Land Service In n:iant ~d, and no guns worth speaking apparently not going to. cha viewho. the state of Europe they were
nee t eir arm h As
we sha11 see, the new found more t an necessary. .Meanwhile, a master founi was compl~ted within twelve months. selection of the internal fitfer was required to supervise the final
nd
r7r6, the following adverti mgs a arrangements. So on ro July the Daily Cou"ant:111 sement appeared in the London Gazette and
Whereas a Brass Founde . Majesty's Service, all Foundry is now building at Woolwich for his
. . ers as are d .
are to give In their prospect' p esirous to cast Brass Ordnance
regulated by the Principal ~~ roposals _forthwith, upon such terms as
may be seen in their office in thlceTrs of his Majesty's Ordnance, which
e ower. 1oa Ordnance Journal Book p m Ordnance Journal Book' p ROfW0/47/29, p. 183 uo OrdnanceJoumal Book' p:grwo/47/29, p. 287:
m OrdnanceJoumal Book; PROfWg//47/29, pp. 139, 140• 47/29, p. 163.
250
THE WARREN 1701-1720
Andrew Schalch, a founder at Douai, must have answered this advertisement along with others whose names have remained un:ecorded. Selection followed in due course, and on 14 August r 7 1 6, it was ordered that, if Mr Leathes, his Majesty's Minister at Brussels, should give a favourable report on the abilities of Andrew Schaich as a gunfounder, he should be employed in building the furnaces and p~oviding the necessary equipment for the Royal Foundry at Woolwich at 5s. a day until everything was provided and his performance approved.112 Eventually, on 15 October 1716, Andrew Schaich was appointed master founder by an order couched in the following terms: 'The Board having reed a Ire from Mr Leathes, his Majesty's Minister at Brussels, giving an accot that Mr Andrew Schalck (sic) bears a good Character at Doway and was an able founder, Ordtl that the said Mr Schalck (sic) be employed in the Royal Foundery at oolwich at 5s. per Diem from 20th of Sepr last.'113
This disposes of another fabulous tale which has been accepted without question for nearly a century. It will be seen that Schalch's pay , as 5s. a day and not £5. The latter sum amounting to £1,825 a ear would of course have been fantastic and out of all proportion to 'allowances' then ruling. Even the Master-General himselfreceived basically less emoluments than this. The figure of£5 as the daily rate for A n drew Schalch's services first appeared in Historical Notes on the Royal Arsenal at Woolwiclz, by Lieutenant G. E. Grover R.E., published in r 870 in the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution, Vol. VI
p. 23 r. I t has been repeated ad nauseam, particularly by Clode in !1is Military Forces of the Crown, Vincent in his Records of Woolwich, Walford in his Greater London and Thorne in his Environs of London. No doubt Grover was considered the authority and succeeding authors slavishly copied his statement. As Hitler said: 'Make your lie big enough and everybody will believe it.'
The question is 'Did Grover really misread the Journal Book or was the "£5" a printer's error?' That point, of course, can never be settled after this lapse of time, Grover's original MS. having long since disappeared. It is agreed that the sign in the Journal Book used to denote 'shillings', a rather large 'l', might have been mistaken for the pound symbol and given rise to the error. Yet Gro~er was a careful student and if he did assume that the sum ment10ned was
'
five pounds, one would have thought that such a figure would have struck him as odd. In any case, it is a pity he did not turn over the next thirty pages of the Ordnance Journal book in question, because he would then have seen a statement which would have set all
doubts at rest :114
112 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, PP· 198, 199. 113 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /29, p. 241, 5 October I 7I 6. 114 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 271.
18 251
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
15 November 1716. Andrew Schalch, founder, for 57 days pay between 20 September 1716 and 15 November following at the Royal Brass Foundery at Woolwich the rate of 5s. a day pursuant to an order of the Board of 15 October last-£14. 5s. od.
The building of the brass foundry, which will be described later, initiated a burst ofconstructional zeal which swept away the lethargy of the preceding years. New buildings in the neighbourhood of Tower Place were planned and began to take shape besides certain other improvements ofa minor character which took place in various parts of the Warren. This activity was due, partly to the realization that a standing army required a steady flow ofequipment with which a national factory would be better able to cope, and partly to the
fact that the Tower was losing its importance as the main government arsenal and storage depot. These circumstances demanded some conv~nient place near the metropolis, where production, proof, inspection and storage could be grouped at one spot. The big effort lasted for four years and between 1716 and 1720 the ring of hammers and the screech of saws must have destroyed the peace and quiet
of 'Woolwich Green'. Four main building ?rojects were carried out during these four years. They may be said to have formed a consecutive whole corel~ted, as they were, with the formation of the Royal R egime~t of Artillery. Th~se were !he building of the 'Royal Brass Foundery'; the constructi?n of a Great Pile of Buildings' designed at T ower
Place, Woolwich, 9 July 1717-a block afterwards known as D ial Square from the sun-dial being built in over the main entrance in 1764; the remodelling and conversion of the mansion or 'Great House'. at Tower Place itself; and the erection of the first block of the ar~~lery barracks. One result of these changes was to strengthen
th
e ~htary_e!ement_of t_he future Royal Arsenal and inculcate that martial tradition which it retained fi
'Th R or 200 years.
1
. h fie oya Brass Foundery' was, as its name implied a building ~t urnaces where brass ordnance was to be cast for H:M. service.
t.must not be confused with the old foundry a place in existence
1716
pfnTor to , which was an iron foundry situa{ed within the bounds
o ower Place It und .
fc d · erwent repair at the same time as the new oun ry h'":as under construction. Four entries in the Bill Books support t IS contention i th f • .
b fi. h ' n ree o which the work was earned out e ore t.J contract for the brass foundry was placed. The Lidgbirds ;eredpaib £29, 4-J. 4d. for repairing the brickwork and tiling in the oun dd· . etw:en 27 February and 30 June 1716.115 They were paid:a:g: thitJon; £2o3. r5s. 41d. for building new furnaces and a iu ere :tween the same dates.us William Ogborne was paid Ordnance Bill Book Series II PROfW111 Ordnance Bill Book: Series n' PROfW0/51/98, p. 5, 30June 1716. ' O/51/98, p. 6, 30June 1716. 252
THE WARREN 1701-1720
£12. os. 3} d. for repairing the roof of the old foundry at Tower Place,117 and later received another sum of £85. I 7s. I 1 {-d. for work done in the iron foundry at Woolwich.118 Finally the iron foundry was pulled down between 3 1 March I 724 and 30 June 1724,uo and any competition between old and new was stilled.
The 'Great Pile of Buildings' was composite in character, consisting as it did of three portions connected by brick walls which formed two courts or squares between the blocks. The axis of the whole was approximately S.W. to N.E. The south western end contained the turning, washing and engraving house for the foundry and a series of artificers' rooms known as the smiths' shop. These surrounded the southern-most square called The Artificers' Court. The n ext building proceeding towards the N.E. was the Land Service Carriage Storehouse. On the other side of this was a larger square containing a fountain which plashed pleasantly into a basin. This rejoiced in the name of Fountain Court, though in later years it was known as Basin Square. In this courtyard were the armourers' shops and an additional workshop for technicians; there were houses there appropriated to the master founder and storekeeper.12°Finally, the northern end of the 'Great Pile', which received the appellation of Grand Square, was closed by the Sea Service Carriage Storehouse which contained the carpenters' shop. At the north-eastern entrance to the whole, was placed that beautiful gate-way designated 'Front of the gate next the River Thames for the Ship Carriage House designed at Tower Place at Woolwich instead of A markt 1717'.
Besides the buildings mentioned, there was_a call-house_, p?wder~ house and several 'usual offices'. This collect10n of toolsrmths shops with their crude machines formed the mechanical engineering
' .
nucleus of the Warren's technical activities and was the orgaruzational centre. It was the toolroom of the rudimentary gun factory.
The 'Great House' underwent a complete transformation though its ground plan remained the same. The remodelling was so thoroug~, both inside and out that the term 'rebuilt' is generally used 1n
' . .
describing the conversion. Rebuilding, however, requ1:res previous demolition and this never actually took place as a specrfic act.. As a building it was converted piecemeal into a new ho~se. By ~ 7I 9 it was very questionable whether anything of the old edifice, with the exception possibly of a few bricks, still remained. The _fr~nt part of th_e mansion was pulled down and a new facade put up in ~ts place. This was shorter than the original so that the tower, which had been integral with the original structure, became detached as can be seen
117
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/V\'O/51/97, P· 82, 30 November 1116. 118 Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/51/100, P· 28, sJanuary 1717• 110 Ordnance Bill Book' Series II; PRO/WO/51/117.120 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, 20 April 1720.
253
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
THE WARREN 1701-1720
in the painting entitled The Royal M ilitary Academy at Woolwiclz by Paul Sandby (engraved by M. A. Rooker). This tower, or turret as it was afterwards called, was demolished in August 1786. It was the new front portion of the house which contained the 'Great Room' and the 'Academy Room'. The 'Great Room', on the right hand side of the central doorway, was the first to be built. It contained a large bow window overlooking the river and was used as a Board Room for the Principal Officers of the Ordnance. The other large chamber to the left of the main entrance was the original Academy of 1720.
All these alterations deprived the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance of his bedroom etc. in the Great House, whereby he lost his pied-a-terre in the Warren. As compensation he was allowed £2 per quarter in lieu by a Board order dated 16 December 1718.1 21
The barracks, afterwards referred to as the 'Old Barracks' to distinguish them from the second block built in 1739, was th e structure lately consisting ofNos. 1-4 Officers' Quarters, Dial Square. The present Nos. 1 and 4 each then contained two officers' houses, while Nos. 2 and 3 were then the men's barrack rooms.
Three, at any rate, ofthese four main projects, namely the foundry, the Dial Square group and the remodelled mansion of To er Place formed a synthesis and were clearly the concept of one architect. Who was he? A certain Andrew Jelfe was, by ·warrant dated 16 January 1719, appointed 'Architect and Clerk of the W orks of all buildings erected, or to be erected, in the several garrisons, forts, castles, fortifications etc. belonging to the Board of Ordnance in Great Britain'.122 He, therefore, must have been given this post too late for him to have had anything to do with the designs of the buildings in question, and, so far as is known, he was the Board's first permanent architect. The Surveyor-General at that time was Brigadier-General Michael Richards who had been appointed to that office on 2 December 1714.123 He was a great intimate with the Duke ofMarlborough, Master-General, and SirJohn Vanburgh, Comptroller ofthe King's Works, and the three of them had formed a close friendship. Michael Richards was given, by warrant dated 18 March 1717, a special responsibility as 'Superintendent of Our fortifications and all other military buildings in Our Kingdom of Great Britain and all other Our Dominions'. He would therefore have had an immediate interest in the growth of the Warren and any plans would have come under his personal notice. Tradition has always associated Sir John Vanburgh with these specific buildings and, for once, tradition appears to be right. There can be very little doubt that the foundry, the 'Great Pile of Buildings' and the
::~ Ordn~ce Bill Book, Series I, PRO/W0/50/8.
M.G.O s Warrants, PRO/WO/ss/4go. m Patents and Warrants, Vol. V, p. 56.
reconstructed Tower Place were the handiwork ofSirJohn, that man ofmany parts, soldier, courtier, herald, playwright, and architect. As early as January 1858 the Quarterly Review says in Article VII, 'as the visitor gets to the gates of the Arsenal, he finds no difficulty in tracing the whereabouts of the labours of Andrew (Schalch) for straight before him, with stately solemnity which marked the conceptions ofits builder, Vanburgh, stands the picturesque gun foundry with its high-pitched roof, red brickwork and carved porch, looking like a fine old gentleman amid the factory ranges which, within these few years have sprung up around. It is impossible to contemplate this building without respect, for forth from its portals have issued that victorious ordnance which, since the days of George II, h as swept the battle grounds of the old and new worl~s:'
Among the King's maps in the Map Room of the Bntish Museum are a number of volumes containing original designs of barracks, fortifications and other military buildings in different parts of the country. These obviously derive from the pen of one ~an. T~e technique is certainly that of Sir John '(anb~rg_h, who delighted 1n a para-military style of his own which, 1nc1dentally? no .other draughtsman attempted to copy save Hawkesmoor, his assistant. H awk smoor's work, however, lacked the breadth and boldness of his master's conception, and is easily distinguishable from ~hat of Vanburgh. Volume XVII of this series is devoted to Woolwich. In
it are four drawings:
(a)
Plan of the Foundry built at Woolwich anno 1 7l 5 ·
(b)
Plan ofpart ofa Great Pile ofBuildings designed at the Tower Place at Woolwich g July 1717.
(c)
Front gate at Woolwich 1717. . .
(d)
Front ofthe gate next the River Thames ~or the Ship C_arnage designed at the Tower Place at Woolwich instead ofA (1.e. (c)) markt 1717.
The name of ( c) is misleading. It is in reality the entrance to the buildings mentioned in (b), i.e. the south western gateway, to ~he Artificers' Court leading to the turning, washing, and engraving rooms; ( d) is the design of the main gate at the north eastern end
of the 'Great Pile of Buildings'. . None of these plans is signed, no record exists ofVanburgh_hav1n~ executed them and no relevant Ordnance document ment10ns his name. Yet so defined is the hall-mark, that experts have no doubt as to authorship. Vanburgh apparently received no payment at_ an,y time from the Ordnance Treasurer. As Comptroller of the Kings Works, he may have received fees through anothe~ chan~el, or ~he execution of such plans may have been p~rt of his ~ffic1al duties. Alternatively, he may have made these drawings as a friendly gesture
255
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
to his two highly placed friends. Unless further evidence be forthcoming in future, the enigma must remain unsolved.
Mr Lawrence Whistler, author of Sir Jo!zn Vanburgfz-Architect and dramatist, gives the foIIowing reasons why Sir John Vanburgh must be considered the creator of these Woolwich drawings in the British
Museum:
(a) They must be considered in relation to the rest of the military designs in the same series all dating from the same period, i.e. those for Deptford, Upnor Castle, Sheerness, the Tower of London and Berwick. The style is the same throughout, both in architecture and drauo-htsmanship. Although not included among the others the new suo-gest;d layout
for Tower ~lace, Woolwich, :le~rly belongs to' the same gr~up.
(b) Architecturally the bmldmgs are exactly in Vanburgh's 'martial' ~anner, such as he used in his house, Vanburgh Castle,124 at Blackheath, m the outworks of Castle Howard and elsew·he H · ted this
, , 1 d . d fi re. e mven
manner ,fpa_rt Y_ en~e ram the medieval, and no other architect was capable o usmg 1t, or mdeed wished to adopt i"t L I b ·1d times
· d · b h . oca m ers some
cop1e it, 1 · y
ut t ey a ways faltered or modi"fi d ·t to
. . e 1 m som.e way eas
S f
detect. ome o the details m the 'barracks' ld · d d have
group cou , 1n ee ,h b
been wroug t y Hawkesmoor who caught th V b 1 d. · but
I ffi f ' e an urg 1 tra it10n,
~he genel:ka le ect o e~ch design is such as to rule out Hawkcsm oor. Nor
1s he so i e y an architect as Vanburgh th· ·
( ) v b h h On 1s occasion.
_c an u~g was _t e obvious architect to choose. He was preemmently a cast1e-bm1der'. He had be ld" d h d d" d
· · b ·1 · en a so ier an a stu 1e
Hrmlitary 1m din? t? some extent; his work was full of military 'allusions'·
e was a so enJoymg great popula ·t d · f
G I afi h" n Y an esteem in the new reign o
eorge ter is temporary eclipse under the Tories.
Mr Whistler, himself is co · d h ' nvmce t at the 1716-1720 layout ath W
t e arren was the work of Sir J h V b
O
unity and spacio b n an urgh. There is clear1y a
. usness a out the whole 'dThISbIIarge builfding programme cost t.he Board of Ordnance con
s1 era e sums o money as th T testify It · h . e reasurer's Ledgers and Bill Books
. 1s somew at difficult t d
specific heads as th O separate the various items un er
, e master craftsm h · h a
tions, often received a corn . en, w o superv1s:d t e _oper ticular share in the k prehensive payment covermg their par-the records reveals t:o~ as ha whole, but even a cursory glance at
e J.act t at the yea d · · d a
spate ofconstructional f . . rs un er review witnesse the past. ac ivity foreign to the laissez faire methods of
The 'Royal Brass Founder '
for it was dated 19 J Y was the first to be built. The contract une 1716 125 Th · • • 1 d n
24 July 1716 to Mr Willia · e m1tia step was an or er o estimate.12e Concurrentl Wr.n. Meades to prepare the necessary 124 • Y, Ilham Edge and George Shakespear
ow Van/Ju hC l
121 0 dn rg ast e School in Maze H"JJ r anceJournaJ Book PRO/W 1 • J11 OrdnanceJournal Book: PRO/W00//47/29, p. 199. 47/29, p. 180.
256
THE WARREN 1701-1720
went ahead between 1 July and 30 September 1716 with preparing the foundations, a task for which they were paid £50. 8s. 1 i½d.127 The site chosen had necessitated the demolition of the Greenwich barn which was promptly pulled down.128 Then the Lidgbirds, father and son, carried out the necessary brickwork at a cost of £334. 3s. 3d.,129 a sum they were paid by Mr Farman on 5 October 1716.130 As the original foundry building was constructed mainly ofwood, the lion's share of the work fell to William Ogborne who received a payment of £1,675. 1s. 2¾d. for his part in the new venture.131 Mr John Burgess, the master plumber, then entered the lists, and, on an order dated 30 November I 7I 6, proceeded to cast in pigs 24 tons, 1gcwt. 3qrs. 13lb. of lead for the roof.132 For this he was paid £ 405. 19s. 1½d., his account being presented on 30 June I 717 .133 Mr John Mist, the master pavior, was al~o e~rolled for_ th~ common cause. He did a certain amount of paving 1n the srruths yard by the foundry and at other places nearby.134 William Ogborne, too, was paid additional sums for making wooden plates, pattern~ and scaffolding in connection with the erection ofthe ne': foundry:13., The fabric ofthe foundry being completed, the c~nstruct10~ ofwh1ch had demanded, among other things, 35,534 W1ndso: bricks at £3 per 1,000, which with 17 tons 2cwt. of loam for use 1n _the ~oundry at 25s. per ton, were delivered to the site by Messrs L1dgbird at a cost of £r34. 3s. od.,1as the building of ~he furn~:es ~ook place. There were two furnaces known as the 'great and the little . The great
· 1a1 y· tl
furnace could melt about seventeen tons of meta1at a time. irs Y Messrs E dge and Shakespear dug the necessary pi~s, r~ceiving_ in payment the sum of £78. rgs. 1id.138 The~ the L~dgb1rds, usmg 28 500 place bricks and 10 ooo hard stock bncks, bmlt the furnaces
, · , J..d 1ao
between r8 March and 23 May 1717 at a cost of £ 237· gs. 7-2 · By the late spring of 171 7, the new foundry was completed save for the finishing touches and as early as 4 January of tha_t year, the Surveyor-General w:s instructed to issue warrants to arb.~cers fr_om time to time so that the necessary implements could be provid~d without delay.Ho The last act, bar the painting, was the embellishment
127
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO I5 1l9J, P·a8' 3° tpteh~;r ; 7~tof\\ 0 I
128 Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/5119 , P· 1• 3° arc b · 51 /99 p 10 31 Decemb~r 1716. PRO/WO/51 /100, P· 41, ~ Septem r11717·
120
Ordna~ceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 199, 14 ugust 171 •
130
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 241.
131
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/100, P· 1, 29June 1717•
132
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 289·
133
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/98, P· 68·
134
Ordnance Bill Book'. Series II, PRO/WO/51/ 100, P· 137, 3° Septtmber 1Jl7·
135
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/97, P· 82, 31 Decem er 171 • 136 Ordnance Bill Book'. Series II, PRO/WO/51 /98, P· 47, 31 December 1716• 137 Guide to Woolwich John Grant, 184I. b 6 138 Ordnance Bill B~ok, Series II, PRO/WO/51/97, P· 9, 31 DMem er 171 • 189 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /99, P· 10, 2 3 ay 1717• uo Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/3o, P· I.
257
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
of the main entrance. Mr Thomas Green, a stone-cutter, presented a 'draught' for the King's Arms, which it was proposed should be fixed over the doorway of the 'Royal Brass Foundery'. They were to be cut from Portland Stone, 6 feet high, 8 feet long and r foot thick, i.e. a block of stone containing 48 cubic feet. H e demanded a fee of £26 for 'performing the task in a workmanlike manner'.141 The Board were a little dubious of paying the price quoted, but on Mr Meades's recommendation they accep ted it.142 Mr Green then agreed with the Board to carve the Duke of M arlborough's Arms, surrounded by th~ Garter and bearing his motto FIEL PERO DESDICHARD0,143 on the keystone of the arch immediately below the Royal Arms, for a sum of £7. This figure was accepted on 30July I 7I 7, the day on which Mr Green was paid for executing the King's Arms.144 Finally, Mrs Jane Hill, paintress to the Board, painted the foundry where necessary. This included the painting ofeigh~een wa~er cisterns on the stacks ofthe pipes there, ten
ofwhich were gilded with the letters 'G.R.' and the date of the year, the other eight being gilded with the letters 'G.R.' and the Crown. The price ofeach cistern was 7s. 6d. Her warrant for this work was dated 7 August r7r7, and she presented her bill for £157. 3s. o½d. on 30 September r7r7, a sum which included several other la rge
items besides her work at the foundry.145 As soon as the ~oun~ry was in operation the boring 'engine' was i~t~lled. Henry L1dgb1r~ was ordered to dig the pit for it,146 while Wilham_ Ogborne w~s P~1d £57. gs. 4-}d. for erecting a cupola over it.147 Tius was no engme in the modern sense of the word· but a very elementa~ typ~ ofhorizontal boring machine worked b); horses. To mo~ern mm~s it appears a most antiquated contraption, but doubtless 1t s~i:ved its J?urpose _at the time, though hardly with any degree of precmon. This machme was constructed in situ as we are told that fine copper mixed with other gun metal was issu~d to Mr Schalch for the 'female of the great screw of the boring engine at the Royal
149
;oun~ery'. ~n those days no private manufacturer dealt with machme tools of that description. On 30 April , Andrew
171 7
Schalch rep?rte~ that he ~as ready to make the moulds for the two 24 pdrs. ~hich, ~t was decided, should be cast.149 He then prepared a memorial relative to the service of the fco d fc h t" of
Th. . un ry or t e atten 10n
d 18 th
the Boar · e Prmcipal Officers read and approved. In it he
m OrdnanceJoumal Book PRO/WO/ / m Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/W0/47 3°, P• 89, 2 April 1717. m Spanish meaning Faithf;l though unrorf13°, P• 104, 16 April 1717. 144 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO vvi5 unate. m Ordnance Bill Book Series II /PRJ47/3o, p. 210. m OrdnanceJournaJ Book PRO/WO /W0/51/100, p. 132.
m Ordnance Bill Book, Se;ies II, PRJ/'VJ3 1, P• I 11, 22 April 1718.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/ /0/5i/rn5, p. 74, 31 March 1720.
u, OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/3°, p. 166, 21 June 1717.
47 30, p. I 18,
258
THE WARREN 1701-1720
suggested casting two heavy cannon and several small mortars once a month in the great furnace, and, in alternate months, four guns from a 6 pdr. downwards, or r3 to I o inch land mortars and 8 inch howitzers in the little furnace.150 The two 24 pdrs. were duly cast.
~ndrew Schaich took the greatest interest in his work, as well as be1n?" _a very capable founder. The Board had a high opinion of his qualities, so much so that they raised his daily rate of pay from 5s. to I 2s. on 2 r March r 7r8. It is recorded that:
The Principal Officers of his Majesty's Ordnance having made a proof the I 3 th inst. of 2 brass 24 pdrs cast, mounted, bored, turned and engraved by Mr A ndrew Schalch, both which stood the full proof of powder and shot,_ and although one of them did not search so well as the other, yet cons~dering it was the first time of his casting, and he a stranger to the quality of the loom151 etc. the Board judged he performed his duty as a good and able founder and thereupon resolved in pursuance to their resolution the 30th April 1717 to make him an allowance of 12s. per diem, w ork or not work, according to the 2nd article of his proposal, from the day h e began to make moulds for the 2 above said brass ordnance, and that Mr Felton make out his certificate to the 31st December last to be
1:assed into Bill and Debenture; nevertheless, that the Board shall be at
liberty to agree with him upon any other of the three articles of his proposals if they shall think fit. Letter to Mr Felton accordingly.152
Arising from this, a warrant dated 16 May 1718, appointed Andrew Schalch to be Master Founder at Woolwich at a salary of £ 219 per annum with effect from 1 April 1718.153
The Board also approved of Andrew Schalch employing the number ofmen he proposed at the 'several allowances' stated against their names, taking as many as he could from the marching company of the Royal Artillery, their only insistence being that they must be the ultimate judge regarding the capability and the terms ofemployment of the engraver. Mr Felton was accordingly ordered to make up the pay of those men taken out of the company and of those employed as artificers• half the extra only to be paid to the persons ~arrying out their dut~ who should be next on the roll.154 Pro_cedure 1n the Royal Gun Factory has altered during the passage of time, as tradition asserts that in the days of George I, the master founder would never allow the furnaces to be opened until the workmen and spectators had joined him in prayer. Schalch was a conscientious man who looked after the interests of his workmen. For example, he
ISO A ·1 8
Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/31, P· l 11, 22 pn 171 •
161 loam. '
uz Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, P· 69.
::: M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/WO/55/502, P· 155· .
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, p. 111, 22 April 1718.
259
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
recom,mended the following increases of pay, which received the Board s approval on I April I 720 ;165
Jacob Schalch -foreman1sG 2s. 6d. to 3s. } Jacob Plaine -turner Is. Bd. to 2s. George Waugh -smith rs. 6d. to 2s. per day
John Magar -moulder Is. 6d. to Is. rod.
While the star of the Ro 1F d .
of the Laborator ass . ya o_un ry was m the ascendant, that fireworks was ply pd ed mto eclipse. In 1716, the manufacture of
ace on a care a d . . d
bombadier and · t . n mamtenance basis un er a
11
Colonel Hopkey :: ~ Y hibernated for a period of thirty years. of the times stili e t'ompdtroller of Fireworks, following the custom
' con mue to draw h. II f £ .
being transferred to r k is a owance o 200 a year, He enjoyed this ben:fitt~nown as 'the Establishments to be sunk'. had other duties under th th,e autumn of_1734.1s1 Col?nel Borgard Chief Firemaster under th; New Establishment' besides those. of his £150 p.a. for that office . old, yet _he, too, continued to receive
158
remained in retirement tilf11 the s~nng ~f 1722. The Laborat?ry allowed it to resume •t fi ~746, m which year a reconstruction W 1 s unct10nal activities
e must now return to th . . · .
building projects which wer e co~siderat10n ?f the other three main years. Owing to the method e earned ~ut dunng the e four stre:1uous it will be simpler to t ofcomposite payments before mentioned, Buildings' the con .reat the construction of the 'Great Pile of barracks 'as one vpersrn_n of the mansion at Tower Place and the
' O erat1on rather th 'b eh
individual erection se . an attempt to descn e ea
T parativelyhe story begins on l 2 J 1 . 1.d
before the Board 'a drau h~ Y 1717 ~hen the Surveyor-General 1~ room a turru'ng g and estimate for building an ingrav1ng
' room and a h' 1
Foundery', amountin to was mg room f?r the use of the Roya accepted without muct detf752• .7s. 5d. This seems to have been were ordered to b d iled discussion as contracts and warrants
e ma e out ac d' d t d
12 July 1717 and k ~or mgly.159 The contract was a e difficult to underst:~~ w:as ~ut m hand immediately. It is therefore estimate of £ Ynme months later 'the Board agree to the
nd
530 8
engraving house ·atqsW. dl. ~or building the turning, washing a
oo w1ch' 1so n·d tter
further and repent of th . · 1 they consider the ma d
nd
esti~ate finally approv:~;>u ~e ~aste, ?r was a modified plan ans earher, on g April ~It." 1mposs1ble to say. Three rnon~hd 171 7, bricklayer had been ordered to buil
m Ordnance Journal Book p ~'; ~ ~clative of the Master' fo~~/W0/47/33, p. 194. m r nance Quarter Book PROer. m grrance Quarter Book' PRO~g/54/22. 110 r nancejournal Book 'PRO l/54/80.
Ordnancejournal Book' PRO/~g/47/30, p. 191.
' /47/31, p. 98, IO April 1718.
260
THE WARREN 1701 _ 1720
a smit. h,s shop and forge according to the following dimensions :161
Breadth of forge from back to coal trough -3 feet Length -4 feet Height -2 feet
This was presumably in the Artificers' Court close to the turrun· morn. g h O!1 7 March I 7I 8, the Board approved the draft for building t e Great Room' and saloon in the mansion at Tower Place 162 an. approval followed on I o April 1 7I 8 by the following detailed eStlmates presented to the Board by the Surveyor-General as under:163 Land £2,255. 5s. 1o¼d.
_For building a carriage shed at Wool-\
Sea £2,202. 12s. 7¾d.
wich for Land and Sea Service J ~or building the Great Room, saloon,] staircas~, with 2 rooms adjoining to be done this year at Woolwich
A warrant was issued to William Edge and George Shakespear on 7 ~vember I 718 for digging the foundations for the barracks according to an estimate laid that day before the Board. Similar warrants were given to William Ogborne, HenryLidgbird, and John Burgess .for carpentering, bricklaying, and plumbing respectively, in co1;1-n~cb.on with the same.164 On 8 May I 7 1 g, the estimate for building the original barracks in the Warren, amounting to £2,038. 6s. 3l d., was placed before the Board and agreed to, the work being or~ered to be put in hand.165 On 7 July 1719, a small pair of back ~tairs 2 feet 6 inches wide were ordered to be made behind the saloon in .the re-constructed 'Great House',166 and on the same day an estimate of£503. r6s. r 1d. for fence walls for the officers' houses was
approved.167 For some reason it was decided to remove the pantiles from the roof of the 'Great Room' at Woolwich, storing them for future use, and to re-cover the new roof with lead. Henry Lidgbird received a warrant to carry out this service on 25 August I 720, and at the same time was ordered to 'new lay the bottom of the great furnace with new bricks in the Royal Brass Foundery'. William Ogborne also had a warrant of similar date, to prepare and board the new roof of the 'Great Room', while Hezekiah Walker, who had repla~ed John Burgess as master plumber, was instructed to cast sufficient lead for the purpose.168 Finally, on 31 August I 720, the
161., 0 rclnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/30, P· 98. 16; OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/31, P· 57· 16 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/31, pp. 100, 101. 164 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/31, P· 333· 165 0 rdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/32, P· 217. 166 0 rdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/32, p. 280. 187 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/32, P· 284. 188 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO fWO /4 7 /33, P· 267.
261
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Surveyor-General was ordered to lay before the Board 'draughts and estimates for another great room at Woolwich for an Academy equall to the "Great Room" already built, with a house for the mathematical master'.169
It is quite impossible to record all the detailed operations which together formed the complete programme. Many were small items such as making wooden centres for arches and windows, glazing, plastering, painting, paving, tiling, levelling ground, and other essential though minor services. They may be perused at leisure in the Ordnance Bill Books by those who have the time and inclination for such a study. There were five classes of tradesmen employed; seavelmen, bricklayers, carpenters, plumbers, and paviors, excluding painters whose efforts do not appear to be chronicled, and it is proposed to outline the work each did in the order indicated.
Scavel-men
Receiving a warrant dated r 2 July r 7r 7, William Edge and George Shakespear set to work to dig part of the foundations for the turning, washing and engraving house, to raise and level the floors of the Laboratory and the old fire-barn, and to erect supports in Collick Lane; jobs for which they received the sum of £84. 7s. 7d.170 Later on, they removed some heavy timber which would have obstructed
the erec~on oft~e turning, washing and engraving house, dug further foundat~ons for 1t, and, with William Meades, took the depths of the foundat10ns ofall the new buildings rising in the Warren for a further charge of£47. os. 6d.171 Between r October and 3r December 17 ~ 8, they opened up the d:ains in the new storehouses to lay pipes 1~' protected th,e foundation walls against frost, grubbed up trees ?1 front of the Great Room', screened mould there and filled up pits in the foundry. They were paid £2 o. rs. 3d. for these items.112 Later on, Edge and Shakespear were given a warrant dated 10 April 17 18 and a co~tract dated 7 ~ove_mber ofthe same year for a large amoun; of scave!lmg work. Their bill amounting to £ r 3r. ss. 1od. was fo completmg the fo~ndations for the turning, washing and engraving house and excavatmg the foundations for the Land Service and Sea Service Carriage Storehouses , the 'Gre t Room,, the saloon, the
. a , staircase and the room adioining in the 'G t H se' the artificers
h . Ar .fi , ~ rea ou , s ops m tl. cers Court, the barracks and kitchen, the outworks ~o
!he barra~ks, bog-houses, vaults, drains and digging for the fountain
m Fountam Court. In all they removed 6 302 yards of soil at 5d. a yard.11a '
m OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/WO/ /
1;0 Ordnance Bill Book S '. I 47 33, pp. 269, 270. 111 Ordnance Bill Book' S er!es 1f' t~O/WO/51/100, p. 81, 30 September 1717. 111 Ordnance Bill Book' S er~es 11, p O/WO/51/100, p. 82, 31 December 171i·
11• ordnanceBiIIBook' S;~~es 11' PRRO/WO/51/102, p. 68, 31 December 171 . ' Ies , O/WO/51/104, p. 106, 30June 1719.
262
THE WARREN 1701-1720
They next had a warrant dated 7July 171g to clear the ground for the fence wall to be built at the barracks and to raise the level of the soil within the enclosure, to finish Proof Place, to clear the Artificers' Court, to make a cartway to the old fire-barn and to lower part ofthe ground before the upper Warren gate. They carried out these tasks between I July and 30 September 1719, for which they were paid £52. 6s. 7d.17'1 A further warrant, dated 15 August 1 7 I 9, instructed them to level the courtyard before the 'Great Room' and to fill up a passage leading to the kitchen and to level the shed and the shot-yard. Their bill amounted to £26. 6s. 2d.175 William Edge then seemed to disappear as subsequent warrants were addressed to George Shakespear alone. On a warrant dated 13 July 1 720, he ducr the foundations for the two labourers' cottages and the piers whichb were to be built at the entrance to the Warren, he excavated the vaults at the barracks176 and dug the drains at the back together with three wells. He also prepared the foundations _for the fence walls of the garden which had recently been planted behmd
177
the b arracks. For these tasks his payment was £27. 10s. 2-}d. Finally, George Shakespear was paid £53. 18s. 4d. for levelling the ground and sinkincr the floor of the Great House on a warrant dated I '2. April 1720,118 :nd £g4. 6s. gd. for digging the foundations of the A cademy and of two bog-houses.179
Bricklayers
Henry Lidgbird was responsible for all the brickwork which this large b uilding programme entailed. Between l October and .31 December 1718 he carried out a series of minor jobs among which
th
Were taking do~n the great elipses (i.e. ellipse) ne:'t. to e bow window in the Board Room, on the instruction of William ~eades,
• . . h • h place and covering the
erecting a semi-circular arc 1n t e same 180
115·
Work with straw. His fee for these items was £48. 3¾d• Henry Lidgb· d d'd h • t· ofhi·s business on two large contracts.
1r 1 t e maJOr por 10n d 181 The first was dated I o April l 7l 8 and w_as valued at £4,66l. 5s. 4 .
It comprised bricklaying in the following:
(a) Building the 'Great Room', saloon, staircase and;o<~;.;5:dJo;:~:~kitchen piazza bog-house coal-house, shed next to t e i c e . shot-ya;d, and ~he fence w~ll running from the kitchen to the great pier;
also work under the stairs going up to the saloon. 3 d
£1,410. 13s. 7"4 •
11~ O/WO/ 1/io5 p 97 30 September 1719.
17~ Ordnance B\11 Book, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/11105: p: 99: 31 December 1719.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR b k. 5 the gardens of the houses.
176 These are the present cellars at the ac m 6 0 June 1720.
1
1:: Ordnance B\ll Book, Series II, P[gf{\~g~5~ ~~~t ~: 3t ;0 June 1720.
17 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, P ro/5 /l 10 121 31 March 1722.
18: Ordnance Bill Book, Ser~es II, PRROO//W'\i\ 5~ pp: 54 '31 December 1719.
01 1104'
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, P 5 ' ' J 1719
181 Ordnance Bill Book' Series II, PRO/WO/51/104, P· 55, 3o une ·
'
263
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(b) Land Service Carriage Storehouse £ 1d
. C . 920. os. I I 4 . ( ) c Sea Serv1ce arnage Storehouse £ 8 J...d
· • 1,1 o. 2s. 12 •
(d) Turnmg, was111ng and eno-ravino-t> ho t'fi , k h h
· d . t> use, ar 1 cers wor s ops, t e piers an great arc11 Ieadmg to the Art'fi , C (. h d .
marked A amongst the plans in the M ; cers ourt . i_.e. t e es1gn 'the Front Gate at Woolwich , ap oom of the Bnt1sh Museumin the Artificers' Court. 1 717 ) ' the fence walls and the bog-house
(e) The call-house, powder-house and£ . . £738_. I os. I I d. fence-walls enclosing Fou t • C ountam m Fountain Court. The
n am ourt. £ BJd
4 11. 17s. 2· •
Between the two contracts he r . d
the fence-walls vaults b h eceive £308. 7s. 3¼d. for building
' ' og-ouses d ki h ffi ,
houses in the barracks.1s2 ' an tc ens for the o cers
His next large contract dated 6M consisted offour main items 183 ~h arch 1719, worth£945. 3s. 2¾d.
· ese were:
(a) Building the tv,,0 Iabou ,
to the Warren. rers houses and the piers at the entrance
(b) Building a wash-hous d ki
Captain's apartment build' e an tchen with a shed for coals in the
' ma-vault fc ,
house and at that belonging t t> h C s or coals at the master founder s Building a room near the O ~ ~ lerk ofthe Stores (MrJohn Portman). steps going to the saloon 1a':acs -ouse at the master founder's under the
· onstr ·
and also fence walls for the ·d uctmg a necessaryl85 at the shot-yard
. gar ens heh· d h r.
these 1tems was dated 21 Ma m t e barracks. The warrant 1or
(c) Plastering in the fou yffi I 720 ·
f< r O cers' h · · h
our rooms at the entranc t F ouses m the barracksI86 and 1n t e
e O ounta· C II
on a separate contract dated 8 M In ourt. This work was actua Y I 720. ay 1719, the warrant beino-dated 2 l N.[ay
(d) Work in the saloon a d . o
. th ull n m the b 'Id'
m e sc ery and the lard ui mg adjoining the great kitchen,
er.
~enry Lidgbird next plastered
received £120. gs od I87 L the Great Room for which he
. · · astly he • ' h
~ork h. e d1d at the Academ was paid £51 r. 1Bs. Bd. for t e mcludmg the building of th y on a warrant dated r 8 April I 72 1, chimneys in the saloon of theJreat pier, fence walls and additional was dated 30June 1722 and eh reat_ House.iss The debenture for this
e received 1s9
payment on 14 May I 723. 181 Ordnance Bill Book S .
m Ordnance Bill Book' er~es II, PROfWo
1" The Mastcr-founde; 1tcsII, PRo;wOf51/io4, P· 59, December 1719.
120). a O appeared to ha 5I110,7, p. 78, 30 September 1720. m It is a somewhat c . ve a residence in Fountain Court (see note
a 'necessity' in the ei hur1ous reflection on mo
'convenience'. g teenth century had b dern civilization that what was considered .11~ These four officers' h y the twentieth century merely become a
origmally contained two oouscs ~re the present N e
on1~7housc in 1743. fficers quarters until os. l and 4 Dial Square. Both of t~es Ordnance Bill Book S . General Borgard had No. 4 rnade into
111 Ordnance B'U Bo ' cries II PRO/W
111 0 1 ok S · ' 0/5 /
rdnancc Trcasurc;'s ~ II, PRO/W0/5:/10, P• 59, 31 December 1720. ger, PROfWo; a;J~~• P· rr6, 30June 1722.
4 264
THE WARREN 1701-1720
. Peter Meades having calculated that 700,000 bricks had been used in the saloon, ~itchen etc. of the Great House, Mr Lidgbird was ordered to provide 350,000 greystock and slate bricks for the corning season.190
Carpenters
Between 1 April and 30 June 1718, William Ogborne took up the old floor and staked out the ground for the new portion of the Great House, made a fence in Warren Lane,191 carried out work on the Sea and Land Service Carriage Storehouses, fixed up iron work in the turning, washing and engraving rooms, and made good the roof to the brick chimney in the foundry.192 He did his share of the main b1:1ilding scheme on the same contract as that on which Henry Lidgbird carried out the bulk of his work. His warrants for this were date_d 7 November 1718, 7 April 1719 an~ 10 April 1719, and he received a total of £3,416. 3s. 8¾d.193 The items were:
(a)
W ork in the 'Great Room', saloon and rooms adjoining, and in the kitchen, coal-house and bog-house £8or. 15s. 6¾d,
(b)
Work in the Land Service Carriage Storehouse
£1,022. 19s. 7d.
(c) W ork in the Sea Service Carriage Storehouse £981. 6s. 8¾d.
(d) Fitting up the middle pavillion for small stores
£97. 9s. 4d.
(e) Work in the turning washino-and engraving house
' 0 £282. 8s. 7-½d.
£2
(f)
Building two sheds in the Artificers' Court I. 14.s. 6d. 35
(g)
A boa-house £7. • B¼d.
(h)
Work in the call-house and powder-house in Fountain Court
£97. 4-5· 1!d.
(i) Building four sheds in Fountain Court £97. 4-5· 7}d.
.William Ogborne received two further contracts in connection
171
With the barracks. The first for £1,018. 7s. 7{-d. dated 8 May 9, for wood-work in the construction of the barracks,10<1 and the other for £99. Is. ¼d. dated July 1719, for building outhouses a~d fence
47
Walls on the barrack site.19s He then completed the lab~urers houses at the entrance to the Warren. His contract for this was dated 16 March 1720, and his bill amounted to £251. 25· 3-}d.1~ 6 It ,~ill be remembered that Henry Lidgbird had fulfilled the bncklaymg part of the contract and had built the piers (see note 183). Between
::~ Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, P· 2.67, 2 5 August 1 7 20• •
19., Not to be confused with the present \Varren Lane, formerly called R';fged Rou:.
11
10 ~ Orclnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/51/101, P· 67, 3° June 7 · 1
u: Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/WO/51/104, P· 4, 3° September 17 19· 195 O rdnance Bill Book' Series n' PR0/\\'O/51/105, P· 67, 31 Decem~er 17 19·
1
grddnance Bill Book: Series n: PROfW0/51//105, P· i6,3 rec~:i;;r\77;~
188
r nance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 107, P· ' 3° ep ·
19 265
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
these uprights were hung a · f ·
d R . pair O iron gates made by Messrs Peters an emnant, smiths, at a cost of£68 1Bs J,d 197 •
act in enclosing th lV b · · 42 · This was the last
. t ed harren Ya wall. The total estimate for building
tile piers, ga es an t e t\,vo lab , h
ourers ouses at the entrance to the 'Varren was £ 523 gs 11 1..d fi
Mr Meades on 16. M. h·2 ., a gure presented to the Board by
arc I 720 who a d . d d h
necessary warrants and ' ccepte it an cause t e
contracts to be d A .c. b
seen the estimate was t rawn up. s 1ar as can e
' no exceeded 10s William Ogborne then fitted · h .
in the new building at Tower PI up t e kitchen, scullery and larder he also boarded the roof of th:~~on a warra~t dated 2 1 May 1720; 25 August 1720 For these . reat Room on a warrant dated
· services he 'd d
30 September 1720, a sum of £ was pa1 , on a debenture date
11
the same day and on a • il 5• 5s. 5fd. on 14 July 1721. On
' s1m arly d t d d b .
sum of£147. 16s 8.1-d .c. ki a e e enture, he received the
· • 2 • 110 r ma •
Arch and Piers' kno .. ,n • h ng a pair of gates under 'the Great
' ., in t e d .
Woolwich-1717' and t . esign stage as the 'Front Gate at
' wo pairs of r.
eastern and western si"de f F gates 1or the entrances on the
s O •ount · C 199 "d
£424. l4S. 7d. for doing th . . am ourt. He was next pa1 House on a warrant dated ~ntenor decorative work in the Great
8 200
more to accomplish before h:y 171g. ~ illiam Ogborne still had 1716-1720 building sche could claim that his share in the
me was finish d
he was, ?n a debenture dated e • On 29 September I 72 I, for odd Jobs carried out b tw 3° September 1720 paid £4.6. gs. gd. the Great Room saloo e een 1 April and 20 September 1 720 in
' n, great kit h · · d
the saIoon, and also fco . · c en and m the rooms behin
d · h r certain c .
an m t e houses ofMr p arpentenng work in the barracks three warrants, dated 22 oltm_~n and Mr Felton.201 He then received account of work in th b pn ' 2 1 May and 5 December 1 720 on
e arracks a d ffi ' . '
on 29 September 1721 h b . n ° cers houses. For this also
' e o tamed h '
a debenture dated 31 Dece t e sum of £ 195. rgs. 3¾d. on . As the storekeeper's h mber I 720.202
th · ouse was ·
e wamscoting of his ro contained within the Great House, b "Id" oms com · h"
m mg programme. Th es wit m the orbit of this large stages, why, it is not clea: ~ork was apparently carried out in two ail<l 3° September 1720 ' ut _two debentures dated 30 June r 72°
first Willi ' respective!
' am Ogborne , . Y, covered the operation. On the
vas paid £21 .
::; Ordnance Bill Book S . · 4-J. 9t d., 203 for the portion Ordnance Journal B enes II, PRO/WO/ 1
m Ordnance Treasure/or, JROfWo;47; 5 /118, P• 87, 6Junc 1723.
33 1
Ordnance Bill Book S~ ger, PRO/WO/' f1· 53•
6
200 Ordnance Bill Book' er!es II, PROfWo 4 2.
Ordnance Bill Book' ~enes II, PRo;w0 f5 1/107, p. 86, 30 September 1720. 201 Ordnance Treasure•, cries II, PRo;wo/11107, p. 91, 30 September I 720. m Ordnance Bill Boo{sL<:dger, PRO/W0/5~//6107, P• 87, 30 September 1720.
Ordnance T , enes II PROfW 4 2.
rcasurer's Led ' 0/51/108
0 rdnancc Bill Book S . ger, PROfWO/ , P• 86, 30 September 1720.
816
so• Ordnance T • enes II PRo;w 4 2.
reasurcr's Led ' 0 / 5 1 /
ger, PROfW0/4816~_7• P• 98, 31 December 1720.
266
THE WARREN 1701-1720
he ~id between 31 March and 30 June 1722, on the second he received £24. 7s. 4d. ;204 both payments being made on 14 May 1 7~3: On the same day, too, on a debenture dated 30 June 1722, Wilham Ogborne was paid £240. 17s. 7¾d._ for his part in building the Academy Room,200 and finally he supplied the furniture for the
od.206
Great Room at a cost of £46. 1Os.
Plumbers John Burgess was paid £435. 11s. 1id. for plumbing carried out at the turning, washing and engraving house, and at the foundry.207 On a warrant dated 10 April 1718, he received the sum of £298. 8s. 1o¾d. for his work in the Land and Sea Carriage Storehouses the
'G '
reat R oom' and the building adjoining.208 Later on, he received additional warrants dated 1 o April 1718, 24 October I 718, 8 May 1719 and 7July 171 7, to cover his plumbing activities in the barracks, the 'Great Room' and the Land and Sea Carriage Storehouses b et, een 1 J anuary and 30 June 1719. For these later services he
received £ 262. 4-5. 6d.209
Paviors
John M ist, master pavior, had a contract dated 19 November
171 7, to pave the Land and Sea Service Carriage Storehouses with
17,985¾square feet of Purbeck squares at 7d. a square foot. His bill
was £524. 11s. 7d.210 On a warrant dated 29 July 1718, he laid
down 2,903 square yards of rag paving, at 18d. the square yard, in
the foundry, artificers' shops and the Sea Service Carriage Store
house, and also raised the ground at the foundry. For this he was
paid £ 313. 14s. 6d.211 He next raised the level of Artificers' Court
and ofFountain Court between the two Carriage Storehouses, laying
the ground around the buildings ; the whole being well rammed. His
fee for these operations was £357. 17s. 8d.212 John Mist also laid
down pavino-stones in front of the saloon, before the 'Great Room',
• b
in the little yard behind the 'Great Room', and at the barracks, on
a warrant dated August r 71 g. On further warrants dated 2 I May
5
and 5 August r 720, he paved the roadway at the entrance to the Warren by the labourers' houses. On these three warrants he was paid £185. 19s. d.213 His final payment in this connection was a
7
20" Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/64.
206 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/64.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROjW0/51/110, p. 114, 30 June 1722.
200 Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/51 / 1 13, P· 62, 3o June 1723·
201 Ordnance Bill Book' Series II' PRO/W0/51/100, P· 122, 31 December 1717.
:os Ordnance Bill Book: Series II: PRO/W0/51/102, p. 112, 20 December 1718.
:00 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/104, P· 115, 30 June I 719·
-io Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/\\ 0/51 /102, p. 113, 30 September 1718.
211 Ordnance Bill Book' Series 11' PRO/W0/51/102, p. 113, 31 December 1718.
~:: Ordnance Bill Book: Series 11: PRO/W0/51 /104, p. 108, 30 June 1719.
-Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/108, p. 31, 30 Septemb r 1720.
267
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
sum of£43. 7s. 4d. for some additional paving work in the kitchen courtyard before the saloon, at the Warren entrance, and in front of the barracks, which he carried out in the late autumn of
r720.214
In conclu~~g t~is somewhat lengthy and detailed description of the great bmldmg impetus between the years r7r6-r720, it may be stated that Messrs ~eters and Remnant, smiths, though strictly without the five categories oftradesmen under consideration did the last embellishment to the Academy by fitting ironwork within at a cost
4d.215
of£2. 2s. ~hile it is o~vious that these four main building projects, absorb1_ng as t?ey did the main energies ofthe constructional staff, were ofp_nmary importance to the growth and effectiveness ofthe Warren dunn~ the second dec~de of the eighteenth century, there were other impr?vemcnts dunng the years in question which contributed to th~ effidc1ency of the Establishment. Some of these may be briefly
ment10ne .
Wharves and cranes were refurbished. William Ogborne pulled up the old wharf between r April and D b 6 21s and in
th fcO11 · . . 3I ecem r I 7r , e owmg year ~illiam Edge and George Shakespear were paid£32. 6s. Bd. for ramng the wharf 211 o d d April
1 18 Willi O b · n a contract ate 29 T7h ' am g orne built a new crane costing £276. 7s. 6d. zis
ere was a good deal of u·d · · 11 d
h ymg m the v\Tarren. Trees were pu e updwl erell ndot wanted, various fences Were built ground was raised
an eve e and d · '
· t · h' ~e~ rams were made. The Board took a great
m erest m t e amemtJ.es ofth y
1
'bl . e Pace. They resolved to plant as man
I
e ms as poss1 e m and d T ti
fyi th aroun ower Place with a view to beau fen:! waellsprTospteh~t, bodth al~ng the various paths and around the · o 1s en they t d h · the
S G ms ructe t e storekeeper to receive
urveyor-eneral's order5 · h · ffi s
could control th m t is respect so that the Principal O cer
1
e ayout as a wh I 219 S f ere a
menace to th15• ab · °e. torms, o course, w
oncu1tural ex · • a: ing
from the strong wi d penment, the young saplings suuer d
1.
1
therefore, to find ~;tw;~: swept the marshes. One is not surprise ~ May 1720 to stake ham Ogborne received a warrant o°: 2 water su li b 150 ofthese new elms.220 With all the new building,
PP es ecame a p bl d an
estimate on 5 Jul ro em, and the Board accepte . in Woolwich to rh17,1 for £27° to convey water from the condwt e oyal Brass Foundery' the Laboratory, the
mo '
m rdnance Bill Book, Series II p 111 g:nance B!ll Book, Series II' p~g/W/W0/51/110, p. 120, 31 December 172o. 117 nance Bill Book, Series II' p O/51/1 I 1, p. 1, 31 December 1720. datedOrdnJ~nce Bill Book, Series II ~6Wtw0/51/97, p. 82, 31 December 1716w rrant
118 0~u Y 171_7. ' O/51/99, p. 3, 30 March 1717. a llt Or nancc Bill Book, Series II PRO . 118 0~anceJournal Book, PROfWO//W0/51/104, p. 1, 31 December 1718.
anceJournaJ Book, PROfW0/47/33, P• 27, 15January 1720. 47/33, p. 230.
268
THE WARREN 1701-1720
storehouses and the storekeeper's residence; the estimate to include the laying of new pipes.221
Three large bills were paid, two to Henry Lidgbird and one to William Ogborne, for certain work carried out in I 7I 7. The first one of £500. gs. 7¾d. rendered by Henry Lidgbird,222 concerned the following items on warrants dated 25 March and 25 June I 7I 7:
(a)
At the smiths' shop adjoining the new brass foundry.
(b)
In the house of easement223 in the Laboratory.
(c)
Sheds in the Laboratory.
(d)
Fence wall between the Laboratory and the foundry.
(e)
Fence wall from Pritton's house to the foundry.
(f)
Walls and sheds in the shot-yard.
(g)
In the two porches before the mealing and driving houses.
(h)
In the piece of outward fence wall and buttresses near the angle of the moat.
(i)
For ripping the tiling off the roof of the buildin:5 where Colonel Borgard's and Captain Baxter's rooms are, the porter s room and the watch-house.
The second one of £207. 6s. 7¾d., payable to Henry Lidgbird, was for the following jobs carried out between 26 October 1716 and r r M arch 1717:224
(a)
Altering chimneys and other services in the Laboratory.
(b)
:r..-1akino-a window in the rope storehouse.
(c)
Cleari;g a way for the foundation~ in :he shot-yard.
(d)
Making a chimney and other services m the foundry.
(
e) Repairing tiling in the dwelling houses. .
(f)
Pulling down the old storehouse in the shot-yard and clearmg away the bricks. ·
(g)
Building a smiths' forge in the O~d Carriage Yard.
(h)
Clearino-foundations for the turnmg house.
• b
(1)
Making a curb for the wheels.
(j)
Making a base for a grindstone trough. d •
(k)
Making a new cistern at the conduit in Collick Lane an owermg the pipe there. h
1
and other services in t e
(1) Pulling down part of a dwelling house Warren.
ad as on behalf of William
The third one of £1,735. rgs. 94' · w
.c , k ·n.22s
0 gborne ior carpenters wor 1 •
(a)
The rope storehouse at Woolwich (over £r,ooo).
(b)
The watch-house.
(c)
Gates at the upper end of the Warren.
!!1 Ordnance J'?umal Book,. PRO/PWR00//~{5°1•;·1/::·p. 31 December 1717.
5 ~ 4
--2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, ' ::> ' ::: Another na1:1e for a 'nec~ssary' 0~~ 0/~~u/~~-/rno p. 210,11 March 1717.
Ordnance Bill Book Series II, P ::> ' J 171 7
22 s Ordnance Bill Book: Series II, PRO/W0/51/100, P· 12, 3° une •
269
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD THE WARREN 1701-1720
(d)
The Laboratory.
(
e) The bog-house.
(f)
Sheds in the shot-yard.
(g)
Door case leadino-into the shot-y ·d . h
house. -=> ai agamst t e cordage store
(h)
New fire-barn.
(i)
The weighing post at Proof Plac
(j)
The smiths' shop near the found;~
(k)
The f~nce wall going into the foundr .
(1)
Covenng the drains in Collick L Y
(m)
The timber platform at the e d a~e.
° th storehouse next the wharf
with the planking on the s'd r. n e 1• . • 1e P atrorm above the capsill ( n) Repamng and revetting the wharf next th . . . . (o) The guardhouse. e n ver.
(p) The storekeeper's house.
In addition to the above M , essrs5s. 1Oi·d., on a contract dated 1 J 1 L'd .1 gb1rd . w ere · d pa1 £395·
the cordage storehouse. 226 u Y1715, for their share in building
Other alterations and new cons . . .
tion of Proof Place 22; fu th ti uction comprised the reconstruc
' r er work on th h 22s
fence wall costing £l6g. 1 . ld. b . e rope store ouse, a
the lane with the sheds 1 4-S_ mlt between the shot-yard and Meades having prepared t~avm~ ro feet clear within the wall, Mr house 229 and the old sto he eStimate, the demolition of the saltpetre
' re ouse 2ao d h .
house on the site of the old . h' , an t e erection of a new store-bank.2a1 smit s shop near the wharf on the river
The regulations governin
eighteenth century allowed g proof at the Warren in the early
· contractors d · f • h ·
pieces, to use the butts th h . , es1rous o proving t eir
. ere at t eir own . .
corn med with an almost ent" b converuence. This laxity,
b highly dangerous, giving rise ire ~ fisence ofsaf~ty precautions, proved In I 718, MrJohn Withers 'as i~ requently did, to serious accidents. stead on the marshes facing:~: ~e Su~erer. He had a pleasant farmyards from the main Warr oolwich-Plumstead road some 350 the boundary of the estab el~hentrance. It lay about r 20 ya;ds beyond
b . h is ment and r d b f
utt m t e direct line of fi Th 50 yar s ehind the proo 1777 and presumably con~e. de far~ was still shown in a map of advancing tide of build' ~e to exiSt till it was engulfed in the must have run consider:~1· . {un-proof was frequent Mr Withers
occasion instanced he cl • e nds when firing became e:ratic On the
, a1me · ·
£4 owmg to two of his cows having
221 Ordnance Bill Book S .
m Ordnance Bill ' cr!es II, PRO/WO/-1
m Ordnance B'll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/' /100, p. 71, 30 September 1717. WO/51/105, p. 66 1:;'tks, Series II, PRO/Wor/j°~• P· 97, 30 September 1719.
m OrdnanceBiiIB3 ~P~m.ber 1719. 51 9, P· 97, 29June 1717, and PRO/
zao Ordnance Bill~ ' eries II, PRO/WO/ 1/
u 1 Ordnance Bill Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/1/99, P• 10, 31 December 171 6.
100
k, Series II, PRO/W0/5 , P· 41, 20 September 1717.
51199, P· 10, 31 December 1716. 270
cast their calves prematurely on the proving of an iron mortar. The Board accepted liability and instructed Mr Felton the storekeeper ~o settle with the outraged farmer as reasonably ~s possible,2a2 bu~ in order to prevent any repetition ofsuch an occurrence they issued an order that, in future, no merchant should be allow:d to fire his ~uns at Woolwich without the previous consent ofthe whole Board.233
hey also arranged for the butt to be raised, the ground before the butt to be levelled and the stand for weighing guns to be removed.2a<1 I n a dd'1t10n,· they considered an estimate of £96. 12s. od. for a new ~roof-butt at Proof Place presented by Mr Meades.235 At the same time, George Shakespear, who was ordered to demolish the old butt for shot recovery, scamped his work. He was told to do his work properly or take his discharge. As he still continued in the Board's employ, h e must have repented of his evil ways and abandoned his
236
effort of going 'ca'canny'. On I M ay 1716, a sale of unserviceable stores took place at the Warren. This was the first of a series of disposals which eventually culminated in the modern sale-yard. On 6 April 1716, the Board ordered the insertion in the newspapers of a notice calling attention
237
to a public sale to be held at Woolwich on I May. On 24 l\,fay 1 716, Captain Baxter and Mr Felton, the two storekeepers concerned, were ordered not to deliver any goods purchased at the sale till the purchasers had deposited the money.238 A Mr Robinson bought the complete lot, and having complied with the injunction, received from the two storekeepers the stores he had acquired.239 Three years later, Captain John Baxter asked to be relieved of his post as Storekeeper to the Laboratory, owing to his great age and infirmity. The Board agreed and ordered a remain to be taken:240 As the Laboratory had, by this time, been placed on a care and maintenance basis, the post
of storekeeper was abolished. Even as early as 8, Russians were a problem. Correspondence
171
took place between the Board of Ordnance and James Craggs, Secr~tary-at-War, about the possibility ofAndrew Tretreacuff being admitted to the Royal Foundry to be trained as a gun-founder. The Secretary-at-War wrote on 7 August 1718, saying that the King would like to gratify the Czar's wishes in this respect, but the Board's
a · 2-11 F. 11 th
Bnswer of 10 August 1718 was not very encouraging. ina Y~ . e oard wrote again on October 1 718 to James Craggs enclosing
1 0
:~: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/4.7/31, P· 122, 29 April 1718·
18
2 Ol'clnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, P· 58, 7 Marc_h 17 ·
34 9·
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/32, P· 136, 3 April 17 1 18 236 OrclnanccJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/31, P· 319, 28 OctC?ber 1 117 ·238 OrclnanceJournal Book, PRO[WO/47/32, P· 15°, 13 April 7 9· 237 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/29, P· 8I. 238 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/29, P· 120· 16239 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/29, P· 129, 5June 17 · 1
2
40 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/32, P· 68, 20 February 17 9· 241 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/347.
271
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
a copy of a letter they had despatched to the Earl Stanhop~, Secretary of State, representing the inconvenience of the proposition and expressed their hopes that His Majesty 'would not be pre
vailed upon in this affair'. 242 During this period of growth two new posts were created on the Warren's establishment. These were the Clerk of the Stores, afterwards called the Clerk of the Cheque, and the Clerk of the Survey.
John Portman was appointed Clerk of the Stores at W oolwich at a salary of £54. 15s. od. per annum with effect from r October 1718.2 J 3 He was given assistance three months later in the shape of an 'extra clerk of stores' ·when David Stephenson became that extra clerk at a salary of£36. ros. od. a year on r J anuary r7 r9. 244 The first Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich was icholas H unton, appointed on I Oc~ober 1720, at a salary of£Bo. os. od. per annur:i-245 As ·we shall see m the next chapter, neither of these officials hved
very long.
In 1720, therefore, the Civil establishment at the arren com
prised:
Storekeeper-James Felton
os. od. p.a.
£ 160.
Clerk of the Cheque-]ohn Portman
I OS . od. p.a.
£54.
Extra Clerk-David Stephenson-
IOS. od. p.a.
£ 36.
Clerk of the Survey-Nicholas Hunton
od. p.a.
£ Bo. OS.
Clerk of the Foundry-Thomas Jones
IOS. od. p.a.
£54.
The Master Founder-Andrew Schalch
od. p.a.
£ 219. OS.
3 labourers in ordinary (Military B h)
w·1 . ranch P .
T omas ntton, 1 liam Sumpter and William Mesmer) Each £ 6 os. od. p.a.
£2
3 Extraordinary labourers E h • od p a.
ac -27. ros. • · In_adciition, there were 4 artificers working in the foundry with a certam n_umber of gunners, together with aver small mixed com
plement m the Laboratory. y
This gives a P?ssibl~ total ofthirty men in the whole ofthe Warren. Not a vast multitude m modern ey
0 h M . es. ) _n anrung, on whom the mantle ofJohn Packman had fallen,
died m 1718 and Willia M . · h
,,.6 ' m esmer took over his house 1n t e
Warren...... A glance at the building h h . .
ss ows t e changes since 1700 to have been· AD. TThhe ~GoyaltFP~lundfry o? t_he site of the demolished Greenwich Barn.
. e rea 1 e O Bmldin , . .
(a) Artificers' Co t . h ?s compnsmg the:
. ur Wit its shops.
(b) Turrung, washing and engraving house.
m Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/
m M.G.O.'s Warrants, PRO/Wo 47/3 1, p. 289, ru M.G.O.'s Warrants, PROtwo?5/5o2, P· 167. Warrant dated 27 November 1718. 146 M.G.O.'s Warrants, PRO/Wo/5?02, p. 176. Warrant dated 10 December 1718
2
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRQn~{/1 °, p. 189. Warrant dated 31 August 1720. 1" 47/3 1, p. 332, 7 November 1718.
272
THE WARREN 1701-1720
(c)
Fountain Court.
(
d) The Land Service Carriage storehouse.
(
e) The Sea Service Carriage storehouse. . . h S k ,
C.
The new building at Tower Plac~, contammg t e tore eepers residence and the H.Q. of the Royal Artillery.
D.
The first block of the artillery barracks.
E.
The turret left standing 0~ its own. ld smiths' shop near the cranes
F.
A new storehouse on the site of the 0 by the water's edge.
G.
A carcass house.
H.
A cordage storehouse. .
I.
An additional crane, making four ~n a ·
J.
A new proof-butt alongside the hol · t side where the moat still
K.
A surrounding wall, except on t e eas ern
11
remained as an effective barrier. d d inistration of the Warren ha
It must be appreciated that the a ~ cl •n the straitjacket which not alter cl since 1700. It was still con ne ~ Physically it had exhad env loped it since its commencem1n ~er number of stores, a panded. There were more buildings, a ar Mentally however, it slightly bigger staff and a greater tdur1:o~er.had not be,en increased,
h d . d I er of ecis10n 1f
a remained dwarfe . ts po~ . d centralized contro rom the storekeeper had no 1:1ore discretrn;.~: Establishment was still in
London continued to reign supreme. the chrysalis stage.
273
Chapter 8
The Warren I72I-I749
In 1 7 2 1, th r e ins of go ernment passed into the capable hands 0£ Sir Robert vValpole, tl-1e great Whig statesma n , whose policy a£ security brought peace at home and a broad by b a nishin g during the next nvcnty years the party quarrels, the dyn astic f"euds and the state orarmed conflict v,,h.ich had troubled England since the beginning or the century. This is not the place to appraise the vfrtues a nd raults or the f"uture Earl of Or£ord, but his long leadership did give the country a sense of'equilibrium she had not experience d :for several
generations and allowed her to turn h er attention to more profitable enterprises. It was only natural that this f'reedom from f'rustration should be reflected in conditions in the ,i\Tarren w·here a quiet interlude succeeded the hectic rush or the preceding four years a nd ga e time and opportunity :for consolidating the r esults of that p eriod of'
turbulent acti ity. Unf"ortunately no one has bequeathed to th e present generation a description of"the Warren under the early Georges thoug h b y piecing together the scraps of evidence available an impres ion of the first national arsenal may be gleaned from the d ebris of f'orgottcn facts. It should be realized at the outset that the place bore little resemblance to a modern industrial establishment and therefore a ll thoughts ofbustling ·workmen, busy shops and teeming traffic must b banned .from the mind. Th.ere ,vas no source of' pov.,e r save man and horse no means of artificial light except the candle and the oil l a mp and no machinery ,vorthy of the name. 1\-1:ass produc tion ,vas unknown and each operation ,vas performed as an individual act by hand. It could ,vell be described as a collection ofgarde n w orkshops s t down in a pleasant estate of' some 30 acres, each self-contained ·within its ,-valls and gardens, among ,-vhich were dotted the residences and the orchards of' the small band of men who contributed to its life and its output. Two f"ountains added their delights, and in summer the scent of flowers and the sound of' :falling water must h ave been instrumental in creating a w·orkers' paradise, a true setting :for the rural craftsman. The Warren, itself, liberally afforested with elms was bounded on the north by the river, on the east by the moat which separated it from the marshes and on the south and west by the recently constructed wall having its main entrance in what is now known as Beresf"ord Square.
Two deaths marred the serenity of the Warren's social life at this time; the clerk of" the cheque and the clerk of the survey both
274
. .
• :...-.f
'• .. .
·-· ..
-rl.~~
--~~~,~,'.1
'An exact survey of the "arren in Woolwich' 1749
2H
THE WARREN 1721-1749
dying after holding their appointments for a brief span.John Portman passed on in 1721 being replaced by Thomas Baker on r July 1721,1 while Nicholas Hunton followed soon afterwards, as on g February 1722, David Stephenson, the extra clerk, became acting clerk of the survey in his stead.2
Little ofinterest happened within the next three or four years, save the proving of guns and the inevitable round of repairs. In 1724, William Ogborne submitted a bill amounting to £42. os. 7½d. for removing the old fence and gates at the entrance to the Warren.3 In the·same year the old stables were pulled down by the Board's order dated 12 May 17244 new ones being erected in the Carriage Yard between 1 July 1 724 and 30 September 1724, for the use of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance and the storekeeper.5 On a warrant dated 29July 1725 George Shakespear was paid£126. 7s. g¾d. for making a new butt between 1July I 725 and 30 September 17256
and between the same dates the old watch-house was demolished.7
The officials in the Warren at the time we are considering were five in number, namely the Storekeeper, the Clerk of the Cheque, the Clerk of the Survey, the Master Founder and the Officer commanding the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Between them they controlled all the various activities which took place there, and each was master in his own department. In fact they were not unlike the
Persons of the T rinity in the Athanasian Creed where 'None is afore, or after other ; none is greater, or less than another'. Acorporate society, however, must have some ruling body to which items ofcommon interest can be referred so these officials, four civil and one
' .
military, were formed into a council or 'soviet', called the Respectwe Officers W oolwich who were responsible collectively to the Board for the Warren as a whole. Luckily for posterity there is a MS. book8 in the Public Record Office entitled General Instructions to the Officers at Woolwich-I725 by the Right Honourable Charles Wills Esq.-Lieutenant-General, 9 which gives an outline of the administration of ~he Warren and details the duties and responsibilities of the Respective Officers as w ell as of each individual official. It is hardly feasible to reproduce this document verbatim, but a precis will give an indication of its contents, sufficient for the purpose in hand.
1 M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/505, p. 27. Warrant dated 23 June 1721.
2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/20B, p. 73· 3 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/ll5, 30June 1724. "Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/ll6, p. 29, 30 September 1724·
5
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/ll6, p. 32, 30 September 1724· . 8 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/116, 30 September 1725. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/118, p. 87, 31 December 1725. 7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/118. 8 PRO/W0/55/1809.
9 Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Wills, appointed Lieutenant-General ofthe Ordna~ce 22 April 1718, made at K.B. on 17 June 1725. Died 25 December 1741 and was buned in Westminster Abbey.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(A) General /11slr11clio11s for tlie Officers al T,Voolwic!zl0
They shall attend the office every evening, or as often as the Service shall require. They shall deal with all correspondence and decide on work for the morrow and appoint a sufficient number of men and horses for the same. Ajournal ofwork performed is to be kept by the Clerk ofthe Survey, and the expense and costs of all ,,._ ork is to be collected and placed in a ~edger kept br tl~e Clerk of the Cheque. Men may not be shifted from one Job to another mthout the consent of the Respective Officers. The Clerk of the Cheque is to keep a Minute Book wherein is to be entered minutes of everything that is ordered or transacted at each meetino-the names of tI1ose present and extracts of letters received. A fair copy b> of this book is to be sent to tl~e Board once a year or oftener as occasion shall require. To prev_ent disputes ?etween one another and the Artillery Officers and Y?u, no?e is to be s~penor to the other but each to do his work and perform lus services accordmg to his own instructions. Each is to have free access to all books, accounts, orders and letters relatina-to the business of the ?ffice. You are to see that the extra clerks attend ;egularly and keep their
Journals, books and returns which are to be compared monthly with those kep.t by the Clerks of the Cheque and Survey.
• 0 ex1:a labourers are to be hired ifthe number ofgunners and matresses are sufficient to do the extra work, for which both gunner and m a tross sh~ll be paid 6~. p.d. each by the Storekeeper from his imprests. All artificers belong!ng to the Royal Artillery, whether gunners or matrosses are. to have ~heir pay made up 2s. 6d. when employed in their several c~gs ~rovided they deserve it; otherwise only Is. od. over and above their regunental pay. If their pay is to be raised to 2s. 6d. it must be with
the consent of you all.
Established rates far engraving Brass Ordnance Nature Land Service Sea Service 42 pdr........ £5. os. od. ....... . £2. ros. od. 32 pdr. . . . .. . . £5. os. od. . ..... .. £2. 10s. od. 24 pdr. . . . . . . . £4. os. od. . ...... . £2. ros. od. 18 pdr........ £4. os. od . ....... . £2. OS. ocl. Brass
12 pdr· · · · · · · • £4. os. od. .. ..... . £2. os. od. Cannon
9 pdr· · · · · · · · £3. os. od. . ...... . £r. I5s. od. 6 pdr........ £3. os. od . ....... . £r. I5s. od. 3 pdr........ £2. os. od. . ...... . £I. OS. Oa. r½ pdr........ £2. os. od. 1 pdr...... . . 10s. od.
½pdr...... . . 10s. od. 13 inch ........ £3. as. od. 10 inch ........ £2. 10s. od.
Brass
8 inch........ 7s. od. Mortars
7 inch. . . . . . . . 7s. od. 5! inch. . . . . . . . 5s. od. 4½ inch. . . . . . . . 5s. od. Brass Howitzer 8 inch ........ £2. 10s. ad.
10 Th
· ·1· ffi ·a1s ·
c c,v, ,an ° Cl , 1.e. those who belonged to the Civil branch of the Ordnance.
276
THE WARREN 1721-1749
The Master Founder is to certify to the Storekeeper of the performance of all gravers' work before payment is made for same. (For gravers' rates, see page 276)
Established rates to be jJaid-Labourers Extra labourers Is. 6d. to be paid for Sundays and Holy Days. If employed in watching IS. od. per night. Bombardiers, gunners and matrosses 6d. per diem over and above their regimental rates.
Established rates to be paid to Brass Foundery Workmen s. d.
Foreman, if approved by the Board 5 o p.d. Foreman of the Smiths 2 6 p.d. Hammer men and Filers 2 2 p.d. Carpenter 2 2 p.d. Chief T urner 2 6 p.d. Under Turners I 10 p.d. Chief Moulder 2 o p.d. U nder Moulders I IO p.d. Firemen and Filers 2 o p.d.
2 6 p.d.
File Cutters 1 6 p.d.
Labourers I O p.d.
Boys
Apprentices to the Master shall be paid IS. 6d. p.d. the first year, t~ be raised 6d. p.d. each year until their apprenticeship be expired. Apprentic:s must first be approved by the Board. No other allowances are to be paid without the Board's authority. As many as possible are to be taken out of the marchino-companies and their pay made up to the above rates. Th:Y
t> F cl h1le
are, however, to be wholly under the orders of the Master oun er w employed in the foundry. cl
The Clerk of the Cheque shall make out a pay list of all gunners an matrosses at the end of each month for all who have worked in that mont~. This is to b e attested by himself and the Clerk of the Survey. Payment is to be made ·without loss of time in the public office in the presence of the Civil Officers. Each man is to sign in the Storekeeper's voucher.
The Clerk of the Cheque is to make out a similar pay sheet for all labourers. The pay sheet is to be attested by him and the Clerk of the Foundry. Payment to be made at the public office. k f
If any workman military or civil shall neo-lect his work the Cler 0
, ' b • k' y as the
the Cheque shall mulct them of so much of their wor mg mone crime will admit. cl' The care of each crane with its utensils shall be committed to or mary labourers while livino-and after their death to some responsible ~erson recommended by the;:,Storekeeper. They should not expend stores without
the consent of the Officers. b h The keys of the storehouses shall be locked up in a place selected Y t c Storekeeper and the master key kept by him, or in his absence by such
277
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
person as shall be deputed. No one shall show visitors or other persons the storehouses without the sanction of the Storekeeper. Instructions then follow in regard to his Majesty's ships ,._,hen they are ordered to put to sea.
The furbisher is to be allowed 2s. 6d. p.d. and £4 p.a. house rent to be paid by the Storekeeper out of contingencies. He is to repair and keep clean all arms in store.
Stores are not to be delivered to purchasers till the latter have deposited the money in the office. The lower gate of the ,i\Tarren is to be kept shut as often as possible and the key delivered to the Storekeeper. No stores, except those which normally should be, are to be kept in the Laboratory storerooms. Patterns of Laboratory stores are to be kept in the working rooms of the Laboratory. You are to see that all fireworks etc. made in the Laboratory are to be charged to the Storekeeper and securely lodged.
Barracks
Each room in the barracks which shall be occupied by the Captain, Lieutenant or others shall be allowed 1l pecks of coals p.d. and 2 lb of candles per week from 29 September till 25 March and half a peck of coals the rest ofthe year. The Storekeeper is to provide the same according to the regulations.n
Fires and candles are not allowed to any room that has lodged in it less than four men under the degree of Lieutenant.
Other coal and candle allowance
2 peck of coals per 24 hours during the winter half of the Guard room year. 2 lb ofcandles per week during the winter half of the
{
year and I lb during the summer half. Infirmary { r½pecks of coals a day and 2 lb of candles per week.
A Regulation of the number of Rooms for the Officers and Private Men allowed Fire and Candles
The Captain ............. . .... . . . . r Two Lieutenants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . r Seven Fireworker Lieutenants . . . . . . . . 3 Cadets ........................ . .. 2 One Sergeant, one Corporal
and four Bombardiers .......... • • 7 Private Men six to a Room . . . . . . . . . 6
The Storekeeper is allowed £2 p.a. to furnish certain articles to N.C.O's and men. The Master Founder is not to cast any ordnance without a warrant for so doing.
11 These regulations are given in full in the MS.
278
THE WARREN 1721-1749
Any foundry stores which can be purchased cheaper locally than bei~g obtained from the Tower are to be purchased by the Storekeeper m conjunction with the Master Founder.12
No alterations are to be made in any storehouse, carriage house etc. without leave of the Board. The storekeeper shall keep similar accounts etc. of the Foundry as he does for the Laboratory and the storehouses. The Storekeeper is to deliver to the Master Founder all such tools as he may require for the service of the foundry. All fire engines etc. are to be exercised once in every three months.
(B) Instructions for the Storekeeper at Woolwich
He shall attend the office every evening, deal with the correspondence and arrange the work for the following day.
He shall receive all stores on charge. He shall examine and attest all bills and see that all are correct. He shall take a remain of the stores on board his Majesty's ships when
they return to Woolwich from sea. . He shall see that the extra clerks shall perform the business of stocktaking properly. He is to supply the correct stores to all H.M. Ships ordered to sea. He is to keep the Foundry and Laboratory stores with all the necessary
ledgers, accounts etc. He is to send up the ledgers etc. yearly to t~e Board. . h He shall not issue any Laboratory store without the authority of t e
Board or of some of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance. . He is to pay allowances, contingencies etc. out of the imprests which are given him from time to time. The remainder of his instructions are similar to those given in the general instructions under (A).
(C) Instructions f or the Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich nd
He shall attend the office every evening, deal with correspondence a arrange work for the following day. . He is to h ave free access to all books, ledgers, Journals etc.
He is to see that the Clerk of the Cheque keeps a particular account of the day's workmen, and keep a counter-book to that kept by the Clerk of the Cheque. .
He will in conjunction with the Storekeeper and other officers, assiSt in making timely demands of all stores and materials required for the Service.
· 1 · · ] · · t' w1'th the Storekeeper all
He w1l survey [1.e. mspect , m conJtmc 10n , ' . stores etc. and place them in the 'Serviceable', 'Unserviceable' or Repairable' categories. He shall examine and countersign all bills made out for stores. He shall survey and examine all servic~s perfor~ed by artificers. All building work orders shall be submitted to him.
12 The beginning of local purchase.
279
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
He is to attend the proofofall guns, and assist at the proofand gauging of all shell taking an account of the number, nature, and weight of all
such that shall pass proof. He will see that the fire-engines are exercised once every three months. He will demand from the Storekeeper in writing all tools and materials
needed for the Service. He shall take care to re-charge the Storekeeper with all iron work saved from ol~ carriages or anything else which may be fit for H.M. Service. He will attend and take account of all stores delivered to the master g~nners ofships, artificers and others and see that they are duly chargedwith the same.
(D) Instructions for the Clerk of the Cheque at Woolwich
He shall attend the office every evening, deal with correspondence and arran~e work for the following day. He IS to make a proper extract of all letters orders etc. received and enter them in the lVIinute Book. ' th He ~vill draw up all reports, representations, memorials etc. and, with ~as~15tance of the extra clerks, keep entries thereof.
h e 15 to keep a cheque book13 and call over the names of all labourers, w etber ordinary or extraordinary and ofall gunners and matrosses who may be employed in the work '
He will see that they work ~roperly and mulct them of money if they
do not.
He w~ make out pay lists every month. ~fie will make out all bills for stores received or services performed by
arti cers and others. di ~e will attend the sale of unserviceable stores and draw up the con
tions of sale. He will in · • .
mak '. coruunction with the Storekeeper and Clerk of the Survey, He o~t timely demands for stores and materials required. He ~l assist the Clerk of the Survey in surveying stores.
br : will re-charge the Storekeeper with any old iron saved from the :e-u~lof unserviceable carriages. on th ~ see that the Clerk of the Foundry keeps an exact cheque book
e ioundry. Hewillatt d d k .
ofsh· . en an ta e account ofall stores delivered to master gunners
ips artific d h •
He w·iz' k ers an ot ers so that they may be charged with the same.
1
Surv eep a counter account with the Storekeeper and Clerk of the
ey.
(E) Instructions for the Master Founder at Woolwich
He will b ·
He will be constant m personal attendance at the Foundry. materials ree ~r~ent at the purchase by the Storekeeper of all stores and He w·u qu151te for carrying out the work of the Foundry. stores a;d rnake _Proper demands in writing on the Storekeeper for such rnatenals as he may require.
11 AM
USter-roU or daily state.
280
THE WARREN 1721-1749
He shall give a quarterly receipt to the Storekeeper for the stores
delivered to him. He will assist in taking the annual survey of the Foundry. He will cast no piece of ordnance without a warrant, which shall be
lodged in the public office. When finished the ordnance which has been
cast shall be delivered to the Storekeeper. He will supply the Storekeeper with certificates of the graver's work. He is to be present at the payment of foundry workers and staff. Men
to work from 6.o a.m.-6.o p.m. in the foundry all the year round. The Clerk of the Foundry is to see them to and from their work. When foundry workmen are engaged or discharged he will acquaint
the Board with the number and quality of each. He will instruct the apprentices in all the arts of the trade. He will enter no servants without the Board's approbation.
(F) Instructions for the Artillery Officers at Woolwich
You are to keep a Sergeant's or Corporal's guard and regulate the number of men for guard, having regard to the fact that they must at least have two nights in bed. The sentinels at the Upper Gate are to prevent the entry of any unauthorized person.
Orders are to be put up to prevent smoking.
The Commanding Officer, himself, is to attend the office every evening with the Civil Officers to prepare minutes, etc. and he will attempt no superiority over Civil Officers in the execution of their duties.
He will assist in performing any work ordered for his Majesty's Service.
You are to direct the Orderly Corporal of the work to call at the office and receive from the extra clerks copies of all minutes relating to the work which shall be given to the officer having charge of the work.
Immediately guns, carriages etc. are landed from ships you will survey and inspect the same before they are charged to the Storekeeper, and distinguish and separate the ordnance according to its nature and length. Guns are to be marked 'Serviceable' or 'Repairable' according to their state, and a rrangements will be made for the exchange of pieces if they will admit of it and the Board do not think fit to continue them. You are to observe that honeycombs before the trunnions are not dangerous and that, if the cylinder from the trunnions backward be agreeable to the
nature, it is not to be refused notwithstanding it be wore above the nature at the muzzle. All ships' guns are to be carefully searched, scaled and fielded at the vent with cork before they are stacked.
You are to attest the monthly pay-lists of the Royal Artillery made out by the Clerk ofthe Cheque oftheir working money and attend thepayments in the public office and see that the men receive their correct amounts.
You are to see that the Storekeeper furnishes the barrac~s with the correct and requisite number of utensils, give him proper receipts a_nd be accountable for the same, as well as for bedding which shall be delivered to you from time to time.
Certain references drawn from these instructions throw a light on
'
conditions then prevailing.
20
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(a)
A suspicion ofjealousy, which persisted down to the first World \Var, was already in evidence between the civil and military members of the factory staff.
(b)
The Storekeeper was the paymaster, auditing and accounting officer and financial head of the Warren. He acted in the capacity of quartermaster to the Royal Regiment.
(
c) The Clerk of the Cheque was the sales officer, principal worktaker and accounting and pay clerk.
(d)
The Clerk of the Survey acted in the capacity of technical and inspection clerk.
(e)
Royal Artillery Officers acted as Inspecting Officers.
(f)
A system ofchecks and counter-checks between the various officials existed to minimize the chance of mal-practice.
(g)
Workmen worked 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
(h)
\,Vorkmen received overtime for Sunday work and for duties carried out on public holidays.
(i)
The skilled man drew approximately £1 a week in wages and the unskilled labourers ros.
It may seem at first sight that these sums were paltry compared to those in the "'eel<ly pay packet brought home by the worker at the present day, but a moment's reflection should convince the sceptic that in monetary value the rates of pay in I 725 were on a par with those of I 95 I.
First, there was no income-tax in the eighteenth century and purchase tax lay in the womb of the future. Secondly, commodities were then very much cheaper. As an example, the following prices are taken at random from Roger's History of Agriculture and Prices, Volume VII. Part I. To the modern housewife, of course, they appear unbelievable.
Mutton and Beef 2d. per lb.
Ducks gd. each Chickens
6d. each Geese
Is. 6d. each Rabbits
8d. each Turkeys
Is. 5d. each
Pigeons 2d. each Partridges gd. each Butter
4½d. per lb. Cheese 3d. per lb. Sugar 6d. to Bd. per lb. Tea I2s. per lb. Coffee 5s. 6d. per lb. Tobacco Is. 8d. per lb. Wine 6s. per gallon
Brandy 6s. 8d. per gallon Rum 7s. per gallon Eggs rd. per dozen
THE WARREN 1721-1749
Port and SheA sheep A Horse Beer rry 6d. a bottle 8s. £5 5d. per gallon
While the cost of these items has not risen proportionately, one or two having actually fallen, over the last 225 years, it would be fair to assume that the average increase of price is in the neighbourhood of 1,000%. This means that the skilled craftsman in the reign of George II ·was paid the equivalent of £10 a week and the approved foreman of the foundry £15 a week in our depreciated currency. Though the working day was longer in 1725, the standard of living then was on the whole comparable to that enjoyed by the tradesman of today, bearing in mind the difference in spending opportunities between the two centuries. No wonder Andrew Schaich died a wealthy man.
In I 722 the clerk of the foundry was Thomas Jones who received a salary of£ 54. ros. od. a year. There were, in addition, three extra clerks named James Delestang, Neil Campbell and James Barker drawing similar rates of pay. Since r 720 the establishment of labourers had risen. In 1722 there were nine ordinary labourers and thirteen extraordinary labourers. By 1723 the extra clerks were Edward J ackson, Peter Hunton and Thomas Fur~ss. .
The first payment of any importance in the penod under review was made to Mrs J ane Hill, paintress to the Board. On 14June 1728 she received £17. gs. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 December 1727 for painting the outside of two cranes.14 . .
The authorities had been slow to realize that gun-carnages, unlike the guns they support, tend to deteriorate when stored_ in the op~n where they are subject to all the adverse conditions ofclimate. While the seasoning of timber may be effected by outside storage under special precautions, the mere stacking of carriages exposed _to the elements rusts the ironwork and rots the wood. This fact had evidently been appreciated as early as 1718 when the Land Ser~ice and Sea Service Carriage Storehouses were build around Fountam Court, but the position must have been miscalculated because ten years later the problem again reared its head and further steps _had to be_ t_aken to rectify the situation. It was therefore decided to bmld an additl?nal Land Service Carriage Storehouse and close down the tw~ ~arnage Yards. The latter probably disappeared when the new bmldm? was completed as Barker's map of 1749 shows no trace of them. Incidentally the site of the Old Carriage-Yard in Prince Rupert's ~~ttery became the Storekeeper's orchard. Although the actual position of this new Carriage Storehouse is not stated, there can be no doubt
14 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PR0/W0/48/69, 14June 1728,
283
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
that it was the first unit of that group of buildings which afterwards became known as Carriage Square, indicated in Barker's map as the 'Lesser Square or Storehouse'. This block is now the R.C.D. main machine shop. The warrant for this new construction was dated 14 J unc I 728. Firstly George Shakespear was paid £4.. ros. 9d. for removing certain young elms which stood in the way of the projected new building.15 Then Sir William Ogborne, who had been knighted on 31 January I 727, built the new storehouse. On I o December 1729 he was, on a debenture dated 31 March 1729, paid the sum of
£1,304. 12s. 1d. for his work in this respect.16 A year later, he fixed timber grooves in the building for sliding gibbets, or what would now be called 'travelling overhead cranes'. For this additional service he received £ 128. 15s. 6d. on a debenture dated 31 March 1730.17 Sir William Ogborne, then erected on a warrant dated 25 September 1729 a metal storehouse for the foundry and a m agazine, the latter probably being the 'powder magazine' in the corner of the new carriage store-house, his charge being £142. 19s. 8d. This was paid on the 8 July 1730, the relevant debenture being dated 31 December I 729.18
The next building undertaken was a small re-housing programme. The reasons which prompted it are unrecorded but th dwellings allotted to the clerk of the foundry, now Peter Hunton, and the two labourers were presumably past repair. George Shakespear dug the foundations and removed the resultant rubbish and, though not stated, probably demolished the old buildings and cleared away the rubble as well, as the size of his bill, £173. 17s. 10d., appears to indicate something more than mere scavel work. H e ,-ms paid on a debenture dated 31 December 1 734.19 Sir William Ogborne then built the new houses at a cost of £598. 13s. gd. on a arrant dated
g April 1 734, at the same time doing some minor repairs to the storekeeper's residence. He was paid this sum on 17 February 1736, his debenture being dated 3 I March 1735.20 While Peter Hunton was homeless he received £28. 15s. od. onadebenturedated4June 1736for house rent between 10 October 1730 and 31 March 1735. This proves that his house must have been uninhabitablefor at least three and a half years before the authorities took any steps to rebuild it.21 Finally, five
years laterJoseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid £72. 16s. I od. on a debenture dated3r March I 740for buildingwash houses for the three 15 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/125, 31 March l7!.?9. 16 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/70, IO December 1729. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /125, p. 61, 31 March 1729. 17 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/71, 18July 1730. 18 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/71, 8 July 1731. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/124, p. gr. 19 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/76, 10June 1735. 20 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfW0/48/77, 17 February 1736. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/137, p. 157, 31 March 1735. 21 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/77, 8June 1736.
284
THE WARRE 1721-1749
persons concerned, the warrantfor his work being dated26June 1739.22
The next improvement in the Warren was the enlargement of ~he guard-house at the main gate. This addition became necessary owmg to the larger military guard required to keep wa_tch and ward over the growing Establishment. The work was earned out by George Shakespear and Joseph Pratt on a warrant dated 9 September 1735· The former's account was settled in two instalments. On a debenture dated 31 December 1735, he wasyaid £47. 6s. 8d. for diggin~ t\~
additional foundations and clearmg away the resultant rubbish, while some six months later he received a further sum of£13. 1Is. ~d. for completing his task.24 The necessary bricklaying and plasterm~ was effected by Joseph Pratt who received £123. 14S. od. for his share in the undertaking.25 •
The Royal R egiment of Artillery had, by 173~~ qmte out-grown its barracks and further steps to house the additional officers and men became essential. The original block built in 1719, to be called henceforward the Old Barracks, had been pl~nned solely for the original companies and therefore failed to provide the extr~ accommodation required by the ever-growing regimental estabhshme~t. The buildin g of a second block, known as the New Barracks, had m consequence to be undertaken, and for this purpose a sum of £3 590. gs. 6·\d. was taken up in the Ordnance Estimates for 1739:
' -· · l four officers
It was similar in style to the other, contammg a so houses and two barrack-rooms. In after years it became No_s. 7-10 Officers' Quarters, Dial Square. The warrant for _its cor_istr~ctlon was dated 20 arch 1739. Joseph Pratt did all the bncklay1~g m connection with th erection of the new barracks and he receiv~d £ 1,64?·
10s. 1 rd. on a debenture dated 30 September 1740 for h:5 eff~rt~ m this direction.26 Roger Morris, who had succeeded ~ir William then earned out the
Ogborne as master carpenter to the Board, d carpentering part of the programme. He was p~id £ 1,609£ ~{' 0 d on a debenture dated 31 December 1740.27 Hezekiah Walke~0 owd~
. . . Th to have been eaecte m
with the plumbmg operat10ns. ese seem d d two stages. First he was paid £100. 15s. 4d. on a debent~r~ ate 0 September 1740 28 and secondly a sum of £130 on a e be_nture
3
' h h ld h e been 'two 1tes at
dated 30 September 1742.29 Why t ere s ou av
22 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/81, 25 ~ovembMa~~t;740.
31
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/145, P· ~•1 6 23 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/77, 6 Aprt8 173 December 1735.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/13~, P· 20 ' 31September 1736. 2" Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51113 'P· 21 ' 30 March 1737. 2u Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/W0/51/138, P· 51, 3\ 2G Ordnance Treasure:'s Ledger'. PRO/W0/48/,81 ,631 Dece3~ s:;t~~ber 1740.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 14 , P· 25,
27
Ordnance T;easurer's L~dger, PRO/W,0/4B//82 ,_4J~;.174/necember 17-\0,
Ordnance Bill Book Senes II, PRO/V-.0/51 14:>, P· :>, 3 28 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/82, 4June _1741, 29 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/84, 21 April 1743·
285
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
the cherry' is not recorded. After the completion of the new block of barracks, Joseph Pratt made the areas and vaults in front of the old block.3° For this he received £ I 78. I 2s. 4d. on a debenture dated 3o_Junc I 740, h_is ~·arran~ for ~he job being dated 18 April 1740.31 Fmally John vV1lkms, pav1or, did the necessary paving at the barracks, at a cost of £161. 15s. 4d., his debenture being dated 31 December I 74_0.32 In <:onnection with the above, Henry Foucquet, clerk of the Cluef _Engmeer travell_ed to v\Toolwich to supervise operations. He received £45 travelling allowance, i.e. go days at ros. per day, between I January 1741 and 21 April 1741. Jn view of the dates involved his visits must have taken place after the main fabric had been erected. 33
The establishment of a School for Practitioner Engineers etc. afterwards known as the Ro)'al Military Academ)', under warrant dated 30 April 1741,34 necessitated considerable alterations in the 'Great House' at Tower Place. These formed the last major modification of the mansion, the final change which transformed the whilom Tudor Manor House into a State utilitarian building. After 1741 the structure assumed its present-day aspect except for the piers and walls supporting its facade which have long since disappeared. Inside too, the last 200_ years h~ve left l~ttle mark, such changes a; have occurred bemg occas10ned by its variations in occupational
use.
According to the Warrant of George II there was 'A Convenie t Room at Woolwich Warren, which is Our Property and may ~ fitted up for that purpose'. This was, of course, the Academy roo e
of 1721 devotedhto th<: interests of its ill-starred prototype, standi; on the left oft e mam entrance opposite the Board Room. Little money was therefore needed on the Academy itself, the bulk of th expenditure on this new venture being in connection with the fashioning within the large house ofdwellings for the First and Secon~ Masters. Though ~uch of these masters' quarters are now derelict some rooms are sail used as stores and offices. The First Master' house covered the site of the old brew-house of Stuart times whils that of the Second Master l~y b~t~een it and the Academy Room~ The two front doors are still v1s1ble. Each master was given an ample _garden, and t~e se_nior ped~gogue had the doubtful privilege of haVIng the turret m his. True, 1t was the sole vestige of the old
.'° Some of these vaults were converted into air-raid shelters during the Second Wo Id
\\'ar and proved of great use. r 31 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/81, 25 November 1740 Ordnance Bill Book,, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /145, p. 60, 30 June 174-o. 11 Ordnance Treasurers Ledger, PRO/WO/48/82, 4.June 1741. Ordnance Bill Book,,Series II, PROfWO/51/146, p. 82, 31 December 1740. 11 Ordnance Treasurers Ledger, PRO/WO/48/82, 21 April 1741. Debenture dat d 31 March 1741. e " Warrants and Orders in Council, 1740-1744, PRO/WO/55/351, p. 65.
286
THE WARREN 1721-1749
Manor House, but it must have dominated the scene and dwarfed the enclosure like some grim megalith of old.
Only Joseph Pratt and Roger Morris were employed in adapting the Academy Room to its new purpose. Bricklaying had first priority and so the debenture on which Joseph Pratt was paid £66. 18s. 2d. was dated 30 June 1741. Actually this sum included the payment for making brickwork piers under the cisterns at the new barracks.35 Roger Morris, on a debenture dated 30 June 1742, completed the work by doing carpenters' jobs to the value of £123. 19s. 7d.36 The warrant issued for this conversion was dated 10 March 1 741.
The masters' houses cost approximately £2,000 to build. This was not surprising bearing in mind that adaptation is usually more expensive than straightforward construction. Joseph Pratt's bill amounted to £1,085. rs. 7d. It states that the money was due on a debenture dated 31 March 1742 :37 'For cutting down a buttress from and new facing the turret where the brickwork of the old building bonded with it. Cutting out and making a new door-way into the storekeeper's garden and a doorway and windows in his cellar.38 Building a wall to divide his garden from the Second Master's garden. Levelling the ground and digging the foundations for the plumber's pipes to lay water to the masters' and storekeepers' houses. Building the foundations and tiling the bog-house. Clearing away rubbish. Digging a way for the fence between the two masters' gardens. Clearing away sinks and stoves from the old Lav-house. Works in the barracks. Fitting up the old fire-barn as an infirmary. Making a grand sewer behind the old barracks. Carrying down two drains from the old and new barracks into the water-course. Making a bridge over the water-course and a well for the foundry. Warrants
dated 2 June 1741, 17 October 1741 and 26 January 1742.' It will be noted that this bill contained items other than those connected with the construction of the masters' houses; it is not possible therefore to assess the charges exclusively devoted to that end. The carpentering was carried out by Roger Morris on a warrant dated 2 June 1741, the same on which Joseph Pratt performed the brickwork. Morris was paid £865 on a debenture dated 31 March 1742, a sum which also included the charge for repairing a stable.39 Hezekiah Walker laid on the water to the two houses. His bill amounting to £13r. 1s. 11d. was paid on a debenture dated 30
35 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, II May 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. 30, 30June 1741.
36 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/84, 21 April 1743.
37 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/148, p. 231, 31 March 1742.
38 A larder. What is now termed a 'cellar' was then known as a 'vault'•
39 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. 135, 31 March 1742.
287
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
September I 742.40 Apparently some drains were installed as an afterthought for we arc informed thatJohn Shakespear, who had by now replaced George Shakespear as master scavelman, made 'drains from the cess-pools of the two masters' houses at the Academy'. His warrant for this sanitary convenience was dated 28 January 174.3, the cost being £7. Bs. 3d.41 Finally Henry Foucquet, the Chief Engineer's clerk, received £45. rns. od. travelling charges on a debenture dated 30 June 1741 for his visits to Tower Place in connection with the Academy building programme.42
The turret must next claim attention. It was the oldest structure in the '" arren having stood for at least two centuries when the Royal Academy was founded. It was solidly built, its robust nature being attested by the fact that it still survived as a proud reminder ofa more romantic age after severance from its parent building h ad left it unsupported and alone. As a landmark it towered over the collection of shops and sheds clustered round its base, yet despite its massive appearance it did require the care which its years dem anded. First, Joseph Tarbox, glazier, repaired its windows on a warrant dated 8 May 1730.43 Then Joseph Pratt was paid £167. 16s. 10d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1738 for plastering and repairing it and for tiling the triangle shed where the fire-ships' stores were lodged, the warrants for these two services being dated 13 April 1736 and 16 May 1738 respectively.44 Misfortune seemed to have overtaken its windo~s again for Thomas Young, m aster glazier, carried out further reparrs on a warrant dated 21 October 174.0.45 After the foundation of the Academy the turret was used as an annexe to the main lecture room. Having five floors it contained ample sp a ce, so no surprise need be felt when Roger Morris received £ 48. 4-S· od.
on a debenture dated 31 December 1743 for fitfng up its fourth and fifth rooms for the use of the drawing master and model maker, and repairing the stairs to the vault in the Academy itself.46
The wharf and the butt were perennial sources of expense. Both required constant maintenance. The former was subjected to daily erosion while the latter, acting as an 'Aunt Sally', disintegrated under the repeated blows of solid iron shot.
The following entries in the Treasurer's Ledgers and the Bill Books portray the amount of work carried out on the wharves between the years 1720-1749.
,o Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/84 21 April 1743. 41 Ordnance Bill Book,,Series II, PRO/W0/51/15~, p 297, 30June 1743. 42 Ordnance T_reasurer s L~dger, PRO/W0/48/82, 14 August 1741. u Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/129. 44 Ordnance 1:reasurer's L~dger, PRO/W0/48/79, 30 December 1738.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51 /141, p. 78, 30 September 1738. "Ordnance Bill Book, Series 11, PRO/W0/51/145, p. 229, 31 March 1741. 41 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/85, 21 December 1744.
288
THE WARREN 1721-1749
(A)
A new wharf 400 yards from the new butt was made on a warrant dated I 2 November r 725.47
(B)
The wharfwas completely rebuilt on a warrant d~ted 19 Febru~ry 1734 at a cost exceeding £3,000. George Shakespear did the scavellmg work at a cost of£663. 7s. o½d, which he did on a separate warrant dated
I g October I 734.48 Sir William Orrborne was paid £1,087. 5s. 6d. on a debenture dated
"' . f h . 49 R
30th September 1734 for the timber portion o t e reconstruction. . oger Morris and Joseph Pratt received £1,541. ros. 11jd. for the brickwork in making the new wharf.SO Christopher Cass earned out the necessary masonry work at a cost of £424. 1s. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1734. This sum also included work on three s~all houses for laboure~s
(warrant dated g April 1734) and some repairs on the storekeepers h 51
ouse. ld fi . . h
(C) John Shakespear was paid_ £86. 18s. 0 2 _-or repamng t e wharfing at Prince Rupert's Walk."2 He also received £30: 6s. gd. for diaging the foundations and making a causeway at the landmg-stage on
o h 53
a warrant dated 22 Marc I 744·
(D)
Roger Morris received the sum of £236. 15s. _od. on a debenture dated 30 September r744 for repairing the wharfat Pn,nce Rup::t's Walk, clearing the foundation and repairing the storekeeper s house.
(E)
Roger Morris was paid £1,071. 16s. 8d. on a de~enture dated March 1745 for repairing the wharf and the firesh1p storehouse.
31
55
Warrant dated 27 November 1744.
(F) John Shakespear received £428. I 2s. 3d. on a debenture dated
31 March 1745 for repairing the wharf on a warrant dated 27 November I 744.56 .
These last two items show that over £ I ,ooo was spent on the wharf m 1745, notvvithstanding the earlier expenditure of £3,000 ten years before.
(G)
Roger Morris was paid £n3. 19s. 6d. o~ a debenture dated 30 June 1745 for repairs carried out on the landing place, wharf and fireship storehouse between I April and go June 1745.57 •
(H)
On a debenture dated 30 June 1745 Joseph Pratt receiv~d £453. 7s. d. for carrying out the undermentioned repairs between 27 November
4 1744 and 30June 1745.58
(a)
At the fire-ship storehouse. Warrant dated 27 November 1744·
(b)
At the wharf. Warrant dated 22 March I 745·
4 7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/120, P· 110• 4B Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/W0/51/135, P· 127, 3oJune 1734· 40 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/76, 26 August 1735· 5o Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/135, P· 131, 29~une 1734· 51 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/76, 10 June 173::i·
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/134, P· 211, 3° September 1734· 02 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/150, P· 298, 3oJune I7i3· 0 a Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/W0/51/161, P· 51, 30June 174::i· 54 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/W0/48/86, 12 February 1745· 0s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 13 March 1745· _
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/158, P· 86, March 174:.,• 5 s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 13 March 1746·
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/158, p. 98, 31 March 1745· 0 7 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 17 June 1746. 0s Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/W0/48/87, 17 June 1746. _
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/160, p. 21, 30June 174:>·
289
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
CJ At the landing place. Warrant da ted 22 March r 745 (d, At Captain Pattison's house. Warrant dated 30 Ma .l
745
(e1 At the foundry. Warrant dated 22 March y ·
1745
ff1 On the drains at the barracks and in General B d' h
Warrant dated 1745. orgar s ousc. 111 John Shakespear was paid £ 1 6 1 d 30June 174-5 for raising the ground at th~ ~:c~ ~f~~ a i eben~ re_ dated foundation for a causeway, clearing drains at th b e w arf, d1ggmg ~he he moat by Prince Rupert's Walk b . e . arracks and cleaning
. . etwecn r Apnl and 30 June 1745 59 The fol10\\,1ng entncs refer to the butts: ·
l a1 John Lidgbird was paid £32 1Is . middle platforms and making a bric.k wh~rid. for enc!osmg 1;he lower and platform for exercising against the new b ofold bnck agamst the lower GeneraJ.ro utt by order of the Surveyor
1b; George Shakespear received £6 12 .. the new exercising butt on a warr t 3d· ds. od. for repamng and raising
an ate 17 July 8 01
(c1 George Shakespear was paid £Bl 172 · 30 September l 733 for repairing th : _os. gd. on a debenture dated
. e exerc1smg butt a d • h b
and wharf at Prmce Rupert's W lk 62 n secunng t e ank ldJ Sir William Ogborne rece:ed on a the sum of£30. 4S. l d. for repairing th 1 tebenture dated 30 June I 733 target for the butt, repairing the buttanJ:~cd1}-ouse, making a _new post and
(e) George Shakespear repaired th n !~gthefence behmd the butt.G3 21 October 1735. His fee of£ 135_ 6s.e i;ercismg _butt on a warrant dated 12 ~fay 1736.64 • was paid on a debenture dated
(fJ J ohn Shakespear was paid £
301 8
and building a new proof-butt d • 1 . · s. 6d, for demolishing the old and cleaning out the bog-hou~es!~~es~;~ers for the old_and new ba rracks work was dated I 7 October h. h . barracks. His warrant for this
1741
in the foundry.65 w ic included the digging of a w ell
(g) John Shakespear received £r J.. •.
49 0
ening the exercising butt on a · Js. 2d, for repam ng and length
(h) The next entries presup;o:~:~t ated 6 February r742.66 consequent advent of flood wat Teh~ccurrence of a great storm with
1 • . . ers. 1s as we k r
natura VIS1tat1on from which Woolwich ~ft now, was a 1orm of dated 30June 1744John Shak ~n suffered. On a debenture
Ii . . espear was paid the s f £
or repamng the proof-butt part of which h um o I 53. l 5s. od. much damaged by the inroads f th Th ad been washed away and subsequent encroachments by tho . e . ames and securing it against
. . e nver m bad w th Th
repairs were earned out on a w d d ea er. e necessary
arrant ate 22 May 17 67 u Ordnance Treasurer's Led er PR 44. '0 Ordnance Bill Book SeriesgII, PRg1wg;4B/B7, 17June 1746. 11 Ordnance Bill Book: Series u' PROrw0//5r//rr9, P• 75, 30 September 1726. u Ordnance Treasurer's Led e 'PRO/ 51 120, p. 110.
" Ordnance Treasurer's Led:e;• PRO/~g14gf75, 9 May 1734. u Ordnance Treasurer's Ledge 'PRO 14 175, 16 April 1734.
Ordnance Bill Book Series Ir' PRorwg//4B/77, 23 November 1736. u Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO O 51/133, P· 189, 12 May 1736. •• Ordnance Bill Book: Series u' PRofwo;/51//149, p. 56, 3r December 174r.
Ordnance Treasurer's Led er' PRO 5r 15°, p. 42, 3r March 1742. Ordnance Bill Book, SeriesgII, PRO;w/Wg/48//8\ 12 February 1745. ' 151 15 , P• 136, 30Ju_ne 1744.
290
THE WARREN 1721-1749
(i)
John Shakespear was paid £299. 7s. 2d. for taking down and 'new making' the proof-butt on a warrant dated 16 May 1746.68
(j)
John Shakespear received £88. 4S. 1d. on a debenture dated 31 December I 748 for levelling and regulating Proof Place and for repairing the face of the butt.69
Except for these specific projects already described, constructional work in the Warren during these years of comparative tranquillity was limited to individual acts ofmaintenance and repair. These must be tabulated chronologically for purposes of record.
George Shakespear received £230. 1 7s. 3d. for scavel work between I July 1 729 and 30 September 1729. ·warrant dated 24 June 1728.70 New fences in the marsh wall behind the butt next to the sluice were erected on a warrant dated 25 September 1729.71 Roger Morris and Joseph Pratt were paid £6r. 2s. g¾d. for repairs including those on drains.72 Roger Morris and Joseph Pratt received £284. 19s. 7½d. for rebuilding the Conduit House in Collick Lane on a warrant dated 8 May
I 731.73
Sir William Ogborne was paid £147. 4>. 5d. on a debenture dated 3 I December 1731 for repairing the Laboratory, the infirmary and several houses.74
Roger M orris and J oseph Pratt received £go. gs. 1½d. for repairing the foundry storehouses and barracks. Warrants dated 19 November 1734 and 10 J anuary 1735.75
Samuel R emnant, smith was paid £110. 11s. 8d. on a debenture dated 30 June 1735 for 59 cwt. o qrs. 27 lb. of new iron work in making a new balustrade a t the shot-yard.76
George Shakespear received £135. 5s. 6d., which included the sum of £ 1 3. 1 1 s. 4d. for building an addition to the guardhouse, for digging a bomb-room for a sea mortar, fixing stepping stones in the road at the Warren gate and sinking guns to serve as posts in the footway in Warren Lane.77
Joseph Pratt was paid £16. gs. 8d. on a debenture dated 16 November
I 738 for m aking a new hearth and funnel for the armourers' forge.78
Roger M orris was paid £100. 6s. 2d. on a debenture dated 31 December I 741 for fitting up the fire-barn as an infirmary for the use of the Royal Artillery. Warrant dated 5 December 1741.79
68 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/163, p. 230, 31 December 1744.
68 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 31 December 1748.
70 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/ 51/124, p. 64, 30 September 1729.
71 Ofdnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/124, p. go.
72 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/131, 8 May 1731.
73 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/131, p. 25, 31 December 1731.
74 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/73, 11 May 1732.
75 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/135, p. 227, 31 March 1735.
76 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/,µ3/76, 21 October 1735.
77 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /133, p. 233, 30 September 1736.
78 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/80, 7 August 1739.
79 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. JO, 31 December 1741.
291
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Hezekiah Walker received £341. rs. od. on a debenture dated 30 June r 741 for plumbing repairs in storehouses and dwellings.80
Joseph Pratt was paid £76. r 7s. id. on a debenture dated 30June 1 742 for building a brick funnel for the smiths' forge and re-tiling certain storehouses. ,varrant dated 8 January 1742.81
Roger Morris received £379. Bs. gd. on a debenture dated 30 September 1742 for building a new fuel storehouse for the foundry, a fire-barn, a bog-house, a coal house and a 'corps' room; also for carrying out sundry repairs in the Laboratory. Warrant dated 15 June 1742.82
Roger Morris was paid £253. 15s. B½d, for pulling down the old clockhouse and rebuilding the same. v\Tarrant dated 15June 1742.83 John Shakespear received £12. os. 7d. for digging the foundations of the fire-barn and wood-barn. Warrant dated 15 June 1742.84 Joseph Pratt was paid £300. 5s. 6d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1742 for bricklayers' work in building the fire-barn and wood-barn.85
Roger Morris received £34. I Is. 7d. on a debenture dated 30 June 1743 for repairing the south gate of the Laboratory and making frames and gates for the shot-yard.86
Joseph Pratt was paid £163. I4S. 11d. on a debenture dated 30 June 1743 for bricklaying in the repair of the damage inflicted on the barracks by the bursting ofa gun, for repairing the tiling ofseveral storehouses and of the masters' houses at the Academy, and for carrying out renovations in the Laboratory, kitchen and wharf.87
Joseph Pratt received £31. 5s. 3d. on a debenture dated 3r December 1743 for white-washing the houses of the storekeeper and Major M ichelson; also the room of the extra clerks.88
Roger Morris was paid £81. 7s. 5d. on a debenture dated 31 M arch 1744 for building a house for the night watch on the wharf. vVarrant da ted 8 November 1743; also for other repairs on a warrant dated 26 July 1 743.89
John Shakespear received £91. 11s. o½d, for cleaning out the moat which divides the Warren from the marshes.90
Roger Morris was paid £118. I4S. od. on a debenture dated 30 September 1744 for making a new frame and case for the large lead cistern, a new door in the foundry yard and for carrying out several repairs in the foundry.91
Roger Morris received £182. 7s. 10!d, for work carried out at the new hand crane; warrant dated 22 March 1745; and at the pallisades to the
80 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 11 May 1742. 81 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, 16 November 1742. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/148, p. 202, 30June 1742. 82 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/84, 21 April 1743.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/152, p. 12, 30 September 1742. 83 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/152, p. 198, 31 December 1742. "Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/152, p. 24. • 85 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/vVO/48/84, 21 April 1743. 81 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/51/153, p. 178, 30June 1743. 17 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85, 21 February 1744. 81 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85, 24July 1744. 11 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/85, 21 December 1744.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/154, p. 199, 31 March 1744.
•0 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 /154, p. 211, 31 March 1744.
91
Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/86, 6June 1745.
292
THE WARREN 1721-1749
landing place; warrant dated 25 June 1745. The sum also included payments for repairs at the foundry, barracks, storehouses and General Borgard's house.92
Joseph Pratt was paid £84. 5s. 8d. on a debenture dated 31 December I 745 for repair work carried out at the foundry, the first master's house and certain storehouses between I July and 31 December 1 745.03
Joseph Pratt received £131. 2s. gd. on a debenture dated 31 December 1 745 for repairing the Sea Service Storehouse, the Laboratory and several stores between I o October and 3 1 December I 745.94
Joseph Pratt was paid £218. 9s. 6d. on a debenture dated 3~ December 1 745 for repairing the old cranes and Mr Muller's house (1.e. the on: allotted to the first master) between I October and 3 r December 1745·9"
Roo-er Morris received £365. r rs. o½d, for building a new shed on a warr:nt dated 29 March 1745 at a cost of£294. I IS. r¼d,, and for making a foot-way from the dipping-house to the fire-ship storehouse.96
Hezekiah \!\Talker was paid £79. 3s. 4d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1745 for repairing the pipes in Mr Muller's house and ;~e conduit pipes in the Warren between I July an~ 30 ~eptember 1745·.
Joseph Pratt received £281. qs. 6½d, for d1v~r~ Jobs, among which were (a) Building a shed for the painters (b) Ra1~mg th~ fe~ce walls of the Warren and constructing buttresses (c) Makmg drams m the coa:yard. The ·warrant for the work which was carried out between 1 Apnl
. 6 98
and 30 September r 746, was dated 29 March I 74 • John Sh akespear was paid £146. 16s. rd. on a debenture dated 31
December I 745 for :
(a)
Digging the foundations for the hand crane and levelling the ground. Warrant d ated 22 March 1745·
(b)
Moving ·he west crane and levelling the ground.
(
c) Making a foot-way in the orchard. Warrant dated 26 November 1745·
(d)
Laying guns. . h k l
(e)
Makino-a causeway at the landing place all of wh1c too Pace
b 99
between 1 J uly and 31 December 1745· d d
1
Roger Morris received £223. 15s. nd. on a debenture at~ 3 · · C · M' h 1 's house the palhsades
December 1746 for repamng aptam 1c e son loo and the barracks between 1 July and 31 December 1746. John Shakespear was paid £137. 17s. 2d. on a debenture dated 3o]une d. d 101
1 7 4 7 for levelling ground and men mg roa s. S Roo-er Morris received £go. 17s. 3d. on a debenture date~ 3° eptem
0 . k h and dwellings between
ber 1747 for repairs to the barrac s, store ouses I July and 30 September 1747.102
92 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/162, P· II, io Sept6mber 1745· 93 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 October 1746· 94 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 October 1746· 96 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 Octo er 174 · 6 00 Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO/51/163, P· 205, 3oJune 174 · 07 Ordnance Treasure;'s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/88, 17 FebruarySl747· b 98 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/163, P· 21 4, 3° ep~em er 1746 ·
1
99 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/87, 14 October 748· 100 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 28 January 174 · 1o1 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 5 July 1748· 8102 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 3 October 1 74 ·
293
BIRTH AND CHILbHOOD
Joseph Pratt was paid £303. 7s. 7d. on a debenture dated 30 September 1747 for his part in the above mentioned repairs between I July and 30 September !747.10~ . .
Roger l\1orns received £9. 7s. 2d. for erecting a new flagstaff 1n the Vlarren. " 'arrant dated 4 December 1747.104
Having outlined the works services carried out during the preceding twenty years, let us turn our attention to the Laboratory which had been in a state ofsuspended animation since r 7I 6. Though not completely closed down, its output had been reduced to the level consistent with the effects of Sir Robert Walpole's administration. Since the absence of war had left stocks undisturbed, the limited demands of peace were easily satisfied, and during the first tw entythree years ofits torpidity it manufactured just enough to fulfil the
requirements of exercise and proof. Though placed under the care ofa bombardier in 1716, the gathering war clouds in 1739 quickened its tempo and demanded the presence of a more senior official to step up its production. This is supported by an entry in the Treasurer's Ledgers under date I June 1742 which states :105
Lieut-Colonel Thomas Pattison paid £222. ros. od. on a debenture dated 21 May I 742 for his care and trouble in superintending the business of the Laboratory between 20 November I 739 and 21 May I 742, being 914 days at 5s. per day.
The dates in this entry are significant. The 'peace and prosperity' era introduced by Sir Robert Walpole was rudely shaken and finally brought to an end in I 739 by a great national fervour in favour of a maritime war with Spain. This movement, founded on past m emories, was uncoordinated and amorphous, but it was the beginning of the flood-tide which twenty years later bore William Pitt to office and
swept away the French power in India and North America. The wrongs ofJenkins and his ear, said to have been torn off by an irate Spanish Customs official, brought matters to a h ead by arousing such a popular demand for action that Walpole perforce had to bow before the storm and draw an unwilling sword against Spain on rg October 1739. It was an unfamiliar implement in Walpole's hand and he resigned on 2 February 1742. With his fall from power the policy of restraint faded into the background, and the Spanish war, inconclusive and indecisive, broadened into the current whicheventually carried the country into conflict with France on 15 March 1744 whenthe Warofthe Austrian Succession once more setEurope aflame. Meanwhile, after the temporary management of Lieutenant
Colonel Thomas Pattison, who in I 742 had become the Lieutenant
Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the Laboratory slipped 101 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89, 3 October 1748. 10, Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/164, p. 226, 31 March 1748. 101 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83, I June 1742.
294
THE WARREN 1721-1749
back under the exclusive care of a bombardier and, although its work was increasing in scope and importance, carried on for the next four years as best it could. At the beginning_ ~f 1746, h?wever, the increasing strains of war spurred the authorities to a~t1on and broucrht home the fact that if the Laboratory was to function effectively0 it must be placed on a proper footing. A Council meeting was therefore held with this end in view.106
LABORATORY AT WOOLWlCH
At the Court of St James's 12 February 1746
Present The King's Most Excellent Majesty in Council v\Thereas there was this day read at the Board a report of the Lord~ of
· f C ·1 d t d 30th oflast month upon a representation
the C omnnttee o ounc1 a e f O d for the Master-General and Principal Officers of the Boar~ 0 ~ n~nce relating to the defective state of the Laboratory at Woolwich which is at
b d. Although the Works nowpresent under the care only of a Bom a ier.
. · derable and of great
constantly carrymg on there are very consi
11
consequence, and therefore proposing that the Officehof ~r-1p;o~~~
8
Firemaster and Firemaster's Mate which were put upon t e in mg s d
. . . f ) may now be restore
hshment in the year 1716 (bemg time O peace . h th Art with the addition of a Clerk to the Comptroller. By whic mean~ e . of making Fireworks for real use as well as for Triumph may e agam recovered. The Charge whereof as estimated by the sa~d MBo~rd amh. ou~ts
d num His r aJesty avmg
to Four hundred and Seventy Poun s per an · . h th dvice of taken the said Report into Consideration was pleased wit. e a h. h . h f d f the said Estimate w ic is llis P rivy Council to approve t ereo_ a_n ° rdered That the said hereunto annexed and to Order as it is hereby O b t d
' F" t , Mate e res ore
Offices of Comptroller Firemaster and iremas er s G
1
5t
with the addition of a Clerk to the Comptroller And th~ Ma erd·. enera
. . D · ctions herein accor mg Y·
of the O rdnance is to give the necessary ire W. Sharpe
Officers proposed for the Laboratory at Woolwich
A Comptroller .... • • • · · · · · · · · · at £200
l 1
Firemaster ................ • • • · at £ 15° per annum Clerk to the Comptroller..... . • • at £ 4° Mate to the Firemaster .. • • · · · · · at£ 80
£47o r6 December 1746 In Estimate 1748
. . C ·1 Charles Frederick was ap-
Arising from this Order m ounci , L. t Colonel
. F b 1745 and 1eutenan
pointed Comptroller from 12 e ruary 6 101 the James Pattison, Chief Firemaster, on 1 3 Febr:1ary 174 ' 1 remainder of the staff being posted in the following year· In 7 4 7'
· h 1748 PRO/W0/55/408, P· 113·
10a Warrants (King's and others), Woolw1c ' 1744-Warr~nt dated 13 February 1746. 107 M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/508, P· 164·
295
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
therefore, the establishment of the Laboratory was as follows :108
Comptroller-Charles Frederick ........ . ... . .... . ... £200 p.a. Comptroller's Clerk-Edward Wilkes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £40 p.a. Chief Firemaster-Lieut.-Colonel James Pattison. . . . . . . . £ 150 p.a. Firemaster's Mate-Christopher Newton. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £80 p.a. Turner-John Jones • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Joiner-William Pincher ............ £54. 15s. gd. p.a. Carpenter-John Cooke ............. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Smith-Robert McGill . . . . . . . . . . . . . £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Labourers Robert Poulton ......... £27. 7s. 6d. p.a. Mathew Younger ....... . £27. 7s. 6d. p.a.
The Civil establishment of the Warren in 172 7 was as under:
Storekeeper-James Felton ................... £160 p.a. Clerk of the Survey-David Stephenson . . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Clerk of the Cheque-Thomas Baker . . . . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Clerk of the Foundry-Anthony Spencer. . . . . . . . £54. 15s. od. p.a. Clerks extra-Edward Jackson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £36. ios. od. p.a.
d. Peter Hunton £ 6 od. p.a.
or mary Th F . · · · · · · · · · · · · • • • • . . 3 . 1os.
omas urruss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £36. 1os. od. p.a. Master Founder-Andrew Schalch ......... . .. £ 219 p.a.
During 1728, however, Peter Hunton succeeded Anthony Spencer as clerk to the foundry, Charles Marriot replaced Pet r Hunton as a clerk extraordinary, and Hopton Twynihoe supplanted Thomas Furniss as a clerk extraordinary. During 1727 and 1728 no labourers appeared on the Woolwich books; they were borne apparently on the strength ofthe Tower. Since the main appointments at W oolwich are given in Appendix VII it is only proposed to record here the changes which took place among the clerks extraordinary. A hoyman, by the name of Anthony Swift, was added to the establishment in I 729. Mr James Felton who had been storekeeper since 1695 died on g April I 734 after nearly forty years of faithful service. He was replaced by Mr George Campbell. In I 734, besides the change of
109 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/88. (?~dnance Establishment ~ook, PRO/WO/54/210. Ind1v1dual warrants of appointment are given in M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/ 5o8, as under:
Laboratory JohnJones to be Turner at 3s. p.d., w.e.f. 1July 1747. Warrant dated 10July 1747,
p. 168.
William Pincher to be Joiner at 3s. p.d., w.e.f. 1 October 1747. Warrant dated 1 October 1747, p. 174. John Cooke to be Carpenter at 2s. 6d. p.d., w.e.f. 1 July 1747. Warrant dated 10 July 1747, p. 169. Mathew Younger to be Labourer at u. 6d. p.d., w.e.f. r July 1747. Warrant dated
10July 1747, p. 171.
Richard Berry was later appointed 2ndJoiner at 3s. p.d., w.e.f. r August r 748. Warrant
dated 27 October 1748, p. 103.
THE WARREN 1721-1749
storekeepers, John Twynihoe had succeeded Charles Marriot as an extraordinary clerk. William Sumpter also appears again as the labourer on the establishment. In 1736 the clerks extraordinary were Edward Jackson, James Delestang and Thomas Jones. By 1739 they had become Thomas Flight, John Jones and James Delestang, and by I 740 they were changed to James Delestang, Neil Campbell and James Backer. There was a complete turnover by 1743 owing to promotions and other movements of personnel. The three extraordinary clerks in that year were John Parr, Abel Cassell and William Severn. These remained at their posts until the end of the period covered by this chapter except that in 1748 William Folkes replaced William Severn. The only other posts worthy of mention which changed hands at this time were those of chief firemaster and firemaster's mate. Lieutenant-Colonel James Pattison vacated the former early in 1_748 and was succeeded by Captain Thomas Desaguliers on I Apnl.of that year,109 while Christopher Newton was replaced by CaptamLieutenant Charles Farrington appointed I July 1749.110 Summing up, we arrive at the following picture of the total Warren establi ·hment in 1749. £160 p.a.
Storekeeper-George Campbell ....... • • • • • · · ·
od. p.a.
£54. 10s.
Clerk of the Sur,rey-eil Campbell ... • • • • • · · ·
od. p.a.
£54. 10s.
Clerk of the heque-John Twynihoe ..... •. • • •
od. p.a.
£54.
Clerk of the •01.mdry-James Delestang .. • •. • • · 10s.
od. p.a.
£36. 10s.
Clerks extraordinary-John Parr.. ....... •••••·
od. p.a.
£36. IOS.
Abel Cassell .......... . •
od. p.a.
£36. JOS.
William Folkes . .... . ... •
od. p.a.
£26. os.
Labourer-illiam Sumpter ......... • • · • • · · · ·
£219 p.a.
Master Founder-Andrew Schalch ..... • • • • · · ·
Laboratory
£ 200
Comptroller-Charles Frederick .............. • • • · · · · p.a. Chief Firemaster-Captain Thomas Desaguliers. • • • · · · · £ 15° p.a. Firemaster's Mate-Captain Lieutenant
· £80 p.a.
Char1es Farrmgton ...... • • · · · · · · Clerk to the Comptroller-Edward Wilkes ..... • • • · · · · £4o p.a. Turner-John Jones ............... £54. 15s. od. p.a. Joiners-William Pincher ........... £54. 15s. od. p.a.
R . h dB £54 i5s. od. p.a.
1c ar erry ............ • · Carpenter-John Cooke ............. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Smith-Robert McGill ............. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a. Labourers-Robert Poulton ......... £27. 7s. 6d. p.a. Mathew Younger ........ £27. 7s. 6d. p.a.
In addition, there was a gentleman called The Superintendent of His Majesty's Foundries who had a salary of £500 p.a. Though not ioo MG O's Warrants PRO/WO/55/·08 P· 204. Warrant dated I February 17..iS:O 110 O;d~ance Establishment Book, PRb/'V\ O/54/211. M.G.O's ·warrants, PRO/\\ / 55/508, p. 210. Warrant dated 11 May 1749· 21 297
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
exclusively a Woolwich official he must have hadjuriscliction over the Royal Brass Foundry. These officials appear as shadows in the background. They were, in turn, appointed by warrant, but after appointment their names appear to be conspicuous by their absence in Ordnance records. In I 749 the Superintendent concerned was Francis Eyles, 111 the first holder of the post being George Harrison,112 one of the sufferers in the Moorfield explosion. The complete list
of these highly paid officials is given in Appendix VII.
In addition to the foregoing were Mr Marrow, the armourer, some four or five craftsmen working in the foundry and several labourers locally employed, making in all a total of some thirty civilian employees. These, together with probably a similar number ofsoldiers engaged in production gives the managerial, clerical, and industrial strength of the Warren as some sixty or seventy persons. Its rate of
growth during the first eighty years was surprisingly slow.
There was an accident at the Royal Foundry on 18 February 1745 according to the London Magazine of February 1745, p. IOI. An old bomb shell which had been landed some days before from a tender, and from which the charge had not been drawn, took fire and bursting injured six of the matrosses so badly that two of them died.
A third man had both his legs and his right arm blown off. It was thought that if the remainder lived, they would in all probability never recover the use of their limbs.
To give some idea ofthe amount ofproof taking place at vVoolwich in the middle of the eighteenth century, the following figures are selected from a host of provings.
'One 7½ft 9 pdr, fifty-seven 7ft g pdrs and eighteen 5}ft 1 pdrs made by Messrs Wheatley and Coy. for the East India Company's ships were proved between 31 October and 1 November 174-9. Thirty-one pieces out of a total of seventy-six passed proof.'ll3
'Thirty-six out of forty-three 12 and 18 pdr iron ordnance made by Messrs Sone passed proof on 7 November 1749.'ll4
To conclude this chapter a survey of the Warren as it appeared in I 749 will be attempted. In this respect we are fortunate in having two beautifully executed plans. The first is headed An Accurate Plan oftlze Town of Woolwich, his Majesty's Dockyard and Rope Walk; Survey'd by John Barker with the Plan ofthe Warren as surveyed in 1748 with a view
from Prince Rupert's Walk of the Royal Academy, Laboratory etc. John Barker Surveyed and Drawn Ju{y 1749: while the second is called An
111 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/351, p. 175. Warrant dated 13July
1742. 111 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/348. Warrant dated 27 September
1722. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/34, 3 November 1749. 114 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/34, 14 ovember 1749. Actually from 1749 the so-called 'Journal Books' are really 'The Minutes of the
Surveyor-General', but the term 'Journal Book' will continue to be used in the footnotes.
298
THE WARREN 17111-1749
Exact Survey of tlze Warren in Woolwich drawn by John Barker at the Royal Academy. Anno 1749. For our purpose the latter is the more valuable
map. h B .. h
The original plans are kept in the Map Room of t e ntls Museum and form part of Volume XVII under the press-m~r~ k44. Together with seven other drawings they were placed _ongmally between two pages sealed together to form _a closed section of the volume. The nine maps and plans of Woolw1ch are:
(a)
An accurate plan of the Town ofWoolwich, his Majesty's Dockyard and Rope-,Nalk. Surveyed and drawn by John_Barker, July 1749·
(b)
An exact survey of the Warren in Woolw1ch drawn by John Barker at the Royal Academy. Anno 1749· .
(c)
A plan of His Majesty's Dockyard at Woolw1ch 1 774·
(d)
A plan of His Majesty's Dockyard at Woolwich. Drawn by Thomas
Milton 18 June 1753· · h Wa ren at
(e) A plan of the 2 gun battery and born? battery m t e r_ Woolwich made under the direction of MaJor-General Borgard m the
'
year 1739. .
(f)
Plan of the foundry built at Woolw1ch. Anno ~7 15· h T
(g)
Plan of part of a Great Pile of Buildings designed at t e ower Place at Woolwich g July 1717·
(h)
Front ate at Woolwich 1717 Sh' C ·
th
(i) Front of the Gate next the River Than_ies :or ~ of1X [tt1(~g)e] House desicrned at the Tower Place at Woolw1ch mStea
b
markt 1717. t d 'secret' forms rather
The reasons why these plans were trea e as fid .
. h' h highly con entia1at
an amusing story. The drawmgs, w 1c were d
. . t b the Board of Or nance
the time of their preparat10n, were sen Y d'd t to H.M. the King for his inspection. George III, hui,_~ve:, L\ no return them but placed them in his library. When the ng s 1 r~h was transferred to the British Museum in 182 8 the_ ~lahnMswent wifit
t to the Bnt1s useum or
it. In 1837, the Board of 0 rdnance wro e d Th B d the return of these military papers but the latter refuse · e ohar
d allow no access to t em
then asked the Museum to sea1them up an d d the without their permission. To this the Museu: ~r~/;i:cent's documents were placed under seal and for~otte . h t th plans
. . . A ll h ffi ·al not1ficat1on t a e ,
happy mspirat1on. ctua Y, t e O ci d ·1 ble to the being of no further military value, could be ma e a~i a Offi f U Public was not given to the British Museum by the k aru· Tche 1.
' 1 , h d been bro en. ., us is 21 March 1910 long after the seas a
history made. . b M w T Vincent
These plans were originally brough~ to light YM; F · C · Elliston~ the author of The Records of Woolwzch and, as · h · d t" Erwood remarks,m the story of their discovery 'forms t e rama ic
m PRO/WO/32/556, Gen. No/1/17?. . .
118 The Woolwich and District Antiquanan Socie91, vol. xxix, P· 17·
299
DIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
opening to his popular history, though it may be thought by some that he has allowed his sense of the theatre to overcome the demands of strict veracity'. The story of a 'sealed packet' was a flight of imagination. Actually, the edges of certain pages in a large folio had at one ~ime be_en securely stuck together and on them now appears a note m pencil to the effect that the sealed edges of this book were opened in 1869 and need not be sealed up in future.
John Barker has left no trace in history. Who he was or what was his profession is a mystery. Presumably he was a surveyor. He was certainly a skilled draughtsman and a competent artist. His map of the Warren was d~awn at the Royal Academy, yet he was neither a master or a drawmg-master, nor a model-maker there. His n am e does not appear among those of the staff in the comprehensive list given in Tlze Records of tlze Royal M ilitary Academy , nor is it mentioned i~ any Ordnance Jour,nal Book, Establishment Book, Quarter Book, Bill Book or ~reasurer s Ledger. He must have been granted facilities to produce his Wa~ren survey but he received no payment for his
work from any official source, which presupposes that his exercise in cartography w_as a priv_ate venture. Nevertheless posterity owes him a debt of gratitude. His map is the only existing one between the years 1717 and 1777.
In 1749 the limits of the Warren were similar to those of 1671 the only difference being that it was now surrounded by a fence 'wall except where the moat still stood guardian over the marshes on its eastern flank. There was a plantation of elms near the main gate and a row oftrees along the boundary which separated the Establishment from the Plumstead marshes. A double row of foliage hrew its welcome shade over Prince Rupert's Walk while the old bastion itself was dotted with numerous saplings. 'Between the Fountain Court block of buildings and the Laboratory, an avenue lined with trees led from the foundry to the gun-park. A considerable part of
the area was covered with private gardens and orchards. The principal buildings were:
A. The Laboratory as it stood in 1701.
B. The shot-yard, north of and adjoining the Great House now shut in by brick walls containing gates. '
C. The Great House_ containing the Academy, the Board Room, the Headquarters of the Artillery, the storekeeper's residence and the houses of the First ~nd Second Masters of the Royal Academy. '
D. The Firework-Barn, converted into an infirmary, almost on the site of the present surgery.
E. The Proof-Butt as in 1 70 r.
F. The Royal Brass Foundry, i.e. the present 0 .F. Garage.
G. The guardhouse by the main gate.
H. Three labourers' houses near the main gate.
300
THE WARREN 1721 -1749
I. The old and new blocks of barracks containing seven officers' quarters and two barrack barrack rooms.
J. The block of buildings containing the washing, turning and engraving house, the smiths' shops, the armourers' shops, the Land Service Carriage Storehouse, the Sea Service Carriage Storehouse, the Carpenters' shops, Artificers' Court and Fountain Court.
K. The Sea Storehouse on the site of the smiths' shop next to the water's edge north of the Shot-yard.
L. The Lesser Square or Carriage Storehouse including the powder magazine, just east of the Fountain Court block of buildings.
M. The turret in the garden of the First Master. .
N. The Boring Engine room, near the north end of the Foundry Just inside the main entrance. In addition there were two practice batteries in Prince Rupert's Walk, an extensive gun-park between the Old Carriage Yard site
and the buildings to the south of it, and the three cranes as of yore. Disappearances since r701 included:
The Old Carriage Yard which had now become the storekeeper's orchard.
T he New Carriage Yard. T he Powder-house close to the Old Carriage Yard. The Greenwich Barn. Pritton's house.
The Bricklayers' storehouse. The Kettle House. H awthorn Tree House. J ohn Packman's House and
The Smiths' Shop close to the water's edge.
It will b e seen therefore that though developments during the preceding fifty years had been small and unspectacular, p~o?ress had been achieved. Slowly but surely the country estate was givmg place to the Civil and Military Government Establishment.
301
Chapter g
The Beginnings of the Royal Regiment of Artillery
Woolwich Warren was the cradle of the Royal Regiment of Artillery ~nd, as such, was clos:ly associated with its formation in r 7 r 6 and Its growt~ to I ?i8. It 1s o~y _fitting, therefore, that the early years of the regiments story which mtegrated with that of the expa nding Warren shou~d figure in a history ofthe Royal Arsenal. In the Warren were the regimental headquarters, the houses and barracks where the officers. an? men lived and the infirmary where the sick were
tended, while Just across the way, in the Plumstead R oad, was the 0rd~ance chapel whe:e the troops afterwards worshipped.
Pr10: to the for~~t10n of the Royal Regiment, the fee'd gunners belongmg to the military branch of the Office of Ordnance were in ?me of peace quartered at the Tower and at other forts and castles m t?e country_whe~e, und~r their respective master gunners, they came~ out their daily routme. They were in fact a kind of 'District
Est~bhshme~t_' whose training for the field was nebulous to a degree. Du~mg a cnsis, or when for some other reason it was considered desira_ble to pl~ce an arn:iy in the field, a Royal Warrant authorizing a Tram ofArtillery was issued. These warrants laid down in meticulous detail the establishment and rates of pay of the personnel defi~e? with exactitude the number and types of ordnance and ~umt1ons to ?e collected, and listed with precision the stores to be issued from his Majesty's storehouses. The Train was then formed by dra~ting in ~pecified officers, master gunners and gunners from the vanous ?arnsons, mo~il~zing the necessary administrative person~el and artific:rs ~f the civil branch from the offices and workshops
m the Tower, 1ssm~~ !he guns and stores required and hiring horses and dn~ers fro?1 c1v1han sources. Experience proved that there w ere usually 1~suffic1ent_trained men to complete the laid-down establishment, so ~n the n:1~Jority ofcases, recourse had to be had to enlisting tempo~anly add1t1ona_l officers, gunners, matrosses,1 bombardiers, petardiers and _others m order to enable the Train to take the field. :-Yhen t~e Tram had served the purpose for which it was created, It "":as disb~nded. The permanent staff then returned to their normal duties, while the remainder were discharged with some form of
1
. At1,tha/rosses. Sol~iers in the Train of Artillery next below the gunners· their duty is to ass1s e gunners m traversing spo · I d" d fi · h · '
Jocks a d h • ' ngmg, oa mg an rmg t e pieces. They carry firewagg n hm~:{b a1in~ with the store-waggons, both as a guard and to help in case a
Thons ou rea own (Chalmer's Cyclopaedia). e rank of matross was abolished in r 783 when all private soldiers in the Artillery
became gunners.
302
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
monetary compensation, usually half-pay. This led to swollen Ordnance estimates and burdened the Office with a large non-effective vote.
At best, this was an expensive and inefficient method of obtaining artillery for the country's defence, as many of the specially enlisted men were devoid of training. At worst, it failed in its object. Such w as the case in 1715 when the system broke down on attempting to organize a Train of Artillery for the Scottish rebel rising. Trained personnel in sufficient numbers just did not exist and something had obviously to be done to remedy the situation. As early as 1712 the Treasury had written to the Board of Ordnance2 suggesting that their establishment might be reduced, for the feeling was growing in authoritative circles that the Ordnance were not getting value for their money. Discussions with the Treasury took place, and brains were set to work on a problem which had a long as well as a short term point of view. Eventually the Principal Officers sent the following communication to the Duke of Marlborough, Master
General, dated ro January 1716:
The Board of Ordnance represent to the Duke of Marlborough that,
upon examination of the several establishments of the military branch of
this O ffice, it appears that above the sum of £11,000 is yearly paid in
salaries to persons that are not appointed to any particular service; and are
never employed without more than double the said expense under the
titles either of travelling charges or pay. .
It is likewise evident, from many years experience, that the aforesaid
establishments are so defective that when there hath been any extra
ordinary service required, this Office hath been obliged to inlist other
persons, and to make demand in Parliament for payment of the same.
It is therefore humbly proposed, that as vacancyes shall happen ~n the
said establishments that the salarys of them be applied to the fornung ~f
one or more companies of gunners, as shall be thought necessary for his
Majesty's service.
For the better explanation hereof, we humbly lay before y~ur Grace the
annexed proposal for a regimental establishment of 4 compames ofgunn_ers
with proper officers, consisting of 379 persons and 28 engmeers amountmg
to £15,539. 17s. od. per annum. . ..
On the other side is an abstract of several establishments, cons1stmg of
369 persons belonging to the artillery and for rg engineers, the whole
amounting to £r6,82g. os. 3d. per annum, by which it appears_ that what
is now humbly offered is not only a less charge, but does consist of more
in number.
Out of the number of the 4 companies thus pro~osed, the fo:ei~n
establishment will not only be supplied, but there will also remam m
England near 200 persons at all times ready to march. upon any e~tra
ordinary occasion, or otherwise to be usefully employed m those garrisons
2 v\7arrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/404, P· 10, 8 Augu5l 1712•
3o3
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
or places where his Majesty's chief magazines are kept, of which persons there is now a great want. (Signed) Thomas Earle, Edward Ash,
M. Richards, J. Armstrong Annexed to this letter were:
(r) A list of employments on the North Britain establishment which it is proposed should be sunk as they become vacant.-A saving of £1,202.
3s. gd.
(2) A reduction in the salaries of certain posts.-A saving of £32.
I2S. 6d.
(3)
An abstract of part of the yearly charge of the military branch of the Office of Ordnance proposed, as they become vacant, not to fill up again.-An eventual saving of£16,829. os. 3d.
(4)
A regimental establishment humbly offered as more advantageous to the service; per annum-A cost of £15,539. 17s. od.
(5)
The old establishments for Mahon and Gibraltar granted annually by Parliament. The former £3,504 and the latter £3,175. 10s. od.
(6)
It was proposed that the following should continue until further orders: 217 master gunners and gunners ofgarrisons £ 4,605. 1s. Bd. Half pay of officers who had served abroad £2,7ro. 15s. 2d.
While these proposals were under discussion, the following artillery of the old establishment were serving during 1716 in the Tower Division at Woolwich and Greenwich :3
Lieutenant James Deal
Abraham Taylor Joseph Hughes
Bombardiers
Henry Mainarde
{
Henry Brown
rJames Campbell
Gunners
LJohn Warrell John Osment Matrosses Richard Mills
{
Edward Miller
The Master-General, upon receipt ofthis letter from the Principal
Officers of the Board, gave it very serious consideration. The views expressed evidently satisfied him, as after a short interval he submitted a proposal4 on the lines they suggested, pointing out that such a reorganization would in the long run effect a considerable financial saving by abolishing most of the half-pay vote. This proposal was accepted in principle though the number of companies comprising the Royal Artillery was limited to two, while keeping the local Minorca and Gibraltar companies on a separate establishment. The
1 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/199.
• Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/199, p. 137.
3o4
THE BEGIN NINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
Royal Warrant authorizing the two companies of Royal Artillery appeared on 26 May 1716.5
The Duke of Marlborough, having represented the inconvenience and defects of the present establishment of the military branch of our said Ordnance, amounting to £16,829. 11s. 3d., and therewith a scheme shewing that a greater number of gunners, engineers and other proper officers may be maintained for less than the present expense; and whereas by Our Warrant of 27 November 1715, two companies of gunners and matrosses were raised for the service of our artillery sent upon the late expedition to North Britain, and having been found always necessary that a sufficient number of gunners with proper officers should be maintained and kept ready for Our service; and whereas there are several salaries now vacant of the present old establishment which are not useful by which part ofthe two companies may be maintained, viz. 1 sergeant, 3 corporals, 3 bombardiers, 30 gunners and 32 matrosses, such as have served well abroad during the late wars; and as other salaries shall become vacant in the military branch, you will complete the pay of the rest of the officers
etc. according to the annexed list.
Establishment of the two companies:
First Company
Rank Pay per diem
Captain IOS.
First Lieutenant 6s.
econd Lieutenant 5s.
Third Lieutenant Fireworker 4S·
Fourth Lieutenant Fireworker 3s.
3 Sergeants, each 2s.
3 Corporals, each Is. 8d.
3 Bombardiers, each 1s. 8d.
30 Gunners, each Is. 4d.
50 Matrosses, each Is.
Second Company
The same establishment and pay as the First Company.
This gives the total annual pay of each company as £2,445·
. 6
10s. od., i.e. £4,891 per annum for the two compames.. .
These were the first two companies of the Royal Artillery, "vh1ch then cost the country less than £5,000 a year. They were stationed permanently at Woolwich and domiciled in the Warren. Not all ~he personnel, however, were quartered there, small detachments b:mg provided for the Tower, Portsmouth, Sheerness, and other garn~on towns. The gunners at Woolwich helped in the_ Labo~atory, earned out practice on the Plumstead Marshes and tramed with other arms in Hyde Park, Hounslow and other open spaces.
6 Original Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/491 , P· 5·
6
Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/4o6, P· 49· 3o5
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Before the barracks in the Warren were built, conditions demanded that a certain number of gunners under an officer should be sent there to attend Ordnance business. To this end, the SurveyorGeneral, on behalfofthe Principal Officers ofthe Board ofOrdnance, wrote the following letter to James Craggs Jnr., Secretary-at-War:7
Sir,
His Majesty's service at Woolwich requiring that a detachment of gunners and matrosses should constantly attend the Ordnance store there, and the high constable making clifficultys on continuing them because his Malles Ordnco have not been renewed since the Rebellion, I am to desire you (by order of the Board) that you will be pleased to assign
quarters there for a Lieut and 40 men.
I am also to acqt you that they can give you no satisfactory answer to yr Lre of 15th inst. relating to the Barracks at Sheerness and Tilbury w11•out his Matles directions are signified by one ofhis Principal Secretarys
ofState. I am, Sir, Your etc.
18June 1717
M. Richards He received this communication in reply:
It is His Matlcs pleasure that you cause a detachment of a Lieut and 40 gunrs and matrosses belonging to his Maties Ordnance to Quarter in ,voo1wch and remain untill further ordrs to attend the Ordnance store there. Wherein the Civill Magistrates and all others concerr.ed are to be assisting in providing quarters or otherwise as there shall be occasion Given at Whitehall this 21st Day ofJune 1717.
By his Matics Comand
J. Craggs
To the Principall Officers ofHis Malies Board of Ordnance, or to the Lieut wth the Detachmt above mencioned.
On 28 February 17 r 8, the Board of Ordnance requested the Secretary-at-War for one Captain, two Lieutenants and sixty-five gunners for the Ordnance store at Woolwich. This request was granted in a letter dated r March 1 7r 8. 8
The Trains of Artillery raised for the defence of Gibraltar and Minorca, after their capture, were reorganized as companies in 1717.9 These were on a different footing to the two home companies
raised in 1716, and did not belong to the Royal Artillery. On r r June 1720, the home establishments were altered and a headquarter staff
7 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/346. 1 1 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/347. Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/346, p. 355, 22 August r7r 7.
306
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
of one Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel and one Major were added. In x722, the Companies at Gibraltar and Minorca were brought on to the establishment of the Royal Artillery which then became the Royal Regiment of Artillery consisting of a headquarters and four companies; two at home at Woolwich and two overseas, one at Gibraltar and the other at Minorca.
During the days ofits infancy the Royal Regiment obtained many ofits officers from the ranks. Trained gunners graduated up becoming possibly the Chief Bombardier (who received 3s. per day) or the Chief Petardier, until finally they graduated into the commissioned ranks. The system thus differed from that of the Army where purchase was the normal method of obtaining commissions in the cavalry and infantry. But very soon afterwards, a new method of providing future officers was instituted. The establishment of the two Woolwich companies was increased to admit two cadet gunners and two cadet matrosses to each. These received the same rate ofpay as their enlisted namesakes, namely 1s. 4d. for the cadet gunner and
rs. a day for the cadet matross. They were paid monthly by the Captains in whose companies they were mustered. These youngsters, who were supposed to be taught the elements ofgunnery, fortification and mathematics to get them to be commissioned when vacancies among officei·s occurred, at first received no regular form of instruction. They were apparently under little discipline, some never even appearing at Woolwich at all, and such training as they did re_ceive was valueless for their future careers. In 1720, however, as will be described in Chapter 10, some attempt was made to place th~ir education on a better footing, but the system never prove~ satisfactory. The establishment of the Royal Military Academy m 1741 opened up further possibilities of properly training_ a~ office~ corps, so in 1744 a cadet company was formed as a d1stmct umt. The warrant authorizing this, dated 30 July 174410 stated th~t a company offorty gentleman cadets was to be formed by withdrawmg the cadets from the marching companies11 and by adding 4d. a day to the pay of twenty of them, i.e. the cadet matrosses, to bring up the pay of
every cadet to 16d. per diem. . .
The next change ofimportance after the settmg up of Regiment~l
headquarters, was the appointment of a surgeon and a surgeons
mate to the Royal Artillery on 3 r March 1728.12 A fifth c_ompa~y
was formed in 1740,13 and the formation of three ~ore m ra~id
succession brought the strength ofthe regiment up to eight compam~s
by 1743. Three more companies were adde~ in _1744, no doubt_ m
view of the War of the Austrian succession, 1.e. two marchmg
10 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/352, p. 150, 3ojuly 1744•
11
There were then ten marching companies in existence. See note 14· 12 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/349. . 13 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/350, P· 163, 21 Apnl 174°·
307
companies an the cadet company mentioned above. A further two companies were set up in 174J15 and another in 1748,16 bringing the total number of artillery companies to thirteen excluding the cadet company. Retrenchment was then effected on the termination of the Austrian succession war and actually on the same day that the 13th Company was formed a Royal Warrant17 dated 12 December 1748, was addressed to John, Duke of Montagu, Master-General of the Ordnance, reducing the Royal Regiment of Artillery to a head
quarters, ten companies and a company of gentleman cadets. On 30 April 1751 another Royal Warrant18 was issued giving army rank to officers of the Royal Artillery as under:
Artillery Colonel-Commandant as Anny Colonel
Lieut-Colonel Major Captain Captain Lieutenant First Lieutenant as as as as as Lieut-Colonel Major Captain Captain Lieutenant Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant as Second Lieutenant
Lieutenant Fireworker as Ensign
War in India and hostilities in North America stimulated the growth of the Regiment.
Four more companies were raised on 12 February 1755.19
Two adcliti?nal companies were formed on I October 1755.20 Two m?re companies were formed on I February 1756.21 One company of mmers, afterwards converted to a marching company 22 was added to the Royal Artillery by warrant dated 1 May 1756.23 ' Four new companies were raised on 8 March 1757.24
This made a total of 24 companies in all, too unbalanced a force to be. con!rolled by one small headquarters, and one moreover affo~dmg_ little scope for promotion to the higher ranks. In order to rectr~y thIS _arrangement, which was obviously ill suited for efficiency and mcentrve, a Royal Warrant on 8 March 1757,25 authorized the
:: Warrants an~ O;ders in Council, PRO/WO/55/351, p. 317, 5 March 1744. \'\( arraCnts (Kings and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/409 p. 42 4 September
1747 one ompany). ' ' :: Warrants an~ O;ders in Council, PRO/WO/55/353, p. 71, 1 December 1748. Warrants (Kmgs and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. 7, 12 December
1748. :: Warrants an1 ~rders in Council, PRO/WO/55/354, p. 25. 20 ~arrants (K~ng1s and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/ss/410, p. go. 21 \.\arrants (K!ng,s and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. 92. 11 Warrants (Kmg sand others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/s5/410, p. 98. Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/363 p. 166. Royal Warrant dated
29 March 1759. ' :: \'\;arrants (K~ng:s and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. gg. 11 \'\arrants (Kmg sand.others), ~oolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, p. 100. Warrants and Orders m Council, PRO/WO/55/356, p. 226.
308
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
divisionofthe Regiment into two battalions oftwelve companies each, each with its own headquarters at Woolwich. Eventually by 1761 there were 32 marching companies, the Regiment having been further sub-divided into three battalions of ten companies each on 16 August 1759.26 A fourth battalion was proclaimed by Royal Warrant dated I 8 February r771 . This warrant27 lays down the establishment of the Royal Artillery as field and staff officers, the M.G.O.'s company of gentleman cadets and four battalions at a total cost of £83,06 I. I 6s. 8d. per annum. Within a month the regimental establishment was placed on a peace-time standard, the cost being reduced to £72,549. 16s. 8d.28
Like all service under the Crown, gunners and matrosses, as well as their officers, joined the Royal Artillery for life. There was no form of superannuation and no system of pensions. In practice, of course, officers and men so incapacitated by old age, infirmity or wounds as to be incapable of doing any duty whatever, were granted some kind of ex gratia payment usually in the form of half-pay for life, or in exceptional cases, full pay, and permitted to retire or become discharged. As long, however, as they could perform some function, however inadequately, they continued to serve in the marching companies. This had the inevitable effect of reducing the over-all efficiency of the companies by compelling them to carry on
their establishment men who were quite unfitted for active service or any other strenuous task. So in I 77 I, eight companies of Invalids , ere formed29 incorporating the former 'garrison-gunners' for garrison duties in order to free the marching companies for serv_ice overseas as required. By 1774, therefore, there were 32 marchmg companies, 8 invalid companies and I cadet company born: on the strength of the Royal Regiment. An increase of establishment occurred in 1778 for on 16 September of that year a Royal Warra~t30 was issued increasing each marching company by one bombard1~r, two gunners and seven matrosses. This was followed by a further mcrease in 1 779 when the establishment of the Regiment w~s al~ered to
allow two additional marching companies to each battalion, 1.e. to a to tal of 40 marching companies in all.31 In the same year a ~urther change was introduced. Originally the eight inv_alid compames ~ad been attached to the four battalions, two compames to each, but eight years experience had proved this to be an unsatisfactory arrangeme_nt, and so the invalid companies were banded together toform a battalion on their own.a2 Finally on 12 March 1783, where we must take leave
26 Royal Warrant SP/44/191. 27 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/367, P· 1 52· 28 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/367, P· i85, 15 March 1771. 29 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/5/367, P· 152, 18 February 1771. 30 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/373, P· 79· :n Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/373, P· 299, 3oJune 1779· 32 Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/418, P· 78, 3oJune 1779•
3o9
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
of the Royal Regiment of Artillery so far as the history of the Royal Arsenal is concerned, the Royal Artillery was reduced from 5,337 officers and men (£148,488. Is. Bd.) to 3,302 officers and men (£r 10,570. 13s. 4d.).33
InJune I 743, therefore, the Royal Regiment ofArtillery consisted of eight companies, each commanded by a Captain, a headquarter staffofone Colonel, one Lieutenant-Colonel one MaJ·or together with
. ' '
the followm_g staff officers: a chaplain, an adjutant, a quartermaster, a bndgemaster, a surgeon and a surgeon's mate. Each company contained a captain, a captain-lieutenant, a first lieutenant, a second lieutenant, three lieutenant fireworkers, three sergeants, three corporals, eight bombardiers, twenty gunners, sixty-five matrosses and tw? drummers, making a total of 107 for each company. Two compames were at Woolwich. In June 1744, H.R.H. William Duke of Cumberland came to see some experiments and proof on the Warren, and the three companies which were then at Woolwich paraded under Major Jonathan Lewis. There were also a line of ~ ,enty cadets dra~n up on the right of the companies who appeared without arms, uruforms or an officer at their head. The three com
panies remained at Woolwich till August 1745 when, after the capture of Cape Breton, one of them v.,as sent to garrison Louisberg. In the same month a detachment of three officers and fifty other ran~s were sent from Woolwich with other troops to trengthen the gar~1son of ?xford. On 8 December 1745 two companies with a Tram ofArt~llery commanded by Colonel Jonathan L wis, marched
from Woolw1ch to Finsbury Common where a large body of troops was to have assembled under the immediate orders of the king, had the rebels marched to London as expected, but as they r tired northwards from Derby the two companies with the Train of Artillery returned to Woolwich three days later.
Five companies continued to be stationed at Woolwich till the final defeat oftheJacobites at Culloden on 16 April 1746, when two of thei:11 were sent in June with seven battalions to join the allied army m Brabant, and one embarked in May with six battalions commanded by Lieut.-General Sinclair on an expedition to the coast
ofFrance w~ere a fruitless attempt was made on Port L'Orient. The tw~ comparues left at Woolwich were increased to five by 1749, of which one was actually at Greenwich in view of the local shortage of a_ccommodation. As mentioned earlier, the King in 1751 granted equivalent rank to artillery officers whose commissions up to that date 'had only been signed by the Master-General LieutenantGeneral or Principal Officers of the Ordnance. Henc~forward such c_ommissions were to be signed by the King, as were army commis
s10ns, and counter-signed by the Master-General.
aa Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/375.
310
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
On 13 June 1753, his Majesty reviewed in the Green Park the five companies quartered at Woolwich and the cadet company. On that occasion there were present the Colonel, the Lieut.-Colonel, the Major, five Captains, six Captain-lieutenants, four First Lieutenants, seven Second Lieutenants, seventeen Lieutenant-fireworkers, the chaplain, the adjutant, the quarter-master, the bridge-master, the surgeon and his mate, fifteen sergeants, fifteen corporals, one drummajor, ten drummers, six fifers, forty bombardiers, forty-eight cadets, ninety-eight gunners and two hundred and ninety-one matrosses; a parade of 477 officers and men. The cadets were formed up on the right of the battalion as grenadiers; there were three light 6 pdrs on each flank of the battalion.
During the period of peace between 1748 and 1756, the Duke of Cumberland reviewed the Royal Regiment annually at Woolwich.
In May 1755, a detachment ofone first lieutenant and twenty-four N.C.Os and men were sentfrom Woolwich to Ireland at the request of the Lord Lieutenant towards the forming of a battalion of artillery for that kingdom. After the Peace of Paris on 10 February 1763, the three battalions consisting of the 30 companies and the cadet company, with th irrespective field and staff officers, were retained, -~mt the strength of each company was reduced from the 1743 establishment by one lieutenant-fireworker, one sergeant, one corporal, four bombardiers, twelve gunners, thirty-two matrosses. In I 771 the rank oflieutenant-firewor ker was abolished, and the establishment of officers for each m arching company was one captain, one captain-lieutenant, one first lieutenant and two second lieutenants. Each invalid company had a captain, a first lieutenant and a second lieutenant. The elements ofa Royal Artillery Band were formed in I 762. By a Royal Warrant dated 22 June 1772, captain-lieutenants in the Royal Regiment of Artillery were to take rank as captains in the army and regiment from 25 May and all future captain-lieutenants from t_he date of their respective commissions. 34 Thus was the rank of captam
lieutenant abolished.
Let us now turn to the more human side of the story. In saying this it is not proposed to tabulate a list of all the artillery officers who served in the Warren between the years specified. The muster rolls of the Regiment, preserved in the Public Record w~ll reveal them should they be required. Rather is it intended to give a_ few wellknown names and recite a few personal anecdotes relatmg to the
conditions under which the officers lived.
On 1 April I 722, Albert Borgard was appointed the first Colonel of the Regiment.a5 On 17 March 1727, Jonas Watson w~s selected as the Lieut.-Colonel, an officer who had succeeded Captam Thomas
84 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/368, P· 55· 3s M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/483, p. 59, and PRO/W0/55/5o6, P· 37•
311
Silver on 17 February 1710 as Master Gunner of Whitehall, 36 and on 1 ... ovember following Borgard, who had since been promoted Brigadier on I March 1727, became Colonel-Commandant. William Bousficld was the Major, and the captains of the two companies at Woolwich were James Richards and Thomas Hughes. Three other names which claim attention were Jonathan Lewis, a captainlieutenant at ,voolwich, who was promoted captain in February 1734, vVilliam Belford a second lieutenant at Woolwich in 1739, and Borgard . 1ichelson, a lieutenant-fireworker stationed at M inorca in the same year. Both these latter officers rose, comparatively speaking, quickly for those days. Thomas Pattison at this time was serving in Minorca. Major Bousfield died on 4 December 1736 and Thomas Pattison succeeded him in August 1738 as Major of the R egiment. Borgard in the meantime had received rapid promotion, becoming Major-General on 28 October 1735 and Lieut.-General on 2 July 1739. On I April 1740, therefore, the following officers were serving
in the '\t\'arren:
Lieut.-General Albert Borgard-Colonel Colonel Jonas Watson-Lieut.-Colonel Major Thomas Pattison-Major Captain Jonathan Lewis ) .
. -Captams
Captam Thomas James Captain-Lieutenant George Minnis ) . . · L'e t t J h M'll d -Captam-L1eutcr ants
Captam-1 u enan o n 1 e ge First Lieutenant William Belford.
There v. ere of course others, but their names are of no interest in this connection.
Captain Lewis was promoted Major on 22 May 1740 and ,vas sent out to Carthegena under Colonel Watson. The latter being killed on 26 March 1741, Major Lewis assumed the rank ofLieut.-Colonel and offered Belford (who had become a captain-lieutenant) his majority which he promptly accepted. These ranks were subsequently confirmed, and thus, as a resulting promotion, Thomas Pattison became Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment and Jonathan Lewis the Major. This was the state of affairs in 1743. In 1746 Major Belford was promoted Lieut.-Colonel for the Flanders campaign. On 28 January
I 748, Pattison and Lewis retired from the Regiment on account of old age and infirmities, and their places as Lieut.-Colonel and Major were taken by Belford and Borgard Michelson, who had in the meantime come to the fore.
At this time the officers' quarters in the Warren were apportioned as follows:
" As Lieutenant-Colonel, M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/483. As Master-Gunner, M.G.O's Warrants, PRO/W0/55/489, p. 25.
312
THE BEGI N I 1 GS OF THE ROY AL REGIME "T OF ARTILLERY
No. 1 Dial Square-2 Majors' houses No. 4 Dial Square-the Colonel's house No. 7 Dial Square-the Lieut.-Colonel's house and
a Captain's house No. 10 Dial Square-2 Majors' houses.
In 1748, therefore, the officers' quarters in Dial Square were occupied (and had been so mainly occupied for some years) as follows:
Colonel Jonathan Lewis (Major of the Regiment) No. 1 Lieut.-Colonel William Belford (who succeeded
(
Colonel Pattison as Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment) No. 4 Lieut.-General Albert Borgard (Colonel of the Regiment) Colonel Thomas Pattison (Lieut.-Colonel of the No. 7 Regiment)
(Captain James Pattison . Major Borgard Michelson (succeeded Colonel Lewis
o. I o as Major of the Regiment)
(Mr Andrew Schalch (Master Founder)
General Borgard died on 8 February 1751 at the ripe old ~g~ of ninety-one ye rs, and his place as Colonel was taken by Wilham Belford.
So by February 1755, we have:
William Belford-Colonel of the Regiment Borgard Michelson-Lieut.-Colonel of the Regiment George Williamson-Major of the Regiment.
The latter officer had been a lieutenant-fireworker at Woolwich in 1728. . When the Regiment was divided into two battalions we have the following picture:
1 August 1757 Post 1st Battalion 2nd Battalion
Colonel-Commandant William Belford Borgard Michelson Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Desaguliers George Wi~liamson Major John Chalmers Thomas Fhght
The first block of barracks in the Warren for the Royal Artillery was built in 17 r g.37 This is the building which formerly contained Nos I 2 3 and 4 officers' quarters in Dial Square. Nos. I and 4 each
. ' ' 'd d h
contained two houses for officers while Nos. 2 and 3 provi e t e barrack-rooms for the men. Soon after their completion the Surveyor-General, Clerk of the Ordnance and Chief .Engineer visited Woolwich to allocate the accommodation and to give orders
37 Sec Chapter 7.
22
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
that no women and children were to be allowed to reside in the premises.38 To 'lodge therein' are the actual words used. Military officers residing in the Warren were allowed a free issue of coal and candles and this perquisite was, ifnot resented, at least envied by the civilian officials. Mr Felton, the storekeeper, requested the Board on 12January 172239 that, as the military officers at Woolwich have an allowance of coals, he, as storekeeper and Messrs Hunton and Baker, as clerks of the surve)'.' and cheque respectively, might between them have the unserviceable wood. The Board did not
jump to comply with the request but cautiously ordered Mr Whittaker to examine and report on what coal was allowed to officers. The supply of fuel and the laundry work for the Regiment at Woolwich was paid for by Mr James Felton the storekeeper who in turn, was reimbursed by the _Board. He w'as paid £ 2g. 1Bs. 3i
on 22 May 1 724 for those services for the six months between 1 October 1723and31 March I 724.40 At this period, therefore, heating and laundry for the barracks was approximately £6o
R · · . per annum.
1
ugs were ongma ly 1ssued to troops, but these were exchanged for coverlets, and William Ogborne the maste t
· d , , r carpen er, was
mstructe to make the cradles' 41 Two items d.
. · regar mg pay may ~ow be noticed. On ioJanuary I 727, appears the laconic statement ;42 The acco~nt of the arrears due to officers of the artillery for the year I 726 1s to be stated in order for payment , t·k 1
·1· ffi . 1 e "'Very one e seh
t e m1 1tary o cer had to wait for his mon Tl tl k
. ey. 1e o ·1er ma es better readmg. 0~ 7 March 1727, it was laid down that the Colonel of the Artillery was to have 2/ c-.0 r l 1· d
•• , / • • • -.u every nc y en 1ste
man, v1z. I -for admm1stermg the oath and 1 /-fi Ii · o-,43
I d · b or s m0 money.
n ue course_it ecame evident that the barracks were hardly large enough to satis~ current needs, let alone accommodate more men, and as _th: Regiment was about to become enlarged a second block w~ ~mltm 1?3~,44 the warrant for which was dated '20 March 1739.
This 1s the bmlding now covering the old quarte N 8 d
fi Offi A . rs os.7, , g,an 10
or cers. gam Nos. 7 and 10 provided four houses for officers and Nos. 8 and. 9 the men's quarters. These blocks, during the greater part of the ei~hteenth century, were known as the 'old' and 'new' bar;acks respectively. Afterwards, in the early nineteenth century the bnew' barracks be~ame the 'field officers' quarters. Since both ;hese arracks were built to the same general pattern somewhat in the Vanburgh style, it appears now to the casual onl~oker after a lapse of over 200 years, as if the two had been erected at the same time.
18 OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/WO/ /
a, OrdnanceJournal Book: PRO/WO 47 ~Jil· 230, 20 May 1720.
0
: OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWo}!~}21l f.' :J·1 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ / ' N
42 Ordnance Journal Book' PROJW 47 33, P· 294, 9 ovember 1720. ea OrdnanccJournal Book' PROJW0/47/21B, p. 3·
44 Sec p B ' 0/47/21B, f. 23.
age 2 5.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
The first mention of an officers' stable in the Warren occurs in 1738 when Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid £50. 11s. 2¼d. for building a stable for the Major of the Regiment. The warrant for this work was dated 21 December 1737.45 General Borgard does not appear to have had a stable till 1747 when £73. 7s. 10d. was expended on digging the foundation for it.46
Not very long after the erection of the barracks abuses in the method of allotting officers' quarters crept in. These quarters were originally intended only for officers doing their tour of duty with the marching companies, but before long it was found that senior and staffofficers with their families were comfortably installed and refused to vacate the houses when they left the station. Instead, these more highly placed officers let their houses to strangers who had no shadow of right to live in a Crown house on Crown property. This practice in due time caused complaint in the matter of fuel. Regimental officers, who should have been provided with quarters and a free allowance of coal, were forced to reside in lodgings. These unfortunates therefore who lived in and around Woolwich, asked
' '
for coals-a very natural request in view of the circumstances. The Board of Ordnance, however, was not very sympathetic. In reply, it stated that it realized that it might be difficult to dispossess staff officers and their families but it considered it unreasonable that his
'
Majesty should be put to the expense of buying coal for use in private lodgings as well as providing it for barracks. The Bo~rd felt that officers should keep their private houses warm at their own expense, but asked for a ruling.47 In eight months time authority had relented, for on 22 September 1749, it was agreed that officers residing out of barracks should receive a free issue of coal and candles.48
Coal in the Warren was almost exclusively supplied to the troops as little at that time was used in workshops. With the expansion of the Regiment, storage facilities presented a problem. On 7_ April 1758, Mr Hayter, the overseer, reported that there was a piece of ground near the magazine which could be enclosed and paved f~r £72. 12s. 6d., suitable for storing 300 chaldrons49 of coal. This proposal was approved, though Mr Hayter was ordered to make the inclosure capable of holding 400 chaldrons. On 15 May 1766, a report on coal requirements at Woolwich was called for. In reply,_the Respective Officers stated that 400 chaldrons would be sufficient for 1766 and the following winter of 1766/67, as the number of
46
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/W0/51/141, P· 61, 3oJune 1738· 46 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/W0/51/168, P·. 96, 31December 1 747· V. arrant dated 18 April and 12 August 1747. John Shakespear did the work.
47
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/34, 3January 1749·
48
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/34, 22 Septemb_er 1749· ' A chaldron contains 32 bushels. A chaldron of coal weighs about 25cwt. Ordnance
9
Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/51, p. 338.
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
officers was being reduced by their being sent to foreign stations. It ,..,as agreed that 4.00 chaldrons should be acquired, and advertisements _,.,•ere ordered to be ~nserted in public papers.50 In reply to the advertisements, the followmg tenders for coal were submitted ;51
Name Pontop Coal Tanjield Moor Coal
Christopher Masterson 30s. 6d. 3rs. 6d. James Hook 30s. 30s. 6d. John ',Yilson 30s. 6d. 3rs. 6d. Joseph Coltman 3rs. 32s.
As a result, a contract was placed with Mr James Hook for 400 chaldrons of Pontop Coal at 30s. per chaldron• the lowest te d
· h h , n er.
Th.
1s e~g teent century transaction has a peculiarly modern ring about1t. Coal allowa~ces in barracks in 1725 were as follows :52 Each room m the barracks occupied by the Captain, Lieutenant or others, was allowed 1½ pecks of coal a day,sa and 21b. of candles per week between 29 September and 25 March, and half a peck a ?ay t~e rest ofthe year. No fires or candles were allowed in any room m which less than four men under the rank ofLieutenant were lodged. Other coal and candle allowances were as follows:
2 pecks of coal per 24 hours durin. g the winter half of the year. 2lb. of candles per week during the winter Guard room { halfofthe year, and rlb. per week during the summer
half. Infirmary { I½ pecks of coal a day and 2lb. of candles a week.
A Regula~ion of the Number of Rooms for the Officers and Private Men allowed Fire and Candle states :
The Captain 1 Two Lieutenants Seven Fireworker Lieutenants
3
Cadets 2 One Sergeant, one Corporal and four Bombardiers r Private men, six to a room 6
Tl~e barracks appeared to require constant attention after their erectwn. They were often under repair for one defect or another an~ the sold~er of the time was not too gentle with woodwork o; fittmgs. For mstance, Christopher Cass, master mason, was paid on 16 July 1734, on a ~ebenture dated 3 November 1733, £2. 1s. 1d.
for a new ma~telp1ece and jambs in the barracks at Woolwich. Those mantelpieces were ofgood thick heavy slate, and one wonders
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/67, p. 365, 15 May 1766. OrdnanceJourn~I Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 37s, 27 May 1766. u 61 General Instruct1~ns to the O_fficers at Woolwich, 1725, PRO/WO/55/r809.A peck of coal weighs approximately 22Ib.
316
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
how the original became destroyed.54 There were quite a lot of repairs between r 740 and 1747. Work of this nature was carried out between I April and 30June 1740,55 1July and 31 December 1746,56 and between r January and 30 September 1747.57 Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, and Roger Morris, master carpenter, were the craftsmen concerned, and the bill of costs during the last year mentioned totalled over £400. Only nine years later, further maintenance was required. On 4 June 1756, Mr Hayter's estimate of £51. I4S. 2d. for repairing the barracks was approved and the work was put in hand.58 In r 760, extensive additions and repairs were undertaken at General Michelson's barracks which were too small. The estimate for the work, which evidently staggered the Board, was £397. gs. gd. They refused to act without the M.G.O.'s consent.59 The latter authorized the repairs and additions, and Mr Hayter was ordered to proceed, taking care that he did not exceed the approved estimate. 60
The barracks, both the officers' houses and the rooms for the men, were furnished. Such furniture was no doubt rough to modern ideas and probably lacked anything approaching luxury, but 200 years ago the officers and men in the Services had to put up with much discomfort. On a debenture dated 31 December
1740, R oger Morris was paid on 4 June 1741 the sum of £ 125. 13s. od. for supplying bedsteads, tables and forms to the newly built ;Jarracks.61
Conditions in the barracks in the middle of the eighteenth century must h a e been appalling. Dirty and verminous, with little or no sanitary arra. gements, it is a tribute to the innate toughness of man that the inmates did not die of pestilence. No wonder the Warren was said to be an unhealthy place. Mr John Cockburn, who was then the barrack contractor at Woolwich, reported on 6 November 1753, that the bedsteads in the barracks were swarming with bugs and that the men had been ordered to take them to pieces once or twice during the summer. He said that he found many of the bedsteads split and burnt as the men had put them in the fire to destroy the vermin. As a result ofthis report the Board ordered Mr Hayter to report on the state of the bedsteads and assess the cost of repairs.62 A week later, Mr Hayter rendered his report. He stated that nearly half the bedsteads were split and that nearly a quarter were burned;
5~ Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/75. 55 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/81. 56 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89. 57 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/89. 58 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/47, p. 612. 59 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 220, 26 September 1760. 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 234, 30 September q6o. 61 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/82. 62 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, P· 242.
317
he estimated the cost of repair at £18. 1,µ. od. He suggested that if a carpenter were ordered to take down the bedsteads twice a year and clear them of bugs, such damage could in future be prevented. The Board directed the repairs to be carried out and informed Mr Cockburn that after things had been rectified, he was to arrange to have the bedsteads taken to pieces twice a year at his own
63 c·
expense. 1rcumstances were much the same three years later. Colonel Belford writing to the Board on 31 May 1756, complained that the barracks at Woolwich were in a bad condition the bedsteads were verminous and the tent-pins mostly split and destroyed. The tent-pins figured in the letter because two companies were encamped and they, with the company of miners, were to have marched and be lodged in the barracks on the morning of r June. On I June 1756, Mr Hayter was ordered to survey the state of the barracks and render his report, the clerks concerned being told to
report upon the tent-pins.64 A _short ti~e afterwards Mr John Cockburn, contractor for beddmg, was discharged ofhis contract.65 It must have been obvious to the meanest intelligence that he was seriously neglecting his duties. On 27 March 1765, the Quarter-Master R.A. reported that the drains of the 'new' barracks were completely stopped and that the 'necess h '66 • d ·
ary ouse require emptymg. Mr Veale, who h ad succeeded Mr Hayt~r as ove:seer, was ordered to 'survey, estimate and report'.67 On I Apnl followmg he did so, and stated that the drai1-.;; in question ~vere stopped up because they (i.e. the contents) were being carried mto the bog-house where the 'soil' was 6 feet above he drains. The expense of emptying and cleaning out the system wo uld be
£r5. 2 s. 4d. H7was ordered to expedite the necessary measures. 68 No wonder disease was endemic. On 20 August 1765 the same operation was carried out on the officers' and men's necessary houses.oo ~he following additional entries concerning the repair and mamtenance of the barracks are taken from the various Ordnance books. They give an indication of the amount of work involved.
2 8 October 1756. The Master-General decides that the cadet barracks at ':7oolwich should temporarily house a detachment of the Royal Artillery until other more convement quarters can be found. Therefore, twenty-six barrack bedsteads, bedding, tables, forms and other barrack necessities are
to be sent to Woolwich.7o
:: OOrrddnnanceJJournall BBookk, PRO/W0/47/42, p. 266, 13 November 1753.
ance ourna oo , PROfW0/47/47 p. 588_15 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48' p. 465 16 November 1756. :: ~lsd called the 'house ofeasement' or in l~ss euph~nious language the 'bog-house'.
•• r nanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 207_ OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/65 p. 224 1April 1765. :: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/66: p. 59.' OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, p. 377.
318
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
2 June I758. The two rooms in the barracks formerly used by the adjutant and orderly sergeant to be fitted up.71
29 January I762. The Respective Officers at Woolwich report that there are two unoccupied rooms in the turret, lately used by Mr Robert Hartwell and the drawing master. Ordered that the unoccupied rooms be handed over to the Quarter-Master R.A. as store-rooms and that Mr Hayter report the expense of fitting up the same in a proper manner.72
I February I763. Mr Hayter ordered to repaint the door of Colonel Cleaveland's barracks.73 I I April I 764. Mr Veale to estimate the cost of repairs to the barracks and guardroom.74
25 May 1764. Mr Veale's estimate for the repairs to the barracks and guardroom is £ 46. 7s. 11d. Approved and the work ordered to be carried out. The Board ordered the king's furniture to be marked with the Broad Arrow and that detailed inventories for the same to be kept in each house.75
3 July I764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate and report on the repairs necessary to the old and new barracks, both on furniture and buildings. The rooms need repainting.76
4 March I 766. The waterpipes in the new barracks to be repaired.77 IO M arch I766. 36 panes of glass to be supplied to the guardrooms and barracks.78
2 May I766. Mr Hargrave, clerk of the works, ordered to estimate and report on the repairs necessary in the old and new barracks; also for a hearth and grate in the adjutant's office79•
27 M ay r766. The estimate for the repairs to the old and new b~rracks including that for the hearth and grate in the adjutant's office is £80. gs. 7d. W ork ordered to be carried out.80
24 February 1767. The clerk of the works (Mr John Hargrave) to estimate the cost of repairs to the old and new barracks.81 2 I April 1769. Mr Hartwell's estimate for repairs to the old and new
barracks is £64.. Work ordered to proceed.82 • 18 October 1775. The new barracks in the Warren to be repaired. 83 . 23 August 1776. Locks and hinges at the officers' barracks at Woo\~1ch
to be supplied similar to those in the officers' barracks ~t Chatham. 6 November 1776. Major Hay's barracks to be repaired at a coSt of £ 1 1. 2s. od.85
71 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51 , P· 554· 72 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/59, P· 89. 73 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, P· 45°·
74
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 242· 75 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 363. 76 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 9·
77
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 117· 78 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 159.
79
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 317• 80 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 378. 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/69, P· 88. 82 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/73, P· 2o1. 83 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/86, P· 183.
81
Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/4 7 /88, P· 98.
85
Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/88, P· 242·
319
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
9 October 1777. Old and new barracks in the w·arren to be repaired.BG Over the period we are considering, the undermentioned officers had official houses in the Warren. The list does not profess to be exhaustive as the names are gathered mainly from the repairs carried out on their respective quarters:
Lieut.-General Albert Borgard (No. 1 Kane's List)Colonel Jonas Watson (No. 2 Kane's List)Major Thomas Pattison
(No. 6 Kane's List)
Colonel Jonathan Lewis
(No. 13 Kane's List)
Major-General \'\ illiam Belford
(No. 34 Kane's List)
Major-General Borgard Michelson
(No. 35 Kane's List)
Colonel James Pattison
(No. 55 Kane's List)
Major-General George Williamson
(No. 31 Kane's List)
Colonel Thomas Desaguliers
(No. 51 Kane's List)
Colonel Samuel Cleaveland
(No. 83 Kane's List)
Major William Hislop
(No. 93 Kane's List)
Colonel Charles Brome
(No. 70 Kane's List)
Major Abraham Tovey
(No. 92 Kane's List)
Captain Benjamin Stehelin
(No. 161 Kane's List)
Captain David Rogers
(No. 157 Kane's List)
Captain John Mollman o. 170 Kane's List)
(
Colonel Thomas Ord
( o. 49 Kane's List)
Captain William Gostling
(No. 178 Kane's List)
Some of the repairs were small while others were xtensive. On 5 September I 738, Roger Morris, master carpenter, received the sum. of £99. :s. I I d. on a debenture dated 3r March 1738 for repairs to MaJor Thomas Pattison's house ( o. r Dial Square), between 3I December r 737 and 31 March 1738,87 and on a debenture da~ed 30 September 1738, Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid on 30 December 1738 for bricklayers' work on I\ ajor Pattison's wall.88 Sometimes the internal structures of the houses were altered. Two instances will be quoted. On 21 February r 744, R oger Morris, on ~ ~eb_enture dated 30_ June 1743, made a way out of Colonel Lewis s kitchen (!'To, I Di~l Square) into the next house adjoining the barracks. This was evidently a simple task as he received only £2. 6s. 2d. for the work on 21 February 1744.89 Later on, towards the end of the same year, Roger Morris was paid £189. 3s. 4d. (Debenture dated 31 March 1744, warrant dated 20 September 1743) on 2~ December 1744 for a major conversion. This was no less than knocking the two houses in No. 4 Dial Square into one for the use of General Borgard. He was already in occupation of one of the houses, but apparently required more accommodation for his
11 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 350. 17 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/4a;79. 11 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/79. "Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85.
320
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIME .T OF ARTILLERY
purposes.90 The front of the second house facing south commanded a view of the cadets' green, as Nos. 5 and 6 Dial Square had not by then been built. When the panelling was removed from the drawing room in No. 4 Dial Square in 1934, the outlines of a bricked up doorway and two side windows could be plainly seen. The officers' houses in the barracks originally had no hall; the front door opened directly into the front living room and the staircase ran from room to room on each successive floor. This is evidenced by the fact that the present hall is only separated from the front living room and the landings from the front bedrooms by a thin panel of wood, and not by a brick wall. The same internal arrangement may be seen today in Georgetown, Alexandria, and around Philadelphia where the old houses are of the same period as those in the Warren. They are identical in design and where they have been preserved as showplaces, such as Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge, they exhibit the same features. Work was done at Captain Pattison's house by Joseph Pratt on a warrant dated 30 May 1745, and the drains at the barracks and General Borgard's house were given attention on a warrant dated 14June r 745.91 After General Borgard's death, Colonel Belford took over his quarter (No. 4 Dial Square) and, as was only natural, required certain re-decorations.92 The estimate for this was £46. 16s. 5d. for the house and £34. ros. od. for the fen e wall. The Board would only sanction the latter
expense; painting etc. in the house, had to be deferred till the following year.93 On 5 June 1752, twelve months later, it was agreed th at the work on Colonel Belford's quarter costing £46. 16s. 5d. could be undertaken, and a warrant was issued according! . 94
The follo i1 ba are the main entries taken from the Journal Books which deal with the maintenance and repair of the officers' quarters. The list is not complete, nor would a full statement of every minor 'works' service be of absorbing interest; it would, in fact, make dull reading.
r9 March r757. Mr Hayter to survey, estimate and report on the repairs necessary to Colonel Desagulier's house and the fitting up of it as a field officer's quarter.95
6 December 1757. Colonel Michelson, having signified that his ?ouse required repairing and redecorating, Mr Hayter asked to survey, estunate and report.96
90 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85. 01 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/160, p. 21, 30 January 1745 •
02
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/37, p. 507, 17 May 1751. ua Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/v\O/47/38, p. 77, 19July 1751. 94 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, P· 456. 05 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/\I\O/47/49, P· 297. 116 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 386.
321
2r Febntary r758. Mr Hayter reports to the Board the repairs required in Captain Pattison's house.97
2 r Febntary r 758. Ivir Hayter estimated that the repairs and redecorating of Colonel Michelson's quarter will cost £29. zs. gd. Approved and the work ordered to be done.98
24 October I758. Mr Hayter estimates that the repairs to Colonel Williamson's house would cost £30. 2s. 6d. He was ordered to proceed with all items, except the marble chimney piece which was to be postponed.99
4-December 1760. Mr Hayter ordered to make a bow-window in Major
5d.100
General Michelson's house at a cost of£7. 19s.
As the only house in Dial Square, which has a bow-window, excluding No. 5 which was oflater date, is No. 10, it would appear that the quarter which for so long in modern times belonged to the Secretary, Ordnance Committee, was in fact the house in which General Michelson lived.
23 December r760. Mr Hayter to estimate the cost of repairs at the subaltern's quarters.101
30 April 1763. Ordered that Captain Mollman, Assistant Firemaster, be put in possession of the house lately occupied by T homas Pritton, labourer, deceased.102
This house was sited near the boundary wall at a spot where the mainguard (recently B.W.D. offices) was afterwards built.
25 January 1763. Mr Hayter reports that the repairs to the subalterns' quarters will cost £1 I. 10s. od. and that two sets of new pokers, tongs and shovels, and eleven new chairs are missing. Ordered that the repairs be done and that Mr Hayter to enquire and report on what ha become of the missing chairs.103
29 April 1763. The repairs to Colonel Williamson's apartment costing£20. 4-f. 6d. to be carried out.104 19 May 1763. Lieut.-Colonel Cleaveland's house ordered to be redecorated, a fire-place altered and a cistern removed.105 26 June 1761. Mr Hayter ordered to put up outside shutters on Colonel Williamson's house to keep out the sun.106 10 June 1763. Colonel Williamson, having intimated that eight repairs
were necessary in his house, Mr Hayter ordered to estimate the cost of
five or six articles and what number of grates are allowed, and that all
the other articles are allowed.107
97 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 177. 98 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 175. "OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 346.
100 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 416. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, p. 445. 102 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 253. 10• OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 47. 10' OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 248. 105 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 293. 1111 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 438. 107 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 372.
322
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
7 October r763. The clerk of the works ordered to repair the pavement outside Colonel Ord's house and to do some small repairs in Colonel Pattison's cellar.10s
I6 December r763. Mr Hartwell estimates that the repairs to Colonel Pattison's cellar109 would cost £50. 15s. od. Mr Veale ordered to carry out the repair.110
I7 February 1764. Repairs to the value of £39. 13s. 3d. to be carried out in Colonel Pattison's house, but no new dust cart to be provided. This damage, caused by storms, was reported on 25 January I 765. Mr Veale to estimate and report.111
I6 March 1764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate the cost of repairs to Lieut.-General Belford's house.112
I I April 1764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate and report on the repairs necessary to Lieut.-Colonel Ord's house and to the barracks, guardroom and adjutant's office.113
8 May I764. Repairs to Lieut.-General Belford's house costing £90. I 5s. I d. approved and ordered to be carried out.114
25 May r764. Estimated repairs for barrack rooms, guardroom and adjutant's office £ 46. 7s. 1 zd. approved and work to be carried o~t. Colonel Ord's repairs estimated at £37. 7s. 6d. Ordered to be earned out and the king's furniture therein to be marked with the Broad Arrow.115
29 June 1764. T he Master-General informed the Board that Major Hislop having to do duty at Woolwich, was to go into the first vacant house, notwithstanding the order in favour of Colonel Godwin.116
6 July r 764. T he alterations to Captain Mollman's house approved. The timber required to be taken from the fir timber in stor~.117 •
4 September r764. Major William Hislop reports th~t his drams are stopped u p. M r Veale to rectify. Mr Veale ordered to estimate an~ report why the kitchen chimney of Colonel Williamson's house smokes mtolerably.118
15 December r764. Mr Veale ordered to estimate and report on Colonel Williamson's smoking chimney, and the new flooring for one of the kitchens in Colonel Ord's house. He wants ¼inch boards to prevent the damp rising from the drain which runs underneath.119 •
5 March r765. Colonel Ord's new floor in his kitche~ and the clea~~~g of the drain underneath agreed to at a cost not exceeding £6. 8s. od. I 4 February 1766. Captain Mollman's house to be repaired,121
108 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/62, P· 155· . d , l'
109 A 'cellar' was a 'store-cupboard'. 'What we should call a 'cellar· was terme a vau t · 110 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/62, p. 300. 111 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 99·
112
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 175·
113
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 242· 114 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 32 3· 115 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 363. 116 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 498. 117 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 22. 118 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 116. 119 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 261. 120 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, P· 136. 121 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/67, P· 71 •
323
14 January 1766. The clerk of the works to estimate the repairs to
the parlour floor and wainscotting in Lieut.-Colonel Pattison's house.122
31 Jam1ary 1766. Estimate of £5. 12s. od. for repairing Lieut.-Colonel
Pattison's house approved.123
26 November 1766. Repairs ordered to be carried out in Major Hislop's
house.124
5 December 1766. Repairs ordered to be carried out on Lieut.-Colonel
Ord's house.125
22 May 1767. Mr Hartwell's estimates of £65 for altering General
Williamson's kitchen approved.126
5 June 1769. Surveys of the houses of Colonel Cleaveland and Colonel
Desaguliers ordered.127
12 July 1769. vVork on Colonel Cleaveland's house at a cost of £2 r
ordered and £160 was ordered to be spent on raising and repairing the
cellars in the field officers' quarters.128
30 Warcli 1770. Colonel Desaguliers having asked for rooms for servants
and a wash-house which he proposed should be made from the old
stables (of Colonel Cleaveland which were under his house) in his garden,
the cost was estimated at £244. This was more than was contemplated.
The Board offer £150 toward the expense of alteration.129
5 March 1771. General Belford's house to be repaired at a cost of 6d.130
£50. 12s.
29 May 1771. The house of Colonel Desaguliers to be repaired at a
cost of £46. 3s. od.131
29 May 1771. General Williamson requests that th party wall between his garden and the foundry wood orchard may be built with old magazine bricks. Mr Powrie, clerk of the works, to estimate and report.132
6June 1771. Mr Powrie reports that a party wall built of old magazine bricks between General Williamson's ground and that of Messrs Verbruggen will cost £16, but if the wall be continued, at their joint request, to the bottom of Messrs Verbruggen's ground, it will amount to about £46. It was ordered to be built as jointly requested by the o parties.133
12 June 1772. Mr Powrie reports that the repairs and alterations required by Colonel Pattison in his house will cost £177. 3s. od. The repairs costing £38. 5s. od. are to be done at once, but new construction must await further consideration.134
13 August 1773. The Respective Officers and clerk of the works are to report by whom the barrack houses and other buildings in the Warren
m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/67, p. 7. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/67, p. 36. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/68, p. 207. m 0rdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/68, p. 223. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/69, p. 262. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/73, p. 281. 118 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/74, p. 18. ut Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/75, p. 168. uo Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/77, p. 198. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/77, p. 463. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PR0fW0/47/77, p. 467. 113 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0fW0/47/77, p. 489. 1" Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/79, p. 380.
324
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
are occupied and upon what authority. The houses occupied by Colonel
Brome and Captain Stehelin require repair.135 6 February 1776. General Belford's house repaired.136 8 March 1776. A wall between the gardens of General Williamson and
Messrs Verbruggen to be built at a cost of £42.137 29 March I776. Major Tovey's house to be repaired.138 I9 July 1776. Captain Gostling's quarters to be repaired at a cost of
£9,139
r3 July 1780. The Master-General having mislaid the letter from the late General Belford about a dispute concerning the quarters between Colonels Tovey and James, he requests Captain Chapman to forward a copy of the said letter. The clerk of the works is ordered t_o send a plan of, and a report on, the distribution of the officers' quarters 1? the \,Varren and the new barracks 140 when the same will be fully considered by the Board and such reg;lations framed as will, it is hoped, obviate such
disputes in future.141 27 September I780. Ordered that a servants' hall and a bedro?m above it be made in General Williamson's house at a cost not exceeding £129. od.142
2s.
The la t mentioned structural alteration would appear to identify General \ illiamson's house with No. g Dial Square, the only quarter which has such an annexe. By this time, of course, the 'new' barracks were in process of becoming field officers' quarters. .
Stabl s vere a necessary adjunct to officers' houses m those days, and refer nces to the building of officers' stables occur. On 19_June I 750, the ...,u1-v yor-General was instructed to select the mo~t smtabl_e place for i\,iajor 1ichelson to stable his horses.143 Later on m 1z66, it was agreed that additional stabling for field officers, Royal Artillery, the adjutant and the quarter-master in the Warren was to be considered in the 1767 estimates.144 On 7 April 1767, Mr Hartwell estimated that additional stabling for Colonel Pattison would coSt
£ 30. This was approved.145 • • The following entry from the Journal Book indicates the msamtary conditions under which the officers in the eighteenth century Warren lived. Mention has already been made of open drains runni1:g under floors with their concomitant dampness and, no doubt, clistaste·ful effluvia. Now it is the stench of horses and horse manure permeatmg the parlours. On 15 August 1769, new stabling at a cost of £144 was
135
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, P· 11 8, 136 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, P· 7°·
137
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, P· 191 •
138
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/V-.0/47/87, P· 22 1.
139
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/':'70/47/88, P· 36. uo That is the barracks on Woolw1ch Common. m Ordna~ceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/96, P· 597· m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO /47/96, P· 773·
143
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/35, P· 498.
144
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 372· 145 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/69, P· 156.
32 5
ordered for General Williamson and Colonel Cleaveland, because the existing stables were offensive, being too close to the houses. The entry states that the smell was particularly unpleasant in Colonel Desaguliers' house as Colonel Cleaveland's stables were under the former's best room.146 'Orses and dorgs is some men's fancy. They're wittles and drink to me' may have been the candid opinion of the 'Gentleman' on the London coach in which David Copperfield travelled, but even he would probably have drawn the line at living in such close quarters with his equine friends. It was agreed on 27 June 1771 that Captain Mollman should have stables built at the bottom of his garden at a cost of £30. I4f. od.,1 47 and
on 28 January 1772, that Mr James Irwin, the Surgeon-General, should have stables and a chaise-house built with old material from the Greenwich magazine for the sum of£ 2 8.148
There are a considerable number of references in the Journal Books to barrack furniture, mainly, it must be admitted, to that in officers' quarters. Some ofit was bought by contract, but the Board's craftsmen se~m to have made special pieces. On 21 February r 744, Roger Morns, master carpenter, received the sum of £2 on a debenture dated 30 June 1743, for making an oval wainscot table (£1. 2s. od.)_ and a sq~are table with drawers of wainscot (r8s.) for Colonel Lewis's house m the Warren; similar articles for the same price were supplied to Colonel Belford's quarter.149 Six months later on a debenture dated 3I December I 743, Roger 1forris made
similar ta?les for Captain R?gers's house. The price, ho vcver, seems to have nsen as he was paid £2. 3s. od. for this work on 24 July
1744.150
On 22 September r 749, certain fittings and furniture were approved for the officers' quarters in the Warren i.e. for the Colonel's Lieut-Colonel's, Major's and the three Captain~' houses. T hese wer~ leaden sinks,151 grates, fire-irons, tables and leather chairs. It was
ordered that the houses of Majors Michelson and Williamson should be so completed and warrants made out to artificers for such articles as should be wanted.152 On r 7 August I 750, Lieut-General Borgard reported that though other officers' quarters had been furnished according to schedule, his had not. Mr Hayter was then ordered to rep~rt what i~ems were required to complete the schedule.153 Captain ~att1son, havmg reported on r 7 June I 757, that the stove-gates in his house had become unserviceable and that he, too, wanted certain
m Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/74, p. 83. 147 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 568. 148 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/79, p. 47. m Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85.160 9rdnan~e Treasurer'.s Ledger, PRO/WO/48/85.
m No. 4 Dial Square still had leaden sinks in 1920.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/34.
161 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 100.
326
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY furniture and utensils to bring his quarter up to standard, Mr Hayter was ordered to survey and report.164 Owing, no doubt, to theft or to selling official equipment, the Board on 25 May I 764, ordered the king's furniture in government houses to be marked with a Broad Arrow, and a detailed inventory to be kept for each house.155 The following month eight chairs at Colonel Cleaveland's house required repair at a cost of £1. 4-S· od. and steps were taken at the same time to mark them with the Broad Arrow.166 On 4 September 1764, Major ,i\Tilliam Hislop reported that eight chairs in his house wanted repairing, that a grate, tongs, poker and shovel were missing in the parlour, and that a set of fire-irons were required in the kitchen. As, even at that date, the loss of a grate struck the Board as peculiar, they ordered Mr Veale to investigate the matter and report how the grate had disappeared.157 Mr. Veale reported on II December 1764 that he had failed to ascertain how the grate and the other utensils had vanished from Major Hislop's house, and with his reply enclosed the inventory of furniture handed over by Colonel Cleaveland to Major Hislop when the latter took over the house.158 By the following
June, it was agreed that Major Hislop's house should be supplied with a grate and two sets of fire-irons; it was also ordered that the chimneys in the garrets should be altered to prevent smoking.159 On
23 May 1765, Captain Mollman, who had retired from the Royal Artillery with a pension of 10s. a day to take up the post of ~sist~nt to the Chief Firemaster, was granted his request to be supphe~ wit~ fire-irons, et small grate, a copper, and other utensils for use m his house.1 6 0 Or! 5 _ arch 1765, a peculiar entry appeared in the Journal Books, r Veale apparently being told to do the impossible. He reported that the grate, fender, poker, and shovel asked for by Colonel Williamson would cost six guineas. He was ordered to provide the same, but at a cost not exceeding three guineas.161
A normal accessory to barracks is a guardroo~, or guard~ouse as it was called in the Warren. The first suggestion of placmg a sentry on the premises was in 1717 when on 15 February of that year 'one sentinel box for use at the Warren Gate is sent from the Tower'-162 The guardhouse originally was the powder house. The I 7I 7 plan of the Warren shows this small building (marked 4) near the west end of the battery fortification and close to the Old Ca_rriage Yard. By I 749, a new guardhouse was in being at the old mam gate and had
154 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, P· 609. 155 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 363. 156 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, P· 451. 157 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· u6. 158 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, P· 247. 159 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, P· 335· 100 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/65, P· 321. 161 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, P· 136. 182 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/30, P· 32 •
327
been there a_t least since I 735, because a warrant dated g September I 735 authorized George Shakespear, scavelman, to dig the foundation and remove the rubbish for building an addition to the guardhouse. The de~enture for this work was dated 3r December 1 735, and he was paid £-J:7• 6s. Bd. for the job on 6 April r 736.103 This must have been 9mte a large construction judging by its cost, for Joseph Pratt received £123. 14s. od. for his share, that is bricklaying,~6~ and George Shake~pe~: received another £89. 2s. 10d. for
1
addit10nal work on the site. " Three years later, on a debenture dated 30 September I 738, Joseph Pratt was paid another £143. IOs. 6d. for brickwork on the barracks guardhouse and wall of Major Pattison's house.166 On 26 August ' 1755, a sentry-box was ordered ~o be placed at the Laboratory gate.167Nine years later, further security measures against fire were taken when a sentry was posted_ at each gate.of the Laboratory with orders to prevent any fires, lights or smoking near the premises.168 In this order can be seen the first steps toward Danger Building Regulations. Two more ite~ns concern the guardroom. On 18 February 175a, l\1r H ayter estimated that the cost offitting up the two rooms over the guard for the us~ ofthe adj_utant and orderly sergeant, would cost £4o. 6s. 6d., an estimate which was approved and the work hastened.169 On 6 November 1 759, Mr Hayter was ordered to repair the a-rate in the
officers' ?ua~droom; redecorate it, repair the furniture : nd supply the deficiencies.170 The establis~ment of a military garrison, even in the eio-hteenth century, necessitated two ministering agencies; one for th; care of souls, the other for the cur: ofbodies. These were represented in the Warren by the ch~pel and infirmary respectively. For the ~rs_t thirty year~ of the Regiment's existence the troops att~nded Divme. Service 1n the parish church. The increase of regimental estabbsh~ent and the growing population of Woolwich eventually made this arrangement no longer feasible, and, on 1 I December_ I 750, the_ Reverend William Leaver, Chaplain to the Royal Artd_lery, was informed that as the parish church (St Mary's) was becommg overcro"":ded~ artillerymen could no longer worship there. The Board, cons1denng such a state of affairs bad for the men's morals, ordered Mr Leaver to conduct a service himself or obtain a substitute, in the Academy Room which would be allo:ted
m Ordnance ~reasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/77 6 A ril 1 6. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/ / ' p 8 73
m Ordnance Bill Book S . II' PRO/ 51 l 37, p. 20 ' 31 Dccem ber I 735.
m Ord . ' er~es , WO/51/138, p. 151, 31 March 1737.
nance Bill Book,, Series II, PRO/WO/51/138, p. 21, 30 September 1736. ::: Ordnance Treasurers Ledger, PRO/WO/48179, 30 December 1738. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/46, p. 195.
118 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 259, 13 April 1764.
10 OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. x6o.
170 OrdnanceJournaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/54; p. 378.
328
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
for that purpose.171 On r6January 175I, Thomas Stevens, a labourer, was appointed Clerk of the Chapel in the Warren. He was to take care of the books and hassocks, and clean Mr Simpson's172 staircase. He was to be allowed 1s. 6d. a week for this additional duty to be paid quarterly by the storekeeper.173 On 8 October 1751, Mr Hayter was instructed to buy at a cost of £5. 8s. od. the undermentioned articles for the purpose of administering the Holy Sacrament at the chapel in the Warren:174
I
Flagon
I
French Plate Pint Cup
Salver for bread
{
Salver for offerings
A few weeks later, Mr Hayter was ordered to purchase a tablecloth, two napkins and three yards of blue cloth for £3. 12s. od. for the chapel in the Warren.175 On I November 1751, it was ordered that the Board Room at Woolwich should be used as a chapel in place of the Academy Room, and that no more plays should be performed in it.176 A fortnight later the Reverend William Leaver asked the Board to let him have a house 'to lie in' and change his vestments, and give him an allowance of coal and candles similar to that issued to officers, because divine service was held at any time in all seasons of the year. T he Board were not very sympathetic to this request. They m erely refused it stating that they had no funds at their disposal, no provision being made for such a disbursement by the establishment of the Regiment.177 Mrs Sumpter, who cleaned the Board R oom, tried to shirk her task saying it was now a chapel, but the Board were adamant. They informed the Respective Officers at Woolwich that it was her duty to clean the chapel as it was the room where the Board met, and for which she had a particular allowance.178 An old newspaper cutting about Woolwich, dated 24 April 1756, says: 'The old chapel in the Warren at Woolwich is filled with bombs, grape shot, chain and double-headed shot, ready to be embarked at a minute's warning.' The truth of this news item seems doubtful. Possibly another building had been mistaken for the chapel. There is no record of the Board Room being used as a temporary store. Later on, at the end of the century, a chapel with a chaplain's residence attached, was purchased in the Plumstead Road almost opposite the main gate. The last reference to the chapel is the
171 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 407.
H2
Mr Simpson was the Second Master at the Academy. 173 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/37, P· 55·
174 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 219. 175 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 281, 29 October 1751. 176 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 307.
177 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 342, 13 November 1751. 178 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 355, 17 April 1752.
23
appointment of William Wigzell as Clerk to the Chapel on 6 September I 764 vice Thomas Stevens.179
The infirmary at the Warren started in a very modest way when the proposal to convert one of the laboratory houses into a sick room was approved on g November I 720.180 This, of course, must have been in the nature of a make-shift though it was dignified by the name of 'Infirmary'. It was evidently considered necessary to
segregate this building from the rest of the workshops, as Henry Lidgbird, master bricklayer, erected a pair ofgates there at a cost of £3. 3s. 5Jd.181 Soon after the sick had been admitted, it was realized that a necessary house for the infirmary was essential and this was built by William Ogborne, master carpenter, who was paid for the work on 14 May 1723, the debenture being dated 30 June 1722.182
It seems strange that this 'house of easement' was not erected at the time of the conversion; one would have thought that it would have been a first requirement. Some nine years later the place required repair, and Sir William Ogborne, as he had by then become, again came to the rescue. He effected the necessary work for which he was paid on 1 I May I 732 on a debenture dated 3r December 173 r .183 With the expansion of the Regiment and the growing toll of sick from overseas, it gradually dawned on the authorities that their arrangements for dealing with the incapacitated were too cramped and that other and more commodious accommodation m ust be afforded. The fire-barn was therefore fitted up as an infirmary on a warrant dated 5 December 1741. On 16 November 1742, Roger Morris, master carpenter, received the sum of £ 100. 6s. 2d. on a debenture dated 13 December 1741 for his share in the new under
taking, and on the same day, Joseph Pratt, master bricklayer, was paid for the bricklayers' work in the same connection.184 The site of this second infirmary was just east of the present main gate. The firework barn was an old building standing in the days of 'Tower Place', and therefore probably not in a very sound condition. At any
rate, on 11 December 1750, Mr Hayter was instructed to have it renovated and to look out for a house as a reception centre for men suffering from smallpox. He was to inform the Board on what terms such a house could be hired.185 On 18 December, M r Hayter reported that he could find no dwelling to house the sick of the Royal Artillery, but that Mr Edward Wilkes, clerk to the Comptroller ofthe Laboratory, having three small houses near the Warren Gate,
179 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/64, p. 145. iso OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, p. 293. 181 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/112, 31 December , 722. 182 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/64. m Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/73.
m Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/83. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/149, p. 107. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 409.
33°
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
was willing to evict his tenants at Christmas and let the tenements to the Board at a rent of £7 p.a. each. In reply the Board informed Mr Wilkes that if he were prepared to receive the same amount as the tenants were paying, and would put the properties into tenantable repair and maintain them at his own expense, the Board would guarantee to take the houses for one year certain.186 There was one nurse allotted to the infirmary and she received 1s. a day for her attentions to the sick. She must have been a long-suffering woman living under intolerable conditions. Eventually even her patience was exhausted, and she complained to Major Williamson. An entry in the Journal Book under date 13 September 1751, states:187
Major W illiamson having signified by his letter of 10th inst. that the nurse of the infirmary acquainted him with the badness of her dwelling place which he found to be a dark gloomy hole offensive from the smell of vermin, and that a small expense would make it convenient to her satisfaction, ordered that Mr Hayter survey, estimate and report.
It was ordered that the nurse's dwelling house should be renovated at a cost of £4.188
Not many years elapsed before it was realized that the question ofproper hospital accommodation had to be faced. With the increase of regimental establishment, it became evident that tempo~ary or semi-temporary arrangements were inadequate to cope wit~ the problem. Medical science, too, was improving, and w~at ~atisfied the Board's conscience in r720, failed to achieve that obJect m r756. So when on 13 February 1756, Colonel Belford reported that the infirmary ,vas quite unfit for the reception ofsick men, Mr Ha~te~ was ordered to 'find a proper place and estimate the expense ofb~ildmg a new infirmary'.189 The work was put in hand as soon as possible and on 13 M ay 1757, it was announced that a sum of£442. 2s. gd. would be required to complete it.190 Meanwhile, Mr Hayter ~ad b~en
busy in d rawing up a schedule of the furniture and utensils which would be required in the new building, and this was laid before the Surveyor-General on ro May 1757.191 This schedule was accepted on 5 July 1757, and was ordered to be valued.192 Contracts for the items were placed and the whole project must have been governed by a sense of urgency, for the contractors were hastened on. 16 August 1757.193 The new infirmary, which was actually the third, was :finished by the autumn of the same year, because on 2 O~tober
r 75 7, it was ordered that the same amount of coal was to be issued
186 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 446.
187
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 176. 188 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 219, 8 October 1751. 18 9 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/47, P· i62. 190 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/49, P· 481. 191 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/49, P· 455· 192 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, P· 5· 193 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 126.
331
to air the new infirmary as was delivered to the old. Mr Hayter was ordered to report on the number of fire-places in the new building, and on the facilities there for storing coal.194 When the new infirmary was taken over by the medical staff, MrJohn Cockburn, storekeeper, was informed that he would be made responsible for the bedding and utensils.195
A survey of the Warren in 1777, which was drawn up and prepared by pasting new pieces over an older map, is held by the ,!\Tar Office Records. Unfortunately, it is so torn and mutilated, particularly that part which shows the buildings in the Warren, that it is of little value in locating sites. It does not show the location of the third infirmary, but it was in all probability close to the site of the present surgery, adjacent to the cadet barracks.196
On 7 September I 759, Mr Hayter was ordered to fit locks on the infirmary doors.197
Apparently the water at the infirmary was found to be too hard, and Mr James Irwin, surgeon to the Royal Artillery, asked for the hospital to be supplied with softer water. As a result, the indefatigable Mr Hayter was ordered to report how good v,,ater could be laid on.198 Eight months later, on 3 June 1760, he reported that he had found a good spring to supply the hospital with water in the lands of Mr Pattison, about 700 yards from the main pipe of the office conduit, and that the cost of laying it on would be £ 150. Ever careful of its finances, the Board ordered him to report whether he couldn't find a nearer source of water.199 On 2 r December r 759, a lamp was ordered to be put up at the infirmary, and the officers at Woolwich were informed that they would be held responsible for seeing that the lamps were lighted.200 It was next considered that a cold bath would be beneficial for the sick and wounded soldiery, so on 22 August 1760, Mr Hayter was instructed to look out for the best place for the purpose and report the expense.201 O n 29 August 1760, Mr Hayter reported that the most convenient site for a cold bath would be at the angle of the garden wall adjoining General
gd.202
Belford's and Michelson's stables. The cost would be £57. 3s. Thus was the first bath in the Warren installed. On 22 August 1760, Mr James Irwin asked for additional furniture for the hospital, and for repairs on the fabric to be carried out.203 The barrack master
IH OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/50, p. 260.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/52, p. 174, 18 August 1758. m Map No. 33. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/54, p. 241. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/54, p. 312, 5 October 1759. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/55, p. 464.
l!oo OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/54, p. 524. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/56, p. 140. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/56, p. 149. 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJW0/47/56, p. 140.
332
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
was ordered to ascertain what was actually required. The additional furniture was doubtless supplied, but the repairs apparently went by default as nearly four years elapsed before Mr Veale, the overseer, was asked what repairs were necessary.204 He replied that the cost would be £go. 15s. od. He was ordered to carry out the work.205 Shortly after this had been done it was decided to erect two pavilions at the new infirmary, and Mr Veale was ordered to prepare a plan, elevation and estimate for the same.206 As the estimate proved higher than was expected, i.e. £478. 15s. 2d., it was finally agreed that only one pavilion should be raised at the moment at a cost not exceeding £239. 7s. 7d.207 On 21 May 1766 the surgeon was allowed the extra furniture and utensils in the infirmary for the use of gentlemen cadets,208 and on 7 August 1766, the proper schedule offurniture
and utensils was ordered to be supplied.209 It was then decided that the west, i.e. the other, pavilion should be built, and fitted up in a suitable m anner as apartments for the doctor. Mr Hartwell reported that the cost would be £226. IOs. od. and work was
ordered to proceed.210
Silence reigns over the affairs of the hospital during the next six years until rg February 1773, when Mr James Irwin, now SurgeonGeneral to the Royal Artillery, said that he must have an additional nurse to cope with the increase of work. The Board agreed.2u About this time trouble was being experienced in the Warren owing to the cadets br eaking bounds by climbing the walls. As part of a larger plan, the clerk of the works on ro August 1773, was told to prepare an estimate for :
(
1) Securing the infirmary wall to prevent persons getting over.
(2)
R aising the infirmary wall with brick.212 The surgeon-general, however, did not like the suggestion of raising the h eight of the wall at all. He considered it might prevent the
free circulation of air and injure the sick. Bowing to his representations, it was ordered to be secured by glass bottles at a cost not exceeding £7.213
On 9 August r 774, the surgeon-general, having represented that a hot bath would be of great benefit to officers and men of the Royal Artillery the clerk of the works was asked to suggest an
' . 214 0 1
appropriate place and prepare the necessary estimate. n
204 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, p. 147, 5 March 1764.
205
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/63, p. 166, 13 March 1764. 20 G Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, p. 209, 27 No~rember r764.
207
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 231, 3 April 1765. 208 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/67, P· 369. 209 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, P· 55·
210
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/70, p. 101, 4 August 1767. 211 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p. 127. 212 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 78.
213
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 182, 13 October 1773· 214 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 37·
333
November I 774, Mr Powrie, clerk of the works, was ordered to install the bath in the surgeon-general's garden, adjoining the surgery, at a cost of£1 I 7. IOs. od.215 One wonders why the surgeon-general's garden ,vas selected for this balneary experiment? Was it a neat method of registering disapproval, or did he wish the bath to be under his personal supervision? It is an intriguing question. This innovation took a long time to build, for on 21 April 1775, Mr Powrie stated that the cost of finishing the hot bath would be £28. 15s. od. He also reported that the surgeon-general would like about an acre of ground in the Warren for the purpose of raising medicinal herbs for use in the bath. As a result, the Surveyor-General was asked to mark out sufficient ground for the purpose.216 MrJames Irwin was no~hing i~not thorough; one suspects that the Board may have foun~ h!m a tnfle ove~·-conscientious. His next request was for a small building to house his precious herbs in the medical garden. This was ordered to be built for him on I May 177 7 at a cost of
217
£53. 1_os. od. By the end of I 776, both hospitals, that is the one for the artillery an~ the other part for the cadets, required repair.21s
By now, as will be seen later on, the new barracks for the Royal Artille~ were getting well under way, so on 25 September 1777, Mr Latimer was ordered to remove the fume and bath from the Warren and install it in the new hospital on Woolwich Common.210 On 13 November 1779, Mr Latimer was told to speci fy the sums to be laid out on the infirmary in I 779 and 1780. He ,vas to keep the expense of the works ofthe new barracks on the Common from that of all others.220 A~ last, instructions were issued on g M arch 1780 that the new hospital at Woolwich, which stood near the site of the present military (women's and children's) hospital near the Garrison Chapel, should be occupied.221 This is now the Connaught Barracks. Hencef~rward w_e are not concerned with any further arrangements for healmg the sick. Only three more items need be noticed. It was arranged on 16 March 1780, that the hospital (referred to as the old hospital) _in the Warren, was to be fitted up to accommodate cadets and provide quarters for the Inspector,222 a conversion which was to ~ost £275. Bs. ?d. 223 There seems to have been some delay in supplymg pr~per furru~ure, as an order went forth on 5 October 1780, that _the artid~s reqmred for the seven rooms being fitted up in the 'late
infirmary for the cadets were to be supplied at once.224 The new ::: OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO{WO/47/84, p. 136. OrdnanceJoumaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/85, p. 311, 21April 1775. m 217 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 509. m Ordnancejouma1 Book, PRO{WO/47/88, p. 26g, 15 November 1776. Ordnancejouma1 Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 210. 120 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 324. m 121 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO{WO/47/95, p. 177. m OrdnanceJoumaJ Book, PRO{WO/47/95, p. 198. OrdnanceJoumaJ Book, PRO{WO/47/95, p. 274, 15 April 178o.214 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 801.
334
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
hospital seems soon to have become crowded. Mary Cheeseman was installed as a second nurse there on 27 June 1780 owing to the large number of sick. It was made clear, however, that her services would only be required so long as the number of patients warrant
ed it.22s
Several Trains of Artillery were formed at Woolwich between the years 1757-1762. There was a warrant dated 20 June 1757 for forming an artillery park at Woolwich so that it could be in constant readiness to serve wherever it was required.226
The Train was to consist of:
II
Light Brass 2 pdrs 14
Ordnance 16 pdrs 20
3 pdrs 6
Brass Howitzers s½ inches 6
Pontoons 10
r
It was to be formed immediately and be marched from the Tower to Woolwich, there to form an artillery park.
There was a letter from Mr Pitt dated 26 June 1759 to form an artillery park at Woolwich227 which occasioned an order to Mr Hayter to allot a shed in the Warren to preserve the wagons and other impedimenta belonging the the Train through the rigours of the winter.228 Jo shed, however, was forthcoming. Mr Hayter was, therefore, instructed to choose a proper site on which to build a shed to house thirty-four new ammunition wagons being sent to the Warren from the Tower, and then arrange to have the shed erected.229 There was a further warrant dated 9 O ctober I 761 to form an artillery park at Woolwich.230 The list of staff officers, ministers and attendants appointed to attend appears on page 336.
Later on there were two more warrants to form artillery parks at Woolwich; one dated 29 October 1761231 and the other 13 August
I 762.232
One or two odd items of interest come to light during the years under review. They cannot be said to form part of any connected whole, yet in themselves they do give an insight into conditions then pertaining. General Borgard was paid £289. 3s. 3d. on a debenture dated 6 October 1737 for work done by Royal Artillerymen in making batteries and approaches at Woolwich between 13 July and
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, P· 476.
226 Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/W0/55/412, P· 138.
227 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/359, p. 186.
228 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 405, 16 November 1759·
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 456, 30 November 1759.
230 Original Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/429, no. 73·
231 Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/415, P· go.
232
Warrants (King's and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/415, P· 193·
335
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Officer Pay per day £. s. d. 1\1aster General of the Ordnance
4 0 0 Secretary to the M.G.O. I O 0 Inspector of battalion guns 12 0
A.D.C. to the M.G.O. 10 0 Commissary of Horse JO 0 Clerk of Stores
5 0
Clerk to the M.G.O.
3 0
4 Conductors at 3s. p.d. each 12 0 Messenger to the M.G.O.
3 0
2 Carpenters at 3s. p.d. each 6 0 2 ,i\Theelwrights at 3s. p.d. each 6 0 2 Smiths at 3s. p.d. each
6 0 2 Collarmakers at 3s. p.d. each 6 0 I Cooper
3 0
I Tinman
3 0 Total:
£9 5 0
6 October I 737.233 This fortification was put up prior to the General's plan of1739 ofthe two-gun battery and bomb-battery in the Warren now in the British Museum.234 '
. 24 July 1750. Mr Hayter's estimate for making new lines on the parade m the Warren (£33. I rs. 6d.) to be considered next year.235 20 October 1752. The Royal Artillery to be mustered once a month at Woolwich.236
9 September 1757. Colonel Desaguliers, Chief Firemaster, reports in July 1757 that he cannot get any more men from the Raval Artillery to work in the Royal Laboratory and he has, therefore, had to engage labourers at rs. 6d. per day which has greatly increased the cost of the
work carried out there. He considered the same could not be lessened while the war lasted.237
31 December_ 1764. A warrant transfers master gunners and gunners in forts and garrisons from the establishment of 'Our guards garrisons and Land Forces' to that of 'Our Ordnance'.238 '
9 February 1764. ~aptain John Mollman allowed ros. p.d. on retiring from the Royal Artillery and becoming Assistant Firemaster in the Royal Laboratory.239
28 January 1774. Sir Richard Sutton, solicitor to the Board states that offi~ers living in government houses are liable for poor rat~, but that soldiers accommodated in barracks are not.240
213 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/79.234 In the King's Map Room.
235 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 42. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/40, p. 177. 117 OrdnanceJo!-1111al Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 183.
m Warrants (Kmg's and others), Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/416.
Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/364, p. 229. m Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/364, p. 130. Ho OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[WO/47/83, p. 43.
336
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
Although the main body of workers in the Royal Laboratory were artillerymen, the few technicians in the establishment were civilians. There w as, however, no bar to an ex-soldier becoming a civilian craftsman were he qualified. TheJournal Books record the following:
29 March r768. John Porter, late a matross in the Royal Artillery to be employed as a turner in the Royal Laboratory.241 27 February 1770. Sergeant John Cook, late Royal Artillery, to be employed in the Royal Laboratory vice Joseph Herring deceased.242
The uniform of the Royal Artillery, when they were quartered in the Warren, was as follows:
The uniform dress of the officers was a plain blue coat, lined with scarlet, a large scarlet Argyle cuff, double-breasted; and with yellow buttons to the bottom of the skirts; scarlet waistcoat and breeches-the waistcoat trimmed with broad gold lace-and a gold-laced hat. The sergeants' coats were trimmed, the lappels, cuffs and pockets with a broad single gold lace; the corporals' and bombadiers' with a narrow single gold lace; the gunners' and matrosses' plain blue coats; all the nonconunissioned officers and men having scarlet half-lappels, scarlet cuffs and slashed sleeves with five buttons, and blue waistcoats and breeches; the sergeants' hats trimmed with a broad, and the other non-commissioned officers' and men's with a narrow gold lace. White spatterdashes were then worn. The regimental clothing was delivered to the noncommissioned officers and men once a year, with the exception of regimental coats, which they only received every second year; receiving in the intermediate year a coarse blue loose surtout which served for laboratory work, cooking, fatigue duties, etc.243
Mr Sam uel London provided the regimental uniform and, ~o doubt m ade a good thing out of it. On 18 July 1738, he was paid £306.' 19s. 2d. (Debenture dated 7 June 1738) for half ~lathing provided by him to the two companies of the Royal Artillery at Woolwich.244 On 17 June 1740, on a debenture dated 4_June 1740, he was paid £476. os. 2d. for clothing the two compames of Royal Artillery at Woolwich;245 and a month later he received the ~u_m of £ I 084. Is. od. for full clothing the new company, and the add1t10nal
' W 1 . h 246 0
men of the two old companies of R.A. at oo w1c . n 30 November 1747, Mr London submitted his new proposals for clothing the Royal Artillery,247 and on I r December 1747, he was told that his tender had been accepted and that he would secure the contract.248
2 -11 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/71, p. 160.
242 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /75, J?· 98.
2 13
· History of the Royal Artillery, Major Francis Duncan, vol. I, P· 140, 1879.
2-1<1 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/79.
us Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/81. t d
2" 6 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PROfWO/48/81, 17 July 1740. Debenture da e 8 July 1740. 247 Warrants (King's and others) Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, P· I. 248 Warrants (King's and others): Woolwich, PRO/WO/55/410, P· 2.
337
As a finale to this chapter on the Royal Regiment of Artillery in the Warren, a brief description of the building of the new barracks on Woolwich Common will be given. Although such a description is, strictly speaking, outside the scope of this inquiry, it does bear indirectly on the subject since until the new barracks had been completed, the artillery had perforce to remain in the Warren. Their
construction was the gunners' passport to pastures new.
The first move in the new venture was on 28 September r772, when the Surveyor-General was ordered to prepare plans and an estimate for building a barrack for one battalion of artillery without the Warren at ,iVoolwich.249 The plans were drawn up and finally approved on 5 July 1774.250 Meanwhile, on 19 January 1773, l\,1r Edward Bowater was asked to name his terms for leasing ground at Woolwich by the Common for the building ofthe artillery barracks.2°1 There is a map in the War Office Records showing a plan of the fields 'formerly belonging to Edward Bowater Esq and now in possession of the Board of Ordnance'.252 The map is dated r March 1773 and gives the area concerned as approximately 40 acres. Dr Pollock, Professor ofFortification at the Royal Military Academy,
who had been ordered to survey this ground of Mr Bowater's was on r2 February I 773 directed to extend his survey to cove; all the ground and buildings from the road to Mr . Bowater's farm, to_ the Rope Walk on the west,_ and on the east to take in everythmg on the left of the road which leads from the Jolly Shipwright Tavern to the Warren.253 On 5 March 1773, Dr Pollock reported that it would be necessary to take in an additional rg acres of land for the building of the new barracks; the Board therefore asked Mr Bowater whether _h~ would agree to lease this extra acreage on the same terms as the ongmal, and stated that ifhe were willing
instructions for carrying out the agreement w;uld be drawn u~ immediately.254 On 12 March 1773, the Board informed the Master-General that
they considered it necessary to construct barracks at Woolwich outside the ~arren, for one battalion of artillery including officers: and that Parliament had granted £3,000 that year towards building the same. They stated that they had surveyed the land and treated with Mr William Bowater for a lease. They also forwarded the plans and papers to the Master-General for his consideration before they made any final agreement about the ground.255 On r 6 March
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/80, p. 148. 250 War Office Records, Plan 35. m OrdnanceJournaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 5.
152 Map no. 1 1. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 105.
•
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 174.
•
ss Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 196. The name 'William' is obviously
an error. It should be 'Edward'.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
following, Mr Edward Bowater agreed to lease such land as was considered necessary for the erection of the barracks on a 99 year lease renewable at the end of that term for £3. 10s. od. per acre. He informed the Board that the first field, consisting of r 1 acres, would necessitate £500 goodwill to the tenant for his house. He stated that the additional I 9 acres consisted of small plots so close to the town that they are let at 10s. per acre more than the other property. He therefore proposed to tender the 19 acres at £4 per acre and the 22 acres at £3. 10s. per acre, free of taxes. He also stated that Messrs Hare and Salmon had agreed to surrender their lease of the field containing the conduits, and would endeavour to obtain leave of their tenants to have a wall built on the said ground. The Master-General and Board agreed to these proposals and instructed their solicitor to prepare the necessary lease.256 On 5 April I 773, Mr Bowater forwarded a draft lease for a term of 99 years at a rent of £153 per annum free from all encumbrances whatsoever, and renewable every 99 years. The Board accepted the draft and arranged that if Mr Bowater were agreeable, he was to cause the lease to be engrossed accordingly.257 Dr Pollock reported on 2 7 April I 773, that the five fields on the south side of Love Lane
near W oolwich contain as under :258
Acres roods poles
General ·w illiamson's lower field 3 2 7
Callis's next above it 5 2 4
General Williamson's next above this 3 I
Small field of ditto on the left
of Callis's I 4
T he 5th called the Conduit Field
adjoining the last 6 30
Total: 20 0 0
Another competitor now entered the field. On 7 May I 773, it was recorded that, as Nathaniel Pattison had tendered to the Board part of his estate opposite the south part of the Warren for the purpose of erecting barracks, the Board requested Mr Bowater to give an answer as to whether he would execute the lease for his land at Woolwich on terms which they understood had been agreed, i.e. 99 years renewable for ever.259 On 18 May 1773, Edward Bowater replied. He said that if the Board would consent to pay £200 per annum for 53 acres, 3 roods and 4 poles ofland belonging to him at Woolwich, he would article for the same. The Board agreed and ordered the necessary lease on those terms to be prepared.260 There was still a
256 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 206. 257 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 277. 25s Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 325. 259 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 391 . 260 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 426.
339
slight hitch in these negotiations. On 28 May 1773, Mr Bowater, having represented that there were two water conduits in one of the fields lately let to the Board from which a tenant supplied water on sale to the people of Woolwich, and that he (Mr Bowater) expected these conduits to be reserved to himself as the Board agreed that he might erect one or two others for that purpose, it was ordered that the supply of water should be continued for the present use of the town and that Mr Bowater would be at liberty to repair the pipes in case offailure. 261 Sir Richard Sutton, solicitor to the Board, having perused the draft ofMr Bowater's lease, announced on 15June 1773 that it was in order. Mr Carleton was then ordered to engross the
lease without further loss of time.262
On I July I 773, Mr Edward Bowater represented to the Board that he had computed the value of the hay on the ground let to the Board at £42 and claimed rent from Michaelmas last for 23 acres of it amounting to £Bo. ros. od. At the same time he proposed that, if the Board would permit him to cart the hay away, allow him the after pasture of t~is field !ill C_hristmas next, and pay him £38 in cash, he would give up his claim of rent from Michaelmas last to Michaelmas next. In this manner the lease to the Board of the whole premises at a rate of £200 a year would commence from next Michaelmas. The Board agreed. 263 The ground agr cment being settled, things began to move. On r 3 July I 773, the Surveyor-General was ordered to submit plans for the intended barracks, and describe the situation. The master carpenter and the master bricklayer were instructed t~ P:epare their materials.264 On the same day Captain BJomefield sigrufied that the Master-General would like plans of the Warren and of the land lately purchased from Mr Bowater and these were sent to him.265 On IO August 1773, Mr J ohn G;oves, bricklayer, reported that a considerable saving in cartage fees would be effected were the bricks for the new barracks made in situ. The Board gave their blessing to this suggestion and ordered the work to be paid for at £7. 15s. od. per rod of brickwork wrought of grey stocks and £6. 5s. od. per rod of brickwork wrought of common
stocks; all materials and expenses were to be included.2Gs Mr Carleton wrote to the Board on 13 October 1773, stating that Mr Bowater had executed the lease. It was therefore ordered that the rent should be paid by bill and debenture from time to time as it
due.207
became The next action was to mark out the ground
purchased from Edward Bowater. This was done by fixing
261 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p. 446. 262 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p. 482. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 6. 164 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 22. 246 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJW0/47/82, p. 23, 13 July 1773.
119 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/82, p. 92. 117 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJW0/47/82, p. 204, 2 November 1773.
340
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
the necessary boundary stones engraved with Broad Arrow.268 On ro June 1774, Mr Latimer, clerk to the Board of Works, was appointed overseer of the construction of the new barracks,269 and on 5 July 1774, Captain Jardine was made overseer of the new barracks at 4S. a day. His duties were to commence at the same time as those of Mr Latimer.270 When building operations commenced, it was found that the site originally selected was inconvenient owing to the foundations; it was therefore decided on 5 July 1774 to erect the barracks 600 feet further to the front.271 Mr John Sanders was the next appointee. He was made clerk of the works for the new barracks at 3s. 6d. per diem on g August 1774.272 On 29 August 1774, the Board proposed to let the field in which the new barracks were being built, but Mr Latimer pointed out that this would cause great inconvenience to the work unless it were fenced off from the actual buildings. The Board therefore permitted Mr Latimer to rent the field for his own use at £3 till Lady Day, provided he fenced it at his own expense. 273 For security reasons a night watchman ~rmed with a sea service musket was approved for the new barrack site on
29 August 1774.274 Although the cost was £500 more than the expense of tiling, the Board ordered the new barracks to ~e roofed with W estminster slates.275 On 10 October 1775, Mr Latimer was ordered to select a suitable site of 2 acres for a kitchen garden for the n ew barracks care being taken to see that the site selected would not interf:re with any future building which might be ordered . 276 T he plumbers informed Mr Latimer that milled lead was n e er used by the Board of Ordnance, and conseq~ently ~hey would not deliver any for the new barracks. On reportmg this to headquarters, the Board on r I October 1775 ordered the plum~ers to deliver such lead as Mr Latimer might require. At the same time, Mr Latimer was informed that a cupola was to be erected for housing a bell, and that provision was to be made in the pediment of the new barracks for the reception of a clock. Mr Thwaites_, cloc~maker, was ordered to look into the matter.277 After due cons1derat10n, Mr Thwaites proposed to make and install a strong 30-hour clock t? strike the hours and quarters for £68. The Board agreed to this proposition and at the same time placed an order for a 3cwt bell to be cast by a bell-founder.278 By the end of r 776, the barracks had
268
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/83, P· 33, 25January 1774· 269 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/83, P· 335·
270
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 15· 271 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 22. 272 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 36. 273 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· Bo. 274 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/84, P· 94·
276
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/85, P· 414, 29 May 1775·
276
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO /4 7 /86, P· 164. 277 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/86, P· 169. 278 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/86, p. 270, 21 November 1775·
341
taken shape and were near completion. On 11 October 1776, tables and chairs for the officers' quarters were ordered to be provided.279 Iron work for the necessary bedsteads (i.e. 108 sets) was ordered on 1 ovcmbcr 1776, and the guardroom was to be fitted up in a similar manner to the one in the Warren.280 The Respective Officers at \Voolwich were instructed on 12 November 1776 to render a return on the state of the barracks at Woolwich, and to state what officers and men inhabited them, what furniture there was and what items were required to bring the furniture up to schedule.281 As winter approached, Major Tovey reported that the rooms in the new barracks contained more men than those in the old barracks in the Warren and, as a consequence, he hoped that the allowance of coal and
candles would be increased. Arising from this, the storekeeper was ordered on 17 December 1776, to make the necessary issue as the Artillery were ready to occupy the new barracks; it was agreed that the actual allowance for the new barracks would be settled at the next Board meeting.282
On 20 December 1776, the Respective Officers at Woolwich were ordered to report:283
(1)
The present state of the new barracks on the Common.
(2)
The steps taken to air them and render them fit for occupation.
(3)
The names of the officers and men who now inhabit them.
(4)
The number ofofficers and men still accommodated in the Warren barracks, and what additional numbers could be accommodated.
They reported with great promptitude, as their report on the barrack situation was laid before the Master-General the next day. 284 On 23 December I 776, instructions were issued that all the furniture and stores in the custody of the Respective Officers were to be sent to the new barracks and handed over to Captain Bruyers who had been appointed Inspector and Barrack Master there at 10s. p.d.
Also all barrack rooms and quarters for men and officers were, as soon as finished and furnished, to be locked up and handed over to the barrack master in readiness for the incoming troops.285 Captain Bruyers' appointment must have been a blow to Mr Latimer, as the sequel was the discontinuance of Mr Latimer's salary from 3 I December 1776,286 and the appointment on 10 January 1777 of MrJohn Sanders as Deputy Barrack Master.287 On 20January 1777,
279 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 164. 280 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 232. 281 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 259. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 374. 283 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 376. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 379, 21 December 1776. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 382.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 385, 24 December 1776. 187 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 19.
342
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF ARTILLERY
:rvir Remnant, the iron-master who had a foundry at Woolwich, was asked to supply 10 iron lamp-brackets for the new barracks.288 The lamp-brackets were finished by 26 February 1777, for, on that day, Mr Sabe was ordered to light them.289 When the clock had been made and fixed on the new barracks, Richard Sumpter was selected to look after it with the same allowance as he received for maintaining the clock in the Warren.290 Mr Latimer evidently complained bitterly about the loss of his emoluments and, as a result, the stony heart of officialdom melted. On 10 March 1777, it was announced that Mr Latimer would still be employed and receive his pay from the Ordnance Office until the new barracks were finished.291 On 27 March 1777, it was agreed that a wall surrounding the soldiers' garden at the new barracks should be built at the costof£220. 6s. 6d, and that a boundary wall, adjoining Mr Bowater's field, amounting to £377. 16s. 6d, should be erected.292 Nothing more is heard of the progress of the work till g July 1777, when General Williamson v~as asked to survey the ground in front of the barracks for extendmg the range as near the barracks as was first proposed, and to ascertain what opening could be made into the old range by constructing a Ha-Ha in the front hedge.293 Mr Latimer, on 23 July 1777, was ordered to complete the barracks on the Common by papering the rooms and laying brick floors in the lower rooms while the detachment was away at Landguard Fort.294 In the 1777 Estimates, £2,000 was allowed towards the completion of the new barracks and £500 for any n ecessary repairs, what would now be called Part I and Part III services. It was stated in the estimate that Mr Latimer was the Chief O verseer at 10s. p.d., Captain Jardine the Overseer at ,µ. p.d. and John Sanders the Clerk at 3s. 6d. p.d.295 O'?-r August
1777, Mr Latimer reported on the state of complet10n ~f the barracks.206 There was still quite an amount of work outst~nding ~s a sum of £7,078. 3s. 8¾d. for this purpose was to be considered m the 1778 Estimates.297 On 12 December 1777, 288 earthern cham?erpots were ordered for the new barracks.298 To use an American expression the question of 'hospitalization' for the new barracks now arose and a new hospital on the hill not far from the barracks, was
' ' k 300
ordered on 12 May 1778;299 also a house for the barrac · master.
288 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, P· 71.
259
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 237. 290 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 281, 7 March 1777· 291 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 296. 292 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 384. 293 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 49· 294 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47/90, P· 97·
295
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 738, 24June 1777· 296 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, P· 154.
297
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 523, 2 December 1777• 298 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 585. 299 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/91, p. 4o9.
300
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/91, p. 431, 19 May 1778.
343
Final work in completing the barracks still hung fire for on 1 o August I 780, Mr Latimer was ordered to specify immediately all work still outstanding and to report when the whole project was complete.301 On receiving Mr La timer's report, the Board, on 4 November 1780, proposed to go down to the site and discuss it.ao2 It may be assumed that the pile of buildings known as the 'New Barracks' on Woolwich Common, was completed by the end of 1781. This is evidenced by the fact that on 19 December 1781, the pay of Mr Latimer as Chief Overseer was to terminate on 3 r December 1781, and all the shops and other old buildings were to be demolished, save Mr Latimer's house. This was to be surveyed
and reported on by Mr Powrie.303
Two years later there was a last afterthought. The parade ground in front of the New Barracks was ordered to be gravelled on 3 January 1784304 and, with the laying down of the gravel, comes the end of the gunners' cradle-time.
301 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/96, p. 708. 303 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/96, p. 879. 303 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/98, p. 1277. 80~ Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/103, p. 31.
344
Chapter 10
The Establishment and Early Years of the
Royal Military Academy in the Warren
Captain F. G. Guggisberg~ R.E., opens his book THE SHOP second edition published in 1902, with the following words:
'When was the Academy started?' The point is frequently in dispute. The existence of cadets so far back as 1722 has led some writers to contend that it must have been already established in that year; but we have no less authority than that of his Majesty King George the Second, for fixing upon the 30th of April 1741, as the right and proper date. Here are the words of the Royal Warrant signed on that day; the word 'instituted' seems to leave no room for doubt.
Unfortunately Captain Guggisberg's deductions were wide of the mark and 'some writers', whoever they may have been, were correct in their contention.
THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMYI also
asserts positively that 'the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich
(according to the earliest public document to be found) was
instituted and endorsed by warrant of His Majesty George II, bear
ing date 30th of April 1741'. Since the works in question are the
only histories of the institution and are naturally regarded as 'the
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth', these ex cathedra
statements have been particularly unfortunate. They have resulted
in the existence of an earlier or original Academy being passed
through the waters of Lethe, to the great disadvantage to present-day
scholars.
The proposal to set up an academy for educating youth and
improving the minds of the officers of the artillery and engineers
originated in 1720 four years after the formation of the Royal
Artillery. It is recorded2 that on 31 August 1720 the Board of Ord
nance having long since been of the opinion that a mathematical
master should be maintained for educating of youth and improving
the officers of the artillery and engineers in their respective duties,
that a school or academy should be erected with other necessary
buildings for the exercise of the long gun etc., and that proper books
and instruments should be provided, but being unable hitherto to
save anything out of the Ordinary of the Office for so useful a
1 1st ed. 1851, Colonel W. D. Jones. 2nd ed. 1892, Lieut.-Colonel H. D. Buchanon
Dunlop R.A., pub. F. J. Cattermole, Woolwich.
2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/33, pp. 269,270.
24 345
purpose, the Surveyor-General acquainted the Board with the action he had taken. For promoting so useful an undertaking, he said, he had at last with the assistance of Mr Secretary Craggs,3 secured £3,000 in the third subscription to the South Sea Company. Resulting from this announcement the Board issued the following orders:
(1)
That lli Plumptree do pay the Surveyor-General, who is to pay it over to the Treasurer of the South Sea Company the sum of£3,000 as a first payment.
(2)
That Mr Plumptree do keep a distinct and particular account of the said £3,000 subscription and of any orders he may receive from the Board relating thereto. .
(3)
That the Surveyor-General be desired to pay the same to, and receive the receipt from, the South Sea Company for the said £3,000 subscription in order that it may be delivered to the Treasurer and that the Clerk of the Ordnance do charge the Treasurer therewith.
(4)
That the Surveyor-General do lay before the Board draughts and estimates for another Great Room to be built at Woolwich for an Academy equall to the Great Room already built, with a house for the mathematical master. Also draughts and estimates for a house for the exercise ofthe long gun and mortar at Blackheath in lieu of the old one now past
repair.
(5)
That the £3,000 subscription and the produce thereof be applied to these sever~! ~ses according to such directions as the Board shall give, and that a d1stmct account thereof shall be kept in the offices of the Surveyor-General and the Clerk of the Ordnance.
(6)
That material be timely provided by the several artificers for the aforesaid buildings, and that the Surveyor-General be desired to forward the same this winter so as to begin early next spring.
(7)
That provision be made in the new establishment for a salary of at least £100 per annum for a mathematical master.
The academy, i.e. the second 'Great Room', was duly built on a warrant dated I 3 April I 72 I.
Mr Burnett Godfrey, a fireworker, was selected to fill the prospective post of mathematical master. He was recommended to the Master-General for a commission as a Second Lieutenant in one of the marching companies of the Train ofArtillery, and given a room in the Warren barracks for the purpose of teaching mathematics to the cadet gunners on such days and at such times as did not interfere with their other service duties. The sting of this appointment lay in its tail, and the cadets, who were unlikely to be thirsting for knowledge, doubtless considered it adding insult to injury when they were notified that 'cadet gunners are to be stopped £4 a year each toward gratifying the said Mr Godfrey or such other officers who shall instruct them in gunnery, fortification etc'.4 It must be confessed
• Secretary, General Post Office, formerly Sccrctary-at-War in 171 7. 4 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/33, p. 315, 23 December 1720.
346
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY I N THE WARREN
that this educational effort, though admirable in conception, was abortive in practice. The instruction, such as it was, never became properly organized, and to parody the words of a famous poem:
'Yet the lessons failed entirely Failed, because they slumped a little Slumped, because they couldn't help it.'
It can be understood, therefore, that the benefits accruing to the pupils must have been infinitesimal. The cadets profited little by their £4 annual cut in pay. Being young gentlemen of hedonistic disposition, the claims of scholastic attainment sat lightly on their shoulders, the cult of learning being honoured more in the breach than in the observance.
Nothing further is vouchsafed about this original academy and the efforts at schooling cadet gunners. A veil shrouds the scene for the n ext twenty years. How long Mr Burnett Godfrey,5 who was commissioned as a fireworker on 3 July 1719 and as a Second Lieuten ant on 1 August 1728, stuck to his unenviable task is passed over in discreet silence. His name disappears from regimental records after 1731 and he seems to have no successor. Unless his heart were of an exceeding stoutness, he must soon have given up all hope of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear. The fate of most things connected with the South Sea Bubble was to be as evanescent as the shares out of which they were financed.
The Royal Military Academy as the term is usually understood was founded by Royal Warrant6 dated 30 April 174r.
Warrant for Establishing a Sclwol for Practitioner Engineers etc.
George R
Whereas you, Our Right Trusty and Right Entirely beloved Cousin and Councillor John Duke ofMontagu, Master-General of Our Ordnance, hath laid before Us a representation of Our Principal Officers of Our said Ordnance setting forth that it would conduce to the good of Our service, if an Academy or School was Instituted, Endowed, and Supported for Instructing the raw and inexperienced People belonging to the Military Branch of this Office, in the several parts of Mathematicks necessary to qualify them for the Service of the Artillery, and the business of Engineers, and that there is a Convenient Room at Woolwich Warren, which is Our property, and may be fitted up for that purpose, We having taken the same into Our Royal Consideration and Approving thereof, Our Will and Pleasure is and We do hereby Authorize, Impower and direct you to Nominate, Constitute and Appoint an able and Skilful Master and Assistants, and to prescribe such Rules, Orders and Regulations from time to time, as you shall think fitt and expedient for the Instruction and improvement of the people, and for the good Government of the said Academy or School. Also to provide such an Aparatus of Instruments,
6 No. 25, Kane's List. 6
Warrants and Orders in Council, 1740--1744, PRO/W0/55/351, P· 65.
347
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Books, and other necessarys as may be proper for the use hereof, the Expence of all which not Exceeding FIV.E hundred Pounds per annum Communibus Annis to be defrayed out of such Money as shall at any time be paid into the Treasury of Our Ordnance either for Land or Sea Service, And for so doing this shall be as vvell to you as l:o the Auditors of Our Imprests and all others herein concerned, a sufficient Warrant Given at Our Court at St James's the thirtieth day of April 1741 in the Fourteenth Year of Our Reign.
By his Majesty's Command
HOLLES NEWCASTLE To our Right Trusty and Right Entirely beloved Cousin and Councillor John Duke of Montagu, MasterGeneral of Our Ordnance,
or to the Master-General of Our Ordnance for the time being.
The 'convenient room' was of course the Academy room built in 1721 in Tower Place, Woolwich, which as we have seen in Chapter 8 required extensive alterations. A further Royal Warrant7 dated 18 November 1741 increased the Academy grant £500 to £ 1, 000 annually. As soon as these warrants had been executed the M asterGeneral drew up the 'Rules, Orders and Regulations' prescribed in the first warrant and published them without loss of time. They described in considerable detail the organization and administration of the Academy and gave very fully the curriculum for I 741. First came the general orders and then the two sets of 'Directions', that for 'Teaching the Theory', and that for 'Teaching_the Practice'.
After the usual preamble the 'Rules and Orders for the Royal Academy at Woolwich' stated:
It is ordered that the underwritten Rules and Orders be duly observed and obeyed by all persons whatsoever whorri. they may concern:
I That an Academy or School shall forthwith be established and opened at the Warren at Woolwich in Kent, for instructing the people of the Military branch of the Ordnance, wherein shall be taught, both in theory and practice, whatever may be necessary or useful to form good Officers
ofArtillery and perfect Engineers.
2 That the said School or Academy shall be held everyday in the week, Sundays and Holidays excepted, and except all such times as the MasterGeneral of the Ordnance, or, in his absence, the Lieutenant-General and Principal Officers of the same, shall think fit to direct the discontinuance
of these daily exercises. 3 That there shall be two Masters; a chiefMaster, who shall be allowed a yearly salary ofTwo Hundred Pounds; and a second Master, who shall
7 Warrants and Orders in Council, 1740-1744, PRO/W0/55/351, p. 103.
348
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
be allowed a yearly salary of One Hundre~ Pounds; b~th which_ shall be employed three days in the week in teaching t~e practice of the~r art.
4 The School of the chief Master to open at Eig~t of the Clock m the morning in summer, at Nine in Winter, and to continue three hours each day; the School of the second Master to open at Three in the Afternoon and to continue likewise Three hours each day; both Masters shall hold their Schools for theory on the same day of the week.
Storekeeper's House
First Master's Hause
'--------~-----
Second Master's Houoe
______L----~I
I
I 'I
I Boore! Room
Royal
I I (also used for Divine
Military Academy
I I . d h . I)
e
I I service on t eatr1'o,>. I I I I
L-------,'--\ -------
[""-l--1
FIG. 3. Plan of the old Academy
Then follow the two sets of Directions previously mentioned. Those for T heory comprise 5 sections while those for Practice are expanded into 15. They are too long to q~ote, but for t_hose wh.0 would care to study them, and their perusal will be w~ll repaid.by their interesting and thorough nature, they are printed in extenso m THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY, pag_es 2, 3, and 4 and in THE SHOP by Captain Guggisberg, Appendix XIX.
The lectures on theory were to be duly and regularly attended by the Practioner Engineers, Officers, Serjeants, Corporals and Ca~ets of the Royal Artillery when off duty, and also by such Bo_mbardiers, Miners, Pontoonmen, Matrosses and others of the Regime~t who had a leaning in that direction and a capacity to absor? the ~nst_ruction. All who attended the classes were to be constant 1_n the~r. timekeeping behave decently and take down such notes m wnti?-g as were pr~pounded by the Masters. Each lecture was to be held m the presence of a Captain or Lieutenant of the Artillery who acted as Duty Officer and maintained discipline. The syllabus taught by the second master included arithmetic with the elements_ of geometry
and the principles of algebra, while the chief :11aster :nstr~ctcd his pupils in trigonometry, conic sections, mecharucs, fortification, land
349
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
drainage, survey and levelling, gunnery, fireworks and artillery materiel. In fact, his real task was to teach anything which was supposed to make a competent, well-trained, or 'complete' as the Rules say, Officer of Artillery or Engineers.
All ranks ofthe Royal Artillery including cadets were to be taught 'the Practice', which consisted of such practical gunnery, bridgebuilding, magazine technique and artillery work as the eighteenth century could provide. Attendance was limited to three days a week. Lectures or practical work commenced at 6.o a.m. in summer and
8.o a.m. in winter and lasted at least four hours.
The course in fact envisaged for the 'raw and inexperienced people', which included Officers, N.C.O's and men, as well as cadets ofthe Royal Artillery was eminently sound and for the age in which it took place, very comprehensive.
Contrary to accepted opinion, the first Chief Master at the Academy was Martin Folkes, who was appointed on 25 September 1741 at a salary of£200 per annum,8 and not Mr J ohn M uller who is usually accor~ed that honour. Though no mention of this appointment appears in any published account of the life and activities of Martin Folkes, the Antiquary, who was President of the Royal
Society from 30 November 1741 till 30 November r 752 and President ofthe Society ofAntiquaries from 1750 till 28June 1754, the day of his death, nor do his descendants know ought of the matter, there can be little room for doubt that the first Chief Master of the Academy and Mr Martin Folkes LL.D. F.R.S. F.S.A., were one and the same person. The following pointers seem conclusive evidence:
(1)
The warrant appointing Martin Folkes Chief Master was signed by the Duke of Montagu as Master-General of the Ordnance, and Martin Folkes, the Antiquary, was a great friend of the Duke of Montagu.
(2)
There was a very close connection between the Royal Society and the Royal Academy, as it was then called, in its early years.
(3)
The name is uncommon, and the Antiquary had a brother called William of whom more anon.
(4)
During the tenure of Martin Folkes as Chief Master frequent reference is made in the Ordnance records to John Muller ;s 'Deputy Head Master'. In fact, Robert Sandham, whose letters are mentioned later, reg?rded Mr Muller as the head of the Academy, though he was
not appomted to.that post till I October 1754, after the death of his predecessor, Martm Folkes, had occurred.
(5) Martin Folkes, the Chief Master, died in the summer of 1754. Martin Folkes, the Antiquary, died on 28 June 1754.
There is i?-deed no evidence that Martin Folkes after his appointment as Chief Master ever lived in his official house at Woolwich · in fact everything points to the opposite for on 12 June r 752 a~
8 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/508, p. 103.
35°
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
estimate for painting the house of Mr John Muller, the deputy head master of the Academy, was ordered to be prepared. Further than that, he does not appear ever to have visited the Establishment at all. It would appear that Martin Folkes acted like some Lord Great Chamberlain of old, holding the position and having a Lord Chamberlain to do all the work.
It was probably considered necessary for the well-being of the infant Academy to have at its statutory head a distinguished man of letters· it was a cachet the Establishment could ill afford to lose.
'
And who more suitable than a personal friend of the Duke of Montagu. This did not mean, however, that Martin Folkes had to perform the actual function of teaching; he merely accepted the emolument. For this service he secured a deputy, Mr John Muller, who was a mathematical instructor borne on the books of the drawing office in the Tower, eking out a living on a salary of £:oo a year. The two might be compared to the Chancellor and ViceChancellor of a University, to the Master and Deputy Master of the Mint, or to the Keeper and Deputy Keeper of the Records, except that in Martin Folkes's case, the post was not honorary. This assumption seems to be the only solution of a somewhat
puzzling mystery. .
The first Second Master was Samuel Derham who was appomted on 25 September 1741 with a salary of £100 per annum. 9 !he pay of both masters commenced 1 July 1741, the day on which they
took over their duties. In order to carry out the administrative work inseparable from a scholastic institution, a third official was appointed on 25 September 1741 with a salary of £100 P·~· to commence on 1 July 1741. He was Talbot Tutchet, Assistant and Secretary at the Royal Academy.10 This staff of three ~as soon expanded to five by increasing the establishment to provide fo: a French and a Drawing Master. John Fayram was made Drawmg
Master to the Academy at a salary of 3s. p.d. to commence on 1 o October 1743, warrant dated 19 November 174311 and Abel Cassell was constituted French Master at a salary of £40 p.a. to commence on 10 October 1743 on a warrant dated 7 December 1743.12 Three changes in the staff took place within a few years of the Academy opening. These were:
Gamaliel Massiot to be Drawing Master at the R.M.A. vice John Fayram deceased. Salary 3s. p.d. to commence I January 1745· Warrant dated 20 December 1744.13
9
M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/5o8, P· 104· 10 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/5o8, P· 105·
11 ·
M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/508, P· 121 12 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/508, P· 122· 13 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/55/5o8, P· 153·
351
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Thomas Simpson to be Second master or Assistant to the Chief Master at the Academy vice Samuel Derham. Salary £100 p.a. to commence I 0c_to_ber 1743. Warrant dated 25 August 1743.14
\V1lham Folkes to be Assistant and Secretary to the Academy vice Talbot Tutchet. Salary £roo p.a. to commence 1 January 1745. Warrant dated 6 December 1744.15
William Folkes did i:ot remain in office for long. He was replaced on r October r746 byChristopher Mason, Assistantand Clerkat£r00 The earlier establishments of masters may thus be tabulated·:~ follows:
r74r
Chief Master Martin Folkes (£200 p.a.)
Second Master Samuel Derham (£100 p.a.)
Assistant and Secretary Talbot Tutchet (£100 p.a.)
r743
Chief Master Martin Folkes (£200 p.a.)
Second Master
Samuel Derham/ Thomas Simpson (£roo p.a.)
Assistant and Secretary Talbot Tutchet (£100 p.a.)
French Master
Abel Cassell
(£40 p.a.)
Drawing Master
John Fayrarn
(3s. p.d.) r745
Chief Master Martin Folkes (
£ 200
Second Master p.a.)
Thomas Simpson (£roo p.a.) Assistant and Secretary William Folkes (£100 p.a.) French Master Abel Cassell
Drawl·ng Master G (£4o p.a.)
amaliel Massiot (3s. p..d )
T_h_e next increase in the headquarter establishment was the add1t10n oftwo model makers who each received 2s. 6d. a day pay The ~st two to hold these appointments were William CrosbyIG and
17
Francis Dean both selected in 1749. William Crosby only survived for two ye_ars as he was replaced by William Whittakeris in
1751. The c1v1l staff at the Royal Academy in 1752 was thus:
Chief Master Martin Folkes (£200 p.a.)
Second Master Thomas Simpson (£ )
As . d roo p.a.
s1st~nt an Clerk Christopher Mason (£roo p.a.) Drawmg Master Gamaliel Massiot (£54. r5s. od. p.a.) French Master Abel Cassell (£40 p.a.)
Model Makers { Fr~~cis Dean (£45. r2s. 6d. p.a.) Wilham Whittaker (£45. r2s. 6d. p.a.) 14 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754) PRO/WO/ /
8
1s M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754); PRO/W0/5555/55~8' p. l 19.
11 Warrant dated 22 F b MG ' P· 152·
soB. e ruary 1749• · .O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/ss/
~: Warrant dated 23 February 1749. M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/WO/ss/
5
18
Warrant dated 25June 1751. M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/W0/55/soB.
352
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Martin Folkes died in the summer of 1754, for a warrant dated 6 November 1754 states that John Muller was to be Chief Master at the Academy vice Martin Folkes. Salary at £200 p.a. to commence I October 1754.19
In r 744 the cadet gunners were taken out of the marching companies and formed into a company of forty gentlemen cadets. The twenty cadet matrosses had their pay raised by 4d. a day so that all the forty cadets received 1s. 4d. per day.20 This 'Company of Gentlemen Cadets' consisted of a captain, three lieutenants and a drum major in addition to the forty cadets, a number increased to forty-eight in
r746.
The following account of the working of the Academy and the status of the gentleman cadet appeared from the pen of Colonel Griffiths Williams who was himself a cadet gunner in I 744 before the formation of the cadet company.21
His Grace the late John, Duke of Montagu, was Master-General of the Ordnance; to him the chief master of the Academy reported the first of every month what progress the cadets, non-commissioned officers and private men who were his pupils made, and in what way they distinguished themselves most; the names of the officers who attended were likewise carried to his Grace by the chief master.
At this time the Regiment of Artillery consisted of seven companies only, and five cadets to each company. They were distinguished by cadet gunners and cadet matrosses. The cadet gunners (of which I was one) had sixteen pence per day. The cadet gunners, when the companies were formed, took the right of the gunners, and the cadet matrosses the right of the matrosses.
T hey were mustered in the companies to which they belonged, and the Captain of the company had the sole command of them, in like manner with every other part of his company. They were treated as officers and gentlemen by all the officers of the regiment, who frequently had them to dine with them when their spare hours from their studies permitted.
The cadets lodged and boarded at the most creditable houses _in and
near Woolwich, which many of them were able to do on their pay.
Government was at no other expense, except the uniforms that were given
the cadets without any stoppages being made out of their pay.
A pretty picture, but what of the reverse side of the medal which
will be turned over presently? .
Meanwhile a boy wishing to become a cadet had to obtam a
nomination from the Master-General who was Governor of the
Academy. In his hands alone lay all the appointments. Should a
nomination be forthcoming and no vacancy exist, the aspiring cadet
could either study at Woolwich as a gentleman attendant or wait at
19 M.G.O's Warrants (1722-1754), PRO/W0/55/508, P· 253.
20 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/352, P· 15o. . .
21 Williams's MS. Notes, Rules and Orders R.M.A. 1741. In the R.A. Institution.
353
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
home or elsewhere till one occurred. No regulations regarding age of entry then existed, in consequence of which the roll of cadets covered a period from the nursery to the college. Some candidates were thirty while others were of a most tender age. When James Pattison was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor ofthe Academy in 1 764 he discovered that many cadets on the muster roll had never reported at Woolwich; in fact he found the majority of absentees at their homes. He wrote and ordered them to join at the Warren forthwith. The answers from the adoring parents may well be imagined by the fact t!1at shortly afterwards a letter dated 7 September 1764 gave a list of gentlemen cadets who had obtained
the Master-General's leave to remain away from the Academy till they had reached the age of 12 years viz. Walter Dav,,son Fawcitt 10 years; Thomas Fawcitt g years; Frederick Scott I r ¾years; John Pelham Jones 10 years; Edward Morrison 3 years; Frederick Flight 4 years; and William Buchanon 6 years.2 2
As the Academy building at Woolwich lacked living accommodation the cadets, whose ages as we have seen, varied from 12 to 30 years had to board and lodge in the town, a most pernicious arrangement despite its eulogy from Colonel Williams. They presented themselves at the Academy only for study and p arades, and, once away from the Warren, behaved as they choose and went where they pleased. No wonder scandals became rife. VVoolwich a seaport, was not the best milieu for developing youth. Control dur/noclass was little better, for the young officers, hardly noted for thei~ decorum, turned the place into bedlam and set a very bad example to their juniors. During the first twenty odd years of the Academy's existence, training and teaching were very faulty. T he MasterGeneral supervised from London, sending down such instructions as ~e.consider~~ necessa_ry. This lack of control combined with dreary living condit10ns, no mternal amusements, the great discrepancy in the ages ofthe cadets, the uncertain length ofresidence varying from one month to five years, and the situation of the institution almost
in the ~eart of the worse portion of a riverside town were naturally subversive o:goo~ or_der ~nd military discipline, especially in an age when excessive ~nnking, 1fnot extolled as a virtue, was certainly not regarded as a vice. The cadet had thus little encouragement to lead a sober and orderly life.
When at last the cadet, having survived his environment finished his course of tuition, he was given a commission in the' military branch of the Ordnance when a vacancy occurred. For his 'passingout' he app_eared before a Board of Officers and answered verbally
a few quest.I?ns; no proper ~nal examination existed. The military branch consisted of the Artillery and Engineers, but the latter was H Records ofthe Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 13.
354
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
orps of warrant officers only. Consequently all · ·
a C . R . comm1ss1ons were
·ven m the oyal Regiment of Artillery The c f E •
gl f · • · · orps o ngrneers as a body o comm1ss1oned officers was first formed by Royal yVar:at1;t dated 3 ~arch 175~,23 but until 1761 the custom of commissioning cadets in.the Art1:Uery as second lieutenants prevailed and the1:, after sufficient service and training, transferring them to the Engineers. ~ter 1 761 cadets were commissioned direct to the Corps as v~~ancies occurre~. ?ft~n, however, the unfortunate cadet, tired of waiting for a c?mrmss1on m the Royal Artillery or Engineers, woul~ enter :he service of the. East India Company or seek an appointment i~ o?-e of the regiments of the line. Such transfers, however, were incidental, the Academy never having been intended to supply officers to other branches of the fighting forces. An insight into the life of a cadet in 1750 can be gained from the letters of ~r Robert Sandham to hi~ parents. He joined the Academy as a cadet 1n August I 7_ 50 though his warrant as such was not signed till ro July 1751. He died at Fort St David's, East Indies on 16 May
5.24 The first letter is to his mother.
175 Honored Madam, I perceive by my Father's letter that he had not received one that I wrote the day after I came here, the contents of which were only to acquaint him of my safe arrival off an eight-mile journey; I received my box safe on Saturday, my clothes fit very well. I suppose, mamma, you are desirous of knowing what acquaintance I have commenced during the short time I have been at Woolwich. I believe I need not inform you of the caution that is required in choosing an intimacy among a set of young fellows whose most honourable epithet is wild, the generality of them bear the worst of characters, being ever engaged in riots and drunken broils, in one ofwhich a Lieutenant of the Train was lately wounded in the hand, and has lost the use of his little finger; he lodges in the same house with me. I suppose your fears are heightened by this description of the Cadets, but to your comfort I must inform you there are some who most dese~edly should be excepted from this general character, amongst these is Sir
G. Morningham's son (I was recommended to his acquaintance _by Mr Winnington of Blackheath), he is a middle-aged gentleman, t~at 1:s, near 30, of a sober, sedate aspect, and something resembles Mr ~mnm~ton; a very good scholar, an entertaining and agreeable co_mp~ru~n, w_1:h a calm and mild temper, and has a vast deal ofsweetness m his disposition; in short, he is respected by everybody, and I flatter myse~f to. be very happy in his acquaintance. He was ready to go to the Umversity wh~n
he first came to W oolwich and indeed he has more of the Clergyman m · o'ffi · 11 s he is in mourning so much
his appearance than the cer, espec1a Ya , 23 \i\'arrants (King's and Others) Woolwich PRO/W0/5~/414Tfo1i~rtr warr~;t
001
dated 25 April 1787 W':rrants_ (King's and OftRhersk~ ,';:~~~pand allow~J Ji~9~1Iice~ made the Corps of Engineers mto a Corps o . oy ngi to rank with those of the Army and Royal Artillery. R bert Sandham is No. 206
8 0
24 Records of the Royal Military Academy 2nd ed. PP· 7, · Kane's List. 355
so, that when the woman of the house directed me to his room, I thought I had disturbed the reverend gentleman in his study, and was going to retreat. Mr \Vinnington came to see me at Woolwich the Saturday morning as I came in the evening; he and his lady came again one day last week, and sent for me to the Anchor and,Crown, and invited Mr l\Iorningl~a~ and myself to dinner on Sunday. I went, but Mr Morningham was indisposed; tl1ey were extremely civil, and offered to send horses for me every Saturday nig~t. I don't think of troubling them so often; I have had the Matron ofBndewell (Mrs Crook's relation), with two more Ladies and nvo Gentlemen, and Tommy Crook, to drink tea with me· I dined with t~em at tl~eir Inn. Our situation here is vastly pleasant, ~ great many dehghtf ul v1ews all round us, from my window I see all the ships that go to London, and an extent of land beyond the river. The Cadets act a Play once a month. There is a room opposite the Academy
in which th~ Board of Ordnance sits ;25 this makes an exceeding good Theatre, their scenes, stage, etc. are so contrived as to take down or erect in ~alf an hour's time, they perform the Constant Couple, or the Trip to the Jubilee. Next Saturday I attend, and will attend constantly, at the Acad~my._ I_ find, Mamma, you have overlooked some of my books, as Coopers Dictzonary, and Old Horace, and a Greek and Latin Testament which I wish you would send when convenient; please remember me to ~II that e_nquire after me; give my duty to my Father, and love to Harry, and my sisters.
I am, honored adam Your most obedient and most dutiful Son.
R. Sandham
P.S.
Since I have been at the Academy, I have drawn a Cannon and a Mortar-bed by a scale, and begun a Landscape after Mezzotino manner; the French master has been ill ever since I came, so I have not seen him.
The next letter dated 2 November 1750 from Robert Sandham is to his father:
Honoured Sir, I received the ham and fowls safe on Monday night; Mr Muller gives you many thanks; I asked leave on Monday to go to London that I might see the_pres_ent ;ent to the van; I took this opportunity of waiting on Sir Joh~ L1goruer,2 but was told he was engaged in business, so I went away !e~vmg my name and my duty. As to the affair of cashiering the Cadets, 1t 1s all hushed up ~t present. There is no person to fill up the two vacancies I to!~ you of, which I wonder at. I am certain you must be desirous of
learnmg_ the progress I have made with my masters. In the first place. I have written all Mr Muller's Artillery, which is forty octavo pages ;27 I am " 'fhe Board Room. Now the luncheon room of the Armaments Inspection Depart
ments Mess. The room on the left of the entrance, i.e. the Academy is now the ante-room of the _Armaments Inspection Department's Mess. 11 Lieut-General of the Ordnance.
17 Mr J?hn _Muller'.s Treatise of Artillery was published in London in 1768. He also wrote Fortijicatzon, Artillery and Malhematics in 8 volumes. At this time John Muller was Mathematical Master at the Drawing Office in the Tower. Salary£100 p.a. and acted
as deputy headmaster at the Academy.
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
now constructing the plates with Mr Simpson; I am in multiplication of fractions; Mr Mossiott approves ofmy drawings; as to the French Master I have not seen him these two months, but I can read Telemachus with the help of a Dictionary. I am now a little busy on Mr Morningham's account, in drawing some plans of mines for Sir John Ligonier; after they are done, he is to be a preceptor to me in French. It is my opinion he will shortly be on the Engineer Establishment. Tuesday, being the King's birthday, there were some fine fireworks viz. a building composed of three
arches; in the middle one, Liberty with her hat and club; in the other two, I--Ielmets, Shields, Trophies Etc; over the middle arch was Vivat Rex, and over that the Ordnance Arms; the whole was conducted with the utmost regularity, and the evening concluded with bonfires and illuminations throughout the dirty town of Woolwich.
Further letters are not worth quoting in full as much of their contents h ave little or no bearing on the cadets' life at Woolwich. One or two extracts therefore will suffice.
26 N ovember 1750. I hope my dear Mother will not think me extravagant ·when I inform her I have two guineas and a half left of my pocket money, I assure you I spend it only on necessaries viz. coals, candles, and tea, when any acquaintenance visit me; I have not been in a tavern since I have b een in ,,voolwich, except once, which was on the King's birthday, which I could not avoid without being thought particular, or perhaps a disaffected person. You may be certain Mr Muller did not take the ham and fowls amiss, by his inviting me sometime ago to spend an evening with him, he made me a bowl of punch and made me very welcome ...
8 J anuary 1751. I am obliged to you for the tea, it will save me buying a great while, and I shall use it very sparingly ...; Our Academy has been con erted into a Chapel, but we are taught in it as before; I am very well and enjoy my health as well as I ever did in my life; my French Master says I translate French fort bien (that is 'very well') ... All this I have learnt of myself for I have seen the French Master but two after
noons ...
Robert Sandham may have been a little priggish in his outlook but his letters confirm the state of indiscipline which has already been described. If a gentleman cadet was normally 'wild' in 1750 he must h ave been an unprincipled young scapegoat entering with zest into the toughest practical jokes and frequenting the lowest haunts wherein he engaged in his 'riots and drunken broils'. As Captain Guggisberg says in his book: 'The Shop ofthe early days may be described without hesitation as a "small Hell" upon earth.'
On g July 1751 an estimate for £529 for building barracks for the company of gentlemen cadets was approved28 and work was put in hand. A year later the Board agreed that the cadet barracks should be finished at a cost not exceeding £125. 3s. 2d. and issued
28 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, P· 8.
357
a warrant accordingly.29 It must have been feared, however, that the accommodation envisaged would be unequal to the demands v,1hich assuredly would be made upon it, because only three weeks later it was ordered that a sum of£720, which had been appropriated towards erecting a new office in the Tower of London, should instead be applied to the building of additional apartments at the Warren barracks for gentlemen cadets. Mr Hayter was instructed to take the necessary action at once subject to such directions as might be issued to him by the Surveyor-General.30 The barracks were constructed facing the regimental parade-ground on the lower part of the Warren bounding the Plumstead Road on a site now covered by H Avenue. Things improved a little after living accommodation had been provided for the cadets, discipline was better though licence was still in evidence. A duty officer was detailed each week; he attended meals and parades, inspected the barrack rooms and saw that his charges were safely locked up for the night. He was also supposed to be present during lectures as a deterrent to rowdiness. Up to eight cadets shared a room and until I 766, when new single bedsteads were installed two had to sleep in a bed. Dotheboy's Hall could not have been less congenial. These barracks contained no recreation room ofany kind, no attempt was made to interest the
cadets when off duty. No wonder boredom and idleness sowed the seeds of libertinism and loose conduct.
The earliest muster-roll of the Cadet Company extant is dated January 1753. It contains the names of the following officers viz. Captain-Lieutenant Charles Farrington, Second-Lieutenant Thomas Pike, Lieutenant-Fireworker Jasper Leigh Jones, four corporals and forty-three cadets, two ofwhomwere marked on command in Scotland and nine on leave.31 On I April 1753 Colonel William Belford was appointed Assistant and Clerk to the Royal Academy ( as it was then called) vice Christopher Mason superannuated. The warrant appointing him, issued by SirJohn Ligonier stated 'You are carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of an Assistant and Clerk in the said service, by doing and performing all manner ofthings thereunto belonging, likewise to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from the Master-General of the Ordnance, the Lieutenant-General, and Principal Officers of the same for the time being. '32 This was the first attempt to place the administration of the Academy on a military footing. One can imagine that a civilian clerk and civilian masters had little aptitude for controlling the turbulent cadets. The Master-General and the Lieut.-General, the only military officers connected with the
29 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/39, p. 456, 5June 1752. 30 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/39, p. 518, 30 June 1752.
31 Records ofthe Rqyal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 8.
31 Records ofthe Rqyal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 8.
358
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Establishment, seemed too far off in London to exercise much day to day authority and the company officers had other fish to fry. Colonel Belford was a strict disciplinarian and his presence was felt at once. As a result, a host ofStanding Orders were issued, and while some no doubt were disregarded by the more truculent, the subjection of the cadets had begun.
Some of Colonel Belford's orders were:
February r757. Cadets shall on all occasions pay due respect to commissioned officers. The first that is known to pass an officer without pulling off his hat shall be sent to confinement.
20 March r757. Gentlemen Cadets are in future to parade for Church at the same time and place with the rest of the Regiment, and their orderly corporals are to call over the names, and to march them in good order to Church; all those who absent themselves, to be reported to the Colonel or to the Commanding Officer.
3 April r757. No officer lately made, or to be made, to go to the Academy unless it be to study under the different masters; and should any officer, after the receipt of this order, interrupt or otherwise disturb the cadets in the Academy, the Officer on duty is to order the offending officers to their rooms, and report him or them to the Commanding Officer.
8 April r757. The first cadet that is found swimming in the Thames shall be taken out naked and put in the guard room.
Other orders were as follows:
Cadets are to be in the Academy at g.o a.m. and at 3.0 p.m, at which time the officer attending is to see the corporal call the roll, and to report the time they enter after Academy hours, as well as those who are absent.
The officer on duty at the Academy is to attend constantly during school hours, and if any cadet shall make any disturbance, play, or be inattentive to his business, the officer is immediately to send him to the guard room and report him to the Colonel-Commandant or the Colonel of 2nd Battalion to which the Cadet Company has been posted.
No cadet is to wear at any time a shoulder strap or any other part of the uniform of an Officer of the Regiment.
The officer on duty for the week is to eat in the barracks, and attend regularly at meal times to prevent noise or other incidents. He ~s to report in writing to the Commanding Officer and confine such as nusbehave at table.
The officer on duty is to see the orderly corporal call the roll at b:eakfast, dinner, supper and tattoo; after which the ?arr~ck doors will be locked, i.e. at 10.0 p.m. in summer and g.o. p.m. m wmter. The officer is to keep the key till next morning. The Qu~rter-~aster of the 2?~ Battalion with the officer on duty and the one JUSt rehev~d, are _t? v1~1t the barracks every Monday morning and report on their cond1t1on m writing to the Commanding Officer.
If any cadet shall presume to go out of the Warren, either over the wall or any other way after tattoo, or out ofbarracks after the doors have been locked, he will be punished and dismissed the Regiment.
359
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
.,r. 11 or carelessly spoil, break or dirty any of th If any cadet shall ww~ Y or nasty the walls or chimneys he . e
. b dding wnte on ' Will
furniture or e , r d to repair such damage. be punished and be ob_ ige tt d all parades, exercises and other dut·
ffi duty 1s to a en W 1es
Theo cer on cl d on and is not to leave t11e arren during h" the cadets may be or ere d ;ed with the cadets. is
duty-week, except whe~ otr eee the cadets appear clean and well-dres d
Th ffi on duty 1s o s fi se
e o cer . to reprimand or con 1ne those that
II' 1·n the morning, . are
11
at ro -ea mg b t at any other time, and 1s to march the cad t
1
otherwise not only t ien u e s
to and from the A;ate1?Y;0 visit all the rooms every day before dinner•
The officer on r:{/\ clean, and the bedding a~d furniture in good to see that they a P thing that may be otherwise. order, and tho rehport eve:;niform are immediately to provide thernselve
Cadets w o ave no · s
with it.
On 12 uneJ Mr HayterI 752 was instructed to prepare an
fc r pai·nti·n(7' the house ofDr John Muller, the deputy head
. t
est1ma e o b . • h · h
master of the Academy.33 This estimate, w b1c . amount~d to gd was postponed and ordered to e inserted in the
£22. I2S. ., h"l D
t. t s fcor the following year. 34 Meanw 1 e on 11
es 1ma e h 135 ecember 1750
th Academy room had been adapted as a c ape , an arrangement he·ch was altered on r November 1751 when Divine Service was
1
w Th" 1 d .
ordered to be held in the Board Room. 1s resu te 1n the order that no more plays in it should be performed by cadets. 36 Thirty pounds were spent in May 1754 in erecting a pump and a cistern in the cadets barracks. 37
The cadets had two months annual holiday a year, a month at Christmas and a month at Whitsuntide; the masters also received the same benefit.38 This first attempt at State education therefore savoured of the main 'terms' of present day universities. It must be remembered that the conception ofa State military school was novel and we should not be too critical of the Academy's first halting footsteps in an age when laxity was a normal feature of life. Within six years of the erection of the cadet barracks, accommodation became cramped and on 24 January 1758 Mr Hayter prepared plans and drew up an estimate for building two additional wings. This was referred to the Surveyor-General.39 The cost of these improvements was £382. 18s. 2d. and the work was approved and
., OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/39, p. 482.
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/40, p. 109, 11 Aug. 1752. 11 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 4.07. 17 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 307. 38 OrdnanceJournal_Book, PRO/WO/47/43, p. 279. .
The Board authorized masters and cadets to have a months holiday at Christmas (OrdnanceJournal Boo_k PRO/WO/47/42, p. 319, 13 December 1753). The gentlemen cadets were allowed holiday for the month ofJune (Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/ 47/'f3, P·.3°5, 20 May 1754). Masters and cadets to have the usual months holiday at
~ 1tsunt1de (OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/45, p. 451, 13 May 1755).
Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/51, p. 72.
360
(
.,.
~
-J
I
.,.
,---1
1
l
,..
'.,J
...,
u =-=
(:
[,_,,
-
r--r---
..c
-~
0 ~
0
;>
C/l~
bi)
::: ::9
::l
..a '
0
r.)
·-0..
....,
(1;l
$)
bi)
r.)
..c
'
0
_,._,
;...
(1;l
P-4
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
ordered to be carried out at once.40 Three rooms in the cadet barracks were ordered to be papered at a cost not exceeding 6d. a yard. Furniture and utensils were also to be provided viz. a range grate with poker, tongs and shovel together with a fender deal
. '
tables and forms.41 On 12 Apnl 1758 the storekeeper was ordered to
supply the cadet barracks with 3 coal tubs, 3 dust tubs, 3 hearth
brushes and 6 birch brooms.42 Six days later 8 pairs of bellows
were issued.43 There must have ?een some arrangement whereby
the cadets were allowed to practise the art of fortification on Mr
Bowater's property, as Mr Muller, the head master of the Academy,
informed Mr Bowater on 11 August 1758 that his field lying between
the Thames and the lower road to Greenwich was quite unsuitable
for digging trenches in it. This was presumably due to the presence
of water below the surface.44
The cadets were looked after by a housekeeper, Mrs Elizabeth
...--...
>James, widow of Captain James late Royal Artillery, who had the
..a
--0 assistance of two house-maids to help her. She catered and cooked
s:::
ro
for the cadets. Although in THE RECORDS OF THE RO yAL
en
-----MILITARYACADEM Yp. 13, it states that MrsJames was appointed in 1765, the statement is incorrect. She certainly formulated her proposals for feeding the cadets during that year, but she was housekeeper as early as 1758, the year probably in which she was installed. This is evidenced by the fact that on 23 July 1758 Mr Hayter reported that garrets could be made in the roof of Mrs James's apartment in the cadet barracks at a cost of £61. 13s. rnd. The work was ordered to be carried out.45 ........ ro Now that the built up portion of the Warren was increasing in
>
0 size the question of lighting at nights became pressing, and lamps
~
V were installed at various points. It was considered that four lamps
...c:
b would be required to illuminate the way to the cadet barracks. These, costing £4. IOs. od., were ordered immediately.46 The staff of the Academy was now increased by one. This was the addition ofa fencing master, a post to which MrJohn Palladin was appointed at a salary of £100 a year with effect from r April 1759. Actually it would b e more true to say that the staff remained constant in size owing to a change of establishment for the post of Assistant and Clerk, held by Colonel Belford, was abolished from that date.47 In the meantime in February 1758 M. Felix Hugonin had become French master vice M. Abel Cassel superannuated. Since fencing now
40 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 184, 24 February 1758. 41 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 275, 17 March 1758. 42 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 369. 43 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/51, p. 396, 18 April 1758. 44 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 149. 45 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 104. 46 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/52, p. 346, 24 October 1758. 47 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/53, p. 408, 5 April 1759.
25 361
became part of the Academy's studies Mr Lexham was ordered to supply 12 pairs offencing foils for the use of cadets.48 The inevitable repairs were required to SHOP houses and premises; in this respect they were no more immune from the ravages of decay (and negl~ct) than other buildings in the Warren. Mr Simpson's house reqmred renovating and Mr Hayter on I June I 759 was instructed to survey and estimate the cost.49 In March 1759 Major James Pattison was appointed Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company vice Borgard Michelson, and on 10 April 1759 he reported that when the Lieutenant-General appointed him to this post, he ·wished to live in the Warren, so that he would be better able to attend his duties. The house, however, which had been originally allocated to the Captain-Lieutenant was now occupied by cadets and therefore he had proposed some addition to a little house on the east side of the Warren gate occupied by Thomas Pritton, a labourer. He stated that he (Major Pattison) was willing to pay Mr Pritton for his house any reasonable annuity which the Lieutenant-General might approve, and had asked him to lay his petition before the Board. 50 R esulting from this report by Major Pattison, Mr Hayter was ordered to estimate the cost of the additions to Mr Pritton's house and to look out for some other place in the Warren for a house for the CaptainLieutenant and to estimate and report upon the same. On 29 May 1759 Mr Hayter reported that a kitchen and a servant's room over
it could be built for Major Pattison, adjoining the cadet barracks for £140. 7s. od. He was ordered to proceed with the work and keep the bills separate from all others.51 The repairs to Mr Simpson s house were estimated to cost £44. ros. od. and were carried out. 52
Since the cadets were locked in at night like cattle and the barracks lacked any indoor sanitation, some means had to be provided for night use. Therefore 48 pewter chamber pots and 48 pewter washhand basins, a set for each cadet, were provided for their use on I 2 October 1759.53 Both these types of bedroom equipment had the Ordnance Arms and the Broad Arrow engraved on them, and one wonders whither they have all disappeared. Such a chamber pot would make quite a collector's piece. What method of relief was afforded before the purchase of these pewter receptacles must remain a subject for speculation. On 15 December r759 the cadet barracks were repainted at a cost of £49. ros. od.54 Major Pattison reported on 21 December 1759 that Mrs James at the cadet barracks badly needed a pantry for provisions and a storage place for coal.
48 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/53, p. 477, 1 May 1759. 49 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/53, p. 578, 1 June 1759. 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/53, 10 April 1759. 61 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/53, p. 565. 62 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 156, 15 August 1759.
63 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROf\-VO/47/54, p. 329. 64 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, p. 508.
362
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Mr Hayter was ordered to estimate and report.ss On 22 April 1760, Mr Muller's house required repairs.so By this time of course Mr John Muller had become first master. He was appointed to this position on ro October 1754 after the death of Mr Martin Folkes,57 whose name, except in the warrant appointing him first master, and the warrant to John Muller to succeed him, is conspicuous by its absence in official records. Martin Folkes is not mentioned in the Journal Books, nor in THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY, nor in THE SHOP by Captain Guggisberg. He seems to have been a man of retiring disposition. The repairs to Mr Muller's house were estimated to cost £13. 10s. od. and were ordered to be
carried out.58 The cadets, as a whole, were probably careless in regard to their
arms. Damage to their weapons was not likely to cause them much loss ofsleep. So on 2 7June 1760 the Respective Officers at Woolwich were ordered to direct the armourer to repair the arms belonging to
the gentlemen cadets from time to time as occasion should demand. The arm ourer was to report to the Respective Officers the number of arms r paired and the details of each repair, such reports being submitted to the Board at intervals.59
Mr Thomas Simpson, the second master, died in 1761 and his place was taken by Mr John Lodge Cowley with effect from 8 July I 76 1 •Go J ames Pattison was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on 5 August I 761 .Go The only items of interest in the next two or three years were certain minor repairs as follows:
8 June r763. Colonel Pattison, desiring the cadets barracks to be repaired during the vacation, Mr Hayter ordered to estimate and report.61 September r763. The clerk of the works ordered to repair the
30
Academy Room.62 r6 D ecember 1763. Mrs James, having reported that the high winds had damaged the tilin(J" in her apartment at the cadet barracks, Mr Veale was ordered to survey, o estimate and report. 63 I I October 1763. The clerk of the works to surv~y ~nd esti1;1ate the repairs necessary to Mr Muller's house.64 The rep~1rs m question were ordered to be undertaken at a cost of £g. qs. od.6" 27 January 1764. The damage to the tiling of Mrs James's apartment due to storms to be made good at a cost of £4. rs. rod.66
55 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/54, P· 52 3· 56 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P· 328. 57 See note 1 g. 58 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 75, 25July 1760. i;o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P· 541. so Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/58, p. 156, 28 August 176i. 01 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/61, P· 363. 02 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 128. ss Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 301. 6 4 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 161. G5 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 282, 6 December 1763.
ss Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, P· 47•
363
· to the value of £39. 1 3s. 3d. to be carried
17 Febnwry 1764 . .Refar e but no new dust cart is to be provided out on Colonel Patasondsb 0 ~::ms and was reported on 25 January 1754This damage was caused yds to investigate and report.67
when Mr Veale was or ere . ~ •t 1 changes were made 1n the Academy which
6
On I July 1 / t_via ocedure and administration. It may be said completely alter~ its P~ing towards establishing a seminary for that the tentative ~ro·on had at last secured a foothold and was
. ts to a comrmss1 .
aspiran . t ards educational realism. The changes may
henceforth movmg ow
be summarized as follows:
L. nt Governor was appointed.
A ieutena -med The Royal M ilitary Academy .
The Academy was rena . d 6
• f tI1 cadet was raised from Is. 4 . to 2s. d. The d~ilyMpayto b ecame The Professor ofFortification and Artillery.
The First as er e if ~,r ·
ter was redesignated The Professor o .1.v.1.athem. atzcs.
The Second Mas h 1 · · ·
An additional master was appointed to teac c assics, wntmg and
arithmetic at a salary of £100 per annum. . . C O's and men of the Royal Regiment of Artillery were no
Officers, . • d fi h
·ve 1·nstruction with the ea ets rom t e masters of the
1onger to recei
Academy.
L. t -Colonel James Pattison was the first Lieuten ant-Governor,
ieu. f C . L.
· promoted to that position from that o apta1n -1eutenant of
b
emg · · h. d d
the cadet company. The warrant appo1nt1ng 1m, ate r 2 July 1 764, runs as follows: Whereas, his Majesty by warrant be~~ing date 30 April ~nd r 8 N o:ember 1741, did approve of a Royal Military Academy bemg established at Woolwich and authorized the Master-General of the Ordnance to make such R~gulations as he should from time to time judge proper for the good government thereof; and whereas, it is requisite and necessary for the good of his Majesty's service that a Lieutenant-Governor should be appointed to superintend and see that such Rules and Orders are duly observed by the several Professors, Masters and Students; and having received a good testimony and assurance of the loyalty, integrity and ability ofthe bearer hereof,James Pattison, Esquire, I do hereby nominate, constitute and appoint him to be Lieutenant-Governor of the said Royal Military Academy; these are therefore to pray and require you to enter him in the books ofthe office ofthe said employ, and to cause an allowance of£200 per annum to be paid unto him, or his assigns, by quarterly bill of debenture out of the money allowed for defraying the expense of the said Academy, to commence on the rst ofJuly instant, and continue so long as it shall be thought requisite and necessary for his Majesty's service.
Given under my hand and seal the I 2 ofJuly in the fourth year of His Majesty's reign Granby68 117 OrdnanceJournaI Book, PROfW0/47/63, p. 99. 18 Master-General of the Ordnance, r763-1 770.
364
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY I N THE WARRE N
At the same time, the Marquis of Granby published two sets of Regulations, one for the staff of the Royal Military Academy, and the other for the gentlemen cadets. The Lieutenant-Governor who presided over the institution and was virtually its commandant issued these regulations. All instructions henceforth emanated from the Lieutenant-Governor and not from the masters. The chief master was no longer to make a monthly progress report to the Master-General. All future reports, whether concerning study or points of discipline, were to be made to the Lieutenant-Governor who was held responsible for the good government of the whole Establishment in all its aspects. Beside gentlemen cadets, the Royal Military Academy appears to have been open to a type of student know n as 'Gentlemen Attendants'. These were admitted only on the exp ress permission of the Master-General, communicated to the Lieutenant Governor and by him notified to the professors and masters. These 'Gentlemen Attendants' were at all times subject to the authority of the Lieutenant-Governor and had to observe the rules m ade for gentlemen cadets. They were not however permitted to reside in barracks nor mess with the cadets.69
Jam es Pa ttison was the right man for the job. He knew the devils born of idleness, drunkenness, bullying and corruption which flourish ed and he was determined to exorcise them. This task was far from easy but, being enthusiastic, he managed to bring order out ofchaos by guiding the cadets in the right direction and thus reduced considerably the bad habits so long openly displayed. Like all innovations his reforms m et with little encouragement from those to whom they were meant to apply. The masters unused to any supervision openly resented them and the cadets, a choice collection of lazy yo ung ruffians who were allergic to work, hated them. But Pattison was a man of character. He rejoiced in his work which was always congenial to him no matter how little assistance he obtained from quarters where he might at least have expected it. It may be said tha t h e alone really laid the basis of the modern 'SHOP'. His main source of trouble was, strange to relate, the masters. Until his appointment they had been a law unto themselves, and answerable to no one for the performance of their duties, except a vague and shadowy Master-General in the background. They were unpunctual in their habits and often a class of rowdy young cadets might wait half an hour before the master concerned would deign to appear
and deliver his lecture. They allowed their private business to interfere with their work and often took fees for outside work or extra coaching to the detriment of their proper functions. Since promotion from class to class depended solely on masters' reports, the evil of bribes was not unknown and presents of money were
69 Records of the Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. I I.
365
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
. d b asters from parents. James Pattison put an end
openly receive Ym . l Th ules a d I ·
to all this but not without a gnm strug~ e. er _n regu at1ons he framed for the Master-General to issue_ were _designed to make d of instruction. That thmgs did not always go an orhler1?' p 1_adce ced by the address he gave on 15 December 1764
smoot y 1s evi en d k b
rtam. gentlemen ea ets were nown to e unruly
h
to the effiect t at ce · · f k d h · '
. . . to masters and rmsch1e ma ers an t at if after
boisterous, insu 10ng d b h · h
<let was reported for ba e av10ur e would be
that date any ea G I' I
. . d h A · demy until the Master-enera s p easure should
disrmsse t e ea · · b a· ·
be known. That Pattison's battle agamst msu or mat1on wa~ long . . d b the 11r0 11owing letter dated 14 March 1766 which he
is witnesse Y addressed to the Master-General. fcor this disagreeable occasion of troubling your Lord
I am very sorry k" h"
h. d fc the necessity I am under of ma mg t 1s unfavourable
s 1p, an or f
Report of many of the Gentlemen Cadets; a contempt o orders, a?d a [authority of both Officers and Masters have been shewn m so
d fi
e ance o b b · d ·
many instances for several months past; ut emg etermmed that a complaint to your Lordship should be.my_ lathst reds?u:ce_, I have tried 1
every other method I could suggest to mamLtamd h~t h1s_c1pk me, subordination, and good order which I know your ~r s ~p t m s necessary and wishes to see established, but have the mort1ficat10n to find that neither Jenity, nor the punishments we can inflict (such as c~nfinement to_ a darkroom, being fed on bread and water 7tc), are sufficient to restrain them within any tolerable bounds, for which reason, I am persuaded that, without some occasional examples of severity, it will be impossible to attain the end desired, and therefore I am induced to hope yo r Lordship will be pleased to confirm the opinion of the inclosed Court-Martial, that it may have a proper effect in terrorem on all the rest. The lot could not fall on two fitter objects, as they are both such Scabby Sheep that they are capable of corrupting many of their young associates. That your Lordship may judge of my endeavours to operate on their minds, and cause an emulation in them to behave well by lenity and encouragement. I beg to take the liberty to enclose some extracts from the orders I have
given out from time to time for the Cadet Company.
P.S. of the two delinquents Mr His the worst; he is quite a reprobate.
On receiving this report Lord Granby wrote to order Messrs D and H to be suspended from attending the Academy and to remain under arrest till he should arrive in London when he would fix
upon the most exemplary manner of dismissing them. They were both dismissed on 14 April 1766.70 The establishment of the Royal Military Academy in 1764 was as under:
Staff
Lieutenant-Governor (Lt.-Colonel James Pattison) £200 p.a. Professor ofFortification and Artillery (John Muller) £200 p.a.
70 Records of the Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 15.
366
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Professor of Mathematics (John Lodge Cowley) £100 p.a.
Drawing Master (Gamaliel Massiot) £54. 15s. od. p.a.
Master for Classics, writing and arithmetic (The Reverend William Green) £40 p.a.
French Master (Felix Hugonin) £40 p.a.
Fencing Master (John Palladin) £100 p.a.
Francis Dean
£45. 12s. 6d. p.a.
2 M oed 1 M aersk JhP.
{ o n owne £45. l2S. 6d. p.a.
Cadet Company
Captain (i.e. M.G.O)
£474. 10s. od. p.a. 1 Captain-Lieutenant (Major James Pattison) £109. 10s. od. p.a. 1 First Lieutenant £91. 5s. od. p.a. 1 Second Lieutenant
£73. OS. od. p.a. 1 Lieutenant Fireworker £66. 18s. 4d. p.a. 48 Cadets (each at 2s. 6d. p.d.) £2,190. os. od. p.a. 1 Fife Major £25. 6s. 8d. p.a. Total £3,855. ros. od. p.a.
Whether the high spirits of the cadets had been responsible for breaking the windows in their barracks is not disclosed but on g April 1764 Mr Veale was ordered to repair the said windows and to draw up a list of unserviceable articles in the barracks.71 The necessary repairs were carried out and the messenger was asked to comment on the price of the chairs mentioned by Mr Veale in his report.72 On I g J une I 764 Mr Veale was instructed to find a suitable site in the vVarren for building a house near the Royal Military Academy for the use of gentlemen cadets during school hours and to estimate the expense. Accommodation for classes was obviously becoming limited as the Establishment was soon to be divided into the Upper and Lower Academies.n On 29 June 1764 Mr Veale reported that the most convenient place for building this house would be in the east corner of Mr Cowley's garden, and that the cost would be £30. 11s. 4d. Orders were given that building operations should commence at once.74 One of the innovations introduced under Lieut.-Colonel Pattison's regime was the formation of four classes in the Academy, one for each subject. The fourth class was the highest. In 1766, however, it was considered advisable to set up a lower school in addition to the existing one for many of the cadets, who had been admitted solely on the nomination of the Master-General without any form of educational test. Thus was the Royal Military Academy divided into the upper andlower academies. In the latter no attempt was made to teach military subjects except
71 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 228.
72 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 273, 17 April 1764.
73 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 461.
74 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /63, p. 49 I.
367
drill and exercises. The backward cadets were taught to write properly and to become able to express themselves lucidly; they were grounded in the elements of mathematics, classics and French; and they were instructed in the principles of drawing. Having satisfactorily surmounted these educational hurdles the cadets from the lower academy v,,ere promoted to the upper where their military instruction, fitting them for commissions, was given. In modern parlance the lower academy would be termed a junior preparatory school. The lack of printed books increased the difficulties of teach
ing in the early days of the Academy. There were none to help the cadets in their military studies. Knowledge could only be acquired by taking :1-otes ~t lectures, copyi?g the maste:s' M?S· and keeping the attenf:Ion strictly to the subject under d1scuss10n. With other subjects conditions were easier as copies of treatises on mathematics dictionaries, and French and Latin works were less difficult t~ obtain.
The house of MrJohn Lodge Cowley, the second master seems to have suffered considerable damage at this time. It may have been due to the storm which seems to have produced a certain amount of havoc in the Warren. The roof was so damaged that he had to remove his family. On 3 July I 764 Mr Veale was ordered to effect the necessary repairs.75
On IO July 1764 new chairs were ordered for the cadet barrack Mr Veale :"'as instructed to get the drains cleared and certain repai:~ were put m hand. On the same day Mrs J ames, the housekeepe rep~rted that the c~vering of the _well in her cellar belonging to t{~ engme pump had g1ven_way. Th1s nearly led to a fatality as one of
her servants had fallen m and been saved with difficulty. She also reported that the well covering in the yard had ea ved in. The Board ordered Mr Veale to clean the well (presumably the one i th
. . n e
d) d
yar a1: secur: 1t_~n a proper manner. No doubt he dealt with both wells sat1sfactonly.' The lack of a lock-up for recaltrant cadets now began to be felt, so Mr Veale was instructed on 27 November 175 ~o get out plans and estimates for a 'room ofconfinement' and a shed
m the yard of the cadet barracks for cleaning knives.11 The cost of these two came to £22. ms. od. and they were ordered to be built 1s On I 4 ~ecember I 764, the storekeeper was ordered to purchase fo~rteen chairs at I4J. each for the officers' rooms in the cadet b k .
. . arrac s, at
h
t e same t1me 1t was arranged that a third lamp should be hung on th~ c~det barrack~ so that there would be one at each end of the bmldmg and one m the middle to light the way at night.10
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{W0/47;64, p. g. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47;64, p. 2a.77 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47;64, p. 209.
71
1• g;~~anceJJournall BBookk, PPRRO{W0/47/64, p. 247, II December 1764.
ance ourna oo , O/W0/47;64, p. 257.
368
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY I N THE WARREN
The Reverend William Green actually joined the Royal Military Academy as classics master on 2 7 October I 764,80 though in the warrant appointing him it was stated that his salary of £100 a year would commence on I July 1 764,81 the date of the great changes.
The beds and bedsteads in the cadet barracks were ordered to be cleaned on I g June 1764. 82 This was not an isolated instance as the bedsteads had got into a shocking condition after twenty years hard wear without proper due care and attention. According to the Lieutenant-Governor their condition was such as to require daily r epair. H e also stressed the fact that many inconveniences had arisen due to the 'young gentlemen lying two in a bed', particularly in case of slight illness, and recommended that new sets of iron single turn-up bedsteads should be provided, with mattresses instead of feather beds.83
On 20 March 1765,84 the Master-General signified that with his Majesty's approbation he dispensed with the attendance ofsix cadets: W alker D anson Faucitt, Frederick Flight, John Pelham Jones, Edward Morrison, Thomas Faucitt and "\i\Tilliam Buchanon until they arrive at the age required by his Majesty's warrant. They were to be paid gd. a day subsistence and 6d. a day arrears notwithstanding the general directions in the said warrant as the same could not take place with respect to them at present.
The pay of gentlemen cadets was to be as follows:
Ireat subsistence gd. p.d. Clothing 6d. p.d.
Arrears to be issued once a year,
1
but no assignment to be regarded, 6d d as no person is permitted to remain · p. · a cadet after 20 years of age To pay for diet gd. p.d.
Clothing was to be provided annually and delivered on or before
23 May, but no money was to be paid in lieu of clothing.
There were already two men in attendance on the cadets besides
the two house-maids under the housekeeper who attended the
rooms. There was now to be a third man who was to receive Is. 6d.
per clay. A coarse frock and waistcoat were to be issued to each
attendant annually. The men were to be fed by contract and the
contractor was to receive gd. per diem for the diet of each man.
These servants were not to be mustered with the regiment. On
80 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/64, p. 191, 10 November 1764. 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 109, 22 February 1765. 82 OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/v\0/47/63, p. 461. 83 Records of the Royal Military Academy, 2nd ed., p. 14, 6 February 1766. 84 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 176.
369
h Is of Mrs ElizabethJames for feeding the 20 March I 765 t e pdr~r;~ey were as follows: cadets were approve · . . d day for each cadet accordmg to the corn
(I) She was to receive gb • ~ ning of every month. piete establishment at the ~gm d a day more for each cadet who wa
( ) Sh also to receive 3 • II s
2 e ~~s r d' in barracks. This extra a owance was to be
actually res1dmg and iee mg, b . tence
"d kl ut of the cadets su sis · . h
Y O
pa1 wee • er day towards defraying t e expenses ofthe
( ) She was to receive 2 s. P d h · b
3
. h cleaned the cadets' apartments, ma et e1r eds etc. two housemaids w O • d per day for boarding each of the 3 men
(4)
She was to receive 9 · allotted as servants to the cadets.
In consideration of the above she engaged: 'd b kfast dinner and supper in sufficient quantities of
(I) To prov1 e rea , 'd' · b k
· · s for all cadets resi mg m arrac s.
ood wholesome provision g B d d milk milk-porridge or water-gruel.
Breakfast. rea an ' Dinner. Id ·th t t
Sundays Roast veal, fillets or shou ers, w1 po a oes or greens. Mondays Roast legs of mutton and potatoe~. Tuesdays Shoulders of mutton and apple-pie. Wednesdays Buttocks of beef and g:eens. .
Thursdays Roast legs of mu.tton, with salads and pickles. Fridays Boiled legs ofmutton with greens. <' t J 711s Roast beef with greens or potatoes every other Saturday,
.Ja urua_, k h l . .
roast pork when in season, and on those wee s w en por < 1s given, the Sunday dinner to be roast beef. . Supper. Bread and cheese four 1:1ghts a week; bread and butter two nights, or cold meat when left at dmner.
(2)
To supply the cadets in case of sickness with broth and such other food as the surgeons may recommend.
(3)
To provide at her own cost and ~har~e whatever m~y be necessa:y for dressing the provisions, together with lmen and all kmds of utensils requisite for the public table; also to provide a clean table-cloth for the
table every day.
The question of sickness now began to loom in the official eye. Illness was bound to occur among forty-eight young gentlemen whose conduct was not normally conducive to health. Sanitation, too, as we have seen, was not of the best and the state of the drains must have contributed in no small measure to the ills of the flesh. The indefatigable Lieutenant-Governor therefore brought to the notice of the Master-General and Board that provision had never been made for a proper sick-room for the gentlemen cadets, the only method ofdealing with sick cases being to send them to the common regimental infirmary. He stressed the point that the 'young gentlemen' rather than submit themselves to that disagreeable ordeal,
16 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 182.
37°
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
preferred to remain in their barrack-rooms, the consequences of which were that they were disturbed by their comrades, they could not receive the care and attention that was necessary, the risk incurred by the healthy lying in the same beds as the sick (this was before single bedsteads were issued), and the absolute necessity of removing the latter in cases of infectious disorders. He therefore recommended that two rooms, one for common ailments and the other for contagious diseases, should be added to the infirmary in the Warren and be allotted to the exclusive use of the cadets. This representation was made on 14 March 1765. These additional rooms were the two pavilions already referred to in the previous chapter and on 2 I May I 766, the regimental surgeon was allowed the extra furniture and utensils in the infirmary for the use of gentlemen cadets. 86
In order better to regulate the Royal Military Academy, the Master-General approved a design for a medal to be given as a prize of honour. On the face of the medal was the 'King's head' in profile with a lanceated legend Auspiciis Georgii III Opt Prin P.P.; on the reverse the figure of Minerva with her proper attributes and the legend Proemia Laudi; and in the exerque D.M. Granby Mas Gen Ord M D CCLXV. H e asked the Board for a die to be made and twenty medals in gold to be struck ( value £5. 5s. od.), twenty medals ( weight about one ounce) to be struck in silver and forty medals to be struck in copper. He also desired the Board to provide six cases of instruments not exceeding £2. 10s. od. each. The whole to be ready by 23 M ay I 765, the day he had appointed for the public examination instead of the date mentioned in the printed instructions.87 Owing to the indisposition of Lord Granby the examination was postponed till 30 May. Eventually it was held on 5 June 1765. On that day the following gentlemen attended the Royal Military Academy to examine publicly the cadets in their several classes under their respective professors and masters :88
The Earl of Morton, President Royal Society. The Commanding Officers of the three battalions Royal Artillery. The Chief Engineer. The Reverend Mr Masculine, Astronomical Observator at Greenwich.
The prizes were awarded as follows:
Thomas Page John Cridland Thomas Napean Charles Green Gold medal Gold medal Silver medal Silver medal Fortification Mathematics Fortification Mathematics
Henry Rudyard Case of Instruments Drawing
86 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/67, p. 369.
87 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/65, p. 126, 26 February 1765. 88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/65, p. 345·
371
Cadets were still giving trouble in breaking bounds to carouse in the town, where drink and other attractions exercised a strong pull on their emotions. On 7 11ay 1765 Mr Veale was ordered to proceed with the raising of the wall at the cadet barracks by 3 feet to prevent the cadets' climbing over. The cost was 10 guineas.89
The masters were not without their petty squabbles. The second master's house Jay directly between the first master's house and the Academy and the normal method by which the first master would reach the' Academy was through his front door into the open and into the building again by the main entrance. This was no doubt a nuisance, particularly ifit were raining, bu~ whether raining or not Mr Muller preferred the more direct route, which lay through the second master's house. Doubtless remonstrances were made but they seemed to have been of little avail. Eventually Mr Cowley had to report the
matter to the Board who on 13 March 1765 informed Mr Muller that neither he nor anyone else had any right of passage through Mr Cowley's house without the express permission of the latter.90
A few minor incidents occurred during 1765-1766. Mr Muller's house was repaired at a cost of £9. 13s. 7d.91 On 27 August 1765 the storekeeper, Woolwich, was ordered to pay £6. 13s. 6d. window tax on the cadet barracks to the Surveyor of \!\Tindow Lights at Plumstead.92 On 13 December 1765 Mr Veale was ordered to repair the tiling of Mrs James's house which had become damaged by high winds.93 Catherine Sinclair, who cleaned the Academy, had her allowance increased to £20 p.a. owing to increase of staff.94 On 13 June 1766 a new departure was made in the Academy. Captain Richard Chapman, who had been acting unofficially as paymaster to the cadets and keeping the pay books, was appointed the first Clerk to the gentlemen cadets at 2s. 6d. a day.95 Mr Thomas Butler who had been appointed 3rd modeller at the R.M .A. in December I 765 was given the turning shop in the Carriage Yard as a workshop. Mr Hartwell was instructed to fit it up and supply the necessary tools for him.96 On 2 r May I 766, the repairs outstanding
at the cadet barracks were referred to the Surveyor-General.97
TheJournal Books state98 under date 28June 1766 that 'Mr John MuIIer having been 36 years at the R.M.A. is allowed to retire by the Master-General from r July r766 and receive full pay till he is
89 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, p. 293. 90 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, p. 159. 91 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/66, p. 164, 22 October 1765. H Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/66, p. 97. 83 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/66, p. 250.
"OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/67, p. 410, 3 June 1766. 85 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 442. 98 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 448, 16 June 1766. 97 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/67, p. 367.
98 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 641.
372
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
added to the superannuation list. He is to be succeeded by Dr Pollock.' This statement cannot literally be true for in 1730 there was no academy for cadets except possibly the original one founded in r 720 on the strength of the South Sea Bubble. It must mean thirty-six years of teaching under the Office of Ordnance and thus included the period he spent in the drawing office in the Tower. Dr Allen Pollock thus became the next Professor of Fortification and Artillery. Mrs Elizabeth James apparently undertook the repair of the utensils for the use of the cadets in the infirmary. Presumably she contracted for the work to be done. At any rate she was ordered to report to the Board at Greenwich on 13 June 1766 the rate per annum she would charge.99
There was continued pressure on the very limited accommodation assigned to the Royal Military Academy which normally consisted only of one large room, so on I July 1766 it was agreed that the Board Room should be made available for the use of professors and masters when not actually required by the Board.100 This adaptation necessitated a change in the lighting arrangements. The problem of lighting the Academy at night to facilitate studies in the winter . evenings had already received attention and it had finally been decided to install lamps in place of candles to save expense. Chandeliers, therefore, were ordered to be fixed in each room ofthe Academy to hold lamps, the order being the direct result of taking over the Board Room as the lower school or academy, when not required by the Board. T he Board seldom met at Woolwich, so the room, after having b een used as a chapel (and as a theatre on Saturday nights) became mainly the lower academy and a masters' common room. The chandeliers were to have branches holding three lamps each
and to be suspended by chains from the bottom of the gallery. In other rooms, iron brackets to hold the lamps were to be affixed to the walls· those in the Board Room being made removable so that they could be taken away when the Board met. Twenty-eight lamp brackets to hold three lamps each were ordered in all.101 Equipment still appeared to be due for the use ofca~ets in their :7arious activiti:s as it was ordered on 7 August r766 that proper furruture and utensils be supplied to the Academy room, infirmary and cadet barracks'.102 On the same day orders were given for the repairs to Dr Pollock's house to be surveyed and estimated.103 Mr _Thomas Butl:r the modeller had to wait four months before his workshop m the
Carriage Yard was ready for him, as it was not till 27 October 1766
99 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, p. 433. This may be an error in names.
Probably 'Mrs Elizabeth Poulton' was meant. 10° Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 1. 1°1 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 154, 29 October 1766. 1°2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, p. 55· 193 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 54, 7 August 1766.
373
that ]\fr Hartwell reported the room to be complete. Mr Butler actually purchased the tools he requested at a cost of £6. 18s. 8d. which was afterwards reimbursed him.104
As mentioned in footnote 99, Mrs Elizabeth Poulton was in all probability intended instead of Mrs Elizabeth James, the housekeeper. Mrs Poulton had acted as nurse in the cadets' infirmary since November 1765 without receiving any pay. Whether she offered her services voluntarily or whether the mechanics of payment in her case had not operated is not recorded. The position, however, was rectified on r9 May 1767 when she was appointed official nurse at Is. p.d. with effect from 8 November 1765.105 It was she who dealt
with the infirmary implements. It was arranged that she should be paid £31. 10s. 8d. for providing the necessary utensils for the infirmary at the cadet barracks and granted an allowance of £10 per annum for their maintenance.106 Good news arrived for Mr Cowley the Professor of Mathematics on 7 February 1767. H e
learned that his salary was to be increased by £ 100 a year, 1.e. doubled from 1 January I 767.107
A second public examination under the chairmanship of the President, Royal Society, was held on Tuesday 30 June r 767 .108 As a result the following prizes were awarded:
James Mayaffre -Gold Medal Fortification {
Thomas Harris -Silver medal Mathematics Francis More -Gold Medal Drawing -Thomas Napean -Case of instruments
Other medals must have been awarded for twelve in all were presented. As the Marquis of Granby resigned from the M asterGeneralship in January I 770, their issue was probably suspended in I 769. The British Museum has several inscribed specimens of this
medal which are thought to be Mint copies handed in after its discontinuance. The Royal Mint is unable to trace this medal, since in I 765 such jobs were put out to contract. A descrip tion of this medal also appears in the Annual Register for I 766.
The demand for higher wages is no modern phenomenon, even in the eighteenth century people liked to get as much as they possibly could. Mrs Ann Sumpter's request was a case in point. On 23 June I 767 she represented that she had been employed for several years
in cleaning the Board Room at 6d. a day and asked for an increase
as the room had now been handed over to the Royal Military
Academy. The kindly Board granted her £20 p.a., an additional
104 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/68, p. 138. 106 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/69, p. 257. 108 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, p. 226, 5 December 1766. 107 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/69, p. 63 108 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/69, p. 305.
374
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
37s. 6d. a year, from I January 1767.100 The Board must have been
feeling generous at this period as it made up the pay of Captain
Chapman as paymaster to the cadet company between 1 July 1764
and 3 1 December 1 765.11° An incident occurred, which was reported
to the Board on 4 August I 767, between the overseer of the works
and the Lieut.-Governor of the Academy. Lieut.-Colonel Pattison
may have been a hot-tempered man. He certainly had enough to
make him short-tempered. On the other hand he may have had
great provocation as the overseer, Mr William Barber, was by his
record an unpleasant official. Mr Barber complained that, on 4
August r767 when according to instructions he had gone to Colonel
Pattison's residence to give instructions about building a dairy for
the colonel, Colonel Pattison freely abused him and struck him in
the face because he could not enlarge the dairy according to that
officer's wishes. He (Mr Barber) therefore wished for the Board's
leave to seek redress in a legal manner.111 The Board sent a copy of
the p etition to Colonel Pattison for his remarks. What they were does
not transpire but a year later this laconic statement appears in the
Journal Books, 'Owing to his unpleasant character and untrustw orthiness, William Barber is dismissed from office as Overseer of "\tVorks, Woolwich. He has been dismissed twice before but has been employed again out of compassion and of his promise of amendment. '112 It might well be therefore that Colonel Pattison was more sinned against than sinning. On 21 June 1768 the salaries of the drawing and French masters were raised to £1 oo a year113 and on 2 7 J anuary r 769, Paul Sandby was appointed Chief Drawing Master at the Royal Military Academy vice Gamaliel Massiot with effect from 22 Augus_t 1768.114
On 30 June I 768 it was ordered that two additional rooms should be built over MrsJames's apartment at a cost of£94.115 In connection with building operations and works services it should be appreciated that the Academy building itself and the cadet barracks needed constant repair. Maintenance charges, though small in terms of modern currency, were a considerable drain on funds. Every year repairs of some kind had to be undertaken, but this recurrent item of expenditure will be referred to again on only one or two special occasions after the reparations carried out on 23 May I 769.116
In order to save fuel or labour or both, stoves were installed in the Academy to heat both the upper and lower schools. They were
109 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/69, P· 332. 110 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/70, p. 101, 4 August 1767. 111 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/70, p. 105. 112 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/72, p. 42, 2 August 1768. 113 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/71, p. 306. 114 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/73, P· 37• 115 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/71, p. 321. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO /4 7 /73, p. 269.
375
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
hardly a success. At last the long-suffering professional staff could abide them no longer. On 20 December 1768 the masters with one voice dubbed them 'unsatisfactory'-'useless' would have been a better epithet to bestow; they gave off a suffocating smell and failed to warm the rooms. The staff therefore asked that they might be removed and the fire-places reinstated. This was agreed to.117 To light the ·way at night one lamp in front of the houses ofDr Pollock and l'vfr Cowley were authorized.118
Clothing for the cadet company's fife and drum major and the three servants was authorized on 27 March 1770, and warrants were issued accordingly.119 The Board evidently took a fatherly interest in the studies of the gentlemen cadets. One knows that their standards were not high but a good deal of importance was attached to their drawings and plans of fortification. Vauban's system still held sway and the attack and defence offortified places was an important part of the students' work. After 15 May 1770 all drawings made by the cadets were to be preserved so as to be available for the Board's inspection.120 Ong February 1770, Francis Dean was dismissed from his appointment as modeller to the R.M.A. and as his post was abolished, the number of modellers on the establishment reverted to two.121 On 13 November 1770 Joseph Mallard became fencing master vice John Palladin.122 Paul Sandby put in an application to receive allowances for house rent, coal, and candles, but it was not favourably received by the Board. He received an answer in the negative on 5 March 1771.123 Dr Pollock's garden v. as next to that of Mr John Cockburn, the storekeeper, and within it stood the turret, the old tower which had once formed part of the original mansion of Tower Place. Dr Pollock required certain alterations to
his house and garden, what these were does not transpire, and on 12 June 1771 Mr Powrie, clerk of the works was ordered to report on their cost.124 Part of his request was, no doubt, for stables and a chaise house as on I 8 February I 772 he was definitely informed that these could not be allowed.125
The year I 77I saw several important innovations in the life of the Academy. Firstly on I I October I 77 I, it was agreed that the French and classics masters should be allowed £10 p.a. house rent and the French master four chaldrons of coal and six dozen candles, so that both might be placed on the same footing as the drawing and fencing
117 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/72, p. 235. 118 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/73, p. 171, 7 April 1769. 119 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/74, p. 156. 110 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO[W0/47/75, p. 268. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/75, p. 74, 9 February 1770. m OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO[W0/47/79, p. 104.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/77, p. 199. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/77, p. 515. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO[W0/47/79, p. 104.
376
i; ,.,, of Woolwich Warren (S. & N. Buck), 1739
The Granby Medal
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
masters. This additional emolument was to be effective from 1 January 1771.126 Much more revolutionary than this was the appointment of Captain George Smith as Inspector-a new post which carried much responsibility. He was appointed from 1 July 1771 at a salary of£200 p.a. with an additional £30 a year in lieu ofhouse rent, coal, candles, and travelling. He also officiated as Professor of Field Fortification and Mining.127 Captain Smith's warrant signed by the Lieutenant-General and Principal Officers ofthe Ordnance read as follows:
By virtue of the authority to us, by the King's most excellent Majesty in this behalf, given (in the absence of vacancy of a Master-General of the Ordnance) upon the testimony and assurance which we have received of your loyalty, integrity and ability, we do hereby nominate and appoint you, the said Captain George Smith, to be Inspector ofthe Royal Military Academy at Woolwich; you are therefore carefully and diligently to discharge the duty of Inspector, by doing and performing, likewise to observe and follow such orders and directions as you shall from time to time receive from the Master-General of his Majesty's Ordnance, the Lieutenant-General and Principal Officers ofthe same, for the time being, or any other your superior Officer; in pursuance of the trust hereby reposed in you, and for your care and diligence to be taken herein, you
are to have and receive the allowance of £200 per annum, to be paid you quarterly out of the treasury of this Office, and to continue so long as shall be thought requisite and necessary for His Majesty's Service.
The Lieutenant-Governor at once issued the following order:
The Inspector of the Royal Military Academy will give in a monthly report to the Lieutenant-Governor of the state of learning in the Upper and Lower Schools, with such remarks and observations as he shall think necessary to make; and in order thereto he will receive from the several Professors, at the end of each month, a regular class-list of all the students under their respective tuition. Captain Chapman will immediately deliver to Captain Smith a copy of the Rules, Orders and Regulations established for the good government of this Academy, that he may be able to regulate his inspection accordingly. The Professors and Masters are directed to make out their monthly returns of the class-lists for the LieutenantGovernor, conformable to the one that will be given them as a model, and that they may be regularly sent the first of every month.
The duties of the Inspector were broadly speaking to supervise the education at the Academy by seeing that it was carried out in an orderly and efficient manner. Masters as well as cadets came under this supervision. The former were to bend all their energies to their tasks and the latter to work diligently and to keep strict hours. Captain Smith applied himself to his duties with alacrity and the results soon became noticeable. Before two months had elapsed the
126 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0{W0/47/78, p. 137. 127 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0{W0/47/78, p. 140, 11 October 1771.
26 377
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Lieutenant-Governor had, at the Inspector's suggestion, made the following alterations:
(1)
The Upper and Lower Academies were each to be divided into four classes with qualifications and courses of instruction clearly laid down.
(2)
Promotion from the lower to the upper academy was to be by examination held in the presence of the Inspector.
(3)
Lists of the classes, showing the seniority of cadets were to be displayed in each academy.
(4)
Professors and masters were to render monthly reports on the progress of the students.
(5)
Professors and masters were to give more individual attention to each cadet. It is not proposed to give a comprehensive list of the various
studies which were undertaken in 1772. These are set out at length in THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY but a synopsis of the course is as follows: '
First (or Lowest) Class Lower Academy Mathematics Elements ofArithmetic
Classics Latin Grammar Drawing Simple pencil drawings French Grammar and simple translation
Second Class Lower Academy Matlzematics Elements ofArithmetic applied to practice Classics Translations from Latin authors Drawing Simple drawings in Indian ink French Translations
Third Class Lower Academy Matlzematics
Vulgar and decimal fractions Square and cube roots Classics Ovid, Caesar, Virgil and Sallust Drawing Landscapes and military embellishments
French Translations
Fourth Class Lower Academy Mathematics Algebra up to quadratic equations Class£cs Horace and Cicero Drawing
Theory and Practice of perspective
French
Translations into French
First Class Upper Academy Fortification
Elements offortification Matlmnatics Euclid
Drawing Landscapes in Indian ink
Second Class Upper Academy Fortification
Attac~ and defence offortified places Pr?ct1cal geometry and surveying
Mathematics
Trigonometry as applied to fortification mensuration
Drawing
Large and more difficult landscapes, coloured
378
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Third Class Upper Academy Artillery Theory of artillery Constructionofcarriagesandordnance Mathematics Conic sections Mechanics Drawing Landscapes coloured from Nature Fourth Class Upper Academy Fortification Theory of mining Use and construction of fougasses Mathematics Ballistics Drawing Perspective applied to buildings, fortifications etc.
The arrival of the proverbial bull in a china shop could hardly have aroused more apprehension than did the advent of Captain Smith in the midst of the easy-going masters. They resented his presence for they knew that it would spell the end of their laissezfaire existence in which amusement, quiet laziness and good living counted for more than their aptitude and ardour for teaching. Like criminals awaiting sentence they feared the worst, and their fears were justified. First, the qualifying examination for admission to the upper academy. This meant fair dealing and no favouritism with its inevitable loss of backsheesh. Secondly, their time-keeping watched by the Inspector, they must attend classes punctually in future. Thirdly, the 'individual attention to each cadet', the unkindest cut of all; they must apply themselves vigorously to their professional duties. T ightening the bonds of discipline over the civilian staff was a long and arduous business which encountered much resistance.
Old dogs do not like new tricks and the masters resisted the innovations with all the skill and subtlety at their command. For several years the struggle raged till eventually conditions simmered down and the collegiate life became more amicable.
Dr Pollock was the arch-villain of the piece. He resisted the Inspector's authority at every turn and continued to be very irregular in his attendance and instruction. In February I 773 the Inspector informed the Lieutenant-Governor that Dr Pollock seemed vastly put out at not receiving a proper order from the Master-General or Principal Officers to carry out Mr Cowley's duty during the latter's illness and questioned whether he should obey any order to this effect not emanating from them; also that Dr Pollock was highly indignant with Mr Green for offering to assist him in this additional work and said he would do all or none; although he had frequently complained of the double use position. In reply, the LieutenantGovernor ordered Dr Pollock, in view of his own suggestion, to carry out unaided Mr Cowley's work in addition to his own. In his monthly report under the same date-February 1773-the Inspector stated that Dr Pollock was most unpunctual and that when he did arrive in class, he went back into his house to prepare materials for the lesson which considerably shortened the two hours allotted to
379
his teaching. In December I 773, complaints were made of Dr Pollock neglecting and leaving his pupils in total ignorance ofimportant aspects oftheir curriculum. In this month, too, he quite surpassed himselfin discourtesy. Interpreting the order 'that no person except the students will be admitted to attend these lectures unless by leave of the Lieutenant-Governor' quite literally Dr Pollock locked the class room door and refused the Inspector admittance. Other instances of his curmudgeonly behaviour could be quoted, for he seemed to spare no opportunity to make himself a nuisance. He was the stormy petrel of the Academy. Eventually the LieutenantGovernor, his patience exhausted, brought Dr Pollock's conduct to the notice ofthe Board ofOrdnance in a letter dated 4January r 7 7 4. In a reply dated 26 March I 774 the Board very politely administered
a reprimand, but all to no purpose. Dr Pollock had to be dismissed from his post in I 777.
In July 1772 a dancing master was added to the establishment, MrJohn Ware being the first appointed at a salary of £100 a year. In I 772 also, Mrs Elizabeth James, the faithful housekeeper to the cadets died after at least fourteen years honourable service. Her place was taken by another widow, Mrs Elizabeth Mountney, under the same conditions ofservice.128 She was put into the possession of the
housekeeper's apartments and the clerk of the works was ordered to estimate any repairs necessary.129
In the following year only four episodes, except the peccadilloes of Dr Pollock already mentioned, are worth recording-. A pattern coat for the cadets was approved on 23 April 1773 ;13 ° Charles Hutton was appointed Professor of Mathematics vice John Lodge Cowley superannuated with effect from 24 May 1773,131 in consequence of which the house attached to the appointment had to be repaired at a cost of £10;132 and Dr Pollock-the trouble makerreported that he and his predecessors had always used the room at the top ofthe turret as an observatory, but that now the LieutenantGovernor had given orders that the key of the room was to be handed over to Captain Smith, the Inspector. The Board displaying the wisdom of Solomon ordered Captain Smith to deliver the key into the keeping of Mr John Cockburn, the storekeeper, unless the
Master-General should decide otherwise.133
On 2 I April I 774 the Lieutenant-Governor represented to the Board that many advantages would accrue from throwing a floor across the upper room in the Academy for the purpose of placing
128 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/79, p. 380, 12 June 1772. 129 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/79, p. 425, 27 June 1772. 130 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, p.311.131 Ordnance Journal Books, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 346, 25 May 1773 and PRO/WO/
47/82, p. 109, ID August 1773. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 491, 28 June 1773.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/81, 28 April 1773.
380
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
models, maps etc. thereon; it would also be of advantage for giving lectures on fortification. The Board were willing to investigate the scheme and ordered the clerk of the works to submit a plan and estimate.134 It was eventually resolved that the building of such a floor should be considered in the following spring.135 There can be no doubt that the floor was eventually built, as it is still in position and spoils to a large extent the proportions of the room. The floor has naturally now been modernized and is supported on steel girders. In the same year the Master-General on the recommendation of the Lieutenant-Governor instituted the entrance examination thus abolishing the mere nomination of the Master-General himself. This was a move in the right direction, as it did at least mean that the gentleman cadet designate could manage the three R's. The subjects obligatory for qualifying were the first four rules of arithmetic with a competent knowledge of the rule of three and Latin grammar. Not a very advanced standard to be sure but it would produce cadets of a better elementary educational level than did the simple act of nomination. The examination itself took place in the presence of a board, usually composed of the Lieut.-Governor, the Inspector and one or two masters. There were no fixed dates and the board was convened whenever a candidate was nominated by the Master-General. The aspirant for a cadetship paid no fee except that on passing-the test successfully he had to contribute thirty shillings for the Master-General's warrant appointing him to the coveted post.
On 1 O ctober 1775 the Reverend William Green, the classical master h ad his salary increased by £50 a year. At the same time an appeal was sent to the staff of the Academy to live in harmony with one another for the good of the Service.136 This was no doubt occasioned by the intransigeance ofDr Pollock who was still causing trouble to the authorities. The letter he received from the MasterGeneral's Secretary on 8 March 1775 was a good deal stiffer than the one he had received the year before.
On g May 1777, Colonel Pattison on promotion laid down the reins ofgovernment at the Academy which he had held_so firmly for sixteen years during a time of transition and stress. His task could not have been enviable; as not only had he the cadets to contend with but the masters as well and where he might reasonably have expected assistance in car~ing out his duty, met nothing but opposition. He was replaced by Lieut.-Colonel Bramham, Roral Engineers, while Captain Benjamin Stehelin took over the Capta.m-
Lieutenancy of the cadet company.137 Poor CaptainChapman, paymaster to the cadet company, appeared
1 34 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/83, p. 213· 135 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 209, 6 December 1774· 136 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 274, 21 November 1775·
131 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 546.
381
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
to have sustained financial losses by being over-generous or too trustworthy in his monetary dealings with the gentlemen cadets. During 1777 they, no doubt were even more worthy of the epithet which was bestowed over a hundred years later on their successors, i.e. 'Almost an officer and not quite a gentleman.' On 30 May 1777, Captain Chapman asked the Board to make good the losses he had sustained in advancing money to the cadets. Their reply was not very sympathetic though no doubt just. It baldly stated that 'The Board opined that as these were in the nature ofprivate transactions, no relief could be given'.138
In November 1777 Mr Isaac Landmann, late Professor of Fortification and Artillery at L' Ecole Militairein Paris was appointed Professor of Fortification and Artillery at the R.M.A. at a salary of £100 p.a. vice Dr Pollock. The travelling expenses of himself, his family and his effects from France were to be reimbursed; in addition his salary ( or allowance as it was then called) would continue to be payable to his wife in event of his death. At the same time his Majesty granted a pension of £50 a year to Dr Pollock and an additional £50 per annum to Mr Muller on account of his great age and honourable service to the State. There must have been recrim
inations over this appointment as the Board refused to enter into any argument with Dr Pollock concerning his dismissal.139 Mr Landmann had taught projectiles and fortification at the school in Paris and left the military academy there on reduction of staff. He had been
A.D.C. to Marshal Broglie.
Captain George Smith was the author of a military dictionary which must have been ofgreat value to the artillerymen and cadets of his time, and is certainly of great interest today, being a mine of information on all aspects ofthe military art. It is invaluable to those who study the artillery of the past. Its full title is An universal military dictionary or a copious explanation of the technical terms etc. used in the equipment, machinery, movements and military operations of an Army and it was published in London in I 779 'Printed for J. Millan, near
Whitehall'. Captain Smith dedicated this work to the King, somewhat it would appear to the annoyance of the Board of Ordnance. In order to assist publication, he had requested a grant of money from the Board and offered to place an inscription to them in the book. The Board's reply was somewhat curt. Captain Smith was
informed that 'the Board do not consider an inscription to them of his Military Dictionary after a dedication to the King will be consistent, nor can they comply with his request for a sum of money to be advanced at present'.140
138 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/89, p. 644. 139 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 530, 2 December 1777u o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 393, 25 November 1778.
382
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
On 16 March 1780 it was ordered that the old artillery hospital in the Warren should be fitted up to accommodate cadets and provide quarters for the Inspector of the Academy.141 Seven rooms w ere to be allotted to the cadets and the cost of the conversion was estimated at £257. 8s. od.142 The work was done in a few months as on 5 October 1780 the articles and furniture required for the
143
new inmates were to be supplied at once. In January 1781 Lieut.-Colonel Benjamin Stehelin replaced Lieut.-Colonel Bramham as Lieutenant-Governor and Captain William Tiffen was appointed Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company in his stead.144
On 30 May 178 r, four or five of the ablest cadets were ordered to survey the Warren and describe every building accurately therein.145 It is feared that this map is no longer in existence, it may possibly have been destroyed in the second World War when many old maps and other papers in the War Office Records disappeared under hostile bombs. A companion sketch drawn by cadets at approximately the same date shewing the Ordnance lands on Woolwich Common is still preserved with War Office archives at Stanmore. During that year extensive repairs and embellishments were made to the Upper Academy at a cost of £238. 16s. od.146
Although there had been a vacancy for a second drawing master on the establishment of the civil staff of the R.M.A. since I 776, the post was not filled till September I 782 when Mr Robert Davey was appointed. Also a warrant dated 4 September r 782 reduced the establishment of the drawing office in the Tower and transferred the math ematical master there to the Academy on a salary of £100
p.a. Four draughtsmen from the Tower were also to be attached to the R .M.A. for instruction. Their pay was 2/-a day each.147 During the same year the number of cadets was increased to sixty. One more item of interest appears in the Ordnance Reports for the year 1782/1783. Therein appears the following from the Surveyor-General :148
Pursuant to your reference to me of 31 December r782 of the enclosed account certified by Colonel Benjamin Stehelin, Lieut-Governor, Royal Military Academy for framing several drawings and paintings presented by Messrs Sandby, Landmann, Verbr_uggen and others ~mounting to £ 3o. 17s. od., I have examined the said accounts and as 1t appears by Colonel Stehelin's letter enclosed that the late Master-General and Board approved of these drawings being put up in the R.M.A., I am of opinion the above expences of framing should be allowed.
23 February 1783-Approved and ordered.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, p. 198. . m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, p. 274, 15 April 1780. 143 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 801. 144 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 626, 16 June 1781. 14s Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 575• 14o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 966, 15 September 1781. 147 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/375. 148 Ordnance Report, PRO/WO/55/9, f. 57•
383
On 8 March 83, Captain Scott, 1:-ieutenant of the cadet
1 17
company proposed a new pattern of umform f~r the ca_dets at £ 7. 6s. od. per two suits and ofa !1at for I 8s.149 This sugg~stion was received with due attention and tailors were asked to submit tenders. On 21 March 1783 :rvfr Wagner reported that he could suppl~ a hat, gold button and Joo}: for r8s., and !Vlrs Benford ~nd Son_said they could provide the uruform for the pnce stated. M1 Wagner was then instructed to produce a sample hat for I 8s. and another at 14..s.; M Benford and Son being asked to send samples of the cloth int;nded for the uniform.150 On 24 April _1783 the Master-General nd Board approved the sample hat submitted by Mr Wagner at a ;rice of i6s. and ordered it to be _sealed.151 The new uniform, too, was approved and orders were issued on 7 June 1783 for the
d 152
necessary warrants to be prepare . Lady Morden, widow of Sir _John Morden, Bart, founder of Morden College, and sister of Sir Joseph Brand of_ Edwardstone, Co. Suffolk, died in June 1721 and the estate of Wncklemarsh left her by her late husband was sold, under a de:ree in Chancery dated 31 May 1723 to Sir Gregory Page of Greenwich, 2nd Baronet, who, demolishing the old house, erected on the estate a magnificent edifice ofstone, being then one of the finest seats in England belonging to a private gentleman. Wricklemarsh was described as in Charlton, Lewisham and Eltham. The new mansion was designed byJohn James and built within one year. The idea of the house was taken from Houghton. It consisted of a basement, state and attic storey. The wings contained offices and stables, ·which were joined to the body of the house by a colonnade; the back front had an iron portico of four columns but without a pediment. It stood in the middle of the park, with a large lake before it, on a beautiful rise, about a quarter of a mile from the heath at Blackheath. The estate, comprising gardens, orchards, walks and shrubberies, was a delightful pleasance. Sir Gregory Page died 4 August I 775, aged go, without issue and devised this estate with the res( of his property in this country to his great-nephew Sir Gregory Turner of Ambrosden, Bart, in tail male. Lord Townsend, Master-General of the Ordnance resided there for some years after Sir Gregory Page's death, after which it was sold by auction together with its surrounding lands on 7 April I 783 by Messrs Christie and Ansell to Mr John Cator of Stumps Hill, near Beckenham for £22,550. This must be considered a bargain as the house cost Sir Gregory Page £90,000 to erect. Mr Cator evidently bought the property as a speculation since he, shortly afterwards, offered it to the Board of Ordnance. On I 6
::: OrdnanceJoumaI Book, PRO/WO/47/101, p. 297.
OrdnanceJoumal Book, PROfWO/47/ror, p. 316. 161 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/101, p. 420. 162 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/101, p. 560.
384
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
October I 783 Mr Wyatt, architect to the Board, was ordered to survey the property and estimate its value agreeable to the proposal made by Mr Cator to the Master-General. He was also instructed to make a plan of the house's surroundings. Mr Cator was told of this projected survey and was informed that the Board, upon receiving Mr Wyatt's report, would come to a definite conclusion as to purchase. The Board also told Mr Cator that they had no doubt that his offer was a reasonable one, but that, as they were acting for the public, they must first await the report from their own architect. The house was being seriously contemplated as the new home for the Royal Military Academy, which was becoming very cramped for room in the Warren.153
Lord Sheffield was then appointed Chairman of the Committee set up to consider the advisability of purchasing the property which had been offered to the Government for £18,100. Before this Committee reported, the whole project had been discussed in the House of Commons on r 2 December r783 when the Ordnance Estimates including the item in question was debated in committee. Arguments and counter-arguments were heard. Some considered it an excellent, economical and most necessary action, while others flatly dubbed it a waste of public money.154 On 18 December 1783, Lord Sheffield took the chair to consider the expediency ofacquiring the house, offices, gardens and 56 acres ofland for the Royal Military Academy, and it was decided to appoint a proper officer to lay before the said committee an account of all the savings, either ofimmediate expenditure or on annual establishment, which might be made by the purchase proposed according to the plan drawn up by the Board of Ordnance, and an estimate of the expense accruing from the purchase. The considerations of the Committee were to be laid before the H ouse of Commons.155
Lord Sheffield reported on 23 December I 783 and on that day the report was considered by the House. The main supporters of the Academy's move from the Warren were Lieut.-Colonel Benjamin Stehelin, the Lieutenant-Governor and MrJames Irwin, the SurgeonGeneral. Their main contentions were that the Warren was unhealthy, being too close to the Essex and Plumstead marshes, that the proximity ofWoolwich town was bad for the morals ofthe cadets, that arrangements for dealing with the sick were circumscribed,
153 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/102, p. 396.
154 Cobbett's History of Parliament, vol. 24, p. 120. The deb~te on 12 December 1 783 was quite inconclusive and the project was referred to a Committee of the whole House. It is quite wrong therefore for C. M. Clo<le in his Niilitary Forces of the Crown_, vol. II, P· 46_0 to give this reference as an authority for stating that the Go~ ~rnment did purc~ase Sir Gregory Page's house at Blackheath and that the Royal M1htary Academy did move
there from its old quarters in the Warren. 155 v\'arrants and Orders in Council, PR0/W0/55/376, P· 93, 18 December 1783. Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/102, p. 748, 19 December 1783.
385
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
d •t lf was too cribbed, cabined and confined ;~d that th:et~:iee:c:~/:hat the Warren in 1783 wa~ an unsuitabl~ ere can . . d The cadets slept five m a room the
Place for a military aca emy. d ld '
11 that only eight ea ets cou receive
lecture hall was so sma · · th h II ·
. . · the accommodat10n m e a was little
1nstruct10n at a time, · c: I .
t , hospital was far from sat1s1actory. t was quue
better and the eade s h I ifs· G
' did h romoters of the sc eme, t 1at ir regory true to say, as t et pbought some new building away from the
Page's house were no ' Warren would have to be erected. The follm~ ing financial statement was put forward:
SAVINGS AT WOOLWICH
Granted in the Estimates of I 78~ ~or a chapel £3,000 for bmldmgs £7,000 " " " " £4 200
Deduct for Sea storehouse ~-'-'_ Remains to be applied to the Academy £2,800
Allowances now made to ojftcers for /zouse rent
Inspector of Academy p.a £30 4 Masters of Academy at £ro p.a £ 40 Comptroller of Laboratory £60 Assistant Fire master £ 30
£r6o At £5%on a capital of £4,200 £10,000 Besides several other houses and offices to be applied to the Department of the Inspector of Artillery which will save £3,000 £ 13,000 Purchase of Sir G. Page's house and lands £ r8, roo
This statement was signed by Humphrey Minchin, Clerk of the Ordnance.
The savings at Woolwich were calculated on the assumption that if the Academy did move to Blackheath the buildings it would vacate in the Warren could be utilized as a chapel, storehouses etc. and thus save the estimated money for new building.
After the debate on 23 December I 783, the project was referred for further consideration to the Committee of the Supply granted to his Majesty.156 This seems to have been equivalent to postponing the whole question to the Greek Kalends, as no further mention of the subject appears in the Journal of the House ofCommons. As a result the
whole proposition came to nought and the Crown did not buy the property. It therefore suffered the fate meted out to most large houses which nobody wants. It was demolished in I 787, the Paragon and other houses being built on its site.
m Journal of the House of Commons, vol. 39, p. 850.
386
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
Mr Bonnycastle was the mathematical master transferred from
the drawing office in the Tower. He joined in October I 782. In
January 1783, Michael Dorset, Esquire, a Warrant Inspector was appointed Inspector of the R.M.A. vice Captain George Smith, deceased. In May 1783, George Ware replaced John Ware as dancing master. The Civil Staff of the R.M.A. in I 783 was therefore:
Lieutenant-Governor (Colonel Benjamin Stehelin) ..... . .... . .............. .. .... £200 p.a. Professor of Fortification and Artillery
(Isaac Landmann) .. . .................... £200 p.a. Professor of Mathematics (Charles Hutton) .... £200 p.a. Mathematical Master (John Bonnycastle) ..... £roo p.a. Inspector of the Royal Military Academy
(Michael Dorset) . . ...... . ............... £200 p.a. Chief Drawing Master (Paul Sandby) .... .... £150 p.a. Drawing Master (Robert Davey) ............. £100 p.a. Fencing M aster (Joseph Mellard) ............ £100 p.a. French Master (Felix Hugonin) .... . ......... £roo p.a. Master for classics, writing and arithmetic
(William Green) ......................... £150 p.a. Dancing 1v1aster (George Ware) .............. £roo p.a. Clerk and Paymaster (Major Richard
Chapman) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £45. r2s. 6d. p.a. Geor.ge Short . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £73. os. od. p.a.
M d 1 M l
o e are~ { . 6d
Thomas Powne . . . . . . . . . . . . £45. I 2s. • p.a.
In addition the Lieutenant-Governor received £50 p.a. in lieu of coals, candles and travelling and the Inspector £30 p.a. in lieu of the same services.
Captain Caroline F. Scott, who introduced the new unifor:11 for the cadets became Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company m January 1 783 vice Captain William Tiff en invalided. .
Little more remains to be told. This chapter does not claim to be a complete history of the Royal Military Academy between I 741 and 1806 when the Academy left the Warren for i~s ~ew building on the Common, such a history would fill a book m itself and far greater details are to be found in THE RECORDS OF THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY. It merely offers some aspects of the early life of the Academy which had a bearing ?n the W?r:en wherein it was situated and supplies certain facts which are m1ssmg from other records.
The remaining items may be outlined briefly. d ts 157
2r July 1784. Cross belts instead ofwa1st · bets1 to be issue. d to ~a ~ 26 September 1785. Great coats for cadets' servants to be supplied. 58
167 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/104, P· 88.
158 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/106, P· 415·
387
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
April r786. Daniel Anderson becomes 2nd modeller vice Thomas
Po;;ie. 8 S I Short becomes I st modeller vice George Short. 23a{:i ;;87~~: Charles Hutton, Professor of Mathematics, allowed
159
£30 pa house rent aIIowance. . r6 Oc~ober r 787. I 28 pairs of fine sheets and I 2811ioairs of fine holster cases to be supplied for the use ofgentlemen cad_ets. r7 D ecember r787. Repairs to the R.M.A. costmg £107. I Is. 5d. to be
carried out.161 . . . Marclz Dr Allen Crawford appom:edL~ecturer 1nMch;mistry and
r788.
Mr Cruikshanks to be his assistant. Captam-ieuten3:nt . N._ Burslern to be Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet company v1~e Cap tam Scott. Mrs Ann Roskinge to be housekeeper to the cadets vice Mrs Elizabeth
Mountney. . . IJ8g. Sergeant Richard Robinson to be Clerk to the Academy vice Major Chapman. I r February rJ8g. The cadet company to be attended by the surgeon, Royal Artillery.162 • . 2 oFebruary r789. Mr Gustavus Irwu~ appomt~d surgeon to the cadets.163 December r789. Mr Rouviere appomted assistant to the Professor of Fortification. 2 r November r790. Repairs to the R.M.A. costing £ 328. 4>. Id. This probably included the cost of a new dining hall and additional barrack accommodation which was commenced during the year.164 r5 November r79r. Mr Felix Hugonin, French Ivfaster at the R.M.A. to retire on I January 1792 with a pension of£75 p.a. To be succeeded by Mr Louis Catty on 1 January 1792, though his pay was to commence from 15 November 1792.165 22 June I792. Mr George Williams Phipps appointed Inspector R.M.A. vice Captain Michael Dorset deceased.166 On 7 December 1792 it was agreed that the rank of Captain should be conferred on ir Phipps; he was also to retain the post of Quarter-Master to the R oyal Military Academy.167 r3 September r792. Mr Charles Blumenheben appointed Assistant Professor of Fortification vice Mr Rouviere deceased, and to be paid the same allowance for house rent, coal and candles as his predecessor.IGS
The main changes ofstaff between I 792 and I 806 were as under:
April IJ93· Mr De Can, Assistant to Mr Catty, French Master. October IJ93· Joseph Barny, 2nd Drawing Master vice George Davey deceased.
::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/109, p. 860. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, p. 462. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, p. 813. Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/113, p. 320. 163 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/113, p. 359. ::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, p. 808. m Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/r 18, p. 510.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/119, p. 1061.
187
118 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/120, p. 564, 7 December 1792. OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/120, p. 27r.
388
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
February r794. Captain John Godfrey, Captain-Lieutenant of the cadet Company vice M. W. Burslem, retired. July r794. David Jolly, Assistant to Mr Catty, French Master vice l'vtr De Can, retired. January r795. Lieut.-Colonel William Twiss R.E. Lieutenant-Governor Vice Colonel Benjamin Stehelin, promoted. Jvlay r79(i.. Mr C. Fabrier, Assistant to Mr Catty, French Master, vice David Jolly, resigned. r796. Mr Cruickshanks, assistant to Dr Allen Crawford to be Lecturer
in. Chemistry vice Dr Crawford, deceased.
July r796. Mr Fabrier to be 2nd French Master.
January r797. Thomas Sandby, Chief Drawing Master vice Paul Sandby. Richard Robinson, clerk to the Academy, to be quarter-master. Richard Robinson, Junior, to be Clerk to the Academy vice his father promoted.
January r797. Captain J. Harris, Captain-Lieutenant cadet company vice Captain J ohn Godfrey, promoted. January r799. The Reverend Lewis Evans, master for classics, writing and arithmetic vice William Green, pensioned. January r8or. Captain "\!\Test, Captain-Lieutenant cadet company vice Captain J. H arris, promoted.
D ecember r802. Mr Thomas Evans, 1st Mathematical Assistant.
January r803. M r Olinthus Gregory, 2nd Mathematical Assistant. _,fr George Ware, Junior, Dancing master vice George Ware, pensioned. October r804. Foley Mascal, Clerk to the Academy vice Richard Robinson, deceased. Dr M'Culloch, Lecturer on Chemistry. r J uly r8o6. Mr S. H. Christie, 3rd Mathematical Assistant. Charles Martem ont de M alortie, 2nd Assistant for Fortification.
August r 8o6. David Anderson, 1st Clerk to the Academy vice Foley Mascal, retired. Charles Warren, 2nd French Master, Thomas Compton, Assistant drawing master for ground.
By a warrant dated r I September I 793,169 the cadet company was augmen ted by thirty gentlemen cadets, making ninety in all. Their pay was to be 2s. 6d. per diem.
There is an entry in the Ordnance Reports under date I o September I 800170 which seems to show that the masters at the Academy were paid on 'piece work'. Whether their salaries included a definite number of lectures and any additional lecture above that number entailed an 'over time' payment, or whether they received a fee for each lecture over and above their salary is not clear. The entry reads:
A report that MrJohn Geast, acting storekeeper paid Mr Blumenheben, Assistant Professor of Fortification at the Royal Military Academy for 2 1 7 attendances when the maximum number allowed by the Board was
2 10. The Board, being satisfied with the explanation given by Major
1o9 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/WO/55/379, p. 248.
170 Ordnance Reports, PROfWO/55/48, f. 23.
389
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Phipps on behalf of Lieut.-Colonel T~iss, Lieut~nan~-Governor of the Royal Military Academy, on this occasi?n, auth0nzed the payi:nents, but 'd h h Id t be allowed m future unless the L1eutena
sa1 t at sue cou no · nt~
Governor represented that such additional attendances were necessary.
Gentlemen cadets were still wild. ?n 1_7 January 1 792 , a cadet was dismissed for presenting a fowlmg-piece a~ a young wornan. when returning from shooting on Sunday mornmg, on account of some abusive language she had uttered. He ~eclared he would shoot at her and did so, wounding her severely m the f~ce and breast. Twenty guineas were paid to the father to prevent him from takin.g
legal action. . In 1794 further regulations for supplymg candles to .the Royal Military Academy were announced. These were no do~bt Introduced in the interests of economy rendered necessary by the Increased cost of living brought about by the Napoleonic wars. The regulations were as follows :171
During the montlzs ofFebrua1y, March, April, August, September and October
Location Candles to the lb. lb. per week
24 barrack rooms-2 candles each 8 42
For the Chandeliers in the
passage-16 candles 8 14
For the Hall 16 candles to last 2 nights 8 7
For the housekeeper's use 8 5
T otal 68
During the months of November, December and January
24 barrack-rooms 2 candles each 6 For the Chandeliers in the passage r6 candles 6
r9
For the Hall 16 candles to last 2 nights 6
7
For the housekeeper's use 6
7 Total 89
During the months of May, June and July
24 barrack rooms-2 candles each to last 2 nights 8 21 For the chande1iers-r6 candles 8
7
For the Hall-r6 candles 8
7
For the housekeeper's use 8
3
Total 38
Candles are to be demanded in the above proportions for such rooms only as are actually inhabited and for the chandeliers in use. On]y half
171 Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series I, PRO/W0/47/2365, p. 603.
390
THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY IN THE WARREN
the above allowances for the hall and the housekeeper are to be demanded
during the vacations, and not any for the hall between 24 May and
18 July.
The demands for candles are to be made weekly by the housekeeper
and to be certified by the commanding officer previous to being supplied.
The candles for the hospital of the gentleman cadets to be supplied as
at present.
The supply of candles for the Academies to be discontinued, the Master
General having approved of a plan for carrying on the studies by day-light
only.
The Barrack-master to take charge of the candlesticks which were used
in the Academies and to issue them when wanted for the barracks of the
cadets.
These regulations to take place on r November r 794.
The regulations are endorsed:
28 October r794. Approved of the above regulations and ordered that they be established in future.
Science was on the march and medical arrangements benefited accordingly. For instance, an 'electrifying instrument' was installed in the Royal Artillery Hospital which also was the proud possessor of movable water-closets. The latter so impressed Lieut.-Colonel T,-viss, Lieutenant-Governor ofthe Royal Military Academy, that on 6 January I 795, he asked that a similar contrivance should be procured for the cadets' hospital. This was approved by the Board on 8 J anuary I 795 who ordered Mr Binns to provide that sanitary appliance.172
The increase in prices offood and other necessaries oflife at the end ofthe eighteenth century became a pressing problem; years ofwar had depreciated the value ofmoney. By 1800 Mrs Roskinge, housekeeper to the cadets, found it impossible to feed her charges on the statutory allowance of IS. a day per cadet which she was allowed. On 1 January I 800, therefore, the unfortunate cadet was stopped ½d. a day from his pay in order to close this dietary gap. Mrs Roskinge thus had 1s. } d. a day per cadet with which to play.173 This proved insufficient and so on 22 April 1800 it was ordered that 'Mrs Roskinge be allowed I d. a day from each cadet instead of the -½d. so long as the high price of provisions lasts'.174 No doubt, the cadet and his parents also felt the impact ofhigh prices, but the authorities decreed rhat any increase in feeding expenses were to be borne by them and not by the State.
The opening of the nineteenth century saw the commencement of the new Academy designed by Wyatt on Woolwich Common. By
172 Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series I, PRO/W0/47/2366, p. 99·
11a Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2568, p. 173.
174 Extract of Ordnance Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2568, p. 443·
391
1805 it was nearing completion and on 22 March of that year the Cube House on the Common, near the new building, was purchased from Dr Hutton, Professor of Mathematics, and ordered to be converted into a hospital for gentlemen cadets. In August 1806, the new building was occupied though the accommodation it afforded was insufficient to house all the cadets. The lower barracks in the Warren were therefore retained, and 128 cadets moved up to the Common leaving sixty in the Royal Arsenal, as the Warren, had by then come to be called, where they remained till 1856 when the last
link between the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Arsenal was severed.
Here we take leave of these wild 'young gentlemen'; naturally by 1856 their general character had greatly improved and they were no longer the undisciplined company of young hooligans they had been a century earlier. Even a hundred years ago, however, the
cadet was by no means a plaster saint. He was still full of mischief and Jacked the sense of decorum which a later and more sedate epoch has imposed on his present-day successor. The subsequent pilgrimage of the R.M.A. cadet is, however, another story.
392
Chapter I I
The Warren I750-I775
Notwithstanding Clive's campaign in India and the sense of disquiet which troubled the civilized world during the period of European peace which separated the War ofthe Austrian Succession :from the outbreak of the Seven Years War, the second half of the eighteenth century opened unobstrusively in the Warren. No great change marked its advent and few innovations disturbed the rhythm of the future arsenal.
The first building to require attention was the armoury, that workshop wherein the fire-arms of the Artillery and the gentlemen cadets were maintained in working order. This, during the course of time, had become too cramped to deal satisfactorily with the increasing quantity of weapons which periodically came forward for repair. Structural alterations therefore became pressing. To save expense, however, Mr Hayter on 13 February 1750 submitted a cheeseparing estimate of £20. rs. od. to the Board. He suggested lath and plaster for the roof and, as a substitute for widening the stairs which experience had shown to be too narrow for effective use, a sack for lowering the muskets at an additional cost of£11. 6s. 8d.1 This estimate, whatever its merit of cheapness, proved unrealisable in practice though it was accepted by the Board on 27 February r 7 50.2 On a warrant dated 27 February 1750, James Morris, master carpenter, put the work in hand but found that he had perforce to remove the old staircase, build a wider one and put up new racks. How much these alterations increased the bill is impossible to say as Morris's account for £236. 6s. 2¾d. included repairs to store~ouses, dwelling houses the guardhouse and the infirmary, all of which he
' 3N h.
carried out on a further warrant dated 18 May 1750. or wast 1s the end ofthe matter. A year later, on a warrant dated 14 May 1751 , he had to lower the armoury floor and lengthen the racks. This additional work, together with other sundry repairs about the Warren, were effected between I July and 31 Dece~ber 1751 at a cost of £324. 2s. 1-½d.4 One is faced with the conclusion, there~ore, that the careful estimate ofMr Hayter must have been ove_r-cautl~u~.
Not only did the armoury itself show signs of d:cay, its ~dnumstrative integrity seems to have deteriorated pan passu with the
_i Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/35, P· 108. 2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/35, P· 150. Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO[WO/51/175, P· 120, 31 December 175°·3 4 Ordnance Bill Book'. Series n'. PRO[WO/51/176, p. 156, 31 December 1751·
27 393
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
building. Mr Marrow, the armourer, found guilty of improper practices, was ordered to be discharged on 5 May .1 75°: In addition the conduct of the clerks, who had collaborated with him, was to b~ closely scrutinized.s Mr Hartwell was asked to. recommend a new armourer and on 2 June 1750, Solomon Spittle suc_ceeded Mr
G s:1,z'ttle and Marrow queer names but not so weird as som
Marrow. r ' Id O d e.
One ofthe most curious features about the o r nance documents · th oddness ofsome ofthe names ofthe seventeenth and eighteenth
is e d h' ·
centuries. They certainly strike the mo ern.ear as w. imsical to a degree. For instance, a Warren. labourer m the . rruddle _of the eighteenth century bore the peculiar name of 1:felclzzaz ~ek Misery.
On 22 September 1749, the officers at Woolw1ch, having suggested that the piece ofground beyond the Laboratory wall where the piles of 42 and 32 pdr shot stood should be enclosed as an additional shot-yard, the Surveyor-General was instructed to ascertain the best
locality.1 Arising out of this, it was agreed that a new shot-pound should be built at once,8 and that Mr Hayter's estimate of £ 56. 1Bs. 3d. less £8 for the painti~g, shou!d be accepted. Warrants were issued for the work to be earned out.
Transport ofguns and stores in the Warren was now carried out by indirect labour under a contractor, and in 1750, the SurveyorGeneral came to the conclusion that the current contract was
exorbitant. On 22 June of that year, therefore, it was approved that a new seven-year contract for furnishing four horses and drivers for his Majesty's service in the Warren and Royal Brass Foundry should be advertised in the Gazette and other public papers.10 The terms of the
new contract were to be as follows:
(a)
The contractor to provide, maintain and keep four strong, able draught horses with harness.
(b)
The drivers to be ready for service at his Majesty's stables in the Warren.
(c)
Should the four horses not be required, the Board may at their discretion reduce the number on giving three months' notice.
(d)
Carts and carriages to be furnished by the Board.
(e)
The contractor to have the use of his Majesty's stables and to cut the hay near them. He may carry away the manure for his own use.
(f)
Payment to be made to the contractor by bill and debenture according to the normal custom of the office.
On 24 July 1750, William Hallick, master scavelman obtained
on behalf of himself, Mrs Ann Withers, Thomas Hunt 'and Peter
Harwood, the contract for horses at the Warren for seven years. : OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PRO/WO/47135, p. 347. OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PRO/WO/47135, p. 450. : OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PROJWO/471
• OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/4713345, . p. 319.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/35, p. 328, 25 April 1750.10 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47135, pp. 518, 519_
394
THE WARREN 1750-1775
When the horses were mustered in the Warren, Mrs Ann Withers
was to be discharged.11
A good deal of trouble now arose with Mr James Pattison,12 the owner ofthe Burrage Estate in Plumstead, which he had acquired by his marriage with Miss Mary Maxey. He was then about seventy-four years old and possibly advancing years had made him cantankerous and autocratic. On 27 November 1750, Mr Hayter reported to the Board that Mr Pattison, in order to supply part of the town of Woolwich with water, was digging a conduit in a field of his just below, and within a few yards of, the conduit which the Board had built at great expense to furnish the Warren with water. There was nothing underhand in this operation and Mr Pattison expressed the opinion quite openly that if he found water he might well jeopardize the Warren supply. This threat naturally caused a great deal of perturbation and the Board ordered all papers relating to the purchase of the Warren and the piece of ground containing the conduit in 'Cholick Lane' to be investigated at once.13 A further
report by Mr Hayter on 30 November 1750, informed the Board that Mr Pattison had refused to suspend his excavations, that he maintained that the ground was his and that he could, and would do what he liked with his own property. Mr Pattison also claimetl that the field where the Board's conduit lay belonged to him. He asserted that the Board had merely rented it and that the lease had expired. With the air of a grand seigneur he refused to defer to the wishes of the Board in any way and was prepared to face the
consequences of his action. On receipt of this communication the Board at once referred the whole matter to Mr Lough, their solicitor, for his consideration and opinion as to what steps could be taken to put a stop to Mr Pattison's proceedings.14
In the meantime, Mr Hayter had been making enquiries on his own about the conduits at the Warren from the oldest inhabitants at Woolwich. From them he learned that formerly the Warren, the conduit field and the Burrage estate all belonged to the same individual, and that the Board had exchanged the gunwharf, which lay higher up in the town, for the Warren, upon which stood a very old mansion housei5 on a spot now occupied by the storekeeper's residence. M r H ayter was told, too, that the mansion was supplied with water by leaden pipes from the conduit which had since become the property of the Office of Ordnance. Later on, as the number of buildings in the Warren increased, the old pipes had been replaced by others of a large diameter at the Board's expense. As
11 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 49. 12 General James Pattison belonged to this family. He was born at Burrage Court. 13 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 356. 14 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/36, p. 365. 15 Tower Place.
395
BIRTH AN D CHILDHOOD
the Ordnance wharf (i.e. gunwharf) had by this tim~ become part of Mr Maryon's estate, whose steward w~s Mr Furms, storekeeper of the Greenwich magazine, the latter was mstructed to ask Mr Maryon whether he could throw any further light on the matter. Meanwhil Mr Pattison, still undaunted, continued to pursue his damagine,
operations whereby the Board's water supply was ~educ_ed by half.i~
On 11 December 1750, Mr Lough submitted his opinion on th 'Pattison Conduit Case'. ~e said he understood that the . Boar~ possessed no title deeds relatmg to the Warren and the conduit field but there was in existence an old abstract made at least as early a~ 1725 in which 'a conveyance by way of feofment (and therefor
probably not enrolled for ifit is it might be come at) dated 25 Marc~ 1676 is recited whereby it appears that 1:"ower_ ~lace (now called Woolwich Warren) was conveyed by S1r Wilham Prichard ·
M . 1nf h.
consideration of £3,210 to the use o 1s aJesty, his heirs and successors for ever, and it is very probable that the conduit field wa included in that conveyance for that he is told that Mr Pattiso~ derives his title to this estate as well as the Crovvn doth for th
reasons above from Sir William Prichard'.17 Mr Lough went on t~ say that 'it appears from the conveyance of 25 March 1676, that as the Crown is possessed of the Warren absolutely for ever it is probable (as Sir William Prichard was possessed not only ~f the Warren and conduit field, but also of Mr Pattison's estate) that the conduit field also belongs ~bsolu~ely to the Crown without paying any reserved rent or other cons1deration, and not as Mr Pattison suggests'. After more legal arguments Mr Lough brought his submission to an end. H~ was instructed to refer the w~ol~ cas_e to. the AttorneyGeneral without delay and to carry out his directions 1mmediately.1s
On 29 January r75r an injunction from the Court of Exchequer was served on Mr Pattison to stop his attempts to draw off water from the conduit and_ the Warr~n. Th_e Board, in announcing this, told Mr Lough that if Mr Pattison still persisted with his scheme
further application to the Court with the privity of the Attorney~ General was to be made as thought desirable.19 As there are no furt~er references to this somewhat high-handed action of Mr
Patason, we may ass~me that_ at last he bowed to the majesty of the Law and ceased makmg a nmsance of himself.
Wbil~ the action against MrJames Pattison was proceeding, steps were bemg taken by the authorities to deal with a scandal of the first_ magnitude, the illicit selling of stores to Mr Samuel Remnant, the iron-founder, whereby the Crown was cheated of over £10,000.
It was fraud on the grand scale in which the elements of conspiracy :: OrdnanceJournal Book, PR_(?/W0/47/36, pp. 385, 386. Chapter 6 has made the posllwn quite dear. Jt 18 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47;36, p. 415. Ordnance Journal Book, PROJW0/47;37, p. 107.
396
THE WARREN 1750-1775
"vere not lacking. Nothing comparable had ever happened before in
tl-:ie history of the Warren, and the Office of Ordnance naturally
tC>ok a very serious view of this nefarious transaction.
Mr Remnant, a master smith, had his foundry at Woolwich between Bell Watergate and Surgeon Street. He had many contacts vv-ith the Board, and contributed much in the way of iron-work to th_e construction of the Warren. Although a private founder, who C(:::mtracted to supply the Crown and foreign princes with ordnance cl.:nd shot, he was more of an agent than a manufacturer and acted i~ the former capacity for some of the largest gun-founders in the Weald, notably John Fuller of Heathfield, Sussex, and John Legas
O:f Wadhurst.20 Many hundreds of guns passed through his hands on their way to proof at Woolwich. He was thus a man in a big way
O:f business.
The first indication that things were amiss was revealed by Mr L eslie in a letter to the Board dated 3 June 1749. Arising from this, ~harles Frederick, who was appointed Surveyor-General on 10 A.pril 1750, was instructed to investigate and report on the whole n:-iatter. His long and comprehensive report, dated 11 October 1750, is in the Public R ecord Office21 and it goes meticulously into all the ramifications of the plot. There were defalcations in regard to Mr ~ emnant's guns perpetrated by Mr Monger, and there were n:-ialpractices concerning 'round-shot, double-headed hammered shot, tampions, shells, hand shells, oblong carcases, swivells, standing carriages, ships' carriages, the repair of ships' carriages and ax-tree hoops'. The abstract of losses incurred by the Office of Ordnance as shown by this report for which all the Respective Officers were equally culpable was:
£. s. d.
(a)
On old guns delivered to Mr Remnant 375 13 2i-4
(b)
On the deficiency of weight and loss ofmetal on round shot 2,146 16 5¾
(
c) On round shot certified above their natures 25 3 6½
(d)
On double-headed hammered shot 232 19 2 (e) On tampions 1,708 3 0
(f)
On shells from 12¾ inches to s½ inches both inclusive 1,648 3 5¼
(g)
On hand shells 8 14 I l (h) On oblong carcases 20 16 8 (i} On swivels 573 12 s¾
(j)
On ironwork for binding standing carriages 156 II 9½
(k)
On ironwork for binding ships' carriages 2,766 17 0
(1)
On repairing ships' carriages 7°7 3 10} Total loss: £10,370 15 7¼
20 Woolwicl1 and District Antiquarian Society, vol. xxix, p. 34, F. C. Elliston-Erwood. 21 PRO/W0/55/1548 (14).
397
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
It the old story of the unjust steward. The storekeeper and the c~;~s of the cheque and the survey had all been previously . l · They appear to have been unt
reprimanded for ma practices. . rust~
t d had they been more severely pumshed when
worthy servan s, an . . they first shewed signs of deceit this nefarious transaction might
have been avoided. .
Charles Frederick suggests that certam questions be
In his report, . h . put to the Respective Officers at Woolwic ·
(I)
Why did not your storekeeper acquaint the Board with Mr Monger's fraud? d ·
(II)
Have not the Resp~ctive ?fficers a?ntedate all certifications on warrants to the great discredit of this Office• . .
(III) Do the weights in the Day Books agree with those certified on the warrants? .
(IV) Why did your Respective Officers certify and receive shot
whose weight exceeded their natures when they know they never weighed any? . .
(V)
Did not the Office pay for crutches, elevatmg pms, chains etc. both by weight and tale? . . ,
(VI)
Why did not the storekee~er charge hunself with the swivells' for half-pounder guns? And why d~d not the clerks of the survey and cheque see him duly charged therewith ?
(VII) Are their books in anywise as office bo?ks should be? Do not their entries disagree? Have they regularl_y transrrutted to the Board their accounts of receipts and issues and in due time obtained all their proper discharges agreeable to their instructions?
(VIII) Are there not at this time proportions wanting to di,;charge the storekeeper of issues for some years past, and even after his accounts of issues for those years concluded to be adjusted ?
(IX)
Has not your storekeeper charged frequently for travelling when he never did travel?
(X)
What is become of the 136 24 pdr tampions deficient in a warrant to Mr Remnant bearing date 16 December 1740 and certified 30 June 1742?
(XI)
What is become of the 4,697 5½ inch shells certified on a warrant dated 3 1 March 1745 ? Likewise the 1,321 g! inch shells certified 31 January 1745?
(XII) Why did your clerk ofthe survey and clerk ofthe cheque charge on the repairing ship carriages, old iron work repaired and new iron work added when they were both fictitious articles? And why did not your
storekeeper do his duty by examining these quarterly bills?
(XIII) Why has Mr Twynihoe had the sole management of the warrants, and why did the storekeeper and he certify several bills for extra service to Captain Ayres when Mr Leslie did refuse to certify the same
having strong suspicions that they were false?
The report is endorsed:
r5 March r75r. Ordered that a copy of the quenes be sent to the
398
THE WARREN 1750-1775
Respective Officers to answer them as soon as they can, and they have leave, if they desire it, to take a copy of the whole report upon their sending some one for that purpose to do it at the Office at the Tower, but not to take it out. This report to be minuted at length.
In the Journal Books under date 15 March 1751, appears this entry:
Read this day the Surveyor-General's report on how certain officers sold stores etc. to Mr Remnant-the iron-founder-so that a loss of £10,370. I 5s. 7¼d. was sustained by the Board. Thirteen questions put to Officers as to how to regain the whole or part of this sum. Mr Leslie commended for his diligence in assisting the discovery.22
On 26 June 1751, the Board finally considered the Woolwich report concerning this conspiracy.23 They agreed the following resolutions:
(i)
The Board being greatly defrauded by Mr Remnant, Mr Lough, solicitor, to take counsel's opinion as to how to proceed to obtain satisfaction.
(ii)
T he storekeeper to be told that he had incurred the highest displeasure, but in regard to his age and infirmities and hurry of business, and as no fraud has been fixed on him, the Board do not proceed to that severity his offences require.
(iii) Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey, to be reprimanded for his negligence in the execution of his duty and to be cautioned to be extremely careful in future.
(iv)
Mr Twynihoe, clerk of the cheque, having misled the o~he~ officers, has ? een the principal instigator of the frauds. He is to be d1srmssed the service.
(v)
The Surveyor-General to be thanked for his great services and pains he took in the enquiry.
The aftermath of this disgraceful episode was a changeover of
appointments. The only official among the Respective Officers who
weathered the storm was Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey, who
retained his appointment till February 1790.
The following appointments were duly made:24
Mr John Cockburn, to be storekeeper at Woolwich vice
Mr George Campbell, superannuated with effect from I July 1751.
Mr John Parr, to be clerk of the cheque at Woolwich vice
Mr John Twynihoe, dismissed the service, with effect from I July 1751.
Mr Francis Stephens, to be extra clerk at Woolwich vice
Mr John Parr, with effect from I July I 7 5 l •
Mr Edward Nickson, to be clerk to the Royal Laboratory vice
22 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/37, P· 265.
23 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/37, P· 62 1 •
24 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, p. 49, 12 July 1751•
399
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Mr Edward Wilkes appointed clerk of the survey at Chatham, With effect from I October I 751. Mr John Leslie to be supernumerary clerk in the Surveyor-Genera}' branch vice Mr Edward Nickson, with effect from I October I 75 I. s
The Board, in its gratitude, awarded_ Mr J:oh:1 Leslie an honorarium of twenty guineas for his part m brmging the 'Remnant frauds' to light.
The last act in this drama is recorded m the Journal Books as follows:25
8 March I 753. Received fro:11 SirJosep~ Ayl~sse a ~opy ofhis_ Majesty's writ of Privy Seal dated 6th mst. by which lus Majesty for hnnself, his heirs or successors, in consideration of the sum of£10,370. r5s. 7d. being paid by Stephen Remnant, Executor_and Sa~ah Redwoo_d, Executrix of the late Samuel Remnant, Master-smith to this Office, bemg so much b
him fraudulently received, doth effectually acquit, indemnify, exonera/ and discharge the estate and effects of the said Samuel R emnant and the persons, estates and effects ofhis said ~xecutor and Executrix, their heirs: executors and administrators of all claim and demands whatsoever, both
in Law and Equity.
Samuel Remnant died at Brentwood in Essex on I I April 1752 and was buried in Woolwich Churchyard.
There is little ofmoment to record during the n ext ten years, such events as occurred being the daily happenings in a small establishment devoted to manufacture, proof and storekeeping. There was no increase in factory capacity and the only new buildings erected
in the Warren were those connected with storage. The Bill Books change their character after the middle of the eighteenth century. No longer do they afford the meticulous detail whereby the historian can depict the development ofthe Warren, and without such information it is difficult to present a composite picture. Under the new system the amounts paid quarterly to the various master craftsmen for th~ work they did in the foundry, laboratory or in the Warren as a
whole, are merely stated without any attempt to specify its nature. From the sums involved it is evident that maintenance was a growing charge, although some new construction of a minor type must have
taken place. On I August 1751,John English, assistant to Mr Robert Hartwell and overseer of the carpenters and wheelers at Woolwich wrote to the Board as~ng that he and his family might have the use of
several rooms 1n the upper part of the turret. With what success we
are not told. 26 The next day the Respective Officers reported that the
turret clock needed repair.27 The repairs were duly carried out by
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/41, p. 230. 17 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, p. 102, 2 August r75r. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/38, p. r r4, 2 August r75r.
400
THE WARREN 1750-1775
John Barston at a cost of £2. gs. od., eight shillings of which went
to the rope-maker for a new piece of rope. In addition, Mr Barston
claimed 6s. for his travelling time to and from Woolwich. On 29
C)ctober r 7 5 I, the Respective Officers affirmed that the clock was in. working order.28 On 8 October 1751, it was ordered that the office boat at Woolwich should be reconditioned at a cost of £5, no repairs on her having been effected since she was built in 1746.29 The estimates for works and repairs at Woolwich and Greenwich for I 752, amounting to £2,288. 15s. 8d., were referred to the SurveyorG-eneral.30
Another burst at proof occurred in the late autumn of 1751. When 157 guns for the East India Company were being proved at Woolwich, two of them burst causing a large hole and breaking a rafter in N ew Square. In addition, the wall of the New Square and the tiling of the Land Storehouse were much damaged. Since these guns were being proved on behalf of a contractor, he was held to be responsible for the occurrence, so Mr Hayter was instructed to assess the damage and charge it to Mr Sone, the gun-founder concerned.3i
To indicate the scope of proof which was now taking place at Woolwich, two statements, one referring to merchants' iron ordnance and the other to brass guns, are appended. These give the figures from the spring of I 750 to the early summer of 1753.
Before the days of McAdam the roads in the Warren must have been little better than cart-tracks, and, carrying the heavy traffic they did, tended to become little better than quagmires in winter. The ordinary road in the eighteenth century was nothing to boast of, and the Warren thoroughfares conveying numerous guns in springless drugs and carts, must in rainy weather have defied description. No vvonder therefore that we read 'Owing to the road at the Vvarren Gate being so deep and dirty in winter so that men frequently fall in and spoil their clothes on going to the barracks, the Respective Officers were ordered to set up two lamps at the gate and keep them in order for the six winter months only.'32 In order to put this into effect, M r Hartwell was ordered to prepare the iron-work for the two lamps and to search for two unserviceable guns to act as lampposts.33 This initial effort in lighting did not apparently last very long for eighteen months later two new lamps of 12 inches diameter were affixed to the piers of the gate at the entrance to the Warren to replace the former pair which had in the meantime become unserviceable.34
28 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 287. :?o Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 218. :io Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 279, 29 October 1751. :ii Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 453, 13 December 1751. :i3 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 19, 7 January 1752. :i3 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 62, 17 January 1752. :H Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, p. 95, 14 August 1753·
401
'
:
'
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
STATEMENT i:35
z t w iron ordnance proved and received at Woolw. h
An account oiftrze z merc,zan ne J, zc
from I9 Marc/z I750 to 9 une I753
NatureWizen proved
32 pdrs 24 pdrs16 & 17 18 pdrsMarch 1750 g pdrs
6 pdrs
1
r8 pdrs 12 pdrs
21 & 22 g pdrs
May 1750 [ 6 pdrs
18 pdrs
12 pdrs
24July 1750
Number
5 27 38 7 7
38
To wlzom they belong
Mr John Fuller
Mr William Bowen William Bowen and Messrs Crowie Mr Sone y
Mr Sone
Messrs Andrews and Harrison
Messrs Crowley
7
I Messrs Crowley 6 Messrs Crowley
{Mr Sone, Mr John Fuller
28
Messrs Andrews and Harrison {Messrs Andrews and H arrison
26 Mr Sone, Mr John Fuller Messrs CrowleyMr Sone
3
Messrs Crowley
3 {MrJohn Fuller
29
Messrs Andrews and Harrison Mr John Fuller
9 18 Mr John Fuller
{Mr John Fuller
17
Messrs Andrews and Harrison {Mr John Fuller
27
Mr William Bowen 14 Mr John Fuller
{MrJohn Fuller
17
Messrs Andrews and Harrison{MrJohn Fuller
27
Mr William Bowen 14 Mr John Fuller
II Mr John Fuller Mr John Fuller
7 15 Mr John Fuller
32 Mr William Bowen and Mr Sone
6 Mr Sone
24 Mr William Bowen
15 June 1751 ½pdrs ro6 Mr John Fuller
u Ord.nanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/42, p. 27, 14July 1753. 402
THE WARREN 1750-1775 STATEMENT 1 (continued)
When proved Nature Number To whom they belong
17August 1750
14January to 23 February 1751
14January
to
23 February 1751
21 & 23 March 1751
g pdrs 6 pdrs
[ 18 pdrs
g pdrs 6 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs 6 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs 6 pdrs
{
4 pdrs 3 pdrs
½pdrs
{24 pdrs
2 & 4 May 1751 18 pdrs 12 pdrs
5 & 8 August 1751
I I & 12 October 1751
I 7 January 1752
20 & 23 May 1752
6 & 7 August r 752
10 & I I August 1752
28 & 30 M ay 1753
6 & 8 June 1753
rpdrs
24 pdrs
18 pdrs
{ 32 pdrn
24 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs
12 pdrs
{ 24 pdrs 18 pdrs 12 pdrs
{ 18 pdrs
12 pdrs
r
18 pdrs 12 pdrs 9 pdrs
{32
12 pdrs 12 pdrs 6 pdrs
{ 24 pdrs
18 pdrs 12 pdrs 9 pdrs
Mr John Fuller
9 {Mr Sone l I Mr William Bowen 42 Mr John Fuller
Mr John Fuller
9
Mr William Bowen
9 32
Mr John Fuller 26 Mr Sone
6 Mr William Bowen
{Mr William Bowen
27
Mr Sone 21 Mr William Bowen 19
Mr Sone
{Mr William Bowen 34
Mr John Fuller {Mr Sone
19
Mr William Bowen
Mr John Fuller Mr John Fuller
29
3
Mr Sone
7
10 Mr John Fuller
18 Mr John Fuller Mr Sone
14 12 Mr William Bowen
2 Mr John Fuller
6 Mr William Bowen Mr Sone
5 2 Mr Sone
Mr Sone
29 Total: 895 guns
Upon being superannuated, Mr George Campbell, the late storekeeper, was given an allowance of £100 for life paid quarterly. At first sight this seems to have been a generous action.on the pa~t of the Board towards an old public servant who, unhke Caesars wife had not been above suspicion. Magnanimity, however, fades into' the background when it is realized that this 'pension' was granted mainly at the expense of Mr John Cockburn, the new
36
storekeeper, whose salary was cut to £15 per quarter. The latter
36
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/39, P· 83, 23January 1752· 4o3
II37
STATEMENT
Tile statement of brass ordnance, mortars etc. proved al Woolwich between r7 March r750 and 23 July r753
111/un proved Nature Number To whom they belong
Received 24 Much { 24 pd,s I I 1750 but does not 3 pdrs 6 state when they 1½pdrs 3
were proved 2
17 March r750 6 pdrs 8 inch mortars 5 10 & r r May I 750 {5½ inch mortars JO
Mr Andrew Schaich,
4} inch mortars 7
i.e. the pieces were 4
made in the 'Royal12 pdrs
rpd,s 7
Brass Foundery'
ro & 11 May 1750 6 pdrs 6 3 pdrs 6 r½ pdrs 2
23 February 1751 41 inch mortars 2
11 May 1751 8 inch howitzers 4 12 October 1751 3 pdrs 2 23 May 1752 8 inch howitzers 2
14 April 1753 6 pdrs 4 Mr v\ illiam Bowen
8 & 13June 1753 ½pdrs 14 Mr Richard Gilpin
Total: 97 pieces
did not recover his full rate of pay till r July 1756 , hen it was arranged that Mr Campbell should in future be paid by bill and debenture.38
Theft now again reared its ugly head in the Warren which was still accessible to the public who during the hours of darkness could avoid the watch, pilfer and escape. This time it was 'deals' which were disappearing, and Mr Hayter was ordered to survey and report on the best method ofenclosing the Warren. A reward of£5 was offered to anyone who could discover the thief or his accomplices upon conviction of the person who stole the timber.39 Mr Hayter put forward four methods of safe-guarding the Warren, and these were passed to the Surveyor-General on 18 February 1752.40 As a result, Joseph Pratt repaired and raised the Warren Wall between r January 1752 and 30June 1752 on a warrant dated 5 June 1752.41
37 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, p. 88, 14 August 1753. 18 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/48, p. 218, g September 1756. 11 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 108, 4 February 1752. co Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 138, 18 February 1752. '1 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, p. 140, 30June 1752.
4°4
THE WARREN 1750-1775
The storekeeper's house now required painting and this was carried out at a cost of £47. 18s. 2d.42
The Board at this time appeared to become very 'mark' conscious, a precaution no doubt necessitated by the occurrence of petty thefts. The Proofmaster General of England was instructed to inscribe the symbol ::tvI on all guns proved or refused,43 and Mr Robert Hartwell was ordered to see that a Broad Arrow was struck immediately on every tool belonging to the Board in the temporary possession of Mr Whittaker, modeller to the Royal Academy at Woolwich.44
On 11 August 1752, the Board ordered the construction of a floor in the Laboratory store-room No. 14 to hold empty chests, grape-shot etc. at a cost of £32. gs. 4d. They also arranged for bins to hold iron tampions and pins to be fitted in the same room for £7. 9s. 5d.46 On 7 September 1753> Mr Hayter was told to ascertain the best site and draw up a plan and estimate for a small powder magazine to hold fifty or sixty barrels of powder. He was to insert the same in his estimate for the following year.46 In 1754, £120 was allowed for the service and the powder magazine was ordered to be built.46 John Shakespear dug the foundations on a warrant dated 28 May 1754.47 Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill did the brickwork on the same warrant48 and]arnes Morris fitted out the magazine on a later warrant dated 24 June 1755.49 On 15 May 1754, the office boat was ordered to be repainted,60 while a month later a shed in the shot-yard was converted into a wash-house and brewhouse at a cost of£23. 12s. od.51
A considerable amount of entertaining took place at the Board Room in Woolwich. Meals were constantly being served there to officials and other visitors whose duties necessitated journeys to the Warren. The Board did not experience the tribula6on of breakages since china was not used for the table, nevertheless the eighteenth century counterpart of the modern kitchen-man could, with comparative ease, dent and batter the pewter dinner service. On 25 June 1754, therefore, the Board came to the conclusion that their equipment required replenishing, so the storekeeper was ordered to purchase twelve napkins, eighteen knives and forks of the design in current use, and two floor mats, one 4 by 6 yards and the other 4 by 3 yards. In
42 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, p. 209, 10 March 1752. 43 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/40, p. 113, II August 1752. 44 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/40, p. 141, 3 October 1752. 45 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/42, p. 145, 7 September 1753. 46 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/43, p. 279, 15 May 1754· 47 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 130, 31 December 1754. 48 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 92, 30June 1754· 411 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 156, 30June 1755. 60 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/43, p. 287. 61 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/43, p. 372, 25June 1754.
4o5
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
addition Mr Hayter was instructed to have a Jack case and Plate ' d Mrjames Walker, the master plumber, was told t
rack made, an b d o
.d ter d1·shes plates, ladles, oats an spoons. AU th
prov1 e pew , • h l B d' A e
. l to be engraved wit t 1e oar s rms exc
pewter art1c es were . B d ept
h. h e to be marked with the roa Arrow.s2
the spoons w 1c wer 11
On 13 November 1754, Mr R~bert Hartwe ~eported to the Board that the conditions under which the carpente1s and wheelers who repaired carriages at Woolwich, ,~orked were very ~ad: Thei;
• d out 1·n two of the carnage storehouses :& . onting the
work was carne river, and in winter the doors had_ to be left open to _obtain sufficient light to perform their duties. Tlus made the prerms~s so cold that they were unable to do their job. He suggested t~1at if a shed Were erected on the north side ofthe call-yard on :ach side of the armoury door working conditions would be much improved, and the men would be nearer the smiths. This would free much more room for storing carriages and wou~d allow the Warren to present a mo~e tidy appearance; also the carnages woul_d not ha:7e to be stacked m the open. He pointed out that, should his suggest10n be approved, there would be room to build an enclos_ed shed to house the carriages awaiting repair and to store the old iron work ~aken from broken-up carriages until it could be handed over to the st~rekeep r. Mr Hartwell also reported that the storekeeper would like one of the small offices, formerly used, in lieu of the room he now had in the turret, as the office he desired was in the call-yard near the place where the proposed shed should stand. These proposals were referred to the Surveyor-General.53 On 19 August 1755, Mr Robert Hartwell was instructed to prepare a plan and estimate of·his proposals and lay them before the Surveyor-General. It was agreed that he should have one of the old unoccupied offices and hand over the key of the room in the turret.54 The estimate of£125. ,µ. od. for building two sheds for the carpenters and wheelers was approved, and the work was ordered to be carried out.55 It was effected by Mr James Morris between r October and 31 December r 755 on a warrant dated 24 June 1755.56 On 9 March 1756, Mr Hayter's estimate for a shed to house the contractor's additional horses was approved and the work was ?rdered to be put in hand.57 On rg March 1756, M r Hayter was Instruc~ed to esti1:1ate the cost of a windlass for stretching rope before It was cut Into breechings.58 He submitted his estimate on
:: OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47;43, p. 372. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/44, p. 271.
6 : OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/46, p. 175.
6 66 OrdnanceJC?umal Book, PRO/W0/47/46, p. 277, 24 September 1755. Ordnance Bill Book, PRO/W0/51/187, p. 179, 31 December 1755.
67 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/47, p. 246.
68 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47;47, p. 292.
406
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 March 1756 amounting to £13. gs. 4d. and the necessary appliance was constructed.59
The turret clock was evidently unsatisfactory as a time-keeper. It was probably old and partially worn out. Mr Elliott was ordered to repair it again at the end of I 754 but it still failed to give the service required.6°Finally, on 20July 1757, the Respective Officers, in view of its shortcomings, asked for a sun-dial to be erected near the parade so that by its means the turret clock could be regulated. 61 The clock with the turret in which it was placed, has long since passed away, but the dial is still proudly displayed over the entrance of the Artificers' Court which, as a result, became known as Dial Square. Its primary purpose has disappeared and no one in these days accords the dial that attention which it once deserved. Nevertheless, it is a graceful reminder of a less strenuous age and long may it continue to add a touch of old-world elegance to the doorway over which it presides.
On 23 August 1756, Mr Hayter's estimate of £502. Is. 7d. for building a storehouse and offices in the Upper Laboratory yard was accepted, but the work was ordered to be postponed till the following year.62 It was then duly carried out on a warrant dated I June 1756 during 1757 when James Morris received £256. os. 1¾d. in part payment for his share of the work.63
The outbreak of war with France on 28June 1756 quickened the manufacturing tempo in the Warren. On 19 November 1756, the Comptroller, Royal Laboratory, having signified that there were only enough fire-ship stores to equip five fire-ships, he was ordered to produce sufficient for three additional fire-ships as soon as possible, and to arrange that in future twelve portfires were to be added to the proportion of stores for each fire-ship.64 The same stimulus doubtless was responsible for the order to Mr Hayter to repair the wharf roads and other parts of the Warren as expeditiously and effectively as possible.65 Supplies in this time of stress could not be wasted so, as the wood from old carriages was utilized in the making of grape-shot bottoms and other purposes, the storekeeper was to be allowed seven guineas a year, and the clerks ofthe cheque and survey each five guineas annually, in lieu for firing. 66
Mr Cockburn the storekeeper was a careful man. He refrained
' '
from buying the dozen napkins which he had been instructed to do on 25 June 1754 because he found that such articles could be
69 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/47, P· 336. 60 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/44, p. 331, 6 December 1754· 61 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/50. 62 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, p. 170. 63 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/187, P· 234, 31 December 1757. 64 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/48, p. 496. 65 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[W0/47/48, p. 252, 23 September 1756. 66 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/48, p. 218, 9 September 1756.
4o7
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
"udiciousl made by cutting up table-cloth~ which had ceased to J h Y e for which they were designed. On 2 7 Janua serve ~ e_~urposd the Board that the linen for the Board Room ,,/Y I 7 5 7' e Ih orme 1 ge and two small table-cloths were torn by thas
so worn .t at one ar h d d fifi e
. d h hung up to dry. He therefore a ma e teen napkin
w1n w en h. · 67 s
out of them. He was commende~ for is action. . the Respective Officers, havmg stated that th
0 n 14 JuIy I 757' . W L d h e
k I d" to the waterside in arren ane an t e orchardb
r. ac -gate ~a mgtate of decay Mr Hayter, who by the way Was th
1ence were 1n a s , . h e
D. f W ks 11r.0 r Woolwich and Greenw1c , was ordered t
irector o or o t 6B He estimated that the fence could be repaired
survey and repor . Id £
r: d that the new gates necessary wou cost 2 1. 3s. 6d
1or 15s., an . d 69 •
The work was ordered to be put m han at once. William Hallick's seven-year contract for supplying
B M
Y 1757, r S b
h t the Warren had expired, so on g eptem er of that year
orses o • · h · h '
he proposed new terms for its contmua~on w ~c. webre_accepted. A new contract was therefore drawn up, its prov1s1ons emg:
4 horses at Is. 6d. each p.d.
I driver at IS. 6d. p.d.
Extra horses at 2s. p.d. each
Drivers for ditto Is. 6d. p.d. each70
During the winter of 1757/1758, a ship dri~ng against t~e hand crane before the Sea storehouse damaged It to a considerable extent. As a result, the Respective Officers at Woolwich requested, on 3 February 1758, that two gib cranes with shifting bars might be
erected one before the Sea storehouse and the other at the end of the wh~rfnear the landing place. The indefatigable Nir I-Iayter was instructed to estimate the expense and proceed with the new project without delay.71 The work was carried out by James Morris between 1 July and 30 September 1758 on a warrant d ated g June 1758.72
On 17 March 1758, Mr Hayter estimated that the cost of erecting four sheds, one for the smiths, one for the carpen ters, one for the wheelwrights and the other for seasoning timber, in the square between the Land storehouse and the Ship C arriage storehouse would be £396. os. 6d. This was approved but it was ordered that the account should be kept separate.73 James Morris built the four sheds between 1 April and 30 June 1758 on a warrant dated g June
1758.74
67 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/49, p. 103.
68 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 30.
611
70 OrdnanceJournaI Book, PRO/WO/47/50, p. 50, 20July 1757.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/50, p. 182. 71 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. 106. 78 72 Ordnance BiII Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/208, p. 43, 30 September 1758. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. 275.
74 Ordnance BiII Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/210, p. 59, 30June 1758.
408
THE W A RREN 1750-1775
At last the need for more room in the Warren became pressing. Its activities had undergone an expansion since its purchase from Sir William Prichard, yet its acreage had remained constant. Less cramped conditions for further growth were essential. .
The Board therefore entered into negotiations with Mr Maryon ofCharlton for the lease ofmore land, and on 3 April 1758, he agreed to lease the Board 11 acres adjoining the Warren at £3 per acre clear of all deductions, and to grant a lease for 21 years in the nature of a college lease to be renewed every 7 years upon giving 6 months notice in writing and paying one and a quarter year's rent for a fine. Should, however, the lease be not renewed at the end of 7 years, the fine was to be increased according to Sir Isaac Newton's tables and the ground left level with all erections and fixtures to the freehold. It was also agreed that the land might be enclosed, that guns or durables stones might be marked and set up in proper places to distinguish the different bounds, and that, as the farm houses adjoining must suffer greatly from guns being fired so close to them, the damage from time to time after due notice should be repaired by the Board forthwith. In addition, any damage done to cattle, hay, corn or other stock of the tenants by firing should be made good to them. Finally, if the rent were not paid and the covenants performed, the lease should be forfeited and Mr Maryon's agent might draw the leases and be paid for them by the Board.
The Board agreed to these terms and ordered the leases to be drawn up . 75
Within two years further land from Mr Maryon was required by the Board, and on 7 March 1760 Mr Hayter was instructed to forward the Dlan to the Board of these additional lands.76 The plan, amounting t~ rg acres, r rod, 22 perches, was received on r3 March 1 760 and despatched to the Reverend Mr Maryon.n On 7 April 1760, the Reverend John Maryon stated that the plot of land required by the Board was inconvenient and he expressed a hope that the Board would select a more convenient site, but the Board in reply stated that no other ground was so suitable for artillery purposes and trusted that Mr Maryon would treat with th:m ~n~ so 0 bviate a r ecourse to Parliament. The Board expressed their w1llmgness to make good any damage that might occur by their action on any of Mr Maryon's adjoining property.78 •
On 25 April 1760, Mr Maryon answered, and said _that, as ~he land selected by the Board was taken from the rest without bemg fenced in, he would prefer the Board to take a renewable lease or to
75 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/51, p. 355, 8 April 1758. 70 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /55, p. 208. 77 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/55, P· 235· 78 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P· 303.
28
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
f. and compensate his tenant for the rem .
1
purchase t~~ :"'fo e ~{~e stated that his farm at Plumstead Waa;n-~ mg term o is e~t· for £128 p.a. for which he expected 40 y: et to Ttomas ~~~e !rees paid for according to their value. Thor:;rs pure ase an . "fi d that he would expect £250 in considerat· as
Humbly also s1gru e d , • ion
ofthe im rovements he had effected an. a years ':arrung. He Would P h r. the Board to abide by their former intent· ,
however muc pre1er uld . ion
' . nly 20 acres so that he co remain Mr Marya ,
0 f purehasmg o M H t th n s
tenant for the rest of the land.so r _ay _er wash en ordered to Of the 20 acres and indicate t ereon where h
execute the map e Proposed to erect the fire-barn. .
f the Warren was therefore increased from 31 to 6
The acreage o . . ~
Mr Hayter's estimate of £328. 5s. rod. for raising another floor in the S.E. storehouse ofthe Laboratory was approve~ on 1 1 August 8 and the necessary work was ordered to be earned out.si The
175
alteration was effected by Joseph Pr~tt and Thomas Churchill, master bricklayers, and James Morns, master carpenter, on a warrant dated 9 June 1758, and took place between I October and 31 December 1758. James Morris. was p~i? £250. 3s. _8½d. for his share,s2 Morris, Pratt, and Churchill re~e1v1ng the remamder.S3It is
not possible to state whether the est1m~te was exce:~ed as the bricklayers' bill of £195. 1s. 8¼d. contamed the add1t10nal item 'and sundry repairs'.
Although the proof-butt had been refaced from time to time, the limit of its repairable capacity was now reached. M~· Hayter, on 16 January 1759, reported that 'the proof-butt at ooh ich is in a dangerous condition', and asserted that a new one m :.1st be built at the estimated cost of£375. os. od. The Board bowed to inevitability
and ordered that a new butt be constructed 'wi th as much frugality and expedition as possible' and that Mr H ayter do it in 'such a manner that roo guns may be proved at a time during the execution thereof'.84 The new butt was erected between I J anuary and 31
March 1759 by John Shakespear who was paid £339. I 7s. 3¾d. for the task.85 Mr Hayter's estimate was therefore a little on the high side.
Mr James Pattison, although a considerable land-owner at Plumstead, was not above earning an honest penny by acting as a 'dustman'. On 21 December 1759, he agreed to carry aw ay all dust
and rubbish from the barracks in the Warren once a week or oftener
;: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/56, p. 337.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/55, p. 406, 16 May 1760. 81 OrdnanceJ<;>urnal Book, PRO/WO/47/52, p. 151. 81 Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/51/199, p. 274, 31 December 1758. 88 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/200, p. 318, 31 December 1758. 84 OrdnanceJ'?urnaI Book,_PRO/WO/47/53, p 70.
85 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/211, p. 64, 31 March 1759.
410
THE WARREN 1750-1775
on his being allowed a sum of£18. 5s. od. for a term ofseven years, and guaranteed to clear away the existing accumulation immediately. The Board agreed to a three-year contract, rubbish to be cleared twice a week.86
A serious fire broke out in the Warren on 26 January 1760. It was the first ofany consequence and caught the fire-fighting services quite unprepared. It started in the fire-barn ofthe Royal Laboratory adjoining the junk house and stables, wherein were stored carcases, junk breechings, tackles, axle-trees, grape shot boxes and empty Dutch powder-barrels. All these stores with the stables were burnt. The m aster builder with men of the Royal Navy from Woolwich Dockyard assisted to extinguish the conflagration. As a result, a new junk shed was required; junk was to be sent down to the Warren as quickly as possible; junk deliveries from Messrs Eade and Bolton were to be expedited, and Mr Pownell and the gentlemen of 'Woolwich Dock' were to be thanked for their great services.87 An enquiry was ordered and Mr Adam Nuttall reported that at Woolwich there were one large engine requiring repair, a middling engine and four small engines with leather hose decayed so as to be quite useless, and two large and one middling engine with serviceable hose on order. The Board asked Mr Nuttall for his proposals in regard to keeping these three engines and the three already ordered for the Royal Laboratory in good repair. He was instructed to repair the unserviceable hose.ss ·
Let us now glance at the changes of staff which had taken place during the previous nine years. In I 752 the Woolwich establishment was as follows:
Storekeeper John Cockburn Clerk of the Survey Neil Campbell Clerk of the Cheque John Parr Clerk of the Foundry James Delestang Master Founder Andrew Schalch
Abel Cassell -rWilliam Folkes
Clerks extraordinary
lEdmond Hayter89
Francis Stephens Superintendent ofFoundries Sir Cecil Bishopp Comptroller of the Laboratory -Charles Frederick Clerk to the Laboratory Edward Nickson Chief Firemaster Captain Thomas Desaguliers ChiefFiremaster's Mate Captain Lieutenant Charles Farrington
86 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/54, p. 519. 87 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, p. 89, 29January 1760. 88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, p. 105, 5 February 1760. 89 Edmond Hayter, the clerk, must not be confused with Mr Hayter, the Director of
Works for Greenwich and Woolwich.
411
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Laboratory Staff
John Jones
Turner W"illiam Pilcher
Joiner Richard Berry
2nd Joiner John Cook
Car!'enter Robert McGill
Smith Labourers _ Robert Poulton and Mathew Youn . ger9o
This was altered by the following appomtments: d N' ks clerk to the Laboratory, to be additional clerk t h
Ed
war Gl ic oln,Hugh Brown to be clerk to the Laboratory o t e
Surveyor-enera . b vice
91
d N. ks Changes to date from r 0 cto er I 752.
Edwar l 1c on. I · h ·
Jacob Perry appointed armourer at Woo w1c vice Solomon Spittle deceased.92 J . . William Folkes to be storekeeper at ama1~a vice Joshua Goodall deceased. Edmond Hayter to be clerk extraordmary at Woolwich vice William Folkes. Alexander Arbuthnot to be supernumcra1:Y clerk at Woolwich vice Edmond Hayter. Changes to da~e from r Apnl 1755_93 Alexander Arbuthnot to be clerk extraordmary at Woolwich vice Francis Stephens promoted. Thomas Bates to be supernumerary clerk
Woolwich vice Alexander Arbuthnot. Henry Champion to take the pla;t ofThomas Bates who is to deputize for Edmond Hayter. Changes to dat: from I July 1755.94
John Parr, clerk ofthe che~ue at Woolwich, to be storekeeper at Upnor vice Mr Turner. Robert Atkmson, extra clerk at Plymouth, to be clerk of the cheque, Woolwich, vice John Parr. Richard Burgess to be extra clerk at Plymouth vice Robert Atkinson. Changes to date from r October I 755.95
John Dixon, extra clerk at Portsmouth, to be clerk of the cheque Woolwich, vice Robert Atkinson.96 Alexander Arbuthnot, clerk extra~ ordinary at Woolwich, to be extra clerk at Portsmouth ice John Dixon.
Benjamin Allen to be clerk extraordinary at Woolwich vice Alexander Arbuthnot. Changes to date from I October 1755.97 Thomas Jones appointed carpenter at the Laboratory on 16 March 1756 at 2s. 6d. a day.98
Thomas Bates to be clerk extraordinary at Woolwich vice Benjamin Allen ~ppointed supernumerary clerk to the Surveyor-General. Henry Champion to be supernumerary clerk at Woolwich vice Thomas Bates. William Sumpter to deputize for Edmond Hayter vice Henry Champion.99
William Sansom, extra clerk at Chatham to be clerk of the cheque Woolwich, with effect from 1 July 1757.100 ' ' :: Ordnance Establishment Book, PROfWO/54/21 r. 92 OrdnanceJourna1 Book, PRO/WO/47;40, p. 122, 15 August 1752. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/41, p. 41, 9 January 1753.
88
"OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/45, p. 507, 27 May 1755. Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/46, p. Bo, 22 July 1755.
95
96 frdnance.J:ournal _Book, PROfWO/47/46, p. 367, 29 October 1755. 97 O0Jert A~mson did not assume his appointment as clerk ofthe cheque Woolwich. u O;cfu:::~=J~::i,i;::] :~~t• i:O/W0/47/46, p. 490, 2 December 1755. ' u OrdnanceJournaI Book' PRg/W0/47/47, p. 305, rr Ma~ch r756.
ioo Ordnance EstabI' hm 'B k/WP0/47/47, p. 402, r3 Apnl r756.
15
ent oo , RO/WO/54/212.
412
THE WARREN 1750-1775
William Sumpter to be clerk extraordinary at Woolwich vice Abel Cassell who is a bad time keeper. Mr Holmes to be supernumerary clerk at Woolwich vice Henry Champion who is old and of no further value. James Wright to deputize for Edmond Hayter vice William Sumpter. Changes to date from r July 1758.101
Henry Forman appointed a clerk in the Laboratory vice Edward Rollinson who declined the post. Henry Forman to be supernumerary clerk and ordered to commence work on r 4 July r 7 58.102
The three extraordinary clerks at Woolwich in 1760 were, therefore, Edmond Hayter, Thomas Bates, and William Sumpter. Of these Edmond Hayter went to India and Thomas Bates became storekeeper at Guernsey; they were replaced in the following year by Mark Warcup and James Wright.103
Among some of the more specific items of building work activity which took place during the decade 1750-1760 may be instanced the following:
30 June r75r. J ames Morris received the sum of £ro3. 3s. 1¼d. for fitting up the Academy for a chapel, making targets and sundry repairs between I J anuary and 30 June 1751. Warrant dated r4 May r751.104
30 J une r752. J oseph Pratt was paid £203. 15s. 2¾d. for (a) Repairing Colonel Belford's house, (b) Repairing the storekeeper's house, (c) Finishing the cadet barracks, ( d) Sundry repairs to storehouses, and
(e) Repairing and raising the Warren wall between r January and 30June 1752. Warrant dated 5June r752.105
30 J une r753. James Morris received £107. 17s. 1£d. for building two new fire-barns and carrying out sundry repairs between I January and 30 June 1753. "\A/arrant dated 20 February 1753.106 .
30 J une r753. James Morris was paid £603. 6s. o!d, for finishing the officers' houses and the housekeeper's apartment at the cadet barracks, for building an office for Colonel Michelson and for sundry repairs between I January and 30 June 1753. Warrant dated 20 February 1753.10~
30 J une r753. John Shakespear received £37. gs. 4½d. for cleaning and repairing the landing stage, and digging the foundations for the two new fire-barns between 1January and 30 June I 753.108 .
30 September r753. James Morris was paid £154. 2s. 8¼d. for repairs to barracks and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1753· Warrant dated 20 February 1753.109 • •
30 September r753. John Shakespear received £33..12s. od. for d1gg.ing wells for bog-houses in the cadet barracks, for cleaning barrack drams,
101 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/51, p. 620, 13 June 1758.
102 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/52, p. 54, 14July 1758.
103 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WO/54/212.
104 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, P· 74·
105 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, P· 140.
106 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 12.
107 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO/51/187, P· 10.
108 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 6.
109 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO/51/187, P· 40.
413
and clearing mud from the landing stage between I July and 30 September I 753. vVarrant dated 20 February I 753.110
31 December 1753. John Shakespear was paid £36. os. 1½d. for digging wells to supply the cadet barracks with water, and carting away rubbish between I October and 31 December 1753. Warrant dated 20 February I 753.lll
30June 1754. James Morris received £130. 9s. 5Jd. for repairing storehouses between I January and 30 June 1754. Warrant dated 29 May I 754·112
31 December 1754. James Morris was paid £268. 16s. 4d. for repairing storehouses and cranes between I July and 31 December 1754. Warrant dated 29 May 1754.113
31 D ecember 1754. John Shakespear received £124. 16s. 3¾d. for:
(a)
Repairing foundations for a new magazine
(b)
Repairing the wharfing and clearing ooze from the landing place
(c)
Digging a well in the Laboratory Yard
(d)
Clearing away rubbish
(e)
Assisting the carpenters to mend the powder bridge at the Greenwich magazine between I June and 31 December 1754. Warrant dated 29 May 1754.114
30 June 1755. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £1 2 7. 7s. 4¼d. for repairs to Laboratory storehouses and other places between 1January and 30June 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.m
30 June 1755. James Morris received £156. 11s. 6fd. fo r repairing storehouses and fitting up the new powder magazine between I April and 30June 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.116
30 June 1755. John Shakespear was paid £74. 12s. od. for clearing drains, ditches, and rubbish between 1January and 30June 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.117
30 September 1755. James Morris received £257. 4S· g~d. for repairing storehouses between I April and 30 June 1755. Warrant dated 24 June
I 755.118
31 December 1755. James Morris was paid £171. 19s. 3:id. for building shops for making carriages and for repairing storehouses between 1 October and 31 December 1755. Warrant dated 24June 1755.119
31 December 1755. John Shakespear received £1 14. r3s. 3¾d. for digging a well in the Laboratory Yard, cleaning the moats and the landing place, and clearing away rubbish, between 1July and 31 December 1755. Warrant dated 24 June 1755.120
110 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/187, p. 29. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 65. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 91. 111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 126. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 130. 115 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 152. 111 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 150. 117 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 149. 118 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 164. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 179. 110 Ordnance BilI Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, p. 183.
414
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 June 1756. John Shakespear was paid £146. 3s. 10½d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt between I January and 30 June 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.121
31 December 1756. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £653. os. r}d. towards building a new infirmary between I July and 3 r December 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.122
31 D ecember 1756. James Morris was paid £357. 9s. 2¾d. towards building a new infirmary between I July and 31 December 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.123
31 D ecember 1756. John Shakespear received £200. 9s. r½d. for digging foundations, emptying bog-houses and carting away rubbish between l July and 31 December 1756. Warrant dated I June 1756.124
30 September 1757. John Shakespear was paid £153. 16s. od. for mending roads, cleaning ditches and clearing away rubbish between I July and 30 September 1757. Warrant dated 13 May 1757.125
31 D ecember 1757. James Morris was paid £256. os. r¾d. towards building a new storehouse and offices for the Laboratory and for sundry repairs between I July 1756 and 3r December 175 7. Warrant dated I June 1756.126
31 D ecember 1757. James Morris received £615. 6s. 2½d. for fencing the gardens of Colonels Michelson and Williamson, finishing the new infirmary and repairing the barracks and guardhouse between I July and 31 D ecember 1757. Warrant dated 13 May 1757.127 ••
31 D ecember 1757. James Morris received £208. 10s. 2½d. for repamng offices, s orehouses, cranes, the wharf and sluices. Also for making a new gate to v\Tarren Lane and two new travelling offices between I July and 3 I D ecember 1757. Warrant dated 13 May 1757.128 •
31 December 1757. John Shakespear was paid £160. rs. 8¼d. for clearmg out the, oat between 1 October and 31 December 1757. Warrant dated 13 M ay 1757.129
31 March 1758. James Morris received £413. l4J. 2¾d. for:
(a)
Building new rooms for Colonel Desaguliers
(b)
Partially erecting two wings at the cadet barracks_
(
c) Fitting up three rooms over the guard for the adjutant and orderly sergeant
between 1 January and 31 March 1758.130 • • 31 March 1758. James Morris received £188. 10s. 6d. for fi1:1shmg two offices and a storehouse in the Laboratory and for sundry repairs between I January and 31 March 1758.131
121 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 204. 122 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/187, P· 217. 123 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 233. 124 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 220. 125 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/197, P· 221 · 126 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/187, P· 234· 127 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO {WO /51 /202, P· 258. 128 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/209, P· 24· 129 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /209, P· 24· 130 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, P· 44· 131 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, P· 46.
415
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
30 June 1759_132 Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid£
2
.µ. 1o¾d. for building a new coal-yard between I January 1758 and 30Jt;~ 1758 133 30"June 1758. John Shakespear received £186. 2s. 1_½d. for diggin foundations for the new shops in t~1e ~oal-yard and l~vellmg the grounl for repairing the proof-butts; for digging th<: ~oundation for a new era ' for gravelling the road; for digging and P1!mg the foundations for ~ ; new coal-yard; and for clearing away rubbish between I April and 3~ June 1758.134 June 17·1:8. James Morris was paid £152. 13s. rn! d. for erecti
30
J • • h" h ng a
new gib crane, for making sheds m w ic to engrave. guns, and for repairing storehouses, offices, cranes etc. between I Apnl and 30 June 1758. Warrant gJune 1758.135
30 June 1758. James Morrisdrebc~ivd~d £463: gs. 2½dd. for building four
new workshops for making an m mg carnages, an a1so for makin conveniences for the housekeeper to the cadet barracks between I Aprn and 30June 1758. Warrant dated 19June 1758.136
30 September 1758. James Morris was paid £168. r5s. 2¾d. tov,,a d building a new coal-yard and shed, and for repairing storehouses a:~ cranes between I July and 30 September 1758. \!\Tarrant dated g June 1758.137
30 September 17-?8. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £178_ 7s. of d. for erecting a shed over the new coal-yard and for raising th storehouse in the Laboratory between I July and 30 S ptcmber
1758e
Warrant dated g June 1758.138 ·
30 September 1758. James Morris was paid £88. 16s. 6d. for making staircase and garrets in the apartments of the housekeeper to the cadet: between 1July and 30 September r 758.139
31 December 1758. James Morris received £ 192. 4>. 3d. for finishing the additional wings to the cadet barracks between I October and I December 1758. Warrant dated gJune 1758.140 3
31 December 1758. Jo_hn Shakespear was paid £78. gs. 6);d. for digging a large cess-pool, cartmg away rubbish and repairing the face of the proof-butt between I October and 31 December 1758. Warrant dated
gJune 1758.141
31 March 1759. James Morris received £62. r rs. 2½d. for repairing the barracks, infirmary, guardrooms, and officers' houses between 1 January and 31 March 1759.142
m The entry in th B"ll1 B00k · ' J
e is 3° une 1757'. This is obviously an error for '30June
1758,_ m Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ / . .
'30June 1757, Th" · ' fc ', 51 200, p. 185. The last date 1s given as
• 1s 1s an error or 30 June 1758, ::: gr~nance B~ll Book, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/51i209, p. 46_ m o:d~::;~; :::: :oa:, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51/210, p. 57. m Ordnance Bill B~~k' i:;::: n,:RROO//WW00//51//2089, p. 59, See note 74.
138 0 d 51 20
r nance B"llI Book, ' Series· II ' PROfWO/511210• P· 43·
6
:8:::::::m :~~t: ~:;:: :{ :fg/W0/51/210; ~: 8;:
m Ordnance Bill Book Series n' PRO//WW00//51//199, p. 2765.
10 0 dnan B"II ' . ' 51 209 p. 17 .
r cc i Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/208,' p. 65.
416
THE WARREN 1750-1775
3r March r759. James Morris was paid £158. 7s. 8½d. for making shot spouts, for taking up and remaking a bomb room, for making targets for experiments and for sundry repairs to the cranes between 1January and
3 :r March 1759.143
3r March r759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £55. l os. 11¾d, for relaying the tiling on the foundry and other repairs between :r January and 31 March 1759.144
31 March r759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £58. :r ls. 4.½d. for building bog-houses to the additional wings to the cadet barracks, resetting the grates and other repairs to the barracks between l January and 31 March 1759.145
30 J une r759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £37. l 8s. 6d. for carrying out minor repairs in the barracks between I April and 30 June 1759. Warrant dated 29 May 1759.146
3 0 J une 1759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £124. l gs. i¾d. for making a brick drain to carry off the rain water, for ripping off and relaying the tiles on the roof of the Laboratory storehouse, for renewing the tiling at the foundry and for sundry repairs between 1 April and 30Ju ne 1759. Warrant dated 29 May 1759.147
30 J une r759. John Shakespear was paid £96. 9s. 6¾d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt and laying a pipe through the moat between r April and 30 June 1759.148
30 June I 759. J ames Morris received £ 179. 7s. 1d. for repairing the roofs and making rain-water gutters to several Laboratory buildings between I April and 30 June 1759. In addition he repaired a gib-crane.149
30 September 1759. J oseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £191. 18s. Id. for building an additional apartment to Major Pattison's house, and for sundry repairs between 1 July and 30 September 1759. Warrant dated r July 1759.100
30 September 1759. John Shakespear received £87. 6s. 2¼d, for repairing the face of the proof-butt and clearing away rubbish between I July and 30 September I 759. He also duo-certain foundations.151
30 September 1759. Joseph P:att and Thomas Churchill were paid £ I 48. 18s. 3¼d. for repairs to storehouses between I July and 30 September r 759.1s2
31 December 1759. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £40. 3s. r rd. for repairs to barracks and officers' houses between I October and 31 December 1759.1s3
31 December 1759. James Morris was paid £529. 12s. 8¾d. for building a new apartment to Major Pattison's house, repairing furniture in the cadet barracks, building two large sheds for waggons and repairing
143 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5 I /208, p. 66. 144 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\1\1O/51/208, p. 173. 145 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/vVO/51/208, p. 177. 146 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/206, p. 25. 147 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/206, p. 29. 148 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /21 I , p. 74· 149 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/211, p. 52. 150 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/'208, p. 184. 151 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/208, p. 122. 152 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /209, p. 240. 153 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, p. 258.
417
t
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
d Ooms etc. between r October
barracks, officers' houses, guar r ' and 31154
December 1759. . • d £ ad f;
I March r760. James Morns recei~e r74. r rs. 2;i_: . or repairs t b 3 ks h dhouse and officers houses between r January o
arrac , t e guar and 3 r March r 760.155 ·
A.r , r.: Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £
3r .1v.1.arc,z r7uo. . • • 255
3d d b i'lding a new carnage store11ouse, raising the Wa •
r7s. rot . towar s u d M rren
wall and for sundry repairs between r January an 3 I. arch r 760,Iss
A.r , r.: Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £
3r .1v.1.arc1z r7uo. . fi d .ffi , I 14
r3s. 6fd. for repairs to the barracks, m rmary an o 1cers houses, i~
nd 3 1 ;.
addition to building dust holes between I Ja1:mary a -rarch r 760 .1s7
3r March r760. John Shakespear was paid £60. gs. 6-:i:d. for diggin the foundations and levelling the ground for tbe waggon ~nd new carriag! sheds, for repairing the face of the proof-budtt,fcfor cle~nmg the dock for the office boat, for gravelling Proof Place an o~ ~artmg away mud and rubbish between I January and 31 Marc~ i76o. 5
3
3 I A,1arclz I?6o. John Shakespear received £27. os. 64 d. for diggin holes for laying ashes from the barracks and officers' house ; for digging foundations for the pantry and coal-shed and dressino-the ground . g front of the cadet barracks and paving the same; and for arting aw~n rubbish between I January and 31 March 1 760.159 Y
30 June r760. Joseph Pratt a_nd Thomas Churchi!l received _
£223
7s. 3d. for building a new carnage storehouse, making drains to the conduit and carrying out sundry repairs between I April and 3o June I 760.160
30 June 1760. John Shakespear was paid £rg. 1 r_s. ?. { d. for levelling the ground in front of the cadet barracks for the pav10rs and digging the foundations for a common sewer behind the barracks between r April and 30 June 1760.161
30 June 1760. John Shakespear received £r 12. 15s. gd. for digging the foundations and drains for the new storehouses, felling and grubbing up the trees adjoining, cleaning the dock for the office boat, repairing the
face of the butt, searching for and leading springs to the office conduit between I April and 30 June I 760.162 30 June 1760. James Morris was paid £II3. 1 os. 7 2d. for repairs to barracks, officers' houses, guardrooms etc. between r April and 30 June 1760.163
30 September 1760. James Morris received £239. 19s. ol d, for building an addition to Major Pattison's house, and for sundry repairs to the barracks, infirmary etc. between r July 1759 and 30 September 1760.164
m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/210, p. 289. 155 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/206 196 ::: Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO{W0/51/210; p. 3°17.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/211 p 169 ::: Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/215; p: 39.. ao Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/215, p. 40. m Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /2 r 1, p. 234.
m Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/216, p. 69. m Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51/216, p. 69. m Ordnance B1_ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/217, p. 19.
Ordnance ,Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/210, p. 257. Possibly the date '3o September 176o should have read '30 September 1759'.
418
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 September 1760. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £98. 6s. 3½d. for building a cold bath for the officers ofthe Royal Artillery and for sundry repairs between I July and 30 September 1 760.165
30 September r760. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £322. 3s. 7¼d, for raising a storehouse and two pavilions in the Laboratory and for repairs to certain storehouses between 1July and 30 Septem
ber 1 760.166 30 September r760. James Morris received £732. 13s. gd. for raising the roof and making an additional floor over the N.W. storehouse in the Laboratory and erecting two pavilions; for making new oak platforms for exercise; for laying the foundations of a new storehouse and for various repairs to storehouses and offices between I July and 30 September I 760.167 30 September 1760. John Shakespear was paid £34. zos. B¼d, for digging the foundations for a common sewer behind the barracks, for digging the foundations for the cold bath and for carting away rubbish between I July and 30 September 1760.168 3I December 1760. James Morris received £189. 5s. 5d. for laying new floors, for making closets and shelves and for putting up new skirting etc to destroy bugs in the barracks. Also for repairs to the guardroom, infirmary and officers' houses between I October and 31 December I 760.169
3r D ecember 1760. John Shakespear was paid £25. 2s. 3d. for digging the foundations and drains for bog-houses at Colonel Desagulier's house, for digging the foundations for Major-General Michelson's new apartment, and for levelling the ground for new platforms in Prince Rupert's Walk betwc n r October and 31 December 1760.170
3I D ecember r760. John Shakespear was paid £114. 8s. 3fd. for digging the founda io s for the new junk shed, repairing the face of the proof-butt and digging trenches for conveying water between I October and 31
December 1760.1n
Besides the above, the Ordnance Books specify many other items dealing wi th works services between the dates mentioned. These, however, give no detail but merely indicate the sums paid quarterly to the various master craftsmen. The greater proportion are concerned with bricklaying performed by Messrs Churchill and Pratt. T~ey throw little or no light on the development of the Warren.. It will be noted that the practice of indicating the warrant on which operations are carried out tended to fall into abeyance about I 758.
Another point to be noticed is that the proof-butts still continued to require constant attention. It has already been stressed that proof was a perennial source of worry and trouble. Either the butts
165 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/212, p. 141. See Chapter 9, P· 332.
166 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfW0/51/212, p. 142.
167 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/215, P· 99·
168 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/217, p. 68. See Chapter 9, P· 332.
189 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/215, p. 103.
170 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/217, p. 68.
171 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/218, p. 29.
419
\ND CHILDHOOD
BIRTH F
t damage or accidents involving d
ffi ed constan '. c. ang
themselves _su er . d The following extract 1rom a news er to life or limb occun e ~ although some twenty years prior foaPer dated 29 Sept~mbe~ 1 74 .' es a vivid account ofthe dangers inh the
period under d1scuss10n, g1v erent in eighteenth century proof: . _ proof of iron ordnance at Woolwich
On Friday last there ~as a f metal flew near 300 yards over the :hen a 24 pdr. burst, and a ~1eJ~:e proof and over a storehouse and fell eads of the people W?0 attenf e I ouse adjoining the founder's, broke th Upon
h f a chimney o a 1 . d rough
t e top o fi II through three stones own to the ground fi the roof ~f tha_t hou~~d e other mischie£ The gun in its agitation b £oar and ~rov1dent1dallyh t1w~i~h lay next to it so as to point its muzzle ;oweaodre
bursting turne t a , h d h d · t t r s
the spec~tors and the storekeepers. oh~sef, an Id a lb nbol shtruck out the
h. h 1• hted great nusc 1e wou pro a y ave ensu d
portfire, w IC was ig ' . e . Little ofinterest occurred in the Warren dunng the n ext ~en years. No major construction work took place _and the record is one of . • The clocks continued to give trouble, especially th
minor repairs. . II e
• th turret and Mr Thwaites was a owed £6 a year t
one 1n e , . . d o
1.
• t ·n it provided he first put 1t 1n wor nng or er at his own
main a1 r. k . .
expense.112 Only £6oo was allowed 1or wor s services 1n the Warren for the year 1751.11a On 28 August 1761, the ~torekeeper requested that his stables and those of the contractor which w r destroyed in the fire ofJanuary 1 760, should be rebuilt. Mr Hayter was ordered to consider the matter and prepare an estimate.174
On 1 September 1761 Mr Hayter, in conjunction with the Comptroller of the Laboratory, was ordered to select the best site for a fire-ship store and estimate for the same.175 I-Ie stated, however, that he could not recommend any place on which to erect a storehouse for fire-ship stores, but considered that during the existing emergency they could be placed at the east end of the new junk shed, the enclosing of which he estimated at £15. 7s. od. H is estimate was accepted and the work was ordered to be put in hand. Mr Hayter on the same day reported that the most convenient place for the new stables for the contractor and the storekeeper would be in the storekeeper's orchard close to the site of the original ones, but
further from the powder magazine and away from other buildings. He estimated that the cost would be £163. 12s. 4d. He was instructed to proceed with the work,176
Now that a system of lighting, however primitive, had been installed in the Warren, the question of its nightly illumination became pressing. The Respective Officers reported on 2 7 October
::: OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 215, 4 April 1761.
OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/57, p. 301, 6 May 176r. 174 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/58, p. 151. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/58, p. 165.
OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/s8, p. 185, 8 September 1761.
420
THE WARREN . 1750-1775 hat Richard Amie was wiU1·n
t · g to li h
176J, er lamp. The Board, howev g t the latn fi qtlarte~~red that Mr Sabe was expee~, lonsidered th~s or I 2s. per alld or nd light the lamps at Ios ; e to find the oi~ost too high cotton ha ge 177 . er quarter for e h,supply the
I c ar . ac lam h
tlstla 30 October I 76I' Mr Hayter Was t ld P, t e~1 be built to house the carts used for ~art~ ascertain when a shed coll t·rnate for the same.11s He repl1"ed hry1ng shot and tor d
-5 es 1 • t at th b 1orwarh1
Id stables, damaged 1n the fire and h e est place ,. .
the o , t at the .vas 1n
Id be £96. 19~. od. The Surveyor-Gener cost of conversion w~tl 'th other estimates.179 . al Was asked to consid
thlS WI . R er
;\!though Jv!agazine egulations was still a . . . nt future, its want was evidently felt• publication of the
d1sta O in I 762 by th C
f the Laborat~ry. n 12 }anuary of that ear ~ _omptroller0 gerous cond1t10ns preva1hng in his depa ty he intimated the
dan . r ment owi h
fsuitable stora?e accommodation for 'stores of a co ng_to t e lack 0 sufficient distance from the actual work h tustible nature' at a rnunication the Board ordered Mr Has tops. a result of this
corn Y er to attend th •
rson and report what had transpired in the treaty . h M em m P~out the lands in Woolwich.1so On 9 June ~t Mr Maryon
2
a h . M. J · . . 17 , f r Hayter
signifi~d t at I ones was quite willing to grant a lease of lands adJ•oirong the Warren for 21 years renewable during th i·c: .
· ·fi b h e 11etime of
himself and his w1 ·e, ut t at the Reverend John Maryon h d 1 d
· · h a sett e
the revers10n 1n sue a manner that he could do nothing 181
.c-£ d more.
6
The sum 0.1. 7 2 • 155: o • was allotted to Woolwich and Greenwich for works and repairs for the year 1762 .182 Centralization was still the order of the day and the Board were jealous of th eir supreme authority. On 6 August 1762, Mr Hayter was asked on whose authority he had repaired the pavement outside the Board Room. In view of the fact that this small job required doing, Mr Hayter's action seemed quite reasonable. However, he obsequiously bow ed to his masters. He replied on g August that he had carried out the work without any specific mandate 'thinking that he might do so', and he hoped the Board would excuse him for this act and give him such orders as 'would prevent the like happen183
ing again'.
Blackheath at this time was a gangsters' paradise. Bands of toughs and hooligans lay in wait for the traveller, and robberies were of frequent occurrence. To avoid such dangers of the road, moSt
177 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/58, P· 304, 27 October 1761 · 178 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/58, P· 310· 6179 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/59, P· 379, 4 May 17 2• 180 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 59, P· 36· 181 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/59, P· 5oo. M 17
182 52
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/59, P· 44B, rA ;Jst l76~ 183 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/6o, P· 112• u •
421
DIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
journeys to Woolwich were made ~y water. !"fence the necessity of keeping the landing pier and official boats m good order. On November 1752, the Respective Officers reported that the planki~2 on the pier head wanted renewing and that the boat-slip becanig silted up from time to time. Mr Hayter was to~d to get out an estiniat e for the work but to execute it without specific approval if a del e
' . Offi 1 ~
would be preiudicial. The Respective cers were to d to rep
•
;i • 184 M H t Ort
the state of the slip from time to t1me. . r ay er reported that the slip would cost £ 12. 18s. od. to repair, and he was told to tak the necessary action.185 Mr Bennet also reporte? that the sailin; boat at Woolwich would cost £29. Bs. gd. to repair. H e was ordered
. · d t 186
to have the repairs carne ou .
It will be remembered that MrJames Pattison had in 1759 a thr year contract to remove rubbish from. the Warren ba~racks.187 ~~ died on 22 March 1761, at the age of eighty-five, and his widow did not propose to renew the contract. On 22 December 1762, she wrot
' . e
to the Board saying that she wouId cease removmg dust from th barracks' at the end of th: year.188 M: _William H allick, seeing hi~ opportunity and discovermg the pos1t10n before the Board had received Mrs Pattison's intimation, offered to do the work himself
for £2 per annum. Since this was cheaper than Mr Pattison's price the Board agreed.189
Theft of government stores occurred again in April r 763 when Elizabeth Oliver, having been detected in stealing linchpins out of carriages in the Warren, was committed to Maidstone Gaol by a J.P. She was caught red-handed with the stores upon her person. Mr Cockburn, the storekeeper, Job Perry, the armourer, and Thomas Blake, the foreman of the labourers, entered into recognizances to appear as witnesses in the forthcoming assizes. It was ordered that Mr Sergeant Stanyford should proceed with instructions for the necessary prosecution and that the moat, being filled up with sand so that persons could enter the Warren without difficulty, should be cleared out so that the water could flow again.190 Robert Woodbine, the constable at Woolwich, was paid £3 for keeping Elizabeth Oliver
and attending her trial.191 On 2 I June 1763, the storekeeper reported that the frame for
venting guns was rotten and had collapsed, that the head of the dock
for securing the sailing vessel was damaged by ships making fast to
::: Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/WO/47/60, p. 270. Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/6o, p. 302. 186 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/60 p. 430 17 December 1762.
187 See note 86. ' ' ::: Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, p. 441. Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/60, p. 441. m 190 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/61, p. 253, 30 April 1763. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/62, p. 96, 2 September 1763.
422
THE WARREN 1750-1775
it, and that the moat next the field required cleaning out. Mr Hayter Was ordered to carry out the necessary work.192
Andrew Schalch was getting an old man. He had been master founder since 1716, and it was realized that he could not retain that Position for very much longer. Preliminary arrangements were therefore set in train to find a suitable successor. As a result, John Verbruggen, head founder of the United Provinces of Holland
. ,
1:n.dicated that he wished to enter the service as a founder at Wool-Wich. Since it was obvious that his Majesty's service might require such a person to be employed in the Brass Foundry, the Board asked I-I. E. General Sir Joseph Yorke, envoy extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Netherlands,193 to give them an account of Verbruggen's character and abilities as a founder and to state in what station he had served in the United Provinces.194 Sir Joseph Yorke gave the required information and informed the Board that Baron de Harik stated that MrJohn Verbruggen was pressing for an answer as he had received an offer of employment from another Crowned Bead. The Board in reply informed the ambassador that they could :not, at present, enter into any agreement with Mr Verbruggen.195 Actually seven years were to elapse before there was a change-over of m aster founders.
Another minor casualty: Mr John French was, on 4 November I _763, paid £ 6 in compensation for the loss of a cow killed by a ball fired from the Warren on 15 October.196
M r V eale, who had now taken the place of Mr Hayter, was ordered to repair at once the roofs ofthe storehouses and offices which had been damaged by the high winds which had occurred in the winter of 1763/64. He was also told to estimate and report the cost of repairs to the gates of the smiths' yard, the gates at the end of the old wall and those at the end ofNew Square.197 On 25January 1764, he estimated the cost of repairing the Warren gates at £60. 6s. Bd. and was told to have the work carried out.198
The Peace of Paris on 10 February 1763 inaugurated a policy of retrenchment, and men who became redundant were dismissed from the Warren. Ong April 1764, the Comptroller of the Laboratory reported that owing to the termination of the war he could dispense with the services of I clerk at 2s p.d., 1 tinman at 3s. p.d., g invalids
(gunners belonging to the Invalid Companies) at 1s. p.d. each, g labourers at 1s. 6d. p.d. each, 2 supernumerary clerks at 2s. p.d.
192 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/61, p. 410. 1 ~ 3 Created 1st Lord Dover, 18 September 1788. He died 1792 when the barony became
extinct.
10<1 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/47/62, p. 175, II October 1763. 195 Ordnance Journal Book'. PRO/WO/47/62, p. 246, 18 November 1763. 196 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 214. 197 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/62, p. 285, 7 December 1763. 198 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 31.
423
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
each and the watchmen at £82, I!ZS. 6d, .p.a., making _a total saVi of£657. ios. od. p.a. This left the establishment consisting of: ng
1 Clerk at 2s. p.d. 1 Foreman at IS, 6d. p.d. I Turner at 2s. 6d. p.d. I Smith at 2s. 6d. p.d. I Carpenter at 2s. 6d. p.d.
I Invalid at IS. 6d. p.d. 8 Labourers at IS. 6d. p.d. each Total Wages Bill: £447. 2s. 6d.
The Board agreed and ordered the reductions to take pla
ce on
14 April 1 764.199 The amount allowed for repairs at Woolwich and Purfleet fo h
d 200 rt e
year 1764 was £495. 19s. :4-• . The Surveyors of the Highways of the parish of Woolwich w responsible for paving the road leading to the Warren, the spacee;~ front of the Warren gate and thence along the wall and round th
corner. As, however, they could not raise sufficient money from th; parishioners to con:plete t~e work, t~ey ,vere granted £20 by the Board to aid them m carrymg out their task. 201
The Respective Officers at Woolwich stated that they employ d the 'constant' horses at leisure times in bringing gra el from Wo~lwich Common to repair the roads and paths in the \,\Tarren without any extra expense save that ofan additional horse or two, and that a Woolwich gravel will not bind without an admi 'ture of that fro~
Shooters Hill, they proposed to buy some at 3d. a load from Mr Lidgbird's pits. They also requested that posts and a rail should be fixed at each end of the two walks to the foundry so as to prevent horses from going on the foot-ways. The Board approved and
instructed Mr Veale to estimate the cost of the posts and rails. 202
On 14 December 1764, it was decided to increase the lighting in the W~rren by three additional lamps :203 one on the bridge leading to the mfirmary, one at the cadet barracks in addition to the two
already there, i.e. one at each end of the building and one in the centre, and one at the necessary. On 15 December 1764, Christopher Baldock replaced Samuel Forman as a supernumerary clerk.204
On 22 March 1765, Richard Veale, now officially known as the 'Overseer, Woolwich' and paid Ios. a day, was ordered to estimate
;:: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/63, p. 23 1. Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ /6 M 6
201 Ordnancejournal B k' PRO/WO 47 3, p. 375, 25 a);' 17 4. 202 OrdnanceJournal B~~k: PRO/W0/47/63, p. 303, 27 April 1764. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/i3, p. 423, 8 June 1764. m Ordnance Journal Book PRO/W0//47// 4, p. 257. . ' ,
in that appointment h ld b' 47 64, P· 278. See note 102. Possibly Henry
s ou ave read 'Samuel', or 'Samuel' here should read 'Henry'.
THE WARREN 1750-1775
an.cl report on the repairs required to the wharfing, landing steps, the parapet wall at Prince Rupert's Walk and the gates to the shot-yard.205 On 29 March he replied that the gates of the shot-yard could be repaired for £5. 3s. 8d.2os
A new triangular gyn was ordered for mounting and dismounting guns and rnortars at Woolwich to replace the existing one which had become unserviceable.2o1
In reply to the storekeeper, the Board on 14June 1765 stated that in. case the trustees for putting into execution an Act of Parliament f"or altering the roads near Woolwich208 should have occasion to take any part of their property in Conduit Field, the Board would consent thereto upon a proportional consideration being made for the same as had b een done to other proprietors, and that they had ordered the tools desired in his letter to be sent to Woolwich, upon the trustees' engaging to keep them in repair and return them when they had cornpl ted their work.2D9
John P owell was appointed fireman at Woolwich at 2s. 4d. vice Thomas B acon deceased.210 Woolwich and Greenwich had no allotment of funds for q65. On 6 June 1766, the overseer of the W-orks a t W oolwich, having reported that the cost of a stone curb and iron railings for the front of three houses in Warren Lane would cost £ 41 . 12s. 6d. was told that wooden rails must serve for the present. zu T he dangers of moving about at night were still acute, for on r r -ovember 1766 it was ordered that five defective guns were to be plac d between the footpath and road in front of the houses of ~r Sumpter and Mr Dysart to prevent the sand carts from encro~ch1.ng on the foot-way 'which had been so cut away that _at rug~t people are in danger of falling off it into the road and losmg their lives'.212
Mr I-Iartwell, who had recently taken up the new post of 'Clerk of Works', W oolwich, reported on 11 November 1766 that the only place h e could suggest for housing the fixed carcases ~afely w_as th: junk storehouse near Prince Rupert's Walk, a proJect ~h1ch, if carried out, would mean another storage room for the Junk. He suggested that this might be effected by adding to the length of the
carriage shed at the lower side of the Warren next to the moat. The Board ordered that the fixed carcases should be immediately transferred to the junk house and that Mr Hartwell should estimate the expense ofadding to the carriage shed. Mr Hartwell also reported
205 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, P· 1 86. 206 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, P· 21 4· 207 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /65, P· 348, 6 June 1765. 208 5 George III, cap lxxxvii, 1765. 209 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/65, P· 372, i4June 1765.
210
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /65, P· 394, 28 June 1765. 211 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/67, P· 420• 212 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/68, P· 164.
29
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
that after a survey he had discovered that the fire-engine and h required repair. He suggested sending them to the Tower for re ~se This was approved.213 On 22 ~ovem?er 1766 a platform andP~r. sliding cranes were installed m the Junk house to deal With th~
carcases.21-1 'Hope springs eternal in the human breast.' Mr v\Tilliam Mo 1
· b d h . rand
thought he saw a way of turnmg a ouses mto good money b was disappointed. On 5 December 1766 he wrote to the B Ut saying that several years earlier application had been made ~ard
l · r i.rorn
fh.
the Office of Ordnanc_e to_ soWme o Lis re at1v~~ i.or purchasing two houses with their premises i~ alrredn anedco_n igul~us to the Warren wall that now these dwellmgs 1a passe mto 11s possession
' b d . and
were for sale, and that he would e rea y to tre_at with anyone the Board might appoint for the purpose. Upon receipt of this letter th storekeeper was ordered to report upon the matter. Mr Cockbur; replied on 10 December that when the three new houses near 1\1 Morland's property were built for the clerk of the foundry etc., th: Board had wished to ?uf Mr Morland's two houses on that side of
the lane, either for bmldmg upon or to enclose by a wall within the bounds of the Warren, but that as they were then in the hands of person who had not the power of disposal, the matt r had droppeda He also stated that the two houses concerned were two low woode ·
ruinous hovels not worth the cost of demolition. T he Board ordere~ that Mr William Morland be told that they did not require his houses.215
P~oof for foreign monarchs was carried out in the 't\'arren. On
7
Apnl r767 the Comptroller of the Laboratory was instructed to transmit the account of the expense incurred in pro ing shell for the King ofPortugal and the shipping charges which were o be charged to 'His Most Faithful Majesty'.216 Ten 24 pdrs were to be proved on
'Monday next' for the Emperor of Morocco and an account of the cost to be rendered.217
The dismissal ofWilliam Barber, Overseer of Works at Woolwich has already been mentioned in Chapter 10.218 H e appears to hav; been thoroughly unsatisfactory in every way and the Board, no
doubt, were glad to get rid ofhim. His place was taken by Thomas ~allard at 3s. a day with effect from 2 August r 768.219 At the same time the senior overseer, John Hargrave, was superannuated and
granted an allowance of a guinea a week. He was replaced by John Hempsall who drew a salary of ros. per diem. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, . 16 . OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, ~-r8~. 216 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/68, p. 227. 218 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/6g, p. 158.
217
21, SOerednCanhacpeteJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/71, p. 66, r r February r768.
r r o, note I rr. 211 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47172, p. 42_
426
THE WARREN 17 50-1775
On 1 I. November I 768 improvements took place in the heating ra.cilities m the Warren when Bath stoves were installed in all the offices there at a cost of £10. is. od.220
On 5 June I 769, the clerk of works was ordered to survey the state and estimate the cost of repairing the following:221 (a) the
harfing and fender piles, (b) the ground and foundations which had SQnk, ( c) the tiling in the carriage and pontoon store-houses, ( d) the cr-anes, and ( e) the floor of the watch-house. . Mr Hartwell forwarded his estimates on 3 August 1769:222 wharf-1::n_g and cranes £ I I o; and roofing of pontoon and carriage storehouses £107. The work was ordered to be carried out.
A minor change in appointments was effected on 16 November _r. 769 when George Read became the foreman ofthe Royal Laboratory 1:n_ place ofJoseph Herring,. deceased. 223
We now come to a land-mark in the history of the Warren, to
hat might almost be described as the end of an epoch-the retirern..ent ofAndrew Schaich who had been master founder for fifty-four Years. He had had a wonderful innings. Andrew Schaich had served his adopted country well, and England should revere his memory. l-I:e undertook the complete responsibility of initiating government gun-founding and, starting from scratch, had placed the casting of brass ordnance on a solid foundation upon which his successors could b1.1ild. He ·was at this time seventy-eight years old, and increasing Years had slowed down his vigour and rendered him incapable of carrying the increased burden which the work of the foundry entailed. \1Vith regret, therefore, the Board realized that he must be replaced by a younger man. Andrew Schaich survived his superannuation by six years and, dying at the ripe old age of eighty-four years in 1776, was buried in Woolwich Churchyard.
The minutes of the Board of Ordnance under date 12 January
I 770224 state :
Sir J oseph Yorke, his Majesty's Plenipotentiary at the Hague, having signified in his letter of 26 December 1 769 that Messrs Verbruggen, gunfounders there, are taking the proper measures to be able to transport themselves to England as soon as possible to be employed in the King's service which at present they regard as their only object, and having also signified that he is convinced the above gentlemen will give satisfaction to those who employ them.
The Master-General and Board approved thereof and ordered an
agreement with Messrs Verbruggen as Founders at the Royal Brass
F oundery at Woolwich to be carried into execution as soon as possible.
220 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/72, p. 157. 221 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/73, p. 281. 222 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/vV0/47/74, p. 68. 223 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/74, p. 170. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/75, P· 12.
42 7
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Ordered that l'vfr Schalch be acquainted that the Master-Gene l Board have no further occasion for his _attendance at Woolwich,r~u~~d consideration of his age and long service have agreed to conti 1n allowance ofTwelve Shillings a day and that they desire he will ;u_e his House he at present inhabits in Woolwich Warren as soon as con/lt_the as it will be wanted for his successor sometime in March next. enient
From the correspondence one gains the impression that Mr Sch 1did not like the prospect of retirement and disliked having to 1a eh his house in the Warren where he had passed the greater paeave
rt of
his life.
On g February r770 the Board, on ~ccount of Andrew Schalch's age and long service, agreed_ to allow ~Im .J;20 p.a. ~ouse rent frorn r March r770, at the sa~e,time ordermg h:m to quit 'his dwellin and all other conveniencies as soon as possible as the new found g
. . E I d d 22• S ·11 I ers
were expected to arrive m ng an any a)'."· "' t1 o d Andrew did not move, and on 23 F~brua~y the Respectn~e Officers at Woolwich were instructed to remmd him to vacate his house promptly. On 2 March r770, however, he did reply to the effect that he had b unable to obtain a house and had been ill in bed for the past theen
weeks.226 Although Schalch had ceased officially to be mas:ee founder, there were three r3 inch brass mortars , hich he had I ~: in an unfinished state, so on g March r770 the Board ordered hi~ to return to the foundry and complete them or they lvould emplo some one else to do the job and charge Andrew Scha.lch accorl ingly.227 Andrew Schalch presumably could not do this Jast act of service owing to the state ofhis health, but he intimat d that he had no objection to hi~ nephew-Lewis Gashlier-turning and finishing the three mortars m the foundry. The Board agreed and ordered the
expense ofengraving and finishing to be deducted from Mr Schalch' bills.228 The nephew, however, 'remained a rumour' and as nothin; had been done by the following December, Messrs Verbruggen were ordered to finish the three I 3 inch brass mortars.229
March moved into April and still Schalch remained in his official residence .. Finally, on 24 April I 770, he was, to all intents ~nd p~rpos:s, evicted. On that day the Board sent him a letter
mformmg him that the goods and furniture of the Verbruggens had been _ship~ed and were expected any day, that they insisted on his vacatmg his house and handing it over to the Respective Officers at vyoolwich without delay, and that the said Officers had been dire~ted to take possession ofit.23 °Faced with this ultimatum Schalch
'
bowmg tO the mev1ta. · ble, left the Warren and settled at Charlton.
m Ordnance Journal Book PROfWO/47/ ::: Ordnance Journal Book: PRO/WO/471?l' ~: ;64.
; Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47175' p. 120. 28 Ordnance Journal Book PRO/WO/ / ' .
m Ordnance Journal Book: PRO/WO 47 75, p. 181, 3 April 1770. 210 OrdnanceJou 1B k PR /47/76, P· 325, 13 December 1770.
00
rna ' OfWO/47/75, p. 212.
428
THE WARREN 1750-1775
Upon Schalch's departure the master founder's quarter was I<:::)und to be in a bad condition, no repairs having been carried out ~<:::)r many years. On 22 May 1770, Mr Hartwell, having surveyed it, 1 :t:":tformed the Board that £86 would have to be spent to put it in a 4abitable condition. The work was ordered to be put in hand at
O::t1.ce.231
John and Peter Verbruggen duly arrived and on 22 May 1770 the Bt._espective Officers at Woolwich were ordered to clear the foundry a..::t1.d its associated buildings ofeverything that was not Crown property a.:nd hand over the keys to the new master founders.232 The V-erbruggens, like most new brooms, swept clean. They instituted ~any innovations and disdained to follow in the 'Schalch tradition'. ~either the founder's house nor the existing foundry was good e:t:iough for them. On 29 May 1 770 they wrote to the Board saying that 'the Founder's house in the Warren is so very small and so much Out of repair that it is impossible for the family to live in it. They b.ave therefore had to take a house at Plumstead for 52 guineas per a..::nnum. They pray they may be allowed a larger and more conVenient house at Woolwich to be ready against the time that the :taundry is in a state to begin gun-casting.'233
Mr Richard Hale, Land Surveyor, and Mr Vincent Stokoe, Land VVaiter of H.M. Customs, attended the landing of the effects of the 'Verbrugg ns, each being paid the usual fee of one guinea by the Messeng r. The Messenger was also instructed to pay Mr Boddington of the Office of Ordnance £7. ns. 6d. disbursed by him at the ~ustom H ouse, and for the freight of five cases with models and
1. nstrumcnts for Mr Verbruggen.234 On 22 June 1770 the Verbruggens ~ent in their travelling claim for £214. 19s. 4d., the cost oftransport-1._ng themselves and all their possessions from Holland. On the receipt ofthis account it was ordered that their pay should commence on New Year's Day 1770 and that their bill less the amount they Paid for provisions, should be settled. 235
Once in the saddle, the brothers Verbruggen got busy. They said t-hey wanted alterations in the foundry and the clerk of the works "VVas ordered to prepare the necessary estimate.236 The Board informed t:hem that there was no objection to their undertaking the building of the boring machine and furnaces and providing the metal. They "VVere asked to submit an estimate. The Verbruggens complained t:hat the furnaces lacked foundations, a condition they considered dangerous in view of the weight of the falling liquified metal, that
231 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 29o. 232 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 293·
233
Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/75, P· 321 · 234 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 384. 236 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, P· 39· 238 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/76, P· 40, 7 August 177°•
429
the washing room required a brick floor, that the foundry yard was in need of repair, and that there was no water to hand. The Board ordered the necessary work to be carried out as requested.237 As Messrs Verbruggen promised to do their utmost to put the whole foundry in order as soon as possible, warrants were ordered to be made out on 26 October 1770 for the carpenter, bricklayer, smith,
plumber, and glazier to undertake such tasks at the foundry as the master founders should direct. In addition, Mr Hartwell, clerk of the works, was ordered to give these craftsmen the draughts of all ordnance in order that the brick and iron work for the new boring engine should be correctly laid and set up.238
This boring machine, designed by the Verbruggens, was actuated by four horses, which by their combined effort caused the gun slowly to revolve, the borer-head remaining stationary. This antiquated arrangement remained in operation till a t least as
late as 1842. This can be quite understood when it is realized that until t:ie advent of modern power units gun-boring was a difficult operat10n and. accuracy as understood in a present-day workshop was honoured m the breach rather than in the observance.
On 20 December I 770 it was agreed that a beam and scales capable of weighing up to 10,000 lb. of metal should be supplied to the foundry, 239 a~d on the same day the Verbruggens reported that the large_ furnac_e m the foundr~ was worn out. They asked permission to take 1t to pieces and rebmJd it. The Board reluctantly agreed that th~ master founders must do what they consid~r'3d best for the service but stressed that the new improvements must be carried out 'in a most frugal manner'. They demanded more capable workmen for finishin~ the morta:s, and were told that they would be allowed the same pnce for cuttmg, filing and finishing mortars as Mr Schalch and that they could advertise for fresh hands if they
thought fit. They were given sufficient old metal out ofstore to make the engines of the boring machine.240 By now the Board must have thought that they had nursed a viper in their bosom for on 2 2 January 1771, the Verbruggens reported that the wood~n tower of the foundry was rotten and should be repaired with brickwork. The Board asked them to forward a sketch of the proposed alterations.241
The master founders, having transmitted a sketch of the tower of th: foundry with the proposed alterations, the Board asked for an estimate of the expense ~nd wished to be satisfied more fully 'about the arch marked X-X m the plan'. At the same time, the Verbrug
gens asked leave to make an engine in the turning shop which would
m Ordnance Journal Book, PR0fW0/47/76, p. 163 13 October 1770• m 0rdnanceJournal Book, PR0/W0/47/76, p. 185'. :: 0rdnanceJournal Book, PR0/W0/47/76, p. 336.
Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/76, p. 357. 141 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47;77, p. 47.
430
THE WARREN 1750-1775
also be capable of boring and turning guns, on the same principle as that of the horizontal boring engine. This machine, which would be much shorter, 'should replace the existing lathe which is much out of repair'. As usual, they were ordered to submit a plan and an estimate of the expense.242
While all this was under discussion the question was asked 'What has become of the old foundry weathercock?' Nobody knew and so on 22 May 1771 the Respective Officers were asked to report on the matter.243 They replied on 24 May that they did not know what had become of the old weathercock, as when it was taken down from the foundry during the overseership ofWilliam Barber it was not handed over to the storekeeper and enquiries had failed to elicit any information.244 Knowing William Barber, we may suspect that he purloined it. The present weathercock on the old foundry building, now the 0.F. Garage, representing a gunner in a three-cornered hat in the act of touching off his piece, although a fine and artistic conception, is obviously not the original and cannot be dated before 1771. On 26July 1771, Messrs Verbruggen forwarded a drawing of the boring-turning machine for mortars with an estimate of erecting the same amounting to £2 76. 5s. od. They pointed out the advantage of h aving two such engines, one for guns and the other for mortars. At the same time they transmitted a plan and elevation of the arches under the foundry's tower with estimates for brick and iron work totalling £105, their suggestion for making the arches near the furnaces (as a part of the work) to prevent danger of fire as proposed in their plan, and their proposition for pulling down the old boring engine so as to utilize some ofits timber in the new work. The Board approved these changes and ordered them to be put into execution.24,5
On 3 September 1771 John and Peter Verbruggen reported that they had finished the five 13 inch and one 10 inch Sea Service mortars. I t was ordered that they be paid and the money deducted from Mr Schalch's bill,246 On 15 October 1771 the foundry yard was ordered to be paved.247 On 1 November 1771 the Verbruggens were allowed house rent of £54. 12s. 6d. and informed that all occupants of official houses pay the Window Light Duties. They forwarded a bill of £S9· l4,J. 6d. on account of their rent for the Plumstead house inclusive of taxes.248
There can be little doubt that the Board were becoming alarmed at the rising costs of the Verbruggen improvements. Evidence of
242 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/77, p. 351, 24 April 1771. 2 n Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/77, P· 433· 244 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/77, P· 476. 245 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, p. 32, 27 July 1771. 246 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, P· rn4. 247 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, P· 147. 248 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/W0/47/78, P· 189.
431
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
their state of mind can be gathered from an entry in the J Books under date 7 December 177r :249 ourna1 Messrs Verbruggen are desired to state as soon as possible h money they think will be necessary to finish the foundry a odw much
n bo ·
~~ ~
Such apprehension can be readily understood as the B
d. 1 M oarct ct·
.
not have unlimited funds at their 1sposa . eanwhile fi id expenditure was visualized. On 31 January 1772, th~ ;rther founders were asked to report whether the marble conta• . aster
d . r:. 1n1ng th
Ordnance Arms at the Tower cou Id be p 1ace m 1ront ofth fc e as an ornament.250 This plan, however, never materiali~ ~Undry Ar~. were certainly _re~oved from their resting place in ethe The bmldmg but were bmlt mto the wall on the south side of 'C S 0 1d near the Salt Tower. Later on, on 28 September th tore'
1 772
bruggens were ordered to forward a sketch of the small' e Verwhich they proposed for the back front of the foundry th0 rn\rnent Board considered that an adornment there would be ou't ofoulg t~e
h· d M P ace 2.,1
In the end not mg was one. essrs Verbruggen report d · steps still remained to be taken to complete the foundry e dwhat . d k h f h · ·1 T an sub
rrutte a s etc o t e iron ra1 s. he Board, however d· l"k d
'd f b · k · · ' is i e the
i ea o nc piers to support the rails an~ asked Mr R .
• r:. • h ·1· . emnant his
pnce1or castmg t e ra1 mgs out ofthe king's metal. 252 Ivir R price being satisfactory he was ordered to make the ,·ail efm?a?t's
d. . h . B .l , o similar
1mens10ns tot ose m erkeley Square.253 Meanwhile ,
, more money
was expended on the Verbruggens. The Board approv<> f h
0
in the Warren being built for them at a cost of£ T 00, ~ d a douse
. b ~' -v an or ered
it to e constructed at once.254 This house afterwai·ds b ecame for
many years the home of the Ordnance Committee and o d Board and is now used as a Regional Pay Office 1 V br nance
. d . 1e er ruggens
w:re _m eed an expensive luxury. The master founders about this time were experiencing trouble with th . 'fi
fi di diffi • eir art1 cers and
n ng culty m securing _good workmen. Why this should
t:'::;:;~;ou~~e1 n~; t~ansp:e; the impending troubles in the of 1 b h ar y ave een the cause. To aid recruitment staffa_ our t ey were told that they could accommodate their d in the Warren house, lately allotted to Mr Schalch 255 and in ~7r7;rt~~tprevent any misconception the Board stated o~ 29 June no one was to be put in • f h. .
till further ord 25a I . possesswn ° t IS particular house u, ers. t Is, of course, possible that militia service 210 OrdnanceJournaI Book PRO/WO/ /
Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/W0/47 78, P· 272. z.sz Ordnance Journal Book' PRO/WO/47/79, p. 69. m OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/WO 47/80, p. 154. m OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0//47/79, P· 207, 3 April 1772.264 OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/WO 47/79, P· 306, 15 May 1772.
161
OrdnanceJournal Book' PRo;wof47179, p. 210, 7 April 1772. m OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0/47/79, P• 309, 15 May 1772. ' 47/79, p. 430.
432
THE WARREN 1750-1775
may have acted as a deterrent in obtaining craftsmen and this may have bred a spirit of discontent. In any case the question must have been raised, for the solicitor to the Board was asked on 18 December
1772 to give his opinion as to whether foundrymen could in future be exempted from such service.257 On 26 January 1773 he replied in the negative.258
In the Estimates for 1772 £6,000 was allotted for the foundry at Woolwich.
At last on 22 January 1773, over a year after the master founders had been asked the question, they replied that the estimated cost of completing the foundry was £3,888 11s. od. The Board ordered the buildings to be finished as soon as possible adding the pious hope 'that the estimate will not be exceeded' .259
H ere for a time we must leave the Verbruggens and their story except to outline a curious report which they rendered to the Board.2Go
They reported that while selecting metal to cast tools for the boring engine they found nine guns made of brass 'inside and out' but of lead in the middle. Being curious, they had ascertained from General Williamson, who had learned the facts from the storekeep er , that these peculiar guns had been sent down to Woolwich fron1 the T ower in 1763 as unserviceable. They had been made at
Chelsea by a Colonel Ludwig Widenman, a Saxon under the patronage ofH.R.H. the late Duke of Cumberland in 1747 and 1748 at the Duke's foundry. In March I 749 the guns in question had been sent, ,vith oth ers from the Tower, to Windsor for proof, which G eneral Belford and the late General Michelson had attended. W hile proving one of these curious 6 pdr pieces against a light
En glish 6 pdr gun, the former had burst whereupon Colonel Widenm a h ad refused to experiment further. By the interest of the late Duk e of Cumberland the guns had afterwards been purchased by the Office of Ordnance and put into store at the Tower. Some time afterwards they had been condemned as unserviceable.
Upon the receipt of this report the Board ordered that one gun of each nature should be sent to the Tower and engraved 'with the occasion and time they were introduced'.
Where does the actual truth about the foundry lie? Only three explanations are possible:
(a) Did Andrew Schalch with advancing years tend to neglect some of the less obvious duties and allow the foundry buildings and their equipment to deteriorate to a large extent? We know he had not troubled to have his house repaired for years.
257 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /80, p. 342• 258 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /8 I, p. 39· 250 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /8I, p. 30. 260 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 169, 5 March 1773.
433
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
(b)
Had Andrew Schalch, as h~ be~me older, got so set in his ideas that he refused to move with the times · .
(c)
Did the Verbruggens have all the ~Iterations done to prove their • • • • d ffic·ency which though desirable, were not essential ;i
1n1tiat1ve an e 1 , .
It is difficult at this time to say. Proba~ly _all ~hree explanations have some bearing on the matter, and it is difficult to absolve Andrew Schalch entirely of blame. .
Although the Bill Books by l 770 h~d become smgularly reticent in regard to details, the foIIowing entnes refer to the charges in the foundry: March IJJI. Thomas Churchill and John Groves paid £ _
30
200
I os. I r½d. for work in the found1~etween r January and 30 March I 77 r. Board's Order 26 October r 770. 30 March I;JI. James Morris received £220. 15s. 1 r 4 d. for work in the foundry.262 30 June IJJI. Thomas Churchil_l and John Gro~es. were paid £
549_
7s. sfd. for carrying up the medmm f~rnfiace, fimsh1dng th~ chimney, making part of the drains for the. smal urnace, an gettmg up the buildings for the boring and turnmg rooms at the foundry between 1 April and 30June 1771. Board's Order, 26 October 1770.263
JO June IJJI. James Morris received £274. 12s. Bd. for repairs at the foundry.264 •
JO September IJJI. Th?mas Church!ll and J ohn r~ves were paid £ 720. 5s. 6½d. for finishing the medmm. fu_rnace, tak1 g down and rebuilding the south side of the foundry, fimshmg the ro f of the turning and boring rooms, carrying up the foundations for the boring engine and making the drains for the air-holes between I July and 30 September r77 • Board's Order, 26 October 1770.265 1
30 September IJJI. James Morris received £194. 15s. 8:}d. for laying a floor in the turning room of the foundry.266 JI December I7JI. Thomas Churchill and John Gro es were paid £780. 6s. od. for work done at the foundry. 267 31 December 177I. James Morris received £400. 19s. 3¾d. for fixing the turning bench and wheel in the foundry.268 JI March I772. James Morris received £177. 6s. Bd. for work at the foundry between I January and 31 March 1772.269 JI March 1772. Thomas Churchill and John Groves were paid £709. Is. 7f d.forworkinthefoundrybetween 1Januaryand3r March 1772.270 30 June I772. James Morris received £162. r6s. 2 4-d. for work at the foundry between r April and 30 June 1772.271 m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\VO/51 /252, p. 95. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/253, p. 6.
283
Ordnance BiJI Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/248 p. 223. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/253: p. 7. m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/248 p. 231.
281
7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{W0/51/25/ p. 74.
1t Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0/51/25/ p. 151. ::: Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO{W0/51/257: p. 35. 270 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/250 p. 144. 271 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /256' p. I 1.
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /257: p. 36.
434
THE WARRE · _
175 0
1775 3 0 September I772. James Morris was paid £ ~d r
d b l 174. Is. 104 . 10r work at
the foun ry etween I J u y and 30 September I 772.212 3 0 September I772. John Groves received £62 i6s 1d r k the founclry between 1 J uly and 30 September4· 1772 • c32 • 1or· wor hat
h . arrymg up t e
brickwork to t e large furnace and paving the bott f h
· h · om o t e same,
carrying up t e piers and arches under the cupola and b t h
· · h 11 f . e ween t e
furnaces, repa1nng t e wa s o the pits ofthe medium and s 11 r,
· 1 h. d ·1· ff ma urnaces,
ripping at mg an tl mg o the large roof, and pointing and re airin
the front of the foundry.273 p g 3 I December I772. John Groves was paid £899. 7s. od. for work on the foundry between I October and 31 December 1772 .214 3 I March I773• James Morris paid £134. 16s. 11 ¾d. for work at the foundry between I January and 31 March 1773.215 30 June I773• John Groves received £327. ,µ. 3d. for work on the foundry between I April and 30 June 1773.276 30 June I773• James Morris was paid £182. 3s. 9¾d. for work on the foundry between I April and 30 June 1 773. 277 30 eptember I773• James Morris received £495. os. o¼d. for carpenters' work at the master founder's new house between I July and 30 September 1773. Board's Order 7 April 1772.278 3 0 eptember I773• James Morris was paid £153. 16s. Bi d. for work done at the foundry between I July and 30 September 1773.279 3 cptember I773• John Groves received £187. 7s. 7d. for work in the foundry between 1 July and 30 September 1773.280 30 June I774• John Groves was paid £76. 1,µ. od. for work in the foundry 1 etween I April and 30 June 1774.281 30 J une I774· James Morris received £69. 13s. 6¾d, for work in the foundry betvveen I April and 30 June 1774.282 30 June I775· James Morris was paid £60. 1,µ. 5¾d. for work in the foundry between I October I 774 and 30 June 1775.283 . 30 J une 1775. James Morris received £22. 12s. 8½d. for work m the foundry between I July and 30 September 1774.284
Although these above bills do not cover every item of expense in connection with the rebuilding ofthe foundry, they total over £7,_300 in four years. Quite a considerable sum of money for renovation. Did the Board ever regret their decision to employ John and Peter Verbruggen as master founders?
21
2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/250, P· 142· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/256, P· 95·
2
"' Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/256, P· 20!· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/259, P· 1 3:J• 210 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/258, P· 24· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/258, P· 320· 218 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/257, P· 39o. 219 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/2~9, P· 137• 280 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/2 °, P· 27· 281 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO//51 1/264, P· 12· 282 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO 51 2 64, P· 132· 283 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO//5 1 //2i4, P· 132· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO51 2 4, P· 133·
435
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
We must now return and see what else had transpired in th Warren during the years 1 77° to 1 775· . e 0 I 770 a causeway 6 feet wide from the foot of th
n 19 J anuary , k d d t b e
stone steps to the lower water-mar was or ere o e constructed at a cost of£50.285 On 27 March I 770, a newhframe for the we· 1ghd fcol. £40 280 On 4 May I 770, t e new stables in th
stand was ma e · d fc · e W d the ground around was enclose to orm a stable-yard.
arren an t be erected Th· '
also two new coach-houses were o . ' is totalled d 287 On 4 January 1 77 I, the storekeeper s garden w II
£
57. Idos. dot. be rebuilt 288 and on 29 January following repairs at
was or ere o , . o 1 • fi mary amounting to £20. 18s. od. were earned out
t ie upper m r f PI fc h .280 Dinners were always provided at Proo a~e or t e sta~ carrying
f f guns This was an old custom which had long since bee
out proo o • . . J n . John Fuller, h' efferson Mile
the gun-founder, wntmg to
m vogue. s, who had succeeded Samuel Remnant, as 1s agent, says:
I ld stand the whole proof dinner, which I shall leave to you
wou . . h' h I d . r
discretion, and begin a new regulat10n m w 1c es1re all the clerks ma be handsomely provided for and the under officers, but none of the
y · h 290
rabble of Woolw1c . 'Gate-crashing' was evidently not unknown on these occasions. Many visitors attended proo£ It was a spectacle not to be missed. A newspaper cutting of 8 March I 770 states: There was a great proof of brass mortars and about I oo large cannon in the Warren. Two iron cannon burst but no damage was <lone, notwithstanding the large number ofspectators present.
One fancies that the young men of leisure regarded the proving of guns in the eighteenth century much as the Sp niard of today regards a bull-fight. Something exciting with a strong element of risk to add zest to the entertainment.
Latterly these proofdinners were paid for by the Messenger to the Office of Ordnance.291
Their Majesties, the King and Queen visited the Warren in August 1770. A newspaper cutting dated 25 August 1770 records the occasion as follows:
Last Saturday, their Majesties honoured the Royal Artillery with their presence in the Warren. They were first taken to the Royal Laboratory attended by Colonel Desaguliers, and shown around. Next they went to the waterside where several shot were fired from an iron gun by means
of a lock fixed to the vent. A Sea Service I 3 inch mortar was next fired
286
88 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, p. 3r. : 87 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, p. 155. -OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/75, p. 245.
288
289 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. r. 290 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47/77, p. 68. . q.uoted from the_ Sussex Arch Collins, vol. Ixvii by F. C. Elliston-Erwood m the Pr~~fedmgs ofthe Woolwzch and District Antiquarian Society, vol. xxix, p. 34. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 116, 12 February 1771.
436
THE WARREN 17 50_
1775 three or fo:1r ti~es,. entirely filled with round shot, which had a good effect. Their :"1aJesh<:s next_ saw a heavy 12 pdr brass gun fired twentythree times with shot ma ~mute, spunging between each fire and loading with the grea~est sa_fety. This surpassed any quick firing ever yet practiced. The method 1s entirely new and supposed to be the invention of Colonel
Desaguliers.
Fears for the safety of the turret in the garden of Dr Pollock's house now bega1: to be felt. It was, as we know, nearly years old.
350
On 3 May 1.771 It was ordered to be surveyed and a report rendered on the possibility ofits collapse.202 Mr Powrie in his report of May
24
set all doubts _at :est. He stated that !he _old tower stood as perpendicular _as It _did on the day on which 1t was built and that he considered It unlikely to fall down. He stressed, however, that patches of brickwork were missing, especially round the foundations. It was
· d 29a
ordered to be repaire . An entry in the Journal Books under date 19 June 1771 shows that Russian mortars were being proved in the Warren.29'1 Three
13 inch mortars were proved for the Empress of Russia in July.2os In 177 I £800 was allowed for repairs at Woolwich and Greenwich. O n 24 April I 772, Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson informed the Board that he could not let them have the exact piece of ground
they required next to the Warren, but that he would indicate the
portion he was willing to part with if the B_oard would ap~oint _a
negotiator. General Skinner was duly appointed to deal with Sir
T homas, the Board having already intimated that they would
procu:re an Act of Parliament if necessary to secure the land they
wanted .296
On 7 M ay r 773, the Surveyors of the Highway of the P~rish of
Woolwich were again in trouble. They lacked the wherewithal to
carry out their duties.297 They stated that there_ was a very bad and
hollow way leading into the water-course which ran through the
Warren, which could not be made good without building an ar~h
to cross the road. They intimated that they had soi:ie money 1n
hand but not enough to construct the arch. They prormsed to supply
the labour and gravel to complete the road if the Board would find
the materials for the arch which they estii:iated at £18. 2s. 8d. T_he
Board agreed to this proposition and instructed the Respe~t1~e
Officers at Woolwich to pay the required sum to the Surveyor o t e
Highways.298
202 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, P· 38o.
20:i Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, P· 449· m Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/77, P· 52 3· J 1.
1
177
295 Ordnance Journal Bookk·, PPRROO//~g//4477//~g'. ~: I~,1 ~3 JJiy I 771.
Ordnance Journal Boo ,
Q
29a Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/79, P· -49·
201 See note 201. /WO/ /8 p 393
29s Ordnance Journal Book, PRO 47 1, • •
437
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
The sum of £1,000 was allotted to Woolwich in t~e 1773 Estimate~.
On I July 1773, the Respective Officers were mformed that his Majesty King George III would visit the Warren at g a.m. on t~e morning of Tuesday 6July. Twenty-two g pdr guns were to be laid down at Proof Place for a royal salute of 2 I guns to be fired, and such howitzers, mortars, and stores as the Commanding Officers, Royal Artillery, might direct. A breakfast :was to be prepared for the king in the storekeeper's room above stairs . .rt was ordered that a 13 inch Sea Service mortar should be placed m the Well and one 10 inch howitzer to be got ready. The officers were also ordered to have ready for the Master-General's signatur~ a general state of the Land and Sea Service guns, mortars, howitzers, shot and sh~ll, expressing the number and nature. of each, and the number ?f ships of each rate that could be supplied from stores under their care. Messrs Verbruggen were told that his Majesty would visit the foundry in the morning. The Comptroller, Royal Laboratory was instructed to provide the necessary stores. The best flag in the Tower was to be sent to Woolwich for use on this occasion.299
The Gentleman's Magazine gives the following description of the royal visit :300 Tuesday 6 July 1773. His Majesty visited Woolwich attended by a party ofLight Horse. His Majesty was received by Lord Townshend, as MasterGeneral of the Ordnance, and saluted by a discharge of 2 I 12 pdrs. The guard rested their arms, and the drums and music beat the march : the Royal Standard was displayed on the Mortar battery, and his Majesty passed in front of the old invalids to the new-erected Foundery where Mr Verbruggen shewed him the different processes of casting brass guns. The King then entered the boring room, for boring guns cast solid by a horizontal boring machine, the most curious and best contrived of any in Europe, where a 42 pdr was bored in his Majesty s presence. His Majesty then viewed a very curious contrived light piece of artillery which, on emergencies, might be carried on men's shoulders; its use and effects were tried by several charges of grape shot to the great amazement of his Majesty. This ingenious piece is the contrivance of General Pattison who explained it to his Majesty. From thence his Majesty went to the Royal Military Academy where he saw a very curious model of a fortification, together with the lines of approach, parallels and saps, explained by the Inspector of the Academy, Captain Smith, who is said to have been twelve years in the Russian Service. His Majesty then viewed the drawings and other exercises ofthe Upper Academy, explained by Dr Pollock, Professor of Artillery and Fortification, after which he retired into the Grand Room of the Academy and was regaled by a breakfast banquet. Lastly his Majesty reviewed the Royal Regiment of Artillery and expressed the utmost satisfaction in all their manoeuvres. Colonel Broom, in parading in front of the regiment before his Majesty on a very beautiful and
2tt Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{W0/47/82, p. II.
100 Volume XLIII, p. 347.
THE WARREN 1750-1775
ellbroke horse, but very tender-mouthed, checked him, which made the ;orse rise upon his hind legs and fall backwards on his rider who is so greatly bruised that his life is despaired of. '
To G eorge III is attributed the annual privilege still enjoyed by Arsenal workers of observing the second Saturday in July as a 'Bean Feast' holiday. Local legend says that the prandial entertainment he experienced on his visit recorded above was so much to his liking that, as a memento ofthat occasion, he caused the 'Bean Feast' celebration to be inaugurated. There may be a modicum of truth in this suggested origin as the second Saturday inJuly corresponds very closely to the date of 'Farmer George's' visit, although confirmation from records is lacking. There is no official corroboration anywhere
to b e found.
The new residence for the master founders was nearing completion by the summer of 1773. On 10 August of that year, it was ord ered th at the rooms of the house were to be papered at a cost not exceeding 6d. a yard.301 Finally the Verbruggens, on 29 November
1 ... 73, informed the Board that they had taken possession and t:ndered their thanks accordingly.302 O n 13 July 1773, a new shed for the purpose of storing timber for th Royal Laboratory was ordered to be built adjoining the Blue od.303
stor h s at a cost of £125. 7s. On 10 August 1773, the
· d 301
proof-butts were ordered to b e repaire . · As the walk along the Warren wall had become dangerous for pedestrians and for the horses employed in t1:e bori~g mill, a s':1g
(J"
tion of Messrs V erbruggen was adopted. This consisted of making 0 eslopi'ng descent for the horses on the inside of the roa.d supported
a s d · h b · k 3os
by a little w all. In addition, the smiths' shop was pave wit nc. s:
Questions of law relative to government servants and others hv1n_g in the W arren were always being asked. On 28 January 1_774 S_ir Richard Sutton, solicitor to the Board, stated that officers hvin~ 1n government houses were liable for the poor rate, but that soldiers
accommodated in barracks were not.306 • • • Trouble was still experienced with unauthorized persons ga1rung admittance to the Warren, and on 10 August 1773 the clerk of the works was ordered to prepare an estimate for: .
(I)
Securing the infirmary wall to prevent people gettmg over.
(
2) Securing the boundary wall ~o the.east.
(3)
Raising the infirmary wall with bnck. b 1 307
(4)
Securing the boundary wall with glass ott es. 4
3 01 Ordnance Journal Bookk, Pp~g1fygl1 ~~:~• ~: ;~6, 1 December I 773.
soz Ordnance Journal Boo , 1 4 ' 303 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/:2, P· ij0 · 47
304 Ordnance Journal Bookk, PPRR0 1fygl // ;, ~: 3l 25 January 1774·
30° Ordnance Journal Boo , O 1 147 3 ' aos Ordnancejournal Book, PROJW0//47//:3, P· 4ij· 307 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO 47 2 , P· 7 ·
439
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
It may be noted in passing that such security_ measures had a dd. • 1 • that ofpreventing cadets and soldiers from bre ki n
a itlona aim, a ng out of barracks.
Additional security measures were taken on_ 9 August r 774. The clerk of the works was instructed to have spikes placed over the gate leading into Warren Lane and over the gate near the stor
keeper's orchard; also locks were to be placed on ~he barrack doo;; t On the wall ao8 Thefts, however, still continued
and glass pu · A . and Charles Wall was prosecuted at th~ Kent ss1zes for purloining a lead pipe from the master founder s house. He was sentenced to transportation.309 . . . The improvement in balhstI~s, though sma!l, _did have an effect on the range and muzzle ve~oc1ty of ?uns. This 1n turn produced a 'more vigorous' proof with ~ts resultmg dangers of more powerful b rsts and an increase of ricochets. The proof-butts were not a u~due distance from the Woolwich-Plumstead hig_hroad, and th~ possibility of danger yearly increas_e~.. One cann? t b~ _surprised, therefore that the patience of the c1v1han popula t10n hv1ng in th immedia;e neighbourhood became stretched to breaking point. 0~ 7 November 1774, MrJohn Martin ofPlumstead '"'rote to the Board saying that the inhabitants of that pla~e request_ed the removal of the butts to a site further from the highroad since they were in danger of their lives every time proof was carried out. The Board realizing the seriousness of the position, acted quickly. On 8 ovem~ her, they called for the papers relative to the removal of the butt and for the newly proposed site to be laid before them, and on 22 November General Skinner and Dr Pollock were asked for a plan of the ground.310 On 10 October 1775, approval for the repair of the large and small furnaces in the foundry were approved,311 and on the following day the piling of the wharf adjoining the landing place was ordered to be repaired at a cost of£74.312 A curious order appeared on 22 August 1775, namely that 'labourers and horses in the Warren were to work overtime for the despatch of public business'.313 Payments for the more important of the works services carried out between I 76r and r 775 were as under:
JI March r76r. James Morris was paid £171. 18s. gl d. for repairing the powder bridge at Greenwich, finishing the junk house, laying new
::: OrdnanceJournaI Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 34. 310 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 44, 1o August 1774. 311 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/84, p. 166, 8 November 1774.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 165.
313
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 156. aia OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/86, p. 117.
44°
THE WARREN
1750_
1775 platforms and repairing shops and storehouses between January and
I
31 March 1761.314
3 I March r76r. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Church"ll · d £
· · · ff d . . i receive . 103.
19s. od . in nppmg o an retihng New Square and the artificers' sho s
between I January and 31 March 1761.315 P 3 r March r76r. James Morris was paid £121 IO!d t d
105
building a new apartment for General Michelson a~d £o.r 2 d. owar_ s
ks · fi sun ry repairs
to the barrac , in rmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between r
January and 31 March 1761.316 3 r March r76r. John Shakesp:ar received £148. 5s. 3d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt, gravelling the roads and clearing away rubbish between I January and 31 March 1761.317 3 o J une r76r. John ~hakespear was paid £78. 15s. 7½d. for gravelling Proof Place and certa1n roads, and for repairing the sluices between
1 April and 30 June 1761.318 30 J une r76r. James Morris r~ceived £166. 19s. r rd. towards erecting a new apartment for General Michelson and for sundry repairs to officers' houses and barracks beti.-veen I April and 30 June 1761.319 30 J une r76r: Joseph _Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £7o. gs. 1 ¾d. for makmg a dram from the cadet barracks and for sundry repairs between I April and 30 June 1761.320 30 J une r76r. James Morris received £79. 6s. 3£d. for sundry repairs to shops and storehouses between I April and 30 June 1761.321 30 September I 76r. John Shakespear was paid £1oI. 7s. 7½d. for digging drains to the new storehouses, gravelling roads and cleaning out the dock for the office boat between I July and 30 September 1761.322 30 September r76r. Joseph and Thomas Churchill were paid £161. 16s. 2¼d. towards erecting a new apartment for General Michelson and for sm~dry repairs to the infirmary and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1761.323 30 September r76r. James Morris received £130. 19s. o£d. towards erecting a new apartment for General Michelson and for sundry repairs to the infirmary and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1761.324 30 September r76r. John Shakespear was paid £2~. 4-S. 5}d. fo: digging drains and cess-pools and for clearing away rubbish from the mfirmary' b 6 ~
and officers' houses between I July and 30 Septem er 1 7 1. 30 September I76I. John Shakespear receiv~d £82. IIs. 11¼~-for repairing the proof-butt and Proof Place, gravellmg the roads, pullmg up
314
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/216, P· 140.
315
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/217, P· 128.
316
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/220. P· 16.
317
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/221, P· 41.
318
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/216, P· 158.
319
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/2 1 7, P· 245·
320
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/219, P· 60321 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/219, P· 107.
322
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/218, P· 39· 323 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /2 1 9, P· 87.
324
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/219, P· 178.
325
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/22 1 , P· 4°·
30 441
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
piles at Greenwich Magazine and clearing away rubbish betw and 30 September 1761.326 een I July
31 December 1761. J ames Morris was paid £165. r2s. gf d. for b . new stables for the storekeeper and for the contractor to house thUilding horses; also for sundryrepairs between I October and 3r Decemb e 0ffice
31 December 1761. John Shakespear received £32. r Is. 6d fc err?6r.327 drains and cess-pools, and for clearing rubbish away from th 0~ digging guardhouse and officers' houses between I October and eD arracks•
31
I 76r.32s ecernber 31 December 1761. John Shakespear was paid £7I. ,µ. 81-d r.
h r. 11· p f Pl 4 • ior repai .
t e 1ace ofthe proof-butt, grave mg roo ace and certain roads b ring
I
October and 3r December I 76I.329 etween 31 December 1761. James Morris received £ 497. gs. d
3
building a new apartment in General Michelson's house and !0 ':"ards
1
room to Colonel Pattison's house from the cadet barracks; also for Ying_ a to the guardhouse, infirmary and officers' houses between r Octobrepairs 3I December 176r.330 er and
31 March I762. James Morris was paid £68. r rs. r rd. for re . offices, storehouses and shops between r January and 31 M h pairs to
1 762 331
31 March 1762. James Morris received £93. ss. 2t d. for s:~~r -_ to the barracks, infirmary, guardrooms and officers' houses b Yrepairs January and 31 March 1762.332 etween 1 31 March 1762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill we .
6d fl d . h , re paid £7
gs. . or sun ry repairs to t e barracks, infirmary and officer , 1• betvveen I January and 31 March r762 .333 s houses
JI March 1762. John Shakespear received £86 r8s .1.d r .
h fl f h . . 0 2 • ior repai .
t e ace o t e proof-butt, gravelling roads and clearin awa n_ng betvveen I January and 3r March 176Q.334 g Y rubbish
31 March 1762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill ·= • Bs. gl d. for rep_airs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse andv..o...,[; pa~d £ 19, betvveen 1 April and 30 June 1 762•335 cers houses
30 June 1762. James Morris received £ 58 gs .J..d r ·
k h · fi · · 52 • 1or repairs to b
racJs, t em rmary, guardrooms and officers' houses bet,veen l A ·1 ard
30 une 1762.336 pn an
JO June 1762. James Morris was paid £107 r6s 2. ?•d f; .. shops, cranes, the wharfandstorehousesbetween I .Ap ·1· 4d . Jor repamng
Siple b . . n an 30 une1762.337
;:fri;Ei:~~~£;:d:~:~~t:tv~~ ~~;;;:db~::~~s1::~:~;
a2e Ordnance Bill Book Series II PRO/WO/ m Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/Wo/1//221, p. 4r. m Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' PRO/W0/51/216, p. 278. a2, Ordnance Bill Book' Series u' PRO/W 51 221, p. 123.
a30 Ordnance Bill Book' Series u' PRO/Wg//51/221, p. 123. a31 Ordnance Bill Book' Series u' p 51/221, p. 16r. 332 Ordnance Bill Book' Series n' p;g~g//51/219, p. 287. ::: Ordnance B!ll Book: Series u' PRO/W0/51/221, p. r65.
Ordnance Bill Book Ser· u' 51/222, p. 86. 331 Ordnance Bill Book' Seri: 'PRO/WO/51/223, p. 22.
334
Ordnance Bill Book: Series ii' :;g/W/W00/51/221, p. 196.337 Ordnance Bill Book Seri ' /51/221, p. 202. aa, Ordnance Bill Book' Seri: Ji' ::OO/W/W00//51/223, p. 3·
, ' 51/216, p. 298.
442
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 September z762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid
£115. 1,µ. od. for building a new cart shed and sundry other repairs
between I July and 30 September I 762.339 30 September z762. James Morris received £202. os. I 1d. towards building a new cart shed and sundry repairs between 1 July and 30 September 1762.340 30 S eptember z762. John Shakespear was paid £69. 13s. 6 ¾;d. for repairing the face of the proof-butt, cleaning the moats, demolishing the old stables to build the cart shed on the site and clearing away rubbish between 1 July and 30 September I 762.341 30 S eptember z762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £ 14. 1s. 7½d. for repairs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between I July and 30 September 1762.342 30 September 1762. James Morris was paid £56. 6s. g! d. for repairs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between 1 July and 30 September 1762.343 3 r D ecember 1762. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £?I 8s. 1 ½d. for repairs to barracks, infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between 1 July and 31 December 1762.344 3r D ecember r762. James Morris was paid £35. I4S. 2d. for repairs to b arracks, gu ardhouse and officers' houses between 1 October and
3 1
1762.345
D ecember
3r December r762. John Shakespear received £53. 12s. 6d. for repairing the fac of the proof-butt, building a cart shed and cleaning the dock for the storekeeper's boat between 1 October and 31 December 1762.346
3 r 11-larch r763. John Shakespear was paid £42. os. 5 ¼;d. for cleaning the doc< for the storekeeper's boat, clearing mud from the moat, repairing the face of the proof-butt, opening the ground for mending conduit pipes after frost and clearing away rubbish between I January and 31 March
I 763.34.?
3r March r763. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £35. 4-S· 7¼_d. for opening and repairing barrack drains, and repairing the infirmary, guardhouse and officers' houses between I January and 31
348
March 1763.
3r March r763. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £25. 6s. 6 ½d. for repairs to storehouses, offices and stables between I January and 31 M arch 1 763.349
3r March r763. James Morris received £79. 6s. 6¾d. for repairs to shops, offices, storehouses, cranes and the boat dock beh-veen 1 January and 3 I March 1 763.350
339 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/218, p. 224.
3 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/218, p. 244.
do
341 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/220, p. 87. 342 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /221, p. 196. 343 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/221, p. 201. 3H Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/220, p. 212. 3 ·15 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/222, p. 252. 346 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/224, p. 8. 347 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /223, p. 67.
348 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/225, p. 99. Mo Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /225, p. 99. 360 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfW0/51 /227, p. 15.
443
3r A-farcll r763. James Morris was 1;aid £43. 10s. 3t d, for rep . the guardhouse, barracks and officers houses between I Janua;,1rs to 31 March 1763.351 . . and 30 June r763. James Morns recen~ed £rog. I Is. 2! d. for repairs shops storehouses the moat and slmce, and the powder rnagaz· to Gree~wich betv,,ee'n I April and 3o June 1763.352 ine at
30 September IJ63 . Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid 3s 3_l.d for repairs to officers' houses between I July and 30 Sept £97,
• 4 • ernber
1763,353 .
30 September rJ63 . John Shakespear received £110. 6s. IoJ...d pumping water for Colonel Pattison and the cadet barracks, a~ct icor emptying the moat between I July and 30 September I 763_354 or
3 0 Sehtember IJ6ry. James Morris was paid £181. 6s. 64 d. for re .
r .J • h b k d pairs to
dwelling houses the mfirmary, t e arrac s an storehouses b tw
' 6 355 e een
I July and 30 September I 7 3· . . 3 I December r76ry. James Morns received £79. I Is. 7d. for rep .
.J L d S . h a1rs to
the Academy, cadets' hall, the an erv1ce store ouse, Major J arnes' house Colonel Pattison's house, the cranes, Mr M uller's wash-hous s
' b 6 HG ee~
between I October and 31 Decem er 17 3. · 3r Marc/z r764. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were p aid £ 7s. ofd. for repairs to officers' houses, building party wall, plastering at~ sundry services between I January and 3 I M arch I 764.357 3 o June r764. James Morris received £70. rs. 3¾d. for :repairing th roofs ofthe carpenters' and turners' shops, for fixing gates in the Artific ?
. . . ffi ers
Yard, and m carrying out repairs on o ces and storehouses between 1January and 30June 1764.358 30 June r764. James Morris was paid £124. r6s. 3;],d. for taking u
and laying a new floor and repairing the wainscoting in Colonel Pattisonp house (~~ard's Orders 16 December 1763 and 17 Feb uary 1764). Als~ for repamng the tables at the cadet barracks and other services between 1January and 30 June 1764.359
. 31 Dece,;zber 1764: James Morris_ received £134. 6s. 9 d. for repairs
2
m officers houses, m bog-houses m the barra cks and in the shed for cleaning shoes at the cadet barracks between I July and 31 December
I 764.360
30 June 1765._ !oseph ~ratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £120.
1
3s. 52d. for repairing the mfirmary, for raising the wall at the back of the cadet_ barracks, fo_r raising the East Pavilion of the new infirmary, for cleanmg_and opemng drains, for building a new washhouse and wine-bins
at the assistant firemaster's house and for other minor alterations between I January and 30 June 1765.361
::: Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/227, p. 16. 35; Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/224, p. 34. 364 Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/228, p. 29. Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/s1/22a, p. 20.
355
au Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/s1/22a, p. 27. Ordnance B~ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/sr/229, p. 83_
367
m gr:ance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/s1/22g, p. 115. m o~:~;N:H N~~:; ~:;:: };, PRO/W0/51/229, P· 113. ::: gr~nance B[ll Book, Series II: ::g~g~~:~::i; ~: ;g!:
r nance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/sl/229, p. 301.
444
THE WARREN 1750
1775
30 Jun_e _1765. Jose~h ~ratt and_1:homas Churchill received £8. os. d.
7
[or repairing and pointmg the t1lmg of the carpenters', wheelers' and srniths' shops by order of t~e Board dated 26 April 1765. The work was carried out between 1 April and 30 June 1765_a62
31 D ecember r765. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid£34. os. 3}d. f~~ repairs in officers' houses between July and
3 I 31
December 1765.
31 D ecember r76-?. Joseph Pr~tt and Thomas Churchill received £111 . 18s. 3}d. for bmlding a new bndge over the ditch at the lower end of the proof-butt, and ~or repairing storehouses, the storekeeper's house, white
washing, plastering etc. between 1 July and 31 December 6 .3s4
17 5
31 D ecember r765. James Morris was paid £7. 2s. o! d, for minor repairs to officers' houses between I July and 31 December 1765.365
30 June 1766. James Morris received £27. os. 10d. for repairing Colonel Pattison's house, for making tables and forms for the Royal Academy (Board's Order dated 2 1 March 1 766), and for repairing the wainscoting at the cadet barracks (Board's Order dated 3 June 1766) between 1 J anuary and 30 June 1766.366
3o September 1766. James Morris was paid £147. 15s. 2¾d. for work at the Academy between 1 July and 30 September 1766.367
30 ej1tember 1766. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill received £59. q s. 2-;l;d. for minor building alterations between I July and 30 September 1766.368
3 1 December 1766. ] oseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill were paid £83. 3s. 1 od. for resetting coppers and tiling the bog-house at Dr Pollock's house between 1 October and 31 December 1766.369
3 r March 1767. James Morris received £79. tµ. 6d. for repairing the Sea Service storehouse and sheds between 1 January and 31 March 1767.370 . 3 •
30 June 1767. John Shakespea_r was pai_d £22. 12s. g~d. for le~el~ng the ground, clearing away rubbish, cleaning out cess-pools and d1i~mg the oTound for the plumbers between I January and 30 June I 767 •
3; J une r767. Joseph P~~tt and T~omas C:hurchill received £72. i8s. o}d. for repairing the tilmg and brickwork m the New Square, and for repairing the parapet of Prince Rupert's Walk and the Vvarren wall between I April and 3o June 1 767 (Board's Orders dated 2I August I 766,
372
6 M arch 1767, 7 April 1767 and 22 May 1767). . . September r767. Joseph Pratt and Thomas Churchill "':ere paid
0
£;
36. 18s. 11 !d. for taking down the old a1:d building a new k1_tchen fo~ Colonel Williamson, for erecting a new dairy for Colonel Pattison, an
362 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO fWO /51/229, P· 3°3· 363 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/23o, P· ~4· 364 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/231, P· 0• 365 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51//237, P· 9·
366
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 235, p. 322.
367 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO f/5 11238, P· ;~2· 3oa Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO 51 1240, p. o· 360 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO I51/238, P· 9 · 370 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/W0//51/23°, P· ~ii·
371
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO 51 213°, P· 6 · 312 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/237, P· 4 ·
445
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
for repairing the tiling at Colonel Pattison's house between I July and 30 September 1767 (Board's Orders dated 2 I August 1766 22 May 1 767 30July 1767, and 3 August 1767).373 ' '
JI December I767. Joseph Pratt received £ 48. 10s. 6Jd. for sundry repairs between I October and 31 December 1767 (Board's Orders dated 21 August 1766, 3 August 1767 and I December 1767).374
JI .March I768. Joseph Pratt was paid £31. 16s. o;td. for repairs between I January and 31 March 1768 carried out on Board's Orders dated 21 August 1766, 20 August and I December 1767.375
I I July I768. James Morris received £12. 15s. 1fd. for fitting up an office over the guardroom. 376 30 September I768. John Shakespear was paid £132. 13s. od. for raising and repairing the proof-butt between I July and Septemb
1768.377 30 er JI December I768. John Shakespear was paid £107. i6s. od r _
. h . b d 1 . h . . ior en
Jargmg t e practice utt a~ c eanmg t e drams between I October and 31 December 1768 (Board s Order dated 14 June 1768). 378 30 Judne I7~9· JamCes MorGrisdre~ei,vehd £45. 4S. 11 ¾d. for minor altera
1 1
tions an repairs to o one o wm s ouse between I April a d J
6 379 n 30 une
17 9· JI December 1769. James Morris was paid £195 18s d r •
, · . 5 . 1or repairs to
officers houses and the cadet barracks between I J uly and December
31
1769 (Board's Order, 15 August 1769).380 30 June 1770. Thomas Churchill and John Groves were 'd £
8 .ld fc h . k b pai 1 95·
s. 11 2 • or t cir wor etween l April and 30 J une 1770 (Board's Orders dated 3 August r769, 27 March 1770 4 May 1770 d M
) 381 ' an 22 ay
1770. 30June 1770. James Morris received £141 6s 6 d orb 'Id' h
· · 2 · m mg coac
houses for Generals Belford and Williamson and for rcpa· . · tl
r. d , h 1ung 1e master
ioun er s ouse between 1 January and 30 June r 770 (.Board's O d
5June 1770).382 r er,
30September 1771. Thomas Churchill andJohn Groves , ·d £ I 7s. od. for building a stable for Captain Moll man fo .,beziledi:iai 15 r.
, 1 u mg a wallb h d f
etween_ t e gar ens o Messrs Verbruggen and General Williamson and for repairs to R.L. storehouses and dwelling houses between J I
1
30 September 177r,383 u Y and
30 September 1771. John Shakespear received £80 17s od c d' ·
h r d · f · • . 1or 1ggmg
t e ioun anon o a wall between the gardens of Messrs V b
General Williamson. 384 er ruggen and
::: Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 102. m Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /237, p. 142.
• Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 142. ;;; Ordnance B!lJ Book, Series II, PROfWO/51;242, p. 13. m Ordnance B!ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 167.
Ordnance B!JJ Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51;237, p. 201 . 379 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO;51;242
p 98
"° Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II: PRO/WOI 112 8• : 6: ::: Ordnance B!ll Book, Series II, PRO /WO/~ 1/2!5: ~-~30. Ordnance B)ll Book, Ser~es II, PROfWO/51;248, p. 36.
381
314 Ordnance B)ll Book, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/51 /248, p. 280. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51;253, p. g.
446
THE WARREN 1750-1775
3I December r771. James Morris was paid £42. 1 IS. 02d. for repairs to the Royal Laboratory and storehouses between I October and 3 I December I 77 I .385
3 I December I77r. James Morris received £52. 2s. 10d. for repairs to dwelling houses between I October and 31 December I 77 I •380
3r March I772. James Morris was paid £4_7· I 5s. I I d. for minor repairs to the cadet barracks, dwelling houses, engine house and at the houses of the messenger and Mr Sumpter in Warren Lane between I January and 31 March 1772.387
31 March r772. John Shakespear received £41. 18s. 3d. for digging a new necessary and opening drains between I October 1771 and 31 March 1772.388
3r March 1772. James Morris was paid £30. gs. g½d. for work in the Royal Laboratory between 1 January and 3 l March I 771 .389
30 June r772. John Groves received £155. 2s. 1 1 ¼d. for repairs to dwelling houses, the old and new barracks, the Academy, the cadet barracks, the turret. Also for building a ne,v stable and chaise house for Dr Irwin the Surgeon General. Work carried out between 22 February and 30 June 1772.390
3r March 1773. James Morris was paid £218. 10s. 7½,d. for work on dwelling houses, the Academy, the cadet barracks, the housekeeper's apartment, the old and new barracks, the Lieutenant of cadets' apartment; the guard-rooms and the master founder's new house between
r October 1 772 and 3r March 1773.391 3r lvfarch 1773. James Morris received £108. 15s. 4¾d. for repairs to storehouses between r October 1772 and 3 I March 1773.392
30 June r773. John Groves was paid £141. 2s. I 1½d. for work in se eral chvelling houses, the master founder's new house and the cadet barra ks between I April and 30 June 1773.393
30Junc 1773. James Morris received £97. 13s. 7¾d. forwork on officers' houses, the Academy, the old and new barracks, the infirmary, the cadet barracks and guardrooms. Also for making targets for practice on Woolwich Common between 1 April and 30 June 1 773.394
30 September 1773. John Groves received £214. 8s. s½d. for repairing officers' houses, the barracks and the cadet barracks between 1 July and 30 September 1773.396
30 September r773. James Morris was paid £152. 10s. 6l;d. for repairs to dwelling houses, the Academy and the cadet barracks between 1 July and 30 September 1773.396
385 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/5 1 /249, p. 225. 386 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO /51 /256, p. I 86. 387 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /249, p. 226. 388 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/252, p. 225. 389 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfvVO / 5 1 /256, p. 36. The year '1771' should
probably read '1 772'. 390 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /256, p. 63. 391 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /258, P· 83. 392 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{WO/51 /258, P· 84. 393 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5 1 /258, p. 130. 394 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/5 1/258, p. 97. 306 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /258, p. 95·
398 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO{W0/51 /258, p. 89.
447
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
31 December 1773. James Morris received £155. I Is. 2d. for repairing storehouses, the cranes, the Royal Laboratory and the magazine between I July and 31 December 1773.39~ • •
31 March 1774. James Morns was paid £71. 4,S, gd. for repairs to several houses the Academy, the old and new barracks and the cadet l M h 398
barracks between r January and 31 arc 1774. 31 Marclz 1774. John Groves received £22. 14,.r. 2f d. for repairing Royal Laboratory storehouses between r October and 3 1 December
I 774,399 .
3 1 March 1774. John Groves was paid £49. 7s. 6½d. for repairing storehouses between I January and 31 March 1774.400
30 June 1774. James Morris received £47. 3s. 3d. for repairing officers' houses, the Academy and the barracks (Board's Orders 5 April and r o May 1774).401 . .
30 September 1774. James Morns was paid £119. 18s. 8¾d, for repairs to the Royal Laboratory storehouses, the fire-barn, magazine and cranes between 1July and 30 September 1774. Board's order 5 April 1774.402
30 September 1774. John Groves received £68. 8s. 6½d. for repairing dwelling houses. 403 . . 30 September 1774. James Morns was paid £56. 16s. o¼d. for repairs to officers' houses between 1July and 30 September 1774.404
31 December 1774. James Morris received £162. 14,.r. r4 d. for repairs to Royal Laboratory storehouses between r October and 31 December r774.405 31 March 1775. John Groves was paid £63. r5s. r¾d. for work in the
Royal Laboratory between r January and 31 March r775.1os
31 March 1775. James Morris received £ 48. 7s. od.for repairs to cranes, storehouses, magazines and the fire-barn between r January and 3r March 1775.407
31 March 1775. James Morris was paid £7r. r2s. rod. for repairing officers' houses and the barracks between r January and 3r 1 Iarch 1775.408
30 June 1775. John Groves received £r34. r rs. 7}d. for repairs to officers' houses, the Academy and the barracks between r pril and 30 June 1774 (Board's Orders JO March, 24 March, 7 April and 27 April
I 775).409 30 September 1775. John Groves paid £1,149. 7s. gd. for work on the new barracks on Woolwich Common between r July and 30 September 1775.410
397 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/VvO/51/265, p. 67. 398 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /258, p. 286. 399 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 /264, p. 44. Either the date should
read '3 I March 1775' or the work must have been carried out between '1 October and
31 December, I 773'. 400 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO /WO/51 /258, p. 281. 401 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/261, p. 127. 402 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/259, p. 155. 403 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51 /264, p. 32. 401 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/264, p. g.
405 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/264, p. 46. 40 • Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/261, p. 258. co7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/264., p. 113. ,a, Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PROfWO/51/265, p. 87. ,a,Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/259, p. 224. cio Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/259, p. 261.
448
THE WARREN 1750-1775
30 September 1775. James Morris received £158. 6s. r i¾d, for work at the Royal Laboratory between I July and 30 September 1775_4ll
Although the above extracts from the Bill Books constitute a formidable list, it is by no means comprehensive and certain items of lesser importance have been omitted. It does, however, clearly indicate that, except for the foundry reconstruction, the erection of the master founder's new house and one or two minor constructions the whole of the building services carried out between 176o antl
1775 were devoted to n:iain~enance. The fac~ that the proof-butts required constant attention 1s also made marufest. From a development point of view, the period in question is singularly lacking in interest.
Before closing this chapter, the changes of staff between 1760 and 1775 must b e recorded. In 1760, the establishment of the Royal Laboratory was :412
Comptroller Sir Charles Frederick £260 p.a. Chief Firemasler Colonel Thomas Desaguliers £150 p.a. Mate to Chief Firemasler Captain John Mollman £80 p.a.
,lerk of the R .L. Hugh Brown
Turner John Jones Joiuer William Pilcher 2nd Joiner Richard Berry Carpenter John Cook
mith Robert McGill Labourers Robert Poulton, Matthias Pedder
George Ayres to be clerk of the R.L. vice Hugh Brown promoted with
effect from I January I 764.413 Christopher Baldock to be supernumerary clerk vice_Samuel Forman.414 J ohn Powell appointed fireman at 2s. 4d. p.d. vice Thomas Bacon
deceased.415 . Gaeta no Ruggieri to be 2nd Joiner R.L. vice Richard Berry with effect 6 416
from 1 o August r 7 2. . • ffi et William Dine to be carpenter in the R.L. vice John Cook with e e 417
from 8 April 1762. . · h B ld k
hn Morden to be supernumerary clerk vice Chnstop er a oc
J
0 • . 66 418
promoted with effect from 1 Apnl 17 • . . '11' Thomas Mallard to be Overseer of the Works at Woolwich~~ce W1 iam Barber dismissed at 3s. p.d. with effect from 2 AuguSt 1768· m Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/\", 0 / 5_1/2: 4, P· 229·
1
Hz Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WOl::,4/ t 6 December 1763. 413 Ordnance Journal Book, PR0/"':0/47/62, p. :78' 1"' December 1764. This Samuel ~u OrdnanceJ<?urnal Book, PRO~\", 0/47t,~;J~n,7re'rer~ed to in note 102. Since Henry
Forman may possibly have been the Henr . .
11 8
Forman did not become ClerkptoROthe/v\~0/• ti/6~17/ 394, 28 June 1765.
415 47
Ordnance Journal Book, . ::i , ~ /
4 16 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/\\ 0/~4 21 4· 417 Ordnance Establishment Boo~,/~~~/~~l::,:.';~t 27 May 1766. 418 Ordnance Journal Book, PPRRO/W0/4 • P· 42, 2 August 1768.
419 Ordnance Journal Book, 47172' 449
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
John Hargrave, overseer of the works at Woolwich to be superannuated and allowed 3s. p.d. pay.420 John Hempsall to be overseer of the works vice John Hargrave421 at 10S. p.d. George Read to be foreman in the Royal Laboratory vice Joseph Herring, deceased.422
Thomas Powrie to act as overseer of the works, Woolwich at .µ. p.d. paid from John Hempsall's salary with effect from I March 1771, John Hempsall being ill. 423
Francis Matthews is appointed extra clerk vice William Sumpter promoted.424 Thomas Powrie appointed clerk of the works, Woolwich, vice John
Hempsall at 6s. p.d. with effect from 1? Ma:ch 1772.425 Robert Hollis to be foreman ofthe snuths viceJohn Wilson, deceased.426 Anthony Genet to be extra clerk vice Francis Matthews.427
Matthew Martin to be foreman of the smiths vice Robert Hollis, deceased.428
uo OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/72, p. 42, 2 August 1768.
m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/73. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/74, p. 170, 16 November 176g m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 183, 1 March 1771. · m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/77, p. 503, 7 June 1771. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /79, p. 189, 24 March 1 772.
m OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/81, p. 169, 5 March 1773 . m Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WO/54/215, 1773. m OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47/83, p. 82, 1r February I 77 .
4
45°
ll_=:d~_~::::::::::::::;;.:...,,,r.;.;:;-:p(;;;::r;;;E;;-,igi: ~
1780 • "--..__
I 1780 :
,_-----.. J '------... ~
i,.11.~'(..--==-==-==----=---=--=-==-=-=-==-===-~
~-PLAN OF WOOLWICH WARREN :::,,-----and tlit additional land pur,;has~d from 5,r Thomas W,lson bJ tbt Board of Ordnance •
j]]] S.lt for tbt pu~ of making a nt.., Proof Bull .md Slccl..lxiu~ Scale,-100 r,et to lht 111ch.
4.51
'Plan of \Voolwich \,Varren
f \Voolwich \Varren' 1777
Chapter 12
The Warren I776-I800
An Act of Parliament which had a profound effect on Woolwich was passed in I 776.1 It was 'an Act to authorize for a limited time the punishment by hard labour of offenders who for certain crimes are, or shall become, liable to be transported to any of his Majesty's Colonies and Plantations'. Judges had previously been given the power of sentencing offenders to transportation 'into any of his
Majesty's Dominions in North America',2 but this form of penalty
came to an end with the loss of the American Colonies and was replaced by sentences of imprisonment. The sudden increase in prison population brought about by this change gave rise to such a critical situation in existing gaols that some expedient to obviate serious overcrowding had to be adopted. Convicts were therefore incarcerated in old hulks moored in the Thames and other rivers near centres where their labour could best be utilized, and Woolwich was one of the places which had the doubtful privilege of receiving these unwelcome visitors who were brought there to undertake the new constructional work contemplated in the Warren and Dockyard. It must be admitted that these hulks provided as black a spot in n ational penal history as the common gaols of those days did in local government, and many a poor wretch eked out an existence ofmisery in these floating hells till the discovery of Australia once more made possible the resumption in 1787 of transportation for the more serious offences. The hulks were not abolished till 1858 though transportation was superseded by penal servitude in 1853.3
Dickens in his Great Expectations gives a vivid impression of the convict, his 'home' and his work on the marshes during the latter years of this harsh experiment.
The three hulks stationed off Woolwich were the Warrior, the Justicia and the Defence, old battleships capable of housing 600 men each. They were originally farmed by a contractor, Mr Duncan Campbell, who undertook the maintenance and safe custody of the convicts for a consideration which the government were doubtless glad to concede in order, like Pilate, to wash their hands of a distasteful duty. In a pamphlet published in 1 782 entitled Hints for the Regulation of the Convicts in the Hulks o.ff Woolwich and other Places, it is stated that when the hulks were provided, the original contract
1 16 Geo. III, cap 43. 2 18 Car. II, cap 3. 4 Geo. I, cap 11. 3 16 and 17 Vic., cap 99.
451
rate was £32 for each convict per annum, a sum which was a:fterwards reduced to £26. The vessels, all three-deckers, were di~ided into wards, galleries., workshops, and store rooms. Each contamed also a hospital and a chapel. How far the cure ofsouls succeeded is not recorded but the cure of bodies was an essential ingredient of hulk life. The 11.ealth of the convicts was on the whole b~d; and the mortality rate was high due no doubt to overcrowding, insa_~tary con~itions, the proximity of the marshes and the harsh condit10ns of pnson existence. Fever claimed many victims for t_he scourge of typhus had not by then been eradicated._ The c~nvi~ts were segreg~te~ into three groups according to their behav10ur, good, bad or md1fferent. At the end of the day's toil they were allowed to associate with others of their own class only. The ~ells ~hroughout the hulks were numbered consecutively commei:icmg wit~ those on the lower deck a nd ranging upwards. Those bearmg the higher numbers were occupied by the better characters, who were gradually promoted from the d ecks below. Every pr~soner, after ~wo years incar~eration, was ligible to commence a penod ofprobat10n w!1en a port10n ofhis arnings were reserved for his own use. No convict was allowed to be without iron upon one or both hi_s legs and, ~f engaged on board, h had :: undergo the same restrarnt as was imposed on thos who work d during the day in the Warren or the Dockyard. T he hours of lab e · · d h lf d ·
ranged from e1g~t to rune an ~ a · a1ly according to the s asonourof the year; the convicts therefore did less work than manyanind pend t
. . d . l en
labourer engaged 1n m ustry or agncu ture. 4 This is born out b some interesting figures about the cost ofconvict labour when the y
. . l Th era
ofthe hulks was drawmg_to its c ose. e author of Summer Excursions in the Counry ofKent published about I 855, states that:
Every adult convict, too, costs on the average a yearly sum of£
1 8
12s. 11d., equivalent to 7s. 2d. a week, being 2d. a week more tha th · agricultural labourers in Dorsetshire and Wiltshire with wives and fa;ilie~ to support, and who work longer hours, are receiving at the present t· The labour ofa convict is valued at £10. 12s. gd., leaving a loss ther fcime.
[£ d . , e ore,
o 7. I4f. 4 . per annum on every pnsoner engaged on board the E li h
hulks. ng s
. There seems to have been no doubt that the use of forced labour 1n the Warren was uneconomical and that the Board would have saved large sums by employing free men. The malefactor of course
had to _be house~ and fed somewhere and his well-being while undergoing detention was the responsibility of the State, but as the Board had to accept the ex.pense over :~e eighty years without any transfer offunds from the prison authonties, their loss could not have
been much Jess than half a million pounds.
. Greater London, vol. II, p. 16 by Edward v\ alford.
452
THE WARREN 1776-1800
The original purpose in bringing the convicts to Woolwich was to assist in making the large extensions to Crown property there which were brought about partly by the natural growth of the establishments and partly by the advent of the Napoleonic wars. This class of work was eminently suitable to men of this calibre but when it was eventually finished the convicts were employed in the heavier non-technical jobs inseparable from a busy and growing arsenal. A considerable portion of the heavy work of proving shell was performed by these unfortunates of whom upwards of five hundred were daily brought on shore from the Justicia for that purpose, and for other laborious routine work in the Arsenal.5 This type of employment, however, proved unsatisfactory in many ways and the convicts were withdrawn and sent away to Chatham and more appropriate places in 1856. .
One or two writers have commented on the presence of convicts at Woolwich. Pennant says :6
l\l.[ay 8th. On our way to the boat, we had. a melanchol~ pr?of of _the profligacy of the times by a sight of the mulutude_of conv~cts m chams, labouring in removing earth; eight are employed m drawmg each ca~t. They were well clad and, by their appearance, seeme~ well f~d; but m o-eneral the sense ofshame is lost. Ifthey had any at first, it soon is changed into hardened impudence by the depravity o~ their fellow pr~soners. At this time there were about three hundred busied on land, besides others who are employed on the shoals of the river in the ballast lighters. At night they are all lodged on board four great hulks.
Another reports that:7
At the entrance to Woolwich Reach from Eby S, we see two or three old ships wherein are kept near three hundred felons here punished by working in lighters to clear the sand-banks in the Thames and on _shore in the \t\Tarren or Gun Park. Here also the matrosses are employed m the composition of fireworks and cartridges, and in extracting saltpetre from
damaged gunpowder.
A report on the hulks, which had just been. instituted, was published in a magazine on 15 July, 1776.8 The wnter says:
The law for sentencing the convicts to work upon the Thames is in~eed severe but we trust it will be salutary. They are to be employed m as much 'labour as they can sustain, to be fed with legs and shins of beef, ox cheek, and such other coarse food; to ~ave 1:othing for drink but ':~ter or small beer· to be clad in some squalid umform; never to be v1S1ted without the c~nsent of the overseers; and whoever gives them the smallest
6 A guide to Woolwich, John Grant, 1841. 6 Journey to the Isle of Wight, 1801. 7 The Water Companion, 1802. ,. 8 Quoted from Records of Woo!wic/1, vol. I, v\ • T. \ mcent.
453
reliefincurs a penalty offorty shillings. The expense ofkeeping and maintaining them is to be paid by the Government and not out of the County rates.
The first vessel launched for the above purpose was constructed on a plan approved of by his Majesty in Council. It cannot be called a ship or tender, neither is it so flat or open as a lighter; it is calculated to hold twenty-seven tons ofballast. On the larboard side the gunwale is considerably broader than in the common lighters, on the starboard side is a flooring about three feet broad, for th~ _men to work on, and a machine called a david, with a windlass, for raising the ballast. Part of the vessel is decked in abaft for the convi~ts to sleep in, and another in the forecastle is formed into a kind ofcabm for the over~eer. Her outward appearance differs very little from that of a common hghter.9 On 5 August, the convicts, chained by the leg, two and two, began to work in her about two miles below Barking Creek, under the direction ofDuncan Ca~pbell Esq., who has been appointed_ governor of this new kind of Bridewell~ Their behaviour, in general, smc~ they came on board her, and other
lighters employed in the same serv!ce, has bee? very becoming; the clause in the Act which says that the time for which they were sentenced to work may be shortened, on a representation o_f their good behaviour, having operated very powerfully. A few ofthem, mdeed, employed a little below Woolwich, attempted t? get out of their chains, and were guilty
of some slight outrages to their commander, when a severe flagellat·
. l lOil
ensued on their being agam proper y secured. Eight others, a short time after, found means to seize on the arm-eh t and pres~nting pistols t~ the ~eads o~ their keepers, threatened to bl~s~ their brams out if they did not nnmediately go down into the hold 1 · h
· 1 · h . , w -iic
they wer~ obliged to comp'( wit ; upon which the villains jumped into a boat which had been designedly brought alongside by yome of their friends, and got clear off.
One form ofp_unishment ~eted out to recalcitrant convicts was to shackle thei:n wnst to_ ankle ma_ bent up position. The leg-hand cuff used for this degradmg operation looked like a figure of eight ·
steel. One of !he:5e implements was discovered in the long grass ~~ the marshes '"'.1thm the Royal Ars~nal some thirty-five years ago. The followmg newspaper cuttmgs throw further light on th convicts and their doings. e
IJJJ. The heads ofoxen slaughtered on Tower Hill are daily sent d to Woolwich hulks for the convicts. own 23 April IJJJ. One day last :veek the ballast lighter working on the Essex Coast was dro~e over the nver to Woolwich by the high wind, when ~ourteen of the convicts rose U_POn their keepers, cut one of them terribly m the s~oulder and mad_e their escape. A naval officer, meeting them at Greenw1c~, persuaded eight to return to their duty, but the other six have not smce been heard of.
9 This descriptio!1 applies to the barges employed and not the hulks which were simply
hulls ofold war smps.
454
THE WARREN 1776-1800
I December r777. Last week one of the convicts at Woolwich, being at work on shore, concealed himself among some rushes, and in the night got in at the chamber window of a gardener in that town, and stole some plate, wearing apparel and other things; but the gardener's wife, hearing him, alarmed her husband, who pursued and took him. He was carried on board the ballast lighter and severely flogged.
r780. The convicts at Woolwich are now employed in making a new wharf at the Warren, opposite to where the hulks lay for the purpose of the Ordnance hoys loading and unloading, which they at present are obliged to do above the Warren, a practice attended with great inconvenience.
Escapes from the hulks were not infrequent, though like those from Dartmoor at the present day, most of them were unsuccessful. One can thus appreciate the nervous apprehension with which the townspeople of Woolwich regarded their unwanted and unpleasant n eighbours. Crime was not unknown in those days, and some of the d esperadoes held in captivity were not above committing it to gain their ends. The Gentleman's Magazine under date Thursday 27 June I 80510 states:
This day five of the convicts on board the hulks atWoolwich endeavoured to make their escape in a boat. They were pursued, and not surrendering were fired at. Two were shot dead and another so much wounded that he soon died. The other two were taken unhurt.
Three other newspaper reports may be quoted:
November r832. Out ofa gang of24 convicts going to work at Woolwich, I 2 attempted to escape. On Saturday morning last about 8.30 a.m., these convicts, who had been employed in the Lower Marsh, Royal Arsenal, were going to work as usual. "\,Vatching their opportunity, 12 of them jumped over the high ledge which divides the marshes from the hi?h roa~. T hey took to the fields. The sentinel (a gunner) ofthe gang fired 1mmed1ately, although he missed all of them, eight returned and gave themselves up. The other four continued across the fields in the direction of Plumstead Common. The keeper procuring additional artillerymen from the Arsenal pursued the four and after an hour discovered ~o of the~ concealed in a quick-set hedge in a mos_t secluded spot behmd the rrull on Plumstead Common. They had taken off their shirts and put them over their jackets and pulled their stockings over the iron's on their legs. They made no resistance and were conveyed back to the Arsenal. The remaining two were secured behind a large haystack in a field between Wickham and Welling. These were also returned to their quarters under
strong guard. , 3 May 1832. On Saturday afternoon a party of c~1:victs, em.ployed in Woolwich Dockyard in charge of an officer and nuhtary sentinel, four
10 Vol. 75, p. 673.
455
most determined characters, named Boutel, Wallace, Dalton and Ban suddenly rushed upon the sentinel, a rifleman, on duty at the west and forcibly took away his rifle. On one or the officers approaciBoutel, who had the rifle, swore to blow his brains out, and all £our .n their escape by scaling the gate. On bz:eaking iz:ito the London Road,
convicts betook themselv~s to the bnckfiel?s on the other side. TI: ignorance of the localities induced them to clun.b a steep hill on the
. k" . f h h ce1
ofCharltonsandpits, thin_ mgitwasparto t e angingwood, but, find · a ravine of great depth Jntervened between !hem and the only spot which they could.expect to.escape, they rap1dl~ descended in full vi of the excavators into the pits. Boutel, abandoning the rifle to Bannt heavily chained as he ·was, and compel~ed to_ employ one hand in holdir up his fetters, squatted down, and folding his arms over his knees 11 . l1imself. bounding like a ball, down a steep precipice full eio-hty .c:e 't rdo •
' · · D It t k li 5 .11 e ee
without sust~ining any mh~ury.J a on odo tha ne up the face ofthe asce1.._, to the J1ang1ng ,-vood; t e ot 1ers passe rough an orcha rd d
· h · h b · f an som
ardens greatly alarnung t e In a itants o that rural and r t· d
g, h 1 . e ire spo
'\I\ oodland Place, who shut t emse ves m and watched the eh
d. 1 · 1 h · h ase, as th
Yao-ersu followed, 1sc 1arg1ng severa s ots w:it out effect. Cap t . G ·
o . k. di.er a 1n rove
observing that the convicts were ta ing .uerent directions e ' t d d .
• • TA r 11 d T , x en e h1
men and in this way vva . ace was capture . he oth ers gain ed t-h . ofth~ hill crossed a bridle road, and struck into a close sha ~•, of edsununit
, . d v, un erwood
and furze and when the troops atta1ne the summit th"" .
' · · 1 b dl ' · ~ convicts wer
not to be seen. A tinker 1n t -ie n 0 e road refused to give . . e
· · b · d fi any tidings 01
them but 1nte111gence was o ta1ne rom two boy s and the b to en~ompass this part of the wood. If they had been a hu ~g 1 ~s~unded of three they must all have been captured in the Jessenino-c? rle InStead
' d fr h · 1 ki O ire e and the
villains were dragge om t eir ur ng places, the rifle pi '
• 1 ece r ecovered
and they were mareb ed back to W oo1w1c '1. On board the 11 ll· h ' severely flogged. u ~ t ey were
February z84z. A convict escaped and was captured.
However harsh the conditions under which the con ict r d worked and however stern the discipline under which th e;11~e ~nd they were plentifully supplied with food and small beer M a oui ed,
. . · en cannot
do heavy manua1 tasks on a starvation diet. Not only
. 11 d 11 b f h . were the
convicts a owe sma eer as part o t eir prison rations th supplied with additional amounts by the Board of Ord' ey were
nance at a
cost of about £r25 a year. In the Ordnance Reports a h
following entry:12 ppear t e
z78,1b. I beg t?dladybbef<ho~e you the enclosed bill of Mr Edward Ball for sma11 eer provi e y 1m for the use of the convicts k.
. war 1ng at the
new w h ar,f. proof.-butts etc. 1n Woolwich Warren fcor th D b
8 · e ecem er
Q. uart:r 17 3, amounting to £33. 15s. od., and to submit to your cons1derat10n the great expense of this article, which for the last years
7
amounts to:
11 Light Infantrymen. 12 Ordnance Reports, PRO/W0/55/11, f. 84.
456
THE WARREN 1776-1800
1778 £94. 17s. 6d. 1779 £ 1 37. 2S. 6d. 1780 £128. IS. 1d. 1781 £127. 17s. 6d. 1782 £125. 12s. 6d. 1783 £126. I IS. 3d.
Total £74o. 2S. 4d.
As these bills have been regularly certified by Mr Powrie, Clerk of the Works at Woolwich, I am of opinion a letter should be written to him, directing him to inform the Board how this great expense arises, what number of men are usually employed and whether the beer is distributed to the convicts in general or to the working party only, and that he also be directed to inform the Board whether this expense (being a part of their subsistence) should be defrayed by the Office. 10 April 1784.
IO September 1784. Ordered that the bill of £33. 15s. od. be allowed and that a letter be written to Mr Powrie proposed herein.
It is obvious that the Surveyor-General was seriously concerned about the cost of this liquid refreshment.
The Board, however, considered it politic to continue the supplies. They must have realized that the abandonment of this form of gratuity would have resulted in a curtailment ofwork. Even convicts employed under the Inspector of Artillery enjoyed this privilege. This is proved by the following letter addressed to Major Blomefield:
Office of Ordnance 25 July 1785 Sir,
In return to your letter of 22nd inst, the Master-General and Board command me to acquaint you that they approve of the allowance of one Pint of Small Beer per day to each convict employed in cleaning and arranging the Iron Guns at Woolwich. And you are to appoint a Proper Person to distribute the Beer regularly, as it is meant that this allowance be in addition to what they are allowed from Government.
I am,
Sir,
Your Most Obedient
humble servant
Aug Rogers Major Blomefield Secretary
The year 1776 saw a recrudescence of building activity in the Warren, and in the following years quite a lot ofconstructional work was carried out. Alterations were made in the Royal Brass Foundry and the Royal Laboratory, new proof-butts and a new wharf were
put up. On 26 April 1776, the Verbruggens-thrusters if t~ey were nothing else-reported that, as the Master-General had instructed
31 457
BIRTH A N D CHILDHOOD
them to erect another boring engine, they suggested it shouJd be placed in the left wing of the Artificers' yard as being the J'.llost convenient site available. They admitted that this would meaO the removal of the blacksmiths' shop to the lower yard where there: was a building which, with small additions would suit the pu::CJ>Ose admirably. The Board ordered them to proceed in this matter-7 but not to hold up any other work by so doing.13 Messrs Verbn_1ggen submitted on 29 November 1776 a plan of the square granted them by the Board in addition to the foundry and stated that they had purchased from Holland for the sum of £61: gs. od. a small bor~ng engine, which would prove of great use m boring and tu:r:::xung Coehorn mortars, light 3 pdrs and other small guns. Faced w-:J. th a fait accompli, the B~a.rd agree~ t_o take ov:r the machine at the :17~ice quoted.14 The add1t10nal bmldmg for this new boring and tuc:JUng machine was approved at a cost of £95. 2s. od. on 6 Febrvary
THE WARREN 1776-1800
On 6 August 1 776 it was ordered that the new buildings adjoining the fire-barn in the Royal Laboratory should have a parapet wall with lead guttering.22 It was agreed that the deal lining at the new East Laboratory might remain but the rest of the walls were to be lathed and plastered,23 and that the N.E. wing ofthesame, commonly called the Fire-barn was to be demolished and rebuilt in the same style asthe otherwingatacostof£1,117. 15s. od.24 0n21 October 1777 it was ordered that the carpenters' shop in the Royal Laboratory was to be extended 3 feet in front and to be built ofbrick.25 All these extensions led naturally to an increase in output with the result that the capacity of the magazine became inadequate. The SurveyorGeneral was therefore ordered on 11 September 1778 to prepare plans and estimates for building a new magazine for the Royal L aboratory.26 As the convicts were now working in and around the W arren in their hundreds the question of guarding vital points be
1~77 15 the Verbruggens being allowed to complete its furnist:i.ings
Jth'their own artificers.16 T~e m~ster founders, though they had
had large sums spent on their eqmpment and premises since t:heir
arrival were still not satisfied. They next asked for a refining fuc.J'.].ace
in the foundry, a request which was granted on 7 August 17 77.17
Their last demand appears to have been for two or more boring
engines for iron cannons. Colonel Bramham, the Chief Engineer at
Woolwich, was asked to comment on this proposal and prepare the
necessary plans.18 It was suggested that these new engines should be
worked by water instead of horses.19
The Royal Laboratory was the next department to come under review. Plans and estimates for the additional buildings proposed, having been considered by the Board, were laid before the MasterGeneral on 26 April 1776 who was told that in the opinion 0£ the Board the proposed structures would afford sufficient room for all purposes of the Royal Laboratory.20 Three days later the M asterGeneral having transmitted to the Board a paper on the intended Laboratory buildings, the Board informed the M.G.0. that they would issue immediate directions to begin the construction of the square brick building adjoining the fire-barn and of the boarded storehouse next to the Blue storehouse. They considered that the latter might be ready to receive 'unfixed' stores in a short time and that both buildings should be erected with the utmost despatch.21
13 Ordnancejoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, p. 372.
14 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /88, p. 330.
15 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PROfW0/47/89, p. 154.
16 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 236, 26 February 1777.
:; OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, p. 179.
Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/91, p. 514, 6 June 1778.
10 OrdnanceJoumal Book, PRO/W0/47/91, p. 525, 12June 1778.
:: Ordnance Journal Book, PROfW0/47/87, p. 372.
OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/87, p. 382, 29 April 1776.
458
came pressing, and on 3 October 1778 General Williamson and C olonel Bramham were requested to consider seriously the safeguarding of the magazine from danger in case any convict should escape and 'cause confusion' .27 Ong October 1778 General Williamson reported that he had posted an additional guard on these nerve centres 28 on the same day it was ordered that a new guardhouse for the Laboratory magazines should be built.29 Not only was danger from an escaped convict to be anticipated, there were other sources of possible trouble which had to be watched. Riots in Woolwich itself were not unknown as many undesirable characters tended to gather in sea-port towns. Trouble broke out in 1779 as on 25 June of that year the storekeeper was ordered to 'pay four guineas to the p ersons who appraised the damages done by the late riots at that place'.30 A newspaper of 13 June 1780 states:
The number of suspicious people who have lately appeared in Woolwich, especially the v\ arren, has obliged General Belford to give orders that none but the inhabitants shall be admitted; and as guns and men are changed from post to post every two or three hours, it is impossible that any information should be given where he intends to fix them, so that the mob will be at a loss where to make their attack and be warmly received when that happens. On Wednesday several expresses arrived at Woolwich from the Secretary of State, Lords Townshend and Amherst acquainting General Belford that a large mob was assembling, determined
22 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 74· 23 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 173, 11 February 1777. 24 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/89, p. 208, 18 February 1777. 25 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/90, P· 407. 2G Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, P· 230. 27 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, p. 282. 28 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, P· 303. 29 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/92, p. 299, g October 1778. 30 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/93, P· 480.
459
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
to march on that place, in order to set fire to the Laboratory, st0rehouses . h" l General Belford beat to arms a d
ctc and release the convicts, upon w ic 1 . n
ds of 30 guns, loaded with
posted both officers, and men to upwar . . case
h. h I d" d f. that it would have been impossible for them
shot w ic 1e ispose o , I h
to h;ve executed their design ; on the contrary great s_aug ter must have h th marshes were always alight and everything
been made among t em, as e h. h they had orders to d
ready to fire on their first appearance, w ic o. . made the authorities very 'security-minded'
1
This perpeOtua mbenac~81 they ordered that palisading for the and on 13 cto er 1/ h rf h Id b
. f h ters' shop and the R.L. w a s ou e erected
security o t e carpen . h d b k
. d • 31 E en four years earher steps a een ta en to guard
1
imme ~ate y. ftvh Warren On 16 August 1777 a wall was ordered
the perimeter o e · 1· I
. h w boundary of the Estab 1s 1ment as far as the
to be bm1t on t e ne . fi
. d ti ed and another m the ront next to the road. hiighdgd~o.un cofcenncneuwas to be sunk and 'paled from the part as the
n a 1t1on, a h. d h b ' AI
t the marsh wall be m t e utt . so a small
O
boundary runs h h rf 32
uardhouse was to be erected near t e w a : . -. . g S modation was now becommg msuffic1ent 1n the
torage accom BI h
Royal Laboratory, and on 1 April 1779 the ue. store ouse was transferred to that department for the purpose ofst_ormg grape shot.33 not defined a shed was to be erected m the old Labora-
For a reason , d" · 34
t according to the Surveyor-Generals irect10ns.0ft will be recalled that in the previous chapter Mr!ohn Martin of tead had called attention to the dangers resultmg from proof
PI
urns h · f ·
and that the Board had at once consider:_ed t e propriety o movmg the butts to a more appropriate spot.3., On 15 August 1776, Mr Powrie was ordered to make a plan of the ground at Woolwich for the removal of the proof-butts with sufficient spac_e for proof to be carried out.30 This must have been prepared qmckly because on 2 8 August 1776, Mr Carleton, the Board's solicitor, was instructed to call on Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson with the plan of the Warren and ask for his terms for either selling or letting the nine acres ofland shewn in the plan for the erection of the new butts.37 T h ere must have been the inevitable delay which always seems to accompany the conveyance of property, as almost a year elapsed before the Master-General informed the Board through the Lieutenant-General that his Majesty had signified that sufficient land must be procured from Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson as soon as possible in order th~t the proof-butts could be rebuilt in a safe place. As a result of this
31 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1090. 32 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 218. 83 OrdnanceJournaJ Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 258. 84 OrdnancejournaJ Book, PROJWO/47/95, p. 433, 14June 1780.
86 See Chapter I r, note 3 I o. 36 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, p. 86. 37 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, p. r 14.
460
THE W A RREN 1776-1800
communication the solicitor was instructed to prepare all the necessary documents to bring the agreement into execution immediately.38
Following the legal opinion in regard to the agreement with Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, the clerk of the works was ordered to proceed with the erection of the new proof-butt.39 Convicts were employed in digging the necessary ditches for these butts; they were given a pint ofstrong beer a day and could be allowed in addition a little small beer occasionally, should such a practice not be contrary to Act of Parliament.40 In due course the lease for this new piece of ground was prepared and on 19 May 1778 Mr Carleton forwarded a draft copy to the Board informing them that all that remained to be done was to measure and mark out the actual site, for which purpose Sir Thomas would nominate some person to act on his behalf.41 The new butts were finished by 1779 and no doubt for safety reasons it was decided on 19 October 1779 to install a new bell. 42 This bell, purchased from Messrs Peck and Chapman, cost £15. It was erected at the beginning of the following year.43 On taking the new butts into use, the old ones were ordered to be demolished on 19 February 1780. For security reasons a guard was to attend the whole operation. The Respective Officers were to receive all the old shot recovered from the soil.44
Mr Duncan Campbell first mooted the idea ofa new wharfin the Warren. He represented to the Board that it would be of advantage if a wharf some 1 oo to 120 feet in length could be built on the river bank opposite and adjoining the target butt so that the convicts employed in raising sand and gravel from the river bed could land and screen it there for public use, as for instance in the raising of the new proof-butts. The Board were impressed and on 3 December 1776 the Respective Officers and the clerk of the works were ordered to consider, and report on, the suggestion.45 They reported favourably and the proposal was adopted, General Skinner being asked to supervise the project which was being undertaken by convict labo~r. H e was also asked to report on the materials being use~ and app01~t an engineer to take charge of the whole construct10n under his direction.46 The following month General Skinner was informed t~at this wharfwas to be a permanent structure and that he was to satisfy himselfthat the work was being carried out in an efficient and proper manner.47 The operations up to this point were purely basic, i.e. it
38 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 676. 39 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 117, 25July 1777. 40 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 292, 9 September 1777· u OrdnanceJournal Book, PROJWO/47/91, P· 430. 4 2 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, P· 264. 43 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/95, p. 10, 3 January 178o. 44 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/95, P· 139. 45 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, P· 344· u OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 738, 24June 1777·
47
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 53, gth July 1777•
461
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
was preliminary work necessary for any type of wharf. On 8 May 1 778, however, the Board agreed to Colonel Bramham's design at a cost of£8 61248 and on 17 June 1 778 he was told to proceed provided the Mast;r-General approved.49 The M.G.O. gave his blessing and the work went ahead. In order to aid construction it was found necessary to employ more convicts in removing mud from the Thames
d so thirty orforty pairs ofadditional boots were issued to the hulks.50 ~n"'o years later in 1781 another twenty pairs of boots were issued to
' victs for a similar task.51 James Morris, master carpenter, was ~~n chief craftsman employed in building the wharf. He received la;ge sums of money for his work. Even by 30 September 1777 he h d been paid the sum of£507. 3s. 10d. on account ofa Board order
a 52
dated 20January 1777. . . . Another expensive construction was envisaged m 1776 when a new workshop for the use of smiths and carpenters was ordered on 10 May at a cost of£1,640.53 A few months later sheds were ordered to be built in the New Carriage Yard.54 As the 'New Carriage Ya rd' had by this time disappeared, these sheds were in fact to be put up on its site. An ever present danger in crowded premises where the m ain building material employed was wood, was fire. This is an obvious truism but to the eighteenth century mind it presented a serious problem. This risk was felt ~o be a pressing matter in the Warren and it was one which exercised the thoughts of the authorities in view of the recent increase in the number of sheds and shops, especially when there was a firework factory in their midst. On 2 g June 1776 a common pump was ordered to be erected for the houses of Messrs Delestang, Sumpter and Edwards as precaution against such a happening.55 A few months later Mr Powrie, clerk of the works, was ordered to ascertain the names of the proprietors of the houses outside the Warren so situated as to be a menace to the Royal Laboratory in case a conflagration broke out and to find out whether there was a possibility of the Board purchasing them, and if so, on what terms.56 On 28January 1777, Mr Powrie forwarded the list of houses required with the information that the rents paid totalled £444. 4-S· od. per annum. Unfortunately he could not discover the terms, if any, of purchase,57 and the matter appeared to drop.
48 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 397. 49 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 545. :: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 301, 17 April 1779.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/97, p. 96, 1 February 1781. 62 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51 /266, p. 285. :: Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, p. 420.
Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, p. 117, 28 August 1776. :: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/87, p. 548. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/88, p. 363, 10 December 1776. 67 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, p. 100.
462
THE WARREN 1776-1800
The new East Laboratory, which was being erected on the site of the present block of Ordnance storebuildings was approaching completion in 1777 and on 20 January of that year iron guns were placed as posts there.58 More work for the convicts was envisaged when a dock for vessels under the Upper House crane was ordered on 6 February 1777; at the same time cranes and wharfs required repair.59 To assist in these operations an old shed in the brickfield was fitted up for the convenience of workmen and convicts.00 The sun-dial which had been placed over the gateway into the Artificers' Court, now re-named Foundry Square, to act as the 'governor' to the Turret clock, seemed to have failed early in its mission. It had only been in position some thirty years when on 22 May 1777 it required recalibration. The order issued for its repair also covered the painting of the foundry rails.61
A human touch now appears in the records, proving that the Board of Ordnance were generous employers. Colonel Pattison on the understanding that he had been appointed Lieut.-Governor of t~e Royal Military Academy for life spent £100 of his own money m building a coach-house and stables at his official quarter in the W arren. On leaving his appointment he appealed to the Boai:d who on 22 J\1ay 1777 agreed to refund him the costs of his outlay.02
\tVater for the Warren mainly drawn through the Conduit House in Cholick Lane, had al;ays been limited in amount and while it may have satisfied the wants at the beginning of the eighteenth century the lack of water became more and more noticeable as the century advanced. The new buildings which had sprung up an~ the increas~d production in the factories greedily swallowed the availabl_e suppl~es and complaints were voiced about the scarcity of the precious flmd. The foundry used more, the Royal Laboratory wanted lar?er amounts and the general amenities of the Establishment reqmr~d ~reater quantities, particularly when the water proof ofguns was mstituted. The additional boring engines in the foundry meant th:3-~ more horses had to be kept and these all required water, t~us raismg the demand. This could be met domestically from the well in the foundry garden by installing a better type of pump. The old pump ':as very heavy and required eight men to work it. A new one costing £10
was therefore approved on g October 1777.63 •• More land now came into possession of the authorities of the Warren which increased its area by about seventeen acres. On 9
58 Ordnance journal Book, PROfWO/47/89. 59 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 155·
60
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, P· 57, 9July 1777· 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 596. 62 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/89, P· 6tr. 63 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, P· 366.
463
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
July 1777, Thomas Humbly of Deptford, shipwright, demised to th Board for the sum of£100 for the use ofhis Majesty all that part e the sand-pit field containing 400 feet by 680 feet from north to sou;{ from the Warren wall to Woolwich, and all the marshes adjoini to the said Warren called Harden's Marshes, by estimation ten a ng
. fi Id d. . . cres
as also one acre part of the six acre e a lJ 01nmg to Hard , '
' . en s
Marshes called the Bull Marsh next the nver Thames containing . acres, by the same more or less, and the Reed San~ f~onting the B:7z Marsh containing near an acre to hold to the Principal Officer f the Oi~dnance or such persons as they should direct from midsum~;r last for the term of t~ree years _and a quarter being the
1777,
remainder ofthe term he had m the premises at and under the yea 1
. f h. ry
rent of a pepper-corn. On the receipt o t is communication M Carleton and Mr Powrie were deputed to take possession of the Ian~ on behalf of the Board.64
On 16 August 1777 it was ordered that the lower part of the garden behind the but~ should be cleared a~ far as the angle of the wall in order to store timber. At the same time a saw-pit was to be made and a sufficient number of sheds erected for the purpose in hand. In order to preserve the same area ofgarden, it was arranged that the ground beyond the house ofthe Lieutenant-Governor of the
Royal Military Academy up to the new boundary should be marked out and planted.65 A small alteration to the foundry was carried out on 22 J uly 1778
when it was agreed that the mill rooms there should be lathed and plastered within the tiling and that a new dormer window should be made in the mortar mill room.66
The system of proving naval guns by subjecting them to water pressure was now initiated. It appears by all accounts to h ave been rather a drastic test and was probably soon abandoned. In order to carry out this proof General Williamson asked for the assistance of the Respective Officers on 19 June 1778. He was inform ed that he would be told the nature of the ordnance which h ad been selected to undergo this somewhat violent treatment and that Mr Butler would make the necessary piston.67 A few weeks later he uttered the cry as to the absence ofsufficient water in the Warren.68 The attempt to rectify this nuisance seems to have been very dilatory as it was not till 16 November 1779 that Mr Phillips was ordered to survey and discover fresh sources of water for supplying the four pumps set up for general purposes.69 The first water proofrecorded appears to have
:: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 52. See Chapter 11, note 80. u OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/90, p. 218. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 77. ;; OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 562. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 588, 26 July 1778. 89 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 332.
464
THE WARREN 1776-1800
been that ofan 18 pdr carronade (No I 19). The report states that 'the w~te~ by the force of the engine _discharged itself in every part of the !<mg s mark between the trunruons on the upper side of the piece; it was therefore ordered in future that the King's mark was not to be put on the carronades, but on the right hand trunnion of each' Thfs I?rooftook place on 21 December 1780.70 On 30 December 178~ a similar traged_Y occur~ed with a 12 pdr carronade (No 116). The statement on t~1s proof1s laconic. 'Water discharged itself in several pl~ces. The piece was condemned.'71 Messrs Verbruggen were ev1d_ently very averse to their products being treated in this cavalier fash10n. On 8 December 1781 they reported on the 'inutility' of ~ubj_ecting their brass ordnance to a water proof. The Board were mclme_d to agree with them. They stated cautiously that 'they do not thmk brass guns are in the same predicament as iron ones and :ecommend no water proof'.72 On 22 December 1781 they came out into the open and ordered that no brass ordnance were to be so subjected until further orders.73
A sc~ool of instruction in Artillery exercises and machines was set up m the Warren in 1778, under the title of a 'Repository for Military Machines'. This supplied a long felt want by giving proper courses of theoretical training in the various stores and equipment used by artillerymen. The work was carried out mainly by the use of models. On 12 June 1778, the Master-General of the Ordnance received the king's command appointing Captain William Congreve Superintendent of .Afilitary Machines and requested the Board to give orders for the immediate provision of the several articles mentioned in the paper entitled Military Machines necessary for the Practice of A rtillery which he laid before them.74 Thereafter events moved quickly. On 17 June 1778, persons were ordered to attend the Repository for Military Machines under Captain Congreve and the four labourers he required in connection with his post were to be paid by the storekeeper.75 Captain Congreve submitted a plan and estimate for the buildings he required and on 2 July 1778 Mr Powrie was ordered to erect the storehouse for the machines according to the Superintendents' instructions taking care to see that the lower windows were made circular and unsashed.76 On 31 July 1778, rno laboratory frocks were issued to Woolwich and placed under the charge of Sergeant Pritchard for the use of artillerymen undergoing training at the Repository.77 Once the scheme had been
:; Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 1,000.
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 1,042. 72 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1,252. 73 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1,289. 74 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 527. 75 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 540. 76 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. I 1. 77 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 103.
465
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
launched the Master-General transmitt:~ to the Boa:d his Majesty's orders for building a Repository for Military Machmes, which was henceforth to be known as the R0J1al Military Repository, and instructed them to send copies of th~ re~eva~t pa~ers t~s the Commanding Officer, Woolwich, for pubhcatwn m Oi ~ers. The exercises, known colloquially as 'scotch-up', w~re taught m the Repository and to assist in this task unserviceable 1ro1: 0rdnance wer_e supplied to ·t the use of the hand-spike together with the other
teach recrm s . d 79 additional unserviceable stores require · . There is no doubt that Captain Congre~e got his way. The whole
• t as a new departure under the direct patronage of George
proJec w d d · h' /
III and anything the Superinten ent wante wit m reason he d 'th little trouble. On I May I 779, the clerk of the works
obtaine• w1 d' C · C
was told to fit up the Repository accor mg to ap~am ongreve's
t. ns so The Repository was also used as a kind of museum
direc JO • W 1 . h C
· the fore-runner of the Rotunda on oo wic ommon today
b
emg · f xh'b' '
·n order to assist in the collecnon o e,• 1 1ts, several curious
d
an i . h W h
ieces of ordnance lying about m t e arren wer anded over
0 Id
p d . h R . · 1 Th
to Captain Congreve and lodge m t e epos1t0Iy. e Super. tendent was to be allowed the same house rent, coal and candle :~owance as officers of the Royal Military Academ . 2 The issue of candles to the Repository itself was 2lb. a week and very fire-place therein was allowed the same amount ofcoal as that in the adjutant's office.s3 On 29 February 1780 it was ordered that the articles required by the modeller at the ~epository and the chair~ demanded were to be sent84 and those which could not be supplied at once were to be issued as soon as possible.85 Originally no tools were allotted to the Repository, those in use being the personal property ofLewis Gaschlin, the modeller, but on the price being pronounced fair and reasonable by Mr Butler, the Board purchased them outright for £105. r5s. gd.86 In order to help with instruction Captain Congreve asked for the services of Sergeant George Anderson of the rst Battalion, Royal Artillery, and Bombadier James Stevenson of the 2nd Battalion. The Board ordered the two Commanding Officers to be asked whether they had any objection to these proposals.87 In due course it was agreed that the two N.C.O's should be so employed,88
78 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 446, 22 December 1778. 78 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 56, 22 January 1779. so Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 339· 81 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/93, p. 427, 7 June 1779.
82 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 10, 8 July 1779. 83 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/94, p. 372, 7 December 1779. 84 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/95, p. 157. 85 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 963, 9 December 1780.
81 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 557, I July 1780. 87 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 269, 17 Ma~ch 1781. 88 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 402, 10 Apnl 1781.
466
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Sergeant Anderson being appointed under the same terms as the other two sergeants.89
Captain Congreve had no intention of letting the grass grow under his feet. He was a thruster, full of energy and resource, determined to make his Repository a success. He therefore laid before the Board on 29 May I 78 I, a plan and explanation of the new addition he proposed for the Repository, stating that an estimate would follow in due course.90 The Board hedged at this proposition. It cost money and they had many other expenses on their hands. They asked Captain Congreve whether he could not give the teaching he proposed by a rearrangement of the existing rooms and so avoid further building, and whether the ground he required could not be fenced off by a picket-line instead of being enclosed by a brick wall.91 Captain Congreve, however, stuck to his guns and refused to be sidetracked. He stressed the inconvenience of having soldiers in the present rooms and again asked for an additional wing and pressed for the wall saying that a picket-line would not serve his purpose. Finally a compromise was agreed; Captain . Congreve obtained his additional wing, but had to accept the picket-line.92
The next entry in the Journal Books concerning the Repository is ofparticular interest as it shows that towards the end ofthe eighteenth century the building was used for Divine Service. There was by this date (Anno 1788) a regimental chapel envisaged in the new Artillery Barracks on the Common,93 but it was prior to the opening of the Ordnan e chapel in the Plumstead Road. The entry reads :94
28 January I788. Colonel Macbean, Commanding Officer of Artillery at Woolwich having in his letter of 28th inst requested that the forms in the R epository might be repaired and eighteen more provided for the accommodation of the Regiment who assemble there for Divine Service the Clerk of the \t\Torks was ordered to comply with the request.
There are only two more items in connection with the Repository worth recording at this stage. The first concerns John Read the draughtsman there. He appealed for a rise in salary to compensate him for the loss he had sustained by being deprived of any advancement in the Drawing Room95 whence he was ordered to the Repository by the Master-General. His petition received favourable consideration and the Master-General directed that his pay should be increased from £63. 17s. 6d. to £gr. 5s. od. per annum, i.e. the salary of the class of draughtsmen to which he might reasonably
89 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 342, 28 March 1781. 90 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 569. 91 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 /97, p. 687, 30 June 178I. 92 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 734, 14July 1781. 93 The present Royal Artillery Theatre, Woolwich. 94 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/111, p. 123. 85 In the Tower of London.
THE WARREN 1776-1800
have been expected to have risen had he remained on the staff of the ~ra"".ing Room.96 The o_ther was an agreement that the gun and carnage invented by Mr Blight and bought by Messrs Prickett and Handaside should be purchased from them and placed in the
Repository.97 There is a map of the marshes showing the proposed new range
of 3,000 yards among the War Office Records at Stanmore. The map consists of two plans undated though the approximate year is 1787.98 The bank covering the range extends from the convict wharf
CRAB-TREE LEVEL
Average annual expense of wallscot to each tenant at
Proprietor Tenant Acreage 3/I p er acre
£. s. d.
Sack Baile George Bodle r
7
Thomas Caps Thomas Caps 7 I
31 4. 15
7
Middleton Onslow William Weller
47 7 4 I l
Humphrey Haywood Thomas Harwood 24 3 r4 0Clothworkers' Company Thomas Milson
I 3 I
Mrs Hoskins John Martin99 40 6
Charles Earl George Bodle I 3 4
3
Heirs of Dr Pelliwood Mr Cole I ~ 5
15 Total 156 £24 l 0
OLD CORN MARSH LEVEL
Wallscot 9/8Proprietor
Tenant
Acreage per acre
£. s. d.
William Coltman Mr Jackson 54 26 2 0Charles Earl George Bodle
9 4. 0
Henry Lidgbird Mr Loggin 7
22 10 12 8
Mr Luxford George Bodle
18
8 14 0William Cole George Bodle
22 10 12 8
Mr Luxford
John Lows
14
Thomas Kirby John Martin 6 15 4
32 15
Sir John Boyd, Bart 9 4
Thomas Harwood
12 5 16 0
Mr Cook
William Davy
Bo
38 13
Clothworkers' Company 4
John Martin
28 13 10 8Mathew Anthorp George Bodle 3 I 0
Heirs ofDr Pelliwood 9
William Cole
12 5 16 0 Total
352 £170 2 0
OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/WO/ /II
,1 OrdnanceJournal Book' PRO/W0/47/ 3, p. 184, 26January 1789.
H Map No. 30. ' 47 116, P· 355, 10 September 1790.
" Doubtless the same John Mart' h d
1 .
butts in l 774. See Chapter I I m w o comp ame about the dangers from the proof
' note 310.
to Crab-tree Sluice-known as the Crab-tree Level-and from Crab-tree Sluice to the next sluice, known as the Corn Marsh Level. Inset is a list of proprietors and the then occupiers of the two Levels assessed on an average assessment of the years 1 767-87. This list is valuable in shewing the acreage concerned and the expense of
wallscot due from each tenant.
The rate ofexpansion of the Warren was now gaining momentum. Every year the maintenance charges had to be increased. In 1777, £500 were allotted to Woolwich for repairs and incidentals; in 1780, £1,300; and in 1782 £2,000. This can be attributed to the wars between this country, Spain, France, and Holland, which had the effect of initiating an armament drive.
In 1780 a new carpenters' shop together with a shed and special wharf were under consideration and on 6 July of that year, Mr Thomas Powrie having marked off the site on a plan of the Warren, their construction at a cost of £1,620 was ordered to be put in hand immediately.100 Purchase or renting of more property followed.
On 14July 1781 Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson agreed to lease some additional land at Woolwich and Mr Carleton, the solicitor, was ordered to arrange matters.101 Arrangements went smoothly and on 26 July Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, having agreed to treat for a 99 years leas for fifty acres of land wanted for a powder magazine at Plumstead, Colonel Bramham was ordered to mark out the flrea necessary and instruct the Board's solicitor to negotiate for the same. At the same time, Mr Carleton was asked to enquire the terms upon which M r Knap would sell to the Board the wharf and houses which had recently been offered for sale at Woolwich.102 The land obtained from Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson on the 99-year lease, together with an additional twenty-four acres, was eventually purchased for£ 20,000 and conveyed to the crown on 30July 1808. Meanwhile Mr Knap had expressed his readiness to sell, and on 30 August 1781 it was agreed that his property should be bought if the price were reasonable.103 After a survey, Colonel Bramham, Chief Engineer, reported on 20 September 1781 that Mr Knap's wharf required repair.104 Finally on I December 1781 the Board agreed to acquire the wharf for £900.105 It took seven months to complete the transaction and it ·was not till 8 July 1782 that Lough Carleton reported that he had completed the purchase of the houses and the wharf. The clerk of the works was ordered to take possession.106
100 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, P· 575· 101 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 787. 102 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, P· 787. 103 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, P· 91 I. 104 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, P· 993· 105 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 1,223. 106 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/100, P· 39·
469
ii
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Luckily there is an ancient tracing of the Warren among the old maps and plans deposited in the War Office Records at Stanrnore. Unfortunately it is highly fragile and breaks at the slightest touch. It is called PLAJ\ OF WOOLWICH WARREN with the additional land purchased from Sir Thomas W ilson by tlze Board of Ordnance I 777 for tlze purpose of making a new Proof-Butt and storehouses. Scale IOO F eet to the Inch. It appears to have been traced from an elegantly coloured
map of the Warren, which at some time had had additions gummed to it to bring it up to date. It was probably so amended to accompany some report. This map,107 also at Stanmore, is sadly mutilated, so much so that the portion relating to the western, or built-up, area of the Warren is missing. This in its way is a minor tragedy since little of value remains, save a survey of the marsh lands. The titular heading has also disappeared and with it the date, but at a ha zardous guess it might in its present form represent the Warren about
1777, and have been originally executed circa 1750. The latter supposition is based on the fact that it represents the site of th e Old Carriage Yard in much the same condition as it appears in Barker's Survey of 1749. The tracing itselfmust have been drawn subsequ ent to 1777 as it shows buildings erected up to 1780. Since, however" the turret, which was demolished in August 1786, is indicated, it rnust have been made prior to that date.
By the careful use of cellophane tape and a judicious blending of the tracing and the map, a composite sketch plan has been prepar ed which gives a fair indication of the Warren in the year 1780. W h a t does it reveal? A very different picture from 1749. The area is now approximately one hundred acres, the number of buildings h a s increased, the quantity of trees has diminished. The Establish rnent has assumed more ofthe shape ofa small factory and stores depot and less of that of a collection of isolated garden workshops. Many old landmarks have disappeared. The plantation of elms near the 1ain Gate has given way to gardens, and most of the trees on the site of the old Carriage Yard have fallen to the axe of the woodman.
The principal buildings were:
A. The Laboratory as it stood m 1749, though containing more buildings.
B. The shot-yard much as it was in 1749.
C. The ~rea~ House, containing the Academy, the Board Room, the
storekeepers residence and the houses of the two senior professors at the Academy.
D. The Infirmary or Cadets' Hospital.
E. The proof-butt on the site of the present Central Power Station.
F. The Royal Brass Foundry, i.e. the present 0.F. Garage.
G. The guardhouse by the Main Gate. 101 Map Ko. 33.
470
THE WARREN 1776-1800
H. Three labourers' houses near the main gate.
I. The two blocks of barracks which have become Officers' Quarters (Old Barracks) and Field Officers' Quarters (New Barracks).
J. Dial Square and Basin Square (or Grand Square) containing foundry workshops, the Land Service storehouse and the Sea Service storehouse.
K. The Sea storehouse next to the water's edge north of the shotyard.
L. The new shot-yard east of the Sea storehouse.
M. The new Carriage Square, containing the smiths' and carpenters' shops built in 1 778. The site of this Square is now occupied by the main machine shop of the Royal Carriage Department.
N. The turret in the garden of the senior professor.
0
. The Boring Engine Room in the Foundry.
P.
The stables built in 1779.
Q.
The Blue storehouse.
R.
The East Laboratory built in I 776.
S.
The sheds, more stables, the coal-house and the magazine (Note P, Q, and S, are situated on the southern edge of the Old Carriage Yard, whilst R is in the centre, on a site now covered by the central ordnance stores).
T
. The saw-house, on the site of the New Carriage Yard.
U
. The new convict wharf.
V.
The Ordnance wharf.
W
. The new carpenters' shops and wharf built in I 780.
X
. The new waggons sheds built along the new boundary line to house the waggons collected from the Tower and various camps, authorized 25 September 1779.108
Y.
Two blocks of cadet barracks (the present H Avenue).
In addition, Prince Rupert's Walk, tree-lined as of yore, still remained and there were some half dozen cranes.
In I 780, a new post was created in the Warren-the Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, and the first re:ipie~t was Captain Thomas Blomefield. How his functions dovetailed 1n with the official designated The Inspector of Brass and Iron Ordnance, whose post was created by royal warrant dated 26 May I 778109 at a salary of £500 per annum does not appear clear. There was a great need at this time of military supervision over armament manufacture, as it must be confessed that the guns supplied to the naval and military services had degenerated to the lowest point in quality. Proof passed into the hands of Captain Blomefi.eld, the proofmasters being directly subordinate to him and not to the Board in the Tower. The new Inspector of Artillery applied himself diligently to his tas~ and attacked the existing abuses vigorously. In the first year of his appointment he condemned no less than 496 pieces in proof; and so
108 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47 /94, p. 209. 109 Warrants (Kings and Others, Woolwich), PRO/W0/55/418.
47 1
fully were the advantages of the new post appreciated that a Royal Warrant was issued in r 783 reorganizing the whole department, which was placed under Captain Blomefield's entire direction. The warrant dated 24 January r 783110 authorized a new establishment for the Office of Ordnance and granted new rates of pay. At Woolwich the proposed rates were: Storekeeper £ 160 p.a.; Clerk of the Survey £100 p.a.; Clerk of the Cheque £80 p.a; 3 Clerks at £60
p.a. each and one at £50 p.a. Master Founder £21 g p.a.; Draughtsmen £gr. 5s. od. p.a. It will be noticed that some salaries were not
increased. In 1 782 the establishment at the Warren was as under:111
Storekeeper Clerk of the Survey Clerk of the Cheque Clerk of the Foundry
Extra Clerks
Master Founder
Comptroller Chief Firemaster
Mate to Chief Firemaster Assistant Mate Clerk to the Comptroller Turner
Joiner Second Joiner Carpenter Smith
Labourers
Overseer ( Clerk of the Works) Armourer
THE 'WARREN 1776-1800
Four Clerks
Master Founder Foundry Draughtsmen
Comptroller Firemaster Assistant Firemaster
Clerks
Surgeon's Mate Refiner Chief Foreman
Inspector Assistant Inspector
Clerk and
Draughtsman -
Clerk -
Proofmaster -
s~IThcr -
Instrument Keeper -Modeller Assistant M odeller Constructor of
Artillery
William Chambers -£60 p.a.
Francis Genet J ames Foster
{
Henry Dugelby -Peter Verbruggen -Frederick Groves
Royal Laboratory
Colonel Thomas Jones Captain Samuel Tovey Lieut Thomas Sutton George Ayres114 Henry Forman115 Robert Pollock Lewis Charles Okes John Doubleday Joseph Newell Thomas Guy
George Reed William Piper John Turnbull
-£60 p.a. -£60 p.a. -£50 p.a. -£219 p.a. -£91. 5s. od. p.a.
-£300 p.a.
----
£230 p.a. £200 p.a. £200 p.a. £100 p.a. £80 p.a. £80 p.a. £70 p.a. £70 p.a.
£54. x5s. od. p.a,
£63. 17s. 6d. p.a.
£63. I 7s. 6d. p.a.
£54. 1 5s. o d. p.a.
£54. 1 5s. o d. p.a,
£350 p.a. £120 p.a.
£80 p.a. £70 p.a. £80 p.a. £50 p.a. £73 p.a. £54. 1 5s. od. p.a. £45. 12s. 6d. p.a.
John Cockburn -
Neil Campbell
William Sansom
James Delestang
Anthony Genet -
-
Miles Sansom
(
William Chambers Peter Verbruggen
Royal Laboratory
George Napier Captain Samuel Tovey
George Ayres William Piper
John Turnbull Thomas Walton {Robert Poulton Matthias Pedder
Thomas Powrie Abraham Howard
£160 p.a. £54-15s. £54. 1 5s. £ 54. I 5s. £36. 1 os. £36. ros. £ 36. 10s. £ 219. os.
-£200. OS.
-£150. OS . £80. OS . £ 80. OS. £40. OS. £54. IOS .
£54.
IOS . £54. IOS . £ 45. I2S. £45. l2S. £ 27. 7s. £27. 7s.
£10. 10s. -£54. 12s.
Establishment in 178J112
Storekeeper
John Cockburn -£160 p.a.Clerk of the Survey
Neil Campbell -£100 p.a.Clerk of the Cheque
William Sansom113 -£80 p.a.
110 Warrants and Orders in Council PRO{WO/ss/375 m Ordnance Establ~hment Book, PRO/W0/54/216. · ::: Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/W0/54/217.
Succeeded byJohn Broadly Wilson on 16 December 1783.
472
od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a.
od. p.a.
od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a. 6d. p .a. 6d. p.a. 6d. p.a. 6d. p.a.
od. p.a. od. p.a.
and 3 other vacancies
{
at the same rate of pay
Inspector of Artillery
Major Thomas Blomefield Captain Edward Fage
John Hookham Thomas Huntington
Lieut William Robe ~hnBill John Walton
Thomas Greenstreet
Benjamin Hartley
Carriages -Thomas Butler -£200 p.a.
Assistant
Constructor - William Eaton £91. od. p.a.55•
Second Assistant
Constructor - Charles Gilbert £73 p.a.
Clerk - Thomas Butler £60 p.a.
The salaries quoted above were basic, some of the officials were allowed house rent allowance in addition. 114 Succeeded during the year by Henry Forman. 115 Succeeded during the year by George Herriot.
32 473
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
These extracts from the Establishment Books are a convincing proof that the Warren was growing in size and importance.
On 21 August I 778 the Board agreed to enter into a new contract with the Verbruggens for casting, boring, turning and engraving brass ordnance at the following prices :116
Heavy guns, 13 and 10 inch sea mortars -£ 44 per ton Medium guns, 13 inch land mortars and 10 inch howitzers -£54. per ton Light guns under 6cwt, 10 and 8 inch mortars
and 4½ inch howitzers -£64 per ton
5½inch land mortars 4½inch land mortars -- £5. £3. 5s. 3s. od. each od. each
In addition, the Board considered that in order to preserve
continuity, the Verbruggens should nominate a successor in case of their death, who should come forward under instruction. They left the choice entirely to the Verbruggens, but stipulated that the person selected must be under the Board's absolute authority and not quit the foundry. The Verbruggens took more than a couple of years to forward their recommendation. On I I November 1 780 they proposed that Mr Frederick Groves was a 'proper person to be instructed in the business' and expressed the hope that the Master-General and the Board would agree.117 On 30 May 1781 Frederick Groves was
granted 5s. p.d. since his pay as a draughtsman at Plymouth ceased, he having been appointed to the foundry in ovember 1780.118 He will be heard of again.
On 5 August 1778, a chief foreman at 3s. p.d. and three assistant foremen at 2s. p.d. were added to the establishment of the Royal Laboratory.119 About this time the smiths' wooden shop in the Artificers' yard was ordered to be pulled down and rebuilt in brick
od.120
at a cost of£76. ros.
In the autumn of r 780 it was evidently considered that th e danger of local rioting at Woolwich had passed, for on 23 September it was ordered that the boxes of grape shot, tin case shot and hand grenades which had been sent to the Tower for safe custody during the recent riots were to be returned to the Royal Laboratory.121 War was having its effect on labour problems in the Warren.; gu~ners ':ere being mustered for training and thus ceased to be available ~n the workshops. On 16 December 1780 Captain Samuel Tovey, ch1ef firemaster, asked to be allowed to employ two smiths,
116 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 178. ::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 899. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/49/97, p. 575.
119
ao OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. r 26. OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/92, p. 3, 1 July 1778.121 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 762.
474
THE WARR EN t 77 6-1 800
~w? carp~nters and two coopers in the Royal Laboratory as he found 1t 1mposs1ble to procure at all times the services of artillerymen. The Board, however, were unwilling to increase the establishment of the Laboratory while the Regiment was quartered in the Warren and not encamped, and considered that artificers might be obtained from the Royal Artillery. They ordered enquiries to be made as to whether men could not be furnished from the marching companies at Greenwich or in the neighbourhood.122 In order temporarily to ease the situation convicts were employed in the Royal Laboratory under the inspection of the master turner,123 and an additional smith was taken on the books.124 The numbers working in the Laboratory had now assumed such proportions that the question of medical attention became pressing and it was agreed that Mr Gustavus Irwin, surgeon's mate, should attend the sick. He received rs. 6d. per diem and 2d. from the men exclusive of all other
allowances.125 One of the first signs of Captain Blomefield's regime was the acquisition of two 'spying glasses' at the proof-butts for the proof of mortars. On 12 June 1781 they were ordered to be supplied at 36s.
each.126
A small fire broke out in a house near the back of the Royal L aboratory, but luckily no damage occurred.127
I n 1782, Colonel the Hon. George Napier succeeded Sir Charles Frederick as Comptroller, Royal Laboratory. The latter had continued to hold this post as well as that of Surveyor-General.128 Colonel Napier did not retain his new appointment for long as in the following year he was replaced by Colonel Thomas Jones who was serving in India. Passages from the Orient in the eighteenth century took time to arrange and, in order to have some responsible official to take charge of the Royal Laboratory until Colonel Jones should arrive, Major William Congreve was on g April 1 783 appointed Deputy Comptroller and acting Comptroller.129 There is an entry in the Journal Books under date 17 June r 782 which is difficult to understand. It states 'An arch to be turned over part of the Common Shore at Woolwich Warren at a cost of £46. 8s. od.'130 Possibly this construction was to form some kind of river entrance gate to the Establishment since most of the traffic between London and Woolwich was water-borne. Three repair operations were carried out
122 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 993· 123 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/96, p. 1,041, 30 December 1780. 124 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 70, 27 January 1781. 125 Ordnance Journal Book, PROfWO/47/97, p. 358, 31 March 1781. 126 Ordnance.Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/97, p. 603. 127 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/98, p. 945, 12 September 1781. 128 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/99, p. 418, 31 May 1782. 120 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/101, p. 393. 130 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/99, p. 501.
475
about this period. The foundry at £67. 5s. od,131 the cadet barracks
at £146. 12s. gd.,132 and the Royal Laboratory at £628. 8s. 6 J d.133
A large contract was placed on 4 April 1783 for a new Sea store
house134 and on the following day Mr Latimer was instructed to
supervise its construction.135 Samuel Nicholson was the bricklayer in
charge and on 22 May 1783, he asked to be allowed to erect a
lime-kiln near the new wharfin order to burn the 'stone lime' for the
storehouse in question. He was curtly informed that he could not
set up any kiln on the king's land as any spot in the Warren would
be offensive. He was however, told that there was a site close to the
new wharf belonging, it was thought, to Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson
and that Mr Powrie had been ordered to approach the owner as to
whether he would agree to the erection of a kiln, and, if so, upon
what terms. Sir Thomas flatly refused. The unfortunate contractors
were therefore told that they must themselves find a suitable locality
for their kiln elsewhere.136
This slight contretemps no doubt delayed matters, but on I 5 July
1783 orders were issued for the building to be started at once.137
There still seems to have been some hitch as on 13 August 1783 the
Board ordered Mr Samuel Nicholson in no unmeasured te rms to
commence his bricklaying activities at once and explain his delay
as 'all had been ready for him for the past fortnight'_13s The project
was an ambitious one and the Sea storehouse took some years to
complete, money still being spent on its construction in r 786.139
On 12 Novembe: 1784 Samuel Nicholson received £506. 14-S. o½d.
on account for his work between 20 July and 12 ovcmber r 784,140
while on 31 July 1785John and John T. Groves plasterers were paid £89. 14s. 5-½d.141
On 5 April 1783, Mr Butler and Mr Powrie were asked to submit an estimate of cost for erecting temporary sheds to house gun carriages.142 It does not transpire whether these were ever built. The posi~ion in ~egard to ~rtillerymen had become less difficult by I 783, possibly ow1?-g to the 1mpe?-dingTreatyofVersilles between England, France, Spam and the Uruted States which was signed on 3 September. So on 13 August 1783 Major Congreve was informed that Royal
;:~ OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/rno, p. 475, ,8 October ,782. 133 g;~~:~:J~:~:! :~~t, ~~g/~0/47/101, p. 101, 21 January 1783. m Ordnance Bill Book, Se;ies nl1f/J7{tJ~/' ;' 460, 23 October 1783. 135 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/ /rn/5 :7'l' 7·
136 OrdnanceJournal Book PRO/Wo/7;rni' P 3 5· 137 Ordnance Journal Book; PRO/W0/!~;10/ ~-~~:· ::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/102'. :
: 21
3
Ordnance E?'pense Ledger, PROfWO/48;2l. 140 Ordnance Brll Book, Series III PRO/WO/s:/7
7
m Ordnance Bill Book, Series III' PRO/WO/s2/ ' p.
10
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRo';wo147 j,o,, p. 73fr·. 18 o.
476
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Artillerymen could be employed in the Royal Laboratory provided work for them existed.143
William Sansom, who had been clerk of the cheque for twentysix years, was on 2 1 October 1783 recommended to the MasterGeneral for superannuation on the rate of pay he received prior to the new establishment of 24 January 1783 on account of his good character and long service.144 He was succeeded on 16 December 1783 by John Broadby Wilson145 He did not long enjoy his wellearned retirement as he died in August I 784.146
The turret clock still gave trouble and was repaired in November 1783 at a cost of £12.147 In the first quarter of 1784 a considerable number of employees in the Royal Laboratory were superannuated. On I 5 J anuary the following were superannuated on the recommendation of the chief firemaster.148
John Atkinson at 1s. p.d. David Hexton at gd. p.d. William Pritcons at 1s. 6d. p.d. Francis Matthews at gd. p.d. Prosper Batsford at gd. p.d.
And on 31 March following, the Master-General directed that the following should be superannuated from the Royal Laboratory with effect from 1st April 1784.149
Thomas Hare -Extra Clerk -Is. 6d. p.d. John Round -Assistant Foreman -IS. p.d. Nathaniel Walker
gd. p.d. J ohn Sales
IS. 6d. p.d. T homas Johnson
IS. 4d. p.d. John Atkinson
Labourers 1s. p.d. David Hexton
gd. p.d. gd. p.d.
Prosper Batsford Francis Matthews
gd. p.d.
On 5 March 1 784 a press was installed in the Royal Lab~ratory for the experimental extraction of saltpetre,150 and on 5 Apnl _1 ?84 Mr Powrie submitted an estimate of £376. 17s. I 1}d. for repa1nng the wharves, cranes and armoury at Woolwich which was referred to the Master-General.151 Meanwhile the alteration proposed by the
143 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, p. 2o8. 144 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, P· 4-13· 145 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, P· 710. m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/104, p. 240, 25 August 1784. 147 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/102, p. 710, 6 November 1783. 148 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/103, p. 107. 140 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO{WO/47/rn3, P· 527. 150 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/103, p. 388. 151 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/rn3, P·-543·
477
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Commissioners of the Turnpike Road to be made to the road from the lower Barrack gate to the Warren had been authorized at a cost of £41. 12s. od.152 On 30 July 1784, Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey 153 was allowed £15 p.a. house rent allowance with effect
' b "1,..,.; 1-4
from 1 January I 784 until a quarter could e provided for .1-~m. 0 On 25 August 1784, Messrs Jackson and Moser, submitted a bill for £ 111. 7s. od. for fi,'<..ing lightning conductors on the new East Laboratory. The account was settled.155
On 17 June 1785, John King, lately employed in the foundry, requested that his son might receive pay from 16 December I 784 t1!l 30 April 1785, t:ie period during which he (th~ son) had assisted his father in repairmg brass guns, and that on his return from a broad when he intended to send him for improvement, he might be employed in the foundry. The Board forwarded this request to Major Blomefield to report whether John King's son was entitled to these emoluments and to the Master-General as to whether he could be employed in the foundry after his return from abroad. U n.fo_rtunately for the son, it transpired that John King had no a uthority to employ him till the expiration of his apprenticeship. I t w as ruled
156 In the spring
therefore, that he could receive no pay. of l 785, Colonel Thomas Jones assumed the Comptrollership of the Royal Laboratory.157 On 26 March 1785 the Board agreed that small beer should still be issued to convicts.158 This was a charge on the imprest payable to the storekeeper and worked out at about 450 barrels a year at 7s. 6d. a barrel. On 10 August 1786, the storekeeper was ordered to payJames Campbell, brewer £44. 16s. 3d. (119{-barrels) for the beer expended by the convicts during the June Quarter
1786.159
On 25 July 1785, Peter Verbruggen asked for an honorarium of 100 guineas for the extra trouble he had had in casting brass carronades for the King of Naples. The Board in reply referred him to the contract entered into by him and his late father160 whereby 12s. p.d. was allowed for casting all sorts of cannon ordered by the Board. They also pointed out to him that he enjoyed the use of a ~ouse in t~e Wa:ren, ~11 of which the Board considered 'an ample indulgence for his duties as master founder. However the Principal O~cers ~ere themselves in an indulgent mood as, conceding that this particular order was out of the ordinary, they did agree to an
::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/~03, p. 167, 23January 1784.
Brother of Duncan Campbell who supermtended the convicts. 164 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/104, p. 131. 155 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/104, p. 235. 158 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/105, p. 873.
1 :1 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/105.1" 8 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/105 ;:: Ordnance Bill Book, Series III, PRO/W0/52/24.
·n thJoBhn Vd~rbruggen who had died in 1782. Actually John and Peter were brothers so
1 e oar s reply 'father' should read 'brother'. ·
478
ex gratia payment of £50 which they hoped that Mr Verbruggen
would consider adequate recompense.161
With the increased number of personnel working in the Warren,
the provision of more 'necessaries' became essential. The Respective
Officers reported on 29 September 1785 that the 'necessary' in the
Artificers' Yard had become so full as to constitute a nuisance and
'
that they had demolished those used by the office staff and workmen
which they requested to be re-erected in a more convenient place.
They asked for the one in the Artificers' Yard to be emptied, Mr
Powrie was instructed to perform this task and to estimate the cost
of erecting new necessaries in the place of those pulled down.162
Two deaths were reported by the Respective Officers on 22 February 1786, those of Peter Verbruggen, master founder and Thomas Powrie, clerk of the works.163 On 12 May 1786 Catharina and lVIaria Verbruggen requested the state of the accounts of Messrs Verbruggen so that the same could be settled.164 Catharina, daughter of Peter Verbruggen, having on 19June 1786 submitted a list of the fixtures put up in the house occupied by her late father, asked the Board whether they would be willing to purchase the same. The Respective Officers were ordered to appoint a valuer to deal with the matter, the two garden seats to be excluded. Catharina and her aunt Maria, who was a sister to Peter Verbruggen, then reported that they had fifty stacks of drywood suitable for casting.165 On 5
July I 786 the Board informed Miss Catharina Verbruggen that they would take over her late father's fixtures at a valuationof£11. os. 6d.166
After the demise of the V erbruggens, the post of master founder was left unfilled and the casting of ordnance was carried on under the supervision of John and Henry King who were each allowed £6 p.a. house rent allowance.167 This decision caused considerable heartburning on the part of Mr Frederick Groves who had assumed, somewhat naturally, that he would succeed to the coveted position. He therefore wrote to the Board on 26 October 1786 saying that, as since 1 780 he had been led to expect that he would succeed Mr Verbruggen as master founder, he tendered his resignation in view of the present circumstances and thanked the Board for their past favours and protection.168 After the two Misses Verbruggens had departed their late house in the Warren was repaired at a cost of
£35. 7s. 6ld.169
161 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/106, p. 168. 162 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/106, p. 479. 163 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/107, p. 245. 22 February 1786. 164 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/107, p. 600. 165 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/107, p. 878. 166 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 41. 167 Ordnance journal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 393, 25 September 1786. 168 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 482. 169 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 392, 25 September 1786.
479
Repairs to the value of £29. 15s. 7d. were carried out on the convicts' wharf, approval being granted on 5 May 1786.170
The turret or 'old tower' in the Warren was pulled down in August 1786 owing to its unsafe condition. Thus disappeared the last remaining landmark linking the growing Establishment with Tudor England. It was an anachronism, a giant of an earlier age serving no useful purpose; but one cannot help regretting its passing. Had it survived to the present day it would in all probability have been scheduled as an 'ancient monument' and been cared for by the Ministry of Public Building and Works as a timely reminder of Elizabethan glories. Autres temps, autres m(]Jurs. Its demolition is not specifically recorded in any of the Ordnance Books, but the money for this act ofvandalism may be included in the sum of £1,046. I Is. 4¾d. paid to Isaac Ashton, Master Bricklayer, on 30 September 1786 for his work in the Warren between I July and 30 September 1786 carried out on the M.G.O.'s order of 17 June 1786.171
On 11 December 1786 on Major Congreve's suggestion it was agreed that the roofs of the new proof house and part of the roof of the mortar platform should be slated.172
Increased allowances were now approved for certain officers at Woolwich. On 15 February 1787 field officers wer granted 20s. per week in lieu ofquarters173 and by Royal Warrant dated 25 A pril I 787 the commanding officer was given 'command pay' of 20s. a day.174 Colonel Maclean, who took over command on I 2 October 1787 was the first specifically appointed officer to receive this additional emolument.175
The experimental press in the R.L. for the extraction of saltpetre evidently proved a success for on 21 September 1787 the r emaining kitchen there was ordered to be fitted up with two more presses.176
There were three houses adjoining the Royal Laborator y w hich belonged to Miss Jones, a minor. For obvious reasons the Board were anxious to obtain possession of them, but as the tr ustees had no power of sale during her minority, they could only be rented. On 22 October 1787 it was ordered that the houses be so rented.177
They were eventually purchased from Miss Betsy Jones on 2 July I 793 for £400.
Maintenance costs continued to rise. In 1785 £1,200 was allowed for Part II and III Services, whereas by 1788 the figure had risen to £3,000.
::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/107, p. 577.
OrdnanceJournal Book, Series III, PRO/W0/52/23, p. 163. 172 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/108, p. 641. 178 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfW0/47/109, p. 287. 174 Warrants and Orders in Council, PRO/W0/55/377, p. 247. 176 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/no, p. 809, 17 December 1787. 111 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/110, p. 277
177 OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/110, p. 529:
480
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Mrs Catherine Hallifax, coal merchant, signified on 27 May I 788 that she was willing to rent the wharf, late in the possession of Mr Knap, for £20 per annum and the tenement adjoining for £8 per annum. She agreed to have the house and wharf repaired for £23. 6s. 2d. and rent the premises.178 Danger of fire, however, still exercised the mind of authority, so on 5 January 1789 the MasterGeneral approved of the five old houses adjacent to the wharf rented by Mrs Hallifax being razed to the ground and the space they covered being added to that of the wharf. He considered, however, that Mrs Hallifax should pay more rent than she proposed, i.e. the rent for only two houses.179 Mrs Hallifax was conciliatory and proposed that she could pay £31 per annum rent for the old houses scheduled for destruction, a proposition which was accepted.180 R egarding the houses in Warren Lane, which being close to the Royal Laboratory constituted a serious fire risk, the Master-General intended that they should be demolished and the boundary wall of the Warren made good in their place as soon as they became Ordnance property and the tenants could be evicted; and that such houses as could not for the moment be pulled down should remain em pty. The Master-General understood that one of the houses in question which had been built some time previously by the Office of Ordnance, was inhabited by Mrs Sumpter, the widow of one who had been employed in the Warren. This woman being addicted to liquor had on several occasions created an alarm of fire, and as she was thought to be insane she was considered to be a most improper person to inhabit a dwelling so close to the Royal Laboratory. The M aster-General therefore desired the Board to give orders for her removal and at the same time to instruct the storekeeper to bribe her
with two or three guineas to leave the house quietly and consent to being transferred to the workhouse, where her friends wanted her to be placed.181 Apparently the storekeeper was successful in his delicate mission. The Respective Officers reported on 20 February r 789 that Mrs Sumpter had left the premises in Warren Lane, having accepted the storekeeper's three guineas.182
On27 M ay 1789 MajorWilliam Congrevewasappointed Comptrol
' . d iss B . d
ler, Royal Laboratory vice Colonel ThomasJones res1gne . . ~s1 _es being in charge at the Warren his appointment gave him certa1nJunsdiction over the powder factories at Waltham Abbey and Faversham.
After a period of three years during which no master founder was appointed, the Board suppressed the post with effect from I January
178 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/vV0/47/111, p. 817.
179
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, P· 19· 180 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/ll3, p. 89, 16January i789. 181 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, p. 19, 5January 1789. 182 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, P· 373· 183 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47/113, p. 826.
481
I 789 by their order dated 11 January 1 789. John King being placed in charge in the capacity of foreman. His younger brother Henry wanted to receive the same emoluments as his elder brother but was told by the Board that they could not both be put on the same footing as one man alone could be in charge. To soften the blow he was granted an additional shilling a day.184
'Be civil to all' wrote Beajamin Franklin in 1756 and this advice certainly paid Mr Samuel Harden, farmer at Woolwich. It is the prerogative offarmers to grumble but not so the worthy Samuel. He had his land damaged when the Royal Regiment of Artillery was reviewed on it. Did he clamour for justice? No. H e refused all compensation, and as on se':'eral occasions he had shown civility, he was given by the Board a piece of plate worth £20.1ss
There was a project in the air towards the end of the eighteenth century for rebuilding the gunwharfat the Warren in masonry. The initial expense would have been high but the maintenance charges would have been considerably lessened. Two estimates with plans were forwarded to the Master-General on 30 June 1788. The first of £2,567. 3s. 8d. was planned by Lieut.-Colonel D' ubant and the second designed by Lieut.-Colonel Morse came out at £2,905. 15s. 5d.186 No action, however, was taken and further proposals were submitted in 1789 and I 801. Several of these d esigns are to be found among the War Office records at Stanmore,1s1 but it is doubtful whether the complete set is in their possession. The new wharfwas not built till the following century. Curiously enough on the same day as the estimates for the wharf were forwarded to th~ ~aster-General, Isaac Ashton _was paid £461. 19s. r }d. for buildmg the guardhouse at Woolwich according to the M .G.O's order dated r4 January 1788.188 This was the }\,fain Gua rd the estimate for which was included in the Ordnance Estimates for ; 788. It has a handsome portico and was formerly used as a B.W .D. office.
Only a few items of minor interest remain to be told before the century closes. No further building schemes matured till the nineteenth century opened and the only works carried out were those connected with maintenance or repair. This does not mean that
::: OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/n6, p. 692, 26 November 179o. Ord_nanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/n3, p. 221, 2 February 1739_ ::: Engme~r Papers, 178~-1810, PRO/w_O/55/756. Map No. 16. Woolw1ch Wharf Project for reconstructing the wall in
28 June 1788. masonry, Map No. 18. Proj~ct for rebuilding part of the wharf in wood, 1789. Map No. I 7. Section of the proposed gun-wharf at Woolwich, 1789. Map No. 15· Plai; ofa wharfproposed to be erected in Woolwich Warren, 1801. Map No. 14. Project for a new wharf proposed to be built at Woolwich 1801 Map• To. 13· Method oflaying the masonry for the new wharf. Woolwi~h 18~1 Map No. 12. General section ofmasonry for the new wharf, Woolwich, 180 1. • Map No. 9· Progress plan of new wharf and buildings, Woolwich 29 March 1803
tog June 1807. ' 188 Ordnance Bill Book, Series III, PRO{WO/52/35, p. 75.
482
THE WARREN 1776-1800
little took place in the Warren; on the contrary, it hummed with activity. The imprests to the storekeeper had been gradually rising over the years and by 1790 they were running at the rate of at least £10,000 per year.
On 3 July I 789 a boat for the use of the Royal Laboratory was ordered to be built at a cost not exceeding £35. 5s. od.189 The house occupied by William Pritcons, who had been superannuated in _1784,190 ':"~s or~ered to be pulled down on 17 July 1789 provided its demoht10n did not endanger the adjoining dwellings. This was to obviate the risk of fire. Even if it remained standing, it was to be unoccupied.191 There seemed to have been some doubt as to what ?fficial~ were 'privil~ged' in respect to rates, particularly if they lived 1n official quarters 1n the Warren. The matter was set at rest on 12 November 1789 when it was notified that all officers of the Civil Branch, including Major Wood, the chief firemaster, were assessable for poor rate, church rates and highway rates.192
The following repairs were ordered to be carried out:
3 I D ecember 1789. At the Royal Military Academy and the house in Warren Lane, let by the Ordnance at 15 guineas a year. Cost not to exceed £112. 12s. 1 i½d.193
2 J une 1790. The Master-General directed that the two new storerooms in the Warren should be fitted up as barracks and barrack furniture supplied.194
I November 1790. The two houses, lately belonging to Mr Knap, to be repaired at a cost not exceeding £13. 12s. 3d.195
5 November I790. Minor repairs at the smiths' shop.196
23 D ecember 1790. Minor repairs at the New Square.197
Although not a repair, orders were given on 5 September 1791 to erect a shed in the Royal Laboratory to house old ammunition boxes.198
On I 2 April I 791, the Master-General and Board laid down the rules governing the occupation of quarters at Woolwich in order to avoid misconception. The regulations adopted stated that no allowance for quarters would be entertained except in the following circumstances :199
189 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, p. 22. 190 See note 148. 191 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, p. 102. 192 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 1 1 4, p. 396. 193 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, p. 535. 19~ OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/WO/47/115, p. 791. 19 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 116, p. 4 78.
a
196 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, p. 608. 197 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/4 7 / 116, p. 824. 198 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/118, p. 271. 199 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/117, p. 474.
483
(a)
That the officer claiming such allowance did at the time his claim commenced, make application to the Commandino-Officer for a lodging in the barracks. t>
(b)
That the Commanding Officer could not accommodate him in the
barracks.
(c) That he did reside and do duty at Woolwich during the period of
his claim. (a), (b) and (c) to be certified personally by the Commanding Officer.
(d) That the Officer making such a claim must certify under his own hand that during the period claimed he did actually hire lodgings and did not reside with any other officer in barracks or in any other house belonging to the Ordnance.
They also stated that no allowance prior to 1 790 would be considered, and that when the Commanding Officer gave his certificate that no quarter was available, he was to render a return of the quarters during the period in question declaring how and by whom they had been occupied.
The lodging rates were to be as follows:
Field Officers 20s. a week Captain and }Captain Lieutenants IOs. a week Subalterns 8s. a week
The regulations bear a striking similarity to those 1n force up to 1945.
One of the models which now made its appearance in the Royal Military Repository was that of Gibraltar.200 It was commenced on the Rock a1;1-d finishe~ at :Woolwich. It was a magn·ficent piece of work. In this connect101;1-, 1t was agreed on 30 ovember 1792 that Mr Brand and !"fr Richmond, draughtsmen of Gibraltar, who
brought t~e u_nfini_shed model to this country wh ere it as completed under their direct10n, should have their extra pay continued. It was also agreed that Anto_nio M~rquez, the modeller employed on the work, who had received hIS pay at Gibraltar till the end of O_ctober 17~2, should be paid 3s. a day by the storekeeper at Wool
wich. Subsistence pay wa~ also ordered to be granted to Joseph Bethell, a carpenter belonging to the Corps ofArtificers at Gibraltar from the en~ of October, who had come to England to assist in the wor~. Working_pay was to be issued by the storekeeper from time to time accordmg to the number of days worked as certified b
Messrs Brand and Richmond.201 y
The r~e in the cost ofliving now began to rear its ugly head. The long stram of war and the unsettled state of Europe contributed to this phenomenon. Prices rose all over the country and hardship
10°Formerly in the Rotunda Museum 101 OrdnanceJournal Book, PROfWO/47/120, p. 120.
484
THE WARREN 1776-1800
was felt in many homes. It is a problem with which we of this generation are familiar. It was the perennial question of supply and demand. Lack of consumer goods producing scarcity and this enhanced values. The economic laws governing inflation are the same in any century though expedients to circumvent them vary from age to age.
Three extracts will suffice to show these effects in the Warren:
7 January 1796. The labourers in the Storekeeper's Department at Woolwich having petitioned for an increase of pay owing to the excessive dearness of provision of every description.
'The Master-General and Board having considered the above petition together with several other applications which have been made by the labourers employed by the Ordnance, were pleased to direct that in consideration of the present high price of every necessary of life that the several labourers upon the fixed establishment at each station should be allowed their pay for Sundays and that the Respective Officers at the several outports and places be acquainted therewith.'202
17 J uly 1794. Mr Allen, who entered into agreement with the Board to do the painting at Woolwich was, owing to the enhanced price of oil and colours, allowed an increase as follows:
Painting twice in oil common colour per yard 3d. · d 203
,, thnee ,, ,, ,, ,, , , ,, 4 •
I 8 AjJril 1 Boo. The Surveyor-General wrote to the Board on 3 April I 799 saying that Mr Peter Miller, the chimney sweeper at \,Voolwich Warren had intimated that he could not keep the number of apprentices requisite out of his allowance of 6d. per chimney with any degree of profit to himself and that the said allowance was of long standing and made when everything was much more reasonable than at present. He entreated for some small advance in the rate to enable him to meet his unavoidable expenses. The Surveyor-General stated that the chimney sweep at the Tower was paid rs. for every kitchen chimney and 6d. for all others and considered that Mr Miller should receive those prices from I April 1799. The Board agreed and approved the higher rates pertaining at the Tower.204
In addition, the salaries of certain officials were increased.
To give some idea of the rise in cost ofliving which took place at the close of the eighteenth century, the following prices quoted from Roger's History of Agriculture and Prices, Volume VII, Part I, may be conveniently compared with those given in Chapter 8. .
Besides these few articles selected fortuitously all other rose 1n prices in proportion; clothing; fuel; general commodities and labour. Life was hard during the Napoleonic wars.
202 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,560, P• 20.
203 Ordnance Reports, PRO/WO/55/28, f. 9·
20t Ordnance Reports, PRO/WO/55/46, f. 217. Extracts of Minutes, Serie. II, PRO/WO/47 /2,568, p. 435.
485
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
r725 r790
Mutton and Beef 2d. per lb. 5d. per lb. Ducks · gd. each gd. each Chickens 6d. each 8d. to 1s. 4d. each Geese rs. 6rl. each 2s. each Rabbits 8d. each 8d. each Turkeys rs. 5d. each 3s. each
2d. each 6d. eachPigeons
Partridges gd. each Is. gd. each Butter 4½d. per lb. 4d. per lb. Cheese 3d. per lb. 7d.-8d. per lb. Tea 12s. per lb. 6s.-r2s. per lb. Coffee 5s. 6d. per lb. 6s. per lb. Wine 6s. per gallon 7s. 6d. per gallon Brandy 6s. Bd. per gallon I4S. per gallon Rum 7s. per gallon gs. 6d. per gallon Eggs rd. per dozen • 2d. per dozen Port 6d. per bottle 2s. per bottle Sherry 6d. per bottle 2s. 6d. per bottle
A Sheep Bs. 25s. Sea-coal 25s. per chaldron 3 r s. 6d. per chaldron Candles rs. 6d. per lb. 2s. 6d. per lb. (approx.) Beer 5d. per gallon rod. per gallon
On 18 February 1794, it was agreed, on receiving the MasterGeneral's letter of 17 February, that the Sea storehouse at Woolwich should be reslated when the weather became propitious. 20s
John King, foreman of the foundry was granted ros. a day travelling allowance when ordered by the Board to leave w oolWlC• h
. .
on specific business. This concession was approved on r7 o t b
. , . h c o er
1793.206 John Kmg s star was 1n t ~ ascendant. It had gradually bec_ome ap_Pa:ent to the Board th~t it was a bad policy to have no seruor official 1n charge ofgun-casting at the Warren. Their econom measure of 11 January 178~ ~ad not borne its expected fruit and th~ feeling w·ew that the abolition of the ~aster founder's post had been a rmstake. The last act ofa far reaching nature which took place therefore before the century closed was the recreation of th• important office. On 20 April I 797 it was ordered that the found is was to be placed under the care and direction of the Inspecto r{
0
Artillery. At the same time the posts ofMaster Founder and Assis; t Founder were reintroduced. John King was appointed ma~n founder at £219 p.a. with effect from I April 1797 and his broth er Henry, assistant fo~nder at ros. p.d. In addition, the mas;;; founder was authorized to select a foreman at the usual pay £ that post provided his selection was approved by the Inspector ~~
206 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,557, p. 129. 108 Ordnance Reports, PRO/WO/55/26, f. 163.
486
THE WARREN 1776-1800
Artillery, and the extra clerk in the foundry should in future be considered as a clerk on the establishment of the Inspector of Artillery and Foundry.207 John King was in addition to his salary allowed £30 house rent allowance, 12 chaldrons of coal and r 44 lb. of candles per annum.20s
On 25 February 1800 it was agreed that £2,551. 13s. 6}d. should be spent during the year on works services at Woolwich,209 out of which the East Laboratory was to be repaired at a cost of £22.210
At last after forty-seven years good and faithful service as storekeeper, John Cockburn retired on 2 May 1798. He was superannuated on full pay and allowances. He was an old man and past his work. Had he lived a hundred years earlier he might have lingered on in his post till his death. Then things were quiet, no rush and little worry, and a modicum ofenergy sufficed to cope with the small routine of business. In the midst of a European situation fraught with danger and Napoleon conquering half the continent circumstances were very different. Then a man in his prime was required.
On 3 May I 798, therefore, he was succeeded by John Geast, a younger man, the Board stating that 'the war strain requires a man of more active years'.211
In r8oo therefore the establishment at Woolwich was as follows:212
Storekeeper John Geast -£500 p.a.
Clerk of the Survey Evans Marshall -£200 p.a.
Clerk of the Cheque Henry Matthews -£150 p.a.
Clerk of the Works Charles Weaver -£129. IOS. od. p.a.
Samuel Walsall - £70 p.a.
Four Clerks William Marshall - £70 p.a.
William Pritchard { R. Gray - £70 p.a. £60 p.a.
Royal Laboratory
Comptroller -Colonel William Congreve -£360 p.a. ChiefFire-Master -Colonel George Rochfort -£230 p.a. Assistant
Fire-Master -Lieutenant Thomas Sutton -£230 p.a.
Inspector of Royal Manufactories of Gunpowder -Major John Finlay -£200 p.a.
Surgeon -George Moore -£54. 15s. od. p.a.
207 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47 /2,560, p. 414. 208 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,563, p. 527, 18 May 1797• 209 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,568, p. 203. 210 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,568, p. 217, 26 February 1800. 211 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,564, p. 484 212 Ordnance Establishment Book, PRO/WO/54/217.
4,87
Henry Forman -£300 p.a. Joseph Newell -£150 p.a.
Six Clerks Lewis Okes £go p.a. William Caffm £go p.a.213 Moses Hambleton £80 p.a. Thomas Heyv.rood £80 p.a.
Inspectorate of Artillery
Inspector of Artillery} and Royal Brass Colonel Thomas Foundry Blomefield -£441. 5s.
od. p.a.
Assistant Inspector -Colonel Edward Fage -£120 p.a. Clerk and Draughtsman -John Hookham -£138. l2S. 6d. p.a.Clerk -R. White £80 p.a.
-Proof Master -Lieut. William Robe -£100 p.a. Instrument Keeper -John Walton
£73 p.a.
l'vfodeller -Thomas Greenstreet
-£63. r7s. 6d. p.a.Assistant Modeller Constructor of Artillery Carriages -Thomas Butler
-£400 p.a. Assistant -Edward Burford
-£150 p.a. Second Assistant -C. Gilbert
-£100 p.a. Clerks { Thomas Butler (Jr) -£70 p.a.
H. Eaton
-£70 p.a.
Master Founder -John King -£21 9 p.a.
Assistant Founder -Henry King
-£182. l OS. od. p.a.
The principal appointments since r 776 were as under :
I5 April I777• Miles Sansom appointed extra clerk at v oolwich vice Mark Warcup andJohn Pretty supernumerary clerk vice iiles Sa 214 :8 Jury I777• William Ch~mbers appointed supernumerary c1::~~ice Miles Sansom and to be paid for the time he had done duty s· th dismissal of Mark Warcup.215 mce e
20 November I777• John Bradbridge to be overseer vice Th
Mallard.216 omas
27 December I780. George Read appointed supernumerary clerk 21, JI Marclz 178I. Gustavus Irwin, surgeon's mate, to attend the ~ick at the Royal Laboratory. Pay Is. 6d. p.d. and 2d. from the men exclusive of all allowances. 21a
26 June 1781. Charles Weaver carpenter at Pur·fleet to b
· Th . ' , e overseer
vice omas Bradbndge, deceased. Ordered to commence work in next post at once.219
213 The im·entor of 'Caffin's Grape Shot' 214 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/8g ::: Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/W0/47;90: ~: t~~
OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/go, p. 506_217 OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W0/47/g6 or
1
::: OrdnanccJournal Book, PRO/W0/47;97: ~: 358_.:>· OrdnanceJournal Book, PRO/W.0/47197, p. 667.
488
THE WARREN 1776-1800
26 July I784. Thomas Austin to be overseer at 3s. p.d.220 5 April I785. Major Congreve reported on 4 April the death ofThomas Hare, late extra clerk of the Royal Laboratory.221 22 April I785. Thomas Guy appointed Surgeon to the Royal Laboratory instead of surgeon's mate. Salary to remain the same.222 24 February I786. Major James Wood to be Chief Firemaster, R.L. vice Captain Samuel Tovey.223 25 February 1786. Gregory Bond is recommended to succeed Robert Perkins deceased, as foreman R.L.224 5 February I787. Frederick Groves resigns his position as a clerk in the foundry.225
27 March I787. James Delestang, clerk to the foundry, died.226
18 July I787. George B. Moore appointed Surgeon to the R.L. vice Thomas Guy, placed on half-pay.227 18 July 1787. Charles Weaver appointed Clerk of the Works at 6s. p.d. vice Thomas Powrie, deceased, with effect from 1 April 1787.228 24 February I790. The death of Neil Campbell, clerk of the survey is reported on 22 February 1790.229 29 March I790. Evans Marshall to be Clerk of the Survey vice Neil Campbell deceased.230 I7 September I790. Mr Townsend appointed refiner of sulphur at the
R.L. at a salary of £63. 17s. 6d. p.a. to be paid by the storekeeper of Faversham.231
28 December 1790. Major Congreve reported the death of George Ayres formerly clerk of the R.L. who was in receipt of a pension of£roo p.a.232 I No vember I790. Richard Wilkinson appointed assistant armourer at 2S. 6d. p.d.233
13 April 1791. Kenelm Chandler appointed clerk vice Tullok resigned. 234
7 June I792. Henry Langley to be clerk vice William Chambers. Samuel Walsall to be clerk vice Foster dismissed.235
I6 July I792. The Reverend Mr Jones officiating as assistant chaplain for nearly g years. The Reverend Mr Barton, chaplain, died in April I 790.236
I7 April I795· Roddam Marshall appointed assistant clerk vice H. Eaton who is acting for Mr Langley.237
220 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/104, P· 97· m Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/105, P· 3oi. 222 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/105, P· 634. 228 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/107, P· 249. 224 OrdnanceJourna!Book, PRO/WO/47/108, p. 387. 225 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/109, P· 202. 226 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO{WO/47/109, P· 535· 227 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, P· 41 • 228 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/110, P· 7· 229 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/115, P· 253. 230 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/II5, P· 447• 231 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, P· 376. 232 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/II6, p. 836. 233 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/116, P· 394· 234 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/117, P· 487. 235 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/119, P· 895. 238 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/120, P· 65. 237 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/2,558, P· 415•
33 489
,,
r-,
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
7 May r795. John B. Wilson, clerk of the cheque allowed £15 p.a. house rent allowance with effect from 1 April r 795.238 7 May r795. Charles Weaver, clerk of the works, allowed £20 p.a. house rent allowance with effect from r April r 795.239
24 November r795. \,Villiam Penn appointed assistant clerk in the storekeeper's office vice Roddam Marshall with effect from r October I 795.240 r 1 March r796. Pay of Thomas Weaver, overseer, increased to 4f· p.d.
Pay of Thomas Edwards increased to 3s.. p.d.241 . 25 April r796. Mr Penn, Jr. to be paid Is. 6d. from the time he first attended the office.242
3 February r797. Lieut.-Colonel George _Rochfort appointed_ Chief Fire-
master vice Lieut.-Colonel J arnes Wood with effect from 1 Apnl r 797. The
additional ros. p.d. attached to this post during the war to be discontinued
from r April 1797.243 14 February 1797. Thomas Heywood to be assistant clerk at the R.L.244 January r798. Thomas _Heywood to ?e clerk at the R.L. vice William
3
Gunn. John Reid to be assistant clerk vice Thomas Heywood.245 r7 August r798. The salary ofT. H. Penn, assistant clerk, to be increased to £50 p.a.246 17 October r798. T. H. Penn appointed assistant clerk in the storekeeper's office. 247 r2 November 1798. The salary of John Wolff, clerk to the foundry, increased to £70 p.a. with effect from I October 1798.248 14 May 1799. John Wood to be overseer of the works in the arriage Yard vice John Dear, deceased, at 5s. p.d.249 20 August 1799. The clerks in the Engineer Department to have their 250
pay increased to £70 p.a. 31 December 1799. Mr Gribble to be an assistant clerk at £50 p.a. with effect from r2 October I 799.251
28 November 1800. The pay of the foremen of the shot piles and the junk house to be increased by 6d. a day i.e. their pay is to be raised to 6s. p.d.252 ·
28 November 1800. The pay of the coxswain of the Office boat to be increased by 6d. p.d.253
As the responsibilities of the Warren became heavier, the number ofworkmen grew and the amount ofstores expanded, theft somewhat
238 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,558, p. 498.
289 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,558, p. 503.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,559, p. 1,384.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,560, p. 252.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,560, p. 413.
243 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,562, p. 126.
244 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,562, p. 166.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,564, p. 14.
246 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,565, p. 975.
247 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,565, p. 1,212.
248 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,565, p. 1,315.
241 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,566, p. 507.
250 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,567, p. 909.
::~ Extract ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,567, p. 1,429.
Extract of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,569, p. 1,355.
m Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,378, p. 533.
490
THE WARREN 1776-1800
naturally increased. Doubtless the pressure of events contributed to this evil by the employment of less desirable characters. The following cases were reported during the period under consideration in this chapter.
1 August r776. John White sentenced to hard labour for stealing boring chips.254 20 March 1777. William Smith convicted at the Maidstone Assizes for stealing I 61b. of iron.255 r8 January 1786. John Ackroyd and Thomas Chivers convicted of stealing stores. The former to be whipped and imprisoned. The_latter, on
2"6account of his previous good character to be imprisoned only.
22 March 1786. Richard James Smith, convicted and_sen~enced at th_e
Maidstone Assizes to transportation for 7 years for stealing iron from his
Majesty's stores.257
3 April r787. Andrew Reading sentenced to transportation for 7 years
for stealing a mortar.258 • •
16 April r788. Edward Brazier, labourer in the foundry, dmmssed for
stealing tvvo guineas from the pay table.259
15 October r788. John Day, late labourer in the War:en, sentenced to
a public whipping and 4 months imprisonment for stealing copper hoops
from the Royal Laboratory.260 • •
23 October r789. Richard Oldham convicted at the Maidstone Assizes
261
for stealing lead was ordered to be whipped privately and discharged.
One last economy by the Board before the century ~lose_d. It was
ordered on 6J une r798 that in future the cost of drawing iron guns
from the v\Tarren wharf to the proof-butts would be borne by the
contractor and not by the Crown.262 • • •
The Warren had now reached the point m its history where
contemporary descriptions of it were appearing in print. There were
of course occasional references to it in earlier literature but these
were confined to short paragraphs and thus quite ~seless for
posterity. T he following quotations give a bird's eye view of the
establishment as it appeared to observers.
'There is both a civil and military branch of the Office of Ordnance
established at Woolwich. The civil branch is under the conduct of a
storekeeper clerk of the foundry and other officers, who have many
' ·1· b h 0 f the
inferior servants and workmen under them. The IID itary ranc Office of Ordnance is under the direction of a Chief Engineer, wh? ranks as a Colonel, two Directors who rank as Lieut-Colonels, four Sub-dir~ctors as Majors. The engineers in ordinary rank as Captains, the engmeers
254 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/88, P· 67.
255 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/89, P· 35°·
256 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/107, P· 39·
257 Ordnance Journal Book, PROJWO/47/107, P· 393·
258 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/109, P· 557·
259 Ordnancejournal Book, PRO/WO/47/1u, P· 6i8.
260 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/n2, P· 3o6.
261 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/114, P· 358.
262 Extract of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,565, P· 620•
491
r
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD THE WARREN 1776-1800
extraordinary as Captain-Lieutenants and the Sub-engineers as Lieutenants. Besides which are several practitioner engineers. Under the direction of this Office in a place called the Warren where artillery of all kinds and dimensions are cast; and afterwards proved before the principal engineers and officers of the Board of Ordnance, to which many of the nobility and gentry are often invited, who are afterwards sumptuously entertained by them. Gunpowder, likewise, contracted for by the Office of Ordnance, used till within these few years to be proved here as to its strength and goodness and whether it was fit for the public service. Belonging to this Office there is a Laboratory under the direction of a Comptroller, a Chief Firemaster, a firemaster's mate, a clerk and other workmen and labourers. Under these the companies of matrosses are employed in the compositions and making-up fire-works and cartridges, and in charging bombs, carcases, grenadoes, and such like matters for the
public service. '263 'The Warren at Woolwich is the grand depot ofthe Ordnance belonging to the Navy; the guns of most of our men-of-war being laid up there in time of peace. There are also mortars of all dimensions in great numbers and immense stores of shells and cannon shot. Within this arren is a foundry for brass cannon, a laboratory (under the direction of a Comptroller, a Chief Fire-master and other officers) for making fireworks for the use of the Army and Navy; and a repository of military machines both for Land and Sea Service (under the direction of a Superintendent) in which are also various models ofbridges, fortifications etc. The Academy for the education of young gentlemen destined for the artillery and engineer services is in the Warren, which is the head quarters also of the regiment of artillery, but, since the great increase of that regiment, the Warren (which contains between 50 and 60 acres) has been found very insufficient for that purpose. A piece of ground containing about 50 acres was taken on lease by government of Mr Bowater (the rent being £184 p.a.) and spacious barracks built for the accommodation of officers and privates of the regiment of artillery for whom there was not room in the '\,Varren. All ordnance for the use of government, as well as iron cannon made by contractors at various places as the brass cannon cast at the foundry here, must be proved in Woolwich Warren. The chief officers of the Warren are: A Storekeeper, a Clerk of the Cheque, a Clerk of the Survey etc. The number of artificers and labourers (exclusive of the convicts) employed_ in the various departments is about r 500, including 300 boys. The making of canvas bags for the use of the Warren furnishes employment for a great number of poor women in the town. Two hulks are stationed in the river at Woolwich for the reception of convicts who are employed in the most laborious offices at the dockyard and W;rren having proper persons to superintend them and accountfor their labour.,2~
Ambulator writes the Gentleman's Magazine under date 8July 1798. _I_ walked yesterday to Woolwich Warren, that immense repository of
military arts, the palladium of our Empire, where one wonder succeeds
::: History ofKent, Edward H~ted, 1778, vol. I, p. 46. The Environs ofLondon, Darnel Lysons, 1796, vol. IV, pp. 568, 569.
492
another so rapidly that the mind of a visitor is kept in a cont~nual g~ze ofadmiration. Should I be asked what has made the strongest 1mpress1on on mine? It is a magnificent view of the Rock of Gibraltar, which _was made there formed on the very rock itself on a scale of 25 feet to an mch and presents a most perfect view of it in every point of perspecti_vc. ... Rejoicing at the escape of the King's Rope yard had_ from bcmg destroyed by fire the other day. I was sorry to find how ea~ily I was admitted into the Warren by enquiring for a gentleman I.rrught_ not even know, or wish to see. When we consider how many d1sappomted and disaffected vagabonds are about the Country, I think ?overnment_ should be more vigilant. On my return, the number of artificers entermg the Warren surprised me. How easy a thing it is, said I to myself, to d~troy this arsenal. Should not every man wear a numbered badge, referring to a book describing his age and figure so that when a suspected person enters, the sentry may assist to detect the fraud. It would be ~asy for a man, knowing all or most of the artificers to sit at th~ gate durmg egre_ss and regress. This with a particular jacket for the different branches 10
' d · , 265
which they are employed, would go far towards etect1on •
The above quotations add little to what has already b~en recorded, their authors being unable to study the documents which alone can yield the secrets of the past. They prove, however, that the "':arr~n was becoming an institution of national importance and making its
presence felt in the minds of citizens.
This then was the scene at the close ofthe eighteenth century. What
a change during the last hundred years! Gor_ie were the gar~;l:
workshops amidst the pleasant orchards, varushed was the ht
communi y of some fifty souls. In their place had arisen under the
stress of war the outlines of a modern factory with its team of busy
workers, its regulated hours of work and its securi~ reg~lations.
M achinery it is true was still in its infancy but even rn this sphere
the shape ~f things t~ come was casting its shadow on the _screen of
time. The peace establishment ofsome 1,500 was soon to be 111:crea~ed
to 5,000 during the second phase of Napoleon's t:iumphal victones.
Even centralization that bugbear of earlier officialdom, had slo~ly
crumbled under th~ assault of events and more latitude was bemg
granted to local officers. . f hildh d
00
Birth pangs had been safely surmounted and the trials O c were over. Henceforward the Warren would tread t~e path of · · 'Wh n I was a child I spake
adolescence and grow mto matunty. e . ' as a child I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I
' . '
became a man I put away childish thmgs: This was to be the keynote for the ensumg century•
493
Adolescence
L-·
lf
·Chapter 13
The Warren during Napoleonic times
The sound of war drums ushering in the nineteenth century brought a sense of foreboding to European peoples. In February 180 r, the month in which France and Austria made peace at Luneville, Pitt the Younger resigned as Prime Minister and was followed in office by Henry Addington, an ineffectual and narrowminded man almost as bigoted as his royal master. At the same time, Lord Hawkesbury, who succeeded Lord Grenville as Foreign Secretary, was quite unknown to the British Public. Small wonder, therefore, that in the circumstances a feeling of anxiety swept the country as news from the continent daily grew more ominous, bread approached famine levels and taxes mounted. After Luneville, England stood alone while France secured a guarantee against attack by other Powers. It soon became apparent that the Peace of Luneville was an astute move on the part of Napoleon to isolate England and free his hands for an all-out assault upon 'this sceptre'd isle' which had turned his dreams of conquest into nightmares of defeat. Britain was the world's main carrier of commerce and Europe's workshop. While her ships gave her a monopoly of trade, her mineral wealth and machinery guaranteed her almost complete industrial hegemony. She must therefore be crushed. The 'continental system' designed to effect this was luckily foiled, and Bonaparte having suffered a reverse in Egypt was willing to conclude peace at Amiens on 27 March 1802. This proved to be but a short-lived armistice as England, realizing the trend of events, declared war
again on France on 18 March 1803. It was against this background that the Warren entered on its period of adolescence.
It was a time of high endeavour and growing activity tempered by the difficulties inherent in war. The ever-increasing rise in the cost of living was becoming a serious factor in the lives of the poorer classes of the community, and the scarcity of bread which drove up
the price to unprecedented heights affected industrial workers to a marked degree. To afford some relief to his employees, Colonel Congreve asked the Board on 6 January 1801, whether all the foremen, artificers and labourers in the Royal Laboratory could have their increased emoluments continued for a further period. The Board, well aware of the circumstances, received this request sympathetically and agreed to the extra day's pay per week, already granted to persons employed in the Royal Laboratory and other
497
Ordnance Establishments at home, being extended till 28 February.1 Actually the price of bread began to drop soon afterwards, so that the additional money, though not given for long, did probably assist household budgets during the most difficult period.
The ground level of the Warren at this period had been little altered. That was to be rectified within the next twenty years. The open stream ran through and formed the moat as of old, and most of the area was marshlike and swampy. There was the old wharf at the Laboratory end of the river front, known as the West Wharf, terminating in an iron gate which led to the mud flats, and the East Wharf at the eastern end of the boundary. The main buildings were concentrated at the western end of the property where the soil was firmest, and covered approximately four acres though the density of structure was not high.
The principal blocks of buildings standing when the century opened were:
A. The Laboratory Square.
B. The Shot-yard.
C. The Royal Military Academy (The Great House).
D. The Old and New Sea Storehouses.
E. The new Shot-yard.
F. The Foundry.
G. The Foundry and Basin Square.
H. The Carriage and Painters' Square.
I. The Guardhouse at the Main Gate.
J. The blocks of Colonels and Field Officers' quarte!"s.
K. The Chief Firemaster's quarter.
L. The quarter of the Inspector of the Academy.
M. The Laboratory Storehouses.
N. The new Carriage-sheds.
0. The Cadets' barracks and hospital.
P. The East Laboratory.
Q. The Laboratory Carpenters' shop.
R. The Inspector of Artillery's workshops.
S. The Inspector ofArtillery's Proof Office.
T. The Laboratory House for making fire composition.
U. The Coal-yard.
V. The shed for wood.
W. The house for chipping iron mortars and beds.
In addition to the above there were various groups of stables, odd sheds and workshops, a marsh guardhouse near the eastern boundary and the proof-butts on the site of the present gas-works. Open spaces included the parade green, now the Dial Square green; the cadets' green, now the green opposite H. Avenue; the store
keeper's garden near the Great House; the storekeeper's orchard,
1
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfW0/47/2,570, p. 3.
498
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
now covered by the main block of storehouses; the chief firemaster's
garden where the wharfsheds now stand; and various other g~rdens.
The rest was meadow land. Since 1777 the farm belonging to
Mr Withers had become the property of Mr Harwood. .
Eastward of the stream, the marshy meadows, still depending for
their safety on the protection of the ancient embankment of the
Thames, harboured wild life as of yore.
Little of further interest occurred during the opening year of the
nineteenth century and only three other items are worth recordi?g.
The first, that all allowances in cash due to officers at W oolw1ch
should in future be paid at the Tower instead of by t_he storekeep~r,
Woolwich, who would, however, continue to make disbursements m
kind;2 the second, that the C.R.E. Woolwich would be allowed to
incur expenditure on the repair of buildings and furniture up t? a
limit of £5 without the prior sanction of the Board, a concess~on
due no doubt to the war;3 and the third, a contract connected with
provision for the Naval Service.4 •
This last item dealt with the supply of carronade carriages for
his Majesty's ships. . .
The international situation in view of Napoleon's determmation
to invade England if possible,' urgently demanded the ~treng0e~ng
of the fleet and its armament. This, among other thmgs, implied
the manufacture of goo carronade carriages for the quarter decks
and forecastles of ships of the line. Thomas Butler, the constructor
of carriages under the Inspector of Artillery, therefore suggested to
the Board that Mr Friend should supply the following:
r50 -32 pdr carronades Carriages and slides for 50 -24 pdr carronades
(
150 -18 pdr carronades
The Board agreed to this proposal and instructed Mr Friend to proceed with the construction of the carriages for the. 18 pdr and 24 pdr carronades, and to name his price for undertakmg the provision of the 150 carriages for the 32 pdr carronades. . .
As an indication of prices for non-ferrous metals ruling at this juncture, it may be stated that Mr Greenfell was ordered to supply copper to the Royal Brass Foundry at £154 per ton,5 a figure identical to that paid for the same material at Woolwich forty years earlier.6
The year 1802 opened with the death on 15 January of ~o?n Cockburn, who as storekeeper had reigned so long over the destlrues
2 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,571, p. 837, 27 August x8oi.
3 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,571, p. 1,228, 4 December i8oi.
4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,571, p. 863, I September 1801.
5 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,570, p. 473, 19_Ma)'. 1_8o1. .
6 Prices and Wages in England from the 12th to the 19th Century, Sir Wilha.n1 Beveridge, vol. I, p. 656.
499
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
of the Warren. His executors were Mr Thomas, a clergyman, and Mr Cotterel, a surgeon.7 It was a year of promise and frustration. It saw the initiation ofa large building programme already planned on the drawing board, and one of the most disastrous fires in the history of Woolwich Warren.
In order to assist in the contemplated construction, Colonel Twiss
and Captain George Hayter, C.R.E. of the Thames Division (after
wards called 'C.R.E. Woolwich Division'), proposed on 22 January
1802 that the following additional staff should be sent to Woolwich
to strengthen the Engineering Department :8
One Chief Clerk of Works One Assistant Clerk of Works
Two Overseers of Works One Copying Clerk
One Assistant Copying Clerk One Draughtsman
and recommended that the posts should be filled as follows:
Chief Clerk of Works -Charles Weaver at 8s. per day and £20
p.a. house rent.
Assistant Clerk of Works -Mr Lamb, Copying Clerk in the Engineer's Office at Dover, at 5s. per day and £ 12 p.a. house rent.
Principal Overseer -Thomas Weaver, at 5s. per day and £15
p.a. house rent. Second Overseer -Mr Burkett, Master Bricklayer at Dover, at 5s. per day and £ 12 p.a. house rent. Copying Clerk -Mr Watkins at 5s. per day and £12 p.a. house rent. The Assistant Copying Clerk -to have £50 p.a. and£ 2 p. . house rent.
The Master-General agreed to this temporary increase of estab
lishment on 2 March 1802, but appointed William Croft, Assistant
Clerk of Works, in place of Mr Lamb who had been recommended
by the Board.9 William Croft tarried but a short while in this post;
he was moved on 26 March 1802 to the Treasurer's Office at the
Tower, and was replaced at Woolwich by Thomas Durnford.10
The first of the great works to be put in hand was the new wharf for which an original contribution of £10,000 had been allotted in the Ordnance Estimates for 1801. The whole project took the best part ofeleven years to complete, being finished in 1813, and cost the Exchequer £197,289. It was an immense undertaking, 2,440 feet long, which at last provided a real bund for the Warren. Henceforward, the loading and unloading of stores to and from lighters would be more easily effected. There are several drawings of this projected wharf among the War Office records at Stanmore,
notably a plan of the general section and the suggested method of
: Extracts ofM~utes, Se~es II, PROfWO/47/2,572, p. 50. Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PROfWO/47/2,572, p. 58. 1 Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, p. 212. 10 Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PROfWO/47/2,572, p. 332.
500
laying the masonry prepared by Major-General Morse on 24 December 1801, the design which was finally approved. Another was one drawn by Colonel Twiss a few months earlier in August 180r. The first foundation pile was driven in on 29 March r803. Timber and stone obtained by contract were used in constructing this wharf, purchases extending over eight years. Timber was bought by the load11 and stone by the ton. There were three contractors for the timber, namely Messrs White and Sons, Messrs Adam and Rober~son and Joseph Harris; and one merchant for the stone-Geo~ge Milne. The negotiations for these materials ranged over the eight years already mentioned and the ·story of the various transactions runs
somewhat as follows: It was agreed first of all on 12 January 1802, that the fir trees
which were about to be felled on the land recently leased from Mr Edward Bowater, should be purchased and used in the building of the wharf.12 Secondly, on 22 January 1802, the offer of Messrs
13
White and Sons was to be accepted if their prices were reasonable. After these preliminaries some years had naturally to elapse before the bulk of the timber was required, so it was not till 15 !ebruary 1805 that Captain Hayter was ordered to purchas~ one th1:d of the total amount required from some merchant who rmght possibly offer more attractive terms than Messrs White and Sons. Tenders were therefore placed in order to obtain a competitive price. !"1r W:hite offered some Memel timber at £4. 15s. od. per float, or 1f specially
picked at £5 per load.14 Eventually Messrs Adam and Roberts?n supplied some of the timber at £6. 10s. od. per load,14 while Messrs White and Sons provided 70 loads of Memel and 30 loads of D anzig timber.15 On 30 June 1809, Messrs White and Sons were allowed 7s. per foot cube for the oak plank they supplied for th_e wharf,16 while finally on 5January 1810, the tender ofJoseph Hams for English timber was accepted.17 The prices charged by Joseph
Harris were as under:
To meet at 60 feet; no tree to be less than 55 feet; roo loads
Hewn oak at £g. 15s. od. per load . . . timber Small, straight and handsome for pile dnvmg 50 loads at
{ £7. 10s. od. per load
One can only assume that the word 'handsome' means 'free from blemish'.
11 A load consists of 40 cu. feet of unhewn timber or 50 cu. feet of squared timber. It was estimated to weigh one ton. 12 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, P· 37· 13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, P· 57· 14 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,582, P· 600. 15 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, P· 1 ,399· 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6o8, P· 2,oo3. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJWO /47 /2,6 l 3, P· 64.
Ii 501
II
Between the deliveries off these contracts, the C.R.E. Woolwich Division apparently ran out of timber for the wharf, a circumstance for which he had to assume responsibility and in consequence drew upon himself a slight rebuke. This little incident is recorded in the Extracts of Minutes:
12 September 1806. Captain Hayter reported that in consequence of a want ofoak timber to carry on with the wharf, he agreed with Mr Skinner of Greenwich for a small quantity-665 feet of 10 inch cube-at 7s. per foot. He requests the Board's approbation of the purchase which he considers a good bargain. The Board approved the purchase for the reason given and the reasonableness of the price. They would prefer, however, that he should make timely demands for such materials and stores as may from time to time be required, rather than that he should make agreements to purchase without the Board's previous sanction.18
The stone all appears to have been 'Dundee' and George Milne had the monopoly of supply notwithstanding the fact that he sometimes gave short measure and delivered many 'stones that were chipped and damaged'. Perhaps he had no competitors for, instead oflosing the contract, he was merely informed ofhis misdemeanours 'so that he could use proper precautions in future and supply stone exactly as specified'.19 This was in 1802. Six years later his offer to supply further consignments ofDundee stone at 46s. 6d. per ton was accepted.20
The yearly estimated expenditure on this wharf after the initial grant of£10,000 in 1801 was:
1804-£18,400 1805-£18,000
1806-£17,000 1807-£23,000
1808-£24,007. IOS. 6d. 1809-£16,068. 5s.
1810-£20,000 18n-£11,854. I IS.
1812-£13,324. 5s. IO£d.
and a final sum of£9,466. 1Is. id. in 1813
The sum voted in 18II was for the continuation of the new wharf 100 feet to the eastwards, while that in 1812 was for the completion ofthe eastward extension and for 160 feet ofthe 360 feet of wharfing to complete the structure to the westward. In addition to the above
£3,983. 18s. 4d. was spent between 1811 and 1813 on paving the ground in front of the wharf. These figures have been extracted from the Ordnance Estimates 1801-18rn and from the Works Estimates 1811-1813. Some land was now purchased in the Warren for the use of the Ordnance. It was an area of 51 acres and contained a dwelling house and barracks. William Tull, surveying clerk, forwarding to
:: Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,684. 10 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47 /2,572, p. 1,509, 23 December 1802. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,606, p. 279, 30January 1809.
502
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
the Board the particulars respecting this purchase, lately the property of Mrs Harwood, by Mr John Martin of Plumstead, stated that he considered the proposition made by Mr Martin to be fair and reasonable. The Board approved Mr Tull's statement as well as the purchase of the lease of Mrs Harwood's farm. They also agreed to the rent that Mr Martin offered for the portion of land of which he was to retain possession, and that the account between the Board and Mr Martin should be adjusted conformably to Mr Tull's recommendation.21
On 20 May 1802, one of the most calamitous fires at the Arsenal broke out in the Warren. Strange to relate, official records do not mention it, they only refer to the damage in general terms after the conflagration had happened and the Annual Estimates laconically approve large sums of money for repairs. The damage was said to have exceeded £200,000 in value, which was a large sum in those days. The following account is taken from The Annual Register 1802:
The Chronicle 22nd May p. 404
A dreadful fire broke out at Woolwich, and from the investigation which has taken place into this calamitous circumstance, there is but too much reason to believe that this disaster was not the mere effect ofaccident. The fire broke out at one and the same time in three different places, besides which a great mass of combustible materials has been discovered. The loss to government will be immense. The damage done at the model room is particularly to be lamented, as several choice works of art have been destroyed, without the power of reparation; however, the injury done to the beautiful model of the Rock of Gibraltar22 is not so great as was at first represented, it having sustained but a slight damage, which can be easily repaired, and the whole restored to its original state.
Lieut.-Colonel A. H. Burne in his book The Royal Artillery Mess, Woolwich, states :23
The fire had an amusing sequel: troops were sent down from the Artillery Barracks to help to extinguish it, and they did such yeoman service that General Lloyd, who commanded at Woolwich, in his largehearted way, authorized the publicans to serve out free beer to the troops. This was done and the said troops made such good use of the opportunity that the bill came to £23. 2s. 5}d.24 Somewhat abashed, the General applied to the Honourable Board of Ordnance for the amount expended to be refunded, and the Honourable Board, mirabile dictu, granted the sum in full even to the odd halfpenny.
The Times, for some reason best known to itself, made no reference to this national disaster. The Warren premises at this date were not
21 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,572, p. 477, 4 May 1802.
22 This model was formerly in the Rotunda Museum.
23 Page 6. Lieut-Colonel Burne quotes as his authority PRO/WO /4 7 /2,573, but no such account appears in this volume. 24 As the price of beer in 1801 was 10d. a gallon, the sum involved represented over 500 gallons.
very extensive, and the loss of stores and equipment during that anxious period must have caused the authorities considerable apprehension. The Royal Military Repository was more or less gutted, being damaged so extensively that it was never rebuilt on its old site, but was moved to Woolwich Common where it continued to function till natural death supervened. Luckily, a certain number of models were saved from the wreckage and, at Major-General Congreve's suggestion, orders were given that the new buildings destined to house these salvaged objects should be completed with all possible speed. 25 The sumof£80,000 was provjded in the Ordnance Estimates for 1802 and 1803 for rebuilding storehouses, reconstructing the Royal Military Repository on the Common and replacing timber
destroyed in the fire.
The need for a larger labour force in the Warren was now felt, and to the early nineteenth century official mind what more suitable type of man could be found than the convict. He could be made to
work harder and do rougher tasks than the ordinary labourer, and if, on the whole, he cost the country as much if not more than the free man, he was certainly not an expensive luxury. It is true that his extra beer and biscuits, presumably the forerunner of 'elevenses' and 'afternoon tea', cost the Board in the neighbourhood of £1,500£1,600 annually between the years 1810-18i20, reaching a maximum of £1,990. 4-S· od. in 1814,26 but his assistance was too valuable to be overlooked. The Master-General therefore agreed on 25 Novem
t ber 180227 that the allowances proposed for con icts by Captain Hayter to encourage them to work with alacrity should be made in the manner prescribed, that three more lighters similar to those already in use should be provided under the direction of M r Webb, and that application should be made to the Secretary of State for the assistance of 400 extra convicts. Convicts' beer evidently loomed large in the Ordnance conscience as many references to this liquid refreshment occur with an almost monotonous frequency. It was, somewhat naturally, considered to be an important item when convicts were responsible for so much of the heavy manual labour undertaken in the Warren. The small beer supplied was additional to that obtained by the convicts as their 'official rations' and was paid for as already stated, presumably as an inducement to work conscientiously, out of the Ordnance vote. The annual cost of this service naturally varied with the price of beer and the number of convicts employed, but a careful analysis of the figures shows that the average convict consumed over a quart of this free beverage a day. For some reason best known to the authorities, convicts' beer was dealt with by the Engineering Department ss Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,573, p. 1,047, 16 September 1802. 11 Works Estimates 1814, PRO/WO/49/131.27 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47 /2,573, p. 1,390.
5o4
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
instead of by the storekeeper as might have been expected. It was probably because the convicts, as a whole, worked mainly for the
C.R.E. Certainly the Works vote bore the 'Beer and biscuit' expenses. It was therefore the duty of the Officer commanding the Royal Engineers at Woolwich to satisfy himself that the beer supplied was up to standard. It is learned that on 28 December 1804, Captain Hayter, having reported 'the bad quality of the beer issued to the convicts gratuitously for work performed by them on account of the Ordnance, and that no brewer could afford to supply a better brand at 10s. a barrel, submitted a sample of beer at 30s. a barrel for the Board's approbation agreeable to the suggestion of the Honourable William Pole,28 it was ordered that the sample of beer produced by Messrs Bird and Ball be approved as the beer to be issued to convicts employed on Ordnance duties at Woolwich, and that Messrs Bird and Ball be paid at the rate of 30s. a barrel (i.e. 10d. a gallon).' Captain Hayter was informed of this decision and told to take care that the beer supplied to convicts in future was to be up to the sample produced.29 On 28 January 1806, Mr C. Page of Greenwich obtained the contract for supplying small beer to the convicts working in the Royal Arsenal. 30
R ather a pleasing habit on the part of the Board prevailed about
this tim . It was the giving of bonuses to officers and others who
showed ability and zeal in their professional capacity. For example,
on 28 December 1802, Mr Burkett, the second overseer of works,
was paid 36 guineas 'as a reward for his diligence and exertion as
Foreman of Bricklayers at Woolwich while the new buildings were
in course of erection there',31 and 14 months later Captain Hayter
was 'awarded a gratuity of £300 for his energy and meritorious
service in pushing forward the works so rapidly at Woolwich during
the preceding 12 months'.32 He himself had modestly asked for £200
on this account. The same dose was repeated on 25 February 1805
when Captain Hayter was again given another gratuity of £300 'for
the zeal with which he had carried out his work at Woolwich' .33
These were lucky men! That particular plum-tree has long since
ceased to bear fruit.
By the beginning of 1803, the Royal Brass Foundry had fallen into a bad state of repair and required not only renovation but alteration. On 13 January, therefore, Captain Hayter was instructed to carry out forthwith services amounting to approximately £2,704. us. od. based on a request submitted by Colonel Thomas Blomefield, the
28 Clerk of the Ordnance. 29 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,58 l, P· 3,728. 30 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 341. 31 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,573, P· 1,526. 32 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 446, 27 February 18o4. 33 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 736.
34
Inspector.34 The dilapidations in question must have been of long standing to account for such a large sum, and one wonders why, when Napoleon was still the prime menace to Europe and this island such a state of affairs should have been tolerated. The Peace of Am'iens cannot be blamed for this regrettable lapse as it was only signed ten months previously.
John Noble had been appointed Master Furbisher at_ Woolwich on 1 October 1802 and, on 2 I January I 803, the Respective Officers enquired ofthe Board whether he, like his predecessor, was to receive £4 p.a. house rent as well as an allowance for drilling and cutting the pans of locks for H.M. Service, since the Board's Order of 1 October 1802 restricting this allowance referred to locks for merchants' guns only. The Board in their reply stated that John oble's pay of 41"· a day, afterwar~s increased to 4-f. 6d. ': day on 8 _March,35 was intended to be in heu of the allowance enJoyed by his predecessor for drilling and cutting the pans of locks for guns and carronades whether for the royal service or for that of merchants. They agreed, however, that Mr Noble should receive his £ 4 p.a. house rent at the hands of the storekeeper.36 As an afterthought, the Principal Officers of the Ordnance decided that the master furbisher should be paid for drilling and cutting pans for locks up to and including 31 December I 802. Thereafter this practice was to cease. 37
Captain Hayter had built a temporary wharf in the Warren in 1802 while the permanent wharf was under construction. This had been deemed necessary since stores and equipment still had to be loaded into, and unloaded from ships, and the situation in Europe would not wait upon Warren improvements. This arrangement had proved so beneficial that the C.R.E.'s suggestion to build another to handle light traffic was adopted on 15 March 1803.38
The proof-butts once more became 'news'. Considerable damage occurred to nearby buildings by the bursting of some old guns at proof on r6 March 1803 which resulted in an order to suspend all works within 300 yards ofthe butt during subsequent firing. Captain Hayter, therefore, on r 8 March, suggested the erection of new proofbutts for proving old pattern ordnance, and that pending the
completion of their construction, which he hoped would be effected within three weeks, new guns only should undergo proof at the present butt.39 The Board, always sensitive to accidents ofthis nature, gave priority to the work and ordered the engagement of additional labour to expedite matters. They instructed the C.R.E. and the
34 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 57. 35 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,574, p. 418. 36 Extracts of Minutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 108. 37 Extracts ofM!-Ilutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 152, 27 January 1803. 38 Extracts of~utes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 468. 18 Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PROJW0/47/2,574, p. 484.
506
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEO IC TIMES
Inspector of Artillery to confer with a view to deciding the best and most efficient manner of completing the new butt which was to be set up as quickly as possible.40
There were only three incidents worthy ofrecord which took place before the great event of May 1803. Since they are non-sequential items they are best quoted in tabular form.
( 1) The Respective Officers are henceforth to hire sufficient labourers of good character for carrying on the work of their department instead of employing gunners, as the Master-General considers that the instructions ofrecruits and soldiers at Woolwich is being impeded by the number of artillerymen at present employed as general labourers.41
(2)
The Master-General approves Dr Rollo taking over the duties of 'chymist' in the Ordnance Department during the indisposition of Dr Cruickshank. It is agreed that he should conduct the business of the 'Chymical' Department of the Ordnance at Woolwich for 12 months should Dr Cruickshank be ill for so long a period. Dr Rollo to report quarterly or oftener on the state of Dr Cruickshank's health.42
(3)
Captain Hayter is ordered to proceed with the additions to the new wharf and is told that it will be necessary to remove the boat-houses and landing stages occupied by the Royal Laboratory and the Respective Officers, and re-erect them in a more convenient position at the eastern end of the Warren. Also that the store timber stacked in the yard at the back of the R.L. carpenters' shop should be removed.43
The outstanding circumstance of the year, one which was to affect profoundly the future of the Warren and subsequently of the Royal Arsenal, was the establishment of a Royal Carriage Department. Carriage building and repair was originally done by the master carpenter of the period until the work, increasing in volume and complexity, outstripped his capabilities. Towards the last quarter of the eighteenth century, manufacture was carried out by the Constructor of Carriages, an official under the Inspector ofArtillery, until, in turn, the job grew beyond his capacity. By 1803 it beca~e evident that sterner measures were necessary in view ofthe increasmg output demanded by the war, and of the growing variation in carriage design, and that the gun carriage could no longer b_e regarded as the Cinderella of artillery equipment. Hence~~rth it must rank with the 'ugly sisters' of ordnance and ammurutI?n so that the three would form a trinity of equal partners so essential to the Royal Regiment in the field. . .
A third manufacturing department was thus set up with this object in view.
40 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 503. 41 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 531, 28 M~ch 1803. 42 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 571, 5 April_ 1803. 43 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,574, p. 620, 12 April 18o3.
5o7
The warrant of establishment, dated 21 April 1803, reads as follows :44
Warrant for an Establishment to conduct the business of the Royal Carriage Department of the Ordnance
George Rex, Whereas you have represented unto Us that it will tend to the Advantage of Our Service if the Business ofmaking Gun Carriages, Mortar Beds and all other Description of Carriages Necessary for Our Army and Navy was to be conducted by an Establishment of Officers distinct from the Department of the Inspector of Artillery under which that Duty is at present performed and whereas you have submitted to Us an Establishment hereunto annexed which you consider necessary for Conducting the Business of the Ordnance Carriage Department in future We have thought proper to approve thereof and do hereby authorize you to carry the same into immediate Effect and charge the Expence ofSuch Establishment amount
ing to the sum of Three thousand one hundred and two Pounds Ten shillings per annum in the Ordnance estimates which shall be from time to time presented to Parliament. Vve have also thought proper to direct
that such Appointments and the salaries appertaining thereto as are contained in the present Civil Establishment of the Ordnance approved by Our Warrant bearing date 13 June 1801 and which relates to the Carriage Department be annulled. And We do hereby authorize the same to cease and determine from the 1st day ofJanuary last when the New Establishment for that Department is to commence and for so doing this shall be as well unto you as unto the Commissioners for Auditing the Public Accounts of the Kingdom and to all other Our Officers and Ministers herein concerned a sufficient Warrant. Given at Our Court at St James's the 21st Day of April 1803 in the Forty third Year of Our Reign.
By his Majesty's Command PelhamTo Our Right Trusty
and Right Well-beloved
Cousin and Counsellor, John, Earl of Chatham K.G.
Master-General of Our Ordnance.
Proposed Establishment for conducting the Business ofthe Roy al Carriage Department of the Ordnance I803
Pay per year
£. s. d.
Inspector of the Ordnance Carriage Department 440 0 0
Assistant Inspector " " 250 0 0
Constructor of Carriages 250 0 0
First Assistant Constructor 200 0 0
Second Assistant Constructor 180 0 0
Clerk of the Cheque having the charge of the stores
of the Department 200 0 0
~' Warran~ (Kings and Others, Woolwich), PRO/W0/55/421, p. 115. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,575, p. 733, 3 May 1803.
508
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Two Clerks for the Inspector's Office at £70 p.a. each 140 o o One at 100 o o
Four Clerks for the Clerk of the Cheque {
Three at 70 o o each Draftsman g I 5 o First Overseer 120 0 0 Second Overseer 100 0 0 Four Master Smiths at ,is. 6d. p.d. each 328 10 0 Three Master Carpenters at ,is. 6d. p.d. each 246 7 6 Three Master Wheelers at ,is. 6d. p.d. each 246 7 6
Total per annum: £3,102. 10s. od.
This warrant was followed on 5 May I 803 by an announcement of the Board in the following terms :45
The Board having taken into consideration His Majesty's warrant bearing date 2 1 April 1803 for forming an Establishment to conduct ~he Business of the Royal Carriage Department of the Ordnance and which is to commence from 1st January last were pleased to order that such officers as may be appointed to employments in the said Establishment, and who have held offices in other Branches of the Civil Department of the O rdnance, shall be paid the difference between their salaries and allowances upon the new Establishment of the Carriage Department and the salaries and allowances of their former stations from 1st January last to the date of their respective appointments.
I t will b e noted that the Royal Carriage Department, like the
two older factories, was a Civil Establishment of the Ordnance;
thus, although the senior appointments in all of them were, and
w ere for many years to be, held by military officers, the officers
concerned were classed as holding 'Civil appointments' and drew
pay at the lowest civil rate of the post.
The principal posts in this new department were filled by the
undermentioned:
Inspector Colonel Edward Fage R.A.
Assistant Inspector Major George Scott R.A.
Constructor of Carriages 46
First Assistant Constructor Edward Burford
Second Assistant Constructor Mr Tull
Clerk of the Cheque Adam Fife
Adam Grinton Clerks for the Inspector's Office George Cleveland Scott
{
Francis Shepherd (additional)47
First Overseer John Wood
though some of these gentlemen were soon replaced by others.
46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,575, P· 752 • • •
46 The post of Constructor of Carriages was vacant, Thomas Butler havmg left. Captam
Joseph Maclean R.A. was appointed to this post on IS June I 803.
47 Francis Shepherd was appointed an extra clerk because George Cleveland Scott had
to remain at Rotherhithe (PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 830).
5og
l
lr
ADOLESC E CE
Besides their pay, certain of these officials received allowances as under, with effect from 1 January 1803, according to the Boa;d's regulation dated I 3June 1801. Should any ofthem be accommodated at the public expense, they were to lose their house allowance from
the relevant date :48
Appointment
Inspector -Colonel Edward Fage R.A. Assistant } .
-MaJor George Scott R.A.
Inspector Constructor 1 st Assistant} Ed d B fi d
Constructor -war ur or 2nd Assistant} _ Mr Tull
Constructor Clerk of the Cheque -Adam Fife
House R ent Coals and Candles
£52 p.a. £25 p.a.
£52 p.a. £25 p.a.
£52 p.a. £25 p.a.
£12. IOS. od. p.a.
£ 26 p.a. £12. 10s. od. p.a.
£26 p.a. £12. 1os. od. p.a.
Colonel Fage, up till I January 1803, had been the Assistant Inspector under the Inspector of Artillery; Edward Burford had been assistant constructor in the same department; and Adam Fife had been storekeeper at Athlone. The latter, before being posted to Athlone, had been the searcher under the Inspector of Artillery. He never actually took over his new duties in Ireland because on 13 February 1803, he was instructed to act as clerk of the ch;que in the Carriage Department under Colonel Fage, and as such to be head timekeeper and in charge of the clerks until some final arrangement for the department should be laid down.49
I T~e sto~ekeeper was ord~red to pay the postal charges on all public b~smess connected with the Royal Carriage Depar tment.so Exp~nence soon proved that the directing staff of the R. C.D. laid down m the warrant of 21 April 1803 was insufficient to deal ·th
h . . WI
t e ever.mcreasmg amount of work. One year was sufficient to detect thIS flaw. It was remedied by the issue of a further warrant dated_ I April 180451 ~hich allowed a total sum of £ 4,128. 5s. od. p.a., 1_.e. an annual mcrease of £1,025. 15s. od. As a result the followmg staff were appointed ;52
Captain William Second Assistant { at £200 p.a.53
Miller R.A. Inspector Ist Junior Constructor
John Wood { at £130 p.a.54
of Carriages
48 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ /
o Extracts of Minutes, Series II' PRO/W0/47/2,575, p. 1,445, 22 August 1803. 60 Extracts of Minutes Series II' PR 47 2,574, p. 291.
u Warrants (King's a'nd Oth ' WO~'W_OJ47/2,575, p. 602, 9 April 1803.
Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ e/rs, 8 °0 wic ), PRO/W0/55/421, P· 121. Extracts of n Extracts of Minutes, Serieih2,i;, p. 2,322, 22 August 1804. u Extracts of Minutes S . II' PRg/W0/47/2,580, p. 2,171 , 6 August 1804. H See footnote 52 i e 'p:oetws0/ / /W0/47/2,579, p. 1,806, 29 June 1804.
• · · 47 2,580, p. 2,171, 6 August 1804.
5rn
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEO . IC TIMES
12nd Junior Constructor
John Viney £120 p.a.54
lof Carriages William Fulbrook J3rd Junior Constructor £120 p.a.54
lof Carriages J4th Junior Constructor
John Stradley £120 p.a.54
lof Carriages Master Artificer of £109. 10s. od. p.a.54
John Watts {Carpenters Master Artificer of £109. 10s. od. p.a.54
George South {Wheelers Master Artificer of 54
Robert Walker { £109. JOS. od. p.a.
Wheelers Master Artificer of 54
v\Tilliam Clark { £109. 10s. od. p.a.
Smiths Master Artificer of 54
William Young { £109. 10s. od. p.a.
Smiths Master Artificer of 54
£109. Jos. od. p.a.
William Jarratt {
Smiths Senior Clerk in the
£100 p.a.54
John Lobban {Inspector's Office
Thus launched upon the sea of life, the Royal Carriage Department became one ofthe most progressive establishments in the Royal Arsenal, being the first to introduce steam as a prime mover. It had a branch manufactory at Rotherhithe which was closed down and removed to vVoolwich by the Board's order dated 10 May 1813.55
In order to keep abreast ofthe continual demands for ammunition, it was agreed on I June 1803, that certain artificers in the Royal Laboratory could be employed on Sundays if required at an extra day's pay per week.56 Thus was introduced the 7-day week during war-time which was to become a familiar feature in the wars of the
twentieth century. 57The following proposals were put into force on I July 1803 :
As it was contemplated proving contractors' guns during working hours, foremen should not be permitted to perform the work in their own time or make a charge to the merchant for the time of the labourers used in executing any part of this service. Such a practice was considered to be against the good performance of work in the Warren. As, however, this would entail financial loss to foremen, they should be allowed the following
rates of pay: Chief Foreman in the Warren 2s. 6d. to ,is. a day First Foreman employed in the )
Carriage Yard under the Store-2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. a day keeper Assistant Foremen 2s. to 3s. a day
56 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,847. 56
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 890. 57 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 949, 10 June 1803.
511
That as John Strudley, Foreman of the R.C.D. smithy, who had had a principal concern in doing the smiths' work in contractors' guns, would also be a loser by this arrangement, that the work on both King's and contractors' guns should be done by smiths in the shops under his superintendence and that he should be compensated by an additional Is. a day to his wages.
During the year the following minor works were ordered to be carried out by the C.R.E.:
I June I803. A temporary shed for accommodating men at the new
proof-butts to be erected.58 IJ June I803. A storehouse for the R.C.D. to be built.59 24 June 1803. The iron gates at the Warren to be repaired and a design
for new gates to be forwarded in accordance with the Board's request of 18 April 1803.60 5 October 1803. A waggon shed to be constructed at a cost not exceeding the estimated price of £1,727. 8s. g½d.61 I I October I803. An addition to be made to the turners' shop in the
R.L. to accommodate 8 more lathes.62
Work was by now becoming so excessive that the storekeeper felt he could no longer control both storage and disbursements of cash. He had come to the conclusion that the combined responsibilities were too heavy for one man to assume. On 8 J uly 1803, therefore, he forwarded to the Board proposals for dividing the duties of storekeeping and payments. The Board agreed to this suggestion and on their recommendation the Master-General appro ed a post of Paymaster to undertake payments on behalfofthe Ordnance Department at Woolwich. The salary was to be £350-400 p.a. with house rent, coals and candles. The person selected for the post was to find
security for £2,000, his own bond for £1,000 and two others in bonds of £500 each.63 The 'person selected' was J ohn Henderson who on 15 July 1803 was appointed Paymaster at £400 p.a. to take charge of the new department from 1 August 1803. 64
John Henderson at once commenced to make the necessary arrangements for organizing his office. Somewhat naturally, he began by demanding a safe which the C.R.E. was ordered to procure.65 On 6 October 1803, he was authorized to employ an office keeper,66 and was told to engage 'a person he can trust' who would be included
in the Warren establishment of labourers.67 William Liddon was
58 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 575, p. 894. 69 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2;575, p. 996. 00 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,048.41 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,750. 68 61 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,796.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,148. u Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,267. 88u Extracts ofMmutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. 1,431, 19 August 1803. 87 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,755.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 2,074, 19 November 1803.
512
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
appointed Paymaster's Clerk on 27 October 1803.68 One of the first special payments made by the paymaster was a sum of 5s. each to the artificers and labourers and one of 10s. each to the two foremen for the part they had played in extinguishing the recent fire in the Rotherhithe factory.69
Captain Dickinson, the Superintendent of Shipping, was on g September 1803 ordered to provide a new boat for the Respective Officers and to dispose of the old one which was past rep~ir.70 At the same time, he was instructed to supply as soon as possible two extra barges and a large boat to augment the fleet_ of craft employed at the military ferry which plied between Woolwich and the north bank of the Thames so as to effect the passage of a light brigade of
. artillery in one trip: In this respect he was to ta~e his instructions from Lieutenant-General Duncan Drummond, Director-General of Artillery.71 This instruction shows clearly that. the military_ ferry connecting the Warren to the Essex shore was m fu!l operat~on at the dawn of the century, notwithstanding the assertion of Vmcent that it 'was established shortly prior to I 81o'.72 This ferry was instituted for the conveyance of troops from southern England to the northern counties, as well as for the carriage of stores. It therefore had a strategic in addition to its transport value. The road ~o_m_ the military ferry on the Essex side led to East Ham when: 1t Jmned the main highway, and on 1 February 1806, Captain Hayter received in tructions to repair that road on Ordnance charge on the representations of the Commissioners for Sewers.73 On I 7 Octoher 1804, a punt and a lighterman's skiff to replace one worn o~t were ordered to be provided for the military ferry.74 On I 4 Apnl .I 806, Captain Dickinson was told to provide a new boa~, 25 feet m the keel for the service of the ferry, the old boat having become unserviceable.75 Four days later Captain Hayter was informed that the n ew ferry-boat had been ordered and that, in addition, four more ballast lighters and four lightermen to handle them had been
supplied.76 • •
The year 1803 closed with another case of co:1'1pensat1on. This time the recipient was William Murray who receive_d £13. Is.. 4d. for the loss of one of his bullocks which had been accidentally killed during artillery practice in the Warren.77
os Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, P· 1,919· 00 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 2,231, 9 December 1803. 70 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\VO/47 /2,576, P· I ,570. 71 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4~/2,576, P· 1,571. 72 The Records of the Woolwich District, W. T. Vmcent, vol. I, p. 344· 73 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROf\i\1O/47/2,588, P· 441. 74 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, P· 2,914. 75 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, P· 1.553. 76 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, P· 1,633. 77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\i\'O/47/2,576, p. 2,392, 28 December 1803.
51s
There was little of major interest in the following year save the building of the wharf which proceeded according to plan. The year 1804 may be compared to the trough between the wave peaks of 1803 and 1805, both of which were momentous in their own particular way.
The best method of presenting the principal events which did take place is in the form of a diary.
3 January 1804. Captain Dickinson ordered to provide craft for the removal of the mud and shingle in front of the new wharf. Captain Hayter to provide a temporary stage for this purpose. 78
6 January 1804. Charles Hockstretter the new clerk of the cheque, submits his travelling claim from Dublin to Woolwich amounting to £44. 7s. Bd.79 The agreement to pay this claim was obtained on 1 1 November 1803.80
6 January 1804. Captain Hayter is ordered to expedite the repairs of the house allotted to Evans Marshall, clerk of the survey.s1
2 February 1804. The Board sanction a timber yard in the upper part of the Practice Ground and of the necessary enclosure. They also agree to have the boundary wall towards the Plumstead road raised, and to have erected some temporary saw-pits, provided they do not interfere with artillery practice. 82
27 February 1804. Captain Hayter ordered to construct a fence round the storekeeper's garden at a cost not exceeding the estimate of £ 336. IS. 8¾d.83
28 February 1804. On William R. Marshall84 representing that the new arrangement concerning the proof of contractors' guns ordered by the Board to commence on r July 1803, caused him a loss of emoluments which he computed at £20 p.a., he was granted a n increase of £ 10 p.a. to his salary. 85
5 March 1804. Field officers' quarters Nos. 4 and 7 in the Warren to be repaired.86 These houses are not the present Nos. 4 and 7 Dial Square. The latter were numbered G and H in earlier years.
9 March 1804. The Master-General decided to postpone the buildinoof the Commandant's house in the Warren and the erection of th: magazines on the Essex side of the Thames till the following year.87 The Commandant's house':as the quar~er rece1:1t1y ~nown as o. 5 Dial Square, then calle_d No. 19. '!'his reference 1s puzzlmg_smce the quarter in question was certamly there m 1804. Research has failed to disclose any evidence as to when Nos. 5 and 6 Dial Square were built. The Minute Books of
;: Extracts ofM\nutes, Ser\es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 23.
Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 5a. 80 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 2,o26. 81 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 61. 82 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PROfW0/4.7 /2,577, p. 3 11.
83
H Ex~racts ofMmutes, Series I!, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 537 . . _This must be an ~rror. Obviously Evans Marshall, Clerk of the Survey, is meant. Wilham R. Marshall did not become Clerk of the Survey till 5 April 1813 :: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 548. · Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PROfWO/47/2,578, p. 608. 87 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 659.
514
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
the Surveyor-General, which cease after I 792, are dumb on the subject,
nor do the Extracts of Minutes Series II between the years 1793 and 1 797
make any reference thereto; and as all works services at the close of the
eighteenth century were carried out by the Engineering Department,
under the C.R.E. Thames Division, and not by master craftsmen engaged
on contract, the Bill Books are of no assistance. The missing Minute
Books between 1793 and 1797 may hold the key to the mystery. If so, the
lock must for ever remain unturned.
The lack of eighteenth century Warren maps does not help matters.
Barker's map of 1749 does indeed show what appears to be a L-shaped building on the site of the recent No. 5 quarter, though its outline is dissimilar and it is unnamed: there is no trace of No. 6 quarter. The map of 1777 portrays the same feature. When, however, the plan of the Warren, drawn by Lieut.-Colonel Edward Fage in January 1797, is studied,88 the matter is placed beyond doubt. In that map Nos. 5 and 6 Dial Square are clearly shown and appear as they do to-day. The only assumption to be drawn, therefore, is that the two quarters in question were built between 1793 and 1796, an assumption reinforced by the style of architecture employed. Both quarters are also plainly visible in a plan of the Royal Arsenal dated 2 March 1808, prepared and submitted by Captain George Hayter.B9
What then did the Master-General's decision mean? Certainly not the actual construction of the house, since it had already been standing at least seven years. It must have referred to some internal alteration. or embellishment more suited to a commandant than to a field officer.
A wing stretching into the garden containing kitchens, sculleries and other service rooms was subsequently added to No. 5 quarter, an addition which had the effect of increasing the size of a house already large.90 Rumour whispers that this extension was specially built for the entertainment of William IV, the sailor king. Unfortunately Arsenal rumours are as 'thick as autumnal leaves that strow the brooks in Vallombrosa', for although that monarch did visit the Royal Arsenal in the latter half ofJune 1834, this tale has no basis in fact.91 This is evidenced by a plan of the Commandant's house and garden dated April 1836,92 which does not contain the additional wing. It does, however, prove one point. The greenhouse in the garden of No. 5 quarters, the tesselated pavement of which still exists, is shown as standing in April 1836. A later plan of the Commandant's house, dated 20 February 1839, which accompanied
88 Essex Map Catalogue Supplement, D/D By, p. 16. 89 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756. 00 This extension was demolished between the two World Wars. 91 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759. 92 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760.
a report on the erection ofanother coach-house and other alterations to the main structure at a cost of £77. 1s. 1 r ¾d. for which sanction was given, omits the new kitchens.93 They could not, therefore, have been in existence in 1840. Ten years later, however, when sanction was given on 13 September 1850 to convert the Commandant's late house into two Field Officers quarters at a cost of£124. 6s. r r ¾d., the plan, which together with the report and estimate was dated 28 August 1850, clearly shows the kitchens extending into the garden. The extension therefore must have been put up between the years 1840 and 1850 though the reason for it has been obscured by the mists of time.94 This conversion, called for by the Master-General and Board on 3 April 1850, entailed among other alterations the building of a second bridge from the dining-room into the garden. The other bridge which led from the small sitting-room was part of the original design.
Anyhow the map of 1808 and the sketch of I 836 prove conclusively that this additional wing cannot have been the reason for turning No. 5 Dial Square into the Commandant's house.
The estimate for the magazines on the Essex shore is given as £130,400 in the Estimates for 1804.
13 April 1804. The Comptroller, Royal Laboratory having requested that a building might be erected immediately to accommodate 6 melting pots for casting lead bullets for S.A.A. and thicker cutters than those then in use, the C.R.E. was told to prepare a plan and fon'l:ard an estimate.90
14 May 1804. As payments of poor rate and taxes for the marshlands purchased by the Board in July 1803 have been demanded by the Parish Officers, and as possession was to begin to the purchaser at Michaelmas according to the conditions of sale, although the deed had not been completed and actually did not take place at Michaelmas Mr Robert Smith assistant solicitor to the Board, considers that the rat~s and taxes should be paid. The paymaster is ordered to pay them from Michaelmas last.96
17 May 1804. The paymaster is ordered to p ay the fine levied on Willia.~ _Caffin-4th cl:rk in the Royal Laboratory-for not serving in the rruhtia, and charge 1t to his account.97 4 June 1804. The painters' shop is to be repaired and put into proper order as soon as possible.98
13 JufJ 1804. Water boots for convicts were supplied at 27s. 6d. a pair, but owmg to employing additional convict labour on the wharf, the contractor was unable to provide the extra quantity required. The C.R.E. was therefore ordered to purchase them at 30s. a pair from another
merchant.99
"E . p
" n~eer apers, PRO/W0/55/76o.Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/763. :: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 1,063.
Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,383. ,. 97 Extracts of~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,422. "Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,588.
Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,579, p. 1,961.
516
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
zB July 1804. The C.R.E. is ordered to report on the present position regarding the new proof-butts at Woolwich, and to state what portion still remains to be completed. He is to proceed on the work with all dispatch and report the probable date of completion. The Board wish all proof to be carried out at the new butts as soon as possible.100
.27 July 1804. A pump is to be installed in the new lead rooms of the Royal "Laboratory so that water may be available for cooling the bullet moulds.101
8 August 1804. The footpath between the barracks and the Warren to be paved.102
17 August 1804. Twenty-one foremen of artificers at 5s. per day and two foremen oflabourers at 3s. 6d. per day to be established at the Royal Carriage Department from 1 August I 804. Pay not to be increased when these foremen attend the extra daily work ofthe artificers in the Warren.103
17 August 1804. A well to be sunk in the storekeeper's garden.104 17 September 1804. Repairs in the Royal Laboratory to be carried out as soon as possible.105 I 4 No vember 1804. Captain Dickinson allowed the services ofa labourer for six months, after which time he shall report whether he still require
him.106
16 No vember 1804. The Blue storehouses in the Warren are to be handed over to the Respective Officers as soon as they are vacated by the Field Train which is to move to the Barrack Field. Two ranges of sheds are to be erected in the Barrack Field.107
21 D ecember 1804. The pay of the labourer who was killed by the explosion of a shell in the Royal Laboratory is to be continued to his widow until further orders. The paymaster is to defray the man's funeral expenses. The Comptroller R.L. is to inform the Boards of the man's name.108
24 D ecember 1804. The paymaster is to pay such charges for beer at
Woolwich as Captain Dickinson shall certify to have been given to the
men who are employed in loading the transports with Ordnance stores
which have been prepared for foreign service.109
The year 1805 was a notable year in the life of the Warren. It was the year in which its name was changed to the Royal Arsenal, and one which saw the second disastrous fire, the first application of steam to manufacturing processes, the placing of fire fighting on a better footing, the inauguration of rocket manufacture, and the beginning of the great storehouse development.110
100 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,019.
101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,090.
102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,202.
103 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,287.
104 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,292.
105 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,580, p. 2,521.
106 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 3,206.
107 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 3,230.
108 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 3,646.
100 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,581, p. 3,674.
110 The Warren in the seventeenth century was called 'Tower Place'.
It might be said to have commenced a new era.
On 29 January 1805 orders were issued to construct a mortar platform on the convicts' wharf in order to ascertain the range of mortars on the river Thames.m The witnessing of official payments came into operation about this time, for on 4 March 1805, the paymaster at Woolwich was directed to employ one of his clerks to witness his payments.112 On 1 April 1805 the working day was shortened, thenceforward 2 hours were to constitute a quarter of a day's work in place of the 2-} hours formerly worked.113 On 24 April 1805, the C.R.E. was ordered to erect a stockade in front of the 'great storehouse' on the Cadets' Green.114
We are afforded the first glimpse of the new Congreve rocket on 29 April 1805, a weapon which its inventor considered would supersede the gun. On that day Major-General Congreve, Comptroller of the Royal Laboratory, was ordered to afford William Congreve, his son,115 such assistance as might be required 'in preparing the different articles so far as their provision is connected with the R.L., and that he (Major-General Congreve) be acquainted that the Board have given directions to Lieutenant-General Lloyd116 that when the articles are ready, to cause experiments to be made with Mr. Congreve's invention before the Committee,117 and Mr Congreve will give Major-General Congreve such information as may be required for forwarding the same'.118 The Board took the new rocket seriously and ordered the project to be pushed forward with all possible speed. On 30 August 1805, the Comptroller R.L. was informed that the experiments with rockets by Mr Congreve were to be carried out immediately, and that the assistance of the Royal Laboratory together with certain R.L. stores would be required. M ajor-General Congreve was ordered to furnish all the assistance he could with the experiments which would be explained to him verbally by the inventor. At the same time Major-General Blomefield, Inspector of Artillery, was warned that Mr Congreve would require the use of a shed at the back _of the old proof-butt at Woolwich as a temporary workshop for driving rockets, and was asked to render any aid that his staff, or that of the Royal Brass Foundry, could give.119 This directive was followed next day by one to Captain Hayter to instruct twelve men ofthe Engineering Department to fit up that shed with all expedition on the ensuing Monday so that the driving of the rockets
111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 355. 112 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 851. 113 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,257. ::: Ex_tr~cts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,578.
Wilham Congreve was a Colonel in the Hanoverian Army.
116 Lieutenant-General Vaughan-Lloyd was Commandant, Woolwich Garrison.
117 The Colonels' Committee.
118 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,805.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,585, p. 3,244.
518
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
could be put into operation at once.120 On 5 September 1805, Major-General Congreve was informed that the R.L. were authorized to obtain iron rocket heads for Mr Congreve by a contract or by any other means.121 The flow once started surged to a flood, and the Board became quite overwhelmed with the magnitude of'Operation Rocket'. Mr Congreve's requests grew in number and his experiments branched out in all directions, so much so that the Board admitted that 'they were much greater than they had first imagined'. To keep the problem regulated and to prevent duplication, the Board arranged that all future demands from Mr Congreve should reach the Master-General and Board through the Secretary of State. Meanwhile they had authorized the storekeeper at Dover to issue carronade stores and to hire a storehouse to accommodate the stores pre
' • · 122
pared for the launches fitting out under Mr Congreve s m.struct1ons.
By the following year, Congreve's rockets were really getting into their stride. On 29 April 1806, the departments at Woolwich were asked to devote the maximum help to Mr Congreve in his new venture.123 This was followed by two orders to Captain Hayter. First, on 21 July 1806 to construct a temporary shed of weatherboard 60 feet long by 20 feet broad for the manufacture of rockets under Mr Congreve's superintendence, in place of the Laboratory tents in which up to then such work had been carried out. Mr Rea?, the draughtsman at the Royal Military Repository, was to be paid an extra 3s. 10¾d. a day during the time he worked for Mr Congreve.124 Secondly, on 8 August 1806, to erect another temporary shed at an estimated cost of £246 for rocket production in the Royal Laboratory.125 Major-General Congreve was on 29 April 1808 ordered to afford Mr Congreve such assistance as he might want_to alter rocket frames to satisfy service requirements, and to lend him the services of three or four R.L. artificers according to his choice to work under his direction.126
From then on rocket work steadily progressed and the manu
facture of these missiles became for many years to come one of the
standard productions of the Royal Laboratory.
Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, as he afterwards became,
brought a powerful imagination to bear on his project. T~ hi~, !he
chief advantage of a systematic construction of pyrotechruc rrussiles
appeared to lie in the fact that the force compelling projection was
exercised without any reaction on the point of departure. He the~e
fore visualized boats' crews inflicting considerable damage with
120 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,585, P· 3,255. 121 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,586, P· 3,317• 122 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,586, p. 3,891, 21 October 1805. 123 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, P· 1,789. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,069. 125 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, P· 3,309. 128 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,601, P· 1,237.
519
ADOLESCENCE
little effort, and individuals discharging with ease missiles equivalent in destructive power to those fired from the heaviest cannon of the day. He foresaw also the dispersing of large concentrations of men and the enfilading of trenches by the lightest of mounted troops suitably equipped. As Congreve himself says, 'The rocket carcass is not only fired without reaction upon the point from which it is discharged, but is also unencumbered with the necessity of heavy ordnance to project it as is the case with every other carcass. These are points which first induced me to speculate upon it; it is on these properties that depend its peculiar fa~ilities for sea and land services, as will be hereafter more fully explained. It is ammunition without ordnance; it is the soul of artillery without the body; and has therefore from the first principles ofits flight, a decided advantage for the conveniency of use over the spherical carcass.' Owing to the limitations ofartillery in his day there is no doubt that Congreve was sound
in his conclusions, but his vision, unrealized by him, penetrated
further into the future, and has a peculiar significance for use in the
twentieth century. Congreve did not invent the rocket per se, for as
a weapon of war it has flashed through the pages of history like a
comet across the starry heavens. ~t appears, reaches its zenith,
declines, disappears and reappears with startling regularity. Its chief
rival has been the gun, and for more than 600 years th e struggle
between the two systems of translation-jet propulsion and pressure
projection-has endured. Both these destructive agents have had
their advocates and much has been proclaimed on the virtues of
each. The rocket was the first in the field, and ifrecent developments
be any guide, it may well be the last, or failing the complete eclipse
ofits competitor, it will become entrenched as an alternative method
of long range bombardment. Congreve's words had more truth and
substance than he knew.
On 19 June 1805, Captain Hayter was ordered to b uild a larger office on the wharf for the use of Captain Dickinson and his assistants.i27 The storekeeper by now was evidently becoming 'precisionminded'. He objected, quite rightly, to the inaccurate method in force of weighing guns by means of a gyn and an old piece of ordnance instead of by some species of balance and standard weights. He therefore suggested to the Board on 2 r June 1805, that a proper apparatus should be procured from the Carron Company together with a suitable crane. The cautious Board referred the matter to the C.R.E.i2s The latt~r must have reinforced the storekeeper's plea for,
on 26 July followmg, a scale and beam to weigh up to 5 tons were ordered to be provided immediately.129
~:: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,584, p. 2,342. Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,584, p. 2,377. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJW0/47/2,585, p. 2,835.
520
THE WARREN DURING
NAPOLEONIC
'fhe first steam engine and planin . TIMES Department, which incidentally wag mthachine for the Royal Ca .
. h W 1 . s e first 1· rnage
ower in t e oo wich factories wer d app 1cation of ste
P. r. , e or ered fi M am
6 June 1 805 in con1ormity with th . rom r Bramah
2 · H Th e specific t · on
Captain ayter. e record says. 'A a ion provided b
· M R b · greement Y
entered into. r o ert Smith to be ll d as to price to be
' · t t· · ea e on to ·
J-Iayter s ins rue ions in order that h receive Captain
. . h M B sue an agr
entered into wit r ramah as will eement may be
. d 1 . ensure the Boa d h .
steam engine an p arung machine erect d r avmg the rnost approved by Captain Hayter ue comple_tely in the manner certain time.'1ao or a certam sum and by a
Another .disastr?us conflagration swe t the W
805. Again official records maintain pc ar~en on 30 June
1. T'z. rr.· omp1ete silence o h"
occasion ue .1. zmes was on the spot and re t d h · n t is full.1a1 The Annual Register also recorded th~o~. e tt e1a~atastrophe in in Tne T imes is as follows: isas er. The account
At about a quarter before ten on Sunday night l .
fi h d b k · an a arm was given
that a i.lre_ ha W ro en out in a large range of wooden Blue storehouses in Woo " 1c arren, not far distant from the M · Th
·11 . 1 . agazme. e Royal
Artl ery were instant y turned out, and ran down to th l h .
1 • ·bl e P ace, w en 1t
was fiounc:. impossi e to save any part of the building on fi Th fi
·d · re. e rst
and grand consi eratlon was to ~revent the_ destruction of the Magazine; the second to save a large clothing store, 1n which were sm·ts c-8
f h" h 1or ,ooo
men, both o w ic . were not more than 30 paces from the buildings on fire. The Royal Artillery ascended the roofof the Magazine, and, notwithstanding the great heat from the buildings on fire, they continued there covering the top of it with wet blankets and wad-mill-tilts (generally used to cover large waggons) until it was declared out of danger. At one time the heat from the premises on fire was so intense that the soldiers on the Magazine requested to have water from the engines thrown upon themselves, to enable them to stand to the work they were employed on.
The two buildings consumed were full of what is called 'dead ammunition', such as grape and cannister shot in boxes, ready to be sent to different garrisons at home and abroad. The boxes are supposed to have amounted to half a million in number. The buildings consumed were situated beyond the Mote and were about the length of 160 to 170 feet, and two stories high, not a vestige ofwhich remains. The buildings with what they contained were very valuable; the estimate of damage is not yet ascertained, but it is supposed to be from fifty to one hundred thousa~d pounds. In the Magazine were several thousand barrels ofpO\vder, which
must if they had exploded have destroyed the greater part of the Warren, and ~aused the loss of seve~al hundreds ofvaluable lives. Notwithstand~ng the imminent danger that almost every instant threatened the destruction
1110 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,5S4, P· 2,443·
131
The Times ofTuesday 2 July 18o5. . 132 The Annual Register 1805 (The Chronicle 30 June), P· 4°2•
521
35
of the whole of the Royal Artillery by the blowing up of the Magazine, not an individual was absent from his post. The orders of the General to his officers, and of the officers to their men, were equally prompt and judicious.
It was not until near 4 o'clock yesterday morning that the fire was so far extinguished as to place the Magazine out ofdanger. Had it once been permitted to communicate with the Clothing Store-house, its continuation, it is more than probable, would have extended a great way, as it was joined by a large building full ofdry wood, and with that building several others are connected, equally liable to catch fire.
The Huntingdon and London Militia were also under arms, and rendered much service in keeping of! officious or improper persons; but from the great number of Royal Artillery employed in extinguishing the fire, they could not have been called on to assist further with any advantage.
To General Lloyd, Major Spearman and all the officers and privates of the Royal Artillery, the greatest praise is due for their respective exertions. Thejudicious orders given by the superior officers were executed with an alacrity and intrepidity which could have alone saved the whole of that valuable depot from total destruction.
We have one painful remark to make on the above unfortunate circumstance: there is every reason to believe that the fire did not originate from accident. The storehouses, in which it broke out, were, by the proper officers, locked upon Saturday night and not opened all day on Sunday. and, what is very remarkable, five centinels and a watchman o-ave th; alarm at the same instant, and in t~e shortest time imaginable ~he Blue store-houses were so far envelloped m flames as to render any attempt to save them ineffectual.
Some persox:15 a:e in custody on suspicion, but nothing yet has been found out, wluch It would be proper to communicate to the public. We are happy to announce that no lives were lost and only a few trifling accidents happened.
George III, ~hose earlier visit has been mentioned, came again to the Warren m 1805, though the Board's Minutes do not record it. At least, the Extracts ofMinutes do not, for the Minutes themselves for the year in question are missing. This second visit gave rise to the present name of Royal Arsenal. The word 'arsenal' is derived fro~. arx navalis, whence arthenal signifying primarily a naval citadel. Ongmall~ the_ wor~ wa~ used in the modern sense of 'dockyard' as Camde:11 m hIS Britannia, published in 1695, speaks of Deptford, Wool~ch, C~atha~ and Sheerness as 'the arsenals of the Royal ~avy m Kent •'!'he c1rcumstances ofthe re-christening ofthe Warren 1s thus narrated m the Gentleman's Magazine ofThursday 27July 1805:
The ?rdnance Boar~ having signified to General Lloyd who commands the Artillery at Woolw1ch, that the Warren at that place is no longer to
522
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
bear that name, but from this time to be denominated the Royal Arsenal. The old name had its origin from the place having actually been a rabbit warren, but the name of one of the tamest of all animals was certainly ill-suited to the nature of the place. On the recent royal visit to what is called the Warren, where all ordnance, stores, ammunition etc. are lodged, His Majesty noticed how little appropriate was the name to the place and suggested the propriety of changing it to that of Arsenal. The MasterGeneral admitted the justice of the idea and instantly adopted it; henceforward, therefore, in compliment to His Majesty's suggestion, the Warren
is to be called the Royal Arsenal.
The Grand Storehouses, as they were called, were a splendid conception, vast yet elegant in design. They certainly deserved to be considered an example of architecture which has been defined as 'the art of producing in space forms significant of their functions'. Ruskin tells us133 that 'we require from buildings, as from men, two kinds of goodness: first, doing their practical duty well, then that they be graceful and pleasing in doing it'. On the first postulat: it must be admitted that the great experiment failed; the translation of the idea into stone bricks and mortar fell short of its creator's
'
dream. It is doubtful whether the actual builders can be blamed for
this lapse from grace, for the site selected close to the river was by
nature unsuited to sustain the weight it was destined to bear.
The original designs, which are quite a masterpiece in their way,
are to be found in the Public Record Office.134 They are undated
and unsigned, a peculiar omission, but they were probably drawn
in 180 I or 1802 as a plan dated 15 December I 802 shows clearly
the proposed site of the various blocks. Incidentally, the same plan
shows two pieces of land, one on either side of the Ordnance new
road on the Essex shore, lately purchased from Mr Matthews. The
plot to the west of the road contains 2 acres, 2 roods and 4 perches,
while the other to the east has an area of 6 acres, 2 roods, 2 perches.135
The central feature of the group was originally to have been a
building adorned with six columns facing the river. It was to have
been surmounted by a domed roof crowned by a short square tower
carrying a clock and a wind vane. It was never built. For the rest,
the designs in the Public Record Office indicate buildings much as
they appear today except that much of their orname~tation was
sacrificed to expediency. To give some idea of the magrutude of the
layout, a letter written by Captain Hayter to Lieutenant-General
Morse, Inspector-General of Fortifications, on 22 May 1805,
expresses the writer's opinion that the new storehouses would cost
£237,000 for the superstructure alone, exclusive of the foundations,
183 Stones of Venice, vol. I, chap. 2.
134 Maps, PRO/W0/78/Bundle 851.
136 Engineer Papers, PROJW0/55/756.
the expense of which, he says, would be exceedingly difficult to forecast.136 There can be no doubt that the means to be adopted in erecting
the Grand Storehouses were under discussion for at least three years. The costs were prodigious and the risks known to be great. Their construction necessitated the destruction of certain buildings, the chief among which was the East Laboratory. The storekeeper's orchard and the chief firemaster's garden would also have to be sacrificed. Finally, Lieutenant-General Morse, in his letter of 1 o December 1805, having recommended that driven piles would be the only means ofobtaining a secure foundation on the site envisaged, Captain Hayter was on 12 December instructed to commence pile driving immediately.137 Thus was the work, which was to last till 1813, put in motion. Trouble appeared soon after the storehouses were completed, and for many years afterwards the buildings became a nightmare to the authorities involving much expense. The sum
actually expended on repairs over the years cannot b e stated, as the Estimates covering the period in question do not specifically mention the amount allotted to storehouse renovation.
The diary ofevents in the building ofthe ground storehouses may be recorded as follows:
6 January I8o6. It was agreed on General Morse's recommendation that Mr Brock, clerk of the works at Chatham, where the new barracks were almost completed, should be transferred to Woolwich to superintend the erection of the new storehouses in the Royal Arsenal, that M r Walker, clerk of the works at the Armoury, Shrewsbury, should be appointed to succeed MrBrock at Chatham, and that Swanage stone should be accepted from Messrs Breeds at £1. 6s. per ton. Also a return of the Dundee stone
for the plinth of the centre storehouse should be furnished.138
22 September I8o6. Lieutenant-General Morse, having by his letter of 20 September transmitted one from Captain Hayter, stating that it was desirable to commence another storehouse as soon as possible and that in order to carry on piling for its foundations, it would be necessary to remove the East Boundary Wall of the East Laboratory, the old Bavin House, to fill up about roo feet of moat, and make a fence across the chief firemaster's garden; and that it would also be necessary to take down a part of the East Laboratory in February or March 1807; and LieutenantGeneral Morse, having stated that the erection of the second storehouse had met with the approbation of the Master-General. It is ordered that the Respective Officers be apprised of the removals necessary and be directed to cause the same to be performed at the proper time. Lieutenant
General Morse to be informed.139
m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/750.
117
118 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,587, p. 4,550. Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 74. m Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,826.
524
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
20 May 1807. The Master-General instructs Captain Hayter to demolish part of the East Laboratory in order to build ~other storehouse. The Comptroller, R.L., to be informed and told that m c~e h: has no cover for the stores in that part of the East Laboratory which is to be pulled down, he is to deposit them in the old Academies.140 .
30 December I807. Captain Hayter or~ered to proceed with the found~tion of the third storehouse and tower m the Royal Arsenal and submit an estimate of the expense.141
20 May 1808. In order to prevent the risk offire to the new storeho~se, Captain Hayter proposed to pull down the pres~nt wo_od shed belongmg to the foundry and erecting another wood shed m a different part o_f the Arsenal at an estimated cost of £196. gs. 3d. The Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry to be asked 1"f he had b' . 142
any o ~ect10n. As the latter saw no objection to the proposal, the work was approved.143
30 November 1808. Messrs Chinchen of Swanage to supply 600 tons of rough Purbeck Platna Ashlar stone for the foundation of the third storehouse before 31 March 1809.144
30 June 1809. Thomas Breeds to supply Platna_Ashlar stone and backing stone for the additional storehouse at the followmg rates: 800 tons of Purbeck Platna Ashlar stone for foundations at £1. 7s. per ton.
200 tons of backing stone at £1. 2s. per ton. Duty to be paid by Thomas Breeds. This offer was better than that of M essrs Chinchen.145
28 December I809. The remainder of the East Laboratory to be pulled down. T he Superintendent of Shipping was requested t? engage a pr~per vessel to receive the r,568 boxes ofunprimed carcases which were deposited there until they could be disposed of otherwise.146
30 Nlarch 1810. Messrs Chinchen obtained the contract to supply 200 tons of Purbeck Platna Ashlar stone for the new storehouses. Messrs . d 1· d 147
Harden and Breeds informed that their offers were ec me .
24 October I8ro. Ordered that the co~str_uction of the o:namental gateways designed for the quadrangular bmldmgs on each s_1de of ~he storehouse fronting the wharf shall be postponed! an_d th~t m1mediatel_y ~he quadrangular building now under construction 1s firushed, the bu1ldmg on the other side shall be commenced provided the season wi}l allow it.148 This was the east quadrangle storehouse to correspond with the west quadrangle storehouse. .
25 February IBI I. Instead of erecting a storehouse to cont~m 2,500 tons ofrefined saltpetre at an estimated cost of £6,186. 5s. 2-½d., it was agreed that another story should be added to the building which united the
140 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,596, P· 1,283.
141 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, P· 3,510•
142 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, P· 1,479•
143 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, P· 1,524, 25 May 18o8.
144 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, P· 3,273.
146 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,6o8, P· 2,002.
146 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 ,6ll, P· 3,879.
147 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, P· 995•
us Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,617, P· 3,680.
525
towers on the western side of the west quadrangle and also at the eastern side of the east quadrangle. This would be less costly.149 25 February 1811. On this day the Board wrote a letter instructing the
C.R.E. Woolwich to add another story on the western range ofstorehouse buildings, and also on the eastern side of the east quadrangle to accommodate 2,500 tons of refined saltpetre.150 The C.R.E. Woolwich was at this date Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington, R.E.
15 l\lfay 1811. The Master-General approved the Woolwich estimates for 1811 (£84,854. 10s. 1fd.) provided that all parts of the storehouses which, being purely ornamental, did not contribute to the strength and stability of the buildings were omitted.151 Among these estimates is one of £40,126. 13s. 6½d. for the east quadrangle storehouse152 which did not include the expense of the gateways.
22 March 1813. Authority was granted for putting up racks for sponges in the lower part ofthe towers of the centre range of the grand quadrangle of the storehouses, and for fitting up two rooms on the second floor of that building for the reception of sponges at an estimated cost of £1,135. 4S· 1Id.1s3
14 July 1813. The flooring of the west tower of the centre storehouse (grand quadrangle storehouse) to be put down at an estimated cost of £602. 5s. 5d.154
30 May 1814. The east tower of the centre storehouse (grand quadrangle storehouse) to have a boarded floor at an estimated cost of £ 311 . 10s. 4¾d., the estimate dated 27 May 1814. This charge to be inserted in the Estimates for 1815.155 On 30 May 1814 the Board wrote authorizing the C.R.E. to put the work in hand.156
The Grand Storehouses were by that date virtually completed, and although shorn of some of their intrinsic beauty and without their ornate gateways, they did present to the world of that time a fine example ofpublic buildings.
Extracts from Ordnance Books for 1811 and 1821 will help to get the whole picture into perspective.
Ordnance Book 1811157 West Quadrangle Storehouses
Centre part of ~est building } Brick building, 2 stories; slated south tower contams stores of roof with tower at each end various descriptions 2 1 o feet x 46 feet
The north tower is used as an office
N?rth building contains gun } Brick building; slated roof carnages 147 feet x 39 feet ::: Ext~acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 786.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/757.
151 Ex~racts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,700.162 Estimates for 18u, PRO/WO/49/124. ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,630, p. 1,092. m Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 3,799. m Exu:acts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 3,799.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/757. 167 W.O. Records, Stanmore, Book 346.
526
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
South building contains gun Brick building; slated roof }
carriages 147 feet X 39 feet
Painters' store and shed for l Brick building, arched; slated painting carriages in the centre of roof with shed surrounding 60 the quadrangle J feet X 60 feet
Grand Quadrangle
Principal storehouse. Stores of } Brick and stone building; slated different descriptions roofs 312 feet X 46 feet. Ends 71 feet West storehouse: ditto Similar construction 2 I 3 feet X 71 feet East storehouse: ditto -Similar construction 2 1 3 feet X 71 feet
S.E. tower. Offices for the Re-l Similar construction 71 feet X spective Officers' department J 71 feet
S.W. tower. Stores of different l Similar construction 71 feet X descriptions J 71 feet
Ordnance Book, 1821 158 Grand Quadrangle
Brick and stone buildings,
Principal storehouse 308 feet X 39 feet } West storehouse 208 feet X 39 feet the centre part ornamental East storehouse 208 feet X 39 feet
Stores ofthe Department
S.W. Tower. Offices of the Respective } Brick and stone building Officers' department 69 feet square
S.E. Tower. Stores-Brick and stone building 69 feet square
West Quadrangle Storehouses
The centre part of the west building } Brick buildi~g, 2 stories, and south tower containing travelling slated roof with tower at carriages and stores. The north tower each end. 202 feet X 35 feet is occupied as offices
North building } Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet Gun Carriages South building Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet
East Quadrangle Storehouses
The centre part of the east building Brick buildi~g, 2 stories,
1
and north tower contain stores and gun slated roof with tower at carriages. The south tower is used as an each end. 202 feet X 35 feet oil store
North building } Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet Gun Carriages
South building } Brick building; slated roof, 143 feet X 35 feet Gun Carriages
158 W.O. Records, Stanmore, Book 394·
Painters' store and shed for painting } Brick buildings, arched; carriages in the centre of the west quadslated roof with shed surrangle rounding 30 feet X 30 feet
Painters' store and shed for painting l Brick buildings, arched; carriages in the centre of the east quad-J slated roof with shed surrangle rounding 30 feet X 30 feet
In visualizing this great group ofbuildings it must be remembered that the Royal Arsenal in Napoleonic times was much more of an open space than it is today, and the Grand Storehouses viewed from any angle presented a picture in brick and stone well worthy of the growing empire it served. Their gradual encroachment by less pretentious workshops and offices, a later development dictated by production pressure in an age having little time for charm in factories, destroyed the aesthetic value of the original so noticeable in a less strenuous era.
Incipient cracks in the walls first appeared in 1815, but the warning was ignored. The trouble spread and seven years later the authorities were forced to take action. A report dated 23 March 1822159 on the state of the pile work in the foundations when opened up disclosed a disquieting situation. The N.E. tower was particularly affected. On 19 April 1822, the principal storehouses were ordered to be repaired.160 By ~828, the eastern tower ofthe grand quadrangle storehouse had deteriorated to such an extent owing to subsidence that _on 19 March of th_at ye~r orders :vere given for it to be emptied and its use as a store d1scontmued owmg to its settlement. A further report was urgently called for.161 On 16 April 1828, the north wall
of the eastern tower of the grand quadrangle storehouse was to be taken down with a view to repair.1G2 A general report on the sinking of the foundations of the Grand Storehouses was submitted on 15 March 1828.163 This was accom
panied by an estimate for a new foundation for the east tower of the grand _q?adrangle store~ouse, the masonry to be 3 feet longer than the ongmal and the piles to be 32 feet long. The estimate was £7!1~4. IIs. 1d. There ':as also an estimate with a plan of the new bmldmgs to be ~rected m 1831 in the S.E. portion of the Royal Arsenal. ~he ~stimate was for £6,000 on new buildings to replace others falling mto decay as authorized by the Master-General and Board on 29 September 1830. Since this second estimate does not
159 Engineer Papers, PROfW0/5s/7s8. ::: Ext~acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 731. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/
2,693, p. 4771801 /WExtora,cts/ of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,693, p. 632• Engineer Papers
PR
55 759. '
181 _Sinking of/olJ!ldfitions ofthe Grand range ofstorehouses, Royal Arsenal, and the Eastern Tower. Erection ofnew building 1828-1832, Report on, PRO/W0/44/292.
528
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
concern the Grand Storehouses, it would be out of place to consider it here, except to say that in this connection the Board wrote a letter on 29 September 1830 approving the C.R.E.'s plan for reconstructing the main storehouses at a cost of £35,000. The £6,000 for the new work was to be taken up in the Estimates for 1831.164 On 19 October 1831, the C.R.E. was ordered to demolish without delay the walls of the storehouses which were in a dangerous state owing to the failure of the foundations.165
A Board Minute dated 16 March 1832 states:166
In the year 1829 the walls of the northern low building of the eastern square of the principal range of storehouses became crippled in consequence of the sinking of the foundations. It therefore had to be relieved from the weight of the stone cornice and have shores fitted up to support the brickwork. Since then it had ceased to be regarded as a regular storehouse. At an inspection on roth inst. [ro March 1832], it was revealed that about JO feet of the upper part of the brickwork on each side of the
S.W. angle of this building had bulged so much and pressed so heavily on the shores, as to threaten their immediate fall. To ensure safety and avoid accidents, 30 courses of the overhanging brickwork for 10 or 12 feet on the S.W. angle were taken down at a cost of £5.
O wing to the gradually deteriorating condition of the main pile of storehouses, it was decided on 28 November 1832 that a special committee should be set up to investigate the whole problem, and report on the several points mentioned in paras 28, 29, 30 and 3I of the paper of observations submitted by Colonel Sir John T. Jones, C.R.E. Woolwich.167
The Committee was to be as follows:
President Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, R.N.
Principal Storekeeper to the Office of Ordnance
Major-General William Millar-Inspector ~f Artillery
M embers Colonel Sir John T. Jones-C.R.E., Woolw1ch(Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer-Director R.L.
with power to add thereto any of the heads of the other departments at Woolwich if necessary. The paras mentioned in the observations of Colonel Sir John Jones were as under:
Para 28. To report on the nature and propositions, the state and condition of the various articles now housed, which it may be considered desirable to retain in store to meet every probable contingency of the service, in order that the useless, perishing and surplus quantities may be sold or transferred to other stations.
164 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758.
165 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. I ,428.
186 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,567, p. 2,217.
167 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,592, p. 10,359.
529
ADOLESCENCE
Para 29. This curtailment of the stores being arranged to the satisfaction of the Master-General and Board, the Committee are to propose a change of occupation and appropriation of the various buildings so as best to meet the wants and add to the convenience of the several departments.
Para 30. To consider and report what buildings should be taken down and what others erected; also the best method of converting and turning to account the materials of the decaying structures, and for the ultimate renovating the whole establishment and rendering it more complete and efficient than it has heretofore been either during a period ofpeace or war.
Para 31. To consider and report on the benefit likely to arise to the service by the deputy storekeepers of the several manufacturing departments retainino-charge of the manufactured articles until issued for use
0 '
instead of returning them to store as at present.
The Committee were also to enquire into and report upon the state, ages, etc. of the labourers, and to submit any suggestions that might arise as to putting them on a more efficient footing.
While the inevitable delays in connection with the findings of the Committee were being experienced, the state of the buildings did not improve, and on 2 January 1833, the C.R.E. was authorized to use his discretionary powers in demolishing such portions of the main storehouse as he should consider necessary in view of the continued shifting ofthe foundations and the cracking ofthe walls.IGs By 25 February 1833, a low storehouse had been taken down and the materials fro~ its ~emolition carefully saved. Also a beginning had been made m taking down the dangerous portion of another storehouse. As the special Committee on storehouses and storage problems in general was in the process of digesting its evidence, the Inspector-General of Works and Fortifications suggested to the Board that the question of appropriating the materials, particularly the framework of the roof of the demolished building, should be referred to it. The Inspector-General also asked whether approval nnght be granted to proceed with new building within the sum of £7,000 already authorized. The Board in reply stated that construc
?on up to this figure had already been sanctioned, asked to be kept mformed ofthe progress made and wished to know how much money was likely to remain available for the Inspector-General's new
proposal.169
On 25 March 1833, the Committee of Officers, convened by the Board's order of _21 November 1832, issued its first report dated 5 March 1833. This dealt purely with stores and labour. The final composition of the Committee was :170
Presz'dent Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, C.B., R.N. -Principal Storekeeper
::: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,596, p. 14. 170 Ordnance ~nutes, PROfWO/47/i,6oi, p. 1,627. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,604, p. 2,552.
53°
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Major-General .William Millar-Inspector of Artillery Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson K.C.B.-D.A.G. R.A. Colonel Sir John T. Jones, Bart., C.B.-C.R.E. Woolwich
J
Members lColonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B.-Director R.L. Colonel Sir John May, K.C.B.-Inspector R.C.D. Mr William Stace-Storekeeper, Woolwich
Hon. Secretary Captain Hall, R.E.
Their terms of reference being those already quoted, namely paras 28, 29, 30 and 3r of Colonel Jones's observations and the additional clause concerning the age and condition of labourers.
Briefly the first recommendations of the Committee were as follows:
(
1) That all surplus stores should be sold or transferred to other stations.
(2)
That all demands for stores should be forwarded to the Board for contract action, but that delivery should be made to the departments themselves and not to the clerk of the survey as at present, as the former are better judges of the fitness of the stores purchased.
(3)
T hat general stores such as metal, oil, paint, tools, etc. should be continued to be demanded, dealt with and issued to the departments by the storekeeper.
(4)
That all stores after manufacture should be delivered to the storekeeper for issue, except certain R.L. stores which should be on charge of the R oyal Laboratory.
(5)
Orders for manufacture should be issued direct by the Board to the Manufacturing Departments. . .
(6)
There should be a certain re-allocation of storage _amoi:ig _existmg storehouses in view ofthe unsatisfactory condition of certam buildmgs due to subsidence.
(
7) T he new fire-proof buildings when completed should be handed over to the R.L.
(8)
That powder cases for the Royal Navy should be made, lined and finished in the R.C.D., and when completed handed over to the R.L.
(g)
That sticks for Congreve rockets, though m~de in the r?ugh in_the R.C.D., should be finished in the R.L. and retained there till required for issue.
(10)
That men of 65 years and over may be discharged together wi_th those under that age who are medically unfit. That men of special qualifications over 65 years, if fit, may be retained as a special case. They recommend that those discharged for age or health reasons should be eligible for pensions on the scale existing in the Dockyards.
(
11) That it would be preferable to work less hours per week than to discharge fit and efficient men if the work does not demand full numbers. In this way the department would be better prepared to face an emergency.171
171
Working on short time. 531
These recommendations of the Committee were approved by the Master-General on 25 March 1833.172
The Committee also made a comprehensive report on the state of the storehouses dated 18 October 1833, which is the question with which at the moment we are mainly concerned. Observations on these buildings with a suggestion for their gradual renovation were submitted by Colonel Sir John T. Jones, C.R.E. Woolwich, on 30 October 1832.173
A precis of this voluminous statement is as follows:
The Principal Storehouses, though only commenced in 1806 and not completed till 1813, began to settle and their walls to crack as early as 1815, but no action was taken till 2 March 1822 when a report with a detailed plan showing settlements was sent to the Inspector-General of Fortifications. As a result, he made a detailed inspection of the whole range of the buildings in the same month and reported the same to the Board, who ordered the C.R.E. to watch the state of the storehouses and when danger supervened to 'take down such part and rebuild it from the foundation'. Watching was instituted, and in 1828 the northern wall of the eastern wing of the building on three floors was seen to overhang its base by 9 inches, and it was stated that it could no longer stand with safety. Lord Beresford, the Master-General, made a personal inspection and ordered the wing to be taken down without 'an hour's delay'. A plan and estimate for rebuilding was prepared and approved, and rebuilding would have commenced except for the suggestion that the pile driving might affect the stability of other parts of the lofty structure. Lord Beresford considered that new storehouses should be built away from the
I
wharf as the old buildings became unserviceable, thus gradually shifting the store-keeping centre. However, he left the ultimate decision to Sir James Kempt, his successor. The latter concurred generally, but considered that the block of highly ornamented storehouses should stand and be renovated by erecting other more substantial and appropriate structures on a solid foundation out of the materials salved from the crippled buildings, thus preserving the site as a whole. Early in 1831 it was decided to commence renovation in the S.E. quarter, and in the two years which have elapsed one important and long sought for object has been attained,
i.e. the formation of a secure and isolated Fire-proof and Magazine Establishment, thus avoiding the use of the two floating magazines. Meanwhile the Principal Storehouses began to decay rapidly and to demand immediate attention. There were strong objections to moving the Grand Storehouses and rebuilding them as isolated structures in other parts of the Arsenal. These were:
(a) At present they form an imposing structure, are conveniently sited, and are a credit to the naval and military reputation of this country in compensation for their great cost.
171 PRO/WO/44/6o6.
171 The Report of the Committee on the stores and storehouses in the Royal Arsenal-1833
PRO/WO/44/6o6. ,
532
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
(b) Considered as storehouses they arc badly planned and too elabor
ately ornamented externally, so ~hat mo:e sto~age accornrnodatic:m coul? be obtained by new buildings, simpler in design, on the same site. This would cost less than demolishing the present buildings and re-erecting others elsewhere. It would therefore be better not to dismember this national pile of buildings with a view to the erection of its several edifices unconnected on some other site.
Accepting this thesis the Committee considered that there were two methods of tackling the problem.
( 1) An immediate outlay of£50,000-£60,000 to re-establish the whole on a firm and lasting foundation.
(2) To dismantle the present ornate ensemble, _se_ll the ori:iamen!al stone and with the proceeds of the sale and the rema1nmg matenals build on the site eight or ten storehouses of the most convenient and solid structure in simple and appropriate construction at an outlay not exceeding £xs,ooo. This would _g~ve the ~u:r~ple stora?e accommodation re<;iuired, particularly ifone additional bmldmg on solid ground_for the heaV1er and more combustible R.L. stores were constructed. The site suggested would be the garden on the south of the fire-proof establishment. This would
cost about £2,000. The C.R.E. finally suggested that a Committee might be set up to investigate the whole question. .
Apparently nothing concre:e arose from the findings of th~ Committee with regards to the mam storehouses. They were certainly not m oved n either was either recommendation of the Committee impledi.ented. Money, of course, was tight and the ~~ms involved in m aking good the initial errors were large. In add1t1on there could b e no guarantee that if £60,000 were spent, the same trouble inherent in the site, would not in time re-occur. The fire-proof and m agazin e establishment had been approved and was under way, other storehouses were built and conversions carried out. In the circumstances, therefore, the policy pursued was one of 'patch and
mend'. Each building, as it started to fail, was underpinned and repaired and where repairs proved unavailing it was demolished. The following extracts prove that the rot had not been stemmed:
June I833. Agreed that the north end of the southern half of the east
3
storehouse, east quadrangle, should be enclosed by a weather-board
partition.174
March r84I. The C.R.E. reported th_at the winter had held up the
31
repair of the east wing of the south store, 1.e. the plast~r work had to be
suspended. £547. 18s. u½d. ha~ been expended leaving £_178. 4S. 1d. still to be spent. Authority was given to complete the operation after the conclusion of the working year.175
114 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,61 I, P· 4,886. 115 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,892, P· 3,973·
533
On I June 1846 the Principal Storekeeper rendered a report on the dangerous state of some of the storehouses at ,iv-oolwich with consequent difficulties of storage.176 He said that a failure in the foundations of the storehouses built since I 800 had occurred. Large cracks v. ere to be seen in the walls which in several places had bulged outwards. He reported that several of the arches over the doors and windows had given way. He stressed that the new storehouses would collapse if prompt measures were not taken to repair them. He recommended that the Inspector-General of Fortifications should prepare an estimate of the repairs necessary.
In other paragraphs of his report he recommended that:
(a) An estimate for substantially repairing the Blue sheds built in 1 7
93
should be demanded. They were in a bad state except for the main timbers, part of the rafters and slates.
(b)
An estimate should be prepared for repairing the seasonino-sheds which were much decayed. He pointed out that loss to the publi/occurs when stored timber is exposed, as now, to the weather.
(
c) That all surplus, obsolete gun carriages, carts, etc., of which there was a large quantity, should be surveyed. Those of no use to the Servic should be removed thus rendering the provision of new storehouse: unnecessary.
The Board's re~ctio1:1 to this report was to request the InspectorGeneral to submit estimates as suggested by the Principal Storekeeper, and to ask the Surveyor-General to inspect and report 0 the old and unserviceable stores in the storehouses. n
Deterioration was still in progress.
Sanction was given on 31 January 1848 for the temporary en
closu_re of the east quadrangle to a pla1:1 dated ro January 1848 for hous1_ng shot and shell. The reconstruction ofpart of this quadrangle and. its p~rmanent enclosure at a cost of £6,000 as postponed.
Durmg this ye~r funds were_obviously at a low ebb and any expenditure not essential was drastically cut. This may be gauged fro instruction i~s~ed by the Board _on 3January 1848 which starts:i~~ these words. In order to av01d any expenditure at the mo t
h. h Id . men
w 1c cou convemently be postponed etc.'i77 The storeho
h. h h d ffi . uses
w 1c a . su ~red m. the past from this form of false economy could continue m travail. The same story continues.
23_ June 1848. In the 1848/49 Estimates £8,000 was allotted for the erect10n of two storehouses on the south side of the east and west quadrangles of store~ouse~ on the wharf in the Royal Arsenal. The InspectorGe?eral of Fortifications forwarded a letter from the C.R.E. stating that owmg to the deep layer of soft mud, a concrete foundation at a cost of
mod M'
_r nance mutes, PRO/WO/47/2,079, p. 8,672. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
551761 177 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4712,136, p. 49.
534
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
£1,600 would be indispensable. He proposed that they should be constructed on a site near the Blue sheds. It was a question of whether the original site suggested, which would increase the cost by £1,600 for the concrete foundation, or the new site should be selected. The Board in view of this decided to postpone the issue and stated that when it was again brought forward the question of site could be settled.178
IO October 1849. It was agreed that steps should be taken to counteract the effect of the sinking foundations of the Grand storehouses, and that the cost should be inserted in next year's estimates. Also the storekeeper should consult the C.R.E. on the best method of storage in view of the situation.179
Two additional reports, dated 2 August180 and 3 September
I 852181
on Arsenal storehouses were render,.;d, but since these do not dilate on the dilapidations under discussion their findings may be postponed to a more fitting season.
On 18 December 1854, the Treasury sanctioned the immediate commencement of the additional storage capacity required by the storekeeper's department at an estimated cost of £16,315, on the understanding that payments made for that object in the financial year 1854/55 would be charged against any surplus on the Ordnance Works Vote for that year, the remainder of the expense being provided in the Estimate for 1855/56.182 This was the construction of large storehouses within the east and west quadrangles and the rebuilding of the northern block of the former, demolished prior to 1841. T he new work was completed by 1858.
This tale of hope and disappointment happened long ago, yet this saga in stone still stands foursquare, disfigured but undaunted. 'Like a four-bottled man in a company screwed Not firm on his legs but by no means subdued.'
These Grand Storehouses have lost all the grace they once
possessed. Their unity has been broken. The east quadrangle was
swallowed up by the central power station in 1908, certain blocks
have disappeared and other buildings jostle them rudely. Two world
wars have scarred them, and the passage of time has eaten into their
freshness. No doubt further settlement has occurred during the
preceding century, and without being unduly critical the word
'derelict' rises to the lips. An air oftarnished glory pervades the scene
where the spirit of the Iron Duke caught in effigy gazes out over an
alien world.183
178 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,153, p. 9,291.
179 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,199, p. 14,007.
180 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,301, p. 8,841.
181 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,304, P· 9,854.
182 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,538.
183 This statue of the Duke of Wellington was executed in 1848 by Thomas Milnes
for the Board of Ordnance and erected in the Tower of London. In 1863 it was moved
to its present site in the Royal Arsenal.
535
ADOLESCENCE
Putting the diary of events concisely into contemporary language, piles were driven for buildings B38 and B45 in 1806. The foundation for the east wing was proposed in 1808 and was started on 19 May of that year. Settlement in B34 had occurred by 1828. In 1858 intermediate floors were added to the east end and extensions to the first floor were made in 1883. Buildings B40, B41, B42, LL, MM and NN have been replaced by new buildings numbered B41, B42, B42/2 and B43. Buildings B, B25, B27 and AA have made way for the central power station.
Returning from this flight into the realms of time to the opening decade of the nineteenth century, we find that on 30 July 18o5, Captain Hayte~ was inst~ucte~ to prepare an estimate for erecting two or three bnck magazmes, agreeable to the recommendation of Lieutenant-General Farrington', who commanded the Field Train to house boxes ofammunition which were to be taken from the gun; and wagons in the new storehouse situated in the Regimental Garden.184 This Regimental Garden housed the guns and wagons of the Field Train together with various workshops such as wheelers' carpenters', painters', etc. used by artificers for maintaining th; equipment in a serviceable condition. This artillery park was in the course of construction, and was not finished till the following year owing to the decision of the Master-General that the erection of the third or centre shed should be postponed. The fourth shed was to be constructed.185 Lieutenant-General Farrington's command was a
gro,-ving one and his headquarters required enlarging. This was effected by giving him more accommodation at tl e expense of the paymaster whose office was removed to the building lately used as battalio_n offices, clo_se to the Arsenal Gate, at a cost of£35. 4-f. 2 ¾d.1ss
Nothmg else of importance happened during this year. It was perhaps as well since 1805 had proved a momentous twelve months on the whole for the Royal Arsenal. The only items to record are a few instructions to the C.R.E. to carry out routine repairs. Five of these may be mentioned:
6 September 1805. Captain Hayter to repair the road for which the inhabitants of Woolwich stand indicted.187 II September 1805. Captain Hayter to build temporary stables in the
field east ofthe Storekeeper's garden. He is informed that the storekeeper's garden and the Survey Yard ~re to be reserved for permanent buildings.Isa 14 September 1805. The chief firemaster's house to be repaired at a
cost of£34. 6s. 5½d.1s9
::: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,585, p. 2,879. m Extracts ofM~ules, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,585, p. 3,191, 25 August 1a05. 187 Extracts of~utes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3424, 14 September l8os.
Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47 /2,586, p. 3,336. 188 Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3,387.189 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3,425.
536
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
2 October z805. A new shed according to the Comptroller's requirements to be erected for the Royal Laboratory.190 All buildings in the R.L. to be repaired as soon as possible.191 Captain Hayter ordered to proceed with the work according to his estimate.192
4 December z805. Captain Hayter to erect the guardhouse next the wharf, proposed by Lieutenant-General Lloyd, instead of the one at the Proof House. Cost not to exceed the £280 allotted for this service.193
As a matter of interest, we learn from the Minute Books that officers living in official quarters in the Arsenal had certain of their furniture made in the Engineer Department. During 1805, Captain Hayter was instructed to make a set of tables for Lieut.-Colonel Scott194 and Colonel Wellington.195 Towards the end of the year Mr Thwaites, the official clockmaker to the Board, was, on the representation of Lieut.-Colonel Scott, Inspector R.C.D., directed to provide a clock for the Royal Carriage Department.196
The opening move of the following year was on I 7 January 1806 when the C.R.E. was instructed to build eight or ten saw-pits with covers near the marsh guardroom for the use of the Royal Carriage D ep artment, as the ground where the timber for that factory was deposited had a tendency to become damp.197 This need causeno surprise as until the Plumstead and Erith marshes were properly drained, the soil there, though rich and fertile, was normally very moist.
Curious how little perquisites in days gone by came to light from time to time; small ingenious ways in which clerks and workmen w ere able, unsuspected by the authorities, to supplement their meagre earnings. It was of course an age of perquisites and emoluments in kind, which helped considerably towards the expenses of living. The bare salary was usually none too high. These transactions no doubt added to the spice oflife when football pools were unknown, but today under the stricter code which prevails, such practices have no place in the Arsenal where they would be rightly condemned as improper. It appeared that since 1796, the two master smiths in the Royal Carriage Department had been in the habit of making additional wages to the value of £18. ¥· od. a year by selling the ashes to the coal consumed in the smiths' shop. The ash was a waste product, it had to be moved, so what more profitable arrangement to all concerned could be made. So ran the argument of the master smiths. Unfortunately for their peace of mind, one, Samuel Harden, in 1806 offered to purchase such ashes from the Authorities at 6s. 6d.
190 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47 /2,586, p. 3,653.
101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p. 4,067.
102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p. 4,583.
193 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, P· 4,443·
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,586, p. 3,437, 16 September 1805.
195 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p. 4,110, 6 November 1805.
Colonel Bailey Wellington was Assistant Director-General of the Field Train.
106 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,587, p.4,11O, 6 November 1805.
197 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,588, P· 232.
36 537
ADOLESCENCE
a chaldron. This offer was naturally too good to be refused, so on 10 February 1806 the order went forth for this unofficial practice to cease. The Board, however, were scrupulously fair. They increased the pay of the two master smiths in question by £18. ,is. od. p.a. but rightly refused to extend such a concession to their successors.198 The large building programme and the necessity for raising the ground level of the Royal Arsenal now demanded large quantities of gravel. Once the construction of the wharf and the Grand Storehouses were under way, the need for raising the Arsenal ground-level in order to do away with its swampy nature, became paramount. The latter work was carried out over a number of years being eventually completed about 1820. Its cost averaged between £3,000 and £8,000 a year, and possibly entailed a total sum in the neighbourhood of £100,000. To facilitate the requisite supplies of gravel,
Captain Hayter transmitted a draft agreement between him; the Provost and Scholars of Queen's College, O xford-the Lords of the Manor of Plumstead-and the officers of the said 'parish' for permission to dig such quantities from Plumstead Common as might be necessary upon an annual payment of £20 to the Lords of the Manor and of a like yearly sum to the parish of Plumstead. The Board agreed and arranged for the necessary payments.199 On 15 May 1807, the Bursar of Queen's College, Oxford, was paid £20 p.a. for such a privilege.200
Theft was still rampant, and the purloiner ofgovernment property was just as much in evidence in the nineteenth century as he had been in the eighteenth. We read, for instance, that on r I June r8o6 the Respective Officers 'are to be informed that Mr Tomlins of th~ Thames Police Office, having stated that the examination ofJoseph Millanby, Master of the brig Slade lying at Church H ole, Rotherhithe, who stands charged with the illegal possession of six doubleheaded and fourteen round cannon shot, all marked with the Broad Arrow, will take place on Fridaynext at I 2 noon, desires one ofthe Respective Officers who can best be spared to attend the re-examination at the time specified in order to identify the shot'.201 Again,John King, the master founder, was instructed on I September I 806 to attend the Thames Police Office on the following Wednesday at 12 noon, when the two men James Clark and George Butler, who stood
committed respectively of stealing from the Royal Arsenal, 4olb. weight of new composition, metal rings and filings, the supposed property of H.M. the King. Mr King was requested to identify the
202
same. The men were found guilty by the magistrate, as on 20
198 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,588, p. 568. 199 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,589, p. r,806. 190 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,596, p. r ,238. 201 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,590, p. 2,472.101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,569.
538
THE WARREN DURING N
APOLEONIC TIMES
.,. ,f rch 1807, the master founder was d
1v.1-a zoa I dd" . or ered to att d
:µaidstone. n a 1tion, Henry Dugleb h" en their trial at Laboratory, reported on 12 December I~~~ ~~a~ler~ ~f the Royal Porter at the Arsenal gate, had detected Ch' ~ilham Roach
a L · • ar1es Sp '
·n the R. ., carrying sixteen beech blo k f; leer, a labourer i arching the man's lodgings he had d? s or fuzes and that on
se . . ' iscovered a h
Spicer on being hailed before a magistrat finnot er twenty.
. e was ed 40 I .
ase the paymaster was instructed to pay Will" s. n this
c ' f h 1 . . . 1am Roach 2 h 1
the value o t e pena ty inflicted as a reward c: d . os, a f
. . . ' 1or etecting th .
and Charles Sp1cer was d1srrussed from the Ro e cnme,
ya1 L a boratory 204
Changes now b egan to be made in the Royal Ar ·
sena1 consequent
upon the remova1 of th e R oyal Military Academ t •
. h C A y o its new home
on Woo1w1c ommon. s the new buildings opened ·
. 1 1 in I 8o6 were
not yet suffic1ent y arge to accommodate all the cadet .
· d h d · h s, certain of
them remame ouse 1n t e Arsenal for many years · c: ill
. , 1n 1act t
h
1352: The c anges mentioned took place over a number of years and 1n I 806 three are recorded. On g July I 806, the cadet hospital in the Arsenal was ordered to be converted into two academies to house sixty cadets who were boarded out.205 The Inspector-General of Fortifications w as instructed on 4 August 1806, to convert the premises then u sed by the modellers of the Royal Military Academy, who were soon to be moved to the new Academy on the Common, into a sick-bay for all the Arsenal departments, a measure urgently needed in view of the unsatisfactory nature of the rooms so far allotted for the purpose. This change-over was agreed to by Sir
T. M . H ayes, Inspector-General of Ordnance Hospitals.206 The space in front of the Academy in the Royal Arsenal was, at the suggestion of Major-General Twiss, Lieutenant-Governor of the
R.M.A ., to be enclosed by a double-railed fence and the dying trees
cut down.207 • The remaining happenings in 1.806 were in t~e nature of rou~e measures such as might normally be expected 1n a manufacturmg establishment. They may be summarized as follows: IB July I8o6. Two lightning conductors to b~ affixed to the floatin~ · M nshz:,1, ·n accordance with MaJor-General Congreve s
magazine a r 1 instructions 208 d h 23 July r8o6. Additional sheds ~or the ~:ee~t::ea!~o~:ti~n\::r~~ keeper's department were authorized.IT t shed to the shed used for
0
be effected by adding a temporhardy eant~ ous to the wall at the back
. . b b ·1d· a double-s e con igu .
painting, y m mg . . g the sheds on the practice
d by continuin
of the Cross storehouse, an . · II PRO/WO/47/2,595, P· 712·
20a Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es n' PRO/WO/47/2,592, P· 4,767. 201 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es 11' PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 2,900. 205 Extracts of M~utes, Ser~es n' PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,258. 200 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es 11• PRO/WO/4 7 /2,592, P· 4,269. 201 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es 11• PRO/WO/47/2,591, P· 3,044· 208 Extracts of Minutes, Series '
539
ADOLESCENCE
ground. The proposal to construct further sheds at the back of the eastern range on land rented by Mr Marshall was to lapse till further orders.200
20 August r8o6. John King, the master founder, was ordered to direct Mr McNaughton to erect a cast-iron oven in the Royal Brass Foundry for the purpose of drying the cores over which pipe-boxes for the R.C.D. were cast; and to proceed to London to procure the necessary workmen and patterns. The paymaster was instructed to pay for the goods on delivery.210
25 August r8o6. Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd reported to the Board that none of the military personnel employed as artificers and labourers had received the extra allowance of one day's work a week awarded in 1801 to civilian workers on account of the higher cost ofliving. This report was referred to the Surveyor-General.211 othing seems to have come ofit. The soldier presumably was considered to be on duty at all times, for which he was housed, fed and paid a statutory army wage. The pay of a gunner at this period was on the average rs. 6d. per day.212
I September r8o6. The offi~es and workshops belonging to the Department of the Inspector ofArtillery were ordered to be repaired.21a
I2 September r8o6. The paymaster was instructed to pay a sum equivalent to two days' wages to the men of the R.C.D. who attended a fire on board H.M.S. Dover with the department's fire engine.214
r5 September r8o6. Mr Lloyd of Morris Lloyd and Ostell authorized to repair the steam engine used in the construction of the ,;,harf at a cost not exceeding £350.215
I October 1806. Captain Dickinson instructed to repair six old ballast !ighters a_nd provide a new skiff for the Engineer Department, the skiff muse bemg too small to convey ro lightermen ·with safety to the barges
at night.216 20 October 1806. Captain Hayter authorized to repair the fences in the marshes east of the Royal Arsenal with the temporary railings of the new academy now to be removed.211 27 October 1806. A shed to be erected, at a cost not exceeding the estimate of£297. 6s. 6¾d., for examining and airino-the ammunition from the Grand Depot of Artillery near the Royal Arse~al.218 12 November 1806. The old clock from Woolwich to be re-erected at Warley Barracks.219
In order to re~lize the developments in the Royal Arsenal since the close of the eighteenth century and to obtain a bird's eye view of its buildings, a brief survey follows. It does not make exciting
::; Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,157. m Extracts of~nutes, Ser_1es II, PRO/WO/47/2,sgr, p. 3,41 7. Extrac~ ofMin~~es, Se_nes II, PRO/WO/47/2,591, p. 3,491.
2u A Treatise on Military Finance 1801 p. 104 ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PR.O/Wa°/47/2,592, p. 3,541.
Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,691.216 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 3,715.216 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,592, p. 3,923.217 Extracts ofM!nutes, Se~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,146. 218 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,216. 119 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,418.
54°
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
reading, but it does help to give a mind picture of the place during that year of grace in which members of the Buonaparte family were assuming the thrones in Naples and Holland.
The houses in the Royal Arsenal, according to the system of numbering then in force were occupied by: No. r Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd-Commandant, Woolwich Garrison.
No. 2 Major-General W. Twiss-Lieut.-Governor of the R.M.A.
No. 3 Major-General Robert Rochfort-Chief Firemaster
No. 4 Colonel (Brig.-General) Robert Douglas-Commandant, Corps
of R.A. Drivers No. 5 Colonel William Cuppage-Inspector, Royal Carriage Department. No. 6 Colonel Bailey Wellington-Assistant Director-General of the Field Train
No. 7 Lieut.-Colonel William Cox, R.A.
No. 8 Major G. W. Phipps, R.E.-Inspector of the R.M.A.
No. g Major David Meredith, R.A. . ...
No. ro Captain George Hayter, R.E.-C.R.E. Woolw1ch D1v1S1on
No. r 1 Captain Frederic Griffiths, R.A.-Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department. No. I 2 Captain Charles Bingham-Assistant Firemaster. No. 13 J ohn Geast-The Storekeeper. Each of the above houses had a coach-house, stable and garden. No. 14 Isaac Landmann-Professor of Fortification at the R.M.A. No. 15 John Guest-a clerk in the Storekeeper's Department.
(Note : Houses No. 16 and 17 were in the R.A. Barracks and Nos. 18-22 on W oolwich Common) The wharf west of the Royal Arsenal was let to Messrs Rolfe and Halifax at £42. 10s. od. p.a.
William Hope rented an Ordnance house outside the Arsenal at a guinea a week pursuant to the Board's order dated 22 March 1805, and two ho;ses at 18s. per week, pursuant to the Board's order dated g October I Sos. These were used as lodgings for contract drivers.
BUILDINGS IN THE ROYAL ARSENAL
Entrance
Paymaster's office and Porter's lodge. Brick building; tiled roof, 2 stories, 50 feet X 20 feet. Guard house. Brick building; slated roof, stone portico, 66 feet X 32 feet. Offices of the Field Train and main guard.
Royal Brass Foundry The Foundry. Brick building; tiled roof, I 30 feet X I oo feet. Casting and founding of guns; making moulds; offices of the Department of the Inspector of the Royal Brass Foundry.
541
ADOLESCENCE
Chipping room. Brick building; 2 stories, tiled roof, divided by a party wall, 45 feet X 4 7 feet. One part used for chipping guns, and the other for a boring room. At the back of the boring room is the mill a brick building with a tiled roof. '
Smiths' shop with 2 forges. Brick building; tiled roof, 32 feet by 20 feet. Dial Square. A range of brick buildings with tiled roofs 370 feet x 22 feet divided into different workshops as under: '
No. 1 Engraving room No. 2 Mortar boring room No. 3 Mill for boring No. 4 Turning trunnion room No. 5 Smiths' shop No. 6 Chipping room No. 7 Venting room No. 8 Rough filing room No. g Boring room No. 10 Mill for boring
New shops adjoining Bason Square. Brick building; slated roof, 1 40 feet x 22 feet. No. I Luping room Nos. 2 and 3 Materials, hop poles and small turning room. Charcoal room
Inspector ofArtillery's Department Brick building, tiled roof, 48 feet X 30 feet. Offices divided into 5
· h 1 bb · r. rooms
wit a o y m 1ront. Range workshops, weather boarded, tiled roof. 193 feet x 25 feet. No. I. Proof Lobby and part stable-yard, enclosed with wooden ates to hold tools. g '
No. 2 Instrument Keeper's shop and cabin. No. 3 Smiths' shop, modeller's room and shop No. 4 Smiths' shop. One forge. No. 5 Shop for venting guns.
Brick building, tiled roof. 18 feet X 10 feet. Boiling and mixing lacquer.
Brick building, tiled roof. 20 feet X 1 I feet. Materials for coating guns.
Part of the ~ooden shed near the machine for breaking up guns is used for an engme house and scrapers for guns. A wooden tent is used b searchers when the water proof of guns takes place. y
Royal Laboratory
Upper Guard. Brick building, tiled roof, 1go feet x 2 r feet divided into
fcour rooms. No. 1 Chemical Room. Nos. 2, 3 and 4 Melting Rooms.
Back building adjoining. Drying room.
Lean-to. Vice Shop. Brick building. 20 feet X 16 feet. Ash room. Weather-boarded shed, pantiled roof 67 feet x r2 feet. Chief Foreman's
office and surgery.
Brick building, tiled roof 58 feet X 20 feet. Master Founder's and turners' shop.
542
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Brick building, 2 stories, pantiled roof. 66 feet X 1o feet. Chiefand assistant firemen's offices. Modellers', Chief Clerk's, Comptroller's offices and porters' lodge. Brick building, pantiled roof, 2 stories. 50 feet X 18 feet. Clerks' offices. Ground floor-paper curers.
Back part of Upper Yard Brick building. 80 feet X 30 feet. Smiths' shop and vice-room. Brick building, adjoining. go feet X 30 feet. Paper curers.
Wood erection, pantiled roof, paved. Drying paper.
Wood shed. Ashes. Back part of Lower Yard
Brick building, 2 stories, Ct,llars } 78 feet X I g feet. Divided into and garrets, pantiled roof, yard paved. different rooms. Making portfires, rocket cases and small arm cartridges.
D rying shed, tiled roof. 48 feet X 16 feet. Drying Paper. Range of b1ick ships, tiled roof, 9 in number, divided by party walls I 70 feet X r6feet.
No. r Coopers.
No. 2 } Tin shop and cabin. No. 3 No. 4 Coopers' stores.
No. 5 Sandshot and tin stores. No. 6 Pitch, rosin, etc. No. 7 Stores. No. 8 Lead balls. No. g Coopers' stores.
Three wooden tents, each 32 feet X 15 feet. Small arm cartridge manu
facture. Brick building, tiled roof and ditto adjoining. Tinmen's shop and store for drying. Brick building, tiled roof. r 5 feet X 13 feet. Small tin shop. Weather boarded building 2 stories, } 22 feet X I g feet. Cutting paper pantiled roof and winding thread for cartridges.
3 Brickshops, pantiled roofs ad-1 Each 15 feet X 13 feet. Making joining ditto. J cartridges.
Small brickshop. g feet X g feet. Cutlers. New brick building, slated roof. 76 feet X 21 feet. Divided into 3 melting
rooms. Brick building, tiled roof r 2 feet X r 2 feet. Painters' storeroom.
Lower Yard
Weather boarded building, tiled } 46 feet X 20 feet. Turners' shop.
roof.
543
Brick building, tiled roof. 16 feet X 13 feet. Engine house. Brick building, tiled roof, containing 50 feet X 23 feet. No. 5 shop, two shops. store shot and tin cases. No. 6
}
shop, making quill tubes. Brick building adjoining. 23 feet X 23 feet. Tailors' shop. Brick building,part stone, tiled roof, }
58 feet X 20 feet. Different sorts
2 stories and garret. The central store
of stores.
house. Brick building joining the central ) 130 feet X 24 feet. No. g Old store house, 2 stories, tiled roof, divided unserviceable stores. No. 1 o Cases into four shops. filled with cartridges. No. 11 The staircase. No. 12 Sand shot, tin case shot and filling ditto. Weather-boarded shed, tiled roof. Packing room and shop for
}
examining ammunition.
Porters' Lodge
Weather-board shed, tiled roof 46 feet X 20 feet. Driving port
}
fires and fuses.
Range of brick buildings, 2 stories,
130 feet X 24 feet. No. 13 Sand
tiled roof, in 2 stores.
shot, wooden bottoms and cartridge store. No 14 }
No: 15 Sandshotett. Upstairs-Paper store.
Model Room
Brick building, similar to central \ 58 feet X 30 feet. Store for storehouse, opposite. J paper, fuses, portfires, etc. Brick building, opposite tailors' }
23 feet X 23 feet. Stores.
shop.
Brick building, tiled roof. 50 feet X 23 feet. Quilting} grape shot and stores. Weather-board building, tiled roof. 40 feet X 20 feet. Turners' shop.
Shed in the corner.
1 16 feet X IO feet. Used forJ lumber.
Six wooden tents. Each 18 feet by
No. 1 Drying tent. No. 2
I 4jeet.
Finishing rockets. No. 3 Making rocket cases. No. 4 Mixing composition. No. 5 Mealing powder. No. 6 Driving rockets.
Three Wooden tents outside R.L. } Each 34 feet X 15 feet. Heading Gate.
barrels, making cartridges and mixing powder.
544
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Practice Ground
Three large and two small weather } Dimensions 66 feet X 44 feet;
board sheds. 45 feet X 26 feet; 62 feet X 2 1 feet; 1 7 feet X 1 4 feet; and I g feet X I o feet. Driving rockets.
Dipping Square
Brick building, enclosed with brick } 107 feet X 40 feet. Fixing wall. carcases; and fix-ship stores.
Carpenters' Shop
Brick building, tiled and sheds } 120 feet X 43 feet. Making adjoining. cases and carpenters' work.
East Laboratory Brick building, arched over maga-} 60 feet X 45 feet. Magazine; zine. filling room; charcoal, barrels etc.
East Laboratory Square. Brick Nos. I & 2 Case and spherical building, tiled roof, 2 stories enclosed shot. No. 3 Leaden balls, boxes, by a brick wall. Area 180 feet by 160 etc. No. 4 Articles for shipping. feet. Divided into different shops by Nos. 5-9 Case shot and leaden J;arty walls.
balls. o. 1 o Round shot. Kos. 1 1-13 Case shot. The whole of the upper story is filled with empty boxes and turners' wood.
T wo small open sheds, tiled. Boxes etc.
Royal Carriage Department New Square Brick buildings, slated roof. Area 474feet X 2oofeet. Divided by party walls into different workshops, viz:
o. 1 87 feet x 30 feet Modelling room
os. 2-3 Each 61 feet x 30 feet Carpenters' shops No. 4 32 feet X 32 feet Saw-pits Nos. 5-7 Each 75 feet x 30 feet Carpenters' shops Nos. 8-g Each 32 feet x 32 feet Engine house privies Nos. 10-11 Each 61 feet x 30 feet Carpenters' shops No. 12 87 feet x 30 feet Collar makers' shops
os. 13-14 Each 61 feet x 30 feet Wheelers' shops No. 15 32 feet x 32 feet Saw pits Nos. 16-17 Each 88 feet x 30 feet Wheelers' shops Nos. 18-19 Each 88 feet x 30 feet Wheelers' and iron turners' No. 20 32 feet x 32 feet Steam engine No. 21 61 feet x 30 feet Turners' shops No. 22 61 feet x 30 feet "\¥heelers' shops
There are 3 large smiths' shops in the centre of the Square Brick buildings, slated roofs. Each \ Binding offshops and contrac138 feet x 88 feet. J tors' offices.
545
Storehouse-Cadets' Green New brick building, slated, with Nos. 31-32 Manufactured iron-additional floor at each end of the work of gun carriages etc. building and paved. Divided by party No. 33 Garrison carriages. walls into different storehouses. Dimen-No. 34 Ships' carriages. sions 42oftet X 55ftet. No. 35 Spokes, felloes and articles for Land Service. Stockade fence attached to the above l 420 feet X 42 feet. Iron store building. J and other articles.
Storehouses and Sheds, in charge of the Storekeepers' and Carriage Departments Blue Cross storehouse, weather-} 287 feet x 27 feet. Travelling boarded, patent slated roof. carriages. Old Blue storehouse, weather-} 5r2 feet x 26 feet. Travelling boarded, tiled roof, paved. carriages, waggons and carts.
Blue storehouses and sheds in the o. r Travelling carriages, centre part of the Square. Each store-carts, spare articles for Land and house 436ftet X 32ftet. All weat/zer Sea Services. boarded, patmt slated roof and paved. No. 2 Waggons, carts and spare
ammunition boxes.
No. 3 Part junk.house and part containing waggons and travelling carriages.
No. 4 Ships' and garrison carriages and spare articles. Part occupied by Field Train Department.
No. 5 Travelling carriages and carts. No. 6 Travelling carriages. Mounted park of artillery.
Large White Carriage storehouse
340 feet X 30 feet. Ship and weather boarded building, tiled roof }garrison carriages. and paved.
5 weather sheds, slated roefs, Mortar mill engine. Depart
en-}
closed by gates. Each 50 feet x 42 mental timber and plank. R.C.D.
feet.
and Engineers' Department.
Practice Lobby and Fence
Brick building, tiled roof. 1 150 feet X 26 feet. Ammunition J and depot for practice stores.
Practice Ground Open waggon shed, pantiled roof.
430 feet X 28 feet. Pontoon carriages and boats; trave11ing carriages, storekeeper's and Field
} Train Departments.
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Guard House
Military
Brick building, slated roof. } 32 feet X 29 feet. guard.
R.C.D.
Weather-boarded sited, slated roof. } 180 feet X 67 feet. timber and plank store.
Saw-pit Pantiled roof, 58feet by 24Jeet. } Royal Carriage Department. Slated roof, 58Jeet by 24feet. Wooqyard, enclosed by stockade }
The Storekeepers.
fence, z7ofeet by 65feet.
Royal Carriage Department.
Timber yard, adjoining 200 feet X
}
2rofeet. W eather-boarded shed, tiled roof, Laboratory.
}
53 feet X 51 f eet.
Backyard adjoining Arsenal Wall
T emporary planksheds and saw } 60 feet X 30 feet. R.C.D. and
pits. W eather-board roofs. smiths' shops. Field Train Depart
ment.
W eather-boarded shed, pantiled. } 169 feet X shops R.C.D. 18 feet. Wheelers'
Blue weather-boarded shed, tiled } go feet X 20 feet. Smiths' shop.
roof. Chipping and drilling mortars.
Department of Inspector of Ar
tillery.
Blue weather-boarded shed, tiled \ 52 feet X 30 feet. Smiths' shop roof. J R.C.D. and Engineers' Depart-
I
ment.
T wo weather-boarded crane houses
} Storekeeper's Department.
and cranes. Convict Wharf. New Guard House, wharf, weather boarded, } 40 feet X 20 feet. Military and brick building, slated roof guard.
Royal Engineer Department Brick building, 2 stories, slated } 39 feet X 36 feet. Offices of the roof. Department.
Corresponding brick building at the } 39 feet X 36 feet. Store-rooms, entrance. ground floor. Upper story, Assistant Clerk of Works. 239 feet X 21 feet. Carpenters,
Brick range of shops, slated roof, } Civil and military artificers. Collar
west side.
makers' shops. 63 feet X 21 feet. Smiths' shops.
Brick building, slated roof.
547
ADOLESCENCE
Brick building, slated roof. 63 feet X 2 r feet. Wheelers'
}
shops. Brick building, slated roof, east side. 239 feet X 2 I feet. Painters'} glaziers', coopers', bricklayers' and masons' shops.
In addition beyond the confines of the Royal Arsenal there were:
J11eatlier board buildings, slated roof } 372 feet X 92 feet. Stables for in a square, Plumstead Road. contract horses. A similar type of building, Wool-} 106 feet X 16 feet. Stables for wich Common. contract horses.
Storekeeper's Department
New Sea storehouse. Brick building, } I 86 feet X 35 feet. Sea Service 2 stories, stone plinth, cornice slated stores and offices of the Departroof. ment. Old Sea storehouse. Brick building, ) go feet X 30 feet. Ground Floor:
tiled roof, 2 stories and a garret. Se~ Service stores. Upper Story: Pamt covers for waggons, dragropes, harness etc. Garret: Wadding for guns and other articles.
Bason Square
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof, }
I 70 feet X 4.5 feet. Harness paved. storehouse.
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof.
56 feet X I g feet. Collar makers'
}
shops in 3 shops.
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof,
Arms for Sea Service. Smiths'
r70 feet X 6r feet and sheds covered
shop R.C.D. Lead and musket
with patent slating.
}balls. Grape shot in boxes. R.L. Department. Painters' shop.
Brick building, tiled roof, east side,
}
Smiths' shop, modelling room
r5ojeet X r6feet.
armoury, glaziers' shop, Store~
keeper's, R.C.D. and Engineers' Department.
Brick building, 2 stories, tiled roof,
I 50 feet X 20 feet. Storerooms
west side. }
and offices of the R.C.D.
2 weather-board sheds, pantiled roof. Eaclz 45 feet X }
20 feet. Wheelers' shops, R.C.D.
Brick building, pantiled roof.
Each 45 feet X 20 feet. Smiths'
Weather board building, pantiled roof }
shops. R.C.D.
Clot/zing Store.
Brick roof. building, 2 stories, slated } 92 feet X 38 feet. clothing and sandbags. Artillery
548
THE WARREN DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Buildings lately occupied by the Royal Military Academy Principal Academy, brick building, }
Academy and masters' offices.
2 stories, lead roof, rn5feet X 62feet. Lower Academy, brick building l
Academy.
slated roqf, 43 feet X 3 r feet. .J Academy barracks, old brick buildBeing fitted up as reception for ing, tiled roof, 460 feet X 52 feet. gentlemen cadets, officers and
}
servants. Hospital, brick building, slated roof, Being converted into two acade
}
65 feet X 37 feet. mies as above.
Outside the boundary of the Arsenal on a site where the Grand Depot Barracks now stand, was situated the:
Field Train Department R egimental garden workshops.
No. I Wheelers' store.
No. 2 Collarmakers' shop. slated roofs, r69feet X I 5feet divided Weather-board buildings, brick ends,
No. 3 Painters' shop and
into 6 shops.
coopers' shop. No. 4 Carpenters' shop. No. 5 Wheelers' shop. No. 5 Wheelers' shop. No. 6 Office.
No . r Field Train-Shed. Wooden } building, the ends brickwork with 12 pdr. guns, ammunition, fra med open gates, divided into bays waggons, carts etc.
237 feet X 43 feet.
No. 2 Field Train Shed. Similar } g pdr. guns and heavy 6 pdr.
building, 256feet X 43 feet. guns.
No. 3 Field Train Shed. Similar } 6 pdr. howitzers and waggons. building, 292 feet X 43 feet. 2 bays partitioned off for the fire engme.
No. 4 Field Train Shed. Similar \
Guns etc.
building, 3r2feet X 43feet. J
Two magazines, brick building, slated roof made fire-proof. 55 feet X
17 feet.220
In addition to these buildings, listed in the preceding pages, there
were the proof-butts and the practice range.
It was considered too dangerous at the opening of the nineteenth century to store large quantities of gunpowder ashore. The area of the Royal Arsenal was limited and, though not overcrowded, distances between the various brick and wooden structures were insufficient to eliminate risk in case of an accident. The marshland
to the east was still undeveloped and fire-proof buildings in isolated
220 These details are taken from Ordnance Book, no. 252, W.O. Records, Stanmorc.
549
ADOLESCENCE
positions had yet to be erected. Although powder was known to be sensitive and a healthy respect was paid to it, the modern rules for handling explosives, now codified in Magazine Regulations, were lacking in those days when fires were too frequent and fire engines too
few. 'Better be sure than sorry' was therefore the principle adopted, and for reasons of safety, bulk powder in barrels was kept in floating magazines anchored in the Thames.
There was one such magazine in the period under discussion, the 111ansllip purchased for £5,833. I Is. gd. and moored off Gallion's Reach. This vessel was replaced on 2 June 1823 by the brig Convert of 200 tons burthen, bought for £525 including £85 paid for repairs.221 The Convert in turn was sold for £256. 2s. 4d. by order of the Board dated 24 October 1827, when the design of the first 'proper' magazine on Arsenal terrain was accepted and approved.222 Thus passed the first six years of the Royal Arsenal's adolescence.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,678 p. r 004. m PRO/WO/44/643. ' '
55°
Chapter 14
The Royal Arsenal during Napoleonic Times
Owing to the demolition of the East Laboratory rendered necessary by the erection of the Grand Storehouses, further laboratory accommodation became pressing, and it was decided to extend the original Laboratory Square towards the river. Money for this extension was taken up in the Estimates for 1806, 1807, 1808 and
1809. It is not possible from the Estimates themselves to determine the exact amount of money to be spent each year on the project, as the work is included under one head with other services such as a new hospital. Academy buildings and storehouses, but for the four years mentioned the total sums were as follows:
1806 £149,170
1807 £II8,769
1808 £104,181. 12s. rd.
1809 £121,629. 13s. 10d.
Little detail is forthcoming about the actual construction, it was presumably started in 1806-1807 when the East Laboratory began to be dismantled, nor is there any reference to the completion. In these circumstances maps are the only guide. The new factory was substantially in being by 1810, for in a plan of the Royal Arsenal dated 8 September of that year, the site shows a range of buildings in the form of a square called the 'New East Laboratory Square'. In a later map dated 26 October 1811, the whole conception appears to be finished being then denominated the 'New Laboratory Square', the name by which it was afterwards known. By then, too, the Academy buildings, having become vacant, were in process ofbeing handed over to the Royal Laboratory to form a museum or model room.
The Royal Laboratory, therefore, by I 8I I formed a compact block stretching from the Royal Brass Foundry to within a short distance of the river bank. These buildings were still used for S.A. bullet manufacture until the First World War, during which they were replaced by more up-to-date workshops elsewhere in the Arsenal. The old laboratory lingered on in a saddened condition after the Treaty of Versailles, some buildings being used as stores till eventually the bulk of them was demolished a short time before the outbreak of the Second World War. A few of the original structures still stand 'as a remembrance of things past'.
551
Mr Payton, master tinman of the R.L., was on 4 February 1807 awarded a sum of£50, partly as a reimbursement of the expenses he incurred in making his machine for forming cups from tin tubes, and partly as a reward for his invention._ It is noticeable that the Board were always willing to encourage their servants to promote new ideas and stimulate inventive genius by cash bonuses.1 On the same day another workshop for the use of convict smiths, and a small shed close by for those employed on the military ferry were ordered to be built. The order for the latter arose as a direct result of an accident in a boathouse wherein a temporary fire-place had been installed for the purpose of providing warmth for the men. Prudence necessitated the removal of that fire-place.2
Before the days of railways and proper posts, all letters, reports and communications from Woolwich to the Board were carried by a mounted messenger whose life was mainly spent in riding backwards and forwards between the Royal Arsenal and Westminster. Richard Finch, the official messenger, had the misfortune on 6 February 1807 to be thrown from his horse on Westminster Bridge, breaking his leg and injuring his mount to such an extent that glanders set in. The animal had to be destroyed, and Richard Finch, when his leg was healed, had to spend 14 guineas on the purchase of another in order to carry on with his job. He asked the Board to
refund this sum, to which they graciously assented. 3
There seems to have been some misconception at this time about the pay and allowances of John King, the master founder. The situation was summed up and a new rate was suggested by John Angell, chief clerk to the Surveyor-General. He noted on a memorandum dated 4 February 1807, that the pay and allowances of Mr King were as follows:
Pay on the establishment £249 p.a. Allowance for house rent according to regulations £26 p.a. Allowance for coal and candles according to regulations £12. ros. od. p.a.
in addition to which the master founder had drawn in kind:
Coal, chaldrons-12 Candles, dozens -12
on the authority of an old order. Mr Angell drew attention to the fact that as soon as this issue in kind had been realized in the Surveyor-General's office, Mr King's
~ Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,594, p. 311. Extracts of M!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,594, p. 3 r J. 3 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,594, p. 339.
552
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
allowances for house rent, coals and candles were stopped, and would continue to be stopped, till the whole over-payment was refun~ed. At the same time Mr Angell showed his angelic character by pointing out that if Mr King's salary were advanced from £249 to £250
p.a. he would be entitled to a higher allowance for house rent, coals and candles and would in that case receive:
Salary £250 p.a. House rent £52 p.a. Coals and Candles £25 p.a. Total: £327 p.a.
which would give him approximately £36 p.a. more than when he was appointed master founder in 1 797.
Mr Angell also submitted that Mr King's allowance should be calculated at £30 p.a. for the past period, instead of £_26 p.a., as_ the Board had intimated that no one should suffer by their Regulations of 1801.
The Board forwarded this statement to the Master-General and recommended his Lordship's approval, suggesting at the same tim~ that the new rate of pay should be operative from 1 January 18o7.
I t is rather refreshing in these matter-of-fact days to_ come across an official who deliberately went out of his way to devise a met~od of increasing the emoluments of a Crown servant by a slight
financial adjustment. . Evans Jvfarshall, clerk of the survey, now found h_imself _cas~ m the role of Naboth, though unlike Naboth he lost ne_1ther his vm~yard nor his life. He had rented from the Board a piece of land m the Arsenal which he cultivated as a garden and was presumably happy in his possession. One day it was d~cided to appropriate pa~t of this ground to make a garden for MaJ~r-General !lochfort, t e chief firemaster whose own had been sacrificed to bmld the Grand
h
Storehouses. As ' a result a fence and a tool-shed were erected on t e area transferred. Mr Marshall, much distressed, wrote to the Board on 1 7 March 1807, begging them to rescind this order as the val~e of his land would be gravely diminished by the propose~ appropnation. The Board, always fair to its servants, acted qmckly. On I8 March they ordered the C.R.E. to remove the f~i:i-ce ~nd tool-house and restore the land to Mr Marshall in the cond1t1on it was when he
gave up possession.5 • • On 13 April r8o7, Messrs John Hall ofDartford were given t~:Job of removing for £62. 7s. ad. the chain pump westward to facilitate the progress of the new wharf.6
4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,594, P· 354· 6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,595, P· 927• 6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,595, P· 927•
37 553
ADOLESCENCE
Poor Colonel Cuppage, In~pec~or Royal Carriage Department, got into trouble over sick pay m his department. He committed the unpardonable sin of showing initiative. Although the Board were generous, often to a_f~ult, they ~d ~ot lik~ their prero~atives usurped in an age when ngid centralization, like procrastination, was a thief of time. Under the regulations for the sick and lame in the Royal Carriage Department, Colonel Cuppage submitted for approval the following:
To objects of distress who have been upwards of 1 2 months in the service, there has been paid between
£17. 4S.
7d.
12 February and 31 March 1807 the sum of } There is due to men not considered as objects of
l
distress, between 12 February and 3 1 March 1807, J £12. OS. gd.the sum of Total Sick Pay list
£30. 5s. 4d.
and enclosed the surgeon's return of the sick showing the causes of their absence.
The Board's reaction was sharp and peremptory. Colonel Cuppage was called on to explain the principle on which he had caused sick payments to be made to artificers between the dates specified; to
give th,e names of those wh~m he had stated are not 'objects of distress but to whom he considered that half-pay should be granted while on the sick list, and to forward the names of those whom he considered should receive no pay at all. He wa ordered in future to divide his lists into 3 classes:
(a)
Those who should have full pay during sickness
(b)
Those who should receive half-pay while sick
(
c) Those w~o should be granted no pay while ill, i.e. either those under 12 months service or those who had brought on their malady by vice
· d or
rmscon uct
and to render his returns quarterly, except in peculiar cases of hardship when a special return was to be forwarded. Colonel Cuppage was warned to make no advances of pa without the Board's instructions. 7 y On rg May 1807, Captain Hayter was instructed to make arrangements for dismantling the mortar mill at the new barrack and re-erecting it in the Royal Arsenal.8 He did so, and the offer }
0
Messrs J. Hall of Dartford for carrying out the transfer at a cost of
£23r. 2s. 6{-d. less £64. 8s. 5d. on account of the old iron delivered
to Mr Hall at £6 per ton, was accepted and the work sanctioned on
10 August 1807.9
; Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,595, p. 936, 13 April 1807. Extracts ofM!nutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,596, p. 1,264.9 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,597, p. 2,070.
554
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Mr Thomas was compensated for the loss of one of his cattle
killed by a shot fired from the Royal Arsenal.10 This was by no
means an unusual occurrence. On 24 July 1807, the Respective
Officers were authorized to send any labourer injured on govern
ment service to the Artillery Hospital on Woolwich Common.11 This
custom long survived the Board, as after the local Arsenal hospital
had been closed as a measure of economy between the two world
wars, it was revived with the Royal Herbert Hospital.
The Royal Laboratory still had its garden, kept up at government expense, in the beginning ofthe nineteenth century. On 2.September 1807, it was ordered that the chief firemaster, MaJor-G_eneral Rochfort, should be refunded the sum of £47. IOs. od. which he had spent on labour in the garden in question.12 On 23 September 1807, the steam engine in the R.C.D. was ordered to be repaired at once.13 Mr Bramah probably carried out the work as the engine at Woolwich which Mr Lloyd renovated for £107 in the beginning of the following year, was presumably the one used in the construction of the new wharf.14
The prosecution of the war with France was making increasing demands on the Woolwich factories. On 28 September 1807, John King, the master founder, requested that three new additional pot furnaces should be built in the Royal Brass Foundry as the output from the existing ones was insufficient to meet the increased needs of the Royal Carriage Department and other departments. He also asked for two windows to be made so that more light would be available in the foundry. The pot furnaces were to have cast-iron tops and covers. The C.R.E. was ordered to comply with the request.15 A little later on the C.R.E. was instructed_ to provide two re erberatory furnaces in the R.C.D. at an estimated cost of £ 177. 11s. 1i¼d.16 At the same time Colonel Cuppage was authorized to purchase a large circular saw for his department at a cost not exceeding £30. This was to be driven by the steam engine and used for ripping boards, etc.17 . . .
A good deal of unserviceable ammurnt1on now found its way home from the battle fronts, and on r r November 1807, '200 of the most diligent boys' in the R.L. were put on to examine and break up such ammunition. On the same day three foremen of the Rocket Works, John Crake, William Rogers and James Finlay, were pai_d one guinea each-the same as given to R.L. foremen-for their
10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,597, P· 1,697, 3July 1807. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,597, P· 1,92I. 12 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,598, P· 2,307. 13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /47 /2,598, P· 2,525. 14 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /4 7 /2,600, P· 56. 15 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,598, P· 2,572. 18 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, p. 3,031, 9 November 1807. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,598, P· 2,755, 14 October 18o7.
555
exertions during the preparation of the Baltic expedition.is The ditches surrounding the Arsenal on the eastern side were now becoming fouled and Captain Hayter reported to the Board that about 350 rods of the boundary and divisional ditches in the marshes east of the Royal Arsenal required cleaning. On his recommendation that the price was fair and reasonable, the Board agreed that the necessary work should be carried out by James Dew, a labourer, for 3s. 6d. per rod.19
One of the consequences of handing over the old Academy to the Royal Laboratory was the necessity of acquiring alternative accommodation for the storekeeper whose house had been in Tower Place for over a century. This could only be done by further building. As early as 23 September 1807, the Board wrote that the new house for the storekeeper was to be put in hand as soon as possible at a cost of£1,200,20 but nearly tw? yea~s were _to elapse before anything definite emerged from that p10us mstruct10n. On 9 August 18og, Lieutenant-General Morse, Inspector General of Fortifications and Works, was told that there had been a misconception in Mr Crew's
letter of 15 May 1809,21 regarding the estimate ofworks to be carried out at Woolwich in 1809. Instead of the statements therein made the items in the estimate should have been as follows : '
Captain Hayter's general estimate for the } £ r67,7rg. IOS.
I Id.
Woolwich Division Repairs and Contingencies
I ,OOO. OS.
od.
Total:
£r68,719. IOS. 11d.
From this the following deductions were to be mad :
New gunwharf
£ 4,000. os. od.
Storekeeper's House
3,000. OS.
od.
New practice butts
1,330. 18s. IOd.
Stables for the Surgeon-General
850. 13s.
3d.
Building to correspond with the Riding House
5,000. OS.
od.
Houses of Inspector ofAcademies
5,000. OS.
od.
Field Officers' quarters
2,000. OS.
od. Total: £21, r8 I. I 2S. I d. Leaving the total allowed £147,537. 18s. 10d.
At the same time General Morse was informed that, owing to the transfer of the storekeeper's quarter and adjacent buildings to the !{oyal ~aboratory, a new house for the storekeeper was to be built immediately, and that the £3,000 in the Estimates for 1808 originally voted for the houses of the Lieutenant-Governor and Inspector
:: Extracts of ~nutes, Series II, PRO /WO /4 7 /2,599, p. 3,059. 20 Ext~acts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, p. 3,271, 4 December 1807.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/7s6.21 Mr R. H. Crew was Secretary to the Board of Ordnance.
556
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING . APOLEO "IC TIMES
of the Royal Military Academy, would be appropriated for that purpose. General Morse was also instructed to ensure that the storekeeper's new dwelling was commenced as soon as the plans and estimates had been passed by the Board.22 In view ofthe urgency which had by that time become paramount, no time was lost in drawing up the designs. They were dated August 1809 and arc at present in the Public Record Office.23 The plan of the original house shows a butler's pantry and all the usual offices, with three reception rooms and a number of bedrooms. At the back was a garden with stables and a coach-house. There is no evidence to show why the oriuinal estimate was increased or the actual cost of the house when
0
completed. It is obvious from the layout that the storekeeper of those years was a man of some substance who was expected to keep up a considerable state. The house, standing by the second gate of the Royal Arsenal, is now known as Middle Gate House. After the formation of the Ordnance Store Department it became for some time the residence of the Superintendent of the Building Works Department. When the fire on the water front in 1922 gutted the premises of the Naval Ordnance Inspection Department, Middle Gate Gouse was greatly enlarged and transformed into the headquarters office of the Inspector of Naval Ordnance, Woolwich. It is still used as such.
On 13 January 1808, the officers' quarters in the Old Barracks (Nos. 1-4 Dial Square), were painted and whitewashed at a cost of d.24
£ 229. rgs. s¼ How often have these quarters been renovated since then?
The bill submitted by Mr Bramah (Bramah & Son) for the machinery he supplied in 1805 in connection with the steam engine and planing machine for the Royal Carriage Department did not satisfy the Surveyor-General who sent it to Colonel Cuppage for his remarks. The latter reported ruefully that 'a respectable house in London would have supplied the articles for £33. 6s. 6d. but that Mr Bramah had a patent for the machine'. The bill for £49 was therefore paid by the Board, but they ordered that in future tenders should be sent out 'to all tradesmen'. 25 The bills sent in by Mr Francis Bernasconie for sundry materials supplied and work performed on the new buildings at Woolwich between I April and 30 September r807 also came under criticism. The Board received the Surveyor-General's report on the matter and were 'pleased to direct
26
that a reference be made to the Office of Works as recommended'.
22 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJWO/47/2,609, p. 2,410. 23 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756. 24 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 134. 26 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 294, 25 January 18o8. 26 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 406, 5 February 18o8.
557
Captain Hayter was instructed on 12 February 1808 to prepare an estimate for providing windows and skylights in the shops of the Royal Carriage Department to give the workers additional light. He estimated the cost at £366. 13s. 7fd.27 On 26 February 1808 he was ordered to proceed with the work in conformity with his suggestion and estimate.28
Presumably more privacy in their gardens was required by the Field Officers living in the quarters originally known as the 'New Barracks in the Warren' (Nos. 7-10 Dial Square), as the C.R.E. was instructed to divide the said g~rdens by a 14 inch brick wall in place of the existing fence at an estimated cost of £32. 6s. gd.29
During the early spring of 1808 a gun burst at proof and one of the fragments damaged the flywheel of the steam engine used on the new wharf. This was not the first time trouble had arisen at these butts which had by then become in close juxtaposition to new buildings. As the new butts (on the site now occupied by the gas factory) were ready, Captain Hayter suggested on 24 March i8o8 that they should be taken into use forthwith and the old butts levelled by convicts. The Board approved the suggestion and ordered all old shot discovered during the demolition to be taken on charge by the storekeeper.30 On 27 April 1808, it was decided that a new road should be made on the east side of the land about to be purchased fro_m ~r P~t.tison, the_ Ordnance agreeing to pay half, and Mr Pattison s sohc1tor was mformed accordingly.31 Arrange
ments were satisfactorily settled between the C.R.E. and l\tfr Pattison's solicitor on 8 August 1808, and Mr Smith, the assistant solicitor to the Board, was instructed to report as soon as the conveyance had been completed. 32
William Roche, a constable, was a lucky man. It must have been a red-letter day for him when he was awarded £20 for his diligence in apprehending three men for stealing ordnance stores.aa
It was considered necessary to build a new Dipping Square in the Royal A:senal and on 23 May 1808 an estimate of£3,979. 19s. 5½d. for erectmg the same was forwarded to the Master-General.34 This was approved and the C.R.E. was instructed to proceed with the work and contingent accommodation for the Royal Laboratory on 22 June 1808 agreeably to his estimate which was submitted to the Surveyor-General.35 Unfortunately the work cost more than was
:; Extracts of~nutes, Ser\es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 477,;» Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 609.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 490. 30 Extracts ofM?lutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,600, p. 837. 31 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,601, p. 1,236.12 Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,603, p. 2,308. u 33 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, p. 1,253, 2 May 1808.
Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, p. 1,499.16 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,602, p. 1,800.
558
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
contemplated and although the estimate of £3,979. 19s. s½d, was forwarded to the Board with a letter dated 15 February 1908,36 it was afterwards amended to £4,182. 7s. g{d.37
The advancing tide ofstorehouse construction alongside the wharf rendered the demolition of the old R.L. carpenters' shop on the river front, established in 1780, necessary. It was therefore agreed on 24 June 1808 that as a temporary measure, the harness storehouse should be fitt;d up as a carpenters' shop for the Royal Laboratory. At the same time, a blacksmiths' shop contiguous to the harness storehouse was to be adapted as an office for the foreman of carpenters and as a safe place for heating glue. It was al~o ordered that only two days' consumption of deals should ~e kept m the yard at one time.as This plan was adopted, but experience soon proved that the converted buildings were too dark to make a good workshop. On 10 October 1808, therefore, twelve skylights were ordered to be installed so as to allow the carpenters more light, as well as a stove
in the master carpenter's office.39 The old R.L. carpenters' shop was ordered to be I?ulled. down on 22 July 18o8,4o and on 2g August 1808 two lea~-lmed cisterns capable of holding one pipe of oil each41 and a lead-lined table were
42
to be supplied to the ex-harness store. .
Another far-reaching innovation took place m the Roy~l A:rsenal during the year. It was the proposal to erect a saw-mill m ~he Royal Carriage Department. The sc~eme was eventually earned through and the credit for this undertaking belongs to Marc Isam?ard Brunel. Sir Marc, as he afterwards became, was the famous engmeer
of that name born at Hacqueville, near Rauen, in I7?9· He must not be confused with his equally famous son, ~sambard Kmgdom_Brunel, who was responsible among other thmgs for const_ructmg the Great Western Railway. During the French Re~olut1on, Brunel, the elder, escaped to the United States where m I 794 he was appointed surveyor of the projected canal scheduled to run from Lake Champlain to the Hudson at Al~any. He after~ards beca~e an architect in New York and chief engmeer for that city. Returning to Europe in 1799, he settled iri England. His first cont.act with t~e English Government arose as the result ~fa plan submi~ted by him to make block-pulleys by machinery. This was adopted m 1803 and on its completion in 1806, the saving on the first year was about £24,000. The grateful government gave him £17,000 as a reward. He was responsible for public works in the Royal Arsenal, Chatham
36 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/756.
37 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,6o6, P· 453·
38 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o2, P· 1 ,8i3.
30 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o4, P· 2,882,
40 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o3, P· 2, 134·
41 105 Imperial gallons.
42 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,603, P· 2,520•
559
Dockyard and other places. His most remarkable undertaking, in which he was helped by his son, was the construction of the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe between the years 1825 and 1843. He was knighted in 1841 and died in London on 12 December 1849.
Colonel Cuppage, Inspector Royal Carriage Department, wrote to the Board on 25 April 1808 proposing that an engine should b e introduced into his factory for the cutting of timber. In that letter he stated that Mr Brunel, th~ Director _of Block M achinery at Portsmouth, who worked a vertical saw mill there, was understood to be the most experienced person to consult and that he proposed to visit him. The Board approved of this suggestion on 27 April 1808. Colonel Cuppage then_vi_sited ~ortsn:iouth and on 10 May 1808 reported the result of his mterview with Mr Brunel. In this report he suggested that the Royal Carriage Department should be equipped with a 12 HP engine and machinery for vertical and other saws. On receiving this report the Board asked Captain Hayter to comment on its contents. The ?.R.E. repli:d favourably on 20 May 1808 and suggested that considerable savmgs should accrue from the erection of a saw mill in the department. On the same day the Board asked Mr Brunel, then living in Chelsea, to submit his proposals for the steam :ngine. ?n r July I 808, Mr Brunel replied that he would forward his plans m due course, but pointed out that
a 12 HP engine would not be sufficiently povverful to deal ,vith the load contemplated; he would recommend an r8 HP engine. In a letter dated 3 August I 808, Mr Brunel forwarded to Mr R. H. Crew Secretary to the Board of Ordnance, his terms for convertina th~ Royal Carriage Department to machinery stating that in addition to the power required for operating the saw mill, the department would want some 4 HP for working lathes. His calculations led to the conclusion that an 18 HP eng_ine would be necessary though he
recom~ended on<': of 20 HP. This _wo~ld cost only an extra £ioo and ?em proport10n more economical m fuel since it would not be reqmred to run at full capacity. With his letter he enclosed th
following complete specification: e
A 20 HP engine with cast iron beam and water cistern · the whole t
b fix d · · ' 0
e_ e ~pon an entire cast iron foundation plate. Also two wrought iron boder_s with fire appara~us, steam pipes, etc. The whole to be on the most improved construction.
Then followed specific details regarding the machinery re shafting wheels, the saw and its essentials, the frame, clamps, table etc.: in all two sets. ~r Brunel guaranteed to provide the 20 HP engine with all the machmery he had mentioned and erect it ready for use for £6,000. Should, however, the I8 HP engine be preferred his figure
would be £100 less.43
43 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/7s6.
560
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Unfortunately the practice ground and butts stood in the way, both literally and figuratively, of this modernization s~hem~, for the saw-mill if built on the selected site would interfere with firmg. The hands of the Board were therefore, tied until a solution to this problem could be found. 'rt was one which wo1;1l~ obviously take time to effect as it meant the procurement of add1t10nal land on the marshes for a new range. While the Board cogitated, Mr Brunel chafed. On 5 September 1808 he wrote to the Board somewhat querulously, intimating that he had, by the ~ono~rable Boar~'s direction, submitted plans and an estimate for mstalling. a saw-mill in the Royal Carriage Department. As, for no fault of ~1s own, ~he project had been postponed, he now hoped ~hat he m1ght receive some remuneration for all the trouble to which he had been put. The Board admitting the justness of h_is plea, g:ante~ him ~he s~m ~; £ 1 oo for the expense he had incurred m preparmg his specification.
After much thought and neg~tiation, arrangeme~ts to move the offending practice ground and butt to another site were made possible by the agreement, dated 25 February 1811, to buy from Mr Crossingham 20 acres of marshland, the property ~f the late Mr "\1\ illiam Cole, for the sum of £200 per acre s~bJect ~o the deduction of the value of the wallscot. Mr Smith, the mdefatigable assistant solicitor to the Board was instructed to make the purchase, and the Master-General and Board, overjoyed at the turn of events, thanked Mr Crossingham for the very handsom~ manner. in wh~ch he had made his offer.45 There is a sequel to this tale ofJOY which shall be told later in the chapter. For the moment,_ however, all was well and this obstacle having been removed, MaJor-General Cuppage, as he had by then become, asked the Board if the subject of the saw-mill could be reopened. The 11aster-General agreed, and on 2 1 March 18 r r Mr Brunel announced that he was ready to begin erecting the machinery when instructed. On 22 May 181 ~ the C.~.E. forwarded an estimate of £4,104. 3s. 1¼d. for constructmg a bmlding to house the saw-mill's machinery.46 This was accepted by the Master-General who ordered the work to be put in hand.47 Meanwhile, on 16 April r8II, Mr Brunel had submitted _an amended
estimate for supplying the complete engin~ and ma_chinery-._ It was for £ 4,600, a reduction of £1,400. He said that, m ad~1t1on, an extra boiler would be required which with its accessories would cost £450. This would make a grand total of £9,154. 3s. 1¼d, for the whole undertaking. This extra boiler was approved on 27 May
·d · 4s
181 2 and Mr Brunel was ordered to prov1 e it.
44 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o4, P· 2,57°· 46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,620, P· 784. 46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,621, P· 1,913, 24 May 1811· 47 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,621, P· 2,o55, 4June I8II. 48 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,626, P· i,6i6.
561
One man's meat is another man's poison, and the storekeeper and the clerk of the survey viewed these proceedings with horror. They, in their corporate capaci~y as Respective Officers, reported on 6 April 1812 that, as the site selected for the R.C.D. steam engine was in close proximity to their dwellings, life would be rendered intolerable for them. They asked that the engine should be made to consume its own smoke which they understood could be contrived at a trifling expense. The Board agreed and issued the necessary instructions, Mr John Geast and Mr Evans Marshall being informed.49 On 24 August 1812, Mr_Brunel reported that his total charges would now be £5,080, of wh1ch he had only received £i,ooo on account on g May 1812. These included certain improvements which he strongly advocated; they would cost £850. On
19
October 1812, the Board agreed to Mr Brunel's alterations, so having given him on 10 October a~other advance of £2,000. As time slipped by, Mr Brunel, becommg out of pocket, asked on 25 August 1313, for additional payments. On being consulted, the Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, stated on 30 August 181 3 that he considered Mr Brunel's request justified, for although the installation was not yet complete, the department had already derived considerable benefit from it. Thereupon the Board forwarded Mr Brunel another £1,500 on 4 October 1813. On 30 May 1814. Mr Brunel announced that he had incurred a total expenditure of£6,394. 1s. 1d.,
i.e. £1,894. rs. rd. over the £4,500 he had already received. Five days later he pointed out that he had encountered unforeseen difficulties in constructing this saw-mill for the Royal Carriage Department and begged the Board for a further sum of money on account.51 This appeal _was fo!lowed by another on I o August 18 ,
14
when Mr Brunel, agam asking for extra remuneration, told the Board that the erection of the saw-mill had actually cost him £6,378. os. Bd., and that his profit had only been £ 16. os. 8d. which was not included in his bill of costs. The Board w ere no~ entirely happy over the affair and there was a certain amount of haggling over the final claim. Eventually they said that if Mr Brunel would make an affidavit concerning his expenses and profit they
would give serious consideration to his case.52 The Board were not long in making up their mind. On I 2 August I 8I 4 they announced that, although they realized Mr Brunel had performed good work for the country, they could not pay more than the saw-mill cost albeit the estimated price was £4,600. They proposed, however t~
give him a pension of £300 p.a. and settle his account as follows':
60 0 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,096. 61 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,628, p. 3,254. 61 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,636, p. 2,302, 3June 1814.
Extracts ofMmutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,637, p. 3,262. 562
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURI N G NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Amount of original estimate -£4,600
Amount of authorized additions thereto, namely
£450 and £850 . -£1,300
Expenses incurred in addition to the estimate -£494. Is. 1d.
Item omitted -£116. 16s. od.
Total £6,512. 17s. id.63
The closing scene of this comedy is a,mino_r trag~dy. ~fr _Brunel's
remises in Battersea were destroyed by fire, 1nvolvmg him m heavy
ioss not only in buildings but in machinery. He _therefore asked that
his pension of £300 p.a. might be commuted mto a lu11;-p sum of
£4,500. This request was granted on 14 _September 1814."4•
The faint dawn of the steam and machinery age was breakmg over
the Royal Arsenal. It was a dawn of promise which in due course
blazed into the light of noon.
On 12 September 1808 the roof and o~th~uses_ of Colonel Cup
page's quarter were reported to need rep~ir."" This _quarter was an
Ordnance house situated on Shooters Hill. An estimate was pre
ared and forwarded to the Surveyor-General for examination. On
; 7 October 1808 the repairs were ordered to be. carrie~ ou~-56 The
next recorded incident at Woolwich was somethmg qm:e different.
It was an instruction to drive in two piles an~ a cro_ss-p1le to s_ecu:e
each of the two inshore anchors of the Manship floatmg magazme m
Gallion's Reach.57
In preparing his estimates for the year 1809, Captain Hayter
stated that his staff should be as follows:
In the Royal Arsenal
2 Foremen of ground labourers at 3s. p.d. each r 2 Labourers at 2s. p.d. each 12 Labourers at Is. gd. p.d. each
For incidental work at the barracks and on Woolwich Common
1 Foreman of ground labourers at 3s. p.d.
8 Labourers at 2s. p.d. each
8 Labourers at is. gd. p.d. each
The matter was referred to Lieutenant-General Morse.58 The Works Estimate for Woolwich for 1808 was £182,361. 16s. 2-½-d.,59 and for 1809 was £147,537. 18s. rnd.60
53 Extracts of Minutes Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, P· 3,321·
54 Extracts of Minutes: Series II, PRO/WO/47/~,?37, P· 3,8~6. _A very full acco~t of these transactions regarding the building of the ~ngmal saw~m1ll m the Royal CarnageDepartment is given in paper PRO/WO/44/524 m the Pubhc Record Office.
56 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P· 2,632.
56 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P· 2,932•
57 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P• 2,738.
58 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,604, P· 3,070.
69 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756.
60 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756.
563
Samuel Harden, the gentleman who bought the spent ashes from
the R.C.D. at 6s 6d. a chaldron was on g December 1808 paid
£157. 10s. od. for dunging and ploughing the land recently acquired
from Mr Pattison.61
Captain Hayter was directed on 14 December 1808 to make
additions to the sheds allotted to the convicts allocated to the Royal
Laboratory by employing convict carp~nters and using old materials,
and also to erect an enclosure for a timber yard. The expense was
estimated at £40.62 On 16 December 1808, Mr Wallis of Blackwall
was asked to supply two mud barges for the Engineering Department
at £6 per ton, the barges being from 45 to 50 tons each.63 On 2 1
December 1808, Captain Hayter was instructed to provide accom
modation for the one conductor and ten drivers which Mr Willan
the contractor, had secured for the service of the boring mill.G4 Tw~
days later he was told to erect a new shed near the proof-butts for
the R.A. detachment which carried out proof.65
Finally, an estimate dated 26 December 1808 for the sum of
£r,674. gs. 7d. was prepared for the construction of a tank at the
new wharf to receive the main flow from the barracks and east side
of the Arsenal; so constructed as to serve as a backwater to cleanse
the proposed recess or open dock in the new wharf.66 This tank was
ordered to be built on 25 January 1809.67
The question of further steam-driven machinery in the Royal Carriage Department now came under reviev. . While the other factories were content to jog along with their antiquated methods the Carriage Department was determined to forge ahead. This tim~ the choice fell on Mr Henry Maudsley. Henry i,1Iaudsley was one of the notable sons of Woolwich who brought honour to the ancient borough. The family hailed from Lancashire. His father, William Maudsley, was a native of Bolton and being a sergeant wheelwright in the Royal Artillery, was, after being wounded, sent to the headquarters of this regiment at Woolwich where he was soon afterwards discharged from the service. He married at Woolwich Church in July 1763 Margaret Laundy, and had by her seven children of whom Henry was the fifth. Henry was born on 22 August 177 I in a
house which stood in the court at the back of the Salutation Inn the entrance to which was nearly opposite the Arsenal gates. Th~ boy was soon put to work and at twelve years of age was employed in the Warren in making and filling cartridges. After two years he was moved to the carpenters' shop and thence to the smithy.
81 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,341.
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,605, p. 3,381.
13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,400.
84 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,438.
15 Exn;acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,461, 23 December 1808.
H Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756.
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /4 7 /2,606, p. 239.
564
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
He showed remarkable ability as a smith and a worker in iron. His manual skill gave him a considerable reputation and his fame spread to London where he was considered to be one of the most dexterous hands in the trade. He thus came under the notice of Bramah the locksmith and engineer who because of young Henry's acumen and skill, offered him a job in his ~orks. Eventually he rose to the position of manager of Bramah's works, but as his wages were only 30s. a week he determined to leave his employment and strike out on his own. He opened a small shop in Wells Street, Oxford Street, and success soon followed. His inventions were many, the 'slide-rest' being one of the best known. In 181 o he moved from Oxford Street to Lambeth Marsh where he built his factory which lasted for wellnigh a century. Henry Maudsley, the founder ofthe firm ofengineers which bore his name died from the effects of a cold on 14 February
'
1831. He was buried in Woolwich Churchyard.68
Captain Hayter had received instructions _to vi~it the w~~k_sho:ps of Henry Maudsley with a view to assessmg his capabiht.J.es m supplying the required machinery. On 25 January 1_809, the_ C.R.E. reported that he had inspected the 'manufactory' m quest10n and that Mr Henry Maudsley would be capable of making the required steam engine and machinery for the Royal Carriage Department .as follows:
A patent portable steam engine of 6 H.P. with boiler, steam} £ 500 pipe and other accessories complete, to be erected in the R.C.D.
A second boiler for the present engine, similar to the first, so } £ioo
as to be capable of working either engine.
Two 4 feet drums, g inches wide with straps et~. for con }
necting the engine with the shaft, and a tighterung drum, £45
lever and carriage for the same.
Delivery complete in 3 months.
The Board ordered the engine to be made by Mr Maudsley.69
In this connection Captain Hayter stated that it woul~ be necessary to make some alterations in one of the R.C.D. shops m order to sink a well and lay the foundation for the engine. The work would cost £260. Captain Hayter on 27 January 1809 was ordered to carry out this work and submit a deta1·1ed est·1mate. 70
On 24 February 1809, Mr Bramah reported that he had repaired his steam engine in the R.C.D. "A piece of strong copper for the boiler ofthe steam engi~e, ~eight ~ 6 lb. and repairing the same. Repairing injection pump, takmg it to pieces, grinding valves, adjusting safety valve, cleaning etc."
The Board asked him to forward his bill.71 68 Industrial biography by Samuel Smiles deals inter alia with the life of Henry Maudsley.
69
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,6o6, P· 238·
70
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6o6, P· 26o. 71 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6o6, P· 548.
565
After ploughing and dunging the land recently purchased from Mr Pattison, Mr Samuel Harden recommended on 24 February 1809, that he should sow the 8 acre field in question with barley and grass seed at £3. 15s. od. an acre. He observed that he could make no firm offer for the first crop as the fences were in such a bad condition, but he would suggest a fair price. The Board agreed and ordered Captain Hayter to repair the fences as a precaution against damage by cattle. 72 On 15 March 1809, Mr Lloyd offered to repair the steam engine at the new wharffor £48.73 This offer was accepted and on 7 March 18ro it was agreed that the work should be carried out and the engine moved to another site by Messrs Lloyd and Ostell.74 On 20 March 1809 Captain Hayter reported that Mr Noble and Mr Samuel Harden had offered to surrender the land in their possession for the good of the Ordnance service. The farmer's gesture was accepted and Mr Noble was offered £100 for his holding which was required for extending the Royal Military Repository. Regarding Mr Harden's land, however, it was decided to ask LieutenantGeneral Morse his opinion as to whether it was really required. 75 It was reported on 15 May 1809 that Mr Noble would not take less than £200 for his interest in the plot lately purchased from Lady Wilson for extending 'the exercising ground'. Captain Hayter stated that the land in the occupation of Samuel Harden could be resumed on paying him £5 p.a. an acre for the unexpired portion of the lease which would amount to £200. The question as to whether possession should be taken was referred to the Master-General.76 T h e MasterGeneral decided that if Mr Harden's ground were reoccupied after the present harvest it might answer the purpose for which it was
originally obtained.77
Lieutenant-General Anthony Farrington, Commandant of the Field Train, who was ipso facto Chairman of the Ordnance Select Co~~ttee, pr~posed on 24 ~-a~ 1809 that a space might be partitioned off m the store adJommg the Select Committee room and be fitted up as a model room for housing the exhibits which came before the Committee from time to time. He also requested that a large parallel rule, a case ofmathematical instruments Indian ink, articles for grinding the same and hair pencils might be ~upplied for the use of members, stressing the point that the instrument case ~hould be marke? 'Select Committee'. The Board acquiesced and mstructed Captam Hayter to provide the accommodation obtain the instruments and hand the latter over to Mr Commissary Gibson.1s
;: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,606, p. 551. _ Extracts ofM!nutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o7, p. 751. ;. 4 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,614, p. 689.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Se~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o7, p. 816. 71 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,6o8, p. 1,484. 77 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,608, p. 1,599, 24 May 1809.78 Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,608, p. 1,586.
566
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
It was agreed on 30 June 1809 that the house in the Royal Arsenal, lately occupied by Colonel John Harding, R.~., who died on 18 June 1809, should be allotted to the Royal Carnage Department and allocated as the residence of the Inspector of that department with the proviso that if Colonel Cuppage preferred to remain in his house on Shooters Hill, the quarter could be inhabited temporarily by the Assistant Inspector, Major Frederic Griffiths.,
R.A. The house which Major Griffiths would vacate was to be allotted to the clerk of the cheque, Joseph Cheetham.79 In these circumstances the house naturally required some repair and on I November 1809 Captain Hayter submitted the necessa~y estimate for £42. 145. 6d. The repairs were ordered to be earned out on 13 November 1809.so At the same time, Joseph Cheetham's quarter in the Royal Arsenal was also repaired.81 •
Little of importance occurred during the remamder of 1809. There were no new building projects envisaged and the only items recorded were those of a minor character.
I 2 J uly 1809. Mr Phillips of Messrs Phillips and Hopwood to repair the pump in the foundry yard as soon as possible.s2
28 July 1809. Consequent upon new buildings in the Royal Arsenal! ~he weigh-bridge has become useless. It is to be moved to another position where it can be of use to the Royal Carriage Department.S3
3 1 J uly 1809. A shed to hold 30 chaldrons of coke for the use of the foundry to be built at an estimated cost of £45. 15s. 9½d,s4 • I 4 August 1809. The east end of the turners' shop to be continued to the boundary wall so that an extra space of 22 feet will be o?tained.~5 25 August 1809. A blast furnace for constructing patterns of iron castings is authorized for the Royal Carriage Department.SS . 8 September 1809. A building for drying blocks for fuzes to be erected m the Royal Laboratory.s7 •
25 September 1809. The weather-boarded building between the tmmen's shop and the paper stores and lead room in the Royal Laboratory to be pulled down as it constituted a serious fire risk.SS
9 October 1809. Messrs Phillips and Hopwood, engine makers, to supply two 6 inch brass barrelled lead pumps 4 inch bore and I o feet long for
' · ' 89
the purpose of emptying the wells when the latter reqmre repair. I I October 1809. The building for seasoning beechwood for fuzes proposed for the Royal Laboratory is estimated to cost £394. os. 3d.90 (See Note 87) ·
79 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,608, P· 1,986. 80 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,611, P· 3,294.
81
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,611, P· 3,4°4, 17 July iSog.
82
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,609, P· 2,13°· 83 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,609, P· 2,285. 8'I Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,609, P· 2,315· 85 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,609, P· 2,469. 86 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,609, P· 2,564. 87 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 2,7o2. 88 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 2,9o5. 89 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 3,o59. 90 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, P· 3,088.
567
ADOLESCENCE
11 October 1809. Mr Penn's cottage on the marshes is to be removed.or
Two more cases of compensation occurred this year. Both are laconically reported.
20 October 1809. William Goosey paid £24 for the loss of his cow killed by a cannon ball fired in the Ro~al Arsenal on 26 May i8og.02 4 December 1809. Mr West paid £26. 5s. od. for the loss of his co killed by a cannon ball fired from the Royal Arsenal. oa w
The artificers and labourers employed in the Royal Laboratory for~1~rded a petition /o the B_o~rd on ~ 3 September r809. In this pennon they stated: The peht10ners will be great sufferers by the re~ulations of 4 August 1809 for the division of_the 7 days pay when losmg any part of the 6 days; for should an artificer lose one day · the week he will be clzecqued 4-S· 8d. and a labourer 2 s 8d whe in
. . . ., reas when the Service requires the extra labour of the petitioners th are paid only on the wages of 3s. 6d. p.d. for the former and ;s eJ
O
p.d. for the latter, by which the disadvantages are all on the sid f the petitioners.' They therefore requested that 'the regulatio: ~f the ~ay may be 4-J. 6d. a day for the first class of men, and so in rotat10n for 6 d~ays, anhd at t~e same time they may be checqued correct y 1 a~cor mg_ to t e por~1?n of the time they may lose'. The Board having studied the petition stated that it was found d
. . h d . e on
error as the pet1t1oners a conceived the 7 days pay for 6 da k
. h . d f . d ys wor
to be a ng t mstea o an m ulgence. Since the Board considered that the 7 days pay acted as an inducement for the me t b
. d . d . h 6d n ° e
m ustnous urmg t e ays, the regulations were to rem · Th
d f a1n. e
1 .
checking comp ame o was based on the general rule of th ·
d h e service,
an t e men had the me_ans of abolishing the hardship by unctual attendance at the fixed time of call.04 p
. The main constructional works carried out in the Royal Arsenal m 1810 were:
The new wharf, No. 3 stor_ehouse, the west quadrangle of the Grand Storehouses to house gun carnages, the north and east storehouses for the Royal Laborat~ry, workshops and offices for the Department of the Inspector of Artillery, a new coal-yard alterations to the eh 1 d h
h 1 · , h • ' ape an t e
c ap am s ousc, m the Plumstead Road, which are treated in a later chapter~ and the house for the storekeeper by the second Gate.95 In this connect10n, there was an undated estimate for sundry works p d
h · ropose at
t e_ gun carnage sheds and storehouses amounting to £7 206 8d
12
This was referred to as a saving in a letter from the Board da~ed ; As. ·
r8ro.96 7 ugust
:: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser\es II, PRO/W0/47;2,610, p. s,og1. ta Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47;2,610, • , 18 . H Extracts ofM~nutes, Se~es II, PRO/W0/47;2,611, t. t6i
Exn:acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,610, p. 2,755.
16 Eng!neer Papers, PROfW0/55;756. 11 Engineer Papers, PROfWO/s5/756.
568
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
The works estimate for 1810 was £162,007. 14-J. 8d.97
On 24 February 1810, John Piper and George Fife, clerks in the R.L., were paid £20 p.a. in lieu of house rent, coals and candles under the Board's order dated 27 February r8og.98
Captain Hayter after his years ofgood service as C.R.E. Woolwich District, now got into serious trouble. The extent of his peccadilloes was not disclosed, but his misdemeanour was considered sufficiently grave to warrant a court-martial. He was replaced by Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington, R.E., as C.R.E. Woolwich Division on 7 March 1810,99 and on 14 March he was informed that he was no longer to be Inspector ofBuilding Materials and Tools. It was arranged that the inspection of building materials would for the present be carried out under the superintendence of the Officers, Royal Engineers, and the Respective Officers, while that of the tools and ironmongery would be under the Receiving Clerks at the Tower, assisted by a party from the Corps of Royal Military Artificers from Woolwich.100 On 3 May 1810, Thomas Weaver, clerk of works, Woolwich was ordered to attend the court-martial on Captain Hayter at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on 4 May 1810, and bring with him the monthly
pay lists of the Engineer Department for June, July, August, September, October, November and December 1809.101 Two days later,
i.e. on 5 May, the two Lunns, father and son, Mr Giles and Mr Peake of the Engineer Department were instructed to present themselves at the Royal Hospital to appear as witnesses in Captain H ayter's defence.102 Whether the late C.R.E. Woolwich was found 'guilty' or 'not guilty' does not transpire, but the finding was probably the latter for by the following October Captain Hayter had become Inspector of Building Materials at the Tower. In any case he disappeared from the annals of the Royal Arsenal, and is of no further account in this story.
On I 6 March 181 o, maps were ordered to be supplied for the use of the Ordnance Select Committee.103 On 28 March 1810, the house allotted to the clerk of the survey was ordered to be repaired at a cost of £96. gs. 8¾d.I04
The increase ofwork which the war brought in its train is reflected in the additional hours worked and the new plant required to cope with the extra output. On 27 April 1810, it was agreed that R.L.
07 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/756. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/
2616, p. 2,496. 98 Extractsof Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6 r3, p. 531. 99 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 691.
100 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,614, p. 772. 101 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 1,425.102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 1,455.103 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,614, p. 797. 104 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 960. 105 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO /47/2,614, p. 1,337.
H 569
employees should work overtime during the summer months.105 Sheds were now required for housing carriages during painting or awaiting embarkation, and on 1June 1810 it was suggested that they should be built in front of Bason Square on the site called 'The Mounting Ground'.106 Four sheds were also wanted for the Royal Carriage Department for which an estim_at~ was submitted on r o August 8
1 1 0
for £4,730. ros. 8d., but as this item had not been included in the current Annual Estimate the erection of only one shed was authorized, the remainder having to be postponed till the following year.101 Authority ,-vas given on 31 August I 8 IO for four lead lined cisterns fi_tted with ?rass _cocks each containing one division, thus making eight contamers m all. Each compartment was designed to hold 600 gallons of oil, i.e. a total 4,800 gallons.108 The Comptroller R.L., advocated four additional coppers on 26 October t~
1s1O
increase the output of cured pape~ cartridges for cannon, but the Board were not wholly co-operative. They authorized two onl which they said were to be installed at once.109 The new storehous~ which had been erected for the Royal Laboratory had gates er t d
for its enclosure on 17 December 18ro.110 ec e Another unfortunate loss of cattle occurred as a result of lo
. . h R I Ar 1 Th" · ng gun
practice m t e oya sena . 1s time the sufferer was William Johnson of Plumstead who, on 18 May 1810, received compensation for the death of two cows. 111 _It seems strange that this senseless slaughter was allowed ~o contmue unchecked. Not only must the expense have been considerable to the Board, but one would h thought that the owners of grazing rights would have tak ave
. p b bl h . . .en somef
sort o action. ro a y t ese killings were looked upon A t if God, and as such 'the Lord's will was done' provided thas.c. c s 0
. , e !armers
received adequate recompense. Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd, who as Commanda t W I
. h "bl .c. n ' oo
w1c , was respons1 e 1or the security of the Royal Arsen 1 .c. It c:
fj · fi d h" · a , le lar
rom sat1s e at ~ 1s Juncture, and he submitted a report upon the lack of such security to the Board. He stated that the eastern boundary, closed by the moat, was most vulnerable the moat ·
. , 1n many
1 b
p aces emg so narrow as to be useless as a barrier 100 Th t
. • ewes ern extremity of the Arsenal :1ear Warren Lane was also easily accessible from the to_wn of Woolw1ch and at low water evilly disposed persons could pass m and out along the hard foreshore. He stressed that th· ease ~f entry led, or was inclined to lead, to pilfering. The Boar~: duly impressed, forwarded the report to the Inspector General of
::; Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PROfW0/47/2,6rs, p. r,ns. Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PROfW0/47/2,6r6, p. 2,672.
108
Extracts ofM~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,6r6, p. 2,927.
109
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,617, p. 3,
110 7o6. Extracts ofM!nutes, Se~es II, PROfW0/47/2,6r8, p. 4,358.
111
Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/W0/47/2,6rs, p. r,sgg.
570
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Fortifications and Works so as to receive his opinion on the best methods of achieving better protection.112 As a short-time measure the wooden lobby at the end of the old Sea storehouse on the western edge of the domain was ordered to be removed.113 The problem, however, was more complicated than that and the authorities realized that a longer term plan was needed if unauthorized persons were to be kept out of the Arsenal. As a result of close study, the canal scheme was evolved which would not only secure privacy but expedite transport. The first mention of this waterway was in Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington's letter to Lieutenant-General Morse on 3 July 18rn, in which he enclosed an estimate for £1,338. 6s. 8d.,
the details of which were as follows:
To excavating, removing, dressing, puddling and
forming a ditch 10 feet deep and 45 feet wide; also
establishing with earth an embankment I I feet high
and 12 feet wide at the top with proper slopes.
32,000 cubic yards at 8d. per cu. yd. To excavating and removing 6,000 yards at 6d. £1,066. 13s. ¥•
per yard £150. OS. od.
£1,216. I 3s. 4d.
Contingencies 1 / 1 oth £121. 13s. 4d.
Total: £1,330. 6s. 8d.
The canal was to serve, first, as a deterrent to illegal entry on the eastern side of the Royal Arsenal, and, secondly, as a means ofcheap and quick transportation for stores. It was to be dug in conjunction with an embankment 1 ,ooo yards long, where it would meet higher ground, to keep out the tide at high water.114 This proposal of Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington, which also included an iron clzevaux de
frise stockade on the outer bank for additional security, was forwarded to the :Master-General on 22 April 1811.115 On 5 May 18II, the Board sent a letter authorizing the C.R.E. Woolwich Division to proceed with the preliminaries of this boundary canal,116 a letter followed on 15 May 181 1 by the Master-General's official approval after the project had been agreed to by the Commissioners of Sewers.117 The Board then proceeded to call for a more detailed estimate so that the work could be put out to tender.
Among the firms who tendered were Messrs Brough and McIntosh. Their proposals for cutting the projected canal as an eastern boundary to the Royal Arsenal and also for performing part of the work necessary to establish a new practice butt in the Plumstead marshes,
112 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 1,779, 1June 1810. 113 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 2,066, 25June 1810. 114 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/756. 115 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,490. 116 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/757. 117 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,791.
571
were accepted by the Board in a letter dated 29 May 1812.118 The specification and terms proposed by William Brough and Hugh McIntosh were dated 1 1 May r 8 r 2. Their proposed prices were as follows:
I. Cutting and removing the earth out of the line of the canal and forming the proposed embankment at 7d. per cubic yard.
II. Removing any earth not deeper than the canal bottom such as may be required in order to form a puddle wall at 5d. per cubic yard.
III. Puddling at 6d. per cubic yard.
IV.
Dressing and trimming the embankment to an even surface where necessary to receive a coating ofsoil at 2s. per rod.
V.
Digging earth and filling the same into carts to form the butt at 4d. per cubic yard.119
The sum of £6,014. 17s. 6! d. for a lock at the entrance to the canal was taken up in the Works Estimates for 1812 (PRO/W0/ 8/
4
r26), and the work of const:uction c~mmenced in r8 r2 . In 1814, however, £600. 4S. 8d. was mcluded m the Annual Estimate for a branch to run alongside the timber yard. The use of such an additional arm was obvious; it would allow timber in vessels to be carried up to, and off-loaded at, the yard itself which was adjacent to the saw-mill. It would therefore be highly beneficial and laboursaving.120 The main canal was completed by 1814 and the branch together with the extension of the lock-wings was finished during 1816 at a cost of £7,082. r8s. I rd. The coffer-dam in front of the lock entrance was also under construction at the same tim e. This allowed an extension of 75 feet to each wing without any additional coffer-dam. The entrance was so arranged that extra wharfi.ng could be added if required. Convicts as usual were employed on this enterprise.121 According to a return forwarded by the C.R.E. on 24 March 1817, the complete canal and lock cost £15,000· £
2 500
for the canal including the £600. 4J. 8d. for the branch a'rm, 'and £12,500 for the lock and extending wings. Incidentally in the same return Lieut-Colonel Pilkington stated that the new wharf had
saved £20,000 a year since 1809.122
On 5 June r8ro, Mr Whitehurst was instructed to supply one of his own time-pieces for trial by the Royal Laboratory.123 A return dated 24 June r8ro rendered by the Respective Officers of the c~ndles co~sumed in the Royal Arsenal for the year r809-1810 gives some idea of the paucity of artificial light in which employees both clerical and industrial, had to work. The annual consumptio~
118 Exti:acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,650.
119 Engineer ~apers, PRO/WO/ss/7S?• ~:: Works Est~mates, 1814, PRO/W0/49/131.
Wo~ks Estimates, 1815, PRO/W0/4g/134. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/7S?•123 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,615, p. 1,8IO.
572
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING N APOLEONIC TIMES
of candles of various sizes for the year in question was 220 dozen.124 Admitting that few must have been burnt during the summer months, it may be assumed that each point of illumination accounted on an average for 8 candles a year. This would give a total candle power of 330, a figure which seems almost incredible by m?dcrn s_t~ndards. There was of course a certain number of lamps m add1t1on, but these were mainly in use outside premises. On the other hand, the charge for emptying privies seems high. The bill for this essential sanitary service between 1 January and 30 June 1810 amounted to £355. as. gd.,125 a rate running into £700 p.a. . .
On 5 October, Major-General Cuppage submitted a_ list of comparative prices for certain stores made in the Royal Carnage Department and by the trade, recommending that the department should manufacture them in future and that the contracts for them should be terminated. The Board agreed.126
The details were as follows:
Store Contract price R.C.D. price
Bail hoops, average for dozen 18s. 8d. I4f. od. Double hand barrows 28s. gd. 23s. 8d. Single hand barrows gs. 4d. 7s. 6d. Park pickets, shod 5s. gd. 3s. rod. (with
cast iron) Park pickets, unshod 3s. 6d. 2S. 8d.
Handspikes 3s. 3d. 2s. rod. H andlevers, unshod 3s. od. 2s. 8d. Spunge staves, average
per foot run 3d. 2{d. R ammerheads { Value not kno~•vn, b1;1t g~eat advantage will accrue Tampions from the materials bemg little more than scrap.
There was a list of statistical information prepared in 1810, running to four or five pages, which gave, among _other items, rentals rates and taxes on Ordnance houses in Woolwich, the poor rate a~d the amount of land tax payable on Ord~ance l~nds in t~e vicinity. The following lists are extracted as bemg of mterest m connection with this history.127
A list of houses with their rentals upon which assessments are to be made In the Royal Arsenal
Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd, } £ o
4
Commandant, Woolwich Lieutenant-General Robert Douglas, } £go Commandant, Corps of R.A. Drivers m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,616, P· 2,444. 125 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,616, P· 2,8o8.
126
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfW0/47/2,617, P· 3,413· 127 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,617, P· 3,438, 8 October I8Io,
573
ADOLESCENCE
Major-General Robert Rochfort Chief Firemaster } £26 Lieut.-Colonel William Mudge Lieut.-Governor R.M.A. } £40 Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Phipps, R.E. Inspector R.M.A. } £35 Colonel Bailey Wellington Assistant Director-General of the Field Train } £30 Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington
C.R.E. Woolwich Division } £25 Major Frederic Griffiths Assistant Inspector R.C.D. } £30
Mrs Robe, wife of Lieut. William Robe, Proofinaster
} £25 Major Edward Vaughan Worsley
£25 Major Charles Bingham Assistant Firemaster } £25 Mr John Geast Storekeeper } £ 30 Mr Joseph Cheetham Clerk of the Cheque ) £25 MrJohn Guest Clerk } £ ro William Roche Principal Porter at the Arsenal Gate } £5 Total:
£ 401
Property tax on houses in the Royal Arsenal
£r-1-cr Parochial tax on houses in the Royal Arsenal
£ ,pr
Ordnance houses in Plumstead
Captain William Hall Assistant Inspector R.M.A. £ 10
Captain James Gomm
£10 Lieut. George Foot
£10 Lieut. Samuel Wyatt Mr Hamilton Sergeant Footman Evans Marshall Clerk of the Survey
Total
It was decided on 8 October 1810 to erect a fence round th I d recentl~ purchased from Lady Wilson. Samuel Harden wh: ~:d rented 1t was allowed a reasonable time to remove his crop of
574
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
turnips.128 It was agreed on 16 November 1810 that the south lodge in the lower R.L. yard should be handed over by the Engineer Department to the Royal Laboratory for the accommodation of watchmen. A porter was to be stationed at the new entrance into the lower yard to superintend the men and boys employed in the manufacture ofsmall arm ammunition.129 The last entry of the year was to the effect that the house of Mr Joseph Cheetham, clerk of the cheque, was to be repaired at a cost of £318. 10s. 6½d. This seems an excessive amount in those days for repairs, so perhaps alterations or extensions were included in the estimate.130
There are two returns of convict labour employed in the Royal Arsenal for the years 181o and 181 1. The convicts were used as labourers, artificers and pile-drivers. There were 328 convicts employed in 18IO and the value of their labour for one day was £44. rs. 2d., i.e. a total of £13,790. 5s. 2d. for the year. By 1811, the number had increased to 441, whose daily combined work was valued at £54. 18s. 6d. or £17,191. ms. 6d. for the year.131 The Works Estimate for 18II was £814,854. 10s. i¼d. which shows a decided drop over that of the previous year.132
The C.R.E. was ordered on 1 February 181 I to erect partitions in the storehouses as required,133 and on 25 February 181 I the Board authorized the rebuilding ofthe cast iron foundry in the Royal Carriage Department at an estimated cost of £603. 18s. g¼d.134 A letter from the Board dated 25 March 18I I gave permission to the storekeeper to have venetian blinds fitted to the four front windows of his new house. These windows faced south and this was no doubt the reason for the Board's decision. Careful of their funds, however, they would only allow canvas blinds in the rest of the house. A Marriott patentjack was also installed in place ofa smokejack which had become unserviceable.135
War demands for cartridges ever rising, two more coppers for curing paper required for this purpose were installed in the Royal Laboratory on 10 April 181 r.136 About this time further land was about to be bought from Mr John Warde. As the purchase had not been completed by 26 April 18II, it was agreed that he should be paid a rental of £200.137
128 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,617, P· 3,447• 120 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,618, P· 3,974· 130 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,618, P· 4,o21. 131 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/757.132 Works Estimates, PRO/WO/49/124.138 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,620, P· 496.
131 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 781. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/757. .
135 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,620, P· 1,109. Engineer Papers,
PRO/WO/55/757.136 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, P· I,314· 137 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,621, P· 1,531.
575
In this year the habit apparently started of engaging certain ~raftsmen _or firms on contract to effect specified building requisites m Woolwich. These. men worked und_er the aegis of the Engineer Department and their contracts sometimes ran for as long as three years. During 1811 the following were appointed:
2 4 May 1811 Benjamin Kent : Glazier's workl3B 28 June 1811 Cornelius Brand : Painting workl39 3 July 1811 Messrs Gunner and Randall : Plumbing workl40
The question ofimproving and completing the road leading from Charlton to the Royal Arsenal now came to the fore. It was becoming essential for this work to be carried out and the Office of Ordnance had to pay for it. It was calculated that the road and fences could be completed for £1,678 and that the annual cost of maintenance, for which the Board were to be responsible for two yea would be £262. IOs. od. Mr Percival, the owner of one of t~s, houses which had to be bought in order to construct the roade demanded £400 ~f the purchase mo~ey in advance. This shook th; Board and they instructed Mr Smith, their assistant solicito t0enquire from Mr Martyr, Clerk to the Trustees of the e, , ~'
. . h " ross
Turnpik·e Roads and so1icitor tot e Trustees of the road in que ti whether or not the Office of Ordnance had a liability under asgr~:~ ment t? make the advance requested. The Board also ordered Mr Smith to collect fr?m Mr_Martyr the sum beyond the £ demanded by Mr Percival which would be necessary to I400
h . cO mp ete
the pure ase alluded to m the latter's letter.141 On July 8
24 11 1 the Board agreed that the road between Charlton and the Royal Arsenal should be constructed by contract and that th
· h. . e n ecessary
houses m t is connect10n should be purchased 142 Mr· M tyr •
' . ar ' in
rep y I to the Boards reference of 2 March 1812 relative t M.
1
Eattell's land which was required for the Charlt~n-Ars 1° d
d · h. 1 ena roa
state m is etter of 14 April 1812 that he had agreed to accept th~ sum of £150 for that portion of Mr Eattell's ground which was needed. He also observed that pursuant to the arrangement approved by the Board on 13 November 181 r an agreement had in add't•
b I d d . h M . ' i ion,
een co_nc u e w1t r Pnest for his land, the value of which amo~ntmg to £478. 12s. gd. had been fixed by two market gardeners' In his letter, Mr Martyr signified that the Committee of th · Trustees had c?~t~acted for the requisite quantity of railing to fenc~ off the land adJommg the road and for posts to protect the footpaths.
THE ROYAL ARSE TA L DURING NAPOLEO IC TIMES
The price for the former would be 400 rods at gs. 6d. per rod, the figure agreed to, amounting to £190, and the latter would mean 200 posts at 10s. per post, a total of £100. He therefore requested that an imprest might be granted for the total amount as under:
Mr Eattell's ground Mr Priest's ground Railing Posts £150 £478. £190 £100 I 2S. 9d.
Total: £918. 12S. 9d.
The Board ordered an imprest for this amount.143 On 21 August I 8r 2, MrJ. Martyr stated that Lady Wilson had made an application for the payment of the money due to her for her land laid into the new Turnpike Road from Charlton to Woolwich which consisted of I acre, 2 roods and 19 perches. At the price agreed, namely £250 per acre, this amounted to £404. I 3s. od. At the same time he asked for that sum together with £700 required for completing the contract and keeping the road in repair for two years; in all £2,000. Imprests were granted to Mr Henderson, the paymaster, for £404. 13s. od. on Lady Wilson's account and for £600 to enable him to pay l\fr Martyr the remainder of the sum agreed for making and maintaining the road, the balance of £r,400 having already been advanced on that account.144
Certain experimental work, in addition to production, was _being carried out in the Woolwich workshops. On 10 July 1811, it was agreed that a 32 pdr carronade carriage designed by _Mr John Bennett of Plymouth, a model of which had been exammed by a Committee of Colonels and Field Officers, should be constructed in the Royal Carriage Department for trial.145 Again on 27 November 1811, a store carriage to the design of Captain Lawson was ord~red to be made for experimental purposes in the Royal Carnage D epartment.146
Alterations in Royal Laboratory workshops costing £639. gs. 1¼d. were approved on 21 August 1811,147 and on 1 November 1811, the
C.R.E. was authorized to construct a shed in the Upper Laboratory Square for painting boxes for Sea Service grape and case shot.I4s
The buildings in the Royal Arsenal, like others of their kind, were over-run by rats, or rather, they would have been had steps not
143 Extracls of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,228, 17 April 1812,
l4'1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,627.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,622, P· 2,527.
HG Extracts ofMinules, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,623, P· 4,321· .
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,622, p. 3,066. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
148 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,623, P· 4,017. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
577
ADOLESCENCE
been taken to try and eradicate the pests. Cats were on the establishment of the Royal Laboratory as early as I 782 when 1s. 6d. was allowed for their upkeep.149 There was also an official ratcatcher whose successor was still functioning in the twentieth century. The ratcatcher in 1811 was Driver Keeble and on 7 October of that year Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd represented that his allowance for destroying rats was inadequate owing to so many of his ferrets getting killed. The Boar~ agr~ed_to reimburse Driver Keeble for the loss of his ferrets and to give him m future Id. for each rat and 3d. for
each mole destroyed.150
The poor rates for Woolwich were £200 p.a. in 181 r.151
The convict hulk Retribution, an appropriate name, started to leak
very badly during 1811, so it was suggested that she should be laid
on shore. There was 'a spot of bother' connected with this vessel.
Michael Bailey, o~e of the _guards, acc~sed Captain Reid, Super
intendent of Convicts, of usmg the conVIcts to make him furniture
from materials brought on board from the Arsenal. They were stated
to have converted these into chests, bedsteads, etc., which were then
taken ashore and conveyed to Captain Reid's house. The sworn
statements were dated 26 December 1811 but the end of the story is
not recorded.152
A piece ofground roo yards long and 40 yards ·wide running from
the rookery to the river on the other side of the road before the east
front of the new storehouse was requested by the Co,nptroller R.L.
for the reception of empty shell. This request was granted by the
Board on 21 October r8r r.i53
The question of the proper establishment of a;:tificers (exclusive
of military artificers) and labourers in the Enginee1 Department at
Woolwich now came under review, and on 23 October 1811 the
Board directed that:
(a)
The persons mentioned in Lieut-General Mann's statementI54 of 16 September 1811 as working in the department could be considered as its establishment, subject to the appellation messenger which was to be discontinued and to the increase of two office keepers to three.
(b)
Clerks of the Works, clerks and others were to be continued in employment in the department, subject to the abolition of the titles of the clerks who were in future to be styled Clerks in the Engineer Department.
(c)
Foremen who worked extra hours were not to receive additional pay.
149 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PR0/W0/51/312, p. 172.
160 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,623, p. 3,678.
151 Exti:acts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,623, p. 3,908.
151 Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/757.
m Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/757.
iu Lieut-General Mann had succeeded Lieut-General Morse as Inspector of Fortifications and Works on 24 July 1811 .
578
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
(d) The substance of the report was to be communicated to LieutenantGeneral Mann.155
On 16 December 1811 the Board agreed to rent 3½ acres of land at £ 2 1 p.a. for 7 years f;om Mr N. M. Pattison for the purpose of digging loam. The loam was to be paid for at 6s. the load. Mr Pattison was asked to forward a draft lease for perusal and approbation.156
The chronicle for the year closes with the melancholy fact that during the preceding twelve months many e~ployees w_ere_ f?und to have been in illegal possession of ball cartridges. The mdiVIdual cases of thefts of this character are too numerous to record. Presum
ably lead was the lure. Ordnance Book No. 346 (Woolwich 1811-W.O. Records, Stanmore), throws a further side-light on th~ Royal Ars~nal for the year in question. The houses therein ar~ li~t:d by appomtment holders and not as quarters occupied by mdiv1dual officers. The following were in residence: (Major-General Robert Rochfort)
The Chief Firemaster (Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Phipps R.E.)
The Inspector of the R.M.A. The omrnandant, Corps of (Lieut.-General Robert Douglas)
R.A. Drivers (Major Charles Bingham R.A.)
The Assistant Firemaster
The O ffice Commanding (Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington R.E.) R oyal Engineers
The Lieutenant-Governor (Lieut.-Colonel William Mudge R.A.) of the I .M.A. (Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd)
The Commandant
The Assistant Director(Major-General Bailey Wellington) General of the Field Train The Assistant Inspector Royal (Major Frederic Griffiths R.A.) Carriage Department Three Field Officers' houses. The Clerk of the Survey (Evans Marshall) The Storekeeper (John Geast) th
On the south side of the Plumstead Road lived the clerk of e cheque (Joseph Cheetham) and the chaplain. ksh There were no additions worth recording among the wo_r ops and factories except in the storekeeper's department which had been renamed the Respective Officers' department. Then, of course, certain blocks of the Grand Storehouses had already been erecte~. st th
These have been listed in Chapter 13. As already ate~, eir erection entailed the demolition of the East Laboratory which had
156 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,623, P· 3,9o8. 166 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,623, P· 4,524·
579
been built in 1776, the removal of a coal-yard and the filling in of a pond, besides the sacrifice of the storekeeper's orchard and the chief firemaster's garden.
Two high-lights illume the year 1812; the Clarence canal scheme and the acquisition by the Board of Ordnance of the manorial rights over land in the parishes of Woolwich and Eltham.
The proposal to cut a waterway, to be called the Royal Clarence Canal, for the use of warships and merchant vessels between Woolwich (Gallions) and Erith was first mooted in this year. Its object was to by-pass the bend in the river wh~ch occurs _between these two points; to afford a safe anchorage for ships on their way to or from the port of London; and to save mon~y and expense. The canal was to be
4
miles in length and to contam at each end a basin 'for the accommodation of such outward bound ships as may have occasion to wait on their voyage where they may _lie at all times in perfect security'. The basin at the western extrermty was to be formed in the Royal Arsenal. The canal, in addition, was to have a tow-path along its bank, docks and passing ~laces. The project was under the good-will of the Lords of the Adrmralty who welcomed the notion and were willing that the scheme should be launched. It was estimated to cost £300,000. It was proposed to raise the money in shares of £roo each by a Joint Stock Company bearing interest at 5%-All profits not exceeding 10% were to be divided among the shareholders in proportion to their shares. It was intended to raise the revenue by a tonnage. toll. This was expected to produce Di6,ooo annually together with £6,000 as dues from outward bound ships waiting in the docks. Thus the annual income was hoped to be £ 32 ooo. Popular opinion asserted that the saving to Government and'ship owners would be enormous. All the papers and plans connected with this enterprise are to be found in the Public Record Office.1s1 A bill to lay before Parliament was actually printed in 18 r 3 and the full
reports are dated 1814. The Royal Arsenal, of course, was intimately concerned since one of the basins was to be within its boundaries. For this reason it was studied by the Board of Ordnance with deep interest, being referred to the_ C_olonels' _and Field Officers' Committees.158 The plan never maten~lized. If 1t had,_ the future of the Royal Arsenal might have been different. In the light of future events it was lucky that money and labour were not wasted on its construction for the advent of stea.m would have rendered the whole undertaking obsolete. Smee we are at the moment discussing vessels, it would be as well at this point to give a return of the boats attached to the Engineer
157 PRO/W0/44/290.
151 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
580
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEO TIC TIMES
Department which was dated 13 April 1812.159 These were as follows:
(a)
Two ferry barges of 40 tons; capacity 40 horses. They each need 11 men for their handling, 8 men to row the two boats and 3 men in the barge.
(b)
One ferry barge, a punt of 12 tons; capacity 12 horses. It needs 7 men to work it, 4 men in a row boat and 3 men in the barge.
(c)
One horse boat, 6 tons; capacity 6 horses. It requires 5 men to handle it, 2 men in a row boat and 3 men in the horse boat itself.
(d)
Two 4-oared boats used in towing (a) and (b) above.
(
e) One 2-oared boat ,, ,, ,, (c) above.
(f)
One lug-boat-1 o tons with sail-used for the transport of men and stores.
(g)
One lug-boat-7 tons for rowing only-used for the transport of men and stores.
(h)
One small lug-boat with a sail used for the transport of men and stores.
(i)
Ten lio-hters and 6 barges of about 40 tons each.
(j)
Three ~kiffs to carry on the service of the ballast lighters and barges.
The persons employed with this fleet were:
One Superintendent at ,is. per day. Two Masters at 3s. per day each. Ten Bargemen at 2s. 3d. per day each. Sixteen Lightermen at 3s. per day each.
On r8 May 1812, Messrs Smith and Son were directed to prepare a bill for the Surveyor-General to allow for £rr,r86. 17s. od. to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests for the purchase of the M anorial Rights and Premises in Woolwich as described in a T reasury Warrant.160 The sequel is described in these words:
The Commissioners of the Woods and Forests having submitted a draft of the contract for vesting in the Board of Ordnance_ the lands and hereditaments therein described in the parishes of Woolw1ch and Eltham, it is ordered that it be returned as correct and that an imprest for the sum of £11,186. 17s. od. be granted to the Treasurer ~o make the payme~t as prescribed to the Bank of England upon due notice from the Comnussioners of Woods and Forests.161
In the Ordnance Estimates for the year I 8 I 3 occurs the following item:
For the purchase of 147 acres of land with the teneme°:ts_thereon in the neighbourhood ofWoolwich, transferred from the Comnuss1oners ofH.M. Woods Forests and Land Revenue to the Ordnance-£11,186. I 7s. od.
'
159 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757.
160 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,626, P· 1,526.
161 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,627, p. 2,695, 31 August 18 12.
581
The ~ottage in Ditchwater Lane,162 lately appropriated as a l:.'ield Officers quarter, was on 8 January 1812 handed ov tO M p ·
I d h · I k . er r nt
~1ar , t ~ semorf c ~r °J; th~ establishment of the storekeeper. The ommkan ant ? t 1e arnson and the Inspector of Ordnance arrac s were informed, and Mr Pritchard's house t 11
B . • ren a owance was discontmued.163 After Mr Pritchard's death in 18 J h G
· I k • 17, o n uest
the new seruor c er ' was placed m possession of the h 104 '
C . M b R N h . ouse.
aptai_n d~n ~ •.., avmg_s~ate~ o~ 25 March r8 12 that he had receive instmct10ns to exhibit his life-saving .·
. k d · b expeuments for
shipwrec e manners efore H.R.H. the Duke of yO k c
· Chi f k dfi th d r ' ommander
il~-h bel,lasfil·le d or_ hree ozen fu~esof different composition and three 1g t a s e wit stars for a 5-mch mortar with a 12 d and a 5-inch mortar complete with ammunition H P1 r ca~ronade
k h h I ld · e a so wished to
nowl to lw omd eds lTOUh Bapply ror the 200 quill tubes and I 2 port-fires ate y or .ere . e oard instructed the Com troll supply Captam Manby's wants.rn5 Captain Mar{b , e~ R.L._ to
apparatus was known as Manby's Slzot. It wa .· . Y sll h~e-saVIng
s ongma y invented about I 803, though many years were to pass ber. · .
r. . Th iore it was officially
approved 1or service. ere were two sizes the 6 d d
2
and both were fina~y approved on 25 August 1~ 6:~~ ;~e 4 pdr became obsolete, bemg superseded by Bo , , l"fi . ey soon
xer s i e-savmg r k t approved three years later.167 An improved fi Of l'fi . oc e based on Boxer's principle is still used by thorBm di ef-savmg rocket
. . h e oar o Trade
At th1s time t e Royal Laboratory was d d _ ·
·11 b or ere to make brass
washers,_ Im oxe~, etc. for the Royal Powder Mills . quence 1t was considered necessary to app . t '. and in conseassist the master founder R L wi"th thi"s om ka s0pecial foreman to
· · wor · n 8 A ·1 112 therefore,John Henderson was appointed t th." pn 8 ,
d 16s T d . 0 is new post at 4-S 6d
a ay. wo ays 1ater it was approved that the . ' . . . the Royal Laboratory should be taken do d pba1~ters store in
td d h wn an re mlt at a cost of £155· 4-l'· 7·2 • an t at the two spaces at the e d f Laboratory storehouse should be roofed . d ~ s o the East I Is. 6¼d.169 m an sated for £30 I.
On 15 May 1812 we are given a r f h . the bread and beer for convicts for r\:~p~u~ ~ e ~te~izefd cost of z6s. ud. spent on this sustenance th .b do a ota o £1,391.
6 d , e rea accounts for £'l
I s. I I ., and the beer for £66o.17o 31.
::: Known after ~852 as NighJingale Place. Extracts ofMmutes Series II PRO/WO/ 2 62
iu Extracts of Minutes' Series II' PRO/W 4 7 / , 5, P· 93· 185 Extracts of Minutes'. Series n' PRO/Wg//47//2,655, P· 214, 16January 1818. ~:: L. of C., para. 633, 57;29/4og. 4 7 2,625, p. 956.
m ~~i~cCts.,opfarMia: i,to47,S75/10I/367., 15 March 1865.
nu es, enes I PRO/WO/ / 6 6
m E~tracts of Minutes, Series ri, PRO WO47 2, 2 ' p. 1,116. ' 10 April 1812. Engineer Papers PRO/Wd/ /47/2,626, P· 1,143· Boards letter dated
110 Extracts of Minutes, Seri~ II PRO/J81757/. 6 6
' 47 2, 2 'p. 1,220.
582
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Before the establishment of the Metropolitan Police Force security at night was effected by a watch maintained by the parish o~Woolwich. On 18 May 1812, Mr Henderson, the paymaster, was directed to pay £100 towards the support of such a service and to inform Mr Moore, the vestry clerk, accordingly. This assistance was provided so that a trial could be made to ascertain whether the effect of a nightly watch would be beneficial to the Arsenal· the
. . '
position was to be reviewed in twelve months time. As the Navy maintained military guards at the Dockyard and Rope Yard, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty did not subscribe to this
undertaking.in On 1 o August 181 2 the Board issued an order increasing the pay offoremen, assistant foremen, artificers and labourers. This had been occasioned by a rise in the cost of living brought about by the continuation of the war. This did not go unchallenged for long. On 28 August 1812 the Respective Officers pointed out that foremen and assistant foremen of labourers would not benefit in proportion to labourers, since the addition proposed to their pay would make them liable to income tax, and they submitted that their pay should be increased by a further gd. to enable them to pay this tax. What a delicious thought! The Respective Officers also drew attention to the fact that the porter, the assistant porter and the water director did not come into the category of either foreman or labourer, that the porter at present received 3s. 6d. a day and the assistant porter 3s. a day for 7 days in the week and one day's pay for their attendance on alternate Sundays, and that the water director was paid 2s. 6d. a day for 7 days including Sundays. They recommended that 5s. per day should be granted to the porter,.µ. 6d. a day to the assistant porter and 4-S· od. daily to the water director for 6 days in the week including their attendance on Sundays. The Board, in reply, stated that the porter, assistant porter and water director would receive another 4d. a day under the regulations governing the increase to labourers, and that the porter and assistant porter would be entitled to half a day's pay when attending on Sundays. They wished to know the duties performed by the water director on the sabbath and what proportion those duties bore to a whole day's work. They quite rightly rejected the income tax plea and informed the Respective Officers that the pay of foremen and assistant foremen of labourers would be governed by the regulations
in force.172 Another case of compensation. On 10 June 1812, Mr Hudson received IO guineas for the loss of an ox on the East Ham Marshes
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,520. 172 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,627, P· 2,662.
583
ADOLESCENCE
owing to Colonel Congreve carrying out rocket trials in the neighbourhood.173
In a letter dated 12 August 1812, the Board authorized the removal of the steam engine used in carrying out work on the new wharf from its eastern to its western end. It was also arranged that the engine should be adapted to drive piles as well as keeping the cofferdam clear of water. The work was done by Messrs Lloyd and Ostell at a cost of £387.174
A good deal of repair work was carried out in the workshops this year. The floors in the R.C.D. shops had become badly infected with dry rot a~d new floors had to be. laid down at a cost of £ 2,052. 15s. g¾d,110 On roJune 1812, two cisterns were fitted in the painters' storeroom in the Royal Laboratory at a cost of £46. os. 3d.,110 and a Board's letter dated 2 October 1812 authorized the repair of workshops, storehouses etc. belonging to the R.L., to the value of £ 1,681. 4S· 6d. to which was added a further sum of £59. 1 Is. od. beyond the estimated cost.177
Only three small items remain to be chronicled.
1 June 1812. A wainscot press 6 feet 7 inches in length and 2 feet ro inches in height is ordered for the Ordnance Select Cornmitte Room.i;s e
18 December 1812: Messrs Alexander Donall and Son undertake the contract for plumbmg work at the Tower, Lewisham, v\ oolwich and Gravesend for three years, on the same terms as Messrs Gunner and
1•9
Randall. '
The Woolwich Works Estimates for 1812 were £83,423 . 6s. g!d.tso
ove~ thhe fi~st twelve years of the ~neteenth century the ordinary Woo1wic estimates, as contrasted with the extraordinary estimate remained fairly constant and an average figure for the separats~
departments may be stated as follows:
Royal Laboratory £3,000
R.L. wages
£20,000 Department of Inspector of Artillery
£2,000Royal Carriage Department £4,000Royal Military Repository £425 The Storekeeper's Department £2,000The Military Ferry
£Boo
:;: Exn:acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,785. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/551
757.
175 Works Estimates, 1812, PRO/W0/49/126. :;: Ext~acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,780. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/757. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/ /
2,628, p. 3,060. 47 :;: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,676. Extracts of M1_nutes, Sen~s II, PRO/WO/47 /2,628, p. 3,974. 180 Extracts of Mm~tes, ~enes II! PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,220. The figure given in PRO/W0/49/126 vanes a little. It 1s there stated to be £83,773. 15s. r rfd.
584
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
The above sums, except that for 'R.L. wages' were for salaries and were known as Ordinaries. The remaining items in the Estimates such as repairs, new buildings, purchase of land, etc. were class~d as Extraordinaries. For instance, the sum of £II,186. 17s. od. paid to the Commissioners of Wood and Forests for the Manorial rights of Woolwich and Eltham appears in the Estimates for 1813 under
Extraordinaries.
It might be of interest at this poin! to state that the Ordna~ce Annual Estimates for the undermentioned years, many of which particularly from 1700 onwards mention expenses at Woolwich, are
to be found as under:
1639, 1660-1678, 1661-1685, 1687-1691, 1687-1698, Public Record 1701-1715, 1705-1710, 1731-1739, 1729-1743, 1745, Office { 1749-1755.
(Special) Woolwich Estimates 1680-1682. \,Var Office { 1761, 1783-1814, 1821, 1825, 1827-1832, 1834, 1835, Library 1837-1839, 1841-1842, 1844-1855.
The estimates for Woolwich after this date when the War Department took over the duties of the Office of Ordnance are to be found in the Army Estimates which run in an unbroken series from 1856 to 1887. From 1888 onwards to the present day, except for the pe:iod of the two world wars, the O.F. Estimates give the reqmred
information. A study of these records, therefore, gives a very good idea of the gradual development of the Warren and Royal Arsenal. . Approval was given on 20 January 18 I 3 to co~truct a chenucal lecture room contiguous to the upper c~dets barracks. at an estimated cost of £ 2,855. ¥· s¾d.181 The Pemnsular War which had been in progress since 18o7 now began to 1?~ke deman~s on the factories at Woolwich. It was of course a subsidiary campaign to the general struggle in Europe but it needed munitions like any other theatre of war. On 24 February 1813, 600_ pick-axes, 600 shovels and 300 felling axes to a light compa~t des1g~ were ordered to be made at Woolwich under the inspect10n of L1eut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington C R E for the use of troops in the Peninsula. When
' · · ., · b 182 L
completed they were to be forwarded to Lis on. ater on, on 3 May 1813 Lieut -Colonel Pilkington was ordered to prepare the ' · · 1 r. th me theatre '183
following additional entrenchmg too s 1or e sa · 20 sap forks 20 pu~h rake~ 20 flat push picks 20 painted picks
The demands for S.A.A. grew. On 2 April 1813, the Comptroller
R.L. was directed to manufacture at once 10,000,000 musket ball
181 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/263o, P· 259· 182 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[W0/47/2,63o, P· 716· 183 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,63 1, P· I,724·
585
30
ADOLESCENCE
cartridges as a reserve for storage in the Royal Laboratory.1a4 Jn order to keep pace with this excessive demand, the Comptroller demanded four additional lead pots to supply the necessary leaden balls.185 This was approved, but was followed in turn by a statement from the C.R.E. that it would be 1:ecessary to erect a new building 50 X 20 feet to house the pots. This shed was also approved,1aG and the building was commenced on 20 September 1813.1s1 Even this
a~commodation _p~oved insu~cient and on 29 December 18 13
L1eut.-Colonel Pilkington was mstructed to submit an estimate for building six temporary sheds for making ball cartridges in the R.L. 76 feet from each other between the Laboratory east storehouse and the offices of the Respective Officers, the buildings meanwhile having been authorized.188 On the same day he was ordered to construct a new shed for driving portfires and fuzes in the middle yard ofthe R.L., the existing one being too small and badly located.1a9 Finally on the last day of the year, a number of wooden tents were ordered for filling flannel and musket ball cartridges with gun
powder.190 The detached furnace belonging to the Royal Brass Foundry in the eastern part of the Royal Arsenal was on 5 April 18 ordered
13
to be removed at a cost of£237. 14.s. 5f d.191 Colonel Henry Shrapnel was at this time carryino-out experim t
. h h" h . l h .c: 0 en s
w1t 1s sp enca case ~ ot, a1te~wards known as shrapnel shell. f!e had put forward the idea of this pro~ectile as early as 178 , but
4
e1gbht:endyears were t? elapfse b:fore his proposals were formally su rrutte to a comrruttee o a:t11lery officers. Although spherical case shot was appro_ved for service towards the end of 18o , it still
3
suff<:red from teethmg troubles and experiments nd trials were earned out over a number of years to try and eradicate it h t
. Th A ·1 . s s or
corrungs. us on 30 pn r8r3 1t was agreed on the recomme d _ tion of the Select Committee of Artillery Officers that expe · n at
· h h · nmen s
wit sp encal case sh_ot should be again carried out, the C.R.E. and other departments bemg asked to afford the inventor such a · t
h · h · 192 As ss1s ance
as e rrug _t reqmre. Lieut-General Shrapnel, as he afterwards becam~, died ~n r3 March r842, he did not live to see either the perfection of his shell nor to learn that it was for ever to b . h"
193 L • . . . ear 1s
name. ater on m this series of trials, the shed in which spherical
::: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,63 1, p. 1,262. Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/¼ O/47/2 631 p 1 394 1 A ·1 8
181 E t t f M. S . ' ' . ' ' 2 pn I I 3.
x rac s o mutes, eries II, PRO/WO/47/2 63 1 p 1583 A ·1 8
187 E t t fM' S . I ' ' . ' ' 23 pn I 13.
188 x rac s o ~nutes, er~es I, PRO/WO/47;2,632, p. s,6gs. Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47;2,633, p.
189 7,115.
190 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!cs II, PRO /WO/4 7 /2 ,633, p. 7, 11 g. m Extracrs ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 7,146. m Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,2g2. m Extr~cts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,63 1, p. 1,704.
Sphmco/ case s/10! were renamed shrapnel shell by an order dated 11 June 1352.
586
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
case shot were examined and proved was slated to make it water
proof.194
Mr West was given the painting contract for Woolwich on 10
May 1813.rns
Ever since the Royal Carriage Department had been set up in
1803, it had had a subsidiary factory at Rotherhithe. It had been
gradually brought home to the authorities, however, that such an
out-station was uneconomic, and did not tend towards efficiency. It
was therefore decided to close down the work at Rotherhithe and
move the branch to Woolwich on 10 May 1813.196 After that date,
no further new production was undertaken, and its work in hand
being completed by 11 May 1814, the few remaining operatives
were transferred to Woolwich; the resident clerk and foreman being
retained at Rotherhithe to take charge of the stores.197 The Royal
Carriage Department was rapidly becoming mechanized. On 10
September 1813, Messrs Lloyds and Ostell were ordered to supply
the department with a machine for cutting elevating and other
screws.198
On the death ofJohn King, the master founder, on 25 March r81 3, the question concerning the disposal of his private residence arose. His brother Henry, who succeeded him as master founder, already had a house, so it was decided to put the building up for sale. The property consisted of a substantial brick house with a two-stall stable and outhouse standing in 1-½-acres of garden on Windmill Hill.1°0 The Board of Ordnance decided to buy it on 15 September 1813 for £1,655, the sum being made up as follows: House and grounds £ 1,515, the trees £80 and the fixtures £60.200 The purchase was effected and on 13 October 1813 it was announced that 'Mr
John Henderson, the paymaster, would occupy the premises of the late Mr John King' as his official quarter, and would cease to draw house rent allowance from that date.201 Mr Henderson had evidently more grandiloquent ideas than Mr King, for he submitted a request on 22July 1814 that alterations to the tune of£675. 5s. 11¾d. should be carried out. This shook the Board; they decided to consider the matter and in the meantime ordered that no action should be taken.202 Mr W. Atkinson, architect to the Board, was called into
194 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,111.22 October 1813.
105 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,845.
196 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,847.
197 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,947.
198 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 5,50~.
199 The entrance is now in Woolwich New Road almost opposite St George's Chapel.
200 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,63~, p. 5,582. There is an error in this minute. It refers to the house of the late George Kmg. The next entry (Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 5,662, dated 22 September 1813) rightly calls the house that of the late John King.
201 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, P· 6,004.
202 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,011.
587
consultation and, having scrutinized the plans submitted to him, drew up a new specification and design whereby the same accommodation could be obtained by far less alteration, thereby effecting a saving of two or three hundred pounds. The Board accepted this reduction and instructed the C.R.E. to proceed in accordance with Mr Atkinson's proposals. 203 Apparently, Mr Henderson was still not satisfied. He put up a further request that a chaise house and another stab!~ should be added to the _q~arter. A sum of £70. 1os. 4t d. was mvol~ed, but the extra _bmldmg was approved on 3 1 March 1815.204 _F1v~ years later_ repairs were need;d. Mr_ Henderson put in an application amounting to £87. 3s. ]'4d. This, containing two
items, was forwarded by the Board to the Master-General on r
3
March 1820. The items were:
(a)
The repair of the privies in the garden which were almost tumbling down.
(b)
The removal of the coal cellar entrance, ·which was irnmed· t ly under the sitting room windows, to a spot nearer the kitchen wh~:: a dust hole could be roofed over to form a convenient cellar.
Reading ~etwee_n the lines one gets the impression that the Board were becommg a httle weary of these exorbitant demands Anyho on forwarding it to the Master-General they expressed the. view th:; only expenditure on the privies should be allowed. 20s
The paymaster's post was abolished on 31 December 1a2 1 206 but John Henderson was allowed to remain in office till 1 Febr ar' 8
. d 1 h' u y I 22,
m or er t? comp ete 1s accounts.207 After he had retired from the scene of his labours, the house on Windmill Hill was take b Colonel Frederic Griffiths as a private tenant. He was m:c~v~~s~
on 15 November 182_2 at receiving a bill from the rent Waterworks Company for four guineas-the annual charge ofhis water 1
. . supp y, or
as we sh?uId no~ term 1t-h1s water rate. His surprise was perhaps natural m the circumstances since he had understood th t t
'd d · T a wa er
was ~rov1 e . gratis. he Board, however, came to his rescue and gave mstr~ctlons that such_ a charge should be paid out of public funds durmg Colonel Gnffith's occupancy.2oa He lived in the house for only.another_ e~ght months, as on 12 June 1323 he retired by the sale ofhi_s comm1ss10n. He died at Southampton on 15 October
1846. Meanw~1le, the 9uarter again became vacant. Finally on
13
October 18241t was decided to appropriate the building as the official quarter of the C.R.E. Woolwich with effect from 1 November
::: Extracts of~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,638, p. , 22. 206 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO;47 /2,640, p. ;,; 6. 10, Extracts of ~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 736:
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47;2,672, p. 2,375.207 Extracts ofM~utes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47 /2,673, p. 3,374.108 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,822.
588
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
1824.209 It had remained such till recently, being now known as Mill
Lane House.
There was a small explosion in the Royal Arsenal on 20 January 1813, but no damage occurred. A fire broke out on Monday 1 September 1813 which a daily paper described in the following words:
'About 5.0 p.m. on Monday afternoon a very alarming fire broke out in the Royal Arsenal owing to the folly of one of the workmen employed in the Dipping Square. A female, expressing a wish to see a rocket star, the man, to gratify her curiosity, let one off in his hand, which corning into contact with the fire, he threw down with the result that some combustible matter caught fire. The alarm was sounded; artillery and marines with their engines were soon on the spot. No lives were lost and the fire was subdued after about an hour.'210
The following minor works services were carried out during the remainder of the year. 17 September 1813. Repairs and alterations to storehouses under the Respective Officers amounting to £324-os. 2}d.211
24 September 1813. The wall at the eastern end of the Rope Yard which intercepted the principal road into the Arsenal, to be taken down and the corner rounded off at Ordnance expense; the 1 -avy Board having previously given their consent.212
2.9 September 1813. Lead lined cisterns for holding oil to be installed in the Royal Carriage Department.213
18 October 1813. The Dipping Square to be repaved at a cost of 4d.214
D 206, I IS.
3 December 1813. Pressure of work necessitates a shed in the Royal Carriage Department being converted into a workshop.215 Messrs Shears and Sons are authorized to supply copper, instead of iron, boilers to the Royal Carriage Department.216
O n 8 November 1813, Mr Bramah was requested to provide the Enaineer Department with a hydrostatic machine of his own inv~ntion at a price of £go for lifting guns and drawing piles.217 It was presumably some form of hydraulic jack. .
A new technique in fixing iron tyres to wheels _was evolve~ m the Royal Carriage Department during the year; it_ w~s the idea of Major-General Cuppage, the Inspector. After a tnal 1t was ordered on 19 November 1813 that the tyres of all gun-carriage and ~agon wheels in the equipment ofthe next brigade ordered to the Perunsular
209 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,682, P· 1,777. 210 Woolwich Newspaper Cuttings, British Museum. 211 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,632, p. 5,6II. 212 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO /WO /47 /2,632, P· 5,695. 213 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,632, p. 5,781. 214 Extract!> of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47 /2,633, P· 6,065. 215 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,633, P· 6,738. 216 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,633, P· 6,74o. 217 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/vV0/47/2,633, P· 6,355.
589
should be fixed in place by screws and nuts instead of nails. The additional expense of the nuts and screws would only be 2½d. per lb. and the felloes would be protected from damage since the nails when driven home had a tendency to split them. Major-General Cuppage was instructed to inform the Board of the extra cost involved.21s The experiment was evidently a success as on 31 March 1 8 i5 the use of nuts and screws instead of nails for this purpose was adopted as standard practice. 219
A shortage of craftsmen now occurred, a phenomenon only too familiar in war. On ~2 Dece_mber :8_13, the Comptroller R.L. pointed out the great difficulty m obtammg the requisite number of turners.220
Colonel Congreve reported on l December 1813 that although he had 26,000 rockets on ord~r, ~e could only manufacture 5 a day
3
with the present means at his disposal. He therefore asked for further facilities in order to keep abreast of the demands made upon him. At the same time he suggested that all new buildings erected to thi end should be equipped with machinery and form part of a plan t; construct, apart from the Royal Laboratory, a permanent Rocket Establishment at Wooiwich. He calculated that the substitution of machines in place_ ?f manual labour would sav £6,soo on the
26,000 rockets awa1tmg _m~nufactur~. The C.R.E. was instructed to erect the temporary bmldings reqmred bearing in mind that they might ultimately form part ofa permanent Rocket Establishment 221 This was the first occasion on which such a pro,Josal had b ·
. k . h . 1 een
moote_d and rt t_oo root ~n t e mmd of authority, the Rocket Establishment bemg set up m the fulness of time. The estimate for the special buildings, the engine a d the machinery necessary for the manufacture of rockets according to the views put forward by Colonel Congreve was dated r 8 March r 8 r a d th
4
plan _accompanying it, ro_ April 1814. The steam en;in~ an~ machmery were to be supplied by Henry Maudsley. The details of the estimate were as follows:
Two driving houses Engine house and machinery-£3,798. Smiths' shop Carpenters' shop -£4,443. -£504. -£447. 12s. 45. 5s. rgs. 8½d. rfd. 4d. 4¼d.
Total: £9,194. rs. 6d. 222
, A ~um of£r,8oo was included for ~his service in the abstract of Services ordered to be performed durmg the year 1813 in addition
::: Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PROfWO/47/2,633, p. 6,529. m Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,640, p. 1,248.
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 7,024. m Ext,:acts ofMmutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,713. m Engmeer Papers, PROJWO/55/757.
59°
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
to those included in the annual estimate'. With this £1,800 in hand the sum included in the Annual Estimates for 1815 to defray the 6d.223
whole cost of the new establishment was £7,394. rs. The
two driving houses, ordered to be built by the Board's order dated
1 December 1813, were under erection by April 1814. They were of
weather-board construction, each 70 feet by 46 feet. The two work
shops were of brick, their dimensions being 59 feet by 23 feet. This
small rocket factory, which was the nucleus of the future Rocket
Establishment of later times, is shown completed in a map of the
Royal Arsenal as it appeared in 18r 5, though the map itself was not
drawn till 29 November 1858.
The Morning Chronicle of 2 July 1814 referred to this rocket enter
prise in the most scathing terms. The editor of the paper, much
incensed, was most sarcastic about the manufacture of Congreve
rockets and pyrotechnics in the Arsenal in place of orthodox muni
tions. He went so far as to suggest that 'an Address should be moved
to ascertain who is responsible for the tomfoolery'. Progress, however,
is never stemmed by abuse and conservatism of mind is not wholly
unknown in our own day.
This new manufactory in Woolwich and the collapse of Napoleon
together spelt the doom of the rocket establishment at Dover where
the bulk of these stores had been assembled. The workshops there
were ordered to be closed on 26 October 1818, the rockets being
returned to the storekeeper, and the foreman and labourers
discharged with a fortnight's pay.224
For those sufficiently interested to investigate more fully the
history of the Congreve rocket there are, besides the inventor's own
works, several bundles ofpapers in the Public Record Office devoted
to the subject; notably those named 'Colonel Congreve's rockets',
'Congreve's life-saving rocket' and 'Colonel Congreve's rockets'
establishment at Dover'. They are to be found under index numbers,
PRO/WO/44/642 and PRO/WO/44/643.
Works Estimates for Woolwich for 1813 was £59,214. as. rofd.225
The cloud which had for so long darkened the European scene lifted perceptibly in 1814 though the hope, undo~btedly held by many, that it had vanished was premature. The Perunsular War had been decisively won and France was facing virtual defeat that New Year's morning when the Allies, crossing the Rhine, swept ~nto French territory, to be joined five days later by Mur~t. Two-thirds of the country capitulated without a struggle and Pans was entered on 30 March. Napoleon, abdicating on 1I April, was sent to the Island of Elba, and upon his departure, Louis XVIII ascended the
223 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/WO/49/134.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,658. P· 3,469. .
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,630, p. 228. Works Estimates 1813, PRO/WO/49/128. 591
throne of France. The first Peace of Paris was signed 30 M~y 1814. All these joyous happenings had a profound effect upon the government and people at home, and the Royal Arsenal did not escape its repercussions. The engines of employment went into reverse heavy discharges took place and money for the appurtenances ' 0 r war shrank. Expansion was out and retrenchment was in. The discharges from the Royal Arsenal are given in Appendix VIII, and the tide rapidly receded from the peak figu_re of 5,000. Nevertheless, in spite of the shrinking economy, the life of the departments had to go on. The individuals still employed had to work and live and the future had to be safeguarded.
The Peace of Paris was celebrated by a firework display in St James's Park for which the Royal Laboratory under the Office ofOrdnance was responsible. On 3June 1814, two London artistsMr Sadler Crumpton and Mr Monk.ham-were engaged at £ioo each to assist in the preparation of the fireworks. Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., who had succeeded to the Comptrollership of the Royal Laboratory on 1July 1814 after the death of his father on go April 1814,226 having advanced money to these two gentlemen had it refunded by the authorities.227 Arrangements were m ade '
. 1 'fi on
10 June 1814 to se1ect spec1a arti cers and labourers to unload th fireworks in London, to take care ofthem and to assist in fixing th e for the exhibition. They received the usual extra pay while em employed.228 Captain By, R.E., the C.R.E. at 'Waltham Abb so was ~ske~ to lend ~ertain articles ~n 22 June 18 r4, to aid ;i;; erections m St James s Park and to give all the assistance he Id
. . . h . 229 T cou
m superv1smg sue erections. he display under the direct" f Sir William Congreve took place on r August r8r4, the day ~~:gchosen to mark the_ centenary of the accession of the H ouse of
Hanover to the Engbsh throne.
. Thhe billkfodr t~e offih~ers a~d men of the Royal Artillery employed m t e par unng t 1s nat10nal fete, amounting to £ g2• rgs. 6d., was paid by the paymaster. It was made up as follows:
Officers and men, R.A. £66. is. gd. Corps ofR.A. Drivers £26. r7s. gd.230
There was one fatality in connection with this celebration J h
. . o n
T 1
ay or, a carpenter m the R.L., lost his life in the fire which b k
· h d . ro e
out m t e pago a set up m St James's Park for that occasion. On
26 September 1814, the paymaster was ordered to pay his funeral
expenses.231
::; Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,630, pp. 1,971 and 1,794. Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,297. · m 228 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,403.
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PROfWO/47/2,636, p. 2,575. 230 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,375. 231 Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 4,000.
592
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
There were further functions to mark the signature of peace. On r4June r8r4, H.R.H. the Prince Regent visited the Royal Arsenal. Normal work proceeded except that certain overseers and men were detailed to show and explain the various pieces of machinery to the royal visitor, and to act as guides round the several departments. Officers were instructed to attend their own establishments and were held responsible for all persons employed on the day in question. Employees who for any reason were prevented from working received a day's pay.232 Four days after this visit a civic banquet for the allied sovereigns was held at Guildhall. One more gala occasion brightened the year. There was a grand jubilee held on 25 October 1814 to celebrate the fifty-fourth year of King George's reign. The Royal Laboratory as usual were concerned in the arrangements, and for the expenses incurred the paymaster was on 16 November 1814 authorized to pay the sum of
£23. rs. od.233 The authorities were still much exercised in their minds about the
problem of security. To modern ideas the Royal Arsenal was very poorly protected at the beginning of the nineteenth century. True, there were several guardhouses, such as the main guard near the
Entrance Gate, the guard by the western water front and the guard by the eastern marshes, but until these were reinforced by some kind of continuous barrier, it was impossible, especially during the hours of darkness, to prevent undesirable persons from trespassing. D uring 1813/1814 therefore determined steps were taken to remedy this defect. They were three in number or rather three separate parts of one whole scheme.
( 1 ) Raising the wall from the Entrance Gate to the cadet barracks at a cost of £ 2,527. 6s. gd. This part of the boundary was far from satisfactory particularly owing to the shocking condition of the old and dilapidated buildings connected with it. This work, long under consideration, had been postponed while services of a more pressing nature had been given priority.234 During this operation, the quarter allotted to John Guest, a clerk in the storekeeper's department, became temporarily untenable, he was therefore granted house rent allowance in lieu on 3 January 1814.235
(2) Building a wall from the wood-yard adjacent to and behind, the dwelling of the clerk of the survey, to the storekeeper's house and the Plumstead stables to join up with a similar wall. This would form a complete 1enclosure to the Royal Arsenal when connected to the canal on the eastern boundary. Estimated cost £2,169. 14.s. s¼d.236
232 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, pRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,425. 233 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, pRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 4,645. 2s4 Works Estimates, 1813, PRO/v\/O/49/128. 235 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, pRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 7• 235 Works Estimates, 1813, PROfv\/O/49/128.
593
(3) Alterations and repairs to the boundary from the Entrance Gate along Warren Lane to the river. This particular part of the boundary had become very defective, chiefly owing to the bad state of the water spouts of the R.L. buildings abutting the wall. This had caused deterioration of the brickwork. The renovations necessary cost £394. 19s. rod.237
By the end of 1814 the raising and strengthening of the Arsenal boundary wall had been completed. Ong March 1814, Sir William Congreve, 1st Bart., Comptroller of the Royal Laboratory, reporting th~~ the smelting furnace in the
R.L. was situated in a dangerous position, suggested that, as there was no other site in the R.L. free from risk, it might be removed to the neighbourhood of the Dipping Square.238 The C.R.E. was ordered to report on the suggestion with the result that on 2 May 1814 the smelting furnace was ordered to be moved to the location selected by the late Sir William Congreve.239
The raising of the level of the Royal_Arsenal, a gigantic undertaking lasting from 1811 to 1820, was 1n the main carried out b
. . f y
convicts under the superv1S1on o . contractors. The material for raising the ground level_ was obtamed by a steam engine which hoisted ballast from th~ nver bed. ~n 18 r3, this engine was expected to lift 400-600 tons daily, a figure mcreased to 500-Soo tons durin the following year. ?n 2 1 March 1814, William -icholson offere~ to raise ballast for this purpose at 5d. a ton for five years or longer if necessary.240 His off:r. was accepted ~nd ~n ro May 1814, John Hughes was made aJomt contractor with Nicholson in this wo k 24.1 As well as obtaining ballast it was intended to dredge the rive: bd
alongside the wharf where the longer vessels were usually moored e that they could complete their loading at their moorings. This so an essential adjunct to the building of the wharf s until suchwas operation had taken_place ships of a greater draught than
r6 f:e~
had _to drop down nver and load the remainder_ of their cargo at Gallions or Long Reach, a procedure both inconvenient d
· B 8 "d an
expensive. y I 15 a cons1 erable area had been added to th eastward side of the Arsenal in consequence ofthe canal formin the new boundary. This portion of the Plumstead marshes wa g 1 e
. 1 d d . h 'l 1 · · s a so
me u e m t e eve -ra1smg' plan. 242 The annual cost of this work was as follows:
18u, £3,000; 1812, £4,868. 7s. 7d.; 1813, £6,645. rgs. o½d.; 1814,£8,385. IOs. 4d.; 1815,£7,071. r5s. B¼d.; 1816,£6,3gg. 16s. gfd.;
237 Works Estimate, 1814, PRO/W0/49/131. ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,635, p. 952. HO Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,636, p. 1,802. m Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,635, p. 1,122.
Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,636, p. 1,931.
m Works Estimates, 1813, PRO/W0/49/128. Works Estimates, 1814, PRO/W0/49/131. Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/W0/49/134.
594
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
1817, £3,470. 16s. 7d.; 1818, £3,477. 7s. 2½d.; 1819, £1,125. xs. I f d. A total of £4I ,424. I. 1¾.
The contract of Messrs Nicholson and Hughes ran for five years. In a letter dated 2 1 April 181 g, the Board announced that they did not propose to renew it.243
The new practice range and butt, essential because of the erection of the saw-mill, and the land bought for that purpose in 1811 from Mr Crossingham, has already been referred to. The Board's order for the construction of the new range was dated I June 1811.244 It seemed as simple as that but unfortunately things turned out to be much more complicated. 'Man proposes but God disposes' was particularly applicable to this whole transaction. There is a large file on the subject in the Public Record Office,245 and the correspondence runs from 1807 to 1823. The salient facts are these:
In 1 8 r r, a quantity of marshland and reed-shore adjoining the Royal Arsenal had been purchased from Mr Crossingham for the purpose ofre-siting the practice range. So far so good. But in 1815 it was discovered that the reed-shore ostensibly bought from Mr Crossingham did not belong to that gentleman at all. It was the property ofQueen's College, Oxford, held by Mr Thomas Farncomb under lease. Mr Crossingham, on being approached, refunded the purchase money, and the Board then proceeded to negotiate with l\l[r Farncomb whose lease expired on 5 April 1819. As a result they bought out the remainder of this lease. On 8 May 1815, £230 was paid to Thomas Farncomb for the absolute purchase ofhis unexpired term, estate and interest of and in two pieces or parcels ofreed-shore called Pound Shore and Upper Raines, containing together 3 acres, 1 rood and 35 perches, situate in the parish of Plumstead. The deed goes on to say 'which said premises have, by indenture of assignment bearing date 8 May 1815 and made between the said Thomas Farncomb and the Principal Officers of H.M.'s Ordnance, been assigned to the said Principal Officers and their successors i~ trust for His Majesty, his Heirs and Successors for all the then residue of the term of r 3 years therein commencing 5 April I 806 and were purchased under the Board's order of I May 1815'.246 The land was duly conveyed. Mr Farncomb then renewed his lease for a furthe_r
20 years and in 1822 demanded £102 for arrears ofrent _from 5 ~J?nl 1819 to 5 April 1822. He offered to hand over all his remam1ng interest in the property for a further sum of £312. 10s. od., or to rent it to the Board for £25 p.a. The Commandant, \Voolwich, reported on 21 October 1822 that the reed-shore was not required
m Engineer Papers, PROfW0/55/757
244 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/W0/49/134.
245 PRO/W0/44/291.
246 Buildings and lands, PROfW0/55/1,611 (3).
595
ADOLESCENCE
for the extension of the range. The Board on 13 January 1a
23
ordered the arrears ofrent to be paid to Mr Farncomb and instructed their solicitor that the premises should be surrendered on the next Lady Day with the additional rent due, i.e. £34. Mr Thomas Farncomb was therefore hoist with his own petard.
The story is worth continuing, though the finale did not happetill 1853. n After ascertaining that this reed-shore, east of the Arsenal · 1r. h · f l · ' was
~ot essentia 1or t e extension o t 1e practice range and surrendering 1t on Lady Day 1823, the Board made arrangements to re t ·t direct fro~ Queen's College, Oxford, for £32 p.a. This lease exp~re~ on 25 Apnl 1842. The actual annual amount paid to the college agent, Mr Hayward, banker,. of Dartford, was £32. 12s. od. The Board on 17 January 1845 decided to renew the lease. Eventually in 1852/53, the Ordnance bought the property from Queen's C Oxford, for £1,200. The sale was concluded at the end of °11eOge,
• 52. n
5 January I 853, the Treasury sanct10ned the provision 18fc h.
b d . h O d E . or t 1s
£1,200 to e ma em t e r nance stimate for the ensuin 247
h·1 · h g year.
Meanw 1 e an estimate to meet t e Board's order of 1 J
une 1 8 11
was prepared.
A battery with merlons for 5 pieces of ordnance at 700 yards £ 495. 2s. 1o½d.
A battery for 3 pieces of ordnance on traversing platforms at 1,ooo yards } The top of a Martello tower at 1,200 yards
£786. 5s.
lid.
A guard room contiguous with a room £1,105.
for officers } 4S. 6fd.
2 small splinter proofs £r35. ros. 2½d. Total: £
-2,522. 2s. gd.24s
and the following arrangements in regard to the new p -,.;
d b 1· G racuce range
propose y 1eut.-eneral Vaughan Lloyd were agreed to r June 1814:249 on
. (a) The ra~ge which was to be 1,250 yards in length should be di ·d d
mto four port10ns. VI e
.(b) At 450 yards the 'bar bet' battery already erected should be armed with one r 8 pdr, one r2 pdr and one g pdr 011 iron carriages and
24 pdr carronade. , one
(c) The '~arbet' _battery at 700 yards should be raised with merlons,200 and be provided with one 24 pdr, one 18 pdr and one 8 inch howitzer
m PRO/W0/44/297. ::: Works Estima_tes, 1815, rR0/W0/4g/134_ Extracts ~£Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,6 6, p. 2, 6 .
250 2
33
A merlon IS that part of the parapet which is termi'nated by t b f
b tt th t · h · h d h" k wo em rasures O a
a ery so a its eig tan t 1c ness are the same as those of the t I
cover those on the battery from the enemy. parape · t serves to
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
on field carriages; also one I o inch howitzer and one 68 pdr carronade
on garrison carriages.
(d)
At 1,000 yards there should be erected a battery for three pieces on traversing platforms, viz. one 32 pdr, one 24 pdr and one 18 pdr; the platforms to be constructed with their pivots in front centre and rear as practised in the Service.
(e)
At 1,200 yards there should be built the top ?fa martello tower similar to those on the coasts of Kent and Sussex with one 24 pdr gun and one 24 pdr howitzer mounted in the usual manner.
(f)
A small house to contain a guard with a room for officers who attend the practice should be erected.
(g)
A small lobby should be adde~ to the magazine already _Provided f'or in the C.R.E.'s estimate, and splinter proofs should be bmlt at the flanks near the butt to afford a measure of protection against accidents.
Two other moves were contingent on the building of the saw-mill and the consequent move of the practice range. The lobby storeroom had to be moved to a more convenient site, a transfer costing £ 128. 13s. 8fd., and the Long Carriage or old Blue storehouse, near the range, had either to be raised or removed. In the latter case the suggestions communicated by the Inspector-General of Fortifications and Works on 23 October 1810 were adopted, i.e. the taking down of the woodwork in f:ont and rebuilding i: in brick to r e nder it more secure. It was considered that the covermg afforded by this capacious building 490 feet long by 26 feet broad was indispensable.251 •
This new practice ground which was laid out by 1815, appears to have been completed before 1821. . The moorings at the wharf now required repair and the order to effect this was issued on 3 June 1814.252
Two octagonal guardhouses, the one to the west being for officers and the other for men, were built in I8I4-I815 at the head of the principal landing stairs near the west end of the wharf, and in the Works Estimates for that year a sum of £654. 15s. g¾d. was appropriated for this service.253 They were designed to replace the_exis~ng -west guard for the protection ofthe_Royal Arsenal from th~ nver-s1de -which was situated in R.L. premises. In the Works Estimates for 1815, a further £467. 17s. i¼d. :was allocate~ f~r this purp?se, considerable progress with the landmg place having 1n the meantime been made. Since the latter, however, was Unsuitable for the embarkation and disembarkation of horses and Wagons, a causeway -was also constructed for horsed traffic at the eastern end of the wharf -where the ferry craft were stationed.254 The Master-General's barge must have come alongside this 'water-entrance' on many occasions
2s1 Works Estimates, 1813, PRO/WO/49/128. 252 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 / 2,636, P· 2•340. 25a Works Estimates, 1814, PRO/WO/49/131. 254 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/WO/49/134.
597
ADOLESCENCE
during the following forty years. These guardhouses, 23 feet across, still stand though they no longer keep watch and ward; as strong points they hav~ outlived their usefulness. ~n fecent years they have, among other thmgs, housed petrol and stationery for the Armaments Inspection Department. The stairs they guarded have disappeared the order to fill them in having been issued on 7 July 193 r. '
There was a~ explos~o~ in the Royal Laboratory on 20 June 18
14. It took place m a dnvmg shed v,,hen one of the wheels then in process caught fire_. Four men-James_ Nowland, John Haynes, John Chilton and Darnel Storey-were killed and one man-Michael Scalley-injured. Some stores in the building and certain articles of clothing belonging to the men emplofed there were damaged.255 The Comptroller R.L. reported the cJrcumstances of the disaster
256
on 6July 1814, a lapse ?ftime which seems rather excessive. Both Chilton and Storey left widows who were authorized to draw the·r late husbands' pay till their possible re-marriage. The paymast:r was ordered to pay the funeral expenses of the deceased amounting to £14-. 5s. od. ~nd to reimburse the men.the sum of£1 1. 13s. gd.,
the value of the1r destroyed garments. Sir William Congreve was asked to inform the Board o~t~e natur~ of Michael Scalley's injuries and to assess the degree ofhis mcapacitation.
The advance in gunnery and ballistics, necessitated the measurement of time on a mo_re and more accurate basis, so it was agreed on the recommendat10n of the Ordnance Select Committ t
. ee o
h h
purchase a c ronometer-t e mvention of Mr Hardy-recording up to _one three hundredth part of a second. The order to purchase was given on I2 August 1814 and the instrument was to be u ed ·
special artillery trials. 257. s In
It was agreed on 7 September 1814 to purchase 6-:1-acres of 1 d near ,voolwich belonging to Andrew Strakan for £ r~o per acr:1:ss
. Two awards were made by the Board during the year for inventions. Joseph Cheetham? ~1erk of the _cheque, was given £so on 12 S~ptember 1814 for his Leaver Packmg Press', an instrument for
packmg sandbags, the Board having ordered a sample on M
259 S
8 dl M B . · 4 aY
I 14. econ y, r ennett was awarded 50 gmneas for h ·s h t
1 . h. S I S 0
c earung mac me on 30 eptember 1814. This was the outcom f
. . 1 b e o
a comparative tna etween the inventions of Mr Nicholso d Mr Bennett. The trial demonstrated that I ooo g pdr shot clean:da~ ~r Nicholson's proce_ss cost r5s. 2d. whereas Mr Bennett's apparatu: did the same operat10n for 5s. 11 ld.-a saving of gs. '2-i-d. 2so The
266 PRO/WO/44/4-62. ::: Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 2,762. 258 Extracts ofM!nutcs, Scr!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 3,3or. m Extracts ofM!nutcs, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 3,712. 280 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 3,767. Extracts ofMinutes, Scnes II, PRO/WO/4-7/2,637, p. 4,04r.
598
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
Board were evidently of opinion that Bennett's shot cleaning machine, which had been under trial in 18 13 and 1814 was a good investment. Eleven of these machines were ordered under the Board's instructions dated 13 August 1813 and 13 July 1814. As the machines cost £go each, a sum of£990 was involved. Ofthis ~mount £77. 8s. 2d. was included in the Estimate~ for 1813, wh1~e the remainder, i.e. £912. 11s. od. was taken up 1n the Works Estimates for 1815.261
On 28 September 1814, 1,000,000 S.A.A. cartridges for the English musket-the Brown Bess-were ordered ~rom the_ Roy~l Laboratory by the Admiralty for despatch to _V1ce-Adm1ral_ Sir Alexander Cochrane, commanding the West Indian and American Station.262
Sir William Congreve stated on 20 October 1814 that, ':lt~ough climatic conditions in Ireland had demonstrated the supenonty of quill over tin tubes in that c_ount~y,_ and alt~ough ~uch tubes were efficient for Sea Service their pnmmg was 1nsuffic1ently protected to withstand the rough ~sage associated with the carriage of Land Service packed ammunition. He therefore recommended, not only for Ireland but for the Land Service as a whole, that brass should be substitu~ed for tin as the material for tube bodies, experience having shown that the former metal was more robust. He also suo-o-ested that all tubes for Ireland should be made in the Royal
0
Laboratory, Woolwich, and be sent over to the R~yal Laboratory, D ublin, for filling. This would cut the cost by one third, manufacture in Dublin being more expensive. The Board ordered 5,000 brass tubes for trial and instructed the Comptroller R.L. to render a report in due course, indicating t?e e:'~ense involved in the substitution.263 In regard to rockets, Sir William Congreve was a'7thorized to obtain the necessary cast-iron cases from Mr Kendrick, a founder in West Bromwich, on the express understanding that he was not to disclose the use to which such articles were to be_ put.26,1
To vary the monotony a horse instead of a cow was now killed by a rocket. Ong December 1814, Mr Cook was awarded £63 damages for the loss of his steed.265
The new wharf, the raising of the ground level and the many extra buildings erected during the preceding hundred years had altered the old Arsenal water courses to such an extent as to r~nder them incapable of carrying away surface water; and such ~rains as did exist were inadequate of purpose. Sluices and new drains were therefore required. Conditions having become more complex, a free
2G1 Works Estimates, 1815, PRO/WO/49/134. 262 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, P· 4,o47. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, P· 4,4o5. 2s4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 5,289, 30 December 1814. 266 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,638, P· 4,986.
599
ADOLESCENCE
passage from the sewers into the river was necessary and steps had
to be taken to guard against both frost and excessive rainfall. Luckily
foresight was in the ascendant and the opportunity of installing a
more modern system of drainage and sewerage was seized. The
former was to replace the water courses and the latter to take the
contents of the privies, thus effecting a considerable annual saving
by abolishing their clearance by hand. The cost of this new layout
was as follows :
The sluices in connection with
the wharf and the lock -£1,157. 3s. g½d.
New drains and sewers -£2,385. 16s. 2d.26G
The house of the clerk of the survey in the Plumstead Road was rn¼d. 267
repaired this year at a cost of £253. 1Is.
The Works Estimates for 1814 were £60,693. 4S· 14 d. 2GB
As a fitting finale to the year which had witnessed the fall of
France and the first abdication of Napoleon, the Respective Officers
on 25 December 1814, forwarded a list, together with an account,
of the trophies of war captured by the Duke of Wellington's armies,
which had already been off-loaded from transports at W oolwich.269
The year of destiny, 1815, culminated in the final overthrow of
Buonaparte on the field of Waterloo on 18 June, his second and last
abdication on 22nd June and his banishment to St H elena on 8
August. It is true that other minor operations were proceeding.
Britain declared war on the King of Kandy in Ceylon on 16 January,
and there was an incident in Cape Colony, but such factors did
not ruffie the surface at Woolwich which from now on was gradually
to sink into a state of lethargy. The lack of any important Arsenal
happenings in this notable year makes this fact self-evident. There
are only a few isolated incidents to record:
1 February 1815. An estimate amounting to £ 88. 4S. 3¾d. for moving
two stable sheds alongside the Sea Service Carriage storehouse to a more
isolated position for the storage of junk to be included in the Annual
Estimate to be laid before Parliament.270
10 April 1815. Two sheds for artificers working under the Inspector of 2d.271
Artillery to be erected at a cost of £62. Is.
3July 1815. Repairs estimated at £126. 13s. 2¾d. are to be carried out in the Commandant's house. 272 Lieut-General Lloyd is to have the type of kitchen stove he wishes installed in his quarters.273
m Works Estimates, 1814, PRO{WO/49/131.
m Works Estimates, 1814, PRO/WO/49/131.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 1,046. Works Estimates 1814, PRO/WO/49/131.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 5,230.
170 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,640, p. 444.
171 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 1,377
171 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 2,727.
171 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,643, p. 4,103, 6 October 1815.
600
,.......,_
......
:;s
......
E
u
u
C-::l
< u
c
·-~
~
C-::l
.,..
0
~
u
-
r
GOO
THE ROYAL ARSENAL DURING NAPOLEONIC TIMES
2 6 Julv r8r5. William R. Marshall, clerk of the survey to h
::.r • h k · h f h. h • ave
a laundry room bmlt over t e 1tc en o is ouse at a cost of£
6
ros. r}d.274 9 •
rB September r8r5. £46. 16s. 7½d. to be spent on covering certain windows in the R.C.D. with wire lattices.275 rB December r8r5. Messrs Alexander Donall and Son to have th • plumbing contract renewed for 3 years (see note r 7g).276 eir 22 December r8r5. Henry Maudsley's bill am_?unting to £ . s. d.
44 13 2
for casting the metal beam for the steam-engine in the R.C.D. to be paid.211
A driving shed was burned down ?n 3 1 ~ay 1815. Luckily no one was hurt though some of the men s clothing was damaged. As a consequence, the Comptroller, R.L., considered that the old wall between the upper and lower yards and the old sheds adjacent thereto should be demolished. He also asked that four wooden tents similar to those previously supplied should be erected in place of the destroyed building. The Board agreed and instructed Lieut.Colonel Pilkington to report whether such tents were available.21s On receiving his negative reply, the Board ordered four to be made immediately.279 The men who lost their clothes in the fire were compensated by the paymaster on I I August 1815.2so
The Works Estimates for 1815 were £60,557. 3s. 6-~-d.2s1
There can be little doubt that the appearance of Napoleon in a principal role on the world's stage during the opening years of the nineteenth century, threw a considerable strain on the resources of the Royal Arsenal which had only just emerged from its nursery. It quickened its tempo and induced a more rapid growth than would have otherwise occurred. Speculation is idle, but the thought does arise as to what the years 1800 to 1815 would have brought to the Woolwich factories, if the Corsican had not survived the French R evolution.
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 3,078. 275 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 3,863. 276 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{\'\ O/47/2,643, p. 5,024. 277 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,643, P· 5,163. 278 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 2,527, 19June 1815. 279 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 2,580, 23June 1815. 28° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, P• 3,342. m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 5,251. Works Estimates,
1815, PRO/WO/49/134.
601
40
Chapter 15
The Doldrums IBI6-I839
The overthrow of Napoleon supplied the key which unlocked the door to the Industrial Revolution in England. Prices fell steeply and suddenly many farmers and business men were ruined; multitudes were thr~wn out of employment, and misery and unrest stalked the land. For the Royal Arsenal the Second Peace of Paris spelt the axe with a capital 'A'. There may be 'no dischar_ge in war' as Kipling aptly remarks, but. its aftermath tells a different story. He?-vy discharges at Woolw1ch became the order of the day, and establishments there during the years 1816 and 1817 were cut to the bone. Details given in Appendix VIII reveal the extent of these reductions which can only be described as 'drastic'. It was a phenomenon from which the Arsenal had suffered to a limited extent before and one which it was to experience again in the bitter years of the twentieth
century. The scale of manpower shrinkage in the years which followed the final defeat ofFrance can be seen from the approximate strengths in the years 1814, 1830 and 1835:
r814-5,000 employees
r 830 -700 employees
1835 -500 employees
Although the term 'care and maintenance' if applied to the Woolwich factories would be an exaggeration, the future tendency was to concentrate on the improvement ofbuildings, plant, workshop practice and technique, rather than to aim at a large output. It was
a time ofconsolidation, not of expansion.
The year opened on 11 January 1816 with Major-General Cuppage putting forward his proposals for reducing the Royal Carriage Department to the level at which it stood a year earlier; 18 1 artificers and 436 labourers whose daily pay amounted to £43. 1 gs.
gd. were to be discharged during the ensuing quarter.1 This was the beginning of the landslide which gradually eroded the Arsenal's strength till it became a small industrial establishment starved of men and money. The Royal Carriage Department had had a proud record in the war recently ended, due in the main to the efforts of its Inspector. This was recognized by the Board on 15 March 1816 when they awarded Major-General Cuppage a gratuity of £1,300 'to cover the preceding five years as a reward for his great devotion
1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, p. 150.
602
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
to duty and for his excellent public record in directing his department, and on account of the money thereby saved to the public by his inventive genius'. 2
The opportunity was now taken of putting matters at Woolwich on a more business-like footing. Since there was no age limit for workers or automatic superannuation, men tended to stay on the pay-roll and draw their wa~es whether or not they were capable of performing any useful service for the State. There was thus an eleemosynary thread running through the fabric ofproduction which reduced the efficiency factor of the factories as a whole. The Royal Laboratory was the first to put its house in order in this respect and it discharged and superannuated its elderly contingent who were 'passengers in the coach'. The ~ld staffw~s e~amin~d by the I?edical authorities and treated according to their d1agnos1s. There 1s a list of 70 artificers and labourers in the _R.~. who were superannuated in 1816 which gives their names, their ailments and their pensions.a Most of the men mentioned were quite incapable of work being blind or otherwise incapacitated. The doyen of these was William Tisoe, aged g I years, whose medical report announced 'quite worn out. Is not expected to live more than a few days'. He was an artificer and was allowed to retire on half-pay, i.e. 2s. per day.
There is little to record over the next few years. The amount of money made available was much reduced, and the emptier the purse the less the purchases. The Works Estimates for 181 6 were £43,2 06. 2s. 11¾d.,4 still on the high side but showing a distinct downward trend. On 28 February 1816, Messieurs Holtzapsseld and Deyerlein supplied a turning lathe for the s~th_s' shop in ~he Royal Laboratory for £225.5 Two other small bmldmg operations were carried out in the year. On 17 May 1816 two boilers to consume th eir own smoke were ordered to be installed for the two small engines in Carriage Square,6 and on 22 November 1816, £10. 2s. od. was spent in erecting two small sheds and a tempor~ry bulk-he~d to represent the side of a ship for the_ purpo~e of car11:ng o~t a tna~ of Captain Manby's device for ext1ngmshmg fires m their operung stages.1 On 2 7 March 1816, the Royal Carriage Department was ordered to make only two out of the six rocket carriages originally
demanded· a sign of the times.8 As was t~ be expected, sales of surplus st?res increased during the eriod and trouble was experienced 1n getting purchasers to remove fhe goods they had bought. To remedy this, deposits of purchase
2 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, P· 1,o35.
3 PRO/WO/44/642. 4
PRO/WO/49/137.
6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, P· 795· s Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47 /2,646, P· 2,o36. , Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,648, P· 4,991• a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,645, P· 1,189.
603
money were increased from one fifth to one th~d and 31 wo:king days only was to be allowed in future for the receipt ofthe remamder of the purchase money and the removal of the goods. 9
On 21 October 1816, Mr Page agreed to supply beer for the
. f
convicts at 28s. a barrel, a re
duct10n o 2s.10
Two more contractors were appointed for building services in the Royal Arsenal. Mr Bruss was engaged for painting workll and Mr B. Kent for glazing.12 • •
TI e Works Estimates dropped considerably m 1817, the figure bein; £1a,494. r2s. 3¾d.,13 a reduction of 80% _since 1811. T~e only item of interest was the removal of the weigh-stand and its crane to a site nearer the wharf and the Proof Department, a move
dered necessary by the gradual growth of the Arsenal over the
ren . d~
years. This taking down and re-erecbt10n a_cdco;1nte 1or £103. Bs. r¾d.
Further compensation had to e pai 1or damage caused by rocket experiments. This time the vegetable rather than the animal kingdom suffered. On 19 March 1817 Mr Gibbs of Plumstead was awarded £100 for the loss of his bean-stack which had been consumed by fire, and Mr Milson o~ Plumstead was granted £ 20 for damage caused to his haystack m October 1816.14 Two quarters were repaired in the Royal Arsenal: F.0. quarter No. 6 at a cost of £84-. 3s. 2d.,15 and the Commandant's house.16 It was agreed on 8July 1817 that the Office of?rdnance should bear half the expe~se of promoting the Act of Parliament ne~essary for the c?nstruct10n
of the turn-pike road between Woolw1ch and Greenwich and of extending it to Bexley via Plumstead.17
Experiments still took place notwithstanding the financial straitjacket confining the factories. Lieut.-Colone_l Robert Pilkington, the C.R.E., on 23 July 1817, was ordered to build a full scale traversing platform for service according to a model received from the Duke of W ellington.18
The expense of casting guns in the Royal Brass Foundry for the year ending r July 1817 was £3,577. 16s. gd. This included labour and materials, but excluded the value of old metal. The weekly wages bill was £4:7. gs. 6d. It was decided that costs could be
lowered by limiting output and discharging the redundant workmen. The wages bill was therefore reduced to £26. rs. od., a saving of £21. Bs. 6d. a week, which in effect meant a cut of almost 50% of
• Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,648, p. 4,662. 1o Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,648, p. 4,518. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,646, p. 2,301, 31 May 1816. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,651, p. 1,822, 12 May 1817. 13 PRO/WO/49/139.14 Extracts of.Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,650, p. 1,024.15 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,651, p. 1,627, 30 April 1817.
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, p. 3,148, 22 August 1817. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/21652, p. 2,461. 11 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, p. 2,809.
604
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
the establishment. It was also agreed by the Board that in the event of the removal of the master founder, the assistant founderMr Cornelius King-could well take charge of the foundry in the
· t 19
altered circums ances.
Beer for the convicts still exercised the mind of the Board. That august body considered, no doubt rightly, that only the best beer was suitable for convicts who worked harder than the labourers and required wholesome nourishment to keep up their strength. They ao-reed therefore, that the contract for beer should be renewable e~ery ;ix months, and that the brewer who supplied the beer for 'l.4-S. the 36 gallon barrel should have the contract. All samples, even if rejected, were to be paid ~or as they would be is~ued as rations. ft was considered that by this means the comparative value of the different beers could be judged.20 Messrs Heath and Co. got the contract. Their product was evidently satisfactory for on 2 1 December 1 8 1 8 they were instructed to supply the beer on the terms oftheir
orio-inal contract.21· The custom ofburying convicts in the Royal Arsenal had persisted since such forced labour had first been employed. But over the years this practice had become repugnant to the authorities who felt, no doubt, that an enclosure d:voted to the manufacture and storage of munitions was hardly a smtable place for a cemetery. Interment in around over which experiments were carried out proved noxious
and distressing. The C.R.E. therefore, on 15 November 1817, suggested that a burial place for convicts should be provided on Ordnance land on the Essex side of the river. The Board in a letter dated 31 December 1817 granted this request22 and informed the
C.R.E. that a portion of ground north of the Thames had been set
h. 23
aside for t 1s purpose.
The Woolwich Estimate for 1818 was £15,050,24 and the Works Estimates £13,509. 3s. 8¼d.25 An:iong the l~tter was the su1:1 of £s7. 7s. 3d. to heighten the practice butt which had sunk consider
ably since it had been built, and alterations to the paymaster's office and the porter's quarters at the main entrance costing £51. 7s. 7¾d. From now on many of the items originally included in the annual works services were deleted, money being provided only for the more important projects. .
Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington subrmtted to the Master-General three plans of the Arsenal with a report date~ 2 r Febr1:1ary 1818~ suggesting improvements in layout by making certain alterations and
10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, P· 4,021, 3 N~vembcr 1817. 20 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,652, P· 4,217, 21 ovembcr 1817. 21 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,658, P• 4067. 22 PRO/WO/44/290. 20 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/757. u Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,655, P· 250, 25 PRO/W0/49/140.
605
ADOLESCENCE
demolitions. Among these suggestions was one affecting the Royal Laboratory. The C.R.E. proposed that that department should be divided into two parts (a) Manufacturing and (b) Explosives and filling. He recommended that manufacture should be concentrated in the existing R.L. buildings while the more dangerous part of the work concerned with explosives and filling should, for safety reasons, be removed to the canal area.26
The last recorded incident in 1818 was an order dated 16 December authorizing the digging of a ditch by convicts to serve as a boundary between the reserve land at Woolwich and that sold by the C.R.E. on 23 November 1818.27
It was decided in 1819 that certain land on the north shore of the Thames should be sold. The land in question had been originally purchased as follows :
26 and 27 December 1801 -2 acres 3 roods 26 poles 27 and 28 July 1802 -7 acres 14 poles r6 and r7 March r803 -ro acres 3 roods r2 poles
Total: 20 acres 3 roods 12 poles
These parcels were conveyed on the dates shown by Samuel Matthews to H.M. the King.
The prorosal w~s to retain only a strip ofland on the shore about 26 yards wide behmd the sea-wall, and sell the remainder except for a piece of ground reserved as a stand for horses and carriages adjoining the new Ordnance road leading from the causeway i three lots. The three lots were (a) 5 acres 2 roods, (b) 8 acres ;n~
(c) 3 roods and 30 poles, and the price was to be £ 160 per ac The auction actually took pl~ce on 23 November 1818, thou;~ conveyance was not effected till the following year. Mr Sylve t paid £1,670 for 13½ acres.28 Mr John Punter purchased the 3 ro~~r 30 poles at £124 per acre, the sum involved being £116. 5s. od. H; alreaddy owned~ the house, stables and fences, valued at
£ 314.
I4J. o ., stan mg on the ground in question. Mr Punter paid over the sum _of£n6. 5s. od. to MrJohn Ayres on 15January 181g, who handed 1t over to the Ordnance Treasurer.29
Owing to the drastic reduction in the Royal Brass Foundry (see note 19) Lieut.:Gene:al_ Sir Thomas Blomefield, the Inspector, sugge~ted that, _as its bu~dmgs were old and unsuitable for the
~ac~mery then installed, 1t might be shut down, the remaining staff distributed elsewhere and its fabric surveyed. The Board d"d t
k ki ell h" 1 no
ta e n y to t lS suggestion, merely refusing on the ground that
11 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/757. 17 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2 658 p 4 o ro
18 PRO/W0/44/290. ' ' . ' . 11 Buildings and Lands, PRO/W0/55/1,611, (3).
606
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
such a survey would be inconvenient.30 On 14 May 1819, Lieut.General Rochfort's quarter was ordered to be repaired at a cost of £28. gs. g¼d.31 The foundry no doubt was getting out of date, it had been standing for I oo years, but the Board was loth to let it fall into disrepair. On 6 September 1819 it was agreed that repairs to the casements should be carried out at once at a cost of £45. 15s. 8-½d.,32 though on the same date the Board wrote saying that the estimate for this work was to be put forward in the Estimates for 1820 and not in the 'unprovided' items for 1819.33 Apart from this, £167. 16s. r½d. was spent in that year on general repairs to the Royal Brass Foundry including some new floors, lime-washing, painting and the construction of light new dormer windows.34
The Works Estimates for 1819 amounted to £11,390. ros. 11}d. which included a sum of £204. rs. 1 i½d. for repairs to R.L. offices and the old and new Sea Service storehouses.35
The Woolwich Estimate itself was £17,014. Is. r id.36 Lieut.-Colonel John T. Jones replaced Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington as C.R.E., Woolwich Division, on 22 January 1819.
On 30 August 1819, it was agreed that a pair ofopen gates should be erected for Dial Square at a cost of £15. 19s. ro{d. The cost to be included in the 1820 Estimates.37
The breaking-down of ammunition, an operation which always follows the cessation of hostilities, now commenced to take place. On 2 1 May 18r g, 23,000,000 ball cartridges were ordered to be broken up. In order to carry out this work which would mean a recovery of 700 tons of lead at £16 per ton, a total of £II,200, the Board, on the Comptroller's recommendation, authorized the employment of fifty extra boys. Although this meant a small island of recruitment in a sea of dismissals, the additional juvenile labour would effect a saving in cost by cutting down the ~me for the job from two years to 2 6 weeks. The wages of these boys were£I 2 a week,
i.e. £312 for the half-year. The difference in time between the two programmes was 78 weeks, and the interest on £11,200 for 78 weeks was £840. Another consideration was that magazine accommodation would be greatly relieved by the operation.38
The Commissioners of Sewers now asked for a communication bridge to be built across the ditch cut by the authorities through Crabtree Level where the counter wall formerly stood, in order to
30 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,660, p. 155, 11 January 1819. 31 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJW0/47/2,661, P· 1,597. 32 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,662, p. 2,870. 33 Engineer Papers, PROfW0/55/757.34 PROfW0/49/141.35 PRO/W0/49/141.36 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,660, P· 833. 37 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,662, P· 2,784. 38 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,661, P· 1,670.
607
enable the wall men to communicate with the Sheepwash Sluice. This was approved on 25 June 1819.39
Two unrelated items only remain to complete the year's activities. On 28 June 1819, it was agreed that Messrs Heath should continue to supply beer for convicts at 2,ts. per barrel for another six months 4o and on I September 1819, two stag?s used in the unloading 'or colliers were ordered to be constructed m place ofthe two which had become unserviceable.41
There is little ofinterest to record during the next few years. No important event occurred and those which did eventuate were of a routine and maintenance nature. The Estimates had been reduced so drastically since 1815 that little scope remained for indulging in new schemes.
It was true that on 24 April l 822,_ the Master-General did approve certain sums to be spent on the vanous departments and these were ordered to be i1:serted in the Estimates,42 b1:-t this outlay appears to have been a tnumph of hope over experience. The items given below, were not included in Estimates nor is there any record of the
work having been carried out. The amounts were:
Brass Foundry Department of Inspector of Artillery Royal Carriage Department Royal Laboratory Total: £1,027. £1,4.65. £6,372. £ro,075. £18,940. 1,µ. 1d. 8s. od. os. 1 d. os. 6d. '2.S. 8d.
Over t he years in question the Estimates were:
Woolwich Estimates
1820-£12,704. 5s. 7½d.43
1821 -£12,503. 16s. 1 d.44
Works Estimates
1820 -£ro,533. 11s. 1821 -£12,000. os. B¼d.45 od.46
1822 -£n,295. ILµ. gf d.47
There were some ~undry repairs at Woolwich amounting to
£348._ 14.s. 6d. aut~onzed on 26 January 1820,48 and in the two followmg years repairs and painting took place in certain workshops
39 Extracts ofM0utes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,661, p. 2,067.40 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,661, p. 2,090. :; Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,662, p. 2,809.
Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 761. 43 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,666, p. 1,090.44 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,670, p. 1,798.46 PRO/W0/49/142.
48 PRO/W0/49/143.0 PRO/W0/49/144.41 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 254.
608
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
and officers' quarters. In 1820 and 1821 the planting of the canal bank was carried out by convicts at a cost of £80. 5s. od.,49 in 1821 the sum of £210 was authorized for building a road parallel to the interior of the boundary canal and for maintaining roads generally; also a further £ I oo to plant hedges as fences instead of posts and rails,50 and in 1822 the practice butt, which had settled 6 feet, was raised at a cost of £73. 17s. 3Jd.51
The following contractors were authorized to do building services at Woolwich:
IO April I820. Robert Seager painting work for 3 years at Woolwich.52 I7 May 1820. Messrs Kent and Earle glaziers' work at the Tower,
Pall Mall, Woolwich, Greenwich, Lewisham and Purfleet for 3 years.53 24 June I822. R. Rutlidge plumbers' work at Woolwich.s.1 26 July 1822. John and Samuel Dickson carpenters' work at Woolwich,
V\Taltham and Enfield.55 26 July 1822. John Barton plasterers' work at the Tower, Pall Mall, Greenwich, v\Toolwich, Purfleet and Tilbury.56 I 4 August I822. Robert Ashton masons' work at the Tower, Pall Mall a nd Woolwich.57
Mr Robert Seager of Fulham, however, defaulted on his contract. In 182 I, he disappeared without leaving an address after having been 'neglectful of his contract'. On 4 July I 82 I the Board called on him to state whether he could proceed with his undertaking. In the meantime the C.R.E. was authorized to employ Messrs Kent and Earle in painting till another contract could be effected.58
The suppliers of beer for the convicts for the three years were as under:
Messrs Bryden and Field to continue the supply for one year from I July 1 820.59 Messrs Stirling and Page to supply beer at 24f. per barrel for one year from I July 1821.60 Messrs Stirling and Page to supply beer at 22s. 6d. per barrel for one year from 1 July 1822.61
By this time the annual beer bill for the convicts had shrunk to the neighbourhood of £450.62
49 PRO/W0/49/142 and PRO/W0/49/143.50 PR0/\1\ 0/49/143.51 PRO/W0/49/144.
52 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,666, p. 1,014. 53 Extracts ofMinuces, Series II, PRO/VV0/47/2,666, p. 1,379. 64 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 1,206. 55 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,451. 50 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/Vv0/47/2,676, p. 1,452. 57 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,576. 58 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,672, p. 1,918. 59 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,667, P· 1,875. 60 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\V0/47/2,670, p. 1,875. 61 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 1,200. 62 Works Estimates, 1821, PRO/W0/49/143.
609
The only other items worth mentioning in this quiet period are best tabulated.
10 March 1820. Guns to be placed as posts along the foot-path leading from Green's End to the Arsenal Gate owing to its dangerous condition. These were requested by the Parish Officers of Woolwich for the protection of passengers.63
3 July 1820. The paymaster was instructed to pay £40 as the Board's contribution toward the enlargement ofPlumstead Church. The Reverend
G. B. Tuson was informed.64 14 August 1820. Lieut.-Colonel Frederic Griffiths vacated his quarter in the Royal Arsenal and was placed on the lodging list. 65 23 March 1821. £20 for moving the ballistic pendulum from its incon
venient position in the Royal Arsenal was authorized.66 _May 1821. The Board notified Mr Pattison that they would no longer
30 reqmre the land called the Roughs and would cease to occupy it at the end ofsix months from Lady Day last.67 21 January 1822. The Ordnance sea-wall, which had been damaged b high tides, to be repaired. 68 y 15 May 1822. The price ofgunpowder, packed in hazle-hooped roolb barrels, to the East India Company was £2. r7s. 6d. per barrel,69 · 2o May 1822. All barrels of S.A.A. when issued from magazines fit
. . b a er
having been a Iong time m store are to e unheaded so that the pa k of the barrel may be tightened by the addition of paper waddi c XI~ hoops to be carefully driven up.70 ng.
1 July 1822. Mr Grinton, the Overseer of the Poor for gaol rate · th parish of Charlton is to be paid the rate.71 m e 19 July 1822. Mr Milsted, a farmer at Plumstead was paid £r 1 0d for the loss of a sheep killed during ricochet practice.72 · !2s. ·
4. October ~822.. ~he Board appr~v~d Lieut-General Cuppage's su _ gest1ons for s1mphfymg and econom1zmg the establishment of tlle R gl
. D H . oya
Carnage epartment. e was mstructed to forward a retur f th proposed establishment for 1823.73 n ° e
6 November 1822.. Two new powder boats are to be purchased for the Royal Laboratory m replacement of two which have become · able and are to be sold.74 unservice-
The. ~rig Convert. had not yet come into possession of the ~u~hontle~ as adfldoa~mghma~azine-it ':as not bought till _
1323 80
1
1t IS n?t 1~c u e m t e list of floatmg magazines stationed at Woolwich m 1821.
:: Extracts of M~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 712. Extracts of M~utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,667, p. 1,863. 86 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,667, p. 2,266.
88
Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,67o, p. a74. 87 Extracts ofM!11utes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,670, p. r,s83. ., 88 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 137. Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,67s, p. 913. 70 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,675, p. 942. 71 Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,256. 71 , Extracts ofM!nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. r,396.7• Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 1,914.
7 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,676, p. 2,084.
610
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The return, headed Floating Magazines at Woolwich 182r, contains the names of two vessels, Manship and Lady Chatham. Their particulars are given as follows ;75
MANSHIP goo tons 1 Master at £9 per month Crew 2 Mates at £7. 10s. od. per month
{
1 Seaman at £5 per month
Total pay bill £318. os. od.
Expense of repairs 82. 11s. 3d.
Total: £400. . 11s. 3d.
(Used as a floating magazine)
LADY CHA THAM 63 tons
1 Master at £9 per month I Mate at £7. I os. od. per monthCrew
{ 3 Seamen at £5 per month each 1 Boy at £3 per month
The Master has also £20 p.a. house rent allowance. Total pay bill £434. os. od.
Expense of repairs 115. os. od. Contingencies 33. 19s. 4d. Total: £582. 19s. 4d.
(Used as a powder vessel)
In the 'Ordnance Papers presented to the House of Commons I 821' also appears a complete return of the various departments in the Royal Arsenal dated 12 March 1821. Although it is somewhat lengthy it is worth recording in full for the information it supplies. In addition to the clerical establishment based on Woolwich, there were g assistant clerks working there on loan from the Ordnance Department. Of these one was in the Royal Laboratory and eight worked under the storekeeper.
ROYAL LABORATORY Comptroller Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., Salary £360, Quarters, Total: £360 p.a. Firemaster Lieut.-General George Rochfort, Salary £230, House, Total: £230 p.a. Assistant to Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bingham, Firemaster Salary £230, House, Total: £230 p.a. Inspector of Royal Captain William Maling, Manufactories of Salary £200, House, Total: £200 p.a. Gunpowder
76
Ordnance Papers presented to the House of Commons 1821. 6II
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839 Foreman of Brass William North, Salary £127. 15s. od., Gratuities
Foundry £15. Total: £142. 15s. od. p.a. Total Salaries £1,462. 5s. Total Gratuities £485. os. Total House rent allowance £162. 16s. Total Coals and Candles £58. os. Grand Total £2,168. Is. od. od. od. od. od.
ROYAL CARRIAGE DEPARTMENT
Inspector Lieut.-General William Cuppage, Salary £400, House. Total: £400 p.a. Assistant Inspector Lieut.-Colonel William Millar, Salary £250, House, Coals and Candles £25. Total: £275 p.a. Junior Constructor George Salter, Salary £120, Gratuities £15. Total: £135 p.a. Clerk of the Cheque { George Robinson, Salary £200, Gratuities £180,
4 Clerks
ChiefForeman
Henry Dugleby William Caffin
Charles Ellis John Piper
Salary £300, Gratuities £200, rent allowance £52, Coals and Candles D25. Total: £ 577 p.a. Salary £150, Gratuities £180, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £368. IOs. od. p.a.
Salary £100, Gratuities £ 5o, House rent allm,vance £ 12, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £i 70. Salary £100, Gratuities £ 5o, House rent allowance £i2, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £I 70.
v\ illiam Castledine, Salary £n8. 12s. od. Total: £n8. 12s. od.
Total Salaries Total Gratuities Total House rent allowance Total Coals and Candles Grand Total
£2,088. 12S. od.
£480. OS. od.
£102. OS. od.
£78. IOS. od.
£ 2,749. 2 S . od.
DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTOR OF ARTILLERY
Inspector
2nd Assistant Inspector and Draughtsman
Clerk
Clerk
Proofmaster
Searcher and Instrument Keeper Modeller
Inspector of Brass Foundry Founder
Major-General Sir Thomas Blomefield Bart Salary £350, House rent allowance £;2. · Total: £402 p.a.
J. 0. Hookham, Salary £200, Gratuities £ 200, House rent allowance £26, Coal and Candles £12. ros. od. Total: £438. 10s. od. p.a.
R. 'White, Salary £100, Gratuities £120, H ouse rent ailowance £20. 16s. od., Coal and Candles £12. ros. od. Total: £253. 6s. od. p.a.
Thomas Monk, Salary £go, Gratuities £rno, House rent allowance £12, Coal and Candles £8. Total: £2rn p.a.
Lieut. Alexander Reid, Salary £120, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. ms. od.
Total: £158. ros. od. p.a. Thomas Walton, Salary £roo. 7s. 6d. Total: £100. 7s. 6d. p.a.
Samuel Eccles, Salary £roo. 7s. 6d. Total: £100. 7s. 6d.
Major-General Sir Thomas Blomefield, Bart. Salary £91. 5s. od. Total: £91. 5s. od. p.a.
Cornelius King, Salary £182. ms. od., Gratuities £50, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. ms. od. Total: £271 p.a.
612
having charge of the Stores Clerk in the Inspector's Office
2 Clerks in the Office of the Clerk of the Cheque
lvlaster Carpenter Master Wheeler Master Smith
House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles
£12. 10s. od. Total: £418. 10s. od. p.a.
Adam Grinton, Salary £100, Gratuities £50 House · rent allowance £20. 16s. od., Coals and Candles
£12. 10s. od. Total: £183. 6s. od. p.a.
Richard T. Tussell, Salary £100, Gratuities £50,
House rent allowance £20. 16s. od. Coals and
Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £183. 6s. od. p.a.
Edward Dell, Salary £go, Gratuities £35, House
rent allowance £12, Coals and candles £8.
Total: £145. p.a.
P. McDonald, Salary £109. ros. od. Total: £109. rns. od. Charles Dibblin, Salary £109. 10s. od. Total: £109. 10s. od. William Clerke, Salary £109. ros. od. Total: £109. 10s. od.
Total Salaries £1,588. 10s. od.
Total Gratuities £330. os. od.
Total House rent allowance £79. 12s. od.
Total Coals and Candles £70. 10s. od.
Grand Total £2,068. 12s. od.
STOREKEEPER'S DEPARTMENT Storekeeper John Geast, Salary £500, Gratuities £200, House. Total: £700 p.a. Clerk of Survey William R. Marshall, Salary £250, Gratuities £200, House, Coal and Candles £25. Total: £475 p.a. Clerk of the Cheque Joseph Cheetham, Salary £200, Gratuities £150, House, Coals and Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £362. 10s. od. p.a.
613
II
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Paymaster John Henderson, Salary £400, Gratuities £100,tJ House, Coals and Candles £25. Total: £525 p.a. John Pitfield, Salary £70, Gratuities £35, House
•
rent allowance £20. 16s. od. Coals and Candles
£12. 10s. od. Total: £138. 6s. od. p.a. Paymaster
Clerks to the
Thomas Mortimer, Salary £70, Gratuities £15,
House rent allowance £12, Coals and Candles £8.
Total: £105 p.a.
Clerk of Works Thomas vVeaver, Salary £182. 10s. ad., Gratuities £50, House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles £12. 10s. od. Total: £271 p.a.
The clerk working in the Royal Laboratory was Thomas Hague. His emoluments consisted of a salary of £go and allowances of £20. Tota]: £r ro p.a. The clerks employed under the storekeeper were as follows:
Name Salary Allowances Total p.a.
Joseph Pellatt £go £20 £1 IQ
William Green £go £20 £110
John Tapner £go £20 £1 IQ
Edward Breeze £go £20 £110
Joseph Cheetham Jr. £go £20 £110
William Morris £go £20 £1 IQ
John Dozell £go £20 £110
Evans Marshall £80 £80
These lists submitted to Parliament soon went out of date because the posts of Paymaster, Clerk of the Survey and Clerk of the Cheque were shortly afterwards brought to an end.
On I August 1821 it was stated that the following posts were to be abolished and the occupants retired:76
Clerk of Survey William R. Marshall Paymaster John Henderson John Pitfield
2 Clerks to the Paymaster { Thoma~ Mortimer
4th Clerk in the R.L. John Piper
On 16 August 182 1 it was agreed that Mr Marshall, clerk of the survey, should retire on 31 December 1821,77 and that Mr Henderson the paymaster should also retire on the same date.78 Later, on 2 1 November 182 1, it was decided that as the paymaster could not complete his accounts before 1 February 1822, he could remain on till that date.79
The post of Clerk of the Cheque was also abolished with effect from I August 182 1. Also on 31 December 182 1, the two assistant clerks of the Ordnance Department working in the storekeeper's Department, i.e. under the Respective Officers, John Dozell and Evans Marshall, were discharged. The third clerk who was due to leave, namely William Morris, was retained for a short period.80
The coronation of King George IV took place on 19 July 1821, and according to custom the Royal Laboratory was charged with the manufacture and display in Hyde Park of the official fireworks on that auspicious occasion. This entailed extra work on the staff
76
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,672, p. 2,194. 77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,672, P· 2,373.
78
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47 /2,672, P· 2,375. 79 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,673, P· 3,374• 80 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,673, p. 3,705.
615
4 Clerks under the Storekeeper
John Guest, Salary £100, Gratuities £50,
Appartments, Coals and Candles £12. rns. od.
Total: £162. IOs. od. p.a.
WilliamJones, Salary £80, Gratuities £50, Appart
ments, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £ 138 p.a. John Knight, Salary £80, Gratuities £ 35, House rent allowance £12, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £135 p.a.
Cornelius Sharp, Salary £70, Gratuities £15, House rent allowance £12, Coals and Candles £8. Total: £105 p.a.
Total Salaries £2,002. 10s. od. Total Gratuities £goo. os. od. Total House rent allowance £82. 16s. ad. Total Coals and Candles £132. os. od. GrandTotal £3,117. 6s. od.
ROYAL MILITARY REPOSITORY
(On the Common) Superintendent Sir William Congreve 2nd Bart. Salary £101. 5s. od. Modeller James Flarty, Salary £120 Clerk
George Chubb, Salary £80, Gratuities £15, House rent allowance £20. 16s. od., Coals and Candles £12. rns. od. Total: £128. 6s. od.
Drauglztsman
John Read, Salary £138. 12s. 6d., Gratuities £ 215 House rent allowance £26, Coals and Candles ' £12. 10s. od. Total: £392. 2s. 6d. p.a.
Total Salaries Total Gratuities £ 439· £230. I 7s. os. 6d , od.
Total House rent allowance £ 64 . 6I S, d0 ..
Total Coals and Candles £25. os. od.
Grand Total £741. 13s. od.
The return of the Assistant Clerks in the Ordnance Department is dated r5 March r82 r.
614
ADOLESCENCE
concerned, and on 30 July 1821, £190. 5s. od. wa~ paid in supplementary wages to officers, masters, foremen, artrficers, labourers and boys who had been employed in the production and exhibition
of these pyrotechnics.81 • v\Tilliam Caffin, the clerk in the R.L. ment10ned i~ the foregoing list who eventually became the deputy storekeeper 1n that departme~t invented a form ofgrape shot, known as 'Caffin's grape shot'. Ther~ is a file in the Public Record Office82 relating to this invention. The letter forwarding the specification and drawings is signed 'William Congreve, Comptroller R.L.' and is dated 18 May 1822 • The pattern was approved on 2 September 1822, but was not manufactured till 1856. Before leaving the subject of clerks, it is as well to mention that on the abolition ofthe paymaster's post,John Geast, the storekeeper, >':
:
-0took over Mr Henderson's duties on New Year's Day 1822.83 s::: ::s Though not strictly relevant to the Royal Arsenal, a great change µ., 0 now affected the Office of Ordnance. On 24 May 1822, a very long Treasury minute transferred to the Office of Ordnance the future arrangements of the Barrack Department for the general service of the Army in Great Britain ~nd !reland, and in the Colonies, and of the Store Branch of tlze Commzssarzat At Home and Abroad. 84 Henceforward (.)
..c::
....
the Board were responsible for housing all British troops.
E
The following extract from London and its environs or the General 0 Ambulator 1820 gives some idea of the machines installed 1n the c.=:
"' 00
Royal Arsenal in the year indicated: s:::
Amongst the great variety of important machines employed in the -"'~
u
Royal Arsenal are those for sawing and planing timber. The straight saws, (.) ..c::
set in motion by the steam engine, which were the invention of Mr Brunel .....
00
ofBattersea, work with extraordinary quickness and save immense labours. s::: The apparatus is almost wholly composed of iron and brass; and the "i
~
transmission and the suspension of the movements are effected with o-reat
i..
b
precision and simplicity. The machine called the compass-saw was so named -0
..s:::
....
from its being applicable to all purposes of circular cutting, or of any
~
irregular sweeps. It was invented by Lieut.-Colonel William M illar of the Royal Carriage Department for cutting felloes, etc. which it performs at less than halfthe expense ofthe old mode. Its principal peculiarity consists in the application ofa piston to the upper part of the saw, which at every stroke makes a vacuum by which means the saw is kept tight and what the workmen cail buckling prevented. The planing machine is a most skilful application of the hydraulic presses of Pascal who, by solving the hydrostatic paradox, led the way for the late Mr Bramah to apply its solution to mechanical purposes; and which he did with the most consummate judgment and effect, this machine being one of his inventions. It •
81 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,672, p. 2,167.
81 PRO/WO/44/643. 83 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,673, p. 3,574, 14 December 1821. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 1,240, 28 June 1822.
6r6
in less than a minute, the sides or cheeks of the largest ship gun-carriage are planed. The vertical axle of the gouge-wheel is raised or depressed by a particular hydraulic press when it is necessary to plane pieces of timber at different thicknesses.
The Arsenal, which is surrounded on the land side by a brick wall contains between one and two hundred acres. The Laboratory contains some very ingenious machines for boring cannon and other purposes.
W. H. Ireland, in his History of the County of Kent 1828-29, vol. iv,
p. 669, also gives some details of the Royal Arsenal. They are very general and add little to our knowledge of the times. He does point out that the largest furnace in the Royal Brass Foundry can melt
\ icw from Rupert's v,,a lk, r 749 about 17 tons ofmetal at a time, and that the period oftime required for the operation of boring depends on the size of the piece, a 12 pdr taking about five days. He mentions the two boring machines in the Dial Square building, talks about the storehouses and adds a few remarks about the Royal Laboratory. He also makes reference to the steam-driven planing machine installed in the Royal Carriage De
f" \•
' partment.
A new departure in policy was made in 1822 when, on New Year's Day, a post of Deputy Storekeeper was instituted. The first holder was Joseph Cheetham who had held the office of Clerk of the Cheque which had been abolished. This change was the direct result of the cancellation of the appointments of the Paymaster, Clerk of the Cheque and the Clerk of the Survey.
On 1 October 1822, Lieut.-Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson took over the Inspectorate of Artillery and the Royal Brass Foundry, his predecessor, General Sir Thomas Blomefi.eld, Bart., having died at Shooters Hill on 24 August 1822.85
The year 1823 again had little history to contribute. The Works Estimates were £10,990. 16s. g½d.,86 a sum which did not allow much scope other than maintenance and special repairs. On 18 April 1823, William Stace, Chief Commissary of the Field Train Department, took over in addition the duties of storekeeper with effect from 1 May, in place of John Geast who had retired after
The Royal Laboratory, c. I 750 85 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,676, p. 1,709, 2 September 1822. 86 PRO/WO/49/145.
617
.,J 7 41
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
consists ofa horizontal wheel armed at equal distances with 32 gouges and with two planes, situated at the extremities of a diameter of that wheel, which is turned at pleasure by a steam engine. The piece of timber to be planed is moved in a straight line on a carriage which is made to advance uniformly by the hydraulic powers moved in like manner by the same steam engine. By these means, in every revolution of the gouge-wheel, 32 distinct grooves comprised in the breadth ofthe third ofan inch are traced on the timber, and immediately after, the slight asperities that separate the grooves are taken off by a stroke of the planes which follow the gouge by being placed nearer to the axis of the gouge-wheel. In this manner,
ADOLESCENCE
24 years service in that appointment. The pay of the combined offices was fi,'<ed at £500 p.a.87 The sale of the house of the 1 t clerk of the cheque also took place this year. The house was in~; Plumstead Road between the Ordnance chapel and the R I Mortar public house, being almost opposite the entrance to th Royal Arsenal. The Board had originally purchased on 30 June Be oyha
· d f M J N 11' · · 1 10 t e
remain er of r_ . efwe s idnteredst m the unexpired term of 25~_ years 1ease o a piece o groun an two messuages which h d b united to form o_ne dwelling house. On 23 May 1823 the sal: of~~~ house and premises was postponed,88 but it was eventual! .er d
. Y e.uecte
on 16 June 1823, the purchaser bemg Mr West who acquired th property for £203.89 e The only work of major construction visualized durin tl
g 1e year
was a new wooden wharf 200 feet long and 30 feet wide h a · .c:
6 fi d h f · ving irom
. to dlf eeth ept ~ watfer m a gradual line along its whole leno-th
0
inc1u mg t e erect10n o two cranes capable of raisin b t
. .c: • g e ween 3
and 4 tons each. The estimate 1or this project was dated J 182390 and amounted to a gross total of£ 10 6g4. Jd 4d une
1 1
as follows: ' rs. 4 · ma e up Materials £ 6 8
9, 7 . 15s. 6d. Carpenters' work £671. r2s. 1id. Smiths' work £203. .l.d
L b 2S. 32 .
a ourers' work £ 14r. os. 4¾d. Needless to say the work had to be spread out ov
. d . er several years
The remam er of the items can best be set out in a· .c. •
iary 1orm. 7 March I823. Church rates to be paid to Mr Farnfield
church rates.91 , collector of
3I March I823. The C.R.E. to revet with a low wall b . the boundary ditch.92 a out r50 feet of
7 April I823. The shed used by convicts da . d · repaired at a cost of£4r. 8s. o½d. 93 ' mage in a fire, to be
I 4 April I823. The C.R.E. proposes to clear the ditches bet ofOrdnance property and some marshland on th E . ween Board
1 e 'ssex side f th ·
sod to Mr Sylvester in r8r8 It was ao-reed that th t , o e nver share the costs equally.94 • b e wo owners should
25 April I823. A portion ofa scarfwall to be built on th • for certain experiments ordered by the Master-General.~/ractice ground 28 May I823. J. T. Earl to do the painters' work at VVool . h r
next three years.96 w1c 10r the
87 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO/ / .88 Extracts of Minutes Series II PROfW0/47/2,66788 , P• 722, r8 April 1822. 89 PROfW0/44/2 gr. ' ' 47 2 , 7 , P· 945•
; °Engineer Pap~rs, PROfWO/551758.
1 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II PRO/WO/ /2
92 6 8
Extracts of Minutes, Series II: PRO/Wo/7; '/8• P· 438,
., Extracts of Minutes Series II PROfW 47 2, 7 'p. 586. 36
" Extracts ofM0utes: Series II: PRO[W8f!;f:•~;~• p. ~ ·
" Extracts ofMinutes Series II PRO/WO/ / '6 8' p. gr.
18
Extracts ofMinutes: Series II: PRO/W0/:;1::6;8: ~: z~~: 618
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
2 June I823. Captain Dickinson, Superintendent ofShipping, authorized to purchase the brig Convert of 200 tons burthen for a sum of £525, including £85 for repairs as a floating magazine to replace the Man.ship.91
2 July I823. Mr Page of Greenwich to supply beer at 18s. the barrel to the convicts for one year from I July 1823.98
IJ October I823. The Royal Carriage Department is allowed the assistance ofone N.C.0.and ten gunners as labourers, also two horses, to assist in unstacking and restacking the depot ofrepairable carriages at \,Vool"vich.99
The Works Estimates for r824 reached a new low level, namely £5, I 79. 6s. g¾;d.Ioo As the allowance of beer and biscuits :for the convicts was from now on to be strictly confined to those acting as artificers and those working in the mud, the amount spent on such commodities fell considerably, being only £164. 10s. od. :for the year in question. This was ~ reduction of almost 90% from the peak years during the Napoleonic wars.IOI The re-erection of the ballistic pendulum was postponed to save money. In 1821 £20 had been approved for this object.102 It was originally set up on the level of the marsh and had to be removed when that level was raised. When the building was taken down in 182 1, the frame and pile were found to be rotted through and the building useless.103
The house inhabited by the deputy storekeeper now began to exhibit serious defects. It was evidently a ramshackle building in a very bad state of repair. It was a cottage in Ditchwash Laneio4 on Woolwich Common appropriated as a dwelling for an inferior clerk. Originally a wooden stable, it had been converted into a small farmhouse and purchased by the Board. By 1824 its northern wall had bulged so badly that fears were entertained for the safety of the structure. It was therefore considered essential to add a buttress for its support. This was not the only trouble. The staircase was a positive menace to children and could not be allowed to remain as it stood. It was therefore decided to replace it, at a cost of£145. 15s. II¾d., in the brickwork which was to be put up to support the bulging wall, thereby achieving both objects in one operation.105 On 2 March 1827, the house had to undergo further repairs amounting to £84. 3s. rod.106 It was however no use putting old wine into new
07 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,678, p. 1,004. 98 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/vV0/47/2,6i9, p. 1,187. 99 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,679, p. 1,866.
100 PRO/W0/49/145.
101 PRO/W0/49/145.102 See note 66. 103 PRO/W0/49/145.
104 Probably a corruption ofDitcl1water Lane. This lane in 1800 was known as Dishwattr Lane; it did not become Ditchwater Lane till about 1850. About 1852 it ,vas renamed Nightingale Place. (See Woolwich and District Antiquarian Society. Proceeding Vol. IV, p. 34. Paper read by W. T. Vincent 6 October 1898) (See Chapter 14, note 162.)
105 PRO/W0/49/145 and Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758. 108 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,690, p. 462 and Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
619
ADOLESCENCE
bottles. The C.R.E. repo;ted on I I June 1827, that the edifice as a whole was extremely frail and would not stand any alteration additions. He strongly advised the Board to consider building a s or quarte r for the deputy storekeeper.107 This they did in due new Resulting from the :8oard's letter of 26 July 1830, the whol/~~:~e~ old cadet barracks m the Royal Arsenal, except the two q t
. . . uar ers
were converted mto store-rooms 1nc1udmg the empty A d ' buildin_g on the East Parade. The two quarters were
:tO~:-y
respectively to the clerk of the survey108 and the deputy st k d
11 d h l ore eeper
T~e.quartebr a ocahte tffiot. e atte_rdwas on the East Parade which had angina11y een t e o cia1 res1 ence of the Assistant I
R.M.A. and recently vacated by Lieut.-Colonel G nspector
• f< fi • • . b ravatt. The
est1mate or£re ttmg 1t ads absmtahle abode for the deputy storekeeper was 568. 12s. 2 ., ut t e Board would onl h .
· · · d I · Y aut onze
pamtlng, papermg an c eanmg, the alterations a d dd" . originally proposed being refused.109 n a 1t1ons
The question of finding quarters for the clerk of th t~e old cadet barracks had become pressing since the d:ms::~ey in his house had been ordered on 4July 1827_110 htion of
The Halifax Wharf, situatedjust outside the western bound
the Royal Arsenal, was sold by auction on l8 May fc ary of
182
Mr Farnfield, who had been the tenant since 182 4 ~r £ 1,600.
2
for the improvements he had carried out.in was given £ 260 Jn a letter dated 15 November 1824 the Bo d . practice butt, which had sunk considerably to b ~r . adutb~nzed the
h • 1 £ r: , e I a1se to its n
e1g 1t o 30 1eet at a cost of£227. 6s. lf d.112 Mone fc ·. orma1 was ta~en up in the Works Estimates for 1825_ Y or this service
113
Again the only way ofindicating the unspect 1 is to present them in the form of a diary. acu ar events of 1824
19 January 1824. Henry Maudsley to su l a st . Royal Carriage Department for Dwo.114 PP Y earn engme to the
19 January 1824. Last summer's hay from th o d sold by public auction.us e r nance marshes to be
14 May 1824. Thomas Hate paid £8. 3s 8d £ · . horse and cart.116 What occasioned the d . . or m}ury done to his disclosed. amage or how it occurred is not
::: Engineer Papers! PRO/W0/551758. 109 EThe_post was remtroduced on 8 September 1826 ng_meer Papers, PRO/W0/551758. ·
110 Engmeer Papers, PRO/W0/55/r8 m PRO/WO/44/291. :) · m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ / E .
2,682, p. 1983. 55 757. . xtracts of Mmutes, Series II PRO/WO/ m PRO/WO/49/145. , 47/
m Extracts ofMinutes Series II PRO/WO/ / m Extracts ofMinutes' Series n' PRO/WO/4 7 I2,~8l' p. l l 6. m Extracts o£Minutes' Series n' PRO/W0/47/2,6881, p. l 17.
' ' 47 2, l, p. 907. 620
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
30 June r824. Mr Stirling to supply beer to convicts at 18s. a barrel for one year from I July 1824.117
r6 July 1824. The Navy Board asked to supply the Royal Laboratory with a new boat 28 feet long to replace the old one which has become unserviceable.118
2 4 September r824. Cornelius Brand to do the painting at Woolwich for 3 years.119
29 September 1824. The boats belonging to George Gray and John Pearson, fishermen ofBarking, which were damaged by gun practice from Woolwich, are to be replaced in one case and repaired for £8 in the other.120
22 October 1824. Mr Earle asks for his glazing contract to be
121
terminated. 6 D ecember r824. A small blast furnace to be erected in one of the sheds in the Department of the Inspector ofArtillery at a cost of£49. 10s. 6½d.122
A fundamental change in regard to stores and storekeeping now took effect in the Royal Arsenal. Up to 1825, each department had jealously dealt with its own stores, both receipts and issues, and had maintained its own storehouses. To this extent they were independent of the storekeeper. Such a system was obviously unsatisfactory in many respects for centralization under the storekeeper would simplify bookkeeping and effect economies. In 1825 all this was changed as a result of the recommendation of a select committee. The department mainly concerned in this new departure was the Royal Laboratory though the Royal Carriage Department was affected to a considerable extent. This change, which was afterwards recommended by the Committee which reported in May and June, was foreshadowed in two executive orders issued in February. On 11 February 1825 it was announced that in future the storekeeper would receive and issue all stores, which would be transferred to his department, and that the issue of stores to outstations by other departments would be discontinued.123 The other was dated 2 1 February 1825 and stated that 'all iron and timber required by the Royal Carriage Department will, unless under active appropriation
124
for manufacture, be stored by the storekeeper'.
The Select Committee, on responsibility for stores and storage, was set up by order of the Master-General and Board dated 1 3 April 1825. It was to consider:
The proportion of articles to be retained in charge of the Storekeeper for purposes of manufacture in the Royal Laboratory.
117 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. 1,073. 118 Extracts of l\1inutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,278. 119 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,681. 120 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,712. 121 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 1,833. 122 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 2,117. 123 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,684, p. 283. 124 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,684, p. 342.
621
ADOLESCENCE
. Th~ sa_me ~ommittee was also ordered to report on certain mvestigations m the Royal Carriage Department. It presented two reports on the Royal La?oratory dated r4 and 29 May 1825. Its report on the Royal Carnage Department was dated 13 June r 82
5
The members of the Committee were : ·
Lieutenant-General Robert Douglas Major-General William Millar
Lieut.-Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B.
Lieut.-Colonel John S. Williamson, c.n.
Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson, K.C.B.
The reports the Committee rendered were very voluminou b
. f h . d . . s, ut
the gist o t eir recommen at10ns was that 1n future all sto fc
. . res or
the Ordnance service were to be received and issued by th t
· h d h • e s ore-
keeper at Woo1w1c. , an t at the issue of stores to outposts by the other departments 1n the Royal Arsenal was to cease.12s . The recommendations were accepted, and on 25 November 1
325
1t was ordered that all manufactured stores and all raw . ,
. . material
reqwred for future production, except such as may be re · d fc
· b r. J qmre or
convers10n e1ore r anuary r826, were to be handed over b the Comptroller R.L. to the storekeeper immediately R L t . hy
r. . · · · s ore ouses
were a1so to be trans1erred.126 This meant additions t0 t h
· £ 6 6 • s ore ouses
amountmg to 7 g. s. rod. which was approved on 1 -r
r82 6_121 ovember
The Works Estimates for 1825 were £ 8 925 n 6d 128 Tl
· 1 d d £ ' · .c;S. • 1.ese
me u e r,ooo towards the sum of £3 328 8s nd •
· h B ' · · ""' · req mred for
repairs to t e rass Foundry, Dial Square and the · ·
b"ll d h d· £66 ' pamtmg of the
1 et woo s e , 3. r3s. I rd. for the conversi f h floor of the north Sea storehouse for R L office on ° ti eduJ:>p er
d £ 6 . . accommo at1on. an I o. os. 7½d. for the repair of Lieut.-General C , ' house on Shooters Hill. uppage s
Mr Page again got the contract to supply beer to the convicts fc one year from 1July 1825 at 18s. a barreJ.129 or The storekeeper's house now required repair d £
6
approved for this service.130 The temporary bu1·1a· ank 25 was
D" · S , mg nown as 'the
1pp1ng _q_uare had by this time fallen into a ruinous conditio Its demoht10n was therefore ordered on D b n.
23
Th 1 d . h d ecem er 1825 131
. e year c ose wit amage to the landing stage b the o~d ship Eggenton. On 30 December 1825 the repair ofythe s:age,
126 PRO/WO/44/291.
121 Extracts ofMinutes Series II PRO/WO/ /
127 Engineer Papers PRO/WO/' / 8 47 2, 685, P• 2,441. i 2s PRO/W0/49/145. 55 75 . 1211 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ / no Extracts of Minutes Series II PRO 47 2,685, p. 1,283.
E~f1neer_Papers, PRO/W0/55;758: /W0/47/2685, P· 2,420, 23 November 1825.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/551758.
622
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
estimated at £13. 1rs. s½d., was ordered; also the hood of a crane which had been put out of action by the schooner Lark was to be made good at a cost of£3. 8s. 5d. The shipowners were called upon to pay for the damage their vessels had created.132
The general layout of the Arsenal had altered but lit.tle since the cessation of hostilities. Ordnance Book 394, which gives details of the buildings in 1821, shows that little change of importance had occurred since 18I 1, except the emergence ofa Rocket Establishment and the development of the Grand Storehouses, both of which have been mentioned in earlier chapters. It cannot be stressed too strongly that the period succeeding the downfall of Napoleon was one of stagnation on the whole. The records provide only items of trivial interest in a world subject to strict retrenchment. The Works Estimates for 1826 are missing, but it may be assumed that the money voted was in the neighbourhood of £5,000-£7,000. The year again presents little of note, except for two changes of policy and the adaptation of the practice range. It was decided that ricochet practice should now become part of the normal training of the Royal Artillery, and this entailed an alteration to the practice range. The necessary changes were considered and put forward by the Committee ofField Officers who suggested that the approximate cost would be £500. This was approved by the Master-General on 3 M ay 1826, who ordered the necessary work to be carried out.133 Actually the detailed estimate proved to be £555. 10s. 8¼d., but the alterations went ahead.134 Mr Walters was the excavator employed and his charges were 4d., 4½d. and 5d. per cubic yard depending on the nature of the soil.135
On 2 August I 826, it was agreed that in future convicts should receive an allowance of 3d. a day in lieu of their rations of beer, biscuits and tobacco which had been their portion for so long. Thereafter the item 'Beer and Biscuits for convicts' disappears from the Works Estimates and is replaced by one headed 'Pay of convicts and Mates superintending'. Actually the disbursement of money was greater, sums in the neighbourhood of £500 replacing the beer money which had dropped to under £200 when the system was changed.136
The other change of policy was the introduction of a Clerk of the Survey. This post was, in effect, a new one, the duties differing somewhat from those carried out by the earlier official of that name, whose appointment was abolished by the Board's Order dated 1 August 182 1. A minute dated 8 September 1826 states:
1811 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,685, p. 2,704. 133 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 943· 13~ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,303, 22 June 1826. 136 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,153, 3 June 1826. 136 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,617.
623
ADOLESCENCE
. In o:der that the Sur'-'.eyor-General may have a local deputy for the mspectJ.on of stores supplied by contractors at Woolwich and Gibraltar a post of Clerk of the Survey is to be instituted and will be borne as a ' addition to the civil establishment of the station. n
The Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich is to have a salary of£ oo-£
3
with annual increments of£20 subject to the regulation of 21 Decemt~~ r825, and a house.
Joseph Cheetham, Deputy Storekeeper, is appointed Clerk of th Survey, and John G~est, rst Clerk in the Storekeeper's Departmente Deputy Storekeeper vice Joseph Cheetham.137 '
Actually the new office was short-lived. There were only two holders, Joseph Cheetham and John Guest. The office was fi
11
abolished on I July 1833. na Y Mr Wallis was most unfortunate. He always seemed to be .er •
· ·11 · Th su11enng
losses owmg to artz ery practice. ree times in 1826 and h
182
was compensated for the death of his animals. On 23 August
; 826e
he was awarded £30 on account of his horse which .c. II'
· · d h"l · PI d was 1ata y
m1ure w 1 e grazmg on umstea Common. The poo b h d
· h· d 1 h d d · · r eaSt a
its 11_1 e? s ate;/ I urmg an expe:1ment being carried out under the direct1~7 ~ t e ~pec~or of Artillery.13B Shortly afterwards his cow ~as kil e on 7h. cto erh~826 by a 24 pdr shell fired on the
practice range. 1n t 1s case 1s compensation was £ 8
1 1 £ 2
18s. ad. the value of the animal's carcass.139 Finally M . w' iel~s ·
1
· £ .c. h · h · h a 1s was
given 17 1or IS cow w 1c was accidentally killed
. h PI d on I ovember
1827 m t e umstea marshes by a shot fired fr .
1 d · • om a new 1 o inch
na_vlli~ guMn_ ur!~g an expenment conducted by M ajor-G eneral W1 am 111ar.
The following additions and alterations we .
1 e approved on I
November I 826 for the following storehouses W k
. · or was to be
commenced and the money provided in the Estim t .c.
a es 1or 1827 ;141 Fuze store
£346.
5s. 2½d.
P~int store, racks for paint kegs
£77. OS. o½d.
Oil store, racks for tin bottles
£107. IIs. IId.
Shed for proving tin bottles
£132. 13s.
3d.
Shed for hoop iron. Iron Yard
£ro5. 16s.
5d.
Total:
£769. 6s. IOd.
One particular installation is worth noting bee . . h
· h" h ause It IS t e first
occas10n on w ic such a convenience had b . 11 .
ffi b "ld. 0 een insta ed In an
o ce UI mg. n i4June 1826 Messrs T T 11 .
' · u ey were instructed
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO /WO/ /
688 1
m Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/Wo/J/•688, p. ,889·
2
139 Extracts of Minutes, Series II: PRO/WO/ 1, 'P• r,76o.
m Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO/WO 47 2•688, P· 2,3°0, 3 November 1826.
141 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II PRO/W0//47//2,6691, P• 2,232, 23 November 1827.' 47 2, 88' p. 2,288. 624
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
to supply one water-closet complete for the new Laboratory office od.142
in the north Sea storehouse for £3. 5s. The diary for the year tells us that on: 5 April I826. William Carter was paid £go for repairing the military communication from the Thames to East Ham.143 I2 June I826. Henry Maudsley submits his bill for £262. 16s. 7d. for repairing the steam engine in the Royal Carriage Department.141
IO July I826. Mr Page of Greenwich to supply beer for the convicts at r8s. per barrel for one year from I July 1826.145 In view of the change of policy whereby convicts were in future to receive money in place of rations in kind this was the last contract of this nature.
28 July I826. Andrew Sanderson to do plumber's work for 3 years from 24 June 1826.146
I September I826. The unoccupied officers' quarter in the old cadet barracks in the Royal Arsenal is to be repaired and painted and reappropriated as a military quarter. It is to be allotted to William Jones, 2nd clerk in the storekeeper's department.147
4 September I826. Colonel Charles Bingham, assistant firemaster in the Royal Laboratory is to lose no time in remaking 554,250 rifle ball cartridges.148
8 November r826. _ otices to be issued that members of the public are not to appropriate pieces of old iron shot and shell which they may find lying about.149
8 November r826. Owing to the death ofJohn Thwaites, the Ordnance clockmaker, the Master-General has appointed Mr B. Vulliamy to succeed him from 15 October 1826 at the same salary, i.e. £37. 16s. od.
p.a. for taking care of the following 18 clocks. Pall Mall-7; Tower-5; Woolwich-4; Purfleet-1; and North Hyde-1.150
A little more money for works services was made available in 1827, the Works Estimates for that year being £7,954. I Is. 9!d.151 Included in this figure are £500 towards the repair of the foundry,
£785. I Is. 3d. for repairs in the Royal Laboratory, £259. 9s. 4¾d. for repairs to the Royal Carriage Department and £769. 6s. I od. for new building in the storekeeper's department. Also approved on 5 December 1827, was a sum of £24. gs. 7d. for two ceilings in '"'orkshops belonging to the Inspector of Artillery.152 Other essential services carried out were the repair of the Commandant's house at a cost of £371. 6s. 6¼d. authorized on 26 February 1827,153 the
142 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,229. 143 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 718. 144 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,211. u 5 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/vVO/47/2,688, p. 1,430. 146 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,577. 147 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,835. 148 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/VvO/47/2,688, p. 1,856. 149 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\\'O/4.7/2,688, p. 2,334. 150 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,336. 161 PRO/WO/49/146. 1 52 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. 153 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\VO/47/2,690, p. 424.
625
ADOLESCENCE
repair of the sea-wall on the Essex side of the Thames at a cost of £40. 3s. 5½d. approved on 18June 1827,154 a portion ofthe Carriage Yard to be macadamized by convicts at 3d. per day each,155 and a short platform with a porthole to be constructed at a cost of £ 25 at the practice range for the trial ofnaval ordnance.156
Inventions again came to the fore thi~ year: On r 6 April 1s27, Joseph Cheetham was awarded £120 for 1nventmg certain machines which had been adopted wit~ advantage to the Service.157 On r
3
August 1827 four shot machmes to Mr Cheetham's design were ordered from Messrs John Hall ofDartford at £46 each.I5s William Caffin al~o had other i_deas ~esides his grape shot. On 4 May r8
27
he was given £30 for mventmg an apparatus for filling small ar cartridges.159 m
A record in the Extracts of Minutes dated r3July 1827 states:
The large gun taken in Bhurtpoor and sent home by Lord Combe is to be mounted and displayed in the Royal Arsenal• cost to be rbmere
. ' mne
by the Honourable East India Company. Also two handsome field ·
d L c . pieces
presente to ?rd ombermere by the Indian Army to be similarl mounted and displayed; cost to be borne by his Lordship_IGo Y
Bhurtpore was finally taken by storm by Viscount Comb
ermere
on r8 January 1826,161 and the gun captured at that siege was presented by the commander to H.M. George IV The ea. ·
h · I nage was
du1y constructe d m • t e Royal Carriage Department b t th . was never exhibited in the Royal Arsenal. It was set u'p u -u~ trlo~hy
r. . on vvoo wich
C
ommon 1acmg the South Arch of the Royal Artille • B k
K. . 1y arrac s on
h b h
a spot c o~en Y t e mg himself. He selected this site as 'a bl · and conspicuous situation for this splendid memorial of t pu _1c and gallantry, and also in order to place it in cha . f enberpnse
h. h h d . . rge o a ody of
men w re a 1n so emrnent a degree merited his Ma·e , attachment and approbation'.IG2 The Bhurtpore ~ s~ s
th f h B . . gun now stands In
e corner o t e arrack Field bemg ousted in 186 fi ·
0
of hon b th C · rom Its place
o~r y e nmean Memorial. It is a beautifully chased ?ronzliebp1ece,dcast in 1677, being r6 feet 4 inches in length 8 inches rn ea re an r7! tons in weight. '
f £O~: ~ugu~t r827 an additional £150, over and above the sum
o 2 area y authorized, was approved for making repairs and 164 Extracts of Minut s ·
u 5 Extracts ofMinut::' S e~ies/I, PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. r,218. Papers, PRO/WO/551758 enes I, PRO/WO/47/2,69r, P• r,426, 20July 1827. Engineer
lH E ~-ts fM" .
x...ac o mutes Series II PRO/W ;:; Extracts of Af0utes: Series u' PRO/Wg//47//2,69r, P· r,804, r9 September 1327.
Extracts ofMinutes Series u' PRO WO 47 2,690, p. 793.168 Extracts ofMinutes' Series n' PRO//W /47/2 :69r, p. r,697. u o Extracts ofMinutes' Series I' O/47/2,690, p. 937.
m Not in 1828 as stat;d I, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,386. Colonel A. H. Burne. on Page 235 of The Royal Artillery Mess, Woolwiclz, by Lieut.
• 111 Letter in the Adjutant-General' Offi .
his Records of Woolwich voJ II s ce, Wo0Iw1ch, quoted by vV. T. Vincent in
' · 'p. 431.
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
the requisite alterations in the Royal Brass Foundry for the installa
tion at a later date of steam-driven machinery for boring guns.163
On 10 November 1827 a design for a magazine to be built in the Royal Arsenal for the Royal Laboratory was forwarded to the Board. This magazine, estimated to cost £1,554. ,µ. 6d., was planned to contain r,ooo barrels of powder. It was considered to be eminently desirable and was approved in principle. On 5 December 1827 it was ordered to be considered in the Estimates for 1829. The proposed site was to be south of the branch canal, almost on the spot where the Box Canteen now stands. Its situation was to be about 250 feet east of north of the wooden stables which then graced the Arsenal with their presence.164
It was ordered on 8 August 182 7 that a warning notice should be painted and affixed to the wharf defining the mooring chain to extend to 60 fathoms.165
Finally we have notices of three contractors. On 18 July 1827, M r Jolly was instructed to perform such plasterers' work and supply such workmen and materials as Mr Mears might fail to provide.166 The contract of Messrs John and Samuel Dickson for carpenters' work which expired on 3 1 December 1826 was renewed till 31 D ecember 1827,167 and the contract of Cornelius Brand for glaziers' work was renewed for a period of three years from 1January 1828.168
The year 1828 followed much the same pattern as 1827, a year of quiet interlude with general repairs only taking place. The Works Estimate was £7,803. I 7s. 5¼d.I69 which included among its main items £500 towards the maintenance of the foundry, £294. gs. ol d, for the Royal Laboratory, £350 for repairs in the Royal Carriage D epar tment and £284. r7s. o½d, on account of the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. In addition, there was a Board's order dated 18 April 1828 approving the building of a ceiling in the loft over the Commandant's stable and the erection therein of a fireplace. The estimate for this service was dated 24 April I 828 and amounted to £15. Is. 2¼d.170
A new clock was now provided for Woolwich by Mr Vulliamy. The C.R.E. suggested that it should be put up on one of the public buildings in a central situation between the R.A. barracks and the Royal Arsenal. The clock was intended to replace the old one in the Royal Laboratory. The Board, however, wondered whether this
163 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,556. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
164 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758, PRO/WO/44/643.
166 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, P· 1,553.
166 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, P· 1,417.
167 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 2,262, 28 November 1827 .
168 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 2,419, 24 December 1827.
169 PRO/WO/49/148.
170 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
627
ADOLESCENCE
new time-piece was essential and referred the matter to Ma·
. :JOr-
G I S.
enera ir George Fisher, who had replaced Lieut.-General Joh
R in C d W n
_ams:Y. as o~man ant, oolwich, on 10 February 1827, for ?Is op1ruon as to Its necessity, and, if so, his recommendation as to its most suitable position.172
On 28 January 1828, the renewal of wall plates at the saw-mill were approved at a cost of £4r. 14,S. _6 f d.173 On 22 February 1a a the R.L. boat was ordered to be repaired for a sum not exce d" 2
d 114 e 1ng
£8• 8S. l . The Woolwich Estimate is once more recorded. It amounted to £48,096 for 1828.175 A Board's letter dated 16 June 1828 authorized the form t· f
. b d ·1 d d f1 a 10n o
a t1m er yar , ra1 roa an oatage for lumber in connect· · h
·11 · d 10n wit
the saw-mi at an est1mat~e cost of£339. 5s. 8½d. and £ 58. 8s. 6J..d . a total of£397. 14,S. 3d.11 G 2 ·, Various appointments, occasioned by the death of Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., on 15 May 1828, took place in the de artm
during the year. P ents
C~lonel Sir Augustus Frazer,_ K.C.B., Assistant Inspector Ro al Carnage Department, was appointed Chiefof the Ro I L b . y vice Sir William Congreve, at a salary of£ 350 pa y~l ~ oi_atory Director, Royal Laboratory. · · wi 1 t e title of
Colonel John S. Williamson, C.B., was appointed s ;
l M ·1· R · uper..nt ndent
of the Roya 1 itary epository vice Sir William c .
· Ri h d • ongr eve
C
aptam c ar Hardmge was appointed Assist t I ·
h R I c · D an nspector of
t eC 1 oyal Cahrnlage .epartment ~ice Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer o one ar es Bmgham, Assistant Firema t R L ·
· d F" • . s er · •, was ap
pomte iremaster R.L. on his existing salary of £• Major-General Joseph Maclean. 2 3° p.a. vice
The appointment ofAssistant Firemaster R L 1 .c.
the moment.In . . was eit vacant for
A~other aJ?pointment was abolished on 3 r December r 828 post m quest10n had only an indirect bearing· on W . h b. T~e
. th d. oo1wic ut it
1s wor recor mg as a matter ofinterest It th f '. the Board. Mr Atkinson the holder who.. w~s d at o architect to
' , receive a salary of£2
(
p.a. salary £200 and gratuities £2s) was in future to b 2J
1
by the Board as a civil architect or su e.emp ~ye
demand.178 rveyor as occas10n might
111 L" G
112 1eut.-enera!John Ramsey died 9 Februar 18 Extracts ofMrnutes, Series II, PRO/WO/ y/ 6 27• 173 Extracts of Minutes Series II PRo;w'8;2' /93, p. l 12, 18 January 1828. PRO/WO/55/758. ' ' 4-7 2,693, P• 169. Engineer Papers
11~ E f . ,
116 xtracts o Mmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/ /Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/Wo/7;2•~93, P· 322. rn Extracts of Minutes Series II PRO/ 47 2• 93, P• 1,332. PRO/WO/55/758. ' ' W0/47/2,693, P· 1,022. Engineer Papers
111 E f . ,
xtracts o Mmutes Series II PRO/WO/ /178 Extracts ofMinutes: Series II' PRO/W0/47 2,693, P· 926, 30 May 1828.
' 4712,694, p. 1,862, 24 November 1828.
628
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The conversion of the old cadet barracks into storerooms and two quarters, one for the deputy storekeeper and the other for the clerk of the survey, has already been mentioned. The executive order to carry out these plans was a Board's letter dated 8 September 1828 which ordered the C.R.E. to fit up the two officers' houses in question and appropriate them as civil dwellings, and to strip completely all the wood-work from the remaining twenty-two disposable rooms and convert them into storerooms.179
The outstanding event of the year 1829 was the construction of the improved entrance into the Royal Arsenal. Not only were new gates and gatehouses set up, but opportunity was taken of altering
CJ
FIG. 4. Elevation of proposed gateway, 1828
the approaches with a view to facilitating traffic to and from the barracks. Three drawings were prepared on I I August I 828 by Colonel John T. Jones, R.E., the C.R.E. Woolwich Division, which indicated clearly the work envisaged. No. I (A/1725) showed the existing entrance arrangements with the proposed alterations in yellow dotted lines, No. 2 (A/1726) gave the proposed layout, and No. 3 (A/1727) was a plan and elevation of the new gate and gatehouses. From these designs it is easy to understand the changes proposed. These necessitated the demolition of the chieffire-master's quarter and the destruction of the gardens allotted to Field Officers' quarters Nos. 6 and 7. The garden belonging to No. 8 Field Officers' quarter was for some reason to be detached from the quarter, enlarged to meet the new eastern gate house, and made into an open space. Drawing No. 3 indicates that the brick gate-posts were to be surmounted by four cannon balls each mounted in pyramidal form and that a mounted mortar was to be established on each gate-house. The eastern gate-house was to contain the 'Warders' appartments' while the western was to house the porters on duty and contain the messenger's delivery room. The original drawings are to be found in the War Office Records at Stanmore, but copies exist in the M.E.D. drawing office, Royal Arsenal.
179 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,694, p. 1,465. Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/758.
ADOLESCENCE
The plan and elevation of the improved entrance was approved by the Master-General and the Board on 27 August 1828, though Colonel Jones was called on to explain to the Master-General why the space marked 'garden' was left on the right hand side of the new entrance.180 The new alignment of the improved entrance was approved by the Master-General and the Board on 15 October 1828.181
A Board's letter dated 26 January I 829 authorized a coping of Yorkshire stone, surmounted by an iron palisade to be placed on the new boundary wall of the military dwellings facing the entrance gates. This was to cos~ £4_7· IOs..ofd., the expense of the iron railing being defrayed by d~hvermg old iron (gun) posts no longer required, and ofequivalent weight, to Messrs John Hall, founder at Dartford.1s2
Although the introduction of gas lighting in the Royal Arsenal is dealt with in Appendix XIV, it is worth recordino-here that the
0
opportunity was seized ofsubstituting two gas lamps for the four oil lamps hitherto in use at the main entrance.183 The bill for the iron fence and railing on the dwarf wall next to the entrance submitted by ~essrsJohn Hall amounted t~ £255. 2s. 2d. This was settled by handmg over to the firm the required amount ofold iron (gun) posts at £3. 6s. 6~. pe~ ton.184 The ne': iron gates for this improved entrance, which still stand pro~dly 1n position, were cast by Messrs
John Hall ofDartford and suppl1ed for the sum of£686. os. Bd.185 This account was met by issuing the requisite amount of old metal at £3. 6s. 6d. per ton and paying for the small balance of£ .. 8s. 2 _a_d
4
• 1 186 Th . f h 4 •
m caS1. e_erect10n o t e new entrance and the alteration of the approach entailed a small exchan?e of land in front of the gates be_tween the Board and Mr J. Pattison of Plumstead. The deed for this exchange was ~ent to the Respective Officers in order that the
necessary record might be made.187 The whole expense incurred on the above undertaking was approved by the Board on Jul 1829.188 3 y
On th_e gates of the Royal Arsenal facing Beresford Square will be found displayed the letter 'B'. This was inset in honour of L d Beresford, during whose tenure of office as Master-General the :e~
p;~,~~i~~;;J/,finutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,694, p.
1,410. Engineer Papers,
181 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/47/2 694 p 1 6 9 E · p
PROf\VO/55!758. ' , , · , 4• ngmeer apers, 182 Extracts of Minutes Series II PRO/WO/ /" 6 6 E ·
PRO/WO/ss/7s8. ' ' 47 -, 9 , P• 124. ·ngmeer Papers, 183 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/WO/ / 6 6 N
Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ / a'. 47 2, 97, p. 1, 21, 23 ovember 1829.
m E fM' 55 75
185 xtracts o ~nutes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,697, p. 1,779, 21 December 1829. 188 Extracts of M~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47;2,599, p. 505, April 1s
10 30.
187 Extracts ofM~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2 ,599, p. 400. 19 March 18 o.
3
Ext.t;acts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 702 p. 314' 4 March 1831.
188 Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. ' ' '
630
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
entrance was made. The inner wall of the staircase under the bell
turret bears the following inscription:
This Entrance to the Royal Arsenal was planned, and the Gateway constructed by order of General Viscount Beresford, G.C.B., G.C.H. Master-General of tlze Ordnance in the tenth Year oftlze Reign of His Majesty King George IV A.D. r829
Part of this plan was to move the main bulk of gentlemen cadets up to the new Academy on the Common. The houses occupied by the Assistant Inspector R.M.A. and the Instructing Officer were, as has already been stated, handed over to the deputy storekeeper and the clerk of the survey respectively. As a result, the cadets' dining hall, a room 50 feet long by 25 feet broad, became a storeroom. The cottage in Dishwash Lane, vacated by the deputy storekeeper, was let on a 7-14 years lease by public tender at a rent of £20-£30 p.a. The firemaster's house, which had been under sentence ofdemolition for twentyyears was pulled down. The house in the Royal Arsenal occupied by Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Phipps, R.E., Inspector of the R.M.A., was handed over to the Deputy AdjutantGeneral R.A. This made a Field Officers' quarter available. The two light mortar beds to adorn the gate-houses or lodges were cast by the Inspector of Artillery in the Royal Brass Foundry, on an order signed by the Master-General on 30 May 1829. The total
4d.189
expense of the new entrance amounted to £1,295. 6s.
Originally there was ofcourse no top storey over the gateway when it was first erected. This superstructure was added in 1891. Several alterations at the entrance have taken place since the original construction in 1829. An extension to the west side of the gateway on two floors, which included an office for the Superintendent of Police and the bell-tower, were built on in 1859. An extension on the east side of the gateway (one floor) was added in 1889. The superstructure, as stated, was put up in 1891. Lastly the side gates were widened, double gates being introduced in 1936. This main gateway suffered in the Second World War as the result of blast from bombs. The central arch developed cracks and had to be shored up. The damaged part was rebuilt soon after that ,var terminated.
Little ofimportance except the building of the new entrance took place in 1829. The Works Estimates were £10,503. gs. 8¼d., a
189 PRO/W0/44/292.
ADOLESCENCE
slight increase over those of previous years. In these were included £158. 18s. 6d. towards the Arsenal Gate. Repairs were approved as follows. Foundry and Dial Square £478. Bs. 2d., Royal Laboratory £354. 18s. 3d., Royal Carriage Department £483. 15s. 3¾d., and the Department of the Inspector of Artillery £147. os. 5-i/;-d.1 90 Other services were a further raising of the practice butt,191 the conversion of the blacksmiths' shop in the R.C.D. into an iron store at the cost of £283. rns. 6d., sanctioned by a Board letter dated 24
April 1829,192 and the adaptation of a ?uilding in the R.L. to house a steam-driven boring apparatus; sanct10ned by a Board letter dated 21 December 1829.193
Lastly the Board announced on 9 November 1829 that the Treasury had approved, at a cost of£879. rns. 4fd., the erection of a wooden wharf to enable the new convict ship at Woolwich to lie opposite Convict _Square in the R?yal Arsenal.194 ••
Before proceedmg to the followmg year, the loss of a pnv1lege in 1829 must be mentioned. This was the abolition of Watering-time. In the early part ofthe nineteenth century the custom ofsuspending work for half an hour morning and afternoon prevailed. These
intervals were known as 'watering-time' and during them barrels of beer were brought in from public houses by potmen in order that the liquid refreshment might sustain the spirits and energies of the workmen. These interludes were the fore-runners of the present 'elevenses' and 'tea-hour'. One can imagine that this order did not
prove ofoutstanding popularity. The Works Estimates for 1830 showed a slight decrease over those of the preceding year, being £9,179. 17s. 4¼d. The bills for repairs were somewhat heavier being £1,580. 5s. 6d. for the storekeeper's department, £963. r 1s. 6d. for the Royal Laboratory, £r 13. 2s. 2d. for the Royal Carriage Department, £gr. r6s. od. for the house of the Inspector R.C.D. on Shooters Hill and £192. rs. 6d. for the
195
boundary wall. The remainder ofthe year provides little ofinterest, yet for the sake of record the items must be quoted. A Board's letter dated 27 January 1830 referred to a plan and
estimate of the expense of constructing a fire-proof building for the secure storage of rockets in the Royal Arsenal. The estimated cost was £962. gs. r rd.196 A further letter from the Board dated r2 May
r830 authorized the repair of the roof of the Model Room of the Royal Arsenal, which was of course the old Academy or Tower uo PRO/WO/49/150.
191
192 Extracts of Mi~utes, Seri~ II, PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 382, 18 March 1829. Extracts of Mmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 569. Engineer Papers,
PRO/WO /55/758. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. m PROfWO/49/153.
m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
632
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Place to give it its original name, at a cost of £114. os. s¼d, The cost was to be brought forward in the Estimates for I 83 I ,197
r2 May r830. A crane to be fixed on the upper floor of the R.L. store for materials at a cost of £24. I 3s. 3½d.198 • • 30 August r830. £35. 8s. 6d. was paid for altering lamp irons and painting and lettering the lamps.199 • 27 September r830. Additional store-houses for preservmg wooden planks t0 be erected in the Royal Carriage Department.200 There was, however, ·ng of £100 effected on the estimate for laying the foundations of
a sav1 . r • d
these buildings and this, it was agreed, should be used m re1ormmg an raising the boundary wall.201 25 October r830. Trees for shelter and amenity are to be planted on Ordnance property at Woolwich.202 • 24 November r830. Messrs John Hall of Dartford are to supply the iron
1. ade fence for the Royal Arsenal. Payment is to be made as heretofore
pa IS 203
by supplying old iron guns valued at £3. 6s. 6d. per ton.
It was agreed in October 1830 that owing to the difficulty of obtaining civilian bricklayers, all available bricklayers in the Royal Artillery should be placed at the disposal of the C.R.E. so that ~he foundations of the new Arsenal storehouses under construction could be completed during the good weather.204 • •
O n 18 December 1830 there was an explos10n 1n the Rocket
1 •
Establishment, but there appear to have been no casua ties. 20-.,
Ordnance Book No. 598 gives the particulars of the Royal Arse_nal for 1830. There is little change from the earlier books as new ~uild. h ad practically been at a standstill since r815. The houses 1n the
ing . .r. 11 • ffi .
Royal Arsenal were in that year occupied by the i.o owing o cers •
The Commandant (Major-General Sir George Fisher)
The Director-General ofArtillery (Lieut.-General SirJohn Mac_leod)206
The Deputy Adjutant General R.A. (Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson)
The Director, Royal Laboratory (Colone~ Sir Augustus Frazer)
The Chief Firemaster (Colonel Charles _Bm~ham) .
The Assistant Inspector R.C.D. (Capta1? Ri~h~rd Hardmge)
The Superintendent of Shipping (Captam Dickinson, R.N.)
Besides these there were four Field Officers' quarters, the houses occupied by the clerk of the survey and by the deputy storek~eper (not yet in residence), an unappropriated house vacated by Lieut.Colonel G. W. Phipps, R.E., the Inspector of the R.M.A., and two
m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. 19s Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,699, P· 666. 199 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 , 193· 200 Extracts of Minutes Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,7oo, P· I,34B. b 201 Extracts of Minutes: Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 ,437, 15 Octo er 183o. 202 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 ,484. 203 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700, P· 1 ,643. 204 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758. 206 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,700,. P· 1,sar 20s This house was temporarily in the possession of a Field O ccr.
42 633
ADOLESCENCE
small tenements. The latter were inhabited by the 2nd clerk of the storekeeper's department and the issuing clerk of the R.E. Department.
Apart from these there was the storekeeper's house (Middle Gate House), and the chaplain's quarters at the Ordnance chapel in the Plumstead Road.
The year r83 r might be described as one ofconsiderable unimportance. By now the number ofemployees had dropped to the neighbourhood of 700, ofwhich the Royal Laboratory accounted for r20. The Works Estimates were down again to £7,481. Bs. g-}d., the main items in which were a new stone floor to the old Sea storehouse £
307.
r8s. 7fd., a new stone floor to the copper store £roo. r3s. ro½d., repairs to the junk wad sheds and fences £304. 2s. 2¾d., and a sum of£353. Is. 5i d. for the renovation of the Long White storehouse which had recently been transferred to the storekeeper from the Royal Carriage Department.207 Regarding the latterit was agreed on g December r 83 r, that all the money allotted for this service ~hould not be ~s_ed 01_1 the L?1:g White store~ouse, but that part of 1t should be utilized m repairmg and reformmg the adjacent brick
building known as the Pontoon Carriage Store. 20s
Two contractors are mentioned. The contract of Cornelius Brand for painting and glazing which terminated on r J anuary 1831 wa renewed for another 3 years,209 and John Edwards was given th s
contract for paper hanging for 3 years from 8 J une r 831.210 e
Messrs John Hall of Dartford obtained tv. o contracts during the year. One on 2 March I 83 I to cast twelve hollow iron columns t complete the Lodge or Auction Room at Woolwich,211 and the othe~ on 5 ?ctober 1831 to cast the iron work required for the palisade
fehn~ehmtendedbto securde _the approach to the fire-proof buildings w 1c were to e erecte m the following year.212 A Board letter dated 10 June 1831 stated that Mr Smith th solicitor, had been instructed to prepare documents for obtainin; the leases of the cottages near the entrance gates of the R I
Ar 121a Th b" f . oya
sena . e o ~ect o this move was to demolish these prope t·
· h · k" r 1es
wit a view to ma 1_n_g a new approach road across what is now
Be~esford Squ~re. Ansmg out of this decision Messrs Pank, Eve and
C
n~p. were p~1d the annuities granted to them in consideration of the1r mterest m these cottages.214
On 9 March I 83 I it was ordered that the platform of the mortar
207 PRO/WO/49/153.
::: Extracts of M~nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,694. ;10 Extracts of M!nutes, Ser!es II, PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 18, 5 January 13 1. 111 Extracts ofM!-11utes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 784, 8June 1831.3
Extracts of M!-11utes, Ser~es II, PRO/WO/47/2,7o2, p. 301.
211
m Ext~acts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,369.
Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/551759.
114
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,019, 23July 1831.
634
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
and other practice batteries on the practice range were to be replaced
as necessary.216
Poor Mr Wallis was in the wars again. He had another cow killed during artillery practice and was awarded £12. 10s. od. compensation on 7 September 1831.216
This was the year of the coronation of King William IV and his consort. The ceremony took place on 8 September 183 1 in Westminster Abbey. As usual the R.L. supplied fireworks in Hyde Park for the occasion, and on 21 September 1831 the storekeeper was instructed to pay the expenses.217
Things brightened up a little in the following year. There was quite a burst of renewed activity in new building. Old storehouses which had served their purpose for so long were now falling into such a state of dilapidation that more up-to-date ones had to be constructed, and the question ofstoring what were called 'combustile stores', i.e. rockets, carcases, etc., which had been exercising the minds of officials for some time now, became resolved. A new fireproof establishment was therefore set up. However meagre the funds available, and money for armaments was still at a minimum, the march of progress could not be indefinitely stayed.
The n ew fire-proof establishment, which still stands, though it is now mainly devoted to the tinsmith's art, was built in the S.E. portion of the Arsenal of that date on the site of the old wooden stables which had housed contract horses. A Board's letter of 30 March 1832 authorized their demolition for this purpose.218 It stated that 'In order to clear the ground for the erection of the fire-proof establishment the old temporary wooden stables occupying the said ground should be carefully demolished so that when the estimates for the new buildings are authorized, work could proceed.'219
The Works Estimates for 1832 show quite an appreciable increase. They totalled £14,889. 15s. 6d., a sum mainly accounted for by an item of£6,000 towards new building.220 On 2 May 1832, an interim sum of £1,000 was approved in order to commence the construction of the fire-proof buildings pending the anticipation of the proposed grant as it was thought that the Ordnance Estimates would not be voted till the end of the month.221 Later on, i.e. on 29 August 1832, the two sums were merged and £7,000 in all was granted for the erection of new buildings in the Royal Arsenal during the year, provided they would be completed for that sum.222
215 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,702, p. 344· 21 G Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,703, p. 1,216. 217 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,703, p. 1,286. 218 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/759.210 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,568, P· 2,738. 220 PRO/W0/49/155.221 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,572, P· 3,748. 222 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,583, P· 7,404.
635
ADOLESCENCE
When the estimate of£6,000 was submitted, it was accompanied by a plan of the new fire-proof establishment in the S.E. portion of the Arsenal. It also included details of the new buildings to replace during 1831 those falJing into decay, the replacement of which had been authorized by the Master-General and Board on 29 September 1830. There is a bulky file on this subject in the Public Record Office,223 containing two plans, one before the suggested building in 183 I and I 832 took place, and the other showing the suggested
developments. There were five projects in all.
( 1) To erect and finish a fire-proof building (No. 1 the western-most building) to contain in safety carcases, rockets and other highly combustible stores. Length 60 feet, width 18 feet, height of piers 8 feet and rise ofarch 10 feet. This was estimated to cost £1,252.
(2)
To lay the foundations of two other fire-proof buildings similar to the first. Cost £450.
(3)
To build a powder magazine to hold 1,000 barrels of gunpowder. Cost £1,550.
(4)
To construct a building for seasoning timber near the saw-mill.
Length 286 feet, breadth 24 feet and height to plate 15 feet. Estimated cost £2,400.
(5) To lay the foundation of a new storehouse amounting to £ 8.
34 In this connection there was a design dated 15 December 1331 accompanied by an e~timate for £264.. 17s. 4fd., dated 5 Januar;
1832, for the construct10n ofa double series ofarched shot-bins under the floor of No. 2 fire-proof building already contemplated under the £6,000 estimate.224
The powder magazine mentioned at (3) above is ofcourse the one the design for which was forwarded to the Board on r o ovemher
225
1827. The actu~l cost was est~mated to be £r,554. ,µ. 6d. As ~vents turne~ out 1t was not considered in the Estimates for 3;
1 29
1t had to wait for those_ of 1832. The building for seasoning timber ~as that fore~hadowed m 1830.226 We are told that it was complete m every detail by 18 June 1832 when it was ordered to be handed over to the Royal Car~iage_Department.227 Two reports withfour plans
were prepared on this building development. They are voluminous documents and are preserved in the Public Record Office.22s Th are_ headed ~Completion of S.E. portion of the Royal Arsenal'. T~: mam report 1s dated 18 August 1832 and the remarks ofthe Director Roya! Laboratory, upon it are dated 13 September r832. It give~ the history of the development of the fire-proof buildings and of the gunpowder magazine establishment to the east of them. It points
123 PRO/W0/44/292. m Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/759. 115 See note 164.
11• See note 200.
217 Ordnance Minutes, PROfW0/4711 576 p 5 242
m PRO/W0/44/292. ' ' . ' .
636
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
out that there were some private houses between the magazine
establishment and the Plumstead Road which should for security
reasons be purchased and demolished. An iron plate on the wall of
No. 1 fire-proof building still testifies that the establishment was
completed in 1832.
The removal of the wooden stables damaged and laid bare part of the boundary of the Royal Arsenal at this point, so authority was given on 13 April 1832 to make good and raise the wall at this point
gd.229
at a cost of £203. 2s.
The Board by letter dated r g October 1832 authorized an iron palisade fence to be built across the space between the fire-proof establishment and the magazine guardroom.230 We have already learnt that Messrs John Hall of Dartford got the contract for the iron work of this 'unclimable fence' on 5 October 1831.231
The gap left by the demolition of the stables was not the only part of the boundary which required attention. On 22 June 1832 it was agreed that the wall next to the storekeeper's garden should be reformed at a cost of £185. ¥· 6¾d. in anticipation of its approval in the estimates.232
The practice which had persisted so long and which the authorities had been at pains to regularize, namely, the admittance of unauthorized persons, was now dealt with in a proper manner. At one time, Woolwich inhabitants roamed the premises at will and thefts were a common occurrence. Circumstances improved later when the walls and canal were set up, but no proper system of regulating visits had developed. On 11 April r832 there appeared Orders for admission ofpersons into the Royal Arsenal.233
A. Extract from the orders of the Main Guard
The N.C.O. at the Arsenal Gate is to conduct all strangers presenting themselves for admission to the Captain of the Guard who is to be guided by the following rules in regard to allowing them to enter, as well as by the instructions in the Book at the Gate.
(
r) No strangers are to be permitted to go round the Royal Arsenal without a responsible person to conduct them; one of the guard to be always in readiness for this duty. .
(2)
No foreigner is to be admitted on any account without an order from the Master-General through the Commandant of the Garrison.
(3)
As a general principle, strangers, unless accompanied by an Officer in uniform are not to be admitted without an order from the Commandant's ~ffi.ce but discretionary power is lodged with the Captain of the Guard to ad~it such as are personally known to him, and strangers ofrespectability from a distance, who present themselves and are ignorant
229 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,570, P· 3,299. z3o Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759. 231 See note 212. 232 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,577, p. 5,385. 1133 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,570, p. 3,116.
637
ADOLESCENCE
of the necessary forms, taking care to have their names entered in the Book, and to send a man of the Guard round with them.
B. Extract from tlze orders for tlze N.C.O. at tlze Royal Arsenal Gate
All strangers presenting themselves at the gate for admission into th Royal Arsenal, unless accompanied by an officer in uniform of the Armye Navy or Marines, arc to be conducted to the Officer of the Main Gua d'
The names, professions, residences, etc. of all strangers admitted rt · view the Royal Arsenal-whether accompanied by an officer or not-0 to be inserted in the Book, and the name ofthe person who goes round w:;~
them. The names of pe:sons in the habit of going frequently to the different depart1:1-ents on business-and are known personally to the porters-need not be inserted. When_ persons require admittance on business with any of the departments-if they are not kno~--one of the porters is to be sent to show them the way, and to ascertam that they go to the department · d
r. enquire
ior.
When persons not known to the porters at the Gate apply for ad "tt
"d · th R rru ance
to any of th e res1 ents m_ e oyal Arsenal, they are to be conducted b one of the Guard who IS to see that they go to the person h y
. d r. H . k ' or ouse
enqmre ior. e IS not to ta e any gratuity for so doing or show the ' round the Royal Arsenal. m
No foreigner is to be admitted on any account without a d r.
nor er irom
the Master-General, through the Commandant of the Garrison.
C. Extract from the Orders for the West Wharf Guard
Strangers are not to be allowed to land in the Royal A. 1 · h
' . . . l sena Wl t OUt
the Commandant s special pernussion, except they are upo hi M · , service, in which case a man of the Guard is to be sent ton sd aJehsty s
. con uct t em
to the department enqmred for. Naval and military offi · ·r.
cers 111 un1.1orm
b
are to e allowed to land and the Officer of the Wharf G d
h. d" · · • uar may use
Is IScretion m a11owmg persons known to him as con t d · h h
. nee e w1 t t e
G
arnson or departments to land or embark during the day.
D. Extractfrom the Orders for the N.C.0.'s on the Wharf
He is not to allow any stranger to land in the Royal Ar I · h
· 1 1 sena wit out
h
t e specia eave of the Commandant military and na I ffi ·
·n d H · • ' va O cers In
um orm excepte . e 1s to mform the Officer commanding th W t Wharf Guard when other persons wish to land and his d e .es
the t b b d Th , Or ers respecting
m ar~ o e o eye . e officers and persons known as belon in to the convict hulks, or actually employed in th br d g g not to be interfered with. e pu ic epartments are
. The.following are al_lowed to land and pass into the Royal Arsenal 1mmed1ately on presentmg themselves and giving their names:
The Master-General The Right Hon. Sir James Kempt G c B The Surveyor-General Lieut-Colonel William Leader M~be;ly. ·
M.P. ' Clerk of the Ordnance
Thomas Francis Kennedy, Esq., M.P.
638
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Principal Storekeeper Captain the Hon. Henry Duncan, C.B., R.N.
The Treasurer Thomas Creevy Esq., M.P. Secretary to the MasterGeneral Lieut.-Colonel Couper
A.D.C. to the MasterGeneral Lieut.-Colonel York
Secretary to the Board Richard Byham, Esq.
The above regulations were altered slightly in 1836. Cards were then printed for the admission of visitors to the Royal Arsenal. The cards were printed by Mr E. Jones and the Commandant of the Garrison submitted his bill to the Board on 19 September 1836. Later on an order appeared on 7 October 1840 to the effect that all visitors to the Royal Laboratory were forbidden except on business without an order from the Master-General, a Principal Officer of the Board, the Commandant of the Garrison, the Director R.L. or his deputy.234 The Master-General was greatly disposed to limit visitors to all parts of the Royal Arsenal and not confine the restrictions merely to the Royal Laboratory; he asked the Board to discuss the question with the Commandant.235 On 14 October 1840, the Civil Officers transmitted to the Board a copy of the regulations admitting British visitors to the Royal Arsenal. They enclosed the cards by which the public had hitherto been allowed to enter, and a copy of a temporary order issued by the Commandant on 5 October 1840, stating that 'no strangers whatever are permitted to enter any of the public departments in the Royal Arsenal, or to leave the road marked out for their guidance' which accompanied the card issued to visitors. This was approved and ordered to be adopted at other out-stations.236
These regulations, laid down in 1832, remained in principle in force up to the First World War and much of their substance is applicable today. W.D. Constabulary have replaced troops and messengers have taken the place of porters as guides; otherwise the main precepts embodied in the rules are still observed. The permanent pass and the trader's pass are of course more modern developments.
These new instructions and the new guardhouse for the magazine near the fire-proof establishment demanded additional sentry-boxes I id.237
and five more were purchased for £36. 10s.
234 PRO/W0/44/296.235 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,875, p. 12,257, 7 October 1840. 286 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,876, p. 12,451. :ia1 PRO/W0/49/155.
639
ADOLESCENCE
Other principal works services carried out in 1832 were the draining of Beresford Square at a cost of £52. 16s. 1¾d., repairs to the Royal Laboratory at a cost of £163. 14.s. 10d., the fitting of a new roof to vice shop No. 24 in the Royal Carriage Department for £214. r rs. o¾d., and the erection of a large public privy for £r 16. 9s. 9-!d, The latter appears to have been the first public lavatory built in the Royal Arsenal, the earlier 'conveniencies' being attached to specific offices and workshops.238 One other authorization was made on 22 August 1832. This was the approval to build at the cost of £492. 16s. 3}d. a house to contain the new steam engine
installed in the Royal Carriage Department in lieu of the two
engines already there. Mr Hague supplied the new engine.2so
The wooden wharf for the convict hulk Justicia which the
Treasury had approved in 18~9240 was completed on r 1 July
r832
at a cost of£855. I4S. 9d. which was some £24 under the original estimate.241 The Woolwich Estimate for the year, amounting to £45,662, was not approved till 5 November 1832.242
It was agreed on 23 January 1832, that William Stace, the stor~keeper, sho~ld repr~sent the _Ordna1:ce Department in parish affairs at Woolwich and 1n the ne1ghbounng parishes.243
Turning to technical affairs for a moment it was ordered on 30 May 1832 that the upper deck guns ofH.M.S. Castor, commanded by Captain Sir R. Grant, should be fitted in the Arsenal with percussion hammers. A sufficient quantity of tubes were to be despatched with the guns to the ship which was being fitted out at Chatham Dockyard.244
The storekeeper's position was further strengthened on M ay
30
1832 when all stores on charge of the Engineer D epartment were handed over to that official.245 On 18 July 1832 the Home Department was informed that the burial place on the Essex sh~re allotted to convicts who might die aboard the hulks was not available for those succumbing to cholera. T~e Departme?-t was also told _that the Board had no other ground smtable for this purpose on either the Kent or Essex side of the river.246 The health of the convict establishment was generally bad due no doubt to overcrowding and their harsh conditions of life' working for the most part in mud and water. There was a good deai
238 PRO/WO/49/155.239 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759. 240 See note 194.
::; Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,579. p. 5,962. Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,590, p. 9,663.143 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,561, p. 539.
144
145 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,574, p. 4,688. m Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,574, p. 4,691. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,579, p. 6,207.
640
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
of cholera at this time, and as an inquest had to be held on every prisoner who died, the public conscience was deeply stirred by the high death-rate among the unfortunate wretches.
It was decided on 5 September 1832 to let for the public benefit, the piece of marshland on the N .E. side of the practice range containing I 1 acres, 2 roods and 38 perches, as there was, in addition, ample pasturage available for any horses which might be turned out to graze.247 Lieut. Alexander Reid, the proofmaster, expressed his desire on 29 October 1832 to rent this holding and offered £2. r2s. od. per acre per annum. His offer was accepted.248
Although the property concerned was outside the bounds of the Royal Arsenal, its sale was indirectly connected with that place when the Board of Ordnance offered a plot of ground and buildings near the Royal Dockyard, and a tenement behind the Coopers' Arms in the High Street, for cUsposal. The auction took place on Friday 28 September 1832, the reserve price of the former being £75 and that of the latter £20.249 These figures seem to show that the premises must have been in the nature of what we should now term 'slum property'. Mr Shott, who bought the premises near the Royal Dockyard for £182, had the conveyance refused owing to a defective title, so it was agreed to accept Mr David Slater's offer of £ 100.250 H e w as in a great hurry. He would not wait for the necessary conveyance to be drawn up. I-le paid the £roo down promptly in cash and asked to be put in immediate possession of the slip of ground, an action which was agreed to.251
Towards the end of the year William Jones, the deputy storekeeper, whose garden had been taken for the erection of the 1:ew buildings in the eastern end of the Arsenal, asked for another piece of land to cultivate. He pointed out that there was a vacant plot at the eastern end of the breaking-up yard which had lain derelict for many years and said in his application that the Master-General and Board had always been happy to sanction such requests from officers of the Department. Perhaps the Master-General did not appreciate the advice on what made him happy for he replied t~rsely to M r Jones informing him that nothing coul~ be done until the Committee appointed for the new arrangements 1n the Royal Arsenal had reported.252 Not one whit abashed, Mr Jones repeated his request; this time for a piece of land near the canal as a garden. This was refused him on the grounds that the appearance ofa great National Establishment would be spoilt by such an encroachment.253
247 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,584, p. 7,653. 248 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,589, p. 9,426. 2'19 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\VO/47/1 ,586, p. 8,202. 250 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,613, p. 5,395, 21 June 1833. 251 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,613, p. 5,612, 28June 1833. 252 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,593, p. 10,663, 7 D<:_cember 1832. 253 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/VVO/47/1,628, p. 10,155, 20 November 1833.
641
ADOLESCENCE
Somehow, in studying the records of this period, one gains the impression, perhaps uajustly, that William Jones was an unpleasant person, self-opinionated and inclined to be a little truculent. His official life came to a bad end as will be unfolded later. By his later action he lost for ever his opportunity of succeeding Joseph Cheetham as storekeeper.
Thus ends theyear whenaslightbreeze ruffled the calm. Itdied away at once and in the following years the doldrums are enteredonce more.
The Works Estimates for 1833 were £6,320. os. 8fd.,254 a decided drop on those for the preceding year. There were no outstanding items listed, the money being spent on maintenance and routine repairs.
The main interest during the year was the reorganization of the Engineering Department. On 6 June 1833, the Committee which had investigated the Engineer Department at Devenport, was ordered to transfer its attentions to the Engineer Department at Woolwich.266 The Committee submitted a very full report in the
following August. Their recommendations, endorsed by the M asterGeneral, were ordered to be put into practice on 20 August 1s _256
33
The recommendations were briefly as follows:
( 1) As the whole Royal Corps of Sappers and Miners257 were in future to be concentrated at Woolwich, and as there would always be a minimum of two companies of ~trength ninety each st_ationed there, this m ilitary labour would be sufficient to carry out the mam work of the Engineer Department i? the ~oyal -'Ysenal,_except that of_glaziers, plumbers, painters,
plasterers (mcludmgwhitewashmg and colouring), paviors, slaters, cabinet makers, boot makers, scavengers and engine makers. The latter work should be executed under contract.
(2)
Civil workmen were to be discharged as soon as their places could be taken by men of the Royal Corps of Sappers and M iners.
(3)
~though norma~ly cartage work should be carried out by contract horses, 1t would be advisable to find work for Royal Artillery horses.
(4)
The civil establishment of the Engineer Department was to be as under:
! Clerk of Works, 5 clerks, I office keeper, I sluice and bargemaster and 2 Foremen of Works.
(5) The following redundant posts were to be abolished: r Foreman of Carpenters, I F~reman of Smiths, 2 ~oremen of Labourers, 2 gutter cleaners, I Supermtendent of water engmes and water supplies, 1 porter
and I storehouseman.
In addition to the above there were some other minor modifications in procedure proposed.
m PROJWO/49/157. ::: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,611, p. 5,001. m Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,619, p. 7,361, 23 August 1833.
Renamed the Corps ofRoyal Engineers in October r856.
642
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The Board approved this report on 23 August 1833. The two foremen of works in the new civil establishment were to be the existing overseers on the same rates ofpay. In place of the discharges foreshadowed in (5) above, there were to be posted one N.C.O. of bricklayers, one N.C.O. of carpenters, one N.C.O. of smiths, two N.C.O.'s of labourers and an N.C.O. and three privates for water engines and water supplies.258 The new civil establishment was to operate from 1 January 1833.250 Since change-overs take time to become effective, the Board on 21 October 1833 stated that until the Sappers and Miners had been taken on in the Engineer Department, convicts might be employed therein as artificers.260
As a result of this reorganization the following employees were discharged : Recommended for superannuation
James Barling l William ~inter } Labourers
John McArthur Henry Wam w· kh IForemen
W1.111am. 1c am
James Larkin
Not eligible for pensions-Discharged with a fortnight's pay
W illiam Allender : Foreman of Carpenters
George Poe : Superintendent of water supplies
William Inch : Gutter cleaner
John Quinn : Porter, Engineer Gate ,I\Tilliam Allender was to be noted as a possible foreman of works.261
I t w as felt that the Ordnance lands at Woolwich should now be properly surveyed in order to assist the storekeeper in the assessment of rentals. The Board were very large landowners in the Woolwich district and it seemed merely common sense that a correct survey of their property should be made. The survey ofthe lands in Plumstead was ordered on g January 1833,262 and as the Vestry of Plumstead agreed, the C.R.E. was instructed to start work on 28 January 1833.263 The surveys in question were completed on 19 August 1833 and handed over to the Civil Officers.264
Under the regulation of 27 February 1833, it was ordered that the future occupiers of the Arsenal houses listed below should pay rates, taxes and a proportion of the repairs, instead of the charge falling to the public.265
Owing to the recommendation of the Committee on Stores
268 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
2°0 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
200 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
261 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
262 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,596, P· 225.
263 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,599, P· 997•
264 The name adopted from now on for the Respective Officers. . .
266 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,607, p. 3,797, 26 April 1833. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
ADOLESCEN CE
No. 1 The Director, Royal Laboratory
Under No. 4 The Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage one Department roof No. 7 The Chief Firemaster
/ No. 10 The Superintendent of Shipping House Clerk of Survey House Deputy Storekeeper
Tenement Receiving and issuing Clerk: R.E. Department Tenement Clerk, Storekeeper's Department
Plumstead Road
House Storekeeper
whereby goods after manufacture were delivered to the departments and not to the clerk of the survey, the latter post was abolished with effect from 1 July 1833 and the duties connected with it transferred to the storekeeper and the manufacturing departments. Mr John Guest-the clerk of the survey-was granted a reduced rate of £280 p.a. on the abolition of his office and was to be reemployed at the first opportunity. 266 The first reaction to this new policy was a request_ for _upgrading by the Director, Royal Laboratory, for the clerks m his department, for in accordance with the Board's orders of 25 March and 17 April, certain stores and storehouses were to be han~ed over by the storekeeper to the Royal La_bo~atory. The followmg stores were to be kept in the fire-proof bmldmgs when completed; Congreve rockets, fixed carcases light and smoke balls, Valenciennes composition, fi.)ced hand grenad~s and
fire-ship stores. It was also proposed that three foremen and fifteen 1abourers_shou1d also_ be tra:15ferre?, but on the Director R.L. stating that he did not reqmre the1r services they were discharged ther b effecting a saving of£669. os. gd. a year. It was because he conside;e~ t~: _transfe: of these stor_es would increase the duties and responsib1lities ofhis clerks, thatSir Augustus Frazer-theDirector-propo d that William Caffin, the rst cler½, should become deputy sto:eekeeper and that Messrs Charl~s Ellis and Augustus Wright, the nd
2
and 3rd clerks, should be appomted rst and 2nd clerks. Sir August added that he did not consider that the post ofjunior clerk shou~~ be filled. In other words he was out for upo-rading and not fcor
· f bli h O an
mcrease o esta s ment. This proposal was forwarded to the Clerk of the Ordnance on 29 May 1833.267 The Board did not take overlong to make up their mind. They rejected the suggestion out of
hand on 24June 1833.26s
It ':as, ~owever, eventually accepted in 1835. The minute recordmg this acceptance dated 20 July 1835 states:
::; Ordnance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,610, p. 4,576, 24 May 1833. 218 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,610, p. 4,717. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,513, p. 5,458.
644
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
As the clerks in the Royal Laboratory had represented that their chance of promotion had been worsened since 1828 when the post of D eputy Storekeeper, left vacant by the superannuation of Mr Henry Dugleby, had remained unfilled, it was agreed that a new establishment should be set up with effect from I July 1835.
Proposed establishment
Deputy Storekeeper-William Caffin-£250 rising by £10 to £350.
1st Clerk-Charles Ellis-£180 rising by £10 to £250.
2nd Clerk-Augustus Wright-£150 rising by £10 to £180.
After 7 years this will increase costs by £8r per annum.269
The C.R.E. now got into trouble and received a sharp rebuke from the Master-General. It appeared that in view of the recommendations of the Committee, Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Jones need only have demanded £200 at the time he asked for an additional £ 1 ooo 270 when Parliament had voted £6,000 for the new fire-proof
, '
establishment and other storehouses.271 It was a sort of valedictory message in reverse since he vacated his appointment of C.R.E. Woolwich Division on I I September 1833 being replaced by Lieut.-Colonel George Harding R.E.272
Mr Francis Pellatt, 3rd clerk under the Civil Officers, was granted permission on 30 September 1833 to reside in the quarter in the R oyal Arsenal allotted to Mr Cornelius Sharp, 2nd clerk in the same department who did not wish to live there.273 Mr Pellatt was nut in possession of the quarter on g October.274 ,. On 28 August 1833, the Board approved of experiments being carried out in the Royal Arsenal on Mr John Howard Kyan's antidry-rot process. It may perhaps 1:ot be a~preciated that this p~rticular form of timber decay was bemg studied so closely at the tlme.275 T he tests were exhaustive and took three years to carry out, but the results w ere so promising that the authorities decided to adopt the process. Articles were originally treated at the firm's works, but on rg September 1836, the Anti-Dry-~ot Company offered to install a tank in the Royal Arsenal at their own expense and to treat all timber and wood there with Kyan's anti-dry-rot solution at the same price as they did previously at their own premises, namely 20s. per load of 50 cubic feet and 5s. per cwt for canvas, cordage, bags etc. The firm also agreed that the processing at Woolwich should be under the superintendence of any person whom the C.R.E. might nominate. This offer was accepted and on 28 September 1836, the
269 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,687, p. 6,664.
21° See notes 221 and 222.
271 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/v\TO/47/1,610, p. 4,505, 22 May 1833.
272 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,621, p 8,007, 16 September 1833.
273 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,622, p. 8,371.
274 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4:7/1,625, p. 9,224.
275 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
645
ADOLESCENCE
C.R.E. was instructed to select a convenient site for the tank.276 The tank was ordered to be set up on 5 October 1836.277 Stores for hot climates were treated by this process, for it is recorded that:
300 pick-axe handles 200 shovel handles and I 25 sets of materials for arms chests were to be processed before despatch to Bermuda.27B
On 7 August 1833, a building to act as a shifting house was ordered to be built in the Magazine Yard at a cost of£101. ros. 6d.270 Sea levels at Woolwich were to be repaired on g September r833 at a cost of£29. 18s. 5f d. 280 A wooden building near the East Wharf, erected during the war with France, was authorized for demolition on 28 August 1833.281 On the other hand, the repair of the bulkhead at the old butt at an estimated cost of£281. 1os. 7½d. was disallowed,
no funds being available. 282 There are only two other items worth mentioning:
(I)
Hay cue from the canal banks amounting to 45 loads to be sold in the usual manner.283
(2)
Mr Baker, foreman ofworks, is allowed a couple of vacant rooms
in the Engineer Office in the barracks, as the house he occupied in James Street is ordered to be sold.284
Affairs reached a new ebb in 1834. The Woolwich Estimate was only £3,165285 and the Works Estimate £3,530. r3s. old .28 6 Nothing at all ofimportance happened and the records for th""e year are devoid ofinciden~. !here was a suggestion that a piece of ground in
~ront of Holy Tnruty, _then a new church, should be given up to improve the entrance mto the Royal Arsenal in exchange for the Board's erecting an iron railing estimated to cost £68. r5s. 2d., but the Master-General declined to intervene in the affair. 287
Three visits ofimp~rtance to?k place in the latter half of the year. On 29 M~y 1834 _Pnnce Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and his suite, accomparued by Sir James Kempt, the Master-General visited the
Royal ~senal_a~d witness:d some excellent rocket shoo~ing, and in June, King Wilham IV paid a royal visit.288 On 31 July 1834, Earl
276 PRO/WO/44/293.
::; Engineer Pa~ers, PRO/WO/55/760. Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,782, p. 3,098, g March 18 8.
2; 0
280 Ordnance M0utes, PRO/WO/47/1,617, p. 6,g12. 3 Ord;11ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,620, p. 7,839. ::: Engineer Pa~ers, PRO/WO/55/759. Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,628, p. 10,155, 22 November 18
: 83 33.
Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,618, p. 7,1 36, 1g August 18
; 84 33.
286 Ordnance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,626, p. 9,796, 11 November 1833. Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1 648 p 5 493 288 PRO/WO/49/158. ' ' . ' .
287 288 Ord;11ance Minutes, PRO/WO/t7/r,646, p. 4,861, 30 May 1833. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/759.
646
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Grey and his family in company with Sir James Kempt, came to look over the Arsenal. The day was wet but they were shown around.
William Painter, a bargeman, was on 4 June 1834 allowed to occupy a small wooden b~ilcling adjoining the la_n~ing ylacc ~n the Essex shore on the condit1.0n that he kept the bmldmg 1n repair and took charge of the landing stage.289 A letter from the Board dated 15 August 1834 authorized _the re~~ir of the Arsenal clock at an estimated cost of £40-£45 in add1t:1on to £5. 10s. od. to £6 for new Iines.290 Another letter from the Board dated 13 June 1834 sanctioned the installation of racks in one of the fire-proof buildings to take 3,650 rockets at a cost of £65. I 2s. 4d. The racks were to contain the following rockets:
2,450 24lb. rockets 500 61b. rockets 500 12lb. rockets 200 3lb. rockets291
The fire-proof buildings were ready to be taken over by the Royal Laboratory on 10 October ~~34· ~though they were by then dry enough to receive ammurub.on, it was proposed at that mom.ent to store therein only Congreve rockets, hand grenades, field anununition and fire-ship stores received from Barking Creek. It was possible to store 22,000 fixed carcases ~n these buildings if the Board so wished, but as these were placed in a good sound store, albeit not fire-proof, it was decided that they should not be transferred to the new buildings in view ofthe expense. It was also agreed that powder should not be placed in the princ~pal ma?azine as this buildino-had not, as yet, its platforms for receipt and issue, and th e presenc~ of houses outside the _Arsenal within 200 feet of it constituted a considerable danger nsk. As a porter was not then required, the porter's lodge was appropriate~ for other purposes. T his partial occupation of the fire-proof estabhshment rendered one of the powder vessels unnecessary.292 On 17 October, therefore, the Director Royal Laboratory, and the Superintendent of Shipping,293 agreed that the barge Susan and Mary and the sloop Little Ben could be dispensed with and that the Ordnance sloop Ebenezer should be used for the Royal Laboratory as a temporary vessel. This meant some slio-ht structural alteration to the Ebenezer at a cost of £30 includini materials. The Board approved of this plan, which would also allow the Superintendent of Shipping to use this Ordnance
2s9 Ordnance 1\,1.inutes, PRO/WO/47/1,647, P· 4,998. . , 2oo Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,654, p. 7,396. Engineer Papers, PROf\\O/
55fl_5brdnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,648, p. 5,310. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ 55/759.
292 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,659_, P· ~,9~1.
293 Captain Soady. He had replaced Captam Dickinson.
647
ADOLESCENCE
sloop as a coaster if occasion demanded.294 Since the object of the fire-proof establishment was to concentrate all combustible stores ~hus removing them from_ other storehouses, and to store gunpowde; m order to do away w1th the powder vessels, it was considered essential from the safety point ofview for the Ordnance Department to purchase all private dwellings adjacent to the magazines. This would lessen the risk of accident. The C.R.E. was therefore ordered on 24 October 1834 to ascertain as quickly as possible the terms on which these private buildings could be obtained. 295 He reported on 8 December that the possession ofthe seventeen houses and gardens in Plumstead contiguous to the fire-proof buildings could be acquired for about £3,715. The Board, however, decided to pursue the matter no further. 296 It was stated on 17 November 1834 that the erection of the fire-proof establishment and ~aga~ine w?uld effect a saving of £978. .g.r. od. per annum by dispensmg with certain powder
vessels and other small ships. 297 From this year onwards all military officers allotted houses b virtue of a civil app~intment were liable for the repair of thei~ quarters u_nder ~n ord~nance_dated 28 February 1834_29s Stagnat10n still contmued m force during the next few yea d the events which did take place are so trivial that they are ~' ad~ worth an allusion, yet for the sake ofrecord they must be me t· ar dy
. r. n 1one .
The Works estimates 1or 1835 were only in the neighbourh d f
. 00 0
Th
£3,000. e exact amount 1s not given as it is amalgamated with that to be spent at Purfleet. The total for the two pl
1..d 299 Th . . aces was
£3,857· I Is. 54 · e on1Y1_tem of any magmtude was a sum of £332. 5s. Id. to be ex~ended m cleaning and repairing the main sev\:er ofth~Arsen~I. ThIS was to have taken place early in 18 6, but
3
owmg to t e persistence of wet weather the repairs, estimated to cost about £200, were postponed until drier conditions prevailed.300 There can be no doubt that 1836 was a bad year in th f
h £ · · d d e way o
weat er _or It IS recor e . that the clocks at Woolwich were sto ed by snow m the storm which then took place.so1 pp Numbers in 1835 were at a new low figure. The Brass Foundry employed only r o men, though the Inspector of Artillery had
3
others working u~der him apart from the foundry, making a tota1 of 45 men for his department. The Royal Carriage Department employed 95 workers and the Royal Laboratory had upon its books 136 men and boys all told. Approximately 200 more functioned
m Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47;1,66o p.
9 138
m Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47;1661' ' · ::'7 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/W0/4711:667; ~: ~•?;~6. Ord!lance Minutes, PRO/WO/47;1,663 p. 10\
298 Engmeer Papers, PROfWO/55/76o. ' ' 97· m PRO/WO/49/159.800 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /
ao1 Ordnance Minut 'PROfW0/47 1,7r2, p. 3,219, 23 March 1836.
es, 47/1,758, p. 7,317, 10 July 1837.
648
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
under the Civil Officers, and some 20 to 30 labourers and artificers may have been working in the Engineer Department. This gives a total of approximately 500 civil employees in the Royal Arsenal, one tenth the number during the peak of the Napoleonic wars. It was a five-day working week. The wages bill was as follows:
Inspector of Artillery's Department £1,990 Royal Laboratory £5,738 Royal Carriage Department £4,732 Storekeeper's Department £8,561302
The above numbers of course are exclusive of military labour and
convicts.
On 8 June I 835 Colonel Stephen G. Adye was appointed Firemaster, Royal Laboratory, with effect from gJune 1835 vice Colonel Charles Bingham, who died 4 June 1835.303 He only remained in this subordinate position three days because Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, the Director, died on 11 June 1835. On 12 June 1835 it was announced that Colonel Stephen G. Adye had been promoted to Dire ctor R.L., his place as firemaster being taken by Major Thomas Dyneley.304 Both these appointments were for 5 years. It was the first time on record that military officers appointed to civil posts in the Ordnance Service were to hold them for a specified tenure.
Willi a m Stace, the storekeeper, made an application to reside temporarily in rooms above his office while his house was undergoing repair. The Board refused this request on 22 June 1835 on the grounds that a fire-risk was involved and that the presence of domestic servants among stores was most undesirable. They stated that dwellings and storehouses should be kept apart.305 It was agreed, however, on 13 July 1835 that the vacant rooms above the storekeeper's office should be used temporarily for the storage of correspondence and light stores.306 On 3 1 July 1835, William Caffin was called upon to name two persons as securities for £1,000 for the faithful performance of his duties as deputy storekeeper, Royal Laboratory.307 His sureties were accepted on 14 August 1835.308
The Blue sheds in the Royal Arsenal which had been built in the eighteenth century now began to show signs of rapid deterioration, and owing to their bad state it was agreed on 2 September 1835 that they should gradually be repaired over a course of years with the initial expenditure appearing in the Estimates for 1836. It was
302 Ordnance Estimates, 1835. 303 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,683, p. 5,188. m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,684, p. 5,337. 305 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,685, p. 5,647.808 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,687, p. 6,399.307 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,688, p. 7,o82. 308 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,690, p. 7,581.
43 649
ADOLESCENCE
also approved that before any permanent measures were adopted the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, and the storekeeper should confer and report whether the arrangement of these sheds was suitable and on the extent to which they should be refashioned.ao9 A few weeks later it was ascertained that by a judicious rearrangement o:f stores, the more dilapfdated portions ofthe sheds could be evacuated. It was therefore decided to postpone their renovation.310 Sanction was given on 13 August 1841 to repair in a temporary manner the roof and weather-boarding of No. r Blue shed so as to render it weather-proof at a cost of £5 I. 14.s. 4fd. The estimate and re t
. por
on the suggested type of repair were dated 31 July 184r.3u Owing to lack_ offunds the Blue sbheds, though ripe for demolition, received a rep:1eve. 0 n 27 0 cto er 1848 £5. 3s. rod. was expended on repairmg the roof of No. 6 shed.312 The question of their 1
· 1 d · remova
now senous y arose an m I 848 there was a good deal ofco d
, rrespon
ence on the subject; one ofthe proposals being the erection f
. . o a newf h h
range o storde ouses on t beir site.313 No action, however, followed. It was agr~e on 15 0 cto er 1849 that the structure envisaged to house the timber for the Royal Carriage Department would have to cover not only the Blue sheds but the intervening spac t h
. h dd" . I ·1 f h e oget er
~1t a~ a 1tiona p1 e o t e same length as the sheds close to and immediately to the eastward of No. r shed As the Ro I C ·
· ya arnage
Department couId suppIy the necessary wood and na'l tl nl
• 1 Id b -1 s, 1e o y
cost fcor matena wou e £1,193 for corrugated iron. Work was to commence when funds became available and the servic t fc d
· h E · fc 8 314 • e pu orwar
m t e stimates or 1 50. Resulting from a visit b th p · · I
. Y e nnc1pa
S k
tore e~per an estimate for the repair of these moribund buildings
3
amountmg to £60. Bs. 1 r4 d. was accepted on J 8 d
. 1 d . 4 une I 52 and d b
or ere to e me u ed m the Estimates for the following year 31s Eventually they were pulled down and more mod . t h ·
·1 · h · d eI n s ore ouses
bm t m t eir stea .
The Royal George, a m~n-of-war of 108 guns, was lost off Spithead on 29 August 1782. While heeled over for the repair of ·
dd f · d d a pipe, a
su en gust o wm .rove the sea into her ports and she ea sized and sank. Rear-Admiral Kempenfeldt the crew m p ·
d J · ' , any marines
women an ews, ~n. all about 600 persons, perished in the water/ By the use of a d1~mg bell, the submerged ship was surveyed in May 1817 and dun~g the following years, portions of the vessel, her cargo and some p1:ces ofher ordnance were salved and brought
to the surface from t1me to time Certain b d ·
ao • rass an iron guns,
'Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4:7/r 692 p
8 17
810 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ / 16 ' · ' 3·
au Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ /476 1, 94, p. 8,880, 20 September 1a35.
au O d ' 55 7 o.
r nance Minutes, PRO/Wo/47/2 16
5 1 6
au Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ / 6 ' ' p. 5• 39·
314 0 ' 55 7 I.
316 rdnance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,200, p. 14,229. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/4:7/2,295, p. 6,423.
650
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
collected from the wreck, which had been lying at Portsmouth since December 1834, were on 23 September 1835 ordered to be sent to Woolwich at the first available opportunity with a view to being offered for sale.316
On 14 October 1835 the C.R.E. handed over to the storekeeper for sale 47 loads of hay, the produce of unoccupied lands and plantations at Woolwich.317
The lease of the field behind the practice butt, which had been held by Mr Auchindackay for three years and who did not wish to renew it, expired on 5 November 1835, and the Civil Officers were given authority to re-let it.318 The lease was put out to tender and on20 January 1836 the field was let to Mr Knight for £30 p.a., the highest bidder.319 On 24 August 1836 he was permitted to rent the river wall contiguous to this field for £2 p.a. as a sanctuary for his cattle during artillery practice on the understanding that he would forfeit this place of bovine refuge should any damage accrue to the trees.a20 Finally on 1 g April 1837 it was agreed that Mr Knight's rent for the field should be reduced from £30 to £25 per annum from the following Michaelmas.321
T he new Director, R.L., considered that a porter should be provided for the fire-proof buildings and on 16 November 1835 he made a request that ~ man he had in mind-a married soldier employed as a labourer-should be given the post. He considered that the new porter should live at the entrance of the establishment and that the additional accommodation for the man's wife and family would cost £78. 15s. 11d. The Board recoiled from the idea both in view of the expense and the fire-risk involved in having a dwelling so close to the magazine. They refused the requ est.322
Another storm in a tea-cup now arose with Mr James Pattison. It will be remembered that as early as I 750 his ancestor and the Board at that period were at loggerheads over water supplies. There w as a piece of land which was supposed to have been purchased along with a larger amount from Mr Pattison. He, however, claimed the plot in question and threatened to take proceedings in the Courts.323 This plot had been let by the Board to Major-General William Millar. In order to arrive at the rights of the case, Mr William Green, senior clerk of the 2nd class in the storekeeper's department, was instructed to attend Mr Smith, the Board's
316 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,694, p. 8,791. 317 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,696, p. 9,485. 318 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,699, p. 10,792. 310 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,705, p. 636. 320 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,727, p. 9,133. 321 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,750, P· 4,194. 322 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,699, p. 10,669. 323 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,700, p. I 1,156, 30 November 1835.
651
ADOLESCENCE
solicitor to explain matters.324 On realizing that the ground in question was only a strip some 30 feet by 10 feet, which was of no use to the Ordnance, the Board decided to hand it over to Mr Pattison. In the circumstances it was certainly not worth fighting an action about.325 The C.R.E. was ordered to fence it off and Major-General Millar was informed that the 'parcel' rented by
him had been assigned to Mr Pattison.326 The porphory column sent home by Richard, seventh Earl of Cavan, was on 20January 1836 ordered to be moved from Woolwich to Windsor Castle at the express wish of William IV.327
Mr Ismay who rented five acres of Ordnance land on the Essex shore opposite the Royal Arsenal complained on 4 May 1836 that persons were removing sand from the river bed in front of the land he rented. The Board at once made application to the Commis
sioners of Woods and Forests.328
H.R.H. the Prince of Orange visited the Royal Arsenal on Saturday 21 May 1836. In view of this the R.L. employees were ordered to work on that day.329 As however this order arrived too late to be effective no work was done on that Saturday.330
On 11 July 1836, the storekeeper was authorized to become a member of the Plum~te~d Association for the Protection of Property at an annual subscnptlon of £r.331 What the Association did to further its aims or what specific part the storekeeper was to play
are left to the imagination. The Mary Rose, a vessel of 60 guns going from Portsmouth to Spithead was upset in a squall. All on board perished on 20 July r545. Guns and shot were eventually recovered from her and on 28 September 1836 it was ordered that these cannon and the two shots, one an 8 inch and the other a 24 pdr., should be sent to the Royal Military Repository.332 The three pieces are now in the Rotunda Museum at Woolwich. They are:
(1) A b:ass, demi-cannon of Henry VIII; A.D. 1542. The dolphins represent lions heads. Length of gun r r feet, calibre 6·4 inches. Size
32 pdr.
(2) A brass culverin bastard ofHenry VIII; A.D. 1542. On the reinforce a crown and rose relief, with a motto in a scroll around it. The letters 'H.R.' underneath, and then the inscription This colveryn Bastard weys q
2 2
T~e hin~e fitt~ngs _are still on the gu_n for the vent cover; the vent is largq~
bemg I mch m diameter at the orifice, but gradually growing smaller.
::: Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,701, p. 11,392, 7 December 1835. au Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,704, p. 37, 4January 1836. 117 Ordnance Af0utes, PRO/WO/47/1,704, p. 179, 8 January 18 6.
3
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,705, p. 596. ::: Ordnance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,716, p. 4,885. 110 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,717, p. 5,596, 20 May 8 6. 131 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/r,718, p. 5,785, 27 May 11836.
3
.,. Ordnance Af0utes, PRO/WO/47/1,723, p. 7,504. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/r,730, p. 10,402.
652
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
This gun is twelve-sided. Length of gun, 8 feet 6 inches; calibre, 4·56 inches. h ·
(3) A brass cannon royal of Henry VIII. O? t e chase are roses m relief; fieurs-de-lys hinge fittings for a cover remam on t~e vent field. ~e dolphins represent two lions' heads; the loop or handle 1s form~d by their
ths being closed only at the front teeth. On the first reinforce an
:~:ription ofwhich the words 'JOHN OWEN' and 'CANN~N ROYAL'
legible. The royal arms are surrounded by a garter with the motto
~:ieONY SOYTE QUY MALY PENSE'. Length, 8 feet 6 inches; calibre,
8·54 inches.
John and Robert Owen were _two well-known Tudor gun
founders of Houndsditch and Calais between the years 1529 and
1553. They were King's gun-founders in 1546. John Owen was
drowned at London Bridge in 1553.333
On 23 November 1836, the Civil O~cers forwarded to the Board a petition from the la~ourers wor~i?g under them for an increase of pay owing to the high cost of livmg. In those days such a happening was quite unorthodox. _Shop_ steward's demands and trade union representations were still things of the_ future. The Board refused to consider such a petition from the parties themselves but informed the Civil Officers that if they agreed with the request and represented the matter, it would receive favourable consideration at the hands of the Board.334
The Board wrote a letter on 5 October 1836 sanctioning an ex;enditure of £205. 3s. o½d. on erecting_ a new pra~tice battery in th marshes and fixing beacons on each side of the nver t_o prevent ships from anchoring within range when practice was earned o~t.335
The Works Estimates for 1836 were £3,600. They contained nothing of importance.336
The Works Estimates for 1837 were even lower than those for 1 s36-just a paltry £2,424. 8s. 6d. The only item of any significance was ~ sum of£156. gs. 1¾d. for repairing the workshop floors in the Royal Brass Foundry.337 ••
At the beginning of the year the C1v1l Officers requested that officers and clerks should be allowed to purchase coal at contract price through the storekeeper. On 16 January 1837 they were informed that the Board after due consideration had to refuse their application owing to the administrative difficulties involved; it would create a precedent for other statio1;1s. T~~ Board made it clear that they regretted having to make th1s decision a~ they_were, at first sight, disposed to give the request favourable consideratlon.338
ass The Gun-founders ofEngland: Charles ffoulkes, 1937, p. 123.
334 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/ 1,736, p. 12,309.
3s5 Engineer Papers, PROJWO/55/760.
33G PRO/W0/49/160.
a31 PRO/W0/49/161.
m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,741, p. 440.
653
ADOLESCENCE
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
At this time some young Turkish officers were undergoing tuition at Woolwich. They lived in the R.A. Barracks and were under the charge ofLieut.-Colonel William B. Dundas, the Assistant Inspector of Artillery. Four sets of horse appointments were on 8 February 1837 issued for their use.339 On the stairs of the Central Offices, Royal Arsenal, between the world wars, there stood a Turkish head-stone in the form of a pillar which had been found in some stables in the R.A. Barracks. This no doubt came from the tomb of Arif Bey, one of the Turkish officers in question, who died while undergoing this course of instruction. A newspaper cutting of 12 August 1836 states:
One of the young Turkish gentlemen at present pursuing their studies in the military academy died suddenly in the beginning of the week. The funeral took place on Friday in the ground adjoining the Depot near the Royal Sappers' Barrack. No one was admitted but those conducting the funeral. The body was deposited in a brick grave, and the screws of the coffin were withdrawn after it was lowered. The grave was then bricked up in the presence of the friends of the deceased.
A plain but massive monument was erected amid the stables of the Grand Depot Barracks bearing this inscription:
Here is buried Arif Bey, _a yo~1:g T~rkish o!ficer sent to England by Sultan Mahmoud II to receive military mstruchon. He died at V\ oolwich on the rnth day of August I 836, aged 20 years. Let no man distw·b the
remains of the stranger.
Since the Second World War this headstone has disappeared.
Some clerks in the storekeeper's department now became dissatisfied "."ith their lot. No doubt others had felt aggrieved before and certamly many have been discontented since. The Civil Officers reported on I2 April 1837 that Messrs William Green and William Morris, 4th and 6th clerks in the storekeeper's office, complained tha~ under ~~e arran?ements in force they were placed in subordm~te po_s1t10ns, w~le the responsibilities attaching to one part of ~heir duties were _g~ven to a clerk who was much their junior. In the1r re~ort the . Crvil Officers explained why this was so. The ~o~r~ ~1ghtly sa1d that they could not interfere with the local Junsdi~t:10n of the ?ivil Officers upon whom fell the responsibility for seemg that thelf work was carried out in the most efficient
manner.340
~illiam Jon~s, the deputy storekeeper, made another request which was a?"a1? refused. He seems to have been unlucky in his ?emands. Th~s time he asked for an iron railing to replace the fence m front of his house. On 24 April 1837 the Board refused their
::: Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/W0/47; 1,743, p. 1,425. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47; 1,750, p. 3,925.
654
permission saying that the railing would cost £ I oo, that no funds
were available, and that in any case the proposed change was quite
unnecessary.341
Owing to the insecure state of the foundations of the north store in the R.L. yard, an authority was issued on 5 May 1837 to take down the building and to transfer the few stores therein to other
R.L. storehouses. The question of rebuilding was deferred till a later date.a4z Meanwhile, an estimate amounting to £955. 1,µ. 11 ½d. to cover demolition and re-erection was prepared. No doubt the amount of the forecast expenditure induced second thoughts because on 13 October 1837 the whole matter was postponed.343 ?n 31 May 1837 the repair of the proof-butt was ordered to be earned out at a cost of £153. os. gd. This was to be item No. 18 in the Works Estimate for 1837.344 That item, however, states 'Repairs to proof and practice butts £76. 10s. 4}d.'345 Authority was granted on the same day (i.e. 31 May 1837) for the practice butt to be repaired at a cost of £76. 10s. 4-½d,346 which repair was ordered to be done on 18 April 1838.347 It appears therefore that insufficient money was forthcoming for the repair of both butts and that the proof-butt was sacrificed on the altar of economy.
In order to assess the amount that Francis Pellatt, clerk in the storekeeper's department, should be charged for repairs to his auarter in the Arsenal, a plan of the house was ordered to be prepared.348 Domestic improvements were slowly coming into fashion. Already gas was beginning in a small way to eliminate the candle as an illuminant, and now on 21 June 1837 a water-closet , . as ordered to be installed in the quarter of the Reverend J. Scott, the Ordnance chaplain at Woolwich, at a cost of £41. 1 rs. 3d. T he price clearly shows that considerable plumbing and drainage alteration was required.349
A new steam engine for the Royal Carriage Department was now set up in Carriage Square. This necessitated the construction of a cast-iron conduit from the canal to the tank of the engine at an estimated cost of £597. 6s. 3¾d,35o The Eagle Insurance Company obtained the contract on 13 December 1837. The details were to lay r,500 feet of cast-iron conduit pipe at 4S· 5d. per square, to
341 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,751, p. 4,341.
342 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,752, p. 4,813. Engineer Papers, PROf'VO/ 55/760.
343 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,768, p. 10,861.
344 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,754, p. 5,853.
316 PRO/WO/49/161.
346 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760.
347 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,786, p. 4,613.
348 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/V•lO/47/1,755, p. 6,135, 7 June 1837.
349 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,757, p. 6,612.
360 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,768, p. 10,666, II October 1837.
655
ADOLESCENCE
supply and fit 2 stop-cocks at 12 guineas each, and to supply and fit a ball grating for £3. 5s. od.361 A little light on this period from an external source is furnished by Cock's Guide Book of 1837 which says:
The weight ofthe largest gun cast in the Arsenal is ninety cwt. Although a gun wiII require, however much the manufacture may be accelerated eleven or twelve days to complete it, yet they are completed at the rat~ of one and a quarter per day, including Sundays. The mould is secured by being strongly bound with iron hoops and the gun is cast solid. The next process is that of boring and turning which are both performed at one time. A large bit of the di~meter ~anted is fixed, and against this
the gun revolves, four horses bemg required to move it.
During the late war the number of men and boys employed in the Laboratory alone amounted to nearly 2,500; there are not at the present time more than 500 engaged throughout the whole establishment.352
The Works Estimat~s for 18~8 are also missing, but the sum involved was probably m the neighbourhood of£2,500.
A small piece of 'mud-land' on the Essex shore nearly opposite the Royal Arsenal was to be l~ased for a term of years to en able the Ordnance Department or their tenants to resist the encroachm t
. . b en s
made from time to time y persons who claimed a right to dig d
d 363 Th B d . an
carry away san . e oar acqmred this site for 3r years fr ro October 1836 paying £1 p.a. acknowledgment.3s4It was arran;e~ on 22 August 1838 that .N!r French should lease this mud flat_sss Mr Ismay who had ongmally rented the hinterland was
dead. now A long letter emanated from the Surveyor-General on M h
B B · · h · 30 arc
1 3 ra1smg t e quest10n as to the sums chargeable for repa· ·
h f · d" "d 1 "d" . 1rs 1n
t e rents o m IVI ua s res1 mg 1n government quarters in the Royal Arsenal. The matte~ arose on the amounts charged to Messrs Pellatt and Green, clerks m the storekeeper's department d
M Ch f . ' an to
r apman o the Engmeer department. Mr Francis Pellatt was assessed at £7 p.a. i.e. the sum applicable to the class of dwell" h should inhabit, an~ he asked for this to be reduced to £ p.a. :fie~
4
was really appropnate to the 'tenement' in which he lived h b"t
· h · h · , a a 1 a
t10n ~ 1c was m fact be!ow the standard laid down for his class of appomt~ent. He based his appeal on the regulations of 28 February l 834 which promulgated the rates concerned. In these regulations
appears the sentenc~: 'An officer, however, occupying a house of a class_ below that which corresponds to his own class or rank will be reqmred to pay only according to the class ofhouse he may inhabit.,
151 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55;76o.
::: gdoted by "Y· T. Vincent in his Records of Woolwich, vol. I, p. 34r. m O;d~=~~: ~;~~:• ~~g/~0/47/i,778, p. 1,097, 26January 1838. 111 Ordnanc Min t 'PRO//W00//47//1,793, P• 7,575, 22 June 1838.
e u es, 47 1,799, p. 10,074. 656
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
The Surveyor-General submitted that the three small quarters
inhabited by Messrs Pellatt, Green and Chapi:na~ ~hould be rated
at £4 p.a. instead of £7 p.a., the amount the 1nd1v1duals.had been
charged. The Master-General agreed and the regulat1ons were
amended according!y.356
On 4 April I 838 orders were issued drawin~ attention to the
dangers to the public especially in regard to shipments of powder
by laden colliers which anchored off the Arsenal wharf.357 .
An item oflocal Woolwich interest may now be recorded showing
the respectable age of the firm Furlong and Son. An Ordnance
Minute dated I 8 April I 838 states:
'The tender of Furlong and Son for upholstered work at 15%
above scheduled prices is accepted. Contract to run from I April
1838 to 31st March r84r.'358 . . .
The o-reat occasion this year was the coronat:Ion of Queen V1ctona which fook place on 28 June at Westminster Abbey. It was deci~ed to display fireworks in Hyde Park and Green ~ark on th~ e~enmg in question in honour of the event. The expenditure was linnted to £ r ,500, the same as had been authorized for ~he firework exhibition at the coronation of King William IV. The Director, Royal Laboratory, was ordered to prepare and exhibit these fireworks taking care not to exceed the sum laid down.359 The necessary stands were built and on 2 2 June the police were ordered to protect the enclosures in the two parks in which the pyrotechnic display was to be carried
360
out. According to the precedent of r 3 September I 83I,361 M3:jorGeneral Stephen Adye, Director R.L., was on 25 June 1838 given an imprest of £500 payable on 26 June ~y the Paymaster-G~neral on account of the coronation fireworks.36 On 6 July he received a further imprest of £1,000 on the same account, i.e. for defrayment of expenses.363 The cost of the fireworks on this occasion was £ 1, 132. 8s. 3d. in addition to those furnished by the Royal Laboratory which amounted to £360. There was thus a balance of £7. r 1s. gd. from the Treasury grant of £1,500. The Director R.L. was therefore ordered to refund the sum of £367. I IS. gd., i.e. the difference between £1,132. 8s. 3d. and his hvo imprests, to the Paymaster-General.364 Actually Major-General Ste~hen A~ye died on r 3 September r 838, six days before the last 1nstruct10n was issued, so it was the firemaster who on 10 October 1838 reported
35G Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,784, p. 4,010.
357 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,785, P· 4,184.
358 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,786, P· 4,693.
359 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,790, p. 6,545, 30 May 1838.
360 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,793, P· 7,561.
861 On the occasion of the coronation of William IV on 8 September 1831.
362 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,793, P· 7,673.
368 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,794, P· 8,106.
364 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/W0/47/1,801, p. 10,967, 19 Sept mbcr 1838.
657
ADOLESCENCE
that the balance from the coronation fireworks, amounting to £367. I rs. gd. had been paid to the Paymaster-General. 365
On General Adye's ~eath permission was granted to MajorGeneral Peter Fyers, acting Commandant at Woolwich to dispose of the deceased's effects by auction at his late residenc~ at Woolwich.366 Colonel James P. Cockburn succeeded General Adye as
Director, Royal Laboratory, on I October 1838 · the appointment to be for 5 years. 367 As Colonel Cockburn had a h~use on Woolwich Com~on, he was aII?wed t? retain possession of it during his new appomtm:nt, and his o~c1al quarter in the Royal Arsenal was
reappropnated temporarily as a Field Officer's quarter. It was made clear, however, that the house concerned in the Arsenal was to be recognized as the official residence f th D · t
R.1.sos o e irec or,
On_28 March 1838 there was a letter stating that the Inspector ofArtJIIery and of the Royal Brass Foundry was to be re-established as a separate o~ce. It ~ad been combined with that of the Director General of Arnllery smce 30 January h L' G I
W ·11· M'll 1333 w en 1eut.-enera
1 iam 1 ar took over the latter ap · t t o A ·1 8 8
s· J h M 1 porn men. n l pn I 3
ir osep ac ean K.C.~. became Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry vice Lieut -G I u1·1li ·11 d
A ·1 · en era vv 1 am 1 ar an ,
1 18 8
on I . P~1 3 , Lord Bloomfield was made Commandant at Woolw1ch m place ofSirJoseph Macl aG9
L. . ean.
1tt1e more of mterest transpired d • th A
8 8 M V 11' urmg e year. O n 3 ugust
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
Finally, all the engines, machines and other stores which had been handed over by the Engineer Department to the storekeeper were by him to be transferred to the care of the deputy storekeeper, Royal Carriage Department.373
The Works Estimates for 1839 were £2,515. 7s. s¼d. and the only items warranting attention are £179. 14.s. 6~d. for renc,ving the wheeling platforms at the Royal Laboratory, £240. 5s. 11¾d. for renewing the flooring and driving blocks in driving house No r in the Royal Laboratory, and £245. 4-5. 9¾d. for renewing fourteen pile fenders on the wharf.374 The £99. 19s. 11d. allotted for clearing away the mud from in front of the wharf was already exhausted. Since this service was essential, especially during the winter, to allow barges to come alongside and convicts to land, it was agreed on 2 January 1839 that £4 a week could be spent during the winter quarter, i.e. £70 above the sum approved in the \Vorks Estimates for 1838.375 On 18 January 1839 the Board approved the construction of a new chimney with a circular shaft and flue for the saw-mill at a cost of £423. 8s. 9Jd.3 i 6
More alterations were required in the Commandant's house. No doubt Lord Bloomfield was an exacting tenant. Sanction was given on 27 February 1839 for erecting an additional coach-house and making further alterations. The sketch, estimate and report dealing with these changes were dated 20 February 1839, and the cost estimated at £77. Is. 11¾d. From the sketch it is clear that the
1 .3 . r u iamy was authorized to clean the Arsenal clock and wmd dial at a cost between £3. IOs. od and £ d Th were pres bl h . . 4· Ios. o . ese .li~ma Ay t e mstruments over the doorway of the lateRoyal M1 tary cademy 310 o A • · t £ · n 2 9 ugust 1838, alterat10ns amount-O 8 18~g 17 ·, s. I04~were ordered to be carried out on the ommandant s house m the Royal Arsenal.371 b It ;as ;greed on 14 September 1838 to move the OrdnanceJ;n try e~ce to the Ordnance side of the sluice at the eastern end 0of Se sena at_a cost of£3o. gs. Bid. to enable the Commissioners ewers to gam access to the sluice at their pleasure. Till thishc ange was effected the c • . . obtain the ke of the . omm1ss10ners or the1~ servants had to t f h Af gate m the fence near the slmce from the main ga e_do t de senal. This small alteration in the boundary fence was cons1 ere preferable to g f kbelong t th O d ran mg a ey to persons who did not o e r nance Department.372 m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / 8m Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO 47 I, 03, P• 11,837. 317 Ordnance Minutes: PRO/Wo?7//~,Bo3, P· 11,471, 1 October 1838. m Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO 47 •803, P• r 1,471. 119 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ 1711,Bo5, P· 12,772, 29 October 1838. 170 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/Vv8} 7 ~· 1371 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO 47 /797, P• 9,33o. 172 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0//47// ,799, P· lo,344.' 47 1,801, p. 10,805. 658 official house I in 1839 is the modern No. 4 Dial Square.377 It was all to no purpose, however, Lady Bloomfield refused to live in the Commandant's quarter and rented a house at Charlton. It was this action on the part of the new Commandant's wife which caused the card ofOrdnance to purchase the house on Woolwich Common for long known as 'Government House'. It became the official residence of future Commandants. T he question of a new practice range was now being seriously considered, but as it is a long story extending over hventy years it will be given in the following chapter. On r May 1839, William Stace, the storekeeper, who had been seriously ill, was granted 2 months sick leave from 30 April. His work was to be done by William Jones, the deputy storekeeper.378 This rest was of no avail, however, for he died on 31 May 1839. His place, as storekeeper, was taken by Joseph Cheetham, late 373 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,802, p. I 1,088, 21 September 1838. 374 PRO/WO/49/163.376 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,812, p. 49. \Vorks Estimates, 1838, PRO/WO/ 49/162.376 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,813, p. 836. Engineer Papen, PRO/WO/ 55/760.377 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760.378 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,824, p. 5,6o4. 659
ADOLESCENCE
deputy storekeeper, Royal Arsenal and storekeeper, Gibraltar, with effect from 1July 1839.379
George Lucy, a waterman at Woolwich, made application to land passengers, carriages and cattle at the Ordnance ferry on the Essex bank opposite the Royal Arsenal. This request was refused on 12 June 1839 on the grounds that such permission would create a precedent and establish a free causeway whereby the Board would lose their rights.380 Sanction was given on 17 June 1839 to convert part of the stable in official house Finto a coach-house. The sketch and estimate were dated 28 May 1839, and the sum involved was
£14. IIS. 5d.381
On r 2 July 1839 the Board approved the setting up of two new boilers on brickwork stands for the engine in the saw-mill at a cost of £87. os. 5d.382 They also approved the construction of a new bulwark battery and platform at the proof-butts on r2 July 18 _
39
The cost was to b<: £541. ros. 9!d.383 On 4 September 1839 it was ordered that _convicts at Ordnance Est~blishments should be paid 2d. per day mstead of 3d. a day. This would effect a saving of £130. Bs. 4d. upon the sum paid by the Ordnance under the authorized order of 20 December r830.384 The new scale of pay was to commence on 2nd September.385
A horse belonging to Mr C. Jewell was killed on the Plumstead marshes on 30 Sept~mber 1839 b~ a r_ocket fired on the practice range. MrJewell claimed £50 for his ammal but artillerymen on the spot assessed the value between £15 and £20. When the 'eterinary surgeon came to see the dead beast it had been moved and could not be found. The Board refused £50 and said that if M J 11
· fi d h • r ewe
was not sans e t e quest10n of compensation could be rer . d t
b. · N 1ene o
38s O
ar 1trat10n. n 25 ovember 1839 MrJewell was paid 40 g ·
r. h I f h. h . u1neas
ior t e ass o 1s orse, the sum fixed by arbitration.387
Mr B. Green, a clerk in the Engineer Department, was on 20 November 1839 allowed to occupy three rooms adjoining the Engineer ~quare on the understanding that such occupation was at the
Board s pleasure. 388
Sir_ Thom~s Hastings of H.M.S. Excellent reported that at a pract1c~ earned ou_t there with naval shells, Marsh's fuze proved msuffic1ently sure m exploding the shells after bouncing in the
178 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/47/r 827 6 d380 Or~ance Minutes: PRO/W0/47/r:a2a: ~: rf/0 p. 7,rgo.381 Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/s5/76o. '4 182 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/47/ 8 8 .
55/76o. ' r, 3r, P• ,749. Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/
::Engineer Pap_ers, PRO/W0/55/760.
Ord!1ance Mmutes, PROfW0/47/r,836 p. II 044_186 Engmeer Papers, PRO/W0/ss/76o. ' ' 181 Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/47/ 8 6
H7 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/ /r,840, p. 12,53 ' 17 October r839.
181 Q dn Min ' 47 I, 44, p. 13,940.
r ance utes, PRO/W0/4:7/ 1,a43, p. 13,766_
660
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
water to admit of its being adopted for service. He recommended
on 23 October I 839 that further experiments to improve it should
be conducted.389
Mr James Marsh, the inventor of the fuze in question, was born on 2 September I 794. He was a man of considerable scientific attainments both in civil and military life. From small beginnings he earned a place at his death in the Dictionary ofNational Biography. As a young man he was employed in the Royal Laboratory which he left on 29 January I 824. He then studied chemistry with great success. Although in some works ofreference he is referred to as 'The Arsenal Chemist' and the 'Ordnance Chemist', he did not hold any regular appointment on the civil establishment of the Ordnance Department. The Office of Ordnance chemist and assayist of metals, formerly on the establishment of the Ordnance, was abolished in 1825 when the new civil establishment was formed, and Dr McCulloch who had held that appointment for nearly twenty years was granted a pension of £248 p.a. on the Board's order dated I 1 July 1826. James Marsh, after leaving the Royal Laboratory, became the surgery man and dispenser of medicines to the surgeon apothecary in the Royal Arsenal for which he was paid,µ. 1d. a day for 6 days in the week, i.e. £63. 18s. Id. p.a. He was also chemical assistant to Dr Farady, Professor ofChemistry at the Royal Military Academy, for which he (James Marsh) was paid I5s. a lecture for 25 lectures a year, or £18. I5s. od. p.a., making his total emoluments up to the princely sum of £82. 3s. Id. a year.
James Marsh was the originator of the percussion tube. In the evolution oftubes for firing guns, an article ofstore which superseded the portfire, the percussion or detonating principle was in due course introduced and the first tube of this description was invented by Mr Marsh. His tube consisted of a quill body 2½ inches long with a side quill one inch in length filled with a detonating composition. The latter, having a priming of0.2 inch ofmealed powder continuous with the powder in the main tube, was otherwise packed with a mixture of chlorate of potash and sulphide of antimony in equal parts. The tubes were varnished over completely with red sealingwax dissolved in spirits of wine. Known as Rectangular percussion quill tubes, they were approved for the Royal Navy in 1831 and for the Army on 21 November 1845, the Royal Artillery being supplied with them on 20 May 1846. For this invention Mr Marsh was awarded a gratuity of £30 by the Board's Order dated 25 January
1832. James Marsh also invented a new flexible shell tube which was tested on Sandwich flats in 1839. In fuze design he was not idle. He was, in addition, the in entor 889 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,841, p. 12,747.
661
THE DOLDRUMS 1816-1839
ADOLESCENCE
of a type of concussion fuze which purported to explode shells on striking their target. From the report ofSir Thomas Hastings quoted above, however, it was not sufficiently reliable to warrant acceptance by the Service and failed to receive eventual adoption. This fuze was based on the principle of percussion priming which was generally adopted for Service uses on 3I March I 842. Several other patterns of fuze on this principle besides Marsh's were tried before a mixed Committee of naval and military officers presided over by Sir Thomas Hastings in 1845. They all failed, however, to make the grade till Quartermaster Freeburn, R.A., s1;1bmitted his concussion fuze which was approved for the Land Service on 12 October 1846.
A newspaper cutting of 17 September 1841 records:
Experiments were mad~ at the mortar battery on the barrack-field, Woolwich, with a newly mvented fusee for exploding shells at a given number ofseconds after they have been projected from the mortars. The first six fired were 13 inches in diameter, fitted on a principle invented by Mr Marsh, chemis~ ?f the _Royal Ars:nal, the fusee being in the form of a screw, the compos1t10n bemg placed m the hollows, and when ignited or discharged burns at the rate of one inch in two seconds.
Turning to his scientific attainments in civil life, Mr Marsh was the inventor of the electro-magnetic apparatus for which he was awarded the large silver medal and thirty guineas from the Society of Arts390 on 26 April 1823. Perhaps his greatest claim to fame was his invention of a test for d:tecting arsenic. For this he r ceived a large gold medal on 22 Apnl 1836. The Crown Prince of Sweden also presented him with a small silver medal in appreciation of his contributions to scientific knowledge.
Marsh's test for arsenic long held the field. It was described in detail in the Globe of IO August 1889 and is quoted in full by Vincent in his Records of Woolwiclz, volume II, p. 81 I. He was a witness for the Crown in the famous murder case ofJohn Bodle of Plumstead in 1833, having identified arsenic in the remains of the coffee drunk by the Bodle family at breakfast.
James Marsh died 21 June 1846 leaving a widow Mary and two daughters, one Mrs Hallon of Burnham and the other Mrs Cram ofPlumstead. Mrs Marsh received a small pension for her husband's services from the Government in 1847, and the nation promptly and spontaneously raised for her a subscription of £500.391
Let us conclude this chapter by a newspaper cutting dated 14 December 1839:
On Tuesday 26 pieces of ordnance-32 pdrs-were proved at the butt and found perfect. These pieces were cast from Royal Arsenal patterns
390 Kow the Royal Society ofArts. 191 PRO/W0/44/295, Records of Woolwich by W. T. Vincent.
662
· d d by ,. K -Monk and present a chaste and light appearance
intro uce iv~ ' • Th
combined with great strength compared with thosebf~rmerlyd~nfii use. cf · · weight of metal is considerable, there emg a 1 erence o
saving in . h fi d
6 t on a 32 pdr. A piece of 8 inch bore firmg an 8olb. s ot was re ; :h~';a~ge being 3¼ miles. Two ro inch g~ms, firing a 10olb. shot, made to Mr Monk's design, have a range of 3 miles.
Thus ends the story of the Royal Arsenal in the immediate post-Napoleonic era which has been termed the Doldrums. It w~s a time offinancial stringency, reduced output and general depression. Such a fate always overtakes a national arm~ment fac_tory aft?~ ~n
h usting war. Money which flows so plentifully durmg hostilities
~:ie: up at source immediately peace is proclaimed. Like the old
fashioned trade cycle, decline follows boom.
From 1 340 onwards, however, things gr~dually improved till the
of the Crimean War once more infused new energy and
threat -h c. • d
poured additional funds into the Woolwic manu1acturmg epart
ments.
663
Chapter 16
The Beginning of a Trade Wind I840-I850
It may seem an act of faith to have assumed that the period of quiescence outlined in the previous chapter did come to an end with the advent of the year 1840. Yet a faint stirring of activity can be detected in the Royal Arsenal at that particular time owing to a progressive move on the part of the Admiralty. Since the beginning of the great wars at the close of the eighteenth century and the increase in establishment resulting therefrom, there
had been little variation in method and control, the ensuing changes being more in the nature of degree than of kind. T he Peninsular campaign and the struggle which culminated at Waterloo had kept the departments uniformly busy over a long series ofyears, and then had come depression, stark depression, which had wellniah crushed the initiative of the manufacturing departments. The db emand for munitions and other war material had necessarily declined with the prospect of a long era of peace, and the system of obtaining the bulk of stores :rom priv~te firms had further stifled the aspirations of the Woolw1ch factones. The statement that 'prior to 1856 all cast-iron guns were obtained from the trade' is accepted as a simple
fact, but during the Doldrums a feeling of despondency among the workmen must have been created by seeing all the n ew ordnance for the flee~ and the army arriving at Woolwich solely for the purpose of undergomg proof at the hands of the Inspector of Artillery.
The year 1840, however, did witness a new development consequent upon the rearmament of the Royal Navy, in which the Admiralty by a stroke ~f the pen rendered some rn,ooo guns and ca:ronades obsolete and mtrod~ced the new 32 pdr and 8 inch gun. It 1s true that these weapons bemg ofcast-iron were furnished under contract, but orders for 14,000 new cannon extending over 14 years ?id entail mountings and equipment and spelt an appreciable mcrease of_work ov_er the period in question in the various depart
ments, particularly m the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Carriage Department. Hope, 'that star of life's tremulous ocean' thus arose and was justified by events. Figures tell their own tale. Between 1841 and 1854 the annual wages bill for the Royal Arsenal rose
approximately from £35,000 to £94,000 and numbers swelled from the neighbourhood of500 to that of 2,000. The question of extending the practice range on the Plumstead marshes, or of providing a new one, now seriously engaged the
664
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
attention of the authorities. For some years impro~ed ballistics ~ad
made the existing range too limited in extent for sa~sfactory practice,
and it was realized that, unpalata?le thou?h 1t would be, the
expense of new construction or drastI~ alteration would have to be
faced. The first move in this drama, which lasted_a~together for twenty
years, took place on r September 1838 with a v1s1t to the s~ot by the
Clerk of the Ordnance and the Commandant of the Gamson.. As a
result of their investigations they asked for a repo~t and an estimate
on the proposed alterations and for the construction of a new butt.
These dated 4 September 1838, were forwarded as requested, the
estim;te being £1,286. 5s. od.1 Meanwhile more ambitious plans
were maturing. These burst upon the Ordnance world on 21 March
1839.2 They may be summarized as follows:
As the present practice range of 1,200 yards is too limited, it is s1:1ggeste~ that a new practice range of 2,300 yards should be construc!ed. Smee this cannot be done over the old range, new land and new nght:5 must be
btained. After an investicration the C.R.E. reports that there will be great ~ifficulty in making arra~gements with the par~ies holding_ the land, and that the estimate for constructing the new practice range will be £22,651.
gs. 8¾d.
The shock to nervous systems can be imagined. The MasterGeneral was staggered at the figure proposed and stated quite bluntly that however desirable such a new practice range might be, he could n~t contemplate such an expenditure of public money. The scheme was therefore postponed sine die. 3 Schemes, however, die hard when they are sponsored by keen technicians. This colossal figure w~s reduced on I 5 May I 840 by an infinitesimal amo~nt to £ 22,650, but no action was taken.4 On 25 June 1840_ a new estimate of £7 32 r. gs. 1-!d. was submitted, afterwards revised to £7,308. 2 s. 1 r'¼d., but the heart of authority was untouched.5 On 17
J anuary 1842 a further estimate of£10,648.. 5s. 7¾d. was forwarded.
This was increased to £11,809. 2s. gd. With roads, etc., the total
expense amounted to £17,263. os. od.6 Certain arguments were
now put to the Treasury with the result that on_ 10 February 1842
the latter agreed to a capital sum of £2,000 to improve the range
and an annual sum of£390 for rent. They agreed to the insertion of £2,390 for this purpose in the Ordnance Estimates for 1842.7
The C.R.E. was authorized on 2 I February 1842 to delay the engineering portion of the practice range e~tension unti_l the Ordnance solicitor had made some progress 1n the rentmg of the
1 PRO/W0/44/298. 2 PRO/W0/44/298. 3 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,822, p. 4,719. 4 PRO/W0/44/298. 5 PRO/W0/44/298. 6 PRO/W0/44/298. 7 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,924, P· 1,895.
665
44
ADOLESCENCE
additional land required.8 Alterations to the practice range at an estimated cost of£300. I 7s. I I }d. were approved. They were to be financed fro~ the £2,000 capit~l sum voted in the 1842/ 1843Ordnance Estimates devoted to this service.9
There was a report, plans and an estimate for extending this range in the Plumstead marshes. They were dated 25 June 1846 and the cost reached the enormous total of £50,695. r8s. rd. The Master-General and Board decided that the undertaking was not worth the expense, and that the proposed construction should be abandoned._ 7:'hey stated that the advantages to be gained, if any,
would be tnflmg compared to the large outlay involved. In a letter to Major-General Sir J. F. Burgoyne, Inspector-General of Fortifications, dated 29 July I 846, the Secretary of the Board of Ordnance stated:
I am directed to acquaint you that the Master-General and B d
· h · th · • oar
concur "".1flt. you m de opm10n t~at such a sum should not be expendedfc
or ~fio tnfmg an ~ ~antadge which, even jf gained, would be by the sacn ce o some existmg a vantages.lo
In the proposed 1843 scheme, land would have had to have been purchased from twenty-nine owners as follows :
Name Acres Roods Perches
r. T. Barne 49 0 272. H. Berens 40 2
32
3. John Cook 33 2 84. The Clothworkers Company 2I 0
25
5. Mr Crossingham 25 0 r6
6. The Revd C. B. Cook
23
3 57. Mr Chapman 14 2
5
8. Daniel Connell 14 2 20
g. John Colyer 9 2 24r o. Miss Crosswiller
8 I
24
r r. Mr Colyer 23 0
3
12. Miss Cartwright 43 I 2413. F. Dashwood
rg6
3 20r 4. R. H. Dowling 64 I
35
15. Colonel Gubbins 37 0 16
16. T. Gilbert 48 3 I I17. Sir T. Hawley 63 0 1618. Mr Lenton 13 0 12
19. W. Martyn (Atkinson) I
42
33
20. John Plaisted 9 I 42 r. Representatives ofReed (Eves)
11 I
6
: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/W0/47/r,925, p. 2,355. Ordnance M~utes, PRO/W0/47/2,003, p. 5 152.10 Ordnance Mmutes PRO/W0/47/2 8 ' .
PRO/WO/55176r, PRO/W0/#/ g8. ,o 4, P· 1 r,742, 29 July 1846. Engineer Papers,
2
666
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Name Acres Roods Perches
22. Mr Renshaw I
19 35
23. John Russell 18
3 3
24. Andrew Strachan 21 2 l 25. Captain Sturrocks 32 0 16 26. E. Stoneham 14 2 0
27. Lord Saye and Sele 22 0
9
28. Urquhart and Darby 22 2 8
29. The heirs of Wheatley 26 0 2
Total: 971 acres o roods and 37 perches11
The final decision of the Master-General, the Board and the
Treasury on the proposed long range (Plan marked No. 3 and
estimates Nos. 3 and 4) is dated 29 January 1844. As we know it
was a reasoned objection to the scheme.12
By 1850 nothing, except some repairs and maintenance, had been
done, but in that year the subject was re-examined. The Board
wrote to the Treasury putting forward fresh proposals. The last
estimate in the correspondence was dated 7 October 1850 and ran
as follows:
The estimate covered the expenses of constructing two ranges: (A) for 3,000 yards, and (B) for 1,500 yards.
(A) 3,000 yards
Probable cost of purchase £42,902. OS. od. contingent expenses £495. OS. od.
"
Total: £43,397. OS. od. Probable annual expenditure
£ 199. OS. od.
(B) r,500 yards
Probable cost of purchase £13,360. SS· od.
contingent expenses £495. OS. od.
"
Total: £ 13,855. 5s. od. Probable annual expenditure £387. 6s. 6d. Sale of 39 acres of Ordnance lands £3,900. OS. od.1a
A complete precis of these abortive negotiations is recorded in a large file in the Public Record Office.14
There were two series of repairs carried out or contemplated in 1849. On 19 March of that year it was stated that 'the practice batteries and platforms require repairs costing £160. As no money for this service was taken up in the 1849/50 Estimate, it must be postponed and brought forward in the 1850/51 Estimate.'15 On 16
11 PRO/WO/44/298.12 PRO/WO/44/298.13 PRO/WO/44/298.14 PRO/WO/44/298.15 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,179, p. 4,51 I.
667
ADOLESCENCE
June the repair of the platforms of the practice batteries at a cost of £5 was authorized.16 The last statement concerning this project was dated 1 March 1851 which states that 'the rebuilding of the practice range has been postponed for a year'.17
Meanwhile some land at Shoeburyness had been purchased in 1842, and on 27 July 1846 the Master-General, being desirous of ascertaining what additional acreage would be required there to form a practice and experiment~! range for the Royal Artillery, asked Major Henry Sandham, actmg C.R.E. Woolwich, and Lieut.Colonel James A. Chalmer to report on the matter. Their report was dated 3 August 1846. Later the Master-General asked for a
further report on 18 December 1846. This extra information was submitted on 16 January 1847.18 More land on the marshes around Shoeburyness was acquired by the Crown in 1855, and by Act of Parliament 1862, the whole was set apart as 'ranges for the use and
practice of artillery'.
This flirting with the possibilities at Shoeburyness no doubt slowed down the negotiations at ,!\Toolwich. One can understand the objection of the Treasury to 'being landed with twins'. H owever the progress at Shoeburyness being so protracted, the new practice range on the Plumstead marshes was eventually built. In the Estima~es for the _year 1854/55 appears the item: 'For improving
the art:J.llery practice range on the marshes. Vote required for the year 1854/55, £85,000.' In the last annual Estimates for the Board ofOrdnance, i.e. for the year 1855, _the year ~fthe Board's disappearance, occurs a further item relatmg to this service. 'Moving the range in the Ordnance marshes to another site and extending it to
3000 yards in length. Total estimate £ro, 102; already voted £rn,ro2; already spent £3,000. Estimate 1856/57 £ g,ro6.'
Since no further references to this practice range occur in subsequent annual estimates, it may be assumed with a fair degree of certainty that, after twenty years of argument and stalemate it
was at last completed. ' A reorganization of the Civil establishment at Woolwich was approved by the Treasury on 25 January 1840. It was made retrospective to 1July 1~39. The details were as follows ;19
The Director, Royal Laboratory
£350 p.a.20
The Firemaster, Royal Laboratory £230 p.a.
Deputy Storekeeper, Royal Laboratory
£250-£350 p.a.
:: Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,188, p. 8,829. 18 Or~ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,250, p. 2,296. Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 19 PRO/WO/44/6o6.
20
Act~y-~e sal~ry o~ the Director, Royal Laboratory, had been raised to £400 a year to bring 1t 1!1to lme w1th those of the heads of the other two Manufacturing Departments at Woolw1ch. (Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO/47/1,841, p. 12,759.)
668
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Inspector of Artillery £400 p.a. Assistant Inspector of Artillery £200 p.a. Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £400 p.a. Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £200 p.a. Deputy Storekeeper, Royal Carriage Department £250-£350 p.a.
The Storekeeper, Woolwich £600-£750 p.a.
Deputy Storekeeper, Woolwich £250-£350
A careful analysis of these figures shows that t~e pay .of the
firemaster had remained stationary since I 783, notwithstandmg the rise in the cost of living, and that of the heads of the departments had risen by only £50 p.a. On the other hand, th~ s~orekee~er had had his emoluments quadrupled. Presumably this 1n~quality was based on the old theory that military officers had private means. Possibly in those days it was true. It certainly is not now.
A porch to the breakfast parlour of the storekeeper's house at a cost of £12. 16s. o!d. was approved on 29 January 1840. This service had been postponed for the estimate was dated 26 October 1839 and the report which accompanied it 6 November 1839.
Joseph Cheetham, the storekeeper, however pressed stron~ly for _it
as h e said his wife and family felt the cold after I 2 years residence 1n
Gibraltar. The stony heart of officialdom was thus melted.21 .
A committee under the chairmanship ofSirJohn Webb, DirectorGen eral of the Ordnance Medical Department, was set up on 28 F ebruary 1840 with the following terms of reference:
To investigate the cases of the several indi~duals named ~nd to r~port how far they may be respectively fit for contmued and efficient service.
T he members of the Committee were Lieut.-Colonel William
B. Dundas, R.A., Inspector of Artillery, and Mr Joseph Cheetham, Storekeeper.22 •
The Committee reported on the state of the labourers 1n the storekeeper's department on 23 March 1840. They divided the men into three categories:
(
1) Healthy and effective
(2)
Effective for the present
(3)
Unfit for further service
and recommended that those unfit should be superannuated at once. The Master-General agreed but considered that the report should not be implemented till the state of the labourers at other outstations had been ascertained.23 On 5 June 1840, the Treasury
21 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,850, p. 1,193. Engineer Papers, PROf'VO/ 55/760.
22 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,853, P· 2,604.
23 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,856, p. 3,627.
669
ADOLESCENCE
agreed to the superannuation ofthe following labourers at Woolwich as the result of the findings of the Webb Committee :24
N. Wakeman £15 p.a. John Pennyfeather £15 p.a.John Burke £15 p.a. Thomas Clare £15 p.a.Thomas Woodcock £10 p.a. Matthew Bowden £10 p.a.John Devlin £10 p.a. Michael Crow £10 p.a.
The Treasury, while agreeing to these retirements, stated that they wished to be furnished with the usual certificate in cases where men under the age of 65 years were recommended for retired allowances.
Another casualty on the range. This time it was the storekeeper's cow which was ki1led by a splinter from the proof-butts. The animal was valued at £14, but as the carcase was sold for 35s. , Mr Cheetham was compensated by being paid £12. 5s. od., the difference.2s On 16 March 1840 a copy of the Board's Order dated 19 March 1332 relating to the age of entry of labourers into Ordnance Establishments was sent to th_e departn:ie?ts at_ W?oh~ich; that place having been overlooked durmg the ongmal d1stnbut1on.26 This appeared to be an act of sheer carelessness. The Board, feeling in a generous mood, surrendered to Mr James Pattison a small piece of ground
near the Arsenal Gate.27 . In ~ay 1~40, M~ Napier reques~ed that he might be employed m erectmg his machme for compressmg bullets in the event ofsteam power being applied to it. This request was approved in principle no action at the moment being taken, but as the Master-General wisely remarked: 'To steam we must come.'28 Mr apier then
decided to run his machine by steam, and, as a result, the M asterGeneral c~ll~~ for a report from the _Director, Royal Laboratory, on_ the fea~1bihty and th~ advantages, 1f any, of Mr Napier's project bemg earned out, showmg the probable costs compared with those o~ the present method of making compressed bullets. 20 In reply the D1rector, R.L., reported on I 7 July I 840 that the application of ste~m power to bullet compressing machinery would only cause a savmg o~£402. 13s._ 2d. p.a., and that if applied to the working of a!l turrung lathes m the Royal Carriage Department and the circular saw, the amount of money saved annually would amount t~ £~5 I. 6s. ~d: As a result of these figures, the Master-General,
Sir Richard V1v1an, wrote the following minute ;3o
:: Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,863, p. 7,082. 18 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,855, p. 3,301, 16 March i84o. Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/1,855, p. 3,347.
17
sa OOrdnandnance MM~utes, PPRROO/W/WO/47/1,856, p. 3,658, 23 March 1840.
r ce !nutes, O/47/1,860, p. 5,623.
19
10 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/1,865, p. 7,963, 2 June i84o. Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/1,867, p. 8,786.
670
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
13 July 1840. Before I decide this, the general question of an extended application of steam power to our manufactories in Woolwich Arsenal is one to which I am desirous of directing the especial attention of the Board. At present in very many instances the work is done in a primitive manner by manual labor, and at a very great expencc; in the Carriage Department only is steam power employed as it should be. I am fully persuaded that by a more general application of such power, although in the first instance a considerable expence would be incurred, in the end not only would thousands of pounds be saved to the Country, but a very great increased means would be afforded for supplying any extraordinary demand for the munitions of war.
Instead, therefore, of erecting a machine for the manufacture of compressed balls only, I am desirous of having the opinion of the heads of the different branches of the Civil Department, viz, The Director of the Laboratory, the Inspector of Artillery, and the Director (or his assistant) of the Carriage Department on this very important question. With the steam engine now erected for the Carriage Department it might not be desirable to meddle, and I conclude it would be difficult to extend its power so as to assist in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. The question then will be whether it is advisable to increase our manufacturing power by the application of steam, and, if advisable, ·whether one or more steam engines should be erected in the Departments of the Inspector of Artillery and the Director of the Laboratory. I am aware that, at present, from the distance at which the buildings are apart, in which different descriptionsofwork is done, that might be assistedbysteam power, there would be a difficulty in applying to each the power of one engine, but if such work were removed to the houses immediately adjoining the road, was to have that only to intervene. I think means might be devised for carrying the power underneath the road and rendering it applicable to both Departments, and of this I am perfectly certain that if the work now done by manual labor in many instances in the Arsenal was required from an individual manufacturer, advantage would long since have been taken of the power of the steam engine, and a public department of such importance as that of the Ordnance should not continue subject to the opprobrium of not having kept pace with the improvements so generally adopted in private manufactories.
Mr Napier appears a very clever mechanist and the heads of the Departments would do well to consult him when taking into consideration the question I have now brought under notice.
The Board concurred in the principles and views expressed by the Master-General and desired the whole question to be referred to the Heads of Departments named, viz. The Director R.L., the Inspector of Artillery and the Inspector, R.C.D. These officials were instructed to consider the same jointly in all its bearings and consult with Mr Napier as necessary. The result oftheir deliberations were to be forwarded for the information of the Master-General and the Board.
ADOLESCENCE
Sir Richard Vivian was a far-seeing man and his minute was the prime mover in equipping the factories at Woolwich with powerdriven machinery.
On 19 June 1840 it was agreed that two official quarters for the 1st and 2nd clerks of the storekeeper's department should be fitted up in the ~oyal Arsenal. It was considered essential that such officials should live 'on their job'. Th_is mo:'e was necessitated by the two houses on the East Parade, m which these clerks lived being appr?priated for officers of the R~yal Military Academy wh~
had to reside near the _c_adets housed m their vicinity. An order went fo~th for the requmt_e plans a~d e~timates to be prepared.31 The estimate for convertmg premises mto residences for th
· 1 · £ ese
clerks provmg very arge-1t was r, 128. rs. od.-and as the ~torekeeper, d~puty storekeeper and a clerk already had houses m the Arsenal, 1t was finally approved that the two clerks in question should be granted allowances for house rent in lieu charg bl t
A d h' h ' ea e o
the RoyaI Mil. ea emy w 1c had taken over thei · · I
1tary ·
. . . r on g1na
quarters, with the st1pu1at1on that these allowances were n t t b
0
continued to the succes_sor~ of these rst and 2nd clerks. 32 ° e Although the use ofzmc m place oflead as a roof-covering b
r. ·1· ecame,
because of expense, 1am11ar after the Second World w . ·t
. . . J . ar, 1 was
not ~n mnovat10n, smce on r u1y I 840 1t was decided that as the repairs to the Grand Store-house were to be of a tempo a
. ·1 b . . h Id b r ry nature
a s1m1 ar su stitut10n s ou e made.33 ' When the old cadets' hall in the Royal Arsenal 1·n w1 · h I
. , 11c e evat
mg screws had been st~red, was required for the practical work of the cadets, the screws m question had been moved t th
O
floor of the south wing of the Land Store The subs et uppelr
. . · equen resu t
was disastrous; the weight proving too heavy the flo The repair of this store costing £176 gs Id wi'th or gad,d'~ _wayl.
. · · ·, an a 1t10na
£10. 45. od. for fit~mg up the ground floor to receive the elevatin screws, was authorized on 8 July 1840 and the wo k d dg
. r was or ere
to be earned out at once. At the same time the c1·v1·1 Offi
d · d · • cers were
w~rldin~ agamst _epos1tm? heavy objects on the upper floors of
b
m ngs not specially designed to accommodate the 34 ~he st~rekeeper, Jos,eph Cheetham, was a pertina:;us man. He believed m the motto If at first you don't succeed tr t · ,
H k d r. . , Y, ry again .
e as e 1or an entrance mto the Arsenal to be made through his garden wall so that he co~Id gain access to his office without havin to walk_round b~ the mam entrance. Such an amenity would hav~ saved him a considerable amount of time and effort each day. The
81 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/W0/47/i,864, p. 7 685.11 Ordnance Mmutes PRO/W0/47/ 1 8 '
aa Ordnance Minutes: PRO/WO/ I 'aJi' p. I 1,327, 16 September 1840.
u o dn Mi PR /W 47 1, , p. 8,130. 55/76o~ ance nutes, O 0/47/i,866, P· 8,443. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Board refused this request on 11 September 1840. Nothing daunted
he applied again. The Board made its second refusal on 10 August
1842.35 At the third attempt he was lucky, the Board gave way and
on 15 May 1843 gave authority for 'an entrance into the Royal
Arsenal to be made from the Storekeeper's garden'.36
On 2 October 1840, Mr Wall, clerk of the Sewers to the West
Thorock Levels, informed the Board of certain repairs which had to
be made by the Ordnance under an order issued by the Commis
sioners of Sewers.37 On the same day John Wright was given the
contract to erect a guardhouse in the Royal Arsenal, the expense
to be provided for in the 1841/42 Estimates.38
There was a royal visit to the Arsenal on 28 August I 840. After
reviewing the troops at Woolwich, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge
proceeded to the Arsenal where he was shown Napier's invention of
making balls by pressure. Afterwards he witnessed gun, rocket and
ricochet practice, and dined with Lord Bloomfield, the Commandant
of the Garrison, at his house in the Arsenal.
Perhaps this dinner party was the origin of the story mentioned
in Chapter I 3 that the additional kitchen accommodation in
No. 5 Dial Square was expressly built for entertaining William IV.
On 7 October 1840, the Director, R.L., applied for the erection of a pair of gates leading from the Royal Laboratory to the yard at the back of the West Store, the communication with which was circuitous and inconvenient. After consideration the Board postponed the proj"ect for the time being.39 An artillery horse, escaping from the R oyal Arsenal, ran into the shop window of Mr E. Jones, the printer, causing damage valued at £3. 15s. od. On I I November 1840, M r Jones received compensation to this amount from the storekeeper.40 On 11 November 1840, also, it was ordered that a wooden bulkhead at the practice ground should be repaired and enlarged. It was to be made one third greater in height and half as long again in length, in order to show the effect of experiments with percussion shells.41
The Works Estimates for 184042 are missing, but from an Ordnance M inute dated 17 June 1840,43 we learn that the figure was £4,361. 6s. 3¼d., a decided improvement over the rather miserable allowance for 1839.
Three newspaper cuttings tell of events during the year. 35 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,941, P· 9,608. 36 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/VvO/47/1,969, p. 6,300. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/ 55/761.117 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1 ,875, p. 12,120. 38 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,875, P· 12,153. 119 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,875, P· 12,196. 40 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,879, P· 13,750. 41 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,879, p. 13,866. 42 PRO/WO/49/164.43 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,864, P· 7,599·
673
ADOLESCENCE
11 September 1840. On Friday last a party ofRoyal Artillery commanded by Major Chalmers44 proceeded to the proof-butts at the Arsenal at I p.m. to try a plan, which has been in operation for some time in France for discharging heavy ordnance by means of a hammer and deton;ting powder, instead of the usual portfire. Sir John May,45 Colonel Dundas46 and Colonel Dansey47 attended the experiment. The gun was a 32 pdr (1olb. charge) ·with a 32lb. ball (the charge is a flannel cartridge). It seems to be a success and it is hoped that the Ordnance Department will adopt it.
14 October 1840. Previous to the Dockyard fires, the public could wander anywhere in the Arsenal. In the last few days they have had to obtain a p~ss and are res~ri~ted in their movements. They may not enter shops without the perrrussion of the head ofthe department under which the shop comes.
12 Dec~mber 1840. Firing t?ok place in the Arsenal to commence experiments with the new shell invented by Messrs Napier, Wilkinson and
Reece.
The Works Estimates for 184148 again dropped in amount the sum v~te~ being £2,~20. 11s. 3t d. A good deal of lime wa;hing ~nd pamtmg was c~rned out durmg the year, but th only specific items worth a ment10n are (a) £597. 6s. 3fd. for cast-iron conduit pipes to supply the steam engine in the R~yal Carriage Department with water, (b) £274. 11s. 1d. for renewmg 14 pile fenders at the wharf, and (c) £173. Bs. 6fd. for the repair of the lock-gates of the
canal.
There was still a lot of mud and ice which had to be cleared in front of the wharf, and? as the 1:1oney authorized for the year had been expend:d, authority was given to carry on with the work of clearance which probably amounted to another £30 before the d
of the financial year.49 en On 29 January 1841, repairs to the main sewer in the Arsenal to the value of£85. 7s. 1d. were authorized.so On ~ February 1841 sanction was given for certain additions and alterations to the store-:ooms and workshops ofthe Royal Laboratory consequent upon the mtroduction of steam power and mach·
. h n· I S . inery
m _t e ia _quare bmldings amounting to £2,759. 3s. 4Jd. The estimate, which was afterwards amended to £2 758 " (' J._d
. d h ' . '1"' ' 32 .,
accompame t ~ C.R.E.'s report o~.the ~roject dated 3 February
1841. The terr:1 Royal Laboratory m this context is undoubtedly
an error. The Department of the Inspector of Artillery' must have
:: irobably MRajorJam~ A. Chalmer, afterwards Inspector of Artillery.
nspector, oyal Carnage Department. 48 Ir_ispector ofArtillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry.
47 Firemaster, Royal Laboratory. 48 PRO/W0/49/165.
:: OOrddnance MM!nutes, PPRROO//WW0/47/1,886, p. 1,089, 27 January 1841.
r nance mutes, 0147/i,886, p. 1,233_
674
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
been meant. Authority to commence the necessary work was given
on 8 March 184r. The main items of expenditure were:
(a)
The erection of a boring, turning and drilling manufactory £1,942. IOS. 8f d.
(b)
Engine house, steam engine and the setting up of boilers £442. 14-f. 2Jd.
(c)
Form well and conduit to supply the
steam engine with water £392. 1gs. ¥• Total: £2,758. ¥· 3 ½d,s1
On 4 January 1842 orders were given for the buildings receiving this new apparatus for boring cannon to be completed without delay.52
Further sanction was given on 5 September I 842 to expend another £433. I 5s. 5¾d. on additional services to complete the arrangements for this new manufactory. The plan, estimate and report were dated 12 July 1842.53 This was the introduction of steam-operated machinery in the department of the Inspector of Artillery which swept away the old horse boring mill introduced by the Verbruggens. The plan accompanying the estimate and report shows 'the present horse boring mills' placed in the S.E. and S.W. corners of Dial Square. These antiquated pieces of machinery were not finally dismantled till 1846.
On 3 March 1841 the Board decided to manufacture percussion caps for the small arms of the Army and Royal Navy up to total of 20,000,000 a year. The C.R.E. was therefore instructed to discuss with the Director, Royal Laboratory, the premises he would require and forward the estimate for the same to the Board for their perusal. The Director, R.L., was asked to ascertain the best maker of the presses and the other machinery required to enable the Royal Laboratory to produce 20,000,000 caps per annum. The caps when made were to be inspected and tested at the Tower in a similar manner to those supplied by contractors.54 The estimate for the necessary alterations to the Royal Laboratory and Royal Brass Foundry to render them fit to become a percussion cap factory for small arms, amounted to £426. 45'· 1d. It, and the report and plan accompanying it, was dated 15 November 1841. The estimate was approved and sanction was given on 8 December 1841 for the work to be put in hand in due course. The service was to be brought forward in the 1842/1843 Estimates.55 On 3 March 1841, also, the
51 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/760.
52 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,920, p. IOI.
53 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761.
5 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,890, p. 2,554.
<1.
55 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/'W0/47/1,917, p. 16,165. Engineer Papers, PRO/\ 0/ 55/760.
ADOLESCE CE
erection of a shed in the West Yard of the Royal Laboratory, estimated to cost £89. 7s. Bd., was postponed.56
Trouble now began to be experienced through officials, who should have known better, making unauthorized statements to the press contrary to regulations. To put a stop to this the Board circulated the following letter to aJI heads of departments in Woolwich :57
No. 1277
Office of Ordnance
M
24 March 1841
Ill
Many instances have lately occurred in whichnewspapershavepublished information in respect to different proceedings in the Royal Arsenal and other branches of the Ordnance Service at Woolwich, which could only have been furnished by Persons belonging to the Department.
Your attention is directed to the Circulars of the Master-General and Board of r December r820 and 2 October I 835, and you are to call on all those under your superintendence strictly to attend to the orders therein contained, and, should it again be the case that information having relation to occurrences in your Department such as ought not to be made generally known, finds its way to the public journals, you are at once to take every
possible means of discovering the author and report his name to the
Master-General and Board.
I have the honor to be Your Most Obedient Humble Servant
It was laid down on r June r842 that the only local paper in which official advertisements might appear was the Kentislz Gazette. 58 Apparently the circular letter quoted above did not stop this practice of illegal news reporting because on 7 February r 844 the Board again stressed the impropriety ofpublishing matters touching the Royal Arsenal in the local press. Another irregular communica
tion was made to the Woolwich Gazette and the Civil Officers were instructed to ascertain the name of the offender.s9 On 5 April r841 notice boards were placed on the practice range to mark the range ofshot.60 They were short-lived. They were taken down on 27 October following on the representation of the Commissioners ofSewers.61
On 7 April 1841 it was arranged to set up a committee in each department in the Arsenal on the efficiency of foremen, artificers, and labourers, similar to the 'Webb Committee' constituted on 28 February 1840 to deal with a similar problem in the storekeeper's
67 68 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,890, p. 2,569. 68 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,892, p. 3,594. 69 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,935, p. 7,016. 18 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,995, p. 1,728. 1 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,893, p. 4,179.
• Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,913, p. 4,033.
676
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
e · composed gentlemen :02
department. Th Comm1ttees were of the following
Department Committee
The Director-General, Ordnance Medical Services
Royal Laboratory The Director R.L.
{
Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office rThe D~ector-General, Ordnance Medical
The Department of Services the Inspector of -<l The Inspector of Artillery Artillery Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office
The D~rector-General, Ordnance Medical The Royal Carriage Services De artment The Inspector, R.C.D.
{
p Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office The Director-General, Ordnance Medical Services
The Storekeeper's
The Inspector of Artillery
Department The Storekeeper Mr Marshall of the Secretary's Office
Heads of Departments were instructed to prepare and. forward h Sary returns of their personnel for these committees on
t e neces . C · · h
IS April r84 r.oa On 13 May r842 the Efficiency omm1ttee m t e storelceeper's department submitted their report and those considerecl unfit for further service were recommended to the Treasury for superannuation.64 • •
Sanction was given on 12 May 1841 to erect a we1gh-bndge and ffi the wharf at an estimated cost of £270. 17s. 4d. The
o
1cc on . d A ·1 8 os
t.
ate and the report accompanying 1t were date 10 pn 1 41.
es 1m • 0 ·
T he Blue sheds again come into the picture. wmg to a storehouse in the storekeeper's department being transferred to the Royal M ·1·t A cademy the storekeeper asked for two of the Blue sheds
1 1 ary , . 1 · Ii to be repaired in order to obtain a serv1ceab1e storage pace 1~ eu. On 2 6 M ay r8sr, one Blue shed was ordered to be renovated. 6 On i6 June 1a4 r Mr Napier's tender for a new crane at £350 was accepted.67 On r8 June r841, a half-holiday was granted to all en:iployees of the Royal Arsenal on Monday 21 June on the occasion of the launching of H.M.S. Trafalgar (I 20 guns) from the Royal Dockyard
62 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,893, P· 4,2 34· 03 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,894, P· 4,538. 64 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/i,933, P· 5,9J9· E . p PRO{\\rO/
65 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,897, P· ,048· ngmcer apcrs, 55/76o. 6 8 6
66 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,898, P· , 1 · 67 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,900, P· 7,825.
677
ADOLESCENCE
by H 1\1. the Queen.68 This was a great occasion at Woolwich. A short report of the launching is given below:
Of all sights which have attracted pleasure-seekers within the last twelve years, none will be recorded as having produced greater interest than the launch of the Trafalgar. The roads from London swarmed with carriages and pedestrians~oaches and_ four by dozens, coaches and pair by hundreds; barouches, gigs, phaetons mnumerable · -coronets and mitres
rich hammercloths emblazoned in sih,:er~ the more h~mble carriages, and the patent cab, passed before the eye m mcessant line. Almost eve hop in Woolwich was closed. From fifty to a hundred steamers andry schts
. d . fi . h f I · ya
carne Joyous re~g ts o peop e on the nver, and if ever there was life upon the waters 1t was that day. The nueen accompani·ed b p ·
. . . X; , y nnce
b d 1
Al ert an an immense smte, a 1gh~ed at a stage covered with green cloth £or her soft feet to tread upon, she m whom were centred all the nation's
hopes: 'The fondly reared, the fair, Gladdening all eyes to see.,
Her Majesty wore a bright blue silk dress and a whi"t d b
. . e rawn onnet
with roses. Prmce Albert also looked very well-pale a h 1 d
· l ·th , s e a ways oes,but certam y w1 no symptons of consumption. The b ttl f · "h
h. h th hr" · o e o wme wit
w 1c e c 1st:nmg was performed was one of those which elson had on board the Victory at the battle of Trafalgar Lad B ·d ls ,
· r. d h · Y n port, e on s
niece, penorme t e ceremony. Nelson's sister Mrs M t l I
. , a c 1am, was a so
present, and the survivors ofthe memorable battle As th d h
. . e ogs ores werek k d h L
noc e away t e great ev1athan glided slowly and · t· 11 ffks ·d th d f maJes 1ca y ostoTc ,ha_rm un edrsdoLapplause and the booming of guns. h t e
o t 1s we may a ongfellow's elegant lines:
'She sta~ts, she moves, she seems to feel
The thnll oflife along her keel .
A~d, spurning with her foot th; ground
With one exulting joyous bound '
She leaps into the water's arms.'69
Owing to the insufficiency of the collar mak · - , h I
A ers s op, approva
was g1ven on 4 ugust r84r to form a collar mak , 1
f . . -ers s 10p at a cost
o £6 r. os. rod. under the C1vil Officers in th t t f h east tower storehouse. 70 There was some dela _e op s?rey o th_e
. r. y m carrymg out t 1s
convers10n 1or on r2 July r844 the CivI·l Offic t d h h"
h • ers sugges e t at t IS
s op, which had been provided for in Item r2 of the r8 /
44 4h5
Estimates, should be constructed in the s E T • t d f .
Grand Store. 71 • • ower ms ea o In t e
On r r August r84r MrJoh w·1 l k
. , n 1 son, c er of works, was ordered to supermtend the construction of the testimonial to be erected to
88 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/r
8
19 Records oif Woo/wick W T v· ,goo, P· 7, 52 •
' . . mcent vol. I PP 285 286
70 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ 1' ' · ' ·
n O d Mi ' 47 r,905, p. 9,903.
r nance nutes, PRO/W0/47/2,011 , p. 8,600.
678
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
the late Sir Alexander Dickson.72 This testimonial took the form ofa stately monument erected in the Royal Military Repository in 1847 by the officers of the Royal Artillery to the memory of this gallant and distinguished officer.
While digging certain foundations in the Royal Arsenal in 1841, specimens of ancient Roman pottery were discovered. These were sent to the British Museum.73
Sanction was given on I g April 1841 to construct a cast-iron pipe from the canal to the saw-mill to supply the well of the steam-engine of that establishment with water. The estimate amounting to £203. 3s. 10!-d. and the report accompanying it, was dated 19 February 1841.74 The saw-mill of those days, the first to be erected at the beginning of the century was just opposite the present site of the south boring mill and the timber-seasoning sheds were grouped around it. Sanction was also given on 15 September 1841 to surround the field works thrown up on the Cadets' Green, where the gentlemen cadets of the Royal Military Academy were instructed in field fortification, with park pickets and ropes. This minor service cost £g. os. 4¾d. and the estimate with its accompanying report were dated g September 1841.75
A new innovation was now instituted in the Royal Arsenal. On representations being made by the Civil Officers on 20 September 1841, it was agreed that the porters at the Arsenal Gate should be provided with uniform in order to enhance their prestige. The actual proposal that the uniform to be supplied should be similar to that worn by the police was not countenanced, the Board deciding that the porters' uniform should be analogous to that worn in the Ordnance Department. The Civil Officers were instructed to submit a pattern for the Master-General's approval.76 The Civil Officers had a sample suit of uniform clothing made up by the Artillery clothing contractor as a pattern for the porters and constables at the R oyal Arsenal Gate, and it was forwarded on 22 October 1841 to the Master-General for his approval. It had the Ordnance Arms on the coat collar and the great coat in three devices. The Civil Officers reported that the price of such uniform made of the same cloth as the jacket worn by gunners of the Royal Horse Artillery would be annually as follows. (See page 680.)
They suggested that a uniform per man should be supplied yearly and a great coat every three years, that because of its durability the hat should be of police pattern, that the cloth should be of the same quality as that of the R.H.A. gunners'jacket, and
72 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/V\70/47/1,906, P· rn,275. 73 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,9o8, p. I 1,go6. 74 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/760. 76 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/766. 76 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,909, P· 12,381.
679
ADOLESCENCE
Body coat and trousers £3. 2S. od.
Great coat, one third of£2. 18s. od., to last 3 years 19s. 4d.
Estimated cost of hat ofpolice pattern 14-S. od.
£4. 15s. 4d.
Deduct average at which returned clothes will sell for IOS. od.
Total yearly cost £4. 5s. 4,d.
Estimated cost of belt, staff cases and buckle, made in}
the Royal Arsenal and calculated to last a man's lifetime with care. 4-S. 6d.
that the bodycoat, trousers, great coat and hat should be inserted in the Artillery clothing contract. The Master-General agreed and approved the proposals.77 This sartorial improvement evidently tickled the fancy of the separate departments as on 3 December 1841, the Director, Royal Laboratory, asked that the porter at the
R.L. gate might be supplied with a similar uniform. This request was refused by the Master-General on the grounds that he did not wish to extend the practice. 78
Owing to the plank covering ofa tank in rear of the wharf which was in the line of traffic to the wharf, having given way, it was decided to cover the tank with a brick arch at the cost of£35. ss.s¾d. 79
The bulkhead in the butt now required repair. On 5 November I841, the renovation v, as ordered to be carried out in elm, at a cost of£98. 3s. rrd. The report and the estimate accompanying it were
dated 21 October r84r.80 The arch and gateway at the end of the Sea Service storehouse now began to show signs of age. An estimate for its repair was therefore_ called for on 26 Nove~ber r84r.81 It has not been possible to_ establish whether the b~autiful gateway originally designed for th1~ storehouse ~as e~er bmlt, but ~om the plan accompanying the estimate ofrepair, which together with the report detailing the work was d_ated 7 Dece~ber 1841, it would appear that the gateway then standmg was not The Front ofthe Gate next the River Thames for the Ship Carriage House designed at Tower Place, Markt 1717'. The estimate for this service amounted to £179. 4s. 7fd.a2 and on 28 December 1841 sanction was given to take down and repair the arc~ and t~e gateway. As, h?wev~r, there was no money immediately available, 1t was to be provided m the Estimates for 1842/43.s3 It was agreed on 1 December 1841 that moveable huts or sheds should be erected to protect the Bo convicts who cleaned shot and
;; Ordnance Minutes, PRO{WO/47/1,913, p. 13,816. 71 Ordnance M!nutes, PRO{WO/47/1,917, p. zs,8gz. 80 Ord!1ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,912, p. 13,502.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/5s/76o :: Ord!1ance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/z:g,6, p. ,5,539.
Engmeer Papers, PRO/WO/55/760 "Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1:919, p. 17,004.
680
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
shell for the Inspector of Artillery from the inclemencies of the weather. The lack of such shelter in the past, exposing them to the elements while carrying out this duty, had caused a high sickness rate among the unfortunate inhabitants of the hulks. The expense of this amenity was considered to be in the neighbourhood of £100 and an estimate was ordered to be prepared.84 The estimate was actually £76. 4>. gd.85
We get a contemporary view of the Royal Arsenal at this time from John Grant's Guide to Woolwich 1841. It does not afford us much which is not already known but passages therefrom are worth quoting.
The new foundry was erected by Vanburgh in 1719. It contains three furnaces with extensive accommodation for making moulds and weighing the materials used in forming the ordnance. The largest furnace will melt about 1 7 tons of metal at a time. On 5 June I 840, I 6 tons of metal were used, amongst which was an old brass gun cast in the same foundry by Andrew Schaich in 1742 and raised from the wreck of the Royal George at Portsmouth in 1840. The moulds used on this occasion were for ten 24 pdr and two I 2 pdr brass howitzers. After being placed in their proper places, and firmly embedded in sand, burning charcoal is introduced into them, and the supply continued until the moulds become red hot, thus expelling all moisture. The old brass (worth about £1,280) having been placed in the furnace and fire communicated, pieces of hard wood were thrown in and supplied for 14 hours at the rate of three a minute, consuming five stacks each three feet broad, three feet high and 12 feet long. The furnace was lit at g.o p.m. At 1 I .o a.m. next morning the metal was run into the moulds in the presence of Lord Bloomfield and others. Near the foundry
is the boring mill, moving power being supplied by two horses. (This is for iron ordnance.)
In the Laboratory, boys are employed in making ball and blank cartridges. Here is a machine invented by Napier for making balls by compression from leaden rods. It is worked by hand but a steam engine is about to be introduced to work the machine. There is the Laboratory Model Room. Between the Laboratory and the river is the gun and shot park-28,000 guns and 4,000,000 shot and shell of all sizes erected into pyramids. A considerable portion of the heavy work of proving shell is performed by convicts of whom upwards of 500 are daily brought on shore from the Justicia hulk for that purpose and for other laborious nontechnical work in the Arsenal.
There is the saw-mill with moving steam power of 20 horses. A new method of tinning copper is also carried out. There is a planing machine by Bramah and Son, moving power is steam. There are also circular saws.
Lieut.-General Lord Bloomfield resides in the Field Officers' quarters.
There are three errors in the above account. One, the boring mill is worked by four and not by two horses; two, it is for brass and 84 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,917, p. 15,787. 85 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/1,928, p. 3,710, 23 March I~.
681
45
ADOLESCEN CE
not iron ordnance; and three, Lord Bloomfield resided 1n the Commandant's house alongside the Field Officers' quarters.
Ordnance Book No. 758 of 1841 gives the particulars of the Ordnance lands and buildings in Woolwich for that year. The v,hole extent of the Ordnance lands in the neighbourhood was then 799 acres 2 roods, of which the Royal Arsenal covered about 266 acres. The land was all freehold with the exception of a small piece for which rent was paid to Queen's College, Oxford. The book states: 'It is supposed to be included in the Arsenal but the position or extent is not known.' There was no arable meadow or pasture
land properly speaking; the whole, though grass land, being used for exercise and practice ground for the Artillery.
The houses in the Royal Arsenal were then occupied by the deputy storekeeper, a clerk in the storekeeper's department, a clerk in the Engineer department, the firemaster, the Deputy Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, and the Superintendent of Shipping. The list thus given is not complete for there were also houses for the Commandant and the Director R.L. and other officers. The buildings in the Royal Arsenal are scheduled as follows:
Storelzouses applied to tlze service of the Ordnance StorekeejJer
Six Blue sheds Each 411 X r8' Wooden sheds; slated roofs.
West Quadrangle
West store 208' X 39'
Painters' Shop 30' X 30'
North store 143 1 X 35 1
South store 143 1 X 35 1
Grand Storehouses Centre Quadrangle West store j West tower South store East tower East store 208' X 39' 69' X 69' 308' X 69 1 69' X 69' 208' X 39' Brick and mortar. Slated roofs. Foundation-Fir platforms on fir piles.
East Quadrangle
Painters' Shop 30' x 30,
South store r43' x 35,
East store r r 8' x 39'
1
Building for artillery carriages 324' x 30' Brick; tiled roof. Junk and wad store ro6' X 30' Wood; slated roof. Store for empty boxes 507' x 28'}
Sand shot store r83, X 64' . Brick and mortar; Iron store tiled roofs.
454, X 56, White storehouse 3401 X 30' Wood; tiled roof. East store, East Parade r38' x 3r' Brick; tiled roof. Store for boxes 88' X 31' Brick; tiled roof.
682
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Workshops and Storehouses applied to the Royal Carriage D epartment
Store for seasoning timber and plank 2881 X 281 Brick; slated roof. Blue storehouse 271' X 27°} Store for spokes and felloes 181' X 67' Wood
Store for seasoning timber l 75' X 22' slated roofs. Store for spokes and felloes 50' X 25' North store, East Parade 420' X 42' Brick; slated roof.
Carpenters' shop 122' X 30' Sawpit and store 34' X 32' Carpenters' shop 2 16' X 32' Store 34' X 32' Carpenters' shop 122' X 32' Store and ditto 87' X 32'
Carriage
Workshops 122' X 32'
Brick and mortar•
341
Sawpit and store X 32'
Square
with slated roofs. ' Sawpit and store 34' X 32' Wheelers' shop 134' X 32' Machinery and ditto 122' X 32'
Smiths' shop I 39' X 87'
Smiths' shop 139' X 87'
Smiths' shop 139' X 87'
1
Iron store 47' X 23' Collarmakers' shop 58' X 20' I
Basin
56, x J Brick and mortar•,Square
Iron store 1 5,
Vice shop 60' X 16' wilh tiled roofs. Foundry 47' X 22' Saw-mill and engine-house 1 26' X 521 Brick and mortar, slated roofs.
W orkshops and Storehouses applied lo the Royal Laboratory
North store 107' X 40' }
X 0 , Brick and mortar;
I 86,
West store 3
X , slated roofs.
I 86,
East store 30
Sand shot store I 33' X 24' } Foundry store 70' X 24' Brick and mortar; Workshop 58' X 27' tiled roofs. Turners' shop 6o I X 34I
181
Chemical laboratory and Tailors' shop 69' X
Smiths' and founders' shops 119' X 21'
Brick and
Carpenters' and turners' shops 46' X 34'
1 7, ,
mortar;Smelting room X 2 3
tiled roofs. Store room 77' X 17' Saltpetre manufactory 49' X I 7' Coopers' and tinmen's shops 173' X 17' Brick and mortar; slated roof. Painters' shop 43' X 19'} Brick and mortar; Sand shop store 36' X I g' slated roofs. 13 Ammunition tents Each 18' X 13'. Wood; roof covered 0 th patent canvas.
683
ADOLESCENCE
Driving rooms 72' X 24'} Brick and mortar·
Sh , , l '
ot store 131 X 24 s ated roofs.
Store-room 58' X 27'} Tube rooms 67' X 23' Brick and mortar• Stove and lead rooms 1 73' X 20' tiled roofs. ' Painters' store 18' X 14'
Rocket workshop, east 26' X 23'} Wood on brick found-Rocket workshop, west 59' X 23' ations; slated roofs.
5 wood tents Each 24' x 16' Driving house, east 20' X 18' Driving house, east 70' x 46'
Wooden brick found-Driving house, west 7o' x 46'
ations; slated roofs. 2 Composition rooms Each 26' x 32' Nos. 1 to 5 Each 60' x 18'
Fireproof No. 6 40' X 18' Brick and mortarand Nos. 7 and 8 Each 19' x 14'
arched; fireproof
Magazines No. 9 40' X 18' slated roofs.
Buildings No. ro 60' x 20' Shifting house Octagonal Brick and mortar;{ 23' 6" in diameter } slated roof.
Workshops and Storehouses applied to the Roy al Brass Foundry and the Department of the Inspector of Artillery
Royal Brass Foundry 130' X 100' Brick and mortar · slated roof. '
1
Smiths' shop and store
55 X 21'}
Chipping room, Boring} Brick and mortar; machinery 46, X 29, tiled roof.
Boring machinery and chipping room 62' x 26' Boring mill, turners'
Dial
shop and store 1oo' X 12 1,
Brick and mortar;
Square Workshops X , slated roofs.
122, 21 Boring machinery 95, x 2 1,
Chipping rooms 62 ' x 26'
3 Store-rooms Each 23 1 x 23, Workshops x ,
145, 23
I [
Workshops 221 x
Proof 23, Store-room , x
Brick and mortar,· Square 30 23, slated roofs.
Workshops 88' X 23' Workshops 30, x
23, Workshops x
125, 23,
Coal yard
( 2 Wh_eel~rs' shops Each 48' X 121 } Brick and mortar;
near
-< 2 Smiths shops Each 64' x 201 slated roofs.
Proof Square l
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Workshops applied to the Royal Engineer Department
Founders' shop 65' X 21' Smiths' shop 73' X 21' Cabinet makers' shop 27' X 2 I' Collar makers' shop r8' X 2 r' Carpenters' shop 89' X 2 r' Bricklayers' store 32' X 2 r' Store-roo01S 22' X 2 I'Engineer
,
Brick and mortar;
Store-rooms 69' X 2 r
slated roofs.
Square Plumbers' shop r 4' X 2 I' Glaziers' shop 25' X 2 r' Painters' shop 36' X 2 r' Wheelers' shop 42' X 2 I' Sawpits and timber
store 127' X 49' Storehouse r 66' X 2 1'
Storehouses and Magazines applied to the Field Train Department
One 259' X 43' }One 241' X 43' Brick and mortar; Gun sheds One 2 82 ' x 45' with slated roofs.
{ One 311' X 43' Workshops 140' x 15' Brick and mortar; with slated roof. 2 Magazines Each 51' x 13' Brick and mortar; arched, fireproof with slated roof. Shifting room 30' x 16' Brick and mortar; slated roof. Practice magazine} 231 x 13' Brick and mortar; arched, with slated and store roof.
On the occasion ofthe birth ofthe Prince ofWales at Buckingham Palace on g November 1841, brevet rank was conferred on the officers of the Army and Royal Navy. The Civil Officers at the Royal Arsenal solicited on 7 February 1842 that the same mark of favour might be granted to the storekeeper, deputy storekeeper and clerks, who, in their daily duties, were intimately connected with naval and military officers. They suggested that a period of years should be added to the length of their service which would entitle them to a proportionate advantage on their superannuation. It was a pious seed ofhope which fell on stony ground. The MasterGeneral merely endorsed the solicitation 'Read' and ordered it to be entered in the Board's minutes.86
The C.R.E. reported on 29 April 1842 that the repair to the proof-butt would cost £2 1. 3s. 1o¼d, and that, weather permitting, the work could be completed within three weeks.87
86 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,923, p. 1,662. 87 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,931, P· 5,393·
685
ADOLESCENCE
The IO ton crane on the wharf having become unserviceable a similar one being on order Mr Napier's tender having been ~ccepted,88 th~ Civil Officers s~ggest~d that a heavier type with a 20:-25 ton hft s_hould be obtamed mstead owing to heavier loads bemg expected m future. The Board, with a lack of vision frowned on the suggestion. 89 '
An 181b. rocket exploded on 22 September 1842. There were no casualties but d~~age to the value of £g. 11s. o½d. was caused to No. 1 rocket dnvmg house. Repairs were approved on 30 Se t-
ember 1842.90 p The Arsenal clock was transferred from the Engineer Department to that of the stor~keeper_ on I 4 October I a42.91
A.smaJl fmagazme, r.w1thh privy under the same roof, to store I
fu mmate o mercury 1or t e percussion cap manufactory was on 31 Octo?er 1842 approved at a cost of£y2.. rgs. sJ.-d. and ordered
92
to be built at once. 2 Two newspaper cuttings refer to this period.
28 Apnl 1842. Yesterday experiments with gun t k l · h
· h s oo p ace In t e
marshes m t e presence of Colonel Cockburn c 1 I L L"
, o one acy, Ieut
Colonels Dansey, Dundas and Chalmer Majors Ha d · d H · Captain Grant. Firing was with 32 pd;s. at one t· r mgedahn hope and
· d" ' ime re -ot s ot were
to be fired but this 1d not take place.
~ ,r ~ctobSer 1842. On MConday_ last Colonel R. J. J. Lacy, Colonel G. Turner
maJor trangeways, aptam PaUiser Captain G t d '
R l Ar ·11 ffi ' ran an a number of
oya tI ery o cers assembled on the marshes t ·t ·
· h d · · f o w1 ness expenments
wit a new escnpt1on o brass gun denominat d , 1· h
. . d d ' e a 1g t 9 pdr , The
savmg m pow er an metal by Captain Grant' · · -·
·d bl I h s mvention w1 11 be very
cons1 era e. t was t ought by many that the i · · h £ •
.1 b C . nvent10n rrug. t ad from
too great a reco1 , ut aptam Grant has so pro t· d l
· h h · por 10ne t 1e metal and
wit sue good Judgment, that no fears are now entertained i 'th respect; and from the elegance of the model light d h n at
f 1 h f . , ness, an at t e same
1me amp e strengt o the carnage it is likely to b . t d d . Service and will be far easier of dr;ught for the hor;e:~ ro uce mto the
The Works Estimates for r8439a totalled £ Bd A
4 0 8
the chief items were £375 3 Id r. ' o : I 7s. . mong
h £ . · s. 22 · ior refloormg the wheelers'
s op, 385 to provide a _new ro ton crane, £160 to provide a new 40 t~n barge for the Engmeer department and £69 d fc h repa1r of the proof-butt. ' · 3s. 3 · or t e
The proof-butt appeared at this moment to be .er. • fi suuermg ram grave
88 See note 67. 89 Ordnance Minutes, PROJW0/47/1'° Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ / 935, P· 6 8 , 72, 3June 1842. Papers, PROfWO/ss/761. 47 1,946, P• II,606, 30 September 1842. Engineer 11 Ordnance Minutes, PROfW0/4711 .n " Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / ,9't'-', P· 12,160
u PROfWO/49/167. 47 1,949, p. 12,796.
686
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
defects. On r February r843, it was ordered to be repaired at once for the sum of £69. 3s. 3d. mentioned in the Works Estimates.°'
In the same month the butt had to be refaced at a cost of £148. 11s. id.95 This repair was authorized on 20 February 1843.96 The bulk-head on the marshes, too, required attention and authority was given on 27 September 1843 to renew the same at a cost of £161. 17s. 7¼d.97
The new crane for which the money had been provided in the Works Estimates for 1843, was not quite satisfactory, so alterations by the C.R.E. to improve its efficiency were sanctioned on 30 June 1843.98
On 9 October I 843 the Arsenal clock was ordered to be cleaned and repaired by Mr Vulliamy.99
On I 3 December I 843, Mr Orwin, the surveyor, was ordered to inspect the sample iron window submitted by Messrs Duley and Thomas, before they carried out their contract.100
Mr J. Hudson, on 27 December 1843, applied on behalf ofJames Pattison, M.P., for permission to turn the drainage of some houses being erected on his property at Woolwich into the Ordnance sewer a t Waterman's Fields. As the C.R.E. stated there was no objection, the Board granted the necessary permission on payment of one shilling a year for the indulgence.101 Later on 16 June 1s45 Mr Pattison was given leave to run a g inch barrel drain into the O rdnance sewer for the acknowledgment of one shilling annually.102
The years I 842 and I 843 were quiet years and there have been few items of interest to record. Three short newspaper reports close the chronicle for the latter year.
22 May 1843. Further experiments were carried out on the marshes with Mr Reece's shells and Captain Grant's light g pdr gun. The trials were carried out in the presence of distinguished officers.
18 September 1843. General Esparturo visited the Royal Arsenal and was shewn some firing practice. 9 October 1843. H.I.H. The Grand Duke Michael of Russia visited the Royal Arsenal and the convicts hulks.
The Works Estimates for 1844103 again showed a decline, standing as they did at £2,219. 8s. 1o½d, The only two items of importance were, £202. gs. g-}d. for re-flooring the collar-makers' shop and
94 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4 7 / 1,959, p. I ,509. 95 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,960, p. 2,379. 96 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761 • 97 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761 • 98 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/ 1,973, p. 8,512. 99 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/vVO/47/1,983, p. 12,907.
100 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47 / I ,990, p. I 6,070. 101 Ordnance Minutes, PROJWO/47/1,991, p. 16,612. 102 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,044, p. 8,324. 10a PRO/WO/49/168.
ADOLESCENCE
£72. 10s. 8½d. for repairing the proof and practice butts. Sanction was granted on 28 April 1844 for _refacing the practice butt, forming a road from the present road to it, and for converting the concrete arch in the officers' room from which the effect ofshot was observed. The estimate for this work amounting to £300. 17s. 4½d., the plan and t_he report ac~ompanying. it, were. dated 22 March 1a44.104 Sanction was also give~ for erectmg machmery in the Royal Carriage
Department, to be driven by the steam engine already installed to effect the more spe~dy production of ~heels. The cost was £;11 • 1os. od. The alterat10n of the shop, costmg £15 to receive this new machinery was approved on 6 November 1844}os
The_ Royal Arsenal now began to .be troubled by thefts of stores committed by unknown persons, which assumed alarming proportions. The baggage ofLieut.-Colonel Frazer, R.A., which had been placed in a sto:ehouse, disappeared in the beginning of the year, and on 24 April 1844 a Court of Enquiry was held to investigate
106
the occ~brrence. AIM~hkio.ugh the Court failed to discover the culprit
1
respons1 e, 1ames 1s n, the foreman of the storehouse concerned, was suspended from duty for a week with the loss of a week's pay as a mark of the Master-General's displeasure.101
The Master-G_ene:al and Board had had under consideration sundry commun_1cat10ns fro?I the Commandant and the Civil Officers, Woolw1ch, expressmg the opinion that th t f
' h" d di , • e sys em o
watc _mg an war ng 1~ fo~ce in the storekeeper's department had failed to prevent the J:>Ilfermg of stores which had of late been both numerous and extensive. After deliberat1'on the B d
. , oar came to the co~clus1on and strongly recommended the substitution of a force of police for the three gate-keepers and the .c.0 rem d ·
•
, 11 an an s1x men who watched m the Royal Arsenal each night Th t th f h
r.
• . e s reng o t e
Ii
po ce 1.orce envisaged was to be r sergeant and · t l
b s1x rs c ass con
sta les, the.annual co~t ofwhich would, according to the estimate of Mr Mallalieu, Supermtendent of the Greenwi'ch n· · · b
follows: 1v1s10n, e as
6 police constables I st class
£37r. 8s. od.
1 sergeant
73. 12s. od. Total: £445. OS. od.
The Mas!er-G~neral in answer to the Board's minute dated r M~y 1844: m which they recommended the employment of police an _sub.nutted the 2nd paragraph of the Commandant's letter
relati~e to t~e re-employment of the three gate-keepers to his attent10n, havmg stated as follows:
1°' En~eer Papers, PRO/WO/ss/76i. ::: Engmeer Pa~rs, PRO/WO/ss/76i. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2 003 p
5 15
107 Ordnan M' t PRO/W ' ' . ' 5·
ce mu es, 0/47/2,007, p. 7,006, 5June 1844.
688
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WI1•o 1840-1850
3 May 1844. I approve of the arrangement re_commen~ed, ~nd I shall be disposed to pay such attention to the suggestion contained m the 2nd paragraph of Lord Bloomfield's letter as circumstances may admit of.
approved that instructions should be given for the employment of
a party of police, subject to such preliminary arrangements as,
upon communication with Mr Mallalieu and th_e Civil Officers,
might be deemed advisable. The Master-General directed that Lord
Bloomfield and the Civil Officers should be informed and that the
individuals at present employed on 'watch and ward' should be told
that their services would be discontinued after the police had assumed
their new duties.108
Before the police were introduced, the cost of guarding the Royal
Arsenal was as under:
Roy al Arsenal 1 foreman at 2s. p.d. £36. IOS. od. 6 men at Is. 6d. p.d. £164. 5s. od. £200. 15s. od. p.a.
Royal Laboratory 1 foreman at 2s. p.d. £36. IOS. od. 3 men at Is. 6d. p.d. £82. '2S. 6d. £118. l2S. 6d. p.a.
Total £31 g. 7s. 6d. per annum The cost of a police constable would be: 1 police constable at 19s. p.w. £49. 8s. od.
Clothing for I man 6. os. od.
Coals for r man I. 5s. od.
Total for one police constable £56. I 3s. od. p.a.
T welve constables, the minimum ultimately suggested, would cost
£ 679. r6s. od. per annum. The police were to be under an
Inspector.109
On 21 June 1844 an Inspector of Police at £r 18. 6s. od. p.a. was added to the establishment of I sergeant and 6 constables originally proposed. The two lodges at the main gate and the one at the Plumstead Road gate were handed over to the police. The three gate-keepers to be displaced were:
John Amos appointed in 1811
John Bloss appointed in 1839
Robert Robinson appointed in 1842
John Amos was recommended to the Treasury for an allowance of£24 p.a. till other employment could be found for him. The other
108 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,004, p. 5,666, 6 May r8+l,.
109 PRO/W0/44/296.
689
ADOLESCENCE
two men, being in receipt of military pensions, were not entitled to any other further consideration on the removal from their posts. The orders for the installation of the police went ahead. 110
Meanwhile, more mysterious thefts in the Royal Arsenal now occurred. These were of valuable plate and brass ordnance. On 20 August 1844, therefore, MrJ. Hignott, solicitor to the Ordnance was authorized to employ the services ofa special Bow Street office; for private investigation. The solicitor was also granted permission to prosecute before the Woolwich magistrates should such a course be deemed advisab1e.lll Losses had occurred previously on 15 June and 25 November 1843. On 31 August 1844, nineteen brass howitzers 4 2 / 5 inch were taken. The records give long and detailed reports
of the Courts of _Enquiry. The value of these stolen goods was £463. 2s. 6d. as pieces ofordnance or £218. ms. od. if regarded as old metal. The total deficiency ofstores was valued at £ 486. 2 s. 6d.
7d.112
with a scrap metal value of £246. 5s. The Board in their Order of1661 dated IO December 1845, called on Joseph Cheetham the storekeeper, to refund the sum of£246. 5s. 7d. , the scrap metai value of the brass ordnance stolen from the Royal Arsenal. He somewhat naturally, recoiled from this fiat and appealed agains; ~hat ar_noun~ed to a ~ubstantial fin:. The Board on gJanuary 18 6,
4
m consideration of his long and faithful service and because of h'
. . h IS
mnocence m t e matter for which he was in no way responsible, recommended that he should be relieved ofthis charge. The MasterGeneral concurred.113 A fire broke out in the oil store in the Royal Arsenal on 10 J
8 b · d li une
I 44, ~t 1t cause_ . ttle damage and was soon extinguished. After an enqmry the C1VIl Officers were satisfied that it was caused b spontaneous combustion. Mr James Marsh suggested th t y
. . a , as a
precaution agamst fire, the buckets and strainer used in th k"
f ·1 · · fl e pac 1ng
o 01 many m _ammable matter, should be treated with a solution of chlorate of lime and sulphate of soda. This was agreed to u4 Appar~ntly Mr William Jone~, the deputy storekeeper, was late·in appearmg on the scene. He ?1~ not arrive till the conflagration was
over. On 2l June 1844 the C1v1l Officers explained the reason for his absence and suggested that more vigilance should be displayed.us
On ~ November 1844 the sinking of a well and the erection of a pu~p m the straw yard on PJumstead marshes was authorized at an estimated cost of £30. 12s. 7d.ll6 On 13 November 1844 the old
110 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /47 2•00
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO 9, P· 7,724·
111 PROJWO/44-/2 . ' /W0/47/2,014, p. ro,251. JU Ordn M" 95
ance ~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2 o64 p. 441 m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ I ' ' ·
m Ordnance Minutes, PROJWo/71:•~~7, p. 7,231. 118 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/47/ ' 9• p. 7,744.
' 47 2,022, p. 13,697.
690
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
office of the Sluice and Barge Master near the canal lock was ordered to be demolished.117
The Works Estimate for 1845118 show a pleasing increase, namely £4,200 approximately. There are four items worth recording. The sum of £385. os. od. for providing and fixing the new 10-ton crane on the wharf, £185. os. 7d. for the repair of Blue sheds Nos 2-6, £781. 15s. 6½d. for the building of groynes and paved slopes to protect the embankment on the north bank of the Thames opposite the Arsenal, and £88. I 1s. 3¾d. for repairs to the proofand practice butts. Sanction was given on I 1 October 1845 for a building near Proof Square to contain two smiths' forges estimated to cost £263.119
Two events stand out in this year of grace; the disgrace and dismissal of Mr William Jones, the deputy storekeeper, and the serious fire and explosion in the Royal Laboratory.
On 16 April 1845 Daniel Tozer, a labourer in the storekeeper's department, made the following charges against the deputy storekeeper:
(
1) Misappropriating public stores, namely paint and wood for his own private use.
(2)
Employing men paid out of public funds on his own private work.
(3)
Employing two official painters in painting his house.
(4)
Employing the labourer, Bryant, most of his time.
(5)
Employing other labourers occasionally, particularly George Burbridge and Robert Wilkie.
(6)
Employing John Cope, coxswain, with men fishing for shrimps.
(
7) Causing a washing bath to be made from public materials and to be removed by Stephen Clare, a labourer, from the coopers' shop for his own private use.
(8)
Employing a collar-maker for two days in altering one of his carpets.
The M aster-General instituted a Court of Enquiry, consisting of Mr Payne from the Surveyor-General's office, Mr Griffiths from the Civil Officers and Mr Roper from the Principal Storekeeper's office, to investigate the charges without delay. As all these gentlemen normally functioned in the Tower, they were ordered to proceed to Woolwich for the purpose of ascertaining the extent of the alleged malpractices, if any, with reference to regulations and to the extent if committed, that the public suffered by them.120 The Court of Enquiry found the charges against Mr Jones substantially true. He had defrauded the public of £214 by misappropriating labour and materials over a series of years between 1838 and 1845. In a long statement dated 12 May 1845 the Master-General
117 Ordnance Minutes, PROJW0/2,023,/47p. 13,865. 118 PRO/W0/49/169.119 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761.120 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,038, p. 5,234.
691
ADOLESCENCE
authorized his removal from the Ordnance Department,121 and Edward M. Sparkes, deputy storekeeper, Chatham, was appointed Deputy Storekeeper, Woolwich, in his stead.122 On 6 June 3
1 45
Mr Jones w~ ordered to pay the stor_ekeeper the sum of £214, th~ amount of his frauds; at the same time, William Green the nd
2
clerk in the storekeeper's department was fined £8 for so:ne minor delinquencies.123 The storekeeper reported that Mr Jones had paid this money by 131une 1845.124 Th~nceforward Mr Jones vanishes from the seen~ and 1s e~veloped by silence. There is a whole volume devoted to his peccadilloes among the Ordnance archives stowed away in the Public Record Office. 'The Case of Mr William Jones.,
How true are Shakespeare's words:
'The evil that men do lives after them• The good is oft interred with their bodes.'
Had William Jones been faithful to his charge his nam · ht all the sooner have passed into oblivion. ' e nug
The new deputy storekeeper, Mr Edward Sparkes n t 11
· h d h . , a ura y
wis e to ave some repairs done to his official quarter, and this was agreed to on 20 June ~845. A new kitchen range was supplied as the old one had been domg duty for 15 years.12s It was ordered on 25 July 1845, that if an indi'vi·d 1 · · d
· h · • ua Jo1ne
wit out permiss10n a party ofpersons who had been g· I
. . 1ven eave to
vis1t the RodyaBI Arsen~l, he might be excluded, but the Master-Genera1 an oard d1d not consider it necessary to , I d
· di 'd l b b exc u e an
m v1 ~a y name efore he had applied for admission.12s The Woolwich Ste;mpacket Company was granted on 16 September a
1
45
the_use of a 4:i-_ton crane belonging to the storekeeper's department to lift out a boiler from one of their vessels.121
An explosion occurred at IO a.m. on 17 September I s in a small
45
workshop near the southern end of the Model Room belonging to the Royal Laboratory used for breaking up condemned fuzes It was caused. by the splitting of a fuze during dismantlement. ·Mr Joseph Carlisle, master _turner, R.L., was one of the first to arrive ~t the scene of the accident, but, finding the doors which opened inwards ~losed, had great difficulty in getting them forced open. On entermg he saw the huddled bodies ofthe victims. The fire which fol!o':ed the explosion was quickly mastered but not before half the buildmg was gutted and seven persons had lost their lives.12s The
121 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0/47/2,042, p. 7,341, 28 May 1845. m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/Wo/7;2,042, p. 7,326. 28 May 1845.
2
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/47 •043, P· 7,813•
mod M" ' 4712,044, p. 8,216.
m r nance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,044, p. 8,641 . 117 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,048, p. 10,471. m Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47;2,053, p. 13,426.
Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/2,054, p. 13,774, 22 September 1845.
692
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
deceased were : John Crake, Master rocket maker, who had had upwards of fifty years in the service. Henry Butters (Senior); Labourer. Henry Butters (Junior), his son; Labourer. Robert Burbage; Labourer. Michael Purtell and 2 boys, Alexander Leonard and Samuel Hindley.
The inquest was held at the Mortar Tavern by Mr C. Carttar, the coroner, and a jury of twenty men with Mr Matthew Smith as their foreman, was empanelled.
Colonel Cockburn, Director of the Royal Laboratory, gave evidence at the inquest, but the principal witness was Lieutenant
A. Oldfield, R.A., who was engaged with a party under instruction at the Royal Arsenal. He said that on the morning of the explosion, shortly before 10 o'clock, he had visited the room in which the men were at work breaking up unserviceable fuzes and saw several of the latter taken to pieces. The method was to cut with a copper knife the string which fastened the paper folded over the cap end of the fuze and disengage the paper, which was done by the principal man, John Crake. The fuze was then handed to a boy to take out the mealed powder, after which it was passed to a man to break up, which was done by means ofa steel chisel erected in a block ofwood, on the end of which the fuze was placed. The fuze was then struck by a wooden mallet in order to split it into two and afterwards into quarters, when the composition was taken out and thrown into pans of water. The block of wood in which the chisel was placed was standing in a copper pan. The floor was of stone, wet all over, and the men had hides to stand on. He had noticed large quantities ofcomposition in the pans ofwater. The room had folding doors and both were wide open when he left. A few minutes after he had left he heard two distinct explosions, and saw that the doors had become closed. About 30,000 fuzes had been broken up there during the
previous month. He had seen two men breaking up the fuzes and one of them had put first one end and then the other upon the chisel and strike it each time, which he had understood was incorrect, as the small end only should have been put upon the chisel to prevent any grains of mealed powder coming in contact with the steel.
Colonel Cockburn, Director R.L., said the fuzes had been sent home damaged from Gibraltar, and were broken up to save saltpetre which was of value to the government. They were 10-inch fuzes. The smaller ones were usually buried, not being , orth the trouble of breaking up. The method adopted was the best he kne , but the small end only should have been put upon the chisel. He would have no objection to breaking up a thousand so. Steel chis
693
ADOLESCENCE
were not always used but the foreman, John _Crake, preferred them. The witness added that he thought the accident had been eaused by an ignition of the accumulated mealed powder.
Lieutenant-Colonel Dansey, R.A., firemaster at the R.L., gave similar evidence and said that after the powder had been removed there was little danger in the fuze, the co~position not being very inflammable or likely to ignite by concuss10n. The men worked 10 hours a day and destroyed about 3,ooo fuzes daily. Doors were usually made to open outwards in rooms where powder was used but the room in question had only been in temporary occupation. '
Benjamin Rowland, a foreman, who supplied the fuzes to be broken up, and William Field, a labourer, who removed the fragments gave evidence, the latter saying that he had frequently seen the fuzes split from the cap end.
William Caffin, deputy storekeeper R.L., said that had he seen men acting in such a manner, he would have stopped them. He did not regard the steel chisel as particularly hazardous, for sparks had been seen to fly from copper hoops when driven on to a woode barrel. Much more work could be done with a steel than with n
copper chisel. a The jury consulted in private and returned a verdict that th accident arose from circumstances ofwhich they had no knowledge: but they rec~mmended that the steel chisel should be discarded for a copper kmfe and that men should not wear nailed boots when employed upon such work. Colonel Cockburn said that in future he would have th
. . . , , e corn~
pos1t10n boded before remova1.120 As a result ofthis catastrophe the following promotions took place:
Christopher Pickering, Fireworker at 4-f. rd. p.d. to be Master Rocket Maker at 7s. od. a day vice John Crake, killed. Dennis Dwyer, Labourer at 2s. 4d. p.d., of r3¾years service in the R.L_., to be ~xtra. Foreman at 3s. gd. a day to perform the duties of
Christopher Prckermg. R The following boys of20 years ofage, William.Ieffreys, HenryBroughton, .euben Courtman, and_ThomasJohnson of2 r years ofage to be labourers v~ce Henry Butters (semor), Henry Butters (junior) and Robert Burbage
k1
1 ed; and Dennis Dwyer promoted.130 ' !he funeral expenses of the seven victims of the explosion were
paid by the Board as under:
John Crake £rn. 2s. od.
Henry Butters (Senior)} Henry Butters LJunior) £1 r. 15s. gd.
Robert Burbage £4. os. od.
:: Records of Wo?lwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 744.
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/'2,054, p. 14,016, 28 September 1845.
694
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
Samuel Hindley £4. 1 IS. od. Alexander Leonard £2. 14,J'. od.
6d.131
Michael Purtell £4. 5s.
The Surveyor-General was asked to indicate what compensati~n should be paid to the six men whose clothes were damaged while extinguishing the fire.
As an outcome of this explosion it was ordered on 29 September 1845 that the eight ammunition tents with platforms? Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, g r r 1 2 and 13 in which gunpowder work mamly took place should be removed from the Royal Laboratory itself to a suitable spot in the vicinity of the canal, where they would be ~mmune fr?m the numerous visitors who had made a constant habit of entermg the tents. This would in future make the R.L. and neighbouring buildings secure from' the threa; of any future explosion within ~ts walls.132 The estimate for such a move was £515. 2s. 8½d., and this, together with plans and a report dated 24 October 1845, w~s forwarded to the Board. Sanction for the removal of these ammurution tents was given on 10 November 1845.133 • •
One lesson was evidently learned from this accident. On 6 O ctober r845 all doors in R.L. workshops were ordered to be made to open outwards at a cost of £10. gs. I z¼d.134
The bills for the funeral expenses of the seven employees were on ro October 1845 transmitted to the Board for payment. The following sums were allowed for damaged clothing:
James Burnett, £3. os. od. Peter Rich, 3s. 6d. Robert Morrison, rns. od. Joseph Carlisle, £r. ros. od. and John Henderson, 7s. 6d.
The four artillerymen concerned were each i~sued with a new p~r oftrousers from store in free replacement of their own trousers which 135
were soiled beyond repair.
The Treasury was approached on 13 October 1845 with a view to granting some compensation to the families of those killed on r 7 September, and the Board on their own authority to~k on Michael Purtell of ro years of age, the son of the dec~ased Michael Purtell in the storekeeper's department. They also paid £5 each to the fathers of the two boys killed, Samuel Hindley and Ale~ander Leonard.136 Michael Purtell was replaced as a labourer 1n the storekeeper's department on 15 October 1845 by John Mecki:ff.137
131 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,054, p. 14,120, 29 September i845. 132 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/,p/2,054, P· 14,173· 183 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. 134 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,055, P· 14,537. 185 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,055, P· 14,734. 186 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,056, P· 14,923. 137 Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/2,056, P· 15,o4i.
695
ADOLESCENCE
The following allowances were granted by the Treasury to the dependants of the victims of the explosion:
Sarah Crake, single, aged 4.0 years, daughter ofJohn Crake £25 p.a. Elizabeth Butters, aged 52 years, widow of Henry Butters (Senior) 14-f. p.w. Elizabeth Butters, aged 28 years, widow of Henry Butters (Junior) 14-f. p.w. Mary Burbage, widow of Robert Burbage, gs. p.w.138
The Director R.L. requested on 2 December 1846 that the damage caused by this explosion in the Royal Laboratory might be repaired as soon as possible. This was agreed, and an estimate was ordered to be prepared and provision brought forward in the Estimates for 1847/48.139 The estimate proved to be £ 356. 3s. B¼d. and on 21 December 1846 the work of repair was ordered to be put in hand at once.140
This explosion was one of the worst which had ever occurred in the Royal Arsenal. It was more serious than the one which visited the Royal Laboratory on 20 June 1814, but it was to be eclipsed by others of greater magnitude which were still mercifully hidden in the future.
The Annual Estimates for 1845, a series of Estimates quite distinct from those connected with Works, give a detailed picture of the various Ordnance vessels stationed at Woolwich. They were employed in conveying stores to and from the Royal Arsenal to the various stations in Great Britain and Ireland. They were the forerunners of those ships which formed the W. D. Fleet in the twentieth
century, which under the general superintendence of the Assistant Director of Military Transport, Woolwich, was based on the Royal Arsenal.
There were five vessels in all under the orders of the Superintendent of Shipping who in 1845 received a salary of £500 a year. By 1850, this had been reduced to £300 per annum. Details of the vessels were as under:
Sir James Kempt Bo tons, built in 1832. 1 Master, 1 Mate,
3 seamen and 1 boy. Total crew 6.
Somerset Bo tons, built in 1830. 1 Master, r Mate,
4 Seamen and I boy. Total crew 7.
Queen 82 tons, built in I839. r Master, r Mate,
4 seamen and I boy. Total crew 7.
138 0 d M'
m r nance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,057, p. 15,758, 27 October 1845. Ordnance M!nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,097, p. 1a,159.
140
Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO/47/2,099, p. 19,256.
696
T H E BEGINNING OF A TRADE Wli ·o 1840-1850
Nettley 82 tons, built in 1841. 1 Master, I Mate, 4 seamen and I boy. Total crew 7. Lord Vivian go tons, built in 1841. I Master, I Mate 4 seamen and I boy. Total crew 7.
Needless to say, all these craft were sailing ships.
The Works Estimates for 1846141 amounted to £3,342. I IS. 5d. They contained nothing of importance. Sanction was given on 2 February r 846 for strengthening the beams of the wheelers' shops Nos. 18 and 19. The estimate amounting to £64. 10s. 8¼d. and the plans and report which accompanied it were dated 26 December 1345_142 Owing to the Board's order that guns were to be despatched as soon as possible to H.M.S. Belleisle at Devonport, the labourers under the Civil Officers were ordered to work on Sunday 10 May 1846 so that a lack oflabour should not del~y the work.143 _Authority was given on 20 M ay 1846 to effect alterations to th~ ch1m,?ey and furnace in the founders' shop, Royal Laboratory. This entailed takinu down the old and building a smaller chimney. The estimate of £;2. rs. I1½d., the plan and report of the work were dated 2April 1846.144
There was a large reappropriation scheme of buildings near the main gate authorized on 13 July 1846. This altered the quarters for cadet officers and the Inspector of Police. The plan, report and estimate amounting to £197. 14->. 8¾d. for these alterations were dated 2~ June 1846. In the report, a map is given showing the existing allocation ofbuildings and room with the new uses proposed. This map is reproduced below:
J
I K ~ """ ""'""
to Arsen31
F
~
A. Study; B. Waiting room, cadets stores and servants' quarters. Br. Store; C. Instructor Cadet Officers' quarters;
D. Kitchen, Instructor Cadet Officers' quarters;
E. Cadet barracks; F. Cadet Officers' quarters;
G. Store; H. Deputy Storekeeper's quarters;
J. Clerk, Storekeeper's department quarters;
K. Clerk R.E. Department quarters;
L. Stables; M. Entrance Lodge Inspector of Police;
N. Entrance Lodge.
rn PRO/W0/49/170. 142 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761. 1· 13 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/'}7/!2,077, P· 7,535• rn Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/761.
40-(1 2 PP,) 697
ADOLESCENCE
Present Occupation Proposed Appropriation
!\f. Entrance Lodge, Inspector Four unmarried constables. of Police.
J. Clerk, Storekeeper's Inspector of Police. department.
F. Cadet officers' quarters. Clerk, Storekeeper's department.
C. Instructor cadet officers' Instructor Cadet officers and quarter and part of store. Cadet officers.
B. Waiting Room and cadet vVaiting room, cadet store and store. Academy servants' quarters.145
The increase of salary requested by Edward M. Sparkes, the deputy storekeeper, was refused on 24 July 1846. The Board saw no reason to depart from their decision of 1839 that Mr William Jones's successor should not have his maximum increased.146 Approval was given on 24 July 1846 _for conve~ting two small buildings behind the quarters of the Bngade MaJor and Deputy Assistant Quarter-master General into their servants' quarters and constructing a covered way to the same. The cost of this work was to be £303. 5s. g½d., and the plans, estimate and report were dated 22 June 1846. This would seem to offer evidence that the two quarters in question are now No. 8 Dial Square.147
It was now considered desirable to allocate bathing places in the canal for cadets and soldiers. So on 10 August 1846 authority was given for constructing two platfo:ms for this purpose, one for gentlemen cadets and the other for soldiers who could not swim. These were placed on the arm of the canal. The estimate (£55. 4-5. 4¾d.), the sketch and reports were dated 4 August 1846.148 In the interests of safety two sappers and miners were ordered to patrol in a boat in fron~ of the bath~~g platforms. Wit~ an eye to the main chance they applied for add1t10nal pay for this service. The Board, however, were not to be bluffed and on 18 August 1848 refused the application 'that the two sappe:s and miners acting as bathing guard in flatbottomed boats while men of the Royal Artillery bathed should receive extra pay for this service'.149 The sappers and miners still made difficulties so the C.R.E. suggested that two gunners should undertake the duty instead.150 This, however, was obviously not adopted as on 4 Sep~ember 1848 it was stated that 'owing to the number of fatal accidents among the bathers in the canal the bathing platform is to be removed at once at a cost of£3. 1 rs. od.'151
m Engineer Papers, PROfWO/55/761. 148 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2 084 p. 11 ~20
147 0 d M' ' ' ,:J •
r nance mutes, PRO/WO/47/2,084, p. 1 r,571, 29 July 1846. Engineer Papers
PRO/WO/55/761. ' 148 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. 10 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 160 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 151 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,160, p. 12,949.
698
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
As far as is known the bathing platform for the cadets still continued
in use till the latter finally migrated to the Academy on the Common.
A 6 pdr rocket exploded in the Royal Laboratory on 5 August 1846. No injuries occurred to personnel and there was only trifling damage to the premises. The explosion took place during a driving operation.152 On 10 September 1846 sanction was given to take down the chimney ofthe refining furnace in the Royal Brass Foundry and rebuild it 6 feet higher, and also to demolish the furnace of the right-hand steam engine in Dial Square and reconstruct it. The estimate amounting to £59. 13s. 1o!d., the plan and accompanying report were dated 26 August 1846.153
Since Colonel Richard Francis Cleaveland commanded the Field Batteries, it was considered that he was entitled to more amenities than were normally to be found in a Field Officer's quarter. It was therefore decided that the house where he lived should be deemed the official quarter for his appointment and that £492. 12s. g¼d. should be spent on altering and repairing it. The Board granted this concession on 20 October 1846.154 On 16 November 1846 they also agreed to the raising of his coach-house.155
The Treasury on 26 October 1846 authorized additional expenditure, which they had been convinced was necessary, to assist the arious departments of the Royal Arsenal as under:156
For machinery in the R.C.D. £4,800. os. od.
For machinery in the R.L. £600. os. od.
Additional labour for ammunition £743. 1,µ. od.
Additional labour for one year only £4,104. 2s. od.
Total: £10,247. 16s. od.
This was a comparatively large sum in those days and proves, if proof be needed, that the factories had been stan1ed in recent years.
An estimate for £168. 5s. 7}d. with a report dated 5 October 1846 , as submitted for the repair of Lieut.-Colonel James L. Colquhoun's quarter (F.O. Quarters Nos. 2 and 3). Sanction for the repair was given on 6 November 1846. This house afterwards became No. 1 Dial Square. The repairs, ordered to be carried out at once, were to drains and sewers and also consisted of certain papering and painting. There were in addition certain alterations to cure defects to be undertaken. At the same time it was agreed that houses in the Royal Arsenal inhabited by military officers holding civil appointments should in future be under the charge of the
152 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,o86, p. 12,448.
153 Ordnance Minutes, PROf'VO/47/2,o89, p. 13,948, 14-September 1846. EnginPaper, PRO/WO/55/761.
154 Ordnance Minutes, PROJWO/47/2,091, p. 14,828.
155 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/V-/O/47/2,095, p. 17,345.
LoG
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/,VO/47/2,093, p. 16,005.
699
ADOLESCENCE
barrack master through whom, all requisitions for repairs, etc. were to pass.157
On 7 December I 846 an order from the Commission of Sewers for the repair of the river wall and wharfing on the Essex side of the river opposite the Royal Arsenal at a cost of£r7. ·os. 4-d. was carried out.158 On the same day sanction was given for altering and constructing additional buildings with improvements in the Percussion Cap factory, the smiths' and founders' departments in the Royal Laboratory. The cost was estimated at £1,323. Is. g½d., and the estimate, plans and report relative to these improvements were dated r7 November 1846_.159 Lastly on 2r December 1846,
authority was granted to rebmld Lead shop No. 47 and repair Lead shops Nos. 43 and 44. The sketch, report and estimate were dated 4 December I 846 and the cost of the operation was £356. 3s. 3!d.1Go
The system ofpaying by ticket instead of by call was tried out in the Royal Arsenal in I 846. There were three metal tickets: (a) Plain circular disc-First call; (b) Plain circular disc with a circular hole -Second call, and (c) Plain circular disc with a triangular holeThird call. Samples of these original metal tickets are preserved in the Public Record Office. After a trial, t~e Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, recommended the adoption of check by ticket on 2 r May r846, the Director, Royal Laboratory, doing like, ise on g February 1847. The Inspector of Artillery also followed suit. The system was introduced into the Royal Carriage Department and the Department of the Inspector of Artillery at the end of rs45 _1G1 On r2 February 1847 it was adopted in the Royal Laboratoryrn2 and extende~ to the storekeeper's department on 15 February 18 .7. It
4
was considered to be more efficient than the old method ofpayment and was calculated to save £800 per annum.1s3 _Th_e W?rb Esti_mates for 184]164 totalled £3,680. r7s. 2d. The
pnncip~l 1t,ems of mterest v~ere £706. r5s. I d. for new flooring for the smiths shop No .. ~ m the Royal Carriage Department; £327. gs. IId. for repamng the steps at the east and west wharfs· £204. qs. 4¾d. for :enewing the piling and planking of the eas~ wharf?n the canal side; £55. 4s. 3d. for constructing the bathing places i~ ~he Royal Arsenal already mentioned; and £56. 18s. 1old,
for repamng the gates and machinery of the canal lock.
11
_ • 0rdnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,094, p. 16,739. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
.J5176r.
::: Ord?ance Minutes, PROfWO/,p/2,097, p. 18,449. IGO En~eer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/5s/76r. 111 PROfWO/44/297. ::: Ordnance ~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,104, p. 2, 104. Ordnance Minutes, PROfWO/47/2 014 p 2 619184 PROf'-NO/49/171. ' ' . ' .
700
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
On 20January 1847 the issue of thirteen canvas frocks and trousers to labourers engaged on small arm work was authorized,165 but on r o February r847, the issue ofa great coat, canvas frocks and wooden shoes to foremen, which was allowed in the present instances according to past practice, was to be discontinued in future.166
The increase in the number of gentlemen cadets admitted to the Royal Military Academy now made additional accommodation imperative, so alterations to the cadet barracks in the Royal Arsenal were ordered to be carried out at once at an estimated cost of £2,348.167 A report dated 28 May 1847 together with an estimate of £99. 4S· 6¾d. was put forward for papering, painting, and whitewashing official house K, the quarter allotted to the Inspector, Royal Carriage Factory, and inhabited by Lieut.-Colonel Henry W. Gordon, the Inspector. The Board on 7 June 1847 decided that they could not sanction the expense, but stated that it would be considered were it to be brought forward again in the following year.168 This house afterwards became No. g Dial Square. A letter dated I I August r847 laid down regulations as to the payment of rates and taxes by officers living in public quarters. The position was broadly as follows :
Regimental Officers : Rates and taxes paid by the public. Officers holding I ivil or other >-: Pay their own rates and taxes.169
. I
appom.tments J
T hese rules held good till the twentieth century, except that no rates were chargeable on Arsenal quarters. Officers either regimentally employed or temporarily employed in staff appointments paid no taxes, but those appointed to a staff appointment for a definite term of years, paid income tax duty on their quarters.
On 6 September 1847 an estimate of£85. 12s. o¼d. for constructing windows on the east side of the Carriage Square was presented. It was ordered to be put forward in the Annual Estimates.17° Sanction was given on 1 o September I 847 for these nine windows for ventilation purposes to be built.171 On the same day, an estimate of £15. 4-S· 5-}d. for raising a portion of the roof of the saw-mill to admit of an alteration in the height of the standfeed head of the engine was accepted. This was also ordered to be included in the Annual Estimates.172
165 Ordnance Minutes, PROfW0/47/2,101, p. 1,159. 166 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,103, p. 2,328. 167 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,109, p. 5,394· 168 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762. 169 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762.170 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,124, p. 14,532. 171 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762.172 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,124, p. 14,533, 6 September 1847.
46A 701
ADOLESCENCE
On r S_eptem~er 1847 the ~urveyor-General proposed a new system of mspectmg stores obtamed from contractors. He did not wish the clerks at Woolwich to be involved in the matter and suggested that officers of his own establishment who und;rtook inspection ,vork at the Tower should proceed to v\Toolwich three or four _days a week_ to carry out these duties. The Surveyor-General admitted that this would mean a small increase in his staff who could be specifically trained for the purpose. He considered that the officer carrying out the inspection at \,Voolwich should receive an additional £70 a year to cover travelling and other expenses in
lieu of travelling and other allowances. The Clerk of the Ordna
. . ffi nee
suggested two mspectmg o 1cers for the Tower and Woolwich h 0 should be independent of the establishment of office clerks. ;h Board reserved their decision on the permanent solution of thi: problem, but as a temporary measure agreed to the proposals of th Surveyor-General.173
The estimate amounting to £48. I 7s. 41-d. for enlaro-ing th
k h1· ..hh. 4 o e
sto e o e m connectron wit t e mstallation of new boilers fo th
HP . . h r e
I 2 • • steam engme m t e Royal Carriage Department was accepted on 13 October 1847, and the work was ordered t0 b
carried out at once.174 e As it was not considered safe to install a stove in the collar-m ak , shop, it was decided that the place should be warmed by t ~r s
. . . . s opp1ng
up theJomts m the floor and sealmg the shop at a cost of£r 3d
· 3· 5s. 3°4 •
At the same time, the Board called attention to the need f<or a
·1 · h proper
f
system_ ~ vent1 ation w en the 'stopping and sealing' took place A part1t10n and folding door in the workshop costing £ 3d.
· d 5· s. l l 4
was also sanct10ne on 29 November 1847.175 0 · On 24 May 1846 the Civil Officers had complained of the 1 k ofstorage accommodation in the Royal Arsenal, and as a result, ~~e
C.R.E. on 15 June 1846 proposed four new storehouses two near t~c Blue sheds alongside the R.E. department, and on; on either s1~e of the Grand Storehouse. On 5 October 1846 the C.R .E. submitted plans for new storehouses on the site of the Blue sheds which were to be pulled down, and the completion of the great block of
the G~and Storehouse. The latter were to be on the site of buildin s de-?1o1ished m 1832. On 15 September 1847, four plans and :"n estimate for £63 746 6 8d r. .
,. • s. . were put i.orward covermg the probable expense of, erectmg the storehouses and sheds for timber for the sto_rekeeper s department on the site of the Blue sheds.176 This
estimate was not accepted in its entirety, but the work it envisaged gradually took place over the years.
17• Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ /
174 Ordnance Min t , PRO 47 2,124, p. 14,245. 17• Ordnance Min~t:' PROJW/Wg//47/2,128, p. 16,300. x;• PRO/W0/44/297.' 47/2,132, p. r8,go3.
702
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WI D 1840-1850
The 18 December r847 marks a red letter day in the history of the Royal Laboratory. It is the date marking the conversion of that department to steam power.
This was the beginning of converting the two remaining manufacturing departments, the Royal Laboratory and that of the Inspector ofArtillery, to machinery to bring them into line with the Royal Carriage Department. Henceforward, mechanization was gradually to take place and the day of manual handicraft to be superseded. This was the realization of Sir Richard Vivian's vision in 1840. To use a vulgar expression the authorities at last decided 'to pull up their socks' and place the Royal Arsenal on a footing more in keeping with the commercial practice of that time. On 18 December 1847, James Nasmyth ofNasmyth, Gaskell and Company ofBridgetown Foundry near Manchester, submitted an estimate for £893. 6s. od. to deliver, erect and install in the Royal Laboratory a 10 H.P. engine, boilers, shafting and gearing for the introduction of steam power.177 This tender was accepted and on 20 December 1847 sanction was given to expend £150 on a small engine ~ouse.178 On the sa1ne day both services were ordered to be put m hand immediately.179 On 6 January 1848, this sum of £150 and other services connected with the steam engine estimated at £630 were ordered to be included in the Annual Estimates for 1848/49.180 On 1r J anuary 1848, James Nasmyth's estimate for £400 for machinery to convert the Royal Laboratory to steam power was accepted and the cost was ordered to be included in the Annual Estimates for 1848/49. M r Nasmyth was asked to provide this necessary machinery.181 The engine-house to house this 10 H.P. engine was ordered on 24 January 1848 to be built without delay as the machinery etc. was expected to be delivered either on or before 31st March.182 At the same time sanction was given to erect a new carpenters' shop in the Royal Laboratory.183 These new arrangements for the Royal Laboratory sanctioned by the Board's order of I o March I 848 were
to be operative from that date.184
Machinery now began to take the centre of the stage in the Royal Arsenal, and during the next seven years money was lavishly expended in equipping the Woolwich factories with the latest types of machines for increasing production. The year I 848 ushered in the industrialization of the manufacturing departments and bade farewell for ever to the era of the manual craftsman which had persisted
177 PRO/W0/44/644.
178 Engineer Papers, PRO/W0/55/762.
179 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,134, p. 21,043. .
180 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/,1:7/2,136, p. 274.Enginecr Papcrs,PROf\\ 0 /55/762.
181 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,137, P· 534·
182 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,138, p. 1,231.
183 Engineer Papers, PROJW0/55/762.
184 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,149, p. 7,585, 15 May i84,8.
7o3
ADOLESCENCE
for so Jong. This revolution in technique was hastened by the adv t of the Crimean w·ar but it had commenced before that camp ~n
. Ii d Th . d · a1gnh d
a ~atefinila ze_ . r. e m ustnal revolution in England had already been m u swmg ~or many years and government establishments could no longer resist the oncoming tide. 'Steam' as John w·1
"d ,. , , 1 son
sai , 1s a tyrant. The_ Estimates for 1848 provided for the repair of the wharf and the fixing of two cranes on the convict wharf at the cost of£ .
· · h kh · 1,200,
1m~rovmg t e wor s ops m the department of the Inspector of Artillery for the sum of£2,900; and allowed £8,ooo for the erection of~o new storehouses. The Works Estimates of 1a4s1s5 also showed an mcrease at £4,809. 15s. 4d. The main items were :
R.L.
Buildings Nos. 4 and 22. New slating ofroofs, repairino-brick and stone work £554. 17s. 4fd. 0
R.L.
Buildings ~ os. 5-8 and 18-21. Repairing timber work, utterin eaves etc. ~e~ slatmg of roofs £790. 17s. 4f d. g g,
R.L.
Bmldmgs Nos. 23 and 24. Repairs £81. 13s 63d
R.L.
Buildings Nos. 25 and 26. New entrance do~rs ! ~d ste s I ·
guttering £140. 45. 8¾d. P, s atmg,
R.L. Carpenters' and Turners' shops. New slating s1 1· 1t ·
etc. £603. 12s. gfd. ' <y ig 1 s, guttering,
R.L.
Fireproof magazines Nos. 1-5 inclusive and NT 6 d
F.
· hi h R · • os. , 9 an I o and
the m1s ng ouse. enewmg zmc spouting to ea e £ 8 J..d Iron store No. 40 R.C.D. Renewing 6 pairs ofd v s£84 · r5s. 3_,,2d •
oars I. r3s. 92 . andki ff h ld f
ta ng o t e o roo and re-roofing with corruo-t d I · d ·
ld ba e ga vanize lfon
£572. l 8S. 92 . Rebui1ding dthe storeroom and boathouse of the R.E. department £314. 17s. 021 • Repair of proof and practice butts £295. 12s. 6d.
The sum of £_1,698. r~s. od. was taken up in the Estimates for 1848/49 to provide and mstall a new steam engine in the Ro al Brass Foundry. On 6 January 1848 the CR E t t d h y ·
. . , . . . s a e t at this
fi
gure was mduded m the amount of£2 goo · t d · h" ·
. b . , mser e m 1s tentative
estimate su m1tted on 23 December 1847 1ao Th' · h
b . • 1s engme m ust ave een procured without delay because on 5 April I 848 th d
went forth that_ the building for its reception was to be com~::cee~
at once ~s po:t10ns of the equipment had already been delivered is; The engmes m the 11r.ound ·
ry were to work concurrently for ·t ·
1
stated on 4September 1848 that £61 2s _1_d t ' is
• • 72 • was spen on masonry to s~pport the c_onnec:ing frame of the new engine with that of the one at presen_t m use , which sum was to be charged to Vote 7 in the Works Estimates I 848/49 ifpaid before 1 Apri1.1ss
185 PRO/W0/49/172.181 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/W0/47;2 136 p. 276187 Ordnance Mmutes, PRO /W0/47;/1 ' • 188 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/ / ' 45• p. 5•259·
' 47 2,160, p. 12,921.
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WL ·o 1840-dJ50
The Master-General on 7 "March I 848 sanctioned the removal of
the convict hulk Justicia from the Royal Arsenal wharf to a spot
beyond the reach of danger from guns which might burst at proof.
This meant cutting away a portion of the causeway to effect the
removal and then making good the damage. The expense was borne
by the Naval Department.180 It was agreed on 17 April 1848 that
drains and drain-pipes to catch water from the roofs ofR.L. buildings
abutting Warren Lane should be put up at a cost of £6. 13s. od. in
accordance with the wishes of the Commissioners of the Parish.190
The Royal Carriage Department was the next to receive attention. Although it had used steam power for nearly half a century, much progress and invention had taken place in the machinery world during that space of time. It was therefore necessary to re-equip its shops and generally bring it up to date.
The foundations for the I o H.P. steam engine were to be constructed at a cost of £55191 and the following alterations were to be carried out at once :192
(
1) The dilapidated shed east of No. 29 was to be demolished.
(2)
The flyplane was to be removed.
(3)
Two forges were to be removed and the hearths and chimneys built.
(4)
The existing gate-way between the Iron store and the Engineer office was to be opened.
T hese various alterations to shops and general improvements were estimated to cost £12,465. 19s. 1o¾d.193 There is an Ordnance minute dated 12 June 1848 showing how these various services in the R .G.D. were to be charged.194 Apart from these major items there were two s1nall alterations which were ordered to be put in hand at once. Certain urgent and essential items were to be carried out at a cost of£12195 and on 2 August 1848 services amounting to £14 were approved.196 Sanction was given on 24 November 1848 for certain further services in the Royal Carriage Department to be carried out and for the undermentioned tenders to be accepted:19;
Messrs Nasmylh a,zd Co.
High pressure boiler with settings W rought iron chimney and
os. od.
}
engine feed pump
Scrap cutting machine £120. os. od.
180 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,142, p. 3,694, 8 March 1848.
100 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,146, p. 5,936. .
101 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,146, p. 6,504, 29 Ap~l 1848.
102 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,146, p. 6,509, 29 April 1848.
103 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,151, p. 8,574, 7June 1848.
194 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/Vv0/47/2,152, p. 8,76o.
105 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/4712,153, p. 9,674, 30 June 1848.
196 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/Vv0/47 2,157, p. I 1,230.
m Engineer Papers, PROf'A/0/55/762.
ADOLESCENCE
lvlessrs Fox, Hendrrson rznd Co.
Enclosure and roof of the foro-e } including the brickwork O ' £r,369. I 2S. 6d. Partitions from the road and throuo-h }0 £r 70.
No. 5 shop OS, od. Foundation of steam hammer } Brickwork of boiler and buildings
od.
Two air furnaces and stacks
The firms concerned were told to a-et ahead · th h · consultation with the Inspector Roy:I Ca . wDi t eir orders in
. d ' rnage epartment Ear1ier, an or er for the foundations of a se d H · for the R.C.D. was put in hand at once at con fIO .P. engine
a cost o £41 Th·
charged to the sum for machinery allocated to the d · IS viras . On IO :May 1848 a defect in the drainage of the :rart1;1ent.1os rn the Royal Arsenal was ordered to b 'fi d dets quarters
e rect1 e at
I . rs. 3td,,1903 and five days later the rep . . f l . a cost of
£ 6 11 0
and the clamping together ofgranite block ; t le s.J?lmter proof
. s 1or an expenme t b
1
0 rdnance Select Committee was authorized t n Y t 1e
. . a a cost of£20 8 d 200
Sanct10n was given on 24 May 1848 for s· k r h · s. 5 · the turning and boring rooms of the Ro lXI sBy ig Fts to be placed in
ya rass . oundr t
of £36. 5s. 7!d.201 This expenditure was t b h y a a cost
sum of£2,900 in Item 109 in the Estimat o fc e c 8 arged against the On 5 July 1848 the Director Royal Lesb or r 48/49.202
th d . . h" d ' a oratory recom d
e a option m 1s epartment of som dd' . ' men ed The details were as follows: e a itional machinery.203
(r) An additional lapping machine in co . .
shell. The one in action does not wo k r. nnection with bushing naval
. r 1ast enough to k
output. The Director stated that this ext h' eep pace with
. If. . ra mac me wo ld
itse ' I.e. £70 by releasing the services of . h u soon pay for and "".ould be cheaper if constructed in th:~: s:t and two labourers, ofArtillery than ifpurchased from M J Np ment of the Inspector
An h . r ames asmyth
(2 ) ot er mgot mould for castina-bars i . . . order to take advantage ofsteam po o s r~qmrcd unmediately in
wer, as work 1s at p b .
up bY want of this extra mould. resent emg held
(3) Napier's machine for c •
with advantage. ompressmg bullets could also be added to
The Board approved proposals ( ) d .
stated that item No. 3 must stand ov:r t~f h (2) im~ediately, but On 7 August 18 8 th n· t e followmg year.
4 e irector R L was a th . d
.firam the Inspector of Artiller 'I . : u . onze to obtain us Ord . y a appmg machme and lathe to nance Mmutes PRO/WO/ /
~= Ordnance M~nutes: PRO/Wo/7;,;si, P· r2,347, 23 August 1848.
1
Ordnance Mmutes PRO/Wo/7/ , 4 , P· 7,125. 201 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/Wo/7/,149, P· 7,3or, 15 May 184.8. 201 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0/47 2,150, p. 7,866. to, Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0/47//2,154, P· 10,141, 10July 1848.
' 47 2,154, p. 9,848. 706
THE BEGINNI!'\G OF A TJ:~·\DE WI 'D 1840-1850
facilitate the bushing of naval shell·_It was to be charged to the estimate of R.L. stores for the yca-:C 1n question.204 On 11 August 1848, two or three sheds in the uppc~ part of the R.L. yard near the new steam engine were ordered to be Tcmovcd at a cost not exceeding
£3.205 At the instance of the Inspecto~-Gcneral of Fortifications, the Board postponed on 7 August 184--B the repair of the old convict wharf and the erection thereon of" two cranes for the purpose of landing timber, which had been ~uthorized in Item 108 of the Estimates for 1848/49.20G This postp0 ncment made it too late in the season to carry out this service aod on 11 October 1848 it was decided to postpone it further till the following year and take up the expense in the Estimates for 184-9/50. It was also recommended that the wharf should be continued. in masonry eastward from the old convict yard to the canal sluice7 the work to be brought forward in portions in the Engineer Estin:'"3. ates for the next and following years. The old convict yard was tO be dealt with first so that the Royal Carriage Department might avail itself of its use.207 On I 6 September r848 the Board decided that a part of the Royal Engineer Square should be appropriated for the erection of scrap hammer furnaces. The Inspector~ R.C.D., therefore, requested permission to send Mr Lamerto::n, foreman of carpenters, and assistants to take the necessary measurements of the lower part and of the western side of the Square and of the contiguous workshops. The Board asked the Inspector-General of Fortifications to grant
208
the necessary facilities without delay. The Arsenal clock which had stopped was ordered to be repaired and cleaned on 13 October 1848.209 Whether the clock was repaired at this time and broke down agai.:O, or whether the work was postponed is not clear, but on 21 February 1851 three tenders were received for this service:
£2. 10s. od.
Mr Webber Mr G. Barrell £5. 5s. od. os.
Mr H. Westaway £3. od.
Following the universal custmn of accepting the cheapest tender, Mr Webber got the contract.21 °Four years later '1fr H. '\Vestawa, was more lucky. On 19 April 1855 his offer to repaint and gild the figures and hands of the two clocks in the Royal Arsenal for £4 each
20i Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,1 57, p. 11,490. 205 Ordnance Minutes, PR0/,\0 0/47/2,1 58, p. 11,747. 206 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/'\ 0/47/'i,1 57, p. I 1,468. 207 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\V0/47/2,1 64, p. 14,687. 208 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\V0/47/2,I 61, p. 13,533. 209 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/\V0/47/2,I 64, p. 14,897. 210 Ordnance Minutes, PROf'W0/47/2,249, p. 2,001.
7o7
ADOLESCENCE
\\as accepted.211 These two clocks were the one on the R.L. model room (the old Academy building) and the one in the turret of the
main machine shop, R.C.D. Because of encroachment on the Essex shore opposite the Royal Arsenal by bargemen taking sand from the shore between high and low water marks, Mrs French was prepared on 16 October 8 8 t
14
surrender the remainder of her lease. The offer v1ras accepted an~ the property was ordered to be re-let.212 The trouble evident! continued as on 4 August r851 notices were erected on that shore ty warn persons against removing sand at the river's edo-e o.cre d 0
a . 111 n ers
were to be reported. 213 On r8 October 1848 an expenditure of£47. 7s. 6d. wassanct· d
r. ki • . 1one
1or ta ng UJ? certam pavement m Carriage Square and sinking the earth to receive concrete. It was stated that Item ro6 in the Estimates for 1848/49 would cover the cost.214 The arch in Carriage Square was on 22 November 1848 ordered to be repaired at a cost f £
-id 215 Al . dfi 1 f . . o 7.
1 ;s. 72 • ways mm u o the1r animals the Board on 6 December 1848 approved ~fa shed being built in the Arsenal fo2 r £15 to protect horses from mclement weather.21G It now transpired that the building to house the steam · ·
. . engine 1n
Dial Square would cost £2,500 in place of the £r 8oo · · 11
. , ong1na y
estimated. It was lucky that the former figure had been t .c. d
· h E · E · pu 1orwar
m t e ngmeer st1mates for 1849/50 instead of the latter.217 It w as proposed, however, to mov~ the .Dial Square steam engine to the proof department at an est:J.mated cost of £2 Tl B d
. ,500· 1e oar on
29 December 1848 authonzed the Inspector-General ofFo t"fi ·
• · 1 d h" · • . r 1 cations
to me u e t 1s service m the Estimate for 18 ; _21s On Ma
4950 22
184~ the Board stated t~at before !aking steps to install the ne; engme ~nd erect.an engme house 1n the proof department the would like a special contract to be obtained Th ·d d' y
• ey consi ere thatsuch a course would produce better results than ·
· h · a runnmg contract
w1t mixed labour. They ordered that notices c. • th h Id h · 10< 1 e contract
s ou , among ot er notices, appear in The Builder 219 Th I sp~ctor-General of Fortifications reported on Augu~t 3\ n
24
1 4 1
as it was too late to advertise in The Builder, tenders had no~ b::~ sent out. He brought to the Board's notice however that M
K · k d p f W · ' , essrs
1~ _an arry _o oolw1ch had put in a quotation of £ 4 o for bmldmg the engme house, an offer considered fair and reaso~abl
e.
~u O d M'
-r nance mutes, PRO /WO/
/2
m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO 47 /{i3, P· i,3o8. 213 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47//264, p. 1,5028.
214
Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0//471 ' l' P 7,7o4.
m Ordnance Minut 'PRO/W0/4712,1 4, p. 15,128. 21a Ordnance Minut:: PRO O 47/;,:68, p. 17,089.217 Ordnance Minut PRorw /4:7/ ' 7r, p. 18,943.
218
Engineer Papers ~RO/W0/007/2,r7r, P• 19, 11 5, 29 December 1848.
tlP O d . ' 55 762.
r nance Mmutes, PRO/WO 47;2,186, p. ,
7 684_
708
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
He recommended that this should be accepted without further
competition. The Board, however, did not agree and ordered tenders
to be called for this work.220 Tenders were therefore put out for the
complete specification of erection and installation and in a letter
dated 7 November 1849, the Board accepted the one submitted by
Messrs John Knight and Son for £2,856, provided the building were
completed within four months.221 In the Annual Estimates for 1849
appears the item 'for erecting an engine house in the proof depart
ment £2,500'.
The Works Estimates for 1849 are missing.
On 5January 1849 four notice boards announcing the prohibition
ofsmoking were ordered to be put up in the Royal Arsenal at a cost
of £3. 10s. 7½d.222 This ban on smoking outside in the Arsenal was
not removed till 1 September 1948.223 On 16 February 1849 an
increase of 'privy' accommodation at the East Wharf guard was
sanctioned at a cost of about £5.224
It was stated on 26 February 1849 that work at the Royal Brass
Foundry was to be completed by the end of the financial year or,
failing that, as early as possible,225 and on 30 April 1849 that the
alterations and improvements in the department of the Inspector of
Artillery were to be commenced at once.226
As a result of the Committee's recommendation227 on the Woolwich Establishments, the Master-General approved that all stores in the Royal Arsenal should come directly under the storekeeper and deputy storekeeper, thus saving the posts of the DeJ?uty St~rekeepers ofthe R.L. and the R.C.D., and making the receipt, holdmg and issue of stores more efficient. Departments were therefore ordered to collaborate and draw up a set of necessary instructions.
This new policy was considered to inaugurate a far better arrangement than that laid down by the Board in their order dated I I February 1825.22s No longer would Heads ofDepartments have any direct control or authority over their deputy storekeepers. It was considered that this system would act as a check against any_ undue expenditure in either of the manufacturing departments, 1.e. the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Carriage De~artm~nt.22~ The Board took the necessary steps to implement this pohcy without
220 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,195, p. 12,039. . .
221 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,202, p. 15,264. Engineer Papers, PROf\\0/
55/763. . f f 6
222 OrdnanceMinutes,PRO/W0/47/2,172,p.265.EngmeerPapers,PRO/WO 55 7 3·
223 O.F. Circular 492.
22~ Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,176, P· 2,904.
225 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,177, P· 3,391.
226 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,183, P· 6,457. ,
227 The Committee consisted of the Principal Storekeeper and the Master-General s Secretary.
m See Chap. 15, note 123.
m Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,184, p. 6,514, 3 May 1849.
47
ADOLESCENCE
delay, the Civil Officers being asked to work out the details concerning the consequent transference of staff.230 On 26 May 1a the
49
Civil Officers i_nformed the Board that, as instructed, they had held a conference with Messrs Hope and Porrett, chief clerks respectively of the Surveyor-General and the Principal Storekeeper and th Heads of the manufacturing departments. Complete agre~ment hal been reached and they (the Civil Officers) were ready to introduce the new syst~m when instructed. Since they had no surplus storage
accommodat10n they suggested that the buildings containing the stores to be handed over should be t~ansferred to them. They also suggested that aII clerks connected with stores in the departments should be posted to the storek~ep_er's department. In this manner when the new system was funct1omng properly they could decide on the number of clerks to be retained. The Board agreed to these proposals.231 On 26 June 1849 the chief clerks of the s .
P . . ur veyor-
General and the rmc1pal Storekeeper, Messrs Hope and p
· 1 d. orrett,
made certam proposa s regar mg the transference ofstores c. th
r. · bl" h 1rom e
Manu1acturmg esta 1s ments to the storekeeper's de artment. They were broadly as follows : p
(a) Tools, machinery and materials in the process ofm r
• f anu1acture were
to be left m charge o the Head of the manufacturi·ng d t
. epar ment con
cerned or of a clerk specially deputed for that purpose
(b) Future deliveries by contractors were to be m.ad t l
· h . e o he store
keeper, who, with t e manufacturing department involved would c •
for payment. ' erhfy
(c) Rough timber in the log was to be treated as c:a ·bl b
232 1' r as poss1 e eforetransfcer.
Some difficulty still remained about handing ove. t 1.c:
. r me a 1or gun
product10n to the storekeeper. Storage capaci·ty ,.,as · ffi ·
.. msu c1ent and
the storehouse concerned had to be retained by th r
e nspector of
Ar .
t1l1ery to house the gunmetal required for current .c.
. manu1actureTh.
1s was regarded as a kmd of teething trouble · h t · ·
. . . . m eren 1n a move
f
o this kmd, and further d1scuss10n with the Inspector of Artiller eventually took place. Meanwhile the necessary transfers from th:
R.L. and the R.C.D. proceeded.233
. It is ~ore tha~ likely that some resentment was evinced at the mtrodu:t10n of this new system. Heads of the factories probably felt that their p_owers ~ere bemg usurped.
A set of ~nstruct10ns for the clerks in charge of the stores in the manufacturmg departments were issued on October r8
21 50.2a4
230 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO/47/ 8
saz Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/ /2,1 5, p. 7,521, 18 May 1849.
HI O d M' ' 47 2,186, p. 7,885.
r nance ~utes, PRO/W0/47;2,1a9 p. 9 242. 211 Ordnance Mmutes PRO/WO/ 7/ '
114 Ordnance M" t , PRO/W0/4 /2,190, p. 9,•813, IO July r849.
mu es, 47 2,237, p. 10,850.
710
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
The transcript was as follows:
Instructions for Mr ............. Clerk in Charge of Stores in the Royal . ... . ..... Department at Woolwich
(r)
You are to take duly on charge and be accountable for all articles of every description received into the Royal ...... . ... Department and to render bills and just accounts ofthe same in the method herein required.
(2)
You are to take care that proper accounts are duly kept of the Receipts and Issues of all articles with the necessary vouchers, which are to be made out in strict conformity with the Forms adopted by the Board. You are to see or be satisfied that all stores are correct as to their number, weight etc. as they may be charged, and you are to be particular not to receive in or issue out of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . any article whatever without a Board's order, or, in case of emergency, an authority from the
. .. .... ..... .........
(3) You are from time to time to issue the arcicles that may be required • • . ... . . ... . . . ... . .. for manufacture, repair or conversion, which are to be shown in the Monthly Voucher adopted by the Board's Orders of 9 February 1850 (T/72), I May 1850 (E/2,602) and 12 June 1850 (E/2,663), and you are to report and deliver the manufactured articles to the Arsenal Storekeeper for issue.
(4.) You are to keep a Departmental Store ledger, together with the necessary Vouchers, which are to be kept posted up and examined, so that no arrear whatever shall ever be suffered to accrue of such posting and examination.
(5)
You are to make up an Annual Store Account from the said Office Ledger terminating on 31st March, which is to be transmitted with the Vouchers to the Store Account Office, the Tower, by the 30th June following, with the Annual Account of tools, machines, models, patterns and articles in use etc. showing the Receipts and Issues during the year and the charge on each 31st March, with all Vouchers appertaining thereto, so as to admit of a due Audit.
(6)
You are to transmit the Account of Fixtures triennually, showing any alteration that may have been made in the interim, and inserting the Board's authority for such alteration.
(7)
You are to keep the necessary cheque of the workmen and to prepare, examine and certify the Cheque Books and Pay Lists, and all cash and store documents, agreeably to Regulations.
(8)
You are to witness the payment of the artificers, labourers and others employed in the Royal . . . . . . . . . . and certify the same.
(g)
You are to transmit a Quarterly Return of Persons employed and services performed, as per Form HOME E. Book of Regulations.
( 1 o) You are to make and transmit the monthly Expenditure D emand of Stores.
( 11) You are to have the custody of the Office Books and official correspondence of the Department.
711
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1 840-1850
ADOLESCENCE
not consider it admissible to comply with the request of the Royal
(12) For the due performance ofyour duties, in addition to the services
Arsenal Cricket Club for the loan of an old tent-241 This is the first
of the other clerks of the Department, you are to obtain all necessary
mention of this cricket club in the records, but it shows it to be of
information from the Constructors, Masters, Foremen and others in
matters belonging to their respective employments under the sanction
more ancient lineage than the Royal Arsenal Football Club, known concurrence and support of the . . . . . . . . . . . . . as Head of the Depart~
now as The Arsenal, which was formed in 1886. ment.
Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English, the C.R.E., Woolwich, became
seriously ill in the summer of 1849, and on 4July 181=-9 Major John the practice.ad~pted by your predecessor, as Deputy Storekeeper, and
(13) You are a]so further referred for your guidance in your duties to
Walpole, R.E., was made acting C.R.E. temp?ranly during the the commumcations made by him on the subject from time to time which
illness of his senior officer.242 Lieut.-Colonel English must have died are presumed to be recorded in the Books of his Office, so far' as the
immediately afterwards because a letter dated 5 July 1849 stated same may be applicable under alterations which have been recently
that 'Lieut.-Colonel William Reid, R.E., should be C.R.E., Wool
made in the mode ofcarrying on the duties of the Department.
wich Division vice Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English, deceased'_243 Given at the Office of Ordnance in London under the seal of the said
Lieut.-Colonel Reid was confirmed in the appointm~nt on 10 August
Office this 21st day of October 1850.
1849 when he took over the duties being temporarily performed by By order of the Master-General and Board.
Major Walpole.244
G. Butler A wooden shed for the examination of live shell was on 3 August Secretary235 1849 ordered to be erected near the S.A. Cartridge sheds on a
Office of Ordnance ·1d· 245
convenient site not far from the fire-proof bui 1ngs.
21 October 1850 E/2,845
On 13 August 1849 it was laid down that in future 5% rejections
245
As a ~esult of this change of policy the posts of deputy storeshould be allowed on all shot and shell contracts. On 27 August keepers m the R.L. and the R.C.D. were abolished. They disappear 1849, William Murphy, a labourer in the storekeeper's department, from the Annual Estimates for 1850 onwards. being found in possession of six lucifer matc?-es by the police in
On g March 1849, it was proposed that the main s wer from the contravention of the 2nd paragraph of the C1:cular Order, L/68,
R.A. Barrac~s and the Royal Ordnance Hospital should be carried dated g March 1846, was suspended by the Civil Officers from duty und~r the railway ~t New Road, Woolwich. The Ordnance solicitor for on month. It was directed that the orders concerned were to be was mstructed to bmd the South Eastern Railway to keep th · read over to all workmen and that they were to be told that in future
· · k e iron
tubes m repa1r, to eep clean and empty the cess-poolJ man-hole, any workman found in possession of matches would be punished.247 tr~p, etc., and to take every responsibility in case of accident On 26 October 1849, Henry Bill, a labourer, had his pay stopped without expense to the Office of Ordnance.236 for 3 days for having a pipe in his pocket, contrary to regulations,
Ed_ward M. Sparkes, t~e deputy storekeeper, was on 3 May 18 during working hours.248
49
appomted ~torekeeper vice Joseph Cheetham, retired, with effect During September 1849, certain convicts, employed in opening from 1 Apnl 1849.237 up and cleaning a sewer and drains in the Royal Arsenal, had their On 8 May 1849, the repair of the small bomb-proof in rear of the labour withdrawn because the doctor reported that such work was butts on Plumstead marsh~s was sanctioned at a cost of£1. 4-5. ld.23s injurious to life. It was pointed out that Sappers and Miners did
There were no outstanding events during the remainder of 8 similar work in Woolwich outside the Arsenal and that the Home the only recorded facts being in the nature of administrative d:t!R: Office, on being consulted, stated that they saw no reason why On 15 May 1849, the completion of the alterations and repairs in
convicts should not be continued in this work. Meanwhile the the Royal Brass Foundry costing £155 was to be undertaken at once
Sappers and Miners volunteered for the specific task in the Arsenal and charged to I tern r09 in the Estimates for 1849/50.239 Grass on the marshes for the use ofartillery horses was to be mown by convicts
241 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,189, p. 9,056.
as heretofore and not by troops.240 The Board on 2 1 June 18 did
242 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,190, P· 9,531.
49
243 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/763.
286 Secretary to the Board ofOrdnance 244 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,193, P· 11,393.
238 Odr nance M'~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,.178, p. 3,952.
245 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,193, p. 10,91I.
237 Ordnance M~nutes, PRO/WO/47/2,184, p. 6,573.
246 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,194, p. I 1,588.
118 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,184, p. 6,g25.
247 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,195, p. 12,101.
118 Ordnance M~utes, PRO/WO/47/2,1a5, p. 7,337.
248 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,201, p. 14,665.
140 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,187, p. a,469, gJune 1a4g.
713
712
ADOLESCENCE
and were highly commended by the Master-General for their action.249 The Board agreed on 1 7 SeJ?tem?er 1849 that the best way to supply water for_ the steam e,:igmes m the Royal Carriage D epartment was by laying branch pipes and taking water from the W t Company. They sanctioned the expenditure of£88 on this servic:.2~~
It was arranged on 17 October 1849 that a blast for the cu I and forges of the smiths' shop in the R.E. Department shouldoba obtained from the steam-powered fan in the Royal Carriage D t~
2-1 S . epar
ment at a cost of £ 20 . ., anct1on was given on 29 October 1349 t0
close the road between the Royal Carriage Department and En ·
252 d I d d g1neer
Square, an a etter ate 10 December 1849 gave the cost 0 f th
operation as £186. 5s. iod.253 This closing of the road wa tO bat
. h d b · · h · s e
accomp11s e Y contmmng t ~ lme of the wall on the south side of
the R.C.D. to the angle of ~ng1neer Square. The cost for this work
was to be added to the Estimates for 1850/51·254 This closure arose
. .
as th~ result of a dec1s10n taken on 29 October 1849, that the Royal
Carnage Department should occupy and use the whole of th
up to the wall of the Engineer Department.255 e space
The bulk-head in. the marshes required repair and Mi-Graham-
the contractor-ob~ected to the work being put out to te d h
.d d . h Id r. n er as e
cons1 dere ~ s o~ 1orm part of his general contract. The Board agree d to £t s an dc~lled for no tenders. They assumed the cost to be un er 100 an instructed Mr Graham on 28 o ic.i11 "' ber 1 849 that he would be nominated to. undertake the repai·r 2;;G. A letter
· dated 7 December 1849 authonzed the repair of the bu1I·-h d Mr Graham for £48. 251 ~ -ea by
A letter (M/2407), dated 19 December 1849, emanating from the Office of Ordnan~e stated that the post of messenger b tween Pall Mall and Woolwich would be abolished on the s ·
. . uperannuat10n of Richard Fmch, which had been recommended t th T
F J 8 ° e reasury
ram I anua:r 1 50, letters between the several departments of the Ordnance m London and at Woolwich would be d b
ost 2ss A fi th conveye y
P . ur e~ 1etter, however, (A/100) dated 4 March 18 o
5 cancelled the earlier one, s~ating that it was considered advisable t~
return to the former practice, and that to this end the Board had
20 0dr nance Mmutes," PRO/WO/47/2 196 p S
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / ' 6, · 12,432, 3 eptember 1849.
Ordnance Minutes PRO/W0/7/'196, P· 12,559, 6 September 1849.
2~0 Ordnance Minutes: PROJW0/7,:,;9 , P· 12,5~2, 7 September 1849.
M Ordnance Minutes PRO/Wo/7/ ' 97, p. 12,9.J8,
2 200 1 2
251 Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ , , P· ,4 1.
i76
::: Engineer Pa~ers; PRO/WO,;;¼~6t Ordnance Mmutes, PRO/WO /
m Ordnance Minutes PROJW0/7/,205, P· 16,708, 10 December 1849.
2 201
158 Ordnance Minutes' PRO/WO/47 , , P· z4,758.
1
sn Enuineer Papers PRO/WO/ 47 2,204, p. 16,137.
0
m E : ' 55/763.
ngmeer Papers, PROfWO/551763.
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WI D 1840-1850
reintroduced the post of messenger to which they proposed to appoint Charles Lomas who was about to be pensioned from the Royal Artillery.259
In 1849, Mr William Tozer, master of the Percussion Cap factory, Mr Joseph Carlisle, master-turner R.L., and Mr Fyer, master-smith R.L., were granted pecuniary rewards for introducing labour saving improvements. The estimated savings over 3 years by
adopting their methods were computed to be:
Mr Fyer, ·£500. os. od. Mr Carlisle, £467. 5s. 7d. Mr Tozer, £254. 14.s. 3d.
260
They were awarded the sums of £35, £30 and £20 respectively.
The Works Estimates for 1850261 give no details but the Annual Estimates for the same year contain an item of £1,193 for providing corrugated iron roofs for the seasoning sheds of the Royal Carriage
Department. Sanction was given on I February 1850 for the construction of a convict 'privy' in the Royal Arsenal at a cost of £5 in order to prevent convicts using those provided for soldiers and workmen. This was done as a precautionary measure as the Gover:1or of the convict hulks considered that common 'privies' led to an increase of crime.262 It seemed a little late in the day to come to this conclusion. It v,, s notified on 4 March 1850 that the Admiralty intended to apply to Parliament for an Act to authorize the building of a dock opposite the Royal Arsenal, to be called the Victoria Dock. A public enquiry on the matter was held at the Brunswick Hotel, Blackwall, on 12 March 1850 at which the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, was present to represent the views of the Office of Ordnance on the question.263 The scheme was launched and on 21 February 1853 the sale of 27 perches of land on the Thames side opposite Woolwich to
264
the Victoria Dock Company for £20. 5s. od. was sanctioned. The Royal Victoria Docks, as they were called, were completed and opened in November 1855. In July 1876 a great enlargement was proposed. They were finally completed and named the Royal Albert Docks by the Duke and Duchess of Connaught on 24 June I 880.
On 27 March 1850 a nursery for young trees on about a rood of ground was sanctioned, the annual upkeep of which was not to exceed £5.265 Mr Stralian, whose property on the Plumstead marshes
269 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/763. 260 PRO/WO/44/644. 2Gl PRO/WO/49/174.
2 r. 2 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,211, p. 1,179. Engineer Papers, PROf'\"0/ 55/763.
263 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,214, P· 2,379. 264 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,746. 265 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,216, P· 3,391 •
715
ADOLESCENCE
adjoined Ordnance land, requested on 28 March 185o th t h ditch dividing . the. holdings should be cleaned. The Board, however,a t e stoo on t e1r rights. They told Mr Stralian that as the d · t h
d h
h' 't 1 h' 'b'l' l c was
1s, 1she eara?-cebwas 1s ~espons1 1 ity.266 It was agreed on 18 April 1 50 t at notice oards, s1gn~d by the Secretary of the Board, should
8
be put up on ~he boundaries of Ordnance property to warn off trespassers and mform owners that t~ey must not allow their cattle toffistray on government land and 1~jure the trees.2G1 The Civil cers drew up the necessary notice of caution and th'IS was
O
approved by the Board on 12 June 1850.2Gs On 16 May 1850, stores for the Sir John Franklin Ex d' ·
t b · d 209 Th pe 1t10n
were or ere o e issue . ese were required for on f h
d d
· h' h · e o t e
rescue parties w 1c went m search of Sir John Franklin b bl for t!'e Prince Albert under Captain Forsyth which sailed 'ttr~a:-Co; Straits from Aberdeen on 5 June 1850. Two years later A il
. r. . ' on 7 pr1 52, overtime 1or certam employees in the Royal LaboI· t
8 . d A ·1 8 . d a ory was
sanct1fioneh onAr7 yn 1 d5~ _m or er t_o complete some of the articles or a urt er ctic expe ition.270 This was undoubtedly th d'
fc
tion under Sir Edward Belcher which sailed from w le ~xphe I
· Th . oo w1c on 15 pnl 1852.. ere were five ships involved , the Asszs· tance com-
A manded by Sir Edward_Belcher, the Resolute by Captain Kellett CB the North Star by Captam Pullen, the lntre'1id by Capta· M c1·' · ·'
· b · '1' m c mtock an t e Pioneer y Captam Sherard Osborn· Theexpe w.on arnv• ed
dif.; '
d h at Beechy Island on 14 August 1852. The Ass· t . d p·
zs ance an zoneer procee e through Wellington Channel and th R l
'dd dM I '11 I ' e eso ute and
Lntrepi to e v1 ~ sland; the North Star remaining at Beech I 1 nd The search for S1r John Franklin and his co • Y sa . attention of many ships between l 848 and I 87mgpamons fengh~ged the
Am . Th d' . 'some o w _1ch were . encadn. e exh~e 1t~on under SirJohn Franklin which culminated 1s third Arctic voyage of d' .
m trage y was 1scovery. It consisted
of HMS.. . . . E11rehus and Terror (Captains Croz1.er and F' itzJames) carrymg m a 138 persons. It sailed from Greenhithe on 1 M
184-5. 9 ay The two following extracts from Ordna .
sh I k f . nee mmutes appear to ow a ac o co-ordination in the contracts branch:
0
na:e!r~h: :~k~~e~~~c=:~0~; ,o: :i;:;~dpipes _are in ~u~ure to omit the stone with glass linings' Since th 'fi :o s~Ipulate pipes of terra cotta for the work of repairi~g dra· e spec1 bcatlon IS to be revised, new tenders
ms are to e called for.271
tell O d r nance M'mutes PRO/WO/ /2 21
1117 Ordnance Minutes; PRO/W0/47 , ~, P· 3,5oo.
4712121 2
1118 Ordnance Minutes PRO/WO 'P· 4, 79•
22 6
m Ordnance Minutes' PRO/W0//47 47 1/22,22114, P· ,395·2 270 Ordnance Minutes'. PRO/WO 2'28 P· 5,4° ·
ll7l Ordnance Minutes· PRO/W0//47// , 9, P· 4,136.
' 47 2,223, p. 6,318.
716
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-18 50
20 J une 1850. Specifications for drain pipes are not to be revised as Messrs Knight and Sons' tender for the work has already been accepted
on 30 May 1850.212 Somebody slipped up somewhere.
Because all the departments in the Royal Arsenal had to be in attendance on the anniversary of Queen Victoria's coronation consequent upon the review and the royal cortege at Woolwich, it was decided that 29 May should be observed as a holiday to be kept
273 in honour of the anniversary of H.M.'s coronation. Lieut.-Colonel Richard Hardinge, the Director R.L., was given permission on 17 July 1850 to reside away from his house in the Royal Arsenal in view of the state of his health on the understanding
274 that no allowances in lieu were to be granted to him. Even a hundred years ago the Arsenal was considered to be an unhealthy locality, the old theory that miasma and low fever arose from the p roximity of the marshes still continuing to hold the field. Captain E. M . Boxer's new fuze for spherical case shot, having u nd rgone extensive trials with such projectiles and with common shell, was pronounced satisfactory and introduced into the Land
275 Service. The Garrison Service was the first to be supplied. letter dated 3 September 1850 authorized the appropriation_ of a plot of ground immediately in rear of the butts on the Woolw1ch
276 m ars es (i.e. the proof-butts) as a burial ground for con:victs. There was an occupied building in the Royal Arsenal which was
1
th subject of certain correspondence with the Board, and on 3 S eptember 1850 it was ordered to be used as a guardhous~; at the same time the place fitted up by the storekeep:r as a d~bbing shop was to be used for that purpose. The shed which had till then been u sed as a guardhouse and the old dubbing shop were ordered to be
277
demolished and the materials sold.
Mr Graham, who had a general running contract for r~pairs_ in the Arsenal, objected strongly to convicts being emp~oyed in whitewashing buildings in the Royal Laboratory. He said t~at such ~
practice was in direct violation of his contract. In view of his representations a Board's letter dated 4 October 1850 ordered the
278
work to be discontinued at once.
Sanction was given on 7 October 1850 to erect a cupola i~ s~op No.21 in the Royal Brass Foundry, and to alter and fit up a bu1ld1ng,
272 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,224, P· 6,758.
2
273 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,225, P· 7,048, 9 June iB5o.
20
274 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,227, P· 7,6 · 1
275 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/4 7 /2,232, P· 9,291, 3 Sept~mber S5o. .
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,232, p. 9,253. Engineer Papers, PRO/\\ O /
276
55/763.
277 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,233, P· g,68o. .
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,235, p. 10,372. Engineer Papers, PRO('VO /
278
55/763.
ADOLESCENCE THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
now a stable, to receive a metal ass~ying furnace in Proof Square at the cost of £201. 3s. 7-a3 ;d. The estimate and report on the matter additional 6s. 6d. a day pay subject to the deduction ofthe allowance
was dated ~3 September l 850. The service was ordered to be added to the Estimates for 1851/52.279 The Treasury a th · d
. u onze on
21
October 1850 the expe~dlture of£209 in introducing shafting from the ste_am power plant m the Royal Carriage Department to d ·
lathes m the R.E. Department. 280 nve A suggestion was made on 13 November 1850 th t d · cleared from the canal to render it suitable for coaat mlu mlighTt ~e
d d h C R s a vesse s. his
was approve an t e · .E., Woolwich Divis ·
1·O
· h · f h • n, was instructed
to forms an estimate o t e sum involved in s h
1 · bl uc a proposal 281 To
make the cana nav1ga e for coastal vessels w · d ·
d D as estimate to cost
£185,2s2 an on 13 ecember 1850 the necessar d .
ordered to be carried out.283 Y redgmg was Sanction was given on 11 November l8
50
James Nasmyth and Co. a 1o H p h • h to purchase from
. · · ig pressure steam eno-in fi
the Royal Carnage Department at the price of £ a 6 e or
800
Messrs Fox and Henderson the sum of£98 d fc 'b ~d _to pay necessary foundations provided the wo~k4-S. 0 Id 0{ uildmg the certified and paid for bef?re 31 March 185 r.28~ou e approved,
On 8June 1850 a meetmg was held in the R A . ..
S h 1 1u 1 · h · oya1 rt111ery Riding
c oo at vvoo w1c m support ofthe Great E ·h·b· ·
1
of Industry ofall Nations 1851 Gall • x itwn of the Works . enes were erected by 11r G H
Graham and Mr J. Tricket and 2 ooo perso · · Sir Thomas Downman presided 'and add ns were seated_. General C d Ed ' resses were deltvered b
ommo ore en, RN. . , Colonel Reid R E h R · Y Mare, the Revd Dr Carlisle, Messrs 'R. · Ru: e evd A. De.La
F. Bossey and others Mr T R R · h d gg, D. W. Wire,
. . . ic ar son spoke for the Do k d
workers and MrJohn Anderson for the Ro A c yar 1 1 h ty d • . ya1 rsena 1. It was a very
oya , ear an enthusiastic meeting 2ss F II • . gathering a letter dated 13 November ; ° owmg this _local
8
Colonel William Reid RE ret • . h. 5° approved of Lieut.
' .., a1mng is appomtm t C R E
Woolwich Division, while holding the t f e~ as · · ·, Executive Committee ofthe Great Exhibiii~~ o~ l 8Chairman of the that he should attend at Woolwich occasionall M5 I. It ':as agrered John Walpole, the next senior R E officer . yt.h ed~n~ ~1Ie, MaJor ffi . C R E h. . . . in e 1v1s10n was to
o c1ate as . . ., is signature on docu t b . '
such. While acting as deputy C R E M ~enWs emg accepted as · · · aJor a1pole received an
279 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ / 55/763. 47 2,235, p. Io,402. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
280
181 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/ /
Ordnance Minutes, PROJWO 47 ;,;37, P· 10,861. 281 Ordnance Minutes PROJWof471, 39, P· 11,720. zaa Engineer Papers PRO/WO/ 47 2>242, P· 12,839.
1u E · ' 551763.
'" ngmeer Papers~ PROJWO/551763. Records of Woolwuh, W. T. Vincent voI I
' . 'p. 141.
718
in lieu of quarters, coals and candles.286 Woolwich thus took a
prominent part in the 1851 Exhibition and the success of that great
undertaking was in part no doubt due to the excellent work per
formed by Lieut.-Colonel Reid.
Sir William Reid, as he became in 1851, had a remarkable career.
Born in I79I, he was commissioned in the Royal Engineers in I 809.
He served in the Peninsular War 18I0-1814, in the expedition against
New Orleans in 1815, and in the expedition against Algiers in I 8 I 6.
While in the West Indies ( 1831-1834) he materially developed the
circular theory of hurricanes, publishing in 1838 'An Attempt to
develop the Law ofStorms'. He served in the British legion in Spain,
commanding a brigade 1835-1836. In 1839 he was elected a Fellow
of the Royal Society. He was appointed Governor of Bermuda in
1839, where he was so active in promoting the welfare of the people
that he is still remembered as 'the good Governor'. He was trans
ferred to Barbados as Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands
in 1846 but resigned from that post in 1848. Upon completing his
work with the Great Exhibition, he became Governor of Malta in
1851, beingpromotedMaJor-Generalin 1856. Hediedon31 October
1858. During this year ofgrace, r 8 50, there was correspondence between the dmiralty, Woolwich and the Board of Ordnance about mud from the Dockyard being used in raising the level of the Arsenal.
(
This deposition of material had been going on year after year and sums appeared annually in the Works Estimates for this service. The Admiralty had no obJection to mud scoured from the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, (mainly from the basins) being deposited at the east end of the Arsenal provided it were done through Mr Peter R olt the contractor under his terms of contract. Mr Rolt offered to deliver the mud on a piece of ground near the convict shed averaging one run of 60 feet from the barge at 2ld. per cubic yard. All mud deposited beyond that distance was to be paid for _in addition at the rate of 1¼d. per cubic yard per 60 ~oot ~un: This offer was made on g April 1850 and was agreed to 1n pnnc1pl:·. The Home Department agreed that convict labour could be ut1hzed for the
work.2s1
On g May 1850 the practice of having apprenticeships in the manufacturing departments was discontinued. Since I 83 I apprentices in the Royal Laboratory had been taught the work generally, hut not that of a specific trade.288
286 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,239, p. I 1,746. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/
55/763.
287 PRO/WO/44/296.
288 PRO/WO/44/524.
ADOLESCENCE
The clerical establishments in the Royal Arsenal according to the
9
Estimates for 1849/50 were as under:28
R.L. { ; g~~? Storekeeper £527 £703
R CD ( I Deputy Storekeeper · · · L 7 Clerks £350 £993
Storekeeper's 116 Clerks
Department J £2 ,303 In all 30 persons -£4,876
After the abolition of the deputy storekeepers in the t .. ,0
. ., manu
facturing departments, the proposed new establishment was:
R.L. 4 Clerks R.C.D. 4 Clerks Storekeeper's} 1 Clerks
7
Department £2,440 In all 25 persons -£3,700
a saving offive persons and £ r, r 76 p.a. In addition to the above, there were of course the sto 1
. re <eeper the deputy storekeeper and some clerical assistance in th D ' ment of the Inspector of Artillery. e epart-
It may be fitting to close this chapter with a short ace t f h
. oun o t e career of Mr, afterwards Sir John Anderson the ma t h
. . , n o w om
possibly more than to any other, IS due the credit for 1 · h
r. • d p acmg t e
government manUiacturmg epartments on a sound and -t d
b · H h' • up o-ate
r. as1s.. e was a ~ac _meryhe~pert In the days when machines in .1actones were commg mto t e1r own and to him the t
. h . ' coun ry owed
durmg t e Cnmean War a debt ofgratitude for his vi · · d st and ability in putting the Ordnance factories abreast ~ifot~l' :n. ub ~y
h ·1 . . . ieir JO In
t ose pen ous times when mhented prejudice and · • conservatism resisted change. mgrained
John Anderson was born at Woodside near Abe d
D b , r een, on
9
ecem er 1814,_ and ?ecame a foreman in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery m I 842. By 1853 he had risen to th · ·
f E · · e pos1t10n
o ngmeer m the Royal Brass Foundry, and on 17 August of that year the Treasury granted him an increase of salary of £
On 24J 8 h B roo p.a.
anuary_ I 54 t e oard wrote to the Treasury asking for his salary to be raised from £250 to £500. On 13 February 1854 th Treas~ry approved his appointment as 'Engineer to the Jnspecto; ofArtillery s Department', salary £400 rising by annual increments of £_50 to £7?0 p._a:290 Meanwhile, Mr John Anderson had been making extensive visits to other manufacturing establishments with
m PR0/W0/44/524. Ho Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,948, PR0/W0/44/524.
720
THE BEGINNING OF A TRADE WIND 1840-1850
a view to setting up a government factory for the exclusive production ofsmall arms. On 26 February I 853 he and Lieutenant Warlow were authorized to visit certain factories in the north of England.291 He also, in company with Lieut.-Colonel Burn, R.A., Major Turbeville and Lieutenant Warlow, R.A., visited the principal government factories in the United States where the manufacture of small arms by machinery was effected. As a result it was proposed on 6 1.farch
292
1854 that a musket factory should be set up in the Royal Arsenal. This was the view held byJohn Anderson who considered it essential that all government factories should be under one head and located at Woolwich. This proposal, howev~r, was never put into effect as the government decided to open their small arms factory at Enfield Lock where there was already in existence a small establishment devoted to the repair and partial manufacture of musk:ts..
John Anderson was by now a very busy man, funct1onmg _as he did as Inspector of Machinery. He required a proper office and this ~as sanctioned on 2o October 1354 by appropriating par~ of a clo~hmg store at a cost of £12_293 An office, however, requires furmture, and on 27 October 1854 an estimate of £60. 4-S· 1 r¾d, for su~plying furniture to this office was approved and the expenclitur_e sanctioned.294 In the minute recording this, Mr John Anderson 1s referred to as the Inspector of Machinery, and so presumably he had become independent of the Inspector of Artillery. He therefor_e required staff for his new department and on r ~ecember 1854, It was agreed that the necessary application for this staff should be m ade to the Treasury.295 It was agreed on 28 May 1855 that Mr
296
Sissison should assist Mr Anderson for 6 months at a cost of£1 5°A department having been formed, more furniture was naturally required and on 11 October 1855 a sum of £61. 125· 6d. was sanctioned for purchasing office furniture for the department of the Inspector of Machinery.201 On 8 May 1856 Mr John_ ~derson
t10
presented a famous report on the 'Past and Present Con?1 ~ of t~e several Manufacting Branches of the War Department which will be considered in the following chapter. Mr Anderson eventually became the Chief Engineer of the Royal Arsenal, and may thus ?e said to have founded the line recently represented by the Chief
Mechanical Engineer. . In his time John Anderson invented several useful mac~nnes, had
a good deal to do with the founding of the Shell Foundry in 1854/55
291 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,746·
292
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,748, P· 548· .
293 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/\V0/47/2,751, P· 985. Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/764.
294 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751 , P· 1 , 0 44· 295 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, P· I,375· 296 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0{'A'0/47/2,753, P· 1,85B. 297 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,755, P· I,o7B.
721
ADOLESCENCE
and fitted out a floating factory for the Crimea. He was employed as Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Gun Factory under Sir William Armstrong and Superintendent of Machinery in r866. He retired in r 874. In his time he had been a lecturer on machinery to the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Artillery Institution. He was a Lieut.-Colonel in the 28th Kent Rifle Volunteers. He was made a LL.D of St Andrew's University and a F.R.S. Edinburgh in 1871. He was .knighted and received the French Legion of Honour in 1 878. He died at St Leonards-on-Sea, 28 July 1886.298
us Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. I, p. 302.
Contents: Volume II
1 7. The last years under the Board of Ordnance and the
Crimean War
1 8. The early years under the War Office
19.
The Morley reforms
20.
The closing years of the nineteenth century
PART IV-MATURITY
o. f. G. IIogg 1963
2 I. The opening years of the twentieth century 9II
22.
The First World War 949
23.
The uneasy years between 991
24.
The Second World War and afterwards 1024
APPENDICES
I. List of Keepers of the Wardrobe, Masters and Masters-
General of the Ordnance and subsequent Arma
ment Chiefs 1035
II. Principal Officers of the Ordnance 1041
III. Constitution of the Board at various dates 1047
IV. Armament administration-Board of Ordnance, War
Office, Ministry of Supply and War Office. From
1671 to the present day 1048
V. Complete list of armour held at Greenwich in June
16I1 1099
VI. Officials at the Royal Arsenal at various dates 1102
VII. Certain establishments and rates of pay 1123
VIII. Certain employees and rates of wages in the Royal
Arsenal between the years 1800 and 1855 l 133
IX.
Woolwich establishments in certain years 1280
X.
Number of workers employed in the Royal Arsenal 1289
XI. The acreage of the Royal Arsenal at various dates 1292
XII. Transport in the Royal Arsenal 1293
XIII. Divine worship, schools, police and security 1317
XIV. Water, fire services, gas and power 1349
xv. Survey of some of the principal stores made Ill the
Royal Arsenal 1374
XVI. Other Departments in the Royal Arsenal 1427
XVII. Manuscripts relating to Ordnance matters 1451
Bibliography 1457
Printedin NortJum Ireland
Index 1459
V
Illustrations 1n Volume II
PLATES
r 3 Laboratory Square, c. 1750 (facing page) 842
14 Moulding pellets in the Royal Laboratory, c. 1750 843
15 Pumps in the Royal Laboratory 858
r 6 The visit of George III to the Royal Foundry, 1 773 859
17 Making charges, Royal Laboratory, c. 1750 970
r 8 View of hulks and convicts at Woolwich, 1 779 971
1 g The seat of Gregory Page at Blackheath, 1 783 986
20 (upper) The main gate, Royal Arsenal, 1825 987
20 (lower) The entrance to the Royal Arsenal, c. 1850 987
21 The Royal Arsenal, 184 7
22 (upper) Model of horse boring-mill 1028
22 (lower) Girls making cartridges, 1862 1028
MAPS
5. The Royal Arsenal, 1867 (facing page) 868
..
vu
Chapter 17
The Last Years Under the Board of Ordnance and the Crimean War
The last five years under the paternal care of the Board, including as it did the outbreak of the Crimean War, ushered in at Woolwich a period of quickening tempo, larger establishments, purchase of machinery and increased productivity. The change-over from manual to steam power had been long in developing, and hesitant rather than bold in its rate of progress, but the pressure of events in both the engineering and political worlds, acting as a forcing house during the few remaining years during which the Office of Ordnance as a great department of State had to live, injected a hormone of speed which galvanized the productive capabilities of the factories into life. Possibly the passing of the Board was hastened by the news from the Crimea, since it did not escape criticism, though its abolition had been canvassed for some time. However that may be, the Board did not starve the manufacturing departments during the days of its decline and ultimate eclipse.
Little of import actually happened in 1851. The Works Estimates for that year are missing, so the amount of actual expenditure forecast on building services is unknown. One item, however, does come down to us and that is a sum of £120 to be added to the Woolwich Estimate for 1851/52, to complete the work ofclearing the mud from the canal. From reports submitted by the C.R.E. that sum would remain unspent by 31 March 1851 out of the original sum of £185 ordered by the Board on 13 December 1850. The Board on roJanuary 1851 accepted the statement that 'It is obvious that as the work has only just been commenced it cannot possibly be completed before the end of the financial year' .1
On 14 February 1851, the Board granted a further piece ofground behind the proof-butt as a vegetable garden for the convicts. They stated, however, that although the original garden was not subject to a charge, the convict authorities must in future pay Is. a year in annual acknowledgment for the whole plot.2 The Board changed their minds on 1g March 1851 and informed the Governor of the convicts that, as the additional plot of land which was to have been handed over to him was the only suitable site in the Royal Arsenal for a mortar eprouvette range, they had of necessity to cancel their
1 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,244, P. 346.
• Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,248, p. 1,697. 723
ADOLESCENCE
minute of 14 February and refuse him the piece of ground in
question. They also made it clear that there was no other plot of
land anywhere in the Arsenal which could be made available for a
convicts' garden.3 This was followed by an order dated 28 March
1851 which stated: 'The land cultivated by convicts without per
mission beyond the paled space which they formerly had is to be
taken back from them.'4
The storekeeper was still pressed for sufficient storage capacity to
accommodate the manu:factured stores he was taking over from the
Royal Carriage Department. The Civil Officers, on representing
this point on g6 February 1851, were authorized to expend £25.
6s. 3d. in constructing an additional well-hole in No. 4o storehouse
to suit their requirements.5
It was announced on 25June 1851 that those having the franchise in the Royal Arsenal were to be allowed to vote in the Greenwich Parliamentary Election on the 26th and g7th June." Woolwich was not a separate constituency in those days. This did not become a fact till 1885 when Woolwich was made a Metropolitan Borough.
A small butt costing £16. 45. 1o!d. for the trial of Captain Moorsom's fuze was authorized on g May 1851.7 This percussion fuze, of which a description appears in Appendix XV, was invented by Commander Moorsom, R.N., being finally approved for Sea Service on 16July 1861. On 16July 1851, the Board stated that they had accepted the tender of Mr Francis Ward for renewing the outer, and repairing the inner., lock gate for a sum of £2go. os. od.8 An estimate amounting to £132. os. od. for providing and fixing machinery to facilitate the work in the carpenters' and smiths' shops of the R.E. Department was submitted to the Board, but in their letter dated 28 July 185I, the latter stated that a saving must first be shown before they could sanction the expense.9 It was announced on 29 August 1851 that :four pairs of Royal Artillery horses with the establishment number o:f N.C.0.'s and men were to be employed in the Royal Arsenal in addition to those then used in removing timber for the Royal Carriage Department."" A certain Mr Gate wished to purchase a piece of land belonging to the Ordnance near the Old Barge House, North Woolwich, but the Board informed him on 14 November 1851 that ground required for the passage of artillery could not be sold.11 The Old Barge House had many associations with the various Woolwich ferries.
•
Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,251, P. 2,901. 'Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,252, p. 3,239.
•
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,249, P. 2,138.
•
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,261, p. 6,397. 7 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO[47/2,256, p. 4,673.
•
OrdnanceMinutes, PRO/WO[47/2,263,p. 7,136.EngineerPapers,PRO/WO[55/764.
" Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764. 0 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,267, p. 8,444. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
724
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
Ordnance Book No. 925 for the year 1851 is the last of the series """?f,0rdnance property at Woolwich. Since it again includes a",?', "vildings in the Royal Arsenal, opportunity is being taken to ta u ate them for the last time. The houses in the Royal Arsenal were occupied as follows:
As-House near the Fire-proof Magazines (Middle Gate House) The Storekeeper A4-House next to the present surgery (H. Avenue)
The Deputy Storekeeper%{23-s Dial Square) -The Inspector R.0.D. 4? },"?: z Dial Square) -The Assistant Inspector R.C.D.
7 o. 8 Dial Square) -The Assistant Inspector of Artillery
A8 (No. 1 Dial Square) The Firemaster
Ag (In the R.C.D.)
-The Clerk i/c R.C.D.
A (In the R.E. Department) -The Clerk, R.E. Department
A11 (In H. Avenue)
-A Clerk, R.E. Department
A, (In the Plumstead Road)
Civil Chapel and Chaplain's quarters
Buildings in the Royal Arsenal Storehouses applied to the service of the Ordnance Storekeeper West Quadrangle
West or Clothing store 2o8' > 39' North or Wharf lobby 143' >< 3 , South or 6 pdr House X
143, 3;,
Centre Quadrangle
West or Intrenching store
208' >< 39 Brick and mortar
Grand West tower
69' >< 6g' Slated roofs.
Storehouses South or Sea and Foundation: Fir
Harness store
308' >< 69' Platforms on
East tower
69' >< 69' fir piles.
East or Land store
208' >x< 39'
East Quadrangle
Painters' shop >x<
30' 30'
South or Waggon store >x ,
143' 5
East or Oil and Cement store 1131 x~, IO { 5 each 409' x 18'Wood; slated re ,a"
Bl :h 6s' ·OoIs. sf7, 1," 368x<3!'-Wood; corrugated iron roots. e ne 408' x 18' Wood: slated roof (Note 267' x i8' of the last Blue Shed belonged to the R.C.D Building for artillery carriages 482' x 24' ·Br5cl; +lea "·)
kd -nc ;tie roof
Jun. an Wad store 1o7' Xx50'-Wood: slated r of. Sand Shot store, Basin Square, 8o'ei'-»nc " ; kti.ea rooa
Wh.
ite storehouse for gun carriages 339' Xx 30' Wd. ·iled
C Iy d{ C , -oo ;tieroof.
oa ar 2 arpenters shops each 47, x 12, } near I Smiths' shop , , Brick·
pf S 42 X 19 >
roo quare I Carpenters' shop X 6,6,, slated roofs.
22,
Store for seasoning timber 28g' x 28' Brick; slated roof. 266' X 26'-Wood: slated roof.
Store for spokes and felloes 81' x 19'Wood; tiled roof.
Timber store, near the above Store for stocks and blocks 19'Wood; slated roof.
(adjoining the last) 6o' Brick; corrugated
Iron store, Basin Square, north end iron roof. 66'-Wood, slated roof.
Black timber shed, near saw mill East or ammunition store, West end of the Royal Arsenal 186' X 30'-Brick; slated roof. West or powder case store, West end
of the Royal Arsenal 186' X 30'-Brick; slated roof. Lead Ball store 88' X 27' Brick; tiled roof. Sand shot store 33' X 1 6'-Brick; slated roof. Wood shed 76' x 16'Wood; slated roof,
West
Laboratory Kitchen or cartridge store 39' X 21'-Brick; slated roof.
Yard Academy or saltpetre store 51' X 16'-Brick; tiled roof.
Grape shot store near Surgery 994}1 •k·t'ld f
:..:..:. th b ·8' Sr1CE; tIc rOO1.
Copper store, adjoining t e a ove 66' X 1
North { Sea or Carriage store 69' X 51'}Stores East Land or Cartridge store 149' X 51' Brick; slated roofs. Parade L Iron store 68' X 5 I'
Fire-proof Nos. 1-5 each 60' X 18' Brick and mortar
I l
Magazines No. 6 41' x 18 Arched:
S.E. quarter l Nos. 7, 8 each 19' X 14 J firepro;f·
1 N 41'X 18' '
of the Roya o. 9 , , slated roofs. Arsenal No. 10 59 X 20 Shifting house (octagonal) 2g' 6" diameter-Brick; slated roof. Iron store in Iron yard 25' X 19'-Brick; slated roof. Two timber sheds, adjoining} , X , T' b the Dubbing store. Each 5 4o-1mer. Dubbing House 44' X 28'-Brick; Dubbing Square, East End, slated roof. }
Royal Arsenal Coal and Coke store 43' X 8'-Wood.
Storehouses etc. applied to the service of the Royal Carriage Department Carriage Square
Coal shed 13' X 25'-Wood; corrugated iron roof Carpenters' shops Nos. 2 and 3117' x 27 Privies (stores above) 32' X 32'
Brick;Carpenters' shop No. 5A 26' x 12'
slated roofs. Carpenters' shops Nos. 5 and 6B 119' x 25' Carpenters' shop No. 770' x25 Engine house (stores above) 32' X 32' Wheelers' shop No. 10 56' x 37'-Brick; slated roof. Wheelers' shop No. 11 6o' x 26' Brick; slated roof. Coke house 13' X 26'-Wood; corrugated iron roof.
726
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
Planing machine room 84' x 27' Brick; wood; glass; corrugated
iron front; slated roof. Ticket Office (water-tank above) 23' x 6'6"-Brick, slated roof. Wheelers' shop No. 13 6o' x 27' Brick; slated roof. Wheelers' shop No. 14 56' Xx 27' Saw-pit and spoke store (stores above) 32' x 32' Wheelers' shops Nos. 16 and 17 95' X 25' Wheeler's shop No. 18 44' Xx 25' Brick; Wheelers' shop No. 19 53' X 25' slated roof. Planing machine No. 21 56' x 27' Steam engine No. 20 32' x32' Wheelers' shop No. 22 60' x 27' Coal store 13' X 26'-Wood; covered by roof of yard. Gun shed; engine house } , , .
(models and schoolrooms above) d4' x 28' Brick; slated roof. Smiths' shop No. 29 136' 47 Tinmen's shop and office 126' x 1 7' Master carpenters' shop} , , (prolongation of last) 9 X 17 Brass turners' shop 136' 17' Brick; Engine room ( taken off yard) 35' x 13' slated roofs. Grindstone room (taken off yard) 22' X 13' Smiths' shop No. 27 136' x< 47' Constructors' Office 27' x 17' Smiths' fitting shop and office 109' x 17' Coke and engine office } , , . (taken off yard) 36 X 13 -Corrugated iron. Vice shops and Office No. 24 127 x 17' Master Wheelers' office ( end of above) 10' x 17' Blacksmiths' shop No. 24 136' X 47' Brick;
Drawing office 2 7' X 1 7' slated roofs. Furnace shed etc. 109' Xx 1 7' Scrap forge and rolling machine 193' Xx 48'
Basin Square
Smiths' shop 44' X31' Brick; tiled roof. Lumber shed 55' X 15'-Wooden ends; open in front; tiled roof. Collar-makers' shop No. 53 45' x 21' Collar-makers' shop No. 5453' Xx 17' Foundry No. 44 45' X 21' Coal-store, waiting room}
56' x 16'
to surgery Brick; tiled roofs. Surgery 13' X 13' Coal store, end of offices 8' x12' Omces 58' 16' Armoury 72' x 17' Coal house, in rear of iron yard
16' X 13'-Wood; slated
belonging to the Storekeeper's } roof.
department
ADOLESCENCE
East end ofArsenal
Engine house A, end of stores for} , } artillery carriages 25 X 13 Brick; slated roofs. Saw-sharpening shed (near the last) 22' X 15' Black timber shed (in continuation} , X , }
172 15 of last) . . , , Wood· slated roofs.
Saw-pit m rear of Blackshcds 50 X 24 > Black timber shed 66' x 79'
Saw Mill
East Wing; Engine house and offices 49' X 28'-Brick, slated roof. Pits 63' x 50'-Wood; brick; slated roof. West Wing, Circular Saw Shop 49' x 28' Brick; slated roof.
North Stores, East Parade
East Wing, Carriage Store 51' X 51'} B . k d f
· I , , nc ;s1ateroo .
vVest Wmg, ron store 51 X51 (Note. This East Wing was not delivered over to the Civil Officers with the transfer of stores from the R.C.D. as directed by the Board's order dated 26 May 1849)Painters' shop (near Grand storehouses) 30' X 30'-Brick; slated roof.
Storehouses etc. applied to the service ofthe Royal Laboratory
No. 1Generalstore 23' X 20' }B •k -1 cl r.
·6'6" Sricl; tle roots.
No. 2 Coopers store 20 X 1 No. 3 Detonating tubes 23' X 20'6"-Brick; slated roof. No. 4 Tailors' and Coopers' store} , , B • k t d f
and instruction room for cadets 54 X 22 nc ; 51a e roo • No. 5 Iron store 24' Xx go' No. 6 Military instruction room 45' X 20' No. 8 Grape shot store 47' X 20'
Brick; slated roofs.
No. g General store room 4o' x 28' No. 10 Pattern and lecture room} 103, X 27' for gentlemen cadets
Percussion fuze store 12' X 12' }Percussion fuze finishing room 13' X 12' Brick; lead roofs. Paper metallic case store 30' x 22' North store; ground floor applied }
to the Storekeeper's department; 106' X 42'-Brick; slated roof.
upper floor R.L. office Call office 21' x 21' Porter's lodge 21' X 21'
Engine house and turners' store 37' X 21' Percussion shell store 49' X 20' Shot and shell store 47' Xx 2o' Brick; slated roofs Fuze and portfire workshop 24' X 20' Firemaster's stores 54' Xx 20' Furnace stores 24' X 20' Block store 46' Xx 1g'
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
Turners' shop 7o' x 17' Turners' shop (near and} 6 , X
1 15, } Wood; slated roofs.
adjoining the last) Foreman's office 13' x 16' Chemical room 15' Xx 15' Chemical room 14' x 14'
} Brick; slated roof.
Chemical room 15' x 13' Chemical room 15' x 15' Magazine for percussion caps 9' x 5' }
Water closet 9, X 5, Brick; stone roof.
Percussion cap factory 93' X 18' } Percussion cap factory 32' X 25' Brick; slated and tiled roo1s. Blacksmiths' shop 69' 28'
Master blacksmiths' shop (end of} 18' X 9'-Brick; slated and
Cap factory) tiled roof. Smiths' store 18' x 6' }Smiths' shop 32' x 17' . .
Lathe shop (brass) 25, X l8' Bnck; slated and tiled roofs. Lathe shop (brass) 53' X 22' Engine house 55' X rn'-Brick; corrugated iron.
Lead ball compressing room 44' X 14' } . Turners' shop (wood) X 19, Bnck; slated roofs.
45, Founders' shop 58' X 32' } . .
Smelting house 19' 16' Brick; corrugated iron.
Carpenters' shop 73' X 15' } . . Saltpetre extracting room Bnck; tiled roofs.
Coopers' shop (military) 30' X 12'-Brick; slated roof. Saltpetre extracting store 49' X 18'-Brick; corrugated iron roof. Coopers' shop and office 63' x 16'
} Brick; slated roofs.
Tinmen's shop and office 108' x 16' Painters' shop 60' X 18' Offices in connection with } Brick; tiled roofs. pattern room 34' X 16'
Drying house, detonating tubes 16' X 12'} . Lead ball rooms 48' X 18, Bnck; slated roofs. Coal store (behind General store room) 21' x 18'Brick; open at
the top. Shed in rear of the military} , ,instruction room i86 Xx 14 Wood; slated roof.
Lead ball rooms 73' x 18' Brick; slated roof. Rocket finishing tent 18' X 13' } Driving signal rocket tent 19' X 15' Wood. Finishing detonating tube tent 18' X 13'
Driving detonating tube tent 72' x 14' Brick ends; wooden
sides; slated roof. Packing detonating tube tent 8' >+,)Detonating tube tent 26' X r6' Wood.
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
ADOLESCENCE
Dial Square
Cartridge tent 24' x 16' Cartridge tent 19' x 14' Millwrights' shop 24' x 25' Cartridge tent 48' x 16' Wood, canvas tops. Erecting shop 54' X 18' Cartridge tent 18' x 14' Engraving shop 38' 18'
X Brick; slated roof.
Iron foundry 41, 19,
Cartridge tent 24' Xx 16' Smiths' shop 29' 18' Turning room 34' >x< 18'
Rocket Square, East end ofRoyal Arsenal
Engine house 42' X 59'-Brick; corrugated iron and glass roof.
No. 1 Rocket house 70' X 46'}
2 Rocket house 70, X 46, Wood; slated roofs. Factory I 19' X 40'} .
Recess of factory 17, x 22, Bnck; slated roof. 3 Rocket house 2o' 18'-Wood.
Store room 41' x 16' Brick; corrugated iron roof.
3 Rocket tents Each 24' 16' Wood; canvas covered roofs. 1 Store and composition room 57' X 121'} . .c.
, Bnck; slated rOO.LS. Royal Brass Foundry
Carcass house 25' X 22 General store 26' Mixing lent X 15' } v\ ood; canvas covered Metal store 47' X ' Brick; slated roof.
Finishing rocket room X 9' roofs. 2I4
Coke store 20' 17' Messengers' office Ir' X
8' }
Storehouses etc. applied to the service ofthe Royal Brass Brick; tiled roof.
Blacksmiths' shop 30' < 1 8,
Foundry and the lnsjJector ofArtillery's Department
Brass foundry 145'
X 66'}
, Brick; slated roof.
Offices off brass foundry 30' x<
ProofSquare
Chemical room 4o' 19'6"
Workshops etc. applied to the service ofthe
Instrument and gun store 66' x 20'
Royal Engineer Department
Vice shop 29' 2o' Carpenters' shop 26' x 20' Wheelers' shop 39' X 18' Shop for boiling paint go' go' Painters' shop 34' X 22' Blacksmiths' shop 27 20' Glaziers' shop a33' X 22' Cart house 10' x 20' Collar-makers' shop 13' X 22' Storeroom for labourers' utensils 18' x 19' Brick· slated roofs. Sergeant's office; entrance} 13' X 23' Brick; slated roofs.
'
Jobbing shop 25' x 20' to saw-pit Eugine house 11' x 2o' Saw-pit 6o' X 22' Ston.room 27, x 20' Coal room
43' X 22'
Oil and paint store 20' x 20' Weighing room 22' X I I' Fanning yard ctc. 18' 2o'
Plumbers' shop 22' X 14'
Smit Its' shop 40' x 20'
Iron store 22' X I I'
Fi11isliing shop 40' x 20'
Iron store 22' X 13' Srniths' shop (rear of and} . . Iron store 22' X 13'
adjoining the last) 40' Xx 25' Brick; corrugated iron roof.
Iron store 22' X 13' Ma. Iris' storeroom and oflice 40' x 20'-Brick; slated roof. Mortar store 22' X 22' C :oal iitorc: 1H' ,< 20'-Brick; open at the top. Mortar store 35' X 22' Brick; slated roofs.
Bricklayers' store a5' X 22'
tor for guns, fittings, etc. 20' x 20'-Brick; slated roo£
Stores, drawing rooms above 36' X 30' . , 'tor for guus, fittings etc.} , , . .
(111 r ·1r of the last) 25 X 20 -Bnck; corrugated iron roof. Offices 36' X 30' Carpenters' shop I II' X 32Eu. i11 -rom~1, vt·nting shop 27' x 25,}
Smiths' shop II8' X 22'
B,1111 1· ·uul f11ruacr. room 14' Xx 25' Brick; corrugated iron roofs.
Founders' shop 40' X 18'
,o l tor to furnace room 26' x 12' Boat-house 56' X 29'-Wood; tiled roof.
tli • 11:i' X 11:i' · • Brick; slated roof. 40 731
73°
ADOLESCENCE
Storehouses and magazines applied to the service ofthe Field Department
Gun shed 241' X 43'}
8' ,
Gun shcd 25> 43, Brick; slated roofs. Gun shed 294 X 43 Gun shed 311' 43'
Smiths' shop 20' x 19' -Brick; slated roof. Workshops 150' >x 14' Brick; wooden roof. Offices 45' x 37' -Brick; slated roof.
Gunsheds (in prolongation of the} 240' X 13'}
last: stores above) Brick. slated roofs. Two magazines Each 51' x13' Shifting room 30' x 16'
Storehouses etc. applied to the service ofthe General Regimental Depot ofthe Royal Artillery
Office 23' X 19'}Storeroom 26' x< 25, Brick; slated roofs. Sergeants' quarters 23 X 19
•
Plumstead Magaz1ne 2 1 f X 11 I Marshes Gunners' quarters 2 1' X 15' }
Stable 38' >< 15, wood: slated roofs. Forage Store 2o' >x< 15 > Stables 85' ><15
All the land held by the Ordnance at Woolwich was in 1851
2
freehold except for two pieces of reed shore, measuring 6 acres, roods and 27 perches, called the Great and Little Crabtree a~ t~e
0
eastern extremity of the Royal Arsenal for which rent was paid Queen's College, Oxford. The C.R.E. in a letter to the InspectorGeneral of Fortifications dated 17 October 1850 recommended that the reed shore should be purchased. Arrangements for effecting this were concluded at the end of 1852 and on 6 January 1853 the Treasury approved of provision being made for the purchase.12 On 22 January 1853 the expenditure of £1,200 to buy the land on the Reed Marsh from Queen's College, Oxford, was sanctioned by the
Treasury.13 Outside the boundaries of the Arsenal there was a small plot ofland of 3o perches in extent forming the entrance to Mulgrave Pond (now the reservoir in the grounds of Rushgrove House), for which a yearly payment of £14. 12s. 6d. was made to Mr Lacey and others (late Burkett).
A comparison with the list of 1841 shows the expansion in Arsenal buildings during the intervening ten years. The present Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolwich may be said to represent the
11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,746. 11 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,746.
732
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
outcome of the Royal Laboratory, the Royal Carriage Department, the Department of the Inspector ofArtillery and the Royal Engineer Department of 1851. In that year the total floor space devoted to the manufacturing departments was 237,584 square feet. In 1952 it was 9,403,000 square feet.14 In one hundred years therefore the Ordnance factories at Woolwich had grown to thirty-nine times their size.
The Works Estimates for 1852l° showed a decided increase over those of preceding years. Their gross total was £7,918. 10s. 5d. The sum of £265 was provided for the repair of cranes, £312 for covering the fifth space in the Blue sheds, £,88. 1os. od. for repairing the causeway on the Essex side of the Thames and a sum of
577. 10s. od. for machinery in the R.E. department.
The second boiler for the R.L. had been struck out of the Estimates for 1852/53 as a measure of economy but wiser counsels prevailed and the item was reinserted on g January 1852 as it was felt that if the one and only boiler failed (it then needed repair) the consequences might have a serious repercussion on the Royal Navy.16 An order was issued on 16 February 1852 that the C.R.E. was to commence building the foundations for the weigh-bridge in the Royal Carriage Department at once.7
The following appointments effective for 5 years from 1 April 1852 were sanctioned on 2g February 1852:18
Colonel William Cator, R.A., to be Director, Royal Laboratory, vice Lieut.-Colonel Richard Hardinge, R.A. Licut.-Colonel John Tylden, R.A., to be Firemaster, Royal Laboratory, vice Lieut.-Colonel Henry Pester, R.A. Colonel James A. Chalmer, R.A., to be Inspector ofArtillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry vice Colonel William B. Dundas, R.A.
Lieut.-Colonel William H. Pickering, R.A., to be Assistant DirectorGeneral ofArtillery and Secretary ofthe Ordnance Select Committee vice Colonel James A. Chalmer, R.A.
Lieut.-Colonel James N. Colquhoun, R.A., to be Inspector, Royal Carriage Department vice Colonel Henry W. Gordon, R.A. Second Captain Henry Clerk, R.A. to be Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department vice Lieut.-Colonel James N. Colquhoun, R.A.
Good Friday being a religious holiday was not a normal working day, but three foremen and ten labourers who had to work all that day in receiving and issuing stores were given permission to receive payment.19
14 Twelfth Report from the Select Committee on Estimates, Session 1951-52, p. XIV. 16 PRO[WO[47/49/176. 16 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,280, p. 357. 7 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,284, p. 1,876. 18 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,285, p. 2,227. 18 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,290, P. 4,512, 19 April 1852.
733
The Board now began to take an interest in the general neatness of the Royal Arsenal, and to this end they issued a set of instructions to the Civil Officers on 24 May 1852.%0 These were as follows:
(a)
The Civil Officers were to arrange for the weeding and keeping in order of the whole area of the Royal Arsenal during the ensuing summer until the close of the financial year, and to state the annual cost of keeping the whole place clean and tidy. .
(2)
The Civil Officers were to get in touch with the manufacturing departments with this object in view, and to furnish them with convict labour or other necessary means for carrying this order into effect. .
(3)
The Civil Officers were to keep the ditches and water courses in the marshes in proper order. Should help in this respect be needed they were to apply to the R.E. Department.
(4)
The Civil Officers were to take all possible means of raising the ground-level of the Royal Arsenal, a task which was commenced under the direction of Colonel Sir William Reid when he was C.R.E. Woolwich Division. In this matter they were to act in conjunction with he C.R.E.
The Board also instructed the Inspector-General of Fortifications
to cause annual provision to be made in the Estimates for carrying
out the services specified in (3) and (4) above, and to inform them
of the probable cost.
An estimate amounting to £91. 4s. 1o¼d. for repairing bridges, fences and gates in the Woolwich marshes was submitted on 24 May 1852.% On 28 May 1852 the Board stated that they had accepted the tender of Messrs I. and A. Blyth for repairing cranes . on the Arsenal wharf. The sum involved was £243, £265 having been
22
found for the service in the Works Estimate.
The Master-General decided on 9 June 1852 that a 1ooo yard musketry range should be laid out in the marshes within the Royal Arsenal. It was to be set up on level ground or on ground which
I 00
could easily be levelled. Firing points were to be made every yards, each point to be marked permanently by means of stone or iron. The path from one end to the other was to be raised so that it would dry quickly after rain. A moveable hut was to be provided. The C.R.E. was instructed to exercise his judgment in making this range as perfect as possible. ColonelJames A. Chalmer, the Inspector of Artillery, was told to collaborate with the C.R.E. in this matter and report the estimated cost of the service. 23 The Inspector of Artillery and the C.R.E., Colonel Thomas Blanshard, went into the matter immediately and, as a result of their conversations, submitted to the Board an estimate of £89. 16s. o¾d,, a report and a plan
ao Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,294, P. 5,989.
} Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764,
Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,294, p. 6,197. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO]55/764. a Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO[47/2,295, p. 6,603.
734
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
dated 26 June 1852.%4 The range was ordered to be constructed at
25
once.
Another storm in a tea-cup. The Royal Arsenal had always been prone to petty squabbling. This time it was a 'flare-up' between the C1v1l Officers and Captain Soady, RN., the Superintendent of Ordnance Shipping. The latter asked for a weekly return of stores to be issued for Home Service, an innocuous request on the surface required no doubt in order to arrange shipping accommodation in advance. The Civil Officers, however, reacted violently. They refused to give such information and appealed to the Board. The Board upheld the Civil Officers in their attitude and rebuked the Superintendent of Shipping. The Board declared that the Civil Officers were responsible for the issue of stores and for seeing that those stores were handled in the most efficacious manner and pointed out that the duty of the Superintendent of Shipping: who was a subordinate official to the Civil Officers, was to accept their mstruct10ns and carry the stores he was given. Having administered this mead of censure, the Board expressed a hope that the position was now clear and that they would receive no more appeals of this
26
nature.
On g1June 1852, the Board signified that they had accepted the tender of Wilham Tongue for £319. os. od. for effecting repairs to certain shops and roofs in the Royal Carriage Department.27 A sum of 4135. Is. 3d. was provided in the Works Estimates 1852 for adding an additional story to the quarter of the principal foreman storekeeper's department, and in a letter dated 30 June 1852, the Board stated that they accepted the tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry of Woolwich for that service. The figure was £IIg. os. od.,2s showing a saving of26. 1s. 3d. A letter dated 2 July 1852 from the Board announced that they accepted the tender of Messrs Lawrance Bros. for £199. os. od. for making and fixing wrought-iron skylights for the carpenters' and wheelers' shops in the Royal Carriage
29
Department.
The Minie rifle had now come to the fore. It had long been evident that delays in loading a rifle would to a large extent be eliminated if the ball, upon introduction to the barrel in a muzzleloading firearm, were ofless diameter than the calibre of the weapon, but the problem awaiting solution was how to expand it on firing sufficiently to grip the rifling. France took the lead in attempting to solve this question and the first solution worthy of the name was that
+ Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/764. ? Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,298, P. 1,715, 5 July 1852.
Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,299, p. 8,154, I4 July 1852. =7 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764. a8 Engineer Papers, PRO[WO[55/764. a· Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/764.
735
proposed by Colonel Minie, who in 184g designed a cylindro
conoidal hollow-based bullet lined with a thin iron cup. On firing,
the liberated gases, acting against the cup, forced the rear flange of the bullet into the grooves and made it conform to the twist of the rifling. This invention seemed such a gift of fortune that the British Government paid Colonel Minie £20,000 for his patent and introduced the Mini€, rifled musket MM.L. percussion in 1851. It was a heavy weapon of o·702 inch calibre which weighed 1olb. 8-!oz. without its bayonet. It failed subsequently to prove an unqualified success and so was not made a general issue; though some units used it in the Kaffr and Crimean Wars. Meanwhile on 16July 1852 the conversion of a workshop to house the Minie bullet compressing machine was approved at a cost of[176. 3s. 2%d., the report, plan and estimate of the work being dated 12 May 1852.30 Two years later the screen of the Minie butt on the marshes fell down. This particular wall had only been completed on 16 June 1854, yet it collapsed on the following day, causing the death of one man and injury to four others. The object of this screen was to give cover to a cast-iron target for Minie practice whenever ricochet firing took place. 31 The tender of William Jacob Thorpe of No. 4 Commercial Place, Commercial Road, for painting the exterior of the official houses, storehouses, sheds and cranes, etc. in the Royal Arsenal for £,26o was accepted on 21 July 1852.%3% There was a long report on the general state of the storehouses in the Royal Arsenal rendered on 2 August 1852. The storage problem had been acute for some time. Three causes may be assigned for this predicament. First, the amount of stores was steadily increasing; secondly, the original storehouses were suffering from age; and thirdly, the Grand Storehouses had not lived up to their expectation. The lack of money, of course, contributed in no small measure to the worsening position. The gist of this report33 was as follows:
No. 33 Storehouse. An excellent building well adapted for the best type of store, but through ventilation, which is desirable in the case of wood, is cut off by the storehouse adjoining.
No. 34 Storehouse. This adjoins No. 33 Storehouse and being free from worm may be used for the storage of carriages in transit. (This recommendation was approved.)
The 24 pdr, 6 pdr and Wagon Storehouses, are similar permanent buildings in good condition. They require the size of the jalousie windows at the ends to be increased in order to secure thorough ventilation. (This recommendation was approved.)
The Storehousefor Carriages. This is under that for clothing and has been deprived of ventilation by alterations since its construction. One end has
•
Engineer Papers, PRO[WO[55/764. + PRO[WO[44/297.
•
Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,300, p. 8,413. +· Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,301, p. 884.
736
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
been made into an office for the Superintendent of Shipping and the other
mto a clothing issue store. As the foundations are bad thejalousie windows
cannot be increased in size. It is only suitable for storing carriages for
short periods. The Board stated that the clothing office and that for the Superintendent of Shipping should be moved to the floor above, or should that be impossible, then to some other place. If this were done the storehouse could be properly ventilated. The Pontoon Store. This has good walls but the roof needs renewing. Worm has attacked part of the building. It is proposed to improve ventilation by substituting louvres in the end walls. (This recommendation was approved.) The White Store. Built in 1802, it has long been considered unworthy of repair, but as its use is indispensable it can be patched up and the ventilation improved. (This recommendation was approved.) The Felloe Store. This building has been attacked by worm.
The report mentions other storehouses and stores but it would be tedious to recapitulate all the remarks made. Also, no particular object would be served by producing a scheduled catalogue. The suggested services which the report outlined were estimated to cost
139. 16s. od., not a very excessive figure, and the Board sanctioned the necessary expenditure.
Not to be outdone in zeal, the Civil Officers submitted a long report of their own on the storehouses in general on 3 September 1852. It is only proposed to summarize their views in a very brief manner. They complained, first, that storage accommodation was inadequate and, secondly, that certain storehouses had been badly attacked by worm. They stressed the lack of space for guns and carriages which often had to be crowded into buildings allotted to other types of stores. They stated that further ventilation should be provided. They pointed out that quantities of obsolete and unserviceable stores were taking up a considerable amount of the space available and recommended the disposal of such articles. As an example they quoted 'flints'.
As a result of their recommendations, a building belonging to the Royal Carriage Department was handed over to the Civil Officers for the storage of carriages, and ordered to have its ventilation improved at once. The grape and case shot store No. 29 was transferred to the Royal Carriage Department. The roofing over of the space to the south ofthe scrap forge, and between it and the road, for blooms and for the iron made in the scrap forge was approved, and it was decided that if funds for these proposals were not available, steps were to be taken to bring them forward in the Estimates for the following year. 34
a4 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,304, P. 9,854.
737
ADOLESCENCE
The Board agreed on 16 August 1852 that Messrs Smith, Peacock
and Jarrett of Leeds should supply and fix. the self-acting tools in
the R.E. department for the sum of £445-1os. od.: item 85 in the annual estimate (part of the 577. 10s. od. voted in the Works Estimates for 1852) provided for this service.35 Colonel William Cator did not long remain in charge of the Royal Laboratory. He succeeded Colonel Edward Charles Whinyates as Director-General ofArtillery on 1a August 1852, the latter becoming Commandant, Woolwich, on the death ofLieut.-General Sir Thomas Downman on 1o August 1852. Lieut.-Colonel John A. Wilson, R.A., was appointed Director R.L., in place of Colonel Cator and took up his duties on 12 August 1852.36
The next item to be recorded is one of homely interest. As the ladder normally used by the lamplighter at Woolwich was insufficiently long to enable him to light the lamps at the gates of the Royal Arsenal, the Inspector, R.C.D., was authorized to make one
of 1 6 rungs."7 . Arising out of the reports on storehouses, several items of expenditure were sanctioned:
25 October 1852. The ventilation of storehouse No. 29 at a cost of
£243. 8s. 1od.9° I November 1852. The widening of the passage between the White store
39
house and the Engineer Yard at a cost of £5. 10s. od.
2 December 1852. The R.E. department to hand over their blacksmiths' shop to the R.C.D. The storekeeper to give up No. 53 store in the range to the south of the R.C.D. He was also to provide further accommodation
for materials in No. 32 store.40
On 5 November 1852 an estimate amounting to51. 9s. 9d. was accepted and the expenditure sanctioned for adding two rooms to the quarter of the Instructor of Practical Artillery in the Royal Arsenal, including the conversion of the coach-house into a storeroom for holding surveying instruments.41
Money was now beginning to flow more freely for the Treasury was becoming less obdurate. First, the proposed expenditure during the year 1853 0f £1,218. 1s. 9d. beyond that sanctioned for 1852 was approved by them and, secondly, they authorized an additional expenditure of £2o,ooo in the Royal Carriage Department in order to expedite the supply of gun and other carriages necessary to place
"Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,302, P. 9,237. Engineer Papers, PRO[WO/ 55/764.
"Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47 /2,302, P. 9,420. 2o August 1852. a7 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,305, p. 10,481, 20 September 1852. u Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,745. •• Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,745.
641
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,745. 41 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,745.
738
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
the military equipment of this country beyond cavil. The expense was to be charged to savings upon the aggregate of the votes. 42 The last four items of the year worth recording all relate to the acceptance of tenders.
3 December 1852. The offer of Messrs Smith, Peacock and Jarrett to
supply morticing machines to the R.C.D. to be accepted on condition
that the same are delivered in time to be paid for before 31 March 1853.43
I I December I852. The purchase of two circular saw machines for the
R.C.D. from William Parsson for £230. 4s. 6d. is approved.+4
22 December I852. Tenders of William Parsson amounting to £65. 1os. od. for the counting, shafting and gearing required for the double 30 inch and go inch circular sawing machines are accepted.45
22 December 1852. The tender of Messrs Smith, Peacock and Jarrett to
46
supply for135 a self acting grooving machine to the R.C.D. is accepted.
From now on the Works Estimates cease, but the Annual Estimates contain a list of what are termed 'New Services'. The list for 1853 is unimpressive, containing as it does only one entry, 'Roofing of iron store in the Arsenal £1,019'. This statement is slightly amplified in the Engineer Papers47 where it is learned that a report, a plan and an estimate for £1,018. 19s. old., dated 8 December 1852, for putting a roof over the iron store, storekeeper's department, near Proof Square, was accepted and the necessary expenditure sanctioned on 22 February 1853.
On 6 January 1853, Mr Macnamara, foreman of works, joined the Woolwich District.4s
The house near the Main Gate allotted to the Inspector of Police underwent extensive alteration and repair. On r2 January 1853 repairs to the value of £38. 7s. 7d. were authorized," and later on in the year an additional storey was ordered to be added to the building. The report, plan and estimate for this enlargement were dated 14 November 1853 and the scheme was approved on 25 November 1853.%%
The increases foreshadowed in the Royal Carriage Department now began to take effect. On 26 January 1853 the Treasury sanctioned the insertion of a figure of £16,088 17s. 4d. in the Estimates for 1853/54 for labour in that Department,51 and on 30 August 1853, the Inspector R.C.D. was informed that the
411 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[A7/2,745, 27 November 1852.
43 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,745.
44 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2 745.
4 1tracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/j7/2,745.
46 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,745.
47 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
4s Engineer Papers, PRO[WO[55/764.
48 Extracts of Minutes, Scries II, PRO[WO/47/2,746.
so Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,746.
739
ADOLESCENCE
had sanctioned a further £4,448 on account of the
Treasu'ry • M h 8 52
continued employment of 225 extra men until 3 l arch "t departure was effected on g February 1853 w en, or t e
neW ••
A
fi time the Royal Carriage Department was ordered to repair its , i.p. engine. Hitherto, repairs had been carried out by the For this purpose five artificers and two labourers were
maxkers. l. : hi
d to work overtime and the arge planing mac. 1ne was
ordere • fh. : Itd sa
worked extra hours till the repair o t e engine was comp e e • Three small entries now occupy our attention:
4 January 1853. The tender of Mr Johnson for the repair of water
8
closets at Woolwich for 3 years from I January 1853 1s accepted. h d
1
• February 1853. The Seyssel \sphale Company are to ay a ar
halte pavement in Carriage Square. "",'jay 8 Sundry labourers are to be employed during 1853/54 in
1 53.
the examination of a large quantity of doubtful shot and shell collected • hs6
at Woo!1w1c) ..
On 15May 1853 Mr Lancaster and Mr Wilkinson were instructed forward the muskets they had prepared to Colonel James A. fer at Woolwich so that they could be tried out under the . u· on of the Sub-Committee on Small Arms in comparative tests
d1rec 1. d.7 TH' Sb
with the new rifle musket and the resu ts reporte..° a1s ·u.Committee was appointed i~ I852 to recommend a new nfle from the numerous examples being produced by gun-makers of note. After exhaustive tests, the Enfield pattern of o577 inch calibre with the Pritchett bullet was recommended and adopted. Rifle, En.field
(Long) M.L. 1853, originally described as a rifled musket, was therefore issued in 1855 and saw service in the Crimea. .
A letter from Whitehall dated 28 October 1853 raised the question of doing away with the convict hulks at Woolwich and replacing them by two prisons on shore, one in the Royal Dockyard and the other in the Royal Arsenal. The letter stressed that it was considered highly objectionable to maintain the hulks and stated that if no site were available in the Royal Arsenal, the site tentatively suggested being near the Rocket Establishment, it was for consideration whether the convicts should be moved to Chatham or elsewhere. The Civil Officers, the Inspector of the Royal Carriage Department and the Director, Royal Laboratory, objected to the site suggested; in fact the former went further and considered the whole idea of a prison in the Royal Arsenal ill-advised. The only head of a department who raised no objection to the proposal was Colonel James
n Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,747. u Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,746. 4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,746. u Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,746. "Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,746. 7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,746.
740
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
A. Chalmer, Inspector of Artilllery; probably because he was the least concerned.58 No action was taken on this letter and convict hulks continued to disfigure Woolwich till they were abolished in 1858.
The remainder of the year's activities are confined to works services and the acceptance of tenders mainly for machinery:
6 May 1853. The offer of Messrs Smith, Peacock and Jarrett to supply the R.C.D. with punching and shearing machines is accepted.59 _1 June I853. The Inspector of Artillery is authorized to prepare two 60
5-inch centre lathes for the service of the R.C.D. at a cost of £30.
25 July I853. The Board state that they have accepted the tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry of Woolwich amounting to £555 for erecting a nver wall on the Essex side of the Thames opposite the Royal Arsenal.6i
. 8_ August I853. Authority given to fit up No. 5 fire-proof building in a s1m1lar manner to that in magazine No. 10, storekeeper's department. Cost £135. 13s. 6d. Report and estimate dated 4 May 1853.%%
22 August 1853. The Board state that they have accepted the tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry for building a tank for the R.C.D. Amount £448.63 4 October 1853. Orders were given to build a new engine house for the
R.L. at a cost of £ 1,021. A grant of £3,000 for this service and for the purchase of the engine and machinery was made on 8 December 1852.%4
26 October 1853. Two vertical boilers for the scrap forge in the R.C.D. 65
vvere authorized.
2I Dec'!mber I853. The extension of the main sewer in the Royal Arsenal to the nver was ordered to be carried out immediately at a cost of £315. 2s. 0d. 66
The tramway from the saw-mill to Carriage Square cost altogether £591. 15s. 5d. Part of this money was voted in the Estimates for 1854/55.67 Sanction for its completion was granted on 31 March 1854.%8
When the foundations for the furnaces in No. 29 store, Royal Arsenal, were being dug, some ancient pottery was unearthed at a depth of ten feet, a quantity of bird or animal bones being discovered in the same place. Metal ornaments were also found on 5 April 1853. This find was reported to the authorities on 9 April 1853 and the exhibits were handed over to the Royal Artillery Institution which had been completed in November 1851.69
ss Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/764.
59 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2 746.
6o Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2'.746.
1 Engineer Papers, PR0/W0[55/764.
Engineer Papers, PR0[W0/55/764.
·s Engineer Papers, PR0[W0[55/764.
•
Engineer Papers, PR0/W0/55/764.
•
Engineer Papers, PR0/W0[55/764. as Engineer Papers, PR0[W0[55/764. 7 Engineer Papers, PR0[W0/55/764. ·s Engineer Papers, PR0[W0/55/764. so PR0/W0[44/297.
741
ADOLESCENCE
The outstanding event of 1854 was the outbreak of hostilities between the Allies and Russia on 27 March, known as the Crimean War. With the political events which led up to that tragedy we are not concerned, but it brought about fundamental changes in the administration of her Majesty's Land Forces owing to the shortcomings of the system then in force which this campaign exposed. These changes had a profound effect on the fortunes of the Royal
Arsenal.
Although a measure of rearmament had taken place since 1852 under the able lead of Lord Hardinge, the Master-General, assisted by Sidney Herbert, Secretary-at-War, and Lord Raglan, which luckily had placed up-to-date weapons in the hands of our troops in the Crimea, no corresponding measure of reform had been attempted in the administration of the Army. During the long and enervating era of peace since Waterloo, arrangements at headquarters had not altered. Lack of interest and absence of incentive made improvements unattractive. In 1854 there were too many 'cooks' practising their art in the 'military kitchen' with the result that spheres of responsibility had become hopelessly blurred. There were for
instance:
(a)
A Secretary of State for War and the Colonies who, sitting in the Colonial Office, was in theory responsible for military policy. His time was mainly occupied with the affairs of a rapidly growing Colonial empire, and his surveillance over the Army was purely nominal.
(b)
A Secretary-at-War functioning in the Horse Guards who dealt in Parliament with army business and finance, though the Secretary-ofState for Home Affairs was still in theory responsible for the militia which
was organized on a county basis.
(c) TheCommander-in-ChiefinsupremecommandoftheArmyunder the Sovereign, though there was no defined relationship between him and the Secretary-at-War without whose concurrences he could initiate
no measure which involved finance.
(d) The Board of General Officers under whose superintendence the
Army, that is the infantry and cavalry were clothed and equipped regimentally.
(e) The Master-General of the Ordnance who commanded and was responsible for the equipment and efficiency of the Royal Artillery and
the Royal Engineers.
(f)
The Board of Ordnance, nominally under the Master-General, who provided the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineers with all they needed. They also supplied the Army with arms, ammunition, greatcoats, camp equipment, etc. In addition, they also built and equipped all barracks for the Land Forces.
(g)
Regiments at home dealt direct with contractors for rations and fuel. Abroad there were a few Commissariat officers and clerks to provide funds and rations and to manage butcheries and bakeries. This depart
ment was a branch of the Treasury.
742
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
The Commissariat department did not assume a permanent organization till 1793· All its officers were relegated to half-pay after the Napoleonic and other campaigns. In 1850 a Parliamentary Committee enquiring into Army _and_ Ordnance expenditure, said there was no necessity for a Commissariat department in peace time. After the Crimean War a small nucleus was kept in being and its financial business was retransferred to the Treasury in 1855/56. A new system was introduced in 1858. In 1870 the Control Department was formed by bringing under one authority all the supply departments: pay, stores, fuel, food, etc. In 1876 the Control Department was abolished, the Ordnance and Pay services being separated from the Supply and Transport branches. Eventually the Army Service Corps, afterwards the Royal Army Service Corps, was established.7o
(h)
A separate office existed for the combined Army and Ordnance Medical Service, responsible in part to the Secretary-at-War, the Commander-m-Chief and the Office of Ordnance.
(i)
The Paymaster-General, a semi-independent official.
All these Ministers and others listed above functioned within their own orbits. They paid little attention to one another. Their duties were ill-defined and there was no supreme head to co-ordinate affairs. To make matters worse, the war soon proved that one Secretary of State could not give undivided attention to the campaign as well as control Colonial questions. So on 12 June 1854, Henry Duke of Newcastle, was appointed 'Secretary of State for the Wa; Department'. This move, though eminently desirable, was a risky on: to make during the stress of war. The new War Department had neither a separate oflce nor an experienced staff. Its powers and responsibilities were at first lacking in definition.
The Board of Ordnance, on the other hand, who controlled the manufacturmg departments, shrank to Lilliputian size. Lord Raglan, the Master-General, was sent out to command the forces in the Crimea, and his office was left vacant. Instead, the post ofLieutenantGeneral of the Ordnance was revived. Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross, bemg a soldier, merely confined his activities to the military branch of the Ordnance. The Surveyor-General also left for the front. All that remained of a Board which at one time consisted of a Cabinet Minister as Master-General and five Principal Officers were two individuals, Mr William Monsell (afterwards 1st Lord Emly), Clerk of the Ordnance, who represented the Office in Parliament and Sir Thomas Hastings, Controller of Stores and Principal Storekeeper. For all mtents and purposes the Board of Ordnance had ceased to exist. It had no controlling chief and its two remaining members constantly quarrelled. 71
o PRO/WO[32/915: 0106/150. PRO/WO[32/551: 6/Gen. No/1,343. 71 Many of these facts are taken from A History ofthe Ary Ordnance Services by MajorGeneral A. Forbes, 1929. Chapter XI.
743
No wonder the conduct of affairs during the disastrous years of 1854-1856 shocked the public conscience and made reforms imperative.
All this however was hidden from the eyes of the people and the British edtered the' campaign with a light heart. Throughout the land there was a feeling of a great adventure, a spirit of renaissance after so many years of uneventful peace. Immense crowds cheered the soldiers on their way to embarkation and the streets were so crowded that the troops had hardly room to pass. Portsmouth was in holiday mood and the Navy left Spithead escorted by the royal yacht. Two years of suffering on inhospitable shores were to teach
the country a lesson. . . . Under this heterogeneous welter of ministers and officials, the departments at Woolwich continued to function, and it speaks well for the local officers at the time that the Royal Arsenal continued to expand and produce the requisite arms and equipment for the ill-fated expedition to Russian shores. The years 1854 and 1855 were mainly concerned with the installation of new machinery, the building of new workshops and the introduction of new processes. Most of their history, therefore, is confined to the acceptance of tenders, and the construction of additional buildings. The new services for 1854 outlined in the Annual Estimates included:
(a)
The erection of additional sheds at the saw-mill. Total estimate £5,073. Vote for 1854/55 £691. .
(b)
The provision and fixing of a 20 ton crane and the refixing of a 10 ton crane on the wharf. Total estimate £1,430 to be voted in 1854/55.
(c)
The erection of a river wall on the Essex side of the Thames. Total
estimate/1,841. Already voted {92o. Already spent555. The remaining £758 to be voted in 1854/55.
(d)
Alterations and additions to the cadet barracks in the Royal Arsenal £3,000. To be voted in 1854/55.
(e)
The fixing ofboilers and certain other work in the saw-mill £1,220. To be voted in 1854/55.
The additional demand for stores for the manufacture of carriages for the Land and Naval Services in the Royal Carriage Department was approved on 4 February 1854, and the value of the same, namely £32,739 was ordered to be included in the Parliamentary estimate. 72
The Board considered the suggestion put forward by Lieut.Colonel Alexander Tulloh, R.A., who had succeeded Lieut.-Colonel James Colquhoun, R.A., as Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, on 18 September 1853, that the turning, boring and other machinery
"II Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfW0/47/2,748.
744
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
required for the gun barrel department of the proposed Small Armoury should be undertaken by MrJoseph Whitworth. Normally they deprecated the principle of entrusting to anyone, however high his reputation, the unchecked power of making experiments at the public expense, but considering the importance to the public safety of the early erection of the proposed gun factory and the impossibility of proceeding rapidly with the construction of its machinery 1n any way except that suggested by the Committee, and considering also the patriotic desire which Mr Whitworth had shown to assist in this great undertaking, they approved on 25 February 1854 of his employment in the manner suggested in Lieut.-Colonel Tulloh's letter.73 Mr Westaway's offer to repair the Arsenal clock and maintain it in good order for 12 months for {12. 1os. od. was accepted on 21 March 1854.74 On 1 April 1854, the report and the estimate of £60,000 for improvements in the Royal Laboratory, drawn up by the R.L. Committee, was approved.75 Owing to the fact that the Engineer Yard was to be handed over to the R.C.D., the paving of the yard was on 19April 1854 ordered to be postponed.7o It was agreed on 21 April 1854 that three pot furnaces costing £26. 1os. 7d. should be installed in the Royal Laboratory.77 The repair of a rocket shed caused by a recent explosion was authorized on 22 April 1854 at the cost of £19. There were no casualties.78
Captain Edward M. Boxer, R.A., was appointed an additional Firemaster in the Royal Laboratory on 13 April 1854 at a salary of 230 p.a.7 On 2g April 1854, it was agreed that the firemaster's official quarter in the Arsenal should be occupied by him till it should be required by the firemaster, but at the same time it was stressed that this indulgence should in no way constitute a claim on the part of Captain Boxer, for a house or allowance in lieu, if and when he might be dispossessed.o This threat, however, never materialized for Lieut.-Colonel John Tylden, the firemaster, retired on full pay on 30 May 1854,81 although he continued his duties for a short time longer. Captain Boxer succeeded him as firemaster on 20 June 1854 for a period of 3 years,82 and was succeeded in turn by Captain G. H. A. Fraser as additional firemaster.83
Captain Boxer's proposals for new machinery for the Royal Laboratory were accepted on 2 May 1854. The Board decided that
7a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/[WO[A7/2,748, p. 481. 74 Etracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/Vv0/47/2,748, p. 680. 76 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,749, p. 812. 76 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,749, p. 927. 77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,749, p. 957• 78 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/764. 78 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,749, p. 885.
o Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 965. 61 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,087, 31 May 1854.° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p-2,361, 30June 1854. 8 ° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,749, p. 2,361, 30June 1854.
745
ADOLESCENCE
immediate orders for purchase should be given and that Captain Boxer should supervise the erection of the machines and be put in charge of them when installed. He was also to take over the manufacture of Congreve rockets.8 On 29 May 1854, the purchase of the additional machinery proposed by Captain Boxer for the production of fuzes was sanctioned.ss On 5 May 1854, a powder shed was ordered to be built at a cost of £42,% and on 14July following, the repair of Dipping Square was authorized for a sum not exceeding
16. 75. 3d.97
Since many tenders were accepted during the year it would be as well to summarize them in the order of acceptance. The following list gives the main items involved: 9 March 1854. Four machines from the R.C.D. to be obtained from
88
Mr Ryder and one from Mr Nasmyth. April 1854. The tender of Messrs John and Edward Hall of Dartford
5
for the additional work required to be performed at the engme house in the R.L. for £3,261. ros. od. is accepted.89 . I7 April I854. A paper cutting machine costing £25 is sanct10ned for the R.L.; also the recruitment of additional boys.90 .
22 April 1854. Messrs Collier to supply the R.L. with machinery for turning and finishing metal fuzes at the cost of £1,155. An additional foreman for superintending the rocket sheds allowed.91
3 May 1854. A morticing machine is to be supplied to the R.C.D. by
92
Mr France for £60. 3 May 1854. The tender of Messrs Hick and Son for the supply of a go H.P. engine and boiler for the R.C.D. for the sum of£a,139is accepted. The C.R.E. was instructed to prepare the necessary foundations.' 23 May 1854. The purchase for the R.C.D. of a circular saw from Messrs Cottam and Ballen at a cost of £15. 15s. od. and of two machines from Mr Furness for £40 is approved.94 24 May 1854. Messrs Kirk and Parry are to erect the iron work of the roof over the boiler house in the R.L. for £140. gs. gd.95 29 May 1854. The Board state that they have accepted the tender: of Mr Samuel Bower of 29 Ironmonger Lane amounting to £860 for erecting a river wall at Woolwich.96 Mr Bower, however, raised his price after acceptance from £860 to £1,220. The Board therefore cancelled his
114 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,749, p. r,036. 85 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,076. 86 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. r,066. 87 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfW0/47/2,750, p. 118. 88 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,748, p. 580. 811 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,749, p. 812. 110 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,749, P. 905. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,749, p. 966. 92 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,749, p. 1,045.
Engineer Papers,
113 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,749, P. 1,045. PRO[WO/55/764.
4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,020. "Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,031. H Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,074. Engineer Papers,
PRO[WO[55/764.
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
contract on 12 June 1854 and asked Mr William Wooce of Gravesend,
whose tender of £940 was the next lowest, whether he still abided by
that figure.97
31 May 1854. The Board sanction the continuance of Mr John McGill's
contract for removing chips, shavings and sawdust from the R.C.D. and
the R.L. for a further three years. 98
16 June 1854. The tender of Messrs Beecroft for a 20 ton crane for the
Arsenal for the sum of £48o is accepted."°
4 December I854. The tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry to construct the foundations and set up the go ton crane on the Arsenal wharf for 745 is accepted.10o
20 June 1854. The Board accept the tender of Messrs Hick and Son of Bolton for a multitubular steam boiler and chimney for the R.C.D. The
C.R.E. is instructed to prepare the necessary foundations.101 23 August 1854. Messrs Hick and Son to supply a second multitubular boiler to the R.C.D. without a chimney at a cost of £315.102 24 August 1854. Messrs Hick and Son to carry out the foundation, erect the chimney and set up the engine for £1,800.103 22 June 1854. The tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry for removing the old turneries at the south end of Laboratory Square for £48 is accepted.104
5 Juby 1854. The Board state that they have accepted the tender of Mr Eugene Murray amounting to £,80o for extending the main sewer at Woolwich.105 On 7 August following, however, the Board stated that they had accepted the tender of Mr William Wood for the same operation at a cost of only £450. It does not transpire whether this was to be a further extension or whether Mr Murray's contract was terminated.106
8 September 1854. The tender of Messrs Smith, Peacock and Jarrett amounting to £45 for supplying two pairs of 5¼ inch lathe heads is accepted.107
5 October 1854. Sanction is given for Messrs Hick and Son to build a roof over the Engineer Square, which had by then been transferred to the 108
R.C.D., at a cost of £2,335.
20 October 1854. The tender of Mr R. Oldham for the erection of a river wall at Woolwich for the sum of £741. 2s. od. is accepted. Mr William Wooce, therefore, failed to obtain this particular contract.109
23 October 1854. Work required for the wood drying apparatus in the
R.L. to be performed by Messrs J. and E. Hall of Dartford for £88.
110
1Os. od.
7 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
o8 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,091.
Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
1oo Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,409.
10! Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
102 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,750, p. 455.
10+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,750, p. 469.
104 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,292.
10 Engincer Papers, PRO/WO/47/55/764.
106 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,750, p. 321. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO]47/2,750, p. 604.
1s Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,751, p. 849.
100 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
110 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,000.
50 747
23 October 1854. The tender of Mr Schiele for the supply of fans to the
R.L. smithery is accepted.U1 9 December 1854. The tender of Messrs Lymington for the dessicating
112
apparatus for the R.L. is accepted.
The above list shows the wide range of tenders accepted during the year and indicates the rapid mechanization which was going forward at Woolwich.
On 24July 1854, the Board ordered that a jetty should be made at the head of the canal for the purpose of loading powder. This was to cost £302. gs. 10d. and was intended, no doubt, to facilitate
113
the flow of supply for war purposes. On I September 1854 the repair of a chimney in the Royal Brass Foundry was sanctioned at 114
a cost of £41. 7s. 8d. On I I September 1854 the erection of a
granite wall for experiment in the Plumstead marshes costing £,68o 115
was authorized as a special case.
During 1854, there was a fire in the Royal Laboratory. It was not serious and no one was hurt. Stores, however, were destroyed and these were ordered to be struck off the store ledger on I 8 September 1854. Compensation was also paid to men whose clothes
116
were destroyed during the conflagration.
On 26 May 1854, the Director R.L. reported that he had with
drawn the manufacture of S.A.A. from the R.L. enclosure. In order
to carry out the manufacture of small arms ammunition in the
eastern part of the Royal Arsenal near the S.A.A. shed, the Director
stated that he would like the triangular piece of ground by the bend
in the canal adjacent to the old mortar mill belonging to the R.E.
Department. To this the C.R.E. agreed as the plot was only used as
a dumping ground for refuse stores. In return, he suggested a new
site for the R.E. depot. The C.R.E. also suggested that as the new
R.L. arrangements would prevent the use of the cadets' bathing place in the canal, he proposed that he should construct a new bathing pool alongside the pond used by the soldiers. The Board approved these arrangements on 2o September 1854 with the exception of two pieces of ground which it was proposed should be allotted as gardens for clerks. The Board had disliked the idea of detached gardens or what we should now term 'allotments' for a long time, and so they took this opportunity of expressing their views on the subject. They stated that they considered it objectionable for persons occupying Ordnance houses to have gardens unless these gardens were part of the premises in which they lived. They were,
"" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, P-1,091.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,751, p. 1,465.
1+ Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/764.
"" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,750, P. 537.
,, Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,750, p. 628.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,750, p. 695.
748
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
however, not disposed to dispossess present holders, but they
expressed the wish that when the leases ran out they should be
117
re-let.
Colonel Thomas Foster replaced Colonel Thomas Blanshard as
C.R.E., Woolwich Division, on I October 1854118 though he does not
appear to have commenced his new duties till the 1oth of the month.
The Board ordered the construction of a wash house at the
quarters of the police sergeant at the Plumstead Gate. The money
for this service was to be provided in the Estimates for 1855/56.118
The sum of £2,000 was approved for works in connection with the
shell filling house and railway on 12 October 1854.120 A new building
for an Arsenal surgery was approved on 18 October 1854. The
service was to be brought forward in the Estimates for 1855/56.121.
Mr Frederick Abel became Ordnance Chemist in 1854 and since
this post had lapsed for many years, there was some uncertainty as
to his duties. A Committee consisting of Major-General Cator
Director-General of Artillery, Lieut.-Colonel Tulloh Inspector of
the Royal Carriage Department, and Mr Edward Sparkes, store
keeper, was therefore appointed on 27 October 1854 to determine
Mr Abel's responsibilities in regard to the examination of stores
122
received mto the storekeeper's department. On 2o November 1854 the government had an office and laboratory fitted up for Mr Abel's use at a cost of£363,1 and on 28 May 1855 allowed him the assistance of a temporary clerk.124 On 5 September 1855 he was authonzed to expend a sum of £40-£50 on the purchase of
12Th a
microscope. e salary of Mr Abel as Ordnance Chemist was fixed on 1o January 1856 at £50o p.a. with yearly increments of 5, rising to a maximum of £700 p.a. The cautious War Department, however, stated that when the first vacancy in the post arose,
126
the salary position would be reviewed. As it happened, this quest10n never really arose as Sir Frederick Abel, as he afterwards became, retained his appointment at Woolwich till 1893. He was first referred to as 'War Department Chemist' on 19 May 1856.127
Sir Fredenck Augustus Abel, born at Woolwich in 1826. was an eminent chemist of world-wide renown, whose chief study'was the science of explosives. He wrote several treatises on various aspects
7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,750, P. 71o. PRO/WO/44/297. 8 Engineer Papers, PRO[WO/55/764.
1» Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/764. """ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 920. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,751, p. 963. Engineer Papers,
PRO/WO/55/764.
"%-Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,048.
1as Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
1" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,859.
"" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 706.
_Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,756, P. 104. -7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,757, P-1,418.
749
of his subject and in 1889 took out with Sir James Dewar a patent for the invention of cordite. He was Secretary to the Imperial Institute in 1887 and President of the British Association in 1890. Among his other activities he was Professor of Chemistry, Royal Military Academy 1851-1855, President of the Special Committee on Explosives 1888-1891, President of the Iron and Steel Institute., President of the Chemical Society, President of the Institute of Chemistry, President of the Society of Chemical Industry, President of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, and Chairman of the Society of Arts. He received many honours. He was created K.C.B. in 1883, G.C.V.O. and a Baronet in 1893. He was elected D.C.L.
Oxon in 188g, D.Sc. Cant., and a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was an Albert Medallist, a Royal Medallist, a Telford Medallist, and a Bessemer Medallist. He died on 6 September 1902.
Money now began to pour out. On 31 October 1854 the Treasury sanctioned the expenditure of£4,ooo on improvements in the Royal Laboratory.128 On 8 November 1854 an additional sum of £10,133 was required for overtime in the Royal Carriage Department till 31 March 1855. This was approved by the Treasury on the understanding that it was necessitated by urgent services in that department consequential on the war.129 On 15 November 1854 the Treasury agreed to further expenditure, not exceeding 9oo per annum, on the Royal Engineer Department. They also authorized an increased establishment for the Department of the Inspector of Artillery.13o On the same day the Treasury sanctioned the immediate commencement of the proposed improvements in the timber yard., stating that provision was to be made in the Estimates for 1855/56 for such portion of the expense which might have to be paid after g1 March 1855." On 18 December 1855, the Treasury authorized the immediate commencement of the extra storage room required by the storekeeper's department which was estimated to cost £16,315, stipulating that payments made for this undertaking in
that financial year would be charged to any surplus there might be on the Vote for Ordnance Works for that year and that the remainder of the sum should be provided in the Estimates for 1855/56.132
On I December 1854, the Board thanked Major-General Cator and other members of the R.L. Committee for their expert assistance in the problems which arose in this difficult time. They also expressed their appreciation of the services rendered by Captain Collinson, R.E., and John Anderson. They suggested that the Committee should continue in being under the name of the Machinery Committee
+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,751, DP. 1,074. 1m8 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,751, P. 1,147. 1a0 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,751, P. 1,217. in Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,751, P. 1,221. 1++ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,751, P. 1,538.
750
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
and that the C.R.E. and Captain William Manley Dixon, R.A., should be added to its members.133
A new type of rocket now appeared. It was an improvement on the Congreve and Boxer variety, and actually survived for many years. It was the Hale rocket which is described elsewhere in this book. This rocket, which dispenses with the use of a stick, was invented by Mr Hale, a mechanic in the Royal Arsenal about 1845. Trials were carried out with a number of these rockets presented by the inventor at Washington, D.C., on 1 December 1846 before a representative gathering of officers of the United States Army and Navy. Further trials took place in the Washington Arsenal on 5
January 1847. In both series of experiments the rockets proved a marked success.134 It was almost seven years later before the production of the Hale rocket was officially considered in this country and they were not officially adopted for the Service till 1867, more than twenty years after their first appearance. It was decided to manufacture these rockets at Woolwich towards the end of 1854, and on 18 Decemberofthatyearthe employmentofartificersfortheproduction of Hale's rockets was first sanctioned.135 A new shed in the Royal Laboratory was therefore erected for this purpose, in which the necessary hydraulic presses to fashion the rockets were to be installed. On 21 February 1855 it was decided to fit up within the shed twentyfour moulds to aid manufacture, and the other manufacturing departments were asked to lend their assistance in this matter.136 On 30 April 1855 Messrs Fairbairn and Co. were authorized to supply castings for the tops and bottoms of Hale's rockets at the following prices :137
10,000 shells at /go per ton 10,000 bottoms at £12 per ton
For some reason which has not been recorded, certain men employed on the manufacture of these improved rockets, went on strike. They got short shift from the authorities. On 24 May 1855 a statement appeared to the effect that 'the men employed in the rocket factory who have turned out and refused to go on are to be dismissed'.138 Four days later, a directive was issued for the immediate manufacture of a large supply of Hale's rockets.139 This undertaking cost a considerable sum of money, for 5,500 had to be found to defray the expense of the machinery and buildings.140
1a+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,751, P. 1,375. 1a PRO/WO[44/644.
1» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[A7/2,751, P. 1,539. 1a6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,752, p. 644. 187 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,753 P. 1,470. 1a8 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,801. 1a» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,753, p. 1,850, 28 May 1855. 140 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,753, P-2,249, 30 June 1855.
751
The Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, was authorized on 22 December 1854 to commission Messrs Moreton and Foster to fit the wheels of a 24 pdr siege carriage with their 'endless railway' or what we should term nowadays a 'caterpillar track'. When fitted this carriage was to undergo trial at Woolwich. The firm were also
141
asked to adapt a sling wagon similarly for trial at Hurst Castle. This proves that this particular method of enabling heavy vehicles to traverse rough ground has at least a hundred years to its credit and had been invented long before the Hornsby-Ackroyd tracks
came on the market.
The Inspector of Artillery was authorized on 28 December 1854 to employ Mr Joseph Whitworth to make a complete set of gauges for all shot and shell in the service.14? Certain alterations in the R.L.
to extend the present accommodation for driving fuzes at a cost of £35 was approved on go December 1854.1% ..
During the stress of war, the Lancaster gun was temporarily taken into use. It was, however, never officially adopted for the British Service. Lancaster rifling, invented about 1851, consisted of an elliptical section bore with a twist of 1 in 30. The projectiles for this weapon were made oval in section to correspond. Some ordnance of this type accompanied our forces to the Crimea in 1855, and the shells for them were made in the Royal Arsenal. Manufacture began in 1854. On 26 July 1854 the means proposed by the Inspector of Artillery, who was then, curiously enough, put in charge of shell making to increase the production of Lancaster shell till the machines being erected for that purpose by Messrs Napier should come into use, were approved.M44 On I5 November 1854, the execution of a service costing £77. 18s. 6d. in No. 2g storehouse on account of the
145
manufacture of these projectiles was sanctioned. In order to expedite matters, the C.R.E. on 28 November 1854 was ordered to effect the necessary opening in the wall between the site of the accumulator and No. 29 storehouse and to provide the foundation for the accumulator and cover it in. At the same time, Colonel
J. Chalmer, in conjunction with John Anderson and Mr Lancaster., was to carry out any experiments calculated to bring Lancaster shell into an earlier degree of perfection and to make all necessary enquiries about the iron required for their manufacture,146 On 2 December 1854, the C.R.E. wrote to the Inspector-General of Fortifications that, acting upon instructions, he had got into touch with Mr John Anderson about the construction of a building for the
141 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,591. 1+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[W0[47/2,751, p. 1,639. 143 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[W0[47/2,751, p. 1,674. 144 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[WO/47/2,750, p. 217. 141 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,220. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,346.
752
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
production of Lancaster shell, the contracts to be entered into at once and the work to commence as soon as possible. He also discussed the general features of the shop required with Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. Although the prices appeared to be higher than normal, he recommended acceptance in view of the urgency-the building was to be completed within one month-and speciality of the order,147 The terms proposed by Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. for the erection of this Lancaster shell manufactory in the Arsenal
148
were therefore accepted on 2 December 1854, and on the same day the firm was instructed to proceed at once with the work.14o The 150
Board gave their general approval on 13 December 1854. On 16 December 1854 Messrs Fox, Henderson & Co. asked for a payment of £2,000 on account.151 Having settled the factory, the question of machinery arose, and this was sanctioned by the Board on 26 December 1854, who stated that when completed the whole project would be under the superintendence of the Inspector of
152
Artillery. The Treasury then authorized the employment of special artificers and labourers on 30 December 1854 for the preparation of the necessary tools, lathes, beds, etc. for the manu
153
factory under construction.
A sum of£25,000 was granted for the Lancaster shell foundry and the machinery,split up between fourteen firms, amounted t011,853. 15s. 8Jd. Bills for this amount were forwarded by the Inspector of Artillery on 24 March 1855.154 In addition to this the Inspector of Artillery requested permission from the Board on 2 January 1855 to set up a new shell factory. On 8 January 1855 the Board agreed. In addition to the machinery it was calculated that this would entail 300 additional artificers with a wages bill of about £400 per
155
week.
On 28 January 1855 a fire occurred in the Lancaster shell factory. It was not very serious and the premises were certainly not destroyed as stated by Vincent.156 The factory was in partial operation by 14 February 1855157 and the staff was expected to turn out 100 shells
158 The
a day. damage to the factory amounted in value to £,883, and the Treasury sanctioned this expenditure on its repair on
1+7 PR0/W0[44/298. 148 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,391. 1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[W0/47/2,751, P. I,392, 2 December 1854. 1 PR0/WO[44/298. 11 PR0/[W0[44/298. 16e Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[W0[47/2,751, p. 1,609. 16 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,675. 14 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0/W0/47/2,752, p. 993. 1 PR0/W0/44/524. 156 Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. I, p. 338. 17 PR0/W0/44/524. 1s PR0/W0/44/524.
753
11 April 1855.1" They allowed also on 25 May 1855 compensation amounting to £18 for damage to clothing suffered by the men who helped to extinguish the flames.'@0 On 18 September 1855 an engine for supplying water to the Lancaster shell factory from the canal was
'-£ • 1 d" fi• 161
installed at a cost of 250, inc/u ling ttmngs.
Let us now turn to the other side of the picture. The bills which had been forwarded by the Inspector of Artillery on 24 March 1855 had been submitted two days earlier and building operations were completed by April 1855. On 9 April 1855 the contractors asked for
their balance of £2,143. 15s. 8d. General Harding reported some
what unfavourably on the work and said that the brickwork was
poor in quality. There was a good deal of argument in settling the
account and the matter was eventually referred to the House.
The notes upon the firm's claim for £2,143. 15s. 8d. were as
follows:
(x) The Board agreed to pay schedule prices with 15% additional. The
15% extra was not made conditional upon the building being completed within any specified time.
(2)
Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. have been paid scheduled prices plus the 15% for the greater part of the work. . .
(3)
Mr John Anderson, Inspector of Machinery, was satisfied as to the proper construction of the building and Messrs Fox, Henderson & Co. guaranteed its stability. .
(4)
The work for which Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. claim a balance of£2,143. 15s. 8d. was properly certified by the Board's engineer and it is not seen how this sum can be left unpaid.
The points on which the Board rested their case were:
(a)
Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. agreed to exe':ute certain work within one month. They took two months to complete it.
(b)
This delay caused damage to the public service, and ifany monetary
loss could be shown to have resulted from it, the firm would be liable :for the amount.
(c) Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co.'s statement as to quantities was
too high and that of Mr John Anderson too low. The work contracted for represented a sum of £I5,408. 5s. 6d. Work executed in the first month represented 10,960. 4s. od.
Deficiency: £ 4,448. 1s. 6d.
so that Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. carried out in the first month only about two thirds of the quantity originally agreed to. The address was presented to her Majesty on 19 June 1855.162
111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,753, p. 1,195. 160 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,753, p. 1,830. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, P. 843. 1«+ PRO[WO[44/298.
754
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
There is another paper in the Public Record Office which sets
out the proceedings concerning the invention and claims of Mr
Lancaster in great detail.
Having taken out his patents, Mr Lancaster in a letter dated
21 January 1853 to Sir Thomas Hastings, the Controller and
Principal Storekeeper, embodied his terms to the government. They
were as follows:
(I)
£5,000 to be paid to cover all his expenses up to that time.
(2)
He was to place the boring machinery at the disposal of the government, to assist in installing it and to give all the necessary instructions.
(3)
In the event of his invention being adopted, the amount o:f the reward was to be submitted to the arbitration of any intelligent officer, or any other honourable person to be selected by the government. The decision of the arbitrator to be binding on both parties.
On 2r February 1853, Mr Lancaster received £3,000 and the remaining {2,ooo on 25 March 1853.
Rooms were prepared in No. 29 storehouse, Royal Arsenal, for the reception of the machinery for boring Lancaster guns and manufacturing Lancaster projectiles. On 14 February 1853, Colonel Blanshard, the C.R.E., estimated this would cost £447; subsequently on r r June following he stated that an additional sum of £957. 9s. 2d. would be required. Those outlays were sanctioned, the former on 14 February 1853, and the latter on 16June 1853. On 24 March 1853 Messrs Napier undertook to supply for £2,400 the necessary machinery in four months. Delays occurred and the order was not completed even by July 1854.
Between 2r February 1853 and 8 March 1854 expenses on this undertaking amounted to £12,020. 2s. 1od., in addition to the 5,000 paid to Mr Lancaster. The extra wages of the workmen employed on the project totalled £847. 5s. 7d.
As stated before, the invention after exhaustive trials proved unsatisfactory for the Service and the equipment was not officially adopted. The abstract of the expenses connected with this somewhat unprofitable enterprise were:
Paid to Mr Lancaster (1853)Cost of Machinery Cost of Buildings Paid to Mr Lancaster (1856) including £1 ,ooo for small arms 5,000. 12,020. 1,404. 6,000. OS. 2S. 9s. OS. od. IOd. 2d. od.
Total: l2S. od.
No wonder a sum of £25,000 had to be granted to cover this
expensive experiment. It was on the whole a case of 'paying dearly for experience' .163 1«+ PRO/WO/33/7, pp. 80-93. 755
While on the subject of testing inventions which in the long run proved of little value, and there were many of them during the Crimean War, the case of Mallet's mortar has a special significance for the Royal Arsenal, although its trials <lid not take place till several years later.
When war broke out in 1854, the heaviest mortar in the British Service was the I3-inch throwing a shell of 167lb. Obviously conditions in the Crimea demanded something heavier, and the demand was met by Robert Mallet, an engineer of vision and resource. He conceived the idea of an enormous mortar built up in portions which could be carried separately, so that the whole could be erected in situ. In this manner the problem of transport could be simplified and a much heavier weapon used than could otherwise have been possible in the circumstances then prevailing. In addition, his design was the first to advocate the built-up hoop system. whereby increased strength could be secured by shrinkage; his proposal, in fact, was in several ways a departure from practice then current.
Mallet's original design was dated October 1854 and his first
intention was to place the mortar without any bed directly against
a platform formed of three layers of crossed baulks bedded at a
slope of about 45 against a bank scarped into the ground. The
chamber was primarily intended to be small because the original
intention underlying the project was to establish these mortars
within a few hundred yards of their objective-to wit, the parapets
of Sebastopol-and then with a light charge to lob the great shells
over the walls of the fortress. The design was shown to Captain
Boxer and other artillery experts at Woolwich in December 1854.
Early in January 1855, however, Mr Mallet realized the importance
of being able to employ such mortars at sea and also of extending
their range on land. He therefore amended his design to permit of
greater charges, a moveable mortar bed and the means of altering
elevation.
His first approach to the authorities took place on 8January 1855
when he laid the drawings, specification and description before the
Ordnance Select Committee. Except for an acknowledgment and
an interview, nothing further transpired. Such revolutionary pro
posals were not readily acceptable to the official mind and protests
concerning their unorthodox nature were raised. Mr Mallet there
fore wrote to Lord Palmerston, the Prime Minister, on 24 March
1855. Lord Palmerston was at once struck by the potentialities of
the idea and granted Mr Mallet an interview. Other visits to
Whitehall followed, and one journey was made to Windsor so that
the proposal could be explained in detail to the Prince Consort who
also felt that Mr Mallet had, in modern parlance, 'got something'.
As a result of these discussions, the Prime Minister accepted the
756
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
proposal and contacted the Board of Ordnance through the normal channels. The Board, however, was conservative and proceeded to pursue a policy of masterly inactivity with the result that inevitable delays ensued. Lord Palmerston was not the man to be thwarted· he would brook no further obstruction. Luckily England had a statesman at the head of affairs who, like his successor of nearly mnety years later, knew what he wanted and was determined to have it. On 1 May 1855 he addressed General (afterwards FieldMarshal) Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, in the following terms :
I am so fully satisfied of the probable success of Mr Mallet's scheme that I am willing to take upon myself, as First Minister of the Crown the full responsibility of carrying it into execution; and I therefore request that you will without the slightest delay, take the necessary steps for the immediate construction of two mortars upon the plan proposed by Messrs
Mallet and Barry.164 Time is an essential element in the matter and months have already been lost in needless hesitation.
The Board of Ordnance, galvanized into activity immediately caused tenders to be issued. Thereupon the Thames Iron Works Blackwall, tendered on 7 May 1855 to supply two mortars in accordance with Mr Mallet's specification within 10 weeks of the receipt of the order for a sum of £4,9oo each, including the mortar beds; any weight in excess of 35 tons to be paid for at the rate of140 per ton. This offer was accepted by the Board of Ordnance next day and the order was placed.
At this time only two firms in the country could have undertaken such a task with the forging facilities then at their disposal; the other was the Mersey Steel and Iron Company (afterwards Messrs Horsfall and Co.) of Liverpool. For several reasons it was considered desirable for the work to be undertaken in the Port of London.
The nature of the work was explained to Mr Mare of the Thames Iron Works and to his forge manager Mr Hardy, and the urgency of its expedition was stressed. They felt uneasy at the size of the assignment and represented that the making, bending and welding of the broad and heavy rings composing the mortar must prove a task of difficulty and delay. They proposed to forge great square slabs and to cut the rings out of these in one piece, thus avoiding bendmg and weldmg; and Intimated that they would only undertake the job in that way. With reluctance the inventor agreed and work started on 1 June 1855. A trial of two or three weeks sufficed to prove their method unsound and it had perforce to be abandoned. Alas, 'the best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft a-gley', and
14 Mr Barry was a partner of Mr Mallet for three months only and had nothing to
do with the g6-inch mortar.
757
not long afterwards the contractor was declared bankrupt. Litigation followed, and it became necessary to arrange with his assignees for the completion of the contract, portions of which having in the meantime become fairly advanced. Finally the mortars became the work of three firms; partly of Mare and Co., partly of Horsfall and Co., of Liverpool, and partly of Fawcett, Preston and Co. The latter did the turning, boring and finishing of the large forgings supplied by Horsfall and Co. All this of course led to interminable delay. The mortars were reported to be practically complete in March 1857 and were delivered in May 1857, ninety-six weeks after the placing of the contract and over a year after the conclusion of the Crimean War, thus in Mr Neville Chamberlain's immortal phrase: 'Completely missing the bus.' In the meantime fifty shell had been ordered from, and delivered by, Messrs Hood at a cost of
£16 per ton. The projectiles were of three patterns, light, medium and heavy; they varied in weight between 2,362lb and 2,940lb. The normal bursting charge visualized by Mr Mallet was 480lb. of gun-powder. Propellant charges were altered during the experimental firings, the maximum being 8olb. of powder loaded in 1olb. bags. The shell was a hollow cast-iron sphere, the cavity being slightly eccentric. The fuze was of metal, well-primed and ignited separately by the flash, the windage being about 0·4 inches, or set in action by a leader of Bickford fuze, a practice reminiscent of the early days of artillery. The mortar consisted of:
(1)
A cast-iron base 3o inches thick and 7½ tons in weight. This carried the trunnions, the flange for holding the longitudinal bolts, and the chase for the quoin wedges; forming at that side of the axis the fulcrum for elevating. A hole 37 inches in diameter and slightly coned was bored through this base and enlarged at the top to form a recess 48 inches in diameter and 13 inches in depth.
(2)
A wrought-iron chamber-piece about 7o inches long and 7 tons in weight, formed from a solid forging. The largest external diameter was 36 inches reduced in three steps to 24 inches. It was strengthened externally by two layers of wrought-iron hoops over the body and one heavyring towards the mouth, the whole being coned to fit the cast-iron base. The chamber proper, bored in this chamber-piece, was 48·5 inches deep and coned from a diameter of 14 inches at the cup to g inches at the further end. The front was cupped to receive the projectile.
(3)
Three great compound rings of wrought-iron, which together with a muzzle ring made up the chase 8o inches long. These rings were built up respectively of 21, 1 g and 1 1 sectional hoops, so disposed as to break joint, the inner or A tube of each being in one length, the remainder in two or three. The largest of these hoops was 67 inches in external diameter made out of a bar 19 feet long; the smallest was 4o inches in diameter. The greatest thickness of the chase was 16 inches, the least g inches.
758
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
(4) A h~avy muzzle ring and moulding having a sectional area of about 78 square mches. It was turned with a flange to fit over the top of the
chase.
(5) Six wrought-iron longitudinal bolts nearly square in section connecting the muzzle ring to the cast-iron base, thus clamping the whole to form a smgle piece. They had a sectional area of gr square inches each and ~vere se_cured to the base by gibs and keys. The top of each bolt was provided with a head resting on a sort of circular iron washer, and to prevent the transmission of a violent jar on discharge, a thin ring of wood :-vas mterposed between the exterior and muzzle rings. These bolts fitted Into square recesses cut in the muzzle ring and were kept in place by an
external clip rmg.
The complete mortar having a calibre of 36 inches weighed 42 tons and was so designed that its heaviest component did not exceed r: tons m weight. The whole rested on a bed carrying an iron plate which served as a bed-plate for two heavy beechwood quoins, which permitted an elevation between 40 and 50 degrees. The platform which carried the mortar and bed-plate had a slope of 12 degrees and recoil never exceeded 15 inches. Matters were so adjusted that the centre of gravity of the shell in the loaded position at 45 degrees was vertically over the axis of the trunnions
When delivery of the mortars was imminent, the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, reported that it would cost about 43oo to lay a foundation of Dartford gravel for one platform, the latter being estimated by Lieut.-Colonel A. Tulloh, Superintendent Royal Carnage Department, at 150. As peace had now been signed the hour of retrenchment had struck, and Lord Panmure, Secretary of State for War, decided, much to the chagrin of Mr Mallet that only one mortar should be tried. Preparations for this firin~ trial went ahead and were completed on 15 October 1857. Four days later firing commenced on the Plumstead marshes. After 7 rounds a fracture appeared in one of the exterior rings and practice was suspended. Repair was undertaken at a cost of £56 and practice was resumed on 18 December 1857. After 6 rounds a further casualty occurred, a centre hoop of the exterior ply of the bottom ring having broken through. Further repair was sanctioned at the cost of £i56 and at the same time twenty lighter shells of2,4oolb. each were manufactured m the Royal Laboratory at the price of£11 each. Practice was resumed a second time on 21 July 1858 and nothing unusual happened except a fracture of one of the wedges at the second discharge and a crack in the slot through which one of the other wedges passed. These trifling mishaps being rectified in the Royal Gun Factory, firmg recommenced for the fourth and last time on 28 July 1858. On this day the greatest range of 2,759 yards was attained with a shell weighing 2,395lb. projected at an angle of 45
759
ADOLESCENCE
degrees with a charge of 8olbs. The time of flight was 23 seconds. Misfortune no dogged the giant mortar. Minor troubles were aled after the second and third rounds, but at the fourth one
reve f h
f the six longitudinal bolts sheared, thus preventing any urt er ioing. Mr Mallet urged the replacement of this member and the resumption of the practice, at any rate in order to assess the greatest possible range. But his friends at Court had gone. Major-General Jonathan Peel had succeeded Lord Panmure as Secretary of State for War, and, although the estimate for the repair of the mortar only amounted to £150, he refused to sanction the expense. A year later, Mr Sidney Herbert, following General Peel at the War Office, directed the Ordnance Select Committee to reconsider the question, and the Royal Gun Factory submitted an estimate amounting o £214 for a complete overhaul including six additional longitudinal bolts for which Mr Mallet had asked. The Committee, however, reported that in their opinion no useful public purpose would be served by continuing the experiments, and the ~ecretary of State, wishing no doubt to curb unnecessary expenditure, ordered the proceedings to close. The whole conception had involved ~14,000 of public treasure, and taking all costs into account the nineteen rounds fired involved an expenditure of about £675 a piece; a high
price to pay for no return. Thus passed into oblivion the largest mortar ever constructed. It was a great achievement and Mr Mallet perhaps deserved a better fate. He was a pioneer whose misfortune lay in the fact that he lived at a time when blazing the armament trail was an unprofitable
occupation.
By 186g the platform had fallen into such a state of decay that steps were considered essential to prevent its givmg way under the weight of the mortar. The platform was therefore destroyed by a charge of gun-cotton, the mortar toppling forward on its nose.
Meanwhile, the second mortar, unproved and untried, had after an interval of time been erected in the Royal Arsenal as an exhibit, where it was presently joined by its more militant twin. And there both stand today on concrete bases, dumb reminders of the lines :
There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
Summing up, there were a good many improvements in the Royal Arsenal between 1852 and 1854. On 9 September 1852 James Nasmyth and Co. submitted an estimate for £4oo for a tubular boiler. This resulted from several requests in 1851 for a second boiler for the R.L. engine. On 5 November 1852 James Nasmyth
760
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
forwarded an estimate for [1,146 for a 22 H.P. steam engine
boiler etc. On 7 March 1854, J. and E. Hall of Dartford tendered
to execute the additional work of the engine house and engines for
the R.L. The amount was £2,261. 10s. od. This was in addition to
their tender of 19 December 1853 amounting to 4,038. 11s. 0d.,
makmg a gross total of £6,300. rs. od. This was for a 2o H.P.
engine.J. & E. Hall got the contract for the engine on 5 April 1854,
whilst Messrs Kirk and Parry obtained that for brickwork, carpenters'
work, slate and glaziers' work on the same day. At this date the old
Academy rooms in Tower Place were being used as model rooms
for the Royal Laboratory, and the house formerly occupied by the
second master ofthe R.M.A. had become the chemical laboratory.165
Certain improvements were now put forward by the Laboratory
Committee. They submitted a report, accompanied by an estimate
and plans, dated 12 December 1854, on 'The Cartridge Establish
ment and Powder Canal shell filling department'. The estimate
amounted to 5,283. 19. 2d., of which £2,224. 3s. 8d. was to be
charged to Laboratory Improvements Vote 7 and £3,059. 15s. 6d.
to General Engineering Services. The estimate covered gun cart
ridges, shell filling, an extension to the canal, a grease house and a
sealing house. The Treasury sanctioned the project on 3o December
1854 and Mr Edmund Smith got the contract.
On I May 1855 the Laboratory Committee forwarded an estimate for £1,600 and a report on the building of a carcase house. It was to be situated near the Rocket factory. The building was approved by the Board on 2 May 1855.166 When erected it was built just west of the rocket sheds.
A total of £69,482 was approved for new works in the Annual Estimates for 1855. The details were as follows:
(I)
Covering the space between the clothing and intrenching tool store with corrugated iron: 5,460.
(2)
Covering with corrugated iron the yard adjoining the old iron store: £1,96o.
(3)
Lengthening magazines Nos. 6, 9 and 1o: £248.
(4)
Erecting a storehouse at the western end of the Grand Storehouses: £8,065.
(5)
Extending the roofing and enclosing the front entrance of the Blue sheds: £1,263.
(6)
Alterations and additions to the present R.E. yard now transferred to the R.C.D.: £2,150.
(7)
Erecting a new saw-mill and boiler room R.C.D.: £8,000.
(8)
Additional timber sheds R.C.D.: £5,500.
15 PRO/WO/44/298. In this file there is a good plan of the Royal Laboratory dated 7 November 1853. It gives a detailed account of every separate building and shop in the Royal Laboratory.
16 PRO/WO/44/644.
ADOLESCENCE THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
(9) Completing the filling up and levelling of the timber field R.C.D.: .9,443. .
(io) Moving the range on the Ordnance marshes to another site and extending it to 3,000 yards in length: £10,102.
(11)
Constructing a new Engineer Establishment: £8,000.
(12)
Extending the canal to the Powder magazines: £,3,060.
(13)
Extending the fire-main Royal Arsenal: £2,000.
(14)
Additions to sheds for repository exercises: 1,993.
(Note: Nos. 19 and 20 were originally the house of the Commandant of the Garrison. They are to be converted into offices for the D.G. of A. and the Ordnance Select Committee)
No. 7 H Colonel Alexander Tulloh
No. 8 I (Superintendent R.C.D.) Captain Henry Clerk, R.A.
No. 9 K (Captain Instructor R.C.D.) Colonel Edmund Neal Wilford
A design for a new Engineer Establishment estimated to cost about £9,000 was approved on 8 January 1855.1"7 This was ,1,00o more than the annual estimate allowed. In order to effect security for the new expansion the employment of police and watchmen was authorized on 13 January 1855.18 On 13 January 1855, the offer of Benjamin Hick and Son for the erection of a new saw-mill and engine house in the Royal Carriage Department, costing £5,840 was accepted.169 This saw-mill was to have an engine_ house adjoining with two 30 H.P. engines. It was under construction by May 1855 when difficulties with the foundations caused the costs to go up by £407. These difficulties were the result of a quicksand.of unknown but considerable depth extending over the whole site being discovered. The extra expense was sanctioned in June 1855 -1 70
Improved moorings in the Thames by the Royal Arsenal for
d 171
larger vessels were approved in 1855 and the work was put in han •
There is an interesting list extant of the occupants of the houses, afterwards known as 'Officers' quarters, Dial Square', in the year 1855. The details are as follows:
Present Nomenclature Occupier in 1855
Nomenclature in 1855
No. I D Vacant (Superintendent, R.L.)
No. 2 E Colonel William Henry Pickering
(Asst. D.G. of A.)
No. 3 Captain Edward M. Boxer
3
(formerly Firemaster)
No. 4 G Temporarily occupied by Mrs
Ward, the wife of Colonel II
Ward, R.A., then in the
Crimea172
No. 5 19 Mr Scott, Senior Chaplain, R.A.
No. 6 20 Lieut.-Colonel David William
Paynter, R.A.
167 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 100. 168 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,752, p. 169.
1» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,752, p. 180. 176 PRO[WO[44/298. 1a PRO/WO[44/298. 112 This may be Major Francis Reck.ford Ward, R.A., who fought in the Crimea.
762
No. IO
Pay Office (formerly Ordnance Board) Part of No. 6
L (Director of Artillery Studies) Lieut.-Colonel F. M. EardleyWilmot, R.A. (Superintendent R.G.F.)
C B Major-General William Cator (D.G. of A.) Colonel Henry Palliser (A.A.G. Royal Artillery)l73
It was approved on the recommendation of the Machinery
Committee on 3 February 1855 that a portion of the foundry
originally planned for the R.L. should be used as a shell foundry
and that the brass foundry should be built to the westward of the
general factory in the Royal Laboratory.174
Purchase of land for ranges now came to the fore. On 7 February
1855 the purchase was sanctioned of an estate belonging to Mr
Palmer consisting of 12o acres at 12o per acre and of a field
containing 18 acres, I rood and 6 perches, the property of Messrs
W. and T. Holdmg. Approval was also given to buy the Chequers Public House and the premises adjoining valued at £1,2 r 5 belonging to Mr Palmer. This land was required for the Erith practice range.175 On the followmg day, the Ordnance solicitor was authorized to complete the purchase ofland from Mr Plaisted, Mr Linton and the representatives of Mr Eve in the Plumstead marshes for the Plum
176 Mr T.
stead prac_tice range. W. Plaisted was paid £446. 5s. od. and Mr Lmton £258. r5s. od. for their property, the solicitor's fees being £227. 4s. od.177 Finally on 1g February 1856, an imprest of £18,260 was handed to Mr Bannister for land for the new practice
178
range. It was agreed on 28 February 1855 that Mr Mackintosh of the Royal Laboratory should be granted £20 a month with travelling expenses between Aberdeen and Woolwich as a temporary measure
17+ PRO/WO/44/573. 174 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,752, P. ?" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/3,752, p.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,752, P. 177 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO47/2,754, p. 78 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,756, p.
s1 763
437. 474. 489, 8 February 1855. 657. 445.
while engaged in superintending the installation of bag cartridge machinery. This was in addition to his normal emoluments.17o On 23 April 1855, a claim of£2o. 11s. 6d. for clearing certain roads in the Royal Arsenal on the occasion of her Majesty's visit was allowed and ordered to be charged to the machinery vote.1so
The Board of Ordnance was abolished on 25 May 1855 and with its abolition disappeared the Office of Ordnance. This was a major upheaval in domestic politics particularly as it took place in the midst of war. The details of this change have been described elsewhere in this book,181 and in due course it had serious repercussions on the future ofthe Royal Arsenal. The immediate changes, however, were slight, since the weakened Board, although proscribed, continued to function till the end of 1856. Wars have to be fought to a finish and the demands of the country in such circumstances are more important than those of Departments. It would be safe to say that no major alterations took place at Woolwich before 1857. Only five points call for notice at the time of transfer:
(a)
The heads ofthe manufacturing departments became Superintendents.
(2)
The Firemaster R.L. and the Assistant Inspectors of the R.C.D. and of Artillery became Captain Instructors.
(3)
The department of the Inspector of Artillery and of The Royal Brass Foundry became the Royal Gun Factory.
(4)
The pay of the three Superintendents of the manufacturing departments was raised to £500 p.a.
(5)
The Storekeeper's department became divorced from its old associations and became the headquarters of the Ordnance Store Department.
It has always seemed something of a mystery why the obvious title of Royal Gun Factory should not have been bestowed much earlier in the life of that department; its old name was so cumbrous. Also the general term Superintendent for the heads of the manufacturing departments appeared a common sense move.
One fact particularly noticeable is that between 25 May 1855 and 3I December 1856, the minutes of the Board of Ordnance grow progressively more laconic and less communicative till at last they become a mere catalogue of items, unindexed and badly written. Possibly, being so to speak discarnate, the willingness of the spirit was hampered by the lack of a material body.
To return to the Royal Arsenal, Colonel Edmund N. Wilford was appointed Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry vice Colonel James A. Chalmer with effect from 21 May 1855.18 ° He was soon to be renamed 'Superintendent, Royal Gun Factory'.
17» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,752, p. 731. 10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,753, P. 1,350.
11 Appendix IV. ++ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,753, p. 1,844.
764
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
On 29 May 1855 two bulk-heads were ordered to be set up in the marshes for experiments in connection with incendiary percussion shell.18% On 13June 1855, the site for the surgery and surgery-man's
quarter was selected.184 Although by 3 July 1855 the storekeeper had ceased to belong to the Ordnance factories of the future, it is considered relevant to include Mr Francis Pellatt who replaced Edward M. Sparkes as Storekeeper on 5 July 1855.188 Francis Pellatt's first appointment in government service took place on 24 November 1828 at the age of seventeen when he was made an assistant clerk in the storekeeper's department. He remained in that department all his life. He was a man of marked ability and directed the Ordnance Store Department at Woolwich with remarkable success under the trying difficulties ofreconstruction and war. Although a diligent and faithful servant of the Crown, he was a popular official whose life was one constant advancement. He was always known as the workman's friend. Mr Vincent says: The Crimean war gave his powers of administration full play, and he was at the height of his prosperity when an unfortunate accident cut short his career, and plunged the whole community into sorrow and mourning. On Monday 31 May 1858, he was driving a cob-phaeton down New Road having Mrs Pellatt with him, when a puff of steam from the railwayfrightened the animal, which bolted, and, in turning the corner of Plumstead Road, upset the carriage. Mr Pellatt sustained such injuries that, after remaining in Dr Coleman's surgery for two days, he died 1..mconsc1ous, at the age of forty-seven years. His wife was also seriouslyhurt, but recovered.186
He was buried in Plumstead Churchyard.
On 9 July 1855 Mr William Morris, on the recommendation of Mr Monsell, Clerk of the Ordnance, was appointed by Lord Panmure, Secretary of State, Deputy Storekeeper in place of Mr
187
Francis Pellatt. On the same day Captain Arthur Vandeleur, R.A., was appointed Captain Instructor at the Royal Gun Factory with effect from 29 June 1855.188 Also Captain Beatson, R.E., took over the duties of superintending engineer to the Ordnance manufacturing departments from Captain Collinson, R.E.1s9
As already foreshadowed houses Nos. 19 and go in the Royal Arsenal (now Nos. 6 and 5 Dial Square), were to be allotted as offices for the Director-General of Artillery and the Ordnance Select Committee. The C.R.E. was also to be moved to the premises
18+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,753, p. 1,876. 184 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,753, P-2,069. 18° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, p. 8, 3 July 1855. 186 Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. I, p. 355. 187 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[A47/2,754, p. 70. 188 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO]47/2,754, P-70, 9July 1855. 18° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO]WO[47/2,754, P-73, 9July 1855.
765
vacated by Major-General Cator. This reallotment was approved on 28 July 1855.190 On 2 August 1855 sanction was given for the erection of a palisade fence costing £63 and a new entrance into the building, i.e. house No. 19, then occupied as an office for the D.G.
191
of A., in order to convert part of it into offices for the C.R.E. 192
In all, 305 was authorized for the above conversions. Captain E. M. Boxer was authorized on 29 Septem.ber 1855 to obtain from Messrs Day & Co. for the sum of £158, 10,000 litho
193
graphic drawings for the Royal Laboratory. These coloured drawings were of shells, fuzes, tubes, etc. They were still to be seen in the Royal Arsenal up to the beginning of World War II. Many of these were stored in the old model room which was, however, bombed. Some possibly still survive. On II October 1855, the fitting up of a room as an office in the Royal Brass Foundry was
194
approved for the Superintendent R.G.F. On the same day an expenditure of £61. 12s. 6d. was sanctioned to provide office
195
furniture for the department of the Inspector of Machinery. A new system of payment was introduced in the Royal Carriage Department on 24 November 1855. This was payment by the hour 196
instead of by the day.
Captain George Fraser, R.A., the firemaster, appointed on
5 June 1855, and reappointed Captain Instructor, R.L., on 28 August
1855, was allowed his pay as firemaster at230 p.a. until the latter
date.197
With the exception of the fire in the Rocket Establishment which
will be described at the end of this chapter, the only other events of
the year to be recorded are the acceptance of tenders and Treasury
approvals for the expenditure of money. These will be tabulated in
order of date:
Tenders
ro January r855. The offer of Mr Strother to supply buddles, cars or Langridge-Hartley coal at £1 per ton for the new shell factory is
198
accepted. 2 February r855. Shafting, gearing and additions to sawing machines
199
are to be obtained from Mr James Tocock at a cost of £85. 15s. od. 2 February 1855. The following tenders of Messrs Kirk and Parry are accepted:
110 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 292. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 355. 1v+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,754, p. 518, I7 August 1855. 118 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 963. 114 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,755, p. 1,077. 195 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,755, p. 1,078, 11 October 1855. 16 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,755, p. 1,174. 107 Extracts ofMinutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,755, p. 1,820, 22 December 1855. 1" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJW0/47/2,752, p. 135. 10 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,752, p. 418.
766
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
(a) The construction and erection of the proposed new foundry in the
R.L. at a cost of £950.
(b) The construction for £473. 12s. od. of coal cellars for the engine house in the same department.200
2 February I855. The tenders of Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. and of Messrs Grissell for [975 and £59. 7s. od. respectively are accepted for the iron roof girder of the iron shell foundry. 201
13 February 1855. The tenders of Messrs Grissell for work at the west quadrangle, 3,478, and the old iron yard, £248, are accepted.202 7 March 1855. The tender of Charles Watson for ventilating the smitheryin the R.L. is accepted. 20s I7 March I855. The supply offour additional double hearths for smiths in aid ofrocket manufacture by Messrs Sandford and Owen is approved.204
24 March 1855. The expenditure of £757 for iron work in the R.L. by Messrs Benjamin Hick and Son is sanctioned. This is in addition to the sum of£743 already authorized for the iron work for the two extra bays. This totals £1,500.206
24 March 1855. The tender of Mr Clark for sinking an artesian well at the saw-mill is accepted.206
4 May 1855. Messrs Bellhouse and Co. are to execute the whole of the work in connection with the hydraulic hoist for coal at the Royal Arsenal for £6o.307
4 May 1855. The tender of P. Fairbanks and Co. for machinery at a cost of £4o2 is accepted.%os 4 May 1855. The tender of Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. for iron roofing of the carcase building is accepted.209 4May 1855. The tender of Benjamin Hick and Son for three cast iron columns for the R.L. for [8. 1os. od. is accepted.21o 4 May 1855. Messrs Kirk and Parry to construct a double brazingfurnace in the R.L. smithery for £43. 16s. od.211 1o May 1855. The tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry for constructing and fixing a wooden bndge over the canal for £16. 1os. od. is accepted.a1a 14 May 1855. The tender of Mr Wood for work at the carcase building amounting to £252. 5s. 0d. is accepted.213 25 May 1855. The tenders of Messrs Kirk and Parry, W. and R.Johnson and Sons and Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. for erecting the buildingsfor the manufacture of Hale's and Congreve's rockets are accepted.214
"0" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,752, P. 422. "0' Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,752, P. 424.
o: Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,752, P-547. 203 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 802. 204 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 910. as Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,752, P. 993. 200 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 997. 207 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,531. o8 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,753, P-1,531. 200 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,531. 210 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,531.
211 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,753, P
1,531. 212 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,618. +1+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO]47/2,753, p. 1,669. 214 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,753, P. 1,830.
767
30 May 1855. The tender of Messrs Benjamin Hick and Son for 215
machinery for the paper factory R.L. is accepted. 3 July r855. The tender of Messrs Benjamin Hick and Son for the supply
216
of a crane to the R.L. for the sum of £375 is accepted. 5 July 1855. The tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry for filling in and
217
levelling the timber field at a cost of £595. 1 os. od. is accepted. 20 July 1855. The following tenders for the R.L. are accepted: Messrs P. Fairbanks and Co.: £151 : for shell vices. Messrs P. Fairbanks and Co.: £1,424. 10s. od.: for dies, lathes, etc.218 Messrs P. Fairbanks and Co.: £93. 5s. od.: for lathe, headstocks and
screwing apparatus. Messrs P. Fairbanks and Co.: £99. 8s. od.: for spindle and cutters.2J.9 4 August 1855. The tender of Messrs Kirk and Parry for taking down a
vaulted brick building in the centre of the west quadrangle is accepted.220 6 August 1855. The following tenders for machinery in the R.G.F. are accepted: Fairbairn and Son; P. Fairbanks and Co.; Craven, Grewer & Co. ; Shepherd Hill and Co.; G. Lloyd; Smith, Peacock and Co.;
221
Mackenzie and Colton; Shortridge, Rowel and Co.
8 August 1855. The tender of Messrs Fox, Henderson and Co. to roof over and enclose the east quadrangle at a cost of £3,550 is accepted.222 ro August 1855. James Carmichael and Co. to supply a steam engine to
223
the R.G.F. 20 August 1855. The following tenders are accepted for the R.G.F.: Samuel Worssam: saw benches
224
James Abernethy: steam engine and machinery 20 August 1855. The following tenders are accepted for the R.L.: William Wood: £12. os. od.: for fitting up partitions
E. J. Bellhouse: £65. os. od.: for two rocket moulds
P. Fairbanks and Co.: 1,432: for conical moulds, drifts, etc.
225
P. Fairbanks and Co.: £3,850: for hydraulic presses
23 August 1855. The tender of Benjamin Hick and Co. for supplying226
a travelling crane to the R.G.F. is accepted. 24 August r855. The following tenders for the shell foundry are accepted:
S. Moore: £202. ros. od.: a steam engine Benjamin Hick and Son: for boilers
P. Fairbanks and Co.: £249. 11s. 2d.: for ladles, etc. Messrs Shepherd Hill and Spink: for slide lathes227
:1115 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,893. 21 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 9· :1117 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 34· Sl8 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 205. lilt Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 206. no Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 370. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 393. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 420. 223 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 443· IH Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 541. 111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 543· 1" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 577. H7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,754, p. 600.
768
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
3 September 1855. The tender of E. Smith for fitting five furnaces and pots m the dipping house is accepted. 22s I9 September 1855. Messrs E. ]. Bellhouse & Co. to supply the R.L. with a boiler for £475, an engine for [1,098.%%9
Treasury Sanctions r2 January 1855. The Treasury sanction the expenditure of another 2,335 for the early completion of work in the R.C.n.2ao 26 January 1855. The Treasury sanction the expenditure of415 for the gearmg and shaftmg of the engine now under erection in the R.C.D.2a1 . 7 March 1855. An expenditure of£147 for increasing the accommodation m the R.L. is sanctioned. 2a2 23 May 1855. The expenditure of £2,o15 for the erection of temporary rocket sheds is sanctioned by the Treasury.233 28 May 1855. The purchase of certain buildings adjoining the Arsenal magazmes as a precaution against fire is sanctioned by the Treasury at a cost not exceeding £5,655.234 24 July 1855. 2,075 is sanctioned for the repair of the proof-butt.235 25 July 1855. An expenditure of[goo is sanctioned for the purchase of a framework for the receptlon of canvas in certain R.G.F. sheds,236 3o July 1855. {137 approved for three new cranes.237 3 August 1855. The Treasury sanction an increase of expenditure of £250-£300 on the estlmate for completmg the new offices and workshopfor the R.E. department.238 21August 1855. The Treasury sanction the expenditure of £2,5oo for rcpairing the roads m the Royal Arsenal and for providing a means of
watermg them.239
27 August 1855. The Treasury sanction the construction of a temporary pier m the Royal Arsenal for £850. Also, the employment of another 1 50 labourers m the storekeeper's department.240
1
_October r855_. £7,000 sanctioned by the Treasury for the provision of a smtable establishment for packing small arm and cannon cartridges.241 3 October 1855. The Treasury sanction the expenditure of £i,76o for dredgmg the nver at Woolwich so as to admit of larger vessels lying at
the improved moorings. 242 20 October r855. £505 authorized for building a second floor and glazing the windows of No. 18 storehouse.%4
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 685. a"» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[j7/2,754, p. 854. """ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[7/2,752, p. 163.?"!' Estracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/wO[47/2,752, P. 330. "j Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/wO[47/2,752, p. 8o4. ,, Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,753, P-1,779.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,753, P. 1,852.
"Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/wO[47/2,754, P-244. Extracts of Minutes, Senes II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 259. a+7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, P. 306. 8 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, P. 362. 230 Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 557.
o Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, p. 6i1.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,755, p. 967. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/4j/2,755, P-991.
• Extracts of Mmutcs, Senes II, PRO/WO[47/2,755, P-1,174.
769
24 November 1855. 434. 13s. 3d. sanctioned for fitting up a new dryinghouse in the R.L.244
14 December 1855. The Treasury sanction the expenditure of[1,645 for the erection of a shed at the side of the canal for facilitating the shipment of shell, etc. 245
19 December 1855. The sum off6or. 1os. od. is approved for repairing cranes on the wharf.246
There were two appointments which may be recorded. On 25July 1855 the examination of shell was placed under the Superintendent R.L., the Superintendent R.G.F. being informed,247 and towards the end of the year on 14 December 1855, the appointment of a Manager R.G.F. was sanctioned. The salary was to be £25o
p.a. rising by ro a year to a maximum of£350 annually.248
A rocket explosion occurred at 1I.20 a.m. on Monday 3 December 1855. The accident originated in one of the rocket sheds of the Rocket Establishment and was communicated to a mealing shed adjacent. The ruins took fire and several men were badly burned before they could be extricated. Eight of them were conveyed to the Royal Ordnance Hospital in Woolwich, there being insufficient accommodation at the Royal Arsenal medical establishment to deal with the sufferers. Four men died of their injuries. Henry Stephen Langham, aged 25, foreman of the rocket sheds and John Kirwan, aged 40, a labourer in the mealing house were killed on the day of the catastrophe, and the other two, James Wallace, aged 25, a labourer in the rocket shed and Thomas Holland, aged 4o, a labourer in the mealing shed succumbed later. The inquest was held at the Old Gun Tavern, and the evidence showed that the explosion was caused by the ignition of a Hale's rocket while the putty was being rymed out of the holes in the base. The rymer was a small gouge of steel, and witnesses stated that copper and brass had been tried but would not answer the purpose. About thirty-four Hale's rockets were supposed to have been in the shed which first blew up, and in the mealing shed were about 1oolb. of powder, each of the seven men employed there having 17lb. served out for his day's work.
Looking at this accident through present day eyes, it is obvious that correct danger building procedure was not observed, though in extenuation it must be stated that the sheds were temporary, the work more or less in an experimental stage and the labour raw and only partially trained. During the Crimean War the number of employees in the Royal Laboratory had increased from 200 to 3,500 and this had meant the recruitment ofinexperienced workmen.
244 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,536. 24 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,737. =+6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,755, p. 1,784. 247 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 258. 141 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,738.
770
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
After two days the jury returned a verdict that 'the explosion wascausedbythe use_o~animproper toolin thefinishing ofarocket'. They were of the opinion that due precaution had not been taken in the supervision of the tools in use and also in not providing slippers for th: use of the men employed in the rocket sheds. The
jury also considered that the sheds were placed too close together and that the operations of sifting and finishing should not take pla in the same building. 249 ce
The yea: 1856 was the first in which the manufacturing departments at Woolwich passed under the control of the War Department. Ordnance Estimates came to an end and those for the Army h to be studied for all future development. The Army Estimate ~ve 1856 therefore give details of he new services to be carnied,,,,, within the year. It is true that an attenuated form of Ordnan~e minutes were kept till g1 December 1856. They are not very informative and consist mainly of sanctions for the expenditure of mone . Thus after several centuries this detailed source of information car:e to a close.
The new Works Services for the year in which the Crimean War was brought to an end are fairly comprehensive. The engine of expenditure was not easy to reverse; also as a result of the war and of the evolution of artillery science, the factories were in reality reconstructed. It was a time of revolutionary technique.
The new services were divided under five main headings; the three factories, the storekeepers department and those of a general character.
R.G.F.
(1) Raising present offices; Proof Square, additional story; fittings, etc
£r ,Boo.
(2) Raising stores, east and west sides of Proof Square; fittings, etc.
1,100.
(3) Erecting a building required for a foundry for the establishment of iron ordnance £40,000.
R.C.D.
(1)
Removing the slated roof of smithy No. 36 and replacing it with iron 2,465.
(2)
Closing in the ends of East Avenue; removing the old slated roofs of Nos. 38 and 39 vice shops; also brick frontages; substituting iron columns; raising side roofs and boardmg the underside £5,450.
(3)
Carpenters' shops Nos. 10, II and 12 to be thrown into the Main Avenue {1,500.
(4)
Alterations at the S.W. corner of Carriage Square; boiler, seatingsfor two boilers, and a flue about 24o feet long £1,21o.
"» Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 746.
771
(5)
Erecting a painting shed of corrugated iron opposite the north side of Carriage Square, about 446 feet long and 60 feet wide with columns and girders capable of carrying 8 tons. Total estimate £10,000. To be voted 1856/57 £5,000. Further amount required for completion £G5,000.
(6)
New flooring and altering the back and front of the old saw-mills. Total estimate £,1,650. To be voted 1856/57 £1,000. Further amount required for completion £650.
(7)
Erecting seasoning sheds at the back of the saw-mills. Total estimate £7,500. To be voted 1856/57 £2,500. Further amount required for completion £5,000.
(8)
Three 5-ton and one 10-ton derrick cranes; extension of railway and twelve additional railway trucks. Total estimate £1,720. To be voted 1856/57 £1,200. Further amount required for completion £520.
R.L.
(1)
Altering present offices for manufacturing purposes £2,700.
(2)
DwarfwallandironrailingontheeastsideoftheRoyalLaboratory. Total estimate £1,500. To be voted 1856/57 £4oo. Further amount required for completion £1, I oo.
(3)
Rocket sheds; traverses over the canal exclusive of tramways
£,10,000.
(4) For building a shell foundry. Total estimate £35,000. To be voted 1856/57 £19,000. Further amount required for completion £16,000.
Storekeeper's Department
(1)
Renewing slates and leadwork on the roofs of storehouses, grand quadrangle £2,500.
(2)
Erecting two storehouses at the eastern and western ends of the Grand Storehouses £18,000.
(3)
Painting, papering and repairing offices £1,200.
(4)
Erecting a corrugated iron building near the junk house £3,000.
(5)
Erecting corrugated iron covering for deals. Enclosing timber yard and cabin for the timber master £1,750.
(6)
Erecting corrugated iron roofing for an additional storeroom and asphalting the floor. Total estimate £6,000. To be voted 1856/57 £4,000. Further amount required for completion £2,000.
(7)
Erecting carpenters' and smiths' shops £2,500.
(8)
Erecting a timber jetty 5o feet long and a coal heaving apparatus thereon at Sand Wharf £3,000.
(g)
Renewing piles along the face of the wharf,1,000.
(10)
Renewing pavement on the wharf. Total estimate £2,000. To be voted in 1856/57 £1,383. Further amount required for completion £6 17.
General
(1) Moving the range in the Ordnance marshes to another site and extending it to 3,000 yards in length. Total estimate £10,ro2. Already voted {£1o,102. Already spent £3,000. To be voted in 1856/57 £9,106.
772
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
(2) Reforming the roads in the Royal Arsenal and pitching with
granite. Total estimate {1o,ooo. To bc voted in 1856/57 £6,000. Further amount reqmred for complet10n £4,000.
(3)
Papering, painting and altering six official residences {1,65o.
(4)
Alterations to cadets barracks, schools and reading rooms. also
police messrooms £3,000. '
(5)
Culvert for supplying water to engines £10,200.
(6)
The reservoir on the Common and new fire mains in the Royal Arsenal £13,500. Amount already voted £2,000. To be voted in 18,6/
£1 I,500. 5 57
(7) Extension of model room for the Ordnance Select Committee and
gas fittings £1,088.
(8) Gas mains in the Royal Arsenal lamp posts and the ne k
. , , wgaswor s
proposed to be erected m rear of the proof-butts £12,850.
The above programme shows that large alterations had not 1
b -Idb • onY
een contemplate ut improved. The outstanding features were the erectrnn of the shell foundry and the construction of the gun factories.
The shell foundry, designed by D. Murray, was completed in 1856 at the cost of£55,000. It thus exceeded its estimate by£2
A " 5f if, : '0,000.
pa1r o magm cent gates, designed by Charles Bailey and cast b the Regent Canal Iron Works, adorned its entrance. They bear th: date 1856 and still grace the building though now sadly overshadowed by the Ce:1-tral O~ces. The original turnery was built in 1856 though alterations to its southern side were carried O t · 1874. The _north boring mill was set up also in 1856 and ren,j as built till an extension was added to the N.E. corner in 1915.
The turnery and north bonng rrull constituted the main portion of the Royal Gun Factory constructed for the manufacture of wrought-iron ordnance invented by Sir William Armstrong Th
. . ese
piece~ were known as R.B.L. ordnance. Sir William Armstrong was appointed to take charge of the work under the title of Engineerfor Rifled Ordnance. He was paid £2,6oo p.a. from 1 April 1856260
The T pier, the first of the three piers in the Royal Arsenal to be built, was constructed in 1856. It was extended in 1881. Its approach was reconstructed in 1908 and 1923. The western arm was stren thened in 1918. Redecking and additions to the pier and its appr+
were carried out in 1927. . The retort house ofthe gas factory was set up in 1856 and extended in 1885. Part was reroofed in 1915 and a further extension was
carried out in 1918. New floors at charging and discharging levels were put m 1 1941-43. The gas-holders were erected in 1862, 18 and 1901. The engme-room was built in 1905 and extended in' 191797.
The offices and laboratory were added in 1939. The Telpher track was built in 1918 and extended in 1920 and 1921. =o PRO/WO[32/542 : 80/A/139.
773
The Victoria Cross was instituted For Valour on 29 January 1856. The cross itself was of bronze made from Russian cannon captured at Sebastopol. It was an order of merit for the reward of gallantry of ersons of all ranks in the Army and Navy. The two guns from wh1ch all V.C.'s were made up to World War II were sent to the R 1 Arsenal where they are still on show, mounted on iron
oy:1 ges standing in front of building A. 22. The crosses were made carna ' h. h t ff dkeptin
from the cascables of the two guns w 1C. were cu o . an . . The two pieces of ordnance clearly show this mutilation.
store. th L831b. of
q1
When World War II broke out, t ere was St some 4+$. 'ble' metal in stock The amount in each cross 1s small and no
casca • • H b b •thestore
crosses are issued except duringwar. (owever, a oml in?'house put an end to this 'precious metal, and the practice which lasted for nigh on ninety years has now ceased. . .
Except certain sanctions of expenditure there are only six items
which the dying Ordnance minutes reveal. On 28 January 1856 the
erection of a fence to separate from the Ordnance Select Committee
ound that portion allotted as a small garden to the Superintendent,
f{0 al Gun Factory, was sanct10ned.251 A new clock was purchased
o«de Royal Laboratory on 8 April 1856.3° The Crimean War
tcd in April 1856 and on 15 May 1856 the storekeeper was
term1na e fi h f fire
thorized to supply a sum of {goo to defray the expenses :
o)
au k which had been let off in honour of that event.203 On 22
wor s ,:, , 3li d to convicts
September 1856£22. 7s. 8d. was paid for porter suppli€ _,,
em loyed on earthworks at the new practice range. On 14
N p mber 1856 Captain Henry Clerk, R.A., the Assistant ~nspector
ove, . RC D 255 On 3
R c D was reappointed as Captain Instructor . . • . December 1856 the fitting up of twenty-nine rooms for the Chemist
R.L. was approved. 256 • • The expenditure sanctions during the year were as follows.
1 January 1856. Probable expense of £3,500 sanctioned for removing
the gunpowder from the magazines and convertmg the latter into cart
ridge buildings.%57
1aay i856. 4so6 sanctioned for carrying out the proposed arrange
ments for preparing rockets in the marshes. 258 . •
1o January 1856. [6o sanctioned for removing the paint mill and
building from the centre of the east quadrangle and re-erecting it in the
er Of the building. This was charged to the item of £8,365 voted in
corn . h. 25o
the Estimates for 1855/56 for erectmg a store ouse.
21 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,756, P· 279.
us Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,757, P· 9978
111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,757, P. 1,3I.
=4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,758, p. 857.
2 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,759, P· 1,413·
au Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,759, P· 1,6°2·
111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,756, P· 3·
258 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,756, P· 8.
111 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,756, p. 102.
774
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
II February 1856. A new building for a frame-saw in the R.L. costing
{590 authorized.26o 7 May I856. Expenditure is sanctioned for forming the new boundary between the Royal Arsenal and the marshes by a double ditch with a new entrance gate from Manor Road.261 13 July 1856. The crcction of a new chimney for the Royal Brass
Foundry is authorized.262
25 October 1856. Sanction is given to construct a new pattern room for the Royal Carriage Department. 263
It is a fitting conclusion to this chapter to give a resume of a paper prepared byJohn Anderson, Inspector ofMachinery, on 14January 1857, since it deals generally with the events which have been chronicled up to date. The paper has been printed and is to be
found in the War Office Library.264 When the Crimean War broke out the manufacturing establishments were in a very parlous condition. This arose from a variety of causes, some inherent, others accidental. It occurred partly from the opinion, then entertained both by government and the public, that it was more advantageous to depend on private sources for the supply of war material than to establish large national factories for that purpose, because the regulations in force ran counter to the principles of economic planning. As a general rule manufacture was conducted by skilled artisans with crude unproductive implements so that the quality ofoutput depended on the skill and industry of the individual worker. The great strides which had been made in private factories by the introduction of machinery and the proper allocation oflabour were but little appreciated at Woolwich; and up till 1842, government establishments with few exceptions had altered little since the close of the Napoleonic wars. The effect of this, year after year, without the stimulus of competition from the trade, acted as a soporific and set a low standard for employees generally, both in regard to the quality and quantity of their efforts; and this effect was enhanced by the low and uniform rate of wages paid alike to all classes of artificers, a fact which offered little inducement to good craftsmen to enter government service. In consequence, the years of laissez-faire had engendered a spirit of self-satisfaction combined with an utter lack of enthusiasm for improving tools, processes or methods of production. The foremen were usually men who had been brought up in Arsenal traditions in circumstances little likely to develop that spirit of initiative and enterprise without which no advancement in technique 2Go Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 423.261 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,757, p. 1,301. as? Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/i7/2,758, p. 15o. a 6 a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,759, P. 1,203.
264 General statement ofthe past and present condition ofthe several ma11efacturi11g branches of
the War Department as calledfor by a letter dated 8 May 1856.
775
ADOLESCENCE
could be expected. Contented with the low standard dictated by routine and custom, they carried on with the methods of manufacture in which they had graduated, and not only failed to introduce reform, but were even ignorant of the more up-to-date practices which had been adopted by commercial firms.
Another great defect was the complete lack of system in all government undertakings. This cried out for improvement, but improvements cost money, and the additional expense involved would have been frowned on by the Treasury. Apart from its financial aspect, this absence of method was more difficult to remedy than the want of machinery, for the attainment of a new system depends on the will and co-operation of a number of individuals who, in this case, were engrained in their habits and allergic to change.
However, under the stimulus of necessity, the alterations effected between 1854 and 1856, both in method and machinery, were remarkable and no mean achievement in war-time.
Up to 1842 there were but two steam engines in the Royal Arsenal, nominally of 20 and 12 H.P. respectively. Both of these were in the Royal Carriage Department. In the other factories all power was supplied by horse or man. In that year, the movement for installing new machinery may be said to have begun particularly in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery, afterwards called the Royal Gun Factory. A sum of no less than £619,296 was expended on mechanization during the three years in question, a fact which placed the government factories in the forefront of the industrial world and enabled them to produce warlike stores of a quality and quantity of which the nation could be proud. A wind of reform swept through the Woolwich workshops, sweeping away the dust and cobwebs of sloth and antiquarianism. The best men were recruited and the most up-to-date machinery, regardless of its country of origin, was purchased and installed. Foremen were selected from the most promising men in the department or brought in from outside; nepotism received, a crushing blow. Altogether a new spirit pervaded the factories at Woolwich, and about a hundred men were selected from distant places to 'pep up' the modus operandi and engineer an increased state of efficiency. Another change, rendered possible by the introduction of the machine, was the substitution of unskilled for skilled men in many operations. These workmen of lower category were, under the guidance of a small expert staff, enabled to produce the greater quantity of stores demanded.
The Royal Gun Factory
About I 780, the Royal Brass Foundry, now termed the Royal Gun Factory, was supplied with three gun-boring mills from the
776
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
Hague which remained in constant use till 1842. The ·11
. . . sem1 .s
thoug!h primitive and clumsy compared to the machines of 18 1860, produced good bronze guns and must, when introduced, have been considered the latest examples of mechanical · ·
· d • · engmeenng
and great1y 1n a vance ofthe even cruder type ofmill they r I d
fc ·11h• • 1 • epace
or t, their installation guns had been cast hollow and I '
• hb • • merey
smoo thed 1n t e ore 1n a very inaccurate manner.
There was comparatively little change in the 'Royal Gun Factory' between 1780 and 1842, but after the latter year a series ofimportant developments took place. Up to 1842, the gun-boring mills were po~hie:ed bfy horses, the ~moothing of the trunnions and the external
fi
mist 1ng ot the guns being laboriously performed by hand. During the years 1842-1845 a steam engine and improved boring and other machinery were introduced for finishing brass ordnance. Part of this machinery was purchased and the remainder was made in the department. By this means the manufacture of bronze guns was brought completely up to date. In 1847, the steam engine installed in 1842, was, owing to expansion, found to be deficient in power: accordingly one of twice the size was erected the small b · '
•h 1, '> uter one eing
1d
p ace 1n anotlrer branch of the gun factory. Extra machinery was also brought Into operation. By 1851 the 'Royal Gu F t ,
.h .h n acory was
furrus ed wit steam power numerous lathes and self a ti. ·
run
. . ' -cngmac es
for boring, turning and finishing guns; a complete contrast to the state of affairs prevailmg ten years earlier.
Towards the end of 1852 and the beginning of 1853 the Lancaster S""Pgan to ocPy the attention of the government, and about s tame a new p. ase of extensions and improvements in all three factories began to take shape. In order to carry out experiments with the Lancaster gun, machinery was set up in an old building sufficient to turn out 4o Lancaster shell a week, a demand increased to 100 a
week in 1854. The sum of[25,ooo was expended for thi
d• 1 1 ' 1s purpose.
Accor 1ng y, a arge workshop covering upwards o llf 30
• h b i1 ,ooo square
teet wat! 4 oilers, 7 steam hammers, 4 steam engines, 325 feet of shafting and upward of 4o machines of various ty e b 1
. . p s, was ·uLt
d
uring an exceptionally severe and stormy winter, and opened for work at the end of a couple of months when its capacity d d
• :I, ·d exceete
its st1pdu ate output. The wages costs of a Lancaster shell were 5s. 1I.
Further machines of an improved type and more steam engines were introduced in 1855 as the demand for brass guns and gun stor~s. arose. Establishments were increased to cope with the additional work. Up to 1855 guns had been moulded in loam by first forming a pattern on a spindle and then covering it with an exterior mould of loam. After casting, a new pattern was required for each new gun. This system, which had been in use since 'time
777
ADOLESCENCE
out of mind' was abandoned, and one of sand moulds and metal patterns introduced. The principle of this improvement, which made accurate castings possible by unskilled labour, was fully developed.
The question of iron guns now came to the fore; whether they should continue to be purchased from the trade or made in government factories. It began to be discussed seriously in 1855 and after an impartial investigation it was decided to erect a suitable factory at Woolwich for that purpose. Money for this was granted in the Estimates for 1856/57 and a large foundry and boring mill were put under construction.
The foundry, which was not completed when John Anderson submitted his report, consisted of several divisions under one roof:
(1)
The Moulding Division, 180 6o feet, with four 15-ton travelling cranes.
(2)
The Casting Division, 22o x 6o feet, containing ten wrought-iron casting pits each 20 X IO feet, five of them 1 5 feet and five of them 20 feet deep. The twelve air furnaces were under a shed outside the foundry, running parallel to the casting pits. Above the casting pits were two 25 ton traveiling cranes.
(3)
The Third Division, also 18o 6o feet. In this part of the building the moulds were broken up and the sand ground and sifted by steam power before it was returned to the Moulding Division by railway. Here, also, the guns were trimmed and had their 'dead-heads' cut off and underwent centering so as to fit them for the machinery of the boringmill.
The guns passed by railway to the boring mill, a building 215 X 150 feet. It contained go boring lathes of a heavy type with the necessary apparatus to produce 5 guns daily. The steam engines, nominally of 80 H.P. could work easily at 120 H.P. There were six 15 ton travelling cranes, all of which, as well as those in the foundry, were of wrought iron rails and girders. The finest cast-iron of the day was used in gun manufacture. To effect this object, a special testing machine made at the West Point Foundry, near New York, was used. Cast-iron in this country then seldom had a tenacity exceeding 17,ooolb. per square inch, whereas in America nearly double that figure was attained. The Royal Gun Factory was also equipped with photographic apparatus for recording views of specimens, burst guns, etc.
When all the extensions outlined above were completed, the Royal Gun Factory became an up-to-date department capable of producing I5 brass and go iron guns a week in contrast to 8 brass guns a week prior to the outbreak of the Crimean War.
The main items of machinery in the Royal Gun Factory in 1856 were as follows:
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
13 steam engines (nominally of 350 H.P.)
1 7 boilers (nominally 5 I 8 H.P.)
3,445 feet of shafting
3 steam hammers of 30 cwt.
3 steam hammers of 15 cwt.
1 steam hammer of 7 cwt.
26 cranes
63 machines for turning, boring and finishing ordnance
42 machines for turning and finishing Lancaster shell
1 oo various machines; lathes, drilling machines and planing machines
4 cupolas
32 air furnaces
A metal testing machine
The Royal Carriage Department
Labour saving machinery was introduced into the Royal Carriage
Department from the workshops of Bramah and Maudsley between
1803 and I 8 12. At the close of the eighteenth century an immense
improvement was made in wood-working machinery by the inven
tions of Sir Samuel Bentham and Sir Isambard Brunel. After the
close of the Napoleonic campaigns there was, with the exception of
the steam engine, little machmery added to the Carriage department
workshops till 1845. In that year, although the department contained
two steam engmes, some saw frames, a planing and a few other
machines designed by Brunel, by far the greater proportion of the
work was still being done by hand, but from that date commenced
the modern development of the factory which by 1856 contained
22 steam engines and upwards of 3oo machines (which equated with
the labour of 12,000 men). The factory workshops covered an area
of 255, I 52 square feet.
In 1846, an attempt was made to separate the wood from the metal work, and to arrange the shops in such a manner that processes should be continuous. From 1847 onwards many valuable additions were made, and between then and 1853 were added among other things a rolling mill, 8 steam engines, blowing fans lathes and machines for sawing, planing, morticing and shaping wood and
metal.
The war against Russia made enormous demands on the Royal Carriage Department. One of the first things necessary was to erect a new saw-mill in addition to the original one built in 1811 which was almost worn out. The new mill contained the latest improvements of the day in all kmds of mechanical contrivances for woodworking, including saw-frames large enough to take in a log 5 feet square and a cross-cutting circular saw 66 inches in diameter arranged to cut in a transverse line from one side of the mill to the other. This mill was also provided with power-worked apparatus
52 779
for drawing heavy logs of timber up to the machinery and delivering them on to the trucks between the saw frame. Another important innovation, introduced at the same time as the new saw-mill, was the arrangement for receiving and storing timber. Formerly logs had been drawn from the wharf to the timber-field by horses and again., by the same means, from the timber field to the saw mill. Under the new arrangement the timber was brought up in barges to the head of a canal alongside both the mill and the timber field where, by means of powerful cranes, it was placed on railway trucks and removed by rail to any part of the field. This field was laid out with a number of rails at right angles to the canal, and over the rails were placed a number of overhead travelling cranes, arranged so as to
traverse the whole field, and by this means to pile up the huge logs
in the best position for seasoning, or in any other manner considered
desirable. Before these improvements took place, from 50 to r oo
horses were constantly employed and their dismissal effected a saving
of £6,000 p.a. Railway communication was also made between the
saw-mill, the seasoning sheds and the shops; thus affording econom
ical production. Actually 13,000 loads of timber were cut from log
and converted into gun carriages during the year 1854-55.
Wheels by then were made by machinery, mainly based on the
copying principle and that again introduced economy. The endless
ribbon saws installed in the department were bought at the Paris
Exposition in 1855. A dove-tailing machine was introduced from
America in 1856 and was still in use in 1935. The department also
contained a complete set of American tin-plate working machinery,
rolling mills, forging machines, red-hot cutting saws and many
Nasmyth steam hammers. In addition, there were glass papering
machines and machines for making boxes. In fact, mass production
by unskilled labour aided by machines of all sorts had speeded up
output to an unprecedented extent.
A new harness factory was also built. The building was in the
shape of a church 110 X 45 feet fitted with galleries in such a
manner that all the operations were under the eye of the foreman.
Broadly speaking output in the Royal Carriage Department
increased by some 500 to rooo per cent according to the store
between the years 1852/3 and 1855/6.
The Royal Carriage Department contained in 1856 the following
main items of machinery:
22 steam engines (developing 245 H.P.)
16 boilers (equivalent to 475 H.P.)
6 water meters
4,265 feet of shafting
154 machines (drilling, planing, slothing etc.) for metal work
16 machines for tinmen's work
780
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
I 5 I wood working machines 5 steam hammers 31 cranes
The area of ground occupied by the department was 1,045,440
square feet, ofwhich 255,152 square feet were covered by workshops.
The Royal Laboratory
Considerable vigour was infused into the management f h Royal Laboratory by Sir William Congreve during the later ;ar: ~ the French war, but the methods of manufacture remained· 0
• • • B 1navery
pnnntive state. etween that time and 1853 complete ind".cr
: ·d. th :. unerence
Tc"8"3€" "?_'hat in 1853 the department was in an extremely back-war con lat1on and hardly a credit to the country Betw 8
8 . ' ·. 'een 140
and 153 some machines were installed but the general application of machinery to production was not seriously considered till the latter year. About 1836 a few machines, consisting chiefly of hand presses, were apphed to the manufacture of percussion I
h. . caps.n
18040, machinery made by Mr Napier of London was obtained to make spherical musket balls; and again in 1846 some additi-]
r 11ona
h. 1.
mac/unery tor making percussion caps was constructed in the gun factory. The Royal Laboratory, however, being devoid of steam power, these machines were worked by hand. In 1848, a small high pressure steam engme and a few special tools were add d b
r. e, ut
the manu1actunng power of the department was insig ifi
•h. d; h ncant
notwit. .stan,ling tle numbers employed. When the Crimean War broke out, the condition of the Royal Laboratory can only be described as lamentable· it was 't
• blfd • •• ' qme
incapal"}, " POducing the ammunition required for the fighting serv1ce_s. n y prompt action by the government to rectify this state of affairs saved the country from disaster.
The introduction of the Mini€ rifle had created a demand for an accurate bullet in large numbers: to supply this want a l t f
h. r .c. . pan o
mac 1nery 1or manu1acturmg elongated bullets was made in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery in 1852. This was so successful that MrJohn Anderson was called upon to report on the production of laboratory stores and small arms by machinery. Such a report was accordmgly submitted. This obtained the approbation of the Master-General and Board, who immediately appoit d
. .. . 1nea
committee consisting of Major-General Cater, Colonel Wilson, R.A., Colonel Tulloh, R.A., Colonel Pickering, R.A., Captain Warlow R.A., Captain Collinson, R.E. and Mr John Anderson Ins t '
· d , peeor
of Machi"Y» "9 lraw up a scheme for placing the Royal Laboratory on an et cent tooting. The great changes and improvements which were then brought about in the department may be said to have commenced under 781
this R.L. Committee, since all previous so called changes were of small account. Plans for an extensive manufactory for R.L. stores were drawn up on a scale which seemed extravagant at the time compared with those of former times, but the production units envisaged were not in reality any too large to cope with demands presented during the Crimean War. The best manufacturing ideas of the time, run-of-work, steam heat and illumination by gas were incorporated, and the old buildings were adapted as far as possible. Intervening spaces between shops were covered over with saw-edged roofs containing northern lights so that all operations could take place under cover. The cost of the building and conversion was about 4 per square yard. In the spring of 1854, when the works in question were still uncompleted, the demand for fuzes, shell, tubes, etc. became more urgent. In the meantime war was declared and the question arose: 'How could the supply be furnished since the erection of the new shops involved the demolition of the old?' At this juncture, Captain E. M. Boxer, R.A., undertook to have within two months a factory in operation which would supply the wants of the Service, and to effect within six months a saving sufficient to repay the outlay on its construction. He was therefore entrusted with a sum of£7,150 to fit up a temporary factory in one of the storehouses, and such was the energy and determination displayed, that within the scheduled time this manufactory was in operation with two steam engines, many hundreds offeet of shafting, machines, tools, etc. producing a large increase in ammunition. This well-timed exertion saved the nation from disgrace; stores were provided in such profusion as to meet all the requirements demanded. The savings on a few of the articles produced amounted to over £200 a day, and took the authorities by surprise. This new system of production in the Royal Laboratory cut costs by twothirds.
In the autumn of 1854, the demands for shell rose, and all available foundries in the country were pressed into service. The lag, however, could not be made up. It was therefore suggested that the government should erect a foundry of its own for this purpose. Great objection having been made to this proposal, Captain Boxer and Mr Anderson were able to convince the authorities of the manifest advantage of its adoption.
In the mean time, measures in the Royal Arsenal were adopted to facilitate shell manufacture and a modern foundry at a cost of £10,000 was built which, equipped with latest plant and layout, served as a guide for the technical instruction of contractors. This was so successful, both technically and financially (over 5 a ton was saved) that it was decided in 1855 t0 build a shell foundry in the Royal Arsenal at a cost of£55,000. This foundry was completed
782
THE LAST YEARS AND THE CRIMEAN WAR
in 1856. In this vast shop the fuel and iron entered at one side to be smelted and then flowed on to the casting department. The rough shell bodies were then conveyed by railway to the powerful machinery of the clearung branch, from which they first rolled by gravity to the drilling and bushing department and thence by a suitable rail to the wharf. On their passage they underwent painting. On arriving at the wharf, should the vessel for their reception have been alongside, the shell would hold on their course through a long tube supported on piles, having a platform over it to serve as a path to the other end out in deep water. In this manner the shell could be deposited on a floating barge placed alongside the vessel and at last be rolled gently into the hold through a hole made in the side of
the transport. Hitherto small arms cartridges had been made of several pieces of paper rolled up m a certain form to contain the bullet and the powder. When the self-acting bullet machinery was set to work it became desirable that a similar method should be devised for making cartridges. A new process for making sugar bags was tried and found to be eminently successful after an extensive series of experiments. Thus in 1855 it was decided to erect a paper mill for the manufacture of bag cartridges capable of making 4oo,00o bags,
1.e. 200,000 cartridges a day, the new cartridges being composed of a double bag to segregate the powder from the bullet. Experience proved that it was much cheaper to make the bags in the R0oyal Arsenal than to obtain them from the trade.
When the Crimean War broke out rocket manufacture was at a low ebb, both numerically and technically; it was also extravagant as regards labour, and dangerous in respect to filling. A factory was therefore set up to produce 5oo rockets per day of 1o hours mostly by unskilled labour. To ensure soundness the tubes were made in the department by lap-welding. In this process, the strips of iron were drawn between a pair of fixed knives and thereby chamfered on the edges; the strip was then drawn into the form of a tube by a pair of rollers. It was next put into a furnace and brought to welding heat, when in an instant the joint was welded by a rapidly revolving pair of rollers. The tube was next drawn through knives to have all the fins and irregularities removed from its surface, after which it was ready to be cut to length for the rocket case. The cases were then bored, turned and driIIed by self-acting machinery. The new process saved 3s. per rocket.
Hitherto rockets had been filled by the use of a monkey, an apparatus which consisted of a weight drawn up over a pulley by some six men pulling on a rope. It was so contrived that when at the correct height, the weight or monkey was allowed to fall by gravity, the blow compressmg the rocket composition in the case. This was
783
In connection with the hydraulic apparatus for working the cranes, there was a complete fire-extinguishing system. An iron tank Ioo feet in diameter by Io feet in depth had been erected on the slopes of Shooters Hill about 22o feet above the Royal Arsenal. This was filled hydraulically from the river and formed a reservoir 1n case of fire. The whole apparatus, equal to 30 H.P., could be set to work
pumping water into the fire-mains at the same ~ime. The gas factory was built. Proper roads and iron tramways were set up in the Royal Arsenal. . . . The following is a statement of the expenditure on buildings and machinery between 1853/4 and 1856/7: £130,500
R.G.F. R.C.D. £94,945 £180,432
R.L. Pier and hydraulic cranes £33,500 Reservoir and fire-mains £21,700 Gas works and mains £12,850
Total: £473,927
Upon reading John Anderson's report in full, one cannot fail to be entertained by the evident pride with which he marshals . his facts and by his underlying opinion that the last word in mechanical efficiency had been reached. It is noticeable that enthusiasts of that time held the view quite seriously that the climax of development had been reached, and that little more progress was probable. This is not so surprising in view of the vast strides which had been made as a result of the application of steam power in factories. It must be borne in mind that John Anderson was an interested party.
1
a so l•b ••
He, more than any other person, had been instrumental in olta1ming the increase of mechanization in the Woolwich manufacturing
departments. . . At this point an epoch in the history of the Royal Arsenal closes and another opens. The year 1856 marks its coming of age, being the frontier between the handicraftsman of the past and the mechanic of the future. Outwardly the Arsenal of that day presented much the same scene as the portion west of the canal does today, if we ignore certain obvious factors such as the few later buildings, fashions in dress and methods of transport, but inwardly, what a wealth of difference ! By the end of the Crimean War the Royal Arsenal had become an industrialized centre in the modern sense of the word; it had ceased for ever to be a collection of rural workshops set in a landscape of grassland and trees.
Chapter 18
The Early Years Under the War Office
In the Quarterly Review for January-April 1858 appears an article1 entitled Woolwich Arsenal and its Manufacturing Establishments by Andrew Wynter, M.D. It is a contemporary word picture by a layman of conditions in the three government factories, afterwards known as the Ordnance Factories. It is based on five documents:
I. General statement of the Past and Present of the several Manufacturing Branches of the War Department, as called for by a Letter dated 8 May I 856, presented to both Houses of Parliament2 by Her Majesty's Command.
2.
Fourth Report from the Select Committee on the Army before Sebastopol, with the Minutes of Evidence and Appendix, 1855.
3.
Report from the Select Committee on Contracts for Public Departments, together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, and Appendix and Index, 1856.
4.
The Handbook for Travellers in Kent, Surrey, Sussex and Hampshire, including the Isle of Wight, 1858.
5.
On the Government Factory, Waltham Abbey. By Major Baddeley, Royal Artillery, 1857.
The article was afterwards reprinted in The Curiosities ofCivilization, a collection of essays by the. same author, published in 186o by Robert Hardwick, 192 Piccadilly.
So far as Woolwich is concerned the main inspiration was undoubtedly the report of John Anderson. The gist of the article relevant to the Royal Arsenal is given in the following paragraphs.
As the visitor enters the great gate of the Royal Arsenal he finds no difficulty in tracing the whereabouts of the labours of Andrew Schaich, for straight before him, with a stately solemnity which marked the conceptions of its builder, Vanburgh, stands the picturesque gun factory with its high pitched roof, red brickwork and carved porch, looking like a fine old gentleman amid the factory ranges which within these few years have sprung up around. It is impossible to contemplate this building without respect, for forth from its portals have issued that victorious ordnance which since the days of George II has swept the battle grounds of the old and new world. Up to as late a date as the year 1842 the machinery within these stately old edifices was almost as antiquated in character
1 Article VII. The author's name is not given in the Review.
2 This is incorrect. John Anderson's report was never presented to Parliament. It is not a Parliamentary Paper.
as themselves. The three great boring mills, moved by horses, which had been imported in 1780 as astonishing wonders from The Hague, were the only engines used in England in making her Majesty's ordnance till fifteen years ago.
The Royal Carriage Department has been in a reasonable state of efficiency for the last fifty years owing to the introduction of machinery from the workshops of Messrs Bramah and Maudsley, and of the contrivances of Bentham and Sir Isambard Brunel.
After the Napoleonic wars the three manufacturing departments of the Royal Arsenal dropped into a period of quiet leisure and fell so far behind that when the Crimean War broke out they were not in a position to produce the munitions required. Hence many foreign purchases had to be made; 44,000 Minie guns3 from Liege, 3,000 cavalry swords and 12,000 barrels of powder from Liege, and 20,000 barrels of powder from the United States. Recourse was also had to the trade, but they were unprepared for a large armament programme and costs were high. It is said that shells for the Baltic fleet alone made by private manufacture cost £100,000 more than would have been the case had they been made by the new machinery recently introduced into the Royal Arsenal. Contractors, too, charged 73 a ton for 6 pdr diaphragm shell [shrapnel] in place of £14.
rgs. 2d. a ton, a price at which the Royal Laboratory could produce the same store. The result of this was to convince the authorities that they must expand the productive capacity of the government factories and equip them with the latest machinery. Accordingly a very large number of the best machines were procured from the United States, where the Arsenals at Springfield and Harper's Ferry have long been famous for their admirable contrivances for saving human skill and labour, so that expansion could quickly take place when required by the engagement of additional labourers and boys. Other machines were purchased from the continent and from engineering works at home by Mr John Anderson, Inspector of Machinery. In a short time a powerful factory for munitions of war was set up.
The introduction of machinery on a large scale for ever put to flight the old conservative traditions of the Arsenal and tended to foster the manufacturing as opposed to the military spirit.
The three manufacturing departments of the Royal Arsenal are the Royal Gun Factory (Superintendent Colonel F. Eardley Wilmot), the Royal Carriage Department (Superintendent Colonel A. Tulloh) and the Royal Laboratory (Superintendent Captain E. M. Boxer).
In the Royal Gun Factory, the visitor can see a large lathe turning the outside of an 18 pdr gun, revolving noiselessly and easily. In another machine a piece ofordnance is being bored. A third machine
• Rifles.
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
cuts off the 'dead head' of a cannon. All guns are cast in pits in a perpendicular position, breech downwards, and are made at least one third longer than they are intended to be when finished. The reason for this is that the superincumbent metal forming the 'dead head' of the piece may by its weight condense the portion below it which is to form the true gun. Besides these lathes there are special machines for finishing those parts of a gun which a lathe cannot touch, such as the projecting sight, the trunnions and that portion of the barrel which lies between. Although the size of the Royal Brass Foundry has not been increased, Colonel Eardley Wilmot has succeeded in doubling its out-put since the Crimean War commenced. Fourteen pieces of bronze ordnance, 6, 9 and r8 pdrs, can be turned out weekly. Bronze is used for field-pieces on account of its resisting power being greater than that of iron.
The fine building recently erected in the Royal Gun Factory is for the manufacture of iron ordnance and a testing machine for iron test pieces has been installed. It has been ascertained during experiments with Lancaster cannon that wrought iron rings add considerably to the strength of guns.
The new building for casting, boring and finishing iron guns is both externally and internally the most imposing looking of all the structures erected to meet the exigencies of the Crimean War. The workshops have saw-roof lights and a northern aspect. They are fitted with overhead travelling cranes and the latest machinery,
i.e. turning, boring, finishing, planing, shaping, drilling, slotting and punching machines. When the machinery is finally completed and installed, the foundry will be capable of turning out ten guns of the largest size, i.e. 98 pdrs, per week.
The most interesting part of the Royal Gun Factory is the factory devoted to the manufacture of Lancaster shells. This projectile has a form similar to a champagne bottle and is fashioned from a single sheet of wrought iron. The slab of metal, having been welded into a cylindrical form, is submitted to an ingenious lathe which, acting upon it with a dozen different tools inside and out simultaneously, speedily reduces it to a given weight and a uniform thickness. The cylinder, about 18 inches long and 10 inches in diameter is then heated to redness and while in this state is placed in the grip of a powerful machme which, by a series of blows equally distributed over every part, converts it into the likeness of a champagne bottle within five minutes without the slightest sign of crumpling in any portion of the surface. About forty machines are employed on the manufacture of this projectile and a hundred shell can be turned out in a day. Lancaster shell cost about g5s. each and Lancaster guns in the Crimea were reasonably accurate, attaining a range of 5,000 yards. It was the first rifled gun used in the Service.
789
The Royal Carriage Department is the largest department in the Royal Arsenal. At the present time it employs 3,000 hands, 300 machines and 23 steam engines. The expansion caused by the Crimean War has made it cover 250 acres of the adjoining marshland. The area of workshop space is 255,152 square feet and the whole area covered by the department amounts t0 1,445,440 square feet. This has allowed production to proceed in an orderly sequence from the wharf where the timber and materials are landed to the finished article which is handed over to the storekeeper.
The timber is brought by ship to the mouth of the canal which runs along the eastern boundary of the Arsenal; here it is transferred to lighters which convey it inland to the quay adjacent to the timber field. By means of derrick cranes the wood is swung on to the trucks of the railway which covers the Royal Carriage Department. The trucks when full are hauled to the timber field which covers 20 acres and discharge their burden. Here the logs are deposited in long lines which extend from one end of the field to the other having rail tracks between them. Travelling overhead cranes traverse each row. Before machinery of this nature was introduced 50 to 1 oo pairs of horses were employed in this department alone, all of which are now dispensed with and a saving of £6,000 a year effected.
At the moment, the timber-field holds 60,000 loads of timber. There are supplies of sabicu, a dense East Indian wood used for heavy blocks of gun carriages and maul heads; padouk from the same locality used for similar purposes; iron-bark, an Australian wood; mahogany; oak for wheel spokes; elm for naves for wheels; ash for felloes; and beech for fuzes and the wood-work of saddles. There are other kinds in addition. The logs are conveyed by rail to the saw-mill where the circular saw is 66 inches in diameter. After being sawn into planks of the requisite length, size and thickness, the timber is removed by rail to the seasoning shed which covers 4 acres of ground. Here it is allowed to remain for years, so stacked that air can circulate freely. Certain completed articles of land transport which improve by keeping are also stored in the seasoning shed. Wheels, for instance, are kept for more than two years for seasoning purposes. As an example of the activity which flourishes in the main machine shops of the Royal Carriage Department let us take ammunition and powder cases. Circular saws cut the planks to the required size to form the sides, tops and bottoms of the cases; as these issue from the different machines they are conveyed away on a circular band of canvas placed at right angles to a broader conveyor belt which runs from one end of the shop to the other. Down this belt travel the various components till they reach the receptacle from which they are again conveyed to the machinery which is to put them together. Here the drilling, mortising and
790
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
dowelling processes are carried out speedily and exactly in a wholesale manner. Upwards of 1,000 cedar ammunition boxes are manufactured daily for the use of the Indian Army. The powder boxes
";_° "",X,3,Jasonal in shape or convenience in sowage. ey are line wt! copper or pewter and hermetically sealed with wax. Timber boxes for field artillery are also made here i'n 1
• • Th arge
quantities. e common cartridge barrel is shaped out ofsolid d
woo .
h.
One mac 1ne cuts the oak into staves curved to the correct form. another cuts the edges so that they may fit into a circle; another turns the head; another receives the staves which are placed on end to form a barrel within the grip of a hydraulic press, claps on a hoop top and bottom and with one squeeze completes the operatio It takes about five minutes to make a powder barrel. During t~~ financial year 1856/57, 25,331 powder cases were made in addition to 287,171 ammunition and shell boxes.
Skilled artisans are employed in the production of gun-carriages and trucks except in the wheel department. Teak is used in the construction of heavy gun carriages. Carriages for field artillery are naturally constructed more lightly.
The wheel department is one of the most interesting sights of the Arsenal. Wheels, formerly made by hand, are now fashioned by machinery without the aid of a single skilled wheelwright. The 'copying process' produces the naves and spokes. The circular rim
i.e. the felloes, are cut out of the solid by a ribbon saw imported fron France. The rough felloes are then stacked in a shed by themselves to become seasoned. At the moment there are in store some 60.,000 felloes, 6o,ooo naves with their due complement of spokes. When wheels are required, the roughly hewn components are brought to the shop, finished and mortised by machinery and lightly fitted together. They are then squeezed to shape by means of hydraulic circular presses, of which there are six. Afterwards, the tyre is put on and the wheel is complete. The wheels of guns, limbers and ammunition carriages are similar in size to ensure interchangeability in case of accident.
The Royal Laboratory employs the largest number of workers. The shell foundry was completed in 1856 at a cost of55,000. Here shell are manufactured at £5 per ton cheaper than they could be procured from a contractor. In this factory the old iron scrap of the establishment is placed in a dozen large cupola furnaces with coal, and the heat generated by the blast melts the iron which is allowed to flow into the shell moulds. From the moment the metal enters these moulds the shell, in war-time, never touch the ground till they are landed at their port of disembarkation. The rough shells, after cooling, are forwarded by railway to the cleaning room where they are placed in a revolvmg iron drum, 7 feet long and 7 feet in diameter.
791
The revolution of the drum cleans off the sand and dirt. From this point the shell roll through all the subsequent stages of their manufacture. A slightly inclined plane receives them at the cleaning drum and conducts them one by one to the machinery fixed in the great room of the Royal Laboratory. Upwards of ro,ooo shell a day passed through this shop during the Crimean War, and were, on their passage, drilled and bushed, or fitted with a socket made to receive the fuze. The shell, having rolled through the successive machines which operate upon them, now move on to the painting
department where they receive a coat of black varnish to prevent oxidization. After which the projectiles continue their journey across the open ground of the Arsenal, to the pier, under the platform of which they keep their course inside an iron tube which leads immediately into the barge alongside the transport in the river. From this barge they roll again, through the open port of the ship, to their appointed place in the hold.
The visitor witnesses twenty or thirty most curious operations in the chief factory of the Royal Laboratory. The manufacture of elongated bullets for the rifle affords perhaps the most startling novelty of all. The apparatus used is a great contrast to the old simple bullet mould. Instead of melting the lead it is now just warmed, in which condition it is subjected to hydraulic pressure in a large iron vessel with a small aperture on top, the size of the intended bullet. Out of this hole the metal is driven under pressure in the form of a cord and rolled round an iron reel. The reels are then attached to a machine which draws the lead between its teeth, bites it off to the required size, moulds the cone, depresses the cup and condenses the mass at the same moment. Each machine can turn out 500 bullets a minute or 250,000 a day. To complete the bullet, the cup has to be filled with a boxwood plug to ensure its correct expansion while in the act of leaving the barrel of the rifle. Here again a partially self-acting apparatus is called into play, one lad being sufficient to feed several machines with square rods of wood, the ends of which are embraced by a circular hollow cutter which instantly reduces them to the right conical form and then cuts them off. The plugs are produced at the same rate as the bullets.
Percussion caps are made by placing a sheet of copper beneath the punch of the requisite machine. This punches out small crosses of metal with four equilateral arms. These are now transferred to another machine which doubles up the arms, and at the same time rounds them, so that they form a tube the size of a gun-nipple. By a third operation of the same machine a run is given to the free end to enable the soldier to put the percussion cap properly into the nipple of the musket. The caps are then filled by a skilled operator who sits apart from the boys who make the caps because it is a
792
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
dangerous operation. The detonating composition is fixed in the cap by a machine designed for the purpose. The caps are placed , rows in a frame to which is attached a lever, armed with as many fine points as there are caps 1n a row. The motion of the lever worked by hand, alternately dips the points into a tray of varnish and then into every succeeding line of caps. When the varnish is d the powder is dry and protected from the effects of damp. f,' finished caps are then counted by a boy. A frame is constructed into which fit a number of small trays each pierced with seven holes. The boy then heaps the caps on the frame, gives the machine a gentle shake, and when he sees that each tray is filled he em •
.. p0es
thhe contents into appropriate boxes. In this manner he can quickly count out 75 caps which is the regulation number served to h
•h6 eac
soId1•er WIt o rounds of ball cartridge.
Cartridge bags for small arm ammunition are made by small boys 1n an upstairs room. They are aged from eight to fourteen years d roll up the paper cartridges quickly. Each bag is made up of than distinct papers of different sizes and shapes which have to be #,, adjusted round a roller one upon another. The process consist f rolling, twisting in the end, tying it and drawing it from th s z
The best and quickest boys can earn 8s. or gs. a week. e ro • There are new machines in the room below destined to supplant the children above. They consist of circles of brass tubing with h
•hb • d• sort
upns"; "}P,",2"] in hem. These upright abs or fingers are pierce wit :m.e oles and_ the whole apparatus is attached to an exhaust pump. Worsted mittens are fitted to the fingers and the
circles $gaining,the fingers are dipped into a bah or pulped paper. e air is then withdrawn and the liquid rushes towards the fingers, i.e. to the mittens. The movement is instantaneous Th mitten is then removed from the metal finger and placed on a sin one heated with steam. In ten minutes drying is complete and the cartridge-bag is removed. The idea of this machine was take fr that employed for making conical seamless sugar bags wa,,',' intervention of the paper maker. In a day of o hours, 400,000 of these mechanically made cartridge bags can be made but as h
d.• d ,eac
cartridge 1s compose of a double envelope, one fitting within the other in order to separate the conical bullet from the powder, the product furnishes 200,000 cartridges.
Beyond. the canal at the extreme end of the Arsenal ground lie the establishments devoted to the filling of rockets, friction tubes and fuzes. These were transferred from Laboratory Square in 18
54.
The sixteen houses used for fuze driving and friction tube makin are separated and isolated with earthen traverses. Tm re rocket filling was carried out with a monkey or small pile driver worked by eight men. Now water pressure does the work. The rocket
793
is so fixed during filling that, in the case of an accident, the discharge will fly through the roof. Grit and iron are carefully excluded as in danger buildings. In fact, the whole rocket establishment is laid out on 'danger building' lines.
The different departments of the Royal Arsenal are separated by wide open spaces wherein are stored piles of shot and shell. Iron tramways facilitate the transport of heavy guns. At the moment the Arsenal contains 688,ooo shot and shell in the shot parks. The neighbourhood of each department is indicated by the class of war stores to be seen at hand. For example, lines of guns proclaim the proximity of the gun foundry. Mallet's mortar shells are placed at the entrance of the foundry. Lying around the Arsenal are also to be seen various trophy guns and others of particular interest. In the mounting yard between the gun and carriage factories, the field pieces are mounted on their carriages and fitted up for service prior to their removal to the artillery depot near Woolwich Common. Here also are stored the pieces captured in the Crimean War.
During the height of the Crimean War upwards of ro,ooo men, women and boys were employed in the Royal Arsenal which contained 6o steam engines, 3 miles of shafting and over r,ooo machines. Payment is made by pay ticket which is calculated beforehand by a special staff. The money is laid out on boards divided into partitions numbered consecutively. A corresponding number for each man, with the amount to be given him, is distributed prior to payment. On pay day the workers take their places in single file, arranging themselves according to their numbers, and, passing in front of the pay boards, receive their wages and surrender their tickets which are receipts for the money. No money is exchanged if not brought back before the man reaches a certain point, and in this space there are persons stationed to watch that no exchange of good money for bad takes place.
Police at the gates search odd men as they leave the premises to guard against possible theft. Owing to the increase of production and therefore of staff during the Crimean War, a new town of at least 2,00o houses sprang up in the immediate neighbourhood of the Arsenal.
The above account gives a fair picture of a visitor's impressions of the Arsenal in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Luckily the list of trophy guns and others of particular interest mentioned by Andrew Wynter has been preserved with a description of the same by Lieut. Edgar, R.A., M.A., in the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution. Some of these pieces are still in the Royal Arsenal, others no doubt have disappeared. At the present
4 Volume II, 1861, p. 184 et seq.
794
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
time they lie around in haphazard confusion 'unwept, unhonoured and unsung'. Once, in a more leisurely period they were displayed, but shortage of s1tes owing to new building, lack of interest in the present age and the overwhelming demand for space in two world wars have robbed the collection of any semblance of order.
Facing the Main gate of the Royal Arsenal is a curious brass gun brought from Malta with the date 16o7. It is a very handsome piece, not unlike Elizabeth's pocket pistol at Dover Castle, of length I g feet, in calibre 6 inches and of weight I15 cwt 2 quarters. The muzzle mouldings are ornamented with figures of cherubim in relief, all round. On the 2nd reinforce is the representation in relief of the Archangel Michael spearing Satan, who is falling backwards. On the r st reinforce are three shields; in the first a cross, in the second a cross .and a fleur-de-lis; and in the third three crescents. The breech is ornamented in the same way as the muzzle mouldings. On the Ist reinforce is the inscription:
Ex perpetuo censu super modicae comitatu fudato a Fre Raymodo de VVeri majoricar baivlino, anno 159o,facto anno 16o7, tepore magn coservatoris Fre Michaelis de Lentom
• '
et consignata a Fre Raymodo de Berga Magno conservatore. 5
The gun is mounted a handsome gun carriage bearing the
in
arms of the Duke of Wellington, made in the Royal Arsenal in 1827.
Russian Guns
A Russian brass gun with date 1795. Length 4 feet and h If
•h l'b •h aan
1nc1.; canre 4:75 inches; and weight 6 cwt o.21. The dolphins are two eagles; the vent is in a,sort of lip in rear of the base ring. The 1st reinforce recedes towards the breech like many of the Russian guns. On the gnd reinforce ring is the date:
'1795'
On the I st reinforce ring there is an inscription in Russian.
A Russian brass gun taken at the Redan, 9 feet 4 inches long and 8 inches in calibre. The vent is in a lip in rear of the base rin 'Th
• fc d g. e
rein orce rece es towards the breech. The chase has been struck b a shot. Y
15 Made in the year 16o7, in the time of the 'Grand Conservator' Brother Michael de Lentom, out of the perpetual income derived from the estate of Modica, stablished b Brother Raymond de veri or Majorca, bailiff, in the year 1soo, and re@is}l' Raymond de Berga Grand Conservator The three shields on the 1st • r y
th A f() th Od • rem1orce represent
e rmso I e r er otfs it,John ofJerusalem (2) Alof de Wignacourt, Grand M of the Order, 1601--1622 and (3) Raymond de Veri, Bailiff of the Order. laster
53
795
ADOLESCENCE
Danish Gun
An iron Danish gun, date about 1774. It is broken off at th: chase so that its length and calibre are undeterminable. On the reinforce
is engraved:
C.R. V/16
From Aden
A large brass gun without date brought from Aden. Length I 8 feet 8 inches· calibre 9.75 inches. The vent IS very large. The breech is without a' cascable. There are inscriptions in oriental characters
on the chase and the reinforce.
French Guns
A French brass gun with date 1756. Length 4 feet 1o inches;
3.7 inches· weight 6 cwt 0·17. On the chase 1s engraved
ca,libre 5 > Pb
La Rugissante' and Ultima ratio regum, and on the rei1, nforce urus
• ,h s Then comes the face of a cherub in strong relief; under
nec mpar. • h
neath is a crown and coat of arms. On the base ring appears t e
legend:
'A. Strasbourg, par J. Berenger 1756°
Dolphins representing two fish.
A French brass howitzer, with date 1813. Length 3 feet 3% inches; calibre 6 inches. On the chase is a crown and on the base ring the
inscription:
'Metz le 4 x bre 1813
Plain dolphins.
A French brass howitzer. Length 3 feet 3¾ inches; calibre 6 inches. On the reinforce is the letter 'N' in a wreath, and underneath a crown. On the base ring is the inscription:
'Metz le 23Frimaire an 14
Plain dolphins.
A brass gun, probably French. Length 5 feet 1 inches; calibre 4 inches; weight 12 cwt o.6. On the reinforce the letters J.M-P'. In a scroll underneath 'S.N.Y.' On the chase g. There IS a patch on the Ist reinforce for a sight similar to the usual ones used in
carbines.
• Christianus Rex VII.
7The Roarer.
•
The final argument of kings.
•
Not an unequal match for many.
796
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
Austrian Gun
A brass Austrian gun with date I 733. Length I I feet I inch· calibre 6 inches; weight 62 cwt 1.14. The vent is spiked. The cascable represents a pineapple. The dolphins are two figures of women. On the reinforce is the Austrian Eagle; the letters 'A.R.' and the date 1733. On the base ring are the words:
'Fecit Johann Gottfridt Weinholdt a Dresden' Dutch Guns
A Dutch brass gun, date 1774. Length 5 feet 4 inches; calibre 3·75 inches. On the 1st reinforce is a coat of arms under a crown with a lion rampant. The following motto surrounds the piece: '
' Vigilate Deo Confdentes1o
On the base ring appears the legend:
'Joh Martzfec. Hagae A° 1774
A brass gun dated 1720. Length 7 feet 73 inches; calibre 2·75 inches. On the base ring the inscription:
'Me ficit Jan Albert de Grave, Amsterodami, anno 1720'12 •
Dolphins representing two fish. Two 4.½ inch brass mortars. Extreme length Io½ inches. Underneath 'La Motte'. The mortars are chambered.
From Mauritius
A small brass 7 inch mortar and bed brought from Mauritius. Length about 16 inches. Without date or device. One plain dolphin.
A brass 7 inch mortar and bed. Length about 15 inches. On the chase 'Rohan??. Round the bed the words:
'Barcelona 4 Decembre 179 'Colre de America'
P°
° 180 L°°
One plain dolphin.
From Borneo
A brass gun without date brought from Borneo. Length 7 feet 4 inches; calibre 3:5 inches. The vent is much enlarged from firing. The gun is curiously and handsomely ornamented. There were originally four rings on the gun, now there are three; two on
10 Watch ye, trusting in God. 11 Made byJohn Maritz at the Hague, in the year 1774. 12 Jan Albert de Grave made me at Amsterdan in the year 1720.
797
the reinforce and one on the chase. The other on the chase has been broken off.
A brass gun from. Borneo without date. Curiously and handsomely ornamented. Dolphins representing fish. The external surface as far as the trunnions IS octagonal. Length 8 feet 3 inches; calibre 3 • 5 inches.
A curious brass gun from Borneo, without date. Length 4 feet II inches; calibre I·5 inches. Circumference of the gun just below the swell of the muzzle is ro inches; at the reinforce, at the vent, I5 inches. Circumference of the swell of the muzzle is go inches. There is a ball in the bore. A support IS fastened under the trunnions, upon which the gun would be elevated or depressed.
A brass gun from Borneo, without date. Length 8 feet; calibre 7 inches. There is a coat of arms on the chase. The vent is spiked. There are 4 rings on the gun; two on the remforce and two on the chase.
A brass gun from Borneo, without date. Length 9 feet; calibre 2 inches.
A brass gun from Borneo, without date. Handsomely ornamented. Length 5 feet 1I inches; calibre 1·75 inches. Dolphins representing two fish.
A brass gun from Borneo, without date. Length 7 feet; calibre 3·75 inches. A coat of arms on the reinforce. Dolphins representing fish. The vent is at a great inclination.
English Guns
A brass gun, with date 1719. Length 6 feet; calibre 2·375 inches; weight 4 cwt 2.21. On the chase, in relief, is a shield with a lion rampant surrounded by the motto 'Honi soit qui mal y pense', the whole resting on a double eagle. On the Ist reinforce are the royal arms and mottoes. On the base ring is the inscription:
'A. Schalchfecit, I7 17°
Dolphins representing two fish.
A brass gun, with date 1739. Length 5 feet 6 inches; calibre
4:75 inches; weight 29 cwt 2.19. On the 1st reinforce are the royal arms and mottoes. On the base ring are the words :
'Schalchfecit, 1739'
The vent is spiked. Dolphins representing fish.
798
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
A brass gun, with date 1748. Length 5 feet 6 inches; calibre 6 inches. On the gnd reinforce the letter 'M' under a coronet.13 On the 1st reinforce the letters 'G.R.' under a crown. On the base ringis the legend :
'J. 1748°
and H. King, fee
A brass gun, with date 1759. Length 6 feet 5 inches· calibre 4425 inches; weight gr cwt 1.9. On the chase is a star, then a coronet with a coat of arms underneath; and in a scroll th~ motto:
Aut nunquam tentes, aut perfce?14
Then the inscription:
'The Right Honourable George Sackville, Lt-General and the rest of the principal o.ffi.cers ofHis Majesty's Ordnance'
On the r st reinforce are the royal arms and mottoes and on the base ring the words:
W. Bowen, fecit
1759
Dolphins representing fish.
Two brass guns, with date 1774. Length 7 feet 11 inches· calibre 375 inches; weight offirst 19 cwt. 3.26, weight of second 19 cwt. 2.6. On the chase are the arms and motto of the family of Townshend underneath a coronet.15 The motto is:
Haec generi incrementafdes"1o
On the I st reinforce are the royal arms and mottoes. On the base ring is:
'J. A° 1774'
and P. Verbruggenfecerunt
Dolphins representing fish.
A brass gun, with date 1776. Length 5 feet 1ol inches; calibre 2·25 inches; weight 3 cwt. 0.24. On the 1st reinforce are a crown and the letters 'G.R.' underneath the date 1776.
On the base ring is the legend:
'J. and P. Verbruggenf17
The gun is rifled with two grooves.
13 For John, and Duke of Montagu. Master-General of the Ordnance, 1742-1749.
a The coronet and coat of arms would be those of:John, 1st Viscount Ligonier, Master-General of the Ordnance 1759-1763. The motto reads: 'Either never make an attempt, or accomplish it.'
u George, 4th Viscount Townshend, Master-General of the Ordnance 1772-178211 Fidelity hath 'Yon these honours for our race (the motto of the Townshend family). 11 'ft', a contraction of 'fecerunt'.
799
ADOLESCENCE
A brass gun, with date 1777. Length 5 feet 11 inches; calibre g·625 inches; weight I9 cwt. 0.18. On the chase under a coronet are the arms and motto of the Townshend family. The motto 1s.
'Haecc generi incrementafides'
On the reinforce are the royal arms and mottoes. On the base ring is the inscription:
'J. and P. Verruggenfecerunt A 1777'
Dolphins representing fish.
A brass gun, with date 1778. Length 5 feet; calibre 3·75 inches; weight Io cwt. 0.2o. The gun is exactly similar to the last in its ornaments, arms and mottoes. There 1s a tangent scale attached to
this gun.
A brass gun, with date 1779. Length 4 feet 6 inches; calibre g·7 inches; weight 5 cwt. o.19. On the chase is a coronet and a
5
letter 'T (i.e. Townshend). On the reinforce are the letters G.R.' and a crown. On the base ring is :
'J. and P. Verbruggenfecerunt A° 1779'
A brass gun with date 1780. Length 5 feet; calibre 2 inches;
weight 2 cwt. 2.11. On the chase is the letter 'T' (i.e. Townshend).
On the reinforce are the letters 'G.R.' and a crown. On the base
ring are the words:
'J. and P. Verbruggen fecerunt 4° 1780
There are two brass howitzers made by the Verbruggen brothers in 178o. They bear the usual royal arms, etc. and the letter 'T' for Townshend.
A brass gun, with date 178g. Length 7 feet; calibre 3·625 inches; weight 12 cwt. 1.20. On the chase is a coat of arms uncle: a coronet bearing in a scroll the motto of the garter. Underneath in another scroll is the motto of the Richmond family.
'En la rosejefleuris'18
The Ist reinforce bears the royal arms, a crown and mottoes. On the base ring is :
'J. and P. Verbruggenfecerunt A° 1783'
Dolphins representing fish.
11 I flourish in the rose. 800
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
Two brass howitzers. Length 2 feet 3 inches; calibre 45 inches; weight 5 cwt. I .6. On the muzzle mouldings appear the inscriptions:
'Arva tueri'19
On the chase are the royal arms, crown and mottoes. Underneath in a scroll is the motto of the Richmond family:
'En la rosejefleuris'
The dates ofthese pieces must therefore be between 1783 and 1795.
Two brass guns, with date 1785. Length 4 feet 6 inches; calibre 3·25 inches; weight of first 7 cwt. 33, weight of second 7 cwt. 2.25. On the chase is a coat of arms, a coronet with the motto of the Garter around it. On the 2nd reinforce are the royal arms, motto and a crown. On the 1st reinforce are the royal arms and crown supported by two human figures, men with clubs in their hands. On the base ring appears the inscription:
'P. Verbruggen Voolvici in Angliafudit A° r7857%0
A brass gun with date 1797. Length 6 feet; calibre 3 inches; weight 6 cwt. 0.24. On the muzzle moulding appears the inscription:
'Arva tueri'
On the I st reinforce a coat of arms, a coronet, and the Garter motto. Underneath is a scroll with the motto of the Richmond family:
'En la rosejefleuris'
On the base ring are the words:
J. and H. King, 1797'
Two brass guns with dates 18o1. Length 4 feet 10 inches; calibre of first 3 inches, of the second 2·75 inches. On the chase is the letter 'C' under a coronet with the Garter motto around it.21 On the 2nd reinforce is a group of suits of armoury, standards, etc. in relief. On the I st reinforce are the royal arms and mottoes. There is a wreath of flowers half round the gun, just below the gnd reinforce. On the vent field is the date '18o1' and on the base ring are the names of the founders 'J. and H. King'.
In addition to the above showpieces, there were twelve other guns or howitzers of British make deposited in the Royal Arsenal. One was dated 1805, but the rest were undated. They do not call for any comment and are not worth listing in detail.
111 To protect the fields. Charles, 3rd Duke of Richmond, K.G., was Master-General
of the Ordnance, 1782 and 1784-1795.
20 Cast by P. Verbruggen at Woolwich in England in the year 1785.
11 'C' stands forJohn, 2nd Earl ofChatham, who was Master-General ofthe Ordnance,
1801-1806. 801
Guns cast in the eighteenth century are useful recorders of history. The name of the founder and the date is usually given, and the arms of the Master-General for the time being were emblazoned in nearly all cases on the piece. Thus if the date be omitted, the gun's age can be determined between narrow limits.
One of the first acts of the War Department on taking over the manufacturing departments at Woolwich was to set up a committee, under a minute of Lord Panmure, Secretary of State for War, to enquire into certain excesses of expenditure which amounted to 39,188 on sixteen distinct services.
The works services in the Royal Arsenal were exempted from the arrangement confirmed by Order in Council dated 6 June 1855 by which the superintendence of all works was entrusted to the Inspector-General of Fortifications. They were left at the discretion of the heads of the several departments, viz. the Superintendents of the Royal Laboratory, the Royal Carriage Department, the Royal Gun Factory and the storekeeper. Each of these officials was responsible to the Secretary of State for the works and expenditure in his own department, except for those of a 'general nature' for which they were jointly responsible.
The Committee after taking evidence came to the conclusions that the causes for these excesses could be summed up as follows:
1.
The sums inserted in Army Estimates were not based on any plan or estimate. They therefore had little reference to the buildings actually constructed.
2.
When plans were determined no detailed estimates were made.
g. Contracts were entered into by the War Ofce for erecting the buildings on a schedule of prices, instead of a specific sum.
4.
The only checks, therefore, were the unfounded assurances of Mr Murray, the Building Engineer.
5.
Heads of Departments failed to establish a proper system to see that costs were not exceeded.
6.
The effect of the Crimean War was to make the speeding up of output of paramount importance, and the pressure of work on the Heads of Departments prevented them to some extent from realizing questions of cost. The factories were to a large extent re-eqmpped and the heavy expenditure sanctioned for new works with the proper adjustment of such expenditure to specific votes seems to have given way to the difficulties ofdetermining the costs of production while liberal grants ofmoney were available.
The Committee forwarded their recommendations, which were simplified by the recent decision of the Secretary of State that works in Woolwich Arsenal should revert to the control of the InspectorGeneral of Fortifications. Their report was dated 20 May 1857 and followed commonsense lines; the main recommendations being that no steps for commencing any building work should be undertaken
802
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
without a plan, specification and detailed estimate approved by the Secretary of State. They also suggested that contracts for specified sums should always be obtained. One cardinal point, as under, was
stressed:
The officer should understand that the only sum at his disposal is the amount of the authorized contract, and that any surplus, being the difference between the sum voted and the contract, cannot be appropriated to alterations or additions to the work without special sanction. It should be the duty of every officer to recommend such alterations as will diminish the cost, but savings arising from such should not be applicable
to extras without special sanction.
The Armstrong R.B.L. gun was the first type of wrought-iron ordnance to be made at Woolwich. The Lancaster gun which saw service in the Crimea, was not adopted for general purposes and never became Service equipment. The Armstrong gun was adopted as a result of a report rendered by a Committee set up to recommend the best make of rifled cannon for the Services.
The Committee was constituted as follows:
Colonel W. W. Mitchell, R.A. President Captain W. T. Wiseman, R.N. }Lieut.-Colonel (Colonel) W. J. Smythe, R.A. Members Brevet-Major T. M. Wemyss, R.A. Captain R. J. Hay, R.A.
Captain Andrew Noble, R.A. Secretary
It reported from Shoeburyness on 16 November 1858.%% The Comrmttee stated that they divided the guns brought before them for trial into two classes :
Class I. Whitworth, Armstrong.
Class II. Major Vandeleur, Mr B. Irving, Mr Lynall Thomas, Mr Lawrence and Baron Wahrendorff.
The ordnance in Class II offered such little advantage over the smooth bore gun that the Committee did not recommend any further expense in connection with them.
Of Class I, the Committee asserted that Whitworth guns suffered from the following disadvantages:
(i)
The projectiles had a large and rapidly increasing deviation to the right.
(ii)
The differe_nt forms of shot and shell gave totally different ranges
at the same elevation. The shot was a great deal more accurate than the shell.
(iii) Very careful washing and drying had to be carried out after every round to enable the shot to be rammed home without jamming.
a· PRO/WO/33/6, p. 811.
803
They therefore did not recommend their adoption. On the other hand, they found the Armstrong a definitely superior weapon, more accurate, more powerful and more durable. Its one projectile could be used as shrapnel, case or shot. For these reasons they recommended its immediate adoption for special service in the field.
John Anderson also presented a eulogistic report on the manufacture of Armstrong guns and projectiles.
A Treasury Committee set up in 1861 under the Chairmanship
of Sir William Dunbar23 dealt with the accounts departments in the
Manufacturing Establishments. Their recommendations, which
were adopted, were that:
I. Payments to be made, as heretofore, by Heads of Departments without the intervention of a general cashier or accountant for the Royal Arsenal. A cashier to be appointed to each Department.
2.
Superintendents to be relieved from responsibility for public cash deposited in the London and County Bank, Woolwich; the bank to be allowed by the public IS. per £100 of moneys deposited.
3.
Raw materials to be, as heretofore, in charge of the respective Superintendents.
Even under the War Department the tendency was for each
manufacturing department to retain its complete independence.
Any suggestion of merging them under a common head would in
186o have been received with horror as a revolutionary proposal
unworthy of consideration.
A Committee of officers set up in 186524 under the chairmanship
ofSirJohn Burgoynereported onthegeneralquestionsofmagazines
in the Royal Arsenal. In their first report on Woolwich they
recommended that:
(a)
The filling of Naval cartridge and shell should be removed to the Plumstead marshes.
(b)
Means should be taken to lessen the number of powder barges waiting in the river for admittance to the R.L. canal.
(c)
The Plumstead magazine should be confined to small arm ammunition.
(d)
Plumstead magazine No. 2. The present exclusion of gunpowder should be maintained.
In the meantime it had been agreed that the Woolwich accounts 25
should show the entire cost of production. One Henry Knell wrote an Arsenal guide in 1865. He tells us little of value and the only paragraph worth quoting is as follows:
++ P.P. 169, (1861). 14 Confidential 026g. a Select Committee, Mr Monsell 487 (1863).
804
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
About the year 1855 another branch of the East Laboratory was established on a plot of land near the eastern bank of the main stream of the canal. It consists of a double row of buildings converted into workshops. Here a great number of girls are employed in making cartridges. They work from 7.0 a.m.-5.30 p.m. and arc provided with a substantial dinner for Is. 6d. a week. They are given scholastic tuition on certain days of the week and receive rewards for efficiency and good
conduct.
The window depicting 'Edward III inspecting his artillery' used to be over the door of the foundry in a fan-light.
The hours mentioned above were long for a girl sitting in what was probably an ill-ventilated shop. On 9June 1871 these conditions were changed. Henceforth the hours of attendance of women
employees were to be regulated by the Factory Acts.26 Several hundred women still continued to make cartridges until May 1872 when, for reasons of social and economic well-being, they were all dismissed. Thereafter forty-two years were to elapse before women again entered the Royal Arsenal workshops on an industrial basis.
In r868, the Ordnance Inspection Department at Woolwich which had originally been set up under the Surveyor-General before the transfer to the War Department was abolished and each manufacturing department became responsible for the 'inspection
and proof of the stores it received. On 24 February 1866 it was agreed that a R.E. subaltern should be appointed to the Inspector of Works Department, Royal Arsenal,
as an assistant to Colonel T. Inglis, R.E.,27 and on 30 May 1866 Colonel Henry Clerk was reappointed Superintendent of the Royal Carriage Department for a further five years.28 On 24 September r 866 the provision of a IO-ton steam hammer and go-ton steam cranes were approved for the Royal Gun Factory.29 A shifting house for the Royal Laboratory was sanctioned on 17 December
1866.0 On 29 March 1867 it was agreed that policemen should be employed instead of watchmen in the Royal Gun Factory." The extension of the scrap forge in the Royal Carriage Department was
32
sanctioned on rg Apnl 1867. As certain additional gas fittings had been provided in the Royal Laboratory, arrangements for warming the new cartridge factory were authorized on 2 September 1867. 33 As early as 1867 there was a proposal to close down the
as Woolwich/6/3,914. 7 78/1/169. =8 7o/Gen. No/2,192. + 7,350/14,301. a0 75/14/134. • 24,662/106. ++ 71/6/82. +" 75/14/144.
805
hospital in the Royal Arsenal and transfer the inmates to the
Herbert Hospital34 and to send in future all sick cases to the military hospital on Shooters Hill Road. This proposition was negatived on 22 September 1867,35 and the suggestion had to wait till after the termination of World War I before it was finally adopted. On 21 December 1867, it was decided to apply the Factory Acts to the manufacturing departments which, as a result, were to be inspected periodically by Home Office Inspectors. 36 On 14January 1868 an order went forth prohibiting theatricals in all manufacturing departments.37 Whether acting ever took place in the factories is unrecorded, but henceforth the histrionic art was to be abolished in the Royal Arsenal. Following the usual custom a general holiday was proclaimed on 10 April 1868 so that those workers who had the franchise could vote in the Parliamentary election at Greenwich.38 A revised establishment for the Royal Carriage Department was approved by the Treasury on 18 June 1868.39 Although the paper on which this change was approved has been destroyed, it would appear from the Estimates for 1869 that the alteration consisted of the substitution of one 3rd class clerk for one 2nd class clerk, a decrease of twenty-four writers and the abolition of the posts of engineer at £200 p.a. and draughtsman at the same salary. Although no specific mention of a clothing factory at Woolwich has been made, clothes for the Services and other government departments were manufactured in the Royal Arsenal. It was decided on 7 October 1868 that this factory should be transferred to Pimlico.4o There it remained till after the first World War when the buildings were demolished and the site covered by a vast range of flats known as 'Dolphin Square'. There were always a goodly number ofpublic houses in Woolwich, some of which were close to the Arsenal premises. It might therefore have been a temptation for a worker in the Woolwich factories to have acquired one thereby augmenting his income at the expense of his mates. The authorities naturally took a somewhat dim view of this possibility and determined to prevent it. So on 24 March 1869 it was ordered that employees should not keep public houses.41 It was agreed on I May 1869 that a trial should take place between the manufacturing departments at Woolwich and the trade in
4 Now the Royal Herbert Hospital. a· 7o/Gen. No/2,311.
+6 7o/Gen. No/2,368.
17 75/Devonport/520.
18 70/Gcn. No/2,572.
·8 71/2/2,394.
40 7,634/822.
Woolwich/6/3,452; 70/Gen. No/2,677.
806
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
the production of certain selected stores. The reason for this is not stated but it was no doubt carried out to determine other possible sources of supply and to cut price to a minimum. 42 The resignation of Colonel E. M. Boxer from the post of Superintendent, Royal Laboratory, was accepted on 29 November 1869, bis duties were in the meantime to be carried out by Captain V. D. Majendie, Assistant Superintendent, who afterwards became Sir Vivian Majendie, Chief Inspector of Explosives, Home Office. Colonel Boxer was succeeded as Superintendent, Royal Laboratory, by Lieut.-Colonel T. W. Milward on r April 1870.43 Colonel F. A. Campbell was on 14July 1869 selected to remain on as Superintendent, Royal Gun Factory,
for the time being.44 Eventually his tenure of that appointment was extended till September 1873.45 Application was made for a post of Assistant Manager, Royal Laboratory, but the authorities did not consider such an appointment necessary and refused to implement the proposal on 7 November 1870.46
The Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, was closed on I October 1869 and banded over to the War Department in the following year. It thus became a local outpost to the Royal Arsenal. One effect of this was the removal of the Inspection Branch from the Arsenal to the Dockyard, on 13 December 1870,"7 the post of Superintendent of Inspectors being filled by Mr Lardner.48 He evidently retained it for at least five years because on 11 March 1875 arrangements were made for filling the appointment in case of his death.4o
It was agreed on 14January 1871 that Royal Gun Factory proof parties should in future be paid by the day. Each man was to receive 7d. a day and each N.C.O. 1s. 2d.50 New regulations regarding the entry of foreign visitors into the Royal Arsenal were promulgated on r March 1871. These were evidently unsatisfactory as in January 1886 a committee was constituted to revise the rules.52 A lighter note can now be struck. It was ordered on 3 August 1871 that at luncheons given to visitors, light claret and sherry might be provided but no champagne nor cigars.53 One can only suppose that prior to this instruction official visitors had benefited greatly at the tax-payer's expense.
In 1872, the employees in the Royal Laboratory forwarded a
u 57/Woolwich/8,478. 4· 70/Gen. No/2,889. 44 70/Gen. No/2,846. 4s 7o/Gen. No/8,247. 46 7o/Gen. No/3,140. 47 Woolwich/5/1,237. 48 4,044/28. 4o Woolwich/6/469. 0 73/1/2,807. ·1 7,877/1,615. 6+ 7,877/5,360. • 7,877/1,706.
ADOLESCENCE
memorial to Colonel Milward, the Superintendent, couched in the following terms:
Sir,
We, the undersigned employes in Her Majesty's service in the Laboratory Department of the Royal Arsenal, do hereby memorialise you for a reduction in the hours of labour, which has become so general throughout the United Kingdom-namely, from ten hours per day to nine hours per day and six hours on Saturday, without any reduction in the present rate of wages per week. Provided also, that the piece-work be advanced 10% where necessary. There are many advantages arising from a reduction in the hours of labour, not only to the workmen, but also to
the employer:
1.
A reduction in the hours of labour is necessary, we believe that we, the employed, may have a better opportunity of improving our mental condition, and enable us to rise to the same position, educationally, as the men of other countries, whose education at the present time is far superior to our own.
2.
We, your memorialists, further believe that you, our employer, will be greatly benefitted, inasmuch as you will have men of more mental capacity and physical strength and energy, thereby giving greater satisfaction by increased proficiency in the various branches of trade in which they are engaged.
3.
We, your memorialists, humbly pray that you, our employer, who have hitherto treated us with so much consideration, will grant us the concession we ask. We are not led to ask it from any spirit of dictation, but rather that we may be equal in position to our fellow workmen throughout the country.
Trusting we may have a favourable and early reply,
We beg to subscribe ourselves, Sir, Your Most Obedient Servants July 1872 (968 signatures)
An analysis of these signatures showed that they were made up as follows: R.L., 376; R.C.D. 318; R.G.F. 199; Control Department 49; Gas Factory 4; doubtful 22. Total 968.
At the same time a similar letter was despatched from the employees of the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock.
These two communications reached the Assistant Director of Artillery together with the comments of the Heads of Departments and others. As a result, the Assistant Director of Artillery addressed, on 11 September 1872, a letter to the several Heads of Departments and others inviting suggestions. It recapitulated the demands of the men, namely a reduction of the working week from 56 to 5 1 hours, and an increase of 10% on piece-work prices, and stated that a meeting had been held at the War Office on 31 August 1872 at which the Secretary of State for War and the Surveyor-General of
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
Ordnance were present. The letter affirmed that at the meeting the Rt. Hon. E. Cardwell, the Secretary-of-State, had, as a basis for argument, decided to assume:
(a)
that it was necessary to make some concession
(b)
that it was desirable to make it in some degree~ the way ofpension
(c)
and that a proportion of the men on piece-work should be placecl on the establishment, those so placed being entitled, if they remained, to pension provided they reached a certain standard· failing which they would be disestablished. '
This. demand for a shorter working week, commonly known as The Nine Hours Movement' had started as the result of an agitation among men employed in private industry. This industrial struggle was earned on for many months with a certain degree of success. By the efforts of the Trade Unions it eventually spread to workers in government employ.
Prior to 1855, hours of work in the Woolwich factories were as follows (vide Ordnance Regulations 1855, p. 41, para. 144):
Time of Time of Total
Commencing Finishing March 1st-September 30th 6.oo a.m. 5-.30 p.m. ghrs. 30m. October 1st-October g1st 7.00 a.m. 5.00 p.m. g9hrs. oom. November 1st-November goth 7.30 a.m. 4.30 p.m. 8hrs. oom. December 1st-January 12th 7·45 a...m... 4.··00 p.'.m... 7hrs. 15m. January 1gth-February 13th 7.30 a.m. 4.30 p.m. 8hrs. oom. February 14th-February 28th 7.00 a.m. 5.00 p.m. 9hrs. oom.
The dinner hour was from noon to 1 .o p.m. and 4o minutes were allowed for breakfast. Spread over the year the hours averaged 55 per week.
Under a regulation of 1805 foremen were not allowed to be paid overtime except in cases of great urgency when it was specially authorized by the Board of Ordnance (para. 135). This was rectified to some extent in 1855, for an order by the Board dated 14 March 1855 allowed certain reduced fixed rates of additional earnings to the superintending staff. On 8 August 1855 it was agreed that masters and foremen should be paid according to the scale laid down for artificers and labourers (Art 135).
On 4 October 1855 a 56 hour week was adopted and the working times throughout the years were to be as follows:
M d { 6.o a.m.-8.o a.m. ;n.days to g.o a.m.-1.0 p.m. r1days 2.o p.m.-6.o p.m.
Saturdays f 6.o a.m.-8.o a.m. L 9.0 a.m.-1.0 p.m.
808 809
ADOLESCENCE
No extra time was to be counted until the whole 56 hours had been worked in the week. Every hour over that number was to be paid at time and a half. The men were to be classified and paid by the hour instead of by the week.
Piece-work was introduced in 1856.
Until the passing of the Superannuation Act of 1859, workers in the Royal Arsenal were eligible under Ordnance Regulations for pensions on retirement in certain circumstances. This privilege was abolished by a Treasury Minute of 1861 on the ground that the men were paid 'the market rate of wages'.
Reports were called for in 1868 on the progress of the piece-work system. The Superintendent, Royal Gun Factory, stated that it had gradually extended in his department.
1856-1858 extended to
lo}
1859-1861 >, & of the total wages paid
1862--1864 > ±
1865-1868 » , $ The Superintendent, Royal Carriage Department, reported that the pay of all masters and foremen, who were on day work, had been increased from 5% to0 25% on former rates, so as to place them
in a fair comparative position with the workmen who were individually earning higher wages than formerly. Further reports were called for in 1869 and 1870.
Men serving in September 1872
R.G.F. 932 (250 day work; 682 piece-work)
R.C.D. 1,352 (349, 51,003 3 ,, )
R.L. 2,519 (757 , 51,762 ,, ,, )GasFactory 31(30 ,, , 3 I ,, ,, )
On 8 October 1872, the Assistant Director of Artillery forwarded a comprehensive minute on the above subject to the SurveyorGeneral of Ordnance, suggesting that as the Superannuation Act of 1859 had created difficulties and that as the memorialists were pressing for a decision, the following information might be conveyed to them:
I. Work on Mondays to Thursdays would, after 4 November 1872, terminate at 5.30 p.m. instead of 6.o p.m. thus making a 54 hour week.
II. That the alteration of wages, consequent on this reduction should be left, as usual, to be arranged absolutely by Heads of Departments.
III. That Heads of Departments should be requested to call the attention of the men to the advantages they possess in having holidays, leave with pay, sick leave and medical attendance, all of which privileges the Secretary-of-State for War confirms, and will so far extend as to give them a free holiday on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter Monday.
810
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
The Assistant Director of Artillery also suggested that if the principle of pension be adopted, it might be notified to the men that such a scheme is under consideration.
On 31 October 1872, the War Office represented the case to the Treasury. The former pointed out anomalies which had arisen under the Superannuation Act and suggested that gratuities should be allowed to men of long service as was the custom in H.M. Dockyards, but that this proposal, if accepted, should not be laid down and promulgated, each case being treated on its merits and referred individually to the Treasury. The War Office recommended the slight reduction in hours proposed.
The Heads of Departments were informed on 23 October 1872 of the above proposals which were to be regarded by the men as an answer to their memorial. The Treasury agreed to the shorter week and the reduction of hours was approved with effect from 23 October 1872.54
In 1874, the Gas, Light and Coke Company requested the authorities to remove the floating magazine at Gallions Reach. This request was refused on 4 November 1874.°° On 25 March 1875 the question regarding the legality of concerts in the Mechanics' Institute w~s raised.56 As the file in question has been destroyed it is not possible to give further details. New arrangements for the appointment of a proofmaster of guns and gunpowder were made on 26 February 1876.57 There was a reorganization of the manufacturing departments in 1879,%° the details of which are set out in Appendix VII. In September 1880 payment for overtime worked by labourers was fixed as follows:
Overti~e is to count as time and a half after completing 54 hours regular time per week of 6 days in summer and 5r hours per 6 days in winter.59
In May 1881 a short memorandum on rifled ordnance emanated from the pen of Lieut.-General John Adye, Surveyor-General of Ordnance." Though its contents are not strictly relevant to the Royal Arsenal, they do show the lines upon which, during that period, gun design was developing in the Royal Gun Factory.
Armstrong R.B.L. guns were adopted about 1858 and were used in China in 186o. Heavy 7 inch types were demanded by the Royal Navy. These, t_ogether with 40 pdrs and other guns, were hastily manufactured in large numbers between 1859 and 1862. Up to
4 70/Gen. No/3,392. ·s Woolwich/5/2,46o. 611 70/Gen. No/3,731. "7 73/1/3,605. + PRO[WO/33/34, Pp. 905-918
» Woolwich/6/5884. "
o PRO/WO/33/36, pp. 4o7-41o. After the R.B.L. guns became obsolete, all rifled muzzle-loaders were known as 'R.M.L. guns'.
64 81I
1863, £2,500,000 had been spent on Land and Sea armaments. Although at first sight Armstrong guns gave great promise, they did not live up to their expectations. Serious defects developed, mainly in regard to the breech mechanism, and accidents occurred to both men and material. No R.B.L. guns were made subsequent to 1864.
During 1863-1864 a long competition took place between Armstrong guns, both breech and muzzle loaders, and Whitworth muzzle loaders. The trials cost £35,000 and the general result favoured the muzzle loader. In 1864-1865 another competition of various kinds of 7 inch M.L. guns took place which resulted in the adoption ofthe so-called 'Woolwich M.L. Gun'. In 1866 a committee of 13 artillery officers unanimously decided in favour of M.L. field guns. In 1869 a committee introduced a M.L. field gun. In 1870 two other committees reported strongly in favour of the M.L. field
gun. Heavier types of the Woolwich pattern then obtained, and in 187o the 35 ton M.L. gun was introduced for turret ships. This particular piece of ordnance was known as 'the Woolwich Infant'. At the same time the 38 ton R.M.L. gun was introduced into the Land Service. In 1871 Sir Cooper Key and Admiral Hood recorded their entire satisfaction with the M.L. system of ordnance, known as the 'R.M.L.', and the Admiralty declined to re-open the subject of muzzle loading versus. breech loading ordnance. In 1873, the 8o ton R.M.L. gun was introduced for the Navy. On 2 January 1879, one of the 38 ton R.M.L. guns on board H.M.S. Thunderer burst during practice in the Mediterranean and since this was the time that protagonists were urging the superior claims of the B.L. gun, an avalanche of censure descended on the War Office and its advisers. The offending gun burst in its turret and killed and wounded many men. The committee of naval and military officers who investigated the accident reported that it was due to double loading and not to any defect in the gun. A long enquiry took place followed by many experiments in which all kinds of attempts were made to burst the sister gun brought home to Woolwich from Thunderer. At length, on 3 February 188o the Ordnance Committee repeated the test with the gun double-loaded. It burst almost precisely as had the other thirteen months before. Their report therefore fully confirmed the original finding. This particular 'gunbursting' experiment took place in a specially constructed bombproof cell opposite the proof-butts in the Royal Arsenal. Owing to developments in powder giving rise to larger chambers and longer guns, the question of the B.L. gun became a live and pressing one. Trials to establish its worth under altered conditions were therefore carried out with the results that in 1881--1882 the following B.L. guns were ordered to be made:
812
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE Nature of Gun L.s. 43 ton IO26 ton 8 18 ton WAR S.S. OFFICE
11 ton 8
4 ton 4
Between 1855 and 1880 experim 103 •
guns ofArmstrong, Whitwortl, Pai,"G carried out with de Lancaster, Jeffreys, Rodman, Krup, ,Ynall Thomas B B • he exception of Captain scot@, «" 'andclcur aa 6a.";
. h I ' wasanavl Om, " it
Palliser, w o was a cava ry officer all h a cer ands· W
ill '> the rest > 1r
was not an arti eryman among the E were civilians. Th •
·h' · : :m. venth ere
wic, gun was not an 1nvent10n of Wo . . e so-called 'W
f :.:. ol1wich: it 'Oo11
on the report o a J0mt committee of n. ' was adopted chief from the French type. aval and artillery om ''
. . cen
In March 18842 it was decided that factories should retire at 6o years or.,,"Ployees in he Woo14
h -~1 {e,1.e. WO • 1c
+:.
to apply to t e civi, establishments of th • • circular 114 w ments. 61 In October 188g the working h e manufacturing depa ats
ours ofwrit • r
from 49 to 45 hours per week, but overtin ers were reduced Payment till the ordinary Arsenal workin hme was not to count fo
·h .d . g ourshadb r
During tu.e per1o., some thirty years een reached s2
k . , covered by th. • nay,2,12,,$2,j,re_arid st. T», .",ante,
consisted o: ·uu, angs ort evariousdepat ,int emain
re rments co1 >
with manmacture or storage, the impro nnected either
• fthc : vement and d •
roads the extens1on o tle railways and a . . . rainage of
... .men1ties in
While it 1s not proposed to present a com • genera1.
1
odcrtakings erected or carried out !1""hedule or an ne such a list would make dull reading and p f57_ and 1886, as
rove o little •
the general readder, some of the main build• . Interest to place during the years in question will be setJ proJ_ects which took These entailed considerable sums of mo, ""}n tabular form.
·1 . h Y, an thoseint d
may pursue the deta1 s m t e relevant Army Esti: ereste
:. th; :. stumates. The R
1
Arsenal durmg t 1s time was gradually assumin ". oya western side of the canal, the appearance it w ng, esdpecially on the
ears to ay.
Year Department Works Item
R.G.F. Coal store
1857
R.G.F.
1857 Foundations for two 10 t
hydraulic cranes. Remo
l ~-ton dernck crane from the saw mill to the canal and a foundatiuon
f-p. :
for 'rancis' apparatus for
corrugated iron.
£1,920 " 70/Gen. No/4,631. a 7o/Gen. No/4,735.
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
Cost in 1915. The pier was reconstructed in 1921 and redecked • 1922. The western arm was ag.ain redecked in 1938. • As a,,e p"ier was
eventua11y constructed of iron, the cost rose to £12,000.
Year
1857
1857 1857
1857
1858 1858 1858 1858 1858 1858 1858 1859
1859 1859 1859 1859 1859 1860 1860 1860 1860
1860 1861
1 861 1861 1861 1862 1862 1862
1862 1867
1867
Department
R.L.
General
General
General
R.C.D. R.L. R.L. R.L. General General General R.G.F.
R.L. R.L. Storekeeper's Storekeeper's Storekeeper's R.C.D. R.C.D. R.L. Stores
General
R.L.
Stores Stores General R.L. Proof Stores
General
Stores
Stores
ADOLESCENCE
Works Item
Erecting a shifting house and ticket room to complete the Cartridge Establishment.
Draining roads with iron pipes. Granite pitching and tar pavement to roads. Forming roads in the marshes
and building bridges over ditches. A new pattern room. A dessicating house. A ticket office and shifting house. A barrel shed. Extension of wharf to canal. Forming granite roads. Completing roads in marshes. Railway from gun boring mill
to proof-butt. Painters' shop. Seasoning shed. Cart and wagon store. New magazine Establishment. Gun carriage storehouse. Painters' shop. Extension of seasoning sheds. Rocket case factory. Landing and shipping shed on
the wharf. Railway to shipping pier. Buildings for the manufacture
of empty cartridges. Railway in transit store. Storehouse for cement. Extension of railway. Extension of railway. Proof and examination sheds. Foundations for hydraulic
cranes. Extension of railway. Diverting drainage of the
Arsenal into the Metropolitan Sewer. Pier for shipment of heavy stores.
£1,086 £46,450
£10,000
£6,700 £6,000 £2,000 £1,150 3,000 £72,000 4,00o £6,700
£6,00o 1,400 £3,000 £3,000 £12,000 £6,0oo £5,000 £4,000 £3,000
£8,000
£1,000
£2,250 £1,100 £2,6oo £2,6oo £2,000 £2,500
£1,620
£2,0oo
£6,500
1 1,000
Year
1867 1867
1 867
1 867
1 867 1867
1867
1867 1867 1867 1868 1868
1868 1868
1868 1870
1871
Department
R.C.D.
R.C.D.
R.G.F.
R.G.F.
R.G.F.
R.G.F.
R.L.
R.L.
R.L.
R.L.
General
Stores
R.C.D. R.G.F.
R.L. Control
Control
This pier for the shipment of heavy stores was the Iron Pier which was built in 1868; an extension to the east was carried out in 1870; 1871 1871 R.C.D. R.L.
the western arm was added in 1872. It was strengthened for the passage of heavy guns in 1885. The 200-ton crane was erected on it
814
Works Item
Converting pontoon store into
smithy fitters' shop etc.
Erecting a scrap forge and
erecting therein 3 furnaces 6
forges with chimneys and {he
foundation for a 70 cwt hammer.
A building north of the
Sighting Room for finishing
heavy ordnance and providing
rails for a 30 ton walking crane.
Granite trackways for the
transit of heavy ordnance.
Extension of railway.
Completion of foundations for
13 ton steam hammer, and four
30 ton steam cranes.
Purchase of property outside
the Arsenal for the prolongation
of the rifle range.
New establishment in the
marshes for heavy powder work.
Buildings for the manufacture
of cases for B.L. cartridges.
Boiler house and engine house
at the Rifle Shell Factory.
Hydraulic bridge across the
canal.
Purchases of land and
storehouses for miscellaneous
stores from the Tower.
New offices. Re-building old forges and shops.
Annealing furnaces. Extension of the Iron pier to the east to enable large ships to take in stores alongside.
Re-appropriation of buildings in Woolwich Dockyard.
New smiths' shop.
Extension of girls' factory for the manufacture of cartridge cases.
815
Cost
6,300
£2,600
£4,000
£1,175 £1,000
1,6oo
£15,000 £7,500 £7,500 £3,000 £1,500
£32,500 £5,000
£10,00o £1,000
10,300
£7,500 10,900
£2,700
Year Department
1872 Control
1872 Control
1872 Control
1872 R.G.F.
1873 General
1873 Control
1873 R.G.F.
1874 Control
1875 Control
1875 R.G.F.
1876 Ordnance
Store
1876 Ordnance
Store
1876 R.C.D.
1876 R.G.F.
1876 R.G.F.
1877 R.C.D.
1877 R.G.F.
1877 R.G.F.
1879 Ordnance
Store
1879 Ordnance
Store
1879 R.G.F.
1879 R.G.F.
1879 R.L.
1880 R.G.F.
1880 R.L.
1881 R.C.D.
Works Item
Extension of North Kent Railway to Woolwich Dockyard. The western arm of the Iron
pier added, and machinery. Erection of coal cranes. Forge furnaces and
foundations for a 25 ton steam hammer. Re-arrangement of Water
Supply. Washing establishment. Extension of narrow gauge
tramway. Renewal and repair of caissons, Woolwich Dockyard.
Conversion of the accoutrement store in the Dockyard into an armoury.
Chimney for twenty-four 4o H.P. boilers. Provision of narrow gauge railway. An hydraulic engine with foundations. Extension of north erecting shop. Extending shop accom
modation. New smithy. New forgers' shop and raising
roofs of two forgers' shops in Carriage Square.
New coiling shed. Furnaces and foundations for machinery in connection with heavy ordnance.
Extension of railway. Two hydraulic cranes.
Narrow gauge railway in
Woolwich Dockyard. Pattern room and wood store. Proof-butts; new cell and
railway. Additional carpenters' shop. Two proof-butts to be rebuilt. Enlarge painters' shop. Store for seasoning spokes.
816
THE EARLY
Cost
1881 R.L. £11,000 1882 General £28,600 1 882 Ordnance £7,10o Store 1 882 R.G.F. £9,000
YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
Additional composition buildings. £2,80o New main to circular reservoir.
£1,200
Carriage store at Marsh Gate. £4,000
New boring mill for heavy guns. £6,000
This is the south boring mill, the construction of which com3,000 rnenced in 1882. The building was as follows: £4,200
Bays 1, 2 and 5 north half 1885 I south half 1902
3,000
"
1 and 2 south extension 1912
"
2 and 3 south half 1889
£9,750 " 3 and 4 north end 1882
"
.south end 1912
3
"
4 and 5 south end 1899
£15,000
"
4 south end 1904
"
6 north half 1888£5,000
"
6 south end 1902
"
£15,000 All the
above is known now as Building D. 78. Building D. 79 was built in 1871 and D. 8o in 1914. Portions of the south boring 3,500
mill were damaged by a rocket on 27 November 1944 at 10.05 p.m. in the Second World War, and were rebuilt after the termination of
£1,600
£4,000 £2,000
£8,000
£5,000 £3,500 £1,300
£1,500
£2,000
£2,000 £3,600 £1,500 £1,700 £2,500
hostilities.
Year
1 882
188g 188g 1884
1884
1884 1884 1884
1884
1885 1885
Department
R.L. Ordnance Store R.C.D. General
Ordnance Store R.C.D. R.G.F.
R.L.
R.L.
Ordnance Store R.C.D.
Works Item
Extension of tailors' shop. Accommodation for military
store wagons and carriages. Turners' shop. Provision of fire main and
hydrants. Conversion of a boiler house
into a store. Erection of completing shed. Accommodation for steel
foundry.
Accommodation for the manufacture of cartridge cases for rifles and machine guns.
Shell foundry. Erection of iron shed for moulding plant and steam boiler house.
Fuze store. Extension of new turneries.
817
Cost
1,100
£6,000 £2,500
£1,000
£2,80o
£1,200
£1,850
£3,000
£4,000
£5,670 5,000
Year Department Works Item Cost
1885 R.C.D. Pattern shop and gauge makers' room. £3,000
1885 R.G.F. Tool store for boring mill and turneries. £1,500
1885 1885 1885 R.G.F. R.G.F. R.L. Shed for locomotives. Extension of South boring mill. Dessicating house on Frog Island. £1,500 £10,000 £1,700
1886 General Extend firemain to rocket
factory, mixing sheds and new fuze store.
1886 1886 Ordnance Store Ordnance Powder case and cylinder store; also coopers' shop and carriage store in the marshes. No. 1 Magazine. Erect buildings for machine gun ammunition. £4,700 1,400
1886 1886 1886 1886 R.C.D. R.C.D. R.G.F. R.G.F. Extension of Erecting Shop. Tin and metal shop. Boiler repair shop. Proof-butts-two additional £4,500 £1,300 2,10o
1886 1886 R.L. R.L. bays. Extension of torpedo factory. Shell foundry. Extension of steel manufacture. £4,000 £16,000 £1,000
1886 R.L. Frog Island. Building saw mills and boiler house. £5, 7°0
In the above table, the year denoted is that in which the project first appeared in Estimates. In most cases the work was spread over several years. The cost quoted is the estimated cost.
In addition to these works services mentioned, there was the original laboratory of the W.D. Chemist, a building of two stories in the colonial style with verandahs. It was designed in accordance with the views expressed by Sir Frederick Abel and was erected in 1864. This building is now known as B. 47. Various extensions were added in 1885, 1903, 1913 etc. The adjoining buildingB. 46-was constructed in r8g0 and a second floor added in 1903. When the new offices and laboratories were built on Frog Island for W.D. Chemist in 1936-1939, the original building, B. 47, ceased to be the headquarters of the department. It was afterwards handed over to the Armaments Inspection Department. The radial crane (D. 73) was erected in 1876 and was roofed over in 1891. A new crane was installed in 1939.
The Danger Buildings were set up as follows: E, Old lyddite factory 1877 E,-E,-Cartridge, fuze and primer factory-I goo 818
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
E5 -Cannon cartridge factory 1867
E, -H.E. Establishment-1906
E, Cap and Detonator factory 1896.
Between the years 1856 and 1886 there were six serious fires and explosions in the Royal Arsenal culminating in the vast rocket catastrophe of 1883. Considering the nature of the work carried on and remembering that safety precautions were not so well organized in the nineteenth century as they are now, this number is not perhaps unduly excessive, though like death on the roads every accident in an explosives factory can be traced to the human element, i.e. lack of care, the wrong tool or method used, or ignorance of essential procedure.
On Tuesday 6 May 1855 at a quarter past seven in the evening an explosion occurred in one of the newly-erected corrugated iron sheds in Laboratory Square. Twenty-one persons were working in the shed at the time preparing turbillon rockets when one exploded probably from the heat generated by the rymer used to bore holes in the composition. Fortunately the doors were hung on mdia-rubber hinges and opened outwards, but nine men and three boys were injured and taken to the Royal Ordnance Hospital. One of these, William Powell, died ten days afterwards, and at the mquest, which was held at the Old Gun tavern, it was explained that he was working at a lathe on a 1olb. turbillon rocket when it ignited. and set fire to a quantity of illuminating stars and 1oo bags of squibs each containing 2oo. .
The Jury sat for two days and at the inquest Captain E. M. Boxer, Superintendent Royal Laboratory, said that steel was in his opinion the best metal for boring as it had to cut through paper and would not involve so much friction as a tool which was less keen. He agreed that the steel rymer got hot during the operation and that the men had frequently to be cautioned to cool it in water. He also said that many new hands had been put on to prepare these fireworks. Mr William Tozer the foreman of the composition sheds, gave similar testimony and stated that the men had a fair day's work to do, but
were not overtasked. .
The jury returned a verdict: 'That William Powell died from
injuries received by the explosion of a turbillon rocket, upon which
he was operating with a tool or drill, and the Jury deeply lament
that an operation attended with so much danger should be earned
on in a shed where so many articles of a combustible nature are
being manufactured; and the jury strongly recommend that men
only of known skill should be employed in these dangerous
operations.'63
83 Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 747-748. 819
A second explosion, also in Laboratory Square, took place a short time afterwards. It occurred on Saturday 17 May 1856 in the percussion cap composition shed, the two victims being Mr William Flack, the foreman, and a workman of the name of Taylor. The same jury investigated this case. . . .
Captain E. M. Boxer was the chief witness at the inquest and described the composition and the work. He said that the shed was close to his office, but he left the work entirely to Mr Flack who had fifteen years experience and his explicit confidence. Captain Boxer described how he entered the shed to speak to the foreman ten minutes prior to the explosion. He admitted the work was dangerous but not more so than many other filling operations. He could not account for the accident; there were not more than 30lb. of composition in the shed at the time. Captain Boxer announced that this and similar processes would soon be moved from Laboratory Square and carried on in future in isolated buildings east of the canal. The
jury expressed satisfaction at this announcement and returned a verdict of 'accidental death'.@4 The next explosion with its accompanying fire took place at
10.50 a.m. on Saturday 5 October 1867. This was a tragic happening as the victims were mainly boys and the accident, if it may be so termed, was due to a deliberate act of folly. Familiarity, no doubt, does breed contempt and Walter Figge, either from a sense of bravado or a longing to see what would happen, became responsible for his own death and that of four of his companions. The scene of the conflagration was in the East or Lower Laboratory on the 'island' formed by the canal in the eastern part of the Royal Arsenal, and the buildings were a number of cartridge sheds of the usual type, about 6o feet by 30 feet, and 3o feet apart. All were built of brick with corrugated iron roofs and the whole was surrounded by a
high wall. .
In building No. 6, fifty-five boys were at work making blank cartridges for the Snider rifle. Work benches ran round the walls, while other benches were arranged cross-wise, and at all these the filling and crimping of the new Boxer cartridge were taking place. The cases contained a percussion cap, fixed in the base, and the boys, supplied with compressed pellets of powder, filled the cases and crimped the mouths by a tight squeeze of the hand. Little powder was allowed in the shop but some pellets got broken, and there was about 32lb. of loose powder altogether, exclusive of that
in the cartridges already filled, few of which actually exploded. The presence of a percussion cap in the base of each cartridge introduced an element of risk, but it was not considered that these
" Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 748. 820
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
could be fired without a violent blow, and such a blow was extremely unlikely unless it was intentionally administered.
The explosion originated in a corner to the left of the principal door and in this corner twelve boys were at work. There were only a few pellets in front of them and many of the other lads had ceased work for it was close on closing time for the week-end. Suddenly a sharp crack was heard followed by a rumble of small explosions as fire ran round and across the benches. Windows were blown out and doors were blown open, but unfortunately gaslights inside the building were fitted in such a way as to prevent the doors from opening outwards fully. The boys tried to escape from the inferno and some did get out uninjured. In all, half of them received burns and twenty-four were taken to the Arsenal infirmary. In the shop were two overlookers, a storekeeper and William Brown, the foreman, who did gallant work in rescuing the casualties. He dragged several boys to safety and did not leave the burning premises till every lad had escaped into the open. The workmen outside tore off the smouldering canvas from the sufferers, some of whom were badly burned. The lack of accommodation at the infirmary was painfully demonstrated by this occurrence, and brought home to the·authorities the need for its enlargement. This subsequently took place. There were only nine beds, some of which were already occupied by patients. These were at once sent home and with the aid of bedding from the Herbert Hospital, fourteen victims of the disaster were finally made as comfortable as possible, the remaining ten being attended in their homes.
Three deaths occurred within the first day or so and two more boys died later. Their names were Walter Figge, Hubert Newby, Garret M'Callaghan, Henry Thomas Webb and Charles Keightley.
At the inquest which occupied several days and was adjourned from time to time the first witness was Colonel E. M. Boxer,
' .
Superintendent of the Royal Laboratory. He described the operation on which the boys were engaged. He said that about sixty million cartridges were manufactured a year, and that since the accident the doors and windows had been made to open without hindrance, and that the workpeople had been supplied with woollen instead of canvas garments.
William Brown the foreman stated that he heard the snap of a
''
cap at the end table and saw the powder ignite. He called out 'fall down' and fell himself, on his face. By this means he escaped injury but afterwards got burned in assisting the boys out of the shop. As the injured lads recovered they were seen by thejury in the infirmary and gave their evidence. The most important witness was a lad named John Lee, who had made his deposition before Mr Trail, the magistrate, while under fear of death. He said: 'I was standing
821
at the end of the shop, and Pigge stood on my left. I can tell you how the explosion occurred. Pigge took a mallet and hit the cap. It did not go off and he hit it a second time, when it went off. He said first of all that he was going to hit the cap and I said "Don't hit it, Pigge." The cap which he had struck had fallen out of one of the cases.'
Dr Briscoe said that Pigge was badly burned all over and was the first to succumb. Other evidence, tending to corroborate that of Lee was adduced, and the jury, on I 3 November, returned the following verdict: •
That the deaths were occasioned by an explosion caused by the act of Walter Pigge, who, with a mallet, struck and caused to explode a percussion cap, but the jury believe such act to have been not maliciously done. The jury regret that the means of egress from the building were to a great extent impeded by the erection of fixed gas appliances outside the doors of the building; and in conclusion they hope that better hospital accommodation will be as soon as possible provided.65
Seven years were to pass before the next serious accident occurred. This was not due to gunpowder or fire but was caused by the bursting of a compressed air chamber. The 'fish' torpedo, designed by Whitehead, a Scottish engineer, had only recently been invented and the government, impressed by its powers of attacking and crippling ships, had purchased the patent for a sum of £50,000. Its secret was preserved with the utmost vigilance and trials took place in the early seventies in the short length of the Arsenal canal near the Middle Gate, a shed being erected over a small jetty to conceal the launching mechanism. All that could be seen from the bank was a steel body, twelve feet long by one foot in diameter, darting through the water like some monster shark, though it was well known that the motive power was supplied by a pair of engines in the body actuated by compressed air. The current practice was to charge the torpedoes with air at the Royal Laboratory and transport them on trucks to the canal range. On Saturday 24 January 1874, this hadjust been done and the torpedo was lying ready for discharge just inside the launching shed. Suddenly the compressed air chamber exploded with a loud report. A young man, Herbert Edward Baker by name, who was standing in the rear, was carried twenty yards away, and one of his legs with part of his body was blown into the timber field fifty yards behind. By the grace of God, his was the only death. A man named Fishenden was, however, seriously injured and several others were wounded. Many had marvellous escapes; in particular, Mr Miller, Chief Engineer, R.N., who was in charge of the trial. The cause of the accident was a weakness in the front
4 Records of Woolwich, W, T. Vincent, vol. II, PP. 749, 750.
822
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
wall of the air chamber which gave way under a pressure of 1ooolb. per square inch, though it had previously undergone pressure experiments at 1200lb. per square inch. The hinder part of the torpedo was found forty yards in rear.
t_the inquest, which was concluded on 2r February 1874, Mr Fishenden and other injured men gave evidence. Mr Miller Mr R. Low and Colonel Milward Superintendent R L al ' appeared as witnesses. The jury returned a verdict of 'Acid,j
Killed.s 'y
A gun-cotton explosion occurred at 4.30 p.m. on Monday 24May 1875 in the Cap Factory (formerly the Paper Factory), a building lying between the main R.L. workshops and the Chemical Establishment. Experiments with the use of gun-cotton as a filling for H.E. shell had been carried out for some years As a fill' 't
d.. .. •mgI
was use_ m its wet state, bemg forced into the projectile under a hydraulic press. Charles Young, the foreman, and Joseph Walstow each aged about 4o years, were flling the shell in question, a 7 incl Palliser shell weighing 1 r2lb., when it burst. It was shattered into fragments. Gun-cotton in those days was considered a harmless explosive when wet; if brought into contact with a flame it would only smoulder and it could be cut to shape with an ordinary handsaw. To detonate it, it had to be set off by means of a detonator and a primer of dry gun-cotton. For this reason the shell filling operatuon was not considered to be particularly dangerous. Young was killed on the spot and Walstow died next morning. A third man named Barton, who was at the press, was also hurt, but not dangerously. It was extremely lucky that other persons, of whom there were forty-eight on the floor of the building and a hundred
on the floor below, escaped injury. The inquest was held at The Royal Oak, New Road, on 25 May 1875, Mr C. J. Carttar being the coroner.
At the inquest, Barton, who was about fifty years of age, said he was attendmg the hydraulic press under Walstow's orders. Walstow had put some pressure on in ramming the gun-cotton into the shell and said to Young: 'This drift does seem to go down.' Young answered: 'See how your pump is leaking.' At that moment the shell detonated. The drift was a steel bar fifteen inches long and one and a half inches in diameter. Mr Robert Pollock, foreman of the small-arm branch, Royal Laboratory, stated that the work was under his charge; he thought it possible that the drift had been overdriven. Sir Frederick Abel, W.D. chemist, said he found some of the granulated gun-cotton on the floor, and that it was in a wet state and uninflammable. He believed, however, that the drift had squeezed the moisture out of some part of the gun-cotton in the
08 Records ofWoolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 751.
823
projectile, and also created friction within the shell, which would
have engendered great heat. In such circumstances the gun-cotton
would ignite and smoulder, but gas and steam would be generated,
and, the shell being completely closed by the drift, pressure would
pile up and the projectile ultimately explode. Only three shells in
all had been charged, but the compression of gun-cotton into
primers had been carried on in the room below for ten years without
any ill effects and the thought of danger was not present.
Colonel G. H.J. A. Fraser, Superintendent R.L., said that such
operations would in future be conducted elsewhere.
The jury returned a verdict that the explosion was accidentally
caused by the friction of the drift, and added that sufficient care
was not exercised in the manipulation of gun-cotton, and that the
practice of carrying out such operations in a building containing
more than a hundred persons was most reprehensible. 67
Before the advent of the two world wars, a day ever to be
remembered in the annals of Woolwich and Plumstead was that of
the great rocket explosion. In the nineteenth century such an
experience was unprecedented, but alas the Second World War
brought about conditions night after night which made the happen
ing of 188g seem almost like a firework display compared with the
bombing of 1940-1945.
The event occurred in the Rocket Establishment on 24 September 188g. It was a day of peril, marvellous escapes, terror and anxiety. For over an hour a shower of Hale's war rockets descended upon houses, gardens and open spaces, and swept the neighbourhood in all directions. Yet in spite ofit, only two persons, Richard Stevenson, an adult, and Arthur Edward Garlick, a lad, lost their lives.
An eyewitness of the event reported as follows: It was 10.0 a.m. or, perhaps, three minutes after the hour, as I passed the Marsh gate within a stone's throw of the principle cartridge factory on the outskirts of the Royal Arsenal. I was startled by a hissing and whistling sound, which could only have arisen from the flight of a large rocket, and looking up, I saw the missile whirling on high, leaving its path below marked by a coil of white smoke. Instinctively the eyes of all beholders were turned towards the rocket factories, a series of long and strongly-built brick sheds or workshops, extending by the side of the canal down the practice range towards the proof-butts, and from one of these, almost the most distant, a cloud was seen to rise, while at almost the same moment a dull report, as of a slight explosion half smothered, reached the ear. Universal excitement instantly prevailed, for everybody who knew the Arsenal knew also that a burst never takes place in any of these hazardous works without consequences dire and threatening. Policemen ran to their telegraph stations and sounded the alarm, and the workpeople, throwing away their tools, hurried to the spot to help. Running
•7 Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, p. 752. The Kentish Independent.
824
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
down the canal bank past a number of the cartridge and rocket factories, with the men and boys at the doors, dazed and frightened and uncertain what to do, we saw the flames burst through the roof of Factory No. 16, and the work-people were bringing up a fire-engine along the raised wooden platform which runs from shed to shed all through the congeries
of workshops. We could see that the building on fire was the one used for painting, stencilling and packing the rockets, in which building two or three men only were employed except in busy times, and that lying broadside to it was another similar factory, used chiefly as an armoury and workshop by the men employed on the rifle range. Simultaneously with the flight of the rocket we had seen in the air, several others which had been lying on the work bench had, it transpired, gone off point-blank, and as two men who were known to have been employed in the painting process were missing, it was at once concluded-that they were past hope. The persons in the adjacent armoury, barely forty yards distant, had a narrow escape, for several of the rockets struck that building, and almost the first one went through a window at which the foreman, Mr Buchanan, was sitting at his desk, passed within a few inches of his head, and flew straight out through the opposite window. The inmates of this armoury, at the risk of their lives, took out with them all the explosive material there deposited and threw it into a ditch out of harm's way. As many of the live rockets afterwards entered this place, its destruction and the further spread of the niischief were doubtless arrested by these prompt precautions. At first the extinction of the fire was the only apparent concern, and the engine was brought close to the burning building, into the doors and windows of which men and boys were throwing pails of water; but as the fire spread new explosions occurred, rockets began to fly through the roof and walls on every side, and the men were ordered to take the engrne behind the solid brick-work of the armoury, and wait till they could hope to do some good without the certain peril of their lives. The people on the bank of the canal also took flight and sought cover where they could, and for three-quarters of an hour no one but the most foolhardy would have thought of standing on open ground anywhere within a mile of the burning factory. Every two or three seconds an explosion was heard, followed perhaps by a flight of mere signal rockets, of which no one need have any fear, but quite as frequently by the whistling overhead of a great iron Hale's rocket, sometimes at a great height, sometimes low down and close to the terrified spectators. There seemed to be hundreds of them going to all parts of the compass, but chiefly, I thought, into the town of Plumstead. One of the earliest I saw, well poised upon its axis, shoot along the course of the canal quite near to the water, break through some garden fences, and rebound from a paved roof to the top of the Arsenal wall, whence it projected great blocks of masonry into the windows of Mr Parker, grocer, and fell exhausted on the tramway line in Plumstead Road. Many flew across the marshes, and some into the river. They fell like hail upon the stores and workshops of the Royal Arsenal, to the extreme danger of its thousands of artisans, and many more reached distant parts of Woolwich. This we heard from breathless arrivals as we
825
stood in groups by the side of our chosen cover, looking on at the quickening flames and ready to hide at every warning. A sergeant of artillery, with a coolness begotten of practice, was endeavouring to convince his hearers that there was perfect security in walking about provided you watched and dodged the coming shells; but although he remained a living example of his doctrine, he made no converts.
One of the rockets fell near where we stood. It was a 24 pdr of the usual kind; an iron case with an ogival head and a twisted tail. Rockets of this kind carry no sticks to balance them, as the explosive composition in rushing out behind (the three vents being prolonged in the shape of curved shields) secures the rotation of the projectile and some degree of accuracy of flight. Not very many, however, flew straight, as they might have done if fired in the ordinary way from a tube or trough; most of them spun over in their course, and by such as knew the proverbial eccentricity of rocket fire, even under favourable circumstances, the jeopardy in which they stood was not the least felt. The proximity of the gasworks, which were several times struck, was the cause of some anxiety, and the various magazines in the Marsh fields, including the cannon cartridge factory, only half a mile away, were sources of anxiety to the officers of the Laboratory Department, but it was afterwards learned that to these scarcely any damage was done. Superintendent Hindes and Inspector Keevil were seen to arrive early with a large body of police, and they went forward with extreme caution. In all directions the sight of men throwing themselves upon their faces to escape the threatened peril was at intervals to be seen, and the police creeping along under the shadow of the platforms towards the point of danger were really brave men carrying their lives in their hands. Several times the building described as the armoury was on fire, and each time it was extinguished by a daring effort, and more than one man had his hair and whiskers burnt by the fierce fire of the passing rockets. A greater wreck than this armoury presented to the view when the fire abated it is impossible to conceive short of its utter destruction. The fire in the other factory had
burnt itself out by eleven o'clock, and then the bodies of the two unhappy victims were discovered, the one inside the building, and the other midway between that and the armoury, whither he had doubtless been blown by the first explosion. Both must have been instantaneously killed.
The narrowest escape occurred at the Plumstead Road Board School. Several of the pupils were sitting at a desk Just where the missile came hurtling through the wall, but all were unharmed. Teachers and scholars, however, were greatly alarmed and the school closed down for the remainder of the day. A second rocket fell on an outbuilding in the school-yard. A spectator at North Woolwich saw a rocket, weighing about 28lb. and 18 inches in length, come across the river and bury itself three feet in the ground. On looking towards the river he saw about twenty more rockets thrown to a great height and then fall back into the Thames. One rocket buried itself in the gardens of the North Woolwich Hotel,
826
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
and another penetrated the wall of No. 6; Elizabeth Street. One reached the height of Artillery Place at full speed and scored the wall the Royal Artillery Barracks; one went through two or three
of
Palls into the counting house and shop of Mr Paine, draper, High treet; and many were found in places far from the scene of the explosion. One was dug out of two feet of earth in the garden of Mr Hanson, dairyman of Plumstead Common into which it was
set •h .c.• '
en .o p1tc after passing over St Margaret's Church: and another travelling still further, crossed Plumstead Common and descended into a field belonging to Mr Jeans at Wickham Lane. One was found on government land in rear of the Royal Military Academy, near the Shooters Hill Police Station. It must have flown directly over the Academy buildings and was quite two and a half miles from the rocket factories. Another broke through the wall of a house in Keemor Street, and numbers, never recovered, fell in other parts. . The mquest on the bodies of the two who lost their lives was held in the Town Hall. Lieut.-Colonel W. R. Barlow, Assistant Superintendent, represented the Royal Laboratory and Sir Frederick Abel, W.D. Chemist, was also present. There· was a full enquiry but the cause of the explosion remained unexplained. The jury returned an open verdict.os
A Hale's rocket, bent and twisted which was recovered from the explosion, was for many years on exhibit in the Model Room.
Development had naturally taken place in every phase of warlike equipment during the years 1857-1886, but the most notable achievement was the supersession of the smooth bore bronze gun by larger and more powerful pieces of rifled ordnance. Breech loading cannon were the first choice, but owing to difficulties in obturation these soon gave way to muzzle loaders. The modern type of B.L. gun commenced to take the stage towards the end of the period.
A glance at the organization and administration of the manufacturing departments at Woolwich since the War Department assumed control will not come amiss. In the main, the old tradition of complete independence inherited from the past persisted, and though staff had increased to keep pace with new techniques, the conditions ruling in 1886 were very similar to those of thirty years earlier. There were as we know three factories henceforward to be
' ''
designated 'Ordnance Factories' and finally as 'Royal Ordnance Factories'. These were called the Royal Gun Factory, the Royal Carriage Department and the Royal Laboratory, where guns, carriages and ammunition of all kinds, including pyrotechnics, were made. Each of these three factories was under the control of a military Superintendent assisted by a civilian manager acting under
4» Records of Woolwich, W. T. Vincent, vol. II, pp. 753-755.
ss 827
his orders. It should be made clear that although the Heads of Departments were serving officers, the posts were classed as 'civilian' and had been so since the days of the Board of Ordnance. Military officers had been, and were, always appointed on the grounds that the salaries offered by the Treasury were insufficient to attract the right kind of civil engineer. Each department was entirely independent of the others and each Superintendent had absolute control of the factory under him, and a free hand in its administration provided he did not exceed the financial sum allotted him. The Superintendents, who were appointed for five years only, were responsible through the Director of Artillery and Stores, to the SurveyorGeneral of Ordnance who in turn was responsible to the Secretary
'.
of State for War for the supply of all warlike stores and equipment to the Army, whether produced in government factories or purchased from the trade; and for all fortifications, barracks and buildings of every kind. The Surveyor-General, to effect this purpose, controlled five Heads of Departments. These were:
The Director of Supplies and Transport (Vote Io) The Director of Clothing (Vote I I) The Inspector-General of Fortifications (Vote 13) The Director of Artillery and Stores (Vote g) The Director of Contracts
The Director of Artillery and Stores being responsible for the supply, manufacture and repair of armament stores for the Land and Sea Services.
The factories at Woolwich thus came under the immediate control of the Director of Artillery and Stores.
Each factory designed in drawing offices, under the charge of the managers, the articles it manufactured. It also tested, inspected and passed its own manufactures as well as similar articles purchased from the trade. The only exception was gunpowder. Ordnance was proved in the Royal Gun Factory and S.A.A. by the Royal Laboratory. Superintendents and managers devised the requisite tests except those for steel forgings which were framed on the recommendations of the Ordnance Committee.
It must be again stressed that the three manufacturing departments at Woolwich had no connection with one another. They were as separate in being as if they had been situated in different parts of the country. In fact, they seldom communicated with one another on official matters. They had separate accounts, separate stores and separate clerical establishments. They had no common scale of wages. Their common subordination to the Director of Artillery and Stores was their only bond, and this in practice did not amount to much.
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
The Royal Gun Factory in 1886 produced all natures of ordnance larger than the 1 inch Nordenfelt gun which was made at the Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock. It also made a certain quantity of steel for the manufacture of guns. The steel plant consisted of a 6-ton and ro-ton furnace in operation and a 3-ton furnace under repair. There was in addition a 15-ton furnace which had recently been removed and was under reconstruction.
The staff consisted of a Superintendent, an Assistant Superintendent, a Captain Instructor, and two Captain Inspectors; all military officers; together with a Manager and Principal Clerk. In addition, 1,870 foremen, writers, men and boys were employed. The money allotted to this factory in 1887/8 was £272,445 from Vote 12 and £g1,257 from other votes.
The Royal Carriage Department in the same year had a staff consisting of a Superintendent, an Assistant Superintendent and a Captain Instructor, all military officers. In addition there was a Naval Inspector, a Manager and a Principal Clerk. The number of employees was 2,255, consisting of foremen, writers, skilled men and labourers. The money allotted to it was {285,514 from Vote 12 and 419,742 from other votes. Under an arrangement which had recently been completed, the Admiralty charged Naval Estimates with the cost of all naval gun carriages and repaid the cost of the naval carriages made in the Royal Carriage Department. This appeared in Annual Estimates as an appropriation in aid ofVote 12•
The Royal Laboratory provided the ammunition for.guns .and small arms, all pyrotechnic stores, torpedoes and submarme mmes. It had a large wood-working department in which the bulk of the carpentry work for the Army was performed. It had one nommal 6-ton steel furnace, though its output could never exceed three tons a day. The staff consisted of a Superintendent, an Assistant SuPr, intendent, a Captain Instructor and three Captain Inspectors, a
I; pr: : I Clerk and
m1 Itary officers, together with a Manager, a rmcipa
68
5,834 foremen, writers, men and boys. In 1887/88 a sum of£790,75 was allotted to the Royal Laboratory from Vote 12 and £17,759 from other votes. .
At this time the cost of guns and ammunition, including gun
' • th Army
powder, supplied to the Royal Navy was still borne on e Vote. .
Although it was not strictly a manufacturing department, that is to say it did not contribute directly to the supply of warlike "9"" for the Services, there was a Gas Factory in the Royal Arsenal. ;s was managed by a civilian Superintendent, who also acted as t e Inspector of Machinery. In this latter capacity the Superintendent of the Gas Factory had charge of the hydraulic and other machinery used in the Ordnance Store Department and elsewhere in the
829
Arsenal exclusive of machines used for production. He had about sixty men under him.
The military staff at Woolwich were drawn exclusively, except the R.E. officers in the Works Section, from the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and were normally those who had successfully passed ~he Advanced Class. Appointments were held for five years following normal staff practice in the Army, at the end of which the holders, unless promoted in the factories, returned to regimental duty. As a rule the higher appointments were given to selected oficers who had served in the factories in some Jumor capacity. The Secretary of State for War had power to extend the tenure of office for two or even for five years, but this power was seldom ~~ercised except in the case of Superintendents. As a general rule, military ofcers were made to vacate their appointments in the factories on reaching their normal retirement age in the Army, though they could be allowed, although superannuated, to complete the term of their appointments.
The salaries of military officers in 1886, which included all military pay and allowances were:
Superintendents £950 p.a. and a house. Assistant Superintendents £500 p.a. and a house.
Captain Instructors and} £400-£500 p.a. with a house or lodging Captain Inspectors allowance.
The duties of these officers were as follows:
Superintendents were, subject to the general control of the Director of Artillery and Stores, supreme in their departments. Provided they did not spend more money annually than was allocated to them, they had practically a free hand in administration. This, no doubt, was not the original intention, but in practice the Director of Artillery and Stores was far too busy with his other duties to exercise the effective supervision over internal factory administration. The Superintendents thus assumed almost complete responsibility for running their departments accordmg to their own ideas. They were responsible for the work carried out, they appointed and promoted officials at their discretion, they decided all rates of pay, they personally supervised and sanctioned methods of manufacture, and recruited and dismissed labour on their own initiative. They were in fact dictators within their factories; the entire business being
under their sole authority. . .
Assistant Superintendents took complete charge of the factories in the absence of the Superintendents, but in general their main function was to examine and inspect all articles made in the factories,
both during production and after completion. Captain Inspectors were mainly concerned with proof and inspection.
830
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
Captain Instructors had charge of the numerous classes of officers, N.C.O.'s and men who .received instruction in the Royal Arsenal. Such classes included the Advanced Class, then referred to as the Senior Artillery Class, the Firemasters' Class, and various classes of artificers and armourers. In 1886, there were over 150 soldiers under instruction at the Royal Laboratory. In addition to his teaching duties, the Captain Instructor in the Royal Carriage Department also passed the timber purchased in various parts of the country.
Clerical Staff. The principal clerks had under them three or four junior clerks, who like themselves were appointed and held their offices under Civil Service regulations. They were War Office clerks and functioned under the same conditions as their clerical brethren in Pall Mall. The salary for a principal clerk was £450-20-£650
p.a. The subordinate staff consisted of a cashier, storekeepers, timekeepers and writers. The writers, appointed by the Superintendents, were not subject to Civil Service rules. They were in most cases selected from men and boys employed in the factories.
The principal clerk and his subordinates conducted the office business of their particular department. They kept both the work accounts and the cash accounts. They checked the work or the time of the men and paid the wages. They had charge of all departmental stores, raw material and semi-manufactured articles made in their specific factory. They were responsible for the receipt and issue of all items committed to their charge. They prepared annual estimates and balance sheets. In short, they had charge under the Superintendent of all clerical and financial business of their department.
Technical Sta.ff. The managers, who received £500 p.a. and had houses attached to their jobs, were invariably civilians. In 1886, all the managers, except Mr Edmunds, Manager, Royal Gun Factory, were on the establishment. Mr Edmunds was on what was known as 'the wages list'. The difference between these two classes of managerial appointment was as follows:
A manager on the establishment was appointed by the War O~ce. His salary was to be found in the Estimates and was regulated according to certain fixed rules. He had certain privileges which were laid down like other established persons. On the other hand, a manager on the wages list was taken on in the same manner as any other employee. He had no security of tenure and no fixed term of service. He could be discharged at any time by his Superintendent without reference to the War Office. His salary was fixed by his Superintendent.
All the managers at that .time were pensionable either because they were on the establishment or under the Superannuation Amendment Act of 1873.
The selection of managers was not limited to any particular class. They could either be brought in from outside and appointed as 831
new entrants, or be promoted from subordinate positions. Usually,
however, they were government servants of long standing who had
graduated up the ladder. . .
There were six assistant managers at Woolwich, three in the
Royal Gun Factory, two in the Royal Carriage Department and
one in the Royal Laboratory. Their salaries ranged from £304 to
£343 p.a. Except for the Assistant Manager, R.L., they were on
'the wages list'. .
Each of the managers had under him, in addition to foremen of
various grades who were in charge of the shops, a staff of draughts
men and writers; and in the case of those of the R.C.D. and R.L.,
a metallurgist as well. .
The managers, subordinate to the Superintendents and subject to
their control, had charge of actual manufacture. They had drawing
ofRces, in which the designs of stores were prepared, under their
jurisdiction. They organized production, and were responsible to the
Superintendents for the proper sequence of processes and operations
and for proposing the right machinery for effecting the purpose.
They submitted piece-work prices, day ratings and all questions
regarding the entry and discharge ofworkers to the Superintendents.
They framed the estimates of the costs of all manufactures; they
tested and passed all raw materials received into their factories.
Although all men employed in the Ordnance factories were taken
on and discharged under the authority of the Superintendent, that
official almost invariably acted on the advice of his manager.
This was one great departure from the pre-War Department era
when no labourer, however humble, could be recruited or dismissed
except by the Board of Ordnance itself.
Up to 1861 a certain proportion of the labour recruited was borne on the establishment and those who were in that privileged position were entitled to superannuation. In that year the Treasury abolished the ruling and so those eligible for pension on retirement became a dying class. There were only about ten per cent remaining in 1886 and by the opening of the twentieth century all must have disappeared.
The regulations in regard to wages varied in each department though they were generally similar in principle. In all cases men had five paid holidays in the year; Queen's Birthday, Coronation Day, Good Friday, Christmas Day and the annual beanfeast. The Royal Arsenal was also closed on Bank Holidays, the time being worked up so that no loss of earnings would occur. All workers in the Royal Arsenal were, under War Office regulations, entitled to sick pay after 3 years service, when they received half-pay for one month. When they had been employed for ten years or over this sick pay was increased to three-quarters of their daily pay for a
832
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
month, or in special cases for two months. In cases of injury received during work, injury pay up to a maximum offull pay for three months was paid to men prevented by their injuries from attending work. The regular working week in 1886 was one of 54 hours.
All employees had a daily rating entered against their names in the books, which, if they were employed on piece-work, regulated their holiday and sick pay. It also enabled a comparison to be made between the amount they would have earned on a day rate and that which they actually obtamed on piece rates. Most men at Woolwich were on piece-work, very few being paid by time rate except foremen, highly skilled mechanics employed in difficult work such as pattern and gauge making, and unskilled labourers mainly employed 1n transportmg stores and articles to and from the shops.
There were no uniform regulations governing wages, applicable to the factones as a whole. Rates varied from 20s. to 26s. a week for labourers, 30s. to 37s. 6d. a week for mechanics, and from 2 guineas weekly for the most highly skilled operatives who were rarely employed on piece-work. A piece-work price was placed on each article produced, or on each operation through which a store passed before completion. These prices were so fixed that an average employee could earn about a third more than his daily rate. Should this ratio vary, it was the duty of the Superintendent to adjust the piece-work prices accordingly. Where several men were engaged on a job, the system of fellowship piece-work was adopted, but individual piece-work was applied whenever possible. Overtime was not calculated on a uniform system. In the Royal Gun Factory, all time worked in excess of 54 hours per week by day, or 48 hours per week by night, was paid as time and a half. In the Royal Carriage Department, overtime was only paid on piece-work after 12 midnight; then half the men's day rate was added to the piece-work price. Principal foremen were not paid overtime, and foremen were paid at ordinary and not at overtime rates. Wages, as before stated, were checked and paid by the principal clerks and their subordinates. Timekeepers were under the principal clerks and not under the managers, so too were the work-takers except those in the Royal Laboratory.
Every man in the Royal Arsenal deposited a brass check bearing his number each time he returned to his shop, i.e. three times a day. In this manner it was possible to discover absentees, but to prevent any irregularities, the time-keepers visited the workshops and took note of the employees present. Under this double-check system, the time of each man was ascertained and recorded. Work-takers were also engaged in the shops noting the order on which each man was employed and recording it against the number every order bore. The day-work wages on each type ofjob were extracted weekly from
833
the time-keepers' books which showed the order or orders upon
which every workman had been engaged, and the aggregate number
ofhours he had spent on it or them. Piece-work wages were abstracted
from the work-takers' books and checked by the storeman's weekly
returns of piece-work articles delivered into store, and from the
managers' certificates of work done but not delivered into store.
The amount of piece-work and day-work wages thus ascertained
was posted weekly into the wages abstract book under each order,
and at the end of the month the total expenditure of wages was
posted in the cost ledger which showed the amount of material
as well as that of direct wages expenditure on each order. The
amount paid in wages by the cashier and the amount calculated
independently by the Work Accounts Branch were thus bound to
agree.
Stores required by the factories were purchased by the Director
of Contracts on the requisitions of Superintendents. The latter
furnished the specifications drawn up by the managers, and recom
mended certain firms from whom in their opinion the articles should
be obtained. In special cases, two or perhaps only one manufacturer
was placed on this contractors' list, but the Director of Contracts had
the power to add the names of other firms if he so desired. However,
he never exercised his discretion in such a matter without first
consulting the Superintendent concerned.
There were four methods of purchase adopted by the Director of
Contracts: (1) Public or advertised tender, (2) Limited tender,
(3) Broker, and (4) Private purchase. The first was rarely adopted because the articles required were special in their nature and it was the duty of the Director of Contracts to acquaint himself with the names of the firms who specialized in such articles and who would wish to be asked to tender. The third was confined to the purchase of non-ferrous metals, saltpetre and certain types of foreign timher. The fourth was only resorted to when the stores wanted were obviously monopolies.
The second method, limited tender, was thus the normal method of purchase; a few firms only being asked to tender. The materials or stores having been obtained, were delivered to the departments, and these, after examination and test by the managers and their staffs, were handed over to the storekeepers under the principal clerks. The manager's branch was responsible to the Superintendent for quality and for seeing that the goods were up to specification. The storekeepers were responsible for quantity and ascertaining that the numbers agreed with those stated on the contracts. Payment was made to the contractors on the storekeepers' vouchers. Superintendents and their managers decided what tests should be applied to purchased articles, except steel forgings, the tests for which were,
834
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
as before mentioned, framed on the recommendation of the Ord
nance Committee. The Superintendents had departmental chemists
to test materials, but they constantly referred to the W.D. Chemist
when they considered such a step necessary.
The materials, having been passed into store, were issued to the shops for manufacture on the requisition of the foreman sanctioned by the manager. During manufacture, articles were returned to store after each operation and reissued to the shop in which the next part of the process was to be carried out. Large bulky articles were merely entered in the store-ledgers without bodily transportation into store. At each stage of production the piece-work price of the work performed was recorded and communicated to the Work Accounts Branch.
In order to obtain the total cost of a store or piece of equipment manufactured in the Woolwich factories, indirect expenditure, known also as overhead charges and on-costs, had to be added to the wages and the cost of the raw material.
The principal items of indirect expenditure were:
(a)
Salaries of officials, foremen, writers and others which were not charged to direct wages.
(b)
All materials (coal, oil, etc.) which were not charged to direct material.
(c)
Engine-power, shafting, etc.
(d)
Maintenance of tools and machinery.
(e)
Sick and holiday pay.
(f)
Cost ofWorks Department, building, repairs, maintenance ofroads, sewers and services generally.
(g)
General charges, i.e. fire brigade, police, water, gas, schools, etc.
The total indirect expenditure was levied as a percentage on the direct labour charged against each order in the cost ledger of each factory. In 1885 it amounted to forty-eight per cent on direct wages. It was a figure, of course, which varied with the amount of production. The less the output, the greater the overheads.
These three items, viz. direct labour, material and indirect expenditure, formed Balance Sheet No. I in the Accounts of the manufacturing departments presented annually to Parliament. As, however, this account, which omitted depreciation and capital expenditure, did not allow a fair comparison to be drawn between the cost of stores manufactured by government and that of the same articles made by the trade, another form of statement, called Balance Sheet No. 2 was instituted in 1846. This included a charge (which was rateably distributed on the results shown by Balance Sheet No. I) to cover the estimated depreciation of buildings and machinery, and interest on invested and working capital, calculated as follows: Depreciation on buildings 5%, depreciation on machinery
835
10°1 interest on invested capital 3l%, and interest on working
/o> di )
capital (which was taken at one fifth of the annual expen iture 3%. In the annual accounts, the cost of each separate article, however small, made in the factories was given, calculated both on No. 1 and No. 2 Balance Sheets. .
These factory accounts were audited by a War O[ice official entirely independent of the manufacturmg departments. He was not responsible for the manner in which the accounts were kept, except in so far as advice was concerned. His functions were those of an auditor. and as such he signed them and was responsible for their presentation to Parliament. In this capacity he always examined the double-entry books month by month and demanded any explanation that he might require. He also from time to time checked the accuracy of the storekeepers' accounts of materials by taking stock of some selected article or articles, and comparing the results with the amounts shown by the books in which receipts and issues were entered. At the end of the year he compared the cost of the principal items with that given in previous years and called attention to any marked discrepancies. This was a valuable check on any attempt which might have been made by the departments to lower the cost of some particular article at the expense of some
others. Finally, as has been briefly stated, each department designed the articles it manufactured and then inspected them as well as exam1ning similar articles bought from contractors. This inspection and proof was carried out by departmental .officers, partly by the managers and finally by the Assistant Superintendents and CaptainInspectors, the latter under the Superintendent being independent of the manufacturing branch. Each factory mspected its own products except gunpowder which was proved by the Royal Gun Factory and small arms which were tested by the Royal Laboratory. Though possibly not strictly relevant to a history of the Royal Arsenal, it might be of advantage at this point to outline the manner in which the stores required for the fighting Services were obtained annually. In point of fact, the system in vogue in 1886, was much the same in principle as it is today. The main Ordnance Depot, in fact the Headquarters of the Ordnance Store Department, was during the period covered by this chapter, situated in the Royal Arsenal. It had grown out of the old storekeeper's department of pre-War Department days. The head of the storekeeping branch at Woolwich, which was quite distinct from, and independent of, the manufacturing departments, was the Commissary-General of Ordnance. This officer received into his custody all stores produced in the factories as soon as they
836
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
were passed fit for service by the Captain Inspectors, as well as all articles bought from the trade after acceptance by the factory staff. He then forwarded them to their destinations. He had charge of all such stores deposited in the Royal Arsenal, the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, and at Purfleet. In addition to acting as a kind of Storekeeper-General, he gave all orders to the manufacturing departments in the form of Extracts, i.e. extracts from letters addressed to him by the Director of Artillery and Stores.
The Commissary-General of Ordnance was in communication with all Ordnance stations at home and abroad in regard to their wants in the matter ofstores. In the autumn of each year he received from officers in charge of such stations a consolidated annual demand in which, so far as could be foreseen, provision was estimated for eighteen months. These demands were checked and, ifin accordance with Equipment Regulations, the necessary issues were made by the Commissary-General without reference to the War Office. Should the demands be irregular, however, the Commissary-General asked for an explanation or referred them to the Director ofArtillery and Stores. These annual demands from Ordnance Stations formed the basis of one part of Vote 12 of the Army Estimates. In addition to the consolidated order prepared by the Commissary-General of Ordnance for the manufacturing departments, a large number of supplementary demands, which had not been foreseen, were usually presented in the course of the year. In 1886, for example, no less than 4,000 extracts were given to the factories by the CommissaryGeneral. Supplementary demands, especially in large numbers, were not welcomed by their recipients. They tended somewhat naturally to upset the rhythm of production.
Vote 12 was composed of three parts. One, the annual demand of the Commissary-General of Ordnance which was reviewed by the Director of Artillery and Stores. Two, the land armament which was settled by the Defence Committee and approved by the Secretary of State. And three, the establishments, machinery and building estimates for the manufacturing departments. The latter were discussed on the spot by the Surveyor-General of Ordnance and the Director of Artillery and Stores who visited the factories annually for that purpose. Finally the demand for naval ordnance was sent
in by the Admiralty. The total amount of Vote 12 having been settled to everyone's satisfaction the money voted was distributed under certain subheads between the manufacturing departments and the trade. The vote for the factories was again subdivided under the heads of establishments materials and machinery. No accurate account of the expenditure as between Land and Sea Services was drawn up, and within the limits of the vote it was open to the War Office to
837
appropriate the money allotted to each department, to such purposes as were considered most urgent and fitting. Any variations of the actual expenditure were of course shown in the Appropriation Accounts which were examined by the Auditor-General and by the Committee of the House of Commons on Public Accounts.
After all such questions had been decided, the appropriations in aid, including the repayment services, were considered. Repayments were made by India and the Colonies for stores furnished to them, calculated on the basis of Balance Sheet No. 2; and by the Admiralty for gun-carriages (there was then no repayment for guns, ammunition, gunpowder or other stores) calculated on Balance Sheet No. I. The reason for this distinction was that, as the costs of the Army and the Navy were being defrayed out of the Imperial Exchequer, there was no need to charge the Admiralty with the proportion of the depreciation and interest on capital shown in Balance Sheet No. 2; whereas in the case ofIndia and the Colonies which had independent treasuries the extra charge was justified since a similar amount would have been included had they made their purchases from private firms. In addition to repayments, the sums obtained from the sales of surplus stores and machinery had, since 1882, been included in the appropriations in aid of Vote 12. Such sales were carried out periodically by auction in the Royal Arsenal under the auspices of the Director of Contracts. .
The Superintendents of the manufacturmg departments were responsible that the expenses of their Establishments did not exceed the amount allotted them in annual estimates, and in this duty they were checked by means of liability statements rendered monthly to the Director of Artillery and Stores. Should the orders given them have made an excess inevitable, they were bound to report the fact to the Director ofArtillery and Stores who referred it to the Secretary ofState. The latter decided whether the orders should be scaled down or a supplementary estimate introduced. On the other hand, if the expenses of the departments fell below the amount voted, the surplus shown at the close of the financial year was surrendered to the Treasury. In no case was a balance favourable to a department allowed to be carried forward. If the whole vote was not expended before the 31st March in any year because, for instance, contracts provided for had not been completed and therefore could not be paid for, arrangements were made whereby the balance was expended on the purchase of metals, materials or machinery which were certain to be required in the following year, in the course ofwhich the unfinished contracts of the previous year would be paid for. In this manner, expenditure on the two consecutive years was smoothed out and arrangements satisfactorily made without any additional demand for money.
THE EARLY YEARS UNDER THE WAR OFFICE
One word more about design. When a new pattern of any store was required or a new type of equipment demanded the Director of Artillery and Stores gave the order. Suppose for example it was for a gun of a certain size, calculated to perform certain work. Designs for the gun, its carriage and its ammunition were prepared by the requisite managers under the direction of their Superintendents, who submitted them when completed to the Director of Artillery and Stores. The latter might approve the designs, and after experimental experience of the equipment, would seal the patterns having previously obtained the sanction of the Surveyor-General of Ordnance, or, in important cases, of the Sectretary of State himself. The Secretary of State might, and in all doubtful cases did, before giving his approval, refer a design which had been prepared in the factories or emanated from any other source, to the Ordnance Committee. This Committee, the history of which is reviewed in Appendix xvr, was reconstituted in 1881. It consisted of a military President with a salary of £80o in addition to his pay or pension, three military members, three naval members (one of whom was Vice-President), an Ordnance Consulting Officer for India and two civilian engineers. The naval and military officers were paid fixed salaries which with the pay of the staff amounted to about 13,000
p.a. charged to Vote 13 in the Army Estimates. The Committee was quite independent of the manufacturing departments. Its functions were to examine and test by experiment any designs or stores other than small arms, supplied by the government factories or by private individuals which might be submitted to it by the Secretary of State. The Ordnance Committee did not initiate, it only gave opinions on subjects referred to it, though in the course ofarriving at that opinion it might well have introduced modifications to the original submissions which, because of their importance, virtually constituted new designs.
The functions of the Ordnance Committee, now the Ordnance Board, have remained remarkably constant over the years.
Chapter 19
The Morley Reforms
The briefoutline ofthe organization of the government manufacturing departments given in the previous chapter shows clearly that their administration left something to be desired; they were still to a large extent shackled by the chains of the past.
'The past is in its grave Though its ghost haunts us.'
The factories had been set up at different times1 and each, within its self-appointed shell of independence, jealousy and amour propre, had pursued its course and developed its character to its own liking. The War Office had done its best to break down this spirit of exclusiveness by placing them under the orders of one official, known at one time as the Director of Ordnance and at another as the Director ofArtillery and Stores. This was certainly a step in the right direction from the days when each factory reported direct to the Board of Ordnance. The Director ofArtillery and Stores, as we have seen however, was too busy to give adequate attention to that side of his office. He was too much enmeshed in other duties to exercise effective supervision ortoharmonizetheworkofthevariousfactories, without which the efficient production of armaments was bound to suffer.
The weak points in the organization existing in 1886 were:
(a)
The want of connection and co-operation between the individual factories.
(2)
The quinquennial changes of the military heads and the want of controlling engineering advice in the departments.
(3)
The system of inspection, under which officials in charge of government factories inspected and passed not only their own products, but articles of a similar nature purchased from the trade.
Before dealing with these points in greater detail, it might be of advantage to define the functions of an Ordnance factory.
Various considerations can be advanced in favour of national armament manufacture. The ordinary laws of supply and demand do not operate in the case of the more complicated items of equipment. Such stores are usually highly specialized and the field of procurement is extremely limited. The ability of the State to make these intricate articles in its own workshops may be of great value in
Royal Laboratory 1696; Royal Gun Factory 1716; Royal Carriage Department 1803. 840
THE MORLEY REFORMS
computing a fair and reasonable price for them while fc : I
:, the 1or simpler
+:,:, '
items w ere more normal conditions of production apply, the cost of manufacture in a government arsenal may form a valuable check on trade. pnces and prevent the latter from rising und l . • h
d. u y, 1n otl.er
words, government production tends to break price rings. Some such Establishment is also essential to provide the specialized knowledge required for government inspection and control for the imr 'S
. · , provement of dtesign, and for a standard of excellence in workmanshi Th
.f .b .ip.e
exccut1on o repairs y the State has definite economic ad t
· · ·h b vanages
as 1t is ne1t er easy .±+ eforehand to assess the amount o·f • k'
:. 1d'. repair wor
serVIce con itions will demand nor to check the cost of • d
. ' . repair one under contract. Repair work, too, is better carried out in the factory which makes the store and which, in consequence, is in close touch with the designer, so that any failures due to weak construction can be brought to the immediate notice of the design authorities. Secrecy, often so necessary m armament work, can be more easil guaranteed m a State-owned institution. y An Ordnance factory also forms a reserve of productive power in case of emergency. At one tmme, 1t was assumed that this power when fully developed would enable the State's manufacturing departments to shoulder the entire burden, though even in their early days the hadto expand almost out ofrecognition to keep abreast ofthe cunt in time of hostilities. The Crimean War was a case in point. It proved the existing factories at Woolwich to be inadequate for their purpose; they had to be reorganized and modernized. Under conditions of total war no national arsenal or group of government factories could by themselves hope to cope with the output required to mamtam a present day army m the field at full stretch. Experience has shown that the real war potential of the country lies in its manufacturing capacity as a whole. Opinions concerning the principal duty of an Ordnance factory have therefore changed during the last few decades. It should still have a moderate expansive power to meet small wars on the periphery of civilization, but its function as a reservoir of knowledge and experience from which instruction and assistance can readily flow has become of far greater importance. A State arsenal should nowadays act as a 'universal mother' where armaments are concerned, so that when the call for action arrives, it can instruct, nurture and assist production in 'daughter' factories. To fulfil this role, the Royal Arsenal should be experienced in the manufacture of every warlike store for which it is normally responsible and have the necessary plant for its production, so that it may in all cases be relied on for expert knowledge and exact manufacturing technique. Provision must be made for training the personnel of new factories when expansion is suddenly required. The Royal Arsenal should include equipment on a sufficiently large scale 841
ADOLESCENCE
to make and issue gauges to new firms pressed into service, and be in possession of an up-to-date knowledge of the manufacturing capacity of the country as a whole.
Measured by these standards, did the Royal Arsenal of 1886 meet the conditions? The answer must be in the negative, and it was the feeling that all was not well within the Ordnance factories which induced the government to set up a committee in 1886 to review the whole question. This committee, called 'The Committee appointed to inquire into the organization and administration of the Manufacturing Departments of the Army', was set up on 8 June 1886 under the chairmanship of the Earl of Morley. It is usually referred to as 'The Morley Committee' and it reported on 14July 1887. The members of the Committee were:
The Earl of Morley Chairman
Joseph C. Bolton, Esq., M.P. John Burnett, Esq. Edward H. Garbutt, Esq. The Hon. Guy C. DawnayColonel F. Duncan, R.A., C.B., M.P. Major-General W. H. Goodenough, R.A., C.B.
Members
Alfred Hickman, Esq.
W. L. Jackson, Esq., M.P. Colonel J. P. Nolan, M.P. Richard Peacock, Esq., M.P. Joseph Ruston, Esq. William Woodall, Esq., M.P.
Albert a Beckett, Esq. Secretary
The report of this committee, a massive document dated 14July 1887, was printed and bound. It was numbered 'Confidential Paper
C.51 16. The War Office paper appointing this Committee in May 1886 was numbered 40241/2. Its terms of reference are implicit in its title, namely:
To enquire into the organization and administration of the Manufacturing Departments of the Army and to submit recommendations.
The report of the Committee is divided into three parts. The first gives an outline of the system in operation in 1886 which has already been presented in the previous chapter; the second exposes the weaknesses in that system; and the third gives the Committee's recommendations for curing the same.
The weaknesses of the system investigated by the Morley Committee were given at the beginning of this chapter. They will now be studied in detail as the members saw them.
842
THE MORLEY REFORMS
( 1) Want of connection and co-operation between the individualfactories Owing to the complete independence of each factory at Woolwich there was a lack of uniformity in the general administration and in the regulations affecting the remuneration and conditions of service of those employed, which should have existed in government workshops, and there was neither unity of action nor capacity for cooperation which was essential for their efficiency. Speaking before the Committee, the Director of Artillery and Stores said 'The Superintendents are almost independent in their different departments, but each one refers to me for every detail required. They come up to see me personally, or they write to me, and, very often,
if they want information from another department they make use of me, if I may use the expression "as a post office". They write to me
o and I have to write to the other Superintendents, and backwards and
l!")
r--forwards; and there is no way at present of putting the various ._; departments in touch with one another excepting through my office.' ~ The Director of Artillery and Stores also stressed the fact that there
:....
.......0 was such a lack of harmony between the departments that great
c
0 inconvenience was caused in preparing designs for new equipments
•I-< 3 or for carrying those designs into effect. It could truly be said that »R each worked for his own hand and entirely neglected the claims of a any other. One Superintendent often failed to consult his brother
•
c 0 Superintendent on a matter which obviously concerned them both,
C>
with the result that a good deal of trouble occurred in the branch of
•.......
c::: the Director of Artillery and Stores, which could easily have been
·
en avoided with a little spirit of approachability. To quote a case in
......
• point. The manager of the Royal Carriage Department said in his5 p.. evidence that changes had at times been made in the patterns of
bD
c::: guns which had affected the mountings without his department being
5
.....-> a in any way notified; consequently the manufacture of the relevant
0 > carriages to the original design had been continued in ignorance of
-
the change of gun design. A discussion by the two Superintendents
=
would have obviated this waste of time, labour, material and money. It seems almost incredible that such things could have happened as
recently as seventy-five years ago.
The system in the manufacturing departments had been admitted to be unsatisfactory by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge in 1858 and by General St George in I 866, and more evidence to this end could be adduced. The remedy which had been suggested was the appointment of a central authority who should be responsible for the administration of the factories as a whole. The Committee agreed that the appointment ofsuch an officer would be eminently desirable if only to relieve the Director ofArtillery and Stores from some ofthe work which then pressed so severely upon him. This overworked official said in evidence 'I am not able to supervise the manufacturing
so 843
departments with satisfaction to myself. The work of my department has increased so enormously of late years, and such a mass of detail comes before me that it is practically impossible for me to be as much a chief of {he Arsenal as I should like to be. I have not that touch of the departments which, I think, I ought to have.' In addition to this advantage, the Committee considered that the creation of a central authority would produce uniformity in administration and promote efficiency and economy in the factories.
(2) The Quinquennial changes of Superintendents .
The five years rule was applied to the Superintendents because it normally governed staff appointments in the Army. The same conditions, however, did not obtain in the manufacturing departments. Although a regular military career was the best training for the staff it did not offer opportunities of acquirmg a knowledge of factory organization and manufacturing processes. though all aspirants for the post of Superintendent were Advanced Class graduates and normally must have served in the factories in subordinate positions, such lower posts were mainly connected with inspection or instructional duties; they did not foster administrative experience. In the absence of their chiefs, the Assistant Superintendents assumed control, but the civilian managers appeared to be the real deputy heads and advisers in matters relating to administration and production. The five-year change of Superintendents therefore meant a succession ofbreaks. As soon as the manager had guided one Superintendent through the shoals ofmanagement and the latter had learned to function efficiently, he had to leave and return. to regmental duty. It was the manager, that trusty permanent official, who really carried on with the traditions and experience of the department. The defects of the system were obvious though it had the advantage of bringing new blood into play when a new broom might sweep clean. By and large, however, the Committee saw little to recommend it and came to the conclusion that Superintendents should hold their appointments at the pleasure of the Secretary of State, i.e. no specific tenure should be attached to the post. This five-year rule seemed to follow the old saying about the later four-year technical appointments:
First year Under instruction Second year Feeling the way Third year Well in the saddle Fourth year A tendency to sit back and
leave decisions to a successor
This limitation of tenure posed the question as to whether the head of government factories should be confined to military officers or opened to qualified civilians.
844
THE MORLEY REFORMS
The advocates for limitation, and many existed, argued that:
(A) The knowledge of how guns, carriages and ammunition were made and repaired was of material advantage to artillery officers in their professional career. This argument is of little substance today, in an age of specialization.
The answer to it then was, that officers who had held the appointment of Superintendent rarely, if ever, had an occasion for using their knowledge on active service, and that under any system of reorganization, there would remain a number of important posts similar or analogous to those of Assistant Superintendent and Captain Inspector, in which officers had a favourable opportunity of acquiring knowledge of warlike stores.
(B) Ithe posts of Superintendents were thrown open to civilians Artillery officers would be deprived of any incentive to enter th; Advanced Class and consequently scientific attainments of officers would generally deteriorate.
The answer to this, according to the Committee, was that government factories exist for supplying the fighting services with warlike stores in the most efficient and economic manner. They were not instituted to provide well paid jobs for Artillery officers, however deserving. The Committee also believed that, if limitation were removed from certain posts connected with manufacture, there would, under the scheme they were about to propose, be a sufficient number of technical appointments which would induce officers to pursue their scientific studies. As future experience proved, this is exactly what did happen.
( C) Practical military experience in the use of warlike stores now known as the 'users' point of view' was an essential qualification for a maker of such stores.
This, of course, was simply not true. Even the Committee in I 886 realized the fallacy of this argument. It was admitted that military experience was doubtless of value in indicating broad lines of design and in inspecting finished products, but they were right in their view that users' experience was of no value in manufacturing articles to a specified design which had to undergo certain defined tests. The Committee considered that for production, other qualities, such as capacity for organization, knowledge of manufacturing processes and familiarity of materials, were more important, and that there was little doubt that these characteristics were more generally acquired in civil rather than in military life. Captain Noble, who favoured the retention of military Superintendents, admitted in his evidence that 'in actual manufacture military knowledge is not ofgreat importance and that the government ought to be able to command the very best mechanical engineering ability that is to be had, but he doubts
whether that is always the case'. On the assumption, therefore, that 845
a military element would always be present in the designing and inspection branches, the Committee opined that the superintendence of actual manufacture should be open to the best man available, and that Heads of Factories should hold civilian status. .
The Committee agreed that formerly when the manufacturing departments were comparatively small, and when guns and allied stores were of uniform type and simple construction, there was no such urgent necessity for employing men ofthe highest administrative and technical skill, which the expanded establishments, complex machinery and difficult materials demanded in 1886. They admitted the great ability shown by some of the Superintendents who had had charge of factories, particularly at a time when the mysteries of 'the reeking tube and iron shard' were a sealed book to the ordinary manufacturer, but they considered that if the area of select10n were widened, the chances of getting the best man would be greatly increased. In reinforcement of their argument they stated that only four Colonels, who had passed the Advanced Glass, were eligible for the appointment of Superintendent and that if a vacancy suddenly occurred, the Secretary ofState would have no option but to appoint one of them, even though he considered none to be fitted in any
respect for the post.
(3) Inspection
Inspection may be defined as the art of securing serviceability by reducing the risk of failure in the product inspected, and 1t 1s almost a truism these days to state that the inspection of government stores must be carried out by a body entirely independent ofmanufacture, not only technically but financially. Not so in the days. of the Morley Committee, though they eventually adopted that point of view after reviewing arguments for and against the independent Inspector.
The following paragraphs give the considered views of the Committee on what was then a debateable question.
It was generally admitted that the manufacturer must remain responsible for testing the quality of his output, though regarding completed stores there was not the same unanimity of opinion. It was argued, on the one hand, that these articles should be inspected and passed by officers entirely independent of the makers; and, on the other, that the system then prevailing should be preserved, under which departmental officers inspected and passed the products of their departments. Those who held the latter view maintained that the manufacturer must bear the sole responsibility for the quality of the articles he produced, and that the introduction of independent inspectors would necessarily weaken his responsibility.
Lord Herbert's Memorandum of 4 January r86o, which was
846
THE MORLEY REFORMS
quoted in favour of this latter view, contains a full statement of the arguments in its favour. It concludes with these words: 'As to similarity to pattern as well as quality, the security lies in the responsibility of the manufacturing oficer; and no further inspection can be given without diminishing that responsibility.' A year later Lord Herbert appear~ to have modified his views, for in paragraph 9 of the Instructionsfor the Director of Ordnance, dated 8 January 186 1,° that officer is directed 'to satisfy himself that supplies of warlike stores, whether received under contract or manufactured by government, are conformable to the sealed patterns'. This, however, it was added, was not to remove any responsibility in this respect from the Heads of the manufacturing establishments. Two years later in February 1863, Lord de Grey, Under-Secretary of State, in advocating the appomtment of a Superintendent in the Royal Arsenal in a minute to the Secretary of State, said that 'the establishment of a more perfect and independent system of inspection is our most pressing and practical want'. It appeared, therefore, that the method
nstituted by Lord Herbert had not, even at that time worked satisfactorily, and the Committee said that the evidence which they had received had confirmed the opinion expressed by Lord de Grey twenty years earlier. Major-General H. J. Alderson, afterwards Director of Artillery, expressed before the Committee the view that he would wish 'to place under the head of the Arsenal an independent person charged with the whole duty of inspection of stores supplied either from the manufacturing departments or by contract' because he thought it was desirable that inspection should be entirely divorced from manufacture.
The Committee went on to say that there appeared to be more than one reason why warlike stores should be inspected and passed after having left the manufacturer's hands by independent inspecting officers, and considered that such an arrangement could be made without intrenching on the responsibility of the former. These reasons were :
(a) The manufacturer in government factories, as in private works, would test the material he received and the articles he was making so as to satisfy himself as to their quality and conformity to specifications. The independent inspector would examine the articles both during and after manufacture, and would certify to the Secretary of State that the finished product conformed to the requisite tests. This appeared to afford a double safe-guard against the acceptance of unserviceable stores. Stores purchased by contract were at that time tested during the course of manufacture by government inspectors, but this did not relieve the contractor from responsibility. It was realized that contractors were not in a similar
2 Given in brief in Appendix IV.
position to that occupied by heads of government factories, because, as was argued by Lord Herbert, the ultimate aim of the contractor was profit and it was incumbent on him to produce his goods as cheaply as possible compatible with their passing inspection. If his products failed on service the remedy of the Government was to ban him from further contracts. He thus could not afford to take undue risks; the profit motive kept him on the strait and narrow path. Government factories, on the other hand, had not this inducement to produce cheap work; they operated in a protected field free from the chill blast of competition, and their employment could not be terminated. But although Superintendents of the manufacturing departments were not influenced by the hope of profit, they were very properly and naturally concerned by a laudable desire to present a good balance sheet to the House of Commons, and to show that their output compared favourably in price with production costs in the trade; and if, on inspection, serious defects were disclosed, the Secretary of State could, if he thought fit, dismiss the official responsible for the defective articles, just as he could cease to employ
a contractor.
(b)
The Committee advocated a principle which was already being applied in the Royal Carriage Department, where a naval officer was employed in inspecting and passing gun-carriages supplied to the Royal Navy, the cost of which was borne on the Naval Estimates. They felt certain that inspection by naval officers would be largely extended in the event of other warlike stores being dealt with on repayment. Under a scheme ofindependent inspection, the Committee considered that this could be conveniently carried into effect by having the Navy adequately represented on the inspection staff.
(c)
There was no doubt that the inspection of articles purchased from the trade by officers of the manufacturing departments caused a certain amount of friction between those departments and private firms. This was perhaps hardly to be wondered at, and thus the Committee believed that contractors and the public generally would welcome the introduction of an inspection authority independent of government manufacturing staff.
Having taken these three reasons into account, the Committee entertained very strongly the opinion that inspection should be entirely divorced from manufacture, and came to the conclusion that there must be three preliminary conditions with which any satisfactory scheme ofreorganization should comply. It must ensure:
(i)
More intimate union between the manufacturing departments.
(ii)
Greater permanence in the appointments of the heads of the factories and the introduction of a larger civilian element.
(iii) Inspection independent of manufacture. 848
THE MORLEY REFORMS
. If a system of independent inspection were to be adopted, the inspection staff then under the control of the various Superintendents would have to be concentrated under the direction of an officer of high standing. The Committee suggested that such an official might be known as the Inspector-General of Warlike Stores. Having arrived at this conclusion the next obvious question was to decide the position this inspection chief should occupy. Either he would have to rank as co-ordinate with the Director of Artillery and Stores and be immediately responsible to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance, or he would have to be subordinate to the Director of Artillery and Stores and act as his delegate. In the former case he would have to bear the sole responsibility for inspecting and accepting (or rejecting) all stores for the Service, and thus relieve the Director of Artillery and. Stores, who was admittedly overburdened from this charge.
In the latter, he could not altogether free the Director of Artillery and Stores from responsibility. Put in another way, the question to be decided was: 'Should the duties centralized in the Director of Artillery and Stores be re-distributed among several co-ordinating officers or should that over-worked official continue to be responsible in all respects for all ordnance and stores issued to the Army?'
The Committee's views on the implementation of these alternatives were as follows:
I. If the first proposal were adopted, questions relating to L.S. armaments would have to be transferred to the military branch at the War Office, to be dealt with by the Deputy Adjutant General, Royal Artillery, as they were before 1870. The post of Director of Artillery and Stores would have to be abolished, and in his place two new appointments would have to be created immediately under the Surveyor-General of Ordnance. These would have to be an Inspector-General ofOrdnance and a Director ofStores. The former would have to be responsible for inspection and acceptance or rejection of all ordnance stores whether made in the Ordnance factories or purchased from the trade, for all design work and for the conduct of experiments. He would also have to act as the technical adviser to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance and to the Secretary of State
for War. The Director of Stores, on the other hand, would have to be a permanent official, responsible for the custody and issue of stores and for the preparation of the annual estimate for Vote 12. He would also have to have administrative and financial control over the manufacturing departments and, though he would rarely interfere with the actual manufacture, for which the heads of the factories would be responsible to him, his control would be real and not nominal as it was then, in fact.
849
II. If the second proposal were adopted and the post of Director of Artillery and Stores remained unimpaired, it would be necessary to relieve him of much detail which then engulfed him, and rearrange his office in compliance with the conditions (i), (ii) and (iii) laid down above, so that the inspection staff would be separated from production staff, and the factories, by being subjected to more definite control, be brought into closer union.
The Committee heard a large amount of evidence and went very
carefully into all the questions raised during their meetings. Their
report was long and exhaustive, and, in its way, became a famous
milestone in the evolutionary path of the Woolwich factories. It is
still referred to after more than seventy years.
After considering the evidence, the Committee made the following
recommendations for the reorganization of the Manufacturing
Departments, dealing in order with:
A. Manufacture
B. Design
C. Inspection
D. Clerical and Store Departments
It is proposed to give the recommendations in the Committee's own words.
A. Manufacture Leaving the Director of Artillery and Stores with his present duties, we propose that an officer should be appointed to superintend the whole of the manufacturing departments with the title of Superintendent of Ordnance Factories. He should be an army officer and hold office for five years, but it should be distinctly understood that the Secretary of State may, if he wishes, reappoint him without giving any reasons. He should hold his appointment under the Director of Artillery and Stores. He should be responsible for the discipline of the officers and men employed in the workshops, or under instruction there. He should take charge of the police, the schools, water-supply, the fire brigade and other matters common to the departments, and he should, as the representative of the Director of Artillery and Stores, be the sole channel of communication between the factories and the War Office. We do not contemplate that he should interfere with actual manufacture, for which the manufacturing staff must be solely responsible, but he should be the head of the central designing and experimental branch, with which we shall deal in a subsequent paragraph; and he should have under his charge all classes of officers and men who are under instruction in the departments, and their instructors. For the due
performance ofhis duties connected with the general superintendence ofthe departments, and with the designing and experimental branch,
850
THE MORLEY REFORMS
he must be assisted by officers who, together with the instructors, would constitute his permanent staff. As regards the factories, there are two possible modes oforganizing the manufacturing staff:
(a)
Either the departments may be left as at present, and the heads of them would remain solely and exclusively responsible for the work they produce, or,
(b)
They should be brought under the control of a head manufacturer, and would thus, instead of being distinct factories, become rather branches of a large and complete Ordnance department.
Against this last proposal, it may be argued that by giving one man control of all the factories, duties so wide and extensive would be placed upon him that he could not be personally responsible for their performance, and that the responsibility of the heads of departments would be correspondingly weakened. On the other hand, in such an establishment as that of the Arsenal, or even of the individual departments, there must necessarily be a large amount of delegation of authority; it is a question of degree as to how far it should be carried. If competent heads are appointed over the various branches accountable to a single official, we see no reason why the responsibility for the work which they perform should not be brought home to them. Moreover, there would be obvious advantages in having a single head who would exercise a general supervision over the machinery and processes of manufacture, and who would so organize the staff and distribute the work throughout all the departments, that it should be performed in the most efficient and economical manner.
For the performance of these duties we recommend the appointment of a Chief Mechanical Engineer who should be a civilian and should hold his office at the pleasure of the Secretary of State. He should assist the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories with his advice on all questions relating to design, but otherwise his functions should be strictly confined to manufacture. He should be subject to the control of the Superintendent, but, subject to this control, he should, in his own sphere as a manufacturer, enjoy the fullest liberty ofaction and should bear a corresponding amount ofresponsibility. The Chief Mechanical Engineer should have under him an adequate staff of civilian assistants of various grades, his principal deputies being at the head of the various departments, responsible for their administration and for the work produced in them. They would, in fact, have to perform the duties now performed by the managers, but instead of working under military Superintendents, they would be responsible to the Chief Mechanical Engineer.
To obtain the services of men of sufficiently high standing and professional ability to fill the positions of Chief Mechanical Engineer
851
and his principal deputies, the Government must be prepared to offer larger salaries than have hitherto been paid. The importance which private firms attach to efficient management is proved by the high salaries they pay their managers. We do not suggest that the Government should vie with private firms in this respect, for undoubtedly the security of their position, the conditions of the service and other considerations induce men to take employment under the State at lower rates of pay than they would accept at the hands of a private employer, but, to get the best men, the State must be prepared to approach nearer than it does at present to the
salaries obtainable in civil life.
B. Design
At present each department has its own design branch so that when a new equipment is required, the designs of the gun, the
• d the ammunition have to be prepared in three separate
carnagean . . .. , h
• g offices. The designs prepared quite independently are thend
rawing ·id hat t
we
bmitted to the Ordnance Committee. e cons1 er t a grea
SU •d.d
advantages would accrue if all the various lesigns were prepare
in a central office, only a small staff of draughtsmen being employed
in the departments on details connected with the working drawings.
With such a central office all possibility of friction or of divided
responsibility between the various departments would be avoided,
and harmony and rapidity of execution would be ensured. .
The Superintendent of Ordnance Factories should be responsible for the initiation and elaboration of design, and should have under him the department in which will be concentrated the several drawing offices now distributed among the different factories. He should be aided by advisers to be associated with him from time to time in accordance with the particular work in hand, and to be selected from the officers of his own staff, the W.D. Chemist, the Chief Mechanical Engineer and his deputies, and such naval and military officers as he, after consultation with the Director of Artillery and Stores, may call to his assistance. .
The functions of the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories under this head should be limited to such designs as are now prepared in the manufacturing departments. He should not in any way be concerned with the inventions or designs of private individuals. Such designs, as well as those prepared in the Arsenal, would at the discretion of the Director of Artillery and Stores, as at present, be submitted to the Ordnance Committee. The experiments which are intimately connected with design should be conducted under the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, who should be a~orded ample opportunities for making these experiments at Woolwich or
elsewhere.
THE MORLEY REFORMS
C. Inspection We recommend that an Inspector-General of Warlike Stores be appointed, who should report directly to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance. He should be an army officer holding office on the same
conditions as the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories. He should superintend the inspection, testing and passing of all warlike stores supplied to the Army, and he should be responsible for their quality
and for their conformity with the designs and specifications. He should be free to report to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance his opinion on the efficiency of any weapons or stores for the purposes they are designed to serve, though he will have no responsibility for their designs. Such an inspection as we contemplate would not be confined to a final view of the completed articles, but would follow them through the successive stages of their manufacture; and for this purpose, the inspecting staff must have free access to all the factories. We shall not attempt to lay down any definite rules for the composition and organization of the inspecting staff. It will be sufficient to say that it should consist of properly qualified officers of the Army-the officers now employed in the work of inspecting under the Superintendents being transferred to the Inspector-General of an adequate number of naval officers, and of such practical assistants as they may require. The rank and emoluments of these officers should be graduated according to their duties and responsibilities; greater importance being given to some of the higher appointments in this branch than is at present given to the Captain Inspectors. Officers on the staff, both of the Inspector-General of Warlike Stores and the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, should, in our opinion, hold their appointments subject to the general regulations of the Services. Officers of the Army selected to fill these appointments should be required to have passed through the Senior Class of the Artillery College (i.e. the Advanced Class). If this suggestion be adopted, some changes would have to be made in the qualifications of candidates seeking admission into the College. We would also suggest that ample opportunities should be afforded to military and naval students for techmcal and practical instruction in the workshops.
It is obviously desirable to encourage the study of the scientific and technical questions involved in the design, construction and inspection of weapons of war, and it is of the highest importance to offer such inducements as will cause officers to seek employment in this branch of the Service. It is from officers so employed that the Inspector-General, the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories and members of the Ordnance Committee would naturally be drawn; it is consequently of great consequence that the field of selection should be sufficiently wide.
853
The inspectors should test and pass all manufactured articles
purchased from the trade in the same manner and under precisely
the same conditions as articles manufactured in the government
factories.
The organization proposed would be as follows:
Surveyor-General of Ordnance
I I
Director of Artillery Inspector-General of and Stores Warlike Stores
I
Superintendent of Ordnance Factories
I
I
I ManufacIture Clerical and Stores
Design Branch (Under the Chief Branches Mechanical Engineer)
Under this system far greater importance will be given to the inspectors than at present, and the inspection would be entirely independent both of manufacture and design. Design will be under the Superintendent, and the actual manufacture would be under the management of civilians holding their appointments at the pleasure of the Secretary of State.
D. Clerical and Stores Staff If the foregoing recommendations be accepted, corresponding changes must necessarily be made in the Clerical and Stores Branches. The concentration of the three Arsenal factories under one head should be followed by the centralization of their offices and stores, and of their accounts under the superintendence of an official who should hold the position of Secretary or Principal Clerk to the Superintendent ofOrdnance Factories. Buildings at Woolwich will not allow of the clerical staff being brought together in the most convenient manner,3 but this will not prevent the establishment of a centralized administration, and as alterations are from time to time made, steps should be taken to bring the clerical staff as far as possible under one roof. At present the clerical staff at the Arsenal consists of 3 principal, 3 senior, 5 junior and g lower division clerks, whose salaries amount to £4,992 p.a. The majority of these clerks are serving under the
old Civil Service rules; they will be succeeded as vacancies occur by higher and lower division clerks, under new rules, who will
+ This was not rectified till 19o8 when the Central Offices in the Royal Arsenal were completed at a cost of{75,000.
THE MORLEY REFORMS
receive lower salaries than the present occupants of the posts. In
addition, a large number of writers, not under Civil Service
regulations but appointed by Superintendents, are employed in the
Arsenal at a cost of [13,000 p.a. By centralizing the office, the
number of higher grade clerks may be reduced, and an economy
effected in various ways. Clerks on the establishment have 42 days
leave in the year; their hours are from 1o a.m.-5 p.m. on week-days
except Saturdays when only 4 hours is expected, i.e. 39 hours a week.
Their regulations lay down that, at times of public pressure, those
times may be extended to meet the exigencies of the public service.
For this extra work, they receive no overtime.
Stores should also be centralized in the Arsenal. The present
buildings are not adapted for the formation of a central store but
in case of any future alterations, the formation of such a store should
be constantly kept in view.' Even with the existing accommodation
there 1s no reason why the administration should not be centralized.
Each branch or shop must continue to have attached to it a sub
sidiary store to supply its current requirements. We believe that a
concentration of stores will prove economical, not only in respect
to the storekeeping staff, but also in respect of the storage and
distribution of the stores themselves.
We consider also that the amount of stores held should be limited
to the actual requirements of the shops. At the present time there
are sometimes at the end of the financial year, a year or sometimes
two years' supply. Such an accumulation of stores must involve
waste and extravagance. It is also important to connect the stores
and the workshops by a system of narrow gauge railways, such as is
found in all private establishments of any importance.
To conclude we shall make some general remarks on the following matters which have come before us in the course of this investigation.
(a)
Wages
(2)
Indirect expenditure
(3)
Purchase of materials
(4)
The manufacture of steel
(5)
Extension of manufacturing departments
(1) ages Although great care seems to have been taken in regulating the payment of wages by day and piece-work, we think that some of the minute dissections for accounting purposes might be simplified with advantage and economy without materially limiting the
information necessary for enabling Parliament to exercise its proper function of criticism and control.
The Central O.F. Storehouse was built between 1927-1929 on the bank of the canal at a total cost of{78,700.
855
(2) Indirect Expenditure These remarks analyse the method of charging on-costs with those of private firms and the Committee point out that, because of different methods employed in arriving at overheads, it is not always fair to compare prices for similar stores made by the Ordnance Factories and the trade. Usually the comparison favours the Government. A contractor has to make profits, pay for his transport expenses to the Arsenal and compensate himself for the risk of rejections. On the other hand, the Ordnance Factories have to pay higher prices for the carriage of raw materials, enhanced in the case of coal by the metropolitan coal dues. They are not, however, charged with the pensions of Superintendents and other officers,
who, partly in consequence of their pensions, give their services for lower salaries than they would receive in similar positions elsewhere. 5
(3) Purchase ofMaterials
The Committee think that the tendering for Government stores is unnecessarily limited and should be extended as much as possible. They recommend that in future a list of generic articles required should be advertised in the newspapers once a year and that the public should be informed that a list is kept at the War Office of the firms who might be willing to tender for the supply of any of the articles in the classes named. The Director of Contracts, after careful enquiry into the commercial standing and capabilities of the applicants, would place the firms finally approved on the list. The list should be large enough to ensure that the articles should be supplied at a price not exceeding the general market rate, and that all the firms on the list should be invited to tender. The lowest tender made by the firms on the list should be accepted. There are, however, cases in which articles of a special nature can only be produced, or can be better produced, by a limited number of firms; possibly by a single firm. In such cases, exceptions must be made to the rules we have proposed, as regards both the list and the acceptance of the lowest tender, but these exceptions should be made on the responsibility of the Secretary of State. We further recommend that the terms of the accepted tenders be published unless the successful applicant shall upon his tender, and before its acceptance, have stated his objection to publication, and the tender shall have been accepted by the Secretary of State on that condition.
We think the power of purchasing small supplies locally to the extent of £200 in each quarter of the year should be restricted within the narrowest limits, and that the articles thus purchased should be provided as far as possible under running contracts.
1 This discussion had little bearing on the subject of the report. It analyses the methods of charging on-costs with those of private firms. For this reason the Committee's remarks arc not quoted; only a synopsis of their views is given.
856
THE MORLEY REFORMS
(4) The Manufacture ofSteel This has been carried on at the Arsenal for the last few years. The Committee consider that the Government should rely on private steel makers for its supplies of steel, though it may be expedient for the Ordnance Factories to manufacture some steel for experimental purposes and with a view to checking contractors' prices.
It is not expedient further to extend the plant which has been erected in the Arsenal for this purpose.
(5) The Extension ofthe Manufacturing Departments The Committee think that any extension of factory premises should be jealously watched and controlled, and that Government should rely to a considerable extent on the trade for the supply of warlike stores. By so doing, not only does it stimulate inventors and manufacturers to vie with one another in producing the best possible articles, but it tends also to widen the area of production so that at times of pressure when government factories, however extensive, could not possibly meet the demands made upon them, the requirements of the Service would be more readily supplied. The comparison of pnce would further be useful in checking the cost of production by the State. I_t has already been pointed out that the supplementary orders, which throughout the year are constantly being sent by the Commissary-General of Ordnance to the manufacturing departments, tend to interrupt their programme of work. Some of these unforeseen demands may be of so urgent a :nature that they cannot be postponed without serious injury to the Service. We consider that as far as practicable such orders should be consolidated and sent in at regular intervals. Such an arrangement would tend to economy and would be of great assistance to the factories. The Committee point out that the lapsing of unspent money voted for the manufacturing departments at the end of the :financial year is very unconventional in an industrial establishment. The suggestion of a remedy is outside their terms of reference.
We shall conclude by giving the following summary of our principal recommendations:
() That a Superintendent of Ordnance Factories should be appointed, holding office under the Director of Artillery and Stores. He should be an officer of the Army and should reside at Woolwich. He should be the sole channel of communication between the War Office and the manufacturing departments. In addition to the general superintendence of the factories, he should be the head of the designing and drawing office.
(2) Subject to the control of this officer, there should be a Chief Mechanical Engineer holding a civilian appointment, who should be in charge of, and responsible for, manufacture in all its branches. His
857
subordinates, also civilians, should take charge of the various departments.
(g)
The designing and drawing offices should be centralized under the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, who should be assisted by the Chief Mechanical Engineer and his staff, the Chemist of the War Department, and the officers of the Army and Navy, either serving under him, or drawn from elsewhere. Experiments connected with design should be conducted under the direction of the Superintendent of Ordnance Factories.
(4)
An Inspector-General of Warlike Stores should be appointed who should report direct to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance. All weapons of war and stores supplied to the Army from the government factories, or from the trade, should be inspected, tested and passed under his direction and on his responsibility.
(5)
The Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, the Inspector-General of Warlike Stores and the officers employed under them, should hold their appointments subject to the general regulations of the Service; it being understood that the Secretary of State may at his discretion, and without any special reason, renew or extend the appointments of officers holding the higher positions.
Civilians should hold office at the pleasure of the Secretary of State.
(6)
The Store and Clerical Branches of the departments in the Royal Arsenal should be centralized.
(7)
Contracts for the supply of materials and stores for the use of government factories should be opened to the trade as widely as 1S consistent with the efficiency of the public service.
(8)
The existing works should be extended, or new works erected, solely with the sanction and on the responsibility of the Secretary of State.
The report was signed by all members of the Committee, and
subject to certain remarks, given below, by Mr Hickman and
Colonel Nolan.
Mr Hickman objected to the two posts of Superintendent and
Chief Mechanical Engineer, the former military and the latter
civilian. He thought the dual system of control bad and that the
military head would only hamper and obstruct the civil manu
facturer. He considered that the two officials would tend to clash.
He suggested that there should be only one head holding office at
the pleasure of the Secretary of State, and that the appointment
should be open to army officers and civilians.
Colonel Nolan could not agree with the transfer of the whole process of actual manufacture to civilians, and the compensation to military officers by the creation of an inspecting staff and the appointment of a military superintendent of all the manufacturing departments. He considered the dual system expensive and unworkable. He suggested that the subordinate posts, such as those of Assistant Superintendents, should be reserved for officers who had passed the Advanced Class, and for workmen and foremen promoted in the government factories, and that the appointments to the
superior posts of heads of departments, i.e. Superintendent of 858
:•
0
c
<>
5
....
THE MORLEY REFORMS
Ordnance Factories, Inspector-General of Warlike Stores and Chief Mechanical Engineer, should be left open to all and be filled by the unrestricted choice of the Secretary of State for War with the best officers or civilians he might be able to find.
He then gives his reasons for dissenting from his colleagues. On studying the Morley Report one cannot fail to be struck by
the far-seeing nature of the reforms advocated. Although to modern
ears the recommendations sound normal enough, they were in their day revolutionary and showed a visionary perception which was
far from being shared by contemporary thought. They drove the first wedge into that bastion ofmilitary control which had dominated
the factories from time immemorial, and though not adopted
C<")I. I. over-night they have gradually spread over the whole field of government manufacture. The First World War finally extinguished the military element in the Ordnance Factories so that after two
hundred years they became entirely civilian in character. The Treasury approved in general the scheme recommended by
Cl!-. 0 ~ the Morley Committee on 31 January 1888.° It was made effective from 1 April 1888. The approval agreed to a 'Superintendent of Ordnance Factories' under the title of Director-General of Ordnance Factories, with two assistants called the Civil Assistant and the First
C> ..c Military Assistant to D.G.O.F. No Inspector-General of Warlike Stores
0......, was appointed, but a post of Chief Inspector ofSmall Arms was set up, together with inspection staffs divorced from the Ordnance Factories.
The various inspectors at Woolwich were grouped together under
an Assistant Director of Artillery, Woolwich. The suggested post of
'Chief Mechanical Engineer' was not implemented.
The Superintendents of the various factories remained military
officers.
The post of Director-General of Ordnance Factories was re-named
Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories in 1899, and the Assistant
Director ofArtillery, Woolwich, became the ChiefInspector, Woolwich in
1893. The first official who corresponded to the proposed Chief
Mechanical Engineer was the Deputy Director-General of Ordnance
Factories who was appointed in 1898. His title was changed to that
• I of Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1899. The composite whole envisaged by the Morley Committee was
' ±., :¢1A vitiated to some extent by the abolition of the post of SurveyorGeneral of Ordnance. This upset the balance of the scheme and threw it somewhat out of gear. The Director of Artillery and Stores was, and the Inspector-General of Warlike Stores would have been had one been appointed, left in the air and other arrangements had
to be made. The Director of Artillery, as he became, was placed
under the Commander-in-Chief and the Director-General of
• PRO/WO[32/520 : 70/Gen. No/5,157 : 70/Gen. No/5,132.
s7 859
r
ADOLESCENCE THE MORLEY REFORMS
Ordnance Factories under the Financial Secretary to the War
Office, who of course had no intimate knowledge of the technical
requirements of the Services.
The Duke of Cambridge, the Commander-in-Chief, complained bitterly of these arrangements in a very long minute to the Secretary of State for War dated 17 September 1888.7 He said that the Army, through the C-in-CG, would have no say in the work of the Ordnance Factories and pointed out that in his opinion the new organization was bound to fail. As, however, the inspection staffs were placed under the orders of the Director of Artillery, the Army Command did have the final say as to what stores should be accepted for its use.
Since the main innovation brought about by the acceptance of the Morley reforms was the creation of an independent inspection authority, it may not be out of place in concluding this chapter to state the principles which govern inspection and give the earlier attempts to put them into practice in Government Establishments.
It is the fashion nowadays to consider that everything f value in life is of recent origin and that nothing of intrinsic vorth ever derived from the past. Inspection belies this conception; it is of traditional antiquity. According to the opening chapter of Genesis it was coeval with manufacture and the spirit of criticism was abroad when Chaos gave way to Cosmos.
Some unkind person once defined the critic as the man who has failed. Such a definition is incorrect. The critical faculty implies the possession of a high, or even ideal, standard, and the type of mind which produces the critic differs from that which gives rise to the craftsman. Both are essential ifperfection is to be attained. Inspection therefore is complementary to manufacture and should be regarded in the light of constructive criticism for the purpose of securing the highest quality in workshop output. Expressed mathematically manufacture plus inspection equals production. As a race we are peculiarly addicted to criticism, from mere grumbling to highly informed comment. For this reason the custom of carrying out inspection has long played a prominent part in our national life.
In the old guilds of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, members were bound together under a strict code of rules which forbade any bad or hasty work to be executed. The guilds appointed searchers who carefully looked over every piece of work produced. The dictum of each craft was identical 'Producers must be protected against unfair competition and purchasers must be assured that the goods they acquire are up to standard'. A boy desirous of learning a trade became apprenticed to a requisite master for seven years, after which he reached the status ofjourneyman, i.e. he could be hired by the day or journee. The ambition of a journeyman was
7 PRO/WO/32/520 : 70/Gen. No/5,488.
860
to set up on his own. To do this he had to submit a sample of his handicraft to the wardens of his guild who subjected it to a severe examination. Should his work be accepted it was known as his master-piece, and henceforth he was recognized as a master in that
particular craft.
Inspection has already been defined, i.e. as the art of securing serviceability by reducing the risk of possible failure in the product inspected. Such a risk, of course, cannot be eliminated entirely as a
complete inspection would result in the destruction of the material or article under test and so defeat its own object, but it can be, and is, diminished in proportion to the thoroughness and efficiency of the examination undertaken. The extent of inspection, therefore, which in any particular case is considered sufficient depends upon the possible results of failure, should failure occur. Nevertheless the technique necessary to achieve the object in view may, and indeed must, vary according to the class of article examined and the degree of quality required. Inspection, therefore, should be studied from the standpoints of scope, aspect, system, type and method so that the reasons for these variations in its pursuit can be appreciated.
Manufactured goods may be divided into two classes. Those innocuous in all circumstances and those the failure of which would be a definite source of danger to the user or the general public. To the latter class armaments obviously belong. In the former case the results of failure are purely financial, and the required degree of inspection is determined by a contractor's ability to sell his products,
i.e. by his market. In the latter case where life may pay the penalty for faulty workmanship or material, the question of policy looms up with greater magnitude than that of finance. The effect of some national disaster might, and undoubtedly would, be more farreaching than that called forth by financial considerations alone. Political or commercial extinction owing to loss of public confidence is of a more bitter and lasting character than a Treasury deficit or a depreciated bank balance. The political consequences of such a failure depend upon the national psychological outlook of the country in which it may occur. It may therefore be accepted as an axiom that the standard ofinspection in a country depends upon the maximum number of fatal accidents in that country deemed politic in the balance between immunity and economy. Inspection is therefore governed by expediency, and to be determined in each by considerations of policy or finance.
SCOPE
In dealing with simple commodities which are, in themselves, complete, the terms serviceability and function can be regarded as synonymous, e.g. a whistle which emits the correct note when blown
861
may be pronounced serviceable. When, however, products which
form only a part of a compound article come under consideration a
different problem arises. Such examples as gear wheels, springs,
motor tyres, etc., the utility of which lies not in their essence but in
their associative capacity with other components to form a synthetic
whole demonstrate clearly that function is not the sole criterion of
perfection. The best motor tyre in the world is useless if it cannot be
fitted to any known make of rim or wheel; the finest hair spring is
merely a waste of effort it if cannot be utilized in any watch; the
soundest of sound boots are simply an encumbrance to their owner
iftheybetoo smallforhisfeet.Thequestionoffit,therefore,becomes
of paramount importance, and unless every composite store is
figuratively speaking to be made on an individual last, each of its
parts must, within engineering limits, be similar in order to allow
complete freedom of choice in assembly. In other words, similar
components must be interchangeable. Serviceability, therefore, in
its widest sense must embrace interchangeability, and any sound
system of inspection must guarantee this property as well as the
capability offunction.
The degree ofinterchangeability considered expedient is a matter
of policy and depends upon:
(a)
Methods of manufacture.
(b)
The amount of local repair deemed feasible by the fitting of new parts.
In this commercial age when, raw material permitting, competition in price-cutting is the order of the day, mass production for articles in common use is the best method of ensuring a high return on capital, and for mass production to succeed, complete interchangeability and consequent heavy inspection charges must be accepted. There is no short cut to the manufacturer's paradisehigh output at low cost. A typical instance is the popular model of a car where the actual vehicle, rapidly assembled, is an amalgamation of hundreds of parts drawn from a common source of supply. In such circumstances interchangeability must be a sine qua non unless the firm wish to go out ofbusiness.
ASPECTS
So far inspection has been considered from the point of view of the producer, i.e. of the factory view branch which must perforce inspect and check production at every important stage of manufacture in order to ensure a minimum amount of final rejection with its consequential waste of labour, material and money. There is, however, the other aspect of inspection far more important from the Service point of view, namely that carried out by, or on behalf of, the purchaser by which he can be assured that he is obtaining the
862
THE MORLEY REFORMS
goods for which he pays. Purchase under such conditions presupposes the ordering of goods to a specification prepared by, or on behalf of, the buying agency, against which they can be checked before acceptance. It is almost a truism to state that inspection of this nature must be carried out by a body entirely divorced from manufacture, not only technically but financially, yet although the Government accepted this principle as early as Tudor times, in respect of warlike stores, it was not placed on a proper practical footing till the late eighties of last century when independent inspection departments were set up. The result of carrying this concept to its logical conclusion has been to invest inspecting authorities with a considerable amount of power, which from the point of view of safeguarding the country's supplies of war material is a step in the right direction. But he who acquired power must accept responsibility; for the former without the latter eventually leads to the situation graphically stated by Lord Acton 'Power corrupts but absolute power corrupts absolutely'. Therefore an
inspecting authority should bear the complete responsibility for all stores accepted by him; and should such stores subsequently fail in service, the blame, if any, should fall on the inspector and not on the manufacturer. The latter, in order to cut costs to a minimum and preserve his reputation, will naturally submit the best he can offer; but his articles are subjected to an inspection, the details of which lie solely within the discretion of the inspecting authority, who as a result of that examination pronounces sentence. Should that sentence prove wrong, it is an act of common justice that the judge and not the prisoner in the dock should be answerable at the bar of public opinion. As a matter of fact the analogy between the processes of law and inspection holds good. The stores under inspection are the prisoner, the examiners who do the actual examination are the jury who report upon the condition, the inspecting officer is the judge who after considering the verdict pronounces sentence, and the purchasing authority or the official responsible for collecting stocks corresponds to the Home Secretary who, when policy so dictates, has the power of setting the sentence aside.
Should failures occur after acceptance it is only right that the maker should be informed in order that any adjustments necessary to avoid a recurrence may be made. Information should not be confused with censure.
SYSTEMS
There are, broadly speaking, two systems of procedure possible when inspection is to be undertaken by an independent authority. These are:
(a)
Inspection throughout manufacture.
(b)
Inspection at the completion of contract.
863
At first glance the former system may seem an unwarrantable refinement from the financial standpoint, as a staff, whose duty is limited to finished inspection, would obviously be smaller and less costly to maintain than one whose functions include the gauging and testing of material throughout the complete run of work. It may be argued that this responsibility is not only primarily, but entirely, the concern of the contractor, and that as the purchaser is only interested in the ultimate serviceability of the articles purchased he is voluntarily choosing to incur expenditure which should rightly fall on the manufacturer. The argument appears even stronger when government stores are at issue, since a contractor's liabilities are purely a domestic matter and as the prices he may charge to ensure himself against losses of this nature are strictly controlled by the method of purchase, i.e. by open tender, he must keep them down to a minimum. Acceptance or rejection by final results, therefore, should tend to stimulate business efficiency. This argument, however, contains a fallacy. It ignores the fact that if the work is to be completed and the goods delivered under the terms of the contract without undue loss ofmaterial, which in these days may be scarce, this meticulous inspection must be carried out and so if the inspecting authority should stand aside, the manufacturer must undertake it himself. Experience proves that a firm's inspection invariably costs more than that undertaken by government and that such expenses are recovered by raising prices. The country, therefore, loses in the long run. There are, in addition, other cogent reasons why inspection during manufacture should be in the hands of the purchaser or his agent. They are as follows:
(1)
The contractor is kept on the right path and given the opportunity of rectifying errors at every important stage. His total number of rejects will thus be kept low and the numbers acceptable at the termination of a contract fairly accurately determined. This tends to stabilize prices and ensure supplies.
(2)
It is obviously preferable for this inspection to be carried out bythe purchaser-as the product will come under close scrutiny throughout its manufacture.
(3)
It teaches the inspecting authority where pitfalls in manufacture exist and where points of weakness are likely to be encountered: the knowledge thus acquired is of the utmost importance in guiding inexperienced firms who may have to be pressed into service during a national emergency.
(4)
The records obtained from such a thorough and systematic inspection are invaluable in tracing, explaining and guarding against failures which may occur in subsequent manufacture or use.
It should be made perfectly clear that any help given to a contractor must not include dictation on the inspector's part as to the 864
THE MORLEY REFORMS
methods a manufacturer may employ to achieve his aim. As stated previously a critic is not necessarily a craftsman, but even if he were he would be exceeding his duty in attempting to circumscribe what is after all the maker's prerogative. Specifications should lay down what is required, what performance is to be expected and what tests it is proposed to take to ensure the quality demanded. Legislation beyond these limits is unjustifiable as the detailed processes essential for sound production lie within the manufacturer's province. All other forms of help should be given. A contractor can, and should, be told where failure is likely to occur, what methods experience has proved to be the best and what pitfalls should be avoided. Sometimes even certain suggested forms of treatment may be detailed, but in such cases the information should be proferred as a guide, not laid down as an instruction.
It may appear presumptuous to suggest that the inspecting authority could tender any useful advice to the manufacturer. Nevertheless it is not, because the former representing the user is in much closer touch with the life-history of supplies than the latter. Particularly is this the case in dealing with armaments. The inspector knows the existence such stores will have to lead, the stresses to which they will be subjected, the climates in which they will have to be stored and the conditions under which they will have to function. This knowledge, gained to a large extent from the periodical examinations which stores in the Service have to undergo, has enabled the inspecting authority to accumulate over a course of years a prodigious amount of data concerning their behaviour in supply. For this reason some of the restrictive clauses in Service specifications dealing with munitions which appear so irksome to the contractor are inserted. These usually are of a chemical nature which are incorporated to ensure keeping qualities under adverse climatic conditions. These, while possibly of less consequence in war when stocks would be used up rapidly, are of vital importance during peace in order to ensure sound and adequate supplies against an unforeseen emergency. To quote one example, Fuze, Safety No. II had for years been made satisfactorily by Messrs Bickford Smith. Suddenly some thirty years ago the stocks in their air-tight tins were attacked in Bermuda by bacillus cereus, a species of destructive spore having a partiality for jute. This entailed research so that some clause incorporating a preventative could be added to the specification. This point has been stressed to show that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of by the manufacturer, and that the inspecting authority, obtaining a deeper insight into the nature of stores, does have to lay down restrictive conditions, the reasons for which may not be apparent to him whose
function it is to produce. 865
TYPES
Inspection may be of two types:
(a) Percentage examination
(b) 100% examination and the question of deciding which type should be adopted in any particular case, bearing in mind all the factors involved: function, interchangeability, importance, cost, etc. depends upon the store In question. It may be assumed that a cheap article is of little importance, i.e. its failure, should it occur, would not be serious. It is also logical to presume that the cheaper the commodity is to produce, the more expensive in proportion it is to inspect. Cheap tin stampings used as lids for cardboard containers will, if they are to be gauged, cost more to examine than they will to make. It is obviously more advantageous to sacrifice a few per thousand for failing to fit than to examine the whole consignment. Hence sentencing on a percentagebasisisclearlyindicatedinthis class ofwork. Areasonable figure for the cost of inspection is 5%, i.e. such costs should not exceed 5% of the purchase price of the article inspected. On the other hand stores which are complicated, and therefore expensive, or those the failure ofwhich would be fraught with danger, call for a 1 oo % examination.
METHODS
Five methods of inspection exist. These consist of:
(1)
Visual examination
(2)
Gauging and measuring
(3)
Chemical analysis, mechanical and performance tests
(4)
Proof (in special cases only)
(5)
Radiological examination
The first two methods can be applied to 100%/ of the stores undergoing inspection, and the percentage of articles which should be examined under these headings is governed by the requirements of interchangeability, methods of manufacture, knowledge of the number of failures probable, etc. Tests and proof cannot ofcourse be carried out in every case since these methods of inspection imply in many instances destruction of the articles tested. Such methods, therefore, can only be applied to a few samples in every batch of goods undergoing inspection, the numbers in each case being based on previous experience of failures, either in respect to the store itself or to a particular maker. Proof and performance tests can of course only be applied to finished products, and the former demands the presence of an explosive either as part of the complete store itself, such as a filled shell or fuze, or as a propellant charge to prove a gun or rifle.
866
THE MORLEY REFORMS
Radiology has been pressed into the service of inspection during the last thirty years, and now that means have been devised to place this powerful weapon in the hands of an examination staff, flaws and pipes in castings, the presence of foreign bodies in blank ammunition and the absence of important safety arrangements in fuzes can be detected without any preliminary work or damaging results. •
The relative importance between an inspection comprising visual examination only and one which includes gauging and measuring depends to a large extent on the method ofpurchase. Before gauging and measuring can be undertaken the inspecting authority must be in possession of a complete set of drawings and/or specifications. When stores are bought to a purchaser's own design drawings and specifications must be held in order to guide tender and contract, but should the articles required be of a trade pattern in contradistinction to a trade supply the inspecting authority may, and probably will, be without such particulars. The prospective purchaser must then be content with buying such articles direct from their normal maker without going to open tender, and be satisfied with a visual examination for workmanship and finish only. Such a
visual examination is comparatively cheap and is probably the most suitable method to adopt when buying proprietary articles. A guarantee is to a certain extent afforded by the fact that as the purchaser in question is buying stores from the same run of work as other users, faulty material is equally likely to find its way into the hands of all buyers. The safeguard, therefore, is the possibility of damage to the maker's reputation in the eyes of the public. The only alternative is to purchase by open tender at a competitive price. This entails a complete inspection and is dependent as before stated on the provision of all working drawings and gauges, an undertaking occasioning great expense. Undoubtedly, therefore, the risk of an occasional failure is more than compensated by the cheapness of inspection, and the most economical method of purchase in the case of a proprietary article is from the recognized firm itself.
GOVERNMENT INSPECTION
Inspection of government stores, particularly of those relating to armaments, has a long tradition behind it. The first instance in which such a subject appears to have been mentioned was in the warrant of 21 December 1456 appointing John Judde to be Master of Ordnance for life. In that document he is specially charged with the inspection as well as the provision of war material. In 1543 the post of Surveyor was created in the Office of Ordnance, an appointment directly connected with inspection duties on behalf of the Crown. In 1572 all guns manufactured in England were ordered to
867
conform with a model steel bullet furnished by the Master of Ordnance; the ancestor of the sealed pattern and subsequent sealed drawing. Charles I on g March 1627 instituted the Crown mark on all arms. In 1633 a Royal Commission was directed to mark all small arms and armour with the hall-mark of the Company of Armourers of London. Lastly in 1699 a proclamation defined the marks which were to be placed on all warlike stores, except cordage, belonging to the Board of Ordnance. By the warrant of the Board as reconstituted by Charles II on 25July 1683, contracts for arms were made under the sanction of the Clerk of the Ordnance as the financial officer directly responsible to Parliament for estimates and expenditure. The examination of supplies rested with the SurveyorGeneral, the other parliamentary officer. It was his duty to inspect and prove them and, if serviceable, to mark them with the appropriate mark. The Principal Storekeeper, the custodian of the Board, was prohibited from receiving anything into store except upon the Surveyor-General's certificate. In this manner the Ordnance system was designed to guarantee the public against fraud in contracts by making the Clerk responsible for price; the Surveyor-General for quality and the Principal Storekeeper for safe custody and record of service. No doubt this system worked admirably for a time but as the years passed slackness and abuses crept in; the Board got badly into debt and found difficulties in settling their bills, and the Principal Officers tended more and more to leave routine and administrative matters in the hands of their subordinates. Fees and gratuities, though strictly forbidden, passed freely between officials and contractors. Quality in such circumstances was not likely to be maintained. The scandal with regard to armament stores grew apace, so much so that on 24January 1783 the proof of guns and ammunition was transferred from the Surveyor-General and his proofmasters to specially selected officers of the Royal Regiment of Artillery. Some of these officers were stationed overseas for the purpose of carrying out periodic examinations of artillery equipment already in the Service. These were known as Firemasters. In 1870 these appointments were extended and confirmed under the title of Inspector of Warlike Stores. Meanwhile in 1804 an Inspector of Small Arms was stationed at Birmingham and an Assistant Inspector at the Tower. In 1811 artillery officers styled Inspectors ofthe Manufactory controlled the gunpowder factories at Faversham and Ballingcollig, and in 1839
an Inspector of Small Arms was sent to Enfield. Towards the end
of the eighteenth century distinguished military officers placed in
charge of the Royal factories were termed Inspectors; therefore, it is
not perhaps surprising that the government inspecting authority in
course of time became an Ordnance Factory official and that for the
first eighty odd years of the nineteenth century the Ordnance
868
The Royal Arsena
868
'...f, .,,
1
THE MORLEY REFORMS
Factories were responsible for inspecting not only their own products but also those submitted by the trade. To effect this, a military officer, usually called a Captain Inspector was posted to the staff of each factory. Although government factories belonged to the civil side of the War Department and inspection was performed by military officers, it was obvious that the system which had grown up haphazard was not sound in principle. In 1887, a Committee presided over by the Earl of Morley was, as we have seen, appointed to investigate the general organization and administration of government factories with the result that inspection was placed upon its
present basis.
I
t
869
r
Chapter 20
The Closing Years ofthe Nineteenth Century
It will become evident that the reforms advocated by the Morley Committee did not, when introduced, live up to the high hopes held out. There were several reasons for this lack of success. Two in particular stand out; the peculiar attitude of the Treasury in giving with one hand and taking away with the other, and the disabilities imposed by the Arsenal itself. The Surveyor-General of Ordnance, destined under the Secretary of State to have become the supreme controller of supply and inspection, should have been the keystone of the new organization; instead of which, the abolition of his office weakened the scheme by divorcing the Director of Artillery and Stores from the factories, thereby severing that close contact between the Services and the manufacturing departments which was then deemed so essential for efficiency. The haphazard layout of the Royal Arsenal was not conducive to furthering the plan. The lack of any suitable building as a satisfactory central office precluded proper centralization and the absence of a site made a combined
storehouse impossible. Nevertheless the emasculated reforms were put into operation in spite of their drawbacks.
The establishment of an independent inspection staff, though it left the Ordnance Factories with certain 'viewing' rights over their own output during manufacture, robbed them of the duty of inspecting their own finished products as well as trade supplies. The civilian control of the individual factories stressed in the Morley Report became still-born owing no doubt mainly to inherited prejudice. Military Superintendents remained in charge though their appointments, which had been held at the pleasure of the Secretary of State, were in March 18g1 made subject to revision every five years.1 The authorities did not consider that the reasons advanced by the Committee for the elimination of the Service element from the control of the factories were justified in the light of current events. Labour conditions were good, relationships excellent and the cost of production was low. Why change horses in midstream when the going is easy. It was also held that the replacement ofmilitary by civil chiefs would in the long run severely reduce the reserve oftechnically trained officers from which future DirectorsGeneral2 and inspecting officers would have to be drawn and
' 7o/Gen. No./6,649 March 1891: 86/1/565 April 1893. Called Superintendent of Ordnance Factories' in the Morley Report.
870
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURy
eventually destroy it owing to the failure to provide sufficient artillery officers with experience of manufacturing technique.
In November 1887, a discussion was held3 as to whether the post of Director-General of Ordnance Factories should be strictly confined to military officers as recommended by the Morley Report in view of the failure by the Treasury to implement the appointment of a Chief Mechanical Engineer. It was decided that the most suitable candidate, regardless of his status, should be selected to fill this responsible position. The initial choice fell on Major-General Eardley R. Maitland, who was promoted from the position of Supen?-tendent, Royal Gun Factory, which he then held, to be the first Director-General of Ordnance Factories in January 1888 with a salary of £1,80? a year personal to himself on the understanding that the pay of his successors should be a matter for consideration betwee_n the Treasury and the War Office.' He did not long enjoy the fruits of high office as he retired from the Army in the summer of 1889. He was succeeded by Dr (afterwards Sir William) Anderson in August 1889 with emoluments reaching a total of [2,500 per annum under whose capable hands the reorganization of the Ordnance Factories was mainly carried out.°
On. the adoption of the reforms, a central headquarters was established through which all communications between the Woolwich factories, the War Office and the Admiralty had to pass and to which the work ofthe various stores', cashiers' and works accounts' branches were transferred. The Director-General of Ordnance Factories was first assisted at this central office in 1888 by two Assistants who were paid £750 and £450 a year respectively. In May 1 888, however, it was proposed and agreed that a Civil Assistant to D.G.O.F. should be appointed.6 Thereafter, Dr Anderson had two officials on his personal staff; a First Military Assistant, Lieut.-Colonel J. B. Ormsby, R.A., who dealt with all technical questions relating to production and the Services, and a Civil Assistant, Mr G. M. Tapp, responsible for stores, finance, accounts and pay. Each Superintendent, however, continued to retain his own factory office with its system of registration, its copies of correspondence and its drawings and designs. The latter, of course, was in direct contravention of a specific Morley Report recommendation which had proposed the concentration of· design work under the Director-General, but the authorities considered that such a concentration in a central design office would weaken the responsibility of Superintendents in regard to their own stores. Thus another
" 7o/Gen. No./5,113. ' 70/Gen. No./5,126. • 7o/Gen. No./5,924. " 70/Gen. No./5,336, a.
871
committee proposal fell on stony ground and it was to take a war of the first magnitude nearly thirty years later to initiate a separate Design Department.
This circumscribed form of centralization was due, partly to the decision to retain the military Superintendents of the three factories who wished, somewhat naturally, to preserve as much of their independence as possible, and partly to the insufficient accommodation available for a central administrative block. It was true that rooms had been found in the adapted premises for the Superintendents themselves, but space forbade the inclusion of their staffs; so that when the former were in contact with D.G.0.F. and the
central registry they were out of touch with their immediate subordinates with whom most of their work was connected. The outcome was obvious. After a short time the Superintendents ceased to use the accommodation provided for them in the central block and returned to their own domain where they carried on their duties in the old manner. The central registry which had been instituted proved insufficiently accessible for any of the factories, consequently, unless efficiency were to suffer, each separate department had to maintain its own registry although the only strictly clerical duty remaining within the province of each Superintendent was the preparation of his factory wages account.
Up to the beginning of 1888 a Royal Engineer officer, the successor to the earlier C.R.E. Woolwich Division who, since 1865, had been known as the Inspector of Works, had been in charge of building and maintenance services for the Ordnance Factories and other departments in the Royal Arsenal. In March I 888, this official was renamed the Superintendent, Building Works. He held his appointment at the pleasure of the Secretary of State and was made responsible for his duties only to the Director-General of Ordnance Factories. 7 In January 18go it was proposed that his salary should be £950 a year. The first Superintendent, Building Works, was Colonel M. T. Sale and to him was transferred the general Arsenal services, such as water, the gas factory, the hydraulic establishments, maintenance of plant and of the permanent way, and the new central electric light station which had recently replaced the individual lighting units which had been springing up in the several factories. In July 1889, he was empowered to make purchases up to the value of £1oo without reference to the Director of Contracts.9 His complete subordination to D.G.O.F. did not last long. In October 1889 it was decreed that he should serve two masters, the Inspector-General of Fortifications for work under Vote B, and the Director-General of
7 78/Gen. No./3,551. " 78/1/964. " 78/Gen. No./3,902.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Ordnance Factories for all work in connection with the Ordnance Factories.'o
The stores branches of the individual factories were also combined in one Central Stores Branch which held and issued as required materials to the three factories and the Building Works Department. Again this was a somewhat skeletal organization. Many stores were still delivered direct to the manufacturing departments only passing through the Central Stores Branch on paper, but those which did pass physically into the custody ofthe latter were housed in buildings which had formerly been factory storehouses. Centralization in this case was thus mainly of an administrative character. At the moment there was no possibility of erecting a large central stores depot even had it been deemed desirable from the point of view of distribution. In those days such a place of storage was not the essential object it afterwards became.
The system of finance and accounting in the Ordnance Factories prior to the introduction of the Morley reforms has been outlined in Chapter 18. It was not a particularly accurate system and failed to give an exact picture of the cost of production since it was impossible to apportion accurately the indirect expenditure between the various orders. It was, however, still in operation when the accounts of the various factories were investigated by experts who gave evidence before Lord Randolph Churchill's Select Committee on Army Estimates in 1887/1888. The report of that Committee advocated no change in the system on the grounds that it was simple and, at the same time, sufficiently accurate for the purposes of the Ordnance Factories as they then existed. This Select Committee did however make one recommendation to the effect that 'It is desirable that the House should authorize steps to be taken to secure an independent professional examination and audit of the Expense accounts of the Army Manufacturing Departments, and of the books on which those accounts have been based'. This recommendation
was accepted and Messrs Whinney and Waterhouse were appointed auditors. In the course of their audit these gentlemen proposed a special form of account for the factories which was adopted.12 In 1888, however, a change was made in the method of Parliamentary provision by the adoption of an Ordnance Factories Vote in place of the individual vote for each factory which had persisted for so long. From that year, therefore, until 1939, the year in which the government factories passed under the control of the Ministry of Supply, this 0.F. vote, distinct from the Army Estimates, was
10 78/Gen. No./3,887. .. Parliamentary Papers 216, 223, 232 and 259 of 1887. Fourth Report. ParliamentaryPaper 239. 1" Parliamentary Paper 1go. First Report 1888.
873
presented annually to Parliament.'? In 1890, the whole method of factory accounting was overhauled and centralized. This allowed uniformity of system, facility of preparation of Parliamentary accounts, economy ofstaff and control of expenditure to be obtained. This new method of factory accounting provided D.G.O.F. with a means of control over factory operations, while individual Superintendents were allowed free access to the books and were encouraged to make the most liberal use of them. As far as labour was concerned, the cost accounts of the factories were based on the records made by a team of work-takers who were in immediate subordination to the official in charge of the Works Account Branch at the central office, and not, as previously, to the factory Superintendents. By this means, an accurate account of the individual work done and the specific wages earned was guaranteed. Depreciation of machinery, engine power, cost of repairs and other maintenance was charged to indirect expenditure or 'overheads', being ultimately distributed as a percentage on wages debited to the various orders in the cost ledgers, much in the same way as had been done under the previous system. An exception to this rule was made in the Royal Gun Factory, where it had long been recognized that such a method of distributing oncosts would fail to give reliable prices for guns varying in weight from
a few hundredweight to many tons. A special arrangement for meeting this 'gun-problem' had been introduced into the R.G.F. accounts, the work of the factory being divided into three classes, heavy, medium and light, with each class bearing an appropriate percentage on materials and labour for machinery charges. Such an exception proved that the old simple rules were no longer suitable to the altered conditions of manufacture with its wide discrepancies between the cost and working expenses of the different types of machinery, and the increased importance then being attached to the comparisons between government and trade prices for similar articles.
Under the 18go system no charge for interest appeared in the accounts. Since the actual cost of work done, as shown in the public accounts, was recovered from either Army, Navy or Indian Government funds, according as to who was the authority who placed the order, and credited to the Ordnance Factories Vote, it followed that ifinterest charges were included in the overall cost, sums, which had not been expended out of it, would have been credited to the Vote, and the account would show an annual surplus to the extent of such interest contrary to its general intention. As the main object of the cost accounts was to show the average price of each article for the financial year, separate accounts were not kept for different orders of the same store. This meant that no account could be closed until
1· Except during the years 1915-1919 inclusive. The period of the First World War.
874
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
the end of the financial year. Since the production of a large number
of articles was practically continuous, it was impossible to obtain the
actual cost without taking stock of them during the process of manu
facture on each order. This was done at the end of each financial
year, and the total expenditure on each order during the year
reduced by the value of semi-manufactured stores at the end and
increased by the value of semi-manufactured stores at the beginning,
gave the cost of the net production on the order. Differences in cost
of production occurring during the year which might have been of
importance for purposes of supervision were not shown.14
Apart from administration, a certain amount of co-operation was effected by redistributing the work between the separate factories. Before 1887 each Ordnance Factory was self-contained and selfsufficient. All worked in watertight compartments. Each had its own foundries, forges, carpenters' shops, railway engines and rolling stock; each was completely equipped to produce its special output. During the remainder of the century, however, most of the woodwork was concentrated in the Royal Carriage Department, and a boiler repair shop to meet the needs of the Arsenal as a whole was opened in the Royal Gun Factory. At the same time, in defiance of tradition, departments were encouraged to make the greatest possible use of each other's resources.
Broadly speaking the centralizing tendencies induced by the acceptance of the Morley reforms and the administrative organization which resulted therefrom held sway till the dawn ofthe twentieth century, and only changes of detail, which will be considered in due course were effected during the following fourteen years. It had been Sir William Anderson's hope to carry centralization very much further and to complete, during his term of office, the integration of the factories foreshadowed in the Morley Report. He also planned a revision of the layout of the Royal Arsenal. His death, however, on 1 December 1898 cut short these hopes. Like Moses and the Promised Land that task devolved upon his successors.
In January 1887 it was decided that the War Office rule in regard to the retiring age of clerks was to be followed in the Ordnance Factories, though latitude could be allowed in the case of technical or professional appointments.'° In May 1887 a grant of [1oo was made towards the purchase ofbooks for the Royal Arsenal Mechanics Institute.16
About this time the question of transferring the responsibility for naval warlike stores from the War Department to the Admiralty was broached. The system by which the Army authorities controlled
1 History of the Ministry of Munitions. 18 72/1/288. 1" 70/Gen. No./5,032.
58 875
munitions for the Naval Service was derived from the Office of Ordnance which had been charged with this duty from time immemorial. It was part of the inheritance bequeathed by the Board of Ordnance Act of 18557 which still persisted in spite of changed conditions. Separate accounts were kept from 1 April 1887. The printed 'Arrangements for keeping an account of expenditure for the Navy'18 was dated 29 April 1887. The complete separation had been made by 1889.1 ° In March 1888, a half-pay naval officer-Captain
F. Younghusband R.N.was appointed Superintendent, Royal Gun Factory.20 This was the first occasion on which the Royal ? avy was intimately connected with the Army manufacturing departments.
The question of admitting visitors, both British-born and foreign, to the Royal Arsenal has periodically come to the fore. Ever since the idea ofsecurity awoke in the national mind, regulations governing such admittance to meet the exigencies of the moment have, from time to time, been framed. Security, owing partly to the international atmosphere and partly to the increasing number of stores placed on the secret list, plays a more important part in our lives nowadays than it did in the less disturbed conditions of the nineteenth century. Then the broad rules concerning admission to the non-danger areas of the Arsenal were simple. British tax-payers, on whose money the Ordnance Factories were kept up, could gain entry by card, and foreigners were granted the same facilities as those extended to British visitors in foreign arsenals. In April 1888, it was decided that in future cards of admission to visit the Royal Arsenal should be issued by C2, War Office, instead of by the Director of Artillery, presumably because the latter had been placed under the Commander-in-Chief.21 In July 1890, new rules of admission were promulga~ed.22 These must have proved unsatisfactory, because in the following February further discussion took place about revising the regulations and cards of admission.23 The subject of foreign visitors cropped up again in 1898. Up to that year permanent passes to visit the Royal Arsenal had been granted on request to the naval and military attaches offoreign Powers. They were, however, seldom used as the passes only permitted their holders to see the parts open to the public. In 1898, the German Embassy asked for a permanent pass for Commander Coerper, their newly appointed naval attachee. The request disturbed the sleeping watch-dog of security and focused atten~~n on the matter. Commander Coerper was given a pass for one visit only, and the system of issuing permanent passes of this
17 18 and 1g Victoria, cap. CXVII. 10 57/2/1,166. » PRO/WO[32/513: 57/2/7,090.
"0 73/1/5,284.
+1 7,877/5,848. "" 70/Gen. No./6,079. 1 7,877/6,707.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
nature was discontinued on the grounds of lack of reciprocity since
most continental countries had no national factories corresponding
to Woolwich, Waltham and Enfield. Russia was an exception but
she, as a matter of policy, refused entry to British Service attachees.24
Even in those days the Russian mind was highly suspicious. Later
on Russia relented in this respect and threw open parts of her State
establishments to British officers. As a gesture of courtesy and good
will, Russians were then permitted to visit the Ordnance Factories.
These changes resulted in revised instructions in April 1899 to the
Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories concerning the admis
sion of foreigners together with a list of processes which should be
withheld from the eyes of such persons.25
In May 1888, a scheme for increasing power in the Ordnance Factories to aid the machining of heavy guns was put forward together with an estimate of the expenditure involved, 26 and in that year a considerable amount of new machinery for the Royal Gun Factory was purchased by contract. About this time a concession was granted to 0.F. clerks on the establishment. They were to be treated as Upper Division clerks for leave and travelling.27 The medical staff in 1889 consisted of two surgeon majors, one surgeon, one dispenser and one surgery man, and in July of that year arrangements were made for a second medical officer to reside in the Royal Arsenal.28
In January 1890, the clerical staff under the Civil Assistant consisted of staff clerks, lower division clerks and mechanic writers. 29 In March 1890, a collar maker was dismissed for publishing a pamphlet called Woolwich Scandals. What this brochure contained is unknown and it is extremely doubtful whether a copy of it still exists. It was presumably scurrilous in nature and disrespectful in tone since its publication led to the man's dismissal.30 Whether the collar maker concerned had a legitimate grievance does not transpire. Anyhow the South East London Hairdressers' Association considered they had. There was apparently some kind of barber's shop in the Royal Arsenal where employees could be shaved and have their hair cut. This brought a strong complaint from the above-mentioned Association," which evidently felt that the prerogatives of its members were being usurped.
When the Superintendent, Building Works, took the railway permanent way under his wing in 1888, running powers, traffic
" PRO/WO[32/145.
" 7,877/8,559.
" 73/3/2,873.
+7 70/1/390.
a8 70/Gen. No./5,843.
70/Gen. No./6,149.
so Woolwich/6/9,440.
a 70/Gen. No./6,315.
schedules, engines and rolling stock remained in the hands of the individual factories. The results can well be imagined. A policy of 'each for himself and the devil take the hindermost' led to confusion and waste. Conditions eventually became so bad that it was decided in March 1890 to appoint a Royal Engineer officer to control the Royal Arsenal Railway at a salary of£39o a year.32 He was in effect to act as a general manager under the Superintendent, Building Works. He took over all engines and rolling stock and was charged with the running of the railway to suit the Arsenal as a whole. Consequent on his appointment, each factory had to demand the trains it required. Instructions for the control of Arsenal railway traffic followed in June 1890.33 The first officer appointed Traffic Manager was Lieutenant E. P. C. Girouard, who commenced his duties with effect from I January 1891.
In June 1890, it was agreed that Superintendents of Ordnance Factories should engage assistant managers at market rates within certain limits. Anything, however, beyond these was to be referred to the Secretary of State.34 In July and November 1890, discussions took place on the salaries and pension rates of Superintendents. 35 These presented some difficulty owing to the fact that the military officers concerned could serve on in their appointments after their normal retiring ages from the Army had been passed. These pension
arrangements were finally settled in 1891. The Treasury laid down the conditions in a letter dated 24 September 1891 which were accepted by the War Office on 15 October 1891. The conditions were as follows :
A colonel who normally retires from the army at the age of 57 years on a pension of £500 p.a. was to be allowed to add £40 a year to his pension for every additional year he served as a Superintendent of an Ordnance Factory up to the age of62 years, i.e. a maximum of£700 p.a.,the retired pay of a Major-General.36
A Treasury approval dated 1g December 1890 sanctioned the Inspector of Machinery, Royal Arsenal, becoming Superintending Engineer and Constructor ofShipping, upon that official taking over the construction of W.D. vessels from an Admiralty overseer. The salary of the post was mcreased by £260 p.a. making it £800 a year in all. The Treasury ever cautious, however, stipulated that the new title and salary were to be peculiar to the then holder, Mr James Hay,
C.E. In the same file the Treasury on 3 October 1892 refused the War Office request that Mr Henry Travis, the draughtsman in the department, should become the established assistant to Mr Hay. In
"+ 70/Gen. No./6,224. " 70/Gen. No./6,824. " 7o/Gen. No./5,585. "· 70/Gen. No./6,371, July 18go: 70/Gen. No./6,496, November 1890. •• PRO/WO[32/523: 75/6/6,452.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
1896, however, Mr Travis came into his own by succeeding Mr Hay
as Superintending Engineer and Constructor of Shipping.37
Three small items may be recorded in May 1891. First the Building
Works Department was permitted to carry out building work by
direct labour;38 secondly, the metallurgist in the Royal Carriage
Department was to rank as a principal foreman;39 and, thirdly, there
was a proposed establishment for a saddlers' shop in the Royal
Arsenal.40 The latter project, however, failed to secure approval.41
In June 1891, a reorganization of the O.F. clerical staff was pro
posed," and during the same month a request for employees in the
Ordnance Factories to cease work on Saturdays at 12 noon was
refused.43
A Committee under the chairmanship of Dr William Anderson,
Director-General of Ordnance Factories, was set up in 1891 to
investigate O.F. accounting." It submitted two reports and made
the following recommendations:
First Report
( r) The taking credit for the value of refuse material at estimated instead of actual rates in the Ordnance Factory votes is inadmissible. The actual amounts realized for the sale of refuse should be ascertained and brought to account in the balance sheet (paragraph 23).
(2)
Primary records of daywork or piece work should be made by a staff of men acting under the Accounts Branches of the Superintendents' offices; and in no way under the orders of the managers or foremen. This should be brought into effect from 1st April next (paragraph 24).
(3)
'Wages and materials not chargeable direct' should be sub-divided and recorded under certain heads, as drawn up by the Committee, from Ist April next (paragraph 25).
(4)
The Store Issue Notes at Woolwich should be valued separately each day. The course to be adopted is shown in detail. This scheme to be carried out in the coming year (paragraph 27).
(5)
Wages and materials should be posted in the cost ledgers weekly instead of monthly from 1st April next (paragraph 28).
(6)
Depreciation to be calculated at the rate of 73% on machinery and 2½% on buildings, the capital being calculated afresh on these rates since 1861.
Second Report
The Committee would prefer to wait for the next report to submit their final recommendations (paragraph 66).
PRO/WO[32/517: 57/22/5,261: 57/22/4,969, January 1891.
+8 78/Gen. No./4,156, May 1891.
"0 70/Gen. No./6,715, May 1891.
40 54/4 Hrs/864, May 1891.
54/4 Hrs/892, November 1891.
° 70/1/7.
4" 70/Gen. No./6,759.
'+ 70/Gen. No./6,674.
879
All the first five recommendations of the first report were put into effect in due course.
There is a box offiles in the Public Record Office dealing with the acquisition ofland on the Plumstead Marshes between the years 1891 and 1897,"° and among them is one"" giving a precis of the events leading up to such purchases. 47
On 7 March 1891, Mrs Sales wrote to the War Office saying that she owned certain land at Plumstead which she was proposing to dispose of to a firm of soap manufacturers and asked whether the War Department would have any objection. Mrs Sales was informed that, if a nuisance were created, the War Department would take the necessary steps to abate it, and that the Secretary of State would disclaim all liability in respect of inconvenience and damage which might result from gun-fre.° On 14 March 1892, Mrs Sales again communicated with the War Office, stating that, 111 view of the War Department's observation, she found it impossible. to dispose of her land for building purposes and had, therefore, decided to cut it up into building plots. She put forward the suggestion that government, sooner or later, would require her land, and that it would be cheaper for the authorities to buy it at that moment rather than to wait till buildings had been erected upon it. On 18 May 1892, the War Office replied that the Secretary of State regretted that he could add nothing to his previous letter.50 Just prior to this communication,
i.e. on 11 March 1892, the Superintendent, Building Works, reported that a considerable quantity ofland at Plumstead was coming on to the market, and that in view of the evergrowing requirements of the Royal Arsenal, especially the proof-butts, he recommended that advantage be taken by the War Department of the opportunity to purchase. The Financial Secretary to the War Office asked the Director-General ofOrdnance Factories how much land was required by the Royal Arsenal and how he proposed to provide the necessary money. The Director-General replied that the amount in question would be 95 acres, but, as the proof-butts were mainly concerned, the question was really one for the Director ofArtillery. He, himself, could not indicate the source of funds for this purpose. In view of the Director-General's reply, the Financial Secretary decided to drop the
61
matter.
On 13 April 1892, the Superintendent, Building Works, observed
in a report to the War Office, that there was a general tendency to
utilize the land on Plumstead marshes for building purposes, and
«· PRO/WO[32/709. 4· Woolwich/8/73. 47 Unfortunately the precis ends before the purchases were made. 46 7o/Gen. No./6,656. 4° 70/Gen. No./7,037. 0 70/Gen. No./7,037. " 70/Gen. No./7,038.
880
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
he suggested that firing rights over the whole of these marshes, north of the South-Eastern Railway and west of Knee Hill or Harrow Manor Way, should be acquired by the War Department in order effectually to stop building on them. He pointed out that under existing arrangements anyone might build houses there and then claim for any damage which might be caused by firing.52 On Ir June 1892, the Director of Artillery considered it essential for the proofbutts to be close to the Arsenal and recommended that immediate steps should be taken to secure all rights obtainable over the land in order to strengthen the War Department's position as much as possible.53 The Inspector-General of Fortifications pointed out that
it would be practically as cheap to buy the land outright as it would be to acquire firing rights. He recommended that a valuation should be made at once and agreed with the Director of Artillery that negotiations for its purchase should proceed immediately. The Adjutant-General also agreed to immediate action for if the land were sold for building, the War Department might well be put to very heavy extra cost and certainly be subjected to great inconvenience. The Permanent Under-Secretary of State pertinently observed: 'We must have the land sooner or later, and if we get it before it gets into the hands of speculators, so much the better.'
Faced with this consensus of opinion, the Financial Secretary agreed to have the property valued. Mr Elwell was requested to value the various plots separately in the order of precedence recommended by the Superintendent, Building Works.
The valuation was as follows:
Block A Plan M 110 acres £29,000
Block B 108 acres £16,750
Block C ,, 108 acres £20,000
Block D 163 acres £36,000
Block E 126 acres £25,500
Block F • ,, 144 acres £47,000
making a total of 759 acres valued at 174,250. To this 10% for costs had to be added making a grand estimated value of£191,675.
Mr Elwell considered that the cost of acquiring firing rights would nearly, if not quite, equal the purchase price. He therefore recommended that the land should be bought and afterwards let as far as possible in order to minimize the actual expenditure. The Inspector-General ofFortifications observed that, in order to preserve the Royal Arsenal as a whole, it was essential to acquire this land as Woolwich was the only State arsenal, and without powers over
a 7o/Gen. No./7,037. 6a 70/Gen. No./7,037.
881
the adjacent land the country might, and eventually would, find itself saddled with a national munition works incapable of use. He therefore advocated strongly the facing of the cost of purchase and recommended that compulsory powers should be put into force. 54 Meanwhile, on 18 July 1892, the Director-General of Ordnance Factories had reported that gradual encroachments had been made on the sites in the marshes set apart for highly dangerous operations, thereby increasing the ever-present danger. He considered that additional land ought to be acquired, and a new set of buildings erected.00 The Secretary of State, however, was not convinced of the extreme urgency of this matter, and said on 21 October 1892 that in view of other commitments it was unlikely that money for this scheme could be found during the financial year 1892/93.°° Landowners, knowing what was in the wind, now tried to realize handsome profits by attempting to dispose of their land at enhanced prices. On 14 December 1892, Queen's College, Oxford, offered to sell their holding, which formed part ofplots C and Don plan M, and were informed that if an exceptionally favourable offer were made, provision for its purchase might be considered. The College, however, asked £,1o,ooo for 50} acres, a sum /1,654 in excess of Mr Elwell's valuation. The Vvar Office did not reply immediately and at last, after several letters from Queen's College pressing for an answer to its offer, wrote on 29 March 1893 that 'the War Department are not prepared to negotiate at present'.7 On 23 February 1893, Mr G. Russell offered to sell his land, which was part of plots A and Con plan M, to the War Department for £200 an acre, but he was told that his offer could not be accepted.58 The Superintendent, Building Works, reported on 24 February 1893 that the London County Council had made an offer to the owners of part of the land in question for use as allotments. It was suggested that the War Department might act in concert with the L.C.C., and the Secretary of State requested that their intentions might be ascertained.so On 17 May 1893, the Superintendent, Building Works, drew attention to Clause 8 ofthe L.C.C. General Powers Bill then before Parliament, which prohibited the erection of dwelling houses on land below the level of High Water Mark, and pointed out that, as the land on the Plumstead marshes was below that level, it might be as well to await the fate of the clause before negotiating for the purchase of the land, since the price would probably be materially affected by its effect.O On 2o March 1893, the Superintendent, Building Works,
"4 7o/Gen. No./7,037.
" 7o/Gen. No./7,167.
" 7o/Gen. No./7,037.
7 70/Gen. No./7,332, A.
48 70/Gen. No./7,373, A.
" 7o/Gen. No./7,375.
7o/Gen. No./7,455.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
stated that he understood that land had been offered to the L.C.C.
who wanted it for allotments, at 125 per acre; and he suggested
joint action between the War Office and the Council. He asked to
be allowed to communicate direct with the Chairman of the Lands
Committee of the Council and this request was approved. On 5 July
1893, he again reported saying that he could get no satisfactory
answer from the L.C.C. and that he understood that Lord Carring
ton, Chairman of Committees, intended to see the Secretary of State
on the matter. His own view was that the Council was probably
awaiting the fate of its General Powers Bill. 61
The valuer to the London County Council wrote on 30 October
1893 that the Small Holdings Committee had received petitions to
put the Small Holdings Act into force at Plumstead. He said that a
large area between the Royal Arsenal on the north and the South
Eastern Railway on the south would be suitable, but as the prices
asked exceeded the value of agricultural land, the L.C.C. could not
acquire it. The Council understood, however, that the War Depart
ment wished to prevent the erection of buildings on the said land
and they therefore suggested joint action and proposed the following:
(a)
That the War Office should acquire as much land as would be necessary to prevent building.
(2)
That, say, 500 acres of such land should then be conveyed to the
L.C.C. at £50 an acre on condition that it should be used for agricultural purposes.
The Council, in their letter, drew attention to Clauses 5-9 of their General Powers Act with reference to the building of houses on low-lying lands.
The War Office replied on 14 February 1894 to the effect that the Secretary of State regretted that, at any rate that year, the state of finances did not permit him to consider the proposal further. The Superintendent, Building Works, pointed out that the proposal was only to take 5oo out of the 759 acres, and that the value exceeded £50 an acre. He also stressed that the chance of the land being built upon was lessened by the Act referred to. Mr Elwell did not comment on the proposal. It was realized that if men were working on the land all day, firing could not take place over it. 62
The Superintendent, Building Works, reported on I I September 1894 that a plot of 1oo acres (hatched red on plan M and forming parts of plots A and C) was up for sale at 1oo per acre, and after discussion, it was represented to the Treasury that, in order to secure the continuance of Establishments in the Royal Arsenal, steps should be taken to acquire land in order to prevent its being shut in by private buildings and to allow of 'proof' requirements, and that
61 70/Gen. No./7,396. 7o/Gen. No./7,661. 88g
ADOLESCENCE
the opportunity then offered should be seized.s Thc Treasury in a reply dated 11 January 1895, said that they could only concur in this proposal to provide fro,ooo in Vote 1o of the 1895/96 Estimates for the purchase of the Ioo acres on condition that such provision proved compatible with the restriction of the Army Estimates, to the limits as yet unknown, which would be imposed by the financial exigencies of the year. The question posed was 'Would the Secretary of State for War give preference to this expenditure over that for other new services?' If so, they would consent to the opening of negotiations at once. A fortnight later the Secretary of State for War
decided that the project must stand over for the present. 64
The next move in this game of procrastination and delay was a communication from the London County Council to the effect that Mr Turner, the owner of the 100 acres in question, had now raised his price to £150 an acre, an increase of £5,0oo. The Council proposed that they and the War Office should purchase the plot jointly. The Secretary of State for War answered that he could not promise the co-operation suggested owing to the pressure of Army requirements.65 Thus the sorry tale progresses. On 24 .January 1895 the Superintendent, Building Works, forwarded a letter from the
L.C.C. which stated that the Plumstead Vestry were purchasing a plot ofland, i.e. part of plot C near the railway, as a stone yard and parish depot to contain in all probability a dust destructor. The Director of Artillery was not unduly upset at this news as he thought such a use would discourage other types of buildings. He also considered that concussion would be unlikely to affect the parish depot adversely, and that the Plumstead Vestry should be informed that the War Department would continue firing. The Superintendent, Building Works, was requested to give this information verbally to the Chairman.o
Messrs Thynne and Thynne wrote on 6 May 1895 that they had received an application to purchase land near the magazine (part of plot 13) belonging to Colonel Cooke and wished to know whether the War Department wanted to purchase. The Superintendent, Building Works, said the plot in question was about 108 acres and was on either side of the powder magazine, and he inferred that it was required as a dumping ground for road sweepings. Part of it was in close proximity to one of the main buildings, and, in view of the possible danger to the magazine, he, the Superintendent, considered that the land should be purchased at once. Mr Elwell valued the two parcels at £16,750 and said that Colonel Cooke's land
• 70/Gen. No./7,953. • 70/Gen. No./8,060. 6» 7o/Gen. No./8,052. "· 7o/Gen. No./8,070.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
comprised 76 acres, part of the 108 acres in plot B. It included sub
plots 2, 6, 9, IO, roA and I I. Messrs Thynne and Thynne stated that
the sum demanded was £46,000; Mr Elwell told the agents that the
price was prohibitive. The Inspector-General of Fortifications agreed
that the figure asked was beyond all reason, but pointed out that
what he feared was damage to W.D. property, not to that of the
purchasers whoever they might be. 67 Afterwards Messrs Thynne and
Thynne wrote to say that the land for sale (sub-plots 2 and 6)
was only on the west side of the magazine, but that the remainder
on the east, making up the total of 76 acres, would in all probability
soon come on to the market. 68
Nearly two years elapsed before the subject was reopened. Then
on 4 August 1897, Lord Arthur Hill, Comptroller ofH.M. House
hold, wrote to Mr St John Brodrick, Secretary of State for War,
enclosing a tracing of sub-plots 2, 6, 9, 1o, 10a and r1 mentioned
previously by Mr Elwell. As a result, a letter was despatched at
Mr Brodrick's request asking at what price these might now be
acquired, but no answer had been received by 2 October 1897, the
date on which this voluminous precis closes. Meanwhile, the Director
General of Ordnance Factories and the Superintendent, Building
Works, repeat their recommendations that the land should be
purchased.6
The last entry is as follows. On g7 September 1897, the Superintendent, Building Works, pointed out that a street was being laid out and filling in being done on part of plot E, evidently in preparation for subsequent building. Each year, he said, buildings were encroaching more and more on the available area and many houses were being constructed at Abbey Wood. He stressed that land could then still be obtained for a reasonable figure and two years earlier a quantity could have been acquired for £100 an acre, but if purchase were delayed until it were developed a much stiffer sum would have to be paid. He therefore, once more, urged that steps should be taken to buy the land described on 13 April 1892, i.e. the whole ofplots A, B, C, D, E and F.70
The land was eventually purchased over a course of years.
Meanwhile, the present proof-butts were in course of erection.
The North Butt in 1887, reconstructed in 1902.
The Middle Butt in 1895, altered in 1910, cells 7 and 8 lengthened in 1912, walls of cells 5 and 6 renewed in 1913, cell 9 erected in 1914.
The South Butt cells 11-13 built in 1915 and cells 14-16 in 1916.
67 70/Gen. No./8,174.
68 70/Gen.
No./8,179. 6» 70/Gen. No./8,916. 70 70/Gen. No./8,967.
ADOLESCENCE
It was laid down in April 1892 that the buildings transferred from the Ordnance Factories to the Inspection Department did not represent a transfer of capital.7' Some vague fears regarding the proofbutts evidently existed about this time for, in July 1892, it was ordered that no shot from a I IO ton gun should be fired into the butts till previous shots had been dug out and removed.72 In the same year civilians in the Ordnance Factories were made to retire at the age of 65 years. The file dealing with this subject is headed 'Retirement at 65 years of age of civilians and pensioners employed in the civil and military branches of the Army', and it laid down that it had been decided by the Secretary of State for War that, where no age limit was otherwise fixed for the compulsory retirement of persons employed in the Ordnance Factones, the retirement of all such persons should take place at the age of 65 years, whether those
concerned were entitled to superannuation or not. This order, which was dated 16 June 1892, did not in any way affect the liability of anyone to discharge at an earlier date whether for inefficiency or for any other cause.73 An Army Order was published on this subject.
A new department was set up in the Royal Arsenal on 6 January 1892, called the Transport Department, Royal Arsenal. The officer in charge was named the Deputy Assistant Adjutant-Generalfor Transport, Royal Arsenal. This, of course, was not part of the Ordnance Factory organization, but it worked in close conjunction with it. The officer in charge was placed under the orders of the Commissary General of Ordnance in all that concerned the provision of local transport in the Royal Arsenal, and had to comply with all demands made upon him for the transport of stores. In addition, he was authorized to correspond in the name of the Commander-in-Chief with General Officers Commanding and others on matters connected with his special duties elsewhere than at Woolwich. This special department was set up for the supervision of transport at the Royal Arsenal and for the transport of stores by land and sea. The establishment detailed for this office, though not forming part of the Woolwich Command, was attached thereto for discipline and pay. The Special Army Order introducing this change cancelled Army Order No. 255 of 1891.7 The officer in charge afterwards became known as the
Assistant Director ofMilitary Transport, Woolwich.
A Committee was set up in 1892 under the chairmanship of Mr William Woodall to explore the question concerning the tenure of appointment of military officers in the Ordnance Factories. In its report the Committee made seven recommendations.
71 86/Audit/8o.
7+ 78/Gen. No./4,219.
7+ PRO/WO[32/552, 6/Gen. No./3,177.
PRO[WO[32/1,127, 14/Gen. No./3,203.
886
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
(I)
Appointments to the Ordnance Factories, below that of Superintendents, to the Inspection Staff and to the department of the Director of Artillery, are to be for five years with power of renewal for a further period of two years.
(2)
If not then appointed to continuous service in the scientific branch, to return to two years regimental duty before re-employment in the scientific branch. The permanent retention of eligible officers to be permitted and provided for.
(3)
After seven years continuous service in any of these appointments, an officer considered to be desirable for retention, will be retained for re-appointment. His name will be retained in his regiment and he will be promoted up to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. He will, however, be permanently seconded and be supernumerary up to the rank of Major.
(4)
No increase of rank to be given to officers, compulsorily retired in the rank of Captain and Major, but rank of Colonel may be given after
4. years' service as Lieut.-Colonel. No higher rank to be given.
(5)
Higher scientific appointments not to be confined to the senior ranks.
(6)
Widows' pensions, in the case of retired officers, to be governed by the rate of pension the officer was in receipt of. When an officer is retained beyond the age of 5 7 years, the widow's pension is to be that of a General Officer's widow.
(7)
o military examination as a qualification for promotion in case of officers attached to the scientific branch for more than 7 years, but such officers not to be shut out from further military service.
Recommendations (1) to (3) were accepted by the Secretary of State and were carried out by the publication of an Army Order dated go June 1896.7 °
The widows' pension was made to depend on the rank held on retirement from the Army.76
In March 1894, a testing house for pressures and velocities was sanctioned.77 In April 1894 there was a report from the Committee on Danger Buildings.78 In June 1894 it was agreed that the Explosive Act of 1875 did not apply to the Ordnance Factories.7° InJuly 1894, rules for the safe conduct of explosives through the Royal Arsenal were laid down. They were agreed to between the War Office and Admiralty and dealt with the movement of explosive stores in and about the Royal Arsenal by the Royal Arsenal Railway. Broadly speaking, the regulations laid down that when explosives were loaded or unloaded on Royal Laboratory premises, the work was to be carried out by a R.L. gang under its own foreman, and not as formerly by men of the Ordnance Store Department or Naval Ordnance Department. That on loading into wagons due regard was
76 A/254: 85/Gen. No./3,251. 76 85/Gen. No./3,637. 77 73/3/6,191. 78 74/Gen. No./3,649. 7" 74/Gen. No./3,672.
ADOLESCENCE
to be paid to the separation of groups as defined in Magazine Regulations. That loading and unloading at the proof-butts was to be under the supervision of the Proof Ofcer who would be responsible that the work was properly carried out according to Magazine Regulations. That work performed by men of the Ordnance Store Department or Naval Ordnance Department should be done under the supervision of a uniformed guard of the Royal Arsenal Railway. That only red-painted vans, designed for the carriage of gunpowder, were to be used for the conveyance of explosives on the Royal Arsenal Railway. That the conductor would see that each van used for conveying explosives was 'clean' and free from grit. That small arms ammunition was exempt from the above rules. That the. establishment of conductors should be charged against the Commissary General of Ordnance and the Naval Ordnance Store Officer in proportion to
the services rendered. so
Another principle, not strictly relevant to the Ordnance Factories, was adopted in the Royal Arsenal in 1894. This was the inspection of naval warlike stores by the War Department. The file81 dealing
with this matter states that the Naval Ordnance Department commenced to function on 1 October 1891. On 29 June 1894 the Admiralty in a letter numbered 'Enclosure to G 5,550/7,224' stated that they accepted the inspection of naval warlike. stores by the Inspection Departments under the Director of Artillery, i.e. the Chief Inspector, Woolwich, as their agent though they accepted the responsibility for such inspection to the same extent as though it had been conducted by their own officers. On 8 May 1894 the Principal Medical Officer, Woolwich Garrison, replaced an officer of the Ordnance Store Department as a member of the Woolwich Board of Health.s?
After an explosion at Waltham Abbey on 7 May 1894, when the Quinton Hill nitre-glycerine plant in that part of the Royal Gunpowder Factory bounded by the Swardstone Road literally 'went up in smoke', causing an appreciable number of casualties, a Committee was set up under the chairmanship of Lord Sandhurst to consider the Danger Buildings at Waltham and Woolwich in general and the Waltham Abbey explosion in particular.83 Besides the chairman, who was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for War, the members were: Sir Fredrick Abel, War Department Chemist; Colonel V.D. Majendie, H.M. Chief Inspector of Explosives; and Colonel M. T. Sale, Superintendent, Building Works, Royal Arsenal. The Committee submitted two reports and the
PRO/WO[32/512: 57/Woolwich 271. • PRO/WOJ32/513: 57/2/7,095. ++ PRO/WO[32/723: Woolwich/2/8,786. + C/7,370: 74/Gen. No./3,677: 85/Gen. No./3,497.
888
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
second, B. 349, deals exclusively with Woolwich. It was dated 2 r January 1895. The Committee drew attention to four points:
( 1) The question of mixing up together in one part of an Establishment a number of operations, of which some are dangerous and others are not, has already been noticed incidentally in those portions of our foregoing observations which relate to No. 3 Cartridge Factory and to the Composition Buildings. But the Committee think it desirable to emphasize this point, and to suggest that care should in all cases be taken to prevent 'non-danger' operations being brought into the scope of 'danger' operations as far as may be available. The main objections to such a practice appear generally speaking to be as follows:
(a)
It tends to necessitate the application of a number of regulations and precautions (structural and otherwise), necessarily often of a costly character, to buildings and operations where no such necessity can really be shown to exist.
(b)
It tends, also, to weaken the belief in the value or necessity for danger precautions, and thus, to some extent, to interfere with their strict observance even in necessary cases.
(c)
It may often happen that by this arrangement a number of workpeople are brought within a risk which, if they were employed elsewhere, would not affect them.
(2)
The Committee could not fail to notice in the course of their enquiry some, and even serious, irregularities or diversities of practice in regard to the storage and handling of explosives. They are disposed to believe that such irregularities and diversities may be due in some measure to the difficulties in the appropriation of the accommodation for the naval and military stores respectively, which is one result of their separation, and also in some degree to the want of unity of control which such a sub-division is likely to involve. The Committee are alive to the fact that this is a question of considerable importance and difficulty, but they feel they would be imperfectly discharging their duty if they did not earnestly recommend that the subject be carefully considered with a view to the adoption of measures to ensure, if not unity of control, at any rate greater uniformity of practice in dealing with similar classes of stores.
(3)
The existing arrangements for the shipment of gunpowder and other explosive stores are not, in the opinion of the Committee, adequate either to the requirements of the public service or to the minimizing of risks associated with operations of this character. Even the adoption of a code of carefully considered regulations which have been recently framed with the object of removing some of the graver and more obvious risks, will not in itself suffice to place this part of the Arsenal service on a safe and proper footing. To that end, it appears to the Committee to be essential that a pier of suitable construction and dimensions should, without delay, be erected at some convenient but isolated spot, thus avoiding the necessity which at present exists of conveying large quantities of explosives through crowded parts of the Arsenal, and for shipping and
889
unshipping them on crowded wharves in undesirable proximity to densely populatedparts of Woolwich and Plumstead, as well as to the valuable buildings and machinery contained in the Arsenal.
"ttee in conclusion desire to call attention to the
(4,)The Comm1 > . : :
id f th S eri3ntendent of the Metropolitan Police stationed at
evi.ence o: e ·up · • +
the Arsenal as to the inadequacy of the protection which the force at present at his disposal enables him to afford to the government propertyfor which he is responsible, and to the facilities which the absence of
roper protection supplies to evilly-disposed persons who may meditate {±ief, especially in regard to buildings containing explosives.
In their second report the Sandhurst Committee made specific recommendations in regard to Woolwich which covered a good deal of ground. Most of these recommendations were accepted. These 1n
tabular order were:
No. 3 Cartridge Factory
(a)
The lowest limit consistent with carrying on the work to be fixed to each barge or building. .
(2)
Each building in which cordite may be exposed to be fitted with a wooden dado surmounted by a grit catcher.
•• fall; mn 'clean' platforms
(3) Steps to be taken to guard against gnt a mg o
or on floors of danger buildings. [The above three recommendations were adopted.]
(4) Certain 'non-danger' operations to be divided off by suitable
barriers.
[This recommendation was not carried out.]
Composition Buildings
(1)
Quantities of explosives to be strictly limited.
(2)
The Expense Magazine No. 26A to have its storage compartment
lined through-out with match-boarding or other suitable material. (g3) Wooden dados, with grit catchers, to be applied where necessary.
(4)
Precautions to be taken to prevent grit finding its way to the 'clean' platform.
(5)
The portion of the drying room used for gunpowder and fuze composition to be partitioned off and fitted as a danger building.
(6)
The removal of the dry gun cotton store (No. 22A) to be expedited. [These recommendations were carried into effect (74/Gen. No./3,781).]
Rocket Factory
(a)
The buildings as far as possible to cease being used as gunpowder buildings.
(2)
AII buildings in which loose rocket composition or loose gunpowder is liable to be present, to be lined with match-boarding, cement rendering, or other suitable material.
(3)
The open fire in the adjoining iron fortification store to be replaced by a safer mode of heating.
890
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
(4) Provision to be made for preventing grit from falling on to 'clean'
platforms from exposed masonry at doorways. [The above recommendations were adopted (74/Gen. No./3,781).]
Cannon Cartridge Factory
(a)
Suitable fencing to be placed between the factory and the river bank.
(2)
Certain buildings to be improved as regards lining and nondetachment of grit.
(3)
The buildings to be more vigorously searched after working hours. [These recommendations were carried out (74/Gen. No./3,781).]
Proof-Butts (new butts)
( 1) Expense magazines to be completely lined.
(2)
'Clean' floors to be protected from the descent of grit from bare masonry.
(3)
The open-jointed roof of the filling room to be lined.
(4)
Rules concerning iron hot water pipes to be more rigorously observed.
(5)
Another filling room to be added without increasing the number of men employed.
(6)
A suitable magazine to be added without an increase in the quantity of explosive stored.
[The above recommendations were put into practice (74/Gen. No./ 3,781).]
No. I Magazine and Store Buildings
(r)
Naval magazines to be suitaby lined.
(2)
If larger Q.F. ammunition is to continue to be classified as Class I, Group I, then the building in which it is stored to be fitted up as a magazine.
(3)
Access of grit to 'clean platforms' to be prevented.
(4)
Open fires to be prohibited in the neighbourhood of these buildings.
(5)
The bridge to the shipping pier traversed by the public to be
enclosed. [These recommendations were put into effect (74/Gen. No/3,781).]
No. 2 Magazine and Store Buildings
(1)
An enclosed bridge to be built across the approach to the pier.
(2)
Magazine regulations to be looked into. [These recommendations were adopted (74/Gen. No./3,781).]
'Thalia' Floating Magazine
If continued, to be placed in a safer position.
Cordite Barge
To be dispensed with.
59 891
ADOLESCENCE
Picric Acid Store
Picric acid to be stored in a proper magazine. [These three recommendations were accepted (74/Gen. No./3,781).]
General
Based on the four points to which they drew attention, the Committee made four general recommendations:
(i) Danger operations to be separated completely from non-danger
operations. (This recommendation was not adopted.]
(g) Uniformity of practice (if unity of control is out of the question) to be enforced in dealing with explosives at Woolwich.
[This recommendation was adopted.] ( ) An isolated pier to be erected for the shipment of explosives.
3
[This recommendat10n was _adopted.] . ( ) The adequacy of the Metropolitan Pohce Force to be considered.
4
[This recommendation was adopted.]
The 'isolated' pier was Crossness Pier which was built on the marshes beyond Berber. In the O.F. estimates for 1895 {1,200 was allotted for alterations to the Danger Buildings in accordance with the recommendations of Lord Sandhurst's Committee.
In 1895, the relationship between the Director of Artillery and the Director-General of Ordnance Factones was as under.
() The Director of Artillery co:mmunicated with_the Directo_r-G~neral of Ordnance Factories on all subjects connected with production in the Ordnance Factories. . .
(2) Opinions given by Superintendents O.F. on. techmcal pomts referred to the Director-General by the Director of Artillery were sent to the latter in the original War Office papers with the D.G.'s covering minutes. When divergence of opinion between D.G.0.F. and the Superintendent arose, the Director of Artillery either accepted the views of
D.G.O.F. or arranged a conference with him as provided in (3) to discuss and decide the matter.
(g)
When technical points of importance were under consideration, the Director of Artillery might arrange with D.G.O.F. for a meetmg with him and any Superintendent who might be interested in the questions under review, to discuss such technical points, to express his views on them and to offer suggestions for consideration.
(4)
The Chief Inspector, Woolwich, or the Chief Inspector of Small Arms were at liberty to communicate direct with Superintendents O.F. on such matters of detail as did not require reference or approval. Superintendents O.F. could also consult Chief Inspectors personally on similar matters of detail.
In 1895, a ruling as to the counting of previous service towards gratuity for men not representing themselves for work at the Ordnance Factories after being 'stood-off', was laid down. This regulation
+4 PRO/WO[32/155: 7,968/69,990.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
was decided on the case of Joseph Povery of the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock. The ruling was that a man, not representing himself for work at an Ordnance Factory after being 'stood-off' for a definite period owing to lack of work, was automatically considered to have discharged himself and therefore forfeited his entitlement to a gratuity, even though he might be re-engaged later. 85
In February 1895, circulars about the searching of soldiers by police were issued.86 In the same month the report of the Committee on proof-butts was received.87 In March 1895, the War Office laid down that the War Department could not negotiate with workmen, through the medium of officers of Trade Unions. 88 Things have moved a long way since then. In May 1895 the proposed conversion of the Institute Library into a free public library was not approved.89 In January 1896 it was laid down that the Superintendent, Royal Carriage Department, Lieut.-Colonel Sir George Clarke, 90 who had retired from the Corps of Royal Engineers, could not draw his retired pay in addition to the pay of his appointment." On 28 December 1896, the Treasury agreed that the salary of the Inspector of W.D. Shipping, who had an office in the Royal Arsenal, should be £220. ros.-£300 p.a. and that the Inspector at that time should enter the scale at £26o from 1 October 1896.9%
In July 1897, a new post of Deputy Director-General of Ordnance Factories was, as before stated, created at 1,500, the first holder being Mr H.F. Donaldson who was appointed on 1January 1898. In return for this, the posts of a staff officer and a manager were abolished."" In 1899, after the death of Sir William Anderson, the post of Director-General of Ordnance Factories was converted into that of the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories and the salary of 2,500 a year enjoyed by Sir William Anderson in his life-time was reduced to £1,800, the pay which Colonel Sir Edmond Bainbridge, the first C.S.O.F., received. At the same time the post of Deputy Director-General of Ordnance Factories was abolished being replaced by that of ChiefMechanical Engineer at £1,600 p.a. including lodging allowance. Mr H.F. Donaldson stepped into the new appointment.
There was a good deal of argument in 1897 as to the allocation of repair work between the Ordnance Factories, the Inspection Department and the trade. D.G.0.F. objected that it was contrary
• PRO/WO[3g2/524: 77/8/6,578. 8 Woolwich/6/1,123. 87 78/Gen. No./4,390.
8 70/Gen. No./8,092. 89 70/Gen. No./8,168. 80 Afterwards 1st Lord Sydenham of Combe. Died 7 February 1 933. 1 85,993/8. • PRO[WO[32/514: 57/22/5,728. " 70/1/156: 70/1/168.
893
to the accepted recommendations of the Morley Committee for the Inspection Department to 'manufacture'; in any case it made the Chief Inspector, Woolwich, the judge as to which agency should
effect the repair,94 A Committee was set up in 1897 under the chairmanship of Sir William Anderson. D.G.O.F., to consider the question of pensions for wage-earners in the Ordnance Factories."° The Committee were unanimous in not recommending a pension earmng establishment among operatives for the following reasons:
(a)
Stoppages would be necessary.
(b)
Legislation would be required to secure the stoppage m case of piece-work. _
(c)
Greater expense would be involved than the prospective advantages would warrant. Many years were to pass before pensions for established employees became a reality. In August 1898 further instructions regarding the class of visitors to be admitted to the Royal Arsenal were published. 96
In 1898 a Committee under the chairmanship of Mr J. Powell Williams, M.P., was convened to study Danger Building Conditions. They made eight specific recommendations, all of which were adopted.97
I. Home Office regulations to apply wherever the exigencies of the Service permit.
II. Magazinesfor storage
Gunpowder and cordite not to be stored in the same compartment.
(a)
Gunpowder. For construction and distances, Home Office regulations to apply to all new magazines, and to all existing ones as far as is possible. Wood to be excluded except for removable dados. Asphalte for floors and 'neat' cement for linings.
(b)
Cordite. For distances, Home Office regulations to apply; light, not inflammable, and keeping temperature between 45°F and 120°F. Cordite in bulk to be packed in wood and stacked with ends free.
III. Magazines,fortress and expense
Regulations under II to apply if possible.
IV. Laboratories and examining rooms
Full danger precautions to apply. Gunpowder and cordite never to be present together.
V. Cartridge Stores
Magazine conditions to apply except for Q.F. metal cartridge cases.
• PRO/WO[32/512: 57/Woolwich/1,048. "· A/487: 70/Gen. No./8,047. ·6 7,877/8,454. "7 A[528.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
VI. Shifting rooms Home Office regulations to apply to the 'clean' side.
VII. Storesfor explosives other than gunpowder and cordite Existing regulations to hold good.
VIII. Storesforfilled shell Cooperages, workshops, etc. Magazine conditions not to apply.
In June 1899, the Treasury approved of a reorganization of the
O.F. staff with a rearrangement of officers and the salaries.98 This with the general reorganization of the factories99 was contingent on the new appointments of D.D.GO.F., CS.O.F-, C.MI.E., etc., already mentioned.
Meanwhile, in far-off Africa, certain actions into which it is not necessary to enter, caused tension to mount in Cape Colony, Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Heads were hot and tempers rose with the result that the Second Boer War, commonly referred to as the South African War, broke out on ro October 1899. As a country we were caught unprepared, but luckily, the factories at Woolwich proved capable of expanding to the required degree for a war of that magnitude, though pressure was at times very great, notwithstanding the fact that naval forces took no part in the struggle and that the Ordnance Factories were called upon only to meet the increase in Land Service requirements. The war caused the number ofemployees in Woolwich factories to rise from approximately 15,000 to 20,000, with a corresponding increase in wages, materials and machinery. Compared to the World Wars which followed, the S.A. War did not upset and dislocate the normal rhythm ofproduction;
its effect savoured of 'degree' rather than of 'kind'. It did, however, make the authorities realize that greater expansive power would have to be provided to meet the requirements of a war involving both land and sea forces. This war also brought to light the fact that considerably more time was necessary than had been contemplated, to allow private firms producing armaments to reach their full capacity, and that they were liable to fail entirely in the production of certain essential components, as actually happened in the case of fuzes. The logical conclusion, therefore, appeared to be that both the trade and the Ordnance Factories required fostering, and the main difficulty which became apparent was to allocate a fair distribution of work to both in peacetime so that a certain reserve potential could be created without at the same time involving uneconomic production. The nice balance in this case was not easy to judge. Prior to the South African war, the general method was to allot orders equally between the two sources of" supply., though comparative prices naturally entered into the arrangement. After
8 7o/Gen. No./9,476. 8 70/Gen. No./9,410.
that war, the proportion was changed to roughly one third to
Woolwich and two thirds to the trade, more particularly in the case of gun production. The ratio in other stores was less definite. A scheme put forward in 1900 included proposals for increasing the productive powers of the Ordnance Factories at a cost estimated to exceed £1,000,000. This large programme was referred to a Committee under the chairmanship of Sir F. Mowatt100 for consideration as to how far private industry could be relied upon for expansion in time of war. It was an inter-departmental committee set up to consider the reserve of guns and munitions for the Army. The Committee expressed the opinion that the government factories should be so organized as to be able materially to increase their normal output in times of national emergency, or when the trade deliveries failed to come up to expectation. They stated their conviction however, that this reserve power could only exist so long as the work assigned to the Ordnance Factories was well within the capacity of its ordinary staff working the usual number of hours per week, which in January 1goo had been reduced to 48 hours.1o1 It was, therefore, self-evident that either the normal demands on the factories should be reduced· or that large additions must be made to buildings, plant and staff. The Committee finally came to the conclusion that the former alternative was the lesser of two evils. At the same time, they recommended the removal and extension of the danger buildings, the replacement of Dial Square workshops handed over by the Royal Gun Factory to the Royal Carriage Department, and the modernization of existing machinery at a cost of £366,100. This, though less comprehensive than the original proposals, was quite substantial. This recommendation was approved by the Secretary of State for War, being partially provided for in the Military Works Act of 19o1 and partially in the Army Estimates for 1901/1902, with the result that in the years following the equipment of the Arsenal was considerably more effective than it had been before the South African War. Bearing more or less on a similar subject was a meeting held in the Secretary of State's room in the War Office on 15 October 190010% to discuss the acceleration of gun manufacture, particularly of guns for fortresses. The Secretary of State for War, the Under-Secretaries of State, the Commander-inChief and the Director-General of Ordnance were present. Pensions were granted to managers, assistant managers and principal foremen of Ordnance Factories without revision of their scales of pay.103 Pensions were on the Civil Service scale and conditions, a maximum of half of hired service already given to count.
100 A/617.
1o1 70/Gen. No./9,682.
lOS PRO/W0/32/271B: 266/4,500.
1o· 7o/Gen. No./193.
896
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
The limit of age for future entrants was 45 years. An extension of this pension scheme to foremen and assistant foremen was to depend on their willingness to contribute towards its cost. This concession arose out of the recommendations of an inter-departmental committee set up under Sir J. Williamson to consider pensions for the Manager-Foreman class in the Ordnance Factories.104
There was a good deal of discussion on closing the right of way to Crossness. This closure entailed agreement between the L.C.C., the Kent County Council, and the East and West East India Dock. It took place in 1 goo and consisted in closing the Crossness road across the marshes and building another along the L.C.C. boundary. Agreement between the parties concerned was finally reached and came into force on 1 March 1901. It was considered essential to close this right of way and substitute another to prevent undesirable persons, particularly gypsies who were a special nuisance, proceeding through the magazine area close to the new site for the danger buildings.105
Most of the mounded and moated magazines on the marshes were built about this time. En, Fi, Ea, Ta, Ea, Fa, F, Ea, etc. were erected in 1897. F,, was constructed in 1898 and F,, and F56 in r go 1. One can therefore quite understand the unwillingness of the authorities to allow the populace at large to walk across, and possibly roam about, this danger area.
The following is a list of the main services and new construction which were approved and commenced in the years against which the items are stated. As in Chapter 18 the list does not purport to be exhaustive. Further details may be found in the 0.F. Estimates for the years in question.
Year Department Work Item Cost
1887 1887 General Ordnance Provide means for lifting and landing guns up to 24o tons in weight £16,200
1887 1887 1888 1888 1888 1888 1888 1889 1889 1889 Store R.G.F. R.L. R.L. R.G.F. R.G.F. R.G.F. R.G.F. R.L. R.C.D. R.C.D. S.A.A. store Proof-butt of 4 bays and accessorybuildingsDrawing Office Plant for Q.F. cases 8o ton crane with pumping engines. 50 ton crane 80 ton crane Boring and rifling machine Shell forging plant 20 ton overhead travelling crane 12 ton overhead travelling crane £3,500 £13,310 1,500 £2,600 £6,00o 1,420 £3,200 £5,082 £a,500 1,500 £1,050
10+ A/637. 10» PRO/WO[32/709: Woolwich/8/163.
897
Year
1889
1889 1890 1890 1891 1891 1891 1891
1891 1892
1895 1895 1895 1895
1895 1896 1896 1896
1896
1896 1896
1897
1898
1898
Department
R.L.
R.C.D. General General R.C.D. General General R.G.F.
R.G.F. General
General R.C.D.
R.G.F. R.G.F. R.G.F.
R.L.
General R.L. R.L. R.L.
R.G.F. General General R.L.
R.L.
R.C.D. R.G.F.
General
General
R.L.
ADOLESCENCE
Work Item
Building for steam hammer and shell forging plant Timber shed Electric light fittings and mains 'B' Storehouse 20 ton overhead travelling crane Store for iron borings and turnings Timber sheds on canal bank Construct two new furnaces for heating hoops, and one Wilson's furnace and chimneyRoofing over crane and shrinkage pits Means of unloading and storing coal
Timber gantry on Frog Island Timber store, carpenters' shops on Frog Island Cover over radial crane (D73) Two new furnaces Gauge shop, south side of middle boring mill Remove danger buildings to marshes outside Arsenal Provide electric light station Building for filling H.E. shell Shop for repair of Q.F. cases Alterations to danger buildings in accordance with the recommendations of Lord Sandhurst's Committee New machine shop Complete calcium acetate plant Extension of Central Power Station Building for storage for empty components Converting Dial Square foundry into Q.F. case factory Wood dessicating house Removal of old proof-butts to new site (commenced in 1895 with Treasury approval) Timber stores for cut slabs and planks Re-construct carbonizing plant in gas factory Additional plant for making Q.F. ammunition (commenced in 1897 with Treasury approval)
898
Cost
£1,750 £2,000 £2,500 £7,000 £1,400 1,500 £1,500
£3,00o £4,500
£1 I ,970 £3,00o
£5,800 £8,900 £2,000
£20,000 £1,650 £2,000 £1,700
1,200 £1,250 £3,200 2,500
,500
£4,100
£1,010
£14,000
£12,500
THE CLOSING
Year Department
1898 R.G.F.
1899 R.L.
1899 R.L.
1899 R.G.F.
1899 R.G.F.
1899 R.G.F.
YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
Work Item
Enlarge shrinkage pits for heavy guns Extension of lyddite establishment New magazine Foundations for boring and lapping machines Extension of boring mill by two bays Foundations for machinery
Cost
3,580 £4,900 £1,750
£12,000 £2,ooo
This year there was a Supplementary Estimate: the additional
building grant was £85,034.
1900 General
1900 General
1900 R.L.
1900 R.L.
1900 R.C.D.
1900 R.C.D.
1900 R.C.D.
1900 R.G.F.
1900 R.G.F.
1900 R.G.F.
Telephone service Additional plant Gas Works Cannon cartridge buildings. Build new boiler house and fit up the existing one as a danger building Erection of portable buildings for filling ammunition Increased accommodation drawing office Increased accommodation for repairable boxes Additional accommodation wheel factory Foundations for hydraulic forging
press Torpedo factory. Turning shop Buildings to replace shops in Dial Square transferred to the R.C.D.
£1,000 £15,700
1,430
£1,450
£6,000
£1,450 £10,000
There was only one explosion recorded between the years 1887 to 1900. This took place in Q.F. Cartridge Factory No. 3 on 14 September 1899. It was caused by the premature action of a Nordenfelt fuze in a round of 6 pdr ammunition. One workman, Richard Barrett, was killed. In Haydn's Dictionary of Dates, 24th Edition, 1906, appears the announcement that there was an extensive fire in the Royal Arsenal on 6 December 1896, in the saw mills and corkshop. Research in the local press of the period, however, has failed to substantiate this statement. It appears open to doubt, therefore, whether this fire did in fact take place. It is felt that had it actually occurred, it could not have failed to have received adequate notice
in a Woolwich weekly journal.
To conclude this chapter, a description of the Royal Arsenal at the time of the Morley reforms will be attempted. By that date, of course, the Establishment had grown to such proportions that a comprehensive review of its buildings, machinery and activities
899
would be out of place in a work of this nature. It had long passed the stage when a simple picture of its life and its work was possible. A broad outline is all that can be essayed.
Actually, the general scene had altered little during the previous twenty odd years. A comparison between maps of 1867 and 189o substantiates this statement. Externally, there was but little difference noticeable; it was in the shops themselves that advances in technique had been made. Most of the buildings were still west of the canal. These consisted of the principal Laboratory workshops; the shell
. the East Laboratory; the shell filling department; the cap
fioundry, . . . f; • •th
factory; the Carriage Department with its mainla",1s smt ery and its wheel shop; the Gun Factory including its shrinkage pats, 1ts boring mills, its forges and its turneries; the main block of storehouses; the saw mills; the umber yard; and the gas factory. South of the canal was the cartridge establishment. Beyond the canal lay the Black sheds belonging to the Ordnance Store Department; the rocket factory; the Select Committee range; the Laboratory range; and some magazines and danger buildings. The rocket factory was situated between the Select Committee range and the canal, and between the canal and Griffin Manor Way were the cartridge case factory, the sale yard and certain storehouses. The proof-butts, north of the Black sheds, had not yet been moved to their present site; Griffin Manor Way itself formed the eastern boundary of the
Arsenal. On entering the main gate, the mainguard and the old brass foundry appeared to the left, while to the right a road led to the surgery, hospital, school, police-barracks and the Royal Arsenal Mechanics Institute. In front, Dial Square Green, then as now, formed a pleasant oasis in the midst of bustling workshops, and on its right were situated the Ordnance Committee offices and the officers' quarters. The Dial Square buildings, then part of the Royal Gun Factory, contained various fitters' and founders' shops devoted to the manufacture of guns. The brass foundry itself, once the busy scene of bronze cannon production, had lost its pride of place since the introduction of iron and steel ordnance. On transference to the Royal Laboratory in 1878 it justified its existence by making small castings for that department. The main Laboratory workshop, said at the time to be the largest machine shop in the world under one roof, contained more than 5oo lathes devoted to all kinds of operations connected with the output of ammunition. A writer at the time described them as 'Some of the most perfect and extraordinary machinery ever produced? .1o6 The Victorians, bless them, were proud of their achievements and their country. One can sense that on reading the few descriptions of the Arsenal which were written
1os Warlike Woolwich, W. T. Vincent. goo
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
during 'those sixty glorious years'. These machines were driven by two pairs of engines in the south-east and south-west corners of the building by means of 4,077 feet of shafting. Bullet making was one of the principal industries of this shop and remained as such till a new small arms ammunition factory was built at the beginning of the First World War. In this process the molten metal, consisting of a mixture of lead and tin, was, after leaving the furnace, forced by hydraulic pressure through the aperture at the top of the leadsquirting machine when it appeared as an endless rod of soft metal which, as it issued, was wound round a drum. These drums were then conveyed to the bullet making machine which cut off the lead alloy to the requisite length and moulded it into the correct shape. The original bullet machines introduced by Sir John Anderson, though considered very up to date in their time, were complex and cumbersome compared to those in use in 1887. The latter were invented and installed by Mr Davidson, Manager R.L., about the year 1871. After being completed and passed by viewers, the bullets were sent down to the East Laboratory where they were made up into cartridges. In addition to bullets, other components and stores such as shrapnel shell heads, fuzes, rocket cases, powder cases and percussion caps were manufactured in this main workshop, at one end of which was established a factory view-branch.
Close by this main workshop stood the R.L. pattern room, known as the Model Room. This was none other than our old friend Tower Place alias the Royal Military Academy, of which so much concerning its earlier history has already been given. It housed the sealed patterns of all Laboratory stores together with specimens of various woods, implements, moulds, materials and instruments used in connection with ammunition manufacture. Many sections of fuzes, tubes, shell, cartridges and rockets were displayed, including torpedoes, specimens of ancient shot and other exhibits. The whole formed an interesting museum. When the Inspection Department was formed in 1888, this model room was transferred to the Inspector, Laboratory Stores. The sealed patterns were kept both in the 'Academy Room' and the 'Board Room', but when patterns declined in numbers owing to their gradual supersession by sealed drawings and specifications, the 'Board Room' was the first to be emptied, and a few years after the First World War, it was converted into a luncheon room for officers of the Armaments Inspection Department. On the final disappearance of patterns, an Armaments Inspection Mess was formed in the building after the Second World War, the 'Academy Room' becoming the ante-room and the 'Board Room' the luncheon chamber.
Adjacent to the model room were the carpenters' and tinmen's shops of the R.L. which call for no comment, and on the opposite
901
side of the yard stood the R.L. saw-mills. The coopers' shop, above the saw-mills, contained the machinery for the construction of powder barrels, tubs and wooden pails. Across the road was the cap factory which had been used originally for making paper cartridges for muskets and rifles. Here long bands of sheet copper were passed through punching machines, each one of which stamped out the percussion caps at the rate of go,00o an hour and dropped them into a box below. Boys were employed in this shop and they became very deft at their jobs. After examination, the caps were despatched to the East Laboratory where they were filled with cap composition. Towards the rear of this factory were rolling mills for rolling out the brass bands from which cartridge cases were made. The brass under the mills was reduced from ingots about an inch in thickness to thin sheets one two hundred and fiftieth of an inch thick. Behind this again were annealing furnaces, above which was the shop in which copper percussion tubes were produced. Proceeding eastwards the offices and laboratories of the W.D. Chemist loomed into view.
Besides research, the W.D. Chemist carried out the inspection of oils, paints, chemicals, etc. purchased by the Government on contract. The department also had an extensive photographic section. The Chemical Inspectorate, as it is now called, left the original home of its labours shortly before the Second World War, and the 'Abel' laboratories, erected in 1864, have now become part of the Armament Inspectorate which incidentally took over 'armament' photography some twenty years ago.
Further on to the right stood the shell foundry where shot and shell were cast. The furnaces stoked with pig-iron, scrap and coke, delivered the molten metal into vats from which it was run into the various moulds. The moulders who constructed the projectile moulds worked continuously from 6.0 a.m. to 4.0 p.m. so that the furnaces could work without interruption. Adjoining the shell foundry was the shell turnery where the projectiles were machined to gauge and finished. In 18g7, three Tropenas converters were installed by Edgar Allen and Co. in the presence of Monsieur Tropenas himself.
Opposite the shell foundry and turnery stood the great pile of buildings once known as the 'Grand Storehouses'. These comprised the headquarters of the Ordnance Store Department. Here were kept the main bulk of stores and equipment required for the Army. Everything from a gun-carriage to a bar of soap was held ready for issue at a moment's notice. Near the entrance to this block, on either side, were ranged the trophies ofwar and other foreign and domestic guns of interest which have been described in Chapter 18. Brooding over all stood the statue of the Iron Duke brought from the Tower of London in 1863. Within the enclosure surrounded by these storehouses was the shot yard in which large pyramids of
902
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
shot and shell were systematically arranged. Between them and the river stood the shipping sheds, the cranes and the T pier. Following the river bank to the east were the hydraulic engine house which supplied power to the cranes and machinery on the wharves and the piers, the chain cable testing house where ropes and chains were tested, and the weighbridge office at which loaded vehicles were accurately weighed. Between the iron pier and the main gun factory was a site known as the 'Cemetery of the Guns'. On this spot were deposited all the fragments of cannon which had either burst on firing or been broken down in test. Some had been good guns fired to destruction in pursuit of knowledge, others had been bad which had broken up at proof. This 'charnel-house' formed an interesting museum in days when space was still fairly ample in the Royal Arsenal; it also served a technical purpose since a brief history of most of the shattered pieces was recorded. W. T. Vincent records rather an amusing anecdote concerning what he calls this 'Golgotha
of Guns'.1o7 'Six enormous bottle-shaped guns, which lie nearest the river, have a characteristic story to tell of commercial shrewdness. During
the Crimean War, when breech-loading cannon was just being talked about, an American came over and submitted to the War Office a system of breech-loading which seemed to be the very thing wanting. He was ordered to make half-a-dozen at once, and his proposal to supply them by weight, at a mere trifle per pound, was regarded as a liberal arrangement. But when the guns were sent home, the Minister of War found that he had been outwitted. The manufacturer had heaped the iron in tons upon his guns, which from their enormous bulk were utterly useless; but the maker had served his own purpose, and the sum which he had to be paid, when the 'article' came to be weighed, was about ten times its value. However, he was paid, and nothing said about it, but the duped minister (he is now dead) could never bear the name of breech-loading guns afterwards. They have never been fired, and probably never will.' South of the 'Cemetery' were the various shops comprising the Royal Gun Factory, the coiling mills in the East Forge, the pattern room, the Rifled Ordnance Factory, the West or Old Forge, the boring mills, the shrinkage department, the turneries and the sighting room. In the coiling mills were fashioned the R.M.L. guns on which the generic term of 'Woolwich Infants' had been bestowed. Down the whole length of this East Forge were furnaces goo feet in length, sometimes projecting, by a temporary arrangement, out through the further wall and across the road in the rear. Iron bars
from which the coils were to be made lay on rollers before the door,
ready to be run into the furnaces where they were heated to a white 107 The Royal Arsenal (reprint of Warlike Woolwich), p. 29.
903
ADOLESCENCE
heat, the temperature of the bar being so regulated as to ensure the maximum flexibility with the minimum of elasticity. At the mouth of each furnace was a revolving mandril on which there was a catch which seized one end of the bar, drew it out in its incandescent condition and wound it round in a glowing spiral. By the coiling furnaces were immense pairs of shears which snipped off the 7 inch bar easily and silently. These coils were used in the construction of the 'Woolwich' guns designed by Mr R. S. Frazer, one-time manager of the Royal Gun Factory.
Captain Francis S. Stoney, R.A., who was Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Gun Factory 18701871,1° gave the following description of the principles of the coiling system first introduced by Sir William Armstrong, in a lecture which he delivered at the Royal Artillery Institution:
First, in arranging the fibre of the iron in the several parts so as best to resist the strain to which they are respectively exposed; thus the walls or sides of the gun are composed of coils with the fibre running round the gun, so as to enable the gun to bear the transverse strain of the discharge without bursting, whilst the breech end is fortified against the longitudinal strain, or tendency to blow the breech out, by a solid forged breech-piece, with the fibre running along the gun. Secondly, in shrinking of the successive parts together with tensions so regulated that each part shall do its due proportion of work on the discharge of the piece; thus, the outer coils contribute their fair share to the strength of the gun, whereas in an ordinary homogeneous gun the inner portions receive the brunt of the explosion, whilst the exterior ones are hardly affected by it at all. The Woolwich guns built on this system, and lined with toughened steel, are sound and strong, but from the fine iron used, and the great number of exquisitely finished coils, and a forged breech-piece, their manufacture was very costly; and as it was probable that several heavy guns would be required, the War Office pointed out the desirability of procuring some cheaper plan. Accordingly, the attention of the Royal Gun Factories was devoted to the question, and their efforts have been crowned with success. First, a cheaper iron, sufficiently strong for the exterior of the gun, was obtained; and, secondly, the plan which was proposed by Mr Frazer, the principal executive officer of the department, was found to be less expensive than the original one. Mr Frazer's plan is an important modification of Sir William Armstrong's, from which it differs principally in building up a gun with a few long double or triple coils, instead ofseveral short single ones, and a forged breech-piece. There
is less material, less labour, less fine working, and consequently, less expense, required for the 'Frazer' or present service construction.
The 'Frazer' type Woolwich guns cost only about £70 a ton compared to the £100 a ton of those of the original 'Armstrong'
10» Francis Sadleir Stoney, p.s.c., p.a.c., Born March 1834. Lieut. R.A. 6 March 1856. Retired 19January 1881. Died 1927.
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
construction. They were undoubtedly good and cheap guns for their time and were considered eminently serviceable. Two of them endured 2,ooo rounds each with extraordinary charges before they finally gave way under stress, and the original 'Woolwich Infant' was subjected to very hard tests. The ballistic performance of these short and rather 'pot-bellied' R.M.L. guns was naturally poor compared to present-day standards, but in their decade they were considered wonderful. The 38 ton Woolwich gun firing a 800lb. projectile with a charge of 130lb. of powder produced a muzzle velocity of 1,425 feet per second, and the 81 ton gun gave a muzzle velocity of 1,540 feet per second to a shell of 1,460lb. with a charge of go0lb. The largest monster of the series was the 17·72 inch gun of I Io tons. There were several small steam hammers in the East Forge used for welding short bars of iron to form a long bar for coiling. They ranged from 30cwt. to 6ocwt. Over the north door of this forge was the stained glass window, before mentioned, depicting
Edward III inspecting his artillery, to where it had been transferred in 1874 from the Royal Brass Foundry. Its final resting place is over the main entrance to the Central Offices. The pattern room, as its name implied, housed the sealed patterns of the guns and fittings manufactured in the Royal Gun Factory.
The Rifled Ordnance Factory manufactured all smaller classes of guns, such as field pieces, and those used in mountainous country. Being comparatively diminutive compared to heavy fortress ordnance, field gun construction was completed in this shop.
In the West Forge a couple oflarge steam hammers were installed. The largest, a 12-ton hammer, was used for producing the large forgings for trunnion hoops. The force of its blow was computed to be 4oo tons. The other was a Io-ton hammer under which the large coils were welded together. In a shed south of the shrinkage department was to be seen the 4o-ton hammer, said at the time to be the largest and most powerful in the world. It was first put into operation on the occasion of the visit of H.I.M. The Czar of Russia to the Royal Arsenal in May 1874. The newspapers of the time went into transports of delight over 'this Titan with a band of swart sons of Vulcan about him'. It was supposed to deliver a blow in the neighbourhood of r ,ooo tons. The hammer was manufactured by Messrs Nasmyth and Wilson of Patricroft near Manchester, and cost over {50,000. Its height was 45 feet, its base covered an area of 1go square
feet, its total weight was 550 tons, its anvil weighed over 100 tons, and its massive foundations, comprised in the main ofiron blocks to the aggregate of 65o tons, went go feet into the ground. One can understand the panegyrics of the contemporary journalists.
The West Forge also contained, one at either end, two furnaces the doors of which weighed 8 tons each.
905
The boring mills contained the boring machines, on which the solid A tubes were bored out, rifling machines for cutting the grooves in the barrel, vertical boring machines and lapping machines. ~he shrinkage department, as its name implied, was where the operation of shrinking the coils, or 'building up' the gun, was carried out. The turneries contained powerful lathes and other machines used 1n finishing and slotting guns externally. Finally all ordnance under manufacture were passed to the sighting room where they were vented for proof. After undergoing that ordeal successfully they were returned to this shop to have their sights fitted and undergo their final examination. They were then handed over to the Ordnance
Store Department. . The Royal Carriage Department consisted of the saw mills, the carpenters' shops, the great smithery, the wheel factory, the pattern room and the main factory. Except that iron and steel was superseding wood in carriage construction by 1887, there had been little change in the working and machinery of the R.C.D. during the previous thirty years. The great smithery was the main forge which had not been long built; it was considered one of the largest smiths shops in the kingdom. It contained 6o forges, 8 steam hammers, 3 furnaces and a very powerful shearing and punching machine by De Bergue which could punch a hole in a sheet of iron one and a half inches thick. It also housed some of the largest Ryders' forging machines. The main factory, which formerly consisted of a number
of shops arranged around Carriage Square, was thrown into one large shop in 1873-1879 by Colonels Field and Hayman, success1ve Superintendents, Royal Carriage Department from 1871 to 1891,
and Mr H. Butter, the manager of the department. It was where. all the main machining was carried out. It is now the main erection shop.
The East Laboratory was under danger building conditions and was not open to visitors. Within its enclosure caps were filled and small arm cartridges were made. On the other side of the canal were the rocket factories and detonating sheds, while further down the river bank was the cannon cartridge factory. Adjoining the cartridge factory, a large handsome building just inside the Marsh Gate, now known as the Third Gate, was the sale yard where obsolete, surplus or unserviceable stores were periodically auctioned.
The two firing ranges, the proof-butts, the gas factory and the Black sheds, more or less complete the Royal Arsenal as it appeared in 1887.
There was rather an amusing anecdote once told in connection with the proof-butts. A light mountain gun designed to be fired from a mule's back was to be tested. Much interest, though possibly little faith, was felt in the new venture, but many officers had gathered
906
THE CLOSING YEARS OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY
to witness the trial on the day in question. Since no mule was available, a donkey had been pressed into service and the animal remained patient and docile while the gun was being strapped on its back and loaded. When all was ready a piece of slow-match was appli_ed to the piece and the spectators retired to a respectful distance to witness the effects of recoil on the quadruped. Suddenly, the donkey, released from the restraining hand of officialdom and over
joyed at its unexpected liberty, commenced to caper about. The effect on the onlookers was electric and shivers ran down their spines. At any moment and in any direction the piece might fire; the situation resembled a devil's roulette table. Discretion being the better part of valour, the officials threw themselves on their faces. A loud report announced the discharge and to everyone's relief no one was hurt except possibly the donkey who was rolled head over heels for several yards. The shot was never discovered.
60
Maturity
Chapter 21
The Opening Years of the Twentieth Century
The twentieth century, like the nineteenth, opened under the shadow
of war though the general state of the country in 19o1 was vastly
different from that in 1801. The South African War was a colonial
conflict far away from the shores ofthis country, and its repercussions
on life in Britain differed profoundly from those of the Napoleonic
campaigns. Fighting soon ceased, though before the cessation of
hostilities was finally signalized by the Peace of Vereeniging on
31 May 1902, Queen Victoria had passed over on 22 January 1901
and the Victorian Age had vanished for ever. The flag of prosperity,
however, still flew over the land for yet another season before the chill
wind of adverse trade balances finally became an accepted feature in
our financial weather chart. These facts had little effect upon the
Royal Arsenal except to reduce the number of its employees.
The first curtain-raiser of the new century was, strangely enough, one put forward to allow the Woolwich Borough Council to adopt 'The Royal Ordnance Arms of 1574' as its seal. There were no registered Arms for the Board of Ordnance before the warrant of 19 July 1806, though the device in question had long been in use. Granted that the armorial bearings were of respectable antiquity, the year '1574' does seem to lack authenticity. This request was refused in February 19o1'and rightly so, since the Ordnance Board Act of 1855 had expressly conveyed these armorial bearings to the Secretary of State for War for the time being.
The adoption of the Mowatt reforms in 1900 resulted in the plant and equipment of the Ordnance Factories being considerably more effective in 1907 than they had been before the South African War. During the opening years of the century it became the policy of the War Office to provide a capacity for rapid expansion at Woolwich for the purpose of tiding over the opening phases of future hostilities before private firms were sufficiently organized to reinforce the national effort. During the same period, however, the number of employees at the Arsenal had been systematically reduced with the result that by 1905 a large proportion of the machinery was idle and the costs of production in the Ordnance Factories had mounted unduly. An Inter-Departmental Committee was therefore set up in 1907 under the chairmanship of Sir G. H. Murray, Permanent Administrative Secretary to the Admiralty2 to consider government
114/Woolwich/458. • Cd g3,626: 70/Gen. No./2,243.
911
factories generally with particular reference as to whether State production could be advantageously replaced by private enterprise, and if so to what extent and on what terms. The Murray Committee reported in March 1go7 and found that as the system of relying on the combined results of government and private manufacture had become a firmly established custom in this country, the need for examining the possible replacement of State by private production did not arise. They stated that the advantages derived from the possession of national factories included economy, the establishment of a standard of excellence in workmanship and the improvement of design. They reaffirmed the principle that the existence of Ordnance Factories was part of the necessary insurance which the country had to pay against the possible failure of supplies in time of war, and that their primary function was to provide a reserve of productive power capable of rapid expansion when emergency threatened; a fact they considered to be of greater moment than economy of production in ordinary times. In other words, the Committee came to the conclusion that the ideal, namely the smallest establishment to ensure economic output, was incompatible with the power ofrapid expansion, and that the latter was of more importance than the former. In an attempt to reconcile these incompatibilities the Committee recommended a compromise. They obtained from the Superintendents of the several factories figures giving the greatest approximate number of workmen who could be efficiently employed on the existing plant and the smallest nucleus establishment from which the maximum number required could be reached without unduly hampering production. Their recommendations read as follows:
'The normal establishment of the Ordnance Factories should be fixed at a minimum which will enable the output to be increased on emergency to the greatest possible extent in the shortest possible time. The exact number to be adopted for this minimum cannot be laid down without further examination and a fuller knowledge of the circumstances of each of the factories than the Committee possesses.
The proper principle of allocation of orders for warlike stores between the Ordnance Factories and the trade is to assign just so much work to the former as will keep this nucleus army of labour fully employed during normal working hours.
The reduction in the number of men employed in the Ordnance Factories consequent on the acceptance of the foregoing recommendations should be effected by the ordinary process of wastage rather than by discharges.'
It was hoped that this proposed system of allocation of orders between Government and the trade would be more efficacious than
912
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
the previous one which had led to inconvenient fluctuations in work
at Woolwich where no organization existed, comparable to that in
private firms for transferring surplus labour to other work when the
demand for armament stores became lessened.
The exact numbers required for this residual nucleus presented
some difficulties and the following tentative proposals for maxima
and minima were put forward:
O.F. Maximum Minimum
Royal Laboratory 13,000 3,500 Royal Gun Factory 5,000 2,000 Royal Carriage Department 3,700 2,500
Finally the minimum establishment was fixed with an addition of
about 5 % to provide for fluctuations during the year. No excess
over such a margin was to be allowed without War Office authority.3
It was also agreed that orders sufficient to provide work for this
minimum should be allotted to the Ordnance Factories before any
contracts should be placed with the trade. 4 The principle that
reduction in numbers should be effected by wastage rather than by
discharge was accepted. 5
At this juncture it was decided to amalgamate the Royal Gun
Factory and the Royal Carriage Department. They were united in
907 under one Superintendent, Colonel H. CG. L. Holden,° Super
intendent of the Royal Gun Factory since 1899, in order to secure
greater co-ordination in the work of the two factories. Mention has
been made in a previous chapter that these departments had not
been noted for their close liaison in the past.
The continual run down of numbers in the Ordnance Factories was in this same year having a serious economic effect upon Woolwich and the surrounding district. In those days, the shopkeepers in the town and other folk depended for their livelihood mainly on the Royal Arsenal and the garrison; Woolwich had not yet begun to be the large dormitory for London it afterwards became. It therefore became necessary to explore the possibilities of utilizing the capacity at Woolwich for the production of stores other than munitions of war. Woolwich was equipped with machinery of a very varied and comprehensive nature and it was felt that other classes of government stores could well be made.
Forthispurpose a committeeunderthechairmanshipofMrArthur Henderson, M.P., was convened with the following terms of reference:
" 70/Gen. No./2,325, July 1go7. 70/Gen. No./2,325, July 1907. " 7o/Gen. No./2,325: 70/Gen. No./2,757.
6
Afterwards Brigadier-General Sir Henry Holden, K.C.B., F.R.S., M.I.E.E. Died 30 March 1937. 7 A/1,202: Command Paper 3,514: 70/Gen. No.[2,303.
913
To examine the shops and machinery at Woolwich Arsenal, other than Danger Buildings and the Torpedo Factory, m orde: to consider wh_ether any articles not now made in the Ordnance Factories can appropriately be made there and with this machinery.
Besides the Committee's recommendations which will be referred to later, the great value of their report in the present day lies in the facts and figures which they advanced. These show more clearly than ever the waning work and numbers which was becoming the norm in 19o7. At the risk ofincluding dull statistics, It IS therefore proposed
to include this data.
(a) Number of employees compared.
Numbers of
Department Averagefor 1894 Averagefor 19oo 2 March 1907
2,416
R.C.D. 2,406 R.G.F. 1,666 R.L. 5,751
(b) The capital value of the buildings and machinery, and the aver_age
number of persons employed in the Ordnance Factories, Woolwich, between the years 1894/5 and 1906/7.
Total Employees
Year Buildings Machinery
££ £ 1894/5 411,175 462,701 873,876 I I ,9 I 0 1895/6 433.9 I 8 446,725 880,643 1 2, I 60 1896/7 445,767 444,164 889,931 14,245 1897/8 446,159 433,988 880,147 14,821
1899/9 457,330 436,620 893,950 I 5,434 1899/1900 471,867 451,917 923,784 ' 7,013 1900/01 579,568 492,758 1,072,326 20,015 1901/02 670,096 592,999 1,261,093 20,005 1902/03 734,616 637,908 1,372,524 I 7,633 1903/04 736,040 656,106 1,392,146 15,844 1904/05 742,980 637,629 1,380,609 I 5,629 1905/06 761,405 609,757 1,371,162 14,983 1906/07 788,000 620,000 1,408,000 13,929
In these years the capital value of the buildings and plant per worker rose from73. 4s. to0111.
(c) In the shops listed below there was a large decline in the number of employees as compared with a period considerably anterior to the South African War.
Royal Carriage Department Numbers employed Shop 1894 1900 2 March r907
Carpenters 153 165 67 Wheel factory 70 28
49
Coopers
33 34 9 914
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Royal Gun Factory
Field Gun Section 413 632 241
Forge 122 208
99
Royal Laboratory
Rifle shell factory 654 905 47° Smithery 207 321 go Metal case factory 204 300 65 Brass foundry I IO 297 61 Cartridge Factory No. 2 723 886 427 Miscellaneous foundry 51 91 29
(d) The amount of work for the Army and Navy allotted to the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich for thetwo triennial periods were asunder.
Years O.F. Trade O.F. Percentage
1900-1901}1901-1902 £11,377,872 1902-1903
1903-1904}1904-1905 1905-1906
(e) The total amount of work on naval gun mountings given respectively to the Ordnance Factories and contractors.
Year O.F. Contractors
££ 1899-1900 55,177 491,136 1900-190I 62,862 561,688 1901-1902 46,666 626,222 1902-1903 73,786 860,627 1903-1904 90,034 1,174,219 1904-1905 22,813 1,360,722 1905-1906 61,164 1,691,328
These figures show a steady deterioration in the Ordnance Factory position.
(f) During the five years ending March 1907, machinery to the value of£417,323 was purchased for use in the Ordnance Factories. During the same period plant to the value of £124,194 was made departmentally. Taking the quinquennial intervals from 1890/91, the figures were:
Machinery added to Capital Account Years Made departmentally Purchased
££
1890-91 31,581 36,474 1895-96 19,686 21,458 1900-01 21,784 84,267 1905-06 19,002 35,222
(g)
The actual number of employees on 8 June 1907 was 12,608.
(h)
Having regard to the increase in capital value and the decrease in the number of workmen, a large proportion of the plant lay idle.
The recommendations ofthe Henderson Committee were, broadly, that the Ordnance Factories should make the undermentioned class of stores. This would have the effect of utilizing the machinery completely, reducing the costs and stopping further discharges, thereby keeping the reserve of potential in being, for in the words of the Committee: 'It is only by utilizing the plant for military purposes in peacetime that a body of workmen can be obtained of
sufficient number and training to make expansion possible in time of emergency.' The stores were:
(1)
Barrack, hospital and camp equipment for the Army
(2)
Engineer stores for the Army
(3)
Machinery for the Ordnance Factories
(4)
Gun mountings for the Navy
(53)
Barracks stores for Marines
(6)
Barrack stores for seamen
(7)
Miscellaneous railway stores for India
the annual requirements of which were:
(1)
£373,000 (2) £60,000 (3) £70,ooo (4) £1,825,000
(5)
£15,000 (6) £15,000 (7) £2,0oo. Total: £2,360,000.
The Committee felt that if only orders for one third of these amounts were to be given to Woolwich, it would represent786,666, or allowing for the small portion already allotted to the Ordnance Factories approximately £57,000 in value, an additional potential amount of work to the value of £729,000 would be assured.
Most of the recommendations submitted by the Committee collapsed like a house of cards. The Admiralty would not agree to the additional gun-mounting work being placed with the Ordnance Factories, 8 though they were prepared to consider placing a portion of the orders for barrack stores and equipment with the Arsenal provided the prices quoted were less than those indicated by private firms. India was asked about railway supplies, but very few orders remained to be placed.1o The War Office did not consider any action necessary in regard to the remainder of the proposals in view of the decision taken in connection with the recommendations of the Murray Committee. It stated that the approval of the minimum establishment proposed by that Committee disposed of the reasons for increasing work m the Ordnance Factories.
• 7o/Gen. No./2,361.
" 70/Gen. No./2,361. 10 70/Gen. No./2,303.
916
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURy
Although it was strongly urged in some quarters that the Royal Arsenal should, m times ofpeace, become a great state manufacturing department for meeting the requirements of all government departments so far as its capacity allowed, the idea was resisted. Apart from the consideration that it was inadvisable for the Ordnance Factories to compete with the trade, the contention of C.S.O.F. that the raison d'etre of the factories was that they should be prepared for any sudden emergency appeared to be unanswerable. The machinery at the Arsenal, though applicable to general engineering, was laid out to produce specialized articles in the minimum of time and if such machinery were diverted from its purpose it might, under conditions of mternational tension, prove impossible to restore its original functions without delay and resulting danger to the country. Moreover, should it be decided to undertake civil work for other departments, that undertaking could only be given on the understandmg that such orders would have to be set aside on the declaration ofwar, thereby causing great inconvenience to the departments concerned.
How to preserve cheap costs of production in peacetime, which meant the complete utilization ofall existing plant without producing a? excess of output liable to obsolescence, and at the same time stop discharges and retain a reserve ofpotential capable ofsudden expans1on 1n an emergency, seemed as baffling as the problem of the Sphinx. The two sides of the problem were incommensurable. It therefore appeared necessary to face the fact that to ensure the country against sudden danger, economy must take second place and
O.F. costs must rise. It was fallacious to compare them with those ofprivate firms, whose prices would obviously be cheaper. Ifgovernment were to purchase in the cheapest market mainly because it was the cheapest, future security would be bound to suffer. To maintain a good insurance policy a large proportion of the Royal Arsenal machinery in peace-time must stand idle, and a working staff must be retained adequate to instruct and control the new army ofworkers which would descend upon the reserve machines on the opening of hostilities. The one redeeming hope that more heavy gun mountings would be manufactured in the Royal Carriage Department had been rejected by the Admiralty.
For two more years conditions remained the same, and things did not improve. However the status quo could not be preserved for ever and a solution was becoming pressing, so another Committee to enquire into the organization and resourcesoftheOrdnanceFactories with particular reference to their costs of production was appointed in 19o9 under the chairmanship of Major-General Sir C. F. Hadden, Master-General of the Ordnance.11 This Committee was asked to
PRO[WO/32/1,212: A/1,330: 57/2/773: A/1,493: 57/2/963.
917
report on the following points: (a) What arrangements are recommended to secure a periodical revision by the War Office and Admiralty of the reserves of buildings, plant, etc., mamtamed to secure an adequate power of expansion under government control to meet the pressure of war. (b) The mode of dealing in factory accounts with charges on account of the reserves referred to, and with other items of account in regard to which government factories are differently situated from trading concerns. (c) Whether any, and if so, what modifications in the present arrangements are necessary to enable the Admiralty more effectively to represent their views in regard to the annual estimates and expenditure of the Ordnance Factories, and (d) Whether the cost charged for articles manufactured can be reduced, and ifso, how best this can be effected.
The Committee deliberated for two years and pointed out that the conditions obtaining during their years of toil were qmte different from those of ten years earlier as in 1909 the Army and Navy had reserves of guns and ammunition sufficient to see them through the early stages of a war while private firms had so expanded as to have acquired a considerable reserve of plant to meet emergency orders. This seemed to the Committee to justify a modification of the earlier policy. The Committee's recommendations, outlined further on, dealt chiefly with reserves of machmery, the establishments by that time having been reduced to something approaching the minimum. The capital value of the factory buildings at Woolwich had risen from £624,312 on 1 April 1897 t0 £1,096,332 on 1 April 1go7, and this in spite ofthe fact that during the intervening ten years {405,426 had been written off the capital value of the buildings, levied as depreciation and charged against production. Similarly, the capital value of the machinery had increased between these same dates from 570,609 to 773,255, notwithstanding that £673,627 levied as depreciation had been written off the capital value and charged on orders. The Committee took rather a dim view of the value of retaining old machinery as a means of meeting an emergency and of building up a large reserve to that end. They were suspicious of hoarding against a problematical expansion which might be long delayed. They pointed out that military equipments constantly changed and radical alterations were made to weapons. The continuous progress of mechanical invention meant improved machines appearing on the market. They felt that much of the machinery held so piously as a reserve was surplus to requirements, prone to obsolescence, and suitable only for the sale yard. The only exception to this rather sweeping assertion were those machines in reserve required for the manufacture of special stores unobtainable from the trade and which might reasonably be expected to be needed urgently during the opening phases of a campaign.
918
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
The Committee came to the conclusion that the high charges for certain Ordnance Factory output appeared to be due to excessive capital and current expenditure caused by six different factors. One: the great expansion between 1897 and 1907 to meet the particular requirements of the South African War and to provide adequate reserves of warlike stores for the Army and the Navy. Two: the practice of expending the sums raised by depreciation in providing further buildings and machinery with the consequent increased charges in succeeding years for maintenance, etc., while there was no reduction of depreciation. Three: the high rates of depreciation on buildings and machinery levied and charged on the annual production. Four: the heavy charges for maintenance generally and for engine driving and stoking. Five: the difficulty in effecting reductions in the higher grades of the Establishment commensurate with the very considerable reductions in output and direct labour. Six: heavy general working expenses.
It can be seen at a glance that these factors would have the effect of greatly increasing the overheads and thus the price of Ordnance Factory stores.
The Committee's recommendations to try and offset these heavy charges, which were contained in two reports dated 14 April 1909 and 3 October rgII respectively, were to the effect that (a) All machinery and buildings surplus to requirements and probable for the war expansion reserve should be removed from Ordnance Factory books, their value at the time being written off the capital account. They should be retained or disposed of as circumstances might dictate.12 (b) The rate of depreciation should be reduced to 2½%.13
(c) More discretion should be used concerning the maintenance of buildings, and Superintendents of Factories should be consulted as to the course adopted.14 (d) A maximum limit should be imposed to govern the expenditure in any one year on the purchase of new machinery, its maintenance and its repair.15 (e) The limit of the surplus on the Ordnance Factory Supplies Suspense Account should be reduced from £65,000 to £30,00016. (f) Factory output should not bear the cost of providing and maintaining the reserve stocks held solely for Imperial purposes. (g) Certain lean-to buildings
12 A certain amount of machinery was disposed of. Afterwards there was no further action. 57/2/773. » Rate of3% adopted: 57/2/773 and 7o/Gen. No./3,381. A further report on increasingthis rate was to be sent to the Treasury in October 1914. 70/Gen. No./3,381. 14 Sub-allotments made to Superintendents, Ordnance Factories, but no substantial saving effected. 7o/Gen. No./3,575. 16 No limit was fixed for new machinery, but outside limits were imposed for maintenance and repairs. 70/Gen. No./2,968. 16 The limit was raised to £100,000, all balances above this figure being surrendered to the Treasury. 57/2/826. 17 No decision was reached. 70/Gen. No./3,263: 70/Gen. No./3,319.
919
MATURITY
along the Arsenal wall should be removed.18 (h) The heavy hammer in the Royal Gun Factory should be abolished.19 (i) The programme for making the heavy turnery in the Royal Gun Factory suitable for larger guns should proceed. 20 (j) The torpedo factory buildings
id, k' k.a
should be reappropriated for cartridge makmng wor •
As a result of these recommendations, a certain amount of surplus machinery was disposed of, the rate of depreciation on buildings was reduced from 5% to 3% and a maximum limit was fixed for annual expenditure on repairs. On the other hand, no limit for the annual expenditure on new buildings was adopted. The Committee had also desired to impose an upper limit to govern the expenditure on both new machinery and on its maintenance and repair, but the sum
allocated was insufficient with the result that the expenditure on each machine had to form the subject of a separate request. This proved a bad legacy inasmuch as when the First World War broke out the general state of the machinery was far from good, the machines in many cases being unfit to withstand the strams wmch that war imposed. Actually, these recommendations had not been fully implemented by August 1914 and some of the condemned plant did yeoman service throughout the whole period of hostilities.
Another committee of enquiry was held into the system of cost accounting in the Ordnance Factories in 1g02. This was an InterDepartmental Committee presided over by Mr F. W. Webb.22 The Committee made eight recommendations in all, related to various aspects of organization. Some were mere reaffirmations of the excelence of existing practice, while another dealt with the desirability of concentrating the offices of the Chief Superintendent and the Superintendents under one roofin some central position in the Royal Arsenal. The two recommendations which suggested alterations in the cost accounting system were:
(a)
An improved system of dealing with machinery charges should be introduced.
(b)
The basis of the actual expenditure upon which Ordnance Factory cost prices now rest should be maintained; but attention should be called, both in the Priced Vocabulary ofStores and in Ordnance Factory accounts, to the fact that these accounts do not include charges for interest on capital nor other trade charges and risks.
Confining our attention for the moment on these two recommendations of the Committee, Mr H. F. Donaldson, the Chief Mechanical Engineer at the time and a civil engineer of wide
18 Postponed for several years till the completion of the reappropriation of the old torpedo factory for new purposes. 75 /14/116.
1» The use of the hammer was to cease in 1914. 57/2/973. a The programme proceeded. 57/OF/408. "1 Reappropriation proceeded. 75/12/7,648: 75/9/3,147. +· A/746: 70/Gen. No./819.
920
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
experience, attached much weight to a system of cost accounting which would be of assistance for administrative purposes. To attain this it would be necessary to handle each week's expenditure at once and render returns to those responsible within a week so that immediate investigation could be made into any matter requiring investigation. This point had not been overlooked when framing the system in 1890, and one of the first enquiries made when the Works Account Branch was instituted was about the class and form of information which Superintendents would require. This received no answers and it was therefore assumed that Superintendents were not
interested in such information. Nothing further transpired, therefore, though the details were always obtainable if desired. Mr Donaldson thought that the value ofsemi-manufactures could be assessed weekly by work-takers and foremen, thus allowing for weekly costs. The Committee, however, was mainly influenced by the report of Mr Morland, an accountant, who, after making at the Committee's request an independent comparison of the systems of accounts in vogue at the Ordnance Factories and various armament firms, summed up the results of his examination as follows:
Speaking generally, ... the system of cost accounting at Woolwich appears as well adapted to obtain the results required as that in use at any of the works visited. These results differ in character from those of commercial houses owing to the absence of profit considerations and to the requirements of Parliamentary returns.
The Committee as we have seen, therefore, contented itself with recommending the adoption of the more accurate method ofallocating machinery charges on the lines of trade practice whereby the work done at each machine bears an appropriate charge estimated to cover depreciation on that machine, the cost of its maintenance and the power it consumes. The Committee also interested itself in the difficulty of omitting interest charges when attempting to frame comparisons between Ordnance Factory and contract prices, but came to the conclusion that such comparisons would be misleading unless the sums for interest included in the factory accounts were calculated at a market rate on a figure representing the commercial value ofthefactories.This the governmentrate ofinterestcalculated on the capital value of the Ordnance Factories as shown in their books did not appear to do. Moreover, since it would always be
necessary to make a considerable allowance in comparing Ordnance Factory prices with those of the trade for elements which enter into the one and not the other, it seemed that little purpose would be served by incorporating interest charges in Ordnance Factory accounts. The Committee thus reported that, subject to the adoption of an improved means of allocating machinery charges, the factory
921
MATURITY
accounts were kept on sound principles and showed correctly to the country, the productive costs of the factories, though it was obvious that these prices could not be compared with the selling prices of private firms. Besides the element of net profit and interest on capital, contractors incurred other expenses which did not trouble, or if they did, only to a very minor degree, government factories. Such were the cost of advertising and obtaining orders, the cost of working out and protecting inventions, insurance, provision against bad debts and slack times, and the risk of loss owing to changes of pattern and type in warlike stores. The allowance to cover these elements was too speculative to allow any fixed percentage of difference between government and contract prices to be laid down. It
appeared to the Committee that nothing was to be gained by departing from the basis of actual expenditure on which the Ordnance Factory cost prices then rested.
The rates published in the Priced Vocabulary ofStores were in a large number of cases based on Ordnance Factory cost prices, and these rates were often wrongly supposed to represent full and fair selling prices to the detriment of British firms when dealing with customers overseas. The Committee, therefore, recommended that a form of words should be inserted both in the Woolwich accounts and in the Priced Vocabulary to the effect that there were certain trade charges not included in the Woolwich costs of production. As a result, the following words were added:
Prices shown in these accounts do not include rent of land, interest on capital or other trade charges, and risks not incurred in government manufacture.
When these words came to the notice of the Committee on Public Accounts, it insisted on the further addition:
... but, on the other hand, include charges for depreciation and upkeep of unused buildings and machinery maintained with a view to expansion, and the cost of care and custody of Imperial stock stores.
These later words did seem essential in view of the fact that, in some instances, Woolwich had buildings and plant five times in excess of those required for current work, maintained simply for the purpose of expansion in time of war.
From this time onwards the possible use of costs in assisting administration at Woolwich appears to have been overlooked.23
The Inter-Departmental Committee under the chairmanship of Sir G. H. Murray, already referred to, did make one recommendation in regard to cost accounting. They stated that some modifications in Ordnance Factory accounts appeared desirable, and that it was a
11 The History ofthe Ministry ofMunitions.
922
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
matter for consideration as to whether the voluminous details contained in those accounts were worth the trouble and expense incurred in their production. They considered, however, that apart from that question it was not desirable to continue publishing the detailed prices in their existing form. The War Office disagreed. They thought it impracticable to dispense with the printing of the production statement though it was prepared for the year 1907/08 and in subsequent years in a simplified form and reduced to about one third of its former ?ulk.24 This condensed version was, with Treasury approval, published for the year 1907/08; the question ofits omission from the accounts in future years being left to the consideration of the Public Accounts Committee in 1909. This point, however, was not raised durmg that Committee's deliberations.25 Parliamentary action, thus, tended to militate against any revision of the existing system of costing which remained unaltered till the outbreak of the First World War.
Reverting to the recommendation of the Webb Committee about the housing of all headquarter staffs in one central office,26 Mr H. O. Arnold Foster, Secretary of State for War, gave the project his blessing in May 1904.%7 The building of the Central Offices, completed in 1911 at a cost of £75,000, first appeared in the O.F. Estimates for 1903/04 when a sum of£20,000 was voted on account. Expenditure on this fine architectural pile was as follows:
By 31 March 1904 £ 5,000 > » 1905 £, 7,000 ,, ,, 1906 £ 9,000 > • 1907 {35,000 » » 1908 £47,600 » 1909 £71,694 » > 1910 £73,200 » » 1911 {73,530
It was in partial occupation by 1908, the date which, with the Royal cypher, appears on its front. Opportunity was taken ofmoving the stained glass window 'Edward III inspecting his artillery' from the East Forge, Royal Gun Factory and re-erecting it as a fan-light over the main entrance.
Theyear 1902wasoneofcommittees.ThatontheOrdnanceFactory clerical staff under the chairmanship ofSir Edward Ward is outlined in Appendix VII.28 All its recommendations were approved and the reorganization of the clerical establishment was sanctioned by the Treasury in January 1903.%°
24 88/52. a6 88/53. 28 The Webb Committee did not report till 1904. a7 70/Gen. No./1,342. a· A/759: 70/1/367. a0 70/1/380.
61
MATURITY
Certain dealings in land on the Plumstead marshes took place in the early years of the century. On 25 March 1902, the Treasury agreed to purchase some 315 acres of land between the existing War Department boundary and the London County Council tramway road, at an estimated cost of about {60,000. This acquisition, for the storage of explosives in place of the floating magazine Thalia, was a tardy admission of the menace to safety pronounced by Lord Sandhurst's Committee in 1895."0 Thus, after a period of almost a hundred years the floating magazine as 'a thing of beauty and a joy for ever' disappeared from the Woolwich scene. On 28 July 1902, agreement between the War Department and the London County Council was reached whereby the latter allowed the public to use as a footpath the existing private roadway running from the lodge gates at the south-west corner of the Sewage Outfall Works at
Crossness to the Plumstead railway station in return for a strip of War Department land required for sewage purposes. The old right of way across the marshes was to be closed. 31
The question of the ownership of a reed bed on the Plumstead marshes arose on 18 June 1900. It was suddenly discovered that this plot consisting of about 5 acres 2 roods in all (Land 3 acres 2 roods: Foreshore g acres) was not included within the War Department boundary when negotiations were proceeding with the London County Council and the Plumstead Vestry for closing the right of way through government property in the Royal Arsenal which passed through the middle of the new site for the danger buildings, and which was a general source of danger to the magazines. The plot was claimed by Mr John Cavey and there was a good deal of argument and considerable doubt whether, in fact, he had a good title. In any case, the Crown claimed the foreshore. It was suggested that if Mr Cavey's title were sound the reed bed should be purchased, £400 being considered a fair and reasonable price. If, on the other hand, the title were not sound in law, the Government was advised to acquire it compulsorily under the Defence Acts. Mr Cavey stood out for £450, and negotiations went on for some three years. Finally, the Crown acquired it compulsorily for [253. 135. 4d., the correct title of the ledger credit being: 'Ex-parte, the Secretary of State for War. In the matter of the Defence Acts 1842 t0 1873, the account of
John Cavey in respect of lands claimed by him at Plumstead, in the County of Kent.' The deed poll was dated 9 April 1903. The Solicitor's Department at the Treasury stated on 14 May 1903:
I hereby certify that the purchase of the Reed Bed at Plumstead from John Cavey has been completed, and that a Deed dated 9 April 1903
• PRO/WO/ga/767: Woolwich/12/549: Woolwich/12/617.
PRO/WO[32/71o: Woolwich/8/300.
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
containing a recital of the payment into court of the consideration money has been duly executed and delivered over.32
The Crown bought on 26 February 1904 9 acres and 34 perches of land from Mr William Killick for £1,350, in order to extend the Royal Arsenal. 33
When the Director General of Ordnance Factories became the Chief Superintendent in 1899 with the appointment of Colonel Sir Edmond Bainbridge, the First Military Assistant was re-named Secretary to C.S.O.F. In June 1902 the question of this appointment and its salary was discussed. 34
Upon his retirement in April 1903, Colonel Sir Edmond Bainbridge was granted a pension of[85o a year, equivalent to the retired pay of a Lieut.-General." He was succeeded as Chief Superintendent by Mr H. F. (afterwards Sir Frederick) Donaldson. There was a slight contretemps over the appointment of the latter. He was offered direct by the War Office, without prior consultation with the Treasury, the post at a salary of£2,500 p.a., the same as that enjoyed by his civilian predecessor Sir William Anderson. Since that particular rate of pay had been personal to Sir William, the Treasury were rightly incensed at the method of appointment and voiced their
indignation in an appropriate manner. Letters passed between Mr H. 0. Arnold Foster, Secretary of State for War and Mr Austen Chamberlain, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which the former accepted full responsibility for the action taken adding that any censure deserved by the War Office must rest on him and not on his financial staff. Faced by a fait accompli the Treasury agreed on I I December 1903 that, in the circumstances, they had no alternative but to acquiesce in the arrangement seeing that in the meantime Mr Donaldson had accepted the post on the terms offered, but they made their assent contingent upon the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer, about to be vacated by Mr Donaldson, remaining unfilled. Mr Donaldson, who was awarded the K.C.B. in 1911, therefore continued to hold both appointments. In 1904 a post of Mechanical
Engineer was sanctioned. 36
An explosion occurred in the gun-cotton drying house on I 6 February 1903. One man, George Denison, was killed; three others, Foreman G. H. Jackson, Labourer G. Woodhard and Labourer
J. Hall were severely injured, and Captain Partridge, Royal Artillery, was badly hurt. Their injuries were burns. The explosion was occasioned by friction between the gun-cotton and the knife which
a· PRO/WO/ga/709: Woolwich/8/173. as PRO/WO[g2/71o: Woolwich/8/399. a 70/Gen. No./782. + 79,531/16. +· PRO/WO[32/521: 70/Gen. No./1,308. Filled by Mr R. D. R. Heap.
925
MATURITY
was being used. The actual site of the accident was No. 28 gun
cotton drying house in the cap and detonator factory. This was overshadowed by the terrific explosion which occurred at 8.11 a.m. on 18 June 1903 in the filling shed of the Danger Buildings in E,, the old lyddite factory. The buildings concerned were divided into chambers, and in one ofthese a Io inch naval shell, weighing 453lb. and containing 46lb. of lyddite, burst during charging. This blew up six other filled shell and in all about 240lb. oflyddite detonated. The building in which the explosion took place was totally wrecked and eight or nine others were badly shattered. Houses in Plumstead rocked, and windows in the town were blown out. Sixteen men were killed and fourteen injured; the place was a shambles. The Coroner-Dr H. R. Oswald-opened his inquest at
10.45 a.m. on 22 June 1903 in the Co-operative Institute, Parson's Hill. He described the circumstances and the inquest in his Memoirs ofa London County Coroner. The casualties were:
Killed James Usher, Alfred Greenlees, Frank Curran, J. Pinhorn William Edwards, C. Adams, G. Case, E. Newton, A. Swords, G. Remington,J. P. Larkins, S. Morley, Connor, S.Johnson, Herbert and Marshall.
Seriously Injured A. Stevens, F. Stevens and A. Goldsmith.
Injured Webb, G. Crofts, A. Sanders, F. Smith, W. Wood, D. Gourd,
E. Stevenson, A. Smedley, E. Howell, C. Hammond and Lindsey.
A relief fund was opened for the families of the victims, and King Edward VII sent a message of sympathy.37
In August 19o3, the premium bonus system was introduced experimentally in the Rifle Shell Factory and Q.F. shop of the Royal Laboratory. It was discontinued after three years owing to its dislike by the men and because the Assistant Director of Ordnance Stores considered that it conferred no advantage to the Army Ordnance Department at Woolwich when the latter adopted it. Two other Establishments also tried it out, namely the Inspectorate of Royal Engineer Stores and the Royal Army Clothing Department at Pimlico. Strangely enough, the system appeared to work satisfactorily in these two places. The Trades Union Congress had the greatest objection to the premium bonus system. They hated it and all its works. They regarded it as utterly opposed to the principle of trade unionism, inasmuch as it created a form of sweated labour and acted as a factor in increasing the number of unemployed. They considered that it destroyed the principle of collective bargaining. It might have been of advantage to men on day rates, but piece workers resented it. The latter questioned the soundness of any sharing of the resulting profits from their increased activity on the
a7 Kentish Independent.
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
ground that they had already paid for their own experience by the regular reductions in piece rates which had taken place."8
In the Committee of Public Accounts, a paper (Appendix No. 6) was handed in by Mr F. T. Marzials, Accountant-General of the Army. It was the correspondence which had taken place between The War Office and the Treasury on the subject of the disposal of ashes from the brass and metal foundries in the Royal Arsenal. The Ordnance Factories were accused of waste by the Committee of Public Accounts, but the War Office rebutted the charge. During the correspondence the Treasury saw fit to raise the point ofArtillery Officers bemg Supermtendents of Ordnance Factories, the underlying assumption being that soldiers would be unaware ofcommercial practice, and, therefore, were in some way responsible for the loss incurred in the sale offounders' ashes. Mr Stjohn Brodrick, Secretary of State for War, gave his views to the Treasury on 21 May 1903.%% He stated that he adhered to the views of his predecessors that the best man available, soldier, sailor or civilian, should be eligible for the post of Superintendent. Likewise the most suitable applicant should be appointed Chief Superintendent, but he could not refrain
from saying that the War Office considered that the salaries offered for these posts by the Treasury would in most cases hardly be likely to attract the right type of civilians to fill the appointments.4o
Two committees were set up and reported in 19o3. The first was the one convened to study the question of pensions for foremen writers in the Ordnance Factories, Colonel SirJ. Steevens, InspectorGeneral of Ordnance Stores, being in the chair. It reported as follows:
Pensions should be granted to foremen, assistant foremen and writers in the Ordnance Factories and in the warlike store inspection branches. Those classes already in receipt of the full market value of their services should make a contribution towards their pensions. Overtime pay, in the case of those drawing such pay, should be surrendered in return for the grant of a pension.
This recommendation was approved.
The other committee was appointed under the chairmanship of Colonel C. F. Hadden, to recommend rules for the supervising staff of the Danger Buildings." It made eight recommendations as under:
( 1) The Danger Buildings, together with the tailor's shop and the paper
MATURITY
section, should be placed under an Ordnance Factory Assistant Manager, with a salary of £300-{5oo a year."
(2) AII the sections under this assistant manager should be arranged in four groups, each under a principal foreman. This arrangement would involve an increase to the establishment of three prmc1pal foremen at
£253 p.a. cach. .
(3)
Two additional foremen should also be appomted at an add11..t.10nal cost of £378 p.a." ...
(4)
The Assistant Superintendent should not be a Danger BuildingOfficer in the sense of having charge of a defirute portion of the danger buildings, but should assist the Superintendent generally in the work of the department and be in a position to take over his dunes when
necessary.46 •
( ) The two Danger Building Officers" should spend practically the
5
whole of their time in the danger buildings, and should be relieved of all office work except in regard to papers relating solely to danger building
operations.48 . . . .
(6)
An additional officer should be appointed with a similar rate of pay to that of a Danger Building Officer to have charge of experiments and to assist the Assistant Superintendent.49
(7)
There should be four Visitors for Danger Buildings, one for each of the four groups, forming a principal foreman's charge. This will mean an increase of two Danger Building Visitors.50
(8)
All shops in the danger area should be treated with every possible precaution.
The procedure governing future appointments in the Ordnance Factories was laid down on 18 August 1904.51 It was very simple. It merely stated that heads of factories (i.e. Superintendents) and those of the principal departments in the factories should be made by the Secretary of State for War on the recommendations of the civilian head of the factories (i.e. the Chief Superintendent). The Treasury's suggestions that:
(a)
The heads of departments in the Ordnance Factories should be civilians, or if not civilians, the latter should be preferred to soldiers.
(b)
The Treasury should make representations as to the persons to be appointed.
were not adopted because :
"In 1903 Assistant Managers, Ordnance Factories, were paid at a lower rate-Maximum £6 per week. This increased pay for this particular assistant manager was approved in 70/Gen. No./1,375.
"The three additional principal foremen were approved in 7o/Gen. No./1,375.
• Approved in 70/Gen. No./14,400. 46 Approved. 47 Danger Building Officers were instituted in 1888. After the First World War they
were re-named Inspectors ofDanger Buildings. 48 Approved. 4° Approved in 70/Gen. No./1,575. The cost was 505 p.a.
o Approved. • PRO/WO[32/1,217: 70/1/428.
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
(a)
The best man should be appointed whether soldier or civilian, and that a soldier should be under no disqualification.
(b)
It was undesirable that the responsibility of making appointments in the Ordnance Factories should be shared between the Treasury and the War Office.
How the Treasury harped on this question ofsoldier versus civilian
in the post of Superintendent! Yet, historically they had right on
their side. These posts had been graded as civilian ever since the
Ordnance manufacturing departments had been founded at
Woolwich.
The setting-up of a General Department of the Ordnance Factories
and the reorganization of the Building Works Department was
mooted on 2o May 1904,° the idea behind the proposal being that
the General Department should ultimately take over the following
duties:
(I)
Miscellaneous iron foundry work then carried on by the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Carriage Department.
(2)
Boiler repair work and boiler makers' work then done in the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Gun Factory.
(3)
Tinmen's work then carried out in the Royal Laboratory and the Royal Carriage Department.
(4)
Box work.
(5)
Power installations and plants.
(6)
Gas works.
In this manner, it was argued, common services for the three Woolwich factories could be carried out in a separate department, leaving the factories themselves to concentrate on production for service requirements. It was, of course, a foreshadowing of the eventual Mechanical Engineering Department.
The Chief Superintendent was naturally in favour of this plan and wrote a comprehensive minute on the subject, at the same time putting forward proposals for reorganizing the Building Works Department, so that everything not strictly of a 'building works' nature should be taken from its control. C.S.O.F. objected to the Superintendent, Building Works, serving two masters. He wished the latter to become purely an Ordnance Factory official instead of being directly responsible to the Director of Fortifications and Works for certain of his duties. Mr Donaldson said:
The Building Works Department is in a somewhat anomalous position in that the Superintendent is charged with a considerable volume of work falling under Army and not Ordnance Factory Votes, with the result that he, in fact, serves two masters, a proverbially unsatisfactory arrangement, and thus checking of accounts etc. is extremely difficult. I do not think
a PRO[WO[g2/521: 70/Gen. No./1,452.
929
this state of things ought to continue, and I should like to see a considerable re-arrangement of the duties of this department. Besides strictly building work, this department is charged with land questions, with building services for Army departments other than the Ordnance Factories, with Arsenal railways (maintenance, traffic and rollmg stock), with electric lighting and power, with gas and water (service and power), and with other matters. I believe that it would be better to remove from the charge of this department and put under the control of the Common Department such items as electric light and power, gas and water (supply and power) and to cause all expenditure for other Army Departments to be made through the channel of the Ordnance Factories in the form
• t d artmental services leaving the Superintendent an officer
of1ner-ep ' .. · ·h •
Ordnance Factories with no d1v1ded allegiance, wit out 1n
sol1elly o1fth1e u [. •
any way interfering with the incidence of expense fal mg upon its proper vote.
The Superintendent, Building Works, did not agree to these suggestions at all and wrote a two-page minute in reply. He did, however admit that he was overworked and would have to have either an increase of assistance or a decrease in duties.
The arguments, for and against, were continued without any positive result being achieved. Finally the whole question was referred to Committee set up in 1907 under the chairmanship of MajorGeneral C, F. Hadden, Master-General of the Ordnance. 54 The recommendations of this Committee, which were approved, 55 were four in number:
() The Superintendent, Building Works, should be entirely under the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories who will carry out all Army and Navy building services at the Royal Arsenal, the Royal Dockyard and the Royal Army Clothing Factory, Pimlico.
(2)
To facilitate the carrying out of this arrangement, the Superintendent, Building Works, should at all times have direct access to the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories.
(3)
The work now performed by the Superintendent, Building Works, at Weedon and Purfleet, should be transferred to the Eastern Command and Shoeburyness respectively.
(4)
No reduction in the staff of the Building Works Department 1s possible at present.
There is a printed document in existence, dated 22 August 1904, which gives the amount of ammunition and explosives held in the Royal Arsenal on 31 August 1903.56 The contents of No. I Magazine at Woolwich on this date were:
Afterwards changed to General.
78/1/1,547.
78/1/1,572.
" PRO[WO[32/1,048: 3/Imperial Defence/3.
930
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTUR y
Type L.S. N.S.
Cordite in cartridges 9I tons 172 tons Gunpowder in cartridges 1o4 tons 107 tons Gunpowder in bulk 32 tons 58 tons
Altogether there was stored in the Royal Arsenal
Cordite in bulk 1,130 tons Cordite in cartridges 1,031 tons Powder in bulk 99 tons Gunpowder in cartridges 507 tons Guncotton 276 tons Picric acid and picric powder 504 tons
a total 0f 3,547 tons.
There were over 1,000,000 filled L.S. shell and 11,435 tons of filled N.S. shell. This was a very large amount of explosive to be kept in what was rapidly becoming a built-up residential area.
For some years there had been an increasing accumulation of explosives in bulk, and made-up ammunition at Woolwich. This was due to the need for meeting larger demands for the Services, for more adequate reserves, and to the convenience arising from the accessibility of the storehouses to the Ordnance Factories and the shipping facilities in the district. The fact, however, caused concern to the authorities who could not remain indifferent to the potential danger which lay concealed within such vast stocks of filled shell, made-up cartridges, propellants and high explosive in bulk. It was felt that this question should be ventilated at high levels.
As far back as 1895, Lord Sandhurst's Committee on Danger Buildings at the Royal Arsenal had reported in reference to the Thalia floating magazine, 'The position of this magazine which has a capacity of 18,000 barrels (goo tons), and which actually contained at the time of the Committee's enquiry 300 tons of powder in barrels and in cannon cartridges, is, in the opinion of the Committee, one to justify anxiety. The evil seems to be seriously aggravated by the proximity of the magazine to the Cannon Cartridge Establishment, the two being a mutual menace. If the continued existence of such a mode of storage is necessary, no efforts should be spared to select a site where the risk of accidents and of the consequences of an accident would be sensibly diminished.' Colonel C. F. Hadden, Chief Inspector Woolwich, suggested in 1900 that, in future, before any additional buildings of this nature be put up, consultation should take place between the Ordnance Factories, the Army Ordnance
Department and the Inspection Department as to sites to be occupied and limits of accommodation to be provided. At the same time doubt was expressed as to the policy of increasing the storage of explosives at Woolwich beyond the limit already reached. Again in 1901,
931
Colonel Sir E. Bradford, Commissioner of Police; Major-General Sir F. Maurice, G.O.C. Woolwich District; and Colonel Sir Edmond Bainbridge, Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, reported in regard to the protection of the Royal Arsenal: 'We consider the Thalia floating magazine a great source ofdanger. Twice her mooring chains have been broken by passing vessels and part of her rail has been carried away. Vessels with smoking funnels pass quite close to her The Thalia should be disused at once and the use of floating ma~azines discontinued. Nos. r and 2 Magazines are on the river wall and their explosion would break that structure and cause the marshes to be flooded and do great damage. We are of opinion that no more magazines should be built on the marshes in the vicinity of
the Arsenal.' The Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories had also from time to time expressed his strong conviction that the storage of large quantities of combustibles at Woolwich was inadvisable, and had urged that the danger zones of existing magazines were so extensive that the safety ofthe Royal Arsenal was not only seriously threatened, but that the extension of the factories in the only direction in which land was available was rendered well-nigh impossible. At last a Committee was set up on 29 April 19o5 to consider the storage of explosives in the Royal Arsenal. It was an Inter-Departmental Committee presided over by Rear-Admiral S. M. EardleyWilmot.57 Its terms ofreference were:
To consider the advisability of the War Department taking over the whole ofthebuildingsusedforthe storage ofnaval explosivesatWoolwich Arsenal, and to submit proposals which will meet the requirements of both Services at the minimum of cost.
The Committee's. proposals were as follows:
1. As regards lyddite shell, it is undesirable that the Navy should set up a new establishment in which to undertake this class of work.
It would, however, be an advantage if the Ordnance Factories purchased picric acid direct, as it would then be no longer necessary to hold a naval stock at Woolwich.58
2.
No alteration in the amount of gun-cotton work so long as the Torpedo Factory remains at Woolwich.
3.
No change in arrangements with regard to fuzes, rockets, tubes, primers, caps, detonators, small arm machine gun and arming tube ammunition.
4.
The Navy should continue to place orders with the Royal Laboratory sufficient to employ at least go men on filling Q.F. cartridges, 7o men on filling cordite cannon cartridges and 7o men on filling shell and cannon cartridges with gunpowder. This would mean a considerable
7 PRO/WO[32/318: A/989: 3/Imperial Defence/12. 11 Purchase of picric acid by Ordnance Factories direct, approved.
932
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
reduction of naval filling work and would largely remove the necessityfor storing the components at Woolwich.59
5. The adoption ofthe proposals at I and 4 would set free the following naval magazines and storehouses, together with the subsidiary buildings in connection with them, viz:
No. I Magazine 5 Cordite Magazines 6 inch to I 2 pdr Q.F. store 6 pdr and 3 pdr Q.F. store Picric acid store Dry and wet gun-cotton stores (eventually)3 filled shell stores
6.
Transfer of the naval picric acid store, and of such naval magazines and buildings as may be required by the Ordnance Factories for storage of naval explosives in transit, should be without charge to Ordnance Factory or Army funds.oo
7.
No. I Magazine should cease to be used as a magazine except two bays of the naval building, one of which could be safely utilized by the Army Ordnance Department and the other by the Ordnance Factories.1
8.
If the five naval magazines were set free at any early date, three of them could be taken over by the Army, and the building of the four additional cordite magazines by the Army, for which approval had already been given, could be modified to that extent. The remaining two would be required for the Ordnance Factories. It would be advantageous if money could be transferred from Army to Admiralty funds for the erection by the Navy of three cordite magazines elsewhere than at Woolwich.62
9.
In regard to naval Q.F. ammunition stores not required as such by the Army, the larger 6 inch to 12 pdr store could be taken down and re-erected elsewhere for the use of the Navy. No definite proposal is made as regards the small 6 pdr and 3 pdr store. Such a course would not, however, be economical if any effective use could be found for the store on its present site.63
Io. The picric acid store would no longer be required by the Navy if picric acid were to be obtained direct by the Ordnance Factories as suggested at I.
11.
Dry and wet gun-cotton stores should at present be retained by the Navy.
12.
One of the three filled shell stores is partly occupied by the Army. The others could perhaps be utilized by the Chief Inspector, Woolwich, for installing a plant for painting shell by the dipping process. The Committee would prefer to give this proposal further consideration.%4
59 The Navy agreed to place a proportion of their filling work with the Royal Laboratory.
60 Approved.
61 No change could be made till the new magazine at Purfleet had been erected.
62 These magazines had to be retained until the inspection of naval supplies of cordite
took place elsewhere than at Woolwich.
63
The stores had still to be retained by the Navy. "These had to be retained by the Navy till the Upnor magazine had been taken into use, and the new shell store at Bull Point completed.
933
13. The mine store, fuze store, S.A.A. store and the detonator house should be retained by the Navy.
Educational facilities of a sort had always been fostered in government manufacturing departments, and for many years schools and a teaching staff had been provided in the Royal Arsenal to forward the cause of learning. In 1904-1906 this was put on a better footing
com
as the result of a Very Comprehensive su. rvey submitted by a
· d nder the chairmanship of Mr H. F. Donaldson,
muttee convene , u . . Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories, to consider the sub-ff f the .r.actories The Comnnttee actually presented
ord.m. ate stat o 1 '· · first dated 19 June 1903, and the second 27 Apnl
two reports, the · · h 1oos.ice second report was merely a dosmg23,"" E,,2,"" · • 1 enti'ng the recommendations su m1tte 1n t e st
madte in 1mp1em .
re art which had been duly approved.@» The complete reorganiza?P , lace in 1go6.%° These proposals clearly recognized the
tontoopa • . .
·on between education and efficiency 1n such an
close conneCtl . . Establishment as the Royal Arsenal and their acceptance did much to strengthen it by reducing the hours oflabour, by providing access to technical literature, and by raising the general educational standard of the workmen. . At the risk of becoming tedious, it is felt that the importance of these reforms warrants their inclusion in full smce it rs the best method of bringing all the points to the notice of the reader. The first report contained the following recommendations:
1.
The managerial staff should be formed into an upper and lower division.
2.
The upper division should be sub-divided into four classes: Class AManagers Class B Assistant Managers
Class C-Shop Managers Class DSupervisors
3.
The lower division should include foremen and assistant foremen.
4.
Men possessing higher educational qualifications (preferably of the university type) should be selected to fill appointments in the upper division.
5.
The educational qualifications for such appointments should. be based on the examination results of their college courses so far as techrncal and scientific theoretical knowledge is concerned, and on their record of training in the Ordnance Factories with regard to practical knowledge. Any individual not in possession of a degree or certificate covering a 3 years technical course should be required to pass an examination equivalent to that now required by the Institution of Civil Engineers for election or transfer to the class of Associate Members. All subsequent promotions
• A/805 A/994: 70/Gen. No./962: 70/Gen. No./1,719. ·6 70/Gen. N0./2,055.
934
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
should be determined by selection on account of individual merit and capacity without any further educational test.67
6. (a) Six young men, suitably qualified, should be appointed as Supervisors in each of the next three years, and
(b) Twelve young men, also suitably educated, should be taken annually into the workshops to be systematically trained with a view to appointment.68
7.
Class D (Supervisors) should be mainly employed in facilitatinginter-communication between the administrative branches, the drawing offices and the workshops, and in relieving foremen ofmuch ofthe clerical work of reporting, etc.
8.
The education of Trade Lads should be systematized and assimilated for all departments, beginning from their entrance examinations, and should be compulsory for at least three years of their time for two hours on three evenings for forty weeks in each year; and, in addition, one afternoon per week during paid time.
9.
Members ofboth classes ofstudents should be individually attached to competent workmen who should receive small extra payment for their servces.
1o. The system and courses of education for Trade Lads should be arranged with the Technical Education Board, the Woolwich Polytechnic and the Goldsmiths' Institute, at fees and upon lines suitable to their requirements. The authorities at the two latter should report periodically as to attendance, progress and behaviour of the lads. 69
11.
On the production at the end of each year of a report signed by the teachers and principal of the teaching institute stating that a lad had been perfectly regular in his attendance, and that his behaviour had been excellent and his progress commendable, the fees paid by him should be refunded by the War Office. Persistent irregularity in attendance, idleness or incompetence should, however, disqualify a lad not only from the refund offees, but also from any participation in the benefits which would naturally accrue to him as a Trade Lad.7o
12.
In the event of these recommendations being approved the Royal Carriage Department school should be closed when the new system is
71
started.
13. Selection to fill vacancies in the lower division should be made upon evidence oftechnical and practical training coupled with satisfactory personal qualifications, and promotion should be open from the lower to the upper division in the case of men reaching the requisite educational standard.
67 Recommendations were I to 5 approved and all necessary action was taken. New appointments in the rank of Shop Manager were made from men educationally qualified. Institution of a non-pensionable class of Supervisors (Salary {15o-10230) was sanctioned by the Treasury.
68 The 6 (a) appointments were filled up. Those in 6 (b) were slower to fill.
611 Recommendations 8-xo were approved. The Woolwich Polytechnic proved to be the only suitable educational establishment. Arrangements were made with it for a three years course. Classes inaugurated in October 1904.
70 The refund of such fees by the War Office under certain conditions was sanctioned by the Treasury.
71 This school was closed on 31 August 1904.
935
MATURITY
14.
Careful records should be kept by a central authority of the qualifications and suitability of all those trained with a view to future promotion whether in the upper or lower division.
15.
Systematic use should be made ofepitomized accounts specially and promptly prepared for workshop purposes.72
16.
Current prices of articles obtained from private firms should be systematically supplied for the guidance of Ordnance Factories."
I7. Foremen should be relieved of much of the work of designing shop details and of rate fixing.
18.
A method of receiving suggestions (not complaints) from workmen should be instituted, and a committee formed for adjudicating upon them. Such a committee should be authorized to issue immediate rewards in deserving cases. No single award must exceed £15 and the aggregate amount issuable in a single year is not to exceed [goo without special authority.7
19.
A reference library and reading room properly equipped with modern technical books and current technical literature only, should be established in the Ordnance Factories free to all employees.7°
The factories atWoolwich were beginning to wear their modern guise.
The proposal to form a Mechanical Research Department in the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich was first discussed at a meeting held at the War Office on 3o January 1go6 between the Secretary of State for War, the Master-General of the Ordnance, the President, Ordnance Committee, and the Director of Artillery. It was agreed that such a department should be established in the Ordnance Factories under the Chief Superintendent, to carry out the testing of materials and investigations into mechanical problems. It was also agreed that C.S.O.F. should centralize the chemical staffs of the various factories in the Royal Arsenal and have such increases in staff and appliances as would enable him to deal with analyses of his own material. Such a move would enable the staff of W. D. Chemist to be reduced. It was suggested that the salary of the head of this new department should be {500[7o0 a year.
The costs were assumed to be as follows:
Wages for O.F. chemical, metallurgical and testing Establishments Proposed mechanical research Experimental fund76 Amount of work taken over from W.D. Chemist £3,500 £1,000 £5,000 £3,000
Total: 12,500
°
Recommendations 13 and I4 were approved. Suitable forms of card records were sanctioned by the Committee for use in the Ordnance Factories. Action under I 5 was arranged between the department concerned and theAccountsBranch of the Central Office.
78 Arrangements for the supply of this information were made. The necessary regulations were compiled and the scheme was put into operation on 8 March 1904. 7 This was approved. An initial outlay of £5oo for the year 1904/05 and {roo p.a. in subsequent years was sanctioned by the Treasury. 76 This was not charged on production. It was taken upon 70/Gen. No./1,418.
936
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
The bulk of this was to be charged against particular orders, so
that the only extra costs faced would be £1,000 for mechanical
research and £5,000 for the experimental fund. 77
This question was to a certain extent mixed up with that of the
Explosives Committee.
Difficulties with regard to accounting for, and taking stock of,
stores sent to the Ordnance Factories for repair, conversion or
breaking up now began to appear, and an Inter-Departmental Com
mittee under the chairmanship of Mr W. A. Bland was set up in
1906 to deal with the matter.7s The Committee was appointed on
57/Gen. No./6,ggr and rendered its report dated 15 December 1906
on 57/Gen. No./7,585. It was given the following terms of reference:
To enquire into, and report upon, the system ofaccounting in the Army
and Naval Ordnance Departments and in the Ordnance Factories for
stores sent to the Ordnance Factories for repair, conversion or breaking-up,
and to suggest improvements in the system.
To devise, if possible, means of periodically comparing stock with the
book balances of such stores; also of Army and Naval Ordnance Depart
ment packages in Ordnance Factory charge.
The summary ofits findings may be included in ten recommendations:
() That the practice of making free issues of components should be discontinued and that all such issues should, in future, be on repayment.
(2)
That the system of book-keeping in the Ordnance Departments and in the office of the Store Accountant, Woolwich, should be maintained.
(3)
That the Ordnance Factories should keep a ledger record showing the position of stores in the Royal Laboratory, and a simple record of receipts and issues against each other for the other factories; the present system of marking off issue or receipt vouchers in the Ordnance Factories being abolished.
(4)
That ledgers kept in the Ordnance Departments should be compared at least annually with the records kept in the Ordnance Factories, all errors and omissions of account being adjusted, and agreed balances arrived at.
(5)
That vouchering should be limited to truck cards and vouchers, and that the use of a third document for issues from the Ordnance Factories be abolished.
(6)
That, as a general rule, when an extract for repair or conversion has been suspended, the stores in the Ordnance Factories should be returned to the Ordnance Departments concerned.
(7)
That stocktaking of stores for repair or conversion should only be
adopted in cases in which discrepancies cannot be cleared up by other means.
77 PRO[W0/32/1,216: 70/Gen. No./1,750. 7 PRO[W0/32/1,254.
937
(8)
That stocktaking of all packages held by C.S.O.F. should be carried out annually.
(o)
That subject to conditions, the write-off of deficiencies ofpackages within a reasonable limit should be allowed without charge against the Ordnance Factories.
(1o) That all deficiencies of stores and all deficiencies of packages in excess of this limit should be charged agamst the Ordnance Factories.
Recommendations (2) to (10) were accepted by the Admiralty and War Office subject to slight modifications.
In March 1g07, it was laid down as a principle that although the posts of Superintendents, Ordnance Factories, were of sufficient importance to justify their being held by substantive Colonels, such appointments would not entitle their holders to be promoted to that rank unless they had been personally selected by the Selection Board.79 In September of the same year it was held that writers must have six years service in a pensionable capacity before they could be considered for promotion to Second Division clerkships.80
A large fire broke out in A store, Royal Arsenal, between 1 o.o a.m. and r1.0 a.m. on Wednesday 18 April 1906. It was followed by three explosions. The store in which the conflagration occurred, a twostoreyed building 220 X 4o feet, forming part of the main block of the Army Ordnance Services storehouses, formerly called the Grand Storehouses, was near the new Central Office which was in the process ofbeing built. It was also close to the Royal Laboratory main buildings and the Pay Office. It was occupied jointly by the Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores, the Ordnance Factories and the Assistant Director of Transport. It was used by the factories and the transport directorate as offices, and by the D.D.O.S. as a storehouse for housing some metal but mainly packing cases, crates and magnesium filings. It was the latter which made loud reports when caught by the water from the fire-hoses. Luckily there were no actual explosions though at one time parts of the Royal Laboratory and the Pay Office were thought to be in considerable danger. The first so-called explosion occurred about noon and the third one about 4·30 p.m. The fire, therefore, raged for some six or seven hours. The blaze, which was large, might have had very serious consequences and at first the rumour spread that there had been a terrible disaster. The writer remembers receiving letters on the following morning asking solicitously whether he were still in one piece. Sixteen engines and two floats attended the fire. Seven men were injured including six firemen. These were Superintendent S. Riddle, Station Officer
G. Unwin, Sub-Officer W. Sullivan, Fireman J. Allmark, Fireman
7 1oo/Gen. No./1,365. 8 Gen./6/4,676.
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
G. Chapman, Fireman G. F. Fawcett and Assistant Storeholder Palmer.81
A comparison between the Arsenal in 1907 and 1887 will now be
drawn. The shops themselves were much the same though machinery
had improved and plant increased.
In 1907 the extreme length and maximum width of the Arsenal
were rather more than 3 miles and I mile respectively, and its area
covered some 1,285 acres, of which 407 acres were within the
boundary walls and the remainder situated in the marshes; 8g acres
were covered with buildings. The capital value of the Ordnance
Factory buildings on 31 March 1906 exceeded750,00o. The prime
movers in use included mo boilers and 68 steam engines with a total
capacity of 9,700 H.P.
There were 15 miles of broad gauge railway served by 19 loco
motives, chiefly of the 4-wheel coupled type, and 3oo wagons. In
addition there were 32 miles of narrow gauge railway, and its rolling
stock consisted of 4o steam locomotives, 5 oil-fired locomotives and
986 trucks. The points and crossings numbered 1,200. A properly
organized passenger service working to a scheduled time-table was
a feature of this railway system. Fourteen trains ran daily in each
direction from one end of the Arsenal to the other; there were ten
'stations' on the route.
The capital value of the machinery on 31 March 1906 amounted to £610,000. In addition to the plant used for actual production, there were 415 cranes and lifts worked by hydraulic, steam, electric and hand power, as well as large numbers of hydraulic capstans, presses, accumulators, etc.
During the South African War, numbers exceeded II,0oo in the Royal Laboratory, 3,700 in the Royal Carriage Department, 3,500 in the Royal Gun Factory, and 2,400 in the Building Works and Central Departments. The average numbers employed between 1896 and 1go6 were in the neighbourhood of 16,0oo. There was a 48 hour week, and the hours of work were Mondays to Fridays 8.o a.m.
1.0 p.m. and 2.o p.m.5.40 p.m., and from 8.0 a.m. to 12.40 p.m. on Saturdays. Later on, when the 47 hour week was introduced, the men ceased work on Saturdays at 11.40 a.m.
The Royal Laboratory, excluding its filling shops and danger buildings, consisted of the main factory where fuzes, etc. were made. It contained 6oo machine tools, of which some 8o were of the automatic type, the pattern room, the S.A. bullet factory, the Q.F. cartridge factory and the shell foundry. The equipment in the latter comprised eleven cupolas for the production of iron castings and molten iron for conversion into steel, a number of underground
n Kentish Independent.
62 939 furnaces for the production of cast crucible steel of any special character that might be required, and three Tropenas converters for the manufacture of larger sizes of cast steel shell. The Tropenas process, which was adopted in the shell foundry in 1897, was an improvement on the old Bessemer system of steel production.
The Royal Gun Factory contained the north boring mill, the south boring mill, where rifling was carried out, the field gun section, the main turnery and the forge which housed the 4o-ton steam hammer. This hammer could strike a blow equal to 1,ooo tons steady pressure. In the west forge, there was a hydraulic press exerting a pressure of 3,000 tons. There were about 180 electric motors in the gun factories, ranging in size up to 1oo H.P., which were run for the most part from electric supply mains with a potential of 300 volts. In the year under review, steps were being taken to convert this into 5oo volts for power purposes on the three wire system, leaving 250 volts available between two wires for lighting purposes. Current was direct, an alternating system not being introduced for domestic illumination till after the Second World War.
The Royal Carriage Department consisted of the main machine
shop, the erecting shop, the scrap forge, the wheel factory, the
wheelers' shop, the carpenters' shop, the saw-mills and the wood
machine shop. The latter contained much the same machinery as it
had twenty years earlier.
The radial crane had been roofed over, and the Central Power
Station was almost completed. The Danger Buildings, consisting of
the old lyddite factory, the cannon cartridge factory, the cartridge,
fuze and primer factory, the H.E. establishment, and the cap and
detonator factory, were in existence. All the moated and mounded
magazines in the marshes had been built. The proof-butts had been
moved to their present site, and the rocket establishment was in
process of transfer. The Royal Arsenal proper, however, was still
bounded on the east by the Griffin Manor Way.
It was decided to transfer the manufacture of torpedoes from the Royal Arsenal, i.e. from the Royal Laboratory, to a new factory at Grecnock during the financial year 1908/09.%° The new factory, to be known as the Royal Naval Torpedo Factory, was to be a naval establishment and all men transferred to it from Woolwich were to become Admiralty employees. The Departmental Committee set up to consider this removal was under the presidency of Captain Stuart Nicholson, R.N.8" In 1908, also, the report of Mr Flynn's Committee on the Ordnance Factory system of accounts was received.84
6=
PRO/WO[32/1,244: 72/1/8,722A.
PRO[WO[g2/1,244: 73/1/8,855. ·4 7o/Gen. No./2,536.
940
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Little of importance occurred in 19o9. The new shrinkage pits were completed, and it was laid down that, although rate-fixers in the Royal Carriage Department ranked as Assistant Foremen, they were not to enjoy the privilege of the latter in regard to leave,85
An agreement was reached between the Admiralty and the War Office that the Land's End power station near Crossness, should be transferred to the Ordnance Factories on 3 1 March 1910. The power station in question stood on the Erith marshes, and, being built out of Army and Navy funds, belonged jointly to the two Services. It supplied hydraulic power to the cranes on Crossness Explosives Pier, and electric energy for cranes on that pier, for capstans at magazines Nos. 3-15, and for lighting the pier and other structures in the vicinity of No. 2 magazine. It also supplied steam for heating magazines Nos. 3-15 and water pressure for fire-fighting purposes.88
The year 191 I was more prodigal of events, the most important of which was the formation of the Mechanical Engineering Department. The long drawn out struggles and arguments over the duties and responsibilities of the Building Works Department came to an end at last. The Building Works Department gave birth to a daughter organization which in course of time reversed the roles and assumed the parentage of the former. The Building Works Department was divided into a new building department and the Mechanical Engineering Department on 11 November 1911, the former retaining its building, traffic, water and lands services, while the latter assumed the responsibility for gas, light, power, machinery and maintenance of plant. A Superintendent, Mechanical Engineering Department, Mr R. D. R. Heap, was appointed on 11 November 1911, as also was a shop manager.87 In 1911 the grant of£25 p.a. to the Ordnance Factory Luncheon Club was approved.88
The question now arose as to whether the Ordnance Factories were to be considered as one integrated department, and whether discharges on reduction of establishment were to be pooled for the purpose of gratuities. It was settled in April 1911 that the answer was in the affirmative. There was a standing order approved that Superintendents before carrying out such discharges, had to ascertain whether their redundant workpeople could be accommodated in one of the other factories. The gratuity was to be charged against the
89
factory which had had the service from the man to be discharged. A conference met at the House of Commons on 23 May 191 I to deal with the minimum wage of War Department and Admiralty
6 PRO/WO[32/522: 71/2/814. 6+ PRO[WO[g2/767: Woolwich Arsenal/12/146. 7 78/1/1,754. 8 70/Gen. No./3,331.
PRO[WO/32/1,244: 73/1/9,059.
94I
employees and to discuss the comparative value of privileges which they received. This Inter-Departmental Conference recommended that:
(a)
The Admiralty privileges should be valued at 6d. in the£.
(b)
The War Office privileges should also be reckoned at the same amount on the express understanding that when the sick-pay rules were altered after the passing of the National Insurance Bill, no further adjustment would be made.90
The Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners complained that carpenters at Woolwich were paid {-d. per hour under the union rate. It was pointed out to them that the carpenters had privileges which had up to then been reckoned at rs. in the£. In view of the conference in the House of Commons, this 'privilege rate' would, in future, be reduced to 6d. in the £. This would be equivalent to a slight rise in wages.91
A committee was convened in 19II under the chairmanship of Brigadier-General S. B. Van Donop, Director ofArtillery, to consider the question of reserves of stores for the Ordnance Factories. It was mainly concerned with the Imperial reserve of stores which should be held for war purposes.92 It recommended that certain additional stores, which the committee had indicated in its report, and ofwhich the bulk was already on Ordnance Factory charge, should be added to those already approved as Imperial war stocks. Ai: the same time, it was proposed that the expense incurred in maintaining and holding such stocks should be charged against the Army and Navy and not against the Ordnance Factories in the form of overheads in factory production, which had been the practice up to then. In this the committee followed the recommendation of Sir Charles Hadden's committee on Ordnance Factory costs. It was also proposed that the Chief Supermtendent should be responsible that his share of the reserve was kept up and not reduced without the approval of the Army Council, and should render an annual certificate on I April each year that this had been done.
This report was not formally submitted to the Army Council, but a copy was sent to the Admiralty for their remarks. As a result of suggestions put forward by that department, another committee under the same chairman was set up to consider the policy to be adopted for ensuring an adequate supply of materials for warlike store manufacture in times of war or emergency. This reconstituted committee reported in 1913, Brigadier-General Van Donop in the meantime havmg been promoted Major-General of the Ordnance.93
$33/p?faze Ge,Nta±a,a± Mora ton.
"+A], /32/761: Woolwich Arsenal/6/650.
1477 70/Gen. No./3,319. ·+ A/1,693 70/Gen. No./3,868.
942
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Unknown to the committee, the world was approaching zero hour
of the greatest conflict of modern times, and it was providential that
their report was accepted.
They recommended that the Imperial reserve stocks which they
formulated should be sanctioned at once to meet immediate require
ments, that the annual certificate regarding the maintenance ofthose
stocks suggested by the former committee should be adopted, that
the existing schedule of minimum Imperial reserve stocks, and any
amendments thereto, should be periodically revised, and that the
following questions should be answered. They stressed however
that while the questions they posed were being considered, th:
reserve stocks should be authorized. The two questions propounded
by the Committee were :
(a)
Whether it be advisable to increase the Imperial reserve in regard to some articles in order to meet any prospective larger naval and military requirements.
(b)
Whether it be necessary to arrange for reserve stocks of certain materials for the use of contractors making warlike stores.
These, the Committee suggested, should be examined after the Admiralty and War Office had furnished the revised lists of their requirements, a course they were urged to take.
The Army Council approved these recommendations and the sanction of the Admiralty was sought. 94 . In a file, dated 6 February 1913, the maximum output and inspection of .303 inch Mark VII small arm ammunition was tentatively fixed at 10½ million rounds a week in time of war. The cost and the additional machines required to maintain this output were laid down in the file in question.95
The report of the Bland Committee on the Ordnance Factory clerical staff,96 which sat in 1913, is taken up in Appendix VII.
In 1913 an extra 5s. a week was given to men working in the Magazine Area whose wages did not exceed 27s. a week.97 At the same time, a comparison in danger area wages between the years 1893 and 1912 was carried out."° In 1914, an improved scale of pay for managers in the Ordnance Factories was sanctioned by the Treasury.99
During the first decade of the twentieth century, labour, after a bad start, became better organized and the trade unions grew not only in numbers but in strength. The Taff Vale decision of 1901, in which the House of Lords ruled that trade unions could be sued
·4 70/Gen. No./3,8694.
• PRO[WO/32/523: 73/3/2,358.
•• A/1,599: 70/1/716.
07 70/Gen. No./3,439.
88 70/Gen. No./3,662.
0° 70/Gen. No./3,749.
943
collectively for damage caused by trade disputes, weakened the whole position of trade unionism by threatening the right to strike and partially paralysed its activity. Labour reacted violently against the decision, and intense and persistent agitation followed. In due course this policy of unrest reaped its reward by getting the Trade Disputes Act placed on the Statute Book in 1906. This Act not only restored immunity from suits for damages, but also reinstated the right of peaceful picketing originally introduced in 1859. This event greatly strengthened the trades union legal status throughout the country. It was at this point that on 16 March 1906 it was agreed between the Secretary of State for War and the trade unions that the following principles should be followed :100
( 1) That men, or trade union officials on their behalf, should be able to come and discuss matters affecting a class with the Secretary of State, or with an informal advisory committee at the War Office, and
(2) That on these matters and on individual cases men, or trade union officials, should have access to the Chief Superintendent or Superintendents of Ordnance Factories as is most convenient, whether the officials of the union are actually employed in the Ordnance Factories or not, and whether or not the men concerned are actual members of the union.
It was agreed not to accept the contention that when once a union had taken up a case, there was to be no further communication between the managers and the men.
The revival of more active trade union measures after 1906 led up to the great labour upheavals in the years preceding the First World War. This period was one of rising prices owing to the balance of trade beginning to swing against this country for the first time in many years, and wages, in face of sharpening international competition, failed to keep pace. There were great strikes in 1911 and 1912 among many classes of employees, transport workers, railwaymen, seamen, miners, textile workers and others. Among these were many unofficial strikes against the men's leaders. These unofficial movements elected their own leaders who accused the unions of supineness in pressing labour claims and better conditions. The Ordnance Factories could not be entirely immune from this influence. Labour was on the march and the movement was catching. Shop representation commenced at Woolwich about 1911 when, following the system where all complaints and grievances were referred by workmen to the trade union branches, minor questions concerning local shop matters only were dealt with by shop representatives at foreman or shop manager level. In 1913, the term Shop Steward became recognized unofficially, and a Shop Stewards Committee was formed in the factories. Its formation, however, was not accepted by the Ordnance Factory management. In these circumstances it is
1w» PRO/WO[g2[521: 70/Gen. No./2,068.
944
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURy not surprising that a report concerning labour disputes and strikes should in 1914 be called for and submitted.1o1 The following building programme took place in the period under consideration, the various items commencing in the years shown. Cost
Year Factory Project Estimated
19OI 1901 19OI 19oI 19O1 19oI 19O I 1902 1902 1902 1902 1903 1903 1904 1904 1904 1905 1906 1906 1906 1906 1906 1906 1906 R.L. R.L. R.G.F. R.G.F. General General General R.L. R.C.D. R.G.F. R.C.D. General General R.L. R.L. General R.L. R.L. R.L. R.G.F. Genera] General General General New boiler house Gantries in foundry Foundations for lathes and boring machines Extension of torpedo factoryRailway sidingGas holders Gas purifying plant Brass foundry Roofing over Dial Square Extension of No. 6 bay, south boring mill Building over dipping plant New Central Office Extension of Central Power Station New lyddite establishment Buildings and gas plant for rotary annealers Improved sanitation in factories New roof to steam drop shop Removal of rocket factory to new site Rubble stone facing to river embankment New shrinkage pits Additional underground main to Frog Island New rolling stock sheds Raising height of river wall by providing a curb on wharves Additional accommodation for £ 1,845 £ 2,600 £ 1,600 £12,800 1,800 £ 7,000 £ 3,900 £16,000 £ 2,500 £ 5,400 £ 2,500 £75,000 £47,750 £ 8,000 £ 3,200 £ 4,500 £ 2,600 £ 3,130 £ 5,700 £55,000 £ 2,500 £ 2,000 £ 2,160
1907 1907 1907 1908 1908 R.L. R.C.D. R.G.F. General General timber Extension of Y2 1 boilerhouse Repair and removal of roofs and skylights, main machine shop Foundations for the rearrangement of machinery, north boring mill, west turnery and heavy turnery Service to reduce fire-risks Provision of separate fire main £ 5,000 £ 2,420 £ 9,100 £ 4,700£ 2,050 £ 6,000
101 70/Gen. No./4,007.
945
MATURITY
Year Factory Project
1909 R.L. Provision of traversed gunpowder magazine at the north end of the new
1909 R.C.D. Rocket FactoryRenewal of corrugated iron covering of the roofs of the wheelers'
1909 General and carpenters' shops Coaling arrangements at the Central Power Station
1909 1909 1910 1910 General General R.L. General Provision of a culvert to return condensing water to the canal Additions and alterations to existing electric light mains Provision of filled shell store, new lyddite establishment Renewal of the roof of No. 7 bay
191I R.L. proof-butts Provision of empty shell store, new
establishment
1911 R.L. Alteration to torpedo factory on reappropriation as rolling mills,
191I R.L. foundry, etc. Floor of the west side of the main
factory to be filled in and laid with concrete and wood blocks
1911 R.G.F. Increase of coal storage at the main
boiler house
1911 R.G.F. The reconstruction of the roof and
the provision of a new gantry in the
1912 R.G.F. heavy turnery The extension of No. 3 bay, south
1912 R.G.F. boring mill The strengthening of gantries in
1913 R.C.D. No. 4 bay, south boring mill Modification of main machine shop
1913 R.G.F. No. A11 bay The strengthening of gantries in
1913 General No. 3 bay, south boring mill Provision of mains for high
1914 R.L. pressure gas Provision of acid sifting shops and empty package store, lyddite establishment
1914 R.C.D. Modification of main machine shop
1914 R.G.F. Nos. A 9 and A ro bays The strengthening of gantries in Nos. 1 and g bays, south boring mill
946
Estimated Cost
£ 2,345
£ 4,500 £ 4,900 £ 2,000
£. 4,000
£. 5,000
£. 1,024
£ 4,470
£18,000
£ 2,390
£. 2,590
10,300 £. 6,000 £ 6,000 £ 7,300 £ 6,000 £ 4,950
£ 2,000
12,860
£12,000
THE OPENING YEARS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
1914 General Extension of engine room, Central Power Station £10,000 1914 General Buildings for hydraulic plant, Central Power Station £25,000
Meanwhile the shadows of war, gathering on the horizon, gradu
ally spread over the international scene, and when hostilities broke
out, the resulting stress was to revolutionize Woolwich, both town
and factory, to an extent never before experienced. There had been
wars before and their effect upon the Royal Arsenal has been
described, but it was, so to speak, absorbed and contained within
the limits of the normal process of expansion, though the strain at
times had undoubtedly been great. The new conflict, however,
which occurred between the years 1914 and I g I 8, was of an entirely
different character. It provoked a difference of kind, not of degree,
and the changes it caused altered the aspect of the locality to a
marked degree.
The Balkans were the centre from which the storm spread. Con
ditions in those countries had been chaotic for several years, and a
peace patched up at Bucharest on 1o August 1913 did little to stem
the tide of revolution and revolt. A time of dark confusion followed,
massacre, violence and vengeance. The cynical outlook of Ferdinand
of Bulgaria, who wished to see Serbia crushed, prevented all hope
of reconstructing the Balkan League, and the small states rent by
fratricidal wars lay at the mercy of the surrounding empires. Only
one spark was wanted to touch off the powder barrel of Europe and
this was supplied by a young fanatic ofBosnia who, on 28June 1914,
murdered the Archduke Francis Ferdinand at Sarajevo.
The effect of this crime was electric and the shock it caused fired the charge and plunged the world into war. Franz Joseph, Emperor ofAustria, with the strong support ofGermany, answered on 23July 1914 by an ultimatum to Serbia, who was given forty-eight hours to accept conditions which would have menaced her existence as an independent State. The situation became impossible. One after another the Great Powers, unable to free themselves from their shackles, stumbled into war: July 23rd, partial mobilization of Austria against Serbia;July 26th, Russia put into a 'state ofpreparation for war'; July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia;
July 30th, Russia mobilized; July 31st, Austria-Hungary mobilized; August 1st, France and Germany mobilized, Germany declared war on Russia; August 2nd, German ultimatum to Belgium; August 3rd, Germany declared war on France; August 4th, Great Britain mobilized, and protesting against the German invasion of Belgium, declared war on Germany; August 5th, Montenegro declared war on Austria; August 6th, Austria declared war on Russia; August 12th, Great Britain and France declared war on Austria; August
947
23rd, Japan declared war on Germany; November 5th, Great Britain declared war on Turkey; November 12th, Turkey declared war on France Great Britain and Russia. As John Richard Green
'
says:
On the declaration of war all the great powers of Europe, one after another, were swept into the prodigious conflict, driven by powerful ambitions, by patriotism, by panic of final destruction, entangled in the web of old diplomacies, or blinded by the swift uprising of a primaeval instinct that machines of death could subjugate the spirit of freedom, or could vindicate honour, chivalry and justice, notwithstanding that every nation, so long as it had life, would refuse to accept against it as authorita
tive any decision of war.'O?
So far as this country was concerned, the lights went out in
Europe on 4 August 1914 when war conditions in the Royal Arsenal
superseded those of peace.
10° A short history ofthe English People, 1924, p. 1,006.
Chapter 22
The First World War
The First World War, breaking out as it did on 4 August 1914, had a profound effect upon the Royal Arsenal. 'Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them', and, in the case of Woolwich, it would be true to say that the last two factors operated. The Ordnance Factories reached their maximum both in numbers and output during the years 1914-1918, and blossomed into full maturity. Never again were they to scale such heights, not even in the Second World War. After 1918, a decline set in and, though stemmed temporarily between 1936 and 1945, it has continued to operate towards an uncertain future.
The administrative organization ofWoolwich in 1914 had changed little in essentials since the reorganization of 1888 brought about by the Morley reforms. The Member of the Army Council responsible for the Ordnance Factories was the fourth Military Member-the Master-General of the Ordnance-who controlled them through the Director of Artillery. The supervision exercised by the latter official, however, was confined chiefly to placing orders and issuing instructions from a military point of view, the general management of the factories being left entirely in the hands of the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories. No definite regulations existed concerning the subjects which C.S.O.F. had to refer to the Director ofArtillery, but broadly speaking they were those affecting pay, personnel, building services, machinery, purchase of material, permanent promotions to the rank of foreman and above, special increases of pay, and increases for particular classes of employees. As a general rule, all schemes for building and extensions of plant were referred to headquarters for sanction. Small purchases ofmaterial up toa5 in
value, or £roo in cases of buildings, were allowed without War Office approval, with an extension to £roo when urgency demanded. After the outbreak of the war this figure was raised to £500, monthly reports being submitted to the War Office. In cases of emergency, War Office sanction was obtained after the work had been completed.
Manufacturing orders were placed on C.S.0.F. by means of 'extracts' issued by the Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores for the Army, by the Superintendent of Ordnance Stores for the Navy, and by the Inspector, Royal Engineer Stores for the Director ofFortifications and Works. The allocation of orders between government
949
MATURITY
factories and the trade, i.e. between extracts and contracts, was settled at an allocation meeting consisting of representatives of the War Office and Admiralty. Unless any indication of urgency was attached to an extract, priority of work was left to the discretion of
C.S.O.F. When an extract was received by the factories it authorized the Chief Superintendent to order the necessary material and plant, to engage labour and to take any other essential steps to manufacture the articles demanded. Raw materials and trade supplies of plant were ordered through the Director of Army Contracts. The Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores, Woolwich, who was responsible for provision (afterwards known as 'Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores
(Provision)') was an officer on the staff of the Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores, under the orders of the Quarter Master General. He acted under the instruction of the Director of Artillery for the M.G.O's requirements (Vote 9 stores) and under the orders of QM.G. for Vote 8 and other stores. This 'serving of two masters' was a relic of the time when the Q.M.G. and the M.G.O. were not separate officials at the War Office.
In August 1914, the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich consisted of:
( r) The Royal Laboratory where ammunition of all kinds was made and filled.
(2)
The Royal Gun and Carriage Factories which dealt with guns, carriages mountings, wagons; ammunition boxes and transport of various descriptions.
(3)
The Mechanical Engineering Department engaged in the general engineering requirements of the whole Arsenal.
(4)
The Building Works Department responsible for buildings, road and railway traffic.
Each of these departments was administered by a Superintendent, and, in addition, the Chief Superintendent, who acted as his own Chief Mechanical Engineer, had a Military Assistant to assist him on technical matters and a Civil Assistant to deal with finance
'
accounts, stores and pay.
The Royal Laboratory, the factory which expanded the most
during the First World War, underwent some reorganization prior
to the war, changes which have already been indicated. In March
1916, it was split into three main divisions, namely the Filling
Factories under a Controller, the Small Arm Ammunition Factories
under a Controller, and the East and West Laboratory under a
Supermtendent. The S.A.A. factories dealt with the manufacture of
S.A.A.; the East and West Laboratory manufactured empty shell,
bombs, primers, tubes, fuzes, cartridge cases, etc.; while the Filling
Factories carried out all filling operations.
950
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
The Royal Gun and Carriage Factories continued their pre-war organization till 1917, when, until the end of the war, the Supermtendent had under him an Assistant Superintendent in the Gun Factory and a Deputy Superintendent in the Carriage Factory. This Deputy Superintendent had on his stafftwo Assistants, one in charge of the wood-working department and the other under his immediate orders. These were all military officers, and the Deputy Superintendent, who was a mounting specialist, had a good deal oflatitude in control and in originating carriage design. The Superintendent Gun and Carriage Factories was responsible for gun design.
When the responsibility for the supply of munitions for the armed forces was taken over on 9June 1915 by the Ministry of Munitions under the Ministry of Munitions Act,' the control of the Ordnance Factories did not at once pass from the War Office, though it was understood that the whole of the technical resources and experience of the staff should be placed at the disposal of the Ministry for assisting the development of munition supply. The whole position of the Ordnance Factories in this twilight period was the subject of much discussion between the War Office and the Ministry of Munitions, the principal object being to secure a smooth transfer without dislocation of work. Since the Ministry of Munitions was regarded as a wartime necessity, to be given a honourable burial when peace once more returned, the transfer was from the first assumed to be purely temporary, and a scheme for a partial transfer was put forward, but it was finally recognized by all that a complete transfer of full administrative control could alone be satisfactory, and this was agreed to in principle by both parties in August 1915.° Mr David Lloyd George, then Minister of Munitions, allocated the control of the Ordnance Factories to the Director-General of Munitions Supply whom he provided with a Consultative Committee on Management. This Committee, which was representative of the War Office, the Admiralty and the chief supply departments of the Ministry concerned, became the medium for considering with
C.S.O.F. matters affecting the placing of large programmes and questions of output.
Extracts under the new arrangements were to be placed by the Ministry, and a section to perform this task-C.M. 7 was formed under Mr Eric Geddes, then Deputy Director-General (CG) of the Munitions Supply Department, to deal with them and with correspondence with the Ordnance Factories relating to such questions as pay, personnel, extensions, supply of machinery, statistical returns as to output and progress, and the quality and efficiency of production. Sir Frederick Donaldson vacated his appointment in
'5and 6 Geo. V., Cap. 54, 2 July 1915. • Hist. Rec./H/1,12 11/1.
951
September 191 5 to become technical adviser to the Ministry and was succeeded as C.S.O.F. by Sir Vincent Raven who remained in control till June 1917 when he was succeeded by Brigadier-General
C. P. Martel. Sir Frederick Donaldson did not long survive his change of post. He lost his life at sea on 5 June r 9 r 6 in the sinking of H.M.S. Hampshire by a mine off the coast of Orkney, while on a mission to Russia in the company of Earl Kitchener ofKhartoum.
The Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores still retained the right to place extracts for amounts less than {250, sending copies to the War Office and the Ministry of Munitions, and the Ministry agreed to this procedure on the understanding that such extracts would be for urgent stores, stipulating only that C.S.O.F. should first be asked whether he could execute the order. The Admiralty and the Department of the Director of Fortifications and Works also continued to place their extracts on Woolwich independently through their normal agents. Later on, to avoid the difficulties inherent in two departments giving separate filling orders to the Royal Arsenal, a weekly meeting was held between the Admiralty and representatives of the gun ammunition filling department when the Woolwich programme was arranged. 3 The relations between the Ordnance Factories and the Ministry thus became for all practical purposes the same as those between the Ministry and any large armament firm, C.S.O.F. acting as a general manager and deciding what orders could be accepted.
Until the Ministry of Munitions finally assumed control of the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich, the filling factories were supplied with components by the Army and Naval Ordnance Departments. This arrangement cut across the policy of the Ministry whereby it assumed responsibility for all stores till they were finally completed, so in January 1916, it was arranged that C.S.O.F., represented by the Controller of Ammunition Components, should take over all the storesandbuildings,allcomponentsinstock, the staffinchargeofthe stores and some of the office staff who had previously carried out this part of the duties of the D.D.O.S., Woolwich. From that time onwards the Army Ordnance Department was concerned only with the receipt, storage and issue of finished stores. The former arrangements still held good for naval stores, empty shell passing on arrival at the Royal Arsenal into the charge of the Naval Armament Store Officer, and being distributed by him for filling, and passing again under his authority when filled.
C.M7 was informed of the main items of work going through the Royal Arsenal. The Supply Officers of the Ministry corresponded direct with the factories on matters concerning the particular store in which they were concerned. This arrangement secured a fairly unified headquarter control, though the Consultative Committee on
" CR/Filling/384.
952
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Management was entirely abortive. In November 1916, however, the work of C.M7 was discontinued, and all correspondence relating to manufacture, supply and inspection was carried on direct between the department concerned and C.S.O.F. through the Ministry's central registry. With regard to extracts, each department minuted
C.S.O.F.
direct, giving particulars of the extract which they wished to have issued. The extract was then prepared and returned by
C.S.O.F.
if the order could be accepted. Sir Charles Ellis, DirectorGeneral of Ordnance Supply, was nominated to deal with any matters of importance which might be brought before him by the supply departments or C.S.O.F., and continued to exercise this function until the formation ofthe Munitions Council,' when this responsibility passed to Sir Glynn West as Member of Council G.
With the disappearance of C.M7 all centralized administration of the Ordnance Factories ceased. There was no one branch within the Ministry to which C.S.O.F. could look for guidance or advice in general matters, and there was no one at headquarters in London with a complete knowledge of all the productive activities of all the factories, and able to advise on the nature and amount of work which could be undertaken there in future. The Member of Council concerned had no one to whom he could delegate the work ofdealing with the mass of detailed correspondence which flowed in a neverending stream in both directions between Woolwich and London. It was a stupid arrangement which lasted for nearly eighteen months, until Sir James Stevenson, who succeeded Sir Glynn West early in 1918, pointed out its unsatisfactory nature, and suggested the appointment of a Controller of Ordnance Factories5 who should be
responsible to him as Council Member. Sir James considered it no function of a Member of Council to deal with the details which arrived at headquarters from Woolwich until they had been sifted so that only questions of policy which required a decision need be forwarded to him.
By this time, with the war nearing its end, the productive capacity of the country for the manufacture of munitions had reached such a pitch of development that more weight than had hitherto been possible, could be given to questions of economic and efficient production. A plan was under consideration for decentralizing the manufacturing work of the Ordnance Factories to the new national factories which had sprung up around the countryside, and the whole question was referred by the Minister of Munitions to a Committee of Enquiry under the chairmanship of the Right Honourable
T. McKinnon Wood6 with the following terms of reference:
Hist. Rec./R/1,122 1.1. • M.C. 537.
• Cmd 229, 70/Gen. No./4,556.
953
'To enquire into, and report upon, the control, administrative organization, layout and equipment of the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich, and the nature and distribution of the work carried on in them and at the Arsenal generally, and to advise the Minister of Munitions what, if any,
changes are required.' The Committee should have due regard to the importance of efficient and economic production, and the necessity for maintaining a reserve of productive power, and should give weight to the obligations of the Government as an employer to ensure the best possible industrial and housing conditions of the employees.
This Committee, which was appointed during the latter part of the war, produced four reports. These will be considered in the following chapter.
It has already been pointed out that the recommendations of the Hadden Committee on the costs of Ordnance Factory production still lacked, in many cases, complete implementation by August 1914, with the result that much condemned machinery was in situ at the outbreak of hostilities. The concentration of shops recommended by this Committee also effected little, the same shops in some cases having to be rebuilt on the same sites after the war had commenced.
The size of the nucleus establishment fixed for Woolwich had been based on the estimated requirements of a moderate expansion commensurate with the demands considered likely to be made in the event of war. As it happened the preparations made proved quite inadequate for no one had the imagination and foresight to think in large enough terms. This was perhaps not surprising since a world war engulfing the majority of nations of the earth had never been envisaged. The vast expansion required in August r 914, therefore, imposed an intolerable strain. The measure of such an expansion may be gauged from the fact that before mid-September 1914, the Ordnance Factories had completed more work for the Navy than the Board of Admiralty had considered probable during the first six months of an anticipated war in which all the Land and Sea forces of the Empire would be engaged. The unsatisfactory layout at Woolwich was one of the most potent factors in delaying rapid expansion. During its long history the Royal Arsenal had grown piece-meal in a haphazard fashion without any central planning. Many of the shops were literally 'museum-pieces' unadapted for modern plant, badly lighted and ill-ventilated. Archaic and out of date, they had grown by accretion like some monstrous coral. The three original factories, snug within their own walls, had once been surrounded by a 'green-belt', but insufficient space had been allowed
for their development. No blame for this state of affairs can be attached to our ancestors in the early eighteenth century, for they could
954
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
hardly have been expected to realize the follies which their descendants in the twentieth century would commit. Eventually burstingtheir own boundaries these factories had encroached upon each other's territory with the result that ordered progress was impossible. The efficient siting of new shops required during the First World War became difficult, if not unachievable, and the congestion which increased as the tide of war advanced made economic management more and more a Herculean task.
Other legacies inherited from the past added to the disadvantages of the Ordnance Factories in meeting the crushing demands made upon them at the outbreak of the First World War. Their general design, or lack of it, prevented development on well-ordered lines, cramped building initiative and involved traffic congestion as soon as mobilization was ordered. Much of the machinery was out of date, the size of the staff was too small to ensure efficient management of the factories when working at full pressure, and no proper provision existed for a reserve of foremen. The exceptionally favourable conditions already promised to employees militated against economical production and the concessions granted during the war only made matters worse in this respect. Finally, the established routine in regard to accounting was not an ideal check upon contractors' costs, nor did it afford a comparison with those of the new national factories.
The old policy, as before stated, was to add to existing shops wherever there was room. It soon became impossible to site a building in the correct position compared with other shops or with regard to transport facilities. A new workshop just had to be erected where space could be found, and as this formless enlargement went on year after year, there grew up an accumulation of unsuitable buildings grouped in the most inconvenient places for manufacturing purposes, and a congestion ofthe western area so great that transport difficulties made economic production impossible. These troubles had not been so apparent with the small numbers employed in peacetime, but after war broke out they increased a hundred fold. The policy of keeping shops confined to the western end of the Arsenal continued after hostilities began, chiefly because none of the schemes of extension was sufficiently grandiose to warrant breaking new ground eastwards on the marshes, where the swampy nature of the soil presented serious foundation problems. Extensions were made to the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories, the shell factories and inspection buildings, but these only made confusion worse confounded and added to the density ofthe area. It was only some ofthe larger projects, such as the small arm ammunition factories new
. '
fuze factories, and later the new gun factory, Q.F.C.F,, and the wood-working departments which were moved into more open
63 955
ground. In these cases it was possible to obtain a good layout which resulted in greater ease and economy of working. Further accommodation was required in the danger buildings soon after the outbreak ofwar, and this was provided by cramming extra buildings into existing enclosures with its concomitant chance of greater fire risks.
The railways in the Royal Arsenal, like the buildings, had been laid out in a haphazard fashion, and though they served their purpose reasonably well in peace-time, they soon proved inadequate to meet the demands made on them by war. The development of transport in the Arsenal is considered in Appendix XII, but the difficulties encountered during the First World War may be outlined. Part of these difficulties lay in the two gauge system, narrow and standard, and, in many parts, the permanent way was combined. The objections to this combined gauge were apparent before the war, and when traffic increased, the system became very hard to work where the 'double track' was required to accommodate four lines, one up and one down for each gauge. The mileage at the beginning of the war was approximately go miles, to which, during the war, were added 44 miles of standard gauge and 15 miles of eighteen inch gauge. Thirteen miles of new roads were constructed. The unsatisfactory layout of the buildings contributed in no small measure to the congestion of traffic, since it entailed an amount of haulage which would have been unnecessary in a modern factory. Components were often carried during manufacture to one or two stores which were widely separated. At one time, a large amount of traffic, mainly stores for D.D.O.S., was being sent into the Royal Arsenal merely for issue and accounting purposes, but this was stopped early in the war.
When the Ministry of Munitions assumed control at Woolwich, the traffic congestion had nearly reached saturation point. Something had to be done, and the difficulties were largely resolved by rearranging inter-departmental traffic and increasing the loading and unloading staff. 7
Expansion in the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories took place in three stages; the first on the outbreak of war; the second on the formation of the Ministry of Munitions; and the third at the beginning of 1917. The first demands from the front were for B.L. 6o pdr and Q.F. 18 pdr guns, Q.F. 4.5 inch howitzers, carriages and vehicles of all descriptions. Later, heavier ordnance was required, particularly B.L. 6 inch Mark VII guns on travelling carriages and 8 inch howitzers converted from 6 inch guns. This original expansion was not very extensive because the space available was very limited. The most important move was the taking over of a large two-storied inspection building and converting it into a light machine shop for
' Hist. Rec./R/1,122 11/2.
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
sight work. Little could be done in regard to the wood working shops; there was no room for extension and the pressure of work became phenomenal. The inconvenient position of the saw-mills on Frog Island added to the general malaise, being accessible onlyby a single line railway bridge with an equally narrow outlet. Work at this time was seriously prejudiced by the breakdown of certain antiquated machinery, a large proportion of which wheezed to its virtual end in an endeavour to cope with a load greatly beyond its powers. This meant uneconomic repair or replacement. The gun factory on the whole was able to keep abreast of the demands made upon it during the early phases of the war, but the carriage department tended to sink under the strain and had to call for assistance on the trade in the production of simpler parts of mountings. Luckily this course was rendered feasible by the fact that jigs and
gauges for almost all the items were available for supply to firms undertaking manufacture.
The second expansion in the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories occurred in 1 gr 5 and was caused by the increased demands for 8 inch Mark VI howitzers, 6o pdrs, 4.5 inch howitzers and their carriages. The carriage department, having no room to extend, had still to rely on the private manufacturer to meet the new demands. At the same time, it had to supply a large number of stampings for the new Royal Laboratory fuze factory, and to meet this order, a large amount of additional stamping plant was installed in No. 2 factory, which worked exclusively for the Royal Laboratory. In the gun factory, two stores were turned into machine shops though they were most unsuitable for the purpose; and machinery was set up in every atom of available space in existing workshops.
The third expansion in 1917 was caused chiefly by the large number of 18 pdr and other guns which were returned from overseas for repair, and by the great demand for guns to arm merchant ships. It was by now realized that tinkering with old buildings would be useless for the purpose and that a bold plan for new and up-todate shops was essential. The nettle, being at last seen in its proper perspective, was firmly grasped. At the end of 1916 it was decided to erect new shops for the gun factory on the site of the existing timber sheds, part of which had to be demolished owing to a fire, and to remove the timber sheds to a more suitable site on the marshes. On the spot thus left vacant a machine shop, forge and tempering shop were erected.8 This plant was designed to deal with the repair of 250 18 pdr guns and to make 5o new 4 inch guns for the Navy per month." The construction work was begun in February 1917,
part of the machine shop was at work by October 1917, and the
• Known as the Light Gun Machine Shop. • D.G.O.S/Woolwich/23.
957
whole was completed in February 1918. Later on the saw-mills were removed from Frog Island and rebuilt in their present position on the marshes adjacent to the new timber sheds. At the same time new wheelers', carpenters', wood machinery shops, drying houses and stores were erected east of Griffin Manor Way, thus concentrating the whole of the wood-work department in one group. The cost of this reorganization was approximately £1,150,000.
Shell filling was concentrated in the Royal Arsenal until the spring of 1915, and the filling factories at Woolwich filled by far the largest proportion of ammunition issued until the national filling factories started up in the summer of 1916. The demands for filling and completing ammunition and components on the outbreak of war were staggering and large extensions to the Royal Laboratory became essential. The total area added to that department was 1,520,572 square feet. The filling capacity of Woolwich was considerably in excess of its output of empty ammunition and components, and, within the first week of the war, the melt plant, which normally filled 10,ooolb. weekly and had never dealt with more than 30,000lb. a week, increased its output, by the adoption of night-shifts and overtime, to 100,000lb. a week.12 This plant was at first used solely for lyddite which was the recognized H.E. filling in August 1914. Lyddite, however, did not hold pride of place for long. Great developments in the use of high explosive made necessary the pro:ision ~fT.N.T. filling sections and two of these came into operation in April 1915, though the second was not actually completed till the following September. The lyddite plant had also been extended and the ultimate capacityofthe meltplant for both types ofexplosive was estimated inJ~ly at 200,ooolb. weekly. In the summer of 1915, three presses were mstalled to deal with 80/20 amatol then used for filling I 8 pdr shell, and by the end of the year the plant was large enough for dealing with 35,000 18 pdr or 13 pdr shell weekly.13 The melt capacity was then 450,000lb. per week.14 In September 1917, an old lyddite factory was converted for the purpose of filling naval ammunition with shellite, this method offilling having been worked out at Woolwich.16
The heavy pressure on the filling factories during the first two years of the First World War led to many additions to the danger buildings, and a corresponding increase in the number of expense magazines which served not only the Ordnance Factories themselves but also the riverside factories which were engaged in the task of
1 D.G.O.S[Woolwich/23.
11 Scc./Gen./802. 11 Sec./Gen./802. 11 DDG(A) /g,888.
4 CR/Filing/187. 1 Sec./Gen./803.
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
completing ammunition. Full consideration of safety precautions had to be abandoned, and it was considered that for a temporary expansion the increased risk was justifiable as a war risk. The magazines were placed mainly at a distance on the Erith marsh and at Chislehurst, where the caves had been taken over and adaptee~ for the storage of explosives early in the war. Nevertheless th
. fd 'e
quest1on anger at Woolwich, which had been troubling the
o)
authorities prior to the war, became a source of considerable anxiet during the years 1914-1918. Explosives in vast quantities were store4 on account of the Superintendent of Ordnance Stores, the Deputy Director of Ordnance Stores, the Superintendent of Research as well as for the use of the filling factories and the works of riverside contractors. The place was literally a 'powder mine'. Of the 172 buildings which existed at the end of the war, each containing over I ton of explosive, only 15 of them complied with Magazine Regulations and those issued by the Home Office governing the distances which should be preserved between magazines and other danger buildings, and between these and private dwellings. There were 30 magazines and other buildings containing no less than 3,562 tons of explosives situated within a 100 yards of the river embankment and in many cases the distance was considerably less. A serious explosion might well have been followed by the flooding of the marshes. The small expense stores, many of which were unprotected by traverses or other adequate safeguards, were very close to sheds in which large numbers of men worked. These afforded a special risk of danger. A fire in a shed next to a store containing 15 tons of H.E. blistered the
paint on the store's walls, and it is a point worth recording that the employees in the immediate locality, instead of fleeing in the face of danger, bravely entered the store and removed the heavy boxes containing explosive from the walls to the centre of the building. But general safety precautions were excellent and it was owing to the care with which they were followed and to the great knowledge of the managerial staff concernmg the nature of explosives, that Woolwich was immune from serious explosions during the war.
In this respect, the Royal Arsenal was lucky in receiving few bombs in the First World War. Air-raids, of course, had not reached the fine art theydid in the Second World War, though they did in fact take place in 1917 and 1918. Only 6 bombs were dropped. During the war the factories in the Royal Arsenal were shut down 66 times; 2g times on account of Zeppelins and 37 times on account
of aeroplanes.
The total time lost was 149 hours, 44 minutes. On account of Zeppelins 67 hours, 1I minutes On account of aeroplanes 82 hours, 33 minutes The combination hooter was installed in August 1917.
959
The bombs dropped consisted of five incendiary and one H.E. They fell as follows:
Incendiary bombs
Three in front of the hospital. One through the roof and upper floor of the new machine shop lying between the hospital extension and the mam machme shop of the Carnage Department. . . . One in No. 5 Street outside that building.
The fires caused by these bombs were quickly extinguished by the
men in the shop under the direction of the night assistant foreman.
No damage was done to the machines and little to the building
itself.
H.E. bomb
One fell on the main machine shop of the Carriage Department on the south side and burst either on a roof girder or on a jib crane.
The jib crane and a boring machine were destroyed and some rolls
and four planing machines were damaged. The roof of the building
in the garrison erectors' shop received considerable damage and the
crane in that shop was put out of use. Nine men were injured, of
whom one-Jeffries-subsequently died.
The total casualties, therefore, were one dead and eight injured.
A great part of the difficulties in regard to surplus explosives arose
from the fact that a large amount of filled ammunition had to be
stored at Woolwich in default of any suitable accommodation else
where. It was not found possible to take any effective steps to
mitigate this state of affairs for some time as the effects on production
would have been too serious, but steps were taken to reduce this
danger during the last months of the war.
From the beginning of the war the capacity of the Royal Laboratory for filling components was barely able to keep pace with the demands, though extensive additions were made. Expansion took place in the primer branch, cannon cartridge buildings, Q.F. cartridge factories and in the cap and detonator factory, which entailed incidentally a large increase in magazine accommodation.16 Three separate extensions to deal with fuzes, gaines and minor components were begun in May, June and July 1915.17 New plant for a weekly output of 40,000 cases, 50,000 No. 8g fuzes, 16,000 primers and 43,000 friction tubes was completed in the summer of 1916.18 The extensions for filling both shell and components, which were carried out during the latter half of 1915, included the erection of a new cartridge filling and assembly factory to double existing capacity.
1· Sec./Gen./2,239. 7 CR/4,436. " 75/Gen./1,982: 75/12/8,967.
96o
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
The extensions were designed to deal with the assembly of r oo ooo I 8 pdr shells weekly, either shrapnel or block filled.19 '
For the increased output of small ammunition, extensions were also necessary. In September 1914, an increase of at least 5,000,000 rounds a week was required, and sanction was obtained to er;ct a new factory C.F4 and purchase new plant for this purpose, as well as for plant for increasing the output of fuzes and cartridge cases.o In March 1915, a proposal was put forward for a new factory working up to an output of 8,000,000 rounds a week. The work was taken in hand in April 1915, the factory being accommodated in certain existing buildings formerly in the occupation of the Deputy Director Ordnance Services and the Chief Inspector, Woolwich.21 In order to meet the heavy demands for .303 inch Mark VII ammunition which eventuated in the spring of 1916, a new factory
with a capacity of 6,000,000 rounds weekly was built at Woolwich in the May of that year under the name of G.C.F.2, afterwards changed to C.F.
The Royal Laboratory gauge shops were extended in August 1916 by the addition of a large new building. The main building projects in the Royal Arsenal during the First World War were as follows:
Au.gust I9I4. Additions to proof-butts and magazines.
September I9I4. Additions to inspection buildings for S.A.A. and shell, to buildings for filling H.E. shell, and to the Royal Gun and Carriage Factory for field artillery equipment.
Erection of a new S.A.A. factory (G.F,), a new cannon cordite cartridge
range of new buildings for H.E. filling. Erection of a new shell and metal case factory. Conversion of Chislehurst caves as magazines. Erection of storage sheds on the football ground, and of hutments for
50 married workers at Plumstead. October-November r9r 4. Extensions to R.L. danger buildings. December 1914. A new tailors' and paper shop. March 1915. Two new underground 25o ton H.E. magazines at Berber
and large storehouses. April 1915. The expansion of Army Ordnance Department stores as a
new S.A.A. factory (G.F,). The erection of new A.0.D. storehouses on the marshes. The construction of a new coaling pier. The erection of the goo ton crane. May 1915. Additions to fuze and gaine filling shops in the danger
buildings. June 915. New bomb and grenade stores.
1· DDG(A) /9,888 and 12,859.
+0 75/14/1,141.
+ o.F/Gen./453.
961
July 1915. The erection of a new case and fuze factory; the extension
of shops for painting and examining shell. August 1915. New naval magazines. September 1915. Additions to inspection and proof buildings; the erection
hutments.
October 1915. The erection of a large new factory for assembling Q.F. ammunition (Q.F.C.F,) ; additions to the proof-butts and railway sidings; the erection of four goo ton cordite magazines.
December 1915. Additions to buildings for receiving and examining fuzes • erection of new hostels and additional hutments.
'
January 1916. Additions to Naval Stores, Royal Arsenal dining rooms
and to C.F, for making Japanese ammunition. February 1916. The erection of two storehouses for components. March 1916. Additions to the Research Department. April 1916. Extensions to filling and chemical shell factories, and to the
proof-butts; an additional heavy gun gantry; new hostels for women. May 1916. The erection of a new S.A.A. factory (C.F); additions to police quarters.
June 1916. Additional accommodation for the Inspection Department; new buildings for gun inspection; new mekometer house; new powder magazine.
July 1916. Additions to S.A.A. factory (C.F,). August 1916. Extensions to tailors' paper and leather shops; extension to Chemical Department laboratory; new women's hostel.
September 1916. Additions to gun inspection buildings, to the Research Department and to the Experimental Signals Establishment; new gauge shops; new storage depot.
October 1916. Additional storage accommodation and bond stores; additional accommodation at railway sidings and a new railway halt; an additional dining room for women.
November 1916. A new telephone exchange; a new inspection building; new landing stages and ferry; additions to the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories; addition to dining rooms in the Royal Dockyard.
December 1916. Extensions to shell store. January 1917. Additional Inspection offices; a new store and a dining
room at the Royal Dockyard. February 1917. Extension to proof ranges; the Light Gun Factory. March 1917. Extension of chemical shell factory; provision of electrical
furnaces and connecting mains. April 1917. Extension to the Research Department; a new dining room
for boys. May 1917. Cloak-room accommodation at S.A.A. factory. June 1917. New dining room, offices and shops for the Director of
Inspection, Optical Stores. July 1917. New offices for the Inspection and Army Ordnance
Departments. August 1917. Extensions to the Research Department. September 1917. Rebuilding store at Q.F.C.F; extension of empty shell
sheds; a new shellite factory in the cartridge case factory.
962
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
October 1917. Extensions to Signals Experimental Establishment.
November 1917. New battery room at the Royal Dockyard; reconstruc
tion of storehouse B. 37.
December 1917. Conversion of H.E. buildings for amatol filling; new
furnaces for destroying cartridges; a new building for breaking down
enemy ammunition.
During 1917. The erection ofnew saw-mills, timber sheds, wood-working
shops and stores on the marshes.
January 1918. A new shed for returned ammunition; additions to
shifting house accommodation for T.N.T. workers, and to accommodation
for inspection and storage of naval components.
February 1918. A foul drainage system for the Magazine Area.
March 1918. A new dining room at the Research Department; new
heating installation for Army Ordnance Department stores.
October 1918. Extensions for amatol fiiling; new buildings for cleaning
cartridge cases.
The supply of labour for the above building services was difficult throughout the whole period of the war, both as regards quality and quantity. Men were scarce owing to the enormous expansion of the armed forces. The difficulty was partly met by employing military labour and navvies from Ireland. Building materials were also hard to obtain. A great deal of the constructional work in the Royal Arsenal had always been carried out by direct labour, for the conditions under which it had to be performed made the arrangements of contracts virtually impossible. This was particularly the case on work connected with danger buildings. During the war the employment of direct labour was found to lead to the more speedy results because details could be arranged as work proceeded. Contract labour would have been cheaper but it would have led to delay because of the necessity of preparing detailed plans before contracts could have been placed.
Expansion took place in all the Ordnance Factories immediately war broke out, the actual area of extensions being:
Royal Laboratory 1,520,572 square feet
Royal Carriage Department 588,342 square feet
Royal Gun Factory 273,302 square feet
The total for the whole of the Royal Arsenal, which included the other departments as well as the factories, reached a gross total of 3,433,609 square feet.
The Ordnance Factories worked to their full limit during the war, though only a few of their most important activities, illustrating their success or failure in fulfilling their functions as a war reserve, can be noticed. The work of the filling factories at Woolwich between August 1914 and December 1915 was of outstanding importance. The filling of all H.E. shell for the Land Service and of about half
963
the requirements for the Royal Navy was being carried out at Woolwich when hostilities commenced. The remainder of naval
H.E. shell filling was done at Naval Ordnance Depots, but as these soon became so occupied with repair work little filling could be done there and the Admiralty became more and more dependent on the Ordnance Factories. Woolwich also undertook the filling, assembling and finishing of large quantities o_f empty shell_ produced by the trade and did the greater proportion of the fillmg of components and fuzes, though some of these required by the Land Service were filled by the trade. Picric acid, or lyddite as it became known when melted was the standard high explosive used in all classes of shell in 1g14, and reliance was placed on the Royal Arsenal alone for the melt filling with this explosive. When T.N.T. was adopted in October 1914 as a substitute for filling the larger types of shell, it proved possible to adapt the melt plant for meeting this change. Woolwich, therefore, continued to perform all H.E. filling till the spring of
1915. Though in August 1914 the Ordnance Factories were capable of making nearly every warlike store then recognized, picric acid was an exception and, as it proved, rather a serious one. Before the First World War all supplies of picric acid came from pnvate contractors so the entire programme for filling H.E. shell rested ultimately on the trade. A reserve of 150,000lb. of this material was held in reserve at the Ordnance Factories on behalf of the Royal Navy, but there were no special stocks to meet the small requirements of the Army. Soon after the war broke out the demand for Land Service
H.E. shell soared and field equipments rapidly changed over, or changed over as quickly as possible, from shrapnel to high explosive. It had been assumed, wrongly as it happened, that large quantities could be obtained from trade sources at very short notice, but when the demand came following the outbreak, it was found that the private firms concerned were incapable of carrying out this allotted task. By October 1914, the increased use of high explosive made it necessary to augment supplies by the erection of national plant, which, however, were not taken over by Ordnance Factories, the Chief Superintendent considering quite rightly that they were already completely occupied. The manufacture of H.E. in bulk, therefore, never came to Woolwich.
Another very valuable aspect of Woolwich work during the war was the production of many special or experimental stores required in small quantities only. Of particular importance was the work of the Royal Laboratory in producing small arm ammunition. The design and supply of this ammunition was one of the most difficult problems of the war, and it was largely due to the untiring efforts of the R.L. staff that the technical hurdles were cleared and supplies
964
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
placed on a satisfactory footing. In the early days of the war,
Woolwich supplied the only available tracer and armour-piercing
ammunition, and the original types proving unsuitable for service
requirements, much research, the greater part of which was done in
the R.L., had to be carried out before satisfactory patterns could be
evolved. Owing to the numerous manufacturing difficulties which
the production of these stores entailed, supplies from private firms
were unreliable and the Royal Laboratory had to undertake the
manufacture of all types, and that factory often saved the situation
when deliveries from contractors failed. Some of the new weapons
evolved during the war, such as tanks, mechanical transport and
certain naval stores were never manufactured at Woolwich, as it
was found that they could be produced more conveniently elsewhere.
The assembling of chemical shell was only undertaken for a short
time.
For certain stores the Ordnance Factories were the only sources
of supply for the first few months of the war. The only grenade used
by the Army was the R.L. percussion grenade which was manu
factured solely at the Royal Laboratory till June 1915, and even
after that date Woolwich still remained the only maker and filler of
the detonator.
Although prior to the war, armament firms had supplied their own shop gauges, Woolwich alone manufactured inspection gauges. After the outbreak of war, although output from the Ordnance Factories doubled and even trebled, their production was unable to meet the demand, and by the middle of 1915 gauge requirements had increased far beyond the capacity of the Royal Arsenal to supply them. Contracts had already been very widely placed by the Chief Inspector, Woolwich, before the Gauge Department at the Ministry of Munitions was formed. After gauge supply had been orgamzed by that department, Woolwich still continued to supply all its own gauges and a considerable proportion ofthose required by the Gauge Department. .
Throughout the whole of the First World War, the Woolwich factories were called upon to act as a balancer in making good the failure of deliveries from other sources, or to meet sudden urgent demands from the front. During the first two years of the war, this adjusting process was in frequent request, the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories being advised almost daily by the War Office of the articles to be pushed forward and of those to be deferred to make way for the former. Woolwich was depended on equally by the Ministry of Munitions in the same way, and complete unanimity reigned as to the efficient manner in which the Ordnance Factories responded to the demands thus made upon them. In meeting those emergency orders Woolwich was greatly assisted by its proximity to
965
the Inspection Department from which it could often obtain drawings at a few minutes notice. Notable instances occurred in the autumn of 1g17 when the filling and assembly shops worked continuously through air raids to assemble the ammunition required for the air defence of London, and again in March 1918 when the same was done to meet the Army demands for ammunition to stem the final German onslaught.
There can be no doubt that Woolwich fulfilled its promises of production in a way that no other supplier of armament stores did, and when it is remembered that normal output, particularly of ammunition, was constantly disturbed by urgent demands for specialized stores, and that the attention of the expert staff was largely engrossed in the development of design, the steady output of small arm ammunition from the Royal Laboratory tends to give the lie to the charge of bad organization. On the other hand, labour costs at Woolwich were undoubtedly high, owing in the main to circumstances over which the management had no control. It must ever be remembered that the factories at Woolwich, ere not run for economy but as a policy ofinsurance. Everything tended to increase unduly the costs of production in the Ordnance Factories; uneconomical running in order to maintain a reserve potential, bad layout, congested shops, an overburdened traffic system, the upkeep in peacetime of a large amount of idle machinery, the employment of skilled men on operations which elsewhere would be deemed semi-skilled, the nature of their output, the constant interruptions in their flow ofproduction, pensions and gratuity schemes, free hospital and medical attention and short working hours. It is rather remarkable that one of the features most often criticised, viz. the adoption ofa normal 48 hour week was afterwards accepted as current practice throughout the country.
The Ordnance Factories were sometimes accused of diehard conservatism, of undue deliberation in accepting new processes. Such a criticism ignored the fact that Woolwich was an adjusting factory liable to constant changes of programme without notice, and that some proposals, which were generally accepted as improvements, could not be applied to it. Such developments could only bejustified and accepted in works where a continuous run of work over a long penod could be guaranteed. These conditions never have obtained at Woolwich, either in peace or war, and probably never will. On the other hand, the Ordnance Factories did in many instances adopt labour-saving devices and improved processes from other factories, but the general practice was to abstain from changes in process or machinery without adequate trial, and this position was justified in many cases by the failure of machines or processes after having given early promise of success, such as primer filling machine used at
966
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Cardonald. There can be little doubt, however, that munitions supply would have benefited ifthere had been a greater measure of freedom between the Ordnance Factories and the newly established national factories.
The position at Woolwich during the First World War has been aptly summed up as follows:
The work Woolwich has undertaken has been largely of a character too unpopular for the private manufacturer to consider, or of such an experimental character as to preclude any opportunity for economical production being given to the management. It is clear that the orders which Woolwich has executed have been nearly always in the nature of either experimental or panic demands, the essence of these contracts being not economical production but to bring the experiments to quick finality and speedy delivery of the goods to the fighting line regardless of cost.
Closely integrated with manufacture is the underlying design, and the demand for design with its consequential experimental work increased to a very marked degree during the early days of the war. So, unfortunately, did the demand for increased supplies, with the result that the latter being the soldiers' professional tools tended to overshadow experiments at Woolwich. At the beginning of 1916, therefore, it was suggested by Brigadier-General W. St G. Bland, President of the Ordnance Committee, that in order to meet this difficulty the staff connected with experimental work at the Ordnance Factories should be entirely separated from that connected with output, and from all other routine duties in the Royal Arsenal. A Superintendent of Design was therefore appointed to watch the interests of design and experimental work as opposed to that of output and supply. He took over all the duties of the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories with regard to design and was an ex officio member of the Ordnance Committee. He had a staff of designing officers and controlled the three departmental drawing offices, and was responsible for the manufacture of experimental stores. The suggestion was put forward that the Superintendent of Design with his staff should be located in London, but after due consideration it was decided that the drawing offices must remain in close contact with manufacture so that the officers responsible for
drawings could see the original stores being made and alter the design, if necessary, to facilitate workmanship during the initial production of trial stores.
The advisability of trying out all stores thoroughly and placing them on a manufacturing basis before ordering from the trade, was a well-defined policy at Woolwich, for it was held that any original delays which might occur as the result of careful preliminary tests were justified by the ultimate economy in eliminating alterations
967
during manufacture. The exigencies of war-time production did not always allow strict adherence to this policy though it was adopted when practicable. This form of 'playing for safety' sometimes drew upon the Royal Arsenal accusations of obstructing designs initiated elsewhere. Instances of this policy occurred in the development of the supply oftrench warfare stores. From October 1914 toJune 1915, the Ordnance Factories and Messrs Vickers were the only producers of trench mortars. Manufacture of the g-inch trench mortar, which had been designed at Woolwich, was confined to the Ordnance Factories on account of defects in design which were only gradually overcome. For the same reason the 4-inch trench mortar ammunition was made solely at the Royal Laboratory until April 1916. The congestion at Woolwich during the first six months of 1915 led C.S.O.F. to place sub-contracts for trench warfare weapons with the trade, and as these became simplified, more and more reliance was placed on private firms, until by the end of 1g16 all work on mortars and their ammunition had been withdrawn from Woolwich. On the same principle, the filling of smoke and star shell was undertaken at the Ordnance Factories on the ground that it was research work and
needed careful watching.
Insufficient allowance had been made in pre-war arrangements
for the expansion of the Ordnance Factory drawing offices on the
outbreak of war. There was a sudden large demand for drawings to
guide the trade both for naval and military orders. The Admiralty
was entirely dependent on Woolwich for drawings and the drawing
offices soon became swamped with work, the difficulty being
increased by the number of amendments required to the drawings,
and by the need of sub-dividing designs to spread manufacture.
Amendments had to be agreed to between the drawing offices and the
Inspection Department which sealed the drawings, and this often
led to considerable delay.
Administratively the drawing offices still remained under the Superintendents of the different factories after the post of Superintendent ofDesign had been created, and in the Royal Gun Factory the Superintendent still initiated gun design, in which he had considerable experience. Design in the Carriage Department was undertaken by three of his assistants, all military officers, one of whom was a specialist in gun mountings. In the Royal Laboratory drawing office, the Superintendent of Design placed a number of officers, and the Supermtendent of the Laboratory, whose administrative work was particularly heavy, had no responsibility for design.
As the war progressed, the design ofmunitions became, to a certain extent, decentralized. The dependence of the Ordnance Board as it then was, upon Woolwich experience during the first 18 months ofthe war was very great, but with the formation within the Ministry
968
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
of Munitions of branches such as the Trench Warfare Research and the Chemical Research Departments provided other expert advisers for the newly constituted Ordnance Committee, and decreased the responsibility of CS.O.F. for new designs. Already in May 1915, the delay in obtaining drawings had caused the Admiralty to set up a drawing office at headquarters, which, while originally intended to deal with drawings, was greatly extended to include much design work of a simple character. More complicated designs and matters involving prolonged research were still to be referred to C.S.0.F. and the Ordnance Committee. After the establishment of the national factories a certain amount of research work was carried out by them. As the war progressed, a gradual division of design work took place between the Ordnance Factories and the trade. The Royal Laboratory retained its importance in shell and fuze design owing to its long experience. Experimental work on fuzes was continuous; a shop specially maintained for this work being always fully occupied.
It was the province of the Director General of Munitions Design at the Ministry to consult the supply departments with a view to checking economy and the availability of material, the object of the Superintendent ofDesign and the Ordnance Committee being rather to obtain the best store irrespective ofcost. It seems doubtful whether the question ofcost was given due consideration in Woolwich design. It has been stated that when commercial firms entered the munitions market, they were much hampered by the unpractical nature of some of the designs which emanated from the armament firms and from the Ordnance Factories. For instance, the designs might show square corners instead ofcorners capable ofbeing dealt with without any conspicuous machining process. In the early days of the war some fuzes, designed at Woolwich, had a 14l inch thread and were of bastard sizes so that no jigs or gauges were available for their manufacture. In this respect it should be noted that the very circumstances which made the Ordnance Factories the home of experimental manufacture, prevented any great importance being assigned to repetition work, since the factories were specially equipped to deal
with small scale production to a fluid design.
One branch of design remained peculiar to Woolwich throughout the war, namely the execution of repairs involving design work. The utility of Woolwich in this connection was very great. The Gun Factory was regarded as an expert adviser in such matters both for the Army and the Navy, and this special branch of the work accounted for a large proportion of the work of the shops.
In fulfilling its role as the reservoir of experience Woolwich was seriously handicapped by past political action. This aspect of the Ordnance Factories had not been entirely overlooked before the
969
war, but no special provision had been made for carrying out the duties connected with it. The necessity of maintaining a staff surplus to the actual requirements of the minimum cadre had been clearly recognized in 19o7, but the need for evangelist work among potential armament firms on the part of Woolwich foremen and inspectors does not appear to have been foreseen, probably for the reason that the recruiting ofnew firms into munitions production was not at that time anticipated. After 1go9, the staff was reduced to such a degree as to paralyse the actual needs of the Ordnance Factories themselves when expansion did take place.
During the winter of 1914-1915, when the question of extending the area of supply became so pressingly urgent, it was arranged, on Lord Kitchener's instructions, that representatives offirms undertaking the making of munitions should be allowed to visit the shops at Woolwich, inspect the whole process of manufacture and receive whatever information and advice they needed. This threw an added burden on to the already over-worked managers and foremen, so it was decided by C.S.0.F. that these visitors should be passed through the Mechanical Engineering Department where a small staff had been trained for the special purpose of taking these firms' representatives round the factories and solving their difficulties. Instruction sheets were also printed giving details ofthe various operations in the manufacture of 13 pdr and 18 pdr shrapnel and other shell and their cartridge cases. A more or less regularized procedure was then adopted under which firms were invited to send representatives to Woolwich to see the actual operations, but the numbers had necessarily to be limited. In this way, from May I gr 5 to January 1917, upwards of 1,50o visitors, representing many hundreds offirms, visited the Mechanical Engineering Department alone, while many others interested only in guns and carriages went to the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories direct. While national filling and projectile factories were being established throughout the country, the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich did good work in instructing the managing staff in their new duties. In addition, the Ordnance College at Woolwich was thrown open for their use.
The best tribute to the achievements of the Ordnance Factories in the way of output during the war is to be found in the figures of their production. The output was large in quantity, varied in character and reliable in quality, and the striking increases which took place between 1914 and 1g16 are the best memorial to the manner in which the factories fulfilled the purposes for which they were designed. While their miscellaneous production was among the most noteworthy of their efforts, it is most difficult to estimate, by reason ofits diversity. Over 1o,000,000 items ofvarious kinds were produced in the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories. The secondary stores made
970 970
0:
r--
I
2
u >
0
-
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
by the Royal Laboratory ranged from classes of which the output was less than a hundred to the various kinds of shell components which amounted in the aggregate to nearly 31,000,000. In addition, the sum of the miscellaneous articles supplied by the Royal Laboratory approached 300,000,000.
The total bulk output from the factories in the Royal Arsenal
during the war was: New guns 4,326 Repaired guns 5,434 New carriages 2,165 Repaired carriages 1,217 Empty shell 5,847,400 Filled shell 19,910,300 Filled cartridges 46,121,200 Empty fuzes 3,368,200 Filled fuzes 59,251,400 Ncw trench mortars 8g9 Repaired trench mortars 68 Mortar bombs 352,100 Smail arm ammunition 1,718,813,288 rounds
in addition to millions upon millions of miscellaneous articles such as grenades, tubes, primers, detonators, etc.
The most striking feature about the output during the war was its extraordinary diversity. Throughout the war the specialized skill and machinery at Woolwich were invaluable, both for producing experimental and special types in small quantities and for meeting particularly urgent demands. Plant was subjected to constant changes to meet these requirements and continuity of output was almost unknown. Almost every kind of ammunition and its various components were manufactured at Woolwich, and the filling factories had to deal with some bewildering variety, lyddite, T.N.T., fulminate of mercury, gun-cotton, shellite, explosive for explosive bullets and, for a short time, chemical shell. It was not unusual for the factories to have 30o items on the weekly programme, whereas 30 or 4o would be quite a large number for a national factory.22 The Royal Gun and Carriage Factories were at times dealing with 20 different types of guns. Woolwich programmes were also constantly liable to dislocation on account of the adjusting function which the Ordnance Factories had to perform in the general supply arrangements. Special instructions to hasten certain orders at the expense of others were constantly being received throughout the whole period of the war, but the adjusting function was particularly
frequent in the early years before the supply of munitions became organized and co-ordinated. Experimental and special orders continued without a break for Woolwich with its experienced staff, and
zz Sec./Gen./2,239.
04 971
close touch with the Research Department, Experimental Establishment at Shoeburyness, Ordnance Committee and Inspection Department was unique for this work, and its concentration in the Royal Arsenal avoided dislocation in the national factories which were turning out stores in bulk on a repetition basis. Another special task was repair work. Damaged guns, which required repairs ofa difficult or intricate nature, were subjected to a special examination and report, and the experience thereby gained was often of value in subsequent design.
Until the spring of 1915 all H.E. shell were filled in the filling factories at Woolwich, and the greater part of such a filling programme was continued there till April 1916 when the national filling factories were able to take over a good deal of the load. The output of small arm ammunition increased from 28,750,000 rounds in the August-December 1914 period, to 284,000,000 rounds in 1915 and 418,000,000 rounds in 1916, while the output of cartridges made by the trade and filled at Woolwich was about 803,000 during August to December 1914, Over 4,250,000 in 1915 and 9,0o0,ooo in 1916. The Ministry of Munitions remained dependent on Woolwich throughout the war for filling certain heavy gun shell and cartridges, for all shell and complete rounds required for proof of fuzes and practice, for the bulk ammunition requirements for anti-aircraft purposes, for the filling of base percussion fuzes and for certain special primers and tubes. By the end of the war, however, the Ordnance Factories were filling only about 7 or 8% of the Land Service requirements of complete gun ammunition. On the other hand, the Admiralty depended on Woolwich for practically the whole of its filling during the war.23
During the first eighteen months of the war, the Woolwich output of shell and components represented a large percentage of the total. The output of empty shell increased from 124,562 in the AugustDecember 1914 period to 1,218,997 in 1915 and 1,749,577 in 1916 when the output reached a maximum. The empty shell filled at Woolwich reached a maximum figure of 6,810,103 in the same year. At the end of the war the shell supply from the Royal Arsenal for the Land Service was comparatively small. The cartridge case supply was 15% of the total, though in certain special natures it was 50% of the whole. For fuze manufacture Woolwich capacity was about 5% of the whole. Output was chiefly concentrated on fuzes Nos. 83 and 44, and in respect ofthese natures represented about 40% of the total capacity of the country.24
The gun programme at Woolwich, as regards Land Service guns after 1916 was a varying and diminishing one. The extent to which
• CR/Filling/384.
• Hist. Rec./R/1,122 11/19.
972
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
the Ministry of Munitions relied on the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories for guns depended greatly on Admiralty requirements, and It was often necessary for the Admiralty to absorb productive capacity normally available for the Army, which then had to be transferred to other factories. The Admiralty had a preference for Woolwich since their demands were usually of an urgent nature.25 Moreover, practically all new naval guns were Woolwich designed. Roughly 75% of gun designs prepared in the Gun Factory were for the Naval Service, the remainder being divided between the Land Service and the Royal Air Force. The expansion during the first two years of war was very rapid. From August to December 1914, 126 guns were produced, chiefly B.L. 6 inch Mark VII, Q.F. 3 inch 20cwt., Q.F. 18 pdr and QF. 4.5 inch howitzer. The total figure for 1915 was 694, of which a large number were Q.F. 18 pdr and
Q.F. 4.5 inch howitzer. In 1916, 93I guns were made, mainly
B.L. 6o pdr, Q.F. g inch gocwt and QF. 4.5 inch howitzers. A further expansion took place in 1918 after the extension of the Gun Factory, of which the greater number were Q.F. guns of various types. In addition to the 4,326 new guns produced during the war, a number of trench howitzers were manufactured during 1915 and 1916, and repairs and conversions accounted for the large total of 5,434 which has already been given in the preceding table. The miscellaneous output of the Gun Factory formed a large item in its general production programme, and varied from important components such as breach blocks, pinions and aiming rifles, to such small parts as springs, washers, keys and levers.
The production of the Carriage Department included, besides gun carriages and limbers, carts, wagons and travelling kitchens. The expansion during 1915 was enormous, the issues increasing from 1,388 during the last five months of 1914 t0 7,769 in 1915. In 1916, the output of new carriages dropped to 4,939 and decreased during 1917 and I 918, the Carriage Department being largely occupied with repair work during these years. The total of carriages, limbers, gun mountings, carts and wagons repaired in 1917 was 6,066 out of a total of 9,528 during the whole of the war period. The total of miscellaneous productions turned out in the Carriage Department during the whole war amounted to 8,985,925 items.
Shortly before the world was plunged into war, the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories had been ordered to reduce staff to an absolute minimum. As a result, the shop numbers reached such a low level that it was hardly possible to function even in peacetime. The rule ordering the discharge of lads at the age of I 8 unless work could be definitely guaranteed for them when they
a» Hist. Rec./R/1,122 11/19.
973
reached the age of 21, and replacing them by men who would otherwise be discharged on reduction, only aggravated the problem. The unfortunate Arsenal in these circumstances was forced to rid itself of most of the youth it had been so assiduously training, including half the Trade Lads, whom it relied on for its future foremen. One consequence was that men were engaged on jobs which could well have been done by women or boys. When the First World War did break out great difficulty was experienced in obtaining suitably trained young men. Such technicians were in great demand in the armament firms, and the limited prospects of promotion at Woolwich acted as a deterrent by spurring on the best men to work for private
industry.
Labour regulations and conditions in the Ordnance Factories were totally different from those found in any other factory in the kingdom. The rates of wages were based on the London district rates, but the normal working hours were less. A large part of the .. ·ork was done on piece rates. Prices before the war had been based on small output, and it was found that when production was increased, those rates soared owing to the skill acquired by constant repetition. There was no cure for this situation, as an express understanding of many years forbade the cutting of rates and this gentlemen's agreement was solemnly ratified by the Minister of Munitions in 1915. This efTectually prevented any alterations of those rates excepting by changing the method of manufacture. The position of the Ordnance Factories in regard to dilution was also unique. The employment of women had been stopped in 1872 for social reasons, and it was not reintroduced till August 1915. Dilution of skilled labour either by women or unskilled men was strenuously opposed by skilled workers in the Royal Arsenal, backed up by their union. It was accompanied by great delay. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers26 refused 'to entertain the proposal to allow the introduction of semi-skilled men on work now done by fully qualified mechanics, as it is not proved that there is the shortage claimed'. 27 The dilution in this particular case was required owing to a shortage of tool fitters. Eventually an arrangement was made in February 1g916 between the Ordnance Factories and the Amalgamated Society of Engineers whereby in each group of shops the skilled workmen chose representatives to consider with the manager the description of operations on which skilled labour might temporarily be displaced by semi-skilled or unskilled labour, either male or female. This arrangement was to take effect when all substitutes under the scheme for the dilution of
skilled labour had been removed from the skilled work to which
they had been advanced. The effect of this arrangement was greatly
a· Now the Amalgamated Engineering Union (A.E.U). =7 History ofthe Ministry ofMunitions, vol. III, part I, chap. III, p. 36.
974
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
prejudiced by an undertaking given by C.S.O.F. that, since the scarcity of skilled labour was the only reason adduced for its dilution, he would remove the unskilled men who had been taken on if skilled men could be brought in from outside sources. Great, and on the whole, successful efforts were made by the A.S.E. to fulfil this condition with the result that dilution was seriously retarded, and skilled labour unjustifiable hoarded. Any skilled man set free in one factory could practically demand room for himself in another where dilutees were working. The progress ofdilution was particularly disappointing in the small arm ammunition factories, only 5 % of women being employed there on skilled work in December 1917, and 25% in
July 1918, figures which compared very unfavourably with those found in private undertakings.
The pre-war policy of cutting numbers to the bone made a large and rapid expansion extremely hard to achieve when war did eventually break out. The work carried out in the Ordnance Factories was of a highly skilled nature of a particular kind, and insufficient allowance had been made for the staff to train the new entrants, many of whom were mechanics of an inferior grade. When war was declared, night shifts were instituted at once, and principal and assistant foremen had to be found. Since the permanent staff could not be enlarged, all war entrants were temporary, and it was found that the institution of temporary foremen was a failure, as the
individuals concerned never really separated themselves from the men or took up a position comparable to that of the established foremen. Although the rates of wages were those of the London district, the normal working week in the Royal Arsenal was 48 hours as against 52} or 54 hours found elsewhere. A night shift allowance of time and a half after midnight was paid in addition to overtime, and Sunday work was paid at double rates throughout the whole of the 24 hours. For the first two years of the war the hours worked at Woolwich were extraordinarily long, quite a change from the 48 hour week which had been worked since 1894. In a departmental report dated October 1916,%° the following statements were made:
Men have been employed on the shift system on 27 days out of 28. Women, girls and boys have worked on 13 (sometimes 13) days out of 14. Women have frequently been employed on 7 consecutive night shifts, normally of 12 hours. Men on overtime have sometimes worked up to 96 hours per week and boys up to 75 hours.
Taking into account the comparative shortness of the normal working week and the overtime allowance rising from time and a
a Minutes of Hours of Labour Committee, CE/1947/13.
975
quarter to time and a half at the end of two hours, it was not surprising that exaggerated accounts of the wages earned by Ordnance Factory employees obtained circulation. A scrutiny of wages in the Royal Arsenal for the quarter ending 5 July 1918, revealed the fact that out of a total of about 66,600 employees, 42 7 earned on an average a total of[Io a week or more. Of these, 205 were employed in the Gun Factory, 119 in the small arm ammunition factories, 52in the Carriage Department and 49 in the East and West Laboratory.29 Dilution of labour at Woolwich began when Sir Vincent Raven was appointed acting Chief Superintendent in August 1915. Up to that time the pre-war policy of employing boy labour had been continued, but it was found to be inefficient, not only actually as compared with female labour, but on account of the constant turnover of boys, 1,400 having left during the first year of the war. The cartridge machines were worked by boys, and a companson of the overall efficiency of the various machines used in the operation with the efficiency of the six best boys, showed a low general rate."o During the summer of 1916, men were being released for the Army at a rate of about 250 per week. In the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories female labour was not brought in at once, but the gradual dilution was effected by training a very low grade of mechanic for the high class work demanded in these factories. This method was thought to be preferable to that of introducing women into jobs for which their fitness was questionable. Sir Vincent Raven considered it of primary importance to effect dilution independently of outside intervention by methods suitable to the peculiarities of the case. During the period in which he was in control at the Royal Arsenal, the absence of strikes had been noticeable, though situations had frequently arisen which required delicate handling, and he was of the opinion that outside interference might involve very serious consequences." The excellent relations which existed between the authorities and the workers was evidenced by the fact that the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories was accepted as the final arbiter in all questions arising under the dilution agreement. When Sir Vincent Raven took over in August 1915, the total number of employees, including women, in the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich was 34,000. In November 1916, this figure had risen to 68,000, although 11,ooo men had been called to the colours in the meantime, and had been replaced by women. By this time 2o,ooo women had been engaged. By May 1917, the numbers had swelled to 74,467 including between 25,000 and 26,000 women.32 Dilution took place principally in the Royal Laboratory, the work in the Royal Gun
+ Sec./Gen./804.
ao OF/C/6. • C.R/4,551. • Hist. Rec.[R/1,122 11/19.
976
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
and Carriage Factories being less suitable for female labour. In the small arm ammunition factories the percentage of skilled men was reduced from the pre-war figure of 18.3 to 15.2 in September 1916, and to 10.3 in September 1918.%%
The following figures show the dilution effected in the chief factories by August 1918 :34
Males Males Factory under 18 over 18 Females Total
Carriage Department 444 5,071 23 5,538 Gun Factory 113 3,569 146 3,828
E. and W. Laboratory 680 8,593 3,713 12,986 S.A.A. Factories 1,004 3,171 5,545 9,720 Filling Factories 1,071 8,032 11,692 20,795
The rapid increase in the number of employees in the Ordnance Factories during war is shown in the following table:
Date Men Women Boys Total
1 August 1914 9,466 125 1,275 10,866 2 January 1915 19,378 194 3,059 22,631 4 December 1915 37,749 609 7,540 45,898 13 May 1916 44,025 8,104 7,704 59,833 go December 1917 41,000 25,700 6,000 72,700 31 May 1918 38,374 22,338 4,265 64,977 2 August 1918 37,895 24,018 3,549 65,462
The municipal services at the Royal Arsenal expanded out of recognition as the number of workers grew ever larger, the disposal of refuse and sanitary conditions generally involving a large increase in the duties of the Building Works Department. Before the war there were few facilities for providing meals, whereas at the conclusion of hostilities there were 72 dining rooms and other 'short meal' buildings, in which meals could be served for the use of the 100,000 employees in the factories and the other departments. . .
The Mechanical Engineering Department had, since its formation, taken over the photo-printing establishment on 1g February 1912, the boiler shop of the Royal Gun Factory, boiler houses, the men employed on electrical work in the three factories and other maintenance duties. On the outbreak of war the enormous demands the department had to meet threw a considerable strain on it and it expanded to keep pace with output. In October 1914, it was decided to take electric current from the Woolwich Borough Council and a new sub-station was erected to take the necessary load. The department carried out much gas and electrical work at out-stations an? in the new housing estates set up for Arsenal workers. Between April
as Sec./Gen./803. 34 Sec./Gen./802.
977
MATURITY
I g I 5 and March 1 g 1 7 the pressure increased and by the latter month
the industrial staff rose to 2,522 and two more Assistant Mechanical
Engineers were added to the establishment. Women drivers were recruited to replace men released to the colours, and these ladies wore chocolate-coloured uniforms with scarlet shoulder straps and badges. A new 1 ,ooo line telephone exchange, afterwards augmented to 1,1 oo lines, was installed on the roof of the Central Office, and the working of this exchange, known as the 'Royal Arsenal' exchange, was assumed by the G.P.O. on 16June 1917. At the same time an air-raid warning siren was established.
In March 1917, the M.E.D. took over the engine room and staff of the John Herron, a paddle steamer from the Liverpool-Wallasey ferry and in December 1917 a further paddle steamer was acquired. These were the boats for the Thames ferry service mentioned later on, which carried 1,000,000 passengers annually.
The influx ofsome 6o,ooo extra workers in the Ordnance Factories raised pressing problems ofhousing and transport, and large schemes had to be undertaken to accommodate such numbers and take them to and from their work. Before the war Woolwich, like most industrial centres, had been overcrowded and a building scheme had been under consideration. With the importation of this vast quantity of new labour, the pressure on housing became intense, and new and greatly enlarged plans had to be considered. These were complicated by the introduction of thousands of other workmen for the Abbey Wood National Filling Factory, the Thames Ammunition Company, the Kings Norton Metal Company and other firms.
To meet the housing difficulty, the Government decided to erect both permanent and temporary accommodation. The former method was adopted by the War Office from which the Ministry ofMunitions took over a large scheme for permanent houses begun early in 1915. This Ministry, mindful of the serious depression which occurred in Woolwich and Erith after the South African War, which led to working-class houses remaining vacant, concentrated on the provision of temporary buildings. Attempts were also made to improve transport facilities so as to import workers from a distance, and extensions were made both to omnibus and train services, while a new ferry greatly facilitated the employment of workers from north of the river.
On 8January 1915, the Local Government Board, the Treasury, the War Office and the Office of Works, acting in concert, decided to embark on a building scheme for permanent houses at Woolwich. The Office of Works took charge of the work and immediately proceeded to acquire the necessary land on the Well Hall Estate, between Woolwich and Eltham. At the outset, it was intended to erect 1,000 houses, but later, in order to cheapen the scheme, a
978
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
certain number of flats were substituted, thereby bringing the total number of dwellings to 1,298. The Local Government Board insisted on the best town-planning lines, and twelve houses to the acre was adopted as a standard. The houses differed in size; r I 6 contained 3 bedrooms, a living room, a parlour, an extra room on the ground floor and a scullery; 357 had the same accommodation less the additional ground floor room; while 61g had 3 bedrooms, a living room and a scullery. The flats, of which there were 212, had each 2 bedrooms, a living room and a scullery. The absence of a bathroom in 'the best town-planning lines' of 1915 will be noted.
The weekly rents for these houses and flats, fixed on the recommendation of the L.C.C. valuer, were:
Larger houses Medium houses 14s. 125. 6d. to r6s. od. to 14s. 6d. od.
Smaller houses IOS. od. to II. 6d.
Flats 7s. od. to 7s. 6d.
The governing consideration in this building programme was
Work was actually begun on 1 February 1915, about 1,00o
urgency. dwellings were finished, and occupied by September 1915, and December 1915 saw the completion ofthe project. The 'Garden City' was built in ten months. This speed of erection was not obtained without corresponding heavy expenditure, and the total net cost ofthe scheme was approximately808,000, which worked out at an average of £622 per house or flat including land, roads, sewers and fences. Though the price was cheap according to present-day ideas, it was considered high at the time.
An arrangement was made with the Housing Department of the London County Council, and was in operation during 1917, by which the Council managed the estate on the lines followed on their own estates in return for a remuneration of four and a half per cent on the gross rentals.
At the same time as the Well Hall garden suburb was started, the Government took steps to ensure the rapid erection of three temporary hostels for boys, and 5o huts to serve as married quarters at Plumstead. To cope with the never-ending stream of workers, efforts, in the first instance, were made fully to exploit all local resources. Enquiry made as to the accommodation available in the district under the control of the Services, resulted in 7o married quarters being taken over from the garrison. A site on which roads and sewers had already been constructed, was obtained by the War Office from the London County Council, who had planned a building scheme there and then abandoned it on the outbreak of war. On this ground the Ministry of Munitions planned to erect 350 temporary huts, but, investigation showing the site to be low-lying and
979
MATURITY
broken up by holes and ditches making any layout difficult without previous filling in, eventually only 125 huts were constructed. Married quarters were also set up on the Corbett Estate, Eltham, and in October 1915, Treasury sanction was sought for another 1,500 huts and several hostels. By December 1915, expenditure up to £345,000 for huts and {41,275 for hostels had been authorized. This provided for 1,500 huts at [230 each, five boys' and ten women's hostels each accommodating 100 persons, and an experimental hostel for men. Although plans had been sanctioned and accommodation was under way, the housing situation at Woolwich in the spring of 1g16 was reported to be 'almost hopeless'. Scores of men drafted in to work, threw up their jobs after a week or two because they could find nowhere to live, while in May I gr 6 when attempts were made to shorten the hours in the Ordnance Factories, it was found impossible to introduce the 8 hour three-shift system for women as suggested by the Hours of Labour Committee because the lack of housing space prevented the importation of sufficient wornen.
During the summer of 1916 building operations were hurried on and matters improved. By the end of that year under the temporary schemes initiated by the War Office and those instituted by the Ministry of Munitions, there were already erected or in course of erection:
(a)
Seven estates of about 2,700 temporary bungalows at Woolwich, Greenwich and Eltham.
(b)
Hostels for 30o boys opened by the War Office; and others for 500 boys, I ,ooo women and I oo men under construction by the Ministry of Munitions, to be placed, when finished, under the charge of LadyHenry Grosvenor.
Later extensions were made to the latter, and further hostels were opened for men, so that by 1917, when the Royal Arsenal employed 74,467 workers, of whom over 25,000 were women, between 3,000 and 4,ooo men, women and boys were provided for in this manner. Bungalows were also built on the Well Hall Estate, on the Churchfield Estate, on a site in Plumstead owned by Queen's College, Oxford, on the L.C.C. site at Greenwich, on the Corbett and Bostall Estates at Eltham and Abbey Wood, and at East Wickham, Lodge
Lane and Shepherd's Farm; the sites in each case being either loaned to the Ministry of Munitions or acquired under the Defence of the Realm Act.
Practically all the huts at Woolwich consisted of 5 rooms; a living room, a scullery and 3 bedrooms. In some cases there were bathrooms. The question of rents formed the subject of prolonged negotiations between the Treasury and C.S.O.F. early in 1915,
980
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
before the plans passed under the Ministry's control. Three different bases were proposed:
(a)
the rents of houses with similar accommodation in the locality,
(b)
a fair return on capital outlay, and
(c)
the maximum readily obtainable.
The Chief Superintendent urged the last as the only practicable course, since the whole object of the building programme had been to induce men to come into the district and work in the Ordnance Factories, and these would be unwilling to pay more than 5s. 0r 6s. a week. The actual cost of each hut worked out at the then unusually high figure of £325 owing to abnormal conditions and rapidity of construction. Thus, calculating on a 20 years' life at 4%, the rental should have been 19s. weekly, while the economic return on 7o% only of the outlay which the Treasury required would make the figure 15s. In May 1915, the Treasury fixed the rents at gs. 6d. and 1os. a week which, during the year 1917-1918, brought a return of 2% on the capital outlay. By August 1918, all the huts available were occupied at these rates.
Some of these hostels were placed under the direct control of the Arsenal Welfare Supervision Department, as this facilitated smooth working as regards the allocation of separate wings to the different shifts to ensure quiet for sleep and similar details. Others were leased either to local committees or to organizations such as the Y.M.CG.A. with a special agreement guaranteeing their use as hostels for Royal Arsenal workers. For example, in the case of the boys' hostels., the lessee undertook to use the building for Ordnance Factory boys only, to be responsible for the physical care and disciplinary control of the boys and to provide medical treatment when required. The Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories supplied the equipment and paid the rates and taxes, while the lessee paid rs. per week rent for every person in the building. The total charge to the boy was not to exceed 12. a week, but, subject to these conditions, the lessee made all the arrangements for management and service. The hostel charges made to women for rent was Is. 3d. to Is. gd. a week according to the class of accommodation provided, while men were charged 1s. 6d. a week. The houses and bungalow huts were far more satisfactory than hostels from the economic standpoint and gave rise to little anxiety until after hostilities had ceased. The huts were not so rapidly occupied as the permanent houses during r9IoI gr 7, and slack periods of letting were experienced after the air-raid of August 1916 and the bad weather later on in the year. The reports on the bungalows showing the numbers occupied each week indicated that they fluctuated between 1g916 and 1918, being high in summer and low in winter when the huts had a tendency to
981
MATURITY
become damp and cold. In some cases, lack ofpermanent ventilation or inferior timber added to the discomfort of the inhabitants. The worst estate for letting in 1916 was the Corbett Estate, the whole of which was low-lying and 20 minutes walk from the tram and the nearest shops. The municipal services, policing, scavenging, garbage collecting and fire protection, etc. for all the estates were undertaken by the Woolwich Borough Council; the huts therefore were subject to rates. The roads, as a rule, were in a very poor state as they were only constructed for temporary use and suffered in consequence from
the effects of heavy traffic.
The success of the hostels varied considerably, some provingimmensely popular while others were never used to their full capacity. The most successful year of their administration was from March I9I7 to March 1g18 when the maximum number was housed. The fact that it was impossible to keep the hostels fully occupied caused them to be run at a substantial loss. For instance, the St George's hostel for boys which had shown a profit up to March 1918, produced a deficit during the succeeding nine months owing to the Arsenal policy of replacing boys by women and girls. After the war these losses tended to increase.
The approximate costs ofthe hostels for 1oo inmates were: 42,350 for men and boys, and pg,6oo for women.
The hostel administration staff consisted of a superintendent, wardens and a matron. The superintendent was a whole time employee or, alternatively, an Ordnance Factory official. He was responsible for the admission of tenants and for their expulsion if found undesirable, all personal relations with tenants, the maintenance of reasonable discipline and the collection of rents. He was assisted by two or three wardens whose services were recognized by partial free board and lodging. The matron was a full time employee responsible for the domestic arrangements, maids, cleaning, bedmaking and laundry. She was dependent on the superintendent and wardens for the maintenance of discipline.
Meals were served in the hostel canteen which was open early enough in the morning to allow men going on first shift to obtain their breakfast till 1o o'clock at night. The canteen was managed by the Ordnance Factory catering organization, prices and services being similar to those in the Royal Arsenal canteens.
. The recreation room, run by the men's own committee, was provided by the establishment.
There were no rules; tenants could come in and go out at whatever hour they pleased. All that was asked was a decent standard of conduct. The accommodation available was:
(a)
Double-bedded room, two men sharing. Charge 3s. per week each.
(b)
Smaller single room at 4s. 6d. a week.
982
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
Rooms were plainly furnished with bedsteads, built-in cupboards,
chests of drawers, washing sets and ditty boxes. Cleaning, bed-linen,
bed-making and towels were included in the weekly rent. Personal
laundry was normally arranged individually between the tenants
and the ward maids.
Having housed, or attempted to house, all the extra workers, the other pressing problem was to bring them to their work benches. The rapid expansion in numbers, combined with double shifts, taxed the existing transport services to the utmost. Towards the end of 1915, shifts were revised and hours were staggered in the hope ofmitigating some of the worst troubles. This for a few months did ease the strain, but the additional labour required in the spring of 1916 called for more drastic measures. New omnibus services were immediately instituted and, together with those already in existence, were strengthen d from time to time so that by the signing ofthe Armistice there were upwards of 300 buses running in the Woolwich area for the conveyance of employees to and from the Royal Arsenal. The increase in tramway services was more difficult to put into effect. There were three lengths ofsingle line in the centre ofthe town which acted as a bottleneck, and it became evident that further development could only come by doubling the track. After some delay caused by protracted negotiations with the Woolwich Borough Council and the L.C.C., this was carried out. The revised tramway service, providing an increase in cars of 15% between 5.0 a.m. and 9.o a.m., and of g7% between 5.0 p.m. and 9.o p.m., came into operat1on 1n
July 1917.
The provision of an additional ferry service across the Thames proved a great asset. Not only did it relieve congestion on trams and buses, but it saved several thousand workers at least forty minutes journey each way daily. The question was taken up in August 1916, and in March 1917 the service started. It was a case of history repeating itself after a hundred years, though the passengers in the twentieth century were civilians. The ferry was established in practically the same place as the old military ferry and ran between a site on the north bank near Gallions railway station to a pomt directly opposite in the Royal Arsenal. The Arsenal authorities operated this ferry and, apart from its valuable service in mamtammg output, it brought in a weekly revenue of approximately £16o.
Expansion of output being of top priority after the outbreak of the war in August 1914, the staff of the cost accounting branch was depleted to strengthen that of the pay office and of the more vital stores and wages branches. Ascertaining costs became a secondary consideration as it always does in war, the first and overwhelming one being the acquisition ofvictory. At the end of the financial year 1914/15 it proved, somewhat naturally, impossible to close down the
983
factories for stocktaking, thus undermining the whole structure of the system and rendering it impossible to build up the annual account in its correct form. The question was therefore referred to the Treasury who intimated that all they required during the duration of the war was an interim statement of expenditure with an approximate division of the charges against each Service, India and the various colonies involved. They did stipulate, however, that a comprehensive stocktaking should be undertaken at the close of the financial year succeeding the termination of the war, and one com
plete account produced showing the actual cost of production of each type of article manufactured during the war. In pursuance of this ruling the Woolwich accounts branch booked expenditure currently against the several orders, and by estimating did arrive at the approximate cost. Owing to the delay, however, in obtaining prices of materials, accurate costing was out of the question. Various information was, none the less, supplied to the different Superintendents at their request, e.g. weekly labour costs, machinery rates, day work and tool percentages, and non-production percentage, or the estimated cost of any particular store periodically so that the variation in price could be watched. Any periodic estimate of prices for all articles was simply not possible on account of the expense and inadequacy of the staff. Overheads and non-productive charges were, however, watched separately and records were sent to the factories. The weekly report ofthe work-takers also afforded C.S.O.F. a means of detecting any abnormal prices or unusual development in factory costs. The Controller, Small Arm Ammunition Factories, watched efficiency indirectly by records obtained in the shops, relating to output, machine efficiency, stores consumption, tool consumption and numbers employed. Similarly, the Controller of Filling Factories watched efficiency by checking the quantities of material used with that estimated, by watching output, rejections and tool consumption. Ultimately, however, the preparation of a detailed production account for the whole period of the war was abandoned on the ground that the information obtained would be of little use for comparison with pre-war rates or post-war costs.
Weekly progress returns were instituted in the Ordnance Factories in April 1g16. The statistical record of output posted in the shops aroused much interest among the men and fired their ardour to improve efficiency. They also enabled the management to detect at once the cause of any drop in output.
Mr Enc Geddes, who enquired into the organization of the Ordnancc Factories at Woolwich as they stood when the Ministry of Munitions assumed control, recommended that, in view of the temporary nature of that control, the costing system and accounts should not be disturbed. It should also be realized that during the
984
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
First World War considerable fluctuations in current costs would have excited no particular remark, as 'rush' jobs entailing overtime and night work were a common occurrence.
The evolution of a system of costing over short periods giving comparative statistical information to the management and the establishment of such systems in the new national factories, gave rise to a demand for similar costing figures from Woolwich for purposes of comparison. At the end of 1g17 the question was discussed within the Ministry of the desirability of reorganizing the system at Woolwich in order to obtain results comparable with Ministry costs. Two experienced accountants, by whom the subject was investigated were unanimous in their view that the advantage of modernizing the method would not compensate for the loss of output that such a change would engender. The existing system could have been adapted to provide monthly costs of production had it been possible to take stock in the shops at the end of each month. Since this would
have placed an intolerable burden on the shoulders of foremen,
the matter was dropped.
In the summer of I g I 8, however, the manufacture of munitions had reached such a high level that consideration of questions of efficient and economic production became possible, and the absence of an adequate current costing system in the Ordnance Factories became the subject of much adverse criticism. On the one hand, the Ministry of Munitions was anxious to obtain manufacturing costs at Woolwich along lines similar to those in force in the national factories so that judgments of economy in allocating capacity could be made, and contractors' prices be checked. On the other, the management of the Ordnance Factories, had it not been engaged up to the hilt in producing the munitions so urgently required, was tied by past legislation to a system which differed in form from that established by the Ministry. This could only be changed by the Treasury acting in concert with the Comptroller and Auditor-General and the Public Accounts Committee. At the time it was considered wellnigh impossible to graft the Ministry's system on the current method ofOrdnance Factory accounting, without seriously increasing expense. Consequently nothing was done till the war had been over for some time. The concentration in the Woolwich area of all the thousands of workers, men, women and boys, who were brought into the neighbourhood to swell the munitions programme, required a Welfare Department to look after their interests, listen to their troubles, and keep them fit and efficient for their heavy labours. Special difficulties in this immense task early raised their heads. There was the labour problem involved by the high standard and varied nature of the work undertaken in an overcrowded area, and the maintenance of the supply ofskilled workmen in face of the policy of dilution adopted
985
and the claims of military service. The Welfare Department at Woolwich was entrusted with the work of badging and de-badging skilled Arsenal operators, the enforcement of the Schedule ofProtected Occupations and of the Military Service Acts, the employment of war munition volunteers, and the conduct of cases before munitions tribunals.
Housing and transport have already been discussed, but other matters affected the daily lives of the workers.
Canteens were provided partly by private enterprise, but increasingly by the Welfare Department. The drill hall of the 2nd London Brigade R.F.A (T.A.) situated in Beresford Street was used as a men's dining room in 1916. It had been fitted up by the Y.M.C.A. who ran it. It could accommodate 1,500 persons, and the meals, which were served continuously day and night, totalled about 4,000
C()
co
I
per 24 hours. 35 Much canteen accommodation was provided in 1916
and 1917. In 1916, a women's dining room in the Danger Buildings
near the fuze branch, to accommodate 1,350p ersons at a sitting was
approved at a cost of £1,935;36 the Flagstaff dining room for 800
women was sanctioned;37 and a new dining room to seat 300 men
at a cost of £1,080 was approved in the M.S.O. area. In 1917, an
additional dining room for 1,500 women in the old Danger Building
area at a cost of£6,400 was approved;38 and sanction was given to
build a dining room to accommodate 1,ooo boys at a cost of£7,585
for those who worked in the area of Cartridge Factories No. 2 and
I
I.'
4." Later on, in 1918, increased dining room and cloak-room accommodation was sanctioned for C.A.C. employees working in
Stores F,, and F,, at a cost of£1,245.1°
I
I I,,.
u:i
,,,
In 1917 there were three principal systems of control of the canteens under the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories (a)Control by a committee of workers (b) Control by the Y.M.C.A. and (c) Control by the Woolwich Arsenal Welfare Supervision Department.
Under (a) there were 4 dining rooms, seating 2,550 men, a survival of pre-war conditions. Under (b) there were 7 dining rooms seating 1,500 men and 5,700 women.
The Y.M.C.A. worked under an agreement and were subject to the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories. In such canteens, the workers appointed a committee whose business it was to communicate to the Y.M.C.A. should any matter arise requiring amendment in the administration of the canteen. Were satisfaction not
"· OF/69/58. " OF/Buildings/163.
·7 OF/59/2(3).
18 OF/Buildings/234. OF/Buildings/218.
OF/69/143.
986
u·
Mp"°
«0
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
British Museum
The main gate, Royal Arsenal, 1825
The entrance to the Royal Arsenal, c. 1850
obtained from the Y.M.C.A., the committee had a right of appeal
through the Superintendent of their department to C.S.O.F. whose
decision was final. In addition to this, a Welfare Superintendent was
always on duty in the dining rooms at the principal mealtimes to
receive complaints and to report direct to C.S.O.F. any incidents of
note or points which required attention.
Under (c) the Welfare Supervision Department controlled over
20 dining rooms and 14 coffee stalls with a total seating capacity for
4,950 men, 11,200 women and 2,200 boys. These dining rooms were
similarly served by committees of the workers and were attended by
Welfare Supervisors.
The total dining accommodation in the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich was then for 9,ooo men, 16,9oo women and 2,20o boys, a grand total of 28,100 workers. This was in addition to the dining room in the drill hall previously mentioned. Since two shifts were normally worked in the factories, this meant that 56,200 employees could be given meals in the twenty-four hours.
Early in 1918, the canteens supplied some 8o,00o to go,o0 meals daily. Their takings were /1,ooo a day, they employed 1,00o workers, and their supply depot issued daily between 20 and 25 tons of foodstuffs. The canteens opened latterly by the Welfare Department were carefully planned on modern lines and gave quick and efficient service.
The very long hours ofwork in the Ordnance Factories during the early days of the war have already been mentioned. They were caused by the heavy demand for output from the factory workshops with their special equipmentofexperiencedworkmenand machinery, and by the congestion in traffic and housing which made it impossible to substitute three 8 hour for two 12 hour shifts in the twentyfour hours. These excessive hours were, however, the subject of vigorous protests by the Health of Munitions Workers and the Hours of Labour Committees in the course of I 916, and from the late autumn ofthat year theovertime and theweeklynumberofshifts per worker were shortened, though they remained heavy compared to those in the many controlled establishments. Sunday work for women was abolished during 1917, and at the end of that year the Sunday shift as a whole was cancelled.
A special section of the Welfare Department was set up to deal with the welfare of the 6,000 to 7,000 boys on whom the effects of very long hours, high earnings and repetition work without, in many cases, any industrial prospects, bore heavily. In what spare time they did manage to obtain in the twenty-four hours, they tended to behave like 'young Turks'. Sometimes their high spirits were almost irrepressible and resulted in trouble. Six special welfare supervisors for boys were appointed, and efforts were made both to reduce the
os 987
number of boys employed on unskilled work by the substitution of women, and to diminish the bad effects of long journeys superimposed on the day's work by refusing to engage those boys who lived more than an hour's journey from the Royal Arsenal, and by offering some amenities such as a summer camp and evening clubs. Boys, however, under the abnormal conditions under which they lived, showed little marked predilection for ordinary clubs; they required something more exciting. There was heavy wastage and frequent changes in the boys employed. Between the outbreak of war and the Armistice 24,000 boys had been placed in the Ordnance Factories by the Woolwich Employment Exchange, which, in one year, imported over 1,10o boys from a hundred distant exchanges.+
The welfare of women and girls workers was provided on a very large scale, and, on the whole, under better conditions than the similar work for boys, because women workers and many of the processes on which they were employed were practically new to the Ordnance Factories in 1916, and fresh accommodation obviously had to be provided for them. Miss Lillian Barker was appointed Lady Superintendent in the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich in December 1915," and at the date of her appointment the number of women and girls working in the Royal Arsenal was in the neighbourhood of
500. From that time onwards the strength of women workers increased enormously till at the time of the Armistice 27,000 were employed.
One of the most important considerations throughout her work was the selection of the women. Practically every aspirant for female labour was interviewed by Miss Barker personally, and workers were encouraged to come to her or to their welfare supervisor when in difficulties. It was important also that the right woman should be selected for the right job. The medical examination determined whether a woman was fit physically for her intended employment, but it was necessary also to see that a worker put on to light work, such as fuze making and gauging, had deft and nimble fingers, that machme workers were not too old, and that workers for T.N.T. were steady, healthy women. A similar class of problems also arose at other factories; for instance, at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock, where experience dictated that only blue-eyed persons could become efficient barrel setters. When women were employed, charge hands and group leaders were mostly those promoted from
among their fellow workers for their steady and capable work, but for the more responsible posts, such as principal overseer or assistant foreman, it was invariably found advisable to select well-educated women with some experience in organizing, who were likely to be
Hist. Rec./R/346/42. • Hist. Rec./Rf346/33.
988
THE FIRST WORLD WAR
popular with the girls and at the same time had the knack of maintaining good discipline. Welfare supervisors, at the rate of one for every thousand women,
were also appointed, and their duties were to ascertain that the comforts provided for the women were utilized. Long fire-proof overalls and caps for danger building workers, tunic and trousers for the girls working on trucks where skirts might have hampered their movements, and waterproof garments for those exposed to the weather, were the regulation clothing, and it was the duty of the welfare supervisors to see that these were properly worn and
regularly changed. For the general health of the worker, it was necessary to ascertain that every workshop was properly ventilated, that seats were provided for the girls, that there was a break during the morning for light refreshments, that there were a sufficient number of canteens where they could get nourishing food at a reasonable price, and that there was a quiet rest room attached where they could rest after their meals if they so desired. Women working on powders, such as
T.N.T., were provided with special clothes to wear in the canteen, so as ~o preclude any danger of contaminating their food. Abundant ablution rooms, cloakrooms and shifting rooms were provided, and were inspected daily by supervisors; bathrooms were also established where workers on T.N.T. could bathe in factory time whenever
they wished. ' To provide recreation for women workers, evening classes in conjunction with the L.C.C. were started in such subjects as singing, first-aid, home nursing, gymnastics and elocution. Concerts in connection with these classes were held fortnightly at Woolwich in the Town Hall, and frequent dances and entertainments were given by the girls. Football, hockey, country rambles and other kinds of sport were organized and largely appreciated by the workers, while evening clubs were opened for those who lived near enough to profit by them. Holidays were arranged for both the women workers and their children. This was of great assistance as it was often difficult for a mother to arrange to go with her children and leave her work. There was also a small convalescent home where girls, showing signs of over-work or breakdown, could go for recuperative purposes. The home was used largely as a means of prevention rather than of cure, and the actual sick were seldom sent there. During the last year of the war holiday houses were organized, and to each of these a party of girls was taken by the supervisor in charge of the factory in which they worked. Homes for workers' babies were another necessity and two creches for the children of both married and unmarried mothers were
989
started. These were staffed with qualified nurses under the supervision of the Advisory Committee on Women's Employment attached to the Employment Exchange, together with a home for ailing babies and an Infant Welfare Centre, inaugurated by the American Red Cross Society.
With the signing of the Armistice, the duties of the Welfare Department at Woolwich became more onerous. Meetings were held in all the Ordnance Factories, at which the women were asked if they could live without working, and, if so, to take their discharge immediately. Also those who had a trade and could return to it were advised to do so at once. The vacancies occurring in the Army Pay Corps and for V.A.D. members were announced, and every girl was asked to approach the Lady Superintendent for advice if she needed it. Numbers ofwomen and girls were put back into domestic service. Lists of suitable advertisements from all the papers were noted each day, and every woman who wanted work, and could not get it for herself, was helped as far as was humanly possible. Widows, particularly those who had lost their husbands before the war and received no pensions, were the first to receive consideration, and the majority of these were placed on salvage and sewing work in the Royal Dockyard.""
The Royal Arsenal had certainly moved forward since the days when the workers numbered only a few hundreds and when emigration was the only key to the problem of the discharged.
4• Much of the information in this chapter has been taken from The History ofthe Ministry of Munitions.
990
Chapter 23
The Uneasy Years Between
At 5.0 a.m. on the raw winter's morning of Monday II November I g I 8 the Armistice was signed, and six hours later the 'Cease Fire' sounded. The Great War, as it was then called, was over and England after a long and gallant struggle breathed once more. When the news became public the Ordnance Factories closed down for the remainder of the day and work came to a stand-still. When the tumult and the shouting had died away, Woolwich was left to face the greatest problem of its existence. How to adapt itself to a world in which values had changed. The dislocation caused by the war had been enormous. Everything had been geared for victory, everything had been sacrificed for that end; and when victory came the engines had to be put into reverse. Discharges had to take place, lessons gained during the four years of fighting had to be applied and the post-war pattern of the Royal Arsenal had to be worked out. This was no easy task and it took the best part offive or six years to resolve the complications which the war had left in its wake. Committees, therefore, sat almost continuously till 1926.
The future administration and use of the Ordnance Factories had been the subject of much consideration both before and after the Armistice. In July 1918, a committee under the chairmanship of the Rt Hon. T. McKinnon Wood, M.P., was appointed1 by the Minister of Munitions with the following terms of reference:
To enquire into and report upon the control, administration, organization, lay-out and equipment of the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolwich, and the nature and distribution of the work carried on in them and at the Royal Arsenal generally, and to advise the Minister of Munitions what, if any, changes are required.
The Committee to have due regard to the importance of efficient and economic production, and the necessity for maintaining a reserve of productive power, and to give due weight to the obligations of the Government, as an Employer, to ensure the best possible industrial and housing conditions for the Employees.
It was originally intended that this Committee should later investigate the factories at Waltham and Enfield, but this extension of their activities was never carried into effect.
1 Command Paper 229: 70/Gen. No./4,556. This was mentioned in Chapter 22.
991
The Committee submitted four reports:
First interim report On dangerdated 6 November 1918 Second interim reportOrganization and administration-
dated 2g November 1918 Third interim report Costing system dated 12 February 1919 Final report Confirmation dated 13 March 1919
In their first interim report the Committee stated bluntly that the conditions of storage, and the amount of explosive, in the Royal Arsenal constituted a grave menace to public safety. In addition to the large amount being handled in the filling houses, there were over 10,000 tons of explosives stored in 254 magazines and storehouses concentrated in an area of 1,284 acres; a veritable 'powdermine'. The details were as follows:
Propellants
Raw 3,212 tons IO cwt. Made-up 2,846 tons
High explosive
Raw 880 tons
In shell etc. 2,347 tons Gunpowder 41I tons Gun-cotton 420 tons
Detonating Compositions 21 I tons Total: 10,327 tons ro cwt.
The magazines which contained large quantities of raw cordite,
i.e. 50 tons and upwards, were built mostly of brick with light roofs of slate, corrugated iron or copper-sheathed wood, while those used for storing high explosive in bulk were in process of being covered with 15 feet of earth as a protection against bombs. These 28 structures surrounded by earth mounds, of which 16 in addition had moats, were situated originally in isolated positions in the marshes, but extra buildings which had appeared since had led to a serious reduction in safety limits. No less than 114 new buildings for storing explosives were erected between 1914 and 1918. Their type of construction, however, varied, and very large quantities ofhigh explosive and cordite in the form of filled shell and cartridges were stored in unprotected brick buildings with slate or corrugated iron roofs, notably in the shell stores at Berber which contained over 1,500 tons of high explosive, and in the old gunpowder magazines Foo. and E housing some 6oo tons of B.L. cordite cartridges. These
latter magazines had light concrete roofs. The light roof construction had been adopted for cordite magazines so as to provide an upward escape to the gases in case of fire and thus minimize the risk of explosion, for there was a strong presumption that when very large
992
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
quantities are stored in a single magazine fire, due to spontaneous combustion, will in all probability burn to explosion. Again the light roof is particularly susceptible to damage by air attack and, as a result of experiments carried out in 1913-I914, the Ordnance Board came to the conclusion that, provided no obstacle intervened to prevent the actual communication of ignition, cordite within a Certain distance of the detonation of a H.E. bomb would be ignited and might explode violently. They were further of the opinion that if a magazine were so constructed as to confine sufficiently the gases arising from burning cordite, the rate of burning would increase and might reach the critical point when explosion would occur.
Of the 172 buildings, each containing over one ton of explosive, only 15 complied with Home Office regulations in regard to safety distances.
There were 30 magazines and other buildings containing 3,562 tons of explosive situated within roo yards, or less, of the river embankment on a frontage of 2l miles, and the Committee felt that, should a serious explosion occur in any one of these, the embankment would in all probability be breeched; a catastrophe resulting in the flooding of the marshes which are some six or eight feet below high water level.
The Committee were also concerned about the 112 small stores containing various quantities of high explosive and propellant, in some cases up to 75 tons, many of which were extremely close to sheds in which many people worked. Sixty-nine of these buildings were without traverses or safeguards of any kind.
There was no general supervision of safety precautions applicable to the Royal Arsenal as a whole. The Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories dealt with danger building regulations and the transport of explosives within the Royal Arsenal. He was also responsible that the site chosen for a magazine fulfilled ordinary safety precautions. When the building was complete, however, the responsibility rested with the department using it, to see that it was used as it should be. The Committee considered that C.S.O.F's powers should be extended to cover safety over the whole area of the Arsenal and that he should have an expert staff to assist him in this purpose.
The Committee's actual recommendations were:
1.
All filled and made up ammunition should be removed from Woolwich, and no accumulation of such munitions should be permitted beyond one week's production.
2.
All small stores, containing explosives, adjacent to sheds in which work people are employed, and which it is necessary to retain, should be protected by traverses of the most scientific nature, and the stocks kept to a minimum output.
993
MATURITY
3.
A substantial decrease should be made in the three weeks' stock of raw materials provided for the filling factories by means of improved methods of transportation from the main source of supply.
4.
Stores ofinflammable combustible articles, paints, oils, etc., in charge of the Army Ordnance Department or the Naval Ordnance Department, should be removed from the neighbourhood of the Filling Factory stores.
5.
The powers of C.S.O.F. should be extended to enable him to deal with all the safety precautions of the Royal Arsenal as a whole.
Steps were taken by C.S.O.F. and the two Ordnance Departments
at Woolwich to reduce as far as possible the amount of explosives
and the fire-risks involved. 2
In their second report the Committee stated that although a
sufficient reserve of munitions to last the country ten years was in
hand, it was still necessary for the Government to continue experi
mental work with new weapons and to develop new ideas. Time
unfortunately does not stand still and in a scientific age warlike
stores soon become obsolescent. Therefore a factory or factories must
be provided for this purpose, run either by the State or private
enterprise.
The Committee considered that the argument for the retention
of a national arsenal in time of peace was overwhelming in view of
secrecy, the close relationship between such a factory and research
design and experimental establishments, and repair work. Also:
should expansion become necessary, assistance could best be rendered
by a government establishment. The question before the Committee
therefore, was: 'Is Woolwich the best place for such a State arsenal ?°
Various arguments could be advanced against Woolwich Arsenal as the site of a government factory.
(a)
Its distance from the coal-fields increased the cost of production.
(b)
Its distance from the steel centres increased railway transport for forgings and materials.
(c)
Its site was peculiarly prone to air attack.
(d)
The river frontage was valuable for commercial purposes.
(e)
Labour conditions at Woolwich had a hampering effect on management and sent up costs of production.
(f)
Its bad layout made economical production more or less impossible. But the Committee did not regard these as insuperable as with
modern technique most of them would tend to disappear. They, therefore, decided that Woolwich should be retained because:
(i)
There existed already manufacturing capacity and experimental facilities for practically all classes of war material.
(ii)
No other individual national factory possessed those facilities.
(iii) Its proximity to government departments in London and to Shoeburyness, a unique experimental ground.
(iv) The trained personnel resident in the neighbourhood. " 3/Gen. No./133: 57/Woolwich/4,855.
994
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
and urged the desirability of government departments placing as
many orders as possible with the Royal Arsenal.
The Committee then gave an outline of the administration and
organization of the Royal Arsenal as it existed in 1918-1919, and
made certain recommendations, one of which was the abolition of
the post of Chief Superintendent, Ordnance Factories.
The Committee next turned their attention to design. After giving an outline of design procedure then in force, they made certain suggestions. In those days when the Controller of Munitions Design received requisitions for new designs, he sent them to the Ordnance Committee, which called on any or all of the principal designing ofTces, viz. Woolwich Arsenal or the big armament firms, for the designs 111 question. Upon their receipt by the Ordnance Committee, that body reviewed, criticized and amended them, called for trials and finally made recommendations to the Controller who in con
.. . ''
Junction with the War Office, approved the designs.
The drawing office at Woolwich was divided into sections, each under a Superintendent of a portion of the Royal Arsenal, none of whom were technical design engineers. The drawing office had its own head draughtsmen, but these were in a subordinate position so far as control was concerned. In addition there was a military officer, styled the Superintendent of Design, appointed by C.S.O.F., who was the technical head of design in the Ordnance Factories. The Superintendent of Design was an ex officio member of the Ordnance Committee and its mouth-piece on Woolwich designs. He had a considerable voice in R.L. design, in which department he had two officers serving under him. No such arrangement existed in the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories and therefore the Superintendent of Design had little say in those particular departments. The Superintendent, Royal Gun Factory, initiated gun design in the Royal Arsenal. In the Royal Carriage Department there were three assistants; a military officer for gun carriages, a late railway engineer (temporary officer) for wood-work, and a late civil engineer (temporary officer) for plant.
The Committee were convinced that the whole basis of munition design was wrong. They considered that the duties of the Ordnance Committee in regard to design should be executive and not advisory,
i.e. designs emanating from the Committee should be approved by the President, on whom the sole responsibility should rest. The President of the Ordnance Committee, under their proposals, would therefore become the Controller of Design. The acceptance of the design would remain with the War Office or Admiralty respectively. The Committee also considered that the design office should be placed under a Designing Engineer who, on design matters, should act under the instructions of the President, Ordnance Committee.
995
There were other minor points which the Committee recommended.
The Committee had little advice to offer on inspection. In reality, they agreed with the Morley Report. They considered that inspection headquarters should be located in the Royal Arsenal, or at any rate in the Woolwich area.
The Committee's actual recommendations were :
6.
The arguments in favour of the retention of a government arsenal for the manufacture of munitions in peace-time are overwhelming.3
7.
The location of that arsenal should be at Woolwich.
8.
The Royal Arsenal at Woolwich should be organized mainly as an establishment for the supply of armaments in peacetime, and of experimental types and improved design in war and peace. It should be capable of the immediate supply of designs for jigs and gauges of all descriptions on the mobilization of the engineering resources of the country for war, and be in a position to offer technical advice to the firms concerned. Its reserve of expansion, so far as its peace layout is concerned, should be limited to increased production in the case of small wars. The Design Department should be organized to fulfil all requirements of design in peace-time, attheoutbreakofwar and duringawarofthelargest scale.4
g. An expert committee should be appointed to submit proposals for the reorganization of the layout of the Royal Arsenal on a scale to be determined by the responsible Minister. 5
ro. Immediate consideration should be given to the placing ofas many orders as possible with Woolwich for military, naval or other government stores, not already in production, such as tanks, mechanical transport and possibly naval hydraulic mountings."
II. One Minister only should be responsible for the control of the Royal Arsenal.7
12. A Board of Management should be set up as follows:
(a)
The Chairman, who should be a man of well-known repute with a knowledge of business concerns.
(b)
A representative of the Admiralty.
(c)
A representative of the War Office.
(d)
A representative of the Ministry of Munitions.
(e)
A representative of the Air Ministry.
(f)
Two independent engineers of high repute.
(g)
The President, Ordnance Committee (ex officio)
(h)
The Managing Director (ex officio)
The non-departmental members should be unpaid. The post of Chief Supermtendent, Ordnance Factories, should be abolished.8
" Question referred to a Committcc under SirJ. Stevenson in 1922. 70/Gen. No./4,882. Recommendations Nos. 6-8 accepted by the Cabinet on 6 May 1919. Covered by the appointment of a Director-General of Factories at the War Ofcc.
osubstantialremodellingoftheRoyalArsenal wascontemplatedintheimmediatefuture. Action was taken by the War Office with the various departments concerned
7 Accepted by the Cabinet. •A pipc-dream. No Board of Management was ever set up, nor the post of C.S.O.F. abolished. It was said to be covered by the post of Director-General of Factories in the
War Office.
996
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
r 3. A trained engineer should be appointed Managing Director to manage the whole of the Arsenal, and be directly responsible to the Board of Management. Should he be a civilian, he should have a military officer appointed as an assistant.9
14.
Trained engineers under the Managing Director should be placed in charge of each manufacturing department.10
15.
The salaries of the Managing Director, the Superintendents, the Manager, the Designing Engineer, the Head Draughtsman and draughtsmen should be comparable to those paid in commercial undertakings.
r6. Woolwich should cease to be used as a storage depot for completed ammunition and finished stores, which should be removed as soon as possible.u
17.
So far as design is concerned, the duties ofthe Ordnance Committee should become executive, the President of the Committee becoming the Controller of Munition Design.12
18.
The drawing office at Woolwich should be entirely reconstituted and form the main Armament Design Office under a selected designing engineer to act under the instructions of the President, Ordnance Committee.13
19.
The Managing Director and the Designing Engineer should be ex officio members of the Ordnance Committee.14
20.
The present division of the Ordnance Committee into subcommittees should be amplified to include trench warfare, chemical warfare, tanks and any other military experimental and designing subcommittee, and the sub-committees should be design sub-committees whose function, under the President, would be to initiate and approve designs.15
21.
A section of the Woolwich drawing office should be organized specially for the design ofjigs, gauges and special tools.16
22.
A branch ofthe drawing office should be located in the main Supply Department in London.'7
23.
The headquarters of the Inspection Department should remain at Woolwich.18
24.
A supplementary report was drawn up by Lord Marchamley recommending further consideration of the transfer of the Royal Arsenal from Woolwich, or alternatively, a conference with trade unions to consider whether new work could be found to maintain employment in the Royal Arsenal in time of peace.19
In their third report, the Committee recommended that:
25. The general system of costing should be revised and a system
adopted to enable monthly or periodical statistics to be readily extracted,
9 Not approved. 10 This was eventually carried out. . 11 This was adopted so far as alternative accommodation permitted. 1a Not approved. 1a Not approved. 14 Not approved. 1s Not approved. 1s Not approved. 17 Not approved. 18 Accepted.
19 Not accepted.
997
MATURITY
the actual method adopted depending on the nature of the production and the particular local circumstances of each shop. The system adopted should aim at placing in the hands of the Board of Management the earliest and fullest possible information as to costs of current production with a view to securing efficiency and economy.
26.
The costs of design and experimental work should be kept separate from the costs of supply work.
27.
The cost system introduced should provide for proper reconciliation with the financial books, so that inter alia the annual production accounts might prove the accuracy of the periodical costs statistics furnished to the management.
28.
Overhead charges should be spread over the various products as accurately as possible and by direct allocation when practicable.
29.
Up-to-date mechanical office appliances should be introduced.
30.
A system of auditing the accounts on commercial lines, such as that established by the Ministry of Munitions, should be obtained.
31.
Specific provision should be made for the periodic overhaul of the accounting work at the Ordnance Factories, say every 5 or IO years.20
An alternative report was submitted by Mr H. S. Brindley suggesting in place of Nos. 2628 the following:
32. The costs system introduced should provide for proper reconciliation with the financial books so that the annual production accounts may prove the accuracy of the periodic costs statistics furnished to the management.
The final report confirmed the recommendations of the Committee in regard to the reorganization of administration and methods of costing already submitted.
From the point of view of policy the most important conclusions reached by the Committee were:
(a)
That the arguments in favour of the retention of a government arsenal for munitions manufacture in peacetime are overwhelming, and that the location of that arsenal should be at Woolwich.
(2)
That Woolwich Arsenal should be organized mainly as a peace establishment for the supply of armaments in peacetime, and of experimental types and improved designs in war and peace; and that its reserve of expansion so far as its peace layout is concerned should be limited to increased production in the case of small wars.
(3)
That one Minister only should be responsible for the control of the Royal Arsenal.
The Committee, as we have seen, also laid special stress on their recommendations that Woolwich should cease to be used for the storage of ammunition and completed stores, especially explosives; that the Royal Arsenal should be reorganized on commercial lines;
10 Recommendations 25-31 were generally accepted. A new costing system was
introduced.
998
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
and that an expert committee should be appointed to submit proposals for the reorganization of its layout.21
These three matters of policy were approved by the Cabinet in May I919.%% The removal of filled ammunition from Woolwich and the reduction of stocks of explosives were further considered by a Committee under the chairmanship of Sir Frederick Nathan, which was appointed to advise on the general question of the removal, storage and safe custody of the Ministry's explosives. This Committee in July 1 gr g recommended not only that the Royal Arsenal should cease to be used as a store for filled shell, mines, bombs, etc., but that the filling of such stores at Woolwich should be discontinued. In order to give effect to these recommendations it was arranged that the filling work then done there should be allocated between the Banbury and Hereford National Filling Factories which it was proposed to retain."
In July 1919, the Minister of Munitions appointed a standing advisory Committee to advise him on questions affecting the administration of the Ordnance Factories and to assist in giving effect to the recommendations of the McKinnon Wood Committee. One of the most important questions considered by this Committee was that of providing work, other than armament stores, at the Royal Arsenal. Though the general policy was that the State should not manufacture in competition with the trade, it was decided that in order to maintain a sufficient number of employees at Woolwich
(i.e. 10,000 the pre-war figure), orders for commercial articles should be given. For a few months after the Armistice the Arsenal was engaged principally on repair and breaking down, the manufacture of certain types of new shell and filling for the Admiralty. Early in 1919 an order for milk churns required by the Ministry of Food was given and in the summer the production of railway engines was
' ' • d.24
approved. In 1922 the sale of these locomotives was sanct1one., but for years long lines of these red-coloured monsters could be seen on railway sidings, a gaunt tribute to the engineering skill of the Royal Arsenal which nobody appeared to want. Eventually they found purchasers and disappeared from sight. Other civil work undertaken during 1919 included the production of railway wagons, war medals and penny blanks; and the repair of railway trucks and motor vehicles. This policy of providing alternative work was the subject of considerable controversy. On the one hand, continual pressure was exercised against the discharge of labour; on the other, there were strong views against government factories undertakmg
a1 Sec./Gen./2,251 M.C. 725.
a Sec./Gen./842.
as Weekly Report No. 202. I (19 July 1919): Co-ordinating. Committee Minutes,
II September 1919.
+ 57/MI/1oo.
999
MATURITY
commercial work; a formal protest, for instance, being made in August 1919 by the Dairy Appliance Manufacturers' Association against the manufacture of milk churns.25
The Woolwich Advisory Committee drew up recommendations for the reorganization of the Royal Arsenal on the lines suggested by the Committee of Enquiry, and these were submitted to the Cabinet.26 The whole question of the administration of Woolwich was, however, closely bound up with the fate of the projected Ministry of Supply, and pending a Government decision on that subject little could be done in regard to the Ordnance Factories. When, in March 1920, the Cabinet decided not to proceed with the bill for establishing a Ministry of Supply, it was decreed that the Ordnance Factories should revert to the War Office and be administered under certain novel conditions, together with such national factories as it was proposed to retain. Accordingly, on I June 1920, the Ministry of Munitions ceased to be responsible for the Royal Arsenal, the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock, and the Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey.27 The Ordnance Factories, therefore, returned to the War Department. 28
The rapid drop in numbers employed at Woolwich immediately following the Armistice is given in the following table :29
Date Male Female Total
November 1918 January 1919 April 1919 40,126 28,800 21,898 23,701 9,403 2,730 63,827 38,203 24,628
The axe was indeed at work. Two incidents may be recorded while Woolwich still remained under the Ministry of Munitions. The pension scheme proposed for
O.F. employees was dropped, 30 and a small explosion in the primer branch occurred on 8 May 1919. The latter was caused by a detonation of a fuze No. 1o6 in the furnace house of the primer branch. The presence of such a fuze in such a house was contrary to regulations, and it had nothing to do with the work of the men working there. Richard Barber was handling it at the time and he and Charles Coles paid for their disobedience by being injured when the
fuze exploded.
On the War Office again resuming control of the Royal Arsenal, the recommendations of the McKinnon Wood Committee were implemented to a limited extent. The orthodox suggestions were accepted, but those of a more controversial nature were shunned.
" Sec./Gen./2,251: Sec./Gen./1,646.
26 Sec./Gen./2,251.
7 70/Gen. No./4,6o7.
28 History of Ministry of Munitions, vol. II, part I, supplement, Pp. 33-35.
28 History of Ministry of Munitions, vol. VI, part I, chap. IV, p. 76
"0 70/Gen. No./4,574-1919.
1000
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
Although the Ordnance Factories in the post-war years were brought more into line with civil engineering firms, such revolutionary proposals as those of the 'Managing Director', the 'Board of Management' and the President of the Ordnance Committee being 'Controller of Design' were dropped. There was a limit beyond which the War Department, a Service Ministry, would not go. In place of a Board of Management, a Director-General of Factories was approved in 1920,31 and Mr (afterwards Sir) Holberry Mensforth was appointed to this post with powers to reorganize government factories as a whole. Being an industrial magnate it was felt that he would introduce reforms more in keeping with commercial practice. This he did and at last, after two centuries, the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich became entirely free from military influence. Although the posts of Superintendents had always been classed as 'civil appointments' under the Crown, they had, up to 1918, been invariably filled by serving officers. Henceforward this practice was to cease. The factories became completely civilian in character and, with the exception of the Military Assistant and his Inspectors of Danger Buildings, no military officer has since figured among the Ordnance Factory officials. It had been a long struggle, but the First World War was the final instrument which swept away military control for ever. At the same time as the post of Director-General of Factories was created a Deputy Director-General of Factories was sanctioned. 32 This latter appointment was, however, abolished in
1923.%%
Another aftermath of the war was the hostels. As soon as the war ended, labour was reduced and this created difficulties in regard to the housing estates which had been set up regardless of cost. By February 1919, the two hostels run by the Y.M.C.A. had losses amounting to £4,066, and two others directly controlled by the Arsenal authorities lost £6,282 and £9,817 respectively. These latter with one or two others were still open in the spring of 1919 when they were being run at a loss reaching £302 per week on the men's and £218 per week on the women's hostels, while roughly a third only of the women and a half of the men were employed in the Royal Arsenal. By.June 1919, the staff which administered the hostels had been transferred to the Ministry of Labour; one hostel was closed and it was arranged that the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories should retain the others only so long as they were required by the Royal Arsenal. The cessation of hostilities made little difference to the demands for huts, which remained full throughout 1919. After the Armistice, however, the better type of tenants tended to
+1 70/Gen. No./4,626. a° 70/1/902. as a6,403/2.
1001
move away as they found work elsewhere, leaving a somewhat rough element in possession. Owing to complaints of cold and damp an abatement of 2s. 6d. a week as coal allowance was allowed for the first three months of 1g1g. In spite of this concession, a rent strike occurred in February 1919 which threatened to be serious. An organization known as the Government Hutments Protection League was formed to conduct a campaign against the administration of the various estates, and in the first week of March 1919, the number of those refusing to pay rent was 414 against 1,049 who paid. Misstatements were made in the Press, and rioting and demonstrations occurred, chiefly with a view to terrifying the rent-paying householders, who constituted the majority, intojoining the strike. In most cases refusals to pay were the result of pressure from the strikeleaders, as in the case of the troubled housewife who dared not pay because 'the League of Nations told her not to', while sometimes actual fear of ill-treatment by the more lawless section prevented compliance. A statement from one of the non-strikers showed that mischief makers were chiefly men who worked outside the Royal Arsenal or were unemployed; they demanded 5s. a week reduction in rent though there appeared to be no grounds to justify such a step, as the many applicants for vacant huts were prepared to pay the current rates. At the end of March the temporary reduction of 2s. 6d. was made and the strike collapsed.
In 1919/192o the management of these huts passed from the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories to the Ministry of Munitions, but the new system was not satisfactory. Some of the estates were taken over by the L.C.C. and efforts were made to relinquish stateownership of the remainder. The War Department remained coldly aloof from this war legacy.%+
The next subject to be placed on a sound footing was that concerning design since the recommendation of the McKinnon Wood Committee in this respect was not accepted. This was settled by an interdepartmental conference presided over by Lieut.-General Sir
John Du Cane, Master-General of the Ordnance, in 1921,35 which proposed that a joint Service Design Department under a Superintendent of Design should be set up. The findings of the conference
were:
I. The Department should be able to deal with designs from all sources and for all manufactures.
2. The responsibility for design presented two aspects:
(1) That the design should be delivered in such a shape as to allow proper manufacture. This should be secured by co-operation between the Design Department and C.S.O.F.
Ti;gry of the Ministry or Munitions, vol. V, chap. VI, appendix III, Pp. 83-87.
70, ien. No./4,670.
1002
I i co
1002
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
(ii) That the design should fulfil the function for which it was intended. The design Department should alone be responsible for this and should be kept in touch with Service requirements by D of A, D.N.O. and the Air Force authorities.
3. The department should embrace small arms and machine guns,
i.e. the work then done at Enfield.
4.
The drawing office should be administered by C.S.O.F.
5.
The officers of the department should as a rule be naval, military and R.A.F. officers, though civilians would not necessarily be debarred from such employment.
6.
The department should be under a Superintendent who should be the responsible authority on all questions of design not involving manufacture.
7.
The posts of Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent should be held alternatively by naval and military officers. The R.A.F. would stand out for some years.
8.
The proportion of naval, military and airforce officers should be on the lines of that for the Ordnance Committee.
g. The tenure of officers' appointments in the department should be for four years.
1o. The military officers should be appointed by the War Office, the other two Services appointing their own.
11.
Military officers for appointment should be trained at the Ordnance College"" with a period of attachment to the Ordnance Factories before being posted to the Design Department.37
12.
Officers of the department should have free access to all O.F. shops.
These recommendations were, with the exception of No. 11, adopted in toto, and the Design Department as proposed was brought into being.
In 1921, also, a Committee was convened under the chairmanship of Mr Holberry Mensforth to discuss the question of land at Woolwich.3B It was agreed that, owing to the cost of removing stores, apart from the necessity of maintaining a reserve for expansion in time of war, and in view of the objection of allowing civilians to have access to War Department manufacturing and explosive establishments, it was not a practical commercial proposition to dispose of any land in the Woolwich area where neighbouring and unoccupied sites were available.
A revision of the system of costing and the provision of labour saving machinery took place in 1921."%
In 1919, the title of the Superintendent, Mechanical Engineering Department was changed to that of Chief Mechanical Engineer. The
36 Now the Military College of Science. 37 This was never carried out. as 70/Gen. No./4,882. a0 70/Gen. No./4,880.
66 1003
(3)
An accounting system which would reflect accurately the unit cost of steam at each generating and user centre.
(4)
Checking consumption and accounting for steam at each centre.
A survey of existing conditions in the Royal Arsenal showed that there were:
(a)
Forty-seven boiler houses of varying size containing 228 boilers.
(b)
A steaming capacity of approximately 920,000lb. of steam per hour.
(c)
Total maximum peak loads (not necessarily coincident) of approximately 605,000lb. of steam per hour.
(d)
Pressures varying between rolb. and 2oolb. per square inch gauge.
(e)
Two hundred and twenty-eight men employed on the production of steam.
The boiler houses were scattered over an area of approximately I ,30? acres and the boilers were of widely differing types and efficiency.
T»is preliminary survey showed clearly the necessity of coordmatmg the whole of the steam supplies under one control if any approach to the most economical operation was to be achieved. This was immediately done and all the plant and personnel concerned with steam generation were placed under the Chief Mechanical
Engineer. A further examination of the problem indicated that it would be a simple matter to bring sufficient of the current plant into a state of comparative efficiency, but no data of reasonable accuracy and permanence existed to permit the preparation of a scheme of complete centralization of steam surplus. It was therefore decided to
ascertam the best that could be done at a comparatively small outlay with the existing plant and arrangements, and to proceed "SP by step as experience was gained with such further improve
ents as could be JUStifi.ed financially. The soundness of this course of action has been fully borne out by the results obtained.
Steam loads at various centres were therefore studied bearing in mind (a) the possibility ofreduced demand owing to the substitution 0 electrical for steam power, (b) the most efficient use and control
i
0 steam generally, and, (c) the reduction of maximum demand due to the common supply of non-coincident peak loads. Boiler houses were then selected to which such loads could be transferred and which
couldbe d •d •
mo.ern1ze if necessary to secure efficient operation. It
wasfound o • • h
f n exammation t at the same production requirements
0 th
e factories could be met with considerable reductions in the total steam load. As a result 36 boiler houses were closed leaving I I 1nopeti C •
~a on. ertam new plant was installed. The scheme cost approximately {13,500 and effected annual savings of[7,500. I006
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
The steam mains also came under review. They, like the boiler houses, had been extended as circumstances dictated. They were more economically planned, better hung and more efficiently lagged with an 85% magnesia lagging chosen after a number of trials.
One point stood out in this scheme and that was that the total cost of the distribution including steam loss, maintenance and control of mains together with the interest and depreciation on capital was estimated at less than the original cost of distributing coal to all the 47 scattered boiler houses.
As the result of a Committee of the Army Council presided over by SirJames Stevenson concerning the future of national factories,o certain machinery and stocks were transferred from the Anti-gas Factory at Watford to Woolwich and a trial order for the assembly of respirators was carried out to ascertain whether the Royal Arsenal could do the work as efficiently as Watford.
About this time certain notes were forwarded to the Geddes
Economy Committee which throw light on certain details concerning
Woolwich. On 31 March 1914 the capital value of the Ordnance
Factories in the Royal Arsenal was:
Buildings, £872,932; Machinery, [607,639; Non-depreciable items, £228,518; Stores in stock, {441,662-Total 2,150,751.
By the 31 March 1921, these figures had risen to:
Buildings, £2,519,746: Machinery, £1,202,390; Non-depreciable items, £616,351; Stores in stock, ,1,970,900Total £6,308,387.
Production for Woolwich Waltham and Enfield which had been '
£3,088,682 in 1913/14, had become £6,246,938 in 1921/22. The notes explain that the cost ofan article is built up as follows:
(a) Wages, (b) Non-productive, (c) Indirect expenditure, (d) Machinery charges and (e) Material.
Of these:
(a)
consists of the wages which can be charged direct to an order,
(b)
consists ofthe wages ofthe supervisory staff, book-keepers, sweepers, truckers, etc. in the shops which cannot be charged direct to an order,
(c)
consists of general superintendence, clerical and work-takmg staffs, drawing offices, rate fixing and estimating branches, care and custody of stores, warders and messengers, police, general labour, examination of work during manufacture, fire brigade, stores for shop use and tools and gauges not chargeable to direct expenditure, testing, depreciation and maintenance of buildings, rates, railways, light, heat, transport, water, postage and stationery, holidays, sick and injury pay, pensions, medical services and insurance,
40 C.P. 2,411: 70/Gen. No./4,722-1921. Respirator Manufacture at Woolwich is dealt with in files 70/GN/5,243 and 57/GN/3,145.
IO07
MATURITY
(d)
consists of depreciation of machinery, repairs and power,
(e)
consists of material chargeable direct to an order.
The amounts spent on (c) and (d) were as follows:
1913-1914 £. 762,581 1920-1921 1,918,412
while that expended on general superintendence was:
1913-1914 1921-1922
The number of employees in the Ordnance Factories during the two periods was:
1913-1914 1921-1922
Average number of men 13,500 14,500 Average wages per man £94 £go1 Average material per man £1o9 146 Average cost per man 231 415
The value of orders placed at Woolwich in 1921 was £4,217,500, and £875,000 worth of orders was promised but not placed.
In regard to labour relations, the introduction of '\,Vhitleyism' after the end of the First World War did not find favour with the trade unions in the Royal Arsenal, since its constitution ruled out all reference to trade questions, wages, etc. The York agreement, however, concluded between the Federated Employers and the trade unions did lay down the machinery for the regulation of relations between the employers and the trade unions from the shop steward level upwards. Though not recognized in government Establishments it was nevertheless adopted in the Ordnance Factories by a 'gentlemen's agreement' although no written constitution or agreement was ever made. This arrangement brought some measure of satisfaction to the trade unions though they disliked the 'shop stewardism' which had been forced upon them, and after a few years it was deemed both desirable and necessary to appoint an official to deal with shop stewards at the Ordnance Factories. One was therefore appointed in 1923 carrying the designation of Super
intendent ofLabour. He was on the staff of the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories who was the final referee in all local negotiations.
Though it is impossible in a book of this nature to trace step by step the evolution of the machines on which the operatives plied their crafts, the Ordnance Factories kept abreast of the times and as new types of machine tools appeared on the market, they were duly installed in the workshops displacing those which were passing
1008
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
into obsolescence. In the period between the two world wars, there was a complete changeover from machines driven by belt from mainline shafting to independent motorized units.
In 1922 the R.L. printing establishment which had for many years printed ammunition labels and other matter which was wanted urgently in the Royal Arsenal was closed. The work in future was to be carried out by H.M. Stationery Office." This was effected no doubt on the score of economy, but the decision was not liked locally at the time.
Next an Inter-Departmental Committee under the chairmanship of Sir Holberry Mensforth, Director-General of Factories, was appointed to consider the minimum establishments required for the Ordnance Factories. The Committee submitted an mtenm report dated I February 1922 and a final report dated I I ~pril 1922.42 In their interim report the assumption was made that if an emergency occurred within 1o years, the Ordnance Factories would not be required to give maximum output until 6 to 9 months had elapsed. On this basis the Committee decided that Woolwich would require 6,642 supervisory and industrial employees to act as a sufficient nucleus to ensure smooth and rapid expansion within the penod stated. The similar figures for Waltham and Enfield were 484 and
1,214 respectively, making a total 0f 8,340 compared with 13,641 pre-war and a current total on short time of 136,206.
During the months that followed, the shortage of orders caused the numbers to be reduced almost to the absolute minimum stated above, and in the case of Waltham where no orders for cordite were
, 'c·
received the strength fell below that suggested by the omm1ttee. 4s
In heir final report the Mensforth Committee recommended that during the great slump in orders, the Ordnance Factories should have first consideration for any suitable stores required by government departments generally, without prejudicing the retention of the necessary capacity by the trade or interfering with employment m other Crown Establishments, e.g. Naval Dockyards. They also considered that in view of the cost of maintaining reserve assets and capacity some favour in price should be allowed to the Ordnance Factories when orders were allocated. Finally, they suggested that the possibility of relieving some of the cost of maintaining reserve capacity by means of a direct contribution from the department of whom such capacity is reserved, should be explored.
Thereupon, a subsidy scheme of contribution by the Service
departments was arranged.44
41 Woolwich Arsenal/6/2,510. .. -Interim Report A[2,443, 70/GN/5,045. Final Report A/2,451, 70/GN/5,122• 4a 70/1/1,249. 44 70/GN/5,337: 70/GN/5,451.
1009
As the result of the Fleming Committee, a reorganization in the work of the Civil Service staff at Woolwich was agreed to by the Treasury.45
In November 1922 the labour branches of the Royal Gun Factory, the Royal Carriage Department and the various ammunition and filling factories were concentrated into one labour pool and transferrcd to the Mechanical Engineering Department. This resulted in decreased handling costs and the introduction of better methods.
It was agreed in 1923 that the pre-war practice of admitting VlSltors to the Royal Arsenal should remain in abeyance for the present.46
An Inter-Departmental Committee under the chairmanship of Mr N. F. B. Osborn, a Director of Finance at the War Office was
.'
set up_ m 1922 to deal with the reduction and revaluation of buildings, machinery, etc. at the Ordnance Factories. Though Woolwich was not_ treated separatively, the bulk of the buildings and machinery which came under review were in the Royal Arsenal. 47 The Committee rendered two reports, a first interim report on 31 May 1922 and a second on 1g July 1923.
A_programme of the progressive output of munitions which he considered that the factories, plant and machinery should be capable ofproducing in an emergency was drawn up by the Director-General of Factories. The report of the Committee was generally approved and the recommendations given effect to in the O.F. Manufacturing Account 1921-1922. A general statement of the action taken is given in the preface of that account where the correspondence with the Treasury on the subject is also published. The programme drawn up by D.G.F. was before the Army Council when the report was
approved.
Based on this programme certain assets were scheduled as redundant, the book value of which was:
Buildings £26o,0oo
Machinery and plant [£232,000
Materials and stores £482,00048
Buildings and machinery to a book value of £499,000 were written off as redundant in 1921-22. Surplus materials were sold by the Disposal and Liquidation Commission of a book value 6f 4542,000 in 1921-22 and of[918,000 in 1922-23, the proceeds being
retained by the Ordnance Factories. For the revaluation of the remaining assets and stores, the
19%9395·,3/ESab/4.994: B aal9a: 1/Esabls,a4o1oaa.
70, ien. 0./5,565.
3!"74; 7Si-No.u,&7 o 1s: 7/G. No.ls.s.
be held. sis that generally a maximum of six months' current requirements should
1010
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
buildings, plant and machinery were grouped into three categories according to normal peacetime user:
(1) Over 75% user (2) 25 t0 75% user (3) Under 25% user
The book figures were revalued and written down on account of
(a) Excessive depreciation due to war conditions, (b) Inflated purchase prices, and (c) In the case of category (3) assets, the results were further written down by the factor } on account of restricted user. Materials and stores were revalued generally on the market price during the three months preceding 31 March 1921.
The buildings and machinery retained were revalued and classified in the 1921-22 Account.
Depreciation was charged in the Accounts on buildings and machinery in categories (r) and (2) at the old rates of 3% and 1o% respectively, but none was levied on category (3) assets. Only 50% of the depreciation on category (2) assets, however, were to be charged to costs of production, the other 50% being regarded as an expense in maintaining reserve capacity to be recovered by a special levy on the departments concerned so as not to inflate unduly the current costs of manufacture. These depreciation rules were adopted in I921-22.
A special payment from Army, Navy and Air Force Votes for maintaining reserve capacity was given effect to in 192324, and correspondence with the Treasury was printed in the O.F. Manufacturing Account for that year. 49 The payment consisted of a sum of£100,000 in respect to Woolwich, Waltham and Enfield, plus the 50% depreciation of category (2) assets, about {30,000, plus the balance of cost of maintaining the reserve factory at Hereford.
Non-depreciable assets, such as land, water-power, roads, mains and the permanent way which had not previously been treated as depreciable were to be written down to correct any errors in the records and by the factor } in the case of those classified as category (3). Mains were to be depreciable at certain rates but the other assets were to remain non-depreciable. Effect was given to these latter recommendations in the O.F. Account 1922-23, and the relevant correspondence was printed with the Account.
The post-war pattern at Woolwich was beginning to emerge. There were still three factories, though the Royal Laboratory, as such, had, after nearly 3oo years ofexistence, disappeared. The three manufacturing departments in 1922 were the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories, the Royal Ammunition Factory and the Royal Filling Factories. In 1924 the concentration of the non-ferrous group
4• 70/Gen. No./5,337. IOII
MATURITY
of shops commenced in the Royal Arsenal at an estimated cost of £28,745,°° and buildings not required by the Ordnance Factories were handed over to the Army Ordnance Department. This was followed by a rearrangement and modernization of forges. At the same time a gradual clearing up of the debris left by the war was taken in hand. Temporary buildings were removed, old stores were sorted out and sold, and sites generally were cleared. This 'spring cleaning' of the Royal Arsenal was a long process and it was not completed for an appreciable number of years.
On 4 March 1925, the tailors' shop (E5o") was destroyed by a fire which was discovered about 8.30 a.m. Being mainly of wooden construction the flames spread rapidly and all danger was over by
1 1 .o a.m. Two other buildings, namely a kitchen and dining room and a one storey erection used as a tailors' and saddlers' workshop were extensively damaged. Luckily no one was injured though the loss was estimated at {6o,ooo£7o,ooo.
A reduction of staff in the Ordnance Factories took place in 1925.°
In 1926 the question of fire prevention again came into prominence and the point was raised as to whether sprinklers should not be installed. This was referred to an Inter-Departmental Conference presided over by Colonel C. R. Gillett, Assistant Director of Artillery.52 The conference recommended that, having regard to the practice and experience of other departments, and to the heavy cost involved, the existing precautions against fire were sufficient. Where, however, access to the seat of a fire would be difficult or impossible, the question of installing sprinklers should be considered. These recommendations were approved and it was decided to introduce no sprinklers into the Royal Arsenal except in the pattern shop.53
The apportionment of general utility charges at Woolwich was the subject ofan Inter-Departmental Committee under the chairmanship of Mr B. M. Draper, Director of Finance, War Office, convened in 1926. All its recommendations were approved and adopted with effect from 1 April 1928.54
The following were the recommendations;
Police and Warders charges
1. 50% to be divided in proportion to the numbers employed in each
department.
2. 50% divided between:
(a) Manufacturing area, and
0 70/1/1,528. ·1 7o/Gen. No./6,204. "" 7o/Gen. No./6,091. +a 70/Gen. No./7,039. "C[46:70/Gen./6,334.
I012
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
(b)
Magazine area in proportion to the number of men policing these areas.
(a)
To be divided in proportion to floor areas
(b)
To be divided in proportion to acreage of land.
Fire Brigade charges
3. To be divided in proportion to floor areas covered by buildings and/or stores.
Pay Department charges
4. The costs against each department to be ascertained in a selected period each year, and the proportion of such costs to be used for the ensuing financial year.
Pumping Thames water charges
5. A technical estimate to be made of the proportion chargeable direct according to user. The balance of the cost to be pooled with the fire brigade.
Gasfor general lighting and lighting up expenses
6. To be divided in proportion to the numbers of employees in each department.
Canal and canal pumping establishment cost
7. To be borne by the Ordnance Factories.
Land costs
8. The division according to areas occupied to be revised in the light of the present distribution of total acreage.
Other items
9. No change to be made in the existing apportionment.
General
1o. Where the data for allocation of costs consist of numbers of personnel, the numbers to be taken from the monthly strength returns. In the other cases, in most of which the data are floor areas or acreage, the data are to be reviewed every three years.
In 1926, also, the question of minimum establishments for the Ordnance Factories again came to the fore. This was referred to an Inter-Departmental Committee under the chairmanship of Captain
H. D. King, M.P.55 Although all the Ordnance Factories came under review, only the ones at Woolwich will be recorded. The Committee divided its recommendations under these headings:
The Gun and Carriage Factory
The Ammunition and Filling Factories
The Engineering Department, Building
Works Department and the Clerical
Establishment
6» A/2,931. 60/Factories/395.
1013
MATURITY
Gun and Carriage Factory
I. The rate of discharges at present authorized for 1926 should be slackened so as to aim at a total strength of 1,650 instead of 1,500 by31 March 1927.
2.
During 1927, if available orders are again insufficient, an endeavour should be made gradually to approach a total 0f 1,500, Or as near as possible to it, and in this way ascertain by experience what is the practicable minimum that can be worked without endangering the power of rapidity and smoothly expanding in an emergency to the full output of which the retained plant and machinery are capable.
3.
The possibility of a reduction below 1,500 is not at present
contemplated.
Ammunition and Filling Factories
4. There should be no change at present in the minimum 0f 2,742. The numbers required for the orders placed in 1926 were 3,140.
These recommendations, approved in principle, were applied to the 0.F. Estimates for 1927, 1928 and 1929, and for these years the following provisional minimum numbers were approved:
1927 1928
R.G. & C.F.
1,575 1,590
R.A.F. and R.F.F.
No change
Engineering Department, Building Works Department and Clerical Establishment
7. It is not necessary to fix any minima for emergency purposes. The
numbers employed in any year should vary with the needs of the productive departments and services.
8. When in any one year the orders available are more than necessary to satisfy the minimum requirements of both the Ordnance Factories and the trade, and it is desired on grounds of economy or policy to place orders with the former involving the employment of more than the approved minimum numbers, it should be permissible to place such orders
provided their acceptance does not involve the employment of labour in exce:s of the prescribed nucleus, plus an approved margin (say an average of 5% on the nucleus throughout the year with a maximum of 1o9 at
any time). 'o
This elastic margin was approved with an average of 5% on the approved average numbers of the year and a maximum of 1o9,,.56
A Committee was set up in 1926 under the chairmanship of Mr Arthur Duckham57 to enquire in the research, design and experimental work on guns and ammunition. It reported on I December 1926, but as the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich were excluded
from its survey it does not concern this particular history. It may be stated, however, that the report wasted its sweetness on the desert
"" 6o/Factories/466.
"7 8/3/78.
1014
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
air since no action was taken on its recommendations some of which were distinctly unorthodox. It found its final resting place in a 'pigeon-hole'.
A major engineering undertaking was commenced in 1926 and it took ten years to complete thoroughly. This was the filling in of the canal from the swing bridge to its end and the removal of the swing bridge, in place of which a permanent roadway was constructed. The estimates for the work were as follows:
1926 1927 1928 £4,000 £3,700 £2,000 1930 1931 1934 {2,10o £ 500 £, 880
1929 £1,600 1937 £, 640
making a total of some £14,000.
Under modern conditions the further reaches of the canal were useless, and the land reclaimed by 1931 was of far greater value than a stretch of stagnant water which merely acted as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
The building of the Ordnance Factory central store, located on the western bank of the canal between the old swing bridge and the lock gates, was inter-related to the canal closure. The cost of this large structure was in the neighbourhood of£79,000, and.the work commencing in 1925 t00k about five years to complete. This was the type of storehouse dreamed of by the members of the Morley Committee in 1887, though it took forty years for that dream to come true.
The great flood in the Royal Arsenal took place at high water at 1.15a.m. on the morning of Saturday 7 January 1928. It was caused by a peculiar combination of wind and tide and did a good deal of damage. Water rose to such a height that the wharves were awash, the Pay Office almost surrounded by water, the river embankment was breached and the old boundary wall near the marshes was levelled. Many storehouses were flooded and much deterioration occurred in the stores housed therein. The height of the water and the strength of the tide, between them, carried off much material lying on the wharves. It was said by some that the flood was a gift from heaven for some storemen. Whether heaven was kind or not, it was certainly an excellent excuse for writing off deficient articles. To prevent further inundation, the river wall along the wharf was raised and considerable sums were spent in cleaning and repairing stores, particularly ammunition components, which had been rendered unserviceable by damp. Had the water risen another six inches all the basements of the Central Office would have been flooded to a depth of many feet. The overflow did not last long, barely half an hour, but that short tempestuous surge cost the country thousands of pounds.
1015
It was agreed in December 1929 that the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich should not normally undertake heavy repairs, but that, as an experiment, a number of vehicles should be reconditioned there and the work costed. Should the results prove favourable, all repairs of this nature were to be carried out at Woolwich while the central workshops were under construction. 58 In the following year it was decided that Woolwich should be used extensively for this purpose and that the factories should be recognized as the normal heavy repair shop for tanks and tracked vehicles in addition to acting as a reserve repair depot for any overflow from Feltham. 59 By the end of October 1931, 41 vehicles had been repaired at an average cost of £214 each.
In 1930, one week's annual leave with pay for all Ordnance Factory employees was sanctioned. 60 In the same year the 'Ordnance Factories' collectively became the 'Royal Ordnance Factories' and C.S.O.F's new title became 'Chief-Superintendent, Royal Ordnance
Factories'. 61 A further committee was appointed in February 1930 under the
chairmanship of Sir Warren Fisher of the Treasury to study the question of alternative work in the Ordnance Factories and similar Government Establishments.62 It reported in April 1930, stating that the nucleus establishment of the factories should be reviewed in the light of current military requirements, and that other types of production could only bejustified when normal work was insufficient for the nucleus establishment. No review was undertaken as a result of these recommendations, the War Office views on the subject being set out in Cabinet Memorandum N.E(3r) 19. Normal work was considered sufficient. 63 This subject was closely related to the larger problems under consideration by the May Committee on National Expenditure.64 This was set up in March 1931 and reported on
July 1931. Only two of its recommendations affected the factories at Woolwich. These were:
(a) Morris award to industrial employees
The preferential bonus granted to Government industrial employees, paid on an engmeermg trade basis in the Royal Ordnance Factories and other Establishments since 1924, should be abolished. 65
8 C[59:3/General/324. " 57/General/5,838. "0 6o/Gen. No./770. 61 1/Gen. No./3,771. -CP 149(30):70/General/7,219. " 70/Gen/7,884.
' Cpd 3@zo. 16/General/6,769. k This was approved with effect from I October 1931 The bonus departmentally nown as the 'Engineering War Advances' was reduced to 12s. a week for time-workers and 1os. a week for piece-workers (60/General/912).
1016
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
(b) A review of the Woolwich establishments should be undertaken immediately. The necessity of placing orders in excess of the amount needed to keep the nucleus establishment fully employed should then be considered. Should distribution of work between the factories and the trade be desirable, regard should be had to their respective
66
costs.
The following main buildings were erected in the Royal Arsenal between the two World Wars:
(a)
The box repair shop was converted into the box repair canteen for men working in the S.W. portion of the Royal Arsenal in 1919 at a cost of £2,955.67
(b)
Large general O.F. Store on the canal bank D42 1925-1930.
(c)
Research Establishment buildings, storehouses etc. including the main Research Department Office-1929.
(d)
Experimental ammunition factory shops D75 1929-1930.
(e)
New S.A. experimental range 1930-1933.
(f)
W.D. Chemist: Main blocks of laboratories on Frog Island 1934-1938.
(g)
Extensions to Middle Gate House 1937.
(h)
New offices and laboratories for P. & E.O. 1937-1938.
(i)
Boiler house and substations. P. & E.O. Group 1938-1939.
In addition to the above, the under-mentioned building programme was carried out, the various items commencing in the years shown.
Year Factory Project Estimated Cost
1920 R.L. Medal plant £ 3,800 1920 R.L. Silver casting plant £ 5,930 1920 R.G. & C.F. Building locomotives 53,000 1920 General Increased supply of electrical
energy £26,0oo 1920 General Hydraulic plant 15,000 1920 General Extension to gas factory £55,105 1921 E.&W. Y6 Boiler house altered to take Laboratories two additional boilers Economiser and water softening plant 4 6,780 1921I Filling Alteration to building for Factories removal of shellite plant from the old lyddite establishment £ 9,200 192I General Improve coal bunkers, old central power station £ 3,500 1921 General Alternate power supply at Land's End Station £ 9,010 Go The nucleus establishments at Woolwich were last fixed in 1926 (King Committee Report, see note 55), and the Secretary of State decided not to make any reduction in these establishments (Fisher Committee Report, see note 62). 67 Approval given 16 June 1918. OF/69/435/3): MMW/OF/General/734.
1017
Year Factory
1922 Filling
Factories
1922 General
General
General
General
General
General
General
General
General
General
General
General
R.A.F.
General
R.G.F.
R.A.F.
R.F.F.
General
R.F.F.
1930 General
193I General
MATURITY
Projeci
New fence enclosing H.E. establishment and Danger Buildings to replace temporary fencing Building services in connection with the concentration at the boiler house at the auxiliary hydraulic pumping station Concentration of manufacturing shops Rearrangement and modernization of forges Concentration and improvement of storage conditions Modernization of power plant at Central Power Station Concentration of air compressors and hydraulic pumps in Y.12 area Reappropriation of disused smiths' shop as a locomotive running shed Renewal of electric mains New drainage culvert to lock gates with connections Filling in the canal Improve road and rail access to Middle swing bridge Concentration of tool rooms Permanent roof and office for
fuze and case factory River wall to Warren wharf Extension of facilities for making 8 inch guns Reorganization and modernization of shell factory and iron and steel foundry Rearrangement of water mains Extension of standard gauge railway facilities in lieu of those of narrow gauge Installation of electricity in place of gas in the Danger Building area Extension and improvement of coal storage facilities Services to reduce risks of floods
from the Thames
1018
Estimated Cost
£€ 4,687
£ 7,880 £28,745 £42,445 £78,700 £ 6,750
£ 3,570
£ 6,930 £ 4,500
£ 6,900 {10,00o
£ 4,890 £ 3,015
16,440 {20,00o
£ 3,300
£ 6,300
£ 9,400
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
Year Factory Project Estimated Cost
1931 R.F.F. Reinstatement of buildings for fuze filling destroyed by fire £31,000
1931 R.A.F. General Improvements for facilities for lacquering components Reprovision of buildings for £ 4,860
1934 1934 R.G.F. General steam raising Modernization of forging plant and equipment for the production of heavy guns Rearrangement of fire mains £15,900 £ 4,45° £ 6,000
1934 General Renewal of river wall at N.E. wharf 15,800
General Provision of additional accom
modation for the drawing office, Central Office £, 8,620
1937 R.A.F. Reconstruction and re-equipment of annealing and cleaning
shop for rolling mills £10,575
1937 1938 1938 1938 1938 R.C.D. General R.G.F. General R.F.F. General Modernization and the heightening of the main machine shop Provision of a box-store New plant Duplicate electricity supply Reconditioning reserve filling capacity Cranes for naval guns £85,000 £ 7,800 £250,000 £ 67,900 £108,000 £ 9,500
Although since 1923 successive British Governments had been prepared to go to great lengths in appeasing Germany who had in fact been relieved of the more burdensome clauses of the Versailles treaty, the advent of Hitler to power in 1933 introduced the most disturbing effects into the European scene. From this date a series of infractions and threatened infractions by the Third Reich rearmament, the abortive attempt to destroy Austrian independence in 1934 and the occupation of the Rhineland in 1935, together with the violence of Nazi propaganda and Gestapo action, convinced the Crown that conditions on the continent were rapidly deteriorating. In fact, they proved sufficiently alarming to lead the British Government in I 935 to embark on a rearmament programme.
Woolwich was immediately affected. Orders poured in, the number of employees increased, and the industrial life in the factories became more exacting. However welcome such a quickening of the pulse with its accompanying larger pay packets might be to the workers concerned it was not a healthy symptom. It arose from the state of unrest in Europe and proved to be opening gambits of a
1019
67
MATURITY
future war. The first draft of the Passive Air Defence scheme for the Royal Arsenal, which outlined the steps for civil defence which should be taken in the event of war, was prepared on 2 December 1935. There was a general meeting with the Chief Superintendent, Royal Ordnance Factories, in the chair to consider this draft on 18 December 1935. Arising out of this a standing committee under the chairmanship of the Military Assistant to C.S.O.F. was appointed to prepare a detailed Passive Air Defence scheme. It held its first meeting on 16 March 1936. In due course the final scheme was prepared and approved with the proviso that no money was then to be spent on it.
During the next two or three years, world events became ever blacker. In 1935 Italy, taking advantage of the growing preoccupation of France, England and Russia with Germany, seized the opportunity to invade and conquer Abyssinia; in July 1937 Japan launched a war of aggression against China; in 1938 Germany annexed Austria and the Sudetenland; and in the spring of 1939 Italy annexed Albania. This was the writing on the wall; the inevitability of gradualness in slipping into war.
Whether this sudden influx of work, entailing the recruitment of additional untrained labour, had any bearing on the run of explosions which commenced in 1936 is impossible to determine. The apparent association ofrearmament with a higher accident rate may have been purely coincidental. Nevertheless, since the termination of hostilities in 1918, Woolwich had been mercifully free from alarming incidents with the exception of one serious fire and explosion which occurred at the fuze and primer branch, Royal Filling Factories at 3.20 p.m. on 4 March 1927. The estimated damage, {gr,ooo, was made up as
follows:
Buildings and machinery (capital value)Contents of buildings other than machineryMaking good the damage to services, plant etc. £ 4,000 £10,ooo £ 7,000
The disaster was caused by the explosion of message-carrying
rockets. The building in which it occurred immediately burst into flames, and the smaller explosions which followed sent burning material in all directions, adjoining buildings being set on fire. The first explosion was heard throughout the town of Woolwich. Debris fell i~ the streets and the window of a newsagent's shop in Plumstead, a mile away from the seat of the explosion, was hit by a piece of
rocket and shattered. No one was killed but twenty-nine employees were injured though none of them seriously. The list of the victims was as follows:
J. Smith; H. White; T. Mills; H. Moore; H. Barton; C. Keeble;
J. v. Boneface; S. Ford; S. Riley; Purcell Smith; F. W. Cowing;
1020
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
F. W. Freeman; J. C. Bloomfield; V. J. Marriott; F. Doye; L. Hellen;
G. H. Curtis; S. T. Clayton; H.J. Percival; F. Crawley; A.H. Evered;
W. ]. Deaves; H. A. Butler; C. Walker; A. Birks; A. Bates; G. Barker;
J. Thorn and one other.
Over forty fire-engines were in attendance and were still playing water on the ruins at 11.0 p.m. Water had to be obtained from the Thames as the hydrants were found to be frozen. Four of the six sheds of the primer and fuze factory were gutted.
On 26 February 1936 an explosion occurred in the flling factories at 2.0 p.m. Luckily there was no fire and no one was hurt. A serious explosion took place in the cruciform building (R38) in the Research Department on 8 July 1936. The following were killed:
Commander P. A. M. Long, R.N. Mr F. C. Lewis: Chemist Mr J. Brignall: Laboratory Assistant Mr S. Cooper: Charge Hand Mr W, Johnson: Charge Hand
and Mr E. Clark was injured. The explosion occurred during an experimental filling of a H.E. shell by the screw method, and the resulting fire was reported at
2.41 p.m. on that day. The cruciform building was destroyed, building R37 was damaged by fire and water, and other buildings had their glass and uralite broken. The fire was extinguished, and the fire brigade withdrawn at 4.15 p.m. The amount of structural damage was estimated at £1,008 and the stores destroyed were
worth /475. 14s. 3d. The Court of Enquiry under the presidency of Rear-Admiral
E. O. B. S. Osborne, Vice-President of the Ordnance Committee, assembled on 13 July 1936, the other members being Colonel
R. A. Thomas, H.M. Chief Inspector of Explosives; Colonel Willis, Research Department; Mr P.J. Hinks, Superintendent Royal Filling Factories; Lieut.-ColonelJ. P.A. Montague, Deputy Chief Inspector of Armaments and Lieut.-Colonel 0. F. G. Hogg, Military Assistant to C.S.O.F. who also acted as Secretary.
The funeral of the victims took place at Plumstead Cemetery on Tuesday 14July 1936.
There was an explosion at 4.15 a.m. on 1 September 1936 at No. 37 Building, Cannon Cartridge Factory, R.F.F. The building itself was almost completely wrecked. One man, W. J. Rixen, was
thrown to the ground and sustained a slight cut on his right hand. Another explosion occurred in the afternoon of Thursday 27 January 1938 in Building No. 121c, primer branch R.F.F. The damage was considerable for so small an amount of explosive; only about I lb. of composition was in the press. No one was injured. On g February
I02I
1939 yet another explosion took place at 2.15 p.m. in the Cap and Detonator Factory. Buildings No. 22c and B were demolished while buildings Nos. 22 and 22A suffered slight damage to their roofs and windows. No one was hurt. A further explosion occurred at 5.10 a.m. on Wednesday 17 May 1939 in Building No. 121A, primer branch, Royal Filling Factories. While cartridges, signal, green 1 ½ inch, Mark VT/A were being pressed, one or more exploded, completely wrecking the shop. Four employees, G. F. Shaw, E. C. Louis,
L. R. Nisbet and J. Oliver were seriously injured.
The last accident before the Second World War broke out occurred at the proof-butts on the morning of Thursday 18 May 1939. It took place at 9.45 a.m. during the testing of a QF.3.7 inch A.A. gun. A shell hadjust been loaded when the explosion happened. Five men were killed and six injured, two of them slightly.
Those killed were B.S.M. H. Constantine; Staff Sergeant E. R. Brown; Gunner C. Shepherd; Gunner W. Griffiths and J. Barron. The injured who were retained in hospital were Q.M.S. B. McGill· Gunner P. W. Smith; R. Samuels and A. Atwill. The other two were allowed to go home after treatment.
Finally, as a curtain-raiser to the conflagrations which were soon to follow, there was a fire in A15, a government store, on the afternoon of Wednesday 31 June 1939. It was not serious and was soon under control.
Rearmament had caused the building of the new Royal Ordnance Factories dotted about the country to be speeded up, and in 1938 the fuze factory at Woolwich was closed consequent upon the opening of the Royal Ordnance Factory at Blackburn.
By the summer of 1938 conditions in Europe had deteriorated badly. Hitler had marched into Austria and war appeared imminent over the Sudeten district of Czechoslovakia. The outlook appeared black indeed. The factories at Woolwich were by then working overtime m an effort to overtake the years which the locusts had eaten. During July of that year the main machine shop (C2) of the Royal Carriage Department was re-equipped, raised in height and
reroofed. The work, being urgent, went on day and night till it was finished. The Mumch crisis finally set the stage for war conditions m the Royal Arsenal. Air-raid shelters were constructed, first aid posts were built and other civil defence services carried out. The total cost of these preparations amounted to almost 1,125,000. The last shelters to be built were those for the official quarters in Dial Square. These quarters had seen many changes in their long and
varied history, but this was an innovation quite outside the range oftheir experience. Their coal cellars were fitted with an emergency exit, the walls were properly rendered and they were equipped as shelters in case of need.
1022
THE UNEASY YEARS BETWEEN
Owing to the passage of the Ministry of Supply Act on 13 July 1939,68 the Royal Ordnance Factories were transferred from the War Department to that Ministry. This was their fourth master since their beginnings 26o years ago.
Mr Neville Chamberlain's visits to Munich and Godesburg brought a respite, but it soon became obvious that war had not been averted but only postponed. If proof were needed, the further excursions of Mussolini into Albania, and the incidents of Memel and Danzig supplied the evidence. The immediate cause of the Second World War was the determination of Germany to impose her will on Poland, notwithstanding the guarantees given by France and Great Britain. When this fact became self-evident the end was near. Blackout work commenced a few weeks before the outbreak of hostilities and Woolwich was ready to face the fatal day.
When the sirens sounded at 11.30 a.m. on that Sunday morning of 3 September 1939, the passing of the Ordnance Factories from a peace to a war footing took place smoothly as they had had time to prepare since 1936. It was quite different from the sudden shock they had experienced in the autumn of 1914.
s8 a and 3 George VI, Cap. 38.
1023
Chapter 24
The Second World War and afterwards
The Second World War had far less effect on the Royal Arsenal than the conflict of 1914-1918. The reasons for this are not far to seek. In the First World War the Royal Ordnance Factories were the hub of armament production. They stood alone in their strength and acted as guide, philosopher and friend to the numerous national factories which were hurriedly brought into existence. Woolwich was the great centre for forging weapons of war and had it failed in its task or been put out of commission by enemy action, the resultant effect on the country might have been disastrous. It was the 'Queen bee' of the munitions world, and without the queen the hive cannot prosper.·A different picture presented itself in 1939. Then the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolwich were but three among the many. The load was well distributed for the mother factories had given birth to many robust and thriving children. The new Royal Ordnance Factories were planned on modern lines, equipped with the latest machinery, and most of them were well in the saddle before the first bomb dropped on English soil. The size and importance of Woolwich between the years 19391945 were, therefore, less than they had been twenty-five years earlier. The closing down ofits factories, though grievous in its effect on the nation's efforts, would not
have been a major national calamity. Consequently, the numbers employed never reached the heights they did in the earlier war, and there were not the same problems of housing and transport.
In one other respect the impact of the two wars on Woolwich differed. This was in the scale of air attack. Bombing in the First World War was negligible; in the Second it assumed very considerable proportions and much damage was inflicted.
During the period of the 'phoney' war, work proceeded as usual, though night-shifts, Sunday work and overtime were instituted. For a year the place was unmolested till the blow fell on that fateful afternoon of Saturday 7 September 1940, at 4.55 p.m. German planes, approaching London, wheeled over Chislehurst towards the Royal Arsenal. They attacked in three waves. It was a perfect summer's afternoon when the sirens wailed. At 6.40 p.m. when the 'all clear" sounded, there was a pall ofsmoke overhead the grass was shrivelled and blackened, and the glory ofthe day had departed. The sky looked as if a thunderstorm were about to break. This was the worse raid inflicted on the Royal Arsenal. Many H.E. and incendiary bombs fell, 53 people were killed and 247 injured, the new fuze factory
1024
MATURITY
and several storehouses were burnt down, the filling factories and the light gun factory were badly damaged and the Central Offices were hit. Yet such was the accuracy of the bombing that no bomb fell outside the Arsenal walls. The ground shook under the weight of metal dropped and the experience was one not easily to be forgotten. Like dogs returning to their vomit, the enemy came back during the night to bomb around the fires they had started earlier in the afternoon.
There were two other serious raids from the point ofview ofhuman suffering. One by a single flying bomb which landed in the neighbourhood of the pipe fitters shop and caused the death of I 7 workers and injured 1oo others; and the other by a rocket which struck the south boring mill. This killed 6 men and injured 94 others.
Altogether, there were 25 raids on the Royal Arsenal, some by massed attack and others by single missiles, and the total casualty list was 103 killed and 770 injured. Of these deaths, 7o were brought about by some 40o H.E. bombs, 27 by eight flying bombs and 6 by SL'< V rockets. Considering the size of the Establishment, its pos1t1on on the river and its crowded shops, it was providential that such a small proportion of employees suffered at the hands of the Luftw~jfe.
During the early part of the war, work ceased when the sirens sounded and men vacated the shops, but later on an internal warning system was installed whereby a bell sounded only when specific danger threatened. In this manner production was kept gomg and subsequent attacks affected output but little. . .
The output of the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolwich durmg the Second World War was:
Guns 11,000 Shell 13,800,000 Cartridge cases 14,500,000 Bombs 5,000,000 S.A.A. 1,350,000,000
Shortly after the commencement of the war filling activities ceased almost completely and the area sustained fairly extensive damage by enemy action. This was a departure from the pattern set by the First World War.
The numbers of employees were:
September 1940-32,500
November 1940-19,000l
February 1943 -23,000
August 1945-15,500
The highest figure was thus less than half the amount of the maximum strength employed in the First World War.
1 After the bombing on 7 September 1g940.
1025
THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND AFTERWARDS
New construction work at the Royal Arsenal between 1939 and 1945 was estimated at over £1,000,000.2
Sunday shifts ceased in the middle of the war when the factories reverted to a six-day week. Blackout was strictly enforced till 23 April 1945, when all such restrictions were removed.
In 1942 the first written constitution regulating relations between the trade unions and the management was agreed and accepted for the Royal Ordnance Factory, Cardonald. This was modified later and became known as the Ministry of Supply 'Model' constitution. It was eventually instituted at all the engineering R.O.F's with minor modifications to suit local conditions.
On 13 January 1943 a Turkish mission visited the Royal Arsenal and the notes prepared for its members give a cross-sectional view of the Royal Ordnance Factories for that year. The information vouchsafed was as follows :
Area ofFactory
Production department 6,000,000 square feet Administrative department 250,000 square feet
Staff Male Female Total
Manual Labour (x)
13,874 6,361 20,235
Purchase department
46 83 129
Accounts and costing 120
24
Clerical and drawing office
317 698 1,0 14154
Miscellaneous (worktakers etc.)
548 114 662
Managers, foremen, etc.
623 4I 664
C.S.O.F. and Superintendents 6
Repairs and maintenance 6 (included in (x) above)
3,633 136 3,769
Power Supp!),
Central Power Station plus a supplementary supply from the Woolwich Borough Council. 63,979,260 units p.a.cost per unit 0.805d. Gas supp!),
The Royal Arsenal Gas Factory plus a supplementary supply from the South Metropolitan Gas Company. 467,306,200 cubic feet p.a.-Cost per 1,0oo cubic feet 4s. 11.072d.
Water Supp!),
Metropolitan Water Board plus river supply for fires. 762,527,00 gallons-Cost per 1,000 gallons 11.177d.
Fuel Supply and Storage
Sea and rail-borne coal plus foundry coke. Storage in bunkers and open dumps.
1 History of Second World War. Volume Works and Buildings, p. 28.
1026
MATURITY
Transport
Railway connections, loading, unloading, motor transport etc.
130 miles (including marshalling yards) of standard gauge track, 37 railway locomotives, 1,350 trucks, 284 road transport vchicles, 124 trailers and 66 electric factory trucks. Connection with Southern Railway.
Housing
There is no housing estate. Police, members of the fire brigade and certain key personnel live in the Royal Arsenal.
Training System
Trade and engineering apprentices are trained for the workshops and supervisory functions, and technical assistants with suitable qualifications for works managem nt. Dilutees are also trained.
Welfare
There is a Superintendent of Labour assisted by labour and welfare officers. There arc several surgeries and first aid posts staffed by medical officers, orderlies and nurses. Large canteens exist where meals can be obtained while trolleys with cakes, etc. go the round of the shops and offices. In addition there is a sports association and a social club. Entertainments such as concerts, cinema and radio are given in the canteens during meal hours.
As the Royal Ordnance Factories were, during the Second World War, working to the limit of their capacity, there was little or no opportunity to undertake a controlled expansion with careful organization. Several defects were revealed by the Select Committee on National Expenditure in their Eleventh Report of 1941-1942, 3 and these have since been more or less rectified. At the termination of hostilities similar problems to those which had arisen in 1918 beset the factories at Woolwich though in a more limited degree. Numbers had to be reduced and a shortage of work developed. The main question which arose was how to retain the organization in the factories and keep in their services the workers who had acquired skill and experience in the production of armaments. Following the precedent of 1920, it was decided to take on alternative work on products other than munitions. This time it was railway trucks not locomotives, and knitting frames for the silk stocking industry in place of milk churns. Between 1945 and 1949 Woolwich turned out over 11,000 16-ton mineral wagons to assist national recovery. The knitting frames, automatic and multiple head, were completed by the end of 1952. In addition to these commercial products, small areas of the filling factories were reopened for boiling out filled service ammunition and by 1950, a small amount of filling, other
• H.C. 102 of 1941-1942.
1027
THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND AFTER WARDS
than H.E., had been started. When costed on the basis of the overhead allocation employed, this alternative work appeared to show a substantial loss which was investigated by the Select Committee on Estimates 1947-48.4 This, however, may be regarded as a blessing in disguise for it did retain the requisite labour to cope with the large scale production in armaments which was resumed in 1950.
In the summer of 1947, comprehensive regulations concerning labour conditions at the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolwich were approved. These were set out in a Ministry of Supply circular5 dated 12 June 1947, wherein was announced the agreement reached between the Ministry and the shop stewards of the Royal Arsenal. The original draft, referred to as a 'Model constitution to regulate relations between the management and the Trade Unions', was agreed to by the Woolwich Arsenal Shop Stewards Committee (skilled), the Woolwich Arsenal Joint Shop Stewards Committee (semi-skilled and unskilled), and the Building Trades Shop Stewards Committee (skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled) on 25 April 1947. Arising out of this a Combined Shop Stewards Committee representing the confederation of shipbuilding and engineering unions and the national federation of building trades operatives was established as well as aJoint Factory Committee. The circular lays down the procedure for regulating trade union consultation and the settlement of disputes. It had taken many years to reach this final
goal.
The main constructional operations since the Second World War have been the conversion of certain buildings to sub-stations and the demolition of those of the old original Royal Laboratory. The latter were re-erected in 1950-1951 on the site of the burnt out fuze factory and have become Royal Ammunition Factory miscellaneous machine shops. In the domestic field, official quarters Nos. 5-8, Dial Square have been converted into flats which have made them more suitable as modern residences. 7
A small piece of ground covering about three acres at the western end of the Royal Arsenal was sold on 28 June 1950 to the British Electricity Authority, 6 thus making the western boundary conform to that of the original Warren, except that 'Rolts' Lane' has been retained within the confines of government property.
After the war, the Royal Ordnance Factories were divided into four groups, known as the explosive group, the ammunition group, the filling group, and the guns, carriages and tank group. This organization, however, did not include the factories at Woolwich which remained as a special unit under the jurisdiction of the Chief
' Seventh Report, H.C. 2oo of 1947-48. •L 5/1920. • 133/1,571:4/Land/88:4/R.O.F./60.
7 Dial Square is no longer a residential area.
1028
Model of horse boring-mill
.i
¢ ..
Eli
.. ·---------· I '
--·~1 • . ~_:..;,.~ -----:· ---<= •
Girls making cartridges, 1862
1028
MATURITY
Superintendent who ranked with the Deputy Director-General of Ordnance Factories. The Superintendent of each provincial factory is responsible to the director of the group in which his factory lies, and these four directors in turn are under the immediate control of the Deputy Director-General of Ordnance Factories. On the same level as the group directors are the Director of Ordnance Factories (Engineering) who is responsible for the servicing of the factories and the installation of plant and the Director of Ordnance Factories (Accounts) who co-ordinates the factory budgets and presents them to the Directorate. At the head of this organization stands the Director-General of Ordnance Factories. The outlying Royal Ordnance Factories thus form an integrated whole while Woolwich, in a privileged position, exercised extra-territorial status.
Soon after rearmament was under way a Committee was set up with the following terms of reference:
To investigate on behalf of the Minister of Supply the general organization controlling the Royal Ordnance Factories and to report on any modifications which in its view, if introduced, would tend to ensure closer control and/or greater efficiency.
In accordance with the main recommendation of this Committee, the Minister of Supply announced on 31 March 1952 the establishment of a Board of Management for the Royal Ordnance Factories under the chairmanship of the Controller of Supplies (Munitions). The control of the factory organization was vested in that board. A problem which now became pressing was the future of the Royal Arsenal. When expansion of armament work began in 195o, the question of finding the best use for the Arsenal factories became acute. On the one hand it was desirable that with its skilled staff it should bear a full part in the programme, but on the other strategic considerations made it inexpedient to concentrate too large an amount of work in such a vulnerable place.
The whole matter was investigated by the Select Committee on Estimates and their findings were recorded in their Twelfth Report Session 1951-52, which was ordered to be printed by the House of Commons on 28 October 1952.
It appeared to this Committee that the Royal Arsenal was in danger of suffering a gradual running down which would be largely concealed owing to its method of cost accounting. In 1952 it was engaged in filling, ammunition manufacture, gun manufacture and the repair of tanks and vehicles, but the Committee formed the opinion that the policy ofundertaking experimental work and 'shortrun' orders, which had long been in vogue, conflicted with the execution of normal production; in addition they considered that there was a danger of neither activity being properly integrated
1029
THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND AFTERWARDS
with the organization of the Royal Ordnance Factories as a whole and doubted whether the total output was giving an adequate return for the money being spent on it. The Committee were also surprised to learn that much of the filling and small arm ammunition potential were unused at Woolwich. During their visits to the Royal Arsenal the Committee ascertained that much of the current machinery was worn out or obsolescent and that production could be improved if more modern equipment was installed. They came to the conclusion from the size of the factory floor space (9,403,000 square feet), of which only a small portion was in use, and from the numbers employed (9,000), that this vast conglomeration of work
shops was uneconomic and, as the true costs of production were never recorded, the loss to the public was hidden.
The Committee in their report concluded that the Royal Arsenal was regarded by the Ministry of Supply as something of a white elephant, but that some special use could be made of its capabilities. They suggested certain forms of specialized work of a maintenance or experimental nature, but came definitely to the conclusion that the work performed in the Royal Arsenal no longer warranted its existence as a separate entity outside the general organization of the Royal Ordnance Factories, and recommended that the three
separate factories should be incorporated in the respective production groups of the R.O.F. organization with their Superintendents functionally responsible to the group directors concerned.
The Committee appreciated the arguments for keeping the Royal Arsenal in production, which rest upon the need for keeping war potential in reserve, both by maintaining the factories themselves and by retaining the skill of the men employed in them. They formed the opinion, however, that unless the Arsenal was reorganized and given a clearly defined programme in the same way as other Royal Ordnance Factories, its value as war potential would seriously diminish. Moreover, they were convinced that its maintenance in Its present condition entailed a serious waste of public money and reduced the value obtained by the Services for the outlay in the
R.O.F. vote. The Committee therefore recommended that the question of the use of the Royal Arsenal and its fuller integration with the whole organization of the Royal Ordnance Factories should be given immediate attention by the R.O.F. Board, that the possibilities of concentrating the work and releasing as much as possible of
the site for other development should be carefully examined, and that a decision should be reached at the earliest possible
moment.
To implement the findings of the Select Committee on Estimates a committee under Sir Donald Perrott was appointed in 1953. It reported in the summer of that year.
1030
MATURITY
Its recommendations submitted to the Minister of Supply were broadly that:
(a)
The filling factories should be abolished.
(b)
The Royal Ammunition Factory and the Royal Gun and Carriage Factories should be combined to form The Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich.
(c)
An area of some r 12 acres should be sold as a Trading Estate.
(d)
An Estates Management Department should be set up. These proposals were to lie fallow till 31 October 1953 so that in the meantime representations from Woolwich workers and other interested bodies could be made, for it was realized that, if accepted, they would alter fundamentally the character of the Royal Arsenal. It was only natural that a certain amount of opposition to the scheme should have been voiced in the local press. However, in the end, circumstances proved too strong and the recommendations of the Perrott Committee were accepted though some four years were to elapse before they were fully implemented. The Royal Arsenal Estate, set up in 1953, was made responsible for all common services affecting the Royal Arsenal and for negotiating through the Lands Branch the disposal of land rendered surplus in the altered conditions visualized. This body was placed under an official styled the Superintendent, Royal Arsenal Estate. About 100 acres between Griffin Manorway and Harrow Manorway were sold in 1954 to the London County Council as a trading estate and the first tenant was Fords of Dagenham who took a portion of this land for their business on the western boundary adjoining Griffin Manorway. In 1955, the title of ChiefSuperintendent, Royal OrdnanceFactories was dropped in favour of that of Senior Superintendent, Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich to indicate the reduced scope of manufacture which would henceforth take place in the Royal Arsenal. In the same year, the post of Military Assistant was abolished. The Filling Factory was vacated and finally demolished between the years 1955 and 1961. In 1957, the Royal Gun and Carriage Factory and the Royal Ammunition Factory were shut down, and the Royal Ordnance Factory which finally emerged as a result was divided into two groups known as the Development and Experimental Department and the Production Department, each under a separate Superintendent. The resulting factory, as its departmental names imply, develops new ideas and produces sample equipments for trial. It no longer makes armaments in bulk for the fighting Services. Although the Engineering Department (originally the Mechanical Engineering
Department) remains, the title of Chief Mechanical Engineer has been altered to that of Superintendent, Engineering Services.
1031
THE SECOND WORLD WAR AND AFTERWARDS
All these changes have profoundly affected the status of the Royal Arsenal. In 1959, the Royal Ordnance Factories reverted to the War Department on the demise of the Ministry of Supply. Time with his silent sickle has struck repeatedly at Woolwich. The
Royal Dockyard is no more. The Royal Military Academy has closed its doors and the garrison has been greatly reduced in numbers. Now the Royal Arsenal has been stricken. There is more than a touch of sadness in the fate of this great institution after its centuries of splendid history. No longer does it remain the all-embracing national repository of armament lore producing every warlike store from alpha to omega, containing as it once did the macrocosm of research, design, experiment, manufacture, inspection and storage. Shorn of its pre-eminence it has become one Royal Ordnance Factory among the many. Change of form or function does not necessarily imply decline; decay only supervenes if the will to adapt prove lacking. The future prosperity of the Royal Arsenal, therefore, depends upon its power of adaptability. The government manufacturing departments at Woolwich were founded under conditions totally dissimilar to those existing today. In the seventeenth century they were situated among spacious meadows in the heart of the Kentish countryside, they had ample room to expand and they were the sole purveyors of munitions to the armed forces of the Crown. What was the picture after the Second World War? The factories, no longer unique, were immured in a congested residential area, their layout was a heartache to modern planners, much of their
machinery was in reserve and they are in an exposed locality. The passage of the years had confined them in a topographical straitjacket and had robbed them of their ability to manoeuvre. These were grave factors with which to contend, and however much they were to be regretted they had to be faced; and faced they were in 1953.
The question is, therefore: 'Can the Royal Arsenal with its traditions of service, its accumulated experience, its technical knowledge and its operative skill surmount the adverse circumstances in which it finds itself and survive as a famous government Establishment, or will it eventually decline in prestige and prosperity?' Some think that its days as a notable institution are numbered, while
others consider that like the phoenix it will rise triumphant from the ashes of the past. Time alone will show which school of thought is correct.
'To improve the golden moment of opportunity and catch the good that is within our reach is the great art oflife.'
Appendices
APPENDIX I
Keepers of the Wardrobe, Masters-General ofthe Ordnance and subsequent Armament Chiefs
Treasurers or Keepers of the Wardrobe
1165-1177 Gilbert the Wardrober
Clerks
Odo Nicholas Peter of Rivaux { Walter of Brackley Walter of Brackley Walter of Kirkham
Treasurers
1227-1228 Luke the Chaplain 1228-1231 Ralph the Breton
Peter of Rivaux
1232-1234
Keepers
Walter of Kirkham 1236-1240 Geoffrey the Templar 1240-1241 Peter de Aigue blanche 1241-1254 Peter Chaceporc
1234-1236
Keepers of the Great Wardrobe
1253-1257 Roger de Ros
Richard of Ewell
Robert of Linton 1264-1265 {
1257-1264
Hugh of the Tower Hugh of the Tower { Richard of Ewell Richard of Ewell { John of Sutton Richard of Ewell { William of Arundel Giles de Oudenarde { Adenettus Adenettus
1284-1286 {
Hamo de le Legh 1287-1295 Roger de Lisle 1295-1300 John Husthwaite 1300-1320 Ralph Stokes 1320-1321 William Cusance 1321-1323 Gilbert Wigton
68 1035
APPENDIX I
Keepers ofthe Privy Wardrobe at the Tower ofLondon
1323-1343 1344-1353 1353-1360 1360-1365 1365-1377 1378-1381 1381-1382 1382-1396 1396-1399 1399-1405 1405-1407 1407-1414
1437
-1450 1450-1456 1456-1460 1460 1461-1463 1463-1477 1477-1482 1482-1483 1483-1485 1485-1494 1494-1495 1495-1508
1511-1515
1515-1536 1536-1653 1543-1547
1547-1554 1554-1560 1560-1589 1585-1586
1590-1597
1597-1600
1603-1606 1608-1629
John Flete Robert Mildenhall William Rothwell Henry Snaith John Sleaford John Hatfield John Hermesthorpe
Randolph Hatton John Lowick John Norbury Henry Somer Simon Flete
Masters ofthe Ordnance
Nicholas Merbury William Gloucestre
France) Gilbert Par John Hampton Thomas Vaughan JohnJudde Thomas Vaughan Philip Herveys
John Wode
John Sturgeon
Thomas Audeley
Sir Rauf Bigod
(in Normandy and
Sir Richard Gyleford
Sir Sampson Norton
Sir Robert Clifford
Sir Sampson Norton
Sir William Skeffington
Sir Christopher Morris
Sir Thomas Seymour (afterwards I st
Lord Seymour of Sudeley)
Sir Thomas Hoby
Sir Richard Southwell
Ambrose, 1st Earl of Warwick, K.G.
Sir Philip Sidney (Joint Master)
(Office in commission)
Great Master ofthe Ordnance
Robert, 2nd Earl of Essex, K.G.
Masters-General ofthe Ordnance
Charles, 1st Earl of Devonshire, K.G. George, 1st Lord Carew of Clopton (afterwards 1st Earl of Totnes)
1036
1629-1634 1634-1642 1642 1644 1644-1649
1682--1689
1689-1690 1693-1702 1702-1712 1712 1712 1714-1722 1722-1725 1725-1740
1742-1749 1755-1758 1759-1763
1763-1770 1772-1782
1784-1795 1795-1801 1801--1806 1806-1807
1807--1810 1810-1818 1819-1827 1827-1828
APPENDIX I
Sir Horatio Vere (afterwards I st Lord
Vere of Tilbury) Sir Thomas Stafford (acting) Mountjoy, 1st Earl of Newport John, 1st Earl of Peterborough Henry, 1st Lord Percy of Alnwick Ralph, 1st Lord Hopton of Stratton,
K.G. Sir William Compton
John, 1st Lord Berkeley} of Stratton Commis
{ Sir John Duncombe Sir Thomas Chicheley
Sir Thomas Chicheley Sir John Chicheley I Sir William Hickman J
{ Chr' h Mr
s.ir 1stop er usgrave
sioners
C.
01:1miss1oners
Colonel George Legge (afterwards 1st
Lord Dartmouth.) Frederick, 1st Duke of Schomberg, K.G. Henry, 1st Earl of Romney John, 1st Duke of Marlborough Richards, 4th Earl of Rivers James, 4th Duke of Hamilton, K.G. John, 1st Duke of Marlborough William, 1st Earl of Cadogan, K. St A. John, 2nd Duke of Argyll and 1st Duke
of Greenwick, K.G. John, 2nd Duke of Montagu, K.G. John, 2nd Duke of Argyll and 1st Duke
of Greenwick, K.G. John, 2nd Duke ofMontagu, K.G. Charles, 3rd Duke ofMarlborough, K.G. John, 1st Viscount Ligonier (afterwards
1st Earl Ligonier) John, Marquis of Granby George, 4th Viscount Townshend (after
wards 1st Marquis Townshend) Charles, 3rd Duke of Richmond, K.G. Charles, 1st Marquis Cornwallis, K.G. John, 2nd Earl of Chatham, K.G. Francis, gnd Earl of Moira K.G. &c.
(afterwards 1st Marquis of Hastings) John, 2nd Earl of Chatham, K.G. Henry, 1st Earl of Mulgrave Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington, K.G. &c. Henry, 1st Marquis of Anglesey, K.G.
&c.
1037
1830-1834 1834-1835 1835-1841
1841-1846 1846-1852
1859-1861
1861-1863 1863-1868
1 868-1870
1874-1880 1880-1883
188g-1885
1885-1886 1886 18861888
1888--1892
1892-1895 1895-1899
APPENDIX I
William, 1st Viscount Beresford, G.C.B.
&c. Sir John Kempt, G.C.B. &c. Sir George Murray, K.C.B. Sir Richard Vivian, Bart., G.C.B. &c.
(afterwards 1st Lord Vivian ofTruro). Sir George Murray, K.C.B. Henry, 1st Marquis of Anglesey, K.G.
&c. Henry, 1st Viscount Hardinge, G.C.B. Fitz-Roy, 1st Lord Raglan, G.C.B.
Director-General ofArtillery
General Sir William Gator, K.C.B. (office abolished)
President, Ordnance Select Committee
Major-General Sir John St George, K.C.B.
Directors ofOrdnance
Major-General Alexander Tulloh, C.B. Major-General Sir John St George, K.C.B.
Director-General ofOrdnance
Major-General Sir John Henry Lefroy,
K.C.M.G. &c. (office abolished)
Surveyors-General ofOrdnance
Major-General Sir Henry Knight
Storks, G.C.B. &c. Lord Eustace Cecil Lieutenant-General Sir John Miller
Adye, K.C.B. The Hon. Henry Robert Brand (after
wards 2nd Viscount Hampden) The Hon. Guy Cuthbert Dawney William Woodall The Hon. Sir Henry Stafford Northcote,
Bart. C.B. (afterwards 1st Lord Northcote of Exeter) (Office abolished)
Financial Secretary
The Hon. William John Freemantle Broderick (afterwards 1st Earl of Midleton)
William Woodall Joseph Powell Williams
1038
APPENDIX I
Directors ofArtillery
1888-1891 Major-General Henry James Alderson, C.B. 1891-1895 Lieutenant-General Robert John Hay, C.B.
Inspector-General ofOrdnance
1895-1899 Lieutenant-General Sir Edwin Markham, K.C.B.
Director-General ofOrdnance
Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Brackenbury, K.C.B. &c. (Office abolished)
Masters-General ofthe Ordnance
Major-General SirJames Wolfe Murray, K.C.B. Major-General Charles Frederic Had
den, C.B. 1913-1916 Major-General Stanley Brenton Von Donop, C.B. 1916-1920 Major-General William Thomas Furse,
C.B. &c. Lieutenant-General Sir John Philip Du
Cane, G.C.B. &c. General SirJames Frederick Noel Birch,
G.B.E. &c. Lieutenant-General Sir Webb Gillman,
K.C.B. &c. Lieutenant-General Sir James Ronald
1931-1934 Edmonston Charles, K.C.B. &c. Lieutenant-General Sir Hugh Jamieson Elles, K.C.B. &c. (Office abolished)
Director-General ofMunitions Production (War Office)
1936-1939 Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Harold Arthur Brown, G.B.E. &c.
Director-General ofMunitions Production (Ministry ofSupply)
1939-1941 Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Harold Arthur Brown, G.B.E. &c.
Controllers-General ofMunitions Production
1941-1942 Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Harold Arthur Brown, G.B.E. &c. 1942-1946 Sir Graham Cunningham, K.B.E.
1039
1949-1953 1953-1957 1957-1959
Controllers ofSupplies (Munitions)
Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick George Wrisberg, K.B.E., C.B.
General Sir Kenneth Crawford, K.C.B., M.C. Lieutenant-General Sir William John Eldridge, K.B.E., C.B., D.S.O., M.C.
Lieutenant-General Sir John Guise Cowley, K.B.E., C.B.
Controller ofSupplies (Munitions) (War Office)
1959-1960 Lieutenant-General Sir John Guise Cowley, K.B.E., C.B.
Masters-General ofthe Ordnance
1960-1961 Lieutenant-General Sir John Guise Cowley, K.B.E., C.B. 1961--General Sir Cecil Stanway Sugden, G.B.E., K.C.B.
1543 1554 1562 1565-1576 1576-1587 1588-1591 1592-1608
1608-1616 1616-1625 1626 1627-1640 1640 1643 1650 1652-166o 16601670 1670-1679 1679-1682
1682-1687 1687-1689 1689-1702 1702-1705 1705-1712 1712-1714 1714-1718 1718 1718-1741 1742-1748 1748-1757
1757-1759
1759-1763 1763-1767
1767-1772 1772-1782
1782--1804 1804-1814 1814-1822 1823-1824
APPENDIX II
Principal Officers ofthe Board ofOrdnance Lieutenants and Lieutenants-General
Sir Christopher Morris
Sir Richard Southwell
William Bromfield
Edward Randolph
Sir William Pelham
Sir Robert Constable
Sir George Carew (afterwards 1st Earl
ofTotnes)
Sir Roger Dallyson
Sir Richard Moryson
Sir Richard Haydon
SirJohn Heydon
Sir Walter Erle
Sir David Walter
Major-General Harrison
(Office in abeyance)
William Legge
Sir David Walter
George Legge (afterwards 1st Lord
Dartmouth)
Sir Christopher Musgrave
Sir Henry Tichbourne, Bart.
Sir Henry Goodriche
John, 1st Lord Granville of Potheridge
Thomas Erle
John Hill
Thomas Erle
Thomas Nicklewaite
Sir Charles Wills
George Wade
Sir John Ligonier (afterwards 1st Earl
Ligonier)
Lord George Sackville (afterwards I st
Viscount Sackville)
John, Marquis of Granby
George, 4th Viscount Townshend (after
wards 1st Marquis Townshend)
Henry Conway Seymour
Jeffrey, 1st Lord Amherst of Holmes-
bury
William, 5th Viscount Howe
Sir William Trigge
Sir Hildebrand Oakes, Bart.
William, 1st Viscount Beresford
1041
1824-1825 1825-1829 1829-1831 1831-1854 1854-1855
1543-1545 1545-1565 1565-1566 1566-1572 1572-1576 1576-1583 1583-1595 1595-1599 1599-1602 1602-1606 1606--1608 1608-1623 1623-1624 1624-1625 1625-1627 1627-1629 1629-1635 1635-1648 1648-1660 1660-1669 1669-1679 1679-1682 1682--1685 1685-1689 1689-1702 1702-1714 1714-1722 1722-1742 1742-1750
1750-1782 1782-1783 1783-1784 1784-1789 1789-1795 1795-1804 1804-1810 1810-1820 1820-1827
1827-1828
1828-1829
1829-1830
APPENDIX II
Sir George Murray Sir William Henry Clinton Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset (Office abolished) Sir Hew Dalrymple Ross
Surveyors and Surveyors-General
Henry Johnson Anthony Anthony Edward Randolph Henry Iden Thomas Pinner William Jourden
John Powell William Partridge Sir John Davis John Linewraye Joseph Earth Sir John Kay Sir John Ogle Richard Kay Sir Alexander Brett Sir Paul Harris Sir Thomas Bludder Francis Coningsby George Payler Francis Nichols Sir Jonas Moore (Sr.) Sir Jonas Moore (Jr.) Sir Bernard de Gomme
Sir Henry Shere John Charleton William Bridges Michael Richards John Armstrong Thomas Lascelles Sir Charles Frederick Thomas Pelham John Courteney
James Lutterell George Cranfield Berkley Alexander Ross John Murray Hadden Sir Robert Moorsom Sir Ulysses Burgh (afterwards 2nd Lord
Downes) Sir Edward Campbell Rich Owen Sir Herbert Taylor Sir Henry Fane
rn42
1831-1832 1832-1834 1834-1835 1835-1841 1841 1841-1846 1846-1852 1852-1853 1853-1854
1462 1480 1483 1496 1513 1536-1545 15451551 1551-1554 1554-1595 1595-1603 1603-1607
1608-1638 1638 1638-1642 1648 1656 1660-1688 1689-1690 1690-1696 1696-1714 1714-1718 1718-1731 1731-1740 l 740-1772 1772-1782
1782--1783 1783-1784 1784-1793 1 794--1802 1802-1806
APPENDIX II
Sir Robert Spencer (Died before taking
up the appointment) William Leader Maberley Charles Richard Fox Lord Robert Edward Henry Somerset Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin Charles Richard Fox Jonathan Peel Charles Richard Fox Sir George Henry Frederick Berkeley The Honourable Lauderdale Maule
Clerks ofthe Ordnance
John Louth John Aderne John Skipton William Gye
T. Louther John Stoke Hugh Furnesse William Blacknell William Huxley John Rogers Brian Hogg William Paynter Sir Stephen Ridlesden Sir Stephen Ridlesden John Ridlesden Francis Morice Sir Edward Sherburne (Sr.) Sir Edward Sherburne (Jr.) John White Lewis Audeley Sir Edward Sherburne (Jr.) John Swaddell Sir Thomas Littleton Christopher Musgrave Edward Ashe Thomas White Leonard Smelt William Rawlinson Earle Sir Charles Cocks (afterwards 1st Lord
Somers) Gibbs Crawford Humphrey Minchin Gibbs Crawford John Sargent The Honourable William Wellesley Pole
(afterwards grd Earl Momington)
1043
1807-1811
1811-1823 1823-1827
1827-1828 1828-1830 1830-1832 1832 1832-1834 1834-1835 1835-1838 1838-1841 1841-1845 1845-1846 1846-1852 1852-1853 1853-1855
1544 1557 1572-1589 1589-1595 1595-1603 1603-1609 1609-1612
1609-1612
1627-1635
1635-1643
1643-1648
1648-1660 1660-1672 1672-1674 1674-1683 1683-1685 1685-1691
1691-1701
APPENDIX II
John Caleroft
The Honourable William Wellesley Pole (afterwards grd Earl of Mornington) The Honourable Cropley Ashley Cooper
(afterwards 6th Earl of Shaftesbury) Robert Ward Sir Henry Hardinge (afterwards I st
Viscount Hardinge) Sir George Clerk, Bart. Spencer Perceval Charles Tennyson Thomas Francis Kennedy William Leader Maberley Sir Edward Campbell Rich Owen Andrew Leith Hay James Whitley Deans Dundas Henry George Boldero Lord Arthur Lennox The Honourable George Anson Francis Punkett Dunne William Mansell (afterwards Ist Lord
Emly)
Storekeepers and Principal Storekeepers
John Leame John Watson Richard Bowland Thomas Bedwell John Lee Sir Amias Preston Sir Roger Ayscough
Samuel Hales {
John Hammond Nedtracy Smart {
Shackerley Tracy
John Golding{
Thomas Powell
Thomas Powell { Richard Marsh Richard Marsh
Richard Marsh {
Thomas Withings John Falkner Richard Marsh Sir George Marsh Edward Conyers William Bridges Thomas Gardiner William Meesters
1044
1701-1708 1708-1709 1709-1712 1712-1717 1717-1722 1722-1746 1746-1762 1762-1765 1765-1778 1778-1780 1780-1782 1782--1783 1783--1784 1784-1795 1 795-1806 1806-1807 1807-1829 1829-1831 1831-1834 1834-1837 1837-1841 1841 1841-1845 1845-1855
1509? 1545 1545-1578
1578-1595
1595-1602 1602-1604
1604-1610
1610--1618
1618-1640
1640-1660
1660-1670 1670 1670-1682 1682-1683 1683-1685 1685 1685-1689 1689-1696
APPENDIX II
James Lowther Robert Lowther Edward Ashe Dixie Windsor Sir Thomas Weate George Gregory Andrew Wilkinson Sir Edward Winnington Andrew Wilkinson Benjamin Langlois Henry Strachey John Aldridge Henry Strachey John Aldridge Mark Singleton John MacMahon Mark Singleton Frederick William Trench The Honourable Henry Duncan Francis Robert Bonham The Honourable George Anson James Henway Plumridge Francis Robert Bonham Sir Thomas Hastings
Clerk ofDeliveries
Fleming Anthony Anthony Brian Hogg
Brian Hogg { George Hogg
George Hogg{ John Lynewray Robert Johnson (Sr)
Robert Johnson (Sr){ Robert Johnson (Jr) Ralph Freeman
Edward Johnson { Henry Johnson
Thomas Eastbrooke { George Clarke George Clarke George Wharton Samuel Fortrey William Bridges Thomas Gardiner Sir William Trumbull Philip Musgrave Christopher Musgrave
1045
1 696-1701 1701-1703 1703-1711 1711-1713 1713-1714 1714-1715 1715-1722 1722-1733 1733-1741 1741-1746 l 746-1751 1751-1758 1758-1772
1772-1778 1778-1780 1 780-1784 1 784-1802 1 802--1804 1 804-1806
1 806-1807 1 807
1 807-1812
1812-1831
APPENDIX II
James Lowther John Pulteney James Craggs Newdigate Owsley Richard King James Craggs Thomas Frankland Leonard Smelt William Rawlinson Earle Andrew Wilkinson Charles Frederick Job Staunton Charlton Charles Cocks (afterwards
Somers) Benjamin Langlois Henry Strachey John Kenrick Thomas Baillie Joseph Hunt
1st Lord
The Honourable Cropley Ashley Cooper (afterwards 6th Earl of Shaftesbury)
James Martin Lloyd The Honourable Cropley Ashley Cooper (afterwards 6th Earl of Shaftesbury)
Thomas Thorston The Honourable Edmund Phipps (Office abolished)
APPENDIX III Constitution ofthe Board ofOrdnance at various dates
1414-1430 1430-1543 1543-1598
160o-168g
1855
A Master and a Clerk
A Master, a Yeoman and a Clerk
A Master, a Lieutenant, a Surveyor, a Clerk of Deliveries, a Yeoman and a Clerk A Great Master, a Lieutenant, a Surveyor, a Storekeeper, a Clerk of Deliveries and a Clerk A Master-General, a LieutenantGeneral, a Surveyor, a Storekeeper, a Clerk of Deliveries and a Clerk A Master-General, a Lieutenant-General, a Surveyor-General, a Principal Storekeeper, a Clerk of Deliveries and a Clerk of Ordnance together with a Treasurer, a Secretary and other minor officials A Master-General, a Surveyor-General, a Principal Storekeeper and a Clerk of Ordnance together with other minor officials A Master-General, a LieutenantGeneral, a Surveyor-General, a Principal Storekeeper and a Clerk of Ordnance The Board abolished
1047
APPENDIX IV
Armament administration-Board of Ordnance, War Office, Ministry ofSupply and War Office. From 1671 to the present day.
The work in the Office of Ordnance had naturally increased pari passu with the development of artillery and, by the reign of Charles II, had ceased to be the leisurely business it had been two centuries earlier. Actually, the Restoration brought much Ordnance activity in its train for the whole department had become thoroughly disorganized under the Commonwealth and required careful nursing to place it once again on a proper footing. Unfortunately, money, which is so essential to carry out a scheme of this kind, was at a discount, and the financial worry which such a lack engendered did not make the work of reconstruction any easier. Further responsibilities were added by the death of Sir Robert Byron, Master of the Ordnance in Ireland, when his office was annexed to that of the Master-General in England on 12 March 1674.' Two warrants at this time are significant. On 8 March 1675, Sir Thomas Chicheley, the Master-General, was ordered to dispose of the moneys arising from the sale of gunpowder by virtue of the ·warrant of r February 1675 towards 'the payment to the many great and pressing debts owing to the creditors of the Ordnance Office which cannot be satisfied out of the moneys hitherto assigned to the Ofce':? and, on 27 October 1679,
the Commissioners and Officers of the Ordnance were told that as now 'more than the ordinary business would attend the Office, particularly that pertaining to the Surveyor, Sir Bernard de Gornme the Chief Engineer, would be appointed assistant to the Surveyor at a salary of {250 a year commencingfrom Michaelmas last with power to be present at all councils and meetmgs and to do all things to the said office of Surveyor and particularly to that of the fortifications appertaining'.> It will be noticed that by the date of the last warrant mentioned a commission to execute the office of Master-General had been set up, the Commissioners, Sir John Chicheley, Sir William Hickman, Bart., and Sir Christopher Musgrave being appointed 2g June 1679. Circumstances must have dictated a change of policy, because on 13 November 1674, Sir John Chicheley, who was the elder son of Sir Thomas had received a warrant to be 'Master of the Ordnance and Keeper of the Armour and
other habilements of war, and the office of Master of the Arms and Armour in the Tower and elsewhere in England with a fee of goo marks a year for himself and allowances for four attendants in reversion to his father'; an appointment which evidently failed to materialize.
This insolvent state of the country, though coldly expressed in official documents, had its human repercussions, and the medal when reversed often revealed distressing stories of misery and want which were entirely
1 S.P. Dom Car. II. Entry Book 40, p. 170.
• S.P. Dom Car. II. Entry Book 29, p. 138. 3 S.P. Dom Car. II. Entry Book 29, p. 343. 'S.P. Dom Car. II. Entry Book 29, p. 113.
1048
APPENDIX IV
unmerited. The petition of Mary Brown which follows is typical of this impoverished era.
30 November 1681. Mary Browne, relict ofJohn Browne, his Majesty's
gun-founder on behalf of herself and partners to the King and Privy
Council. Petition stating that she and her partners having writs out
against them by their creditors and one of them, Mr Dyke, being cast
into prison; employed Mr Marryot to treat with the Ordnance Com
missioners for stating and ascertaining the debts due to the petitioners
and also for treating with them for the sale of their nealed and turned
guns according to the Order in Council; that it was admitted that
4,814 principal is due to the petitioners for grenado shells and round
shot above four years since delivered into his Majesty's stores on con
tract for ready money, but the said Commissioners without particular
order would not allow the interest for the said debt, though the peti
tioners pay interest for the same to the persons they bought the same of
and had no advantage in the buying thereof; they also admitted that
£608 was due to the petitioner on debenture, that for the 243 tons of
nealed 'and turned guns also delivered about four years since to the
Storekeeper at Woolwich by order of the then Master of the Ordnance
at £40 a ton, amounting to £9,720, for establishing which debt the
petitioners conceived the said Commissioners had the direction of the
Board, to supply the defect of the formality of the contract by obtaining
a warrant for the perfecting thereof, but, there being no order author
izing them to prepare such warrant, the same remains unsettled; that
the petitioners finding the demand of £40 a ton for all their 1,160 odd
tons of nealed and turned guns would not be agreed to, though they
could not have been the least gainers thereby, considering how long
the said stock had lain dead in their hands and that his Highness [Prince
Rupert] was to have a fifth part for the invention, yet by reason of
their necessities they proposed an abatement of an eighth and to accept
£35 a ton for all their said guns, but the Commissioners, understanding
that the whole interest of the said 1, r 60 tons was not in the petitioners
and that the same was a greater quantity than they are willing to take,
insisted that, unless the petitioner and her partners had their parts in
severalty, they should not enter into a treaty for the same, whereon the
petitioners addressed to his Highness to accept his fifth in specie which
he agreed to for the relief of the petitioners, whereon the petitioner and
her partners proposed the remainder of the said guns, being about
8oo tons at £35 a ton, which in truth is but £28 a ton by reason of the
said assignment they are to make to his Highness, but, notwithstanding
the premises were so stated to the Commissioners, they offered only
£28 a ton to be paid part in money and part in barter or exchange for
old rough iron guns, or £30 a ton to be paid by barter or exchange for
old guns entirely, by which first proposal it is clear the petitioners will
have but £21 a ton for their remainder; and as to the second proposal,
they can in no wise comply therewith, for they are not able to bear
the charge of boring and manufacturing the said old guns, nor when
the same shall be fitted for sale, will so great a quantity be vendable
in seven years after, though license be given for transportation and sale
1049
APPENDIX IV
thereof, and therefore praying for their present relief payment of the said £4,814 principal with interest and of the £680 due on debenture, and also a warrant for establishing the said debt 0f £9,720, and that by order of this Board a contract may be made for the 800 and odd tons of the nealed and turned guns at 35 a ton, which for the said reasons is the lowest the petitioners can possible afford, without which the petitioner and her seven small children, and her partners will be utterly ruined and cast into prison and many of their creditors perish with them.° The Ordnance Commissioners went out of office on 28 January 1682
with the appointment of Lord Dartmouth as Master-General. He was an indefatigable worker who toiled assiduously to bring order out of chaos in the Office of Ordnance. Under his guidance, rules of procedure and general instructions for the whole department were laid down, which, except for amendments of a minor character, remained in force until the Board was finally abolished by the Ordnance Board Act, 14 August 1855.°
These regulations were called:
'Instructions for the Government of Our Office of Ordnance under Our Master-General thereof; committed to give Principal Officers, viz. Our Lieutenant-General of Our Ordnance, Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, Clerk of Our Ordnance, Keeper of the Stores Clerk of
Deliveries.' '
They lay down in great detail the composition and establishment of the Board, giving the relevant rates of pay and the duties of each official down to and including the office messenger.
These instructions were attached to a royal warrant" dated 25July 168g addressed:
'To Our right trusty and well-beloved Councillor, George, Lord Dartmouth, Master of Our Ordnance and to the Master or MasterGeneral for the time being.'
and the whole forms a veritable landmark in Ordnance administration. The warrant itself ran as follows:
'Right Trusty and Well-beloved Councillor
We greet you well. We have taken into Our Princely consideration and Care the great consequence and necessity of preserving the State of Our Artillery, Munitions, Arms and of all other the Habilaments and Equipage belonging to Our Magazine Royal within the Ofce of Our Ordnance, which hath heretofore with much Providence and Wisdom of Our Predecessors been instituted, endowed and supported as a Member highly importing the safety and defence of Our Dominions as well by Sea as Land. We have therefore thought it requisite and necessary for the better Conservation of Our said Office and for the good of Our Service therein, that Instructions should 'be forthwith drawn up for the Government of the Office of Our Ordnance, under
" S.P. Dom Car. II. Entry Book 67, p. 19.
"·18 and 19 Victoria, Cap. CXVII.
• P.R.O/WO[55/1790.
APPENDIX IV
Our Master-General thereof, expressing ... ; and forasmuch you have,
in obedience to Our Commands, presented to Us a Book containing
the following Rules and Instructions for Our Royal Allowance and
Establishment: We having taken the said Instructions into Our
Princely Consideration, have thought fit to approve, ratify and confirm
the same under Our Royal Sign Manual upon each Leaf of the said
Book, and do hereby declare Our Will and Pleasure to be, that the
said Instructions so by Us approved, ratified, confirmed and signed,
be and remain the Established Rules, Orders and Instructions for the
future Government of the Office, and Officers of Our Ordnance under
you the present Master-General thereof, and the Master or Master
General of Our Ordnance successively ... , and that there may not
be wanting a fit and just support answerable to the Dignity of the
Office of Master-General of Our Ordnance, without having recourse
to those undue means formerly practised to the great disservice and
unknown expence of Our Treasurer, We have taken the same into
Our Serious Consideration, and have and do establish a plentifull and
sufficient sallary out of the Ordinary of Our Office of Ordnance, to
be paid upon the Quarter Books of the said Office to you, or to the
Master-General of Our Ordnance for the time being ... and whereas,
we have thought fit to regulate and establish the future Annual Allow
ance not only to you, Our Master-General of Our Ordnance (or others
executing that place), but likewise to All Our Principal Officers and
all other Our Inferior Officers and Ministers attending Our Service
upon Our Quarter Books of Our said Office ... and lastly, it is Our
further Will and Pleasure that all the Sallaries, Allowances and Wages
hereby established and annexed be borne and continued upon the
Quarter Books of Our said Office, but only during Our Royal Pleasure.
For all which this shall be to you, him or them that shall come after
you a full and sufficient Warrant. Given at Our Court at Whitehall,
this five and twentieth day ofJuly 168g, in the five and thirtieth year
of Our Reign.
By His Majesty's Command,
L. Jenkins
The above warrant with its attached instructions are set out in length in Artillery Notes by Colonel Cleaveland, page 51 et seq, and to a lesser extent in Clode's Military Forces to the Crown, Vol. I, page 456.
Generally speaking, upon its reconstruction the Board was charged with the duty of providing the armament required for all ships and forts, and was bound to obey equally the Lord High Admiral and the Lord Treasurer-doubtless a difficult task. In addition to the five Principal Officers already mentioned, there was a treasurer, a secretary and I 7 office clerks, together with a complement of junior officials (inferior officers), engineers, gunners and labourers. A list dated 1695, preserved in the Public Record Office, shows that 252 persons 'attended the Office of His Majesty's Ordnance' that year, among which figured such wellknown names as Richard Leake, Thomas Silver,James English and James
• PRO[WO[55/341, P. 47, 19 March 1695.
09 105I
Pendlebury. The Board met twice a week at 8.o a.m. in the Tower to transact their business as a Board. Individually they carried out their specific duties daily.
The duties ofthe five principal officers under the direction ofthe MasterGeneral were briefly as follows:
The Lieutenant-General had, in the absence of the Master-General, to receive all letters, warrants, orders, etc. and to impart them to the Principal Officers of the Board for execution. He had to keep a minute-book of the work of the Board and, in consultation with other members, consider all estimates or demands of money for stores, fortifications or other services, satisfying himself that the money was properly and carefully spent. He was responsible for maintaining all marching trains in good condition. He had to direct the practice of all mastergunners, firemasters, gunners and fireworkers on behalf of the Master-General. He was charged to give in writing under his own hand directions for the shooting off of great ordnance at the Tower upon extraordinary occasions. Finally upon his shoulders fell the responsibility for the maintenance of the general discipline in connection with the inferior ministers acting under the jurisdiction of the Board.
The Surveyor-General had to survey all stores and provisions of war in
charge of the Principal Storekeeper and to see that all labourers, artificers,
and workmen connected with the Board's activities did their duty in a
diligent and proficient manner. He had to ensure that the Clerk of the
Cheque kept a particular account of the daily and weekly work performed.
He was responsible for the accounting of all stores and for the proof of
those of a warlike nature. He combined within his person the duties of an
Inspector-General and Director-General of Stores, keeping the receipt and
issue ledgers of the day. It was his duty to see that all serviceable stores
after inspection and proof were marked with the government mark and
that no stores, except those passed as serviceable should be delivered into
store. He had to survey all buildings, works and fortifications and be
responsible for the repair and upkeep of works services, calculating for
the Master-General the cost thereof. He had to maintain two counter or
cheque books, by way ofjournal and ledger of the receipts, issues, returns
and remains of every nature of store chargeable to, or accountable by,
the Principal Storekeeper.
The Clerk ofthe Ordnance had to keep a book ofall orders and instructions given for the government of the office, and to record all patents and grants, and the names of all officers, clerks, artificers, attendants, gunners and others who enjoyed the said grants or fees from the same, together with a journal recording all warrants and orders for services to be carried out, provisions to be made or supplies to be despatched. He was responsible for drawing up all estimates for the supply of stores to all ships, forts, castles and garrisons. He undertook all contract work. He assisted at all stocktaking in relation to ships, forts, magazines, etc. and kept receipt and issue ledgers for outstations such as Plymouth, Sheerness and Woolwich
with a strict account of all moneys expended both on the provision of stores and wages. He was auditor-general, director of contracts and financial adviser to the Board.
APPENDIX IV
The Principal Storekeeper took charge ofall stores, ordnance and munitions committed to his charge, i.e. after they had been pronounced serviceable by the Surveyor-General, and was responsible for all issues and receipts. He could only issue stores with the consent of the other Principal Officers based on a warrant granted under the Royal Signet, the Lord High Admiral or an Order in Council. He had to keep two books. In one was placed a copy of all warrants or orders relating to proportions or deliveries, the other being a journal of the proportions or the deliveries themselves. He had to be present at all deliveries of stores and to assist in taking remains. Monthly, or oftener should the Board so require, he had to produce indents for deliveries for the purpose of comparison with the Clerk's proportion as a check upon his accounts.
The Clerk ofDeliveries was the issuing officer. He prepared the necessary orders of proportions, armed with which, after signature by the Principal Officers of the Board, he took over from the Principal Storekeeper the stores to be issued and was responsible that they were duly delivered and a receipt obtained.
The Master-General, by virtue ofhis office, functioned in two capacities, military and civil; so also did the Lieutenant-General. In their former capacity they acted respectively as commander-in-chief and second in command of the artillery and engineers. In his civil capacity the MasterGeneral was entrusted with the entire management of, and supreme control over, the whole Ordnance department. All warrants from the King, the Privy Council or the Admiralty were directed to him personally and not to the Board, and under his direction and authority the Board carried them out. He alone could do any act which, should he not interfere, could normally be carried out by the Board. He could order the issue of money, but as a safeguard the order had to be executed in the prescribed manner, i.e. by debenture signed by three officers of the Board. Besides the individual duties outlined above the Principal Officers had duties as a board to perform. According to the warrant of Charles II they 'had to observe, follow and see performed all orders, warrants and significations of the Master of Ordnance whether grounded upon warrants from Us, Our Privy Council, or Lord High Admiral of England (for Sea Afairs), and in all things to obey him, jointly and severally, in their respective places, as Master-General of the Ordnance, and such directions as from time to time he should judge fit and necessary to give for Our Service'. The Master-General was at all times supreme, but the decisions of the Board were bounded by the majority vote. In the absence of the Master-General, however, although the Lieutenant-General deputized for him, each Principal Officer was definitely responsible to Parliament for his own department as well as for the joint action of the assembled Board.
One cannot help being struck by the admirable system of checks and counterchecks which prevailed in the Board's machinery; a system of security introduced to safeguard the public purse when the public conscience was perhaps not so fully developed as it is today. Not only is this noticeable in the disbursement of cash, but in the supply and custody of stores. Contracts for these were made by the Clerk of the Ordnance as the financial officer responsible to Parliament for estimates and expenditure.
1053
The examination of supplies rested with the other Parliamentary officer-the Surveyor-General. It was his duty to prove them, and, if good and serviceable, to mark them with the Crown mark. The Principal Storekeeper, the custodian of the Board, was prohibited from receiving any item into store, except upon the Surveyor-General's certificate. In this manner the Ordnance system guaranteed the public against fraud in contracts by making the Clerk responsible for price, the Surveyor-General for quality and the Principal Storekeeper for custody and record ofservice.
Belonging to the Board but being neither principal officers nor executive officials were the Treasurer and the Secretary. Their duties were:
The Treasurer had to account for all the financial transactions of the Board. He had to obtain the requisite moneys from the Lord High Treasurer for the Board's estimates and to pay cash on quarter books, orderly debentures and bills of exchange. He could only make payments on an authority signed by three Principal Officers, ofwhich the Clerk had to be one, or by the Master-General. He could also make no assignments without similar authority. He had to present weekly, or oftener ifrequired, a cash statement to the Master-General. He acted as the Board's principal cashier.
The Secretary acted as chief personal clerk to the Master-General. He had to attend all Board meetings in order to keep the Master-General in touch with the proceedings. He had to make out all commissions and warrants, for the signature of the Master-General, for the admission and entertainment of all artificers, tradesmen, labourers, gunners, or others to be employed by the department. He had to make due entry ofall warrants, orders and directions delivered to the Master-General or the Board, and after entry deliver the documents to the Clerk of the Ordnance for registration.
Under the Principal Officers were officials known as Inferior Officers and Under Ministers.
The Inferior Officers consisted of the seventeen clerks before mentioned, the Deputy Keeper ofthe Armoury and the Keeper ofSmall Arms, armourers and storekeepers at outstations.
The Deputy Keeper ofthe Armoury was responsible for the custody of all defensive arms and armour committed to the Tower. He had to maintain them in a serviceable condition and to receive no further supplies unless duly proved and marked, and without due notice to the Clerk of the Ordnance. He was not allowed to make any issues without a warrant signed bythreePrincipalOfficersoftheBoard.Hehadtokeepjournalsand ledgers of all receipts and issues, and yearly to render an account to the Board for examination and audit.
The Keeper of the Small Arms was to give security, upon his entering office, for faithful conduct therein. He carried out the same duties in regard to muskets, etc. as the Deputy Keeper of the Armoury did in respect to defensive armour. The Clerks were to attend the officers, to write their books fairly and
diligently, and to obey the orders of the Master-General and the Board.
They were to take no gratuities and to give despatch to all tradesmen,
artificers, etc. dealing with the office.
1054
APPENDIX IV
The Storekeepers were to carry out the duties normally assigned to such
posts. The Under Ministers included: The Principal Engineer who was to be well skilled in geodesy, mathe
matics and mensuration as well as being versed in the art of fortification including a knowledge of timber, stone and architecture both civil and military. He was, as his name implied, responsible for the design, construction and maintenance of all defensive works.
The Master Gunner of England who was to teach gunners the art of shooting with great ordnance and mortar pieces once a month in winter and twice in summer. He had also to certify the ability of gunners or scholars as qualified for the Service. In addition, he had to keep a roster of all gunners, their professions and their places of residence so that quarterly musters could be made.
The Firemaster who had to exercise those under his command once or twice a week in mortar practice and to see that they were kept continuously at work in the laboratory making powder, rockets and ammunition generally.
The Proofmasters who were concerned with the inspection and acceptance of stores for the Service. After such stores had passed proof they inscribed upon them the Crown mark.
The Wagon Master who was responsible for the maintenance of all royal and military carriages and trains of artillery, and for ensuring that they were kept in a state of good repair and readiness.
The Clerk of the Cheque who was the Board's principal time-keeper, responsible to the Board that all labourers kept strict hours and did not loiter or absent themselves.
The Purveyor who was charged under the Board to provide such ships, vessels, lighters and boats as the affairs of the Board might require at favourable contract rates.
The following table shows the rates of pay at this period for the principal officials who functioned on or under the Board:
The Board Appointment Salary per annum
Master-General £1,500 Lieutenant-General £,800 Surveyor-General £40o Clerk of the Ordnance {4oo Storekeeper £4oo Clerk of the Deliveries £300 Treasurer of the Ordnance 500 Secretary of the Ordnance £2oo
Under Ministers
Principal Engineer £300 Second Engineer £250 Third Engineer £150 The Master Gunner of England £19o The Firemaster £150
1055
The Proofmaster £2o The Wagon Master 10o Clerk of the Cheque £,6o Purveyor {64o
Inferior Officers
Clerks Between 50 and £75 Deputy Keeper of the Armoury £6o Keeper of Small Arms £8o Storekeepers Between {2o and [12o
Besides these officials, gunners got a shilling a day, labourers ten shillings a week, fireworkers £40 a year and the messenger £60 a year.
The salaries and wages appear abnormally low in comparison to those reigning today when the average unskilled man makes £ 1 o a week and may even at times exceed this figure, and when the modern counterpart of the Secretary of the Ordnance could command at least £4,000 a year. It must not be forgotten, however, that life in 168g was far less exacting and that prices on the whole were about one-twelfth of those ruling now. Taking such circumstances into account it seems reasonable to assume that living standards were on a par with those of the present day.
From the foregoing, it is evident that the Master-General and Principal Officers of the Board of Ordnance, to whom so large an amount of public treasure was necessarily entrusted, were persons of high political importance, subordinate only to the Treasury and Auditors of Imprest in matters offinanceandto the SecretaryofState forthe issue ofmilitary equipment.
There was apparently a further warrant in December 1683 to George, Lord Dartmouth, and his successors, to enable them as Masters-General of the Ordnance to bear on each side of their personal Arms a Field-piece mounted, to proclaim the honour of their office. It has, however, disappeared during the lapse of the centuries, for exhaustive search has failed to bring the document to light. It was also considered necessary to attach to the office some relative military status. James II, therefore, issued a warrant dated 13 May 16869 directing that the Master-General of the Ordnance should always have the rank, as well as the respect, due to the youngest Lieutenant-General in the Army, and should command in garrisons as formerly. This relative rank awarded to the Master-General entitled him, when passing through any garrison or camp, to a guard of 1 officer, I sergeant and go men. Guards were compelled to turn out to him and the drums had to beat a march. When, in earlier days, the MasterGeneral took the field in time of war he was attended by a chancellor, thirty gentlemen of the Ordnance, thirty harquebussiers on horseback with light halbadiers for his guard, two or three interpreters, a chaplain, a physician, a master-surgeon and his attendant, a trumpeter, a kettledrum and a chariot with six white horses, two or three engineers and two or three refiners of gunpowder.o Since Markham was writing of former times, the composition of this retinue had undoubtedly altered somewhat
• PRO/WO[55/399, p. 96.
10 Fve Decades ofEpistles of Ware:Francis Markham, 1622.
1056
APPENDIX IV
by 1686. These kettle-drums were last used in the field in 1748. The Master-General also had a barge.
During the autumn of 1688, Lord Dartmouth's office of Master-General, never a sinecure, became exacting in the extreme. Times were anxious, nerves were on edge, and disturbance was in the air. Daily and almost hourly requisitions and requests reached the harassed nobleman from an excited king and his ministers for arming various ships and regiments which were being built and raised in every direction. One day, the distracted Master-General proceeded to Chatham to superintend the fitting out ofnew men-of-war, and on the next to Sheerness for the same purpose, where he found awaiting him a dispatch from the pusillanimous Privy Council ordering him to fill six merchant ships with fireworks and incendiary compositions to accompany the king's fleet in the capacity of fire-ships for use against hostile craft. It is obvious from his correspondence that Lord Dartmouth led a high-pressured existence during this troubled period. Sometimes his letters were penned from a ship in the Thames or Medway, sometimes from his cabin in the Resolution at Portsmouth, and often from Windsor where James II, his nervous sovereign, liked to keep him by his side. There can be no doubt that the energy and dash he displayed galvanized the Board, the permanent officials of which probably cursed their tireless and strenuous Master. Sir Henry Tichborne, his Lieutenant-General, must also have had an exhausting task and deservedly earned his salary of £800 per annum.
Lord Dartmouth was not able to carry out his duties as Master-General consistently. He held other posts and was often ordered by the king to undertake different tasks. These enforced absences from the Board must have enhanced his worries for, as chief executive officer, the plight of the Ordnance at this time dogged his footsteps. On 22 November 1688, Philip Musgrave writes to Lord Dartmouth as follows:
'Hearing that your Lordship was forced into Portsmouth by the late storms, and supposing that the damage sustained by the fleet will keep him there for some time, he ventured to send this short and melancholy account of our affairs in the Ordnance Office. State of cash need not be sent for they have not one penny upon any head, and what is worse nothing has been this week allotted them by the Treasury. The state of the small arms is very near as low, there being no snaphaunce muskets left but 6oo made for Lord Dartmouth's own regiment, notwithstanding that they received all from Bristol. Changing of the matchlocks in the Army hath mightily drained them, which could not be prevented; the gun makers are not able to fit up the reparable arms or perform their contracts for new, for want of money. The stores for Sea Service are so exhausted (as is our credit also) that the ships already ordered cannot be fitted out without a considerable supply of money. Great complamts are come from Ireland of the arms sent thither from Chester, and not without cause those sent from hence are not much better. The Lord Deputy writes to know what station the Italian engineer should be in, and with what allowances. He has been informed that but one engineer is borne upon the Irish establishment, to whom an allowance of £200 per annum
11 MSS. of the Earl of Dartmouth, vol. I, p. 211.
1057
was to be made, and that the Italian was designed for that employment, but nothing will satisfy the Lord Deputy but a letter from Lord Dartmouth himself.'
Again on 1 December 1688, the Office of Ordnance (Sir Henry Tichborne, Edward Sherborne, T. Gardiner and J. Rothwell) addressed Lord Dartmouth as follows :12
'Though not insensible of the great weight of naval affairs resting upon his Lordship, cannot forbear addressing him on behalf of those of the Ordnance, which lately flourished under his particular care and providence, but now is fallen under as many hard distractions as the public. Have received demands for many stores etc. from the Governor of Tilbury, and importunate letters from Mr Phillips, making demands for carrying on various works at Portsmouth, with which they are altogether unable to comply. A great change has also been cast upon the Office by the necessary defence of Hull garrison, proposed by Sir Martin Beckman, for which the contract amounted to upwards of £5,00o, and of which only £2,150 has be<m paid; so that Mr Fitch who has finished the most part ofhis work is likely to fall under an inevitable ruin unless his Lordship intercede with the Treasury. The great weight of debt upon them, the impoverishment of the best and ablest creditors, merchants and artificers belonging to the Office; and the exhaustion of their stores, render them incapable of furnishing the least part of the land forces or the smallest squadron (nay ship) of the fleet; yet they are now called upon to supply a number of ships, and convert six ships bought of merchants into fire ships etc. Request his Lordship to represent the great exigencies of the Office to the Treasury'.
The warrant of Charles II defining the duties of the various Ordnance officials was confirmed by James II on 4 February 1686, who issued some minor amendments to the instructions. It was subsequently confirmed by William III on 8 March 168g, by Anne on 30 June 1702, by George I on 30 July 1715 and by George II on 17 June 1727. George III, making some slight alterations rendered necessary by the occasional absences of the Master-General and by the creation of the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich in 1741, also made due confirmation by warrant dated 27 February 1761. George IV confirmed on 1 May 182o. It can thus be affirmed that the foundations planned under the Master-Generalship
of Lord Dartmouth were well conceived and truly laid.
Another reminder of the hostilities taking place in 1689 is given in a warrant issued by William III dated 2o March of that year 13 which states that 'during the present war the Lieutenant-General and other Principal Officers of the Ordnance are to attend their business personally and not
by deputy'.
After the Restoration the Ordnance Department, as we have sccn, became divided into two distinct branches the military which finally developed into the Royal Regiment of Artillery, and the Corps of Royal Engineers under the direct command of the Master-General, or in his
absence, of the Lieutenant-General, and the civil which became, for all
12 MSS.
of the Earl of Dartmouth, vol. I, p. 222. + P.R.O./WO/55/401, P. 77.
1058
APPENDIX IV
intents and purposes, a ministry of supply charged with the supply, care and maintenance of stores, buildings, lands together with the administration of the military branch. From this date until the abolition of the Board in 1855, the office of Master-General was always held by an illustrious soldier, and till 1828 this officer had a seat in the Cabinet, eventually becoming, on the creation of the post of Commander-in-chief, the military adviser to the executive government. Such advice was naturally often sought and no one was better qualified for the task, since the objection of having the Commander of the Forces, whose role is to carry out policy and not help to initiate it, in the inner councils of the nation could not be levelled against the Master-General who only commanded a very small and select corps of scientific men. The office therefore came to be regarded as a prize for the most distinguished soldier of his time.
The warrant of 25 July 1683, lays down the duties of the engineers and the artillery, i.e. of the military branch of the Ordnance, with great exactitude. The Engineer-in-Chief was to be a man of considerable scientific attainments capable of superintending the erection of fortresses, both at home and abroad, and of conducting siege operations, and the engineers under him became a definite part of the military branch of the Ordnance administration. The first establishment of fifty engineers was fixed by Order in Council dated 22 August 1717. In 1759 their establishment was reformed, their military rank dating from 14 May 1757, and all engineer officers subsequently entering the Ordnance Department were commissioned by the sovereign on the submission of the Master or Lieutenant-General. N.C.Os and men were first raised by enlisting in
1788 the artificers then in the employment of the Board. Such were the beginnings of the Royal Engineers. The origin of the Royal Artillery derives from the same source, the gunners being a species of militia under the control of the Master Gunner of England. A Royal Warrant of 27 November 1715 laid down the establishment of two companies of gunners and matrosses for service in North Britain, but incompetence marred the usefulness of the train of artillery ordered. As a result, the Board on 10 January 1716 represented to the Master-General that a definite regimental establishment of four companies should be fixed. The outcome was a Royal Warrant dated a6 May 1716 addressed to the Duke of Marlborough-the Master-General-forming the Royal Regiment with a two-company strength. Each company was to contain l Captain, 3 Lieutenants, 7 Lieutenant fre-workers, 3 sergeants, 3 corporals, 3 bombardiers, 3o gunners and 5o matrosses. The officers' commissions were given by the Crown on the submission of the Master or LieutenantGeneral. Henceforth these scientific branches of the army were administered by the Board until they were taken over by the War Office in 1855. In this connection there was a letter" from the Commander-in-Chief to the Secretary of State for War forwarding a copy of a paper submitted to, and approved by, Her Majesty Queen Victoria, relative to the future commissioning of the Officers of the ordnance Military Corps. It was agreed that the system to be adopted should be that already in force for the regular army, namely, that a list of those to be commissioned would
14 P.R.O./WO[g2/915.
1059
be submitted to the Queen by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief and upon her Majesty's approval, commissions would be prepared by the War Office, submitted to the sovereign for signature and then be countersigned by the Secretary of State for War. Under the Board's procedure, the Master-General forwarded the commissions to the Queen for signature without having first obtained her sanction for the names so put forward. The duties of the civil branch of the Board comprised the following:
(1)
Stores
(2)
Lands
(3)
Survey of the United Kingdom
(4)
Defensive works
(5)
Contracts
(6)
Manufacturing establishments
Stores
Although the Board was originally charged with the provision, custody and issue of all stores and no slur was ever cast upon the efficiency of its administration, the Secretary-at-War towards the close of the eighteenth century initiated another service of supply and established independent depots in the British Isles in 1794. Fortunately the contractors concerned were men of unimpeachable integrity as apparently no check was ever made upon price or quality. These depots grew in number till eventually 109 existed for the military service. Such an independent source of supply without the careful checks and counter-checks of the Ordnance system led to duplication and chaos. Stores were issued sometimes by order of the Commander-in-Chief, sometimes by the Secretary-at-War, and at other times by the General of the district, the Quartermaster-General, the Surgeon-General and others. In order to attain some measure ofuniformity in the issues which took place, the office of Storekeeper-General, independent ofthe Board, was instituted on 8 March 1808. This appointment, however, did not give complete satisfaction and left something to be desired, for
in May 1822, these army stores, together with the store branch of the commissariat, were transferred to the Board of Ordnance, the post of Storekeeper-General being abolished. Thus was the status quo ante bellum re-established. After these absorptions the reorganization of the civil branch and the revision of its establishment became necessary and this was carried out by a Royal Warrant dated 19 December 1825.
Lands
From the reign of Queen Anne, Parliament, as occasion required, conferred statutory powers on the Board to acquire lands as necessary for the defence of particular stations or for other specific purposes. In 1821, however, general powers were given to acquire real estate for the Ordnance or Public Service whenever the same was needed. The Board therefore became very large landlords and acquired the lordship of certain manors. By 1848, the annual rents of surplus lands amounted to [12,841 at home and [7,167 in the Colonies,l° and by the year 1867, when the lands had passed to the War Department, these rents had increased to
1 Army and Ordnance Expenditure 1849, p. 873.
1060
APPENDIX IV
17
£26,860.16 As Charles Clode says, 'To entrust the execution of such powers to a Board of quasi Military Officers for the purpose-strictly limited-of Defending the Realm, was one thing; but to clothe one Minister-open to Parliamentary influence-with such power is another.'
The Board therefore used to carry out duties now assigned to the Lands Branch, War Office.
Survey
As a measure of defence, the Board was originally entrusted with the survey of the United Kingdom. This duty was said to have originated in Scotland after the rebellion of 1 745 when General (afterwards FieldMarshal) Wade was Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, and to have commenced under General Roy, who commanded a body of infantry at Fort Augustus. The idea of making the survey general over the whole island was brought to the notice of the government at the conclusion of peace in 176g, but little was done in the next twelve years, and the War of American Independence put a stop to such tentative efforts. On the return of peace in 1783, General Roy commenced operations for his own amusement; these were confined to ascertaining the relative positions of the most important public buildings of the metropolis to that of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. The actual survey of the United Kingdom may be said to have commenced with the measurement of the Base-Line on Hounslow Heath in 1784, but the order for a general survey of the country for the purpose of producing a military map of the whole kingdom dated from 1791, when the work was put on a definite footing by the Duke of Richmond, then Master-General.
By 1824, this map was so far advanced as to include the whole of the SouthofEnglandwithparts ofWalesand Scotland,whenitwas suspended so that the survey of Ireland on a scale of 6 inches to the mile could be commenced, principally to serve as a basis for the general valuation of the country. In 1840, the survey of Ireland as then ordered was fimshed, and the military map of England, as far north as the southern boundaries of Lancashire and Yorkshire, completed.
The 6 inch plans of Ireland, having proved of so much universal value, the government decided to have the six northern counties of England and all Scotland surveyed on the same scale, and, in consequence, Yorkshire and Lancashire, Wigtonshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Edinburghshire and the Isle of Lewis, were drawn and published on that scale. In 1851, in consequence of the recommendation of a Select Committee of the House of Commons presided over by Lord Elcho, the 6 inch survey was suspended and the 1 inch scale for the remainder of England and Scotland was ordered. In 1852, the 6 inch survey was again ordered to be resumed, and the counties of Haddington, Fife and Kinross were drawn and published on that scale.
In 1854 the ssoc scale was ordered for Ayrshire and Dumfrieshire in
consequence of the recommendation of certain scientific gentlemen con
sulted by the government. In 1855 the same scale was laid down for the
cultivated districts of the four northern counties of England and for the
16 Annual Estimate 1868-9, p. 127. 17 Military Forces of the Crown 1869, vol. II, p. 216.
1061
whole of Scotland. The uncultivated districts were at the same time to be surveyed on the 6 inch scale, so as to make the plans for every county perfect on that scale. The Treasury minute of 18 May 1855 also directed that large towns should be drawn on the 5io scale, and that the 6 inch plans should be reduced to the I inch scale to make the military map of the kingdom complete.18
Thereafter in 1855 the Ordnance Survey was transferred to the War Office, the geological survey having passed out of the Board's control in 1845. The former, however, did not long remain under the care of the Secretary of State for War as, on I April 1870, it was handed over to the Office of Works. Military opinion did not favour such a transfer and on 19 June 1876, the Commander-in-Chief expressed the opinion that it should be re-transferred to the War Office.19 This expression proved a vain hope as, after a sojourn of nineteen years under the care of the First Commissioner of Works, it found its present resting place, the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries (now the Ministry efAgriculture, Fisheries andFood) in 1889.
The Board were therefore responsible for the present duties of the Director-General of Ordnance Survey.
Defensive Works
Since earliest times, the Ordnance Department had been charged with the construction, care and maintenance of all forts, fortified places, harbours and military works, and in later years with all other buildings, such as barracks or hospitals, needed for troops. In 1717, the Board instituted the system ofstoppages for barrack damages. In order, however, to speed up the building of new barracks which were urgently needed, a special officer was detailed in 1792. In 1793 he was appointed Superintendent-General of Barracks, and by Royal Warrant of 30 May 1794, received the title of Barrack-Master-General of the Forces. A further warrant of 24 March 1795, defined the powers as between this official and the Board of Ordnance. The system by which an executive officer of the army, subject to the Mutiny Act, was entrusted with the expenditure of public funds without a seat in the House or being controlled financially by any responsible Minister, was a failure and the office of BarrackMaster-General was abolished in 1822, his duties being retransferred to
the Board. The Board therefore carried out the duties now associated with the
Quartermaster-General.
Contracts
The Board were authorized, on behalf of the Crown to contract for all trade supplies, including weapons, required by Sea 'and Land Forces. Such contracts had to be made under the sanction of the Clerk of the Ordnance as the financial officer directly responsible to Parliament for estimates and expenditure; there was to be no delegation of this duty to military officers. The specific instructions to the Board in this matter
were quite clear. In order to avoid creating a monopoly, the two parliamentary officers, the Clerk and the Surveyor-General, were required to 1 P.R.O/WO[g2/93, 7602/528.
• P.P.O./WO[32/93, 7602/i108.
APPENDIX IV
call before them such merchants and others who were known to be able to supply the goods required and to select the best offer. Articles when received and passed by the Surveyor-General were to be placed in store for future issue. Departmental wants were to be drawn from store and not from the open market in order to prevent a possible price ring against
the government.
The Board in this respect carried out the duties which at its demise devolved upon the Director of Army Contracts, some of which in turn were transferred to the Director of Contracts, Ministry of Supply, when that Ministry was formed in 1939. These have now reverted to the Director of Army Contracts.
Manufacturing Departments
Since the Board was responsible for the provision of munitions, stores bought under contract had to be supplemented by those made by direct manufacture. The Board therefore had charge of the government factories. These were originally eight in number, situated in six localities; the powder mills at Faversham, Ballingcollig and Waltham Abbey; the small arm establishments at Lewisham and Enfield Lock; and the manufactories at Woolwich. Early in the nineteenth century Faversham, Ballingcollig and Lewisham were abandoned, leaving only five factories to be administered by the Board durmg the last twenty odd years of its existence. These five were in 1855 handed over to the War Department and became known ultimately as the Royal Ordnance Factories. They were the Royal Gunpowder Factory, Waltham Abbey; the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock; and the Royal Laboratory, the Royal Gun Factory and the Royal Carriage Department in the Royal Arsenal. It is the latter three which form the subject of this book.
The Ordnance did not manufacture gunpowder till 1759. Prior to that date supplies were obtained from the East India Company. On 11 May 1759, a warrant was issued20 for purchasmg the powder mills at Faversham from Mr Benjamin Price for the sum of £5,682. Is. 7d. and the deed of conveyance for the factory was dated 16 May 1759.% A few months later another warrant under date 17 November 1759, set up the establishment at the Faversham Powder Mills. It was a very modest affair, the annual
expenditure being only £398. 5s. od.%
Its details were as follows:
Storekeeper £100 p.a.
Master Worker Clerk of the Cheque Extra Clerk £ 90 p.a. 454. 15s. £36. 1os. 0d. od. p.a. p.a.
2 Carpenters (12s. p.w. each) £ 62. 8s. od. p.a.
Hoy Master (12s. p.w.) {31. 4s. od. p.a.
Hoy Master's Mate (gs. p.w.) £23. 8s. od. p.a.
The powder mills at Faversham were sold in 1825, as on Friday 25 November of that year 'the Royal Powder Mills and Ordnance Lands and Premises at Faversham' came under the hammer at the Ship Hotel,
ao P.R.O[WO[55/359. Warrants and Orders in Council. a1 P.R.O[WO[55/36o. Warrants and Orders in Council. a+ P.R.O[WO[55/360. Warrants and Orders in Council.
1063
Faversham, Messrs Stevens and Brenchley of 36 Old Jewry, London, being the auctioneers. The property, divided into 15 lots, was purchased by Messrs John Hall and Sons, who carried on the works for eighty years. They were then absorbed by Messrs Curtis and Harvey Ltd., who gave way to Nobels Ltd. and eventually to Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd.23 Apparently, a certain portion of the Ordnance lands at Faversham known as the 'Quarsh Works' comprising 86 acres, 3 roods and 4 perches, remained unsold, and this property was leased to Messrs John Hall and Sons in 1834. Eventually, with Treasury approval all the remaining lands belonging to the Board of Ordnance at Faversham, were sold to Messrs John Hall and Sons, the arrangements for the sale being concluded by 9June 1854.%8 >
Ballingcollig was sold in 1834.
Powder mills had existed at Waltham Abbey since the sixteenth century, and these were purchased by the Crown from Mr Walton on I 8 October 1787 for the sum of,10,00o. In the past they had had their ups and downs, their periods of calm and disaster. Thomas Fuller who was connected with the living in 1641, says:%
'It is questionable whether the making of gunpowder be more profitable or more dangerous; the mills in my parish have been five times blown up in these seven years, but blessed be God without the loss of anyone man's life.' '
and from the Waltham Abbey parish register it appears that Thomas Gutridge and Edward Simons were 'killed with a powder mill' on 4 October 1665, and that Peter Bennet met his death by an explosion on 27 November 1720. Farmer"? gives a view of the factory in 1735, then the property ofJohn Walton, showing 2g buildings among which are certain stamping and horse mills. There were, in addition, a saltpetre refinery a charging house, a composition house, a corning and glazing engine and several drying stoves. The horse mill was probably akin to the modern mcorporatmg mill. Although horses continued to be used to help the a'ours and exertions of man, they were not the only form of motive power; water, in addition, was employed to drive the antiquated machinery, and in 1814 this prime mover eventually superseded the horse. When Government purchased the property it must have been in a shocking state of repair, as a further sum of £7,988. 18s. 82d. had to be spent in putting the buildings in a serviceable condition. This necessitated the presence ofbuilders and workmen for 18 months and completely prevented manufacture from proceeding during that period. The following letter
shows production to have commenced in February 1789:
'Royal Powder Mills. 6 Feb. 1789.
Sir,
We have (by a Messenger) received your directions to set the Mills to work, we beg leave to acquaint you that we mean to begin on Monday
" Archaeologia Cantiana, vol. LX, 1947, p. 66.
P.R.O/WO[47/1663, p. 10,207. ? ginrPapers, P.R.O]wo/5s/764. , !!orthies ofEngland 1662, vol. 1, p.338, Thomas Fuller.
t1istory of Waltham Abbey, 1735,J. F. Farmer.
1064
APPENDIX IV
morning as it will take all day tomorrow to provide the horses for grinding the composition and various other small matters which will be necessary to adjust before we begin.
We beg to inform you that we have your directions of 8 July on the Mode of Working; but you took back the paper which you gave the storekeeper wherein the manner of marking the barrels was inserted. We likewise beg to acquaint you that we have no cooper which Mr. Forman intimated would be sent from the Laboratory.
We have no mode of drying mill samples at present as the Cylinder is not set in the Proof House, neither does Mr Sutton know how it is to be fixed, therefore the Master Worker thinks to work 35 and 32 pound charges until the samples can be tried and proved that some conclusion may be drawn on working 38 pound charges.
We are, Sir, Your most obedient servants, Jas Wright Jno Clowdesly Major Congreve'
Misfortune dogged the management's footsteps as six days later one of the mills blew up. They were also not free from disciplinary troubles as witnessed by this second letter: 'Royal Powder Mills, Waltham Abbey.
22June 1789. My Lord Duke and Rt Honble and Honble Gent.
We beg to report that Donald M'Lean a Warder at this place has been obliged to quit these works on account of the treatment of a young woman servant to the Clerk of the Cheque, by forcing her into one of the Watch Houses and there cruelly treating and injuring her.
We beg to represent that it is not necessary to enter another labourer because the labourer you was pleased to order to be entered in the room ofDavid Bonner will be spared from the Refining House until the saltpetre is ordered to be melted.
We are, My Lord Duke and Rt. Honble and Hoble gentm Your Most Obedient and Humble Servants, Jas Wright Jno Clowdesley
His Grace the Master General and Board'
The land on which the factory stood, however, was not bought till 1795 as in September of that year Major (afterwards Sir William) Congreve-Comptroller, Royal Laboratory-was directed by the Duke of Richmond, Master-General of the Ordnance, to engage r4 or r5 of the best of Mr ,iValton's workmen to continue in the factory as government servants. When the Board of Ordnance acquired the mills on behalf of the Crown, the establishment of officials with their rates of pay considered
1065
APPENDIX IV
necessary to run the factory was laid down on 16 February 1789 as follows: Respective Officers (storekeeper) 1 at150 p.a. (clerk of the check) 1 at90 p.a.
1 at£7o p.a. Clerks 1 at£6o p.a. Master Worker 1 at £go p.a.
Surgeon 1 at£54. 15s. p.a. Mixing House Man 1 at 21s. p.w. Labourers for the Mixing Bouse 3 at 1os. 6d. p.w. Millwright 1 at 21s. p.w.
Carpenter I at 17s. 6d. p.w. Cooper 1 at I7s. 6d. p.w. Storehouse man
I at 14s. p.w. Storeman
2 at ros. p.w. Millman 12 at 12s. p.w. Labourers for Corning House and Glazing Engine
1r at ros. 6d. p.w. Saltpetre Mill Men
2 at 1Os. 6d. p.w. Charcoal and Sulphur Mill Men
2 at 1os. 6d. p.w. Dusting House Men
2 at 1os. 6d. p.w. Office Keeper
1 at 12s. p.w.
Barge Man
1 at 1Os. 6d. p.w.
Barge Man
r at gs. p.w. To make Powder Barrels
1 at 1os. 6d. p.w. To set and draw, stoves, weigh Labourers powder, &c.
3 at ros. 6d. p.w. { To assist the Bargeman to cut weeds
3 at ros. 6d. p.w.
Charcoal Burners
2 at 1os. 6d. p.w.
Warders
3 at 1os. 6d. p.w.
Watchmen
6 at rs. per night Horsekeeper (to be found by the Contractor) Horses for Charcoal, Sulphur and Saltpetre Mills and a Corning Engine
r at 8s. p.w.
Refiner
I at I7s. 6d. p.w.
Labourers to refine Saltpetre
6 at Ios. 6d. p.w.
APPRENTICES
To the Master Worker
T th 1at 75.p.w.
o t e refiner of Saltpetre 1at75.p.w. To the Mixing House Man 1 at 7s. p.w. To the Millwrights 1at7s.p.w. To the Carpenter 1at7.p.w.
EXTRA ALLOWANCE TO OFFICERS &C
Storekeeper, for House rent, Coals and ' Candles {a5 p.a. Clerk of the Cheque, for House rent Coals and Candles '
{o p.a.
Clerks, for House rent, Coals and Candles £15 p.a.
Master Worker. In lieu of Coals and Candles {5. 5. P.a.
Refiner of Saltpetre 4. 4s. p.a.
Extra pay to the Stovemen for night work 2 at 6d. per night
Extra pay to the Millmen for night work 12 at 3d. per night
Extra pay to the Bargemen when} employed in the Barge and absent 2 at 1s. 6d. p.d. from the Mills
Extra pay to Charcoal Burners } Foreman IS. 6d. p.d. when in the Country charring wood Assistant IS. p.d.
In 1791 double horse mills are mentioned; in 1796 powder appears to have been sent regularly to Purfleet for proof; in 18o1 the horse corning house exploded killing 9 men and 4 horses; and in 1804 six horse mills were erected on Horse Mill Island. Notwithstanding these vicissitudes the Royal Mills were in 18o4 turning out 2o,ooo barrels, i.e. about 800 tons of powder per annum. As a sequel to the explosion of 18o1 the Board of Ordnance asked a Committee of the Royal Society to investigate and report upon the possibility of danger arising from electrical excitation caused by walking or rolling barrels on leather covered floors or by the use of silk covered dusting reels. The Committee reported on 23July 1801 that no danger could arise from such causes. In 1811, another disastrous explosion occurred in a presshouse, corning house and reel house situated in the Lower Island Works which caused much loss of life and property. This led to a recommendation by the engineers entrusted with the work of reconstruction that Bramah presses should in future be used for pressing powder and that a machine be devised for breaking the pressed cake more gradually. This no doubt led to the invention of the granulating machine by Sir William Congreve, as in 1816 one of these machines was in operation in the Lower Island Works. In 1816 too, the present saltpetre refining house was built, though to the casual eye it looks like a relic from the Middle Ages; also, as before mentioned, water power completely eclipsed that of the horse as a driving force for the mills.
In 1829 three officers, ColonelJ.Jones, C.B., Royal Engineers, Colonel Sir Hugh S. Frazer, K.C.B., Royal Artillery and Major Thomas Moody, Royal Engineers, were formed into a committee to report on the Ordnance Works at Waltham Abbey and to propose any improvements and arrangements necessary to give the Royal Manufactory of Gunpowder its utmost efficiency. The following are some extracts from the Committee's subsequent report:
'The water power vested in the Board of Ordnance, and allotted to the purposes of manufacturing gunpowder consists of rather more than four miles of the original channels of the River Lea commencing at the fall of the stream of the King's Weir fall above, and extending to Black Ditch below the town.
The three falls of water are:
Paynes Island averaging about 1 ft. 6 ins. in depth.
One at Upper Mill Head averaging about 6 ft. in depth.
One at Lower Mill Head ,, ,, 2 ft. ro ins. in depth.
1066
70 1067
The two latter falls only being available for the purposes of the manufactory.
This body of water is often insufficient to work the whole of the machinery (owing to frost or drought), so that on an average full working days should not be taken at more than 28o in a year. Adopting the conventional term used among mechanics of a Horsepower for the standard of composition it is calculated that when the manufactory was at its greatest height of efficiency in 1814, the stream did actually operate to the power of 79 horses, viz :
On 15 gunpowder mills equal to 60 horses power. On 3 corning houses equal to 12 horses power. On 1 glazing mill equal to 5 horses power. On 1 dusting mill equal to 2 horses power.
The above mentioned machinery worked by water was in 1814 aided by five composition mills and seven mills for working the dust drawn by the ammal labour of 5o horses on an average. These two powers united being made to work night and day, Sundays included, and very extraordinary exertions being used by the workmen, the produce of the manufactory was that year raised to 25,000 barrels. The animal labour being deducted from this calculation, it would appear to be equal to the manufacture of more than 15,000 barrels annually.
At the conclusion of the late war, two water mills deemed unserviceable were taken down, as were also nine mills and two corning houses worked by horse power, and the material was sold. None of the five horse composition mills still existing is in a state to be set to work. Further since peace the limited expenditure authorized by the Board for repairs has very prudently and judiciously been applied by the executive officer to keepmg_ the more serviceable machinery of each nature of operation so far efficient as to ensure some power of reviving the manufacture whenever the demands of the Service shall require it, and at this period the only machinery in a condition to work consists of:
5 gunpowder mills in a state to do the work of 4 efficient mills. I gunpowder mill fitted up as a composition mill. Half a gunpowder mill fitted up to break mill cake. 3 cormng houses. 1 glazing mill. 1 dusting mill.
The gunpowder mills, however, are all much worn and very unstable and some of them are erected on very defective principles. The establishment of workmen is altogether unequal to the full employment of the machinery so that the extreme annual produce to be obtained from the manufactory ID its present state cannot be calculated higher than 3.500
barrels. '
A: new mill head is recommended to be excavated in Queen's Mead.
Since no arrangement for charring wood exists at Waltham Abbey, and, as this is very important, it is recommended that the cylinders at Faversham should be removed to Waltham Abbey.
1068
APPENDIX IV
. Storehouses on Horse Mill Island (originally a stable) must be considered a crippled building owing to its having been injudiciously loaded with sulphur.
The Committee recommended that:
1.
All mills newly erected should be placed angularly and not opposite to each other on their respective banks of the Mill Head.
2.
Water wheels and shafts should be made of cast iron instead ofwood.
3.
Powder should be glazed in barrels instead of reels.
4.
Self-registering thermometers should be introduced into the drying room to indicate to the Supermtendent on each inspection the greatest and lowest degree of heat that has been applied to dry the powder.
5.
Steam stoves rather than Cloner stoves should be approved.
6.
As the duties of the several persons employed in responsible situations have never been defined on any general principle of subordination or mutual co-operation, and at this time the chief of each division or branch of the manufactory regulates his practice on partial instructions or established usage and the Service has not the benefit of perfect unit and accord, some person under the title of Superintendent and living on the spot should have such a general control over all the working departments of the Manufactory as to be able to continue and direct their efforts at all times and under all circumstances to the advancement of the public interests, provided each Master Worker or Refiner by means of instructions from the Board specifying his responsibility and charge over his particular department, be protected from all possibility of wanton innovation or vexatious interference on the part of the Superintendent.
In 1843 a further terrible explosion in two corning houses, a press house and a reel house shook the factory and caused the loss of seven lives. It originated in a building where one of the old corning machines with shaking frames was at work. No machine of this description has been used at Waltham since, and soon after the accident, Professor Faraday and Colonel Cockburn, Director of the Royal Laboratory, visited the factory to report on various matters connected with the safety of the buildings. Twelve years afterwards the factory was transferred to the War Department.
Faversham, Ballingcollig and Waltham Abbey were under the control of an artillery officer styled in 1811 the Inspector ofthe Manufactory.
As has already been stated, the connection of the Ordnance with the small arms trade dates from June 16g1. This trade, originally carried out in London, moved to Birmingham in the eighteenth century or rather then commenced there de nova. As a result, the Office of Ordnance established a proof-house in that town to facilitate supplies. The business of the small arms department at the Tower was carried on by civilians deputed by the Surveyor-General and the Principal Storekeeper, assisted as necessary by the master furbisher. They received their orders, either directly from the Master-General and the Board, or through the Principal Storekeeper. Such means of supply were totally inadequate for the country's requirements and, therefore, by the end ofthe eighteenth century armed forces of the Crown depended for their complement of arms primarily upon the trade. When such a source proved insufficient, recourse
1069
had to be had to purchases from abroad. Mr J. Colegate, an officer of the Ordnance, was sent to Liege in 1779 to supervise the setting-up of 40,000 stands of arms for the British Government, while Major-General Miller was ordered to Liege and Hamburg on similar errands in 1 794-95 and 1800. By the beginningofthenineteenthcentury, therefore, the position in regards to small arms in this country had reached an extremely low ebb. In fact, in 1802, a public statement was made to the effect that the art of making military fire-arms in England had wellnigh vanished. Such a state of affairs was gravely disturbing in view of the European situation, and the government of the day felt, not unnaturally, that some steps were imperative. A Royal Warrant, dated r April 1804, was therefore issued, by which the small arms department, so far as provision, inspection and maintenance were concerned, was committed to the care of a new official, entitled the Inspector ofSmall Arms stationed at Birmingham. He was given a staff of one Assistant Inspector at £300 p.a. (his own salary being £400 p.a.), and several subordinate officers, the whole to be defrayed out of public funds at an annual cost of{1,17o. The first holder of this appointment was Major James Miller, R.A.,28 the Assistant Inspector being a civilian. In the same year, the manufacture of small arms under another Assistant Inspector, Thomas Alsop, was commenced at the Tower, part of the work being carried out at the premises of Mr Fullard, a gunsmith, in Allen Street. Production was at first confined to rough stocking and assembly from parts supplied by Birmingham, but accommodation proving insufficient when quantities increased, the old Armoury Mill at Lewisham, which had become semi-derelict, was pressed into service in 1807 to form a manufactory for the supply of locks and barrels under the superintendence of Mr J. Colegate. This was a major undertaking as it virtually meant setting up an entirely new factory at a considerable cost. The enterprise entailed a large building programme including, besides workshops, storehouses, grinding mills, roads, a proofhouse and a bridge, the erection of two houses for foremen and six cottages. Before commencing operations, the Board of Ordnance purchased the old mill machinery and fittings for £186, and the order to go ahead was given on 27 May 1807."° Captain Mulcaster, R.E., was put in charge of the constructional work and Mr Bordwine, senior clerk of works Mr Creed overseer of
''
works and Mr Barnes, foreman of bricklayers, all from the Royal Powder Mills at Faversham, were ordered to assist him. Staff now began to be recruited and the following appointments were made:
James Pearson to be temporary clerk at 3s. a day on 17 June 1807. Thomas Marshall to be storekeeper at [2oo p.a. on 21 August 1807. Christopher Walker to be established clerk at f7o p.a. on 25 January
1808. Thomas Stokes to be viewer of barrels at 7s. a day on 31 January 1808. Ralph Deane to be porter and messenger at 4s. a day on 8 July 1808.
H. Selwyn to be clerk of the cheque on 1 August 1808, replaced after his death by George Gaskoin on 1 January 1814.
+8 Afterwards a Major-General. Died at Charlton 24 March 1825.
• P.R.O/WO[47/2596, p. 1,293.
1070
APPENDIX IV
Building was got quickly under way and production commenced in March 1808. The original intention was to manufacture roo,ooo sets of materials annually for fire-arms, a figure afterwards lowered to 50,000 sets. Mills were therefore erected and machinery installed to grind 50,000 barrels a year. Power was supplied by water and steam, the former by means of sluice gates and water-wheels set up in the Ravensbourne, and the latter by an engine furnished by Messrs Lloyd and Ostell at a cost of {2,400. In addition, 50,000 locks, rammers and bayonets were to be provided. Later on, as the outcome of an accident, it was decided to confine the grinding of barrels to those of the new Land Service musket and Sea Service pistol, while the remainder of the manufactory concentrated on turning out regular India pattern locks required for the setting up of barrels already in store.
On 24 April 1809, the majority of the building work being completed, Captain Mulcaster handed over his responsibilities to Mr Tull, the principal clerk of works at the Tower of London, and returned to his normal duties at Faversham. Edward Bevan was, thereupon appointed Clerk of the Works at Lewisham at 7s. a day on 8 May 1809. Mr Colegate moved into one of the cottages when it was ready for occupation, having till then, like most ofthe officials, resided in lodgings in the neighbourhood. The small arms factory at Lewisham never had its own hospital, Mr Harris, a local surgeon, being engaged on 16 April 1810 to tend the sick for £60 a year, an allowance afterwards reduced to £40 p.a. when the number of workers decreased.
An old cash-book of 181o gives the wages paid to the employees at the Royal Manufactory of the Office of Ordnance, Lewisham, from August to December of that year. Three foremen and viewers were employed at 7s. a day; 24 artificers at 3s. to 4s. 6d. per day; and, in addition, there were 82 lock filers; 4 barrel filers; 4 barrel borers; 7 barrel grinders; 1 o barrel forgers-who incidentally had to pay for the fuel they consumed; 13 other workers and 9 labourers earning from 2s. to 2s. 6d. a day. In all, the establishment consisted of 156 persons and the wages bill amounted to £360 a week. One curious recurring item in the book shows the bother and expense involved in the Superintendent visiting his immediate chiefs in London. This item is '£2 for chair-hire to the Tower of London'. Such journeys were not only expensive, they must have been tedious in the extreme notwithstanding the countryside through which the conveyance would have passed. How different from modern conditions of travel!
Under stress of war, work increased and on 22 February 1811 it was decided to move the Tower workshops for small arms to Lewisham, and £20,000 to cover this transfer was included in the Ordnance estimates for that year. This comprised the assembling of Brown Bess muskets. In 1812, additional lathes were installed at the Lewisham factory to increase output.
Suddenly, as a result of Waterloo, the engines of policy were reversed.
Economy became the order of the day. In July 1815 output at Lewisham
was reduced to 25,000 muskets and barrels annually. In 1816, 77 artificers
and 30 boys were discharged from the Royal Armoury Mills, thereby
saving £9,600 a year, and, principally owing to transport difficulties and
1071
,,
the insufficiency of water-power at Lewisham, it was decided to transfer the barrel branch to the recently erected Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock. Mr Colegate also moved over and became the first Superintendent at the new factory, his place at Lewisham being taken by Mr Noble. The 'Locks' and 'Finishing' Sections soon followed the Barrel Branch to Enfield, and thereafter Lewisham merely became a repair depot. After two years of shrinking activity, an order was promulgated on 24January 1818 that all workmen at Lewisham were to be discharged except one foreman and a few selected men whose wages were not to excccd £3,531. 8s. od. a year. This was really a caretaker contingent to supervise the transfer of machinery and stores to Enfield. The end came on 23 October 1818."0 On that day directions were issued that Lewisham was to be abandoned as an Ordnance station, and that the whole process of small arm manufacture and repair was to be concentrated at Enfield. Thereafter the factory on the Ravensbourne was closed down and the site sold in the spring of the following year.
Utilization of the waters of the river Lea as a source of power was the primary object in establishing a factory at Enfield Lock, and, to this end, the Board of Ordnance purchased in 1811 the site together with an additional 25 acres of land surrounding it. The actual building of the establishment was commenced in February 1814 under the supervision of Major By, R.E., who commanded the Royal Engineers at Waltham Abbey, an officer who afterwards constructed the Rideau Canal in Canada and founded there the small village ofBytown which later developed into Ottawa, the present capital of the Dominion. Enfield was a much more ambitious project than the Lewisham mills, being conceived on more generous lines and costing about £100,000. For instance, it had 4 foreman's houses and 6o cottages. When ready for operations and after Mr Colegate's installation as Superintendent, Mr G. Lovell, clerk of the cheque at North Yarmouth, was appointed storekeeper on 1 April 1816 on a salary of £200 p.a.
The defeat of Napoleon, however, curtailed the oriainal Enfield scheme to a considerable degree. Work became confined to assembling the Brown Bess, repairing arms generally and manufacturing a limited number of swords and lances. On 21January 1818, the whole factory was placed on a red_uced basis and all workmen were discharged, except a foreman and certain selected employees whose wages were not to amount to more than {2,072. 6s. 8d. a year." It was indeed a sorry outcome of the builders'
hopes. By 1823, the factory, then known as the Royal Armoury Mills, the buildings of which and its enclosure covering some 7 acres, had a staff of only six foremen, two viewers, one mill-wright, twenty-eight artificers, one warder, three labourers and an odd man, figures which prove that at that date the Crown's production of small arms had, indeed, reached a very low ebb. Matters became worse in 1841 when the Small Arms Department at the Tower, together with its stock of flint-locks was completely destroyed by fire. During these somewhat depressing years of
P.R.O/WO[47/2,658, p. 3,446. • P.R.O/WO[47/2,655, p. <86.
1072
APPENDIX IV
English small arms history, however, genius had been busy, and the discovery in 1807 by the Reverend Alexander Forsyth of ignition by the percussion of fulminate of mercury, followed eleven years later by the percussion-cap, revolutionized the gun makers' outlook. Eventually a percussion musket was evolved in 1842 and on its introduction matters at Enfield Lock improved to a certain extent. A small number of these weapons were made there, but even then not in their entirety. Output commenced at about 7,000 per annum, in addition to 1,500 swords. These figures gradually increased until 1853 when the annual capacity of the factory reached 5o,ooo muskets and 5,ooo swords-the maximum number of arms ever produced in a single year prior to 1857/8. It appears that a goodly proportion of this produce was actually manufactured for export, the remainder being appropriated for government use. Between the years
1816 and 1853 two water-wheels of 46 H.P. had been installed for shop driving purposes. They were 18 feet in diameter by 14feet and 9 feet wide, being of the head wheel pattern made of cast iron. These power-units had no governors and were very irregular in output. In addition, workshops, offices and storehouses for gunstocks were erected, and houses for 64 families built. The factory property in 1853 was estimated at [{120,000. Owinrr to the isolated position of the factory a school for the children of employees was opened in 1846 and a chapel was built on the premises in 1857. The school continued to grow and flourish till it was eventually handed on to the Board of Education, and the chapel, the first incumbent of which was the Revd J. Harman, Vicar of St James's Church, Enfield Highway, at a stipend of[12o a year, was demolished in 1928.
On 7 October 1853, Mr (afterwards Sir) John Anderson, Inspector of Machinery, Royal Arsenal, was sent to Enfield Lock to report on the capabilities of that establishment in regard to the manufacture of bayonets by machinery. A further report was also furnished to the Board of Ordnance recommending the erection of an additional factory at Woolwich to give a daily output of 5oo muskets, Woolwich being selected as offering a more extensive field for the supply of suitable labour. These two questions apparently then became merged in the larger one of expanding Enfield to undertake by machinery the manufacture of muskets both for the Home Government and the Honourable East India Company. Opposition to this latter proposal being encountered in Parliament, the Government in March 1854 set up a Select Committee of the House of Commons under the chairmanship of Sir William Molesworth to enquire into the matter, and to consider the cheapest, most expeditious and most efficient manner of providing small-arms for her Majesty's Service. The Committee consisted of:
Mr Walpole. Colonel Dunne Colonel Maule Mr George Dundas Mr Muntz Mr Peach Colonel Bolders Viscount Jocelyn Mr Newdegate Colonel Lindsay Mr Mansell Lord Seymour Lord Paget The Judge Advocate
1073
and its labours were prodigious, comprising two volumes of some 570 pages.
Many witnesses were called including engineers of eminence, such as Mr Nasmyth, Mr Whitworth and Mr Anderson. Among others who gave evidence were Field-Marshal Lord Raglan, Master-General of the Ordnance; Captain Sir Thomas Hastings, R.N., Principal Storekeeper to the Board; Colonel Chalmer, President, Small Arms Committee; Lieut.Colonel Alexander Gordon, Member of the Small Arms Committee; Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Tulloh, R.A., Inspector of the Royal Carriage Department; Mr R. W. Gunner, Inspector of Small Arms; MrJ. Gunner, Superintendent, Enfield Lock; Colonel J. G. Bonner, Inspector of Stores to the East India Company; and Lieut.-Colonel Sam Colt of American pistol fame. It appears from the evidence that, at that date, the normal method of procuring the bulk of muskets required for the Services was to purchase, by open contract, all the separate components of the weapon and, after examination, to pass them into store. Issues of these were then made both to the factory at Enfield Lock and, in a greater degree, to contractors for the purpose of assembling them into finished weapons. A further inspection of the completed articles followed, upon the result of which they were either accepted or rejected for service. In a return intending to show the cause of rejection of barrels the following statements
occur:
'Another and very potent element of difference arises out of the system under which the manufacture is carried on in the two places, (i.e. Enfield and Birmingham). At Enfield no workman is admitted unless he be of the first class in his trade, and of sober, moral and regular habits. He has the assistance of the best machinery and works under the immediate eye of the viewer, who corrects any errors of work as they arise. He has a comfortable home and receives his wages in full at a certain hour every weck. Whereas at Birmingham, the first and ruling question is price; the man who will work at the lowest rate is entrusted with it, without much care as to capability or character; there is little or no tie between him and his master; he is mulcted for the millpower that he uses and for tools, and he receives his wages often very irregularly. The consequence is, that his workmanship is inferior and the men resort to all sorts of shifts and tricks to evade the viewer's cye. The master complains of the injustice of the mspection, when it is his own fault for employing inferior workmen and screwing them down in price.'
These statements show that a high standard of work and integrity was mamtamed at the Royal Small Arms Factory, Enfield Lock, a fact borne out by the set of instructions issued by Mr G. Lovell, Inspector of Small Arms, to Mr W. Evans who was appointed a viewer at Enfield in April 1841-twelve ycars earlier.
'In the exercise of your duty you must be perfectly impartial; no relative or friend is to be favoured, and no feeling of grudge or ill-will against master or man must be admitted, when deciding upon the work that passes through your hands. Look first to the public service, and, that secured, then exercise your view with temper and discretion.
1074
APPENDIX IV
'No presents or offerings of any kind are to be accepted from either contractors or workmen employed by them, whether in the name of Christmas-boxes, or under any other pretence whatever; and any viewer accepting presents from those persons will be liable to instant discharge.
'You will do well not to join yourself with political societies, or with any Trades Union either of masters or men; and connection with the last-mentioned would at once render you unfit for your situation.
'It is needless, I trust, to point out to you that habits ofintemperance will equally unfit you for your duties. If these are ever observed, you would expose yourself to inevitable discharge, whatever your previous length of service may have been.
'Be regular and punctual in attendance upon your duty, recollecting that you are exonerated from call, because confidence is placed in you that the indulgence will not be abused.
'And to conclude, by way of advice, let me remind you that no man can be free or independent who is not careful in the management of his private affairs, nor can anyone possess feelings of self-respect if he gives way to immoral or intemperate habits.'
World conditions might improve if such a spirit pervaded industry today. To return to the Committee's deliberations, Colonel Chalmer and Lieut.-Colonel Tulloh put in a statement reviewing the then existing state of small arms manufacture. They showed the impossibility of exercising
proper government control as to price and quality and drew a picture of underpaid men working with ill-equipped machinery in wretched garrets and dark cellars. Such conditions seem fantastic to our modern minds, but it is quite conceivable that when such conditions existed workmanship and accuracy were bound to suffer. Finally, they pressed for an up-to-date government factory sufficiently large to cope with the quantity of arms
required. A memorandum dated 18 February 1854, attached to the report, stated that in 1803 when the war with France was renewed, the scarcity of arms was so great and the want of them so urgent, that the government had recourse to foreign markets and bought up all the weapons that could be obtained. These were poor in quality, cumbrous and heavy in pattern and comparatively few in number. At the peace in 1815, after Waterloo, the manufacture of small arms for the Government ceased and the workmen were dispersed, only a small nucleus at Enfield being retained. In 1840, when an attempt was made to produce weapons sufficient in quantity to equip the Army, great difficulties were experienced in collecting together a sufficient number of trained men. In 1851, a similar state of affairs was again disclosed. Finally, on 12 May 1854, the Committee recommended that the existing system of contracting for the supply of small arms should be continued. It considered, however, that the Board of Ordnance should undertake manufacture to a limited extent. Such a manufactory would serve as an experimental plant wherein the advantages of a more extended application of machinery could be observed; it would also act as a check
1075
upon contractors' prices and as a cadre ready for expansion in times of national emergency.
Independently, apparently, of the Select Committee's recommendation, the Board of Ordnance, owing to delays in the fulfilment of contracts and to strikes among London and Birmingham gun-makers during the Crimean War, decided in the same year to take over completely the manufacture of small arms. A suitable building for this purpose was therefore planned and some £150,000 was added to the estimate to cover the cost of the necessary machinery and, at the same time, on the advice of Mr (afterwards Sir Joseph) Whitworth, a mission consisting of Lieut.-Colonel Burn, R.A., Major Turbeville, Lieutenant Warlow, R.A. and Mr John Anderson visited the principal government factories in the United States where the fabrication of small arms by machinery was effected, with a view to collecting information concerning manufacturing processes and to purchasing suitable machinery. As a result, 57 milling machines at £60 each and 8 universal millers at £160 each were bought from Morris Robbins and Laurence, Windsor, Vermont, and machinery to the value of some £7,500 was obtained from the Arms Manufacturing Company of Chicopee, Massachusetts. Also, the services ofl\1r J. H. Burton, Master Armourer of Harpers' Ferry, U.S.A., were engaged for Enfield in order to design the fixings and the new tools required for the new system. The report of the mission, together with the facts and opinions elicited from the Select Committee, resulted in the reorganization of the Enfield establishment and its adaptation as a factory for the manufacture of small arms on the principle of inter-changeability. In February 1855, Colonel (after Major-General) Manly Dixon, R.A., was gazetted as Super
intendent, Royal Small Arms Factory, being the first military officer entrusted with the entire control of this important branch of the War Department's activities. The work of reconstruction at Enfield com
.. • '
mencing in the latter part of 1854, was completed at the end of 1857-8 at an outlay of £go2,88o including the value of such portions of the original works as were adapted to, or necessary for, the requirements of the new factory. These changes amounted to a rebirth and it may be said with truth that during the Crimean War the Royal Small Arms Factory was born from the existing Royal Armoury Mills; it was in effect a new factory on an old site. The sum spent on land, buildings, machinery,
gas works, etc. amounted to {315,000 and by 1862 this amount, together with the {48,ooo depreciation had been repaid by the reduced cost of product10n. The ~ebuilding was entrusted to Major-General Collinson, R.E., and the maximum output from the completed project was estimated to be 130,000 muskets, bayonets, etc per annum. The War Department thus inherited an up-to-date Establishment.
In the sphere of manufacture therefore the Board carried out the functions now assumed by the present Controller of Ordnance Factories, the Inspection J?epartments and the Proof and Experimental Officer.
HaVIng detailed at some length the responsibilities of the Board of Ordnance thrust upon them by Charles II it is advisable to throw the mind back in order to appreciate the administrative changes which the Office has undergone since late Stuart times.
1076
APPENDIX IV The size of the armed forces by the end of the seventeenth century had necessitated the provision of more storehouses and magazines, not only at the Tower, but in various outports such as Woolwich, Portsmouth, Chatham, etc. This in turn entailed the employment of more 'storekeepers, clerks, labourers and other necessary instruments and ministers' at these places. On 4 August 1693, therefore, a warrant"? was addressed to the Master-General authorizing him to pay the additional wages and allowances due to such increases of establishment. A few years later a decision was made to augment the peace establishment of the Ordnance
in order to counter-balance the losses sustained by the disbandment of certain units after the Treaty of Ryswyck on 20 September 1697. To this end the following warrant, dated 14 February 1699,33 was addressed to
the Earl of Romney, who had by then assumed the office of Master-General. 'Whereas We have thought fit to dismiss the several traynes ofartillery that have been employed in Our Service in the late wars as well by sea as land, yet forasmuch as We think the numbers of engineers, gentlemen of the Ordnance, bombadiers and gunners that were formerly kept upon the establishment in time of peace, not sufficient for the security and necessary defence of Our Realms and Dominions upon any occasion that may happen We have thought fit to make such an addition thereunto (out of those persons that have served Us well and faithfully in Our said
traynes during the war) as is contained in the Schedule annexed which We do hereby settle and establish to be kept in Our pay in time of peace until We declare Our further pleasure.
We authorize you out of such monies as shall be paid into the treasury of Our Ordnance upon account of Land Service to cause the sums and allowances mentioned in the schedule amounting to £2,573 to be paid quarterly to those therein mentioned from rst inst. and as vacancies shall happen to fill the same.'
SCHEDULE An additional establishment to be kept in pay in time ofpeace
6 Engineers at £1oo each p.a. [6oo 4 Sub-engineers at£5o each p.a. £2oo 6 Gentlemen of the Ordnance at 4o each p.a. {a4o 1a Bombadiers at £36. 1os. od. each p.a. £438 6o Gunners at £,18. 5s. od. each p.a. £1,095 Total p.a. £2,573
The Earl of Romney was also ordered to pay certain allowances to the officers and others of the regimental trayne of artillery 'lately broke'
with effect from 1 February 16gg. These were:
4 Captains Jonas Watson, Edward Gibbon, Edmund Wilkinson and William
Bousfield £6o p.a. each
2 Firemasters John Lewis Schlundt and Robert
Gaybon {5o p.a. cach
s2 William and Mary, H.O. Military Entry Book 2, p. 378. +s S.P. Dom. William III, 44, 167, pp. 416-8, 421.
1077
4 First Lieutenants Ralph Wood, Thomas Rashell, Peter Gelrnoyden and George Brittonstem {50 p.a. each
5 Second Lieutenants Joseph Durden, Andrew Bonnell, Edward Glover, George Spencer and Roger Coleburne {40 p.a. cach
12 Fireworkers Thomas Newton, Zachariah Smith, Thomas Reydon, William \Vilks, Bryan Ororeh, Andrew Hideman, Richard Silver, Thomas Dodge, John Winskell, Alexander Silver, Joakim MiIler and James Finney {40 p.a. each
8 Sergeants (named) {2op.a. each Total 1,400 p.a. On 30 December 1702, the Duke of Marlborough authorized payment to all the increased staff at outstations caused by the larger number of stores then held and the issue to all forts, garrisons and land forces of such additional warlike equipment as they might from time to time require.34 On 8 August 1712, the Treasury wrote to the Board of Ordnance suggesting that the establishment of the Office might be reduced. This was perhaps in the circumstances a pious hope, but it was genuinely inspired by the haunting dread of bankruptcy which always seemed to be lurking in the shadows of Ordnance expenditure. Receiving no answer to his modest request, the Lord Treasurer wrote again on 20 Auo-ust asking the Principal Officers to attend the Treasury to discuss the matter. Nothing of any importance seems to have eventuated from that meeting, for _the Office, rather than shrinking, continued to grow. Several changes to improve the Ordnance Service were put forward on 1 July 1718. This did save {12o. 7s. 6d. though it is doubtful whether it brought much comfort to the harassed Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury. In the statement submitted, it was notified that 'Upon reading this day at the Board a representation for the Principal Officers of the Ordnance to His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, Master-General, dated 12 October 1716 setting forth several defects in the Civil Branch of the former Establishment and occasioned by the increase of business at some places and decrease at others, a present instance of which is in that of ~he Storekeeper of Gravesend and Tilbury Fort which when built was designed for a Grand Magazine, but being found improper has been continued at Woolwich. Whereupon His Grace approved that the new storekeeper lately appointed should have but [6o out of {roo and the other £40 applied for an officer to attend the view and receipt of small arms which has been very much wanted,35 Arising out of all these discussions a new establishment was in fact set up in 1716 which did attempt to bring the whole Office, both at headquarters and in the provinces, more into line with conditions then existing. It was a laudable endeavour to cut out the dead wood from a living tree. This new establishment effected no immediate savings because ·4 S.P. Dom. Anne, Entry Book 171, pp. 102-105. + P.R.O/WO/55/406. 1078
APPENDIX IV
the salaries of the holders of the posts abolished under it were transferred to what was known as a 'Sinking Establishment', on which they were paid until the said holders were released by death or being found other posts under the new establishment. There was no superannuation in those days, and permanent Crown servants remained in their appointments during the term of their natural life. Only in very exceptional circumstances were other arrangements made. The new establishment was designed to save money in the long run, but it never did, because new posts were created in it at a faster rate than the old ones on the sinking establishment died out. Theoretically, however, it was a move in the right direction.
Oaths of allegiance had for long years been demanded from those who served in the Office of Ordnance. An entry36 in the Journal Books for Tuesday 2o November 1716, shows that in the outports the ceremony was conducted by the storekeepers. On 25 September 1721, a warrant@7 declared that poundage of 6d. a day was to be deducted from the salaries and wages of all those who served in the Office of Ordnance. One can well imagine that such an action on the part of the authorities was not received with much enthusiasm. Increasing pressure of work on the Secretary of the Board led to his being unable to devote sufficient of his time to the personal needs of the Master-General. Further secretarial assistance was thus required and, on 1 June 1727, a warrant38 authorized a post of 'Under-Secretary to the Master-General' at a salary of £150 p.a.
As the years rolled on the Board of Ordnance grew in stature and importance, eventually controlling very large sums of public money. It had its detractors for no government corporation is free from criticism and some of it was justified. Although in its statutes the Board aimed at a standard of political excellence, which it essayed to follow when circumstances were favourable, and inculcated in the minds of its subordinates the spirit of lofty financial and economic precepts, it did not always observe the same high principles in its own immediate circle. It saved money legitimately by its admirable cross-checking system, but wasted it in the long run by starving essential services illegitimately, hampering the Army and obstructing generals. As a result, over a long course of years, the Board got into debt. While parsimonious in its outgoings when a call for a cut in expenditure was made, it was tender towards its own members and retainers. Jobbery certainly persisted-it was symptomatic of the times-but on the whole its patronage was fairly exercised. There has been a tendency since its abolition to regard the Office of Ordnance as a supine organization, slack in its efforts and careless of its responsibilities. Such a criticism, however, is not justified. On occasions, particularly in the equipping of the Services to meet sudden emergencies, it acted with commendable promptitude, and the armed forces of the Crown might well have fared worse under a different system of supply. Considering the times in which it functioned, it should be given its mead of praise for the way in which it carried out its all-embracing task. It was certainly
a· P.R.O[WO[47/29, p. 278. + P.R.O/WO[55/348. P.R.O/WO[55/348.
1079
generous to its servants and was in all respects a model employer. It treated its industrial problems with care, solicitude and understanding and in this respect was in advance of contemporary undertakings.
The Office got badly into debt in I 747%% to the tune of over a quarter of a million pounds. On 9 March 1748, the House of Commons ordered that the state of the Ordnance debt on 31 December 1747, namely {230,382. 5s. 1d. should be laid before it.
The reasons given for the debt were:
(a)
The extraordinary expenses in hiring storehouses, magazines, wharves, etc., and the pay of personnel at Kinsale and Jamaica for the use of the Royal Navy.
(b)
The additions and alterations made to the establishment of guns and gunners' stores for the Royal Navy, pursuant to H.J'v1.'s Orders in Council.
(c)
The loss of guns and gunners' stores with H.M. ships, sloops and vessels during the war.
(d)
The vast increase in the Royal Navy, which employed and maintained such a number of men over and above those voted, has in great measure been the occasion ofthis debt; there being an intimate connection betwixt the Navy and Ordnance Office, that what increase there is on this head must necessarily increase that of the Ordnance in proportion.
The debts were discharged by Act of Parliament. In addition, the
Master-General called for more strict regulations by asking the Board to
tighten up, to meet conditions then prevailing, the original instructions
laid down by Charles II and subsequentlyconfirmed. This the Board
proceeded to do.
Soon after the beginning of the eighteenth century, the Board of Ord
nance vacated their office in the Tower and held their meetings in Old
Palace Yard, Westminster. Later on they moved temporarily into another
building in the same locality, for on 1o June 1766 they agreed with
Mrs Margaret Gell for the hire of a house in the Yard for £roo p.a. for
3 years, with power to extend the lease to 7 years. They proposed to
repaint the house inside and out and take possession on midsummer's
day. The landlord agreed to repair all fixtures, windows, &c., and to do
any whitewashing which the Board might leave undone.40
Meanwhile, it was suggested that the Board should have its own building on a plot in Whitehall. Since this was not convenient, the Treasury gave instructions to the Board of Works to erect an Office of Ordnance in St Margaret's Lane, Westminster, in accordance with a plan approved by the Board ofOrdnance. The Principal Officers were informed of this on 19June 1766, and were told that the Board of Ordnance would be expected to reimburse the Board of Works for all expenses connected with this project.41 Eventually the Board of Ordnance moved to their final office in Pall Mall.
In 1780, Edmund Burke introduced his Bill for Economical Reform in the House of Commons, the Act for Economical Reform being passed "» P.R.O[WO[47/34, Sections 11, 29, 33. 40 Ordnance Journal Book, P.R.O[of47/67, p. 425. " Ordnance Journal Book. P.R.O[WO[47/67, p. 454, 23 June 1766.
1080
APPENDIX IV
in 1782. 4° This was the first attempt of the century to place the national finances on a sounder basis and to reduce patronage, sinecure, bribery and corruption. One of the seven great principles which Burke enunciated was 'that all subordinate treasuries drawing to themselves as much money as they can, keeping it as long as they can and accounting for it as late as they can, ought to be abolished. They have a tendency to perplex and distract public accounts, and to excite a suspicion of government even beyond the extent of their abuse.' The Board of Ordnance was one of these independent treasuries and Burke launched a special attack against it, proposing a radical reorganization of the whole Ordnance system. In brief, his proposals in this respect, which never flowered, amounted to the suppression of the Board, the handing over of its military affairs to the Army and of its naval affairs to the Admiralty. The Board therefore survived this assault.
Up to this time, the money voted by Parliament for Ordnance services had been at the Board's disposal to spend as it thought fit. Although there was in existence an order, honoured entirely in the breach and not in the observance, forbidding any increase in the establishment of the Ordnance without the king's sign-manual, increases and changes were made without authority involving additional expenditure of public funds. Since the time of Charles II many new depots had been opened and extra posts created, a proportion of which were sinecures. Over its whole business the Board reigned supreme and was practically devoid of financial control. As a result, its finances became hopelessly muddled and it fell into debt to the tune of [8oo,ooo. One result of the 1782 Act was to put matters on a better footing. Finance was placed under Treasury control and the Board was required to present detailed estimates of its future expenditure, which, if approved, were to be subject to audit. Another result was that in 1783, the Board of Ordnance issued a stringent order that any person on its pay roll taking a gratuity from a contractor, acting as a contractor's agent or enjoying any interest whatsoever in a contract was to be instantly dismissed and become ineligible for any further employment. This apparently tended to be disregarded, as a similar order was promulgated twenty years later. Sinecure posts still continued to exist, however, as that of Treasurer worth £600 p.a. and filled by an elderly recipient was not abolished till 1836, notwithstanding the fact that its functions had wholly disappeared on the passing of Burke's Reform Bill.
One of the easiest ways to defraud the public is by dishonest inspection, as no system of accounting yet devised can reveal the machinations of an inspecting officer open to graft. A grand opportunity therefore exists for this sort of practice in an unscrupulous society. In I 779 such grave complaints were made concerning the quality of munitions supplied by the Board, that two artillery officers were instructed to investigate. Their report showed that considerable mal-practice had occurred in regard to both guns and ammunition. As a result, armament inspection was taken out ofthe hands ofthe Surveyor-General and his proofmasters and handed over to specified artillery officers by Royal Warrant dated 25 January
1783.
4· 22. GEO. III, cap. bxxii.
1081
Although the Board at this period met regularly, it had practically ceased to function as a board, the only matters subject to its jurisdiction being those of a routine nature which in accordance with statute had thus to be sanctioned as a formality. In reality, the Master-General, who never attended Board meetings, gave effect to government policy by conveying its military and armament decisions to the Lieutenant-General, and its instructions in regard to supply, custody, equipment of forts and barracks to the Surveyor-General. The day to day work of the Office was in the hands of the permanent officials.
As British possessions overseas multiplied, the Colossus grew and strictures on it continued. By 1796, the number of store depots, exclusive of Ireland, had risen to 54 not counting one or two special establishments connected with the royal palaces. Eventually the ramifications of the Office of Ordnance embraced the Empire, its stations abroad and in the colonies reaching a total of 98 in 1828, albcit that those in North America had been given up after the Treaty of Versailles on 3 September 1 783. The provisioning of these depots made freightage an important item. A Superintendent of Shipping had been created in 1777, and the Board not only hired vessels for its purposes but began to own craft for coastwise traffic. The welfare of the Royal Artillery and the Royal Sappers and Miners entailed not only their housing but also their care when sick, so hospitals as well as barracks were the responsibility of the Board. In order to place the medical services on a sounder basis, the Ordnance Medical Department, under a Director-General of Ordnance Medical Services was formed43 by warrant dated 1 September 1801. Although retrenchments in the Army were made after the Napoleonic wars, Ordnance activities grew. In 1834 it undertook to supply food and fuel to the troops at home. During the last decades of its existence the Board of Ordnance found, stored and issued everything provided centrally for the Army and for other services as well, such as the Irish Revenue Department, the Metropohtan Police and the convict stations. In addition, it acted as a central forwarding agency for everything required for the Land Forces. No wonder its estimates became swollen out of all recognition and increased tenfold between 1700 and 1840.
All these multitudinous duties and far-flung activities made constant changes in establishment necessary. Numbers and salaries rose though in the Board's declining years a tendency towards a decreas; could be observed. To outline all these numerous changes would be tedious, suffice it to say that warrants covering such alterations in pay and strength were issued in 1783, 1801, 1802, 1808, 1821, 1825, 1828 and later. As an example of the upward trend in expenditure the appointment of a Secretary to the Master-General may be quoted. The original post of Under-Secretary at £150 a year had been abolished and it was considered necessary to approve of a Secretaryship in lieu. The warrant for this new post was dated 7 November 1814," and was to carry a fixed salary of
{2,000 p.a. for the first threc ycars and £2,500 p.a. for cach succeeding year m place offees and allowances. The pay was fixed at this high figure
«· P.R.O/HO[50/390, pp. 397-407
• P.R.O[WO[55/4a1 p. 26o: P.RO/HO/50/461 PP. 14, 15.
1082
APPENDIX IV
because it was stated that his duties were analogous to those of an UnderSecretary of State.
Although the Ofice of Ordnance had for a long time adopted a device or crest to distinguish its property, such use had never been registered in the _College of Arms, and the armorial ensign it had adopted had not received the royal approval. The following is an extract from a Royal Proclamation dated 1 January 1801:
'For the better distinction of . . . ships or vessels which may be employed by . . . the Principal Officers of Our Ordnance ... Our Royal Will and Pleasure is that such ships and vessels as shall be employed for Our Service by the Principal Officers of Our Ordnance ... shall wear a Red Jack with a Union Jack in a canton at the upper corner thereof, next the staff ... and in the other part of the said Jack shall be described the Seal used in such of the respective Offices aforesaid, by which the ships and vessels shall be employed.'
. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, the Board's unportance in the affairs of the country and its prestige in the counsels of the land, having grown to such dimensions, it was felt that an omission
of
this nature should be rectified. George III, therefore, conferred this right to bear arms by warrant under his royal signet and sign manual on 19July 1806.45
Ensign and Seal, Board of Ordnance, Royal License, r8o6
George R.
George the third by the grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith &c. To Our Right Trusty and Right Entirely beloved cousin Charles Duke of Norfolk, Earl Marshal and Our hereditary Marshal of England, Greeting. Whereas Our Right Trusty and Right Well-beloved cousin and Privy Councillor Francis Earl of Moira, Master-General as well of all and all manner of Our Ordnance as of Our Arms, Armories and other Habilements of War within Our United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland hath represented unto Us that on an examination of the records of the College of Arms he finds that the Armorial Ensigns hitherto used by the Right Honorable and Honorable the Board of Our said Ordnance have not been duly registered in Our said College and the said Francis, Earl of Moira, being desirous that such Registry should be made, Know ye therefore that We of Our Princely Grace and Special Favour have given and granted and by these Presents do give, grant and confirm unto Our said Right Honorable and Honorable Board Our Royal License and Authority to bear the Arms hitherto used by them, viz, AZURE, THREE FIELD PIECES IN PALE OR, ON A CHIEF ARGENT, THREE CANNON BALLS SABLE with the following crest OUT OF A MURAL CROWN A DEXTER HAND HOLDING A THUNDERBOLT ALL PROPER together with the Motto SUA TELA TONANTI, and, although the privilege of bearing supporters be limited to Peers of Our Realm and the Proxies of Princes of Our Blood at Installations except in such cases wherein
«· P.R.O[WO[g2/176.
71 1o8g3
APPENDIX IV APPENDIX IV
under particular circumstances Vie have been pleased to grant Our ·Especial License for the use thereof, We are further desirous of allowing the said Right Honorable and Honorable Board to bear, and do accordingly grant for supporters to the said Arms ON EITHER SIDE A CYCLOPS IN THE EXTERIOR HAND OF THE DEXTER A HAMMER, IN THAT OF THE SINISTER A PAIR OF FORCEPS RESTING ON THE SHOULDER OF EACH RESPECTIVELY ALL PROPER, the whole as in the painting hereunto annexed to be borne and used for ever hereafter by the said Right Honorable and Honorable Board of Our Ordnance on a Common Seal, Shields, Banners or otherwise according to the Laws of Arms, the same being first duly exemplified and Recorded in the Heralds' Office, otherwise this Our License and Authority to be void and of none effect. Our Will and Pleasure therefore is that you Charles Duke of Norfolk to whom the cognizance of Matters of this nature doth properly belong, do require and command that this Our Concession and Especial Mark of
Our Royal Favour be registered in Our College of Arms to the end that Our Officers of Arms and all others upon occasion may take full notice and have Knowledge thereof, and for so doing this shall be your Warrant. Given at Our Court of St. James this nineteenth day ofJuly 1806 in the forty-sixth year of Our Reign.
By His Majesty's Command Spencer
George IV confirmed the grant by patent 16 May 1823. The following is a transcript of the patent: To all and Singular to whom these Presents shall come Sir George
Naylor, Knight, Garter Principal King of Arms, Ralph Bigland, Esquire, Clarenceux King of Arms, and Edmund Lodge, Esquire, Norroy King ofArms send greeting. Whereas His late Most Sacred Majesty by Warrant under his Royal Signet and Sign Manual bearing date the nineteenth day ofJuly 1806 signified unto the late Most Noble Charles, Duke of Norfolk, then Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England that he had been pleased to give and grant unto THE RIGHT HONOURABLE AND HONOURABLE THE BOARD OF HIS MAJESTY'S ORDNANCE His Royal License and Authority to bear the Arms hitherto used by them viz: "AZURE THREE FIELD PIECES IN PALE OR ON A CHIEF ARGENT THREE CANNON BALLS SABLE" with the following crest "OUT OF A MURAL CROWN A DEXTER HAND HOLDING A THUNDERBOLT ALL PROPER" together with the motto "SUA TELA TONANTI" and to allow the said Board to bear for supporters to the said Arms on either side "A CYCLOPS IN THE EXTERIOR HAND OF THE DEXTER A HAMMER IN THAT OF THE SINISTER A PAIR OF FORCEPS RESTING ON THE SHOULDER OF EACH RESPECTIVELY ALL PROPER" as in the painting annexed under the said Royal Warrant the said Arms and Supporters to be borne and used forever hereafter by the said BOARD on a Common Seal, Shields, Banners or otherwise according to the laws of Arms, the same being first duly exemplified and Recorded in the Herald's Office,
1084
otherwise His Majesty's said License and Permission to be void and of none Effect. And forasmuch as Henry Thomas Howard-MolyneuxHoward, Esquire, commonly called the Right Honourable Lord Henry Thomas Howard-Molyneux-Howard (with the Royal Approbation) to his Brother the Most Noble Bernard Edward, Duke of Norfolk, Earl
• Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England hath by Warrant under his Lordship's Hand and Seal bearing date the twelfth day of May instant authorized and directed us to exemplify the said Armorial Ensigns and Supporters accordingly. Know ye therefore that the said Garter, Clarenccux and Normy in obedience to the Royal Command in pursuance of His Lordship's Warrant and by virtue of the Letters Patent of Our Several Offices to each of Us respectively granted do by these Presents exemplify under the said RIGHT HONOURABLE AND HONOURABLE THE BOARD OF HIS MAJESTY'S ORDNA.l~CE the Arms following, that is to say "AZURE 3 FIELD PIECES IN PALE OR ON A CHIEF ARGENT 3 CANNON BALLS PROPER" and for the Crest "OUT OF A MURAL CROWN ARGENT A DEXTER CUBIT ARM THE HAND GRASPING A THUNDERBOLT WINGED AND INFLAMED PROPER" with the Motto following "SUA TELA TONANTI" and I the said Garter do by these Presents exemplify unto the said BOARD the
Supporters following, that is to say on either side A CYCLOPS IN THE EXTERIOR HAND OF THE DEXTER A HAMMER AND IN THAT OF THE SINISTER A PAIR OF FORCEPS RESTING ON THE SHOULDER OF EACH RESPECTIVELY ALL PROPER" the whole as in the margin hereof more plamly depicted the said Arms, Crest and Supporters with the Motto to be borne and used for ever hereafter by the said RIGHT HONOURABLE AND HONOURABLE THE BOARD OF HIS MAJESTY'S ORDNANCE on a Common
Sh· Ids Banners or otherwise according to the Tenor of the said
Sea1 1e, , · hfWth •d
R 1 Warrant and the Laws of Arms. In witness t.erco! e .e sa1 &,,, carcnccu and Norroy King of Arms have to those Presents "b d our names and affixed the Seals of Our Several Offices this
subsene . s ·
Sixteenth day of May in the fourth year of th Reign of Our Sovereign Lord George the Fourth by the grace of God of the 1:Jmted Kingd?m of Great Britain and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c. and in the Year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-three.
George Naylor Ralph Bigland Edmund Lodge Garter Principal Clarenceux Norroyf Ar King of Arms King of Arms
K.ing o: ms By this time, with the general advance in the cost of living the salaries
of the Master-General and Principal Officers of the Board had risen to: Master-General £3,709, Lieut.-General £,1,525, Surveyor-General £1,225, the Clerk of the Ordnance £825, the Principal Storekeeper £725
and the Clerk of Deliveries [1,0oo, with a further sum of £goo p.a. to the latter during war. In addition, all the Principal Officers were allowed £25 p.a. for stationery besides certain patent fees which ranged from £ 4. 15s. od. in the case of the Principal Storekeeper to £18. 5s. od. in
5
that of the Clerk of Deliveries. 1085
In 18g0, the Board of Ordnance was reduced to three members, the posts of Lieutenant-General and Clerk of Deliveries being abolished. The Parliamentary committee which had sat during 181o and 1811 advocated the abolition of the office of Lieutenant-General but it took twenty years to implement.
Although the end was not yet in sight, the faint writing on the wall now became manifest. The Committee set up in 1828 reported very favourably on the Board of Ordnance and considered that the system it employed might well be followed in other branches ofthe administration. This proposal did not pass unnoticed by Earl Grey's Cabinet in 1831, and the scheme for consolidating the various departments of the Admiralty adopted by Parliament followed the Ordnance model. In 1832, the office of Treasurer of the Ordnance in Ireland was abolished, and his duties devolved on the Treasurer of the Ordnance in the United Kingdom.46 In December 1833, a commission was issued to the Duke of Richmond and others to enquire into the practicability and expediency of consolidating the various departments connected with the civil administration of the Army. The object of this committee was to extend, not to abolish, the Ordnance system by incorporating the War Office, the Office of the Paymaster-General to the Forces, the Commissariat and other smaller bodies into a Board under a Civil Commissioner of Cabinet rank, transferring the command of the military branch of the Ordnance to the Commander-in-Chief. During the following year the Board of Ordnance did, as already stated, supply food and fuel to the Army at home. Objcctions, however, were raised in high quarters to this concentration of power and responsibility in one Department of State; over-centralization was stressed and the project was quashed by Act of Parliament in 18g6.47 This Act abolished the offices of Paymaster-General to the Forces, the Treasurer of Chelsea Hospital, the Treasurer of the Navy and the Treasurer of the Ordnance and in place instituted and appointed a consolidated office of Paymaster-General in April 1836. This opposition to monopolistic centralization, which was the end of the beginning leading to the beginning of the end, gave rise to further commissions relating to Ordnance expenditure, and although life still ran strongly through the arteries of the Board, the action of its heart became progressively weakened. One last gleam of light brightened the Ordnance horizon before dusk and ultimate night set in. On 28 February 1838, the Privy Council notified the Master-General that, like the First Lord of the Admiralty, he was entitled to a salute of 15 guns." Thereafter, the fight was on and it raged for another twenty years, and arguments and counterarguments for and against consolidation were freely heard. The Duke of
Wellington was strongly opposed to the abolition of the Board and wrote to Lord Fitzroy Somerset, Lord Melbourne and Earl Russell in 1837, 1838 and 184g in no uncertain terms. His efforts, however, together with those who agreed with him proved unavailing and the knell commenced to sound. In 1854 the Crimean War burst upon the world and in order
«· P.R.O/WO[44/66. 47 5 and 6. William IV, cap. xxxv. «· P.R.O/WO[6/127, p. 29.
1086
APPENDIX IV
to speed up matters the office of Lieutenant-General was revived. All to no purpose. The record of muddle and inefficiency displayed in that campaign is well known, and, although the Board came out on the credit side, a scape-goat had to be found. The doom of the Board of Ordnance, therefore, was pronounced in 1855. The Secretary-at-War from the tradition of his office had always been antagonistic and, upon his advice and counsel, Lord Palmerston, then Prime Minister, signed its deathwarrant on half a sheet of note-paper. Sic transit gloria mundi. Since no great political change can be effected at once and the transfer of vast responsibilities must take time, the Board continued to meet and record routine matters until the last day of 1856. After its great history and power, its prestige and responsibility, it is pathetic to read the last entry in the Board's Minute Books, a series running into thousands of volumes:
'100/2o. Tenders accepted for emptying privies in Ireland, 31 December 1856 How are the mighty fallen!
After 441 ycars of corporate existence and service to the Crown, the Office of Ordnance, one of the greatest and oldest Departments of State, was dissolved, and the Board had its Letters Patent revoked and its duties vested in the V\Tar Department. This is indeed a story of Cronos in reverse. The London Gazette of 25 May 1855 promulgated the decree in the following terms:
'The Queen has been pleased to order Letters Patent to be passed undertheGreatSeal, revokingtheLettersPatentoftheMaster-General, Lieutenant-General and Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance.
'Her Majesty has been likewise pleased to order Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal vesting the Civil Administration of the Army and Ordnance in the hands of Fox, Baron Panmure, one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State.'
One result of this was that Sir Thomas Hastings, the last Principal Storekeeper and Comptroller of Stores, a dual title which had been conferred on him on 19 January 1854,"° was granted an allowance of £400 a year in compensation for the loss of his office which carried a salary of £1,200 p.a. This good news was conveyed to him by a Treasury Minute dated 24 July 1855.%0
Another result was the despatch of a letter by Lord Panmure, Secretary ofState for War to the Lords Commissioners ofHer Majesty's Treasury.61 'War Department 31 May 1855. My Lords,
Her Majesty, having been pleased to order Letters Patent to be passed under the Great Seal, revoking the Patents of the MasterGeneral, Lieutenant-General and the Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance and vesting the civil administration of the Army and Ordnance in the hands of the Secretary of State for the War Department, I have
4· P.R.O[WO[47/2748. o P.R.O[WO/44I306. P.R.O[WO[32/915:0106/1a.
1087
APPENDIX IV
the honour to submit to your Lordships the following establishment of the Heads of the different Departments which should, in my opinion, administer the civil administration of the Army in room of the MasterGeneral and Board of Ordnance whose existence has ceased in consequence of the revocation by Her Majesty of the Letters Patent under which they were authorized to act.
The new establishment in London will be as follows:
I. Clerk of Ordnance £2,000 p.a.
2.
Inspector-General of Fortifications 41,500 p.a. Two Deputy Inspectors (£800 p.a. each) £1,600 p.a. Two Assistant Deputies (£500 p.a. each) £1,000 p.a.
3.
Director-General of Artillery {1,000 p.a. Naval Director of Artillery £r,ooo p.a.
4.
Director-General of Stores £r,ooo p.a.
5.
Director-General of Contracts 41,500 p.a.
6.
Director-General of Clothing {1,00o p.a. Deputy Director-General £ 8oo p.a.
7.
Accountant-General {1,200 p.a.
The establishment at Woolwich will consist of:
I. Superintendent R.G.F. 500 p.a.
2.
Superintendent R.G.D. 500 p.a.
3.
Superintendent R.L. 500 p.a. There would also be:
4.
Superintendent of the R.S.A. Department 500 p.a.
5.
Superintendent of Gunpowder 500 p.a.
I enclose a memorandum showing the difference between the salaries of the establishment as it existed and that now recommended, and as the duties and responsibilities of all have been carefully weighed, I trust no difficulty will arise in your Lordships concurring in the salaries which I have attached to these different appointments.
In reference to that of the Director-General of Contracts, I found it impossible to secure the services of any gentleman in whose capacity I could place confidence under the salary named, and for the same reasons I hope your Lordships will not object to the salary of the Director of Stores advancing by £50 p.a. up to £1,200 p.a.
I have, &c.
P.S. An early answer is requested.'
In the memorandum of salaries attached the following changes are indicated:
Secretary-at-War
£,484 Abolished
Board-of-General Officers
£1,400 Abolished
Master-General
£3,000 Abolished
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance
£1,200 Abolished Principal Storekeeper £1,200 Abolished
1088
APPENDIX IV
Secretary to the Master-General £1,00o Abolished Two Assistant Inspectors of Fortifications £650 each Abolished Clerk of Ordnance £2,00o £800 p.a. increase
D.G. of A. £1,00o £400 p.a. increase Superintendent R.G.F. £ 500 £roo p.a. increase Superintendent R.C.D. { 500 £1oo p.a. increase Superintendent R.L. £ 500 £roo p.a. increase
Superintendent of Small Arms £ 500 £100 p.a. increase Superintendent of Gunpowder 4 500 £2oo p.a. increase
The remainder, including the salary of the Secretary of State for War at £5,000 p.a., were unchanged.
The Treasury replied on 2 June 1855 agreeing to the terms of Lord Panmure's letter, except that they considered the pay of the AccountantGeneral, the Director of Contracts and the Director of Stores should be on the same footing, i.e. £1,000-£50-£1,200.
Lord Panmure also addressed a similar letter to the Lord President of
the Council.
Later on in the same year an Act of Parliament52 was passed for 'transferring to One of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State the Powers and Estates vested in the Principal Officers of the Ordnance'. This Act made the surrender of jurisdiction absolute for under its clauses all the Powers, Authorities, Rights, Privileges, Lands, Hereditaments, Estates and Property inherent in the Board of Ordnance were to be transferred to, vested in, and exercised by 'Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Time being to whom Her Majesty shall think fit to intrust the Seals of the War Department'. Since this date, therefore, warlike stores for the Army have borne the mark Wt D instead ofB t 0, and the oldtime office of Master-General abolished. It was not revived till 1904 when in a lessened form it became one of the military members' posts in the newly-formed Army Council.
Many well-known characters in history figure among the MastersGeneral. Sir Christopher Morris, the great professional soldier of olden time; Ambrose, Earl of Warwick, the eldest surviving son of the attainted John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and grandson of the notorious Edmund Dudley, the extortioner; Sir Philip Sidney of Penhurst, Jomt Master in 1585, who was killed at the battle of Zutphen one year later; and the famous Duke of Marlborough. Other names like those of the MarquisofGranby,ViscountTownshend, theDukesofArgyll,Richmond, Montagu and Hamilton figure in the list, and that of John, Earl of Chatham the illustrious son of a still more illustrious father, Wilham Pitt the elder, together with that of the Iron Duke, testify that the MasterGeneralship was considered an honour to be bestowed only upon the most eminent of men. The last chief executive officer of the Board was Fitzroy, Lord Raglan, who was promoted Field-Marshal in 1854. He succeeded Lord Hardinge in 1852 and was killed at Sebastopol in the year that the Board was abolished.
H The Ordnance Board Act, 18 and 1g Victoria, cap. cxvii, 14 August 1855.
1089
Such is the history of the Board of Ordnance and its parent the wardrobe which during the course of their long existence played no mean parts in the story of our realm. Conceived as a seed in camera in the days of the Normans it slowly germinated, and, within its original framework, expanded almost out of recognition. It blossomed anew in the -fifteenth century, reached its maturity 250 years later and continued to exercise a controlling influence in public affairs during the next century and three quarters. It may have had its faults-what organization does not-but one cannot help admiring the system which aimed at the highest integrity in days when the level of public morals was lower than it is now, or fail to realize that as an institution it served an admirable purpose. With the changes in constitutional opinion, it had in some ways outgrown its usefulness, though the present method of armament administration proves its basic ideas to have been sound. It therefore had to give way to different methods of control.
On 12 June 1854 a fourth Secretary of State was established for the Department of War, and on 11 August of that year an Order in Council was passed providing the necessary establishment for carrying on that office. Thus a Secretary of State for War emerged as an individual Minister of the Crown, the Secretary of State for War and Colonies reverting to the status of Colonial Secretary. In February 1855, the offices of Secretary of State for War and Secretary-at-War were combined; this was given the force of law in May 186g when an Act°° was passed abolishing the office of Secretary-at-War and vesting its power in that of the Secretary of State. To enable the Secretary of State to control the Ordnance effectively, the Clerk of the Ordnance was retained and transferred to the War Department, but it was an interim appointment of a temporary nature, the office of Clerk being abolished on 2 February 1857. In January 1861 a recommendation, founded on the report of the Select Committee on Military Organization, was referred to the Treasury for the appointment of a Director of Ordnance to relieve the President of the Ordnance Select Committee of his duties as adviser on artillery and armaments to the Secretary of State for War, and to take charge of all the manufacturing departments. In accordance with this proposal, which received the blessing of the Lords of the Treasury, a Director of Ordnance was appointed in
July 1861 and given the following functions :54
I. To advise the Secretary of State on all questions relating to the supply and maintenance of guns, ammunition, small arms and other ordnance material.
2.
To be appointed for five years and work in the War Office, Pall Mall.
3.
The D.A.G. Royal Artillery, under the Commander-in-Chief. is responsible for the state of efficiency of ordnance stores in the Army; likewise, the Naval Director-General of Artillery for the Navy. Both will keep in touch with the Director of Ordnance on the wants of their respective Services.
4 a6 Victoria, cap. xii. P.R.OJ/WO/33/10, PP. 757-760.
1090
APPENDIX IV
4.
The Heads of the Manufacturing Establishments will submit through the Director of Ordnance all questions which they may have to refer to the Secretary of State.
5.
To inspect Ordnance Factories at least once a ycar.
6.
To advise the Secretary of State on all questions affecting the Ordnance Select Committee.
7.
In conjunction with the Inspector-General of Fortifications to advise the Secretary of State with respect to the armament works of the defences.
8.
To watch over the progress of all changes and improvements in artillery material.
g. All questions relating to new, or alterations to, ranges, gun sheds, magazines, etc., will be referred by the Inspector-General of Fortifications to the Director of Ordnance before they are decided.
Later on, in the same year, an Assistant Director of Ordnance was appointed. The Director-General of Naval Artillery who, on the disbandment of the Board of Ordnance in 1855, had become the head ofone of the civil departments of the Army, was appointed Director of Stores on 2 February 1857, while continuing to advise on naval armaments, but in August 1866 it was decided, owing to the great and important changes in naval ordnance, that the telescoping of office had its drawbacks. A rear-admiral was, therefore, appointed as Director-General ofNaval Ordnance and attached to the Admiralty. Two years later, in November 1868, the post of Director ofOrdnance was upgraded to Director-General ofOrdnance and a deputy appointed.
When a great organization, well founded and efficient, is overthrown, a lacuna is bound to appear, and, as nature abhors a vacuum, its place is taken by a body, conceived and born of rapid thinking out of illconsidered ideas. Thus, between 1855 and 1870, a state offlux in Ordnance matters governed by trial and error existed, and a groping towards the light of a better system was in progress. Between these years the duties of the Board of Ordnance may be said to have been divided between the Commander-in-Chief and the Secretary of State for War, the latter using the Clerk of the Ordnance, the Director of Ordnance and the Director-General of Ordnance as the heirs presumptive of the Office of Master-General. The War OfRcc Act of 1870,°° however, brought into being a Surveyor-General ofOrdnance who controlled all civil administration in connection with the purchase, manufacture, storage and issue of material. It was during the reign of this official that inspecting officers, who since the disappearance of the Board had been officials of the manufacturing departments, were made independent, and inspection placed on its present-day footing. It is almost a truism to state that for a purchaser to be assured that he is obtaining the specified goods for which he pays, the examination of these goods must be carried out by a person or body entirely independent of manufacture, not only technically but financially. This principle, however, was not recognized by the War Department till the late eighties of last century. In 1887, a Committee, presided over by the Earl of Morley, was appointed to enquire into the organization and
"" 33 and 34 Victoria, cap. xvii.
109I
administration of the manufacturing departments of the Army. It reported in July 1887 and one of its recommendations was couched in the following terms:
'An Inspector-General of vVarlike Stores should be appointed who should report direct to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance. All weap~ns of war and stores supplied to the Army from the government factories or from the trade should be inspected, tested and passed under his direction and on his responsibility.'
This policy was adopted and the Inspection Department came in being on I April 1888, since which date the inspection of stores for Army purposes has been divorced absolutely from manufacture, both as regards supplies from government sources and the trade. The Surveyor-General, however, did not officially live to see this great change, for his office was suppressed by an Order in Council dated 21 February 1888. This Order in Council concentrated military efficiency under the Commander-inChief who became responsible among other duties for fortifications, stores and armaments. The War Office thus became two divisions: the military, responsible to the Secretary of State for advice as to what the forces required, and the civil, for ensuring that the demands were met with due regard to proper economy. At the same time the government factories at Woolwich, Waltham and Enfield Lock, grouped together under a DirectorGeneral of Ordnance Factories, were placed on a business footing, being paid by the government departments concerned for all stores and munitions produced to their orders. They were put directly under the control of the Financial Secretary, War Office, as the head of the Civil Division. Design, however, was the business of the Commander-in-Chief who, in the case of armaments, had the Director of Artillery to advise him. This arrangement roused the ire of the Duke of Cambridge who complained bitterly that although the Director of Artillery had been placed on his staff, his link with production had gone. The gravamen of the charge was that the Army, through the Commander-in-Chief, had no say in Ordnance factory work. He wrote a very long minute56 to the Secretary of State dated 1 7 September I 888 detailing his woes and pointing out that the new arrangement was bound to fail. The Duke of Cambridge was a good prophet for the arrangement was short-lived; it threw too much altogether on the Commander-in-Chief. Further commissions and committees sat. The two Hartington reports dated May 1889 and March I 890 proposed drastic reforms which would have been far-reaching in their effect. It was the case of 'throwing the cat among the pigeons', and the reports were received with dismay in many quarters. The second report, among other things, advocated the abolition of the post of Commander-in-Chief after the retirement of the Duke of Cambridge. The Queen was horrified, the Duke spoke of catastrophe and even Lord Wolseley who sought reform, was shocked. Nothing happened
for five years except a policy of drift, and when Lord Wolseley succeeded
the Duke of Cambridge as Commander-in-Chief, a half-hearted adapta
tion of the Hartington report was adopted. The Stanhope plan authorized
• P.R.O/WO[32/520. 70/Gen. No./5488.
1092
APPENDIX IV
by the Order in Council of 21 February 1888 was reversed, and the
concentration of responsibility in the hands of the Commander-in-Chief
abandoned. An Order in Council dated 2r November 1895 instituted
five 2Teat military officers under the Commander-in-Chief, one of whom
was the Inspector-General ofOrdnance responsible for the design and custody
of military stores. This compromise was still unsatisfactory and the search
after perfection continued. Reorganization was ~till in th~ air and a
further Order in Council dated 7 March 1899 substituted a Director-General
ofOrdnance for the Inspector-General, and placed under him the Ordnance
Factories and the Clothing Department, as well as the design and custody
of stores, the Financial Secretary's control over these factories being
limited in future to matters of finance.
The Boer War, as wars have a habit of doing, shook the country's war machine. As a result of the weaknesses which the fighting had revealed, the Esh.er Committee was appointed. It consisted of Viscount Esher, Chairman; Sir John Fisher and Sir George Sydenham Clarke, members; and Lieut.-Colonel G. F. Elleson, Secretary. Its three reports were published in 1904 (Cd. 1932, 1968 and 2002). The reforms proposed in forceful language were at once accepted by the Cabinet and by Letters Patent dated 6 February 19o4 all the powers under the Royal Prerogative hitherto exercised by the Secretary of State or the Commander-m-Chief were vested in the Army Council; and the adoption of the other proposals in toto set up the framework of the modern War Office. An Order in Council dated ro August 1904 affirmed the supremacy of the Secretary of State for all the business of the Army Council. .
The search since the days of the Crimea had been long and tedious. For fifty years, 567 Royal Commissions and Committees had pondered, sifted evidence, reviewed and reported. At last finality, at least in a conditioned sense, had rewarded their efforts, and the W~r Office as conceived by the Esher Committee has, subject to certain changes, SurVIvc·d two world wars. ". In the field of armaments..the fourth Military Member of the Army Council, readopting the designation of MasterGeneral of the Ordnance replaced the Director-General of Ordnance and too1 over the work formerly assigned to him with the exception of that portion transferred to the Quarter-Master General. The twentieth century M.G.O. thus became responsible for the design, experiment, production, inspection and supply of armaments and other warlike stores (Vote g); fortifications; and for works services. It was an office shrunken in prestige and power compared to that held by the old-time bearers of the title, but it was, none the less, one of great responsibility. The arma ment side of the M.G.O.'s responsibilities, i.e. design, experiment, government manufacture and inspection, were carried out by the Director o Artillery who controlled the Ordnance Factories where design and production were carried out, and had charge over the Inspection Departments. Storage and issue, clothing and general stores (Vote 8) came under the duties of the 3rd Military Member; the Quarter-Master General._,
Science was now taking great strides forward, not only on its P1:re side but also in its application; engineering technique was also advancmg 7 Army Order No. 41 of 1904. 1093
in complexity and knowledge. It thus became evident that before a design could be made, research had to take place, and that this could best be undertaken by somebody trained especially for the purpose. As a result, the Research Department in the Royal Arsenal was formed in I go 7; and in the same year the Royal Artillery Committee was set up to deal with the growing complications of field and garrison equipments which were outside the purview of the Ordnance Committee.
On 28 June 1914 the crime at Sarajevo precipitated World War I and with it came inevitable changes. The expenditure of ammunition during the first months, which exceeded all expectations, called for a supreme effort if deficiencies were to be overcome. In view ofits other vital responsibilities, this was considered to be beyond vVar Office powers to make. The Munitions of War Act° was therefore passed on 2 July 1915 as a war-time measure and the Ministry of Munitions entered on its legal existence on 9 June 1915. That Ministry, as its name implied, was set up to control certain raw materials and to supply the sinews of war required by the Army; it thus progressively took over, inter alia, the research, design, experiment, production and inspection of all stores including armaments, the Ordnance Factories being transferred on 9 June 1915. Thus, although the posts of Master-General of the Ordnance and the Director of Artillery still continued in the War Office, their work during the war differed considerably. Supply in the Ministry was distributed among various Directors-General, who in general supervised the factories in which they were interested, Ordnance Factories, national factories and controlled factories, but the Member of Council-always a senior military officer-who represented the idea embodied in a MasterGeneral was the Director-General of Munitions Design. This war left few permanent scars on armament administration. After peace was signed, the Ministry of Munitions was gradually wound up and the whole business of armaments reverted to the w·ar Office, under the control of the MasterGeneral of the Ordnance. The Ordnance Factories were returned on 1 June 1920. Meanwhile, the War Office had appointed a Director-General ofFactories to replan, consolidate and reduce to a peace-time level all government owned factories. As a result many were placed on a care and maintenance basis. This work took six years to accomplish, after which the Director General of Factories was replaced by a Director of Ordnance
Factories who was placed under the care of the M.G.O. Thus the Director of Artillery for ever ceased to control the manufactories at Woolwich Waltham and Enfield, and at the same time their immediate command passed from military to civil hands. It is a debatable point whether design should be linked to production or be a function of the user, i.e. a civil or a military problem. Certainly the user must say what he requires but is he the most qualified person to interpret his requirements in terms of design? On the other hand, ifdesign be too closely affiliated to production it may eventually be dominated by it to the exclusion of the user's interest. After World War I the balance of opinion was in favour of a military solution. This meant setting up a military organization apart from the Ordnance Factories which had now become purely civilian in character.
+8 5 and 6 Geo. V, cap. 54.
1094
APPENDIX IV
The Design Department under the Director ofArtillery therefore emerged in r g I g, an establishment of technically trained officers who were to work in close collaboration with the Ordnance Factories.
One effect of World War I was to expand mechanization. Not only did mechanical transport become universal, but the tank had arrived to stay. Thereafter both armoured fighting vehicles and transport vehicles grew in complexity and numbers. In 1924, mechanization problems, which had hitherto been dealt with by the Director of Artillery as a side-line of armaments, became pressing. A nullity suit followed and divorce was granted. The Directorate of Artillery was therefore split in two, Director ofArtillery I to control artillery development, and Director of Artillery II to deal with mechanization and small arms. In 1927 the Director of Artillery II was renamed the Director ofMechanization. In the same year another minor alteration took place among the duties allocated to the l\rlilitary Members of the Army Council. The Director of Fortifications and Works (then renamed the Director of Works) was on 17 October transferred to the Quarter-Master General in exchange for the Ordnance Services who thus reverted to their old home under the Master-General. 59 Such a reallocation increased the responsibilities of the Director of Artillery I who had to take under his wing the development of engineering and bridging stores. Not long afterwards D. of A. and
D. of M. did a minor exchange on their own, D. of A. taking over small arms development and D. of M. acquiring the engineer and bridging side. By 1930, therefore, we have the position of the Master-General of the Ordnance, as a Military Member of Council, having under him four Directors; the Director of Artillery, the Director of Mechanization, the Director of Ordnance Services and the Director of Ordnance Factories. He was, therefore, responsible for the research, design, development, experiment, production, inspection, care, maintenance, custody and issue of all warlike and general stores, including armaments.
By 1936 the shadow of the impending crisis grew more sombre and the possible threat of war due to deteriorating foreign relationships increased the War Department's tempo. Again reorganization became necessary as the effective control of the M.G.O.'s department was considered too great a task for one man to undertake in view of the rearmament programme which was then getting into its stride. On 14 September 1936, therefore, the Master-General hauled down his flag and gave way to a DirectorGeneral ofMunitions Production with a Deputy Master-General ofthe Ordnance under him to carry out the military functions of the late office and to control the Director of Ordnance Services.
As the clouds thickened and the European situation became more threatening, the question of forming a Ministry of Supply was more and more argued in debate. There was a large section of parliamentary opinion favouring such a step as a permanent feature of the constitution in view of the diversity of modern fighting equipment. The Government for some time resisted the clamour but in the end gave way, and the Ministry of Supply Act60 cleared the path for the creation of the new
so Omice Memorandum No. 1,645: 1/General/3569. ·o a and 3 Geo. VI, cap. 38, 13 July 1939.
1095
department on r August 1939. Born in a time of acute crisis and nurtured in the stress of war, the Ministry of Supply's infancy suffered and its upbringing was haphazard. Its first feeble steps were taken in the middle of July 1939 when the Director-General of Munitions Production with the majority of his staff and his military and civil out-stations, ,-vith the exception of the Ordnance Services, set foot in the Adelphi with a modest band of civil servants drawn from the War Office and elsewhere-a total of some 450 souls. The out-stations of course remained in situ and were transferred only as regards authority. The Directorate of Artillery lagged behind till October as the Director, being the technical adviser on armaments to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, could not be spared from the War Office before that month; even then the provision as distinct from the development officers of both D. of A's and D. of M's branches were never moved across but were absorbed in other War Office directorates. Hardly had this small staff settled in its new offices when the storm burst on 3 September 1939 and World War II was upon us. The first result was a transfer to the Ministry of Supply of the Raw Materials Division of the Board of Trade. The creation of a new Minister of the Crown not subject to the Secretary of State for Vlfar employing many military officers and other ranks in his headquarters and establishments brought about a host of constitutional problems which called for a prompt solution. These were met by a series of compromises which worked well because those concerned were determined to work them. In the days of the Board of Ordnance its military personnel had no relationship to the War Department and were quite outside the jurisdiction of the Commander-in-Chief. Now a somewhat similar but more complicated situation arose. Officers and men serving under the Ministry of Supply belonged to Army regiments and were subject to military law and King's Regulations; they were seconded to a Civil Department of State yet received the pay and privileges due to their ranks. In many ways the situation was Gilbertian. Pay according to the scales laid down in the Royal Warrant was authorized by the Establishment Branch of the Ministry yet was borne on the Army Vote. Allowances were paid by the Army Paymaster out of Army Funds, yet travelling allowances which were paid by the Ministry out of its vote could not be so paid till they had been pre-audited by the Army Pay Office, Manchester. There were other anomalies. It was eventually agreed that the Minister of Supply had complete authority over his military staff in matters touching its employment, but not in the terms of its employment. The latter remained under thejurisdiction ofthe Army Council. With all its trials and tribulations the Ministry of Supply expanded so rapidly that it overflowed its offices like a stream in spate and spread like an octopus over London and the provinces. It had its critics and one mordant wit described it as the only mental institution in Great Britain run by its inmates; another suggested that its crest-a mule rampantand its mottoWith no hope of
posterity-should bc prominently displayed at the entrance of its headquarter building. The main criticism which could be levelled at it was that when it planted new shrubs which blossomed into trees it generally failed to cut down the old wood. However, this is not the place to embark
1096
APPENDIX IV
on the accomplishments or short-comings of the Ministry of Supply. We are concerned only with armament administration.
Shortly after the Ministry's inception the Director-General of Munitions Production shed his responsibility for mechanization to a new official styled the Director-General of Tanks and Transport, the Director of Ordnance Factories became a Director-General, and a Director-General ofEquipment and Stores assumed liability for general and medical stores and clothing. Armaments therefore remained the sole concern of D.G.M.P. who controlled the research, design, development, production and inspection of munitions. In due course further Directors-General dealing with other supplies were appointed. Towards the end of 1941 a major reorganization occurred when all research and development was concentrated under a Controller-General ofResearch and Development, production being assigned to a Controller-General of Munition Production. This arrangement lasted for some 18 months when a further allotment of duties was promulgated. Broadly speaking, four groups were then formed: the Armament Development Board, the Transport and Engineering Group, the Armoured Fighting Vehicles Group and the Equipment and Stores Group. Each group dealt with its own research, development and production while bearing allegiance to C.G.M.P. who exercised a controlling interest over all. Inspection was placed nominally under C.G.M.P. Finally all research and development excluding that of fighting vehicles was placed under the Chief Scientific Officer while production broadly remained with the groups. The only official outside this organization was the DirectorGeneral of Fighting Vehicles who continued to deal with the complete aspect of his own stores. Such an arrangement left the Director-General of Artillery rather in the air since development rested with him but research passed to the Chief Scientific Officer who had a Director of Armament Research to assist him. During this period the war was brought to a sudden end and its collapse being far quicker than was anticipated, caused the engine to be placed in reverse rather too quickly.
After the war the Ministry of Supply absorbed the Ministry of Aircraft Production and a post-war scheme was worked out. At one time there was some doubt lest the Ministry of Supply should suffer the same fate as that of the Ministry of Munitions. However, the Cabinet at the time decided otherwise; so the office of the Master-General of the Ordnance which had been vacant for nine years remained in abeyance. In its post-war reorganization the Ministry of Supply was divided into an administrative body and three divisions each under a Controller, one of whom was the Controller ofSupplies (Munitions). Among other duties the C.S. (M), as he was styled, was responsible for the research, design, development, production and inspection of armaments for the Land Service with a Deputy Controller to help him. He may therefore be said to have inherited the mantle of the Master-General without its ancient privileges.
On 1January 1947,aMinistryofDefence wasformallyconstitutedunder the Ministry ofDefence Act, 1946. Does the appearance of this new Department of State suggest that the needle is turning full circle? One wonders!
Meanwhile the present Government in its wisdom saw fit to transform the Ministry of Supply into a Ministry of Aviation in October 1959. Such
1097
a metamorphosis, of course, rendered the Munitions Division of the defunct ministry quite out of place in its new surroundings and so another home was required. The War Department was the natural choice and so after twenty years absence, the erstwhile child returned to the bosom of its parent. When this reunion took place the office of the MasterGeneral of the Ordnance was revived.
This appendix brings the brief survey of armament administration to a close. Together with Chapters I and 2 it has covered in retrospect almost a thousand years. What will the next millenium bring forth with the Space Age just around the corner? Divinations, soothsayings and dreams are vain, but so long as human nature does not rise above its present level some method of armament administration must exist, and it will in all probability be based on the foundations so truly laid in the past which in principle have survived the scourges of war and the buffetings of time.
1098
APPENDIX V
The Offices ofthe Armorie
Inventory taken by commission, June r611, 9James I, after the death of Sir Henry Lee, Keeper, and on the succession of Sir Thomas Monson to the office.
GREENWICH In the Greene Gallery
One harnesse compleate for the feilde parell. Guilte and parcel! graven,
the horses furniture being a barbe, Cry net, Shaffron, and steele saddle;
and for the man, a dubble headpeece and all peeces of advantage to the
same, and a base of blacke velvett embrodered, and a bridle with bosses
guilte.
One harnesse for the Tylte, parcel! guilte and graven, the horses
furniture being a saddle, barbe Crinit and Shaffron of steele silvered and
guilte; and for the man, twoe pair of vambraces, twoe pair of Cushes,
twoe headpeeces, twoe close gauntletts, a codpeece, a breech of steele,
with a base of blacke velvett, and a bridle with guilte bosses.
One harnesse furnished for the Tylte and fielde, parcel! graven and
sett with white and guilte nailes, the horsses furniture being a sadle and
barbe ofsteele plaine, a Crinit and Shaffron scaled, with a base as before.
One Tylte armor compleate made for the Earle of Shrewsbury, the horse having a steele saddle Turkey fashion, a foreparte and a hinder parte of a barbe of steele plaine, a Crinit and Shaffron parcel! guilt, and a bridle with guilte bosses.
One white Tylte armor, made for the Lord of Kildare, upon a horse haveing a Ratle barbe, Crinit and Shaffron of steele plaine, and a bridle with guilt bosses.
One demy launce compleate, the horse having a steele sadle, a barbe of steele blew drawn with antique woorks, a Crynit of the same woorke, and a Shaffron parcel! guilt and graven.
One demilaunce compleate, the horse having a plaine sadle, a Crynit and Shaffron parcell guilte. One demilaunce compleate, the horse having a Crinit and Shaffron parcell guilt. One demilaunce compleate, the horse having a plaine steele sadle, a Crinit and Shaffron parcel! guilte. One demylaunce compleate lacking a headpeece, the horse having a plaine steele sadle, a Crynitt and Shaffron. One fielde Armor of an old fashion with a base of steele, the horse's furniture being a barbe Crinitt and Shaffron all being silvered and guilte.
One old fashioned Armor called a Trundlett parcell guilte and graven.
Launces compleate 152Flaunders Corsletts compleate 146Shirts of Maile viz with sleeves 4o, without sleeves 55, total 95Battle axes for horsemen I9g-White Murryons g6-Curtall Swoordes 26-Armying Swoordes with twoe brokon 242-Long slaughe Swoordes g-Long Swoordes g-Launce staves painted gSteele sadles 2Steeles for sadles
1099
72
viz one guilte and graven and other parcell guilte and graven, and another
of Cutworke guilte, in all 3-A headpeece for a woman's sadle morisco
worke-A headpeece with a paire of Rames hornesPlumes of feathers of sondric colours 954Plumes of feathers for horsemen 23Maces, whereof tenn parcell guilt 37-Tuckes for the wilde bore 6-Tuckes in the handes of the Armorers mounted 2Holy water sprinkcll 1-Dagges, whereof 3 guilt I2-Spurres gu.ilte, 6 pair-Birds of Arabia in a boxe 2Shieldes painted 2Targetts 7ostirropes guilte, 4 pairsStandards greate 2Barbe of Leather 1Black steele for a sadle I-Callers of Iron 2Targett blewe and guilte I.
In the Great Chamber at Mr Pickerings
One footman's Armor complcate, made for the Lord AdmirallOne white fickle Armor compleate, only wanting a paire of gauntletts-One black fielde Armor compleate, made for the Earl of Essex-One white fielde Armor, made for Th'ambassador of Swedon. One black footman's Armor compleate, made for Mr. Talbott-One white ditto made for Mr. English-One footman's Armor compleate, made for Sir Richard Browne-One do. made for Sir Edward Norris-One white Tylte Armor compleate, made for the King's Majesty-One black feild Armor compleat, and one Tylte Armor guilte compleate, made for the Prince-One footeman's armour blewe, given to the Prince-One Armor compleate given by Sir John Smith to the King's Majesty, viz backe, brest, Almaine
Collar, Burgonett, merryon, sleeves of maile, steele for a sadle, shaffron, a guilte Targett, one pair of long cushes, one pair of shorte cushes, a belt of Crymsin velvett; one pair of guilt stirropps, and twoc case of pistolls. One black Tylte armour compleate, made for the Lord Chamberlain, without greeves. One black brest, collar, headpeece, one pair of Poldrons, feild vizard and a buffe, made for the Duke of Lennox. One Tylte Armor compleate, made for Sir Thomas Challenor. One Chest bounde with Iron, wherein is old guilte Armor for the feild, supposed to belong to the Lady Layton.
In Mr Pickering's Workhouse
One footeman's armour compleate, made for King Henry the EightTwoe backs and two brests rcmayning of old-One great headpeecc remaynmg of old-One Tylte Armor begonne for Mr Fulke Grevil wanting the Tylte peeces, Cusbes, Greeves and Plackard-One black tylte armour unfynished, with all peeces compleate-One other Tylte Armour black do. do.One black field armour unfinished compleate One other field armour unfinished, wanting only a pair of cushes-One other Tylte armour unfynished, -vvanting tilte peeces, greeves and cushes.One field armour unfynished, wanting one pair of CushcsOne Tylte Armor unfynished, with all pieces compleateOne field armour unfinished, wanting taces, cushions, vambraces and gauntlettsOne do. wanting vambraces and gauntletts-One do. with a burgonett, wanting vambraces, cushes and gauntlettsOne pair of curaces with a coller, and a pair of poldronsOne field armor, begone for Mr Mat. Williams, wanting vambraces, cushes and gauntlettsOne do. unfinished, complete
1100
APPENDIX V
with all pieces-Two do. wanting vambraces, cushes and gauntlettsMorryons 3-Burgonette, whereof, one old, 2-Greeves, wanting showes 1 pair. One field armour unfinished, made for Sir Thomas Fairifaxe compleate-Ryffe Irons and Staks of Iron 11Tonges 6 pairs-Vices2 Harthestaple 1Forging hamers 5Small hamers go-Cutting shceres loose 2 pairs-Cutting Chissell I-Blocks furnished with stakes 7-Great Anvils standerds 6Mould of Iron 1Sheeres standards 3 pairs-Fyling tongs I pairBellowes 2 pairsHatchett I-Rasp I-Shiver tongs ICounter borer r-Compasses I pair-Buckhorne, one panne of iron for fier with fower wheeles-One other great panne of iron for fier for the office-Guilding tongs 4 pairsOne breasts 2--Old back 1-Small breast 1One back, breast and coller.
In the Cuttinghouse
Forging hamer heads 2Hand hamer heads g-Chisscls 3Hamers, great, whereof one for a mill 2Small 26Buckhornes great4Small 3-Stakes 8-0ne back and breast with poldrons and tacs for the fieldRough breasts from the Fordge gBacks g-Breasts 5Headpiece 1Burgonett roughe 1Ryfle hamers8Old curaces I pair-Bellowes IPlate sheeres 1Old sheres I-Irons 6Tonges 5 pairs-Vice I.
In the Locksmith's Office
Anvil 1-Stake 1Buckhorne 1Tonges 4 pairs-Hand hamers 2Forging hamers 1Chissell 1-Vices 2Bellowes I.
In the Staffehouse
Barriers Pyks 28o-Tiltstaves with burres and Curronetts 1,050Swoordes for barriers 415-Vampletts 168-Vamplets 2g, defective. Unserviceable in the Greenwich Staffhouse, Tiltstaves 230-Vampletts 86.
IIOI
APPENDIX VI
Officials at the Royal Arsenal at various dates
1. RovAL ORDNANCE FAcT0RIES
Wharfingers
9. 1.1649-18. 6.1657 George Taylor
1. 9.1657-1693 Paul Linby
Storekeepers
1. 2.1670-30. 9.1677 Captain Francis Cheeseman
l O. l 0. 1677-30. 9.1683 Thomas Peach 1.10.1683-31. 3.1686 Edward Hubbald (acting)
1. 4.1686-31.12.1692 Thomas Peach
1. 1.1693-13.12.1695 John Hooper 14.12.1695-9. 4.1734 James Felton IO. 4• 173430. 6. l 751 George Campbell
1. 7.1751-2. 5.1798 John Cockburn 3. 5.1798-17. 2.1823 John Geast 1. 5.1823-31. 5.1839 William Stace 1. 7.1839-31. 3.1849 Joseph Cheetham
1. 4.1849-4. 7.1855 Edward M. Sparkes
5. 7.1855-1858 Francis Pellatt
Storekeeperfor Saltpetre: The Minories and Woolwich
I. 4.1670-30. 9.1681 George Wharton
Storekeeperfor Saltpetre: TtVoolwiclz
1.10.1681-31.12.1694 Edward Hubbald (Appointment abolished)
Deputy Storekeepers
I. 1.1822-30. 9.1826 Joseph Cheetham 1.10.1826-31. 3.1827 John Guest 1. 4.1827-12. 5.1845 William Jones
28. 5.1845-31. 3.1849 Edward M. Sparkes 1. 4.1849-8. 7.1855 Francis Pellatt 9· 7.1855-1858 William Morris
Storekeeper: The Laboratory
1 • 1. 1703-1734 John Baxter (The appointment was abolished in 1716. From 1716 to 1 734 John Baxter was paid as 'Storekeeper-The Laboratory' on the Sinkmg Establishment')
Clerks ofthe Cheque
I.IO.
I 7 18-g0. 6.1721 John Portman 1. 7.1 72 l-1 734 Thomas Baker
I.
IO, I 734-1735 John Baxter
II02
APPENDIX VI
I. 7.1735-31.12.1735 Hopton Twynihoe
I. 1.1736-1745 John Twynihoe
1. 4.1745-1746 Thomas Twynihoe
I. 7• 1746-30. 6. l 751 John Twynihoe 1. 7.1751-30. 9.1755 John Parr 1.10.1755 Robert Atkinson (Did not
take up the appointment) 1.10.1755-30. 6.1757 John Dixon
1. 7.1757-15.12.1783 William Sansom 16.12.1783-1799 John Broadby Wilson 1799-31.12.1802 Henry S. Matthews 1 1. 1 1.1803--28. 2.1807 Charles Hockstretter
1. 3.1807-31. 7.1821 Joseph Cheetham (Appointment abolished by Board's Order 1 August 1821)
Paymaster
1. 8.1803-31.12.1821 John Henderson
(He was allowed to officiate till 1.2.1822) (Appointment abolished by Board's Order I August 1821)
Clerks ofthe Survey
6. 7.1720-1722 Nicholas Hunton 9.12.1722-1734 David Stephenson 1.10.1734-1743 John Cazaree
1. 4.1743-2.1790 Neil Campbell
29. 3.1790-1813 Evans Marshall
5. 4.1813-31.12.182 1 William R. Marshall (Appointment abolished by Board's Order 1 August 1821) (Appointment revived by Board's Order 8 September 1826) 1.10.1826-14. 3.1827 Joseph Cheetham
1. 4.1827-30. 6.1833 John Guest (Appointment finally abolished by Board's Order 1 July 1833)
Clerks ofthe Foundry
1722-1722 Thomas Jones 1 722-1728 Anthony Spencer 1728-1740 Peter Hunton 1740-1742 Thomas Jones 1742-27. 3.1787 James Delestang 1787--1798 Thomas Butler
1.10.1798-30. 5.1820 John Wolff (Appointment abolished by Board's Order 31 May 1820)
Clerks-Royal Laboratory
1747-30. 9.1751 Edward Wilkes 1.10.1751-30. 9.1752 Edward Nickson 1.10.1752-31.12.1763 Hugh Brown
1. 1.1764-1783 George Ayres 1783-30. 9.1804 Henry Forman
II03
Henry Dugleby (afterwards called Deputy Storekeeper R.L.)
I. I. 1830-30. 6.1835 (Post fo abeyance)
Deputy Storekeeper-Royal Laboratory
1. 7.1835-I. 4.1849 William Caffin (Just a clerkship at Woolwich. Not recorded further)
Superintendents ofH.M. Foundries
(Not permanently at Woolwich)
20. 2.1722-31.12.1726 George Harrison
1. 1.1727-12. 5.1734 Stephen Bisse 13. 5.1734-12. 7.1742 James Tillie 13. 7.1742-30. 7.1751 Francis Eyles
31. 7.1751-20. 1.1755 Sir Cecil Bisshop
21. 2.1755-8. 3.1761 Cecil Bisshop (acting for
his father)9. 3.1761-Cecil Bisshop
Master-founders: Royal Brass Foundry
29. 9.1716-19. 1.1770 Andrew Schalch {John Verbruggen
201 82
• .x770-17 Peter Verbruggen (Jointly)
1782--22. 2.1786 Peter Verbruggen (Office suppressed I January 1789 by Board's Order dated 11 January 1789)(Post revived by Board's Order dated I April 1797)
I. 4.1797-25. 3.1813 John King
26. 3.1813-31.12.1817 Henry King(Post finally abolished by Board's Order dated 29 April 1818)
I. 1.1818-I. 7.1822 Cornelius King (acting)
Assistant Founders: Royal Brass Foundry
1• 4.1797-25. 3.1813 Henry King
26. 3.1813-31.12.1817 Cornelius King
Directors-General ofOrdnance Factories
1888-1889 Major-General Eardley R. Maitland, C.B. 1889-1899 Sir William Anderson, K.C.B.
Deputy Director-General ofOrdnance Factories
1898 H.F. Donaldson
ChiefSuperintendents ofOrdnance Factories
1899-1903 Colonel Sir Edmond Bainbridge, K.C.B. 1903-1916 Sir Frederick Donaldson, K.C.B. 1916-1917 Sir Vincent Raven, K.B.E. 1917-1921 Brigadier-General Sir Charles Philip Martel, C.B. 1921-1923 J. Bowden, O.B.E. 1923-1926 Reginald Townsend, C.B.E. 1926-1944 Sir Francis Carnegie, C.B.E.
1104
APPENDIX VI
1944-1950 Christopher Hollyoak, C.B.E. 1950-1951 T. E. Harris, C.B., C.B.E. 1951-1955 A. T. Barnard, O.B.E.
Deputy ChiefSuperintendents ofOrdnance Factories
1948-1950 L.A. Houl
1950-1953 D. H. Mizen
Senior Superintendents, Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich
19551958 S. E. Van Ryssen
1958-D. H. Mizen
Civil Assistants
1888-1900 G. M. Tapp 1900-1920 J. T. La Brooy1921-1945 E. Murray-Brand, O.B.E. 1945-1957 V. J.M. Kendrick 19571958 W. H. Alderman 1958-G. Smith
Military Assistants Ist Military Assistants to D.G.O.F.
1888-1890 Lieut.-Colonel J. B. Ormsby, R.A.
1890-1899 Commander B. H. Chevalier R.N.
Secretaries to C.S.0.F.
1899-1902 Major H. W. W. Barlow, R.A.
1902-1904 Major H. H. Rich, R.A.
Ist Military Assistants to C.S.O.F.
1904 Major H. H. Rich, R.A. 1904-1907 Major H. B. Strange, R..A. 1907 Major L. R. Kenyon, R.A. 1907-1908 Major C. P. Martel, R.A.
Military Assistants to C.S.O.F.
1908-1911 Major C. P. Martel, R.A. 19I1-1914 Lieut.-Colonel H. R. Adair, R.A. 1914-1917 Captain F. G. Maunde-Thompson, R.A.
{ 1914-1916 Major B. J. M. Luck, R.A. 1915-1916 Colonel A. H. Bagnold, C.B. (ret. pay) (extra). 1916-1917 Major C. B. Grice-Hutchinson, R.A. 1917-1919 Captain (Temporary Major) F. S. Jackson R.F.A. (T.F.)
{
1917-1929 Major A. 0. Boyd, O.B.E., R.A. 1929-1932 Lieut.-Colond M. Muirhead-Murray, R.A. 1933-1936 Lieut.-Colonel 0. F. G. Hogg, R.A. 1936-1957 Lieut.-Colonel J. C. E. Pellereau, O.B.E., R.A.
ChiefMechanical Engineers ChiefEngineers
1854-1874 Sir John Anderson
1874-1888 James A. C. Hay
1105
Inspect<>'r of Machinery
1888-1892 James A. C. Hay
Superintending Engineers and Constructors ofShipping
1892-1896 James A. C. Hay 1896-1898 Henry Travis
Chief Mechanical Engineers
H.F. Donaldson1899-1903
Sir H.F. Donaldson, K.C.B. (as well as C.S.O.F.)
1903-1914 R. D. T. Heap (Superintendent M.E.D. under
1911-1914
C.M.E.) 1914-1922 G. H. Roberts, C.B.E. 1922-1926 Francis Carnegie, C.B.E. 1926-1935 A. Humphries, C.B.E. 1935-1939 R. F. Hartley, C.B.E.
W. Newton. Booth, M.B.E.
1939-1948
L. G. Taff"s
1948-1954
1954-1956 C. G. H. Govier 1956-1957 G. S. Fullerton
Superintendents, Engineering Services
L. G. TafFs
Works Department C.R.E.'s Woolwich Division
I. 9· I79g-3 I. 5• l 80 l Colonel Benjamin Fisher
I. 6.1801-30.10.1801 Captain George Bridges
I.I I.1801-6. 3.1810 Captain George Hayter
7. 3.1810-2.11.1818 Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington 3.11.1818-21. 1.1819 Brigade Major Rice Jones (acting)
22. 1.1819-2.10.1823 Lieut.-Colonel John T. Jones 3.10.1823--1824 Brigade Major Rice Jones (acting)
1824-10. 9.1833 Lieut.-ColonelJohn T. Jones l 1. 9.1833-6. 1.1842 Lieut.-Colonel George Harding
7. 1.1842-17. 4.1842 Brigade Major Henry Sandham (acting)
18. 4.1842-21. 4.1845 Colonel Sir George Hoste
2. 5.184522. 4.1846 Colonel George Barney
4. 5.1846-15. 9.1846 Brigade Major Henry Sandham (acting)
16. 9.1846-5. 7.1849 Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English
6. 7.1849-9. 8.1849 Major John Walpole (acting)
10. 8.1849-12.11.1850 Lieut.-Colonel William Reid 13.11.1850-21.12.1851 Major John Walpole (acting)19.12.1851-9.10.1854 Colonel Thomas Blanshard 10.10.1854-14. 8.1855 Colonel Thomas Foster l 5• 8. I 855-2 I. 8. 1856 Colonel Pennel Cole
22. 8.1856-16.11.1856 Colonel Roger S. Beatson 17.11.1856-7.10.1860 Colonel John Walpole
8. IO. l 860-30. 9• 1863 Colonel Charles G. Ford 1.10.1863-10. 5.1867 Colonel John S. Hawkins
II06
APPENDIX VI
Inspectors of Works
1865-1870 Colonel Thomas Inglis 1870-1877 Colonel Peter Scratchley1877--1882 Colonel William Hatt Noble 1882-1888 Colonel Henry Darley Crozier
Superintendents: Building Works Department
1888-1903 Colonel M. T. Sale, C.M.G. 1903-1911 Colonel A. H. Bagnold, C.B. 1911-1921 Colonel N. H. Hemming, C.B.
Deputy Superintendents B. W.D. (under C.M.E.)
1921-1926 Lieut.-Colonel H. Mitchell, R.E. (retd) 1926-1938 Lieut.-Colonel P. G. H. Hogg, D.S.O., R.E. (retd) 1938-1944 J. H. Brooks 19441948 L. G. Taff's 1949-1954 J. R. Alvey
Clerks ofthe Works
1751-1771 Robert Hartwell
1771-16. 3.1772 John Hempsall
17. 3.1772-2.1786 Thomas Powrie I. 4• 1787-30. 4.1806 Charles Weaver
16. 5.1808-31.12.1832 Thomas Weaver
1. 1.1833-29. 6.1837 Joseph Lever -31.12.1832 Thomas Durnford -8. 3.1842 Finch
9. 3.1842-23.12.1846 W. J. Simons
24.12.1846-WilliamJones 12. 6.1839-1. 7.1845 John Wilson 30. 7.1845-William Cartwright
Overseers
1750-1763 John Hayter
1. 4.1751-2. 8.1768 John Hargreave 1763-1767 Richard Veale 1767-1. 8. 1768 William Barber
3. 8.1768-1771 John Hempsall
2. 8.1768-19.11.1777 Thomas Mallard
20. l 1.1777-25. 6.1781 John Bradbridge 26. 6.1781-31. 3.1787 Charles Weaver 26. 7.1784-Thomas Austin
-15. 5.1808 Thomas Weaver 28. 5.1804-William Lunn
16. 5.1806-31.12.1832 Joseph Lever
-30. 9.1807 William Gosling 1.10.1807-18. 2.1810 Thomas Barraud
19. 2.1810-31.12.1828 William Lunn, Jr 1. 1.1829-6. 1.1845 John Baker
1107
Royal Gun Factory Inspector ofArtillery
5. 3.178i0-I9• 4•I797 Captain ThomasBlomefield
Inspectors ofArtillery and ofthe Royal Brass Foundry
20. 4.1797-24. 8.1822 General Sir Thomas Blomefield, Bart.
1.10.1822-9. 4.1827 Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson, G.C.B., G.C.H.
10. 4.1827-14. 3.1838 Colonel William Millar
1. 4.1838-19. 9.1839 Colonel Sir Joseph MacLean, K.C.H.
I. IO. I 839-3 I. 3.1852 Colonel William B. Dundas
1. 4.1852-15. 5.1855 Colonel James A. Ohalmer
21. 5.1055-5. 7.1855 Colonel Edmund N. Wilford
Superintendents
6. 7.1855-1859 Colonel F. M. Eardley Wilmot 1859-186g Sir William Armstrong 1863-1875 Colonel Sir F. A. Campbell, K.C.B.
1. 8.1875-1 880 General 0. W. Younghusband, C.B.
1. 5.1880-1888 Colonel Eardley R. Maitland, C.B.
1. 4.1888-1894 Captain F. Younghusband, R.N.
10. 7.1894-1899 Captain John Inglis, R.N., A.D.C. 1899-1907 Major H. C. L. Holden, R.A.
Royal Carriage Department Constructor ofCarriages
1803 Thomas Butler
Inspectors
1. 1.1803-17. 2.1805 Colonel Edward Fage
18. 2.1805-26. 3.1806 Lieut.-Oolonel George Scott, R.A.
1. 4.1806-9.11.1832 General William Ouppage 10.11.1832-1841 Colonel Sir John May
2.10.1841-15.11.1846 Colonel Richard J. Lacy I 6. I I. 1846-31. 3.1852 Colonel Henry W. Gordon
1. 4.1852-17. 9.1853 Lieut.-OolonelJamesN. Colquhoun, R.A.
Inspector and Superintendent
18. 9.1853-1861 Colonel Alexander Tulloh
Superintendents
1861-1871 Colonel Henry Clerk 1871-1876 Colonel George T. Field 1876-1881 Colonel H. Heyman 1881--1887 Colonel F. Close
1887 Major J.B. Ormsby, R.A. 1887-1890 Major T. English, R.E. 1890-1894 ColonelJ. B. Ormsby1894-1901 Lieut.-Colonel Sir George Clarke, K.O.M.G., R.E.
(afterwards 1st Lord Sydenham)1901-1907 Major F. T. Fisher, R.A.
1108
APPENDIX VI
Superintendents Royal Gun and Carriage Factory
1907-1912 Colonel H. 0. L. Holden 1912-1917 Lieut-Colonel C. P. Martel, R.A. 1917-1919 Colonel M. J. C. Dennis 1919-1921 Lieut.-Colonel M. L. Wilkinson, R.A.
1921 J. Bowden, O.B.E. 1921-1931 F. W. 0. Dean, O.B. 1931-1935 R. F. Hartley, O.B.E. 1935-1936 Charles N. McLaren 1936-1941 G. F. Masters 1941-1947 A. J. Golding1947-1953 A. J. Crocker 19531956 J. A. Gordon 1956-1957 D. A. Luxton
Superintendents Development and Experimental
G. S. Fullerton
Superintendents Production
1957-1959 D. A. Luxton 1959-1961 D. A. Luxton and S. R. Fraser 1961-D. A. Luxton
Superintendents Royal Arsenal Estate
D. H. Mizen
J. D. Whitaker
Royal Laboratory Comptrollers ofFireworks
30. 6. I 688-1. 7.1702 Sir Martin Beckman
1. 5.1706-1.10.1734 ColonelJohn Henry Hopkey
(From 1716 till 1746 the Laboratory was under the care ofa Bomb_adier. From 1716 till 1734 Colonel Hopkey was paid on the 'Sinking Establishment')
Comptrollers: Royal Laboratory
12. 2.174630. 5.1782 Sir Charles Frederick
3 1. 5.1782-8. 4.1783 Colonel the Hon. George Napier
9. 4.1783-26. 5.1789 Colonel Thomas Jones
27. 5.1789-30. 4-1814 Lieut.-General Sir William Congreve, 1st Bart.
1. 7.1814-15. 5.1828 Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart.
Directors: Royal Laboratory
30. 5.1828--11. 6. 1835 Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B.
12. 6.1835-13. 9.1838 Colonel Stephen G. Adye IO. 10.1838-15.11.1846 Colonel James P. Cockburn 16.11.1846-1852 Lieut.-Colonel Richard Hardinge, K.H.
1. 4.1852-11. 8.1852 Colonel William Gator
12. 8.1852-1855 Colonel John A. Wilson uog
APPENDIX VI
Superintendents: Royal Laboratory
5. 6.1855-20.12.1869 Colonel E. M. Boxer
1. 4.1870-31.12.1874 Colonel T. W. Millward
I. 4.1875-1880 Colonel G. H. T. A. Fraser
I. 4.1880-1885 Colonel F. Lyon
27. 2.1885-1892 Colonel W.R. Barlow
6. 6.1892-10. 8.1898 Lieut.-Colonel E. Bainbridge, R.A.
1. 7.1899-1902 Major J. S. Douglas, R.A. 1902-1916 Colonel Sir Hilaro Barlow, Bart. C.B.
Superintendents: East and West Laboratories
I916-1917 Lieut.-Colonel C. J. Newton 1917-1920 Lieut.-Colonel W. L. Browne, R.A. 1920-1922 A. Humphries, M.B.E.
Controller: Filling Factories
P. J. Hinks, O.B.E.
Controllers: Small Arms Ammunition Factory
1916-1922 R. F. Hartley, O.B.E.
1922-1925 W. A. Radley, O.B.E.
Superintendents: Royal Ammunition Factories
1922-1926 A. Humphries, O.B.E. 1926-1933 J. Brown, 0.B.E. 1933-1946 A. V. Parlby1946-1947 D. H. Mizen
Superintendents: Royal Filling Factories
1922-1936 P. J. Hinks, O.B.E. 1936-1941 Dr A. Jaques 1943-1946 L.A. Haul 1946-1947 R. Edmonds
Superintendents: Royal Ammunition and Filling Factories
1947-1950 D. H. Mizen 1950-1953 P.H. L. Thomas 1953-1957 A. W. Wright
Firemasters
4. 6.1661--1670
Captain Martin Beckman I 9• IO. 1670-30. 9.1677
Captain Ernest Henry de Reus I 1. 2.1675-30. 9.1679
John Linger
ChiefFiremasters
26. 7.1682
1685 Captain Ernest Henry de Reus
I. 1.1686-168g
John Christopher Woolferman I. 1.1690-12.1690
Isaac Nelson
1690
1699 Johann Signum SchluRdt
1.1699
4.1706 Major John Henry Hopkey
IIIO
APPENDIX VI
I. 5.1706-30. 6. 1710 Lieut.-Colonel James Pendlebury 1.10.1710-1712 Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Hara
9. 8.1712-5.1722 Colonel Albert Borgard (The office was in abeyance between 1716 and 1746. From 1716
Colonel Borgard's salary was transferred to the 'Sinking Establishment')
I. I. 1746-31. I. 1748 Lieut.-Colonel James Pattison
1. 4.1748-1. 3.1780 Captain Thomas Desaguliers
10. 3.1780-7.11.1785 Captain Samuel Tovey
24. 2.1786-20. 2.1797 Major James Wood
1. 4.179724. 2.1821 Colonel George Rochfort
Firemasters
28. 2.1821-29. 5.1828 Colonel Joseph MacLean
30. 5.1828-4. 6.1835 Colonel Charles Bingham
9. 6.1835-11. 6.1835 Colonel Stephen G. Adye
12. 6.1835-27. 8.1839 Major Thomas Dyneley
28. 8.1839-15.11.1846 Lieut.-Colonel Charles Dansey
1. 1.1847-31. 3.1852 Major Henry Pester 1. 4.1852-19. 6.1854 Lieut.-ColonelJohn Tylden
20. 6.1854-4. 6.1855 Captain Edward M. Boxer*
5. 6.1855-28. 8.1855 Captain George H. A. Frasert
(The Post was abolished on 28 August 1855 and renamed Captain Instructor) Senior Medical Officers
1841-1846 Surgeon George Farr 1846-1850 Surgeon W. A. Dassauville 1850-1851 Surgeon M. B. Gallwey 1851-1853 Surgeon John Bent 1853-1855 Surgeon H. Briscoe 1855-1856 Surgeon E. Gilbourne 1856 Surgeon E. D. Allinson 1856-1859 Surgeon J. E. T. Parratt 1859-1869 Surgeon H. Briscoe 1869-1874 Surgeon-Major W. P. Ward 1874-1878 Surgeon Major J.P. Cunningham 1878-1884 Surgeon-Major C. H. V. Goodwin 1884 Surgeon-Major W. F. Stevenson 1884-1889 Surgeon-Major W. D. Wilson 1889-1891 Surgeon-Major B. B. Connolly 1891-1892 Surgeon-Major F. H. S. Murphy 1892-1897 Surgeon-Lieut.-Colonel J. M. Beamish 1897-1902 Major J. R. Dodd, R.A.M.C. 1902-1903 Major J. R. Mallens, R.A.M.C. 1903-1907 Lieut.-Colonel F. S. Lougheed, R.A.M.C.
• Appointed additional Firemaster on 13 April 1854. t Appointed additional Firemaster on 20 June 1854.
I I II
1907-1910 1910-1913 1913-1916 1916-1918 1918-1922 1922-1925 1925-1926 1926-1929 1929-1933 1933-1937 1937-1940
1940
1940-194I
1941-1946
1947-1950 1950-1952 1952-1961
1881--1885 1885-1886 1886-1889 1889-1891 1891-1896 1896-1899
1899-1902 1902-1905 1905-1908 1908-1913 1913-1913 1915-1919 1919-1920 1920-1923 1923-1927 1927-1928 1928-1932 1932-1934
1934-1936 1936-1938 1938-1940 1940-1942 1942-1945 1945-1947
APPENDIX VI
Major L. F. Smith, R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel T. de B. Whaite, R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel R. S. H. Fuhr, R.A.M.C. Major P. S. O'Reilly, R.A.M.C. Major G. F. Rugg, R.A.M.C. Major G. B. F. Churchill, R.A.M.C. Major A. N. Fraser, R.A.M.C. Major H. F. Joynt, R.A.M.C. Major L. B. Jones, R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel J. T. Simson, R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel W. P. Croker, R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Will, 0.B.E. R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel T. L. Fraser, R.A.M.C. Lieut.-Colonel J. Tyrer Johnson, D.S.0. (Colonel,
A.M.S. retd)
Principal Medical Officers
H.F.
Chard
J.
H. Chambers
A.J. Owston
2. ORDNANCE COMMITTEE AND BOARD
Presidents
General Sir Collingwood Dickson, V.C. G.C.B. Major-General Sir Charles G. Arbuthnot, K.C.B. General Sir M.A. S. Biddulph, K.C.B. Lieut.-General Sir R. J. Hay, K.C.B. Major-General Sir H. Alderson, K.C.B. General The Rt. Hon. Sir H. Brackenbury GC.B
K.C.S.I. ' • • .,
Lieut.-General Sir H. Le G. Geary, K.C.B. General Sir F. J. Owen, K.C.B. Major-General D. D. T. 0'Callaghan, C.V.O. Admiral R. F. 0. Foote, C.M.G. Major-General Sir C. F. Hadden, K.C.B. Brigadier-General W. St G. Bland, C.B., C.M.G. Rear-Admiral A. W. Craig, C.B., A.D.C. Rear-Admiral E. M. P. Phillpotts, C.B. Major-General B. R. Kirwan, C.B., C.M.G. Rear-Admiral H. R. Crooke, C.B. Re~r-Admiral H. W. Hope, C.B., C.V.0., D.S.O. MaJor-General H. R. W. M. Smith CB CB E
D.S.0. ' ••, •••
Rear-Admiral B. W. M. Fairbairn, C.B.E. Major-General R. F. Lock, C.B. Vicc-Admiral E. 0. B. S. Osborne, C.B., D.S.0. 1"1:aJor-General A. H. Loughborough, C.B., O.B.E. Vice-Admiral A. F. Pridham, C.B. Air Vice-Marshal G. A. H. Pidcock, C.B.E.
1112
1947-1949 1949-1950 1950-1951 1951-1952 1952-1953 1953-1954 1954-1955 1955-1956 1956-1957 1957-1958 1958-1959 1959-1960 1960-1961 1961-
1881--1884 1884--1887 1887--1890 18901891 1891-1894 1894-1896 1896-1898 1898-1900 1900-1902
1902-1905 1905-1908
1908 1908-1910 1910-1913 1913-1915 195-1917 1917-1919 1919-1920 1920-1924 1924-1927 1927-1928 1928-1930 1930-1932 1932-1934 1934-1936 1936-1938 1938 1938-1940 1940 1940-194 1940-1942 1941-1942
APPENDIX VI
Major-General F. St D. B. Lejeune, C.B.E. Vice-Admiral Sir Harold R. G. Kinahan, K.B.E. .B. Air Vice-Marshal G. Combe, C.B. Major-General J. L. P. Haines, C.B., C.B.E. Rear-Admiral P. V. McLaughlin, C.B., D. S.O. Air Vice-Marshal C. N. H. Bilney, C.B., C.:B.E. Major-General P. S. Gostling, C.B., C.B.E. Rear-Admiral S. A. Pears, C.B.E. Air Vice-Marshal J. Marson, C.B., C.B.E. Major-General A.H. Musson, C.B., C.B.E. Rear-Admiral H. S. Walkey, C.B.E. Air Vice-Marshal]. G. Franks, C.B., C.B.E. Major-General J. French, C.B. Rear-Admiral R. W. Armytage, C.B.E., A.IM.
Vice-Presidents
Rear-Admiral E. H. Howard Admiral T. Le Hunte Ward, C.B. Admiral Sir H.F. Nicholson, K.C.B. Admiral Sir Compton E. Domville, G.C.B., G.C.V.O. Admiral H.F. Cleveland Admiral E. Rice Admiral Sir A. L. Douglas, G.C.V.0., K.CC.B. Admiral A. B. Jenkins Vice-Admiral Sir C. C. Drury, G.C.V.O., K.C.B.,
K.C.S.I. Vice-Admiral A. A. Chase Parr Rear-Admiral R. F. 0. Foote, C.M.G. Brigadier-General A. P. Penton Major-General R. A. Montgomery, C.B., C.V.0. Colonel A.H. P. Turner Rear-Admiral R. B. Farquhar Captain C. E. Hunter, R.N. Captain R. A. Hopwood, C.B., R.N. Brigadier-General A. C. Currie, C.B., C.lVLG. Colonel-on-the-Staff K. E. Haynes, C.M.G., C.B.E. Rear-Admiral H. R. Crooke, C.B. Colonel-on-the-Staff K. E. Haynes, C.M.G., C.B.E. Brigadier M. L. Wilkinson, C.B.E. Brigadier H. R. W. H. Smith, C.B.E., D.S.O., A.D.C. Rear-Admiral B. W. H. Fairbairn, 0.B.E. Brigadier R. F. Lock Rear-Admiral E. 0. B. S. Osborne, C.B., D.S.0. Brigadier E. M. C. Clarke. Major-General A. H. Loughborough, O.B. E. Air Commodore P. Huskinson, M.C., R.A.F. Air-Commodore A. B. Grenfell, A.F.CG., R. A.F. Rear-Admiral A. F. Pridham Air Commodore E. D. Davis, 0.B.E., R.A.F.
1113
1942-1946 1942 1942-1944 1944-1945 1945-1947 1946-1947 1947-1949 1947-1948 1948-1950 1949-1951 1950 1950-1952 1951-1952 1952-1953 1952-1954 1953-1955
1954-1956 1955-1957 1956-1958 1957-1959 1958-1960 1959-1961 19601961-
1881--1884 1884-1888 1888-1891 1891-1894 1894-1898 1898-1901 1901-1904 1904-1907 1907-1910 1910-1914 1914 1914-1919 1919-1920 1920-1924 1924-1927 1927-1931 1931-1935 1935-1936 1936-1939 1939 1939-1940 1940-1943 1943-1945
APPENDIX VI
Major-General D. S. C. Evans, C.B.E. Air Commodore G. Combe, R.A.F. Air Commodore C. N. H. Bilney, O.B.E., R.A.F. Air Vice-Marshal G. A.H. Pidcock, R.A.F. Rear-Admiral A. J. L. Phillips, D.S.O. Major-General F. St D. B. Lejeune, C.B.E. Vice-Admiral H. R. G. Kinahan, C.B., C.B.E. Air Commodore W. Wynter-Morgan, C.B.E., M.C. Air Commodore F. G. S. Mitchell, O.B.E. Major-General J. L. P. Haines Air Vice-Marshal G. Combe, C.B. Rear-Admiral P. V. McLaughlin, C.B., D.S.O. A~ C?mmodore L. de V. Chisman, C.B.E., D.F.C. Air Vice-Marshal C. N. H. Bilney, C.B., C.B.E. Major-General P. S. Gostling, C.B.E. Rear-Admiral S. A. Pears, C.B.E. Air Vice-Marshal J. Marson, C.B., C.B.E. Major-General A. H. Musson, C.B.E. Rear-Admiral H. S. Walkey, C.B.E. Air _Yice-Marshal J. G. Franks, C.B., C.B.E. Major-General J. French Rear-Admiral R. W. Armytage Air Vice-Marshal H. Ford, dB., C.B.E., A.F.C. Major-General R. H. Farrant
Secretaries
Major G. H. Fairfax Ellis, R.A. Lieut.-Colonel E. Bainbridge, R.A. Lieut.-Colonel D. D. T. O'Callaghan R A Colonel C. Morley ' • • Major W. E. Blewitt, R.A. Major I-I. P. Hickman, R.A. Major C. P. Martel, R.A. Colonel S. B. Von Donop Major L. R. Kenyon, R.A. L1eut.-Colonel A. C. Currie, R.A. Major C. C. Noott, R.A. Lieut.-Colonel E. Tinker, R.A. L~eut.-Colonel R. V. Douglas, C.B.E., R.A. L~eut.-Colonel H. A. Lewis, C.B.E., R.A. L~eut.-Colonel R. F. Lock, R.A. Lieut.-ColonelJ. U. Hope, R.A. Bvt. Colonel M. D. Bell, O.B.E., R.A. Bvt. Colonel A. E. A. Dobson, O.B.E., R.A Colonel O. F. G. Hogg • Colonel D.S. C. Evans Colonel P • J. K. Warren Colonel T. Kirkland, D.S.O. Colonel C. F. C. Spedding
II 14
1945
1945-1949 1949-1950
1950 1950-1953 1953-1954 1954-1956 1956-1958 1958-1961 1961-
1881--1882 1882-1886 1886-1887 1887--1890 1890-1892 1892-1896 1896-1899 1899-1902 1902-1904 1904-1907 1907-1910 1910-1913 1913-1915 1915-1919 1919-1921 1921-1923 1923-1925 1925-1927 1927-1929 1929-1936 1936-1938 1938-1942 1942-1946 1946-1953 1953-1957 1957-1960
1960
1907-1908 1908 1908-1910 1910-1913 1913-1915
73
APPENDIX VI
Colonel L. M. Scott
Colonel H. N. Sowden, M.B.E.
Colonel H. L. G. Burlton, M.C.
Brigadier P. S. Gostling
Colonel L. B. Lewer
Colonel A. V. Golding, M.B.E.
Colonel J. A. Caddy
Colonel H. E. I. Robins
Colonel W. Stirling
Colonel W. P. Crowe, O.B.E.
Assistant and Naval Secretaries
Major E. Bainbridge, R.A.
Commander H.J. May, R.N.
Commander F. Younghusband, R.N.
Commander B. H. Chevalier, R.N.
Commander Sir H. Ogle, Bart., R.N.
Commander J. F. Honner, R.N.
Commander R. B. Farquhar, R.N.
Commander A. W. Waymouth, R.N.
Commander D. L. Dent, R.N.
Commander M. H. Cobbe, R.N.
Commander P.H. Warleigh, R.N.
Commander T. E. Wardle, R.N.
Commander C. P. Bevan, R.N.
Commander I. F. Chichester, R.N.
Commander C. G. L. Woolcombe, R.N.
Commander F. Elliott, R.N.
Commander F. C. Darley, R.N.
Commander H.J. P. Hall, R.N.
Commander C. G. L. Woolcombe, R.N.
Commander P.H. Ridler, R.N. (retd)
Commander H. P. Middleton, R.N. (retd)
Commander 0. S. Grey, R.N. (retd)
Captain K. W. G. Duke, R.N. (retd)
Captain A. S. Donovan, R.N. (retd)
Captain P. C. Forman, R.N. (retd)
Commander D. H. Acheson, R.N. (retd)
Deputy Secretaries
Commander D. H. Acheson, R.N. (retd)
3. ROYAL ARTILLERY COMMITTEE
Presidents
Major-General D. D. T. O'Callaghan, C.V.O.
Brigadier-General A. P. Penton
Major-General R. A. Montgomery, C.B., C.V.O.
Colonel A. P. H. Turner
Major-General Sir C. F. Hadden, K.C.B. (In abeyance during World War I)
1115
APPENDIX VI
1919-1920 Brigadier-General A. C. Currie, C.B., C.M.G. 1920-1924 Colonel-on-the-Staff K. E. Haynes, C.M.G., O.B.E. 1924-1927 Major-General B. R. Kirwan, C.B, C.B.E. C.M.G. 1927-1928 Colonel-on-the-Staff K. E. Haynes, C.M.G., C.B.E. 1928-1930 Brigadier M. L. \,Vilkinson, C.B.E. 1930-1934 Major-General H. R. W. M. Smith, C.B, C.B.E.,
D.S.O. 1934-1938 Major-General R. F. Lock, C.B. 1938 Brigadier E. M. C. Clarke 1938-1939 Major-General A. H. Loughborough, O.B.E. (Absorbed into the Ordnance Board IO September 1939)
Secretaries
1907-1912 Major J. Byron, R.A. 1912-1914 Major C. W. Collingwood, R.A. 1914 Major E. Tinker, R.A. 1914-1915 Major R. V. Douglas, R.A.
(In abeyance during World War I) 1919-1923 Major A. F. B. Harvey, R.A. 1923-1927 Major A. H. Loughborough, O.B.E., R.A. 1927-1931 Major P. I. Newton, R.A. 1931-1933 Major G. L. Kaye, R.A. 1933-1935 Major C. C. Russell, M.C., R.A. 1935-1936 Major F. D. Field, M.C., R.A. 1936-1937 Major K. S. Mackenzie, M.C., R.A. 1937-1939 Major H. V. Allpress, R.A.
1939 Major K. W. MacKichan, R.A. (Absorbed into the Ordnance Board 10 September 1939)
Assistant Secretaries
1936-1938 Major F. St D. B. Lejeune, R.A. 1938-1939 Major R. C. Bartlett, M.C., R.A. (Absorbed into the Ordnance Board IO September 1939)
4. RESEARCH AND ARMAMENTS RESEARCH DEPARTMENT
Superintendents
1907-1910 Major J. H. Mansell, R.A.
1910-1914
Commander J. A. Duncan, R.N.
1914-1920
L1eut.-Colonel R. A. Craig, C.M.G., C.B.E., R.A.
Chief Superintendents
1920-1924
Commander A. C. Goolden, O.B.E., R.N. (retd)
1924-1928
Colonel R. K. Hezlet, C.B.E., D.S.O.
1928-1933
Commander A. C. Goolden, O.B.E., R.N. (retd)1933-1936 Colonel W. MacC. Burden, C.B.E.1936-1940 Captain H. R. Priston, R.N. (retd)1940-1942 Brigadier J. L. P. Macnair
1116
APPENDIX VI
1942-1945 Professor J. E. Lennard-Jones
1945 Professor W. E. Garner (acting)1946-1950 Dr. W. G. Penney, O.B.E. 1950-1954 Dr. H.J. Poole, C.B.E.
5. DESIGN AND ARMAMENTS DESIGN DEPARTMENT
Superintendents
1919-1920 Lieut.-Colonel C. C. Noott, C.M.G., D.S.O., R.A. 1920-1921 Colonel W. E. Edwardes, C.M.G. 1921-1924 Colonel M. L. Wilkinson, C.B.E. 1924-1925 Colonel K. E. Haynes, C.M.G., C.B.E. 1925-1929 Commander H. G. Jackson, O.B.E., R.N. (retd) 1929-1930 Colonel H. M. Vandeleur, C.B.E. 1930-1933 Colonel G. F. B. Turner, D.S.O. 1933-1937 Colonel F. C. N. Bishop
ChiefSuperintendents
1937-1939 Brigadier A. E. Macrae, O.B.E. 1939-1941 Brigadier G. Temple, M.C. 1941-1942 Captain F. G. Fowle, D.S.C., R.N. (retd)
1942 Captain C. T. Nuthall, R.N. (retd)
ChiefEngineers and Superintendents
1942-1945 F. E. Smith 1945-1952 Commander S. S. C. Mitchell, R.N. (retd) 1952-1954 A. P. Wickens
Armament Research and Development Establishment Directors
E. McEwen Dr. D. H. Black, C.M.G.
6. INSPECTION DEPARTMENTS
(a) Inspection Department, Woolwich (afterwards Armaments Inspection
Department) Assistant Directors ofArtillery, Woolwich
1888-1891 Lieut.-Colonel C. Morley, R.A. 1891-1893 Lieut.-Colonel A. P. Penton, R.A.
ChiefInspectors
1893-1901 Lieut.-Colonel C. F. Hadden, R.A. 1901-1903 Colonel A. P. H. Turner 1903-1907 Lieut.-Colonel F. F. Minchin, R.A. 1907-191I Lieut.-Colonel N. B. Heffernan, R.A. 1911-1913 Lieut.-Colonel J. H. Mansell, R.A. 1913-1916 Lieut.-Colonel J. R. Stansfeld, R.A.
(Post in abeyance during rest of World War I)
1117
1919-1921 1921-1925
1925-1929 1929-1933 1933-1936 1936-1940 1940-1943
1946-1949 1949-1952 1952
1952-1954 1954-1956 1956-1960 1960
APPENDIX VI
ChiefInspectors ofArmaments
Colonel F. L. Galloway, C.M.G. Colonel H. M. Vandeleur, C.B.E. Colonel R. H. R. Benson, 0.B.E. Colonel W. MacC. Burden Colonel J. G. G. Hunter Brigadier K. F. Dunsterville, D.S.0. Brigadier E. A. Woods, M.C.
Inspector-General ofArmaments
Major-General E. A. Woods, C.B., C.B.E., M.C.
ChiefInspectors ofArmaments
Brigadier K. S. Mackenzie, C.B.E., M.C.
Brigadier E. M. Ransford, C.B.E. Brigadier W. G. Abinett, 0.B.E.
Directors ofInspection ofArmaments
Brigadier W. G. Abinett, 0.B.E. Brigadier G. Kellett Brigadier W. P. T. Roberts
D. A. Hutton-Williams
(b) Inspection Department, Enfield Lock
ChiefInspectors ofSmall Arms
1888-1894 Colonel W. H. King-Harman 1894-1900 Lieut.-Colonel W. N. Lockyer, R.A. 1900-1907 Bvt. Colonel J. D. Hopton 1907-1909 Major W. B. Wallace
1910-1914
Lieut.-Colonel A. L. Tisdall, R.A.
1914-1916
Lieut.-Colonel G. H. S. Browne (In abeyance during the rest of World War I)
1919-1923
Bvt. Lieut.-Colonel J. H. Robinson
1923-1926
Colonel H. W. Todhunter, C.M.G.
1926-1930
Colonel J. H. Robinson
1930-1934
Lieut.-Colonel E. D. Ridley, M.C. 1934 Bvt. Colonel R. G. Ball
1934-1941
Colonel G. C. Shipster, M.C.
1941-1943
Colonel J. H. Icke (Post abolished.
Department absorbed by the ArmamentsDepartment)
(c) Royal Engineer Inspection Department
ChiefInspectors ofRoyal Engineer Stores
1916-1920
Inspection
Bvt. L~eut.-Colonel F. W. Robertson, 0.B.E., R.E.
1920-1924
Bvt. Lieut.-Colonel A. E. Davidson, D.S.0., R.E.
1924-1928
Bvt. L1eut.-Colonel W. C. H. Pritchard, D.S.0., R.E. I118
1928-1932 1932-1933
1933-1937 1938 19381940 1940-1942
1942-1944 1944-1946 1946-1949 1949-1952 1952
APPENDIX VI
Major H. M. Fordham, M.C., R.E. Bvt. Colonel G. C. Gowlland, R.E.
ChiefInspectors ofEngineer and Signal Stores
Colonel A. C. Fuller, 0.B.E. Bvt. Lieut.-Colonel A. W. Sproull, R.E. (acting) Colonel C. M. Simpson, M.C. Colonel A. W. Sproull
ChiefInspectors ofElectrical and Mechanical Equipment
Brigadier A. W. Sproull, C.B.E. Major-General A. W. Sproull, C.B.E. Brigadier F. H. Maclennan, 0.B.E. Brigadier E. J. H. Moppett Brigadier N. A. M. Swettenham, 0.B.E.
Directors ofInspection ofElectrical and Mechanical Equipment
1952-1955 Brigadier N. A. M. Swettenham, 0.B.E.
1955-1957 F. Mc Ginnety1957-1960 Brigadier C. A. Zweigberk, C.B.E., M.C. 1960-E. D. Whitehead
(cl) Mechanization Inspection Department (Afterwards Fighting Vehicles Inspection Department)
1939-1940 1940-1943
1943 1943-1945 1945-1946 1946 1946-1952
1952 1952-1955 1955-1957 1957-1961 1961
1944-1948
ChiefInspectors ofMechanization
Colonel W. H. York, M.C. Colonel R. M. W. Gross
ClziefInspectors ofFighting Vehicles
Colonel R. M. W. Gross Colonel D. T. Raikes, D.S.0., M.C. Colonel J. G. Ferry Colonel D. M. Rycroft, 0.B.E. Colonel 0. E. Chapman
Directors ofInspection ofFighting Vehicles
Brigadier 0. E. Chapman Brigadier F. W. S. Gordon Hall, C.B.E. Brigadier W. S. King Brigadier R. H. Bright Brigadier W. P. St J. Becher
Director ofInspection ofFighting Vehicles
(Ministry of Supply) Brigadier F. Pocock, D.B.E., M.O.
(c) Chemical Inspection Department
1854-1893 1 893-1905 1905-1909 War Department Chemists Sir Frederick A. Abel, Bart. G.C.V.0., K.C.B., F.R.S. Dr. W. Kellnor W. H. Deering
III9
1909-1916 1916-1920
1920-1931 1931-1939 1939-1940
1940-1952 1952-1954 1955
APPENDIX VI
Chemist, Inspection Department
C. G. Duncan
Director ofChemical Inspection
G. H. Perry
War Department Chemists
G. H. Perry
A. V. Elsden
ChiefChemical Inspectors
A. V. Elsden
E. T. Osborne
Directors ofChemical Inspection
E. T. Osborne
E. W. S. Press
([) Naval Ordnance Inspection Department
1919-1922 1922-1928 1928-1931
1932-1935 1935-1936 1936-1937 1938-1940 1940-1941 1941-1944 1944-1945 1945-1946
1946 1946-1947 1947-1950 1950-1954 1954-1957 1957-1960 196o
1858-31•1858-31.
1861-31•12•186g
1. 4. Captain Henry William Gordon
Controller
1. 1.1870-31. 1.1876
Captain Henry William Gordon I 120
Inspectors ofNaval Ordnance, Woolwich
Commander A. W. Tomlinson, R.N. Commander F. R. Willis, R.N. Commander D. E. Rahilley, R.N. Commander F. T. de Morgan, R.N. Commander C. W. Swithinbank, R.N. Lieut.-Colonel F. C. Willis, R.M. Commander G. D. Millar, R.N. Captain D. G. W. Curry, R.N. Captain T. C. B. Harbottle, R.N. Captain M. J. Parkes-Buchanon, R.N. Commander A. L. Owen, R.N. Commander H. S. Walkey, R.N. Captain G. A. M. Paul, R.N. Captain A. M. Hutchinson, O.B.E., R.N. Captain L. W. Lamplough, R.N. Captain R. J. Berry, R.N. Captain G. H. Hurry, R.N. Captain M.J. Amos, R.N.
7. ORDNANCE STORE DEPARTMENT
Principal Military Storekeepers
5.1858 Francis Pellatt 3.1861 Captain Henry William Gordon
Principal Superintendent ofStores
1. 2.1876-11. 3.1879 12. 3.1879-22.12.1882 23.12.1882-22.1 2. 1887 23.12.1887-31. 3.1893
1. 4.1893-31. 3.1896
1858-1860 1860-31. 3.1861
1. 4.1861-31.12.1870
1. 1.187131. 1.1876 27.11.1875-31. 1.1876
1. 2.1876-8.1876 1. 2.1876-12.1881 3 1. r. 1 880-3. 1886 15. 6.1885-5. 1.1886 6. 1.1886-9.1887 1. 10.1887-10.1894
APPENDIX VI
Commissaries-General
Sir Henry William Gordon, K.C.B.
W. L. M. Young
C. M. Molloy
M
. .J. T. Ingram
F.
Pridham
Deputy Military Storekeepers
William Morris
William Henry Parkyn
Deputy Superintendent ofStores
William Henry Parkyn
Deputy Controllers
William Henry Parkyn
William Michael King
Deputy Commissaries-General
William Henry Parkyn William Michael King Joseph Thomas Barrington
T. Pease
C. Ralph
H. Morgan
16. 6.1892-31. 3.1896 G. A. Jolly
8. ARMY ORDNANCE DEPARTMENT
1. 4.1896-31. 3.1898 I. 4.1898-31. 3.1903 1. 4.1903-30. 6.1904
1. 4.1896-5.1898 1. 4.1898-10.1902 9.1902-7.1906
10.19047.1906
Principal Ordnance Officers
Major-General F. Pridham
Major-General John Steevens
Major-General F. Mulcahy
Ordnance Officers rst Class
Colonel G. A.Jolly
Colonel F. G. Winke
Colonel]. L. Wheeler
Colonel E. Appelbe
Colonel R. Crawford
(The list is not continued beyond 1906. The posts at the Royal Arsenal were ordinary Corps postings)
9. NAVAL ARMAMENT STORE DEPARTMENT
Naval Armament Store Officers
1.10.1891-Colonel St Quinton (Naval Ordnance Officer)
.....................
1121
-1912 Lieut.-Colonel H. A. D. Hain 1912-1917 Lieut.-Colonel C. H Ozanne 1918-]. G. Morgan
-1922 G. F. Story 1922-1930 W. A. Mortimer 1930-1932 T. Vv. Archer 1932-1932 H. L. Mackenzie 1932-1934 A. T. Reed 1934-1936 A. E. W. Smith 1936-1940 M.May 1940-1940 K. Boutwood 1940-1942 ]. R. Fuller 1942-1946 W. Baker 1946-1948 M. Godfrey1948-1950 E. C. Arscott 1950-1953 S. H. Stokes 1953-1955 L. W. Bethell, M.C. 1955-1958 W. H. Newman
(The Naval Armament Store Department, Woolwich, closed down on 30 June 1958)
IO. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ROYAL ORDNANCE FACTORIES, LONDON
Director-General ofFactories
1920-1926 Sir Holberry Mensforth
Directors ofOrdnance Factories
1926-1938
Sir Reginald Townsend, K.C.B.1938-1940 Charles N. McLaren
Directors-General ofOrdnance Factories
1940-1951 Sir Charles N. McLaren, K.C.B.1951-1952 T. E. Harris, C.B., C.B.E. (acting)1952-1956 K. Gordon, C.B.E., M.C.
Controllers ofRoyal Ordnance Factories
?56-1959 Sir ~teuart Mitchell, K.B.E. 959-Reginald Ratcliffe.
1122
APPENDIX VII
Certain establishments and rates ofpay
(a) Pay and establishment ofcertain Ordnance officials 1705
(PRO/WO/49/119) Master-General £1,500 p.a.; Lieutenant-General £800 p.a.; SurveyorGeneral £500 p.a.; Clerk of the Ordnance [50o p.a.; Storckccper £4oo p.a.; Clerk of Deliveries £300 p.a.; Treasurer and Paymaster £500 p.a.5 Secretary to the Board £200 p.a.; Chief Engineer £300 p.a.; Second Engineer £250 p.a.; Third Engineer £150 p.a.; Engineer in New York £350 p.a.5 Second Engineer in New York £182 p.a.; Ordinary Engineer £1 oo p.a.; Sub-Engineer £50 p.a.; Master Gunner of England £1 go p.a.; Captain of Gunners £60 p.a.; 1st Lieutenant of Gunners £50 p.a.; Gunners' Mate £45. 10s. od. p.a.; Second Lieutenant of Gunners £40 p.a.; Comptroller of Fireworks £200 p.a.; Chief Fireworker £150 p.a.; Mate to ChiefFireworker £80 p.a.; Gentleman of the Ordnance £40 p.a.; Sergeants (Gunners) {go p.a.; Gunners £18. 5s. od. p.a.; Chief Bombardier £54. 15s. od. p.a.; Bombadier£36. 10s. od. p.a.; ChiefPetardier £54. 15s. od. p.a.; Petardier £36. 10s. od. p.a.; Firemaster £120 p.a.; Fireworker £40 p.a.; Yeoman of Tents £20 p.a.; Waggon Master £100 p.a.; Proofinaster £20 p.a.; Clerk of the Cheque £60 p.a.; Storekeeper at Woolwich £40 p.a.; Firemaster for fire-ships £60 p.a.; Messenger £6o p.a.; Labourer a6 p.a. Purveyor of Hayes £40 p.a.; Purveyor of Stores and Materials £60 p.a.; Additional day labourers at ,vaolwich £27. 7s. 6d. p.a.; Clerks between £40 and £60 p.a.
The Lieutenant-General had 2 clerks. The Surveyor-General had 3 clerks. The Clerk of the Ordnance had 4 clerks. The Storekeeper had 3 clerks. The Clerk of Deliveries had 2 clerks. The Treasurer had 3 clerks.
There were:
16 Engineers; 6 Sub-Engineers; 4 Captains (Gunners); 4 First Lieutenants (Gunners); 5 Second Lieutenants (Gunners); 3 Mates (Gunners); g Gentlemen of the Ordnance; 8 Sergeants (Gunners); 120 Gunners; 24 Bombadiers; 4 Petardiers; 2 Firemasters; 1 7 Fireworkers; 2 Proofmasters; 62 Labourers; and 12 additional Labourers at Woolwich. The total amount of salaries and wages was: £23,395. 4S· 6d. p.a.
(2) Average numbers of workpeople at Woolwich in the Civil Department between 1786 and 1787 (Ordnance Estimates 1787)
Carpenters 24; Turners 3; Coopers 2; Smiths 32; Wheelers 6; Painters 1 ; Armourers 5; and Labourers 172.
Average numbers employed on works at Woolwich between r786 and 1787
Carpenters 34; Bricklayers 30; Masons ; Plumbers I; Painters 2; Glaziers 1; and Labourers 16.
1123
(3) Revision of the Salaries oftlze Principal Officers of tlze Board to commence l July 18o1
(PRO[HO/50/391, PP. 177-187) The warrant for this revision is dated 16 March 1802. The revised salaries are:
Master-General £3,000 p.a.; Lieutenant General £1,500 p.a.; Surveyor-General £1,200 p.a.; Clerk of the Ordnance £600 p.a.; Principal Storekeeper £500 p.a.; Clerk of Deliveries £500 p.a.; Secretary to the Board £1,000 p.a.; Secretary to the Master-General £500 p.a.; UnderSecretary to the Master-General £300 p.a. Total £9,1oo p.a.
(4) The salaries of Officers and Clerks in the Civil Department 18o1 (PRO[WO[47/2,380, p. 463) This refers to Inferior Officers and Clerks. It is a printed document dated 13 June 1801. It cancels the regulations of 24 January 1797 with effect from 1 January 1801. Two Woolwich clerks are given the following salaries:
Clerk of the Survey at Woolwich £350 (maximum) Clerk of the Cheque at Woolwich £300 (maximum)
(5) The proposed reductions in tlze establishment of the Civil Branch of the Ordnance Department 1821
(PRO[WO/44/511)
This gives a complete list of officials, but only those relevant to the Board and Woolwich are given. The following are the proposed reduced emoluments:
Master-General Lieutenant-General Surveyor-General Clerk of the The Duke of Wellington Sir Hildebrand Oakes Sir Ulysses Burgh £3,235. £1,591. £1,261. 18s. 13s. lOS. 4d. p.a. 4d. p.a. od. p.a.
Ordnance Principal Storekeeper Clerk of Deliveries Robert Ward Mark Singleton The Hon. Edmund £ £ 861. 779. IOS. 155. od. p.a. od. p.a.
Treasurer Secretary to the Phipps William Holmes £1,043. £1,265. 5. OS. od. p.a. od. p.a.
Master-General Secretary to the Board Comptroller, Royal Lord Fitzroy Somerset Robert H. Crew £1,500. £1,695. OS. OS. od. p.a. od. p.a.
Laboratory Firemaster Assistant Firemaster Sir William Congreve Colonel Maclean Lieut.-Colonel Bingham £ 360. OS. + quarters £ 230. OS. + house £ 230. os. + house od. p.a. od. p.a. od. p.a.
1124
APPENDIX VII
Inspector of the}Royal Manufactories of Captain W. Maling £ 200. OS. + house od. p.a.
Gunpowder
Inspector of Artillery Sir Thomas Blomefield £ 402. OS. od. p.a.
Inspector of the}Royal Brass Sir Thomas Blomefield £ 91. 5°. od. p.a.
Foundry
Proofrnaster Lieut. Alexander Reid £ 158. lOS. od. p.a.
Founder Cornelius King £ 271. OS. od. p.a.
Inspector Royal }Carriage Departrnent Lieut.-General W. Cuppage £ 400. OS. + house od. p.a.
Storekeeper John Geast os.£ 700. + house od. p.a.
Deputy Storekeeper Joseph Cheetham £ 362. IO. od. p.a.
+ house
(6) Reorganization ofthe Civil Establishments ofthe Ordnance 1825 (PRO/WO/44/606)
This establishment was brought into force 1 January 1825, the Treasury approval being dated 2 December 1825.
The Master-General £3,175. 18s. 4d. p.a.; The Lieutenant-General £1,566. 135. 4d. p.a.; The Surveyor-General £1,836. 10s. od. p.a.5 Principal Storekeeper £734. 15s. od. p.a.; Clerk of the Ordnance £1,836. 1Os. od. p.a.; Clerk of Deliveries £1,018. 5s. od. p.a.; Treasurer £1,540. os. od. p.a.; Secretary to the Board £1,400. os. od. p.a.; Secretary to the Master-General £1,500 p.a.; Comptroller R.L. £350-£500 p.a.; Firemaster £230 p.a.; Assistant Firemaster £200 p.a.; Inspector of the Royal Manufactories of Gunpowder £200 p.a.; Inspector ofArtillery £350 p.a.; Inspector of the Royal Brass Foundry £1oo p.a.; Proo[master {150 p.a.5 Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £400 p.a.; AssIStant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £250 p.a.; Deputy Storekeeper, Royal Carriage Department £250-£350 p.a.; Storekeeper, Woolwich £600750 p.a. and Deputy Storekeeper, Woolwich £250-£350.
(7) Reduction of tlze Salaries of the Principal Officers of the Ordnance 1828 (PRO/WO/44/725)
The warrant effecting this reduction is dated 2o November 1828, and came into force on 1July 1828. It abolished fees and fixed the all-inclusive salaries as follows:
Lieutenant-General {1,200 p.a.; Surveyor-General £1,500 p.a.3 Clerk oftheOrdnance£1,200p.a.; PrincipalStorekeeper£1,200p.a.; Secretary to the Master-General £1,200 p.a.
1125
APPENDIX VII
(8) Re-organization ofthe Civil Establislzmmt, Woolwich, r840 (PRO{WO/44/606)
This establishment to take effect from I July 1839, was approved by the Treasury on 25January 1840.
Director, Royal Laboratory 350 p.a.; Firemaster £23o p.a.3 Deputy Sto:ekeeper, R.L. £250-£)50 p.a.; Inspector of Artillery £400 p.a.; Assistant Inspector of Arti!lery £200 p.a.; Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £400 p.a.; Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department £200 ~.a.; Deputy Storekeeper R.C.D. £250-£350 p.a.; Storekeeper, Woolwich £600-£750 p.a.; Deputy Storekeeper, Woolwich £250350.
(g) Numbers employed in the Royal Carriage Department 1 April 1854(PRO/WO[44/524)
The establishment was: 884 industrials (artificers and labourers); 2 ofcc keepers: I warder: 37 military artificers and 6o convicts. There were 2 vaca~cies on th; establishment as only 882 industrials were employed on this date.
(1o) Reorganization of clerical establishments in the Royal Laboratory and Royal Carriage Department 1854
(PRO/WO[44/297)
In 1854 there were some 2,200 workers in the Royal Laboratory. On
13 May 1854 the Treasury sanctioned the employment of four additional
clerks. These _w_ere: C~arles Bridgford, James Eagle, John Hatchell and
Montague Hillier. This made 13 clerks in all in the R.L.; 1 clerk-in
charge; 3 third rate clerks and g temporary clerks. They were employed
as follows:
Mr Satchwell Clerk-in-Charge Mr Bake, temporary clerk, who assists Mr Satchwell and is at present in charge of Cash Accounts Mr Piper, 3rd rate clerk
Store Accounts
Mr Angell, ,, ,, ,,
Cash Accounts
Mr Sparkes, ,, ,, ,,
Cheque Books
Mr Eagle, temporary clerk
Cheque Books
Mr Hatchell,
,, ,, Correspondence
Mr Knight
,, ,, Store AccountsMr Hillier
,, ,, Cheque Books
Mr Wild
,, ,, Tickets and cheque
Mr Bennett
,, ,, Cheque Books
Mr Farquharson
,, ,, Store Accounts
Mr Bridgford
,, ,, Cheque Books
,$",2"",2"wry on z9 September +8s4, also approved orso additional c er s or t e Royal Carriage Department. The two established posts are ~h?e filled by two temporary clerks, Stjohn Gierke andJ. R. Manifold.
1s arrangement is to commence on I April 1854, but the date of the appomtment of the two temporary clerks to established posts will be I 0'ctober 1854.
1126
APPENDIX VII
These increases in the clerical establishments of both the R.L. and the
R.C.D. took place as the result of a visit of investigation.
(11) Further revision in the civil establishment at Woolwich 1854
(PRO/WO/44/298) A further visit of investigation was paid to the various departments at Woolwich, a report being rendered on 24 July 1854. As a result, the Treasury sanctioned the revised establishment which had bcen rccommended for the storekeeper's deparment on 27 November 1854, cxccpt that they considered that the storekeeper's salary should be £650-£20£800 p.a. The latter was therefore fixed at this figure. On 7 May 1855, the Treasury approved three extra temporary clerkships in the storekeeper's department.
( 12) Reorganization ofthe clerical establishments ofthe Manufacturing Departments ofthe Army 1879
(PRO[WO/33/34 PP. 905-918)
(Confidential Paper 0770)
A committee consisting of Ralph H. Knox and Lewis W. Engelback, under the chairmanship of Colonel H. G. Dccdes was appointed by order of the Secretary of State for War dated 26 July 1879, to enquire into the clerical establishment of the manufacturing departments of the Army. It proceeded to take evidence and issued a report dated 26 November 1879, of which the following is a briefprecis:
Before 1 862, each factory had its own separate establishment, the last revision of which took place in 1856. Pay was small and complaints were frequent. A scheme was therefore prepared in 186r which combined the various clerical establishments into one whole. This was sanctioned by the Treasury in January 1862. The total numbers were reduced from 74 to 72, and the wages bill increased from between £1,000 (minimum) to £3,000 (maximum). Pay was increased as follows:
Principal Clerks from 3o0/400 p.a. to 370/500 p.a. First Clerks from 230/280 p.a. to £265/360 p.a. Second Clerks from [17o/2go p.a. to £190/250 p.a. Third Clerks from £, 90/160 p.a. to £, 9o/180 p.a. Temporary Clerks from {1oo/140 p.a. to £,1oo/140 p.a. (no change)
Reductions were made from time to time till 1871 when the Treasury sanctioned a new establishment of 45.
Salaries were then increased to:
Principal Clerks £400/500 p.a.
Senior Clerks £285/370 p.a.
Junior Clerks £ 90/270 p.a.
Permanent N.C.O. and
Temporary Clerks £1oo/150 p.a.
In 1879, the Woolwich establishment was as under:
1127
Factory P.C. s.c. J.C. N.C.O. Total Writers Cost
R.G.F.l 2 I
4 8 13 £3,830
R.C.D. I 2 5 2 IO 315,60oR.L. I2 I8
4 37 £6,005
* Includes 2 temporary clerks.
P.C. = Principal Clerk; S.C. = Senior Clerk; J.C. = Junior Clerks.
The following is a summary of the Committee's proposals:
1.
Concentratc the superintending duties in the several departments the same general distribution of work to prevail throughout. '
2.
Cash to be drawn from, and accounted for to the district paymasters
and the departmental duties of cashier to be absorbed in the generai duties of the higher division.
3.
Cashiers' allowances to cease.
4.
Encourage the present deserving class of writers by appointing
foremen and assistant foremen with Civil Service certificates, qualifyingfor future superannuation.
5.
Improve the position and pay of principal clerks.
6.
Extend the duties of the present accountant and auditor, and appoint an assistant. Future salaries to be:
1 Accountant £450£650 p.a. 1 Assistant £350-£500 p.a. (to be included among the Senior Clerks) each with duty pay of £50 p.a.
7. Interchangeability of clerks with those of the War Office stron I
advocated. g y
8. Reduce_ t~e existing establishment of higher division clerks from 34 to 19, retaining one, however, as an assistant to the accountant and
auditor.
9. Sanction 14 retirements (compulsorily if necessary) on Dockyard
terms.-£3o ~onus for each year of service; also the retirement of the second class assistant to the accountant on the same t
• h erms.
S
1o. anction t e retirement with £go bonus of th
NCO cleks d .r, e 4 permanent
• ,, ?"
an transfer the two temporary clerks to the wages class
as mec amc writers.
I1. Place the reduced staff on the existing War Office scales viz· 4 Principal clerks ranking as seniors450£650 p.a.: 6 ·lerls >'
(i :ludi-:h '·; clerks 350500
'~,"duding the assistant to the accountant); 1o clerks £roo4oo p.a uture _appomtments to be on the War Office scale • •
12An ·d;: •
• t b{~e iate mcrease of salary to be granted to each clerk on the "," ,%,men, vi». so to principal clerks and £so to cach or he
o ercer .
13. Special clerks (two) • th R L d Ch ·
th b fi f h m e •• an emical Department to have
e enett o t e new scales with duty pay of £50 p.a. each.
14. Tiles of clerks to remain as at present.
1
L 5· L;av~ of clerks to be the same as that granted in the War Office eave O writers to be extended to 12 days in the year. •
1128
APPENDIX VII
The new establishment would be:
Factory Principal Clerks Clerks Total
R.G.F. 1
2
3
R.C.D. 1
3 4
R.L. I
34
(13) Committee on O .F. Clerical establishments 1898 (A/533)This was a committee set up under the chairmanship of Mr H. T. De la
Bere. It forwarded the recommendations tabulated below, but no action was taken on them.
I. Establishment and scale ofpay
Grade Name Place Establishment Pay
I Senior Staff Officers Woolwich 4 £420-20-£600 p.a. II Staff Officers All O.F. 9 150-15-400 p.a. £250-£350
III Clerks All O.F. 6 {
£ 70-35o
2.
The senior staff officer, acting as deputy Civil Assistant at Woolwich, an additional £100 p.a.
3.
The paymaster at Woolwich (to include 'risk money'), an additional £100 p.a.
4.
The staff officers at out-stations (in addition to quarters at Waltham and Enfield), an additional £50.
5.
The three existing Second Division clerks to be promoted to higher grade. .
6.
In the selection of Grade I, D.G.O.F. to have powers to appoint direct from outside to Grade II.
7.
Periodical interchanges between Woolwich and out-stations.
( 14) Inter-Departmental Committee on the clerical staff ofthe O.F.--1902 (A/759 : 70/1/367)
This Committee, presided over by Sir Edward Ward, K.C.B., Permanent Under-Secretary of State, War Office, had all its recommendations approved by the Treasury in 70/1/380.
Its recommendations were as follows:
1.
The O.F. should have their own establishment recruited direct by competitive examination.
2.
There should be three chief branches in the Central Office, viz. Finance, Stores and Accounts.
3.
The new establishment and scales of salary should be:
1 Civil Assistant £850-50-£1,000 p.a.
3 Principal Clerks £550-20-£700 p.a.
8 Senior Clerks {350-15-500 p.a.
£100 for 2 years
11 Clerks £120-10-£200 p.a.
{
£200-15£350 P.a.
1129
4.
Appointments to the new establishment from the existmg O.F. establishment or otherwise, to be subject to the approval of the Permanent Under-Secretary.
5.
The Civil Assistant to submit, through C.S.O.F. and the DirectorGeneral of Ordnance, his recommendations and opinions of those proposed for appointment and promotion.
6.
Such Second Division clerks, now serving in the O.F., who are not appointed to the new establishment to be returned to the War Office or to the Civil Service Commissioners.
7.
Safr officers now serving in the O.F. who are not selected for principal or senior clerkships on the new establishment, to be classified as clerks and to retain their present scales and maxima.
8.
Vacancies now existing to be filled by the appointment of men of the new class from the competitive examination just held for the Admiralty Supply and Accounting Departments.
(15) Committee on the O.F. Clerical Staff, 1913 (A/1,599 : 70/1/716)
This Committee was presided over by Mr W. A. Bland. Its recommendations were as follows:
I. The numbers serving in May 191o should be varied as indicated the reductions being effected by absorption as vacancies occur. '
2.
After making allowances for certain additions already authorized and for the increase involved in the substitution of lads for men th; establishment should be as recommended, namely 562 for Woolwich and 72 for Waltham and Enfield.
3.
The second and third classes of writers should be amalgamated for establishment purposes, but there should be a proficiency bar of 3years service between the 3rd and 2nd class.
4.
The book-keepers (except those employed in the shops and stores or under work-takers) and the 'markers out writing' should be transferred to the writers' classes and scale of pay at their present rates.
5· There should be a pooled total establishment of 4o lad-writers (the present lad book-keeper class in the offices being abolished) for the W~olwich factories, and one of 11 for the Waltham and Enfield factories which numbers should admit of the ultimate absorption of the lads in th; approved establishments of writers and book-keepers.
6 •. Special attention should be given by the supervising staff to overhauh1:g the ex1stmg methods with a view to lightening the work and effectmg further reductions in the staff.
( l6) Regrading ofthe work ofthe Civil Service staff in outside branches ofthe War Office-r922
(A/2,385 : 1 /Estab/4,994)
(B/22/92 : 1 /Estab/5,240)
A C_ommittee under the chairmanship of Mr E. V. Fleming, Principal Estabfo,~~nt O~cer at the War Office, examined the duties assigned to the Civil Service staff in the Ordnance Factories, the Royal Army Clothmg Department and the Royal Hospital, Chelsea. It prepared
1130
APPENDIX VII
schedules showing to which staff grade they should be allotted and submitted two reports.
The Committee's recommendations formed a basis of discussion with the Treasury, and reorganized establishments were subsequently agreed upon (70/1/1,295 : 42/Chelsca/498; 74/1/2,946; and R.A.C.D/6/146).
( 17) Salaries of the Master-General and Principal Officers of the Board at
various dates Master-General 1414 2s. per diem 1460 £50 p.a. 1483 3s. 7d. per diem 1543 7s. per diem £1. 6s. 8d. per diem
1557 1588 1 os. per diem 1597 7s. per diem 1620 £3. os. od. per diem 1639 4. os. od. per diem 168g 1,500 p.a. 1689 £3,650 p.a. 1 705 1,500 p.a. 1801 £3,000 p.a. 1825 £3,175 p.a. 1832 £3,000 p.a. 1855 £1,800 p.a.
Clerk ofDeliveries
1683 300 p.a. 1801 £ 500 p.a. 1825 1,019 p.a.
Treasurer
I 683 £ 500 p.a. 1825 1,240 p.a. 1827 ,540 p.a. 1831 £1,200 p.a. 1832 1,000 p.a.
Surveyor-General
l 683 £ 400 p.a. I 705 £ 500 p.a. 1801 £1,200 p.a. 1825 £1,836 p.a. 1829 1,500 p.a. 1830 £1,200 p.a.
The salary remained at this figure
74
Under Secretary to tlze Master-General
1727 £ 150 p.a.
1801 £ 300 p.a.
Secretary to the Master-General
1815 £2,000 p.a. 1818 £2,500 p.a. 1825 1,500 p.a. 1829 £1,200 p.a. 1831 £1,000 p.a.
The salary remained at this figure
Lieut.-General
168g £ 80o p.a. 1801 1,500 p.a. 1825 1,566 p.a. 1829 £1,200 p.a. 1855 £1,200 p.a.
Secretary to the Board
1683 £ 200 p.a. 1801 £1,000 p.a. 1825 £1,100 p.a. 1827 1,400 p.a. 1850 £1,200 p.a.
The salary remained at this figure
Clerk ofthe Ordnance
I 683 £ 400 p.a. l 705 £ 500 p.a. 1801 £ 600 p.a. 1825 £1,836 p.a. 1829 £1,200 p.a.
The salary remained at this figure
Principal Storekeeper
l 683 £ 400 p.a. 1801 £ 500 p.a. 1825 £1,600 p.a. (with fees) 1827 £ 755 p.a. (without fees) 1829 £1,200
The salary remained at this figure
1131
It must not be forgotten that the foregoing salaries do not indicate total emoluments. For instance, from 168g the Lieutenant-General got a house allowance of £3oo p.a. There were fees. There was an allowance for stationery. From the foundation of the Royal Military Academy, the Master-General received £494. 10s. od. p.a. pay as Captain of the Gentlemen Cadets, Royal Artillery. He also received £174.. 10s. od. p.a. as Patent Salary. Whereas the Principal Officers g0t25p.a. for stationery, he received £60 p.a.
The changing value of money must also be taken into account when comparing the above salaries for the different periods.
APPENDIX VIII
Certain employees and rates ofwages in the Royal Arsenal between the years 18oo and 1856
28 November 18oo. The Foremen at the Shot Piles and the Junk House
are to be paid 6s. od. per day.
(PRO[WO[47/2,569, P. 1,355)
22 January r802. The following additional engineering staff to be
established at Woolwich during the time of the new building operations
there:
Charles Weaver-Chief Clerk of Works-Pay 8s. per day and £go house
rent. William Croft-Assistant Clerk of WorksPay 5s. per day and £12
house rent. Thomas Weaver-Principal Overseer of WorksPay 5. per
day and £15 house rent. Mr Burkett, Master Bricklayer at Dover-Second
Overseer of Works-Pay 5s. per day and £12 house rent. Mr Watkins
First Copying Clerk-Pay 5s. per day and £12 house rent. An assistant
Copying Clerk-Pay [50 p.a. and {12 house rent. A draughtsman.
(PRO/WO/47/2,572, Pp. 58 and 212)
26 March 18o2. Thomas Durnford, junior, to be Assistant Clerk of
Works, Engineering Department vice William Croft, who goes to the
Treasurer's Office at the Tower of London. Thomas Durnford to take
over his new duties as soon as possible and to be paid from his date of
commencement.
(PRO/WO/47/2,572, P. 332)
25 August 18o2. The Master-General agreed that George Gray, Moulder at 2s. 6d. per day and Edward Rance, Labourer at 2s. od. per day, who had given 3 I years good service in the Royal Brass Foundry should retire on half-pay.
(PROJWO/47/2,573, p. 959)30 Novemb_er r802. Thomas Walker, appointed Extra Clerk at £50 p.a. so long as the business of the Department requires his services. (PRO/WO[47/2,573, P. 1,407)21 January 1803. John Noble appointed Master Furbisher at Woolwich at 4s. od. per day, w.e.f. 1 October 1802. (PRO/WO[47/2,574, P. 108)15 February 1803. Adam Fife, Storekeeper at Athlone, appointed Clerk of the Cheque and Head Timekeeper in the Royal Carriage Department under the Inspector-Colonel Edward Fage, R.A. (PRO[WO[47/2,574, P. 291)8 March 1803. John Noble's pay as Master Furbisher increased to 4s. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/2,574, P. 418)22 March 18o3. Henry S. Matthews granted a gratuity of £15 p.a.,
w.e.f. 1 January 1803, to which by the regulations of 13 June 18o1 he is entitled for his service as Clerk of the Cheque at Woolwich, which post he gave up on 31 December 1802.
(PRO[WO[47/2,574, P. 503)
1133
22 March 1803. John Adams appointed Assistant Clerk, under Captain Hayter, C.R.E., Woolwich Division, in the Engineers' Department at 2s. 6d. a day.
(PRO[WO/47/2,574, P. 504)
2I April r803. Lieutenant Thomas Sutton, R.A., retires from the Royal Laboratory with an allowance equal to the full pay of an Assistant Firemaster, from 2o March 1803.
(PRO/WO[47/2,575, p. 669) IO May 1803. Mr Spray to be employed as a Plasterer at Woolwich. (PROfWO/47/2,575, p. 776)
20 May r803. Adarn Grinton and George Cleveland Scott appointed Clerks in the R.C.D., One to be at Rotherhithe. Francis Shepherd to be Extra Clerk in the R.C.D., Woolwich. John Wood to be First Overseer in the R.C.D.
(PRO/WO[47/3,575, p. 830) 28 June 1803. John Stapleton, Extra Foreman, appointed Foreman in the R.L. vice Laurence Malone, dismissed for negligence.
(PRO[WO[47/2,575, P. 1,064) . r_r July r803. John King, Master Founder, allowed £38. ios. od. p.a. m lieu of house rent, coals and candles, w.e.f. 1 July 1801.
(PRO/WO/47/2,575, p. r,155) 2o July 1803.John Boggic appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office. (PRO/WO[47/2,575, P. 1,229) 27 July 18o3. John Henderson appointed Paymaster at Woolwich,
w.e.f. 15July 1803. He is to take charge of the new department on r August 1803. Salary £350 t0 £4oo p.a. with house rent, coals and candles (PRO[WO/47/2,575, PP-1,148 and 1,267) " . 23 September r803. Charles Beater to be employed as Master Collarmaker m the Harness Storehouse at 4s. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO[47/2,576, p. 1,676) 27 October 1803. John Geast, Junior, appointed Clerk at Woolwich, w.e.f. 17 October 1803.
(PRO{WO/47/2,576, p. 1,918)27 October I803. William Liddon appointed Clerk to John Henderson
Paymaster.
(PRO[WO[47/2,576, p. 1,919) I November I8o3._ Staff-Sergeant Talboys to be discharged from the !Corps ofGRunCneDr Drivers and be appointed Clerk to Colonel Edward Fage nspector at £100 p 'dd c IID '
s · rss ·a, provade o one ouglas can spare the
erv1ces o ta -ergeant Talboys from the Corps. (PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. r,952)
i :otmbe~
rBo:j-John Geast appointed 4th Clerk at Woolwich w.e.f.7 co er I 03 v1ce R. Gray resigned. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. r,996)3o January 18o4. John Hod, d .
Cl k . h S k , o ges an ames Thorpe appomted Assistant
er sm t e tore eeper s office at Woolwich. (PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 274)
1134
APPENDIX VIII
6 February I804. Two Assistant Clerks to be employed in the office of
the Comptroller R.L. so long as pressure of work renders their employ
ment necessary.
(PRO/WO/47/2,577, p. 335)
19 March 18o4. It was agreed that Foremen and Assistant Foremen
under the Respective Officers should receive 6d. a day extra from the
time that labourers received an increase of pay, and that they should
receive time and a half on Sundays. The Porter and Assistant Porter at
the Warren Gate are also to have their pay increased to 3s. and 2s. 6d.
a day respectively. Sunday work, when necessary, to be paid at time and
a half.
(PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 750)9 April 18o4. Upon the representation of Colonel Page that sawyers in private life get higher pay, it was agreed that the wages of sawyers in the
R.C.D. should be increased from 5s. 6d. to 6s. per hundred feet superficial. (PRO/WO[47/2,578, p. 1,005)
I I April r804. Thomas Hancorn's salary as an Assistant Clerk at Woolwich to be increased to £roo p.a., the salary he received when in Dublin.
(PRO/WO[47/2,578, p. 1,025)3 May I804. John Lobban appointed Clerk in the R.C.D. at £roo p.a. vice Mr Talboys. (PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 1,259)
4 May r804. Joseph Newton, having represented that he had been discharged from the Warren consequent upon an injury he had received which rendered him incapable of working as a labourer, was granted 6d. a day on the Charity List from the date of his discharge.
(PRO/WO[47/2,578, p. 1,271)7 May 18o4. Richard Tyler Russell appointed Extra Clerk in the R.C.D. at50 p.a., w.e.f. 1 April 1804 vice Francis Shepherd promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,578, p. 1,306)28 May 18o4. John Adams appointed 2nd Copying Clerk in the Engineer Department at {7o p.a. and £12 house rent vice Archibald Windyer moved to Cork. John Clerk, extra Copying Clerk in the Engineer Departent, granted [6o p.a. and {r2 house rent. William Lunn,MasterBricklayer in the EngineerDepartment,appointed Additional Overseer of Works at a salary of £91. 5s. od. p.a. and £12 house rent. (PRO[WO/47/2,579, PP. 1,446 and 1,513)29 May 18o4. Richard Rogers appointed Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office, w.e.f. 26 May 1804 vice John Boggie promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. r,528)29 May 18o4. John Boggie to be Clerk at Woolwich, w.e.f. 26 May 1804 vice William Gribble promoted. John Noble, Master Furbisher at Woolwich, appointed Overseer of Stocks and Setters-up of Arms in the Tower of London, w.eJ. I January 1804. (PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. r,529) 1135
7 June 18o4. Richard Knight appointed Foreman of Painters at 55. a day, and to take up his duties immediately. (PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,606)8 June 18o4. Henry Dugleby appointed 2nd Assistant Firemaster, w.e.f. 8June 1804. (PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,620)29 June 18o4. Captain William Millar, R.A., appointed a Second Assistant Inspector of the Royal Carriage Department at £200 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 1,806)18 July 18o4. The pay ofJohn Anderson, Conductor of Water in the Warren, increased from 2s. to 2s. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,010)
25 July 18o4. William Medland appointed Master Armourer, w.e.f.
18 July 1804 at 4s. 6d. a day for 8 days in the week and £4 p.a. house
rent.
(PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,068)
6 August 18o4. The following appointments are made in the R.C.D.:
John Wood to be First Junior Constructor
of Carriages at £130 p.a.
John Viney to be Second Junior Constructor
of Carriages at £120 p.a.
William Fulbrook to be Third Junior
Constructor of Carriages at £120 p.a.
John Stradley to be Fourth Junior
Constructor of Carriages at £120 p.a. John Watts to be Master Artificer of Carpenters at £109. JOS. od. p.a. George South to be Master Artificer of Wheelers at £109. IOS. od. p.a. Robert Walker to be Master Artificer of Wheelers at £rn9. JOS. od. p.a. William Clark to be Master Artificer of Smiths at £109. JOS. od. p.a. William Young to be Master Artificer of Smiths at £rng. JOS. od. p.a. William Jarratt to be Master Artificer of Smiths at £109. IOS. od. p.a. John Lobban to be the Senior Clerk in the
Inspector's Office at £100 p.a.
(PRO/WO/[47/2,580, p. 2,171)
17 August 18o4. Edward Burford, First Assistant Constructor of Artillery Carriages, to retire on his pay and allowances amounting t0£3o3. 1 os. od.
p.a. on account of his long and faithful service. (PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,278)
7 September 18o4. Gunner David Scott to be discharged from the Royal Artillery and appointed Foreman in the Royal Carriage Department at
5. a day. (PRO[WO[47/2,580, p. 2,470) 7 September 1804. Sergeants undertaking the examination of spherical case shot are to be granted an allowance of 3s. a day. (PRO/WOh47/2,580, p. 2,496) 18 September 1804. Benjamin Guest appointed an additional Assistant
Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office. (PRO/WO[47/2,580, p. 2,591)
1136
APPENDIX VIII
24 September 18o. The following appointments are made in the R.C.D., w.e.f. 1 September 1804:
David Bell, York Clark and George Smith to be Junior Constructors
of Carriages. Daniel Swindall to be a Master Artificer of Wheelers vice George Smith promoted to Junior Constructor.
(PRO/WO[47/2,580, p. 2,643.) 17 October 18o4. Charles Edwards appointed Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office vice Mr Winchester. (PRO[WO[47/2,580, p. 2,904)
26 October 1804. Henry Forman, Chief Clerk at the R.L. to retire on a pension of £400 p.a. (more than his pay and allowances) owing to his long service and bodily ailments, w.e.f. 1 October 1804. Henry Dugleby, 2nd Assistant Firemaster appointed Chief Clerk at the R.L. vice Henry Forman, w.e.f. r October 1804. .
Joseph Newell, appointed 2nd Assistant Firemaster vice HenryDugleby, w.e.f. 1 October 1804. (PRO/WO[47/2,580, p-2,996)6 October 18o4. Pay of Foremen of Harness makers fixed at 6s. a day for 7 days in the week. (PRO[WO/[47/2,580, p. 2,997) 2r November 18o4. Mr Topping appointed Additional Clerk in the Paymaster's Office on his present salary for 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/2,581, P. 3,272)23 November 18o4. Foremen of Artificers in the R.L. to be paid 5s. a day for 7 days in the week in lieu of all extra allowances. (PRO[WO[47/2,581, p. 3,307) 27 November 18o4. Mr Topping appointed Additional Clerk at£6o p.a. (PRO[WO[47/2,581, p. 3,353)3 December 18o4. Lewis Charles Okes, 3rd Clerk m the R.L. to retire on a pension of {1oo p.a. after 25 years service. (PRO[WO[47/2,581, PP. 3,364, 3,424) 19 December 1804. The following appointments to take place from 6 December 1804:
John Read to be 3rd Clerk in the R.L. Francis Maclean Read to be 4th Clerk m the R.L. John Wilcox to be 5th Clerk in the R.L. Charles Ellis to be 6th Clerk in the R.L. William Caffin to be 2nd Clerk in the R.L. William Thomas to be 1st Extra Clerk in the R.L. John Piper to be 2nd Extra Clerk in the R.L. George Fife to be 3rd Extra Clerk in the R.L.
(PRO[WO[47/2,581, PP. 3,615, 3,620) . 19 January 18o5. Robert Delacourt appointed Sluice Master, Woolwich Warren at 3s. 6d. a day, his predecessor to revert to labourer. (PRO/WO[47/2,582, p. 227)
1137
1 February 1805. The following rates of pay are approved for foremen, etc. in the R.L. to be inclusive except for travelling and watching:
Grade Payfor day Chief Foreman 6s. 6d. 1st Assistant Foreman 58. 6d. 2nd Assistant Foreman 56. od. 3rd Assistant Foreman 5s. od. Master Modeller and Fireworker 6s. od. Modeller and Fireworker 4s. 6d. Master Founder 6s. od. Master Carpenter 6s. od. Master Turner 6s. od. Master Smith 6s. od. Master Cooper 6s. od. Master Painter 6s. od. Master Taylor 6s. od. Master Tinman
6s. od.
Paper Curer
56. od.
Storehouse Man
3°. 6d.
Foremen of Artificers, each od.
55.
Overseer of Ball Cartridges
3°. 6d.
Extra Foremen, each
38. 6d.
(PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 326, 28 January 1805) (PRO/WO[47/2,582, p. 468, 7 February 1805) 6 February 18o5. James Thompson, Cooper, has his wages raised from 3s. to 3s. 6d. a day on account of 3o years good and deserving service. (PRO/WO[47/2,582, p. 456) 15 February 1805. Thomas Mitchell appointed Clerk to the Paymaster,
w.e.f. 12 February 1805 vice Mr Siddon, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 591)
20 February 1805. Lieut.-Colonel George Scott, R.A., appointed Inspector of the Royal Carriage Department at £4oo p.a., w.e.f. 18 February l 805 vice Colonel Edward Fage, R.A., retired.
(PRO/WO/47/2,582, p. 662) 15 March 1805. James William Reid appointed Extra Clerk m the Storekeeper's office at£50 p.a., w.e.f. 8 March 1805. (PRO/WO[47/2,583, p. 1,030) 21 March 1805. George Lovell appointed Clerk in the R.C.D., w.e.f.
19 March 1805. (PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,108) 13 April 1805. While artificers are working overtime, gate keepers at the Warren Gate to be allowed an extra 6d. a day. (PROfWO/47/2,583, p. 1,435) 20 April 1805. John Ashwood appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 20 April 1805. (PRO/WO/47/2,583, p. 1,531)
1138
APPENDIX VIII
22 May 18o5. Mr Topping to be retained as Assistant Clerk to the
Paymaster for another 12 months.
(PRO/WO/47/2,584, p. 1,955)
30 May 18o5. William Shepherd appointed Clerk in the R.C.D. at
£80 p.a., w.e.f I May 1805 vice George Lovell appointed Clerk at
Yarmouth.
(PRO/WO/47/2,584, p. 2,073)
11 June 18o5. Labourers in the Repository Grounds to be allowed to
work a quarter of a day longer so long as labourers in the Engineering
Department do so. Labourer Reed allowed 3s. 6d. a day while acting
as foreman over the other labourers employed in the Repository Grounds.
(PRO/WO/47/2,584, P. 2,234)
ro July 18o5. John and Henry King were first paid on the certificate of the Inspector of Artillery as Artificers under the title of Founders from 1 3 December r 784, and they received pay as Foreman and Assistant Foreman from 1 March 1793 under the Board's order dated 7 June 1793. As a result, they were allowed to commence their title to gratuities for length of service from I 3 December 1 784.
(PRO/WO/47/2,585, P-2,598) . 6 August 18o5. Robert Shipster to be employed as a draughtsman in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,585, P.-2,951)12 August 18o5. Richard Harrup and Thomas Rutland to be employed as Foremen of Labourers in the R.C.D. at 3s. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/2,585, p. 3,0231
27 August 1805. Mr Vanderkiste appointed Assistant Clerk to the Paymaster, w.e.f. 1 August 1805 vice Mr Topping, transferred to the office of the Secretary of the Board.
(PRO/WO/47/2,585, p. 3,193) . . 28 August 1805. Thomas Hancorn appointed Clerk at Woolwich vice William Marshall promoted. (PRO/[WO[47/2,585, P. 3,203) ._ 14 September 1805. William Jones appointed Assistant Clerk m the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 1 September 1805 vice Mr Marshall promoted. (PROJWO/47/2,586, p. 3,423) . 23 September 18o5. Robert Shipster appointed draughtsman m the
R.C.D. appointed by warrant dated 24 September 1805 to commence on the establishment on 1 September 1805. Pay to commence on 22 September 1805.
(PROJWO/47/2,586, p. 3,515)23 September 1805. James William Reid to continue as an Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's offic for another 6 weeks. (PRO/WO[47/2,586, p. 3,516)28 September 1805. All Assistant Clerks serving in the R.L., under the Inspector of Artillery, in the office of the Respective Officers and m the Paymaster's office to receive £70 p.a., w.e.f l July 1805. (PROJWO/47/2,586, p. 3,591) . 30 October 1805. The gate-keepers at the Royal Arsenal are to rece~ve their additional 6d. a day as long as men in the Arsenal were working
1139
extra time. Those in the department of the Inspector of Artillery and Royal Brass Foundry work till g.o p.m.
(PRO/WO/47/2,586, p. 3,998)
8 November 1805. John Angus, Overseer of ,i\Theelers at Chatham since December 180g, to be recommended for the first vacancy as a Master Wheeler in the R.C.D.
(PRO/WO/47/2,581, p. 4,136) 19 November 18o5. Cornelius King recommended as Foreman of the Foundry at 7s. a day. (PRO/WO[47/2,587 P. 4,264)23 November 1805. John Dougherly appointed Clerk in the office of the Inspector R.C.D., w.e.f. 1 November 1805 vice George C. Scott, promoted.
(PRO[WO[47/2,587, p. 4,318)
(PRO[WO/47/2,587, p. 4,421, 3 December 1805)
4 December 1805. Mr Gilbert and Mr Booker, the two senior clerks in the R.C.D. to receive £50 p.a. each whilst carrying out the duties of Adam Fife, Clerk of the Cheque, during the latter's illness.
(PRO/WO[47/2,587, P. 4,483) 16 December 1805. The following reorganization of the department of the Inspector of Artillery is approved:
Name Length of Present New Service (years) Appointment Appointment
Lieut.-Colonel Henry Shrapnel John Hookham Assistant Inspector £r20 p.a. Clerk and 1st Assistant Inspector £23o gnd Assistant
draughtsman Inspector and
£138. 12s. 6d. p.a. draughtsman
Richard White 12 Clerk £go p.a. £200 p.a. 1st Clerk
Lieut. William Robe Thomas Monk 22 Proofmaster £100 p.a. Extra Clerk 7o p.a. £100 p.a. 2nd Clerk £go p.a. Extra Clerk 7o p.a.
A new Proofmaster's post at £120 p.a. was also approved. The present appointments cost £518. 12s. 6d. a year whilst the new appointments to~lled £810. os. od. p.a., an increase of£291. 7s. 6d. p.a. The new salaries were payable from I July 1805. (PRO/WO/47/2,587, p. 4,593)1 January 1806. The Board lay down that when artificers who are paid 7 days pay for a working week of 6 days, are only to receive I day's extra pay when they work on Sundays. (PRO/WO[47/2,588, p. 4)17 January 1806. Robert Shinn appointed Foreman of Labourers in the R.C.D. at 3. 6a. a day vice Thomas Rutland discharged for mis
behaviour. (PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 219)
1140
APPENDIX VIII
20 January 1806. H. A. Genet appointed Extra Clerk in the department of the Inspector of Artillery at £7o p.a., w.e.f. 2o January 1806. (PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 253) 1 February 1806. John Hodges appointed 4th Clerk at Woolwich,
w.e.f. 30 January 1806 vice Thomas Hancorn promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 439) 3 February 18o6. William Medland, Master Armourer at Woolwich has
his pay increased to 5s. a day for 7 days in the week on account of the loss sustained by him owing to the late regulations. (PRO/WO/47/2,588, p. 465) 7 February 1806. George Robinson appointed Clerk of the Cheque in the R.C.D. vice Adam Fife, retired on full pay. (PRO[WO[47/2,588, p. 522) 17 March 18o6. Thomas Monk appointed 2nd Clerk in the office of the Inspector of Artillery, w.e.f. 1 July 1805. (PRO/WO/47/2,589, P. 1,11o) 24 March 18o6. James William Reid to continue as an Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for 6 months longer. (PRO/WO/47/2,589, P. 1,215)
2 April 1806. Colonel William Cuppage, R.A., appointed Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, w.e.f. 1 April 1806 vice Colonel George Scott, R.A., who died 26 March 1806.
Major William Millar, R.A., appointed rst Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, w.e.f. 1 April 1806. (PRO/WO/47/2,589, p. 1,356)
9 April r8o6. Captain Frederick Griffiths, R.A., appointed and Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, w.e.f I April 1806 vice Major William Millar, R.A., promoted.
(PRO/WO[47/2,589, p. 1,478)
25 April 18o6. Thomas Weaver appointed Chief Clerk of Works at Woolwich vice Charles Weaver retired on account of long service and incapability of further duty.
(PRO/WO[47/2,589, P. 1,731) 30 April 1806. Charles Weaver to retire on full pay. The pay of Clerks of Works is increased to 10s. od. a day. (PRO/WO/[47/2,589, p. 1,801) 16 May 1806. The following appointments are made in the Engineering Department:
Thomas Weaver to be Clerk of the Works vice Charles Weaver, super
annuated. Joseph Lever to be Overseer vice Thomas Weaver, promoted. John Adams to be 1st Copying Clerk vice Mr Watkins, removed. Mr Davis to be 2nd Copying Clerk vice John Adams, promoted. John Hall to be Extra Copying Clerk vice Mr Clark, absent without leave.
It will be noticed that the titles 'Clerk of the Works' and 'Overseer'
1141
have been substituted for 'Chief Clerk of the Works' and 'Principal
Overseer' respectively in the above-mentioned appointments. (PRO/WO/47/2,590, p. 2,068) (PRO[WO[47/2,590, P. 2,141, 21 May 1806)
25 June 1806. Patrick Reilley, a foreman in the R.C.D. to take charge of the timber of that department and to receive an additional rs. a dayfor that service.
(PRO/WO/47/2,590, p. 2,665) 21 July 18o6. Fourteen days pay allowed to each of the boys discharged from the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,591, P-3,065) 24 July 18o6. Noble Barron to receive 5s. a day whilst employed under Mr William Congreve. (PRO/W0/47/2,591, p. 3,133)
28 July 1806. The following employees in the R.L. are to be superannuated on account of their infirmity or inability to continue their work and granted the following pensions:
Extra Foreman Robert Jones 2s. p.d.
James Bray IS. 6d. p.d. Peter Meek IS. 4d. p.d.
Labourers
{ William Healey IS. p.d. John Wakeman IS. p.d. (PRO/WO/47/2,591, P-3,180) 19 September 18o6. James William Reid to be employed as an Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for another 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/2,592, P-3,783) 13 October 1806. Mr Paternoster appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice William Jones transferred to the office of the SurveyorGeneral. (PRO/WO/47/2,592, P-4,058) 3 November 1806. William Fulbrook placed in charge of the clock at the R.C.D. at 3d. a day, w.e.f. I November 1806. (PRO/W0/47/2,592, p. 4,292)
12 November 1806. Assistant Surgeon Harris appointed Resident Apothecary to the Ordnance Establishment at Woolwich at 12s. p.d. with the usual allowance for lodging, coals and candles vice Dr McCulloch removed from the Military Medical Establishment.
(PRO/WO[47/2,592, P. 4,419) 8 Decembe~ 180~. James Wilson, a blacksmith in the R.C.D., is placed on the Charity List at 10s. 6d. a week after 30 years service on account of his incapability for further work. (PRO/W0/47/2,592, p. 4,704) 21 January 18o7. Mr Paternoster Assistant Clerk at Woolwich and Francis Piesse, Assistant Clerk at Chatham, allowed to change plac~s. (PRO/W0/47/2,594, p. 213) 28 January 18o7. John Boggie, 3rd Clerk in the Storekeeper's department, resigned from the service. (PRO/WO[47/2,594, P. 265)
1142
APPENDIX VIII
2 February 1807. William Williams appointed 4th Clerk in the Storekeeper's department, w.e.J. 29 January 1807 vice John Boggie, resigned. (PRO/W0/47/2,594, p. 293)
4 March 1807. Joseph Cheetham appointed Clerk of the Cheque, Woolwich, w.e.f. I March 1807 vice Charles Hockstretter, promoted to Clerk of the Survey at Portsmouth.
(PRO/W0/47/2,595, p. 554)
1 April 1807. John Sydes, Assistant Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department, granted 6d. a day extra pay in lieu of an allowance for extra work.
(PRO/WO[47/2,595, p. 824) 2o May 18o7. Owing to the dismissal of John Wilcox, the following appointments will take place in the Royal Laboratory:
Charles Ellis to be 5th Clerk William Thomas to be 6th Clerk John Piper to be 1st Extra Clerk George Fife to be 2nd Extra Clerk William Parry to be grd Extra Clerk
(PRO/WO/47/2,596, P. 1,365)August 18o7. The following appointed Junior Constructors of
5 Carriages, w.e.J. I August 1807: Peter McMahon; Robert Julian; Matthias Roe. (PRO/W0/47/2,597, p. 2,025) 4 September 18o7. Joseph Atkinson, blacksmith in the R.C.D., aged 7o and debilitated is placed on the Charity List at 5s. per week, w.e.f. 1 September 1807. (PRO/WO[47/2,598, p. 2,331) . . 4 September 18o7. William Gribble and Henry Kane appointed additional Assistant Clerks in the R.L. for a period of 6 months. (PRO/W0/47/2,598, p. 2,332) . . 16 September 18o7. James William Reid to be Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for another 6 months. (PRO/W0/47/2,598, p. 2,453) . 23 September 18o7. Thomas Barraud appointed Overseer of Works in the Royal Arsenal at 6s. a day, w.e.f. 1 October 1807 vice Wilham Gosling, resigned. (PRO[WO[47/2,598, p. 2,520) 23 September 1807. William Jones appointed Assistant Clerk at Woolwich, w.e.f. 1 September 1807 vice Francis Piesse, promoted to the establishment at Malta. (PRO/W0/47/2,598, p. 2,522) . 18 November 18o7. William Want appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L. vice Henry Kane. (PRO/W0/47/2,599, p. 3,101) 18 November 1807. The boys to be discharged from the R.L. to be allowed 14 days pay from the time of their discharge. (PRO/W0/47/2,599, p. 3,103)
1143
20 November 1807. James Carr, a labourer in the R.L. for 35 years, 72 ycars old and blind, is superannuated on full pay on account of his good character.
(PRO/W0/47/2,599, p. 3,129)23 November 18o7. John Pitfield appointed Clerk in the Paymaster's office vice Mr Vanderkiste. (PRO[WO[47/2,599, P-3157)21 December 1807. Stephen Booker appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L. vice Henry Kane, who refused the appointment. (PRO/W0/47/2,599, P· 3,419)
11 January 1808. William Smith, Master Tailor at the R.L., to retire on 2s. a day, w.e.f I January 1808 on account of long service and infirmities.
(PRO[WO[47/2,600, p. 115)
15 January 18o8. Silvester Harding, an Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office at Portsmouth, appointed a clerk on the establishment of the R.L. vice John Read, resigned.
(PRO[WO/47/2,600, p. 153) 15 January 1808. Richard Plater appointed Assistant Foreman in the
R.L. vice A. Bavis, dismissed. (PRO/W0/47/2,600, p. 154) 15 January 18o8. Samuel Howard appointed Master Tailor in the R.L. vice William Smith, retired on pension. (PRO[WO/47/2,600, p. 155) 15 January 1808. Silvester Harding's appointment as a clerk in the R.L. to commence on 14January 1808. (PRO(W0/47/2,600, p. 188) 18 February 1808. Randall Holbrook, appointed Clerk in the Paymaster's Office vice Thomas Mitchell posted to the Treasurer's office in the Tower. (PRO/W0/47/2,600, p. 522) 18 March 18o8. John Williams appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice William Williams, his brother who has resigned (PRO/WO[47/2,601, p. 784) " 21 J.:larclz 1808. James William Reid to be employed as an Assistant Clerk m the Storekeeper's Office for a further 6 months.
(PRO/WO[47/2,601, p. 803)25 March 1808. The following appointments are made in the Royal
Laboratory:
Thomas Carlisle, Foreman of Turners, to be Master Turner vice John Porter deceased. Richard Davis to be Foreman of Turners vice Thomas Carlisle promoted. ' (PRO/WO[47/2,601, p. 846) k 28 1;-£arch 18o8. James Thorpe, Senior Assistant Clerk in the Storeeeper 5 Office, to be Clerk on the establishment in the Storekeeper's Office, w.e.f. 1 April 1808 vice William Williams resigned. The senior assistant clerkship at Woolwich was made an established post on this date. (PRO/WO[47/2,601, p.
873) 1144
APPENDIX VIII
22 April 18o8. Mark Hawkins and P. Curran appointed additional Extra Foremen in the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/2,601, P. 1,150)27 April 1808. The warrant of Benjamin Guest as Established Clerk to commence I July 1808 instead of 22 April 1808. (PROJW0/47/2,602, p. 1,203)5 May 1808. Henry Jones appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office, w.e.f I May 1808. (PRO/WO[47/2,602, p. 1,296)24 June 1808. George Turton appointed Storehouseman in the R.L. vice Edward Manuel, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,602, p. 1,819)5 September 1808. The Master Artificers in the R.L. are each allowed to take an apprentice according to the Board's regulations. (PRO/WO/47/2,604, p. 2,585)
7 September 18o8. Richard Walley, Foreman in the R.C.D., appointed Master Artificer in the R.C.D. vice Mr Young, deceased, who was Master Blacksmith in the R.C.D. at Rotherhithe.
(PRO/Vv0/47/2,604, p. 2,599)
17 October 1808. Timothy Murphy, Labourer in the R.L., granted a pension of Is. a day owing to the amputation of his left hand consequent upon the explosion ofa carcass he was m the act ofprmung.
(PROfW0/47/2,604, p. 2,928)28 October 18o8. John Pitfield and Randall Holbrook appointed Clerks in the Paymaster's office, w.e.f 1 July 1808. (PRO/WO/47/2,604, P-3,040)28 October 1808. James Wolff appointed Apprentice to the Master Modeller under the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO[47/2,604, P. 3,046)7 November 1808. The names of the Labourers who attend the houses of
21 November 1808. James Watts appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.C.D.
the Respective Officers are:
Storekeeper's house Clerk of Survey's house Clerk of Cheque's house Edward Wilson James Wren Thomas Cowan
(PRO[WO[47/2,605, P-3,115)
(PRO[WO[47/2,605, p. 3,205) .. 25 November 1808. Mr Frith appointed Assistant Clerk m the R.L. vice Stephen Booker, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,605, P-3,273)2 December 18o8. George Shepherd, Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's department at Portsmouth, and Mr Frith, Assistant Clerk in the R.L., are permitted to exchange posts. (PRO/W0/47/2,605, p. 3,294) . . 2 January 1809. James William Reid to remain an Assistant Clerk m the Storekeeper's office for a further 6 months. (PRO/W0/47/2,606, p. 1) 17 February 1809. The Junior Constructors of Carriages and the 4
1145
Principal Foremen of the R.C.D. are allowed to take apprentices subject
to regulations.
(PRO/WO/47/2,606, p. 469)
22 February 1809. Captain George Hayter, R.E., C.R.E. Woolwich
District, recomrnends that, owing to meritorious service, the pay of
Thomas Durnford, Assistant Clerk of Works, and Joseph Lever, First
Overseer of Works, be increased from 55. t0 7s. 6d. a day.
(PRO[WO/47/2,606, p. 522)
3 March 18og. Alexander Spearman to be an Assistant Clerk m the
Storekeeper's office for another 6 months.
(PRO[WO[47/2,607, p. 613)
6 March 18o9. Frederick Rosler appointed Sluice Master at the Royal
Arsenal at 3s. 6d. per day vice Robert Delacourt, resigned.
(PRO/WO[47/2,607, p. 646)
6 March 18o9. The Master-General authorizes the increase of pay to
Thomas Durnford and Joseph Lever.
(PRO/[WO[47/2,607, p. 648)
17 March 18o9. The following are to become Apprentices in the R.C.D.:
Master Apprentice
John Wood, Junior Constructor } of Carriages John Stennel William Fulbrook, Junior } Constructor of Carpenters Charles Pickett George Smith, Junior Constructor} of Wheelers T. E. Sturton John Stradley, Junior Constructor} of Smiths Peter Stradley
T. Watts, Master Carpenter
James Larkin Robert Walker, Master Wheeler
T. Wheeler William Clark, Master Smith
William Griffiths
William Jarratt, Master Smith William Taylor
R. Whately, Master Smith
T. Corson Charles Dibblin, Foreman of Carpenters
William Dibblin Thomas Beck, Foreman of Carpenters T. Baker Peter Macdonald, Foreman of Carpenters T. Angus George Salter, Foreman of Wheelers
T. Baker (PRO/WO[47/2,607, p. 785)
A 5_ April 18o9. R. Moore and William Whitnall appointed additional ssistant Clerks in the R.L. for 12 months, w.e.f. 5 April 1809 to overtake arrears mn store accounting.
(PRO/WO[47/2,607, p. 991) . 1h4 April 18_o9. Labourer Stephen Goldsack appointed Extra Foreman mn t e R.L. vice Mr Thumm, deceased.
(PRO/WO/47/2,607, p. 1,097)
h 17RM.Lay .1809, Thomas Simms, labourer, appointed Extra Foreman in
t e .. vice P. Curran. (PRO/WO[47/2,608, p. 1,512)
APPENDIX VIII
21 June 1809. R. English, Foreman of Bricklayers in the Engineering Department, allowed to take an apprentice. (PRO/WO[47/2,608, p. 1,905)3o June 18o9. The death of Charles Beater, Master Collarmaker is reported. (PROfW0/47/2,608, p. 1,995)19 July 1809. Frederick Wolff to be apprenticed to the Foreman, Royal Foundry. (PRO/WO[47/2,609, p. 2, 198) 24 July 18o9. Alexander Gordon Carte appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.C.D., w.c.f. 1 July 1809 vice James Watts, promoted. (PRO/WO[47/2,609, p. 2,246) 24 July 18o9. James Watts to be Clerk in the office of the Inspector R.C.D., w.e.f. 1 July 1809 vice Mr Biggs, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,609, p. 2,247) 2 August 18o9.John Hall appointed 2nd Copying Clerk in the Engineering Department vice Mr Davis, resigned. James Chapman appointed grd Copying Clerk in the Engineering Department vice John Hall, promoted. (PRO/W0/47/2,609, p. 2,335)4 August 1809. "William Smith, Acting Foreman, appointed Foreman of Blacksmiths in the R.C.D. vice Francis Sharp, reduced. (PRO/WO/A7/2,609, p. 2,358)16 August 1809. Dr McCulloch to employ in the R.L. a boy named Gill to instruct him in chemistry in place of R. Goodey in an emergency. (PRO/WO/47/2,609, p. 2,489) 30 August 1809. Henricus Kendrick appointed Assistant Clerk in the Engineering Department vice J. Chapman, promoted. (PRO[WO[47/2,609, p. 2,618)4 September 18o9. Alexander Spearman to continue as an Assistant Clerk in the office of the Respective Officers for another 6 months. (PRO[WO[47/2,610, p. 2,661) 6 October 18o9. The following are appointed additional Foremen in the R.C.D.:
John Pullen }
Wheelers
John Truewhellar George Williams Blacksmith James Macdonald Carpenter William Smith Collarmaker
(PRO/WO[47/2,610, p. 3,030) r November 1809. More boys to be discharged from the R.L. To be allowed the usual 14 days pay. (PRO/W0/47/2,611, p. 3,294) . 29 December 1809. John Gall, Foreman in the R.C.D. to take his son as his apprentice. (PRO/W0/47/2,611, p. 3,901) r January r8ro. George Blackmoor appointed Assistant Clerk in the
7s 1147
APPENDIX VIII
Engineering Department on labourers' pay vice Henricus Kendrick, removed. (PRO/WO[47/2,613, p. 2) 3 January 181o. James William Reid to continue as an Assistant Clerk under the Respective Officers till 30 June 181o. (PRO/WO/47/2,613, p. 27)
I~ Feb;11ary 1810. William Lunn, Junior, Foreman of Bricklayers, Engmeermg Department, to be Overseer of Works at 6s. p.d. vice Thomas Barraud.
(PRO/WO/47/2,613, p. 435) 12 February 181o. Edward Stroud of the R.C.D. granted an allowance of 1os. 6d. a week on the Charity List for long service. (PRO/V'l0/47/2,613, p. 435) 5 March_ 1810. John Keys, labourer, appointed Assistant Foreman in the R.L. vice Thomas Pigg, deceased.
(PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 656) . 5 March 181o. Alexander Spearmen to continue as an Assistant Clerk m the office of the Respective Officers for a further 6 months.
(PRO/WO[47/2,614, p. 657) E 7. Ma~clz 1810• James Barling appointed Foreman of Bricklayers ngmeermg Department, vice William Lunn, promoted OverseerofWorks'. (PRO/WO[47/2,614, p. 687) k 7 M~rcD!z 1810-Robert W. Byers appointed Assistant Clerk in the Store
eeper s epartment. (PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 691) .,""7 4?g,1int.-coioner i6cert Paneto, R-.E., o be C.R.E. . wdic iviswn vice Captain George Hayter R.E., removed for
miscon uct. '
(~Rl O/WO/47/2,614, p. 691)13 A1priu 18ro. Menofth RCD I •
at the sa e • • • emp oyed on mght watch to be paid $5$}g;me ot de oder de.rimens. 13 4pr1 ~4, '/47/2614, p. 1,160)
pru I 10. JohnTh K•h . . .
Storekeeper's ffi omas night appomted Assistant Clerk in the appointed a $,f Art 16io tee James William Reid (PRO/WO ce of the Surveyor-General. 18 int ;4, '(47/,614, p. 1,164) pr, I Io. Alexand Gd C .
Establishment of th R er or on arte appomted Clerk on the promoted. e .C.D., w.e.f I April 181o vice John Dougherty,
.,I"2gee
appointed Assi~tan;~~ fell, Clerk in the Engineer Office at Portsmouth, Gordon Carte pro /~ m the R.C.D., w.e.f 1 July 1810 vice Alexander William Parry :: to Clerk on the establishment of the R.C.D. Establishment at Fav:~~ant Clerk in the R.L., appointed Clerk on the
(PRO/WO/ / 6am, w.e.f I July 1810 vice Mr Young, deceased. 47/2,/15, p. 1 937)
29 June 11o. 5oLab' ' .
the discontinuance f o~rers to be discharged from the R.L. owing to (PRO{WO/o /casting lead balls. 47/2,615, p. 2,106)
1148
APPENDIX VIII
4 July 1810. Robert W. Byers to receive his salary as Assistant Clerk
in the Storekeeper's Department, w.e.f 7 March 181o.
(PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,164)
9 July 1810. Senior Master Artificer Walker, appointed Junior Con
structor of Carriages vice George Smith, retired.
(PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,227)
13 July 1810. George Smith, Junior Constructor of Carriages, to be
pensioned at £roe p.a., w.e.f. 13 July 1810.
(PRO[WO/47/2,616, p. 2,285)
20 July 1810. The Comptroller R.L. authorized to recruit 250 boys to
make up 10,000,000 ball cartridges in 3 months.
(PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,395)
3o July 181o. Thomas Bell, Assistant Foreman of Labourers in the
Storekeeper's Department, appointed Chief Foreman of Labourers vice
Samuel Ford, deceased.
Richard Harrup, Labourer, appointed Assistant Foreman of Labourers
vice Thomas Bell, promoted.
(PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,531)
6 August 181o. The Comptroller R.L. requires another 53 Labourers,
civil or military, and 48 additional boys to complete the order for
10,000,000 ball cartridges.
(PRO/WO[47/2,616, p. 2,606) 8 August 181o. Mr Stevenson, appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L. vice William Parry, promoted and posted to Faversham. (PRO/WO[47/2,616, p. 2,637)8 August 181o. James Scott to be temporarily placed in charge of the stores in the Engineering Department at 4s. od. per day. Mr Saunders to continue at 3s. od. per day in charge of a part of the bricklayers' labourers. The above to remain in force till the placing of the Engineer Stores under the Clerk of the Works is approved. (PRO/WO[47/2,616, p. 2,650)15 August 181o. William Parry will be replaced as Assistant Clerk in the
R.L. by George Chubb and not Mr Stevenson as previously stated. (PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,743)
27 August 181o. The Board recommend to the Master-General that the pay of Assistant Clerks in the Engineer Department should be increased to £70 p.a., w.e.f I September 1810.
(PRO{WO/47/2,616, p. 2,874)31 August 18ro. The Master-General approves the suggested increase of pay to Assistant Clerks in the Engineer Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,929) . 14 September 181o. Alexander Spearman to continue as an Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for another 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/2,617, p. 3,094) . 1o October 181o. Thomas Messenger appointed Master Carpenter m the R.L. vice Mr Turnbull, deceased. Henry Bearfoot appointed Foreman of Carpenters in the R.L. vice
1149
Thomas Messenger, promoted.
(PRO/WO[47/2,617, P-3,490)
26 October 181o. Edward Wood appointed Acting Foreman ofCarpenters
in the R.L. vice Henry Bearfoot, promoted.
(PRO/WO[47/2,617 P. 3,698)
19 December r8ro. Robert Walker, Junior Constructor of Carriages,
dismissed for peculation and fraud.
(PRO/WO/47/2,618, p. 4,372)
23 January 18r1. Joseph Weaver and Matthew Collins appointed
Additional Clerks in the Engineer Department for the receipt and issue
of building materials which might be shipped at Woolwich.
(PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 375)
22 February 1811. Mr Banks, a Clerk in the Engineering Department,
dismissed for misconduct.
(PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 750)
6 March r8rr. Alexander Spearman's appointment as Assistant Clerk
in the Storekeeper's office continued for a further 6 months.
(PRO/WO[47/2,620, p. 899)
8 March 1811. Agreed that when 5,000,000 ball cartridges out of the
order for 10,000,000 were finished, all boys in the R.L., except 200 for
carrying on the service of the Department, should be discharged.
(PRO[WO[47/2,620, p. 919)
18 March 1811. Mr Martindale, Assistant Clerk under the Respective
Officers, resigned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,620, p. 1,027)
2I March 1811. Master Artificer George Salter appointed Junior Con
structor of Carriages vice Robert Walker, dismissed.
Charles Dibblin, Foreman, appointed Master Artificer vice George
Salter promoted.
George Walton, Acting Foreman, appointed Foreman vice Charles
Dibblin, promoted.
William Elliot, Foreman, allowed to take an apprentice in the room of
one taken away by Robert Walker.
(PRO/WO[47/2,620, p. 1,070)
21 March 1811. The Respective Officers are authorized to recruit a
dozen boys between the ages of 14 and 18 at wages between 1s. od. and
rs. 6d. a day for labour in the storehouse.
(PRO/WO[47/2,620, p. 1,074)
2I_ lv!arch rBr_r. The following appointments are made in the R.L. :
Wilham Davis, Assistant Foreman, to be Chief Foreman vice Mr Aird,
deceased.
Samuel Bush, Extra Foreman, to be Assistant Foreman vice William Davis, promoted. Benjamin Bush, to be Extra Foreman vice Samuel Bush, promoted. (f!RO/WO/47/2,620, p. 1,168) 5 April r8r r. Francis Shepherd, Clerk in the R.C.D., dismissed for errors and alterations in the Pay List of the June Quarter 1809. (PRO/WO[47/2,621, p. 1,249) IO Apnl r8r r. Thomas Hart, Acting Foreman, appointed Foreman on
1150
APPENDIX VIII
the establishment of the R.C.D. vice John Gall, deceased. The apprentice ofJohn Gall to be transferred to Thomas Lock. (PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,322)17 April 1811. Edward Dell, Assistant Clerk m the R.C.D., w.e.J. 1 o April 1811 vice Francis Shepherd, dismissed. (PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. r,412)26 April 1811. James Popplewell appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice Mr Sidney, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,535) r7 May r8rr. Cornelius Sharp appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 1 May 1811 vice Mr Martindale, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,621, p. 1,812)
22 May 18r1. James Gartell Fitze appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.C.D., w.e.f. 22 May 1811 vice Edward Dell, promoted to the place of Francis Shepherd, dismissed.
(PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 1,875)
7 June r8rr. The following appointments are made in the R.L.:
William Daniels to be Extra Foreman vice Robert Jones, dismissed.
Richard Smith, Junior, to be storehouseman in the New North Store
house at 3s. 6d. a day.
(PRO/[WO/47/2,621, p. 2,096)1o June 18rr. 120 boys taken on at the R.L. for cartridge making. (PRO/WO[47/2,621, p. 2,127)17 June 18I1. Richard Knight, Master Painter under the Respective Officers, to take on Edward Arrows as an apprentice. (PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 2,213)
I July r8rr. James Plant to be allowed the pay of an Extra Foreman in the R.L. vice Robert Rodwell placed on a pension equal to 2/3rds of his pay on account of being injured in the public service.
(PRO/WO/47/2,622, p. 2,388)
17 July 18rr. As only 7o men from the Royal Artillery could be found for the Royal Laboratory, the Comptroller was authorized to engage an additional 4o Labourers.
(PRO/WO[47/2,622, p. 2,615)12 August 1811. William Carpenter, Assistant Clerk at Plymouth, appointed Assistant Clerk at Woolwich vice Mr Halsted, posted to Dublin. (PRO/WO/47/2,622, p. 2,949)14 August 18I1. Thomas Hague appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L. vice Mr Hipe, absent on service. (PRO/WO/47/2,622, p. 2,971)6 September r8r r. Alexander Spearman to continue as an Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for a further 6 months. (PRO/WO[47/2,622, p. 3,264) 23 September r8rr. John Hall appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 14 October 1811 vice James Popplewell, removed. (PRO[WO/47/2,622, p. 3,492) 30 September 1811. Two additional painters allowed for the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,622, p. 3,578)
1151
1 4 October 1811. Thomas Gosset appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice Alexander Spearman, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,623, P-3,775)16 October 1811. The Respective Officers are authorized to employ 2 additional smiths. (PRO[W0/47/2,623, p. 3,808)11 November 181r. William Pakenham appointed Foreman m the
R.C.D. and to be attached to the Pontoon Service in Portugal. (PRO/W0/47/2,623, p. 4,144)2o November 1811. Joseph Pellatt appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 2o November 1811 vice Henry Jones, resigned. (PRO/[WO[47/2,623, P-4,237)
29 November 1811. Richard Taylor, late Master Bricklayer under the Inspector of Building Materials, to be employed in the Engineer Department.
(PRO/W0/47/2,623, p. 4,351)4 December 1811. William Durrant appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 2 December 1811 vice Thomas Gosset, resigned. (PRO/W0/47/2,623, p. 4,395)1 January 18r2. The following appointments are made in the R.L. :
Henry Bearfoot, Foreman of Carpenters, to be Master Carpenter vice Thomas Messenger, deceased. Edward Wood, Assistant Foreman of Carpenters, to be Foreman of Carpenters vice Henry Bearfoot, promoted. (PRO[W0/47/2,625, p. 1)
1 January 1812. William Green appointed Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's office. (PRO[W0/47/2,625, p. 3) . 3 January 1812. David Davies appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L. vice R. Moore, appointed Clerk of the Cheque at Demerara. (PRO[W0/47/2,625, p. 35)17 April 1812. R.L. employees to work a quarter of a day extra. (PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,222) 22 April 1812. Alexander Stuart appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L.,
w.e.f. 15 April 1812 vice David Davies who declined the situation. (PRO/WO[47/2,626, p. 1,270)
22 April 1812. Richard Finch, the Woolwich Messenger, reprimanded and fined two days' pay for insolence and improper behaviour. (Not his first offence in this respect.)
(PRO/WO[47/2,626, p. 1,270) 13 May 1812. John Smith to have 3 years contract for lighting the lamps in Pall Mall, the Tower and at Woolwich. (PRO/W0/47/2,626, p. 1,477) 29 May 18r2. Owing to a reduction of work in the R.L., six tailors are to be discharged. (PRO/WO[47/2,626, p. 1,646) 24 July 1812. John Wolff appointed Assistant Clerk in the Engineer Office vice Mr Banks, dismissed.
APPENDIX VIII
James Chapman to succeed John Hall, resigned. Deering Hall to succeed James Chapman. (PRO/WO[47/2,627, p. 2,270)5 August 1812. Thomas Owen, labourer, appointed Water Director in the Department ofthe Respective Officers viceJohn Anderson, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,627, p. 2,399) ro August 1812. George Mercer appointed Bargemaster at 3s. p.d. (PRO/W0/47/2,627, p. 2,455)31 August 1812. GeorgeEveson to be apprentice to Anngier Gordon, Foreman ofBlacksmiths in the R.C.D. viccRichard Sullerwho absented himself. (PRO/WO[47/2,627, p. 2,690)
2 September 18r2. As the Water Director, Th?mas Owen, has to attend four times on Sundays, and has also to be available as on week-days, he is granted an increase of pay of 4d. a day on his present pay for 6 days.
(PRO/WO[47/2,627, p. 2,716)9 September 18r2. The four warders employed each for half a day on watch in the Royal Arsenal on Sundays, are to receive pay for¾ day. (PRO/WO/47/2,627, p. 2,801) . 2 December 1812. R. W. Gunner appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f 1 December 1812 vice William Durrant transferred to the office of the Surveyor-General. (PRO/WO[A7/2,628, p. 3,784) ,. . 18 January 1813.James Gartell Fitze appointed Established Clerk in the
R.C.D. vice Francis Shepherd, dismissed. (PRO/WO/47/2,630, p. 223)5 March 181g. The following labourers are to attend the houses of the
Storekeeper and Clerk of the Cheque: Storekeeper's House W. Langridge vice T. Truckle Clerk of the Cheque's House John Amos vice J. West vice J.
Dummocks vice Thomas Cowan.
(PRO/WO[47/2,630, p. 849) . . 26 March 1813. Henry King to be the Master Founder vice John King,
deceased. . Cornelius King to be Assistant Founder vice Henry Kmg.. . William North to be Foreman of the Foundry vice Cornelius Kmg.
(PRO[WO/47/2,630, p. 1,143)
e
5April 181g. William R. Marshall, Clerk of the Cheque at Edmburgh, appointed Clerk ofthe Survey at Woolwich vice Evans Marshall, deceased.
(PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,291)7 April 181g. William Kerr to be a painter in the Royal Arsenal.
(PRO[WO[47/2,631, p. 1,326) ·. th 9 April 1813. Owing to the high cost of living the pay of_boys md e .. d d gd. per day. is altere to
R.L. which vanes between 6d., 9 ., Is. an Is. •' ht allow an intermediate rate between Is. 3d. and 2s. per day to t e arges boys to encourage their efforts. (PRO/WO[47/2,631, p. 1,360)9 April 1813. Military workers and boys allowed the same overtime on Sundays as the Artificers and Labourers.
(PRO/WO[47/2,631, P. 1,368) 1153
r4 April r8r3. The following appointments are made under the Respective Officers:
William Wells to be Assistant Foreman vice A. Houltum, superannuated.
George Bone to be _Assistant Foreman vice A. Horne, superannuated.
J. Stokey to be Assistant Foreman vice R. Watson, superannuated (PRO[WO[47/2,631, P. 1,432) " 2r April r8r3. Artificers, labourers and boys in the R.L. to work extra hours.
(PRO/WO[47/2,631, p. 1,539) 23 April 181g. Owing to rush of work artificers and labourers in the
R.C.D. are to work extra hours.
(PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,s8g) 5 May 1813. Artificers and labourers under the Respective Officers to
work extra hours. (PRO{WO/47/2,631, p. 1,7sg) 7 May_ r8r3. William North, Foreman of th Found take
e ry, to an
apprentice. (PRO/WO[47/2,631, p. 1,802) 14 May 1813. Richard Broadbank appointed Assistant Clerk in the S~olrdekTeep~r s office, w.e.J. Ir May 1813 vice Mr Collins appointed to the
F1e. ramn .
Thomas Mortimer appointed Assistant Clerk in the Paymaster's Office vice Henncus Kendrick appointed to the office of the s G
(PRO/WO/ / 6 urveyor-enera1 .
47/2,031, P. 1,890) W~~ M1 r.:_;3. John Pennyfeather, labourer, to attend the house of
h. i raemd. • arshall, Clerk of the Survey, vice J. Fabling who attended
is p ecessor. "Ro[wot47p,6, p. 1.9so)
..1.2%".";Psi stu tees, son
d . • ·, 0. owmg appomtments are made:
2nvi:-SsHistaLnt ~oreman William Castledine to be Ist Assistant Foreman e • evmgstone deceased
"2"ggin saii
o be aa Ast@nu roreran tee
1am ast e me, promoted.
";3222,,or"man Mi«ii poreto s or4 Ast«ant Foree
amue us , promoted. LaBbourer J. Longland to be Extra Assistant Foreman vice Michael
urnett, promoted.
_(PRO/WO/47/2,631, P. 3,301):u June r8r3 William p b .
Modeller in theR.L . ease to e apprentice to John Moody, Master (PRO/WO/. viceThomas Mercer appointed a Conductor ofStores. Ji l 47 12,631, p. 3,447)
,2,,p Gange
ta»rd, rst Extra Clerk in the Storekeeper's
c , signs 1s appomtment. A (PROfWO/47/2,632, p. 3,868)R$8 41$"?2;/
1art,ire, o aena he house-or wmo (PROfWeOr/ of the Survey, vice John Pennyfeather. 47/2,632, p. 5,181)
1154
APPENDIX VIII
30 August 1813. Thomas Caprio! appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 27 August 1813 vice Charles Edwards, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,632, p. 5,350)
ro September r8r3. In order to increase the pay of the labourers in the saw-mills, it was agreed that they should be returned as Assistant Frame Workers and so receive an additional 6d. per day.
(PRO/WO[47/2,632, P-5,500)
22 September r8r3. The artificers in the R.C.D., having ceased to work extra time, it was agreed that they should be paid 'piece-work' in order to increase the usefulness of the saw-mill.
(PRO/WO/47/2,632, p. 5,675)
r5 October r8r3. It was agreed that retired soldiers and pensioners could be employed in the R.C.D. as labourers if fit. Their pay to be the same as that of pensioners working in the Tower.
(PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,023)
2o October 1813. Owing to the very heavy increase of work thrown on the Call Clerks of the R.L. which has necessitated their working almost every Sunday for many successive weeks, they are to be granted r os. per day for every Sunday they may have been employed during 1813.
(PRO/VI/O/47/2,633, p. 6,087) I November r8r3. Thomas Lindsay appointed labourer under the Respective Officers and to commence work at once. (PRO/VI/O/47/2,633, p. 6,256) 3 November 1813. Thomas Carpenter, late Foreman of Bricklayers in Jersey, appointed Bricklayer in the Engineer Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,279)
5 November r8r3. William Davis, Chief Foreman of the R.L., who often works from 4.0 a.m. to 1o.0 p.m. and on many Sundays, is granted 5s. for every Sunday he works during 1813, and for all future Sundays.
(PRO[WO[47/2,633, p. 6,319) I2 November r8r3. The Sunday rate of William Davis, Chief Foreman of the R.L., is advanced from 5s. to 7s. 6d. (PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,423) IO November 1813. Samuel Covell to be apprentice to R. English, Foreman ofBricklayers vice David Cooper, struck off the list in May last. (PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,393)
26 November 1813. T. Watts, Junior Constructor of Carriages, and Mr Petty, Foreman of Smiths, R.C.D., took respectively James Savage, aged 15, and Thomas Copping, aged 14, as their new apprentices in place of their former apprentices who had absconded and could not be found.
(PRO/WO/47/2,633, p. 6,623) (PRO/WO[47/2,633, p. 6,695, 1 Dccember 1813) 24 December 18r3. Workmen are to work on Christmas Day and Sundays. (PRO/WO/47/2,633, P. 7,056)
14January I814. As Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington, C.R.E. Woolwich Division, has ascertained that a boy of 13 or I 4 years could not live under gs. a week, he asked for their pay to be increased by 4d. a day, i.e. to
1155
1s. 4d. a week for 7 days. The Board refused the application and censured Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington. (PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 177)
21 January 18r4. From May 1813, Clerks of the R.C.D. are granted 10s. per day for work on Sunday. Junior Constructors of Carriages and l\fasters are granted 7s. 6d. for Sunday work from the same date.
(PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 271)
31 January 1814. William Roche, Principal Porter at the Royal Arsenal Gate, who had been previously reported for misconduct, being reported by Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd, Commandant at Woolwich, for illtreating his wife, refusing to open the door when ordered by the Officer of the Guard, and the Constable, and threatening to shoot them if they broke it open, was dismissed from his post.
(PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 402) 31 January 1814. Store Ledgers in the Engineer Department to be kept by the Clerk of the Works. (PROfW0/47/2,635, p. 408) 11 February 1814. The Clerks under the Respective Officers to be granted 1os. for each Sunday attendance. (PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 559)
11 February 18r4. William Keymer, Warder at the gate of the Royal Arsenal, appointed Principal Porter at the gate vice William Roche dismissed. William Perry appointed Warder at the gate vice William Keymer, promoted.
(PRO/WO[47/2,635, P. 562)
II F~bruary 1814. John Pitfield, Clerk to the Paymaster, who often works till 11.0 p.m. or midnight and has only a salary of £7o p.a., is granted ros. p.d. for Sunday work.
(PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 563)21 February 1814. Mr Dunbar and John Tapner are appointed Assistant Clerks, w.e.f. 21 February 1814. (PRO/WO[47/2,635, p. 762)11 March 1814. Adelhert Frankinit and W. Broadbank are appointed Assistant Clerks in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.J. 1 March 1814. (PRO/WO[47/2,635, p. 972) II March 1814. Charles Cock to be apprentice to John Truewhellar Foreman of Wheelers in the R.C.D. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,635, p. 973)
1 Apnl 1814· Philip Sanders, labourer, is appointed Assistant Foreman under. the Re~pective Officers vice George Bone. ,,9?"ing_ to increase of work two labourers, Benjamin Mepham and
Ilham Roche are appointed additional Assistant Foreman in the same department. (PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 1,311)13 Apnl 1~14. John Cullen appointed Extra Foreman in the R.L. vice Mark Hawkms, absconded. (PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,521)15 Apnl 1814. The Respective Officers stating that they are employing stout boys between I4 and 18 ycars of age as labourers who have been
1156
APPENDIX VIII
found satisfactory, suggest that they be paid from Is. gd. to 2s. 4d. a day. The Board do not consider the arrangement suitable at present. (PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,553)
20 April 18r4. Reduction of Artificers and Labourers in the R.C.D. to take place during the present month. The Respective Officers cannot reduce their establishment at the moment, even if peace should be proclaimed. They must wait till stores are returned. They will reduce establishment as and when they can.
(PRO/WO]47/2,636, p. 1,645)
22 April 1814. The R.L. report that they can reduce establishment as under from Saturday next (23 April): 13 Carpenters, 7 Turners, 6 Smiths, 14 Tinmen, 4 Painters, 4 Tailors, 2 Coopers, 175 Labourers and 6oo Boys.
(PRO[WO/47/2,636, p. 1,650)
29 April 1814. The following were actually discharged from the R.L. on the Saturday in question: 6 Turners, 6 Tinmen, 6 Blacksmiths, 3 Painters, 120 Labourers and 180 Boys.
(PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 1,761) 2 May 1814. Lieut-General Sir William Congreve, 1st Bart., died suddenly on 30 April 1814. (PRO[WO[47/2,636, p. 1,794)6 May 1814. More discharges are to take place from the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,873) 9 May 1814. The following to be discharged from the R.L. on I I May 1814 (Wednesday):
18 Carpenters, 9 Turners, 6 Tailors, 10 Tinmen, I Cooper, I Smith,
1 Painter, 180 Labourers and 100 Boys.
(PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 1,914) 11 May 1814. The following were discharged from the R.C.D. :100 Blacksmiths, 30 Carpenters, 20 Wheelers and 6 Labourers. (PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,942) 13 May 1814. Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., is appointed Comptroller, Royal Laboratory and Superintendent, Royal Military Repository,
w.e.f I July 1814 vice Lieut.-General Sir William Congreve, 1st Bart. (his father), who died 30 April 1814. (PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,971) 23 May 1814. Thomas Gill to be apprentice to Thomas Lock, Foreman of Carpenters in the R.C.D. vice John Woodhead.
John Truewhellar, Foreman of Wheelers, R.C.D., leaves the service and his apprentice, Charles Cock, is transferred to Daniel Hitchcock, Foreman of Wheelers.
(PRO/W0/47/2,630, p. 2,124)
27 May 1814. The R.L. take on 50 additional labourers to assist in unloading transport and to prevent disappointment in the preparation of fireworks for Triumph now proceeding. Preference to be given to men
recently discharged from the Departments at Woolwich. (PRO/WO]47/2,636, p. 2,183) 30 May 1814. Owing to the reduction of Foremen consequent on the
1157
APPENDIX VIII reduction of employees, the following are to be employed as Artificers on
Artificers' rates of pay:
Foremen Carpenters Charles Dibblin D. Drickett Foremen W. BaJames Wheelers entnall Pulton Foremen Smiths W. Aplin David Scott
Jarnes Macdonald Joshua Richards George Williams G. Wharton
(PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 2,236)
17 June 1814. George Fife, Senior Assistant Clerk in the R.L., is appointed Clerk on the establishment of the R.L., w.e.f.21 May 1814 vice Silvester Harding, promoted.
(PRO[WO[47/2,636, p. 2,484)
22 June 1814. James Savage, the apprentice of T. Watts, late Junior Constructor of Carriages, to be transferred to Thomas Lock, Foreman of Carpenters, R.C.D.
(PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,575)
24 June 1814. To speed up the tailors' work in the R.L. connected with the Ornamental firework display, women at 2s. a day were recruited for the R.L.
(PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,496) 24 June 1814. Fifty-one employees to be discharged from the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,598) 24 June 1814. The following are superannuated from the R.C.D. on medical grounds, w.e.f. 1 July 1814, at two-thirds their pay for a 7 day week:
Carpenter W. Pennington 2s. 7¾d. per day John Tusk 2s. 7¾d. ,, ,,Wheelers W. Wells 2s. 7fd. ,, ,,
{
James Sanerville 2s. 7¾d. ,, ,, John Giles 2s.7d., ,, James Muckle 2S. s¾d, ,, ,, Thomas Smith 2s. 1 ¾d. ,, ,,
Smiths
Zachariah Brown 2s. 7£d. ,, ,, Thomas Huirgrove 2s. r¾d. ,, ,,
J. Slade 2s. 1kd. ,, »
R. Sharp 2s. 5}d. ,, Collaraker Thomas Liven 2s. 2ld
• 2 •,, "
(PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,5099)24 June 1814. The wages of Carpenters and Bricklayers to be reduced to 4s. 1od. per day, the same as those of Smiths, Wheelers and Masons. (PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,604)18 July 1814• John Barrett, labourer, to attend the house of Joseph Cheetham, Clerk of the Cheque, vice John Amos, resigned the service. (PRO/WO[47/2,637, p. 2,918)2? July z814. George Scriven appointed Foreman of Carpenters in the Engmeer Department vice Thomas Rich, promoted. (PRO/WO[47/2,637, p. 3,062)
1158
APPENDIX VIII
26 August 1814. The boy Grubb, apprenticed to Francis Bossey, Foreman of Wheelers in the R.C.D., quitted his employment. The magistrates said that, as he had been removed from Rotherhithe where his mother lived, he was deprived of her assistance at Woolwich and could not maintain himself. The Bench, therefore, did not feel justified in punishing the boy. Grubb's apprenticeship was therefore terminated as he had been removed from his natural means of support.
(PRO/WO/47/2,637, P. 3,537)
7 September 1814. Further men to be discharged from the R.C.D.; some on a pension of two-thirds their pay and some with a gratuity of 14 days pay. Others were to be retained if possible till they had got 20 years service when they could retire on a pension of two-thirds their pay.
The list is as under:
Retired on pension
A. Smith as. 7kd. p.d. C. Whiteside 2s. 7¼d. p.d. F. Hand 2s. 7}d.p.d. W. Pendred 2s. 7}d.p.d. G. Hackney 2s. 5kd. p.d. J. Freeman 1s. 11d. p.d.
Discharged with gratuity of 14 dayspay
George Archer 17 years 3 months service Richard Harrison 15 years 8 months ,, William Stubbs I 2 years 2 months ,,
G. Dunnett 1 6 years I month ,, John Cole 17 years 6 months ,,
To serve on ifpossible till they get 2o years service
John Lock 19years o months service John Ring 18 years o months ,, John Alesford 19years 8 months ,, John Dowsing 18years 8 months ,, John Harris I 7 years 7 months ,,
(PRO[WO[47/2,637, P. 3,700) 9 September 1814. David Stradley to be apprenticed to Francis Bossey, Foreman of Wheelers in the R.C.D. vice Boy Grubb, discharged. (PRO/[WO/47/2,637, P. 3,734) 21 September 1814. Daniel Greer to be apprenticed to Anngier Gordon, Foreman of Blacksmiths in the R.C.D. vice Richard Suller who had run away to sea. (PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,929) 21 September 1814. The following were selected, in addition to those mentioned previously, to remain in the R.C.D. to make up 2o years
service before discharge: George Archer Richard Harrison
Joseph Baker.
1159
The following were to be discharged with the allowances granted for over 7 years service:
William Stubbs and William Batt (sawyer)
Benjamin Lockwood}James Nicholls Smiths Thomas Richards
Edward Wilson and John Cole had been discharged on 18 May 1814. (PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,930)21 September 1814. John Richards to be discharged from the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 3,938)
7 October 1814. Edmund James Breeze, Assistant Clerk at Birmingham, appointed Assistant Clerk at Woolwich, w.e.f. 1 October 1814 vice R. W. Gunner appointed Clerk on the Establishment at Lewisham.
(PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 4,160)
5 December 1814. Joseph Cheetham, Junior, son of Joseph Cheetham, Clerk of the Cheque, appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 1 December 1814 vice William Carpenter, promoted.
(PRO/WO[A7/2,638, p. 4,909) 6February 1815. Thomas Brett appointed Water Director in the Department of the Respective Officers, vice Thomas Owen, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,640, p. 512)
25 March 1815. Another 120 boys to be taken on in the R.L. to examine the S.A.A. returned from foreign service ex transports. This will enable the department to examine upwards of 2,000,000 rounds weekly.
(PRO/WO[47/2,640, p. 1,150)
7 April 1815. Thomas Jones, late 2nd Clerk at Malta, appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f I April 1815 vice Thomas Capriol, resigned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,641, p. 1,345) 19 April 1815. Certain Foremen previously discharged from the R.C.D. to be re-engaged. (PRO/WO[47/2,641, P. 1,547) 5 May 1815. Messrs John Smith and Son to have the contract for lighting the lamps at Woolwich, the Tower and Pall Mall. (PRO/WO[47/2,641, p. 1,854)
8 May 1815. Mrs Mary Graham, the mother of the boy Robert Graham of the R.L., who was killed by falling through a hatchway in the East Storehouse, solicits some allowance. The Board agree to pay the funeral expenses but say they cannot afford her any further relief.
(PRO/WO]47/2,641, p. 1,882) 4July 1815. Henry Simmonds appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice Richard Broadbank who dicd 24 May 1815 in receipt of a salary of£80 p.a.
Four additional Assistant Clerks to be appointed to Woolwich at once. Three are George Thompson, John Saffery and William Morris. A fourth will be appointed in due course.
(PRO/WO/47/2,642, p. 2,917)
1160
APPENDIX VIII
24 July 1815. Men and boys to be discharged from the R.L. owing to lack of work with one week's pay. (PRO[WO/47/2,642, P. 3,050) 24 July 1815. Owing to lack of work 25 Carpenters, 25 Wheelers, so Smiths and 4 Sawyers discharged from the R.C.D. with one weeks pay. (PRO/WO[47/2,642, P.-3,056) ..
30 August 1815. John Quintin to be paid for attending the house of Major-General Cuppage, Inspector of the R.CG.D., from 11 September 1813-27 April 1814. Edward Pent to be also paid for similar work from 28 April 1814.
(PROjWO/47/2,642, p. 3,591) . 11 September 1815. The following appointments to take effect in the R.L.: st Assistant Foreman William Castledine to be Chief Foreman vice William Davis, deceased. 2nd Assistant Foreman Samuel Bush to be 1st Assistant Foreman vice William Castledine, promoted. . Foreman of the Wharf Michael Burnett to be 2nd Assistant Foreman vice Samuel Bush, promoted. Extra Foreman Thomas Edwards to be Foreman of the Wharf and Coxswain of the Boat vice Michael Burnett, promoted. John McAvoy to be Assistant Foreman. (PRO/WO/47/2,642, P. 3.751) . 13 September 1815. John Brayley appointed Master Artificer of the Rocket Apparatus in the R.L. vice William Barlow, resigned. (PRO/WO/[A47/2,642, P-3,779) . 18 September 1815. John Elliott to attend the house of William R. Marshall, Clerk of the Survey vice William Handcock, resigned. (PRO[WO/47/2,642, p. 3,863) . g November 1815. William Minors to attend the house of Wilham R. Marshall, Clerk of the Survey vice John Elliott. (PROjWO/47/2,643, p. 4,474) . . 2o November 1815. The following is the list of the Apprenuces m the
R.L.:
Master
Boys Trade
Thomas Carlisle
William Davis Tinman
John Tozer
Robert Drake Smith
Thomas Giles
David Darling Cooper
Henry Barefoot
Thomas Wadsworth Painter
Samuel Howard
Richard Morsby Tailor
Founder Charles Cooper
John Tozer
Samuel Peyton
John Spalding Tinman
Henry Bearfoot
John Bearfoot Carpenter Christopher Pickering Assistant
Modeller John Crake
(PROfWO/47/2,643, p. 4,714) 15 December 1815. Thomas Sharp to attend the house ofJoseph C_heetham, Clerk of the Cheque vice John Barrett, resigned from the service. (PRO/WO/47/2,643, p. 5,041)
1161
22 January 1816. John Henderson appointed Master Founder in the
R.L. vice Charles Cooper, died 23 December 1815. (PROfWO/47/2,645, p. 306) 26January 1816. The apprentice to Daniel Hitchcock, a Foreman lately pensioned, is transferred to John Denton, Foreman of Wheelers in the R.C.D.
(PRO/VvO/47/2,645, p. 742) II March 1816. New apprentices in the R.C.D. are as under:
Masters Trade
Boys Age inyears
Junior Constructor
George Salter } Wheeler Thomas Constable
14 Junior Constructor John Wood } Carpenter Ebenezer Hog 14 Junior Constructor John Stradley J' Smith Henry Ayley 14 Master Artificer Charles Dibblin } Carpenter W. Hitchcock 14 Master Artificer } Carpenter Peter Meadows
Thomas Beck 14 Master Artificer } Carpenter Richard King
Peter Macdonald 14 Foreman of Carpenters\ William Downar J Carpenter William Downar 14
(PROfWO/47/2,645, p. 979) 22 April 1816. The following reductions have taken, and
are to take
place in the Departments of the Royal Arsenal:
Department
Those wlzo lzaue been discharged or superannuated Grade
Assistant Clerks Artificers Labourers Annual saving zn wages
Storekeeper's } Department 7 52 £ 2,639. 8s. Id. Engineer } Department 69 8r £ 8,154. 135. Id. R.L.
go 538 21,632. OS. 2ld.
R.C.D. r Senior Clerk
296 37 {22,368. 16s. od.
Inspector of Artillery } I £ 35. 155. od.
Department
Those whom it is proposed to discharge Grade
Assistant Clerks Artificers Labourers Annual saving n wages
Storekeeper's } Department 5 12 144 £ 7,111. 18s. od. Engineer 1 Department J 3 34 114 £ 7,957. 14s. 3d. R.L.
III 200 15,807. 7s. 4d. 1162
APPENDIX VIII
R.C.D. 2 68 4,943. 16s. od. Inspector of } £ d
20 9 1,725. 25. O.
Artillery (PRO[WO/47/2,646, p. 1,562) 27 May r8r6. The following are to be retained in the R.C.D. at the reduced rates of pay shown: Carpenter James Harley 2s. 6d. p.d. Labourer James Gardner rs. 6d. p.d. William Ward 2s. 6d. p.d. Smiths J. Mason 2s. 6d. p.d.
{
Mr Copeland 2s. od. p.d.
(PRO/WO[47/2,646, p. 2,187) .
29 May r8r6. Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington, R.~., reports that he has discharged the following personnel from the Engineer Department since rendering his Discharge return:
4Foremen ofArtificers; 12 Artificers; 5 Foremen ofLabourers; 2 Barge-
masters; 3 Bargemen and 63 Labourers. _
At tlze Military Ferry. r Superintendent, 1 Master and 8 Bargemen, John
Wolff Deering Hall and John Dozell, three junior Assistant Clerks m the E~gineer Department, are warned of their impending discharge. (PRO/WO/47/2,646, p. 2,237)31 May 1816.Thirty Labourers and ro Boys discharged from the R.L. on 29 May 1816. (PRO/WO/47/2,646, p. 2,288) . I4 June r8r6. The Assistant Firemasters due for discharge are to be kept on till the end of the year. (PRO/vVO/47/2,646, p. 2,511) . r7 June r8r6. William Perry, Assistant Porter, appointed Porter, Royal Arsenal gate vice William Keymer, dece~sed. . . . John Fogarty, Labourer, appointed Assistant Porter vice William Perry, promoted. (PROfWO/47/2,646, p. 2,553)27 June r8r6. The extra ros. a day pay granted to the ChiefFiremaster during the late war to cease on 30 June r8r6. (PRO/WO/47/2,646, p. 2,741) 5July r8r6. Fifty eight more labourers discharged from the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,647, p. 2,865) . .
24 July r8r6. Three of the four Junior Constructors of Carriages in the R.C.D. were to be discharged, but owing to the saw-mill, Patrick Reilly, Timber Master, is to be retained.
(PRO/WO/47/2,647, p. 3,199) . . 31 July 1816. Richard Finch, the Messenger, is to be retamed. (PRO/WO[47/2,647, P.-3,199)4 September 1816.Thomas Silves to attend the house ofJoseph Cheetham, Clerk of the Cheque, vice Thomas Sharp. (PRO/WO/47/2,647, p. 3,843) . . 18 October 1816. Owing to the reduction of Foremen m the R.C.D., several apprentices had lost their Masters. The following arrangements
7o 1163
were therefore made, which meant that Henry Ayley and Robert Hog had to change their trades from Smith to Wheeler.
E. Hodge to be instructed by James Macdonald Peter Meadows ,, ,, ,, ,, Joseph Richards Henry Ayley ,, ,, ,, ,, John Pullen Robert Hog » ,, G. Crisp
G. Walton ,, G. "Wharton
(PRO/WO[47/2,648, p. 4,492)
29 November 1816. Agreed that needy people could be temporarily engaged as labourers for the winter months at rs. 6d. per day in the Engineer Department to be employed on the roads and grounds at Woolwich.
(PRO/WO/47/2,648, p. 5,095) 18 December 1816. To reduce expenditure in the R.C.D. it was agreed that artificers should stop work at 3.0 p.m. on the shorter days and
4.0 p.m. on the longer day, and that labourers should stop work when artificers did. This would reduce their pay approximately by a quarter. It was not proposed that anyone, except boys, should receive less than 2s. a day.
Examples as follows:
Artificer Hammerman Labourer
Full time per week
24s. 6d. 19s. od. I4s. od. Short time per week 18s. 6d. 14s. 6d. 12s. od.
(PRO/WO[47/2,648, p. 5,329) 18 December 1816. Thomas Evans to attend the house of William R. Marshall, Clerk of the Survey, vice William Minors. (PRO/WO/47/2,648, p. 5,345) 31 January 1817. James Thorpe, 3rd Established Clerk under the Respective Officers, died 30 January 1817. (PRO/WO/47/2,650, p. 432) 19 February 1817. Benjamin Guest appointed 3rd Established Clerk under the Respective Officers, vice James Thorpe, deceased. William Jones, Senior Assistant Clerk, appointed 4th Established Clerk vice Benjamin Guest, promoted. (PRO/WO[47/2,650, p. 648)
10 February 1817. The R.C.D. is to work only a 4½ day week. Owing to this the following men would normally receive under 12s. od. a week, but they are to be allowed that minimum.
Carpenter James Harley
Robert Glendenning John Cole
Smiths
J. Mason
{
William Ward Labourer Alexander Campbell 1164
APPENDIX VIII
James Gardner, labourer to be continued at gs. od. a week for a 4½ day week. (PRO[WO/47/2,650, P. 548) 12 February 1817. The following to be discharged from the R.L. on 19 February 1817:
Grade To be reduced Saving per year Artificers 2,548. os. od. Labourers 1,092. os. od. Extra Foremen proposed to be
l
reduced rs. rd. a day namely from £1. 4s. 6d. to 18s. od. a week to { 219. 14s. od.
I
perform such work as requires particular attention, Boys proposed to be reduced gd. a}
39 £ 152. 2S. od.
day each
Total saving p.a. £4,01 I. 16s. od.
(PRO/WO/A7/2,650, P. 507) 7 March 1817. Richard Tyler Russell appointed 1st Clerk of the Cheque in the R.C.D. vice Stephen Booker, superannuated. Edward Dell appointed 2nd Clerk of the Cheque in the R.C.D. vice Richard Tyler Russell, promoted. (PRO/WO[A7/2,650, p. 871) 21 March 1817. Sixty Artificers discharged from the R.C.D. on 19 March 1817. (PRO [WO/47/2,650, P. 1,066) 9 June 1817. Richard Steel, reduced as a Foreman in con:equez:ic~ of the recent reductions, appointed Extra Foreman in the R.L. vice Wilham Rogers, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,651, P-2,174) 17 June 1817. Edward Harris to attend the house ofJoseph Cheetham, Clerk of the Cheque vice Thomas Silves. (PROJWO/47/2,651, p. 2,274) 30 June 1817. Lieut.-General John Ramsey appointed Commandant of the Woolwich Garrison vice Lieut.-General Vaughan Lloyd, who died 16 June 1817. (PROJWO/47/2,651, p. 2,431)9 July 1817. John Farn, Overseer of the S.A.A. in the R.L., to be superannuated on account of his age, 68 years, and lus mfirm1ties, on half-pay, i.e. 2s. o½J. a day. (PRO[WO[47/2,652, P. 2,572)
21 July 1817. Further reductions of Artificers, Labourers and Boys to be made in the R.L. whereby an annual saving in wages of £5, 799· r 2s. 10d. would be effected. In addition to this reduction in labour staff, 2,346 would be saved in stores worked up. A total 0f £8,055. 12s. 10d. annually.
(PRO/WO/47/2,652, p. 2,749) 18 August r817. Rates of pay applicable in the R.L. when men only work threequarters time:
1165
Artificers 18s. 4½d, per week; Labourers 12s. 6d. per week, Boys Threequarters of their applicable rate; Invalids 6s. od. per week. (PRO/WO/47/2,652, p. 3,089) 6 October 1817. William Roche appointed doorkeeper at one of the Ordnance storehouses. (PRO/WO/47/2,653, P· 3,667)20 October 1817. George Bathurst to attend the house ofJoseph Cheetham, Clerk of the Cheque, vice Edward Harris, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,653, P· 3,844)
21 November 18r7. The numbers at present employed in the Royal Brass Foundry are: 14 Artificers, 18 Labourers, 18 Horses, 9 Drivers. On 30 November I 8 I 7 the numbers could be reduced to: 8 Artificers, 2 Labourers, 8 Horses and 4 Drivers.
The Artificers and Labourers to be discharged are:
Artificers Years in the Service
John Swain g Joseph Vaughan 2 John Chidgey 7 Robert Davies 7 Samuel Buffery 14 James Ockley 2 1
Labourers
Richard Bullingham
7
John Garlick
7
C. McCarthy
9
Benjamin Shutt 6
Peter Colley 14 John Ford Left subsequent to the
report on 31July 1817 (PRO/WO/47/2,653, p. 4,227) 26November 18r7.Fifty Labourers to be discharged from the Storekeeper's Department. The Royal Artillery ordered to furnish the necessary labour. (PRO/WO/47/2,653, p. 4,266) 26 November 18r7. The R.C.D. and R.L. ordered to discharge the number of Labourers who can be replaced by men of the Royal Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,653, p. 4,267) . 5 December 1817. Further drastic cuts in expenditure necessitating more discharges to be carried out.
Respective Officers
Pay and allowances for officers and others employed in the Royal Arsenal for one year } £13,586. gs. 5d.
Of which is paid at the Tower £ 3,225. OS. od.
Total incidental charge Reduction to be made £10,361. £ 4,202. gs. I2S. 5d. 2d.
Total to be cut to £ 6,158. 17. 3d.
1166
APPENDIX VIII
Discharges 1 Assistant Armourer £ 54. 155. 6d. 1 Master Artificer 109. I IS, od.
£ 1 Master Collarmaker £ 109. I IS. od.
I Collarmaker 63. 18s. Id.
£ 1 Smith £ 54. 15°. 6d. 3 Painters £ 191. 14s. 3d. 1 Chief Foreman £ 86. 14s. 6d. 4 Assistant Foremen £ 255. I2S. 4d. 9o Labourers £ 3,276. OS. od.
Total £ 4,202. 12s. 2d.
In order to cut the Incidental Expenses by half, a further reduction of establishment to the amount of £978. 2s. 6½d, was ordered. Six Assistant Clerks were also to be discharged.
Inspector ofArtillery
The War Establishment is £6,790. 6s. od.
The Establishment of 1817 is 4,346. 145. od.
The Establishment for 1818 is £3,774. 14s. od., by which a reduction of £572 is made on the 1817 Establishment.
Of the Establishment of 1817, i.e. 4,346. 14s. od., £1,644. I Is. od. is paid at the Tower, leaving total incidental charges at£2,682. 3s. od., of which half is 1,341. 1s. 6d. .
The Inspector is therefore asked to propose further reductions so as to approximate half last year's expenses.
In regard to the Royal Brass Foundry, the War Establishment is £4,597. 6s. od. The Establishment of 1817is£1,671. 2s. od. The amount of reduction £2,926. 4s. od. No further reduction is therefore required in the Royal Brass Foundry.
R.C.D.
The expenses of the R.C.D. for the year is £10,616. 7s. 4d.
Of which is paid by the Tower £ 2,335. 16s. od.
Total incidental charge £ 8,280. 11s. 4d.
Reductions already proposed £ 1,618. 10s. od.
Total future expenditure £ 6,662. 1s. 4d.
In order, however, that the expenses in 1818 shall not exceed half those in 1817, Major-General Cuppage is asked to propose further reductions to those he has already submitted so as to increase their amount to £4,140. 5. 8d., i.e. by an amount equalling a,521. 15. 8d.
(PRO/W0/47/2,653, p. 4,384) . 8 December 1817. Sir William Congreve, Comptroller R.L., is ordered to reduce his wages bill by one half. The incidental charges at present are: £12,737. 2s. 3d. He must therefore propose reductions in staff amounting to £6,368. 1s. 1ld. (PRO/W0/47/2,653, p. 4,411) 1167
19 December 1817. In order to complete the R.C.D. discharges to the amount of £2,521. r5s. 8d., the following are to be discharged:
Nlen
Carpenters Wheelers Smiths Collarmaker Labourers
Total 103
Lads
Carpenters 3}Wheelers 9 r 7 Smiths
4 Collarmaker 1
(PRO/WO/47/2,653, p. 4,566)
22 December 18r7. Augustus Wright, Senior Assistant Clerk in the R.L., appointed Clerk on the Establishment of the R.L., w.e.f. r January 1818 vice William Thomas, deceased.
(PRO/WO/47/2,653, P. 4583) 22 December 1817. The suggested reductions of Sir William Congreve
are approved. He was instructed to effect these, w.e.f 3 r December 1817. (PRO/WO/47/2,653, p. 4,597) (PRO/WO/47/2,653, p. 4,653, 26 December 1817)
2 January 1818. Only 5 Assistant Clerks employed under the Respective Officers are to be discharged at present; the sixth one due for discharge is to be retained for the present.
(PRO/WO/47/2,655, p. ro) 2 January 1818. Men from the R.L. and R.C.D. due for discharge are to be retained till March next. (PRO/WO/47/2,655, p. 22) 5 January 1818. Benjamin Guest, Clerk in the Respective Officers' Department, retired, w.e.J. 1 January 1818 on half-pay. (PRO/WO[47/2,655, P-53) 16 January 1818. John Knight appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's o~ce, w.e.J. 1 January 1818 at a salary of7o p.a. vice Benjamin Guest, retired. Cornelius Sharp appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office,
w.e.J. 1 April 1818 vice Mr Pritchard, deceased.
The Clerks are therefore as under: John Guest, Senior Assistant Clerk Storekeeper's Office William Jones, 2nd ' John Knight, 3rd " " " " Cornelius Sharp, 4th " " " "
" """
John Guest to be put into possession of the house rendered vacant bythe death of Mr Pritchard. (PRO/WO/47/2,655, p. 214) 19 January 1818. The following discharges and reductions in pay are
1168
APPENDIX VIII
to take place in the Engineer Department to reduce expenditure:
Discharges
1 Bricklayer £ 67. 16s. 4d. 1 Bricklayer's labourer £ 45. l2S. IId. 1 Carpenter £ 67. 16s. 4d. 1 Mason £ 62. l2S. od. I Mason's labourer 45. 12s. 1 rd.
£
l Wheeler £ 62. l2S. od. l Smith 62. l2S. od.
£
1 Millwright 128.
£ 5°. od. 1 Shipwright and Caulker £ 75. 12s. rod. 12 Labourers £ 438. 45. od. 1 Office Keeper £ 36. lOS. 4d. 1 Bricklayer's Apprentice £ 31. 45. od. Pay to be reduced 4 Foremen of Artificers, by 8d. a day each £ 41. 14. 6d. 3 Artificers, by 6d. a day each £ 23. 95. 6d. 1 Bricklayer's labourer, by 3d. a day £ 3. 18s. 3d. Pay of Watchmen to be reduced by £ 35. 5. od. Total annual saving 1,479. 6s. 8d. (PRO/WO/47/2,655, p. 250)16 February 1818. William Morris reappointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, vice Cornelius Sharp, promoted. (PRO/WO[47/2,655, P-374)2g February 1818. William Bourne to attend the house of William R. Marshall, Clerk of the Survey, vice Thomas Evans, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,655, p. 654)27 March 1818. Richard Fletcher and William Parsons, Wheeler Lads in the R.C.D., left the Service at their request. (PRO/WO[A7/2,655, P. 1,058)8 April 1818. No more apprentices to be taken on in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[A7/2,656, p. 1,256) 29 April 1818. In order to carry out the proposed reductions in the Royal Brass Foundry, Henry King, Master Founder, is superannuated,
w.e.f. 1 January 1818 with a pension equal to 2/grds his pay and gratuity, i.e. £266. 13s. 4d. p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,656, p. 1,493)27 May 1818. Samuel Mercer appointed labourer at Woolwich vice William Waller, removed. (PRO[WO[47/2,656, p. 1,835)
29 May 1818. Thomas Ribble appointed Ratcatcher at Woolwich at 3d. per rat and mole caught. He was late of the Corps ofArtillery Drivers and acted in the capacity of ratcatcher whilst serving in the Corps.
(PRO/WO[47/2,656, p. 1,857)
29 June 1818. Edward Amos, having finished his apprenticeship under the Respective Officers as a painter, is not to be employed in such a category as the Board are unwilling to add to the number of painters.
(PRO/WO[47/2,656, p. 2,184)
1169
APPENDIX VIII
21 August 1818, William Ramsey appointed Smith under the Respective Officers vice Henry Groves. (PRO/WO/47/2,657, p. 2,790) . 21 September_ 1818-.J?hn Minors appointed Labourer under the Respective Officers vice Wilham Ramsey, appointed Smith. Edward Watson appointed Labourer under the Respective Officers vice William Bailey. (PRO/WO/47/2,657, P. 3103)
21 December 1818. As a Coxswain for the Ordnance boat at Woolwich is absolutely necessary, an exchange between Mr Wilmott and Mr Turner is to be effected.
(PRO/WO[47/2,658, p. 4,068)29 March 1~19· James Chapman appointed 1st Clerk in the Engineer Department v1ce John Adams placed on half-pay. (PRO/WO/47/2,660, p. 1,040)14 July 1819. Evans Marshall appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 12 July 1819 vice John Hall. (PRO/WO/47/2,662, p. 2,299)27 November 1819. Thomas Court to be employed as a labourer in the ~torekeeper's Department vice Allen Wells, deceased, provided the former e not over 45 years of age. (PRO/WO/47/2,663, p. 3,7s8)2I January 182o. William Green, late Armourer at Chelmsford app11~mtedMMaster Armourer at Woolwich, w.e.f. 21 January 1820 vie;
W1 l1am edland. (PRO/WO[47/2,665, p. 2o2) ~4 January 1~20. The R.L. are authorized to take on women to make up ann(elcartndgesforNavalService asmayfromtimetotimeberequired. PRO/WO/47/2,665, p. 233)22 March 182o. Joh Tomli: th W .
to obtai .' n ° ms, e 'oolwich Messenger, granted [Io n mourning on the occasion of the death of George III to put him on a par with 0ther messengers in the Ordnance Service. (PRO/W0/47/2,665, p. 818)
0//i? 1820
• The following are to be reduced on 1 June 1820 and placed Th: -pay and half their gratuity allowance:
One ~o {t1;110r Clerks in the R.L. at £go p.a. each.
th
ctk ~n e Office of the Inspector of Artillery at £go p.a.
0
Tie er m the R.C.D. at £80 p.a. Artill e posts of Searcher and Instrument Keeper under the Inspector of 7,Jg;me4+«a str otr». z». @a..a. l Mo '/47/2,666, p. 1,225)
1
(;{~iJ~mes Watts is the Clerk in the R.C.D. to be discharged. '/47/2,666, p. 1,289)12 M i, ay 18so. JohNI F
be dischar d • n . ai or, oreman in the Engineer Department to
65,Z,dis, of
so.Joe vao. II S, 0/47/2,666, p. 1,313) d eh1Jtember 182o. Daniel Murphy appointed Established Labourer
un er t e Respective Officers. (PRO/WO/47/2,667, p. 2,547)
1I70
APPENDIX VIII
r3 October 1820. Michael Hinnis appointed Master Armourer at Woolwich vice William Green promoted to Master Furbisher at Portsmouth. (PRO/W0/47/2,668, p. 2,868) 9 February 1821. William Chamberlain to attend the house of Joseph Cheetham, Clerk of the Cheque, vice George Bathurst. (PRO/WO[47/2,670, Pp. 430) a1 April 1821. Richard Finch to be Messenger, w.e.f. 1 May 1821 vice John Tomlins superannuated for ill-health on a pension of7o p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,671, p. 1,821) .2 May 1821. The R.C.D. to engage additional labour and work longer hours to accelerate an order for breast-plates. (PRO[WO[47/2,670, p. 1,281)
r9 Jvfay 1821. Owing to a change in the size of the breast-plates, work on them is to be stopped. The extra artificers engaged for this job are to be discharged.
(PRO/WO[47/2,670, p. 1,472) 28 May 182r. John Smith to light the lamps at the Tower, Pall Mall and Woolwich for 3 years. (PRO/WO[47/2,670, p. 1,569)
r3 July 1821. William Kinnear has replaced Thomas Ribble as Ratcatcher. He destroyed 119 rats during the last quarter for which he was paid £r. gs. gd.
(PRO/WO/A7/2,672, p. 2,017)
I August 182r. The following posts are abolished and the occupants retired: Clerk ofthe Survey William R. Marshall Paymaster John Henderson
John Pitfield
2 Clerks to Paymaster {
Thomas Mortimer 4th Clerk in the R.L. John Piper (PRO/WO/47/2,672, P-2,194)16 August 182r. William R. Marshall, Clerk of the Survey, to be retired on 3 1 December 182 1. (PRO/W0/47/2,672, p. 2,373) I6 August 1821. John Henderson, Paymaster, to be retired on 3 December 182 1. (PRO/W0/47/2,672, p. 2,375) 2r November 182 1. As John Henderson, Paymaster, could not complete his accounts till I February 1822, he will remain on till that date. (PRO/W0/47/2,673, p. 3,374) r 4 December 1821. John Geast, the Storekeeper, will take over the duties ofJohn Henderson, Paymaster, on 1 January 1822. (PRO/W0/47/2,673, p. 3,594)
26 December 1821. John Dozell and Evans Marshall, Assistant Clerks under the Respective Officers, to be discharged on 31 December 1821. William Morris, the third Clerk due for discharge, to be retained for the present.
(PRO/W0/47/2,673, p. 3,705)
I171
28 January r822. Charles Dibblin, Master Wheeler in the R.C.D., to be retired on a pension of £32. 17s. od. p.a., w.e.f. 1 February 1822. (PRO[WO/[47/2,675, P. 189)
I February 1822. Samuel Spurrier to be continued as Stevedore and Wharfinger on his present pay under Captain Dickinson, Superintendent of Shipping.
(PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 226) 6 February r822. John Sydes appointed Foreman vice William Wisdom deceased. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 266) 6 February 1822. Moses Molyneux appointed Porter at the Royal Arsenal, w.e.f. 1 January 1822 vice William Perry, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 266) r5 February r822. Francis Bossey appointed Master Wheeler in the
R.C.D. vice Charles Dibblin, retired. (PRO/WO[47/2,675, p. 329) r5 March r822. George Poe appointed a porter at the Arsenal gate vice Mr Meacham, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 533) I April 1822. Pay of Carpenters in the Engineer Department to be increased from 3s. 1od. to 4s. 1d. a day. There are r r Carpenters and 4 Boys. (PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 633)
I May 1822. Richard Finch, Messenger at Woolwich allowed £75for the upkeep of his horse. He was originally nos«do .a. Ti.% afterwards reduced t0 50 p.a. but finally fixed at75 p.a.
(PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 81 r) I I June 1822. Richard Halo, Master of the Lord Townshend powder sloop, appomted Wharfinger at Woolwich vice Samuel Spurrier deceased (PRO/WO/47/2,675, p. 1,129) ' •
I Jury r822. Cornelius King to be removed from his post as Acting Master Founder, Royal Brass Foundry, and Sir Thomas Blomefi ld th Inspector of Artillery is instructed to report whether there is an/p;rso~
m the department smtable to succeed him. (PRO/WO/47/2,676, p. 1,258) r2 July 1822. William North, Foreman of the Royal Brass Foundry, to carry on the duties of the department upon the removal of c li
K' hA • M orneus
mg, the cting aster Founder. Samuel Eccles, the Modeller, to attend the selection of metals and casts and to assist in such repairs and •
• h • improve
ments m t e machmery as may benefit the Service. Sir Thomas Blomefield? Inspector of Artillery, to name the persons who are to conduct the details of the Foundry under this arrangement.
(PRO/WO/47/2,676, p. r,347) 2 _September r822. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson, K.C.B., appointed InspectorofArtilleryand Inspector oftheRoyal Brass Foundry,
w.e.f. r October 1822 vice General Sir Thomas Blomefield, who died on 24 August 1822.
(PRO/WO/47/2,676, p. 1,709) r3 September r822. Cornelius King, late Acting Master Founder, Royal
1172
APPENDIX VIII
Brass Foundry, to be superannuated on half-pay, i.e. £1 IQ. 5s. od. p.a. To commence from the time his pay ceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,676, p. 1,785)
6 November r822. William Collins to continue to carry out scavenger's work in 1823. He would increase his payment for ashes from £10 to £20. He would continue to be paid 2s. per ton for removing night soil.
(PRO/WO[47/2,676, p. 2,081)
8 November 1822. Shadrack Waller, an apprentice under the Inspector of Artillery, whose time expires on 15 November 1822, is to be retained and employed as a smith.
(PRO/WO[47/2,676, p. 2,098)27 December r822. The pay of Labourers is to be reduced, w.eJ. I January 1823. (PRO/[WO/47/2,676, p. 2,410) r January r823. John Wolff, late Clerk in the Engineer Office, appointed Clerk in the Engineer Department vice Mr Rixon. (PRO/WO/47/2,678, p. 35)29 January r823. Pay of all Labourers in the Royal Arsenal to be 13. per week. (PRO/WO[47/2,678, p. 184)17 February 1823. T. H. Wolff appointed Labourer under the Inspector of Artillery vice William Copson, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,678, p. 313)
2r February 182g. Owing to the death of Thomas Proudfoot, Foreman of Labourers, the offices of Bargemaster and Sluicemaster are combined. John Punter appointed to the combined office at 5s. a day. He will also succeed Thomas Proudfoot as Foreman of Labourers.
(PRO[WO/47/2,678, p. 347)26 February r823. Two cats are to be kept in the Engineer storerooms under the Regulation of 21 August 1811 to keep down rats. (PRO/WO/47/2,678, p. 379)26 March 182g. Henry McGee appointed Labourer in the Department of the Respective Officers vice John Woolgar, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,678, p. 563)
18 April 182g. William Stace, Chief Commissary of the Field Train, appointed Storekeeper, Royal Arsenal, vice John Geast, retired. It is prop0sed that in future the two offices shall be combmed and carry a salary of £500 p.a. William Stace will hold the two offices.
(PRO/WO[47/2,678, p. 722)5 May 1823. Samuel Skilmore appointed Labourer vice W. Williams, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,678, p. 824) 16 June 1823. John Richardson to sweep the chimneys at Woolwich at 6d. each ground floor and kitchen and 4d. for each parlour and garret. (PRO/WO[47/2,678, p. 1,094) 7 July r823. William Cook appointed Labourer under the Respective Officers vice Philip Fogarty, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. 1,218) 15 August r823. Joseph Cheetham, Deputy Storekeeper, to be given
1173
£200 for acting as Storekeeper between 1 January 1822 and 3o April 1823. William Stace's appointment as Storekeeper commenced on I May 1823. (PRO/WO[47/2,679, P. 1,469) 1 October 1823. A. Wright, Assistant Clerk in the Laboratory at Portsmouth, appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.L., w.e.f. 1 October 1823. (PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. r,757)
3 October 1823. Brigade Major Rice Jones, R.E., placed in charge of the Engineer Department during the temporary absence of Lieut.-Colonel John T. Jones, R.E., in the Ionian Islands.
(PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. r,770) 13 October 1823. Isaac Orviss appointed Foreman of Labourers under the Inspector of Artillery vice William Clark, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. 1,833) 5 November r823. Richard Greenaway appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice James Lindsay, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. r,977) 1 December 1823. James Davis appointed Labourer under the Respective Officers vice Daniel O'Neil appointed a Barrack Sergeant. (PRO/WO[47/2,679, P-2,139)
15 December 1823. Patrick Gamon appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Robert Broughton, posted to the Tower £72._1os. 0d. p.a. is added to the salary of William Stace, Storekccper, to brmg his emoluments up to those which he received as Chief Commissary of the Field Train. As both offices are now combined under William Stace, he is allowed an extra {27. 7s. 6d. a year for a labourer so long as he contmues his duties as Chief Commissary. This extra allowance is to commence from the day he combined the duties of the two offices.
(PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. 2,223) r7 December r~23. The R.C.D. is authorized to take on military tradesmen not exceedmg ten, to prepare certain articles of packages for the depot in Tooley Street. (PRO/WO/47/2,679, p. 2,244) 30 January 1824. James Brown appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Castleton, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. 185) 4 Fe~ruary r824. Josiah Cooper engaged to remove the night soil at Woolwich at rs. a ton and to pay £120 p.a. for the privilege of receiving all ashes from Woolwich premises. (PRO/WO[47/2,681, p. 222)
2o February 1824. Charles Dibblin, son of Charles Dibblin, late Master Wheeler m the R.C.D. who lost a limb in the execution of his duty, is ordered to be taken on as an apprentice in the R.C.D.
(PROfWO/47/2,681, p. 330) I M~rch :824. The Master-General agrees to r r boys being bound apprentices in the R.L. to the different Master Artificers. (PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. 403) JI March 1824. John Guest, rst Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, allowed 1s. 6d. a day in lieu of a labourer for 3 days in the week. (PRO/WO[47/2,681, p. 628)
1174
APPENDIX VIII
7 April r824. James Cutting appointed Labourer at Woolwich.
(PRO/WO[47/2,681, p. 678)
2r May 1824. Owing to the low state of the R.C.D. and the lack of naval gun carriages, Lieut.-General W. Cuppage, Inspector R.C.D., is authorized to recruit another IO Carpenters and 5 Blacksmiths for the R.C.D.
(PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. 947)28 May 1824. The Respective Officers are authorized to employ 2 additional painters for painting carriages and other stores. (PRO/WO[47/2,681, p. 985)14June 1824. The R.C.D. is authorized to employ 6 additional labourers for a time. (PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. r,073)2July 1824. Henry Davis and James Ashdown are appointed Labourers under the Respective Officers to replace the two men promoted to Painters. (PRO/WO[A7/2,682, p. 1,187)14 July 1824. The Respective Officers report that Daniel Murphy, labourer, is still confined in Roxton Lunatic Asylum, his complaint being no better. (PRO[WO/47/2,682, p. 1,264)14July 1824. Joseph Cheetham, Junior, Assistant Clerk at Woolwich, appointed Clerk on the establishment of the Secretary of the Board,
w.e.f. 12 July 1824. Mr Decker is appointed Assistant Clerk at Woolwich vice Joseph Cheetham. (PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. r,266)28 July 1824. The pay of William Smith, the Collar-maker, to be fixed at 5s. 1od. a day. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 1,348)30 July r824. The R.L. authorized to engage additional labour to supply 5oo lead-lined packages a week. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 1,358)2 August 1824. Four Artificers in the Royal Brass Foundry to have their pay increased by 2d. a day. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 1,371)9 August r824. John Tye appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice David Clare, committed to Maidstone Gaol for felony. (PRO[WO[47/2,682, P. 1,409)16 August 1824. William Trevet appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Samuel Whitmore who has joined a veteran battalion. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 1,447)27 September 1824. The R.C.D. to engage an additional Collar-maker and Labourer as a temporary measure. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 1,695)29 September r824. Additional Labourers to be employed by the Respective Officers while business is pressing. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 1,703)
19 November 1824. Mr Bezley and Mr Parr, mates of the convict hulk Justicia, granted an allowance of rs. 6d. a day for each day they are actually
1175
employed in superintending the convicts employed in the Royal Arsenal. (PRO[W0/47/2,682, p.2,011) 10 December 1824. Daniel Edwards appointed to the vacant post of Office Keeper in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,682, p. 2,148) 13 December 1824. Charles Dibblin appointed Foreman of Machineryin the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[47/2,682, p. 2,162) 13 December 1824. John Branson, Foreman of Labourers, to be pensioned at £18 p.a. (PRO/W0/47/2,682, p. 2,168) 5 January 1825. The pension ofJohn Branson, Foreman of Labourers to commence 1 December 1824. ' (PRO/W0/47/2,684, p. 29) 21 January 1825. Ten additional labourers allowed in the R.L. as a temporary measure; also IO military labourers for a month. (PRO/WO[47/2,684, p. 131) 4 February 1825. Henry King, late Master Founder in the Royal Brass Foundry, died 30 January 1825. The IO additional labourers in the R.L. can be retained for another 3 months. (PRO/WO[47/2,684, p. 234) r I February 1825. Seventeen additional labourers and go additional boys to be engaged for the R.L. (PRO/W0/47/2,684, p. 277) 9 April 1825. Thirty additional artificers allowed for the R.L. for 5 weeks longer to complete the making of lead-lined packages. (PRO/WO[47/2,684, p. 639) 13April 1825.Eight additional men allowed for the saw mill in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[47/2,684, p. 657) 2 May 1825. Samuel Eccles, the Modeller in the Royal Brass Foundry, to take Benjamin Watts as an apprentice. (PRO/WO[47/2,684, p. 8o6) r8 May 18~5. Joseph Pellatt, Senior Assistant Clerk, appointed Clerk on the Establishment in the Storekeeper's Department, w.e.f. 1 May 1825 vice Cornelius Sharp, promoted. (PRO/W0/47/2,684, p. 942) 25 May 1825. John Foley appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Edward Wilson, unfit for further service. (PRO[W0/47/2,684, p. 994) 20 June 1825. Edward Wilson, 72 years of age and 31½ years service as a Labourer m the Storekeeper's Department is pensioned at £rn pa. (PRO/W0/47/2,684, p. 1,186) 22 June 1825. Robert Miskin, 14 years of age, to be apprenticed to the Master Pamter at Woolwich. (PRO/WO[47/2,684, p. 1,200) I July 1825._ Thomas Hanton appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Onyett, pensioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,685, p. 1,261)
1176
APPENDIX VIII
18 July 1825. Painters under the Respective Officers to be transferred to the R.C.D., one painter to be for the exclusive use of the Storekeeper's Departrnent.
(PRO/WO[47/2,685, P. 1,398)22 July 1825. Plumbers' wages to be fixed at 5s. per day. (PRO/W0/47/2,685, p. 1,436)8 August 1825. John Pittman appointed Cooper at 2s. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/2,685, P. 1,566) IO August 1825. The pay ofJames Knight, painter under the Respective Officers, to be advanced from 3s. t0 3s. 6d. a day. (PRO[WO[47/2,685, P. 1,585)29 August 1825. The following appointments are made in the Ordnance
Medical Department: William Gloag to be 3rd Clerk vice John Young, deceased. Henry Rudd to be 4th Clerk vice William Gloag, promoted.
(PRO/WO/47/2,685, P-1,733) ..... 31 August 1825. Colonels Stephen Galway Adye andJohn S. Williamson, R.A., appointed Members of the Ordnance Select Committee vice MaJorGenerals Robert Evans and George Bulteel Fisher. (PRO/W0/47/2,685, p. 1,749) . 5 Sej1tember 1825. Twenty additional labourers allowed to the Respective Officers. (PRO/W0/47/2,685, p. 1,788)28 September 1825. John Kidd appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Davies, who left the Service. (PRO/W0/47/2,685, p. r,968) . 30 September 1825. A boy at 1s. 3d. a day to be engaged and mstructed in the business of the steam engine in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[47/2,685, P. 1,984) . 28 October 1825. Thomas Rivers appointed Foreman of Labourers vice John Branson, superannuated. . . . .· John Amos and Daniel Langridge appomted vVorkmg Foremen vice Thomas Rivers and John Sydes, promoted in I 822, whose place had not been filled. (PRO/WO[47/2,685, p. 2,198) I November 1825. The pay of John Pittman, Cooper, advanced from as. 6d. to 3s. 6d. a day. (PROfW0/47/2,685, p. 2,322) . I 4 November 1825.Francis Sloane and Thomas Farrell appointed Labourers viceJohn Amos and Daniel Langridge promoted to Workmg Foremen. (PRO/W0/47/2,685, p. 2,341)23 November 1825. John Drake appointed Labourer under the Inspector of Artillery vice T. H. Wolff, discharged at his own request. . William Peppudy appointed Labourer in the Royal Brass Foundry vice Mr Daniel, deceased. (PRO/W0/47/2,685, p. 2,421) . . . 19 December 1825.James Barling, Foreman ofBricklayers in the Engmeer Department is allowed to take on his son as his apprentice. (PRO/WO[47/2,685, p. 2,615)
1177
9 January 1826. Eight additional artificers engaged in the R.L. to execute special job. (PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 55)
27 January 1826. John Mills, from the Barrack Master's Department, appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, w.e.f. 1 October 1825. Salary £90 p.a. Allowance for house rent, coals and candles £20. Total £11o p.a.
(PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 205) 27 January 1826. Christopher Hayman to light the lamps at Woolwich for 3 years from 1 February 1826. (PRO/WO/[47/2,687, p. 207) 3 February 1826. John Baker, carpenter, takes on his own son as his apprentice. (PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 261) 3 February 1826. Thomas Brett appointed Porter at the Royal Arsenal vice Moses Molyneux, died 17 January 1826. (PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 262) 6February 1826. James Davies appointed Officeman vice Robert Davies his father, who died on 30 January 1826. (PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 280)
3 March 1826. As the undermentioned are to be excluded from the new establishment of the Civil Department of the Ordnance their future salaries will be paid quarterly by the Storekeeper: '
Grade Department Name Annual Salary
Foreman Royal Brass
Chief Foreman Foundry R.L. William North William od.
Master Carpenter R.C.D. Castledine Peter £118. 12s. 6d.
M Macdonald 109. . IOS. O d•
aster Wh_eeler Master Smith R.C.D. R.C.D. Francis Bossey William Clark £109. £109. 10s. 10s. od. od.
(PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 461) 10 March 1826. The Storekeeper ordered to pay in future the salary of Thomas "'_'eaver-Clerk of the Works, Woolwich-quarterly. His annual salary is 3o1. (PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 513)
13 March 1826. Christopher Hayman to be allowed {1. 8s. od. per lamp per annum for hghtmg the 67 lamps in the passages to the Officers' quarters, Woolwich. These are filled with sperm instead of common oil.
(PROJWO/47/2,687, p. 524) 22 March 1826. Upon representation that William North, Foreman of the Royal Brass Foundry, had since I April 1823 enjoyed the following emoluments: Salary
£127. 155. od. Increased salary for
length of service od.
£ 33. 15°. Total £161. IOS. od.
1178
APPENDIX VIII
it was agreed that this sum should continue per annum instead of
£142. 15s. od. laid down above (PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 461).
(PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 6o9)
25 March 1826. James Fuller appointed Labourer in the Royal Brass
Foundry vice Thomas Robinson, deceased.
(PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 629)
19 May 1826. Joseph Wright, Foreman under the Respective Officers,
to be discharged having been found drunk in the Harness Store.
(PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,046)
24 May 1826. Six additional workmen allowed for the R.C.D. to assist
in the manufacture of model pontoons, which must be correct in every
minute detail.
(PRO/WO/47/2,687 p. 1,076)
a6 May 1826. Two Foremen and 20 labourers were taken on by the
Respective Officers on 14 May 1826 to assist in the conveyance of cart
ridges to Weedon by Pickford's boats.
(PRO[WO/47/2,687, p. 1,093)
31 May 1826.James Anderson appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's
Department vice Robert Houlton, discharged.
(PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,124)
21 June 1826. William Henderson, who had been attached to Dr McCulloch, Ordnance Chemist, whose post had been abolished by order of the Master-General dated 22 March 1826, and who had been employed in the Founders' shop, was to return to the R.L. on the recommendation of Major-General Joseph Maclean, Firemaster.
(PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,282)
21 June 1826. The following are pensioned on account of age and infirmity: Samuel Kemp-Foreman of Labourers R.L.-£23 p.a. James Muir-Extra Foreman of Labourers R.L.-£20 p.a. Richard Smith-Labourer-R.L.-£10 p.a. John Hart-Labourer-Woolwich-£10 p.a. William Bullock-Labourer-Woolwich-£10 p.a.
(PRO [WO[47/2,687, p. 1,286)23 June 1826. Samuel Shead appointed Labourer under the Inspector of Artillery vice John Cock, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 1,302) . . 7 July 1826. Thomas Moore appointed Foreman vice Joseph Wnght,
dismissed.
William Morris appointed Labourer vice George Sheppard, resigned.
Hezekiah Burbage appointed Labourer vice William Bullock, deceased.
John Priseman appointed Labourer vice Thomas Clements, discharged.
(PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. r,413) . 19 July 1826. The pay of Richard Smith, Storehouse Foreman, m the Storekeeper's Department, is raised from 18s. to £I. 1s. od. per week. (PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,499)19 July 1826. James Packer appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Hunt, pensioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. r,500) 1179
77
26 July 1826. The Board state that in future they will not insist on the strict letter of their order dated 9 December 1814, wherein the pay of re-employed pensioners in the R.C.D. was to be half that of their civil counterparts. They hope, however, that the discretion as to future rates of pay left to the Inspector R.C.D. will be used with circumspection.
(PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,552) 28 July 1826. Francis Millan appointed Labourer at Woolwich. (PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,571)
4August 1826. John Cullen, whose pay as a Foreman was reduced from £r. 7s. 6d. to r8s. 6d. a week on being transferred from the R.L. to the Storekeeper's Department, is to be placed on a par with William Smith who was transferred at the same time. His pay will be augmented by 3s. 6d. a week per Board's order of 19July 1826.
(PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,632) 7 August 1826. William Ellis, 14 ycars of age, to be employed as a Turner in the R.C.D. at 1s. 3d. per day. (PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,651) 11 August 1826. The salary of William North, Foreman of the Royal Brass Foundry, to be increased by £50 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,678)
30 August 1826. George Meadows is appointed Foreman of Blacksmiths in the R.C.D. at 5s. a day, w.e.f. 30 August 1826 vice James Pelley late Assistant and Working Foreman, deceased. '
(PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,812) 6 Sept~mber 1826. George Poe, a porter at the Arsenal gate, is appointed to supermtend water supplies vice Frederick Rosler, deceased. William Henry Bush is appointed a porter at the Arsenal gate vice George Poe, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 1,866)
8 September 1826. In order that the Surveyor-General may have a local deputy for the inspection of stores supplied by contractors at Woolwich and Gibraltar, a post ofClerk ofthe Survey at Woolwich is to be reintroduced and borne as an addition to the civil establishment at that station.
The Clerk o~ the Surve~ at Woolwich is to have a salary scale £300£450 a year with annual mcrements of £20 subject to the regulation of 21 December 1825, in addition to a house.
As a result the following appointments are made: Joseph Cheetham, Deputy Storekeeper, to be Clerk of the Survey. John Guest, rst Clerk, to be Deputy Storekeeper vice Joseph Cheetham. William Morris, Assistant Clerk, to be Clerk on the establishment vice
John Guest. Edward Russell to be Assistant Clerk vice William Morris. (PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 1,889) 18 September 1826. Francis Sloane, labourer, appointed OfTccman in the Storekeeper's Department vice Edward Deaves, deceased, at the same rate of pay, viz 14s. per week. William Scott appointed Labourer vice Francis Sloane. (PRO{WO/47/2,688, p. 1,920)
1180
APPENDIX VIII
25 September 1826. James Hendry appointed Labourer vice William
Hancock, deceased.
(PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 2,007)
25 Scptember 1826. John Quinn, a labourer in the Storekeeper's Depart
ment, appointed Porter at the gate of the Engineer Department vice
William Henry Bush, who declined the appointment.
(PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 2,008)
29 September 1826.John Henderson, Master Founder in the R.L., having died on 20 September 1826, it was agreed that the post should lapse and the founders' shop be placed under the charge of John Tozer, Master Smith R.L., without any increase of pay.
(PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,037) 2 October 1826. George Fowell appointed Labourer at Woolwich vice Patrick Hamilton, dismissed on 15 September 1826 for theft. (PRO[WO[47/2,688, p. 2,065)
6 October 1826. The R.L. is authorized to engage 38 more boys, making IO in all, for the purpose of speeding up the making of musket ball cartridges and examining those on hand. Output would then be 19,500 a day or 3,042,000 per 6 months of new cartridges, and examining and breaking up 37,000 daily or 5,772,000 per 6 months. 5o boys to be kept on each type ofjob.
(PRO[WO[47/2,688, p. 2,103)
11 October 1826. Edward Murphy appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Quinn, promoted Porter at the gate of the Engineer Department.
(PRO[WO[A7/2,688, p. 2,127) 13 October 1826. Alexander Porter appointed Labourer under the Inspector of Artillery vice Henry Roberts, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 3,145) 2o October 1826. John Owens appointed Labourer vice Mr Masey, deceased. John Bottril appointed Labourer in place of Georg: fowell who was notified on 30 September 1826, but cannot at present jomn.
Richard Bishop appointed Labourer vice Edward Murphy who, although notified on 11 October 1826, does not take up the appointment.
(PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 2,198)
3 November 1826. John Gleeson appointed Labourer vice Richard Bishop appointed on 19 October 1826, who was transferred to Tooley Street at his own request.
(PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,301)
8 November 1826. Owing to the death of Mr Thwaites, the Ordnance clockmaker, the Master-General appointed Mr B. Vulliamy to succeed him, w.e.f. 15 October 1826. There are 4 clocks at Woolwich. Mr Vulliamy would be paid at the same rate as Mr Thwaites, i.e. £37. 16s. od. for the care of the following clocks: Pall Mall7; The Tower-5; Woolwich -4; Purflcct-1; and North Hyde1; Total 18 clocks.
(PRO[WO[47/2,688, p. 2,336)
1181
APPENDIX VIII
r7 November r826. Daniel Hossack and John Wilen appointed Labourers under the Civil Officers to fill 2 vacancies. (PRO[WO[47/2,688, p. 2,392) 24 November r826. James Claridge appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Trevitt, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,434)
27 November r826. The Respective Officers ordered to employ 10 military labourers to scrape sand out of 80,000 shell to speed up the operation.
(PROfWO/47/2,688, p. 2,450) 11 December 1826. Richard Keating appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Lyons who died on 25 November 1826. (PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,546)
1 r December 1826. Thomas Forsyth appointed Labourer in the Department of the Civil Officers vice Philip McGrath, who died on 30 November 1826.
(PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,547) g2 December 1826. Additional wheelers and labourers to be engaged temporarily in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,688, p. 2,628) 29 December 1826. John Mills, Assistant Clerk m the Storekeeper's office, dismissed for non-attendance. (PRO/WO[A7/2,688, p. 2,666) 3 January r827. The employment of 6 soldier Collar-makers under the Civil Officers on harness work required for Portugal, approved. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 19) 3 January r827. Benjamin Dawson appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Richard Keating whose appointment was cancelled. (PRO/WO]47/2,690, p. 24) 8 January 1827. John Sims appointed Labourer vice John Gleeson who did not join. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 55) r2 January 1827. Charles Cassidy appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice John Mills, dismissed. (PRO[WO[47/2,690, p. 92) 17 January 1827. The military collar-makers employed under the Civil Officers to be paid 1s. 3d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 127)
I4 February r827. Major-General G. Bulteel Fisher, R.A., appointed Commandant oftheWoolwichGarrison vice Lieut.-GeneralJohn Ramsey, who died 9 February 1827. Major-General Fisher's appointment was
dated ro February 1827. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 335) 2 March 1827. Thomas Storey appointed Labourer, w.e.f. 25 February1827 vice Thomas Maslin. (PRO[WO[47/2,690, p. 463) 14 March 182y. John Guest appointed Clerk of the Survey vice Joseph Cheetham promoted to Storekeeper, Gibraltar, w.e.f. 1 April 1827.
1182
APPENDIX VIII
William Jones, 1st Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Deputy Storekeeper vice John Guest, w.e.f. I April 1827. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 547) r6 March 1827. Emanuel Hall appointed Labourer under the Inspector of Artillery vice John Holben, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 569)
19 March 1827. Robert Pringle appointed Assistant Clerk, w.e.f. I April 1827 vice Mr Dicken promoted to Established Clerk, w.e.J. 1 April 1827 vice William Jones promoted to Deputy Storekeeper.
(PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 585)28 March 1827. John Guest, Clerk of the Survey, allowed 4s. 6d. per week in lieu of a servant till the end of the present quarter. (PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 656)2 April 1827. Five labourers, 8 blacksmiths, 6 wheelers and 6 carpenters are added to the strength of the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 685) r8 April 1827. David Mason appointed Painter for grinding colours vice Thomas Cowan, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 808)
20 April 1827. Henry Montresor appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice Charles Cassidy, moved to the office of the Secretary to the Board, w.e.f. 2o April 1827.
(PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 825)
23 April 1827. Major-General William Millar appointed Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, w.e.J. IO April 1827 vice Colonel Sir Alexander Dickson, K.C.B., appointed D.A.G. of Artillery.
Colonel James Hawker, R.A., appointed Assistant Inspector R.C.D. vice Major-General William Millar, w.e.f. IO April 1827. (PRO[WO[47/2,690, p. 843)23 April 1827. The Master Smith, Master Carpenter and Master Wheeler of the R.C.D. are allowed to take apprentices.
(PRO/WOJ47/2,690, p. 843)
7 May 1827. John Murray appointed Office-keeper vice James Davies.
Mr Goodwin appointed Labourer vice John Murray.
(PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 959)11 May 1827. William Macdonald appointed Foreman of Labourers under the Inspector of Artillery vice John Little, who died 5 May 1827. William Pease appointed Modeller in the R.L. vice John Moody, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 992)
14 May 1827. The following appointments to take place in the Storekeeper's Department: John Stockley to be Assistant Foreman vice Richard Harrup, deceased. William Cook to be Working Foreman vice John Stockley. John Gow to be Labourer vice William Cook.
(PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 1,002) 28 May 1827. Mr Teynham appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Joseph Liddle, discharged for improper conduct. (PRO[WO[47/2,690, p. 1,082)
1183
APPENDIX VIII
4 June 18:q. William Castledine, apprentice in the R.L., is discharged for theft. William Powling appointed Cooper vice John Pittman. (PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 1,123) 11 June 1827. William Tozer to succeed William Castledine as apprentice to the Master Smith at the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 1,163) 15 June 1827. A collar-maker is appointed vice James Alford, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 1,202)
2o June 1827. An addition of 5 artificers and ro labourers under the Civil Officers is approved for the immediate examination of grape and case shot.
(PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 1,226) 25 June 1827. William Crookes to be employed as a painter. (PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 1,262)
29 June 1827. William Barber appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Henry promoted Collar-maker, (presumably vice James Alford, deceased-see PRO/WO/47/2,690, p. 1,202 above)
(PRO/WO[47/2,690, p. 1,290) 9 July 1827. The Master-General approves the addition of two Clerks to the establishment of the Storekeeper's Department, and two Extra Clerks until Christmas 1827. (PRO/WO[47/2,691, p. 1,358) 11 Ju~ 1827. William Crookes to be allowed the same rate of pay as
other painters. (PRO/WO[47/2,691, p. 1,371) 23 July 1827. Edward Amos of the R.C.D. to succeed Richard Knight, the late Master Painter in the Department, in the character of a Workin
Foreman. g
(PRO[WO/47/2,691, p. r,44s)
23.July 1827. Edward Russell and Robert Pringle, Assistant Clerks
appointed Clerks on the establishment of the Storekeeper's office. . Edward Legh, late Assistant Clerk at Dublin, appointed Assistant Clerk
vice Edward Russell. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,446)27 July 1827. Richard Knight, Master Painter in the R.C.D., who is worn out and totally unfit for service owing to paralysis, is pensioned at
£23. gs. 6d. p.a.
William Ramsay, Blacksmith in the Storekeeper's Department, is pensioned at £20 p.a., owmg to age and infirmities. (PRO[WO/47/2,691, p. r,475) 1 Aufust 1827._ Edward F. Bayly appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper s office vice Robert Pringle. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,505)
1 _August 1827. Gordon Thompson and Frederick York Steward appointed Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's office at 5s. per day. William Green to be paid at the same rate for assisting until the end of
the year.
APPENDIX VIII
Edmund James Brccze, 1st Clerk of the 4th Class in the Storekeeper's Department, to be moved in the 3rd Class according to the following
arrangement:
1st Class 1 Clerk
2nd Class 2 Clerks
3rd Class 3 Clerks
4th Class 4 Clerks
(PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,507) 6 August 1827. Twenty-five of the boys in the R.L.engaged for the examination of musket ball cartridges to be discharged on 2o August 1827. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,537) 8 August 1827. William Page appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office vice Edward Legh, who declined the appointment. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,554) 31 August 1827. The Civil Officers to engage 2 additional boys at rs. p.d. each in place ofJohn Henderson, labourer, deceased. (PRO[WO[47/2,691, P. 1,698)
3 September 1827. The contract of William Collins for removing dust, ashes and night soil, and for emptying privies, to be continued for one year from 31 August 1827.
(PRO/WO/47/2,691, P. 1,716) 5 September 1827. Richard Sweet appointed Blacksmith in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Ramsay superannuated. Timothy Sullivan appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Richard Sweet. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 1,732)
14 September 1827. John Kidd, Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Office-keeper vice Francis Sloane who wished to revert to labourer.
(PROJWO/47/2,691, p. 1,773) 1 October 1827. William Clark, Master Smith in the R.C.D., is allowed to have an apprentice. This is not to form a precedent.
(PRO/WO[47/2,691, p. 1,874)
3 October 1827. The following appointments are made in th~ R.L_.:.
Samuel Bush, 1st Assistant Foreman, to be Chief Foreman vice Wilham Castledine, who died on 24 September 1827. Michael Burnett to be 1st Assistant Foreman vice Samuel Bush. Samuel Finlay to be Junior Assistant Foreman vice Michael Burnett.
(PRO[WO[47/2,691, p. 1,885) 19 October 1827. The 2o additional artificers employed in the R.C.D. to be discharged on 24 October 1827. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, P. 1,985) 22 October 1827. Charles Betts, Foreman of the Tinshop in the R.L., appointed Master Tinman, R.L. vice Samuel Peyton who died on 6 October 1827. (PRO/WO/47/2,691, p. 2,002) 24 October 1827. Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B., appointed
1185
Assistant Inspector R.C.D. vice Colonel James Hawker, R.A., who died on 12 October 1827. (PRO[WO[47/2,691, P. 2,018) 7 November 1827. Thomas Bellis, Smith in the R.C.D., pensioned at £20 p.a. owing to age and dropsy. (PRO[WO[47/2,691, P. 2,122) 28 November 1827. Joseph Wright appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Hanton, who left. Thomas Morse appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Mr Burnett, deceased. (PRO/WO]47/2,691, p. 2,266)
24 December 1827. R. Symonds, a temporary Clerk in the office of the Principal Storekeeper, and William Page, an Assistant Clerk at Woolwich wish to change places. '
(PRO[WO[47/2,691, p. 2,420)
28 December 1827. John Moore, Bricklayer in the Engineer Department to be pensioned on £24 p.a. on account of a rupture 23 years ago, a severe fall last October and 45 years of service. '
(PRO[WO[47/2,691, p. 2,442) 28 December 1827. Henry Munday, Labourer in the Engineer Department, to be pensioned at{1o p.a. owing to a rupture. (PROfWO/47/2,691, p. 2,443) 7 January 1828. Captain William Bentham, R.A., to be Secretary of the Colonels and Field Officers Committee vice Lloyd' w.c.f. 1 February 1828. (PROfWO/47/2,693, p. 26) 9 January 1828. John Thompson appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Brown who left the service. (PROfWO/47/2,693, p. 42) 9 January 1828. The three Temporary Clerks employed in the Storekeeper's Department to be retained till further notice. William Joi:ies, Jr., appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Frederick York Steward who has left his employment (PRO/WO/47/2,693, p. 43) • 21 January 1828. John Morgan appointed Foreman under the Inspector of Artillery vice Adam Reid, deceased. (PROfWO/47/2,693, p. 123) : February 1828. William Hall, labourer at Marchwood, and John Priseman, labourer at Woolwich, to change places. (PRO/WO/47/2,693, p. 199) 15 February 1828. John Eason appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Broughton, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,693, p. 273) 19 March 1828. Thomas Earl appointed Labourer under the Civil Officers vice William Payne, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,693, p. 471) 18 April 1828. William Pennall appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Farrell. (PRO/WO/47/2,693, p. 639) 1 Possibly Lieut.-Colonel William Lloyd, R.A. 1186
APPENDIX VIII
5 May 1828. Thirtccn boys to be discharged from the R.L. on 7 May 1828. (PRO/WO]47/2,693, p. 766)
30 May 1828. Colonel John S. Williamson, C.B., appointed Superintendent Royal Military Repository vice Sir William Congreve 2nd Bart., who died 30 April 1828.
Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B., appointed Chief of the R.L. with the title Director of the R.L. with a salary of £350 p.a. vice Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., who died 30 April 1828.
Colonel Charles Bingham appointed Firemaster R.L. with his present salary of £230 p.a. vice Major-General Joseph Maclean. The Post of Assistant Firemaster, vacated by Colonel Charles Bingham, is not to be filled at present. Captain Richard Hardinge, R.A., appointed Assistant Inspector
R.C.D. with a salary of £200 p.a. vice Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer appointed Director R.L. (PRO[WO[47/2,693, p. 926) 4 June 1828. George Chubb, Clerk in the Royal Military Repository, to be attached to the Storekeeper's office vice Gordon Thompson. (PRO[WO[47/2,693, p. 960) 4 June 1828. A second Foreman of Bricklayers to be employed in the Engineer Department during 1828. (PRO/[WO[47/2,693, p. 962)11 June 1828. Three lads to be entered as apprentices in the R.C.D. (PRO[WO[47/2,693, p. 1,002) 23 June 1828. Benjamin Johnston appointed Second Foreman. of Bricklayers in the Engineer Department during 1828. The employment of Gordon Thompson in the Storekeeper's office to be continued during the illness of the two clerks. (PRO[WO[47/2,693, P. 1,054)11 July 1828. Edward Russell, 9th Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. 1,157)23July 1828. John Bisfer, Labourer under the Civil Officers, discharged for theft. James Alexander Harvey appointed Clerk on the establishment of the Storekeeper's office vice Edward Russell, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. 1,219)30 July 1828. Joseph Carlisle appointed Master Turner in the R.L. vice Thomas Carlisle, his father. John Ashdown appointed Cooper in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Pawling, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,694, P. 1,252) 18 August 1828. Peter Smith, Labourer in the R.L., appointed Turner in the R.L.
Alexander Agar appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Peter Smith. (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. 1,357)
1187
5 September 1828. Samuel Howard, Master Tailor in the R.L., to be pensioned at £32 p.a. (PROfWO/47/2,694, p. r,452) 26 September 1828. George Chubb to be paid at the rate of £r6o p.a. whilst employed under the Storekeeper. (PROfWO/47/2,694, p. r,557)
6 October 1828. Henry Dugleby, Deputy Storekeeper R.L., to retire on a pension of £458. 6s. 8d. p.a. His duties in peace will be performed by the rst Clerk with an addition of £50 p.a. to his salary.
Two coopers, 19 boys and 8 labourers (who will be transferred to the Storekeeper's Department as opportunity offers) to be discharged. (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. 1,601)
1o November 1828. Henry Montresor, Assistant Clerk, appointed Clerk on the establishment of the Storekeeper's office vice James Alexander Harvey, transferred to Portsmouth.
(PROfWO/47/2,694, p. r,779) 24 November 1828. Edward F. Bayly, Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed I I th Clerk on the establishment of that department.
George Symons, Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department appointed r2th Clerk on the establishment of that department. ' Gordon Thompson from half-pay of the Field Train, appointed 13th
Clerk on the establishment of the Storekeeper's Department. Francis Pellatt and A. Cavendish Ogilvie appointed Assistant Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. r,86r) 1 December 1828. The Civil OITcers to discharge their Temporary Clerks as the Assistant Clerks appomted by the Master-General join for duty (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. r,897) •
10 December r828. Captain and Brevet-Major Henry A. Scott, R.A., to be Secretary of the Ordnance Select Committee vice Major Robert H Ord, R.A., who died 4 December 1828. •
(PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. 1,943) 19 December 1828. Frederick Peirse appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f. 4 December 1828. (PRO/WO[47/2,694, P. 1,994)
24 December 1828. The following are pensioned, w.e.f. I January 1829: William Lunn, Overseer of Works 45 p.a. John Read, Draughtsman in the
Royal Military Repository £370 p.a. Thomas Rivers, Foreman of Labourers £ 28. 13s. od. In addition, 3 other Foremen and 11 Labourers were pensioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,694, p. 2,017) 24 December 1828. Henry Dugleby, Deputy Storekeeper at the R.L., to be pensioned at £450 p.a., w.e.f. 1 January 1829. (PRO[WO[47/2,694, p. 2,021)7 January 1829. The son of Thomas Brett, porter at the Royal Arsenal to be admitted as a Wheeler Lad. ' (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 29)
1188
APPENDIX VIII
12 January 1829. George Chubb appointed Clerk on the establishment of the Storekeeper's Office, w.e.f. 1 January 1829 vice Henry Montresor transferred to the Office of the Secretary of the Board. George Chubb to retain the salary he had while serving in the Royal Military Repository.
(PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 50) I2 January 1829. John Baker, Foreman of Carpenters, appointed Overseer of the Works in the Engineer Department vice William Lunn, retired. (PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 52)4 January 1829. Benjamin Johnston to continue as 2nd Foreman of Bricklayers in the Engineer Department till 30 June 1829. (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 63) 26 January 1829. John Myler appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Cooper, dismissed. (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 123)
2 February 1829. William Crewdson, Carpenter in the Engineer Department, appointed Foreman of Carpenters, Engineer Department, on trial for r2 months vice John Baker, promoted to Overseer of the Works.
(PRO/[WO/47/2,696, p. 159)2February 1829. Samuel Rice appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Francis Melon, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 277) 25 February 1829. The scavenger contract of Mr William Collins to be renewed and continued till 30 June 1830. (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 278)4 March 1829. Thomas Bell, labourer, pensioned at £10 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,696, P. 314) . _ 4 March 1829. William Baker to remain an apprentice to his father, John Baker, who has been promoted Overseer of the Works in the Engineer Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 318) 27 April 1829. John Eason appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Michael Fox, deceased. (PRO[WO[47/2,696, p. 582) .. 11 May 1829. A. Cavendish Ogilvie resigns his Assistant Clerkship m the Storekeeper's Office. (PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 653) 20 May 1829. Lieutenant Burke Cuppage, appointed Secretary to the Committee of Colonels and Field Officers, w.e.f. 1 June 1829 vice Captam William Bentham, R.A. (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 699) . . I June 1829. William Higley appointed Foreman of Pamters m the
R.L. at 5s. 4d. a day until he shall be proved fit to succeed to the office of Master Painter R.L. at 6s. od. a day, rendered vacant by the death of Henry Barefoot.
(PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 749) . 3 June 1829. Thomas Tisdall, appointed Assistant Clerk m the Storekeeper's Department vice A. Cavendish Ogilvie, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,696, p. 760)
1189
IO June 1829. The allowance to the Mates of Convict hulks for superintending the convicts when employed on shore is to cease. (PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 796) 17 June 1829. Matthew Caylock appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice George Maynard, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,696, p. 834) 2o July 1829. The R.C.D. authorized to employ 6 military carpenters. (PRO/W0/47/2,697, p. 1,002) 24 July 1829. Thomas Reynolds to be employed as a Boy in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Elliott. (PRO/WO[47/2,697, P. 1,027) 27 July 1829. The Inspector ofArtillery to employ 2 or 3 extra men and labourers to manufacture the guns ordered for the East India Company. James Fuller to be employed under the Inspector of Artillery as an Assistant Moulder with an additional 1od. a day in wages. (PRO/WO/47/2,697, p. 1,041) 4 September 1829. Joshua Richards, Master Artificer in the Storekeeper's Department, to take an apprentice. (PRO/W0/47/2,697, p. 1,222)
II September 1829. Francis Wells, son of William Wells, Foreman in the Department of the Civil Officers, to be apprenticed for 7 years to Joshua Richards, Master Artificer, as a carpenter and in the business of converting timber.
(PRO/WO[47/2,697 P. 1,258) 16 September 1829. Peter Herriott appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Sims, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,697, p. 1,278) 30 September 1829. Enoch Jones, a smith in the R.C.D., pensioned on £24 p.a. (PRO/W0/47/2,697, p. 1,349) 28 October 1829. Thomas Pitt appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Matthew Caylock, transferred to the R.C.D. (PROfW0/47/2,697, p. 1,494)
25 November 1829. James Robinson appointed Carpenter in the R.C.D. vice John Woodhead, promoted to Foreman of Carpenters in the Laboratory at Portsmouth.
(PRO/WO[47/2,697, p. 1,634)1 January 1830. The Master Wheeler and Master Carpenter in the R.~.D. are e~ch granted an allowance, w.e.f. 1 January 1830 for teaching their apprentices. (PRO/W0/47/2,699, p. 5) 6 January 1830. The following to do artificers' work at Woolwich for 3 years, w.e.f. 1 January 1830:
Josiah Hudson-Carpenters' work-At 10% under scheduled prices. R~b~rtJolly-Masons' work-At 2% under scheduled prices. Wilham Mitchell-Paviours' work-At 15% under scheduled prices.
(PRO/W0/47/2,699, p. 26)
ugo
APPENDIX VIII
8January 1830. George Kemp apprenticed to Peter Macdonald, Master Carpenter in the R.C.D. (PRO/W0/47/2,699, p. 39)15January 18go. William Clark, Carpenter in the Engineer Department, appointed Foreman of Carpenters at Devonport on trial for 3 months. John Odden appointed Carpenter in the Engineer Department on trial for 3 months vice William Clark. (PRO/W0/47/2,699, p. 74)18 January 1830. William Henderson, a founder in the R.L., appointed Master Founder R.L. at 6s. a day for 6 days in the week. (PRO[WO[47/2,699, p. 86)8 Februaiy 1830. William Crewdson appointed Foreman of Carpenters, Engineer Department, w.e.f. a February 1830. (PRO{W0/47/2,699, p. 195)
5April 1830. The post of Secretary to the Committee of Colonels and Field Officers to be abolished, and the duties to be performed by the Secretary, Ordnance Select Committee, with the addition of rs. a day to his salary. Should the Secretary at any time be employed with the Ordnance Select Committee whilst the Committee of Colonels and Field Officers is sitting, the junior Member of the latter Committee will act as its Secretary.
(PRO/WO/47/2,699, P. 482)7 May 1830. Reductions in the R.L. ordered. (PRO/WO/47/2,699, P. 639) 28 May 1830. The contract of Christopher Hayman for lighting the lamps at Woolwich to be terminated on I July 1830. (PRO/WO/47/2,699, P. 736)
31 May 1830. John William Baker, Carpenter at Woolwich, appointed Foreman of Carpenters at Guernsey on trial for 3 months vice Jonathan Edney, deceased. John Burgess appointed Carpenter at Woolwich vice
John William Baker. (PRO/WO/47/2,699, P. 748) 16June 1830. The Inspector of Artillery authorized to employ convicts on lacquering shot and shell . (PRO{W0/47/2,699, p. 822) 28June 1830. William Austin to light the lamps at Woolwich for 3 years w.e.f. 1 July 1830. (PRO/WO]47/2,699, p. 876)
14 July 1830. The following appointments are made in the R.L. :
Richard Hall to be Carpenter.
William Pennall to be Labourer.
William Forrester to be Labourer.
(PRO/W0/47/2,700, p. 956)14 July 1830. Henry Thompson appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Archibald Campbell, who has left the service. (PRO[WO[47/2,700, p. 960) 24 September 1830. John Dean, labourer in the R.L., pensioned at £10 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,700, P. 1,327)
II9I
25 October 18go. The civil watchmen in the Storekeeper's Department and the R.L. to be retained. The pay of the Foreman of the Watch is to be 2s. od. a night, and that of the watchmen Is. 6d. a night.
(PRO/WO/47/2,700, p. 1,485) 26 November 1830. The office of Water Director in the Royal Arsenal is to be abolished. (PRO/WO/47/2,700, p. 1,655)
3 December 1830. Thomas Henderson, Senior Boy in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Labourer vice Timothy Sullivan, who died on 30 November 1830. A boy named Buckingham to succeed Thomas
Henderson. (PRO[WO[47/2,700, p. 1,690) 8 December 1830. All the military collar-makers in the garrison to assist the civilian collar-makers in repairing 500 sets of harness in store. (PRO/WO[47/2,700, p. 1,712) 1o December 1830. Mr Boate appointed 3rd Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Tisdall, resigned. (PRO/WO[47/2,700, p. 1,727) 17 January 1831. William Hall appointed Labourer under the Civil Officers vice John Myler, dismissed. (PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 75) 21 January 1831. Edward F. Bayly, Clerk on the establishment in the Storekeeper's office, and Mr Brough, Clerk at Mauritius, to exchange places. The contract of William Austin for lighting the lamps at Woolwich to be terminated 31 January 1831. Fresh tenders for that service from
1
February 18g1 till g1 October 18g1 to be called for. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 99) 26 January 1831. Francis Hand of the R.C.D. to be pensioned at 2s. 7fd. a day, w.e.f. 2o January 1831. (PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 123) 25 February 1831. George Boyle appointed Master Tinman, R.L., on trial vice Charles Betts, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 281) 9 March 1831. The following are appointed apprentices in the
R.L.: John Bearfoot, John William Blanch, Robert Henderson and William
Leaney. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 342) II March 18g1. Owing to pressure of work, 4 labourers in the R.C.D. to be employed as hammermen and paid accordingly. (PRO(WO/47/2,702, p. 352) 23 March 1831. George Boyle, Tinman, appointed Master Tinman R.L. vice Charles Betts, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 410) 25 March 1831. Twenty convicts to be employed in the R.L. during the summer on lacquering shot and shell. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 421)
1 192
APPENDIX VIII
2 May 1831. William Allender appointed Foreman of Carpenters in the Engineer Department on trial for one year vice George Scriven who died 18 April 1831.
(PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 590)
2 May 1831.John Pringle, labourer at Weedon, and Thomas Ashdown, labourer at Woolwich, to be exchanged, provided no expense to the public is incurred.
(PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 590)11 May 1831.John McCullock appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Peter Herriott, discharged for insolent conduct. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 696)
5 June 1831. Denis Driscoll, late labourer in the R.L., granted a pension of £1o p.a. from 4 March 1831, until the Treasury decision on his recommended pension of £20 p.a. be known.
(PRO/WO/47/2,702,p. 759)1o June 18g1. William Crewdson, Foreman of Carpenters in the Engineer Department, to take on Daniel Green as an apprentice. (PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 796) . . 29June 1831.John Childs, late a wheeler m the R.C.D., to be pensioned at £24 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,702, p. 889) 22 July 1831. The pension ofJohn Childs, late wheeler, is to commence from the day he ceased to draw pay. (PRO(WO/47/2,703, p. 1,008) . .
5 August 1831. As it is considered part of their normal duties, the Inspector of Artillery and other officers who attend King s proof, i.e. Service proof, will cease drawing their special proof allowance. They will, however, continue to draw it for 'merchants' proof.
(PRO/WO]47/2,703, P. 1,063)
1o August 1831. Owing to the suspension of manufacture of Congreve rockets for the Royal Navy, the smiths employed on making rocket cases will be discharged from the R.L. The Director R.L. to report on the necessity of retaining the 13 labourers.
(PRO/WO/47/2,703, P-1,087) 17 August 1831. The 13 labourers in the R.L. will be retained for another month and then a report is to be rendered. (PRO/WO[47/2,703, P-1,111)
2r October 1831. The pay of Thomas Goodwin, James Hall and Josiah Wright to be increased to that of Working Foremen instead of appointing another Foreman to replace Henry Grady, deceased.
(PRO/WO[47/2,703, P. 1,444) 28 October 1831. John Cowie appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Daniel Hossack, who discharged himse~f. . Thomas Carter, labourer, appointed Storehouseman m the R.L. vice George Turton, who died 21 October 1831. (PRO/WO/47/2,703, p. 1,474)
5 December 1831. Francis Pellatt, Senior Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office, appointed Clerk on the establishment of the Storekeeper's Office vice Mr Brough, who died on 2g November 1831.
1193
Thomas Parry appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Burke, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,703, P. 1,669)28 December 1831. Two military collar-makers to be loaned to the Civil Officers for a month or 6 weeks. (PRO/WO[47/2,703, p. 1,785)2o January 1832. Benjamin Kane appointed Assistant Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/1,561, p. 539)11 May 1832. William Allender's appointment as Foreman of Carpenters, Engineer Department, dated 2 May 1831, is confirmed. (PRO/WO/47/1,573, p. 4,081)13 August 1832. Henry Wain appointed Storehouseman in the Engineer Department vice Thomas Murrell, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/1,582, p. 6,950)
5 October 1832. Owing to the new arrangements in force at Waltham Abbey and Faversham, the post of Inspector of Gunpowder Manufactories is to be abolished. Major William Eyles Maling, R.A., the Inspector, to be
so informed. As both these powder factories are under the general supervision of the Director R.L., that office will in future discharge the duties hitherto performed by Major Maling.
(PRO[WO[47/1,587 p. 8,512)
28 December 1832. Thomas P. Weaver, Clerk of the Works in the Engineer Department, to be superannuated on a pension of £200 p.a., w.e.f. 1 January 1833.
(PRO/WO[47/1,595 P. 11,307)
28 December 1832. Changes in the Engineer Department consequent on the retirement of Thomas P. Weaver, Clerk of the Works, will take place on r January 183g. Thomas Durnford to be superannuated in due course.
(PRO/WO[47/1,595, P. 11,308)
7 January 1833. Thomas Durnford, Clerk of the Works, in the Engineer Department, to be superannuated on a pension of £ro5 p.a., w.e.f. 1 January 1833.
(PRO/WO/47/1,596, p. r86) 7 January 1833. Samuel Rose, Plasterer in the Engineer Department, to be superannuated on a pension of £2o p.a. (PRO/WO[47/1,596, p. 148) 9 January 1833. John Green, Bricklayer in the Engineer Department, to be superannuated on a pension of£24 p.a. (PRO[WO/47/1,596, p. 247)
16 January 1833. As the number of artificers and labourers who suffer from ague had in the last 2 or 3 years been greatly reduced, it was decided to withdraw the indulgence that men out sick with ague should receive half-pay.
(PROfWO/47/1,597, p. 449)25 January 1833. It was decided that a reduction in the Storekeeper's establishment could be effected without affecting its efficiency. This reduction to amount to £697. 8s. 9d. per year. Owing to the ages and
1194
APPENDIX VIII
services of the labourers to be discharged, it was agreed that £10 p.a. should be given them as half-pay if they would agree to hold themselves in readiness to be re-employed should the Board consider it necessary. £500 credit was to be taken for this service. Clerks were also to be reduced in the same way. When vacancies occur among permanent clerks they would be filled by Assistant Clerks, and no more Assistant Clerks would be recruited. Should it ever become necessary temporary clerical assistance
could be given from the Tower.
The savings to be effected
Saving in the estimate of 1833} 2d.
£,76. I IS, over that of 1832
155.
Painter-William Crookes-£ 54. 6d. Foreman-Thomas Moore4. 63. r8s. Id. Wharfinger-Stephen Emptage£roo. 75. 6d. r N.C.O. of drivers £ 15. 13£. od.
2s.
4 drivers of horses £ 47. od.
Labourers Name Service (years) Age (years)
A. M'Donald 28 84
66
H. Guernsey 37 A. Hammond 19 59 Richard Odden 31 57
at£33. 18s. 2d.
£339. IS. 8d.
51
William Hall 24
p.a. each Peter Herriott 22 53
Richard Lewis 26 36 Jarvis Wharrin
20 66 Thomas Couch 13 70 Total Savings £697. 8s. 11d. (PRO/WO/47/r,598, P· 707) 12 April 1833. Jarvis Wharrin, a pensioned labourer from the Storekeeper's Department, died g April 1833. (PRO/WO/47/1,606, p. 3,116)
24 June 1833. The Board do not agree to the creation of a post of Deputy Storekeeper R.L. and to the upgrading of the 2nd and 3rd Clerks, consequent upon the abolition of the post of Clerk oftlze Survey.
(PRO/WO[47/1,613, P. 5,438) , . 16 September 1833. Lieut.-Colonel George Harding, R.E., appointed
C.R.E. Woolwich District, w.e.f. 11 September 1833 vice Lieut.-Colonel Sir John T. Jones, R.E. (PRO/WO/47/1,621, p. 8,007) 2r October 1833. Thomas P. Weaver, late Clerk of the Works in the Engineer Department, died r October 1833. (PRO/WO/47/1,624, p. 9,054)
21 October 1833. On the Sappers and Miners taking over the work in the Engineer Department, the following are to be discharged:
James Barling, John McArthur Foremen } To be recommended William Wickham, James Larkm for superannuation William Winter and Henry Wain : Labourers
1195
78
APPENDIX VIII
William Allender : Foreman of Carpenters } Not eligible for super George Poe : Superintendent Water Supplies annuation to be William Inch : Gutter Cleaner discharged with I 4 John Quinn : Porter, Engineer gate days pay
William Allender to be noted as a possible Foreman of Works.
(PRO/WO/55/759)21 October 1833. Convicts to be employed as bricklayers, smiths, carpenters, etc., in the Engineer Department till the establishment of Sappers and Miners is complete. (PRO/WO/47/1,624, P. 9,029)29 November 1833. Matthew Green, appointed Labourer under the Civil Officers vice Richard Miners, deceased. (PRO/W0/47/1,628, p. I0,437)2 December 1833. Two carpenters, 6 bricklayers, 1 smith, g labourers and other employees are superannuated from the Engineer Department with pension varying between £1o p.a. and {a4 p.a. A list of these men is given in full. (PRO/WO[47/1,629, P. 10,525)24 January 1834. John Vernor appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Morris, deceased. (PRO/W0/47/1,634, p. 773)2 May 1834. Robert Fletcher appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Alford, who left his employment. (PRO/WO[47/1,644, P-3,912)23 May 1834. Thomas Woolcott appointed Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department vice William Crewdson, posted to Ireland. (PRO/WO/47/1,646, p. 4,658)9 June 183. William Tozer, an apprentice of great promise in the R.L., whose apprenticeship is due to expire on 14June 1834, is to be taken on as a Smith. His place as an apprentice is not to be filled. (PROfW0/47/1,647, p. 5,195)21 July 1834. William Wain appointed Labourer vice Mr Mogre, dismissed. (PRO/WO/47/1,651, p. 6,658) 14 November 1834. The Faversham Powder Mills are leased to Messrs Hall. (PRO/WO/A7/1,663, p. 10,207) 29 December 1834. George McKay appointed Labourer m the Civil Officers' Department vice William Ford, deceased. (PROfW0/47/1,667, p. 12,088) 23 January 1835. Thomas Kinton appointed Foreman of Works, Engineer Department, at 6s. per day on trial for 6 months vice Thomas Woolcott, ordered to Munster. (PRO/WO/47/1,670, p. 471)2 February 1835. The following pensions are awarded:
Henry Downhard, carpenter £20 p.a. John Higman, labourer £ro p.a. (PRO[WO/47/1,671, p. 805) 1196
APPENDIX VIII
4 February 1835. Henry Brown appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice George McKay, unfit for heavy work. (PRO[WOJ47/1,671, p. 889)6 March 1835.John Henry, son ofJames Henry, late For~man ofCollarmakers, appointed artificer's boy vice William Henry appomted Labourer at 1s. 2d.a day. (PRO/W0/47/1,674, p. 2,012) . ,8 May 1835. Cornelius Egan appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Thompson appomted Forero.an m the Bahamas. (PRO/W0/47/1,680, p. 4,042) . . 8 June 1835. Colonel Stephen G. Adye, R.A., appointed Firemaster at the R.L., w.e.f g June 1835 vice Colonel Charles Bmgham, R.A., who dicd 4 June 1835. (PRO/WO/47/1,683, p. 5,188) .. . 12June 1835. Colonel Stephen G. Adye, R.A., appomted Director R.L. vice Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer, K.C.B., who died 11 June _1835.
1835.
20
Major Thomas Dyneley appointed Firemaster R.L. vice Colonel
Stephen G. Adye. (PRO/W0/47/1,684, P· 5,337)July As the Clerks in the R.L. had re presen ted t . hat their
chances of promotion had been worsened since 1828 when the post of Deputy Storekeeper R.L., left vacant by the superannuation of Henry Dugleby, had remained unfilled, it was agreed that a new establishment
should be set up, w.e.f 1 July 1835.
Proposed Establishment
Deputy Storekeeper-William Caffin -£25°-ro-£35o 1st Clerk -Charles Ellis -£1 Bo-IO-£25o and Clerk Augustus Wright[15o-IO£18o
After 7 years this will increase costs by £8r p.a. (PRO/W0/47/1,687, p. 6,664) . 15 July 1835. Lady Frazer, widow of Colonel Sir Augustus Frazer K.C.B., is awarded a pension of £go p.a., w.e.f. 12 June 1835. (PRO/WO[47/1,687, p. 6,557) , . 15 July 1835. Mrs Bingham, widow of Colonel Charles Bingham, is awarded a pension of £go p.a., and her 3 children pensions of £14 to £16 p.a., w.e.f. 5 June 1835. (PRO/W0/47/1,687, p. 6,558_) . 12 August 1835. Thomas Kinton is confirmed in his appointment as Foreman of Works, Engineer Department. (PRO[WO[47/1,690, P. 7470) > 24 August 1835. Michael Purtell appointed Labourer in the Storekeepers Department vice John Burgess, who died 22 July 1835. (PRO/WO[47/1,691, p. 7,906) 23 November 1835. John Carty appointed Labourer in the Storekeepers Department vice Henry Thompson, who left his employment. (PRO/W0/47/1,700, p. 10,954) . . . . 9 December 1835. As John Carty is employed in Dublin, his posting to Woolwich is cancelled. Wilham Hunter is appointed to succeed Henry
1197
Thompson as a labourer in the Storekeeper's Department m place of
John Carty.
(PRO/WO/47/1,701, P. 1I,474)
11 December 1835. James Townsend appointed Labourer vice John
Turner, who died 6 December 1835.
(PRO/WO[47/1,702, P. 1,591)
7 March 18g6. Timothy Sullivan appointed Labourer in the Store
keeper's Department vice William Hunter, resigned.
(PRO/WO/47/1,710, p. 2,457)
2r March r836. Owing to arrears and increase of work in the R.L.,
15 smiths, 4 carpenters (one of whom had since died and not been
replaced), 1 founder and 33 labourers (of whom one had since died and
one had left) had been engaged. These were all due for discharge, but
owing to the pressure of work still remaining, it was agreed that only
15 smiths, 3 carpenters, r founder and 22 labourers should be discharged.
The g extra labourers were to be kept on.
(PRO/WO[47/1,711, P. 2,964)
25 April 18g6. William Eattel, Carpenter, granted a pension of£go p.a.
(PRO/WO[47/1,715, P-4,489)
4 May 18g6. The 2o additional boys due for discharge from the R.L.,
to be retained for another 6 weeks.
(PRO[WO]47/1,716, p. 4,921)
16 May 1836. Mrs Anne Fenwick, widow of the late Lieut.-Colonel
Fenwick, R.E., died 30 April 1836.
(PRO/WO[47/1,717, P. 5,388)
13 June 1836. The go additional boys in the R.L. to be retained for
6 weeks longer.
(PRO/WO/47/1,720, p. 6,410)
6July 1836. Owing to pressure of work caused by orders for the Spanish
Government, the R.L. establishment was increased as follows:
(1)
Artificers, labourers and boys to be employed for 6 days a week. This cost £476.
(2)
Fourteen additional artificers, 19 additional labourers and r8 additional boys to be engaged to complete the S.A.A. cartridges, metallined barrels, quill tubes and rockets under order.
(PRO/WO[47/1,722, p. 7,326)
6July r836. The following appointed additional Labourers in the R.L.:
Andrew Nairn; Henry Stewart; William Mulligan; William Prise;John
Wick.stead; Michael Mangin; Mr Elvin; George Mick.lam Payne.
The Director R.L. was instructed to select proper persons to fill the
other additional situations.
(PRO/WO[47/1,722, p. 7,332)
r3 July 1836. The wages of Thomas Blayney, William Betts and John Gardner, are to be increased by rod. a day, making their wages 3s. a day. If they prove deserving, they are to receive a further increase up to 4s. a day, i.e. an artificer's wage.
(PRO/WO/47/i,723, p. 7,595) 15 July 1836. William Prise appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/1,723, P. 7,663)
1198
APPENDIX VIII
20 July r836. James Keys appointed Labourer in the R.L. in place of William Mulligan who declined the appointment. (PRO/WO[47/1,723, p. 7,842)
27 July 1836. Andrew Nairn, Henry Stewart and Michael Mangin are entered as Labourers in the R.L. John Wick.stead and Mr Elvin declined the appointment. William Eattel, a pensioned carpenter, was engaged as a labourer.
(PRO/WO[47/1,724, p. 8,128)27 July r836. George Fletcher appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/1,724, p. 8,140)1o August 1896. Samuel Finlay, Foreman of Labourers in the R.L., died 3 August 1835. The following promotions to take place:Daniel Hammond, Reduced Extra Foreman now at 3s. p.d. to be Foreman of Labourers R.L. at 3s. 9d. a day vice Samuel Finlay. John Graham, Reduced Extra Foreman now at 2s. 2d. a day to be Reduced Extra Foreman at 3s. a day vice Daniel Hammond. (PRO[WO/47/1,725, p. 8,613)12 August 1836. John Henry, Boy Artificer, appointed Labourer in the
R.L. vice George Fletcher, resigned. George Micklam Payne, the boy appointed to the R.L. on 6 July 1836, to succeed John Henry. (PRO[WO[47/1,726, p. 8,700)12 October 18g6. Samuel McBride appointed Apprentice in the R.L. vice Robert Henderson, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/1,732, P. 10,941)14 November 18g6. William Barrett, Labourer, appointed Reduced Extra Foreman in the R.L. at 3s. a day vice John Graham.
John Graham, a Reduced Extra Foreman in the R.L. at 3s. a day, appointed Foreman R.L. at 3s. 9d. a day vice Daniel Hammond, who died on 4 November 1836.
(PRO/WO/47/1,735, P. 12,068)18 January 1837. Michael Crow appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Mr Gammon who died on 4 January 1837. James Hill appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Timothy Early who died on 6 January 1837. (PRO/WO/47/1,741, P. 557)2o January 1837. Stephen Hobday's tender for lighting the lamps at Woolwich accepted. • (PRO[WO[47/1,741, p. 628)3 March 1837. Six artificers to be transferred from the R.L. to the
R.C.D. for the manufacture of powder cases. (PRO/WO[47/1,746, p. 2,282)
8 March 1837. In addition to the 6 artificers transferred from the R.L. to the R.C.D., there were also transferred 2 smiths, 1 founder for tnmmmg copper and 3 carpenters. As the founder was not required, the Board agreed that he should be discharged and a carpenter engaged m his place.
(PRO/WO[47/1,746, p. 2,523)1o March 1837. William Eattel, the carpenter who was re-engaged as a labourer, to revert to the pensioned list at £20 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/1,746, p. 2,678) 1199
APPENDIX VIII
13 March 1837. Owing to the arrears ofwork being overtaken, g of the I g labourers engaged to overtake arrears are to be discharged, and the remaining IO labourers and 18 boys are to work on Saturdays till the present demands are completed.
(PRO/WO/47/1,747, p. 2,721) 17 March 1837. Michael Mangin, labourer in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Forsyth, deceased. (PROJW0/47/1,747, p. 2,906) 31 March 1837. Thomas Smith appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Lindsay, deceased. William Benson appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Richardson, deceased.
(PRO[WO[47/1,748, p. 3,425) 19 April 1837. The following promotions take place in the R.L.: 2nd Assistant Foreman Thomas Edwards to be 1st Assistant Foreman
vice Michael Burnett who died on 11 April 1837. Extra Foreman John Cook to be 2nd Assistant Foreman vice Thomas Edwards. Reduced Extra Foreman William Barrett to be Extra Foreman vice John Cook. Labourer James Cook to be Reduced Extra Foreman vice William Barrett. (PRO/WO[47/1,750, p. 4,171) 31 May 1837. Adam Allchin appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Townsend who left the Department. (PRO/WO[47/1,754, P-5,830) 26June 1837. John Buch appointed Artificers' Boy in the Storekeeper's Department vice George Payne, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/1,757, p. 6,829)
11 August 1837. H. T. Beevor, 11 th Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, IS refused promotion as it was distinctly understood that when he exchanged with R. Symonds that each should go to the bottom of their
respective class. (PRO/WO/47/1,762, p.
8,451) 22 September 1837. James Barber, Labourer in the Storekeeper's Dcpartment, superannuated with a pension of£15 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/1,766, p. 9,988) 29 September 1837. John Bloss appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department v1ce James Barber, superannuated. (PROJW0/47/r,766, p. 10,268) 3° October 1837• George Taverson Bearfoot aged 14, son of HenryBearfoot Master Carpente • th R L • ' ' • •
'h" b h rm e • ., appomted Apprentice vice JohnBearfcoot, us rot er, who died 24 October 1837. (PRO[WO/47/1,769, p. 11,510) 22 December 1837. The 2 extra collar-makers employed under the Civil Officers to be retained for another year. Since all pannels for saddles are now to be made in the manufacturing departments at Woolwich instead of under contract, It is suggested that the Commandant of the Woolwich
1200
APPENDIX VIII
Garrison might be instructed to afford all the assistance he can from military collar-makers until field drills recommence. (PRO/W0/47/1,775, P· 13,595)
2 January 1838. As only the services of 2 military collar-makers could be made available and as the harness for 5oo horses had to be completed, the Board authorized the employment of 4 additional collar-makers.
(PRO[WO[47/1,776, p. 3)8 January 1838. Authority is given to employ 2o extra convicts in the Storekeeper's Department to pick over does' hair for stuffing the pannels of saddles. (PRO[WO[47/1,776, p. 254)19 January 1838. Thomas Waller appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Foley, who died 12 January 1838. (PRO[WO/[47/1,777, p. 814)19 January 1838. Thomas Gordon informed that if, on examination, he should prove suitable, he will be employed in the R.L. as one of the four extra coopers applied for. (PRO/WO[47/1,777 p. 782)29 January 1838. After being passed fit by the Medical Board, Thomas Waller is confirmed in his appointment as Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[A7/1,778, p. 1,176)
2 February 1838. Six labourers, a smith and a hammerman to work on Saturdays to assist the collar-makers in preparing the harness ordered for Canada, and to continue the same till the order be completed.
(PRO/W0/47/1,779, p. 1,449)5 February 1838. Edmund James Breeze, 1st Clerk in the 2nd Class in the Storekeeper's Department, to be promoted to the 1st Class of Clerks,
w.e.f. 1 January 1838, on account of his long service, good conduct and abilities. He has been entrusted with the receipts and payments of cash since the Paymaster's establishment was abolished on I August 1821. This makes all three classes of clerks equal in number.
(PRO[WO[A7/1,779, P. 1,512)16 February 1898. William Brett, Chief Porter at the Arsenal Gate, having behaved in an unwarrantable manner towards a sergeant of Sappers and Miners whilst on duty, and the C.R.E., Woolwich District, having withdrawn the complaint against William Brett in consideration of his previous service and his family on the understanding that he be removed from the Arsenal Gate, the following changes are made:John Cullen, Assistant Porter at the Arsenal Gate to be Chief Porter vice William Brett. William Cook, Working Foreman, to be Assistant Porter at the Arsenal Gate vice John Cullen.
William Brett to be Working Foreman vice William Cook.
William Brett was also cautioned as to his future behaviour and was to
be closely watched in his new job. This demotion was considered ample punishment. (PRO[WO/47/1,780, p. 1,964) 21 February 1838. The promotion of Edmund James Breeze to the 1st
120I
APPENDIX VIII
Class of Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department, to take effect from I July 1838 and not from I January 1838 as previously stated. (PRO/WO]47/1,781, p. 2,248) 5 March 1838. A carpenter, a cooper, 3 labourers and a boy in the
R.C.D. to work on Saturdays till the repair of the returned packages now in store be completed. (PRO/WO/47/1,782, p. 2,837) 30 March 1838. Three painters in the Storekeeper's Department to be employed on Saturdays till the arrears of work be overtaken. (PRO/WO[47/1,784, P-4,010)
1 April 1838. Sir Joseph Maclean, K.C.H., appointed Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, w.e.f. 1 May 1838 vice MajorGeneral William Millar.
Lord Bloomfield appointed Commandant, Woolwich Garrison, w.e.f. 11 April 1838 vice Sir Joseph Maclean K.C.H. (PRO/WO/55 /760)
7 April 1838. Labourers on the wharves and in the storehouses to be employed on Saturday 8 April 1838 to facilitate the embarkation of stores for Canada.
(PRO/WO/47/r,785, p. 4,341) 14 April 1838. Robert Robinson, appointed Labourer under the Civil Officers vice Thomas Smith, who died 9 April 1838. (PRO/WO/47/r,786, p. 4,570) 27 April 1838. Owing to further orders from Canada, the employment of the 16 collar-makers under the Civil Officers is extended by one month. (PRO/WO[47/1,787, p. 5,078)
30 May 1838. The employment of the 16 collar-makers under the Civil Officers is extended by another two months, making three months in all. This was the period for which the Civil Officers originally asked.
(PRO/WO[47/1,790, P. 6,484)
8 June 1838. Thirty labourers were employed on Saturday 2 June 1838 to complete the shipment of stores in the Strathairn Castle and another shipbound for Halifax and Montreal.
(PRO/WO/47/1,791, p. 6,945) 3 August 1838. The 16 extra collar-makers under the Civil Officers are allowed to be retained for another g months. (PRO/WO/47/r,797, p. 9,289) 31 August 1838. John Minors, a labourer under the Respective Officers is granted a pension of £15 p.a. ' (PRO/WO/47/i,799, p. 10,423) 5 October 1838. The 16 extra collar-makers under the Civil Officers are allowed to be retained for a further 2 months. (PRO/WO/47/1,803, p. 11,647)
I October 1838•. ~ajo:-General Stephen G. Adye died on 13 September 1838, and permission is granted to Major-General Peter Fyers, Commanding the Garrison at Woolwich, to dispose of General Adye's effects by auction at his late residence in the Royal Arsenal.
(PRO/WO[47/1,803, p. 11,471)
1202
APPENDIX VIII
IO October 1838. Colonel James P. Cockburn, R.A., appointed Director of the Royal Laboratory vice Major-General Stephen G. Adye who died on 13 September 1838. The appointment to be for five years only.
(PRO/WO/47/1,803, p. 11,471)29 October 1838. Colonel James Cockburn is allowed to retain possession of his house on Woolwich Common, his official quarter being used temporarily as a Field Officer's quarter. This was sanctioned as a temporary arrangement, and the house concerned in the Royal Arsenal was to be recognized as the official quarter of the Director R.L. (PRO/WO/47/1,805, p. 12,772)26 October 1838. W. Simons, temporary Foreman of Works, formerly at Nottingham, appointed Foreman of Works, Woolwich, vice Thomas Kinton posted as Foreman of Works, Corfu. (PRO/WO[47/1,805, p. 12,559)26 November 1838. Two turners and I smith to be engaged at the R.L. in place of three coopers to make fuzes for naval shell. (PRO[WO/47/1,808, p. 14,030)3 December 1838. Owing to the responsibilities of his post and to the satisfactory manner in which he carries out his work, John Bloss, labourer, who acts as Porter at the Plumstead Gate, has his wages increased from
13. to 15s. 6d. a week. (PRO/WO/47/1,809, P. 14,303)7 December 1838. W. Simons ordered as Foreman of Works to Corfu. Thomas Kinton to remain Foreman of Works, Woolwich. (PRO/WO/47/1,809, p. 14,520) .
1o December 1898. Owing to the pressure of work, it was agrecd that the 16 extra collar-makers under the Civil Officers should be retamed till 31 March 1839 when a further report would be made.
(PRO/WO/47/1,809, P.-14,705) IO December 1838. Four guineas allowed to John Guest, one of the executors of the late Major-General Stephen G. Adye, for fixtures placed in the house of the Director R.L. by Major-General Adye. (PRO[WO[47/1,809, p. 14,702)3o January 1839. The Under-Secretary of State, Home Department, notifies the Board that another 150 convicts can with advantage be employed at Woolwich. The Superintendent of Convicts has been
requested to furnish the number requested for Woolwich. (PRO/WO/47/1,814 P. 1,380) .. 25 March 18g9. The extra 16 collar-makers and any other additional
artificers and labourers who had been engaged for any particular service are to be discharged on I April 1839. (PRO/WO[47/1,820, p. 4,031) .. 30 March 1839. Owing to the amount of harness work still outstandmg and that only 4o out of the 5oo sets were yet available, it was agreed that
only 8 out of the 16 extra collar-makers were to be discharged on I April 1839, and that at the end of 6 months a report should be made on the necessity of retaining the remainder.
(PRO/WO[47/1,820, p. 4,165)
1203
APPENDIX VIII
12 April 1839. Mechanics employed in the R.L. are to be paid 4s. 1d. a day from I April 1839. This will place them on the same scale as other mechanics in the Arsenal.
(PRO/WO[47/1,822, P. 4,765)
1 May 1839. William Wells, late apprentice, appointed Master Artificer for converting timber in the Storekeeper's Department vice Joshua Richards, superannuated.
(PRO/VvO/47/1,824, p. 5,573)
1 May 1839. William Stace, Storekeeper, granted 2 months leave of absence on 30 April 1839 for reasons of health. During his absence his work will devolve on the Deputy Storekeeper.
(PROfWO/47/1,824, p. 5,604) 3 May 1839. James Crawford appointed Smith under the Civil Officers vice Thomas Micklam, recommended for superannuation. (PRO/WO[47/1,824/P. 5,676) 10 May 1839. Owing to the increased cost ofliving the wages oflabourers in the Royal Arsenal are raised from 2s. 2d. to 2s. 4d. a day.
There are employed 82 labourers in the Storekeeper's Department. ,, ,, ,, 62 ,, ,, ,,R.L. ,, ,, ,, 21 ,, ,, ,, R.C.D. ,, ,, ,, 18 ,, under the Inspector of Artillery.
Total 18g labourers in the Royal Arsenal, exclusive of the Engineer Department which is manned by Sappers and Miners. This adds £477. 6s. 6d. to their yearly wages bill.
(PRO/WO[47/1,824/p. 5,973) . 13. May 1839. The salary of William Caffin, Deputy Storekeeper R.L., is raised from £427 to £477 p.a., w.e.f. 1 April 1839.
(PRO/WO/47/1,825, p. 6,079)
17 May 1839. Certain Boys in the R.L. have their wages raised: 4 boys from Is. od. p.d. to 1s. 9d. p.d. 9 boys from Is. od. p.d. to Is. 6d. p.d.
(PRO/WO/47/1,825, P. 6,346) 17May 1839. James White, Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, died on 12 May 1839. His vacancy is not to be filled. (PRO/WO/47/1,825, P. 6,362)
20 May 1839. O':i~g to the abolition of the post of Clerk of the Survey on 24 May 1833, William Jones, Deputy Storekeeper, requests an increase of salary owmg to increase of work. His salary is increased to £400 maximum by the usual annual instalments. This increase is not to be extended
to his successors. (PRO/WO[47/1,825, p. 6,446)
Note. The Board's Order abolishing the office of Clerk of the Survey was dated I July1833, although the actual office ceased to exist after 24 May 1833 (PRO[WO[A7/1,61o
P. 4,576 dated 24 May 1833) > '
3 June 1839. The Under-Secretary of State, Home Department, intimates that the additional convict labour requested will be supplied. (PRO/WO/47/1,827, p. 7,117)
1204
APPENDIX VIII
5 June 1839. Joseph Cheetham, Storekeeper at Gibraltar, appointed Storekeeper, Woolwich, w.e.f. I July 1839 vice William Stace who died 31 May 1839.
(PRO/WO]47/1,827, p. 7,163)
7 June 1839. The establishment of the Storekeeper's Office is to be reduced at once by the removal of 3 clerks to other posts. The establishment is now to be as follows:
Isl Class a Clerks £21o 1o-£250 p.a.
2nd Class 4 Clerks {17o-1o-£goo p.a.
3rd Class 4 Clerks £ go -IO-£160 p.a.
Two of the redundant Clerks (Messrs H. T. Beevor and Boate) are to be added permanently to the establishment ofthe Store Account Examination Office, and the Third Clerk-William Thomas Forster-is to join the office of the Inspector-General of Fortifications. The 3 temporary Clerks at present employed in the above two offices are to be discharged.
(PRO/WO/47/1,827, p. 7,257)12 June 1839. John Wilson is promoted to First Class Clerk of Works thereby getting an increase of pay of Is. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/1,828, p. 7,443)19 June 1839. The Board refuse the request of William Jones, Deputy Storekeeper, that his increase of salary should be ante-dated to I April 1837. (PRO(W0/47/1,828, p. 7,749)24 June 1839. The following increases of wages were approved:
Name Trade Department Service Present Proposed
Wages Wages
Thomas Reynolds C Storekeeper's 23 years 16s. 6d. pw 18s. od. pw Henry Knight p 8 years 16s. 6d. pw 18s. od. pw
William Hine Porter R " .L. 39 years I4s. od. pw 16s. od. pw William Reynolds p lnspr. of
Artillery 32 ycars I7s. 6d. pw 20s. od. pw John Bradley p 15 years 17s. 6d. pw 20s. od. pw William Scott p " 12 years I7s. 6d. pw 20s. od. pw
Henry Brooks p " 4 years I7s. 6d. pw 2os. od. pw Michael Burnett F " 15 years 17s. 6d. pw 20s. od. pw Richard Burnett " 29 years 14s. od. pw 18s. od. pw Edward Hall OH.K. ",, 11½ years 14s. od. pw 15s. od. pw James Hiscock O.K. R.C.D. 32 years 14s. od. pw 15s. od. pw John Murray O.K. Storekeeper's 3o years 14s. od. pw 15s. 0d. pw William Read O.K. 32 years 14s. od. pw 155. od. pw JosephJackson O.K. R".L. 2½ years 14s. od. pw 15s. od. pw John Clayton O.K. R.L. 32 years 14s. od. pw 15s. 0d. pw William Such O.K. Engineer 16 years 14s. od. pw 15s. od. pw Charles Wells O.K. Storekeeper's 34 years 14s. od. pw 15s. od. pw
(C = Carpenter; P = Painter; H = Hammerman; O.K. = Officekeeper)
(PRO[WO[47/1,829, P-7,958)
28 June 1839. Mrs Stace, widow of the late William Stace, is granted a
pension of £80 p.a., i.e. as a widow of a Chief Commissary, since her late
husband received an allowance of £1 a day as a Chief Commissary: A
Storekeeper's widow is only allowed a pension of £50 p.a.
(PRO/WO[47/1,829, p. 8,141)
1205
28 June 1839. The application of William Pease-Master Modeller in the R.L.-for an increase of pay of rs. od. a day was refused. (PRO[WO[47/1,829, p. 8,161) 28 June 1839. The 'Classes' of Boys in the R.L. is to be reintroduced. (PRO[WO[47/1,829, P-8,143) 8July 1839. Mrs Stace's pension to be paid quarterly from r July 1839. (PRO/WO/47/1,830, p. 8,608) 2 July 1839. Thomas Micklam, a smith in the Storekeeper's Department, is superannuated on a pension of £24 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/1,832, P. 9,306)
28 August 1839. Lieut.-Colonel Charles C. Dansey, R.A., appointed Firemaster vice Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Dyneley, R.A., appointed to the Royal Horse Artillery. The appointment to be for 5 years.
(PRO/WO/47/1,835, p. ro,719)
4 September 1839. Convicts at Ordnance Establishments to be paid 2d. as in other Government Departments. This would effect a saving of £130. 8s. 4d. on the sum paid by the Ordnance as authorized by the order of 3o December 1830.
(PRO/WO[47/1,836, p. 11,044) 6 September 1839. Four additional convicts placed at the disposal of the Civil Officers, Woolwich. (PRO/WO[47/1,836, p. 11,225) 4 October 1839. The 8 additional collar-makers under the Storekeeper to be retained till 31 March 1840. (PRO/WO/47/1,839, P. 12,164)
23 October 1839. The salary of the Director R.L. is increased from £350 to ~400 p.a. to bnng it into line with the salaries of the Inspector of Artillery and the Inspector, R.C.D. In 1825, the establishment of the R:L:, the Comptrollership of which was held by a civilian, fixed a minimum salary of £350 p.a. rising to £500 p.a. for the Comptroller, but under the 14th Clause of that establishment, military officers holding the post of Comptroller (or Director) could only receive the minimum, i.e. 350 p.a.
(PROfWO/47/1,841, p. 12,759)
23 December 1839. William Jones, Deputy Storekeeper, granted an allowance at the rate of £240 p.a., i.e. the difference between his salary of £36o p.a. and £,6oo p.a., the minimum rate for the Storekeeper. He earned out the duties of Storekeeper from 26 April 1839, when William Stace went on the sick list, and 31 August 1839, the date of the arrival of Joseph Cheetham from Gibraltar. He therefore received the sum of
£83. 10s. od. (PRO/WO[47/1,847, p. 15,050) 23 December 1839. John Thomas Knight, rst Clerk in the Storekeeper's Offi~e, earned out the duties of Deputy Storekeeper whilst William Jones ca~ned ?ut those of the Storekeeper. He was allowed additional pay for this period at a rate between his pay and the minimum of a Deputy
Storekeeper.
(PRO/WO[47/1,847, p. 15,053)
1206
APPENDIX VIII
I Jarma1y 1840. The pay of James Lee and James Bond, Storehouse Foremen in the R.L., is raised to 3s. 9d. a day, the rate allowed to 2nd Class Storehousemen.
(PRO/WO[47/1,848, p. 56) 10 January 1840. William Laycock, a cooper in the R.L., is granted a pension of £24 p.a. (PROfWO/47/1,848, p. 349) 1o January 18go. William Pease, Master Modeller in the R.L., is granted a pension of£35 p.a. (PRO/[WO/47/1,848, p. 350)
31 January 1840. There was no need to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement ofV, illiam Pease, Master Modeller in the R.L., but as he had also copied official papers and taught young apprentices to write, some one would have to carry out these duties. It was therefore agreed that 3 young men in the R.L. should do it and be paid 6d. a day each for 6 davs in the week for the work. '
(PRO/WO/47/1,850, p. r,273)
24 February 184o. The 4o extra convicts allowed duringo the taking> of the remain are to be retained till 30 June 1840 for general duties in the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/r,853, p. 2,407) 4 March 1840. John Henderson appointed Master Founder R.L. vice William Henderson who died 28 February 1840. (PRO/W0/47/1,854, p. 2,926)
20 March 1840. Since the death of William Henderson, late Master Founder and Chemist, the R.L. had been without chemical assistance. It was therefore agreed that James Marsh-an eminent chemist-should be paid £25 for teaching a young smith named William Tozer in the R.L. a course of chemistry. Lieut.-Colonel Charles Dansey, the Firemaster, would attend Mr Marsh's lectures to William Tozer. William Tozer used to receive 6d. extra a day for being instructed by William Henderson. He was to be paid rs. od. a day extra if his knowledge were satisfactory after he had carried out chemical duties for 6 months.
(PRO[WO[47/1,855, P-3,563) 23 March 1840. Joseph Cheetham, the Storekeeper, who had a salary of£700 p.a.-the maximum at Gibraltar-requested that he might have the Woolwich maximum of £750 p.a. in consequence of his loss, etc. occasioned by his transfer. His request was refused. (PRO/WO[47/1,856, p. 3,653) 25 March 184o. Mr Flack, Foreman ofWorks Eastern District, appointed Foreman of Works, Woolwich, vice Thomas Kinton, ordered to Canada. (PRO[WO[47/1,856, p. 3,808) 3 April 184o. John Davis, Labourer in the R.L., appointed Extra Foreman in the R.L. vice Thomas Simms who died on 28 March 1840.
(PRO[WO[47/1,857, P. 4,265)
15 April 184o. The following boys to be apprenticed in the R.L.:
John Sims, son ofJohn Sims, to Henry Bearfoot, Master Carpenter.
John Henry, son of Robert Henry, to John Tozer, Master Smith.
1207
George Broughton, son of George Broughton, to Joseph Carlisle, Master Turner. William Henry Sullivan, son of Timothy Sullivan, to George Boyle, Master Tinman. (PRO/WO[47/1,858, p. 4,840)27 April 1840. The extra 8 collar-makers under the Storekeeper to be employed for another 6 months. (PRO/WO[7/1,8509, P-5,196)
18 May 1840. The Master-General authorized the employment of 2 Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department for 6 months to deal with the work which had accumulated since the staff in the office was reduced by 3 clerks by order dated 7 June 1839.
(PRO/WO/47/1,861, p. 6,235) 20 May 1840. Alfred H. Young and John D. Harry appointed Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/1,861, p. 6,325)
2o May 184o. James Gallivan appointed Foreman of Labourers under the Civil Officers vice William Wright, reduced to the rank of Labourer owing to his drinking habits.
(PRO/WO[47/1,861, p. 6,330) 27 May 1840. Two additional smiths and 5 additional labourers to be engaged for the R.L. for 6 months to deal with arrears of work. (PRO/WO[47/1,862, p. 6,696)
5 June 1840. Arising out of the deliberations of the Committee appointed on 28 February 184o to review the efficiency of certain labourers at Woolwich and other stations, the Treasury agreed to the superannuation of the following labourers at Woolwich:
N. Wakeman Pension £15 p.a.
John Pennyfeather Pension £15 p.a. John Burke Pension £15 p.a. Thomas Clare Pension £15 p.a. Thomas Woodcock Pension £10 p.a. Matthew Bowden Pension £10 p.a. John Devlin Pension £10 p.a. Michael Crow Pension £10 p.a.
The Treasury state that, in future, they wish to be furnished with the
usual certificates where men under 65 years of age are recommended for
retired allowances.
(PRO/WO/47/1,863, p. 7,082)
22 June 184o. William Griffith, Master Artificer in the Storekeeper's Department, 84 years of age with 70 years service in the Department was superannuated with a pension of £60 p.a. '
(PRO/WO/47/1,865, p. 7714)
26June 184o. John Cowie, a labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, who should have been discharged, was retained temporarily as he was the keeper of the patterns and a competent person had to be found to
succeed him.
(PRO/WO[47/1,865, p. 7,937)
1208
APPENDIX VIII
29 June 184o. The following apprentices have been indentured:
George Sutherland to the Director R.L. George Cook ,, ,, ,, ,, John Sims ,, ,, ,, ,, John Henry ,, ,, ,, ,, George Broughton ,, ,, ,, ,, William Henry Sullivan ,, ,, ,, ,, Edward James Amos ,, ,, Inspector R.C.D.
(PRO/WO[47/1,865, p. 8,026)
6July 1840. Joseph Cheetham, the Storekeeper, had his request for an increase of salary again refused. He asked that his annual increase might date from his appointment instead of his having to wait till he had served a year.
(PRO/WO[47/1,866, p. 8,296)6 July 18o. The 4o extra convicts under the Civil Officers to be employed till 30 September 1840. (PRO[WO[47/1,866, p. 8,331)8 July 1840. Having selected another keeper of the patterns, the Storekeeper reported that he has discharged John Cowie on 4 July 1840. (PRO/WO[47/1,866, p. 8,412)
IO July 184o. In order to fill the vacancies caused by the superannuation and removal of labourers no longer able to do a good day's work in the Storekeeper's Department, the following posts were made:
6 Labourers at 2s. 4d. a day-to be under 3o ycars of age 4 Lads at rs. 6d. a day to be over 18 ycars of age 4 Boys at 1s. od. a day to be over 14 years of age
The following labourers were appointed to the six posts:
James Graham; William Sewell; Robert Dove; Hayward Andrews; Edward Pym; T. Grubb; subject to a suitable medical report by the Director-General of Ordnance Medical Services.
It was also agreed that the duties of the late Master Artificer, William Griffith, should be shared between William Wells-the Timber Converter and Noah Pannell, the Senior Carpenter, and that they should both receive an additional 6d. a day in wages.
(PRO/WO/47/1,866, p. 8,510)
20 July 1840. James Graham, William Sewell, Robert Dove, Hayward Andrews and Edward Pym, having passed their medical examination are confirmed in their appointments as Labourers.
(PRO/WO[47/1,867, p. 8,914)29 July 184o. Reference to appointments in the Storekeeper's Department. The appointments of William Sewell, Hayward Andrews and Edward Pym as Labourers are confirmed. James Graham and Robert Dove being 'non-effective' men are appointed 1st Class Boys.
T. Grubb will be provided for elsewhere if found eligible. George Shepherd, William Stafford and Benjamin Lawlor are to fill
1209
the vacancies, if found medically fit, occasioned by the removal ofJames
Graham, Robert Dove and T. Grubb. William Saker appointed 1st Class Boy. Thomas H. M. Bryant, William Murphy, James Wisdom, John Amos
and William Reid appointed 2nd Class Boys if found fit after a medical examination. (PRO[WO[47/1,868, p. 9,420)
7 August 18o. Up to March 184o there were 5 apprentices in the R.L. employed under the arrangement of 28 February 183 I, when the following Masters were granted Is. od. each in lieu of apprentices:
Turner Cooper Painter Carpenter
The Master Smith making their pay 7s. od. a day
Tinman Taylor Founder
Fireworker Modeller
of which Masters, the Master Modeller has since been abolished; and on 25 March 184o the Board granted an apprentice to the Foreman of SmithsAustin Tyerwho was not included in the foregoing arrangement with the Masters, and whose pay was only 5s. 4d. a day which was increased by 1s. od. for teaching his apprentice. It thus appears that the 4 apprentices to be taken on under the Board's order dated 10 April 1840 would bring the apprentices under the arrangement of 28 February 18g1 to 9, so that there are 9 apprentices apprenticed to the g Masters who originally received Is. od. a day in lieu of apprentices. The Director
R.L. requested that the allowance of 1s. od. a day to the Master Smith Master Carpenter, Master Turner and Master Tinman might b ">
·d • gecon
tmue as a special case, notwithstanding that they now had apprentices. The Board would not sanction the rs. od. a day for teaching apprentices but stated that the 4 Masters concerned might continue to draw their
1s. od. till 8 August 1840. (PRO/WO[47/1,869, p.
9,844) 26 August 18o. J. Tucker received the contract for lighting the lamps at Woolwich for 3 years from I September 1840. (PRO/WO[47/1,871, p. 10,606) 26 August 184o. Thomas Francis Burgess appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice George Shepherd, found medically unfit. (PRO/WO/47/1,871, p. 10,676)
4 September 1840. The two smiths to be employed in the R.L. for 6 months under the Board's order dated 4 March 1840, are to be retained owmg to pressure of work.
(PRO/WO[47/1,872, p. 10,989) 9 September 18.4o. Thomas Francis Burgess being passed medically fit
1210
APPENDIX VIII
is confirmed in his appointment as Labourer in thc Storekeeper's Department. (PRO[WO/A7/1,872, p. 11,147)
25 September 184o. John Thomas Knight, 1st Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Storekeeper, Gravesend, w.e.f. r October 1840 vice Mr Eagle.
(PRO/WO[47/1,874, P. 1,732) 7 October 1840. The 40 extra convicts under the Civil Officers to be employed for a further 6 months. (PRO/WO[47/1,875, P. 12,248)
14 October 1840. George Burbridge, a promising Boy in his 20th year in the Storekeeper's office, is promoted to the 1st Class List of Boys and granted Is. od. a day from this date.
(PRO[WO[47/1,876, p. 12,504) 21 October 1840. Six extra smiths and six extra labourers are authorized for the R.L. owing to pressure of work. (PRO/WO[47/1,877, p. 12,801)
21 October 1840. Thomas Bell, Senior Foreman on the wharf, is removed from his post for improper conduct and abusive behaviour towards Robert Alston, gunner and driver. The Civil Officers recommend John Amos as Directing Foreman on the wharf vice Thomas Bell at 4s. 6d. a day, and that Thomas Bell, a very old servant, should take over the duties ofJohn Amos at his present rate of pay. The Board enquire why the Civil Officers recommended John Amos instead of one of the other three Foremen who are senior to him.
(PRO/WO[47/1,877 p. 12,821)
23 October 1840. The following promotions in the Storekeeper's office consequent of the appointment of John Thomas Knight to the post of Storekeeper, Gravesend, are announced.
William Thomas Forster to be 1st Clerk vice John Thomas Knight. Francis Pellatt, the senior of the 2nd Class Clerks to be promoted to the 1st Class. Mr Dicken, the senior of the grd Class Clerks to be promoted to the 2nd Class. (PRO/WO/47/1,877, P. 12,996) 11 November 184o. James Marsh having now completed his course of instruction in chemistry to William Tozer, receives his £25 . (PRO[WO[47/1,879, P. 13,828) 16 November 1840. Samuel Bush, Junior, son of Samuel Bush, Chief Foreman of the R.L., to be entered as a Supernumerary Carpenter in the
R.L. to fill any vacancy which may afterwards occur, provided that after a month's trial he prove fit for the service. (PRO/WO[47/1,879, P. 13,983)
16 November 1840. Owing to his long service the Board reinstate Thomas Bell as Chief Foreman at the wharf. He was however cautioned in severe terms about his conduct and particularly about his writing direct to the Board instead of through the Civil Officers.
(PRO/WO[47/1,879, P. 13,984)
79 12II
18 November 184o. John Baker, 2nd Class Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department, promoted to rst Class Foreman of Works on account of his long service.
(PRO/WO/47/1,879, P. 14,186)30 November 1840. Owing to arrears of work 4 additional carpenters are authorized for 6 months in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/1,880, p. 14,664)
30 November 1840. The Board require on r March 1841 a list of the men employed as extra hands by the Board's orders, the amount of the work remaining for which they were engaged, and the names of those appointed to act as foremen during the period.
This information is required from the Storekeeper's Department, the Department of the Inspector of Artillery, the R.C.D. and the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/1,880, p. 14,653)
7 December I840. The 5 extra labourers and 2 additional smiths engaged for 6 months in connection with the arrears of work in the R.L. are to be retained till 1 April 1841.
(PRO/WO[47/1,881, p. 15,027)
4 January I841. Owing to arrears of work, the two Extra Temporary Clerks-Alfred H. Young and John D. Harry-under the Civil Officers are to be retained till 31 March 1841.
(PRO/WO/47/1,884, p. 68)
1 February r841. Bearing in mind the arrears of work which has regularly occurred in the Storekeeper's Department since it was reduced by the Board's order of 5June 1839, and which has necessitated the employment of 2 Extra Temporary Clerks, approval is given for the two additional clerks in question-Alfred H. Young and John D. Harry-due for discharge on 31 March 1841, to be made permanent and the establishment of the Department increased accordingly.
The senior 3rd Class Clerk is to be promoted into the 2nd Class. This will make the establishment (excluding the 1st Class Clerks):Five 2nd Class Clerks and five 3rd Class Clerks (PRO/WO/47/1,887, p. 1,287) 1 February 181. Alfred H. Young and John D. Harry, Temporary Clerks, appointed Clerks on the establishment of the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/1,887, p. 1,238)
1 February I841. Owing to the low state of the store of musket ball cartridges, 17 additional boys, making roo in all, are to be engaged for the R.L. When qualified the boys are to be advanced from 6d. a day, their starting rate, to 9d. p.d.
(PRO/WO/47/1,887 p. 1,275) 8 February r 841. David Mason, if found qualified, appointed Boy under the Civil Officers vice Thomas Bryant, who left the Department. (PRO[WO[47/1,887, p. 1,561) 12February r841. The following appointments are announced:
Edward M. Sparkes appointed Deputy Storekeeper at Chatham vice Mr Hooper superannuated.
1212
APPENDIX VIII
George Wear appointed Storekeeper and acting Barrack Master, Cork Harbour vice Edward M. Sparkes. Gordon Thompson appointed Storekeeper and acting Barrack Master, Charlemont vice George Wear. Mr Greenlaw appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, Woolwich, vice Gordon Thompson. (PRO/WO/47/1,888, p. 1,772)
17 February 1841. Cornelius Sharp, rst Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department appointed Deputy Storekeeper and Acting Barrack Master, Harwich and Landguard Fort vice Mr Parry, superannuated.
Busvayas Toup Nicholas, Clerk in the Engineer Department, Exeter, appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, Woolwich. (PRO/WO/47/1,888, p. 1,912)
3 March 1841. William Green, Senior Clerk of the 2nd Class in the Storekeeper's Department, promoted to the rst Class vice Cornelius Sharp appointed Deputy Storekeeper and acting Barrack Master, Harwich and Landguard Fort.
George Chubb, Senior Clerk of the 3rd Class, to be promoted to the 2nd Class vice William Green. (PRO/WO/47/1,890, p. 2,569) r2 March 1841. G. R. Symonds invalided home from Malta and appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/1,891, p. 2,919)12 March 18qr. Henry Wright appointed the other Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's office for 6 months. (PRO/WO]47/1,891, P. 2,921) . 17 March 1841. Mr Greenlaw's appointment as Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department is confirmed after a satisfactory period of probation. (PRO/WO/47/1,891, P.3,171) .
19 March 18q1. The Board having received the report from Woolwich of the extra men employed with the Board's sanction and the amount of work still outstanding, the position is as follows:
CIVIL OFFICERS
14 collar-makers for 6 months Board's Order 7 October 1840
40 convicts for 6 months Board's Order 7 October 1840
4 carpenters for 6 months Board's Order 30 November r840
Thomas Reynolds, placed in charge of the work of the 4 carpenters,
should have his pay increased to,µ. rd. a day.
The men were ordered to be retained till the work in hand was com
pleted. No increase of pay to Thomas Reynolds could be sanctioned.
DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTOR OF ARTILLERY
1 Viewer, 1 Painter, 4 Labourers, } Board's Order 12 August 1839 2o Convicts 1 Smith, 1 Hammerman, 1 Labourer Board's Order 24 July 1840 The above were employed on work for the East India Company. 1 Smith (two ordered), 2 Hammermen Board's Order 4 January 1841 No additional foremen were made. The men were ordered to be retained till further orders.
1213
ROYAL LABORATORY
2 Artificers Board's Order 4 March 1840 2 Artificers, 5 Labourers Board's Orders 27 May 1840 and
7 December 1840 5 Artificers Board's Order 24July 1840 6 Artificers, Io Labourers Board's Order 21 October 1840 6 Artificers, 6 Labourers Board's Order 26 October 1840 22 Artificers, 23 Labourers Board's Orders 23 November 1840
and 10 February 1841
17 Boys Board's Order I February 1841 Four Artificers left and their places were unfilled. No additional Foreman were made. The men were ordered to be retained till further orders.
(PRO/WO]47/1,891, P-3,292)
26March 1841. Thomas Burgess, Labourer, appointed Officekeeper and Clerk to the Civil Ordnance Chapel at Woolwich (under the C; ·il Officers) vice Charles Wells, who died 19 March 1841. av
(PRO/WO[47/1,892, P. 3,733)9",ye-"iam ggm"gr. senior cacer he R.L.,
appomte aster arpenter . . vice Henry Bearfoot, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/1,892, p. 3,810) 12 May 1841. George Wood appointed Collarmaker in th St
k 'D •B . . eore
eeper s epartment vice ienjamin Dawson, unfit for further service. (PRO/WO/47/i,897, p. 5,955) 14 May 1841. Mr Baker appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice G. R. Symonds, unfit for service. (PRO/WO[47/1,897, p. 6, 10o) 2 June 1841. The following retirements are sanctioned:
ROYAL LABORATORY
Name
Trade
Pension
James Campbell
Turner
£24 p.a.
James Spalding
Turner
£24 p.a.
Joseph Berry
Founder
£24 p.a.
John Stapleton Master Paper Curer
45. 12s. 0d. p.a.
Thomas Penn
Extra Foreman
£34. 13s. od. p.a.
Cain Connor
Labourer
£15 p.a.
John Fludyer
Labourer
5 p.a.
Andrew Muckle Labourer
£15 p.a.
Thomas Quirk
Labourer
5 p.a.
John Woodhead
Labourer £15 p.a.
Thomas Davis
Labourer 5 p.a.
ROYAL CARRIAGE DEPARTMENT
William Cock
Smith £24 p.a.
William Powell
Smith £24 p.a.
Thomas Wild
Smith £24 p.a.
William Wingham
Smith £24 p.a.
1214
APPENDIX VIII
DEPARTMENT OF INSPECTOR OF ARTILLERY
John Keys Labourer £ I 5 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/1,899, p. 7,149) 18 June 184r. John Davis, Extra Foreman at 3s. gd. a day, appointed Extra Foreman at 4s. 1d. a day in the R.L. in the post held by Thomas Penn, superannuated. William Smithers, Labourer, appointed Extra Foreman at 3s. g9d. a day vice John Davis, promoted. (PROJWO/47/1,900, p. 7,860) 18 June 1841. The following Boys in the R.L. are advanced from 6d. to 9d. a day for competence in their work: James Reid; Edward Sims; Edward Bearfoot; Thomas Dickinson; George Pearson; John Ramsay; Stephen Clare; John Storey; and Joseph Barber. (PRO/WO/47/1,900, p. 7,909) 2 July 1841. The two remaining extra carpenters under the Civil Officers were given a fortnight's notice from 26 June 1841, the work for which they were engaged being almost completed. (PRO/WO/47/1,902, p. 8,407) 19 July 1841. The following 5 Lads employed under the Civil Officers at gs. od. a week are promoted Labourers at 14s. od. a week on attaining the age of go years: William Straffon; James Wisdom; William Seaker; Robert Dove; and George Burbridge. The latter was actually 21 years of age. (PRO/WO/47/1,903, P. 9,185) 21 July 1841. Assistant Foreman John Cook, R.L., appointed Chief Foreman of the R.L. vice Samuel Bush who died on 8 July 1841. Extra Foreman Benjamin Bush appointed Assistant Foreman vice John Cook. Extra Foreman (at 3s. 9d. a day) William Smithers appointed Extra Foreman (at 4s. 1d. a day) vice Benjamin Bush. John Peen, Labourer, appointed Extra Foreman at 3s. 9d. a day vice William Smithers. (PRO/WO/47/r,904, p. 9,275)6 August 1841. Lieut.-General Lord Bloomfield, Commandant of Woolwich Garrison reports that two porters at the Arsenal Gate were disgracefully drunk on Saturday 24 July 1841 and that he had suspended them and put in other men to do their duty. The Master-General stated that there should have been a Court of Enquiry detailing the names of the men and all relevant circumstances before any action had been taken. The Civil Officers were so informed. (PRO/WO/47/1,905, p. 10,112)
8 September 181.John Amos, Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Keeper of the Arsenal Gate vice John Cullen superannuated on a pension of £a4 p.a.
Senior Working Foreman John McAvoy appointed Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Amos. Storehouseman William Edwards appointed Working Foreman vice
John McAvoy.
1215
APPENDIX VIII
Two senior Boys of 16 ycars of age promoted to Lads at Is. 6d. a day. Their places are to be taken by two boys named Farmiloe, whose father was injured in a fall from the chapel at Wellington Barracks and who died in the West Indies.
(PRO/W0/47/1,908, p. 1!',888) (PRO[WO/47/1,912, P. 13495, 15 October 1841)
15 September 1841. Thomas Goodwin, Senior Extra Foreman, appointed Established Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department vice John McAvoy who died on 12 September 1841.
William Wright, Storehouseman at 3s. 0d. a day, appointed Extra Foreman at 3s. 9d. a day vice Thomas Goodwin, promoted. James Monk, Labourer, to be Storehouseman at 3s. od. vice William Wright, promoted.
A Boy at Is. od. to be Labourer vice James Monk, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/1,909, P. 12,196) (PRO/W0/47/1,grn, p. 12,475)
22 September 1841. The Senior Lad in the Storekeeper's Department to be promoted Labourer vice William Goodwin, who left the service. (PRO/W0/47/1,grn, p. 12,477)
24 September 1841. Although it was agreed that Lads in the Storekeeper's Department should be promoted Labourers on reaching the age of 2o years and the five Lads specifically mentioned had so been paid, it was not proposed to increase the establishment of Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department. They were to be recommended as established Labourers when vacancies occurred.
(PRO/W0/47/1,grn, p. 12,599) 1 October 1_841. Thomas J. Sutch appointed Boy in the Storekeeper's Department in the vacancy caused by consequential promotions arising out of the death ofJohn McAvoy. (PRO/WO/47/1,911, p. 12,850) 4 October 1841. Nine artificers and 18 labourers discharged from the R.L. on 29 September 1841. (PRO/WO/47/1,911, p. 12,932)
8 October 18q1. Stephen Clare, 15 years of age, appointed in the place of the boy who took the place of the Lad promoted Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Goodwin who left the Service
(PRO/WO[47/1,911, p. 13,109) ° 17 November, 1841. The undermentioned Boys in the R.L., being capable of a good day's work, are advanced in pay from 6d. to gd. a day:
William Cattle Colin McGlashan Richard Andrews John Ager Richard Bearfoot George Stanfield Stephen Brett David Darling Henry Hudson James McNaught James Addison
(PRO/WO/47/1,915, P. 15,086) 17 November 18q1. Thomas Knight, son of the late Master Painter at ~he Tower, appre~ticed to his uncle James Knight, Foreman of Painters in the Storekeepers Department. (PRO/W0/47/1,915, p. 15,088)
1216
APPENDIX VIII
I December 1841. E. Leonard, a Boy in the R.L., died on 7 November
1841.
(PRO/W0/47/1,917, p. 15,779)
15 December 181. Ten additional convicts authorized in the Storekeeper's Department to make and build up a stock ofjunk and grummet wads.
(PRO/WO/47/1,918, p. 16,492)
3 January 1842. H. C. Smith, Engineer Clerk in the Ulster District, appointed Engineer Clerk at Woolwich vice Edward Mascall, a sick man ordered to appear before a medical board with a view to superannuation.
(PRO/WO[47/1,920, P. 32)
7 January 1842. Brigade Major Henry Sandham, R.E., appointed
C.R.E. Woolwich Division temporarily vice Lieut.-Colonel George Harding, R.E. (PRO/W0/47/1,920, p. 179) s February 18q. Edward Mascall, Engineer Clerk, superannuated with a pension of £1o5 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/1,923, P-1,471) 21 February 1842. John Smith, Foreman of Collar-makers in the Storekeeper's Department, died on 17 February 1842. (PRO[WO/47/1,925, P-2,406) 25 Februa1y 1842. The following promotions are made m the Storekeeper's Department: Thomas Hopgood, Collar-maker, to be Foreman of Collar-makers at 5s. 1od. p.d. vice John Smith who died on 17 February 1842.
John Boyter, Temporary Collar-maker, to be Permanent Collar-maker and act as a leading workman at an increased rate of 5d. a day vice Thomas Hopgood, promoted.
George Wood, an Apprentice Collar-maker on the permanent list 3s. 6d. a day to be advanced to 4s. 1d.a day viceJohn Boyter, promoted. William Wright, Temporary Collar-maker at 3s. od. a day advanced to 3s. 6d. a day.
John Amos, a Lad at rs. 6d. p.d., to receive 2s. 6d. a day.
Daniel Pellatt, son of the late Master of the Ordnance sloop, Somerset, to be an Artificer Lad at rs. 6d. a day vice John Amos, promoted. (PRO/W0/47/1,925, p. 2,577)
2 March 1842. John Punter, Barge and Sluice Master in the Engineer Department, superannuated, w.e.f. 2 March 1842 with a pension of 50. 3s. 9d. p.a.
(PRO/WO[47/1,926, p. 2,787)7 March 1842. Thomas Punter, Junior, appointed Barge and Sluice Master in the Engineer Department vice John Punter, superannuated. (PRO[WO[47/1,926, p. 3,062) 9 March 1842. W. J. Simons, Foreman of Works, Corfu, appointed 4th Class Clerk of Works at Woolwich vice Mr Finch, Clerk of Works, posted to Antigua.
(PRO[WO/A7/1,926, p. 3,160)
6 April 1842. The following Boys in the R.L. had their pay raised from
6d. to 9d. a day on account of their proficiency:
1217
APPENDIX VIII
Name Age in Years Service in Months
John BusbyHenry Longham 12l 1 1
James McGee 15¼
John Parker 13½
John Tyler B. McKenna 11 1 1 ½
Zacheus Wells 12
(PRO/WO/47/1,929, P. 4,206)
4 April 1842. Owing to pressure of work, the two temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department to be retained for a further 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/1,929, P. 4,119) 7 April 1842. Four extra tinmen authorized for one week in the R.L. to make tin magazines for the infantry. (PRO/WO]47/1,929, P-4,264) 18 April 182. Colonel Sir George Hoste, R.E., apoointed C.R.E. Woolwich Division vice Brigade Major Henry Sandham, R.E. (PRO/WO/47/1,930, P-4,756)
20 A~ril 1842. James Wisdom, Senior Lad in the Storekeeper's Department vice J. Bremner, deceased. J. Bremner s son, who is 15 ycars old, to be entered as a Boy to fill the ensuing vacancy.
(PRO/W0/47/1,931, p. 5,054) 13 May 1842. The following Boys in the Storekeeper's Department have their pay raised from Is. to 1s. 6d. a day: Thomas J. Sutch, David Mason, Robert Smith and Benjamin v\Tells. (PRO/WO[47/1,933, P-5,980) 18 May 1842. Thomas Chandler appointed Carpenter in the Storekeeper's Department at 3s. od. a day vice William Bourne. (PRO/W0/47/1,933, p.6,115)
3June 18q2. Henry Newstead, 14 years ofage, son of William Newstead a corporal in the_ R.A. Band, appointed an apprentice in the R.L. vice Samuel K. McBride, who died on 19 May 1842.
(PRO/W0/47/1,935, p. 6,874) 13 June 1842. The following labourers are superannuated:
William Burbridge Pension £15 p.a. Dennis McCarthy Pension £ 1 5 p.a. John Masters Pension £1o p.a. Robert Chiney Pension £10 p.a. Matthew Green Pension £20 p.a. William Wain Pension £15 p.a.
(PRO/WO[47/1,936, p. 7,353) 20 June 1842. Thomas Burgess, who under trial had satisfied the Revd
M. R. Scott, Chaplain, appointed Clerk of the Royal Arsenal Chapel vice John Murray, who asked to be relieved of his appointment.
(PRO/WO/47/1,936, p. 7590) 21,June 1842.John F. H. Read, son of the lateJohn Read, Storekeeper
1218
APPENDIX VIII
in Jamaica, appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Mr Greenlaw, retired. (PRO/WO[47/1,937, P. 7,781)
27 June 1842. David Darling, son of David Darling, Cooper, appointed Apprentice in the R.L. vice George Taverson Bearfoot, who died on 17 June 1842.
(PRO/W0/47/1,937, p. 7,825) 1 July 1842. Thomas Hopgood, Foreman of Collar-makers in the Storekeeper's Department, died on 27 June 1842. (PRO/WO/47/1,938, p. 8,061) 4 July 1842. The following appointments are made in the Storekeeper's Department: Boy, Robert Smith, to be Lad
David McLaren }Robert Chubb Robert Wilkie to be Labourers William Straffon George Burbridge (PRO/WO/47/1,938, p. 8,172) 4 July 1842. John F. H. Read confirmed in his appointment as Advance Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Mr Greenlaw. (PRO/WO/47/1,938, p. 8,190)6 July 1842. Arthur Murphy appointed Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department in the consequent vacancy caused by the death of Thomas Hopwood, Foreman of Collar-makers, on 27 June 1842. (PRO[WO[47/1,938, p. 8,290)6July 1842. John Boyter, Collar-maker, appointed Foreman ofCollarmakers in the Storekeeper's Department at 5s. IOd. p.d. vice Thomas Hopwood, deceased. George Wood, Collar-maker, to succeed John Boyter at 4s. 6d. a day as a leading Collarmaker. John Cook, senior Collar-maker on the temporary list to be promoted to the Establishment. (PRO/WO[47/1,938, p. 8,326)11 July 1842. The following are confirmed in their appointments in the Storekeeper's Department:
Robert Smith : Lad Arthur Murphy : Collar-maker
David McLaren }Robert Wilkie : Labourers Robert Chubb
(PROfW0/47/1,939, p. 8,475)18 July 1842. John Cope appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Brown, absconded. (PRO/[WO[47/1,939, p. 8709) . 18 July 1842. David McLaren to join for duty as a Labourer in the
1219
Storekeeper's Department as soon as he can be released from the
Metropolitan Police.
(PRO/WO/47/1,939, p. 8,729)
22 July 1842. Robert Broughton, son of George Broughton, is entered
as a Boy in the Storekeeper's Department owing to the promotion of
George Burbridge to Labourer.
(PRO/WO[47/1,940, p. 8,948)
27 July 1842. Having passed the Medical Board, John Cope is confirmed
in his appointment as Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/1,940, P. 9,107)
29 July 1842. John F. H. Read is confirmed in his appointment as
a Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/1,940, p. 9, 166)
29 July 1842. Robert Broughton is confirmed in his appointment as a
Boy in the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/1,940, p. 9,167)
15 August 1842. William Stewart appointed Porter at the Arsenal Gate
vice William Cook who died on 6 August 1842.
(PRO/WO/47/1,942 P. 9,823)
26 August 1842. Daniel Toner appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's
Department vice Henry McGee who died on 14 August 1842.
(PRO/WO/47/1,943, p. 10,397)
26 August 1842. Francis Gallivan appointed Boy in the Storekeeper's
Department vice one of the Farmiloe boys, dismissed for theft.
(PRO/WO/47/1,943, p. 10,409)
26 August 1842. The following boys in the R.L. had their pay increased
from 6d. to gd. a day:
William Hill; W. G. Marks; Henry Collins; J. T. Smith; Henry
Chinnere;James Stevens;John Collins;John Tilly; William Champion.
(PRO/WO/47/1,943, P. 10,409)
14 September 1842. James William Pease promoted Artificer in the R.L.
at 3s. od. a day. Robert Leaney, son of William Leaney, an Artificer in
the R.L., to be appointed an apprentice vice James William Pease.
(PRO/WO[47/1,945, P. 11,051)
19 October 1842. Henry G. Burgess appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Busvayas Toup Nicholas appointed Clerk on the establishment at Devonport in the vacancy there caused by the promotion of John Howard, Clerk, to Deputy Storekeeper, Devonport, occasioned by the superannuation of Timothy Topping.
(PRO/WO/47/1,948, p. 12,299) 24 October 1842.John Tozer, Master Smith at the R.L., is superannuated at 76 years ofage and after 48 years service on a pension of£54.. 15s. od. p.a. (PRO/WO/47/1,949, P. 12,517)28 October 1842. Austin Tyer, Foreman of Smiths, R.L., appointed Master-Smith in the R.L. vice John Tozer, superannuated. John William Blanch, Artificer, appointed Foreman of Smiths in the
R.L. vice Austin Tyer, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/1,949, P. 12,695)
1220
APPENDIX VIII
28 October 1842. Robert Mahoney appointed (subject to the usual report of suitability after 6 months) Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department vice Mr Flack, medically unfit. Owing to his short service, Mr Flack is not entitled to a superannuation allowance.
(PRO/WO[47/1,949, p. 12,696)
31 October 1842. The additional 31 artificers engaged for the R.L. in connection with the manufacture of rockets for the East India Company, are to be discharged on Wednesday g November 1842.
(PRO/WO/47/1,949, p. 12,792)
2 November 18q2. The 50 additional labourers engaged for the R.L. in connection with the manufacture of rockets for the East India Company, are to be retained for another 6 months.
(PRO/WO/47/1,950, p. 12,952)
9 November 1842. The Under-Secretary of State, Home Department, in reply to the Board's request for 1oo convicts to be employed permanently in Woolwich Arsenal, stated that as circumstances permitted the wishes of the Board would be met. At the moment 1 go convicts were being daily sent on shore. It must be understood, however, that in future convicts would only be sent to the hulks in transit prior to their sentence of transportation being carried into effect.
(PRO/WO/47/1,950, Pp. 13,220)
9 November 1842. John Sydes appointed Foreman at the wharf under the Storekeeper at 4s. 6d. a day vice Thomas Bell, who was no longer active enough for the post. Thomas Bell would be appointed Foreman in a valuable storehouse at his existing rate of pay, namely 4s. 6d. a day.
(PRO/WO[47/1,950, P. 13,294)
14 November 1842. Twelve out of the 31 additional artificers in the R.L. engaged for rocket work for the East India Company to be retained for another 6 months. The remaining I g to be discharged.
(PRO/WO/47/1,951, p. 13,524)
16 November 1842. Robert W. Morrison appointed Labourer in the
R.L. vice Jeremiah Horgan, dismissed for stealing old lead. (PRO/WO/47/1,950, P. 13,620)
16 November 1842. Robert Robinson, Labourer under the Civil Officers, appointed Porter at the Arsenal Gate vice William Stewart who died on 5 November 1842. Being found fit by a medical board, Robert Robinson was confirmed in his appointment.
(PRO/WO[47/1,951, P. 13,617) 6 December 1842. Henry G. Burgess confirmed in his appointment as Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Busvayas Toup Nicholas. (PRO/WO[47/1,954 P.-15, 169) 23 December 1842. Owing to pressure of work, the g Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department are to be retained till 31 March 1843. (PRO/W0/47/1,955, p. 15,512)
2o February 1843. Robert Mahoney, having completed his six months trial as Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department, is confirmed in his appointment.
(PRO/WO[47/1,960, P-2,369)
1221
APPENDIX VIII
27 February 1843. Henry I-line, son of William Hine, Porter at the R.L., is to be employed as a cartridge boy in the R.L. at 6d. a day. He will be moved to the 'Shilling List' when a vacancy occurs.
(PRO/WO[47/1,91, p. 2,740)1o March 1843. Two additional carpenters are authorized in the R.L. for 6 months in connection with rocket stick manufacture. (PRO/WO[47/1,962, p. 3,285)
13 March 1843. Aaron Weeks appointed Boy in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Smith, promoted Labourer vice John Cope, who has left his duty.
(PROJW0/47/1,963, p. 3,409)
12 April 1843. The Civil Officers proposed that their painters, David Mason, William Brown and Henry Knight, should be advanced in pay from 3s. gd. to 4s. 1d. a day in order to bring thern into line with painters in other Departments. The Board refused, but did agree to raise the wages of David Mason and William Brown on account of their long service, w.e.f 12 April 1843. David Mason had 34 years and William Brown had 32 years service.
(PRO/W0/47/1,966, p. 4,849)
18 April 1843. A return is called for, on behalfofthe Home Department,
of the number of convicts required on Ordnance works at Woolwich.
(PRO/W0/47/1,966, p. 5,042)
5 May 1843. Mr Mitchell appointed Extra Collar-maker in the Store
keeper's Department vice John Darley, who vacated his appointment.
(PROJW0/47/1,968, p. 5,892)
5 May 1843. The I I additional artificers and 5o additional labourers
engaged at the R.L. for rocket manufacture for the East India Company
were discharged on 29 April 1843.
(PRO/W0/47/1,968, p. 5,902)
8 May 1843. Having passed his medical board, Mr Mitchell is confirmed
in his appointment as Extra Collar-maker.
(PRO/WO[47/1,968, p. 5,963)
17 May 1843. The two additional Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's
Department are to be retained till further orders. One of them, Mr Baker
having died on 30 April 1843, will be replaced by William O'Neill. '
(PRO/WO[47/1,969, p. 6,460) 24 May 1843. William O'Neill is confirmed in his Clerkship in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/W0/47/1,970, p. 6,758) 24 May 1843. The under-mentioned Boys in the R.L., are advanced from 6d. to gd. a day:
Name Age in Years Service in Months
Henry Hine 21 3
Frederick Farmiloe l l 18
Robert Holmes 13¥ 17
Robert Thompson Charles Dibblin 11} 13 15 13
Henry Round 11± 13
1222
APPENDIX VIII
James Cosgrove 12} 13
Henry Davis 12k 13
Josiah Sullivan 12 I I
JohnJewson 12} I I
John Broughton 13 IO
(PRO/W0/47/1,970, p. 6,753) 14June 1843. Thomas Weeks, Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, superannuated on a pension of£15 p.a. (PRO/W0/47/1,972, p. 7,750)26 June 1843. Alexander Davidson from Tilbury Fort, appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Weeks, superannuated. (PRO [WO/47/1,973, p. 8,236)
3 July 1843. John Reeves appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, provided he be medically fit, vice William Dean, who died on 25June 1843.
(PRO/W0/47/1,974, p. 8,603)12July 1843.John Reeves, having passed his medical board, is confirmed in his appointment as Labourer in the Storekeeper's Departtnent. (PRO/W0/47/1,975, p. 9,004)11 August 1843. Edmund D. Wyer, a labourer in the R.L., appointed Assistant Master Percussion Cap Maker vice John Lloyd, who died on 4 August 1843. (PRO/W0/47/1,978, p. 10,509)26 August 1843. Twenty additional Boys authorized in the R.L. for 6 months to deal with arrears in small arm cartridges. (PRO/W0/47/1,979, p. n,227)13 September 1843. The two additional carpenters in the R.L., due for discharge, are to be retained for another 3 months owing to pressure of
work.
(PRO/WO/47/1,981, p. 11,861)18 September 1843. James Richardson appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice A. Hadley, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/1,981, P. 12,058)18 September 1843. John Knight of the R.C.D. appointed Painter in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/1,981, p. 12,061)25 September 1843. Notices of discharge are to be handed to the 6 additional artificers in the R.L. on Wednesday 1o October 1843. (PRO/W0/47/1,981, p. 12,344)17 October 1843. Boys at the R.L. are to be employed an extra quarter of a day for 3 months owing to the urgent demands from Ireland for
S.A.A. cartridges. (PRO/WO[47/1,984, P. 13,314) .. 13 November 1843. John Club, having been passed fit by a medical board, is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/1,987, P. 14,468)
15 November 184g. The under-mentioned Boys in the R.L. are advanced from 6d. to gd. a day: •
1223
Name Age in Years Service in Months
Alexander Leonard 13 24 Michael Horgan 13½ 23 Edward Parker 1 1 ½ 1 8 Edwin Jarman 11} 16 Benjamin Mahoney 12½ l 6 Alexander McGlashan l 1 ½ 1 6 William Pearson 12¾ 15 Samuel Hindley 1 1 1 4 James Jones 13½ 13 Robert Donnelly 13% 1 3 William Knowles 12½ 1 3
(PRO/WO/47/1,987, p. 14,583)6 December 1843. The two additional carpenters at the R.L. to be retained for a further 3 months. (PRO/WO/47/1,909, P. 15,696)1 January 1844. The extra time worked by Boys in the R.L., introduced by order L/223 dated 17 October 1843, to be discontinued. (PRO/WO[47/1,992, P. 29)
9 February 1844. John Cullen, late Porter at the Arsenal Gate, is superannuated on a pension of£24 p.a. He was originally granted an allowance of £24 for one year by Treasury letter dated 31 October 1842 (Board's order dated 2 November 1842).
(PRO/WO[47/1,995, P. 1,855)19 February 1844. The 20 additional Boys in the R.L. to be retained for a further 6 months owing to pressure of work. (PRO/WO/47/1,996, p. 2,260)
28February 1844. The two additional Carpenters in the R.L., who were employed for 3 extra months, are now to be retained for a further 6 months.
(PRO/WO/47/1,997, p. 2,723)28 February 1844. Robert Goodwin appointed Boy under the Civil Officers vice Joseph Boniface, who left the Department. (PRO/WO]47/1,997, p. 2,670) I March 1844. William Tyler, a Tinman in the R.L., superannuated after 49 years service with a pension of £24 ·p.a. (PRO/WO/47/1,998, p. 2,794)
18 April 1844. Henry G. Burgess, Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Junior Clerk in the Master-General's office vice William Leith Hay, resigned.
Henry Wright, Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department to be Established Clerk in that Department vice Henry G. Burgess.
George J. M. Charlier, Temporary Clerk in the Master-General's office, to be Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Wright.
(PRO/WO/47/2,002, p. 4,829) 23 April 184. Tuesday 25 April 1844, the Queen's birthday, to be observed as a holiday in the Royal Arsenal. (PRO/WO[47/2,003, p. 5,058)
1224
APPENDIX VIII
1o May 1844. John Wolff, Engineer Clerk in the Engineer D t
. . ( epar ment
aged 72 years with 25 years service salary 155. 25. 6d. p.a.) su er~ annuated on a pens10n of £80 p.a. P (PRO/WO/47/2,004, P. 5,903) 13 May 1841' George Green appointed Engineer Clerk in the En 'neer Department vice John Wolff, superannuated. gi (PRO/WO/47/2,005, p. 6,018) 15 May 1844. James Chapman, Engineer Clerk in the En!Tlnee D
'th . o· r epart
ment, agcd 56 years wit 35 years service (salary £l9I. 12s. 6d.) superannuated with a pens10n of £130 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,006, p. 6,497) 31 May 1344. Alexander M. McPherson, Engineer Clerk at Ch th
· CIk' hE • a am,
appointed Engmeer er m t e ngmeer Department vice James Chapman, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/2,006, P. 6,747)
3 June 1844. Owing to his father's services and to the fact that he was a cripple, the wages of Thomas Gage were advanced by 3d. a day. He was promoted from Boy at 10s. 6d. a week to Labourer.
(PRO/WO/47/2,007, p. 6,923) 7 June 1344. The following Boys in the R.L. have their wages increased from 6d. to gd. a day:
Name Age in Years Service in Months
William Kelly I r ¼ 18 Thomas Adams 12½ 16 William Wilson 14 16 Thomas Stewart 12g 15 John Handcock 13#% 15 William Taylor 14l 12 Thomas Brown I 2 12 George Bell I 1 f i 12 William Pickering I I½
(PRO/WO/47/2,007, P. 7, 113)
21 June 1844. Owing to the Metropolitan Police taking over the Main and Plumstead gates of the Royal Arsenal, the three gatekeepers:
John Amos appointed in 1811 John Bloss appointed in 1839 Robert Robinson appointed in 1842
will be disposed of as follows :
John Amos to be recommended to the Treasury for an allowance of £a4 p.a. till other employment can be found for him. John Bloss and Robert Robinson, being in receipt of military pensions, are not entitled to any further consideration on removal from their posts. (PRO/WO/47/2,009, p. 7,724) 3 July 1844. John Amos, late Porter at the Arsenal Gate superannuated on a pension of £44 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,010, p. 8,222)
1225
APPENDIX VIII
15 July 1844. It was agreed that as the Principal Foreman, Thomas Bell, and the Foreman next to him, John Sydes, were too old for their posts, they should be superannuated. Should this be approved, John Amos, late Porter at the Arsenal Gate and recently superannuated was recommended for the post of Principal Foreman under the Civil Officers vice Thomas Bell.
(PROfWO/47/2,on, p. 8,681)
16 August 1844. The 20 additional Boys at the R.L. to be employed for
a further 6 months.
(PRO/WO/47/2,014, p. 10,065)
6 September 1844. James Emptage appointed Labourer m the Store
keeper's Department vice Michael Dillon, resigned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,016, p. 10,916)
6 September 1844. Alexander M. McPherson confirmed in his appoint
ment as Engineer Clerk.
(PROfWO/47/2,016, p. 10,977)
14 October 1844. William Palling appointed Labourer m the Store
keeper's Department vice Mr Leaker, resigned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,020, p. 12,455)
16 October 1844. James William Pease, Artificer in the R.L. at 3s. od. a
day, is granted the pay of Artificer at,µ. rd. a day.
(PROfWO/47/2,020, p. 12,612)
go October 1844. Benjamin Wells, a Lad under the Civil Officers,
appointed Labourer on reaching the age of 20 years.
(PRO/WO/47/2,021, p. 13,132)
13 December 1844. Thomas Bell, son of Thomas Bell, Principal Foreman
under the Civil Officers, appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Depart
ment vice Henry Beach who had left the Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,026, p. 15,302) 16 December 1844. John Claydon, an Officeman, removed to the Labourers' class and appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice William Arsden, deceased. James McNaught, aged 1g years, appointed Officeman vice John Claydon. (PRO/WO/47/2,026, p. 15,494) 20 December 1844. Hayward Andrews appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Bottril, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,026, p. 15,694) 20 December 1844. Thomas Bell, after passing the medical board is confirmed in his appointment as Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PROfWO/47/2,026, p. 15,707)
27 December 1844. Thomas Bell, Principal Foreman of Labourers under the Civil Officers, aged 66 years with 43 years service (salary £70. 8s. 6d.) IS superannuated on a pension of £35. ,µ. 3d. p.a.
(PRO/WO/47/2,027, p. 15,965) 30 December 1844. The following Boys in the R.L. have their wages increased from 6d. to gd. a day:
1226
APPENDIX VIII
Name Age in Years Service in Months
E. P. Manson 1or 16 Robert Holmes 13~~ 16 James Potter 1 212f 16 John Spalding I 11\ 16 Thomas Andrews 1 311k 16 George Bayne 13g 16 John Collins 14%
16
William Flemming 141;-16 16
John Inch 14% James Oldfield I 3
16 16
E. J. Ward 13% (PRO/WO/47/2,027, p. 16,628)
1 January 1845. John Amos appointed Principal Foreman of Labourers under the Civil Officers at,µ. 6d. a day vice Thomas Bell, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/2,028, p. 10)6January 1845. John Baker, Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department, aged 7o years with 32 years service (salary £146 p.a.) superannuated on a pension of £96 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,028, p. 197) . . L
3 1\.1arch 1845. Daniel Sullivan and James In, Apprentices in the R...., completing their period of service on 4 March 1845, are appomted permanent Artificers in the R.L. at 4s. 1d. a day. .
Thomas Carlisle and Edwin Bearfoot, sons of R.L. Artificers, are recommended as Apprentices vice Daniel Sullivan and James In. Tho_mas Carlisle was agreed to, but as Edwin Bearfoot was reported unfit, another boy had to be selected.
(PRO/WO/4.7/2,034, p. 3,012) d . 3 March 1845. The 20 additional Boys and 2 Labourers employe m the R.L. to be retained for a further 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/2,034, p. 3,053) k , 22 March 1845. Edmund James Breeze, 3rd Clerk in the Store ceper s Office, superannuated with a pension of£133. 6. Bd. p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,036, p. 3,908) 26 lVIarch 1845. The following Boys in the R.L. have their wages increased from 6d. to gd. a day w.e.f I April 1845:
Name Age in Years Service in Nfonths
Henry Banks William DudneyN. N. Gosling Walter Keeble Alexander McDonald Charles O'Connor William Ross James Stewart William Mendham I2i'\1# 1a% 12± 12i\-12 1ar% un13} 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 18
80 1227
Name Age in Years Service in lvlonths
James Amos 13% 15
William Henry Dean 13 14
William Bales 12 13
(PRO/WO/47/2,036, p. 4,060)
3r March r845. George Pearson appointed Apprentice in the R.L. vice Edwin Bearfoot. (PRO/WO[47/2,036, p. 4,295)
2 April z845. Frederick Palgrave Barlee appointed Established Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department in the vacancy caused by the superannuation of Edmund James Breeze.
(PRO/W0/47/2,037, p. 4,374)2 April 1845. William Thomas Forster appointed grd Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office vice Edmund James Breeze, superannuated. (PRO/\!\ 0/47/2,037, p. 4-,417)7 April 185. Frederick Palgrave Barlee confirmed in his appointment as Clerk. (PRO/[WO/47/2,037 P. 4,685)
7 Aj1ril I 845. James W. Collins, half-pay Deputy Storekeeper, appoi.nted Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice George J. :rvL Charlier, posted to Upnor Castle.
(PRO/WO]47/2,037, Pp. 4,696)
2 May 1845. Lieut.-Colonel George Barney, R.E., appointed C.R.E. \t\ oolwich Division, w.e.f. 2 May 1845 vice Colonel Sir George Hoste, R.E., who died on 21 April 1845.
(PRO/WO/47/2,040, p. 6,171)
28 May 1845. Edward M. Sparkes, Deputy Storekeeper at Chatham, appointed Deputy Storekeeper at \,Voolwich vice William Jones, removed from his post.
(PRO/W0/47/2,042, p. 7,326) r3 June r845. George Green appointed Engineer Clerk in the Engineer Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,044, p. 8,224) 13June 1845. Convicts are only to be paid for the days on which they actually work. (PRO/WO]47/2,044, p. 8,263) r6 June r845. George C. Cranston appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,044, p. 8,364) 25June 1845. Daniel Pellatt, Collar-maker, has his wages increased to 2s. 6d. a day. (PRO/WO/47/2,045, p. 8,869) I July 1845. John Wilson, Clerk of Works, superannuated on a pension of£200 p.a., w.e.f. 1st July 1845. (PRO/W0/55/p. 761) 7 July z845. Cornelius Egan dismissed from the Storekeeper's Department for admitting strangers into the storehouses. (PRO/WO[47/2,046, p. 9,508)
1228
APPENDIX VIII
7 July r845. The following promotions in the R.L. are approved:
Thomas Carter, 2nd Assistant Foreman at 5. 4d.adaytobe 1st Assistant Foreman at 6s. od. a day vice Benjamin Bush who died on Saturday 28 June 1845.
John Graham, Storehouse Foreman at4s. 1d.a day, to be 2nd Assistant Foreman at 5. 4d. a day vice Thomas Carter. ]ames Bond, Storehouse Foreman at 3s. 9d. a day, to be Storehouse Foreman at 4s. 1d. a day vice John Graham. Henry Fludyer, Labourer, at 2s. 4d. a day, to be Storehouse Foreman at 3s. 9d. a day vice James Bond. . Robert Smith, Extra Labourer, to be Established Labourer vice Henry Fludyer. (PRO/WO/47/2,046, p. 9,496) I r July 1045. John \,Vilson, Clerk of Works, to be superannuated on a pension of £200 p.a., w.e.f I July 1845. (PRO/W0/47/2,047, p. 9,745) . 3o July 1845. William Cartwright appointed Clerk of Works vice John \Nilson, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/2,048, p. 10,736) ... 3o July 1845. John Amos appointed a Chief Foreman under the Civil Officers, his pay being increased from 4s. od. to 5s, od. a day. (PRO/W0/47/2,048, p. 10,786) .. r5 August r845. Daniel Toner, Labourer under the Civil Officers, dismissed for insubordination. (PRO/WO/47/2,050, P. 11,669) .
20 August r845. The last or evening call of the men by a clerk will be dispensed with. In future, the Principal Foreman will call out the names, the Foremen of the several storehouses and workshops will accompany the workers to the Arsenal Gate where they will be passed out by the police.
(PRO/W0/47/2,050, p. 11,925) .. 25 August ra45. The following promotions are made under the Civil Officers:Thomas J. Sutch, a Lad at 1s. 6d. p.d., aged 20 years, to be a Labourer at 2s. 4d.a day. Robert Goodwin, a Boy at zs. od. a day, aged nearly 16 years, to be a Lad at 1s. 6d. a day vice Thomas J. Sutch. . Frederick Farmiloe to be a Boy vice Robert Goodwm. (PRO/WO]47/2,051, p. 12,248)25 August 1845. Thomas Mahoney, a Labo:1rer in t~e R.L., aged 53 years with 35 years service, superannuated with a pension of £15 p.a. (PRO/W047/2051 p. 12186) . 29 August 1845. William McCulry appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Cornelius Egan, dismissed. (PRO/W0/47/2,051, p. 12,451) . I September re45. David Spooner, having passed th~ medic_al board, appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Damel Toner, dismissed. (PRO/WO/47/2,052, p. 12,567) 1229
• APPENDIX VIII
3 September 1845. The 20 additional Boys and 2 Artificers in the R.L. to be retained till the end of the year. (PRO/WO/47/2,052, p. 12,752) 9 Sej1ltmber 1845. The appointment of John Hudson as a Labourer in the R.L. is cancelled. (PRO/WO/47/2,052, P. 13,021) 20 September 1845. The following promotions arose as a result of a fire and explosion in a fuzc building in the R.L. on 17 Scptember 1845: Christopher Pickering, Fireworker at,µ. rd. p.d. to be Master Rocket Maker at 7s. od. a day vice John Crake, killed.
Dennis Dwyer, Labourer at 2s. 4d., of 13% ycars service in the R.L., to be Extra Foreman at3s. 9d. a day to perform the duties of Christopher Pickering.
The following Boys of 20 years of age, William Jeffreys, Henry Broughton,ReubenCourtrnanand ThomasJolmsonofg1 ycarsofageto be Labourers vice Henry Butters, senior, Henry Butters, junior and Robert Burbage, killed; and Dennis Dwyer, promoted.
(PRO/WO/47/2,054, p. 14,016) 29 September 1845. The funeral expenses of the 7 victims of the explosion
of 17 September to be paid by the Board as under:
John Crake, Master Rocket Maker 1o. 2s. od.
Henry Butters, senior } Henry Butters, junior Robert Burbage Samuel Hindley (Boy) £11. £ 4. £ 4. 155. OS. l IS. 9d. od. od.
Alexander Leonard (Boy) Michael Purtell £ 2. £ 4. I4J. 5°. od. 6d.
The Surveyor-General was asked to indicate what compensation should be paid to the 6 labourers whose clothes were damaged whilst extinguishing the fire.
(PRO/WO/47/2,054, P. 14,120) 1o October 1845. The funeral expenses of the 7 victims of the explosion were forwarded to the Board. The following sums were allowed for damaged clothes: James Burnett £3. os. od.; Peter Rich 7s. 6d.; Robert W. Morrison ros. od.; Joseph Carlisle £r. ros. od.; John Henderson 7s. 6d. The 4 Artillerymen concerned were each issued with a new pair of trousers from store in free replacement of their own which were soiled beyond repair. (PRO/WO/47/2,o55, p. 14,734) 13 October 1845. The Treasury approached with a view to granting some compensaton to the families of those killed in the explosion. . Michael Purtell, 1o years of age, son of Michael Purtell, the labourer killed, to be taken on as a Boy in the Storekeeper's Department. Five pounds is to be paid to the fathers of the two boys killed Samuel Hindley and Alexander Leonard. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,056, p. 14,928)
1230
APPENDIX VIII
15 October 1845. Having passed the mcdiaal board, John Mcckifl is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Departrnent vice Michael Purtell, killed in the explosion of 17 September 1845.
(PRO[WO]47/2,056, p. 15,041) 17 October 1845. The appointment of William Evens, acting Foreman of Works on 6January 1845 vice John Baker, is confirmed. (PRO/WO[47/2,056, p. 15,189)
2o October 1845. William O'Neill, a Temporary Clerk under the Civil Officers, appointed Established Clerk at Woolwich vice Robert Pringle, promoted to Deputy Storekeeper at Enniskillen.
Horatio Albert Russell appointed Temporary Clerk under the Civil Officers vice William O'Neill, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,056, P. 15,356)
27 October 1845. The following allowances were granted by the Treasury to the dependents of the victims of the explosion in the R.L. on 17 September 1845:
(1)
Sarah Crake, single, aged 4o years, daughter ofJohn Crake, Master Rocket Ivfaker, killed, £25 p.a.
(2)
Elizabeth Butters, aged 52 ycars, widow of Henry Butters, senior, killed, I4J. od. a week.
(3)
Elizabeth Butters, aged 28 ycars, widow of flenry Butters, junior, killed, 14s. od. a week.
(4)
Mary Burbage, aged 32 years, widow of Robert Burbage, killed, gs. od. a week. (PRO/WO[47/2,057, P. 15,758)
17 November 1845. Alfred H. Young, 7th Clerk, 3rd Class, in the Storekeeper's office, promoted to the vacancy in the 2nd Class caused by the appointment of Robert Pringle as Deputy Storekeeper, Enniskillen.
(PRO/WO[47/2,059, p. 16,969) 17 November 1845.John Bailey, a Boy in the R.L., aged 21¾ years, appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice William Millar, who left the Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,059, p. 17,017)24 November 1845. Thomas Giles, Master Cooper in the R.L., aged 72 years with 53 years service (wages {1o9. 1s. od., p.a.) superannuated on a pension of £60. 5s. od. p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,060, p. 17,390) 1o December 1845. J. W. D. Johnson, appointed Foreman of Works, Engineer Department, vice Robert Mahoney appointed Foreman of Works, Canada. (PRO/WO/47/2,061, p. 18,284) I 2 December 1845. James Scott, Cooper, to be Master Cooper in the
R.L. vice Thomas Giles, superannuated. Thomas Chandler, Carpenter in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Cooper vice James Scott, promoted . (PRO/WO/47/2,062, p. 18,435)
I9 December 1845. Thomas A. G. Satchwell, Temporary Clerk in the office of the Inspector-General of Fortifications, appointed Temporary Clerk in the R.L. till 31 March 1847 when the matter will be further considered. There had been a vacancy for a clerk in the R.L. for many
1231
APPENDIX VIII
years, the clerical ·work being undertaken partly by a labourer who was paid an extra 6d. a day for the work under the Board's authority L/22 dated 31 January 1840. The work was now getting into arrears. The present establishment of the office of the Director R.L. was fixed in 1835, at one Deputy Storekeeper and 2 Clerks, leaving a vacancy for one clerk which had never since been filled. Since 1835, the numbers employed in the R.L. had greatly increased. In 1835 there were I 26 persons employed, by 1845 this number had swelled to 309.
(PRO/WO/47/2,062, p. 18,871)
29 December 1845. The 2o additional Labourers at the R.L. are to be
retained for a further 6 months in view of certain heavy orders to be
fulfilled, notably increased numbers of detonating quill tubes for 30 Sail
of the Line at Outports.
(PRO/WO/47/2,063, p-19,311)
31 December 1845. Jonathan Castledine, a Boy almost 2o ycars old,
appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice David Scott, promoted to the post
of Foreman of Labourers in the Laboratory at Portsmouth.
(PRO/WO/47/2,063, p. 19394)
2January 1846. The services of the 2o additional boys and the 2 Artificers
in the R.L., sanctioned for a further period. The Director R.L. to report
when he can dispense with their services.
(PRO/WO[47/2,064, p. 46)
5 January 1846. John Collins, Junior, appointed Labourer in the Store
keeper's Department vice Benjamin Wells, resigned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,064, p. 172)
9 January 1846. Stephen Clare, employed as a Carpenter on labourer's
wages, appointed Carpenter in the Storekeeper's Department vice
Thomas Chandler, appointed Cooper in the R.L.
(PRO/WO/47/2,064, P. 418)
12January 1846. John Collins, having passed the medical board is con
firmed in his appointment as Labourer in the Storekeeper's Dep;rtment.
(PRO/WO]47/2,065, p. 564)
12January 18.46. Henry Hopper appointed Temporary Labourer in the
R.L. for six months. (PRO/WO/47/2,065, p. 520) 16January 1846. George Wright, having passed the medical board. 1s appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. ' (PRO/WO[47/2,065, p. 805) 21 January 1846. Thomas Mann is apprenticed to John Boyter Foreman of Collar-makers, in the Storekeeper's Department. ' (PRO/WO]47/2,066, p. 1,032) 9 February 1846. Nathaniel Pamplin, having passed the medical board is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Mr Cummings, deceased. (PRO/WO]47/2,067, p. 2,211) 23 February 1846. 'The following appointments are made under the Civil Officers:
David McLaren, lately in charge of the pattern rooms, to take charge of the In trenching Tool Store at 3s. gd. per day.
1232
APPENDIX VIII
Robert Robinson appointed to take charge of the pattern rooms at 3s. od. per day vice David McLaren, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,069, P-3,057)
6March 1846.FrederickSmith, Extra Labourerin the R.L., appointed Established LabourerintheR.L.viceEdwardMarks,wholefttheDepartrnent. John Gilbert, a Boy in the R.L., aged 2 r years, appointed Extra
Labourer in the R.L. vice Frederick Smith, promoted. (PRO/WO[47/2,070, P-3,775)11 March 18.46.The following additional labour in the R.L. is sanctioned
for rocket work for 6 months: 24 Artificers 32 Labourers 40 Boys
(PRO/WO/47/2,071, P. 4,019)16 March 1846. The following were passed fit for their appointments by
a medical board : 'William WheelerAged 26 ycarsTo be a Smith in the R.L. John Dean -Aged 27 years-To be a Smith in the R.L. Richard Pickin -Aged 23 years-To be a Smith in the R.L. 'William Coles Aged 41 yearsTo be employed in the R.L. Richard Russell Aged 33 years-To be employed in the R.L.
(PRO]WO/47/2,071, P. 4,328)18 Jvlarch 1846. George Reed, a Boy in the R.L., aged 18¼ years, appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Robert Morrison, resigned. (PRO[WO/47/2,071, P. 4,489) 2o March 18.46. The following are pronounced to be medically fit for their appointments in the R.L.:
Smiths Labourers
Thomas Righ Joseph Beard Richard Stiggers John Cooper William East James Wain John Jones Thomas Cranston Christopher McGuire James McGee Joseph Symes Patrick Murray William Cahill Charles Niflon Edward Smith Thomas Collins William Cockle Henry Darcy Henry Helen George Mather William Duplock Edward Martin Joseph Jones William Smith
Founder Evan Jones William A. Cox William Saunders
Carpenter James Anderson
John Cummins Thomas Neavy John Woolton John Counsell
(PRO/WO[47/2,071, P. 4,630) Thomas Murray
1233
APPENDIX VIII
2o March 18.46. The following labourers in the R.L. were found medically fit for their appointments: William Ellis; John Edger; William Stephens; William Meadman. (PRO/WO/47/2,071, P. 4,634) 20 lvfarch r846. The following were found medically fit for their appointments in the R.L.:
Founder Labourers
James McBride James Saunders Charles Jones Turner James Richards John Mallen Henry Mills
Alexander McCrossen, a labourer, was reported to be medically unfit. (PRO/WO/47/2,071, P. 4635) 20 March r846. The following labourers were found to be medically fit for their employment in the R.L.: Gordon Bradbury; Thomas Connor; Henry Boulton; John Williams; James McWater. William Lane was reported to be medically unfit for a labourer. (PRO/WO/47/2,071, P. 4,636)
25 March 1846. James Patterson and William Armstrong appointed Collar-makers m the Storekeeper s Department. The Civil Officers to ascertain whether Robert Long, Frederick James, James Beacon William Parry and George Warren are medically fit for their jobs. '
(PRO/WO[47/2,072, p. 4,897) . 25 March 1846. The following found medically fit for their appointments m the R.L.:
Smiths John Pattenden George Jones Labourers Stephen Minter Benjamin Green
(PRO/WO/47/2,072, p. 4,922)
27 March 186. Providcd they are medically fit, Richard Scott and John Hawkesworth are appointed Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department viceJohn MeckifT (mentally unbalanced) and Bartholomew Lawlor dismissed, respectively. '
(PRO/WO/47/2,072, p. 4,922) 3o March 1846. Being passed medically fit, Abraham Jessop is appointed Labourer m the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/2,072, p. 5,239) I April 1846. The following labourers in the Storekeeper's Department were employed as temporary painters at 6d. per day extra:
B. Sharpe for 42 days; J. Storey for 27 days; James Wisdom for 22! days} James Richardson for 12 days; William Read for 30 days; and Wilham Murphy for go days.
These would be reduced to three after 3 1 March 1846 and the remainder would go when the Service could admit of it. (PRO/WO[47/2,073, P. 5,348) 1 April ~846. George Wallace, being found medically fit, is appointed Labourer m the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,073, p. 5,353)
1234
APPENDIX VIII
3 April 1846. The following passed medically fit for their appointments in the Storekeeper's Department:
Collar-makers: Robert Long Frederick James
Labourer: Jenkin Evans
(PRO/WO[47/2,073, P.-5,487)3 April r846. The following passed medically fit for their appointments under the Civil Officers: William Watson; Henry Thompson; Samuel Smith; William Cornhill; Francis Robson; and Thomas Goodwin. (PRO/WO/47/2,073, P-5,492) · 3 April 18.46. William Lyan, being found medically fit, is appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,073, p. 5,488)3 April r846. James Casey, being found medically fit, is appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,073, P-5,489)6 April r846. Richard Scott, being found medically fit, is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO[WO]47/2,073, P. 5,636)6 April r846. The following, being found medically fit, are appointed as under:
Storekeeper's Department
Labourers: Thomas Tresdale; John Cawse; Charles Emptage; John Parsons Webb; William Blandford; James Akhurst; John Edwards; Charles Townsend; and George Brown.
Collar-makers: William Armstrong; William Parry; and George Warren.
Royal Carriage Department Smith: Charles Springett Wheelwright: Joseph Collins Iron Turner: Richard Grueber
(PRO/WO]47/2,073, P. 5,651)8 April 1846. Stephen English appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, w.e.f. 25 March 1846 vice John Hawkesworth, otherwise provided for. (PRO/WO[47/2,073, P-5,712)8 April 1846. Twenty additional labourers approved for the Civil Officers, of whom 9 are to be as follows: Samuel Smith, William Cornhill, Francis Robson, Thomas Goodwin, Thomas Tresdale, John Cawse, Charles Emptage, James Akhurst and John Parsons Webb. (PRO/WO/47/2,073, P-5,742)8 April 1846. James Patterson, being found medically fit, is confirmed as a Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,073, p. 5,786)11 April 1846. James Kerr appointed Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,074, P-5,857)16 AjJril 1846. Robert Long, Frederick James, William Armstrong and
1235
William Parry, being medically fit, joined as Collarmakers in the Storekeeper's Department. William Hayward and John Kirkwood to be appointed subject to medical examination.
(PRO/WO[47/2,074, p. 6, 122) 1 7 Ajuil 1846. After medical examination, the following are confirmed in their appointments:
Storekeeper's Department
Collar-maker: William Hayward
Labourers: Francis Savage, George Alloway, Henry
Wisdom, John Fabling and James Dixon
Royal Laboratory Labourer: Dennis Brogan Royal Carriage Department Wheeler: George Harrison Wheelwright: Alfred Base (PRO/WO/47/2,074, p. 6,140) 20 April 1846. Being found medically fit, the following are confirmed in their appointments:
William Smith Labourer in the R.L. Michael Freeman Wheelwright in the R.C.D.
(PRO/WO/47/2,074, p. 6,261) 22 April 1846. Colonel George Barney, R.E., C.R.E. Woolwich District to retire on half pay, w.e.f. 22 April 1846. " (PRO/W0/47/2,075, p. 6,397) 27 April 1846. John Ford, being found medically fit, is confirmed in his appointment as Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,075, p. 6,720) 29 April 1846. The following, being found medically fit, are confirmed in their appointments:
John Kirkwood Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department
Edward Napier Wheelwright in the R.C.D.
Henry Allfrey Labourer in the R.C.D.
James Kerr Collar and Harness maker in the Storekeeper's
Department
(PRO/WO/A7/2,075, p. 6,824) 4 May 1846. Brigade Major Henry Sandham, R.E., to be C.R.E. Woolwich District temporarily vice Colonel George Barney, R.E., retired. (PRO/WO[47/2,076, p. 7,116) 6 May 1846. Having passed the medical board, William Eattel is appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,076, p. 7,254) 13 May 1846. Having passed the medical board, Archibald Burt IS appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO[WO/47/2,077 p. 7,695)
1236
APPENDIX VIII
15 MaJ1 1846. Being found medically fit, the following arc confirmed in their appointments in the R.L.:
Smith: John Pcttman Labourer: Daniel Fitzpatrick
(PRO/WO]47/2,077, p. 7857)
15 May 1846. The following appointments are made in the R.L.:
Thomas Carter, 1st Assistant Foreman, to be Chief Foreman vice John
Cook, superannuated. John Graham, 2nd Assistant Foreman at 5s. 4d. per day, to bc Ist Assistant Foreman at 6s. od. per day vice Thomas Carter, promoted. William Barnett, Extra Foreman at4s. 1d. per day, to bc 2nd Assistant Foreman at 5s. 4d. per day vice John Graham, promoted. James Lee, 2nd Storehouse Foreman at 3s. 9d. per day, to be Extra Foreman at 4s. 1d. per day vice William Barnett, promoted. Richard Langham, Established Labourer at 2s. 4d. per day, to be 2nd Storchouse Foreman at 3s. gd. per day vice James Lee, promoted. Lemuel Berry, Extra Labourer, to be Established Labourer at 2s. 4d. per day vice Richard Langham, promoted. Henry Hopper, Labourer, to be placed on the first Extra List vice Lemuel Berry, promoted. (PRO/WO/A7/2,077, P. 7,758) 29 May 1846. Having passed the medical board, the following are appointed:
Richard Burrowes Wheelwright in the R.C.D. Edward Phillips Artificer in the Inspector of Artillery Department Thomas Kinman Labourer ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, James Amos Lad
" " " "" "
George Smith Labourer in the R.L.
(PRO/WO/47/2,078, p. 8,584) 29 May 1846. Four additional Turners are approved for the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/2,078, p. 8,613) 5 June 1846. Having passed the medical board, Thomas Reid IS appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,079, P.-9,008) 8 June 1846. Having passed the medical board, "''illiam Price is appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/2,079, P-9,079) 8 June 1846. Having passed the medical board, Henry Libby is appointed Smith in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,079, P. 9,080) 10 June 1846. Having passed the medical board, John Fletcher IS appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,079, P. 9,221) 12 June 1846. Having passed the medical board, John Insley IS appointed Labourer in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,080, p. 9,314)
1237
15 June 1846. George Stone appointed Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department vice George Digby, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,080, p. 9,388) 19 June 1846. J. W. D. Johnson is confirmed in his appointment as Foreman of ,,vorks, Engineer Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,080, p. g,6ro) 19 June 1846. Thomas Tyler, Temporary Tinman, to be Tinrnan in the R.L. vice a tinman discharged for loss of time. W'illiam Hadley, Extra Labourer in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L. William [name illegible in the Record], Boy, appointed Extra Labourer in the R.L. vice 'William Hadley. (PRO/WO[47/2,080, p. 9,663)
22 June 1846. Having passed the medical board, George Stone is
confirmed in his appointment as Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's
Department.
Having passed the medical board, William Dracord is appointed
Labourer in the R.L.
(PROJWO/47/2,08r, p. 9,827)
26June 1846. The 2o additional labourers in the R.L. to be employed
for a further six months.
(PRO/WO/47/2,08r, p. 9,986)
13 July 1846. Stephen St Clair and Charles Brimman, Lads of 20 years
of age in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Labourers at 2s. 4d.
a day.
(PRO/WO/[47/2,083, p. 10,923)
17 July 1846. Henry Wisdom appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's
Department vice W. Harris who died on 8 July 1846.
(PRO/WO[47/2,083, p. 11,170)
27 July 1846. Two Boys to be appointed to the Storekeeper's Depart
ment vice Stephen St Clair and Charles Brimman, promoted Labourers.
(PRO/WO[47/2,084, p. 11,641)
27 July r846. The 4 additional Turners in the R.L. to be employed for
a further 6 months on the condition that they be discharged earlier if
the Service will allow.
(PRO/WO/47/2,084, p. r r,66r)
31 August 1846. An exchange between two labourers, John Hunt of
Dover and Wilham Reid of the Storekeeper's Department, was allowed.
(PRO/WO/47/2,087, p. 13,297)
4. ~eptember r846. The services of the 24 additional Artificers, 32 additional Labourers and 4o additional Boys in the R.L., to be retained for the present;
(PRO/WO[47/2,088, p. 13,452) r1_September r846. Having passed the medical board, Joseph Glasby is appointed Labourer in the R.L., and Abraham Surrey, a Wheehvright in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,089, p. 13,942)
1238
APPENDIX VIII
I6 September 1846. Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English R.E., appointed
C.R.E. Woolwich District vice Brigade Major Henry Sandham, R.E. (PRO/WO[47/2,089, p. 14,063) II November 1846. David Spooner appointed Labourer in the Stovekeeper's Department vice John Edwards, moved to Purfleet.
(PRO/WO/47/2,095, p. 16,919) I6 November 1846. The following appointments are made:Lieut.-Colonel Richard Hardinge, R.A., to be Director R.L., w.e.f.
16 November r846 vice Colonel James P. Cockburn, promoted MajorGeneral. Captain Henry Pester to be Firemaster R.L., w.e.J. 16 November 1846 vice Lieut.-Colonel Charles Dansey, R.A., promoted Colonel. Lieut.-Colonel Henry William Gordon, R.A., to be Inspector R.C.D.,
w.e.f. r6 November 1846 vice Colonel Richard J. Lacy, promoted Major-General. Lieut.-Colonel James N. Colquohoun, R.A., to remain Assistant Inspector R.C.D. till he shall have completed 5 years in the appointment. (PRO/WO[47/2,095, P. 17,184)
25 November 1846. The date of Captain Henry Pester's appointment as
Firemaster R.L. will be 1 January 1847 and not r6 November 1846 as
previously stated. •
(PRO/WO/47/2,096, p. 17,808)
2r December 1846. Quarter-Master Sergeant George Marvin, R.H.A., appointed Foreman of the Clothing Store, Royal Arsenal, vice J. Miskin who died on 11 October 1846.
(PRO/WO/47/2,099, p. 19,244)
24 December r846. William Jones appointed Clerk of Works, Engineer Department vice W. J. Simons, posted as Clerk of Works, York, vice John K. Mills, posted as Clerk of Works, Guernsey, vice W. Bragge, superannuated.
(PRO/WO]47/2,099, P. 19,346) 9 January r847. William Cartwright promoted 1st Class Clerk of Works in one of the four vacancies. (PRO/WO/47/2,100, p. 370)
3 February r847. Francis Stephens appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Wallace, who left to become a convict guard.
(PRO/WO]47/2,103, p. 1,982) 8 February r847. George Hollis appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Kennedy, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,103, p. 2,242)
15February 1847.John Marshall and John Holder appointed Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department, provided they are medically fit, vice William Straffon and James Richardson, appointed convict guards.
(PRO/WO/47/2,104, p. 2,663) 22 February r847. Having passed the medical board, John Marshall is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,ro5, p. 2,953)
1239
26 Febmary 1847. Having passed the medical board, John Holder is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,105, P. 3,809) ro March 1847. George Proctor, a Boy of 21l years in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L., vice James Smith, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,106, P. 3,995)19 March 1847. John Ferguson appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Fletcher, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,107, P. 4,676) 31 March 1847.James Pickering, a Boy in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Garrott Connor, discharged. (PRO/WO/47/2,108, p. 5,304)
19 April 1847. On 17 April 1847, Thomas A. G. Satchwell was appointed Clerk on the establishment of the R.L. The question of an increase of two Clerks in the R.L. was referred to the Chief Clerks at the Tower for report.
(PRO/WO/47/2,110, P-6,337)
23 April 1847. Owing to the increase of work in the Storekeeper's Department, the Civil Officers are allowed to engage 40 additional Labourers as a temporary measure.
(PRO/WO[47/2,111, p. 6,565)
28 April 1847. Joseph Newman, a Labourer in the R.L., appointed Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department vice William Ganalt, who diced on 19 April 1847.
(PRO/WO/47/2,111, P. 6,915) 5 May 1847. The names of the 4o additional Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department are as follows:
Jonathan Ballard John Lee Henry Beard Henry Bell Thomas Middleton George BingGeorge Bridgers John Millar Joseph Cook John Cavey Henry Morris Thomas Diprose George Clifford William Saunders James FablingDavid Gow George Short Abraham Han eyThomas Hayward Thomas Taylor John Lyne Frank Hinman Joseph Warwick John Nice William Hopkins John Willmouth Charles Turner Daniel Jones Henry Wickham William Whorwell William Wright William Godden Robert McDonald Owen Moriarty Robert Murray Henry Palmer Henry Smith James Reed James Ellen
Jeremiah Lawlor (not yet joined)
The four labourers recommended to have an additional rs. od. a day to act as Overseers. (PRO/WO/47/2,112, P. 7344) 7 May 1847. William Drought appointed Temporary Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department vice Jonathan Birch, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,112, P. 7437)
1240
APPENDIX VIII
21 May 1847. William Holmes, a Boy agcd 2o ycars in the R.L.,
appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Woolton, an Extra Labourer,
deceased.
John Fergusson appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Edward Martin,
deceased.
(PRO/WO/47/2,114, p. 8,340)
21 May 1847. As Joseph Newman was found to be unsuitable as a
Collar-maker in the Storekeeper's Department, Joseph Beaumont was
2 :;_,.,pointed in his stead.
(PRO/WO[47/2,114, p. 8,348)
26 May 1847. James Bond, Storehouse Foreman in the R.L., appointed
Chief Foreman R.L. vice Thomas Carter, reduced in conformity with the
recommendation of the Director (L/11) dated 24 April 1847.
(PRO/WO/47/2,114, p. 8,592) 4 June 1847. William Burton appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Gilbert.
(PRO/WO[47/2,115, P-9,195)
7 June 1847. 'The following appointments are made:
John F. H. Read, established Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department,
appointed Clerk in the Secretary's Office of the Board, vice Mr Harris, deceased. Horatio Albert Russell, Temporary Clerk, to be Established Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice John F. H. Read. Joseph A. Pellatt appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Horatio Albert Russell, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,115, P. 9,317)
7 June 1847. Frederick S. Shepherd and J. F. Edwards to be the two Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department during the taking of the 'Remain'.
(PRO/WO/47/2,115, P-9,420)
7 June 1847. The following appointments are made in the R.L.:
Henry Fluclyer, Storehouse Foreman at 3s. 9d. per day, to be Foreman of the General Store at 4s. 1d. per day vice James Bond, appointed Chief Foreman. Joseph Jackson, Ofcckccper at 3s. 4d. per day, to be Storehouse Foreman at 3s. 9d. per day vice Henry Fludyer, promoted. Henry Butters, Labourer, to be OfIicckeeper at 3s. 4d. per day vice
Joseph Jackson, promoted.
Robert Mills, Boy, to be a Labourer vice Henry Butters, promoted.
John Davis to be Extra Foreman vice Richard Langham, reduced to
Labourer. (PRO/WO/47/2,115, P. 9,300)11 June 1847. James Malone appointed Labourer m the R.L. vice Charles Powell, who has left the Department. (PRO/WO/A7/2,116, p. 9,691)
I5 June 1847. In view of the great increase of work in the R.L., the Chief Clerks at the Tower agree that one additional Clerk should be allowed until 31 March 1848, prior to which the Director should report on the duties of his office.
1241
Robert Edyvean appointed to this Temporary Clerkship. (PRO/WO/[47/2,116, p. 9,946) r8Junc r847. Robert Broughton, a Lad in the Storekeeper's Department drawing rs. 6d. per day, is promoted Labourer at 2s. 4d. per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,116, p. 10,084) 30 June 1847. The appointment ofJoseph A. Pellatt in his Temporary Clerkship is confirmed. (PRO/W0/47/2,117, p. 10,718) 2 July r847. The appointment of Horatio Albert Russell in his Established Clerkship is confirmed. (PRO/WO[47/2,118, p. 10,848)
5 July 1847. Isaac Chapman appointed Temporary Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department during the 'Remain' vice David Gow who discharged himself by being absent without leave.
(PRO/WO/47/2,118, p. 10,995) 5 July 1847. Thomas Davis, a Boy in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Joseph Cohen, who left the Service. (P-RO/W0/47/2,118, p. ro,905) 16 July 1847. John Robertson appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Isaac Courtman, promoted to a vacancy of Hammerman in the Smiths' Shop, R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,119, P. 11,645) 28 July 1847. The appointment of Robert Edyvean in his TemporaryClerkship in the R.L. is confirmed. (PRO/W0/47/2,120, p. 12,275) 2 August 1847. The Civil Officers are allowed temporarily 20 additional Labourers and 2 Leading Hands at 1s. od. per day extra to enable them to remove gun from the wharves. (PRO/WO[47/2,121, p. 12,482) 23 August 1847. William Jordan appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Mallen who left the Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,123, p. 13,812) 25 August 1847. Joseph Bell appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Mallen in place of William Jordan. (PRO/W0/47/2,123, p. 13,936) I September r847. Masters and Foremen in the R.L. granted overtime for their extra work in connection with the manufacture of naval shell and fuzes.
(PRO/WO/47/2,124, P. 14,284) I September i8.p7. Benjamin Strutt, a Temporary Labourer under the Civil Officers, is appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Henry Smith who left his employment. The place of Benjamin Strutt to be filled by another man. (PRO/WO/47/2,124, p. 14,257) 6 September r847. Edward McKnight appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Teasdale, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,124, P. 14,425)
1242
APPENDIX VIII
6 September 1847. Having passed the medical board, Joseph Bell Is
confirmed in his appointment as Labourer in the R.L.
(PRO/W0/47/2,124, p. 14,435)
BSeptember 1847. Paul Rennell, a Cooper in the R.L., aged 42 years and
having 13 years and 8 months service (wages £63. r8s. rd. p.a.) is
superannuated on a pension of £15 p.a.
(PRO/WO/47/2,124, P. 14,616)
8 September 1847. John Cogham, Samuel Symms and John Bede appointed Temporary Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Cavey,James Reed and Henry Murphy, who left their employment.
(PRO/WO/47/2,124, P. 14,650)
17 September 1847. Having passed the medical board, John Bede is
confirmed in his appointment as Temporary Labourer in the Storekeeper's
Department.
Samuel Syrnms was medically unfit to take up his appointment. (PRO/WO/[47/2,125, P. 15,149) 2o September 18y7. Edward Willis, a Turner, appointed, if he be medically fit, Cooper in the R.L. vice Paul Rennell, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/2,125, P. 15,282)14October 1847. William Sacre appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Francis Watts, who died on 23 September 1847 (PRO/WO/47/2,128, p. 16,360)
15 October 1847. The go additional Temporary Labourers and the two Leading Hands under the Civil Officers are to be retained till the work in question be finished.
(PRO/WO/47/2,128, p. 16,400) 22 October r847. Francis Gallowan appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Collins, deceased. . John White appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Wellmouth, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,129, p. 16,861) .. . .
22 October r847. Having passed the medical board, William Sacree IS confirmed in his appointment as a Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,129, p. 16,863) 22 October 187. James Tomkinson appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Frederick Smith, sent away on detachment. (PRO/W0/47/2,129, p. 16,824) .
3 November 1847. Since James Tomkinson was found r:1ed1cally unfit ~or his duty, William Jordan was appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Frederick Smith.
(PRO/WO[47/2,130, P-17,563)10 November r847. The additional 4 pairs of sawyers sanctioned for the
R.C.D. to cut up deals from the Storekeeper's Department are to be retained for another 3 months. (PRO/W0/47/2,130, p. 17,992)17 November 1847. Aaron Weeks, a Lad in the Storekeeper's Department,
is promoted Labourer in that Department vice John Cogham. (PRO/W0/47/2,131, p. 18,375)
81 1243
r December 1847. John Cavey and William Watkin are appointed Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department vice Robert ,I\Tilkie and
T. Strinham, who left the Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,133, P-19,063) 6 December r847. The following appointments are made: Frederick Fulton to be Clerk in the R.C.D., vice M. Blackmore
appointed Clerk at Graham's Town. James R. Edkins to be Engineer Clerk vice Frederick Fulton. (PRO/WO/47/2,133, P. 19,391) r7 December r847. The two additional Temporary Clerks-Frederick
S. Shepherd and J. F. Edwards-taken on for the 'Remain' will be retained till 31 March 1848 until the 'Remain' has been satisfactorily concluded. In return for this concession, all arrears of work must be cleared by 31 March 1848.
(PRO/WO/47/2,134, p. 20,005) ro January r848. William Dykes appointed Labourer in the R.L vice Martin Garcrey, who died on 4 January 1848.(PRO/WO/47/2,136, p. 444)
R.~~: January r848. The following appointments to be made m the
Robert Smith, Labourer, to be Foreman vice B R l
• ow and, super
annuated. George Graham to be Labourer vice Robert Smith promoted (PRO/WO[47/2,137, p. 568) ' r7 January r848. Edward Willis Campbell a Clerk in th, E ·
' · e n°1neer
0ffice at Portsmouth, appointed w.e.f.29November 1847, to the at;;. q
Clkh" • hE • ' a itiona
er s 1p mt e ngmeer Office at Woolwich, just approved. (PRO/WO[47/2,137 p. 830) 2 February r848. Owing to the introduction of additional m, h'
th tablih • hRL • • ac 1nery
e cs Is)ment mn tle. .is to be reduced by 1 Assistant Fore ' 7 Labourers and 9 Boys. man, (PRO/WO/47/2,139, p. 1,810) 7 February r848. David H. Wilson appointed Eno-ineer Cle k · h
En• D . <=> r1nte
gmeer epartment vice Alexander M. McPherson, who d • d
1 February 1848. ue on
(PRO/WO/47/2,139, P. 2,165) I I February 18.48. The 4 pairs of Sawyers in the R.C.D. to cut deals for the Storekeeper's Department are to be retained for a furth 6
months. er
(PRO/WO/47/2,140, p. 2,308) I~ February r848. David H. Wilson is confirmed in his appointment a
Engmeer Clerk. s (PRO/WO/47/2,140, p. 2,731) I March r848. Thomas Claydon a Labourer in the R L is a • cl
Offik • ' • ·o ppomtc
ce eeper m the R.L. vice James McNaught who reverts to Lab
on ac t fh" cl" ourer
coun o 1s 1srespectful and discontented behaviour. James McNaught was one of the Office Messengers. (PRO/WO/47/2,142, P. 3,305)
1244
APPENDIX VIII
3 March r848. Joseph Jackson, Storehouse Foreman in the R.L., is discharged on medical grounds. (PRO/WO/47/2,142, p. 3,374) ro March r848. Frederick Davis, Labourer in the R.L., is appointed Storehouse Foreman in the R.L. vice Joseph Jackson, discharged. Charles Dibblin, aged 19 years, to be a Labourer in the R.L. vice Frederick Davis, promoted.
Issuing Foreman William Leaney to take charge of the Issuing Store 'thereby gaining a Foreman in the superintendence of the Labourers by three Foremen, instead of four being employed about the three Storehouses'.
(PRO/WO[47/2,142, P. 3773)
13 March 18.8. Robert Edyvean to be retained as a Temporary Clerk in the R.L. so long as the Director needs his assistance in compiling returns of gunpowder etc.
(PRO/WO/47/2,143, P-3,922) 20 March r848. William A. Cox, an Extra Founder in the R.L., IS discharged o,ving to frequent absences without leave. (PRO/WO[47/2,143, P-4,396)3 April r848. William Kennedy, a Labourer aged 63 years, with 31 years service (wages £36. 10s. od. p.a.) is superannuated with a pension of £15 p.a. in addition to his military pension. (PRO/WO/47/2,145, P. 5,073)5 April 1818. Robert Goodwin appointed Labourer at Tilbury vice William Smith. William Smith appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice J. Tufnell, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,145, p. 5,268) 17 April 1818. Patrick Mangin, a Boy in the R.L. aged I 9½ years, appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Charles McLeish who died on 13 April 1848. (PRO/WO/47/2,146, p. 6,021) 25 April r848. The following pensions were granted in the R.L.:
Thomas Wadsworth Painter £24 p.a. Joseph Bastow Labourer £10 p.a. in addition to his military pension of rs. od. a day
John Tillard Labourer £15 p.a.
Robert Wickham Labourer £15 p.a.
John Claydon Labourer £15 p.a.
William Hine Porter £15 p.a. in addition to
his military pension of rs. od. a day
(PRO/WO/47/2,147, p. 6,294) r May r848. Richard Andrews, a Boy aged 19 years in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice William Sawyer, who left the Service at his own request. (PRO/WO[47/,148, p. 6,585)3 May r848. The following pensions granted in the R.L.:
James Lee Storehouse Foreman £12. 15s. 7d. p.a.
1245
APPENDIX VIII
William Smithers Thomas Carter Extra Foreman 1st Assistant Foreman £19. 3s. 4-d. p.a. 435 p.a. (Grant
reduced to this figure owing to misconduct)
(PRO/WO/47/2,14.8, p. 6,688)
5 May 188. Owing to sickness among the Labourers in the R.L., principally ague, the Director was authorized to employ Io artillerymen to assist the work of the Department, the working pay for whom would amount to £2. 5s. 6d. p.w. It was hoped that this arrangement would only last for a month.
(PRO/WO/47/2,148, p. 6,827) 19 May 1848. The following appointments are made in the R.L.: James Bark, Labourer, to be Porter vice William Hine, superannuated. v\Tilliam Hill, Labourer, to be Painter vice Thomas Wadsworth, super
annuated, but to receive gs. 1od. instead of 4s. 1d. per day. John Parker, aged 19 years, and George Heath, aged 30 years, to be Labourers vice James Bark and William Hill.
As the Master-General had already appointed Sergeant Thomas Veald late Sappers and Miners, to the vacancy of Porter on 16 May 1848, he stated that he would finally appoint Thomas Veald or James Bark as' the Director R.L. would prefer.
(PRO/WO[47/2,149, P. 7585) 31 May 1048. John Parker is finally appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice William Hill, promoted Painter. (PRO/WO/47/2,150, p. 7789) 31 May 1848. Stephen P. Brett appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice T. Toner, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,150, p. 8, 180) 2June 1848. Grove Ralph and Jarvis Rose Smith appointed Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department vice James Emptage and William Godden, who left the Service. (PRO/WO/47/2,151, p. 8,353) 7 July 1848. James D. Austin, Foreman of Works, Dover, appointed Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department vice J. W. D. Johnson under orders for foreign service. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,154, p. 10,008) 21 July 1848. William Gall appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Edward Corridon, discharged for intemperance. (PRO/WO/47/2,156, p. 10,627) 2 August 1848. Joseph Jackson appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Robert Hurrock, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,157, p. II,210) 1-August 1848. John Smith, a Boy in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L., vice William Leal promoted Hammerman in the same Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,157, P-11,407) 1-August 1848. Joseph Furlong, a Turner in the R.L., discharged for raising objections to the increased use of machinery. (PRO/W0/47/2,157, p. II,408)
1246
APPENDIX VIII
9 August 1848. The Civil Officers submitted that it was still necessary
to retain two out of the four pairs of Sawyers in the R.C.D. for cutting
deals for the Storekeeper's Department. Authority was given for two pairs
of Sawyers to be employed for a further 3 months.
(PRO/WO[A7/2,157, p. 11,601)
25 August 18.48. William Evans Sprague Oram appointed 3rd Clerk in
the office of the Director R.L. vice Charles Ellis, promoted.
(PRO/WO/47/2,159, p. 12,437)
25 August 1848 The following appointments in the R.L. are made:
Augustus Wright, 2nd Clerk, to be 1st Clerk vice Charles Ellis, promoted
to Storekeeper at Keyham Point.
Thomas A. G. Satchwell, 3rd Clerk, to be 2nd Clerk vice Augustus
Wright.
Robert Edyvean, Temporary Clerk, to be 3rd Clerk vice Thomas
A. G. Satchwell. (PRO/WO/47/2,159, p. 12,442)
28 August 18.48. Henry Langham, a Boy aged 18 years in the R.L.,
appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Thomas Carey, convicted for theft
at Wisbeck.
(PRO/WO/47/2,159, P. 12,477)
1 SejJtember 1848. George Reed and David Watkins appointed Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Meckiff and James Wilson, deceased.
(PRO/WO[47/2,161, p. 13,282) 4 September 1848. Henry Davis, a Boy aged 18 years in the R.L., is appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Lamb, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,160, p. 12,949) 19 September 18.48. William Evans Sprague Oram confirmed in his appointment as 3rd Clerk in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,161, p. 13,607)
28 September 1818. On the Civil Officers asking to be allowed to retain the services of 2 Leading Hands and go temporary Labourers more or less indefinitely, they were told to discharge them without delay in view of the Principal Storekeeper's report on the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO[47/2,162, p. 14,069)
30 October 1848. Frederick S. Shepherd, Temporary Clerk under the Civil Officers, to be paid up till g1 October 1848 and then discharged, Frederick Palgrave Barlee having returned on 24 October 1848.
(PRO/WO[47/2,165, P. 15,747)
22 November 1848. Reference the 15 Collar-makers who were to be reduced in the Storekeeper's Department, 5 were discharged on 15 November 1848. The following were to be discharged on 31 December 1848:
Frederick James; James Pattison; John Kirkwood; George Morse and George Wood (the latter having already left the Department with pay up to and including 31 December next). The remaining five are to be discharged on 31 March 1849.
(PRO/WO/47/2,168. p. 17,093)
1247
APPENDIX VIII
24 November 1848. Certain Labourers due for superannuation are to be retained till I February 1849. (PRO/WO/47/2,168, p. 17,165)
14December 1848. The son of the late Sergeant Reavel appointed Smith in the R.L. vice Joseph Symes, deceased. This obviates the employment of another smith. The Board would like to know the rate of wages which the Director R.L. proposes to give the boy.
(PRO/WO/47/2,170, p. 18,297) 22 December 1848. Edward Willis Campbell is confirmed in his appointment as Engineer Clerk in the Engineer Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,171, p. 18,793)
5 January 1849. John Munn, acting Leading Man of the Collar-makers' shop in the Storekeeper's Department since the death of George Wood on 6 December 1848, appointed Leading Man with an additional 5d. per day, w.e.f. 1 January 1849.
The Board wish to know the number of Leading 11en employed the nature of their duties and why they were considered necessary. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,172, p. 222) 5 January 1849. One pair of Sawyers only is now allowed to the Civil Officers for 6 months. (PRO/WO/47/2,172, P. 244) 15January 18.49. The Civil Ofcers are informed that the Lcading Man of the Collar-makers may be dispensed with in future as the F ·
. · oreman 1s
quite sufficient to control the work. (PRO/WO/47/2,173, p. 737) 19 January 1849. The following are superannuated fi 1
rom t 1e Store
keeper's Department:
Name Appointment
Pension
John Sydes Foreman of Labourers
£31• 135. 9d. p.a.
Joseph Wright Foreman of Harness Store
£28. r,µ. IOd. p.a.
John Starkey Foreman of Oil Store
£28. r,µ. IOd. p.a.
Frank Pittman
Nathaniel Pamplin
Edward Sheely John Collins John Fabling Labourers 5 p.a. each
William Forrester
Thomas Storey Patrick Bryan Samuel Rice Cornelius Egan } Labourers £1 o p.a. each
Pensions to commence on· 3 I March 1849. (PRO/WO/47/2,173, p. 986)24 January 1849. A pair of SawyersJ. Goodsale and Charles Aaronengaged for the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,174, p. 1,370) 12 February 1849. A number of Foremen Artificers and Labo
b ' urers are
to e superannuated on account of age and infirmity. The amount of
1248
APPENDIX VIII
their wages saved will be £2,031. 12s. 1d. and the amount of their pensions will bc [617. 14s. 0ld. Nett saving ,413. 18r. old. Rcpresentations are to be made to the Treasury.
(PRO/WO/47/2,176, p. 2,607)
16February 1849. The Civil Officers report that they can dispense with the services of 20 more Labourers at the end of the financial year which would yield a further saving of £730. 6s. 8d. p.a. in addition to that of 1,962. 14s. 7d. reported on 30 September 1848. This makes a total saving of £2,693. 1s. 3d. on the estimates of the effective list of the Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,176, p. 2,799) 2 March 1849. David H. Wilson is confirmed in his appointment as Engineer Clerk in the Engineer Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,178, p. 3,588) .. 9 March 1849. The following five Collar-makers are to be discharged from the Storekeeper's Department: . . . . James Bell; Francis Francis; James Kerr; John Lewis; William Wright.
They are to complete the 13 discharges to be made under the Board's Order (W/1,730) of 11 October 1848. They were selected as they.were bad timekeepers. vVilliam ,,Vright to be considered for the first available
vacancy for a Collar-maker.
(PRO/WO/47/2,178, p. 3,919)
9 March 1849. The following appointments are to be made at the R.L.:
James Cook Foreman to be Chief Foreman at 7s. od. a day vice James Bond. He is to be paid for 6 days in the week, monthly instead of quarterly. . .
David Bremner to be Master Tailor at 6s. od. a day vice Mr Davis superannuated. His vacancy is to be filled by the entry of a tailor at 4s. 1d. per day.
John Graham's post as 1st Assistant Foreman is not _to be filled. William Barnett, 2nd Assistant Foreman, to be Assistant Foreman at 5s. 6d. per day instead of 5s. 4d. per day. John Davis, Junior, Extra Foreman at 3s. 9d. per day, to be Foreman at 4s. 1d. per day vice James Cook, promoted. Edward Keebles, Labourer, to be Extra Foreman vice John Davis, Junior, promoted. Cooper Robeson's vacancy is to be filled. (PRO/WO[47/2,178, p. 3,974) .. I 2 March 1849. The following promotions are authorized in the Storekeeper's Department: William Wells to be Senior Foreman vice John Sydes, superannuated. Pay to be advanced from,µ. rd. to¥· 6d. per day. .
D. Murphy, James Gallivan and William vVright, Leadmg Nlen, to
be Working Foremen vice William Wells, John Starkey and Joseph Wright. . .
J. Liner, Adam Allchin and Edward Pym to be Leadmg Men vice William Wright, D. Murphy and James Gallivan.
T. Walker to be Leading Man vice Edward Pym at 3s. 4d. per day.
(PRO/WO[47/2,179, P. 4,140) 1249
APPENDIX VIII
12 li1arch 1849. James McCabe, a Temporary Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, is discharged for drunkenness. (PRO/WO/47/2,179, P. 4,181)
16 March 18.49. William Caffin, Deputy Storekeeper in the R.L., is retired from 1st April 1849 on a pension of £527 p.a. He was thanked for his long and valuable services to the State.
(PRO/W0/47/2,179, p. 4,371)
19 March 1849. Reference the reduction of 20 Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department, the following are to be discharged and recommended for superannuation:
John Bede; Charles Bremner; George Bridgers; James Card; Ambrose Cavey; George Clifford; Thomas Diprose; James Dixon; James Fabling; Thomas Hayward; James Lambert; Thomas Lynch; James Lynn• James McCabe; Thomas Middleton; Owen Moriarty; Henry Palmer· William Scott; George Short; and William Smith. '
The following are also recommended for superannuation:
Robert Robinson Storehouseman at 3. od. per day
Hezekiah Burbage Leading man should be replaced by Henry Fabling. at 3s. 4d. per day who '
(PRO/W0/47/2,179, p. 4,527)
23 March 1849. Robert Icely appointed Cooper in the R.L. w.e.f. 1 April 1849. (PRO/W0/47/2,180, p. 4,739) 4April 149.James R. Edkins confirmed in his appointment as Engine Clerk in the Engineer Department. er (PRO/WO/47/2,181, P. 5,282)
24 April 1849. James Lambert, lately discharged on reduction in ti S~orekeeper's Department, appointed Labourer in the same Departme~: vice Thomas Hayward who proved unfit.
The vacancy was caused by the resignation of Bartholomew Lamb (PRO/WO/47/2,183, p. 6,114) er. 3 May 1849. Edward M. Sparkes, Deputy Storekeeper appointed Storekeeper, w.e.f. 1 April 1849 vice Joseph Cheetham, retir~d. Francis Pellatt, 1st Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department, appointed Deputy Storekeeper, w.e.f. 1 April 1849 vice Edward M. Spark
promoted. es,
(PRO/W0/47/2,184, p. 6,573) 5 May 1049. John Bede, recently discharged from the Storekeeper's Department as redundant, is appointed Labourer in the Storekee , Department vice William Whorwell, who left the Service. per s (PRO/WO[47/2,184, p. 6,815)
5May 1849. Robert Wilkie and Ambrose Cavey, recently discharged on reduction, arc appointed Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department vice John Cavey and Henry Wickham, who left the Service.
(PRO/WO[47/2,184, p. 6,816) 1o May 1849. Robert Edyvean, late a Clerk in the R.L., appointed Clerk 1~ the Store~eeper's Department in the vacancy caused by 'the promotion of Francis Pellatt to be Deputy Storekeeper. (PRO/WO/47/2,184, p. 6,988)
1250
APPENDIX VIII
2 June 1849. A. 0. Hawker appointed Temporary Clerk in the R.L. during the time the transfer of stores from the R.L. to the Storekeeper's Department is taking place.
(PRO/WO]47/2,187, p. 8, 183) I4June 1849. The following appointments are made in the Storekeeper's Office, w.e.f. 1 April 1849: William Morris, 1st Clerk in the 2nd Class of Established Clerks, to be 1st Clerk vice Francis Pellatt, promoted Deputy Storekeeper. John D. Harry, 1st Clerk in the yd Class of Established Clerks, to be Clerk in the gnd Class vice William Morris, promoted. In both cases, their juniors were progressively advanced. (PRO/W0/47/2,188, p. 8,748) 23 June 1849. Noah Pannell, Foreman Carpenter in the Storekeeper's Department is superannuated with a pension of £24 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,189, P-9,158)
4 July 1849. Major John Walpole, R.E., appointed acting C.R.E. Woolwich District temporarily during the illness of Lieut.-Colonel Frederick English, R.E., who died soon afterwards.
(PRO/WO/47/2,190, P-9,531)6 July 1849. Owing to a reduction of work 3 Artificers, 16 Labourers and 25 Boys to be discharged from the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,190, P. 9,622) 20 July 1849. Thomas Reynolds appointed Foreman of Carpenters in the Storekeeper's Department vice Noah Pannell, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/2,191, p. 10,244) 25 July 1849. The pair of Sawyers to be discharged from the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,192, p. 10,470) ro August 1849. Lieut.-Colonel William Reid, R.E., appointed C.R.E. Woolwich District vice Major John Walpole, R.E. (PRO/W0/47/2,193, p. 11,393)3 August 1849. The following are superannuated in the Storekeeper's Department:
8 August 1849. To assist in the transfer of stores from the Manufacturmg
Robert Robinson Pension £15 p.a.
Hezekiah Burbage Pension £15 p.a.
John Wilen Pension £15 p.a.
(PRO/W0/47/2,193, p. 10,939) .
Departments to the Storekeeper's Department, the Civil Officers engaged
two Temporary Clerks: Daniel Cockburn Doherty from 28 July 1849 Gcorge B. Pellatt from 30 July 1849
(PRO/WO/47/2,193, P-11,328)13 August 1849. As the duties carried out by the 3 men now superannuated: Robert Robinson, Storehouseman Hezekiah Burbage, Leading Man and John Wilen, Officeman are important, they are to be retained till their successors are appointed. (PRO[WO[A7/2,194 P. 11,506)
1251
7 August 1849. Three Foremen and 12 Labourers to be transferred to the Storekeep_er's Department from the R.L. consequent upon the Storekeeper assuming responsibility for all stores.
(PRO/VV0/47/2,194, p. 11,774)
22 August 1d49. James Henry Chapman engaged as a third Temporary Clerk by the Civil Officers while taking over stores from the R.L. and R.C.D.
(PRO/WO/47/2,195 P. 11,986) 22 August 1849. The following pensions are awarded in the R.L.:
William Leaney Carpenter {24 p.a. Henry Penson Labourer
15 p.a.
Nathaniel Keebles Labourer
£10 p.a.
(PRO/WO/47/2,195 P. 11,967) 29 August 1849. The following appointments are made in the Storekeeper's Department: James Stride to be Storehouseman vice Robert Robinson
annuated. ' super-
Henry Fabling to be Leading Man vice Hezekiah Burbage superannuated. ' Robert Gitter to be Officeman vice John Wilen, superannuated. (PRO/WO/47/2,195, P-12,223) 21 September I849. Twenty-two Boys and go Labourers to bed' h d
from the R.L. uscargc
(PRO/WO[47/2,198, p. 13,146) 3 October 1849. Sergeant Abraham Wright of the RA appo· t d
•h , •·,1ne
St h
ore ouseman in t e Storekeepers Department in place ofJames Stride who was found to be unfit. William Smith appointed Officeman in place of Robert Gitter who was found unfit for that post. ' Robert Gitter appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Departme t (PRO/WO[47/2,199, P. 13,624) ·nt. 4 October 1849. George Charlton appointed Carpenter in the Storekeeper's Department vice Stephen Clare, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,199, P. 13,660) r2 October 1849. Having passed his medical inspection Abraham Wright is confirmed in his appointment as Storehouseman ' (PRO/WO/47/2,200, p. 14,060) " 26 October 1849. Edward Barefoot, Labourer in the R.L., is transferr~~ to the Storekeeper's Department as a Carpenter with an
additional 6«. a day. Tie employment of convicts by the Civil Officers oiviates the necessity of transferring 2 Labourers from the R L t iliem. • • 0
(PRO/W0/47/2,201, p. 14,673) 12 Nouemb~r _1849. George Wright is appointed a temporary Extra Clerk under the C1v1l Officers vice George B. Pellatt, resigned. (PRO/WO/47/2,203, p. 15,384)16 November 189. William Wright, recently discharged from the
1252
APPENDIX VIII
Storekeeper's Department, appointed a Collar-maker in that Department vice J. Cook, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,203, P. 15,589) 28 November 1849. James Aikman appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department vice Hayward Andrews, dismissed for theft. (PRO/W0/47/2,204, p. 16,086)
7 December 1849. William Wright, Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department, reduced to the rank of Labourer on being reported as intoxicated on entering the Royal Arsenal. He is to remain a Labourer till his future conduct allows his case to be reopened for further consideration.
(PRO/W0/47/2,205, p. 16,600)
31 December 1849. The 3 Extra Clerks, allowed to the Civil Officers to facilitate the transfer of stores to them from the Manufacturing Departments, are to be retained till I February 1850, by which time it is hoped that the transfer will be completed.
(PRO/W0/47/2,207, p. 17,534)I January I850. Mr Piper and Mr Satchwell are appointed Temporary Clerks in the R.L. for this quarter. (PRO/W0/47/2,208, p. 1)
I r February 1850. Four additional Clerkships on the establishment of the Storekeeper's Department were approved. These posts were filled by: Edward P. Suggate, late Temporary Clerk in the office of the Clerk of
the Ordnance, Augustus Hillier, Henry Blakeney and George Parkes.
(PRO/W0/47/2,212, p. 1,591)18 March I850. George Parkes is confirmed in his appointment as Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,215, p. 2,971)20 March 1850. Augustus Hillier is confirmed in his appointment as Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,215, p. 3,159)2o March 1850. Messrs Piper and Satchwell, the two Temporary Clerks in the R.L., to be retained for another 3 months (PRO/WO[47/2,215, P-3,114)IB April 1850. Henry Blakeney is confirmed in his appointment as Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,218, p. 4,258)6 May I850. Thomas Dibbins, a Painter in the R.L., superannuated on a pension of £24 p.a. (PRO/W0/47/2,220, p. 4,925)IO June 1850. Daniel Langridge, Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department, dismissed for being drunk when presenting himself for duty. (PRO/W0/47/2,223, p. 6,279)
I2June 1850. Thomas Maundrell appointed Officekeeper and Messenger in the Storekeeper's Department vice Thomas Burgess, reduced to a Labourer and discharged for losing letters entrusted to him. .
The question of re-employing Thomas Burgess as a Labourer will depend on a suitable report being received from the Civil Officers. (PRO/WO[47/2,224, p. 6,387)
1253
3 September 1850. Patrick Mangin, Labourer in the R.L., discharged for dishonesty. • (PRO/WO/47/2,232, P. 9,267)
13 November 1850. It was agreed that Lieut.-Colonel vVilliam Reid R.E., should retain his appointment as C.R.E. Woolwich District wh'l; becoming Chairman of the Executive Cornmittee of the Great Exl;ibiti~n of 1851. The day to day work would devolve on MajorJohn Walpole, R.E., the next senior R.E. officer m the Engineer Department, who would be granted additional pay of6s. 6ld. per day, from which would be ded t d the allowance in lieu of quarters, coals and candles. uc e
(PR0/WO/47/2,239, P-11,746) 9 December 1850. William Thompson appointed Foreman • h vice H. Taylor, dismissed for drunkenness and falsehood. m t e R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,241, P. 12,643) 20January 18~1.John Keen, Clerk in the office of the Inspector-General Ordnance Medica, l Department, .appointed Clerk on the t blisshm
esa ent
ofthe Storekeeper s Department vice Frederick Palgrave Ba l ·d
r.ee, promote
to DeputyRStorekeeper and Actmg Barrack Master, Sierra Leone. (PI 01'WO/47/2,245, P. 707) 22 January 1851. James Greensill appointed Clerk • h
\AT'lli E S in t e R.L. vice
v .am vans prague Oram, transferred to Keyham Point. (PRO/WO[47/2,246, p. 796) 24 January 1851. Charles Emptage, Labourer in the Storekeeper's Department, died 13 January 1851. At the moment
1t was considered
unnecessary to replace him. (PRO/W0/47/2,246, p. 888)14February 1851.John Richards, Labourer in theRL is
on a pension of{1op.a. ··> Superannuated
(PRO/WO/47/2,248, p. 1,665)21 February 1851. James Greensill is confirmed in h'
Clerk in the R.L. is appointment as
(PR0/W0/47/2,249, p. 1,ggr)
4April 1851. William George, an attendant in the Ordnance Ch appointed Clerk to the Chapel vice Thomas B ape!,
misconduct. urgess, removed for
(PRO/W0/47/2,254, P. 3,842)
28
. . April 1851• David H. Wilson, Clerk in the En ineer D dismissed for absence without leave and irregular cofduct epartment, (PRO/W0/47/2,255, p. 4,303) • 9May 1851•A soldier clerk to be employed in the Engin D
vice David H. Wilson, dismissed. eer epartment (PRO/W0h47/2,256, p. 4,652) 3° May 1851. Charles Sendey appointed Foreman of W k E ·
Department, vice James D. Austin. or s, ngmeer (PRO/WO/47/2,258, p.
5,432)16 J_une rf85£1• Mr Fyer, Master Smith in the R.L., superannuated on
a pension 0! ,40 p.a. (PRO/WO[47/2,260, p. 6,036)
1254
APPENDIX VIII
23 June 1851. Henry Horatio Rathbone Hewitt appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Robert Edyvean, resigned.
(PRO[W0[47/2,261, p. 6,289)
(PR0/WO[47/2,264, P. 7,502)
25 July 1851. James Crossgrove, a Senior Boy in the R.L. on wages of Is. gd. per day, appointed Labourer in the R.L. at 2s. 4d. per day vice Thomas Cook, a man of indifferent character who was fined and imprisoned.
(PRO/WO[47/2,264, P. 7,438) Io October 1851. William Chambers, Master Carpenter in the R.L., superannuated on a pension of £38. 6s. g½d. p.a. (PR0/WO/47/2,271, P. 9,436)
31 October 1851. It was now proposed to fill the vacancy caused by the dismissal for drunkenness of Daniel Langridge, Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department. The following appointments were therefore made:
Adam Allchin, Working Foreman, to be Foreman vice Daniel Langridge. William George, Leading Hand, to be v\Torking Foreman vice Adam Allchin. The Leading Hand was not to be replaced, nor was an additional Labourer to make up numbers, required. (PRO[W0[47/2,273, P. 10,630) 22 December 1851. Colonel Thomas Blanshard appointed C.R.E. Woolwich District vice Major John Walpole, R.E. (PRO/W0/47/2,279, p. 12,847) r9 January 1852. The following appointments are made in the R.L.: Robert Smith, Extra Foreman, to be Foreman at 4s. 1d. per day vice Dennis Dwyer, who died 11 January 1852. William Thompson, Acting Foreman at 3s. od. per day, to be Extra Foreman at 3s. 9d. per day vice Robert Smith, promoted. William Claydon, Labourer at 2s. 4d. per day, to be Acting Foreman at 3s. od. per day vice William Thompson, promoted. William Claydon's vacancy as a Labourer to remain unfilled. (PR0/W0/47/2,281, p. 755)16 February 1852. Cuthbert W. E. Holloway appointed Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice George Parkes, posted to Hong Kong. (PR0/WO[47/2,284, p. 1,878) . . 23 February 1852. Colonel William Gator, R.A., appomted Director R.L., w.e.f. I April 1852 vice Lieut.-Colonel Richard Hardinge, R.A. Lieut.-Colonel John Tylden, R.A., appointed Firemaster R.L., w.e.f. I April 1852 vice Lieut.-Colonel Henry Pester, R.A.
Colonel James A. Chalmer, R.A., appointed Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, w.e.J I April 1852 vice Colonel William B. Dundas, R.A.
Lieut.-Colonel William Henry Pickering, R.A., appointed Assistant Director-General of Artillery and Secretary of the Ordnance Select Committee, w.e.f. I April 1852 vice Colonel James A. Chalmer, R.A.
1255
Lieut.-ColonelJames N. Colquohoun, R.A., appointed Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, w.e.f. 1 April 1852 vice Colonel Henry W. Gordon, R.A.
Second Capt':in Henry Clerk, R.A., appoii:ited Assistant Inspector of the Royal Carnage Department, w.e.f. 1 Apnl 1852 vice Lieut.-Colonel James N. Colquohoun, R.A.
The above appointments are to be for 5 years. (PRO/WO/47/2,285, p. 2,227)
1 March 1852. Thomas Carlisle, an Apprentice in the Turners' Shop in the R.L., to be employed as a Turner m the R.L. when his apprenticeshi 1s completed on 5 March 1852. P
(PRO/WO/47/2,286, p. 3,585) 31 March 1852. Robert Wilkie, Labourer in the Storekeeper's D. t
. · dHz cpar
",""·,",,2PP?c, Hammerman under he civil omiccrs at 3• ad. per ay. t oug 1 emp oyed as a Labourer, he is a Hammerman b tr cl His vacancy as a Labourer will not be filled. Y a e.
(PRO/WO/47/2,288, p. 3,8ro) 6 April 1852. Samuel Bush, Carpenter in the R.L., dismissed for theft (PRO/WO/47/2,289, p. 4,105) 16 April 1852. The employment of 4 additional Smiths and
T. ·hRL· h • . oneex e tra
1nman 111 t e . . is authorized in connection with th • d
. e increase
production of Moorsom fuzes for the Royal lavy. Furth A,
. . . . • er rt1ifcers
may be engaged as required in order to utilize all available l • (PRO[WO/47/2,290, p. 4,446) macnmcry. 16 April 1852. Mr Baker, son of the Master Carpenter of tl1 R CD appointed Carpenter in the R.L. vice Samuel Bush, dismissed lor the.ft.•, Robert Leaney, a Carpenter m the R.L. on reduced pay to b · d to the full rate of 4s. 1d. per day. ' e raise This was in connection with completing stores for Sir John Fr kl' ,
Arctic Expedition. ankins
(PRO/WO/47/2,290, p.-4,450) 26 April 1852. Having passed the medical b ·d. h
oar , t e followine-are
appointed to the R.L.: ~
Name Age inyears Trade
John Martin 21 Smith Eden Millard 32 Smith John Hammond 23 Smith Albert Tyler 39 Tinman
(PRO/WO]47/2,291, p. 4,809) . 3 Ma?' _1852• John Tyler, Senior Boy in the R.L., appointed Labourer Vice Wilham Eattel, who left the Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,292, p. 5,097) 7 Mayk 1:852h· Cuthbert W. E. Holloway is confirmed in his appointment as Cler m t e Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,292, p. 5,288) 17 May 1852. James Baker appointed Engineer Clerk in the En • Department vice Edward Willis Campbell resigned gmeer (PRO/W0/47/2,293, p. 5,714) ' •
1256
APPENDIX VIII
17 May 1852. John Rowland appointed Carpenter in the R.L. vice Mr Sims. (PRO/WO/47/2,293, p. 5,660) 24 May 1852. Joseph Carlisle to be employed as a Lad in the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/2,295, P-5,960) 9 June 1852. John Patterson appointed a Smith in the R.L. vice a Smith who had left his employment. (PRO/WO[47/2,295, p. 6,613)
I I June 1852. After passing their medical examination, the following were appointed Smiths in the R.L., to deal with the increased production of lVIoorsom fuzes:
Henry Stark; Richard Paye; Samuel Abel; Joshua Chivers; Henry Ballard; Francis Gunner; Thomas Brown; James Ledger; Henry Fountain; James O'Brien; and George Wright.
(PRO/WO[47/2,296, p. 6,744)
30 June 1852. John Broughton, Senior Boy in the R.L., appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice William Burton, promoted Hammerman in the Smiths' Shop and placed on the list of Smiths.
(PRO/WO/47/2,297, p. 7,494)4July 1852. William Wheeler appointed Smith in the R.L. vice Henry Stark, removed from the Department. (PRO/WO[47/2,299, p. 8,094) I 4 July 1852. Twenty-five additional Boys to be employed in the R.L. on
S.A. cartridge work till the end of the financial ycar. They would produce about 2,500,000 ball cartridges. Their wages to be paid from the £212 saved on wages from sickness and other causes during the first quarter of the year.
(PRO/WO/47/2,299, p. 8,118)9 August 1852. Henry Warmsley appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Daniel McGee who left the Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,301, p. 8,989) 16 August 1852. Having carried out his duties as Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department satisfactorily for 12 months, Henry Horatio Rathbone Hewitt is confirmed in his appointment. (PRO[WO[47/2,302, P. 9,266)
20 August 1852. Lieut.-Colonel John A. Wilson, R.A., appointed
Director R.L., w.e.f 12 August 1852 vice Colonel William Cator who
succeeded Colonel Edward Charles Whinyates as Director-General of
Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,302, p. 9,420) 27 August 1852. Richard Hill engaged to light the exterior lamps in the Arsenal from I September 1852 at the same rate as for 1851, i.e. 1s. od.
p.d. for working days and 2s. od. p.d. for Sundays and holidays. (PRO/WO/47/2,303, P-9,658) 22 September 1852. James Baker, Engineer Clerk, is transferred from the Engineer Department to the R.C.D. Although the C.R.E. Woolwich
District, requested a civil clerk in his place, the Master-General wished to instal a Sapper and Miner clerk, so as to give the 'soldier clerk system'
1257
a trial. This was done, and a report on the efficiency of the 'soldier clerk system' was to be rendered in due course. (PRO/WO]47/2,306, p. 10,529) 27 October 1852. F. Smith andJ. Taylor, Lads in the R.C.D., appointed Assistant Artificers in the R.C.D. at 3s. od. per day. George Duncan and Frederick Tatton appointed Lads in the R.C.D. vice F. Smith and J. Taylor. (PRO/WO/47/2,745) 1 November 1852. John Henderson appointed to the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,745) 3 November 1852. The following appointments are made in the
R.C.D.:
Job Worley to be Carpenter at 3s. od. per day vice Mr Banks, who left
the Department.
Samuel Smith to be Wheeler at 3s. 6d. per day vice James Reed,
deceased.
VVilliam Tomlinson, Collar-maker, to be paid at the rate of 4s. d. a day from 29 October 1852. 1 George Ward and Edwin Wood to be Wheelers. (PRO/WO/47/2,745) 26 November 1852. George Ward appointed Wheeler in the R.C.D. at
4>. rd. per day. Charles Nicholson and Benjamin Saunders appointed Hamm · the R.C.D. at 3s. 2d. per day. ermen 1n Edward Plumb appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice John Ma h
resigned. Y ew,
Joseph Ha,ves and John Beaumont appointed Smiths in the R L · J O'Bn•enandG W • l • .vice
ames eorge ng 1t, who left the Department (PRO/WO/47/2,745) •
29 November 1852. Lieut.-Colonel John A. Wilson RA · d
W I •l , • .,arrive at
ooIw1ch on 22 November 1852 to take up his appointment a n·
R.L. s 'ircctor
(PRO/WO/47/2,745) 1 December 1852. I order to cope with orders for ammunition, B
230
in the R.L. at 9d. per day must be provided in th 18 / Es6n"??
53 54
Eleven Lads in the R.C.D. receive an increase of 3d. a day on ehts. ·
wages. eir (PRO/WO/47/2,745)
1,7 "9s. Jams Wisdom appointed Hammerman under 0e cers with an addition of 6d. a day to his wages as a Laboure "%IS,Crawford appointed Lad in de'smiths slop to prcar i,
wOr, .or arness.
(PRO/WO/4 7/2,745)17 December 1852. Thirteen Labourers appointed to the RC D (PRO/WO/47/2,745) • • • 29 December 1852. John Kelly the Senior Boy in the R L Labourer in the R.L. vice Mr Baillie, dismissed. • ., appointed (PRO/WO/47/2,745)
APPENDIX VIII
31 December 1852. The following are appointed Temporary Working Foreman in the R.C.D.:
Carpenter William Butters
Smith Thomas Swinger
fJohn Woods
Wheelers
James Card
Thomas Tilley appointed Smith in the R.L. vice T. Hammond.
Up to roo additional Boys are approved for the R.L., r I Art1fi_cers and 38 Labourers being engaged for the manufacture of S.A.A. Appointments to these posts must be sanctioned by the Master-General.
(PRO/WO/47/2,745) 12 January 1853. Charles Ashton, Michael Butler, Joseph Hyam and George Weymouth are appointed Tinmen in the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,746)
19 January 1853. The Treasury sanction an increase of£r ,oar. 12s. 2d. in the estimate for workmen in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry.
A surplus of£41o. 9s. 11d. in the R.C.D. from the £4,23~ grant~d out of the £20,000, to be absorbed in the payment of the following Artificers in the R.C.D. till 31 March 1853:
4 Foremen at 4s. 1d. per day 1o Carpenters at 4s. 1d. per day 4 Hammermen at 3s. 2d. per day 6 Collar-makers at3s. 6d. per day 8 Vicemen at 4s. 1d. per day
(PRO/WO/47/2,746) .... 26 January 1853. Timothy Boover, a Wheeler in the R.C.D., dismissed for theft. (PRO/WO[47/2,746) .
28January 1853. Mr Welding appointed Labourer m :he Storekeeper's Department vice James Lambert, appointed Scaman in the Ordnance sloop Queen.
(PRO/WO/47/2,746) • . 28 January 1853. Robert Warner appointed Labourer m the R.C.D. vice Daniel Murray, deceased. (PRO/WO[47/2,746) .. 31 January 1853. George White appointed Smith m the R.C.D. vice Henry Hiscock, who left the Department. Pay to be 3s. 6d. per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,746) 4 February 1853. Alfred Smith appointed Wheele: m the R.C.D. at 4s. Id. per day vice Joseph Pearce, who left the Service. William Wallace, Labourer in the R.L., d1srrussed by order of the Master-General. (PRO/WO/47/2,746) 9 February 1853. Thomas Meager appointed Wheeler m the R.C.D. at 4s. 1d. per day vice J. Havard, who left the Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,746) 10 February 1853. The Civil Officers authorized to employ an Assistant
82 1259
APPENDIX VIII
Dubber and 2 additional Labourers to assist in the preparation of harness till 31 March 1853.
(PRO/WO[47/2,746) I I February 1853. The following appointments are made in the R.L.: ,N. R. Elliott to be a Smith vice Thomas Brown, who left the Service. Hugh Smith to be a Tailor.
Jatnes Rabey to be a Tinman. Thomas Purvey to be a Tinman vice C. Robinson, who left the Service. (PRO/WO[47/2,746) r6 February 1853. The services of 2 Leading Men and go Labourers approved for the Storekeeper's Department. Twenty Labourers appointed. (PRO/WO/47/2,746)
r8Februaiy 1853. The following appointments in the R.C.D. approved: William Wood Carpenter-vice Mr Ford Ed·ward Cooper-Carpenter-vice Mr Butler
W. Eve -Smith -vice ]\,fr Dalzell Edward Clerk Whccler vice Mr Scudder George Hansom-Wheeler -vice Mr Borer
Six men, in addition to the 247 contained in former report h •
· d. l • • s,av1ng
passed thcir mcdica, examination, are entered on the books of th R C D and make a total of 253 men. This completes the entries ordered
4
1 December 1852, exclusive of 4 Working Foremen taken from the establishment. The e1:1ployment of sundry artificers is sanctioned. James Callen appomted Steam hammer and Engineman in th R c D Scrap Forge vice R. Oldfield, who left the Department. 1e • • •
G. Adcock appointed Hammerman at 3s. 6d. perday • J
Calle • • vice ames
n. The Director ~.L. is authorized to employ 8 Labourers to make u
hnumber sanctioned for employment till gr March 1853. IP James Martin appointed Smith in the R.L. vice Christopher McGuire.Jarnes Hale appomted Assistant Furnaceman in the R.CD t d
perdayviceF.Lake. • • •a 4s. 9•
. Henry Parker appointed Hammerman in the R.C.D. at 3s 2d. per day vice Joseph Sparkes. • The appointment of Timothy O'Brien as Labourer • th RL
confirrned. in e • •
~~gustus Hillier, 12th Clerk in the Storekeeper's Office and N Phillipps, Clerk at Athlone, permitted to change places rovidcd expense to the public is involved and Mr Phillippsis »»" 1
bottor 3f th I fClel :. nus place at t e
m ol he 1st o er s m the Storekeeper's Office (PRO/WO[47/2,746)23 February 1853. William Weeks appointed Smith's Lad • th RC.D
w.e.f. 14 February r853 vice John Ferguson. m e • • ., Thomas Cook, Labourer in the R.C.D. appointed H ·
the R. C.D. vice William Brown. ammerman 1n
Frederick McNaught appointed Smith in the R C D • w·11·
Smith. • • • vice 1, 1am
Ge_orgeB.~avies, a Ladin theDepartmentoftheInspectorofArtillery appointed Assistant Artificer in the same department at 3s od d'
. . per ay. 1260
APPENDIX VIII
William Kavanagh appointed Lad in the Department of Inspector of Artillery at 1s. 3d. per day vice George B. Davies, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,746) 25 February 1053. James Henry Chapman appointed 3rd Clerk in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,746)
I 1 Jvfarch 1853. George Hicks appointed Lamplighter in the Royal Arsenal at 8s. od. per week, w.e.f. 23 February 1853 vice Richard Hill appointed Labourer.
(PRO/WO/47/2,746) r6 March 1853. The contract with Richard Dean to destroy rats 1s extended for a further year.
(PRO/WO/47/2,746)
21 March 185g. Thomas May appointed Turner in the R.L.
The following appointments are made in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery: William Montgomery-Labourer vice John Smith Alfred Sturling -Labourer vice John Palmer John Laing Labourer vice James Smith William Aubrey Lad vice Henry Thompson, apprenticed (PRO/WO/47/2,746)23 March 1853. The Director R.L. authorized to retain 230 workmen and boys. (PRO/W0/47/2,746) . . 6 April 1853. H. Stayford, Wheeler in the R.C.D., to be dismissed.
W. Allen and T. Wood, acting Working Foremen in the R.C.D. to be reduced. (PRO/WO/47/2,746)5 April 1853. D. McDonald appointed Labourer in the Storekeeper's
Department vice Henry Thompson, left. Benjamin James to be Lamplighter. .
J. Wren and another wheeler [name undecipherable] appointed Working Foremen in the R.C.D. vice W. Allen and T. Wood. The continued employment of women in consequence of the arrears of Collar-makers' work is approved. (PRO /WO /47 /2, 746)18 April 1853. James Beacon and W. Smith to be Smiths at 4s. 1d. per day. (PRO/WO[47/2,746)
2o April 1853. Thomas A. G. Satchwell, 2nd Clerk in the R.L., appointed 1st Clerk, i.e. 'Clerk-in-charge' in the R.L. vice Augustus Wright, transferred to Priddy's Hard. .
James Greensill, 3rd Clerk in the R.L., appointed 2nd Clerk m the
R.L. vice Thomas A.G. Satchwell, promoted.
James Davidson, an Artificer in the Department of the Inspector. of Artillery, appointed to superintend the working of the new machine made by John Anderson, Inspector of Machinery, for compressing bullets for the new rifle muskets. He will receive 1s. od. per day from the R.L.
1261
in addition to his wages from his own department. 'When the machine is
not in use, James Davidson will return to the Department of the Inspector
of Artillery and resume his normal rate of pay.
(PRO/WO[47/2,746)
27 April 1853. Francis Pugh, William Wheeler and George Righ
appointed Smiths in the R.L.
(PRO/WO/47/2,746)
9 May 1853. William Jackman appointed Smith in the R.L. vice
R. Page. (PRO/WO/47/2,746) 30 May 1853. John Curran appointed an Extra Collar-maker. (PRO/WO[47/2,746) 1o June 1853. Charles Roberts and Philip Cole appointed Collar and Harness makers at 4s. 1d. per day each. William Vine appointed Fitter in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery at 33s. od. per week vice Henry Finley. Robert Collins appointed Labourer in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery at 14s. od. per week vice William Paley.
(PRO/WO/47/2,747) 15 June 1853. H. James appointed Extra Collar-maker in the Store
keeper's Department.
T. Gooch appointed Smith in the R.L. vice John Martin, left.
J. Weston appointed Labourer in the R.L. vice Mr Hembury, left. (PRO/W0/47/2,747)
22 June 1853. William Butler and Edwin Jones appointed Smiths in the R.L. vice George Jones and William 'Wheeler. Alfred Walker appointed Labourer in the Royal Brass Foundry vice
John Cocker, deceased. (PRO/W0/47/2,747) 9July 1853. William Hodgson appointed Extra Collar-maker to complete
the number (12) authorized. (PRO/WO/47/2,747) 27 July 1853. James Bishop appointed Officekeeper in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery vice Mr Taylor, dismissed.
W. F. Davis appointed Labourer in the same department vice James
Bishop, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,747) I August 1853. James Alexander appointed Labourer in the R.C.D.
vice Mr Faber, left. (PRO/WO/47/2,747) 5 August 1853. J. Olroyd, D. Keas and W. Cook appointed Labourers
until 31 March 1854.
(PRO/W0/47/2,747)
27 August 1853. The following are appointed Labourers in the R.L.:
James Redding vice John Martin } All of whom
Henry Taylor vice James Brecken declined the
William Jessamin vice James Tamney appointment
(PRO/WO/47/2,747)
APPENDIX: VIII
31 August 1853. The employment of6 additional Labourers in the R.L. is authorized. (PRO/W0/47/2,747) 5 September 1853. The employment of additional Artificers and Labourers in the R.L. is sanctioned. (PRO/W0/47/2,747) . 19 September 1853. CG. Allbruary appointed Extra Labourer m the R.L. vice Mr Inch. (PRO/W0/47/2,747) .. [The records October-December 1853 are m1ssmg] 11 Januaiy 1854. Alexander Alsford appointed Labourer in the Royal Brass Foundry vice John Ager.
(PRO/WO[47/2,748)
13January 1854. The following appointments are made in the R.C.D.:
Thomas Weeks, Working Foreman, to be Forema~ vice George Meadows, deceased, and to be designated Foreman of Tinmen and Metal Workers. .
J. Cockle, a Tin and Metal Worker at 4s. 1d. per day, to be Leadmg man at 4s. 6d. per day. bl" h
Thomas Swinger, a temporary Working Foreman, to be an Esta is ed Working Foreman vice Thomas Weeks, promoted.
G. Isles to be a vVheeler vice Benjamin Humphreys. (PRO/WO/47/2, 748)18 January 1854. Henry Butcher appointed Labourer in the R.C.D.
vice Mr Darling transferred to the R.L.
Thomas Davi; appointed an Extra Smith in the R.C.D.
Edward Wilcox to be entered in the R.C.D. vice Thomas Davis,
promoted. · · Charles Horton appointed Labourer m the R.C.D. vice George Shepherd. (PRO/WO/47/2,748) 31 January 1854. The Treasury sanction the employment of 895 men during the coming financial year, provided their services are considered necessary to expedite public requirements . (PRO/WO/47/2,748) E«, T 1 February 1854. £12,111 to be included in the 1854/55 stimates for 289 additional men in the R.L. (PRO/WO[47/2,748) 3tDebruary I854. The employment of 10 or 12. Collar-make. rs with .2 Smiths to assist them in preparing and completmg harness in store is sanctioned till 3 r March 1854. (PRO/WO[47/2,748) . 9 February 1854. The employment of additional Labourers in the R.L. is sanctioned. (PRO/WO[47/2,748) . 15 February 1854. The employment of 25 additional Carpenters in the
R.C.D. is sanctioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,748)
APPENDIX VIII
16 February 1854. Six to IO additional Collar-makers and IO additional Labourers sanctioned for the Storekeeper's Department till 31 March
1854. (PRO/WO/47/2,748) . . February 1a54. Mr John Anderson appointed Engineer of the n::artment ofthe Inspector ofArtillery and Superintendent ofMachinery and Workshops in all Ordnance Establishments with a salary of£400£5o _ £700 per annum. . . He will inspect and revise all Ordnance machmery, suggesting to Heads of Departments, and through them to the Master-General and Board, any improvements in, or modifications to, the machinery itself or the mode of its application, m order that the efficient and economical management of the manufactory may be promoted, as may appear to be called for by the circumstances of each Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,748) 22 February 1854. Sixteen Artificers, 53 Labourers and 115 Boys engaged for the R.L. (PRO/WO/47/2,748) 22 February 1854. Return of convicts employed in the Engineer Department in the December 1853 quarter[63. 17s. 5d. In the other Departments for the same period[144. 1Is. 4d. (PRO/W0/47/2,748, P· 455) 24 February 1854. The Treasury approve the restoration of the post of Constructor in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO[47/2,748, p. 476)6 March 1854. The Civil Officers authorized to employ an additional 2o temporary extra Labourers till 31 March 1854 to compensate for the great deficiency of convict labour throughout the year. (PRO/WO/47/2,748, p. 549)6 March 1854. Mr Bawdon appointed Foreman of Works in the Royal Engineer Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,748, p. 553)8 March 1854. William Smith, a Collar-maker in the R.C.D. at 4s. 6d. per day, appointed Foreman of Collar-makers at 5s. 1od. per day. John Collins appointed Collar-maker in the R.C.D. at 3s. 6d. per day vice William Smith, promoted.
H. Mills to be a Working Foreman of Smiths vice Mr Holroyde. James Walston appointed Labourer in the R.C.D.
B. Norman appointed Working Foreman of Smiths in the R.C.D. Patrick Kirby appointed Labourer in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,748, p. 573)8 Marc 1854. The following appointments are made in the
R.C.D.: Thomas Young, Labourer, to be Hammerman vice Alfred Roberts. Maurice Fitzgerald to be Labourer vice Thomas Young.
(PRO/WO/47/2,748, p. 575)
10 March 1854. The following appointed Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department during the employment of three Established Clerks in the Field Train:
APPENDIX VIII
Joseph Elliott vice Henry Wright Augustus Newland vice Henry Blakeney ,-1 11 Charles D. Forbes vice Cuthbert W. E. Holoway
(PRO[WO/47/2,748, p. 585) Lal rcr until
. 1 S Ir pointed Temporary a ou
1o March 1854. Daniel 5ullrvan aPI._ _dLabc Sr in the Storckccper's 3 I March 1854, and M. Granville appointec a oure
Department. . . h St rekeeper's Deparunent are
The wages of the followmg Boys m t e o
increased to 1s. od. per day: William Gibson from I January 1854 Henry Dudney from 4 March 1854
(PRO/WO/47/2,748, p. 592) Yd Smiths are sanctioned I I March 1854. Ten additional Labourers an
for the R.C.D. )
(PRO/W0/47/2,748 601
, P· . ts re made in the R.C.D.: 15 March 1854. Tie following appointmc"}' [e advanced to 4s. 1d. Thomas Knight, a Painter at 3. 6d. peray,o t
"! . ' T • ho left the Departmen •
per day vice Wilham nee, w . od per day vice Thomas William Amos to be Assistant Artificer at 35. •
Knight. b . • William Amos.
A Lad to be entered on pro at10n vice 629)
(PRO/W0/47/2,748, P· . h RC D appointed Carpenter
Baker Ladmt e • • .,
15 March 1854· George . ° .ft the Department. in the R.C.D. vice T.as@, wlo ls",,"" p. ice George Baker, John Kellow appointed Lad in t e
promoted. )(PRO/WO[47/2,748, p. 639)_ s. Kreight appointed Temporary17 March 1854. F. G. Vick and James • ~\ those appointed by the Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department un 1 Master-General should join for duty. (PRO/WO[47/2,748, p. 647) ,g. 1 Artificers and Labourers 2o March 1854. The employment of a litiona in the R.L. sanctioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,748, P· 671) rentice in the R.C.D., appointed
sq Mora is. join ios23"" %,acecar. Wheeler in the R.C.D. at ~s. .• per d A man to fix and fit engmes is approve •
(PRO/WO/47/2,748, P· 7°8) . d Temporary Clerks in the 30 March 1854. The following are appomte f three Established Clerks
·ng the absence o
d
Storekeeper's Department un . h E t·
ldT • D partmentint e as •
with the Fie ram . e • . Horatio Albert Russell . Sidney L. P. Smith vce Heatio Rathbone Hewitt Arnold H. B. Stapleton vice Henry or ·11
• James Greensi
F. H. Farquharson "g (PRO/WO/47/2,748, P· 7 ) d t fill a vacancy of 1st Class 30 March 1854. Henry Robinson advance o Smith in the R.C.D. at 4s. 9d. per day.
(PRO/WO[47/2,748, p. 771) 1265
1 April 1854. William Tozer appointed Superintendent ofCompositions in
he R.L. Pay increased from £129. I Is. od. to £150 p.a.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 789)
6 April 1854. Ten additional Collar-makers for the R.C.D. sanctioned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 821)
1 2 April 1854. Twenty to thirty Labourers and 2 or 3 Leading hands
sanctioned for the Storekeeper's Department.
Eight Tinmen and Metal Workers authorized for the R.C.D.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749 p. 871)
13 April 1854. Captain Edward M. Boxer, R.A., appointed additional
Firemaster in the R.L. with a salary of £230 p.a. .
Mr Bake, Mr Bennett and John C. Wild appointed Temporary Clerks
in the R.L.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749 p. 885)
22 April 1854. The following appointments are made in the R.C.D.:
Edward Morton to be rernstated as a Labourer vice David Bremner
George Marshall to be Working Foreman ofLabourers at3s. 9d. per da
Peter Guyte to be Leading hand at 3s. 6d. per day. y.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 968)
25 April 1854. Further increases in the establishment of the R.C.D.
approved.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 986)
27 April 1854. John K. Manifold, H. Taunton and Richard Ho
• dT • gan are
appoxnte emporary Clerksm theR.C.D. Richard Hogan to be ir-·d
:.r h . . uuorme
that as he 1s over 23 ycars ot age, e is ineligible for a permanent ·
.. . b appomt
ment, the age limits for which are 17-23 ycars. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 998) z7 April 1854. James R. Edkins, Engineer Clerk in the En ineer Department, appointed Temporary Clerk in the R.C.D. vice H. Ta!iton whose postmg has been cancelled. ' (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 999) 1 May 1854. The transfer of James R. Edkins, Engineer Clerk, is c~ncelled. Thomas Proctor appomted Temporary Clerk in the RC D ·
his place. • • • m (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 1,025)2 May 1854. Mr Windeger and James White appointed TemporaryClerks in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, P. 1,036) 3May 1854. Henry Crout appointed Labourer in the R.C.D. vice] l
Jackson. 0 m
(PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 1,045) 5 May 1854. The removal of convict labour from the R.L. is approved (PRO/WO/47/2,749, P. 1,064) ' 6 May 1854. H. P. Moors, an Apprentice in th RC D ·
'fi -• e • . .,appomted
Articer in the R.C.D. at 3s. od. per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 1,077) 18 May 1854. James Dorrnand appointed Foreman in the R L
.. at
5s. 6d• per day to superintend the whole S.A. Cartridge work. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, P. 1,181)
1266
APPENDIX VIII
27 May 1854. The employment of 26 additional gangs of men in the
R.L. to cast Minie bullets at a cost of £917. 10s. od. is sanctioned. (PRO[WO/47/2,749, p. 2,060) 3I May 1854. Lieut.-Colonel John Tylden, R.A., retires on full pay, w.e.f. 3o May 1854. (PRO/WO[47/2,749, P. 2,087)3I May 1854. John Vidgery appointed Master Tinman in the R.L. vice George Boyce, deceased. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p-2,094)2 June 1854. Richard Morsley appointed Foreman in the Tailors' Shop, R.L., at 5s. 4d. per day. Robert Donnelly appointed Extra Foreman at the Rocket Sheds, R.L., at 3s. od. per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,109)7 June 1854. John Collins appointed Labourer in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO[47/2,749, P. 2,147)
20 June 1854. Colonel John A. Wilson, Director R.L., informed that it is no longer necessary for Lieut.-Colonel John Tylden, R.A., further to delay his retirement from the post of Firemaster.
(PRO/WO/47/2,749, P. 2,272)2I June 1854. Thomas Duncan, a Fitter in the Royal Brass Foundry at 5s. 6d. per day, appointed Smith at 6s. od. per day vice Mr Jack. Peter Hardie appointed Fitter in the Royal Brass Foundry at 5s. 6d. per day vice Thomas Duncan. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,281)25 June 1854. The continuance of the extra Artificers, Labourers and Leadingmen for a further 3 months is sanctioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, p. 2,304)
30 June 1854. Captain Edward M. Boxer, R.A., appointed Firemaster in the R.L., w.e.f. 20 June 1854 vice Lieut.-Colonel John Tylden, R.A., retired. The appointment to last for 3 years.
Captain George H. A. Fraser, R.A., appointed additional Firemaster vice Captain Edward M. Boxer, R.A., promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,749, P. 2,361) I 4 July 1854. The three extra Tailors at the R.L. are to be retained. (PRO/WO/47/2,750, p. 115)I9 July 1854. Gerald Marsh appointed Temporary Clerk in the R.C.D.; his posting to the Storekeeper's Office being cancelled.
(PRO/WO/47/2,750, P. 153)
20 July 1854. The following appointments are made in the R.C.D.:
John Rogers, an Assistant Artificer at 3s. od. per day, to be advanced
to 4s. od. per day, as an Artificer vice Mr Mowcoomber, who left the Department. Vincent Beaumont, a Lad on 1s. 6d. per day, appointed Assistant Artificer at 3s. 0d. per day vice John Rogers. A Lad to be entered at 1s. od. per day on the completion of his probation to replace Vincent Beaumont. (PRO/WO[47/3,750, p. 165) 1267
16 August 1854. George Walton appointed Cooper in the R.L. vice Robert Icely, who left the Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,750, p. 401) 30 August 1854. Thomas Atkins appointed Working Foreman of Carpenters in the R.C.D. (PRO/W0/47/2,750, p. 517) 1 September 1854. P. Jones to continue to light the lamps in the Arsenal. (PRO/W0/47/2,750, p. 535) 15 September 1854. The appointment ofJohn Vidgery as Master Tirunan in the R.L. is confirmed. (PRO/W0/47/2,750, p. 666) 20 September 1854. Robert Mann appointed Leadino-Man of Collarmakers in the Storekeeper's Department with an extra 6d. per day Henry Dixon appointed Collar-maker in the same Department • The continuance ofArtificers etc. for a further 3 months is authorizcd. (PRO/WO/47/2,750, P. 705) 22 September 1854. The following promotions are made in the De artment of the Inspector of Artillery: p
H. T. Hill, Assistant Artificer, appointed Artificer at 4s 1d d vice Thomas Hendley, deceased. • • per ay
John Still, Labourer, to be Assistant Artificer at 3s. od d·
H T•H'll d • •per ayvice
• 1u, promote .
Robert Spalding to be Labourer at 2s. 4d. per day vice John Still,
promoted. (PRO/W0/47/2,750, p. 728) 1 O~tober ~85f-Colonel Thomas Foster, R.E., appointed C.R.E Woolwich District, w.e.f. ro October 1854 vice Colon l Th. • •
Blanshard, R.E. e omas (PRO/W0/55/764) 6 October 1854. William Wells, Senior Foreman in the Storekccn er's gepartment, ~ppom~ed to act as Assistant Principal Foreman in ~hat epartment with an mcrease of pay from 4s. 6d to 5 d d
Th J shL. '1"" • s. o . per ay
omas • utc ' eading Man in the Storekee er's De ar~ent appomted Foreman with an increase ofpaytons. 4. %" ·a ' (PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 860) ' ". 1a. per ay.
II October 1854. InthD f
William y • e epartment o the Inspector of Artillery, Alexander ~~ng, Carpente~, to be advanced to 6s. od. per day; also H h ark to be a Fitter and Turner at 5s. 6d. per day vice Mr
ayes, w o left the Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 895) ~O~tober 1854. Twelve Painters to be discharged from the R.C.D.
8
ee ers and 7 Labourers to be engaged in lieu (PRO/W0/47/2,751, p. 935) • 27 October 1854. DavidD • •
Vi fSt ' 'I Javis appointed Foreman of Carpenters and"]$,,"$, "oneles«'percent vice Tor»is Re»voids. 6No t, /47/2,751, p. 1,043) ovem er 1854. Additional mcn to be engaged for the Department of
the Inspector ofArtillery i • f h .
(PRO/W n vew o) t e expansion of the naval programme.
0/47/2,751, p. 1,131)
1268
APPENDIX VIII
8 November 1854. The following appointments are made in the R.C.D.: Benjamin Galloway to be a Grinder at 5s. od. per day vice Michael Turley. St John Clerke and John K. Manifold, Temporary Clerks, to be Clerks on the establishment. (PRO/WO[47/2,751, P. 1,152) 8 November 1854. The follmving revised establishment of the R.C.D. to
Jaim K. Manifold J
take effect from I April 1854:
Minimum Increase Maximum
Mr Pellatt (Civil Superintendent now styled Clerk in Charge) Mr Fullam, Clerk 1st Class
Mr Ellis } Clerks 2nd ClassMr Ba1-:er £1o £200
Mr Nicholson St John Clerke ) ~ Clerks 3rd Class £go 1o £16o
3 Temporary Clerks at £100 p.a. each. The date of the appointment of St John Clerke and John K. Manifold is 1 October 1854. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,158) r5 November 1854. The Treasury sanction an increase in the establishment for the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,217)17 November 1854. George Rowland appointed Stoker at the Scrap Forge R.C.D. vice George vVooten, removed. Joseph Burton appointed Labourer in the R.C.D. vice George Rowland, promoted. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,240)18 November 1854. The Director R.L. authorized to engage such additional men and women as may be necessary to complete as expeditiously as possible, the armament stores ordered for the Navy and Army now before Sebastopol. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,250)20 November 1854. William McCulry appointed Foreman in charge, at 3s. 4d. per day, of the oil, turpentine and tar stores. (PRO[WO/47/2,751, P. 1,262)27 November 1854. The revised establishment of the R.L. to take effect from 1 April 1854:
Mr Bake to be 1st Clerk
James Greensill }
Mr Piper to be Clerks, 2nd Class
Mr Angell
WilliamKnJ~mhes Eagle} Temporary Clerks. To be placed on the James ag! t blish f. ob 8
M. L. Hillier esta ment, w.e. • 1 cto er 1 54
(PRO/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,337) 4 December 1854. The R.C.D. authorized to spend an additional £7,150
1269
till 31 March 1855 in engaging more labour and on working overtime on demands for war service. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,395) 4 December 1854. The R.L. authorized to engage ro more Coopers for quarter barrels for musketry ammunition. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,404) II December 1854. The establishment for the office of John Anderson
Superintendent of Machinery, is to consist of: ' I Clerk at 6s. ad. per day I Draughtsman at 5s. ad. per day 1 Messenger at{1 per week
(PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,474)
13 December 1854. The R.C.D. is authorized to engage additional men for making metal lined powder cases at the rate of r,ooo p.w. at a cost of £2,033 till 31 March 1855.
(PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,494) . 13 December 1854. The engagement of 44 additional Labourers for the
R.L. approved.
(PRO/WO[47/2,751, P. 1,500) 18 December 1854. Four Smiths at4s. 1d. per day; 2 Painters at 3s. d.
4
per day; and go Labourers at 2s. 4d. per day, are sanctioned for the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. The employment of Artificers for the manufacture of the Hale's r k
• hRL • ocet
m t e . ., sanctioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. 1,539) 28 December 1854. The assistance of a second Draughtsman in the Department of the Inspector ofArtillery for a limited period is sanctio d (PRO/WO[47/2,751, p. 1,639) nca. go December 1854. The post of grd Assistant Foreman at the R L
8d d • I hhd ••at
4S· , per ay 1s to lapse when t e 2n Assistant Foreman leaves ti
Department. ne (PRO/WO/47/2,751, P. 1,674) go December 1854. The Treasury sanction the recruitment of Artificers and Labourers for preparing the tools, lathes, beds, etc. for the work now in course of erection for the manufacture of Lancaster projectiles (PRO/WO[47/2,751, P. 1,675)" 2 January 1855. James Littleton appointed Saw Hammerer and Shar _ ener in the R.C.D. at 5. od. per day. p (PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 17) 5 Janua? 1855. The following appointments are made in the Office of the Superintendent of Machinery: Thomas ThompsonClerk James A. Hay Draughtsman
R. Stubbs-Messenger (PRO/WO/47/2,752, P. 54) 8 January 1855. Three additional cats are to be kept in the Royal Arsenal for 6 months and a report then to be issued as to the necessity
of their continuance. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 99)
1270
APPENDIX VIII
1oJanuary 1855. The continued employment of the additional Artificers and Labourers with an extra 6 or 10 Collar-makers and one Leading Man till the end of the financial year is approved.
(PRO/V\TO/47/2,752, p. 135) 24 January 1855. Absolom Thompson appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, w.e.f· 24 January 1855. (PRO/WO/49/2,752, P. 306)
31 January 1855. Four Temporary Clerks to be employed as supernumeraries on the understanding that their places are not to be filled upon vacancies occurring. Four additional Temporary Clerks also to be employed.
(PRO/WO[47/2,752, P-392) 31 January 1855. Thirty additional Labourers and 3 more Leading men to be employed in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 393) 6Februaiy 1855. David Mason to be employed as a Painter and Marker vice Henry Jesse, transferred to the Commissariat Department. Henry Vallon appointed Extra Cooper. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, P. 464) 7 Februa1y 1855. John Farrell and John G. Branscombe confirmed as Temporary Clerks. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, P. 472)
17 February 1855. The extra pay in the R.C.D. in proportion to the daily pay is to be confined to the Men and Lads actually working; and the extra pay for all Masters, Foremen and other Supervising Grades is to be reduced to the following scale:
Those borne on the Cheque Books at 7s. od. per day and upwards to be paid for extra attendance at the rate of 2s. od. for every half day.
Those borne at 5s. od. per day and under 7s. od. per day to be paid for extra attendance at the rate of Is. 8d. for every half day.
Those borne at under 5s. od. per day at the rate of 1s. 4d. for every half day, excepting when employed at night work when the rate to be paid will be the same as that paid at present.
Office-keepers on duty will receive 1s. od. a day extra.
The above to be paid so long as the war lasts.
(PRO/WO/[47/2,752, p. 608)
23February 1855.Joseph ,iVatson to succeed Mr Blanford on the circular saw in the R.C.D. and to be paid an additional 6d. per day while so employed.
(PRO[WO]47/2,752, p. 675)
3 March 1855. The following are appointed Temporary Clerks in the
R.L. supernumerary to the establishment: John C. Wild; Charles]. Bridgford;John G. Branscombe;John Farrell. The following are appointed Temporary Clerks:
0. G. Chambers; J. J. Carrington; William Briscoe.
(PRO/WO]47/2,752, p. 768) 7 March 1855. Charles Dibblin from the Storekeeper's Department,
1271
appointed Foreman of the Magazine and Cartridge Sheds R.L. vice John Davis, dismissed. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 798) 17 Jv[arch 1855. Fifty additional Labourers and 5 Leading Men sanctioned for the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, P-910) 23 March 1855. The pay of Charles Dibblin, Foreman of the Magazine and Flannel Cartridge Sheds R.L., to be raised to 4s. 4d. per day.
J. Newman appointed Second Foreman at 4s. 4d. per day. The pay of Acting Foreman J. Cook to be raised t0 3s. 4d. per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 975) 24 March 1855. Eight additional Smiths, 4 at 4s. 9d. per day and 4 at 4s. 6d. per day, are engaged for the R.C.D. Ten Additional Labourers at 2s. 4d. per day for the R.C.D. are also approved. (PRO/WO/47/2,752, p. 994) 26 March 1855. Mr Connally appointed Engineer Clerk m the R.E. Department vice Mr Blackmore, retired. (PRO[WO/47/2,752, P. 1,006) 26 March 1855. The following promotions take place m the R.C.D.: Thomas Harris, a Wheeler at 3s. 6d. per day, to be advanced to 4s. 1d. per day vice Frederick Smith. Thomas Mann, a Wheeler at 3. 6d. per day, to be advanced to 4s. 1d. per day vice Charles Dawkins. Vincent Beaumont, an Assistant Wheeler at 3s. 0d. per day to be advanced t0 3s. 6d. per day vice Thomas Harris, promoted. ' Edward Webb, an Assistant Wheeler at 3s. od. per day, to be advanced to 3s. 6d. per day vice Thomas Mann, promoted. Thomas Fitzpatrick and William Davis, Lads, to be appointed Assistant Artificers at 3s. od. per day vice Vincent Beaumont and Edward Webb. (PRO/WO[47/2,752, P. 1,013) 2 April 1855. Edward Amos, Junior, appointed Foreman of Painters in the R.C.D. at 5s. 10d. per day vice Edward Amos, Senior, pensioned. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,097) 7 April 1855. Thomas Maundrell appointed Leadina-Hand at the Magazines in the Storekeeper's Department at 4s. 1d. per day vice Charles Dibblin, transferred to the R.L. Robert Thompson appointed Officeman vice Thomas Maundrell. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,155) 7 April 1855. Two Additional Foremen in the R.L. approved. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,157) 9 April 1855. Ten additional Painters engaged for the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,169) . 11 April 1855. William Harmer appointed Stoker in the R.L. vice Richard Wyatt. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,200)
13 April 1855. William Dent appointed Laboratory Assistant to Frederick Abel, the Ordnance Chemist.
1272
APPENDIX VIII
Thomas Powell appointed Laboratory Attendant and Messenger. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,229) 13 April 1855. Ten more Painters authorized for the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. r,233) 16 April 1855. A Master and workmen to be engaged for the new Shell Foundry. Angus Campbell appointed Master Founder at 1os. od. per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,262)
16 April 1855. The manufacture of flannel cartridges in the R.L. to be increased from 20,000 to 80,000 a week. Seven extra Tailors and additional women are to be employed.
(PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,264) 17 April 1855. Forty to 6o more Labourers to be taken on in the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,273) 24 April 1855. Thomas Carlisle appointed Temporary Clerk in the R.L., w.e.f. 24 April 1855 vice J. G. Elliott, who declined the appointment. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,372) 24 April 1855. Ten additional Labourers engaged for the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. r,373) 25 April 1855. The services of G. B. Green, Temporary Clerk in the Engineer Department, to be continued. (PRO/WO/47 /2,753, p. 1,386) 26 April 1855. Additional numbers sanctioned for the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,411)
3 May 1855. The Civil Officers are authorized to recruit a sufficient number of Labourers and Leading Men to meet the deficiency caused by the withdrawal of 140 convicts and of the military working party of 16o men hitherto supplied to the Royal Arsenal.
(PRO[WO[47/2,750, P-1,516) 4 May 1855. The Treasury authorizes the employment of 20 additional Painters in the R.C.D. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,526) 9 May 1855. Gorge Hine appointed Office-keeper in the R.L. vice Thomas Claydon, promoted. (PRO/WO[47/2,753, P. 1,607) 1r May 1855. The Civil Officers given authority to recruit such additional labour as circumstances may require. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,649) 14May 1855. S. Lyons appointed Labourer in the Department of the Inspector of Artillery. (PRO/WO/47/2,753, p. 1,662)
26 May 1855. Colonel Edmund N. Wilford appointed Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, w.e.f. 21 May 1855 vice Colonel James A. Chalmer.
(PRO/WO[47/2,753, P. 1,844)
1273
28 May 1855. The Inspector of Artillery authorized to engage 6
additional Smiths at 4s. 1d. per day each.
(PRO/WO/47/2,753, P.-1,855)
28 May 1855. Mr Sissison is to assist Mr John Anderson, Superintendent
of Machinery, for 6 months at a cost of £150.
(PRO/WO/47/2,753 P-1,858)
28 May 1855. Frederick Abel, the Ordnance Chemist, is granted the
assistance of a Temporary Clerk.
(PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 1,859)
29 May 1855. Three additional Temporary Clerks authorized for the
Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,753 P. 1,874)
12 June 1855. One hundred additional Labourers and 2 additional
Clerks are to be employed in the Storekeeper's Department to speed up
the loading of ships at the Royal Arsenal.
(PRO/WO/47/2,753, P. 2,064)
30 June 1855. During the absence on sick leave of Mr Willis, Clerk to
the R.G.F. the employment of an experienced person at 5s. od. per day
is sanctioned.
(PRO/W0/47/2,753, p. 2,243)
3 July 1855. Francis Pellatt appointed Storekeeper, Royal Arsenal,
w.e.f 5 July 1855 vice Edward M. Sparkes. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 8) 3 July 1855. Twelve additional Wheelers and r 2 extra Labourers are sanctioned for the R.C.D. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. g)
9 July 1855. Lord Panmure, Secretary of State for War: approves the recommendation of William Monsell, Clerk of the Ordnance that William Morris be appointed Deputy Storekeeper at Woolwich vice
Francis Pellatt. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 70) 9 July 1855. Captain Arthur Vandeleur appointed Captain Instructor at the R.G.F., w.e.f. 29 June 1855. (PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 70) 9July 1855. Captain Beatson, R.E., appointed Superintending Engineer to the Ordnance Manufacturmg Departments vice Captain Collinson
R.E. ,
(PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 73)
12 July 1855. Four more Temporary Clerks authorized for the Store
keeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,754 p. 115)
14 July 1855. Timekeepers in the R.L. sanctioned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,754, P. 141)
17 July 1855. Continued employment of 5o Labourers in the R.C.D. sanctioned, notwithstanding the renewed assistance of convicts in order to avoid employing Artificers on inferior duties. '
(PRO/WO/47/2,754, P. 170)
• This is the first time that the Department of the Inspector of Artillery has been called
Tiu Royal Gun Factory.
1274
APPENDIX VIII
18 July 1855. Thomas Pope appointed Temporary Clerk. (PRO/\f\T0/47/2,754, p. 186) 21 July 1855. The following appointments are made in the Storekeeper's Department:
Mr Thales, Mr Pease, John. Browne and Thomas Rawnsley to be Temporary Clerks vice \t\Tilliam Morris, promoted Deputy Storekeeper, and the retirement of George CChubb and William Grccn.
Mr Dicken, thc 2nd Clerk in. the rst Class, to be Principal Clerk.
William Thomas Forster, Senior Clerk of the 2nd Class, to be a rst Class Clerk.
John Keen, a Clerk in the 3rd Class, to be a 2nd Class ·Clerk.
Approved by Lord Panmure on 19July 1855.
(PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 223) 24 July 1855. Two additional Temporary Clerks sanctioned. (P?RO/WO/47/2,754, P-248) 27 July 1855. C. T. Guthrie appointed Temporary Draughtsman in the Engineer Department at 8s. 4d-per day. (PRO/WO/47/2,754, P-283)
30 July I855. George Collier appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department. One out of the ten for taking the 'remain' at Woolwich.
(PRO/W0/47/2,754, P· 308) 1 August 1855. William Grecn, 2nd Clerk in the Storekeeper's office, superannuated with a pension of£25 p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,754, P-334)7 August 1855. Two addition.al Moulders and 12 extra Labourers are approved for the Royal Brass Foundry. (PRO/WO/47/2,754 D-403) 8 August 1855. The following are appointed Temporary Clerks in the Storekeeper's Department:
C. H. Martin vice Mr J\llackintosh to Purfleet
H.J.
Mills vice Mr :Nicholls to the Crimea
E.
J. Wade vice Mr Heel to the Bosphorus
R.
P. Olpherts vice Thomas Rawnsley to the establishment
(PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 419) 14August 1855.J. Welsh, a Labourer in the R.L., killed by the accidental explosion of a shell. His funeral is to be at the public expense. (PRO/WO/47/2,754, D-473)18 August 1855. The following appointments are made in the Storekeeper's Department: Alfred H. Young, gnd Class Clerk, to be 1st Class Clerk vice "William Green, superannuated.
N. Phillips, 3rd Class Clerk, to be gnd Class Clerk, vice Alfred H. Young.
R. P. Olpherts appointed to the vacancy caused by Thomas Rawnsley
being promoted to the establishment. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 528)
83 1275
2r August r855. Captain George H. A. Fraser, R.A., appointed from Firemaster to Captain Instructor, R.L., w.e.f. 28 August 1855. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, P. 556) 23 August 1855. James Marshall appointed Foreman of Shell Examiners in the R.L.
H. Ball entered the R.L. as a mechanic. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, P. 576) 20 August r855. Edward Pym to be Wharfinger in the Storekeeper's Department at 5. od. per day. John Amos, Principal Foreman in the Storekeeper's Department to have his pay raised to 7s. od. per day. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 6oo) 5 September r855. Frederick Abel, Ordnance Chemist, authorized to buy a microscope at a cost of £40-£50. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 706) 2r September 1855. The appointment of a Foreman for the R.G.F. factory in course of erection at Proof Square, sanctioned. (PRO/W0/47/2,754, p. 874) 29 September 1855. Captain Edward M. Boxer authorized to obtain from Messrs Day & Sons, ro,ooo lithographic drav,,ings for the R.L. at a cost of £158. os. od. (PRO/WO/47/2,754, P. 963) r5 October r855. Two additional Clerks sanctioned for the Storekeeper's Department. (PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,-II1)
I November 1855. The following Temporary Clerks joined for duty under the Civil Officers:
A. Norris A. J. Black J. H. Nightingale E. C. Greener (PRO/W0/47/2,755, P. 1,291) 22 November 1855. The employment of a night shift in the R.G.F. consisting of 1 Foreman, 2 l\lloulders, 3 Assistant Moulders and 1 gLabourers, is sanctioned. (PRO/W0/47/2,755, P. 1,510) 22 November 1855. Mr MacDaniel appointed Foreman of the Royal Brass Foundry vice Samuel Eccles, retired. (PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. r,511) 24 November r855. The new system of paying men by the hour instead of by the day was started in the R.C.D. (PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. r,535)
28 November 1855. Employment of additional Smiths m the R.G.F. sanctioned.
(PRO/WO/47/2,755, P. 1,569) 29 November 1855. James Welland appointed a Temporary Foreman of Works in the Engineer Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,755, P. 1,580) I December 1855. Five additional Smiths sanctioned for the R.G.F. (PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,603)
1276
APPENDIX VIII
14 December 1855. The appointment of a Manager R.G.F. sanctioned. Salary £25o-Ero-£350 p.a. (PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,738)
15 December 1855. Thomas Newman appointed Temporary Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice A. J. Black, transferred to the ArmyClothing Department.
(PRO/W0/47/2,755, P· 1,751)17 December 1855. Additional employees for the R.G.F. sanctioned. (PRO/WO[47/2,755, p. 1,761)
22 December 1855. Captain George H. A. Fraser, R.A., now Captam Instructor at the R.L., to be allowed his pay as Firemaster R.L. till 28 August 1855 at the rate of £230 p.a.
(PRO/W0/47/2,755, p. 1,820)9 January 1856. H. Potter appointed an Extra Clerk. (PRO/W0/47/2,756, p. 94) . .
ro Janua1y r856. The salary of Frederick Abel, Ordnance Chemist, is to be £5oo-a5£7oo p.a. But on the occasion of the first vacancy the subject is to be reconsidered.
(PRO/WO[47/2,756, p.-1O4) r 4Janua1y r856.James Scott, Master Cooper at the R.L., superannuated on a pension of £70 p.a. (PRO/W0/47/2,756, P· 137)14 January 1856. The following pensions are granted:
Austin Tyer -Master Blacksmith R.L. £98 p.a. David Bremner -Master Tailor R.L. -£55 p.a. James Cook -Fireman R.L. £6o p.a. Joseph Carlisle -Master Turner R.L. -£50 p.a. John Henderson-Master Founder R.L. {35 p.a. WilliamHigley-Foreman ofPaintersR.L.-50p.a.
(PRO/WO[47/2,756, p. 136) rs January 1856. James Welland, Temporary Foreman of Works, to be retained till 31 March 1856. (PRO[WO[47/2,756, P. 145) .
r6January 1856. Six additional carpenters are sanctioned for the R.L. (PRO/W0/47/2,756, p. 157) . . . . 2 r January r856. Additional Labourers are recrmted m lieu of convicts.
(PRO/WO[47/2,756, p. 206) 2r January 1856. Edward Hare appointed Extra Clerk in the R.C.D. vice Mr White, transferred to the Clothing Branch, Whitehall. (PRO/W0/47/2,756, p. 208) 2 February 1856. William Hopper appointed Assistant Clerk in the R.G.F. (PRO/W0/47/2,756, p. 339) I4 February 1856. Fredrick Bowker appointed Messenger to the Chemical Department. (PRO/WO/47/2,756, P. 458) 14 February 1856. A Foreman to the R.C.D. Foundry appointed at £2. 2s. od. per week.
1277
APPENDIX VIII
James Liddell appointed Foreman in the R.C.D. at 9ld. per hour.
Thomas A. G. Satchwell, Clerk in the R.L., is transferred to the
Storekeeper's Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,756, P.-458)
14 February 1856. William Henry Parkyn from Gibraltar to be ist
Clerk in the Storekeeper's Department vice Mr Dicken, tr:nsferred to
Charlemont.
(PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 459)
21 February 1856. Joseph Elliott to be a gnd Class Clerk in the Store
keeper's Department vice William O'Neill.
James White to be established vice Joseph Elliott.
(PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 530)
26 February 1856. Mr Marks to be a Temporary Clerk in the Store
keeper's Department vice Absolom Thompson.
(PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 577)
27 February 1856. Joseph Cook appointed Warden of Fire Main G
• hRL s, as, II
etc.m t e .. (PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 590) 6March 1856. Frederick Bowker to be Assistant Chemist to th · I
class. e pract1ca
(PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 673) 25 Marclz 1856. The salaries of the Surveyors in the Bu"ld" D
ur 1 • h, £ tung part
ment, Woolwich, are ,3oo p.a. and [25o p.a. (PRO/WO/47/2,756, p. 854) 2 April 1856. Sergeant Forrest to be Confidential Clerk in th R L (PRO/WO[47/2,757, P. 937) 1e
.1..
15 Afril 1856. Henry Peake appointed Temporary Clerk in the Stor:keepers Department. e (PRO/WO/47/2,757, P. 1,071) 19 May 1856. Mr Bridgford appointed Clerk in the R.C.D. Summers Torres appointed 3rd Clerk in the R.C.D.
(PRO/WO/47/2,757, p. r,418)
3 J_uly 1856. W. S. Andrews appointed Clerk Supermtendent of Machinery.
H. Iliff appointed Temporary Clerk to the W.D.
ment.*
(PRO/WO/47/2,758, p. 26) . 8 July 1856. Both the R.L. and the R.C.D. are intendent of Clerks of Works and a Draughtsman
Engineer.
(PRO/WO/47/2,758, p. 76)
in the office of the Chemists' establish
to employ a Superunder the Bildi
u ng
2 September 1856. The adoption of 'piece-work' in the R.L. sanctioned (PRO/WO/47/2,758, p. 654) ' 11 October 1856. J. Coale appointed Messenger to the Machinery
Department.
(PRO/WO/47/2,759, p. 1,061)
titl:.At this date the first mention of W.D. Chemists' Establishment occurs under that
24 October 1856. The recruitment of additional Labourers in the R.G.F. to compensate for the withdrawal of convict labour is approved. (PRO/W0/47/2,759, p. 1,193) 5 November 1856. A reduction of 22 Labourers in the Storekeeper's Department, approved. (PRO/WO/47/2,759, P. 1,318) 13 November 1856. Labourers are engaged m the R.C.D. to replace convicts. (PRO/W0/47/2,759, p. 1,399) 14 November 1856. The Officer now called The Assistant Inspector in the
R.C.D. is in future to be styled The Captain Instructor.
This Appendix does not pretend to give a complete list of all appointments between 1800 and 1856. Certain changes of personnel have obviously not been recorded.
The records from which the data have been extracted vary considerably. Some entries are inaccurate, some lack essential detail, while others are more carefully inscribed. Such variations are due, no doubt, to the individual clerks who compiled them. Many entries state the Christian na1nes, but others lack even an initial. In many cases, the surname of the same person is spelt differently on different occasions.
This lack of care is particularly noticeable during the years 1852-1856. How much of this was due to the Crimean War or to the approaching doom of the Office of Ordnance is impossible to say.
This slackness has rather tended to detract from the value of the records, but care has been taken to check entries wherever possible and insert Christian names when known.
A standard form of spelling for each surname has been adopted. It is not possible to insure that orthography has been followed.
1279
APPENDIX IX
WOOLWICH ESTABLISHMENTS IN CERTAIN YEARS
1801 John Geast 500 p.a.
Storekeeper
Evans Marshall £200 p.a.
Clerk ofthe Survey
Henry S. Matthews £150 p.a.
Clerk ofthe Cheque
Charles Weaver £129. 10s.
Clerk ofthe Works
Samuel Walsall £70 p.a. William Marshall £70 p.a. Four Clerks William Pritchard £70 p.a.
{
R. Gray £6o p.a.
Royal Laboratory Comptroller Colonel William Congreve £36o p.a.
ChiefFiremaster Colonel George Rochfort £230 p.a. Assistant Firemaster Lieutenant Thomas Sutton 230 p.a. Inspector ofthe Royal }
lifanujacturies of Major John Finlay £200 p.a.
Gunpowder Surgeon George Moore £54. 155. The Re.finer (moved to Faversham)
Henry Forman £300 p.a. Joseph Newell 150 p.a. Lewis Charles Okes £ go p.a.
Six Clerks
William Caffin £ go p.a. Moses Hambleton £ 8o p.a. Thomas Heywood £ 8o p.a.
Inspectorate ofArtillery Inspector of } • Artillery and of Colonel Thomas Blomefield 441• 5.
the Royal Brass
FoundryAssistant Inspector Colonel Edward Fage 120 p.a. Clerk and }
£138. 12s.
Draughtsman John Hookham Clerk Richard White £ 80 p.a. Proofmaster Lieut. William Robe R.A. £100 p.a. Searcher Adam Fife £100 p.a. Instrument Keeper John Walton £ 73 p.a. Modeller Thomas Greenstreet £ 63. 17s. Assistant Modeller (vacant) £ 54. 15%. Constructor of }
£400 p.a.
Artillery Carriages Thomas Butler
pt
Costnto }Edward Bartord 0, arrages J
2nd Assistant Con: } Charles Gilbert £1oo p.a. structor ofCarriages
1280
APPENDIX IX
Thomas Butler, Jr. £ 70 p.a. Clerks { H. Eaton £ 70 p.a.
Master Founder at
}John King £249 p.a.
the FoundryAssistant Master
od. p.a.
Founder at the } Henry King
Foundry
1803 od. p.a. Storekeeper John Gcast £5oo p.a. Clerk ofthe Survey Evans Marshall £200 p.a. Clerk ofthe Cheque Charles Hockstretter £ 150 p.a.
od. p.a.
Clerk ofthe Works Charles Weaver £129. ms.
Paymaster John Henderson £400 p.a. (The Paymaster has 2 Clerks and an Office-keeper) (The Storekeeper has Ins complement of Clerks)
The Royal Laboratory
Sutton retired on
The same establishment. Lieutenant Thomas 2o March 1803.
Royal Carriage Department
£440 p.a.
Inspector Colonel Edward Fage
od. p.a. 250 p.a.
Assistant Inspector Major George Scott
Constructor of } Captain Joseph :tvlaclean £250 p.a. Carriages
£200 p.a.
First Assistant }Edward Burford Constructor Second Assistant } Mr Tull £180 p.a. Constructor
£200 p.a.
Clerk ofthe Cheque Adam Fife
each £ 70 p.a.
Two Clerksfor the Inspector's Office Four Clerksfor the } One at £1oo p.a. and Clerk ofthe Cheque Three at £70 p.a.
od. p.a.
Inspectorate ofArtillery
Inspector ofArtillery Major-General {441. 5. od. p.a. and ofthe Royal } Thomas Blomefield
6d. p.a.
Brass Foundry
£1oo p.a.
Lieut. William Robe R.A.
Proofmaster
£a49 p.a.
Master Founder John King
£182. 1os. od. p.a.
Assistant Master } Henry KingFounder
1821
6d. p.a.
£7oo -+ house
od. p.a. John Geast
Storekeeper £450 -+ house
William R. Marshall
Clerk ofSurvey
£350 + houseJoseph Cheetham
Clerk ofthe Cheque
£500 + house
John Henderson
Paymaster £138. 6s. od.
John Pitfield
Clerks to Paymaster { Thomas Mortimer £1o5
1281
Four Clerks under the Storekeeper
Clerk of W'orks
Comptroller
Firemaster Assistant Firemaster
Inspector ofRoyal Jvfamifacturies of Gunpowder
Four Clerks
ChiefForeman
APPENDIX IX John Guest
r William Jones John Knight
Cornelius Sharp Thomas Weaver
l
Royal Laboratory Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart. Lieut-General Rochfort Lieut-Colonel Charles Bingham
l Captain William Eyles J Maling
Henry Dugleby
William Caffin { Charles Ellis L]ohn Piper
William Castledine
£162. ros. od. £138 £135 £1o5
a7
£360 + house £230 + house
£200 + house
£577
368. IOS.
od.
£170 17o £118. l 2S, od.
Inspectorate ofArtillery and Royal Brass Foundry
Inspector
Assistant Inspector and Draughtsman Proofmaster
Clerks
Searcher and
Instrument Keeper
Modeller
Founder
Foreman ofFoundry
Inspector
Assistant Inspector
Junior Constructor
ofCarriages Clerk ofCheque Clerk in the
Inspector's Office Clerks under the Clerk
of the Cheque Master Carpenter Master Wheeler
Major-General Sir Thomas Blomefield, Bart.
Jl John Hookham
Lieut. Alexander Reid R.A. r R. WhiteL Thomas Monk l
Thomas Walton
J Samuel Eccles Cornelius King William North
Royal Carriage Department
Major-General William Cuppage Lieut.-Colonel William Millar }l George Salter George Robinson } Adam Grinton Richard T. Russell
}
Edward Dell Peter MacDonald Charles Dibblin
1282
£402 £438. lOS.
od. £158. lOS. od. 53. 6s. od. £21o 1oo. 7s. 6d. £mo. 7s.
6d.
£a7 £142. 15s. od.
£400 + house
£275 + house £135 £418. I Os.
od. 183. 6s. od.
£183. 6s. od. 4145 £1o9. lOS. od. £mg. lOS, od.
lv1aster Smith
Deputy Storekeeper 3 Clerks.
APPENDIX IX William Clark £mg. JOS. od.
1827
Storekeeper £64o; Deputy Storekeeper £25o; Clerk of the Survey£385; 8 Clerks, salaries varying from £80 to £250.
Royal Laboratory
Comptroller £459; Firemaster £23o; Assistant Firemaster £23o; Inspector of Royal Manufacturies of Gunpowder £200; Deputy Storekeeper £500; 3 Clerks, salaries varying from £9o to £25o.
Inspectorate ofArtillery
Inspector and Inspector of Royal Brass Foundry £450; Assistant Inspector and Draughtsman £400; Proofmaster £150; Modeller £mo; Searcher and Instrument Keeper £mo; 2 Clerks, one at £236 and the other at £197.
Royal Carriage Department
Inspector £4oo; Assistant Inspector £250; Junior Constructor [188; Deputy Storckccper {392; Clerk to the Inspector 196; 2 Clerks to the Deputy S_torekeeper; one at £160 and the other at £200.
1841 Storekeeper {72o; Deputy Storekeeper £380; 1 o Clerks, salaries varying from £90 to £250.
Royal Laboratory
Director £400; Firemaster £230; Assistant Inspector of Gunpowder Manufacturies £goo; Deputy Storekeeper £477; 3 Clerks, salaries varying from £80 to £250.
Inspectorate ofArtillery and Brass Foundry
Inspector £400; Assistant Inspector £200; Modeller £mo; Searcher and Instrument Keeper £mo; 2 Clerks, salaries varying from £go to £25o.
Royal Carriage Department
Inspector £4oo; Assistant Inspector £goo; Junior Constructor £,12o; Deputy Storekeeper £290; 3 Clerks, salaries varying from £90 to £250.
1855
Storekeeper £729; Deputy Storekeeper {4oo; Principal Clerk £3oo; 2 Clerks, salaries varying between £230-£280; 5 Clerks, salaries varying between £170-£220; 9 Clerks, salaries varying betv,reen £90-£160; 11 Temporary Clerks at £100 each.
Royal Laboratory
Director {4oo; Firemaster £23o; Assistant Firemaster {23o; Inspector of Gunpowder Manufacturies £320; 1 Clerk at £230; 2 Clerks, salaries varying between £ 1 70-£200; 8 Clerks, salaries varying between £9o£ 160; 5 Temporary Clerks at £100 each.
1283
Inspectorate ofArtilleryandBrassFoundry
Inspector {4oo; Assistant Inspector £goo; 3 Clerks, salaries varying from £90-£250; the senior clerk being paid £50 p.a. extra as a Draughtsman; r Temporary Clerk at £100; r Founder £170; Superintendent of Machinery and Eng~neer £450 (salary £400-£700); Clerk to the Superintendent of Machinery £1 ro; r Draughtsman £91; Searcher and Instrument Keeper £100; Messenger £52.
Royal Carriage Department
Inspector {4oo; Assistant Inspector {goo; Civil Superintendent [4oo; 1 Constructor £180 (_salary £180-£250); 1 Assistant Constructor £18o; 1 Supernumerary Assistant Constructor £r 20; r Clerk at £230; 2 Clerks, salaries varying between £r 70-£200; 3 Clerks, salaries varying between £90-£160; 5 Temporary Clerks at £100 each.
1856 Storekeeper £670 (Range £650-£800); Deputy Storekccper £,4oo (Range £400-£500); Prmc1pal Clerk £300 (Range £300-£4.oo); 4 First Class Clerks £230-£280; 7 Second Class Clerks £r 70-£22o; Third
7
Class Clerks £90-£160; ro Temporary Clerks at £roo; 4 TemporaryClerks at £80; 6 Storehouse Clerks at £100 each.
Royal Laboratory
Superintendent£500; Captain Instructor (late Firemaster) £200. c _ tain Instructor (late Assistant Firemaster) zoo; Pricierint ¢ £400; 2 First Class Clerks {230-£280; 3 Second Class Clerks [,170-{22o: 2 Third Class Clerks £90-£160; 5 Temporary Clerks, 2 at £roo and a;
£80each. • . 3
Royal Gun Factory
Superintendent [5oo; Captain Instructor £goo; Principal Clerk and Draughtsman £goo (Range 300-400); 2 Clerks £230-£,280; Temporary Clerks at £8o; Examiner of Ordnance Projectiles £r824. Founder, Searcher and Instrument Keeper £182; Messenger £52. '
Royal Carriage Department
Superintendent {5oo; Captain Instructor £goo; Principal Clerk £320(Range £300-£400); Two rst Class Clerks £230-£280; Three 2nd Class Clerks [170£2go; Three grd Class Clerks [90{16o; 5 Temporary Clerks, 3 a~ £roo and 2 at £80 each. Constructor £250 (Range £250_ {350) ; Assistant Constructor {180 (Range130/180); Supernumerary
Assistant Constructor £120 (Range £120-£150).
Inspector ofMachinery Department
Inspector £500 (Range £400-£700); Draughtsman £170-£220; Clerk £90160.
Chemical Department
Chemist £500 (Range £500-£700); Senior Assistant £230£280: Junior Assistant £9o-£16o; Clerk £90-£,16o; Messenger 52.
1284
APPENDIX IX
Establishmentfor Building Operations
Building Engineer £4oo; Drawing Clerk £150250; 2 Surveyors of Works £23025o; OIIice Clerk £roo.
Nliscellaneous
Resident Schoolmaster £r 20; 2 non-resident Teachers at £70; 2 nonresident Teachers at£5o; Porter £37; Surgeon2373 3 Assistant Surgeons at 7s. 6d. per day.
1867
Royal Carriage Department
Superintendent £847; Assistant Superintendent/44o; First Constructor £380; Second Constructor £265; Assistant Constructor {2go; Timber Mas·ter £170; Engineer £200; Draughtsman £200; Captain Instructor £42 I ; 2 Sergeant Instructors; Principal Clerk £552; 3 Clerks r st Class; 4 Clerks 2nd Class; 4 Clerks 3rd Class; 3 Military Clerks; 44 Writers.
Royal Laboratory
Superintendent [845; Assistant Superintendent {419; Captain Instructor £401; r Temporary Instructor £183; 6 Sergeant Instructors; 2 Managers at £400 each; Principal Clerk 500; 3 Clerks rst Class; 2 Clerks 2nd Class; 6 Clerks 3rd Class; r Military Clerk; 39 Writers.
Machinery Department
Superintendent £1,200; Clerk £340; Writer £gr.
Chemical Establishment
Chemist [675; Senior Assistant £31o; Two Second Class Assistants; One Third Class Assistant £160; One Fourth Class Assistant £roo; 1 Clerk 3rd Class £IIo; 3 Photographers; r N.C.O.
Medical Establishment
Surgeon [471; Assistant Surgeon £326; Dispenser £155; Cook £r8; Surgeryrnan £Sr; Writer £90; 2 Orderlies, each £56. ros. od.
Department ofInspector ofWorks
Inspector £400 + regimentai pay; Assistant Inspector £200; 3 Clerks of Works rst Class; 2 ,Clerks of Works 2nd Class; 1 Clerk 2nd Class; 1 Clerk, 3rd Class; 3 Temporary Clerks and Draughtsmen; r Office
keeper 455.
Royal Arsenal General School
Headmaster £127; rst Assistant Mastero; 2nd Assistant Master £go; 3rd Assistant Master £7o; Librarian {35; Porter £26.
1881
Royal Carriage Department
Superintendent (£500 + £475 Regimental Pay); Assistant Superintendent (£200 + £292 Regimental Pay+ £55 Lodging Allowance); Manager £5oo; Assistant Manager £38o; Principal Clerk £629; Senior Clerk £365; 2 Junior Clerks, {330 each.
1285
Royal Gun Factory
Superintendent (£500 + ~329 Regimental Pay); Assistant Superintendent (£200 + £292 Regimental Pay); Proof Officer (£200 + £201 Regimental Pay); Deputy Assistan: Superintendent £650; Principal Clerk £585; Senior Clerk £365; Junior Clerk £330; 2 Proof Sergeants.
Royal Laboratory
Superintendent (£500 + £~29 Regimental Pay); Assistant Superintendent (£200 + £292 Regimental Pay); Manager £650; Assistant Manager £385; Special Assistant {415; Principal Clerk £62o; Senior Clerk £415; 2 Junior Clerks, £330 each.
Chemical and Photographic Establishment
Chemist £1,0oo; Principal Assistant £550; Senior Assistant £37o; 3 Junior Assistants; Temporary Assistant £100; 1 Photographer and OIce Assistant {315.
Gas Factory and 1vfac/zinery Establishment
Inspector £590
Medical Establishment
1 Surgeon Major (£456 + £129 allowances); 1 Surgeon Major (£411 + £82 allowances) ; Dispenser £2 IO; Cook £18; Surgeryman £no; 2 Orderlies.
Royal Arsenal Schools and Library
Headmaster £190; 2 Assistant Masters; Librarian 35; Porter 31.
Ordnance Store Departrnent
Commissary-General; 2 Deputy Commissaries-General; 6 Assistant Commissaries-General; 4 Deputy Assistant Commissaries-General;
14
Quartermasters and Conductors.
1887 AND 1888 These establishments are given in Vincent's Records ofWoolwich Volume I pp. 372-378. 1920 Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories (Military) £2,25o Civil Assistant to C.S.O.F. £850-£1,000 ' Chief Accountant £850-£1 ,ooo Deputy Civil Assistant to C.S.O.F. £600-£750 Military Assistant to C.S.O.F. £2. 8s. od. p.d. + allowances Chief Mechanical Engineer £850-1,050 + goo p.a. 2 Assistant Mechanical Engineers £500-£650 + £100 p.a. 5 Superintendents (3 Military and 2 Civil) (a Military at {1,500 and one at £3. 3s. od. p.d. + allowances) ( I Civil at £1,200 and 1 Civil at £,800)
1 Lady Superintendent £250
4 Controllers
8 First Assistant Superintendents (5 Military and 3 Civil)
1286
APPENDIX IX
3 Second Assistant Superintendents (One Military and 2 Civil) 2 Assistant Superintendents B.W.D. (Civil) 2 Assistant Controllers (Civil) 3 Attached Officers of the Design Department 2 Inspectors of Danger Buildings (Military) 1 Traffic Manager (Military) 2 Surveyors 7 Managers; 6 Assistant Managers; 3 Chief Draughtsmen; 6 Chief
Designers·; 2 Chemists Class I; 3 Chemists Class II; 2 Principal Clerks; 3 Acting Principal Clerks; 1 Senior Clerk; 3 Acting Senior Clerks; 18 Temporary Higher Clerical Staff.
1 Temporary Munitions Store Officer 2 Temporary Acting Civil Clerks Chaplain {180
Medical Department
1 Senior Medical Officer; 4 Medical Officers; 1 Lady Medical Officer; 1 Matron; 3 Staff Nurses; 2 V.A.Ds.
1930
Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories £1,6oo Military Assistant to .S.O.F. £1. 19. 6ad. p.d. + allowances Civil Assistant to C.S.O.F. £850-£1,000 Labour Superintendent £550-£700 Chief Mechanical Engineer and 1 £ £ _
Superintendent, Building Works f I,050-4.1,250 Deputy Superintendent of} _ , .
"ld" W k £500-£ / 50 , retired pay
Bu1 mg ors First Assistant Mechanical Engineer £500-£750 Assistant Mechanical Engineer £700 Assistant Mechanical Engineer £500-£650 Superintendent, R.G. and C.F. £1,050-£1,250 Superintendent, Royal Ammunition Factory £850-£1,050 Superintendent, Royal Filling Factories £800-£1,000 Inspector of Danger Buildings £ 1. 6s. od. p.d. + allowances Inspector of Danger Buildings 17s. 8d. p.d. + allowances 3 Managers £400-£650 (with quarters) 4 Assistant Managers 350-500, one with quarters Surveyor £400-£600 Surveyor {350-550 Transport Officer £400-£500 Head Metallurgist £46o550 3 Chemists, Class II £225-£350
1 Chief Estimator £400-£500 1 Chief Rate-fixer £350-£500 r Production Omicer 350500 Canteen Manager £400 3 Senior Draughtsmen £300-£350 4 Principal Clerks £550-£700
3 Senior Clerks £400-£500
3 at£,100£130 6 Clerks { 3 at £130-£4.00
Design Department
I Manager £550-£650 4 Chief Draughtsmen £380-£500 10 Senior Draughtsmen £300-£350
Medical Department 1 Senior Medical Officer (R.A.M.C.) £2. 6s. 6d. p.d. + allowances
+ 7s. 6d. per day charge pay 1 Medical Officer (R.A.M.C.) 1. 19s. 6d. p.d. + allowances 1 Medical Officer (R.A.M.C.) £650 + ration allowance
1288
APPENDIX X
( 1) The approx-imate number ofworkers employed in the Warren and
Royal Arsenal up to the abolition ofthe Office ofOrdnance Year Numbers Remarks
1670
3 1674 6 1700 6
1714 9
1750 60 War with Spain and France
1764 40 After Peace of Paris 1763
1780 500
1800 I ,500 War with France
1814 5,000 Napoleonic Campaigns
1830 700
1854 2,500
The above numbers are only very approximate and do not include
military workers and convicts who were employed as heavy labourers
between 1776 and the Crimean War.
(2) The average number ofworkers employed in the Manufacturing
Departments at Woolwich over theyears Year Numbers Remarks
1857 2,279 From now on the Ordnance Store
Department is not included 1858 5,456 Crimean War and Indian Mutiny 1859 6,218 ,,
""" "
1860 10,372 ,, ,,
" ""
1861 10,238
"" "" "
1862 7,088 1870 4,959 1871 6,091 1872 4,627 1873 4,743 1874 4,901 1875 5,283 1876 5,962 1877 5,814 1878 6,582 1879 5,567 1880 5,153 1881 5,091 1882 6,098 1883 6,333 1884 6,717 1885 9,589 1886 9,890 1894 I I,9I0
1289
APPENDIX X APPENDIX X
Year Numbers Remarks Year R.G.F.
1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 12,160 14,245 14,821 15,434 17,013 20,015 20,005 South African War " " " " " " 1859 1860 1861 1 862 1870 1871 1872 8IO 33432 3,854 2,407 903 1,182 973
1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 August 1914 January 1915 December 19 1 5 l 7,633 15,844 15,627 14,983 13,929 10,866 22,631 45,898 First World War " " " 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 935 845 I ,o I I 1,266 1,045 1,095 944 731
May 1916 December 191 7 May 1918 August 1918 November 1918 January 1919 April 1919 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 September l 940 November 1940 February 1943 August 1945 1947 1952 59,833 72,700 64,977 65,462 63,827 38,203 24,628 7,51 l 7,376 7,229 7,068 6,746 7,491 8,003 11,050 15,725 19,050 32,500 19,000 23,000 15,500 8,300 9,150 " " " " " " " " " " " " Armistice The beginning of rearmament Rearmament " Second World War Dispersal after air-raids Second World War Termination of Second World War 1881 1882 1883 1884 1,885 1886 1894 1900 August 1918 817 1,094 1,275 1,3!0 1,834 1,923 1,666 2,446 3,828
(3) The numbers ofworkers in individualfactories in certainyears
Year 1830 R.G.F. R.C.D. R.L. 120 Gas Factory Storekeeper's Department
1854
1857 1858 935 2,961 IO 18
• There were 2 industrials short of establishment. In addition there were 2 Officekccpcrs, I Warder, 37 Military Artificers and 60 Convicts.
1290 81
R.C.D.
2,154 2,506 2,561 1,539 1,382
1,491
1,341 1,299 1,404 1,481 1,605 1,707 1,919 1,489 1,526 I ,417 1,477 1,477 1,465 2,061 2,287 2,406 3,2l l 5,538
R.L.
3,254 4.,434 3,823 3,142 2,874 3,418 2,333 2,509 2,652 2,791 3,091 3,062 3,568 3,134 2,896 2,857 3,527 3,681 3,942 5,694 5,924 5,721 10,484 44,5°1
Gas Factory Storekeeper's
22 574 30 691 40 805 47
883
1,074 1,435
APPENDIX XI APPENDIX XII The acreage ofthe Royal Arsenal at various dates TRANSPORT IN THE ROYAL ARSENAL
Years Acres Roods Perches
1671 310 0 1777 104 2 20 1793 104 3 14 1801 106 3 35 1803 1560 8 1806 1612 2 1809 182 3 37 1811 210 3 27 1814 2593 7 1853 2660 6 1855 446 0 25 1856 577 I 38 1860 6452 8 1861 649 3 29
186g 803 0 14 1868 821 0
33 1885 824 I 23 1897 833 3 27 1898 954 0 34 1903 ,1,218 0 16 1904 1,260 3 39 1905 1,279 2 22 1909 1,280 I 19 1915 1,293 3 37 1916 1,294 I 8 1918 1,307 0 22 1922 1,3!0 3 36 1931 1,314 3 4 1935 1,314 3 8 1950 ,311
3 5 The area of the Royal Arsenal in 1952 was 1,311·78 acres. This area of land, i.e. 1,311 ·78 acres, had been acquired for the net
sum of£182,273. 7s. od. over the last 280 ycars. At prices then current it was probably worth £13,000,000.
1292
The conveyance of guns and raw material to the Royal Arsenal, the
movement of stores within its precincts, and the despatch of finished
products from its workshops, must always have been a pressing problem.
Transportation is one of the most important links in the chain connecting
production with provision, and on its strength depends the fighting value
ofthearmed forces intimeofwar. Itis, therefore, ofprimary importance.
An efficient transport system for a manufacturing establishment
depends on the close integration of its external and internal means of
cartage, an ideal incapable of fulfilment till man had mastered the inertia
of mass. In the Royal Arsenal, such a system had to remain in abeyance
till the advent of the steamer, the railway, the lorry and the electrically
driven truck had made conditions suitable.
Before the age of steam, the carriage of goods to and from, and the movement of stores within, the Warren were quite uncoordinated. Situated on a navigable river the external traffic of Woolwich was comparatively easy to handle; most of it went by water and only a fraction by road. In those days water transport was cheap and safe; roads on the other hand were ill-adapted for heavy loads and often dangerous. Barge, lighter, and hoy were thus the prime carriers till the steam vessel drove them from their privileged position. The introduction of steam traction in the first half of the nineteenth century, bringing with it an element of competition, undermined this fluvial monopoly and so eroded its paramountcy that the Thames afterwards was only used when convenience or economy dictated. The internal movement of stores was effected by men, horse and wagon, and after 1812, by the canal, the waters of which were then pressed into service.
In translating a heavy object from one place to another two independent movements are involved, one in the vertical and the other in the horizontal plane. These may be termed the acts of lifting and hauling, and both these components of transport development must be viewed if an overall picture is to be appreciated.
Lifting will first be considered, and this in the Warren depended primarily on the crane.
The first crane to be erected in the Warren was set up in 167o when Tower Place still belonged to Sir William Prichard and was only on lease to the Crown. No description of this machine has survived save that it was made of wood and was, or should have been, exclusively maintained by carpenters. It was referred to as 'a great crane', but that description in the seventeenth century hardly conveys the modern sense of such an expression, and it is exceedingly doubtful whether its lifting capacity could have exceeded 20 cwt. The foundations for this 'giant' apparatus were dug between 2 1 March and 24 May of the year in question, and for the work entailed the following men were paid the sums stated against their names:
1 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO[51/13, Pp. 63, 64.
1293
APPENDIX XII
Richard Vayne 4½ days at 1s. 6d. per day 6s. 9d. Henry Hawke 4 days at 1s. 6d. per day 6s. 9d. Henry Costing 5 days at 1s. 6d. per day 75. 6d. John Dickinson 4 days at Is. 6d. per day 6s. 9d.
Whether the Tower artificers neglected their duty or the elemental fury proved too much for this 'great crane' is a matter for speculation, but within seventeen years of the date of its erection decay had overtaken it and a warrant for its repair, dated 6 September 1687 was directed to Thomas Moore, master carpenter.
Two more cranes were installed during the next I4 years, for by 1701 three were in position on the water-front of Woolwich Warren between the western tip of the ditch surrounding the New Carriage Yard and the western boundary of the property. Being made of timber and exposed to wind and rain, deterioration soon set in, and on 23 September 1703 a warrant to repair one of them was issued. The work was carried out by William Ogborne, who had succeeded Thomas Moore as master carpenter, between IO January and 7 May 1704, a task for which he was paid the sum of £83. 3s. 8d. on 5 May 1705.° This figure indicates that the repairs must have been fairly extensive. Matters reached a crisis during 1707, by which time, these cranes had become unserviceable. The upper and lower ones required thorough over-hauling and the middle one needed rebuilding. William Ogborne again did the work. He was paid {144. 1s. 5ld. for renovating one crane between 12 May and 28
June 1707,' and £26. 6s. 2]d for repairing the other between 1 July and 2 August 1707.° He received a warrant dated 14 August 1707 to rebuild the middle crane at an estimated cost of £43. 16s. 3d." These figures are mterestmg as showmg a difTerence in s1ze between the various machines. The first crane to be repaired must have been much larger than the other two since it cost nearly three times the amount to put in order than it did to rebuild the middle one.
There was much building activity in the Warren ben-veen the years 1716 and 1720. This gave rise to mcreased output and consequential traffic. As a result, the Warren was found to be 'under-craned'. A contract dated 19 April 171 8 was therefore placed with William Ogborne to build an additional crane for {276. 7s. 6d.7 This was obviously a more powerful appliance. These four cranes had been erected for the
purpose of loading and unloading lighters, but the need was felt for some mechanical contrivance to handle heavy equipment already in store. Thus when the New Carriage Store-house was built on a warrant dated 14June 1728,° Sir William Ogborne, as he had by then become fixed timber grooves in the building to house 'sliding gibbets'. For this
2 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO[51/36, p. 38.
3 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/43. Ordnance Bill Book, Series II PRO/WO/51/68, p. 100. ' 4 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO/48/47, 24 May 1709. Ordnance Bill Book Series II, PRO/WO[51/75, P. 41, 28June 1707. "
• Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO[51/75, P.-39, 2 August 1707.6 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/80, p. 26. 7 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO/51/104, P. 1, 31 December 1718. 8 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO[48/70, 1o December 1729.
1294
APPENDIX XII
service he was paid £128. 15s. 6d. on a debenture dated 31 March r730.9
As the Warren developed and its business grew, more and more cranes were erected to cope with the expanding flow of traffic. The tempo was slow at first but it gradually gathered speed especially after the nineteenth century had dawned. Wars always act as a spur to action in government factories, and these, when they occurred, gave a stimulus to transport matters. This was particularly true of the Crimean War because by then machinery was beginning to come into its own, and the pace of improvement quickened. It may be said that after 1855, cranes and other lifting appliances were installed in the Royal Arsenal as necessity demanded. Cranes, in common with other mechanisms, require repair from time to time, and this was especially true of the earlier wooden patterns which had much with which to contend. They were therefore overhauled frequently as the Ordnance Records show. A recital of such repairs, however, besides being somewhat tedious would contribute little to our knowledge of the Arsenal's transport systems; such references will therefore be ignored and only a briefcatalogue of the cranage facilities apparent in the last 200 years will be attempted.
Roger Morris, master carpenter, constructed a new hand crane in 1745, being paid [182. 7s. 10]d. on a warrant ordering its erection dated 2g March 1745.10 Between 1 July and September 1758, two gib cranes with shifting bars were built, one before the Sea Storehouse, and the other at the end of the wharf near the landing place. The warrant for this order was dated g June 1758.11 John Shakespear dug the founda
12 Later
tions and James Morris, master carpenter, constructed the cranes.
on, on 22 November 1766, a platform and two sliding cranes were installed in the junk house to deal with carcases.13
During the construction of the new wharf in the opening years of the nineteenth century it was agreed on IO October 1803 that the time was ripe to erect two cranes upon it.' As the work progressed this number was increased to twelve. By now such appliances had ceased to be made by resident artificers; they had become products of specialized firms who supplied them in general to the trade. In this case, the contractor was Messrs Lloyd and Ostell, engineers, who not only provided the cranes but fixed them in position. The last of the twelve was ready for mounting on 21 June 1809.1° Thrcc years later on 2 August 1812 two more cranes with iron posts were purchased from Messrs Lloyd and Ostell for £365 each.16 These were still found to be insufficient in number to deal with the expanding sea-borne traffic, so on 2o May 1814the firm were instructed to supply another large crane for the new wharf.17 On 4 June 1823 additional wharfage was considered essential and an estimate for £10,694. 1Is. 1}d. was submitted. This was to be goo feet long, 3o feet wide, and
0 Ordnance Treasurer's Ledger, PRO/WO[48/71, 18July 1730.
10 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO/51/162, p. 11, 30 September I HS·
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO/47/50, p. 182.
12 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/208, p. 43, 30 September 1758.
a Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO]47/68, p. 186.
1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,576, p. 1,792.
15 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,608, p. 19,05.
6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,627, p. 2,404.
7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,104.
1295
APPENDIX XII
have from 6 to 14 feet depth of water in a gradual line along its entire
lenoth. This estimate included the purchase and erection of two new cranes > •b cl4t 18 .
each capable of lifting etween 3 an tons.
More modern cranes now began to make their appearance. Approval was given on 29 September 1826 for six iron 1o-ton cranes with spiral grooved barrels and chains, fitted with Lloyd's new steering apparatus, to be mounted on the wharf at Woolwich. They were to be supplied by MrJohn Lloyd at a cost of£445 each, inclusive offreight and erection charges.20 These were the vanguard of the new order destined to s.-veep away for ever the old wooden structures which the march of progress had rendered obsolete. Henceforward, machinery and power would replace timber and brawn, and this purchase may be said to be an important milestone in the art of weight-lifting. Thirty years later a large increase in size and capacity was seen. The tender of Messrs Beecroft for a 20-ton crane costing £486 was agreed to on 16June 1854, and on the following sth December, that of Messrs Kirk and Parry to make the foundations and holding for it on the wharf for {745 was accepted."" In 1855, five more cranes were installed; one purchased from Benjamin Hicks & Co. for the Royal Laboratory on 3 July 1855 for £375,23 three of a smaller size costing 137 on 30 July 1855,% and a travelling crane for the Royal Gun Factory from Benjamin Hicks & Co. on 23 August 1855.%°
In 1854 the Royal Carriage Department built a new saw-mill provided with a steam driven device by which heavy logs could be delivered to the mill and drawn up to the sawing machinery. Timber off-loaded from ships in the river was brought up by barge to the canal head adjacent to the mill and the timber-field, where, by means of powerful cranes the great baulks could be placed on railway trucks and distributed by rail to any part of the field. The field itself, was laid out with a number of lines at right angles to the canal, and over these lines ran a number of overhead travelling cranes arranged to traverse the whole area. By this means the logs could be piled as required.
Co-ordination of the various elements comprising transportation was beginning to appear.
There were rapid developments in the Royal Arsenal during the Crimean War, and almost [500,000 was spent between 1854 and 1857 in installing up-to-date machinery and labour-saving devices. Perhaps not
very modern to our sophisticated eyes, but very enthrallino-to our grand-ft. athers' generation. In 1856, the Royal Gun Factory hado26 cranes, the Royal Carnage Department 3 r cranes and the Royal Laboratory 6 cranes. These were in addition to the following which stood on the water-front:
3 ro-ton hydraulic cranes 3 6-ton ,, ,,
1 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[35/758.
" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 2,043.
"" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[j7/2,687, p. 2,197.
" Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/764.
22 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751.
2a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. g.
u Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROfWO/47/2,754, p. 306.
"· Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, P. 577.
1296
APPENDIX XII
2 5-ton hydraulic cranes 1 20-ton hand crane
12 Io-ton hand cranes 4 5-ton ,, > 1 1-ton weighing crane
Altogether there were ro hydraulic cranes in the Royal Arsenal by the end of the Crimean War.
Coming to more recent times, the go-ton electric crane, which incidentally has been dismantled, was erected outside the main building of the Royal Gun Factory in 189o. Finally the 2oo-ton crane, one of the Iara-est in England, was constructed on the Iron pier in April 19 I 5 during W;rld War I. It was installed for the purpose of lifting the heaviest pieces of naval ordnance which normally proceeded by river to Shoeburyness to undergo firing trials.
Having briefly outlined the evolution of the means of lifting from the small wooden hand-worked crane of the late seventeenth century to the power operated monster of the twentieth, attention must now be turned to the second operation, i.e. hauling, the original elements of which were the man, the handcart, the horse and the wagon.
The first carter or teamster in the Warren was Paul Linby who was appointed Carriage Master at Woolwich on 15 June 1682.26 He was a man of many parts whose activities have been described elsewhere. He and his horses were employed in conveying guns from lighters to the proof-butt and for transporting stores generally about the Warren. His team probably did not consist of more than four horses as his cartage duties in those early days could not have been very onerous. His other undertakings, however, necessitated his taking a Warren labourer-John Packman by name-to act as his deputy. John Packman proved an able assistant and between them they literally kept Woolwich industry moving. As Packman's experience grew he gradually assumed more and more responsibility till on 25 July 1689 he and Linby were made partners in this joint enterprise of lighterage and cartage.27 Eventually on the death ofPaul Linby in 1693, .John Packman succeeded as sole 'Carriage-M-:ster' on I January 1694.28 The last payment to John Packman as 'Carnagemaster' occurred on 30 September 1712 after which date the office apparently lapsed. The explanation of this may possibly be due to the
fact that the control of traffic by this time was becoming too complicated to be vested in a part-time Warren official who had other duties to perform, and that the services of a professional man were required. Whatever the reason, all transport arrangements at Woolwich were soon placed in the hands of a contractor who for a stipulated sum supplied the number of horses and drivers needed.
In 1750, the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance, who held a watching brief over all items of Ordnance expenditure, came to the conclusion that the current contract for Warren haulage was exorbitant. On 22 June of that year, therefore, it was agreed that a new seven year contract for
as Warrants from M.G.O. and the Board, PRO[WO/55/470, p. 65. 7 warrants from M.G.O. and the Board, PRO/WO/55/476, p. 58. as Warrants from M.G.O. and the Board, PRO[WO[55/484.
1297
furnishing four horses and drivers for H.M. Service in the Warren and Royal Brass Foundry should be advertised in the Gazette and other public papers." The terms of the new contract were to be as follows:
(a) The contractor to provide, maintain and keep four strong, able draught horses with harness.
j re drivers to be ready for service at his Majesty's stables in the Warren.
(c) Should the four horses not be required, the Board of Ordnance
may at their discretion reduce the number on giving three months" notice.
(d)
Carts and carriages to be furnished by the Board.
(e)
The contractor to have the use of his Majesty's stables and to cut the hay near them. He may carry away the manure for his own use.
(f)
Payment to be made to the contractor by bill and debenture according to the normal custom of the Office.
On 24 July 1750, William Hallick, master scavelman, obtained on
behalf of himself, Mrs Ann Withers, Thomas Hunt and Peter Harwood,
the contract for seven years. When the horses were mustered in the
Warren, Mrs Ann Withers was to be discharged.30 This lady was probably
a member of that family who maintained a farm on the marshes facing
the Woolwich-Plumstead road about 4oo yards distant from the present
Beresford Square. It will be remembered (see Chapter 7) how, in 1718,
Mr John Withers suffered loss on account of some erratic firing. The farm
still flourished in 1777. The horses in question may have possibly come
from the Withers' farmstead.
On g September 1757 this contract expired and William Hallick
proposed new terms for its renewal, which were accepted. A new contract
was therefore drawn up, its provisions being:
4 horses at IS. 6d. each per day 1 driver at Is. 6d. per day Extra horses at 2s. 6d. each per day Drivers for extra horses Is. 6d. each31
It will be noticed that, under these arrangements, the wagons were to be supplied by the Crown and the horses were to be stabled in the Warren. Government transport at Woolwich was still, therefore, under a joint form of management. "
During the next fifty years no mention seems to have been made about the haulage arrangements in the Warren. The service must have continued and grown, and presumably some other person or persons followed Wilham Hallick m the role of contractor. By the opening of the nineteenth century, however, the Ordnance Minute Books again take up the tale. At that time Thomas Willan was the contractor. Under the terms of his contract he supplied conductors, drivers, horses and harness while the
" Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO[47/35, pp. 518, 519. » Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO[47/36, p. 49. " Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO[47/50, p. 182.
1298
APPENDIX XII
horses were stabled in the Warren and the conductors and drivers housed at the public expense. The contract contained a clause whereby numbers could be altered after due notice to correspond to an increase or decrease of work, a necessary precaution since 'ration' strength constantly varied during the following years.
Arsenal activity grew during the Napoleonic war and this in turn increased the demand for horses. On 23 July 1804, Captain George Hayter, R.E., C.R.E. Woolwich District, reported that in consequence of the speed with which he had been instructed to complete the proofbutts and other works at Woolwich, he would require the assistance of 3 more conductors, 48 more drivers and 1oo more horses, and that he proposed to provide the necessary accommodation by adapting some temporary buildings in the Warren and at the barracks without materially interfering with other branches of the Service. To lodge the conductors and drivers in conformity with the terms of the contract, he suggested that Mr Bryson's house at the back of the barracks should be taken over from 4 August 1804 for the remainder of his lease which expired on 12 February 1805 at {1. 16s. 6d. per week, being the rent he received from the six different families which resided within its walls. This proposition was approved by the Board and it was agreed that Mr Bryson should be approached on the matter. Meanwhile, Captain Hayter was ordered to report the date on which the accommodation would be ready so that orders could be given to the contractor about the supply of horses and men." On 27 July 1804, Mr Willan reported that he had purchased 6o out of the hundred horses required and that 2 conductors and go drivers were ready to proceed to Woolwich immediately. He stated that he had engaged the extra staff from 25 July. At the same time, Captain Hayter was directed to notify Mr Willan what accommodation he had provided for the extra horses and additional personnel which were to be added to the latter's establishment. Mr Willan was also paid for the hay which he had had to provide for the additional horses." On the following day, Captain Hayter announced that he would be ready to receive g conductors. 33 drivers and 66 horses by Saturday, 4 August, and I conductor, I 7 drivers and 34 horses by about 15 August. The Board ordered that Mr Willan should be informed and be instructed to complete his complement of men and beasts by the middle of the month.34 Mr Willan reported on 14 August that he had that day secured 33 horses which,
with I conductor and 1 1 drivers, would be ready to proceed to their destination when required. The Board ordered the above to be taken on the strength from that date and to travel to Woolwich as soon as their accommodation was ready. At the same time, Captain Hayter was instructed that although these additional transport facilities had been procured primarily for the Engineering Department, they were to be placed at the disposal of the Civil Officers from time to time.35 Finally, Thomas Willan completed his purchase of I oo horses and recruited
a° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,579, p. 2,049. a+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[A7/2,579, p. 2,082. "+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[A7/2,579, p. 2,098. a· Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[A7/2,580, p. 2,258.
1299
APPENDIX XII
another 2 conductors and g4 drivers on 17 August. These were taken on
36
the establishment from that date.
Accidents will happen in the best regulated circles, so it is not perhaps surprising that two of these contract horses were killed while engaged on public work, one on g1 August and the other on 11 September 1804. Mr Willan was naturally compensated accordingly.37 The absence of any town planning in the early nineteenth century had led to much overcrowding in the neighbourhood of the barracks, the recently erected gunner stables being a sufferer in this respect. In order to give more air and allow better ventilation to this building, Captain Hayter on 13 March
1805 recommended that the house occupied by the contract drivers
contiguous to it should be demolished and that an old house in the town,
originally rented by Mr William Hope, should be repaired at a cost of
£25 and converted into a residence for 2 conductors and 4o drivers. This
could be effected for a guinea a week.38 On 22 March 1805, Thomas
Willan was called upon to provide another conductor, 14 additional
drivers and 30 extra horses for the Engineering Department.39
War continued to make ever-growing demands on the Royal Arsenal;
the factories were taking on more labour, output was rising, and the
question of increased transport facilities became pressing. Little wonder,
therefore, that the C.R.E. was instructed on 1 7 January 1806 to Obtain
the services of another 2 conductors, 3o drivers and 6o horses, half on
1 February and the remainder on I March. He was also ordered to
erect temporary stabling for 30 horses and secure lodgings for the con
ductors and drivers on Woolwich Common, while it was agreed that the
other 3o horses were to be accommodated in the temporary stables then
in course of erection on the east side of the Arsenal. Captain Hayter, who
was strll C.R.E., was also asked to report on the progress he had made in
building the forge required by Captain Charles Adolph Quist of the
Riding House Establishment for shoeing the horses.40
By the end ofthe year, however, the tide began to turn. On 28 November 1806 orders were announced that a reduction of 8 drivers and 2o contract horses should take place on the last day of the year," and on 22 April 1808 a further reduction of 1 conductor, 14 drivers and 3o horses was made under the terms of the contract to be operative from 30 September 1808.42_ The next entry in the Minute Books concerning contract horses is not strictly a traffic matter. It was connected with production for Mr Willan reported on 12 December 1808 that he had purchased go horses and secured I conductor and IO drivers for serving the gun boring mill. These were placed on full fodder and pay from the 1oth of the month and provided with a 'march route' .43 Lieut.-Colonel Robert Pilkington,
who had by 181o replaced Captain George Hayter as C.R.E. Woolwich District, was not in favour of having all the contract horses and drivers :: Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,580, p. 2,302. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[7/2,580, P. 2,743. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,583, p. 988. » Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO]47/2,503, P. 1,125. 40 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,588, p. 221. 41 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,592, p. 4,591. 42 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,601, p. 1,147. 13 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,605, p. 3,360.
1300
APPENDIX XII
placed under his jurisdiction. He felt, rightly, that transport was not an engineering matter and could be more efficiently controlled under departmental arrangements. When rendering his return of horses, etc., employed under the auspices of the Royal Laboratory, Royal Carriage Department, Royal Brass Foundry, Respective Officers and Royal Engineer Department on 16 April 181o, he stressed this fact and rccommended that each Department in the Arsenal should assume responsibility
44
for its own draught animals and drivers. To this the Board agreed. 1810 was a year of discharges, the R.L. stating that it would only require I conductor, IO drivers and 20 horses for its business. 45 These discharges may be tabulated as follows:
Date Conductors Drivers Horses Department
:::
27 June 1810 26 Engineer46
*
13 August 1810 2 30 6o 47
" 48
24 August 1810 15 30
" 49
5 October 1810 I 15 30
"
With conductors and drivers in proportion.
The contractor being given due notice in each case.
The last discharge was occasioned not by shortage of work but because of assistance in lieu about to be afforded by the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers.
Two years later more horses were again required, and on 18 May 1812 Thomas Willan stated that he could not furnish the Engineer Department at Woolwich with 20 of the horses and 1o of the drivers stationed at Marylebone as all except five were employed on other duties. He was therefore instructed to send the five and make up the numbers required as horses and drivers became available. 50 On I May 1813, Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington was instructed to supply the Royal Laboratory with another 8 contract horses to assist in carrying out its business." On 2 May 1814, 1 5 horses and 3 drivers were discharged from the Royal Carriage Department, and 9 horses and 3 drivers from the Royal Brass Foundry. 53 On 8 June 1814, one conductor, 8 drivers and 17 horses in the Engineer Department were found to be surplus to requirements and were ordered to be returned to the contractor, Mr Willan being informed.s+ On 4 July 1814, one conductor, 12 drivers and 27 horses were declared redundant in the Royal Carriage Department and Mr Willan suffered accordingly.55
The question as to whether the contract policy should be terminated and cartage at the Arsenal be undertaken by the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers now began to be seriously considered. This proposal had certain
44 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 1,191. 45 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,616, p. 2,579, 3 August 1810. 40 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,615, p. 2,081. 47 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,616, p. 2,699. 48 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,616, p. 2,848. 49 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,617, p. 3,412. 60 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,626, p. 1,519.
•1
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,631, P. 1,713. 52 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,790. 63 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,636, p. 1,796.
•4
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,636, p. 2,368. 6s Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,637, p. 2,726.
1301
advantages. It would put an end to the continual 'see-saw' with regard to the contractor and keep government horses in full employment when their military work was slack. In this way the strength of the corps could be built up and maintained in peace, thus forming a reserve for the Royal Regiment of Artillery in time of war. To this end the C.R.E. stated on 2 November 1814 that the 3o horses employed in the Engineer Department could be returned to the contractor if a similar number could be supplied by the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers. As a result, the Board ordered Lieut.-General Robert Douglas, Commandant of the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers, to furnish Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington with the horses and drivers he required, at the same time calling for a return of the horses employed by the other departments in the Arsenal with a view to ascertaining whether Lieut-General Douglas could supply their wants also if the contract horses and drivers were discharged." Lieut.-General Douglas, replying to the Board, said that he couldnot only supply from the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers, the 30 horses and drivers to the Engineer Department, he could also satisfy the wants of the other departments as follows:
Royal Laboratory 44 horsesStorekeeper's Department go horses Royal Brass Foundry
r8 horses Total:
52 horses
This suited the Board admirably and the unfortunate Mr Willan was notified that all his horses and men at Woolwich under contract would be discharged, and that henceforth the numbers required would be
furnished from government sources.57 This plan, brilliant in its conception, failed in execution. First because the numbers required were never available, and secondly because the Master-General intervened and ordered Lieut.-General Douglas to remove all his horses from the Arsenal. Thomas Willan therefore came into his own again as the following extracts will show and doubtless indulged in a quiet chuckle: ' 21 April 1815. As Lieut-General Douglas had only sent the Respective OfRcers 6 horses on 17 April r 8 r 5, and as there was no guarantee that that number could be maintained in view of the Master-General's action, the storekeeper asked for a supply of horses to be sent to his department as soon as possible. Mr Willan is directed to provide go horses with conductors and drivers for this work. 58 22 April 1815. Mr Willan reports that he has provided 2 conductors go drivers and 6o horses for the Storekeeper's Department.5» 24 April 1815. 4o horses are required for the Royal Laboratory. Mr Willan asked to supply.GO
" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,638, p. 4,490. "7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[j7/2,638, p. 4,575. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[j7/2,641, p. 1,599."° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,641, p. 1,624. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,641, p. 1,632.
1302
APPENDIX XII
26 April 181. Another conductor, 1o drivers and 3o contract horses supplied to the Storekeeper's Department.61 26 April 1815. Mr Willan reports that he has carried out the Board's instructions.@ 1 May 1815. Mr Willan reports that he has despatched one conductor, 9 drivers and 26 horses to the Royal Carriage Department. 63 3 Nfay 1815. Mr Willan reports that he has despatched 2 conductors, 2o drivers and 4o horses for the use of the Royal Laboratory.@4 14 June 1815. Mr Willan reports that he had provided 2 drivers and
ro horses on 12 June for the use of the Royal Carriage Department.@ Baok to the old see-saw. On 28July 1815, the contractor was informed that owing to the reduc
tion ofwork only one conductor, 8 drivers and gr horses would be required for the Royal Carriage Department in future.6G This was followed by further discharges of 5 drivers and go horses from the Royal Laboratory on 9 August,"T and 1 conductor, 8 drivers and gr horses from the Royal Carriage Department at the end of the year. This loss to the contractor, for such it was, was directly attributable to the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, his subsequent abdication on 22 June and the (second) Peace of Paris on 20 November. The overthrow of the emperor and the collapse of the war with France had an immediate effect on the Royal Arsenal; its activities were much curtailed; many men were dismissed and internal transport was reduced to a shadow ofits former self. Such occu1:ences a~e a corollary of war. Mass discharges had taken place before, nouceably m 1716 and 1763, and were destined to be carried out in the future.
The cessation of hostilities also freed artillery horses from many military duties, and so the question ofreplacing contract horses by those bclonging to the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers again became live. Lieut.-General Douglas reported on 1 April 1816 that he could now equip all the departments at Woolwich. This offer was accepted and the contractor, still Mr Thomas Willan, was informed that all contract horses would be discharged.69 Unfortunately, however, the axe of economy had a. double edge; military as well as civil establishments were cut. Only 1o days later Lieut.-General Douglas said that, owing to a reduction in the strength of the Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers, he found himself unable to supply the 5o horses required by the Engineer Department as such provision was not taken into account in fixing his new establishment: he therefore suggested that they should be furnished from his reserve of 200. 70 This was agreed to.71
In pursuance of this policy of substituting government for contract
n Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,641, p. 1,677. «a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,641, p. 1,698.
3
G
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, P· 1,758. 6'1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{WO/47/2,641, P· 1,792. "" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,641, P· 2,447. 00 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,642, P· 3,110. 67 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,642, P. 3,290GB Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,643, P· 4,884. 6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO]WO/47/2,646, p. 1,265.
7» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO]WO[47/2,646, p. 1,387-. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,646, p. 1,562.
1303
APPENDIX XII
horses, further reductions of the latter were foreshadowed. On 12 July 1816 the Respective Officers signified that, although they had 3 conductors, 4o drivers and go contract horses which ·were necessary at the moment, they could discharge 15 horses on September, 15 on I October
1
and 2o on r November. The contractor was informed that these discharges would be put into effect.72 At the same time the 18 contract horses required by the Royal Brass Foundry, were replaced in a similar manner.73 Two years later the Master-General informed Lieut.-General Douglas that the number of military horses employed on public works, marches and
74 This order of course gave
fatigues was to be reduced. the hired horse another chance and the Respective Officers, after complaining that they had received no supply of horses, were authorized on 26 May 1820 to hire such animals as they needed till supplies were forthcoming from the barracks.75
The Corps of Royal Artillery Drivers, formed in 1794, was gradually reduced after the (First) Peace of Paris in 1814; four troops on 1 January 1815, two on 1 July 1816, and two on 1 August 1816, the officers being placed on half-pay. In 1817, the remaining four troops were re-formed and placed under the command of Officers of the Royal Artillery the Driver officers being allowed to retire on full pay. In 1822, the Corps was disbanded and the men transferred to the Royal Artillery. After 1822 therefore, all military horses employed in the manufacturing departments at Woolwich were on loan from the Royal Regiment of Artillery, e.g. on 17 October 1823, the Royal Carriage Department was allowed the assistance of one N.C.O., ten gunners and two horses in unstacking and restacking reparable carriages at Woolwich.76
The regulations governing the supply of horsed transport in the Royal Arsenal had by 1825 become stereotyped. The orders on the subject were quite clear. Horses were in future to be supplied by the Woolwich Garrison and only when unobtainable in requisite numbers was recourse to be had to hiring from a contractor. This is evidenced by an instruction dated 2 May 1825:77
'Civil officers are allowed to hire such horses as they need till they can
be supplied from the garrison.' Two months later they were allowed an extra 12 horses and 6 drivers.78 Thomas Willan terminated his contract sometime prior to 1825,
whether owing to death or d1S1llus10nment 1s not known. His successor
W. Rolfe & Co.had a contract which was renewable annually. The followmg entry m the Extracts of Minutes appears under date 26 February 1826:79
The agreement with Messrs W. Rolfe & Co. for the supply of horses, harness and drivers for the service of the Royal Arsenal is to be continued
:: Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,647, P-2,990.
; Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,547, p-2,991. Extracts of Minutes, Scries II, PRO[WO[j7/2,651, P. 3,153, 25 September 1818. Extracts ofMmutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,666, p. 1,477.
76 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,679, p. 1,866. 77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,684, p. 805. 78 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,685, p. 1,260. 71 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,687, p. 400.
1304
APPENDIX XII
till 31 December 1826 at the amended price of 2os. a day for 4 horses
and 2 drivers. Later on this contract was renewed till g1 December 1827,80 The ycar 1828 saw the virtual' end of the contract system. This is
implied in an instruction issued on 28 May 1828 to the effect that artillery in place of contract horses were in future to be employed at Woolwich, and that notice was being given to the contractor that his services would not be required after a further period of six months. Notwithstanding this announcement, the habit of hiring horses when military animals fell short of requirements still lingered. As an emergency measure it was no doubt essential but it was frowned on as a practice. It was finally stopped by the following order :82
The practice of hiring horses by the departments at Woolwich when artillery horses are withdrawn for military purposes is to be uniformly discontinued unless specially sanctioned by the Master-General or Board.
The tale of horsed transport in the Royal Arsenal is wellnigh told; references to it and its problems grow less and less frequent as the century advances. Horses gradually decreased in number as the Arsenal entered that phase of quiescence which preceded the Crimean War, when there occurred not only a relaxation of effort but the birth of a new motive power-steam-which was to revolutionize the country and affect fundamentally its factories and its workshops. Horses were in future to be confined to short hauls, while long distance carriage was to be effected by train. The shadow of the railway was already approaching the Royal Arsenal. The first 'iron railway' in the Royal Arsenal ran through the principal storehouses down to the shot-piles. It was approved by the Board on 14 May 1824 at a cost of £459. 15s. od., the sum being included in the Woolwich Estimate for 1825.83 The expression 'iron railway' was rather a euphemism considering that the track was nothing more than a kind of tramway over which trucks mounted on metal wheels could be pushed by hand or drawn by horses. Emboldened by the success of his first venture, Lieut.-Colonel Jones, the C.R.E. Woolwich District, submitted an additional estimate amounting to £668. 1 7s. 6¾d, for extending the line to the guns. The cautious Board, however, refused to authorize this extension on the ground that they would first like to see the effect ofwhat they had already sanctioned. This further estimate, which was in reality one for the expense of laying down cast-iron tracks from the wharf to the storehouses, was dated 16 June 1824. The gross total amounted to 1,441. 13s. 6}d., less £932. 16s. od. if the Ordnance Department supplied the iron, i.e. £568. 17s. 6}d. This, with £,16o for 8 carriages to run on the rails, totalled £668. 1 7s. 6¾d,, the figure mentioned above. As early as 14 April 1824, the C.R.E. had mentioned in a letter that
{259. 15s. 0}d. only would be required to lay down the railway as the metal, according to Mr John Hall's conditions, would be worth £665.
10s. od.
8o Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,688, p. 2,410, 2o November 1826. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,693, P. 915.
+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,702, p. 828. 88 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,681, p. 901.
1305
Undeterred by his rebuff the C.R.E. submitted a further estimate dated 29 September 1824. This amounted to £2,767. gs. 1d., less £2,181. 6s. od. if the Government furnished the old iron required on the conditions stipulated by Messrs John Hall and Sons, Dartford, i.e. a net total of £586. 3s. i¾d.84 Strangely enough the Board approved of this further estimate on 1 November 1824, possibly five months' consideration having convinced them of the advantages of a 'railroad system'. On that date, therefore, the complete plan of the iron railway in the Arsenal, put forward by Lieut.-ColonelJohn,Jones in his estimate of29September 1824, was adopted and the Board ordered the railway to be built. The line was supplied by Messrs John Hall and Sons. On go November 1824, the
C.R.E. pomted out that a prerequisite for success was a carriage to travel over the tracks. This was approved on 9 December 1824, Messrs Hall and Sons casting two sets of wheels and axles." On 2g March 1825, the Board approved the manufacture of '8 carts for the iron railway' by the Royal Carnage Department. The carts were in reality four drug carriages at£go each and four carts at{go each, total,goo. The railway as then planned was practically complete by IO October 1825.sG
A letter of the Board of Ordnance dated 16 June 1828 authorized the construction of a timber yard, a railroad and floatage for timber at an estimated cost of 339. 55. 8ld. and £58. 8s. 6ld., total £397.
145. 3d., but an earlier proposal dated 2o February 1828 to build a railroad between the wharf and the saw mill at a cost of £170. ros. od. was ordered to be postponed till the following year.87
No further additions were made till 1841 when on 1o September of that year 1t was agreed that tram tracks should be laid down in the eastern tower of the Grand Storehouse and in the enclosure to the staircase at a cost of £40. 55. 8].88 . Even this Arsenal railway, built for a common purpose, fomented jealousy between the Departments, which in 1850 still owned their own Imes. Each considered no purpose but its own and refused to co-t
• h rh d . opera.e
m the slightest legree. The following extract throws a lurid light on the conditions then prevailing:
25 March 1851. The Civil Officers complained that the Royal Carriage Department was about to put a railway line through the Blue h d
th I. '6' sneas
without consulting them. The Royal Carriage Department replied that it had the Board's general authority for the alteration of the Blue sheds. The Principal Storekeeper was asked to visit the spot and report; meanwhile the two departments were asked to desist from annoyino-each other. Fmally, after the Principal Storekeeper's visit, it was agreed tl:at a wooden tramway between the Blue sheds should be laid down for transporting umber from the wharf to the saw-mill by convicts instead of horses, and that the results of its workings should be reported to the Board.89
uE .p
, ·gincer Papers, PRO/WO/55/757, PRO[WO/44/651.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,682. p. 1,903
PRO/WO[44/651. ·'-» ":
"7 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/758.
6 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[W[47/1,908, p. 11,970.
° Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,252, P. 3,149.
1306
APPENDIX XII
Could folly go further?
On 21January 1852, a plan and estimate amounting to {137. 4s. 107d.
was put forward for building a railway and erecting two additional gas
lamps on the wharf to curtail the risk of accidents. The lamps included a
standard and a chain-guard. The Board approved the project in principle
but admitted that they had no funds at their disposal for the railway as
the cost had not been included in the 1851/1852 Estimates. They did,
however, sanction the setting up of the 1:\,vo lamps.90
In 1854 a tramway from the saw-mill to the Carriage Square was
authorized at a cost of £591. 15s. 5d., part of which sum was to be
included in the 1854/1855 Estimates.91 By now the internal railway system
of the Royal Arsenal was almost complete. On 23 August 1854, the
Treasury authorized the expenditure of £1,920 for the final work,
being the amount provided in the estimates.92 When finished the
Royal Arsenal Railway was to be placed under the Royal Engineer
Department.93
Meanwhile, railway affairs in the country had not remained static, and one of the first lines to be contemplated in the south of England was between East London and Woolwich via Greenwich. The Board of Ordnance were unduly suspicious of this undertaking. Instead of appreciating its future possibilities in the cheap and rapid conveyance of government stores, their conservative minds could not visualize any advantage in it from their point ofview, though they did admit that the town ofWoolwich might benefit. Their one cry was that this new-fangled means of locomotion might injure their property. On 8 March 1833, the C.R.E. was ordered to keep a strict watch on this new venture which had been passed unopposed by a Committee of the House of Commons, and make sure that its construction would in no way damage the Royal Arsenal or other Ordnance lands at Woolwich.94 Two years later, the Board, after voluminous correspondence with the Greenwich and Gravesend Railway Company, altered their views and realized that such a railway might confer advantages. They ascertained that their liability would be limited to providing access to the Arsenal by means of a track earned on arches,Os
It will be appreciated that this so called Arsenal railway completed in 1854-1855 was no railway in the modern sense. The word denoted nothmg more than a net-work of iron rails laid down between the wharf, the saw-mill and the main storehouses, over which timber and other materials in specially adapted trucks could be moved with less effort than formerly by men and horses. It was a self-contained system for internal use only and steam played no part in its performance, yet it did mark a definite stage in the mechanics of haulage, the evolution ofwhich was to culmmate in an up-to-date Arsenal railroad.
Before the appearance of the mechanical vehicle the railway as a
o Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO]47/2,282, p. 822. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764. 02 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,750, P· 454· Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
o4 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO]47/1,602, p. 2,001. Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/1,675, p. 2,236, 14 March 1835.
85
common carrier reigned supreme, its three outstanding characteristics, bulk movement, long haul and speed having no rivals. Even today it still shows a marked superiority over its competitor-road transportexcept for distances up to 25 miles. The latter absorbs so much energy in self-propulsion and individual man-power that its carrying capacity must by its very nature be costly and limited.
The great advantages ofa railway over a road vehicle are that:
(a)
Its rolling stock has a ratio of about 2~· to 1 for net to tare load instead of 1 to 1.
(b)
I ts tractive effort to overcome resistance is 15 lb. as compared with 5o lb. per ton moved.
(c)
The maintenance of a double track railway costs about 25 times as little per ton-mile, than that of a road carrying heavy traffic.
These are advantages which cannot be ignored.
It must have been criteria such as these, coupled with the lessons lea d from the Crimean War and the opening of the London_ Dartfordr~e in 1849, that eventually determined the War Department to lay O tne
·1h"•k • ua
Al
POP; ma}, mail@: hich, Jinked_o the country's main systers, woul ensure the rapi transit o! warlike stores. The determination to
take this step can hardly be described as hurried, and the authorities may wellbe acquitted of undue haste. There was, in fact, a considerable lapse of time before any move in this direction was taken. It was not till 1866 that orders were given to construct an 18-inch narrow-gaue r4;]
delled :.1, ·k ' th S Hg away
modelle on a similar tracl in the old London and North-Western Railway Works at Crewe which had been operative since 1862. This somewhat limited decision was given on the grounds that at Crcwe this mmiature set-up had proved its practical worth that mo t ·
re extensive measures were unnecessary, and that the confined space in the shops and
narrow alley-ways of the Arsenal allowed of no alternative. L t
h . • a er events
ave proved that this was a short-sighted policy. Of course there was an alternative, but no one would face the facts preferring to sac ·fi 1·
d" . . . ' ncereaism
to expediency. Drastic building alterations should have been made to provide the most efficient transport service instead of fitti ices o eating circumstances. The Roya1 Are1."",,""pp,"? from this lack of foresight over ninety vcars ago, and a, !%}, ""gr
b ld li '' or1gmna cost o a
o» poncy then, has been many times over-spent since in the losses occasioned by a lowered productive rate and an unnecessary amount of traffic. Upwards of 80% of the costs of production today can be laid t the door of the additional movements forced on the manufacturi: departments three generations ago. g
The work on the new narrow-gauge railway proceeded and by 18
73
the first section was opened. It extended from the west wharf to the rear
of the shell foundry. The permanent way was built up of iron plates with
counter-sunk flanged grooves cast in the Royal Laboratory each plate
being 4 feet long and weighing about 3½ cwts. These plates V:ere laid in a
bed of concrete and keyed together to retain alignment without the use
of sleepers so that, being flush with the ground, they formed an ideal
shop floor and provided excellent road crossing surfaces. Originally, there
1308
APPENDIX XII
were no mechanically operated points, the engines and wagons being switched by wedging or other manual means. As the mileage of the track increased, more orthodox methods of construction were introduced, and sleepers, fish-plates and mechanical switching appliances appeared.
This first steam-operated Royal Arsenal Railway, subsequently referred to as the R.A.R.', was designed and constructed by men of the Corps of Royal Engineers under the superintendence of Major P. H. Scratchley, R.E., Inspector of Works (1870-1877); and it is recorded that the diminutive Lord Raglan, the first R.A.R. locomotive, with its complement of five loaded wagons weighing 10 tons, took the sharp curves with the greatest of ease and functioned magnificently notwithstanding the black smoke which poured from its funnel. That day in 1873 was undoubtedly a landmark on the Arsenal's long road from birth to maturity. The Lord Raglan had cylinders of 6-inch bore and 8-inch stroke carried in four coupled wheels of go-inch diameter with a wheel base of 3 feet 3 inches. Together with other engines of the same class, it was in regular use for forty-two years.
About the same time some experiments in connection with magazine traffic were made with the Beaumont atmospheric engine, a curious narrow-gauge locomotive which had been under trial in the Croydon railway between 1840 and 1847. It was a 4-cylinder compound engine in which air was successively expanded from an initial pressure of I ,ooolb. per square inch down to that of one atmosphere. The volume of the cylinders were as 1:3.9:27 with a common ratio of 1 : 3. When the pressure fell sufficiently, the first cylinder was closed to further intake, and the air was switched to the second cylinder and so on through the series. It is hardly surprising that this type of engine proved far from satisfactory. It always lacked sufficient pressure, and on occasions had to be towed home to its shed. Needless to say, the Arsenal authorities did not adopt it.
The narrow-gauge railway proved so successful that by I goo it covered a large area of the Arsenal and formed a valuable link between office and shop, storehouse and magazine. It had become the general goods and passenger service.
A standard gauge track (4 feet 8 inches) had connected the Arsenal with the London, Chatham and Dover Railway main line sidings at Plumstead since 1876. It entered W.D. property at the 'Hole in the Wall', so named from the large hole which had been made in the then considered impregnable wall surrounding the southern side of the Arsenal. Thence it ran north over the canal by a swing bridge near the 'Tay Bridge' sidings. These, constructed in 1879, are the present D. 428 storehouse sidings. The line then passed to the coal dock at the eastern end of the west wharf to form an exchange point with the narrow-gauge system.
L.C. and D. locomotives worked over this system till 189o when the introduction of the standard gauge system in the Arsenal enabled Government to use its own full-sized engines. The laying down of a standard gauge track became imperative in the last decade of the nineteenth century as, by then, the narrow-gauge system had proved inadequate to
1309
deal with the increasing traffic. Between 1890 and 1918, the Arsenal standard gauge railway had acquired 12o miles of track, most of which was combined with the narrow-gauge line by sharing one rail in common. Thus one of the world's unique railway systems came into being.
From 1873 to 1900 inclusive, each department in the Royal Arsenal, following the tradition of the 'iron tramway', acquired and maintained its own locomotives and rolling stock, and administered its own traffic. The muddles that transpired can be imagined. Such a practice was the natural outcome of that spirit of independence so long fostered by the various departments: it was an attitude of mind which took an unconscionable time a-dying. In the latter year, however, it became evident that the Royal Arsenal Railway would have to abandon that system if efficiency were to be secured, and adopt some form of centralized control. The Royal Engineers, therefore, who till 189o had been responsible only for the permanent way, began to organize the departmental sections into a traffic operating department. As an outcome, Lieutenant E. P. C. Girouard, R.E."" was appointed Traffic Manager on 1 January 1891, and charged with the duty of running the R.A.R. as a unit. He took over some g6 narrow-gauge engines and r ,ooo carriarres vans and trucks, mostly in poor condition, from the several departments as his first act.
Lieutenant Girouard proved a capable organizer and his division of the R.A.R. into a number of traflc sections gave universal satisfaction. At the same time, he arranged for the railway to become a R.E. transportation training ground till the R.E. Railway Centre at Longmoor on its establishment took over that duty. During the years follo~vino-the cessation of hostilities in South Africa, the Arsenal activities fell off considerably. One result of that war, however, was the appointment of a railway engmeer-Mr N. W. J. Gibson-to look after the permanent wa thus divorcing upkeep from administration. After Captain Girouard~~ departure, the traffic managership devolved on Captain D. Miller RE who maintained the railway's high standard till 1914 when World War f demanded his presence elsewhere. He was succeeded by several temporar
R.E. officdershrecruited ~om the main railway companies. These, in turr{, contro1 1e t e R.A.R. till 1921, when it was decided to place the Arse I
1 d <;I ·na
ra1!ways un er civi, control. Mr F. W. Turner, an engineer from the Great Eastern Railway Works at Stratford, was the first civilian trafi manager, and his appointment resulted in the abolition of the post r railway engmeer for the permanent way. Mr Gibson therefore left th Arsenal, where he lived at No. 7 Dial Square, in 192r. > 1e
The increase of traffic during World War I necessitated the enlargement of reception and marshalling sidings and, as a result, extensive tracks were
DG Afterwards Colonel Sir (Edouard) Percy Girouard, K.C.M.G. On vacating the post
of Traffic Manager, Royal Arsenal, he became: Director of the Sudan Railways 1896-1898 President of the Egyptian Railway Board 1898-1899 Director of Railways, South Africa 1899-1902
Commissioner of Railways, Transvaal and Orange River Colony, 1902-1904
After various other appointments, including the Governorship of the East Africa Protectorate, he died on 26 September 1932.
1310
APPENDIX XII
constructed adjacent to the S.E. and C.R. main line at Plumstead (the Polytechnic ground). In addition, a main line connection was laid over an embankment into the eastern area of the Arsenal, known as the lvfarsh Sidings, which, in turn, linking up with general internal network, relieved the pressure on the main line and afforded the necessary standing and marshalling space for government traffic. These improvements have demonstrated their worth in later years. Not only have they become of value for Woolwich output, but they have materially assisted the translation of other Service stores to the wharf for water transport. Thesc 120 miles of standard gauge track are divided into operating sections, each of which feeds a circular main line, connects all main and sub-sidings, wharves and depots, and links up with the S.E. and C.R. main line (now the Southern Railway) via the 'Hole in the Wall' and the southern embankment.
Some narrow-gauge line still exists for feeding magazines, but most of the 50 or 60 miles of track remaining in 1923 were taken up and recovered as scrap. The narrow-gauge passenger service was based on main line practice. It ran to a regular time-table between Dial Square and the eastern end of the Arsenal. The rolling stock consisted of 1st, 2nd and 3rd class cars, with special coaches for the use of royal visitors and other dignitaries. The guards' uniform consisted of a blue frock coat collared in red, a leather cross belt and a peaked cap, while the driver sported a blue and white suit. The service was useful and popular, and the only things which distinguished it from that offered by a public railway, was the absence of platforms, ticket offices, tickets and ticket collectors. The increasing use of motor cars, however, became a growing threat to this gallant little train which puffed its way so proudly over its 5 mile course, and it began to run at a loss. Finally that loss became too great and the narrow-gauge passenger service was closed down in 1923 in favour of the standard gauge passenger service which was confined to 3rd class accommodation only. This standard gauge passenger service had been started during World War I between the 3rd Gate and Crossness, but in 1947 it was curtailed along the south road to the Q.F.C.F, area in favour of motor buses, though the rail service was still the more economical. The ruling gradient is about 1 in 4o for 65o feet in this gauge and this slope, found on the way to the E67 coal bunkers, offers considerable resistance due to curvature and lack of good approach.
Much ofthe traffic in the Royal Arsenal is ofa highly specialized nature. Besides the class ofstores and materials to be found on any ordinary goods train, there are explosives in many guises and heavy guns. Traffic in the filling factories and in the vicinity of magazines and explosive stores were later worked by oil-fired steam locomotives and diesel engines, the latter being first introduced for narrow-gauge magazine work in 1934. The first standard gauge diesel engines were brought into use in 1939. To minimize explosive risks most locomotives operating in the danger area were fitted with spark arresters based on the original American pattern. At the other end of the scale there are heavy gun sleighs for proof work weighing up to 170 tons tare a piece, and the special gun wagons built for both internal and main line work. Up to 1946 there were Gog and
1311
Magog barges fitted with railway lines on their bottoms to take the special gun wagons which were loaded and unloaded by means of the slipway and haulmg engme at Tnpcock Pomt. These barges plied between the Arsenal and Shoeburyness. In many ways they were similar to the present day tank landing craft. Their use was discontinued in 1948. Heavy gun wagons, when loaded to capacity, require very careful handling in relation to the weight and the braking power of the locomotives hauling them. For this reason engines of at least 3o tons weight are used.
The railway in the Royal Dockyard which is connected to that in the Royal Arsenal by a tunnel and the main Southern Railway line was operated by R.A.R.engmes up to 1949 when, in view of the declineinD ·kyard tr~ffic, it was decided to effect shunting by a road tractor. AllDock;;rd traffic is now handled by a S.R. engine under R.A.R. stafT supervision.
During World War I over 2,000 R.A.R. waaons as well as ma th
. .. b, nyo ersbelongmg to the roam railway systems, were in service up to1 2 b ·
·1 · hS , ,oo e1ng
cxchanged dlaily with t e .E. and C.R. In one week -000 d d ·
r f . . ,an 'urmg
the iour years o war, over a million wagons were inter 1 c 3'hanged between the Dockyard and the South Eastern and Chatham Railway Ir •
v y. n earier
days, an average of 4oo wagons a week was considered a good fig d
• I s l W bure,an
Ar.·
even durmg the iouth African 'ar the monthly maximum ] "cl d
• 1 not excce
1 085. Altogether between 1914 and 1918 approximately twelve million wagons were dealt with by the Royal Arsenal Railways. Betv 8 d
• cvveen 191 an
I 936·, whIen rearmament began, traffic was slight for outp t . h
. u was muc
redduced in the Royal Ordnance Factories. The railways h
· · d owever, were
welll mamntaine and much of the old narrow-gauge track d
1
by that of standard gauge. This naturally entailed • ,""S replace
• n aqustment in
1ocomotve stock and by 1936 there were 30 stand d •
ar gauge engmes
comparedto4ofthenarrow-gauge type.Eventhesefour w .h
--r:· were more t an
s Lu11cient to meet the needs of the narrow-gauge Jines left b t · · f
th, fa:ttha th l :. u, mnviewo
c1ac t at t 1e ocomotrves themselves were mostly ove t
d • d f : :r wenty years old
an m nee o considerable attention, it was thought advisable t · ·
a reserve. omamntam
Locomotive Stock
In 1921, the standard gauge locomotive stock comp • d
• f h nse 34 steam
engmnes ot the o-4-0 type with external cylinders and saddle tanks. The consisted of five classes. The most numerous18 ' b y
th L m numerbelonged
to t e egion class made by Hawthorn Leslie The large d
1 dfo an more powerful
c ass use or heavy gun traffic and main line working was the T; which sis were uii y Picketts. The other engines of'tees apa$a,,, by Hawthorns, Picketts and Barclays. Before 1914, 45
• f d'= , narrow-gauge
engmes o ro iuerent types were in service a rnaintenan · ,
htr pr:. th f a ' cc engineer's
mg mare. nor to the irst World War the filling factories a d ·
d b · . ' n magazines
were serve y curious locomotives made by Hornsby and Sons, Gratham. There were five of these known as the Hornsby-Ackroyd 1·nte 1
b • • :rna. com
ust1on engine, and the first dated back to 1896. They were semi-diesel and gear driven, and rumour says that they could be heard functioning over a mile away. Despite their low efficiency they lingered on till 191 5when they were replaced by oil-fired steam locomotives, steam still bein~
1312
APPENDIX XII
considered more reliable as a prime mover than the gas produced by
internal combustion.
One of the natural urges in war is to over-produce. Money being of
secondary importance, too much is to be preferred to too little. This
instinct, translated into industrial railway terms, means a surfeit of hauling
power. In proof of this contention World War I may be quoted as resulting
in the number of standard gauge locomotives in the R.A.R. rising from
25 to I r8, and in that of narrow-gauge engines from 45 to 64. This
represented a loco per mile of standard gauge track instead of the present
ratio of I in 8, which is considered an ample proportion of tractive power
in dealing with the maximum traffic density that the system can cconom
ically carry.
Rolling Stock
By 1918 and since, the majority of the standard gauge rolling stock on the R.A.R. has been similar to that used on main lines. Most of it is, in fact, old main line stock purchased over the last fifty odd years as and when it became sub-standard for main line requirements. It must be understood that such 'second-grade' material is quite suitable for the lower operating speeds of the R.A.R. The special gun trucks can carry loads up to I oo tons, the largest one being built entirely of steel and designed to negotiate the R.A.R. minimum standard radius of roo feet. There are a number of self-discharging high capacity 2o-ton coal wagons, some of wood and others of steel. These are used in connection with the riverside ship coal handling plant, the distribution of coal to the Central Power House and other boiler houses, and the carriage of coal to coal depots. An ambulance coach, built in the early seventies and used at Netley Hospital for a time, ran for a number of years on the R.A.R. It was abandoned in 1921 in favour of a motor ambulance.
The narrow gauge passenger rolling stock was exceptional in having such wide saloons for so narrow a track. The saloon carriages themselves were made in the Royal Arsenal about 1890, but the 3rd class bogie cars were built by the Bristol Wagon Company. The saloon cars were 24 feet long, 6 feet wide and seated 32 passengers; the 3rd class cars carried 50 passengers.
The early conversion of the standard gauge open truck to the covered goods wagon by adding a 'dog-kennel' roof proved both successful and efficient. This type of roof was cheaper to construct than the mam line standard pattern. Special shell or Low shot trucks were introduced during World War I for the conveyance of large naval projectiles. Derailments were, and are, handled by a break-down gang whose task is not simple, for it can be clearly understood that the rerailing of a gun sleigh carrying a roo-ton gun is no easy matter. .
No review of the Royal Arsenal Railway would be complete without referring to the special difficulties which have beset the railway engineer. The effect of changing over from narrow to standard gauge, the fact of having the two tracks in combination with their numerous pomts and crossing turn-outs, the difference between the two wheel flanges, the necessity for sharp curves and the encroachments of roads, have all
1313
combined to make plate-laying in the Royal Arsenal a very complicated problem. Much of the area was marshland though the river embankment and modern drainage rectifies this condition to a large extent. Odd assortment of rails had to be used according to availability and much of the original standard gauge line was constructed from material drawn from the projected Suakim-Berber railway in the Sudan, a doubtful privilege shared by Shoeburyness and Lydd. This fact is commemorated in the name Berber Junction, a railway halt on the Erith marshes. Many of the rail sections laid between 1900 and 1918 were of 56 Ib. section too light to carry the heavy engines then being introduced. These have been a source of trouble for many years and still demand very special attention.
In common with many major industrial undertakings in the country during and immediately following the first World war, e Royal Arsenal recognized the advantages of road mechanical transport. In 1915-1916, therefore, a number of steam tractors of the Sentinel and Foden types, together with 36 four-wheeled trailers were obtained to relieve wartime traffic congestion and to aid distribution in the Greater London area This road fleet had multiplied by 1922 and comprised, besides the steam~ wagons, 22 petrol lorries with a capacity ranging from 5 cwt. to 3 tons, a number of motor-cycle combinations, an ambulance and a motor car for the Chief Superintendent. Two years later most of the steam wagons had disappeared. The Royal Arsenal having, in many respects distribution problems similar to those of a large town, especially as regards smalls traffic, instituted in 1923 an internal collection and delivery service hie1
• • • Th' 1'C; wIC
IS still operatmg. IS loca, arter-Paterson' service has in its tirn carried millions of parcels and small loads between shop and shop, an4 store and store, and proves invaluable in regulating the hourly flow of components winch are essential for orderly output. In addition to the fleet of moht?r ~ehicle:', :he1:e ':ere up to 1923 about 12 medium draught horses on ire tor assisting in inter-shop, general scrap and refuse t ffi Ie washe last vestige orihe Goldenfie ortong Ago. These 4~,,]",$, were gradually replaced over the course of the next few years by battery driven shop trucks or dillies of one and two tons capacity. The numb f
I •I 11·1 • A .ero
mechanical vei ac.cs m the rsenal remained fairly constant up to
193
when the fleet was progressively strengthened and brought up to date t~ meet the increasing load caused by the withdrawal of the narrow-gauge service, and expanding production. By 1936 it amounted to 6o vehicles by 19g7 t0 98, by 1938 to 120, till eventually it reached a maximum of 40o units, including a large number of passenger carriers, during World vyar II. This rapid growth was no doubt due to the problem ofcomponents distribution complicated by the opening of so many new Ordnance Fa~tories in th_e provinces. At the end of the war, however, this swollen
flotilla was quickly adapted to meet post-war needs and the number of vehicles was reduced to under 200 by 1949. It should be noted that this reduction in road vehicle strength coincides with the steady lessening of R.A.R.. locomotives without adversely affecting traffic efficiency. This is the outcome of placing both rail and road transport under the control of one official-'The Transport Officer, Royal Arsenal' who has replaced the old 'Traffic Manager, Royal Arsenal Railways'.
1314
APPENDIX XII
In 1923 the total road lift was some 6o tons, in 1936 about 180 tons,
in 1945 approximately 7oo tons and 8oo passengers, and in r952 some
6oo tons and 6oo passengers. It may be assumed that these lifts take place
twice daily on an average and are due to modern processes, increased
tempo, reduction in operatives' walking time and increased distances to
be covered. Although road transport shows a tendency to increase, there
is no question of its being operated unnecessarily at the expense of the
R.A.R., for the co-ordination of road and rail movements under the
Transport Officer is very close. In this respect Royal Arsenal transport
policy follows national policy. Apart from production, Royal Arsenal road
transport delivers coal and coke to many military and government
Establishments in the London area, Kent and Surrey.
Diesel-engined lorries were introduced into the Royal Arsenal in 1936.
They have proved satisfactory in every way and, like their counter-part
locomotives, are not, under present maintenance arrangements, difficult
or unduly expensive to run. During the rearmament period of 1936-1938
it became obvious that certain officials required greater mobility to deal
with their problems, so they were provided with small cars ofthe 'Austin 7
class. This policy has continued until at the present time there are some
26 cars for internal use.
Lastly, the Royal Arsenal Transport Department is responsible for a fleet of some 50 mobile rail and road cranes varying in lift from I to lo tons. These are a mixture of old and new steam, diesel or petrol driven appliances. In addition, the Department has charge of the riverside coaling plant constructed in 1917-1920 by Fraser Chalmers, including the mechanical transporters, conveyor belts, coal silos and the coal depot at E67 with its mechanical transporters. The eastern transporters in the riverside coaling plant and part of the coaling pier and equipment ·were badly damagea"'in December 1949 when the s.s. Royal Star, on leaving the Royal Albert Dock, backed into the pier. A large hole was made in the stern of the ship and the whole pier was out of use for many months, necessitating the carriage of coal to the Royal Arsenal by train.
As transportation requirements in a large industrial Establishment are bound to vary from day to day according to the calls of the moment, the labour force maintaining them must retain a certain fluidity. It has thus been found advantageous to place the general labour pool in the Royal Arsenal under the Transport Department so as to adjust these variations as they arise.
Many statistics in connection with rail and road transport systems can be provided, but they would normally interest only the accountant or engineer. They would certainly be out of place in a general review of this character. Certain Transport efficiency factors may, however, be given to indicate that the Transport Department of the Royal Arsenal has been increasing its efficiency by reducing costs. The organization, as we have seen, is large and complex, but in spite of this it lives up to that truism quoted at the beginning of this Appendix, namely that: 'An efficient transport system in a manufacturing establishment depends on the coordination and integration of the external and internal means of transportation.'
Transport efficiencyfactors
R.A.R. ton lift/loco ration
R.A. Road Transport ton lift/Vehicle ration
1890
1913 1916 1922 1930 1936 1940 1946 1952
1936 1940
1946
1952
1316
APPENDIX XIII
220:I
200: 1 DIVINE WORSHIP, SCHOOLS, POLICE AND SECURITY
400:1 Divine Worship 330:1
Contrary to popular beliefno chapel was ever built in the Royal Arsenal.
400: I
The idea that there was such a consecrated building within its walls
500: I
sprang, no doubt, from a newspaper report of 24 April 1756 which read:
620:1
'The old chapel in the Warren is filled with bombs, grape shot, chain
650:1
and double-headed shot, ready to be embarked at a moment's warning.'
goo: 1
This news item either referred to the first place ofworship in the Warren, which on the face of it seems unlikely, or, like many paragraphs which
3:1
have since appeared in the press, it was a piece of pure romance on the
4:1
part of some local reporter.
4:1
Divine Service in the Warren was originally held for the military
5:1 personnel who lived and worked there, no chapel for civilian employees being brought into use till the beginning of the nineteenth century.
For the first thirty years after the formation of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, the troops attended service in St Mary's, the parish church, but the incrcasing strength of the regiment together with the growing population of Woolwich eventually made such an arrangement abortive. Some other means of administering to the spiritual welfare of the garrison had to be found, and on I 1 December 1750 the Reverend William Leaver, chaplain to the Royal Artillery, was informed of the position and ordered to conduct a service himself, or obtain a substitute, in the Academy Room in the Warren which would be allotted for that purpose.1 The Academy Room was, therefore, the first place of worship in the Warren; it was used for Service only on Sundays. On 16 January 1751, Thomas Stevens, a labourer, was appointed 'Clerk of the Chapel' in the Warren. His duties were to take charge of the books and hassocks, and to clean the staircase of Mr Thomas Simpson, the second master at the Royal Academy.2 He was to be allowed 1s. 6d. a week for this extra work to be paid quarterly by the storekeeper.3 The use of the Academy Room as a 'chapel' involved certain structural changes, and these were carried out by James Morris, master carpenter, on a warrant dated 14 May 1751. The work, together with other sundry items, included in the warrant, was effected between
4
I January and 3o June 1751 at a cost of £103. 3s. r¾d. On 8 October 1751, Mr Hayter, the overseer, was instructed to buy at a cost of £5. 8s. od. the undermentioned articles for the purpose of administering the Holy Sacrament in the Academy Room :5
Flagon 1 Pint Cup r
French Plate S I r bd
a ver tor rea I
{
Salver for offerings
I
1 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/36, p. 407. 2 Why Mr Simpson's staircase should have been cleaned by the Clerk of the Chapel
is not clear. 3 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/37, p. 55· 4 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO/51/178, p. 74. 5 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/38, p. 219.
1317
A few weeks later he was ordered to purchase a tablecloth, two napkins and three yards of blue cloth for £3. 125. 0d."
For some reason not divulged, the Academy Room was found to be unsuitable as a 'part-time chapel', probably because it was in constant use as a classroom during the week, and on I November 1751 an order was issued to the effect that the Board Room in the Academy Building should be used for Sunday Service in place of the former.7 A fortnight later, the Reverend Wilham Leaver asked the Board to allow him a house to 'lie in' and change his vestments, and to give him an allowance of coal and candles, similar to that issued to officers. He put forward this plea on the grounds that Divine Service was apt to be held at any time in all seasons of the year. The Board were not impressed by this appeal. They refused it without argument on the contention that they had no funds at their disposal for such a purpose, no provision for such a disbursement being made by the establishment of the Regiment.
Mrs Sumpter, who cleaned the Board Room, now saw an excellent opportunity of evading her duties by saying that the room in question was a chapel and therefore no concern of hers. The Board however to use a slang expression, were 'not playing on that one'. They informed 'the Respective Officers at Woolwich that it was her task to clean the 'chapel' as it was the chamber in which the Board met from time to time and th fact that it was used sporadically for Divine Service did not' alte ·te
• I •II I . rIs
primary character, espec1a!y as she was given a particular allowance f his work." On 6 September 1764, William Wigzell replaced TH,,Stevens as Clerk to the Chapel.10 No further mention of the 'chapel' or of Divine Service in the W
ll 188. B: arren
0""""",,J?$,","? hcethe location of he ctaper had changed. There can e 1tt e ou t that in these twenty-four years the increased numbers of gentlemen cadets and soldiers had rendered the Board Ro t
dd. . om oo
crampec to accommodate its growing congregation. The new barracks for the Royal Regiment of Artillery on Woolwich Common were by 1,88 practically complete, but the chapel which they were to contain was not rcadY,for orship till the beginning of the nineteenth century. Some new expedient 1ad therefore to be adopted. The choice fell on the Repository buildings which had recently been erected in the Warren. This is evidenced by, an entry in the Journal Books under date 28 January 1788.1
Colonel Macbean, commanding officer of Artillery at Woolwich having in his letter of 28th inst. requested that the forms in the Repository might be repaired and eighteen more provided for the accommodation of the Regiment who assemble there for Divine Service; the clerk of the works was ordered to comply with the request.'
By the end of the eighteenth century the Royal Arsenal Chapell2 had
,dance Journal Book, PRO/wo/47/98, p. 281, 2o October 1751.
, 'dnance Journal Book, PRO[WO[47/38, p. 307. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO[j7/38, p. 342, 13 November 1751Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/39, P. 355, I7 April 1752.'
,, Ordnance .Journal Book, PRO/wO/47/64, P. 145. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/111, p. 123.
12. Also known as The Ordnance Chapel and the Lower Chapel. The chapel in the Royal Artillery Barracks was referred to as The Military Chapel or the Upper Chapel.
1318
APPENDIX XIII
been established in the Plumstead Road quite close to the main gate of
13
the Warren.
Before continuing the story of Divine worship in the Royal Arsenal, however, it will be of passing interest to record something of the background of this building before its acquisition by the Crown. It was built about 1770, at the instance of Lady Huntingdon, adjacent to the Pattison sandpit on the boundary between the parishes of Woolwich and Plumstead. Combined with a residence for its pastor, it stood opposite the spot where the stream descending from Shooter's Hill and Brook Hill Road once crossed the Plumstead Road as an open water course spanned by a small foot-bridge.
Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, the second of three daughters and co-heiresses of Washington, 2nd Earl Ferrars, was a remarkable woman. She was born in 1707, married Theophilus, 9th Earl of Huntingdon on 3June 1728, was left a widow on 13 October 1746 and diced in London on 17 Jun 1791. Fervent and idealistic, she embraced Methodism in r 739, but being of Calvanistic mould, she soon departed from the pure doctrine preached by John Wesley and joined George Whitefield, who, on account of doctrinal differences on the question of predestination, had parted ccmpany with Wesley about 1741. George Whitefield, the youngest of seven children, was born in 1714. He was an inspired evangelist whose preaching produced one of the most remarkable revivals of modern times, but he lacked the power of organization, and without the qualities of leadership his supporters tended to drift away. Realizing that she had the necessary driving force and organizing ability, the Countess of Huntingdon made George Whitefield her chaplain and together they formed a particular sect of Methodism known as 'The Countess of Huntingdon's Connection'. She founded a college at Trevecca in Brecknockshire in 1768 for the education of ministers, which was removed to Cheshunt in 1792, and procured numerous chapels in various parts of the country. She established some of her missionaries at Woolwich where she had arranged for the Plumstead Road chapel to be built. One of these was the Reverend R. Shrubsole who arrived from Sheerness to become master mast-maker at the Royal Dockyard. In 1773 he preached at this chapel for seven months. In 1782 the Reverend Dr William Percy, another of the 'Connection' ministers, was appointed to the Plumstead Road chapel where he was joined in 1796 by his brother the Reverend
J. Wilcox Percy. After her death in 1791, Selina, Countess of Huntingdon bequeathed to four persons her sixty-four chapels, most of which became in due course Congregational churches.
Towards the end of 1799, the Board of Ordnance proceeded to rent the Plumstead Road chapel from the Reverend J. Wilcox Percy. This was followed by its purchase in 1801.
On 6 February 1801, it was ordered that payments were to be made to the Reverend Mr Percy of the amount of rent due for the chapel and house belonging to him at Woolwich which were taken possession of on 27 October 1799 for the use of the Royal Artillery, and that MajorGeneral Vaughan Lloyd, Commandant at Woolwich was to be called
13 The site is now occupied by the covered market.
upon to render a certificate stating that Mr Percy had surrendered the premises to the Ordnance and the date on which they were taken over.14
Chapel £3r. 10s. ad. p.a. from 27 October 1799
House £26. 5. od. p.a. }fr 26Ja +8 Coach house and stables £5. 5s. ad. p.a. rom 2 anuary I oo
It was agreed on 3 March 18o1, that the rent stipulated for the chapel and other premises belonging to the Reverend Mr Percy should be paid from 27 October 1799 t0 31 December 1800.1 Upon the purchase of the premises, the Royal Engineers were ordered to repair immediately the chapel house together with the other houses recently bought, taking care
16
to see that the estimate was not exceeded. Mrs William Roche wife of the porter at the Warren main gate, was given the post ofgeneral c;retaker at the chapel, and on 29 January 1802 the storekeeper was instructed to pay the good lady 2s. 6d. for her trouble in sweeping 'the new chapel and lighting fires therein', while she continued to p~rform these duties and while her husband remained in his post at the Warren Gate.17 In ~ letter dated 2 November 1802, Mr Robert Smith, assistant solicitor to the Ordnance, informed the Board that the conveyance from Mrs Pattison and others to his Majesty, King George III, of the chapel and premises at Woolwich was executed by all parties save Mr Dunnage, one of the executors of a deceased Trustee of an Outstanding Person 18 who was then abroad and whose signature was not essential, and req~ested them
to direct a debenture to be made out to Christiana Pattison widow and Nathaniel Maxey Pattison, Esquire, of the sum of£450. On; Novem~ ber 1802, the Board ordered the necessary bill and debenture to be
prepared.IO
It was evi~ent that the chaplain's house required repairs, as on 8 May 1804, Captain George Hayter, C.R.E. Woolwich Division, was ordered to submit an estimate for the same."O
Some years later it also became plain that the internal fittings of the chapel did not please the Right Honourable and Honourable Board because on 1 January 1808, Captain Hayter was instructed to complete the interior decoration of the chapel in a 'decent' manner without dela At the same time Lieut.-General Robert Morse, Inspector-Gener1 Fortifications, and _Brigadier-General John Macleod, Deputy AdjutantGeneral, Royal Artillery, were asked to confer together about the 'painted' wmdow it was proposed to install.21 This 'painted' window must have
been the subject of a good deal of argument for we read on 4 June 181 7 •
'The stained glass window for the Ordnance chapel which Mr Hand was to finish, to be postponed for a year when the expense could 1 mcluded In the Parliamentary estimate.'22
' Extract or Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,570, p. 1 3. ,Eract orjutes, Series ii, Po/of±if,no, i. •
xtract of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO if A
17 Extracts of Minutes, Series ii, PRoj,'$7/23571, P. 794, I9 ugust 18o1. :: Possibly the Countess of Huntingdon. 0/47/2,572, p. go.
Extracts or Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,573, P. 1,280. ,}?racs or Minutes, Series I, PRojw[4j/,576, P. 1,325. , '·tracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,600, p. 8.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[j7/2,651, p. 2,116.
I320
APPENDIX XIII
Saner counsels soon prevailed, however, for on 27June 1817, Mr Hand was ordered to complete the window because the keeping of it in an unfinished state would cause a great deal of expense.23
As the military chapel in the Barracks on Woolwich Common was ready for Divine Service in 1 808, the chapel in the Plumstead Road was no longer required by the officers and men of the Royal Artillery and it became redundant for the needs of the garrison. The storekeeper, Mr John Geast, therefore, conceived the idea of utilizing it as a place of worship for the civilians employed in the Royal Arsenal. Accordingly, he wrote in this sense to the Board on 21June 1808. This letter was mainly instrumental in converting the Ordnance chapel into a civil place of worship."
Two plans of this chapel with the chaplain's house attached are preserved among the War Office Records at Stanmore. Both are drawn by Captain Hayter and bear the same date, 6 June 1809. One is called 'The J;resent plan ofthe regimental chapel and chaplain's house, Woolwich,' and shows clearly the entrance to the chapel in the Plumstead Road. Joined to it and ia rear of the consecrated portion of the building, was the chaplain's quarter giving on a garden which lay to the south. The other is entitled, 'lanfor altering the old regimental chapel and chaplain's house'. Two things are plain from the drawings. One, that military personnel had already gi en up using the premises, and two, that its conversion into a civil chapel entailed extensive alterations. Not long are we left in doubt as to the extent of these changes. An estimate for altering the chapel and rebuilding the chaplain's house, amounting to £1,606. 6s. 11?d., and submitted by Captain Hayter, was sent by the Board to Lieut.-General Morse with a covering letter dated I January 181o. In that letter they expressed the wish that the work entailed should be included in the Estimates for r8ro.25 On 1o January 1810, Colonel Fyers, Deputy InspectorGeneral of Fortifications, replying to the Board, stated that the cost of altering the chapel and rebuilding the chaplain's house would amount to the sum mentioned and would be inserted in the 181o Estimate. Having pointed out that no amendment to the plan submitted to the Board was contemplated, he begged leave to proceed with the work. On 22 January 1810, the Board forwarded the whole of the correspondence to the Master-General.26 The Master-General approved the scheme and on 14 March 181o the Board ordered the work, amounting in cost to £1,606. 6s. 11d., to be carried out.27 The seating accommodation in the Civil Ordnance chapel was accordingly laid down in a document
28
dated 26 October 1810.
The fact that this seating list omitted the name of the barrack master caused a flutter among the Board. They wrote to the storekeeper on 23 November 1810 asking why he had not been included in the list of persons holding civil appointments under the Ordnance at Woolwich
a+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[A7/2,651, P. 2,407. a Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/47/756.
a» Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[47/756. a6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,613, p. 241. 27 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,614, p. 781. a· Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/47/756.
1321
who were eligible for accommodation in pews and seats in 'the chapel near the Royal Arsenal'. The storekeeper, in his reply dated 30 November 1810, stated that he understood the barrack master was entitled to sit in the military chapel at the barracks, and observed that every military officer holding a civil appointment had a right to a seat in the military chapel. The Board ordered that enamelled plates o·iving the office or
•I o
station of the persons occupymg the scats should be affixed to the pews. 29 On 7 December 1810, Mr Webb, who had submitted a list of articles required for the converted chapel by the Arsenal Gate under two headings:
(a)
Those nearly completed; (b) Additional items required, was told to purchase them and provide everything except matting for the pews of the gentlemen cadets of the Royal Military Academy. He was informed that directions about fixing the enamelled plates had already been given."o
(a)
Articles nearly completed Crimson velvet decorations for the pulpit Crimson velvet decorations for the reading desk and clerks' desks3I Crimson velvet decorations for the Communion Table, cushions and
stools Stools for the pulpit, reading desk and clerks' desks Two surplices, a Communion table-cloth and two napkins
Books for the chaplain and clerk Kneeling cushions to go round the altar Carpet for the altar and stairs leading to the reading desk and ul it
250 hassocks PIp
(b) Additional articles required A cushion with a valance for the front of the gallery
Cushions for the pews 0 Matting for the pews Enamelled inscription plates for the pew doors
It was impressed on Mr Webb that he should expedite his purchases and provide all the necessities as soon as possible so that Divine s . ·
could be held ·ith th :..:. 5f ervcc
. e WI· e mimmum o delay. Robert Davis was appointed to officiate as Clerk of the Chapel at gs. a day for Sundays and other days on which Services might be held. Edward Deaves and Charles Wells were made cleaners in the chapel, when ceremonies took place at
2s. 6d. per day.3% >
. In the winter of 1810,_ the ~torekeeper drew attention to the fact that it would be necessary to illumine the chapel in the winter months during Svcnsong, and suggested that brass branches should be provided for the "ma and the pulpit, and lockets for the individual pews. He asked w ether plates were to be fixed on the pews of the clergyman, housekeeper ;o th_e cadets and the Assistant Superintendent of Shipping, and whether ervce was to be held on Sunday, 23 December 181o. The Board agreed to provide brass branches for the lectern and pulpit, but preferred a brass
29 Extracts of Minutes, Series II PRO/W0/47/2 618 2; Eras,rMats, sris ii, jRoff±5si$,$.%1.1 ..{""g?pk was @lg.irie is yer'iii'ii iiioar±.
xtracts O inutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,618, p. 4,241, 7 December 18ro.
1322
APPENDIX XIII
chandelier containing twelve candles in place of the lockets on the pews. They stated that enamelled plates should be provided for all pews except the one allotted to the Assistant Superintendent of Shipping which accommodation, being of a temporary nature, would have no plate
33
affixed.
During the early days of the Ordnance chapel, the chaplain of the Royal Military Academy officiated, but when the chapel was adapted for civil use, a special minister was appointed. One of the earliest of these was the Reverend Dr Watson. He was followed by the Reverend Mr Tuson and then by the Reverend M. R. Scott who remained in charge until 1 857. The communion plate belonging to the Ordnance chapel was engraved with the date '1812'.
On 9January 1811, the Respective Officers at Woolwich asked whether the chaplain at the Royal Arsenal chapel could preach a sermon on Sunday afternoons as many parishoners were unable to attend matins, whether the paymaster would pay the expenses of the chapel on a certified bill, and whether they should purchase wine for the administration of the sacrament. At the same time, they recommended that an instructor should be employed to teach departmental employees the art of singing psalms. The Board in their reply stated that they could not expect the chaplain to preach a second sermon on the Sabbath, that the paymaster would defray all chapel expenses, and that the storekeeper would buy such wine as might from time to time become necessary. They added that they saw no reason to engage a person to teach psalm singing." The floor of the chapel was boarded, and the noise caused by the constant passage offeet was so distracting that, in order to deaden the sound, the paymaster was authorized to buy 1oo yards of matting 3 feet 6 inches wide and roo yards of 2 foot matting. This was to be fitted and laid by the collar
35
makers.
The Ordnance chapel had been built too close to the ground, the earth on the outside adjoining the side walls being above the floor level. This had caused dry rot to set in which by 1814 had made such progress that the timber lining and the floor boards had become badly affected. Steps to arrest this decay were obviously urgent, and in the Works Estimates for 1814 a sum of £go9. 1s. 1}d. was included for this purpose.36 On 4 December 1815, it was laid down that a bushel of coal was to be issued weekly for the stoves of the chapel, and that Divine Service would, in future, only take place once a day.37 Possibly the same trouble over low siting occurred in the chaplain's stable, as in the Works Estimates for 1817 money was taken up to raise the flooring and the roof of that
38
building.
The Reverend Dr Watson, minister in charge of the Royal Arsenal chapel, who, like his ultimate successor, Mr Scott, was a chaplain to the Royal Artillery at Woolwich, requested on 1g November 1817 that, in
a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,618, p. 4,375, 19 December 181o. a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,620, p. go. a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,620, p. 379, 23 January 1811. a6 PRO[WO/49/131. 37 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,643, p. 4,881. a PRO/WO[49/139.
86
consequence of the death on 6 November 1817 of H.R.H. Princess Charlotte, daughter of George IV (then Prince Regent) and wife of Prince Leopold George Frederick, 3rd son of Francis, Duke of Saxe-CoburgSaalfeld, the pulpit and lectern might be draped in black during the period of public mourning. This was sanctioned and the storekeeper was ordered to take the necessary action.30
In 1819, painting, whitewashing and repairs to the chaplain's house were carried out at a cost of {112. 2s. 4ld.A0 This was followed in 1824by the exterior painting of the chapel at the low figure of £rn. 5s. gfd.41 Three years elapsed before the chapel again became 'news'. Then £16. 1s. 5ld. was spent in adapting the pews so that more accommodation could be made available for the more junior officials in the department. Emboldened by this rearrangement, Mr Robinson, deputy storekeeper of the Royal Carnage Department, asked for permission to occupy a
42
pevv. In 1828 repairs to the Ordnance chapel to the value of £16 1s. 521d.• were execute·d,4 and three years later more repairs and the• internal painting of the chapel were undertaken." Nothing more is recorded about the chapel and its activities for eleven years, and th next item in the Ordnance Minutes is dated ar February 842. Ti
1
reads:
'The storekeeper was ordered to pay £r. 2s. 6d. for the repair of prayer books belonging to the Arsenal chapel. The repairs were ordered by the chaplain, the Reverend Mr Tuson. The Board state that. in fut
•h•fch . ' u ure,
th eir aut onty or sue repairs must first be obtained,4s
There is a plan, dated 6 March 1847 among the Woolwich Eng·
p • h P, :. ;neer
. apers in the Public Record Office," which sets out the pew allocation in the civil chapel for the different officials and their families. Accommodation was provided in the body of the building and in the gall The pews on the ground floor held four persons each, while hose',';
gallery could seat six. The plan is in two parts, one showing the ground floor and the oth the gallery. They are drawn with the entrance to the chapel at the botto: of each sheet. In the gallery over the entrance the choir and orche tr were seated. The stairs leading to the main gallery are at the oppo:it: end of the chapel. The allotment of pews is as follows:
GroundFloor Eastern Side looking towards the stairs, reading from the stairs to the entrance (a) Lieut.-Governor, Royal Military Academy (by choice)
(b) Deputy Storekeeper, (c) Deputy Storekeeper Royal Carriag~ Department. The remaining 9 pews are reserved f~r clerks, overseers,
1, ?racts of Minutes, Serie= II, PRO/WO/7/a,6s3, P. 4,147. 'orks Estimates, 1819, PRO[WO[49/141. ,, orks Estimates, 1824, PRO[WO[49/145. {2;2?g9finites, Sri; it, Pofof7/,6o+, p. a,1s9, 1a November 18a7
a 'orks stimates, 1828, PRO/WO/49/148. ,, Works Estimates, 1831, PRO[wof49/153. ?dance_Minutes, Poro/47/i95 P-34o7. ngneer Papers, PRO/WO[55/762.
APPENDIX XIII
proofmasters and conductors of the several departments and their families. Then comes the vestry. Western Side looking towards the stairs, reading from the stairs to the entrance. (a) Chaplain, (b) Deputy Storekeeper, Royal Laboratory,
(c) Clerk of Works. The remaining I I pews are reserved for the same type of congregation as were the 9 pews on the eastern side.
The Centre looking from stairs to entrance. Io pews for the children of soldiers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Sappers and Miners, for go soldiers and for other persons of the several departments and their families.
Gallery Eastern Side looking towards the stairs, reading from the stairs to the entrance. (1) Commandant of the Garrison, (3) The Storckccper, (5) The Inspector of Artillery, (7) The Inspector of Shipping, (g) Vacant, ( 1 r) Assistant Inspector of Artillery, (13) Assistant Inspector, Royal Military Academy. Western Side looking towards the stairs, reading from the stairs to the entrance, (2) Inspector-General, Field Train, (4) The Director, Royal Laboratory, (6) The Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, (8) The Inspector, Royal Military Academy, (1o) The Firemaster, (12) Assistant Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, ( 14) Vacant. Facing the stairs
(15) Subaltern of cadets and housekeeper. (16) Cadets, (17) Assistant Commissary Field Train Department. Between these pews on both sides of the gallery are seats for 6o children.
On 14 April 1851, William George, an attendant in the Ordnance chapel, was appointed Clerk of the Chapel in place of Thomas Burgess who had been dismissed for misconduct.47 The chapel was closed for painting and repairs during the late summer and early autumn of 1851, but the usual payments were made to the clerk and the pew openers during this period because they had devoted more than their usual time on week-day evenings to the care and preservation ofthe chapel furniture.48 Sanction was given on 27 September 1852 for modifying the entrance to the chapel at a charge of £200. 17s. 4fd. The Board, in giving their authority, stipulated, however, that if, on enquiry, it was found that the nuisance which the alteration was designed to mitigate had, in fact, been
47 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,254, p. 3,842.
Thomas Burgess had been appointed Ofcc-keeper and Messenger in the Storekeeper's department on 26 March 1841. His appointment reads 'Thomas Burgess, labourer, appointed Office-keeper and Clerk to the Civil Ordnance Chapel at Woolwich (under the Civil Officers) vice Charles Wells who died on 19 March 1841' (Ordnance Minutes,PRO/W0/47/1,892, p. 3,733). The performance of his duties evidently satisfied the Reverend M. R. Scott, the chaplain, as he was definitely appointed 'Clerk to the Royal Arsenal Chapel' on 2o June 1842 in place ofJohn Murray who had asked to be relieved of this post (Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/1,936, p. 7,590). Eight years later Thomas Burgess got into trouble with the Civil Officers and was reduced to the grade of labourer being discharged for losing letters entrusted to him. He was succeeded as Office-keeper and Messenger in the Storekeeper's department on 12 June 1850 by Thomas Maundrell, who, however, did not officiate as Clerk to the Chapel. The question of re-employingThomas Burgess as a labourer was to depend on the authorities receiving a suitable report concerning him from the Civil Officers (Ordnance Minutes, PRO/W0/47/2,224,
p. 6,387). The misconduct which entailed his discharge from the clerk-ship of the chapel
is not stated. +8 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,271, P-9,750, 8 October 1851.
1325
caused by the parish authorities, the question of their defraying the cost
49
should be raised.
Till 1856, a large part of the congregation had been composed of the Royal Sappers and Miners and their wives and families, but when the corps became the Royal Engineers and moved their headquarters to Chatham, numbers fell away, and after the Reverend M. R. Scott gave up his incumbency in 1857, the War Department, who had inherited the chapel in 1855 on the demise of the Office and Board of Ordnance began to lose interest in that religious fane although in the year 186g provision was made for a Royal Arsenal chaplam at £430 p.a. Thereafter services were conducted by curates under the vicars of Plumstead, to whom the building had been loaned as a chapel of ease to their parish church. At length the War Office resumed charge ofthe chapel and in 1873 appointed the Reverend Charles Berry to conduct the services both there and in the Dockyard chapel, with the title of Chaplain of the Royal Arsenal, and so the years passed. In due course a second chaplain was appointed.
As time went on, however, the growing number of Arsenal workers, the changing habits of the people and the increasing facilities offered f Divine Worship in Woolwich, combined to make the Ordnance•"
•Ihd •• ape
an anachronism. It 1ac outlived its usefulness and had ceased to retain a hold upon the hearts of its congregation. In these circumstances closure was the only policy, and as early as November 1891 the question of its survival was raised, though the request for the site by a Baptist • • t
fused.50 Th muster
was re ser .e end was in sight. In February 1895, a proposal was put forward to convert the premises, which by then had ceased t b
•• oe
d r 1.
use 1or service, mto po ice quarters, but nothing came of the sugge t' . s1 Eventually the building became the Royal Artillery Reference L~bion.
h · 1 irary,
thoug it was a ways referred to locally as the 'Arsenal Reference Lib; >
I •11 k b arary •
t was stl ~own y the former name when it was purchased from the War Office, m October 1925, by the Woolwich Borough Council fc th sum of £3,00o. Early in 1g28, the Borough Council demo1su&a 4 structure preparatory to opening a new market on the site. At a later stage this open space was roofed in to form the present covered market Thus passed awaya house of prayer which had made religious history. • In 1899, following the dissolution of the old Ordnance civil chapel the Royal Arsenal chaplains were reduced from two to one and th' Reverend Charles Berry remained on a stipend of £180 pa t' • • e
h 2ds (O muster to t e neeas of the Dockyard chapel. This he continued 'is.to do till his death in the summer of 192g.% Thereafter, the chapel in the Royal Dockyard, built by the Admiralty in 1857 to the design of Sir Gilbert Scott and handed over to the War Department in 1870, remained empty and deserted. The greater part of the Royal Dockyard was sold to the Woolwich Co-operative Society in January 1927, and in July 1932 its chapel was carefully taken down, re-erected in Rochester Way near its JUnCtion with Well Hall Road, and reconsecrated on 7 October 1933. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO[47/2,306, p. 10,8o7. "0 70/Gen. No./6,899. • o o " 70/Gen. No./8,073. ,";Te ls o.F. Annual Estimate to include the stipend for an Arsenal chaplain was
1or e ycar 1921.
-
APPENDIX XIII
In the Second World War, in common with many another church, it suffered destruction at the hands of Hitler and his air force.
Schools
Like the chapel the original school proposed for the Royal Arsenal was to be a military foundation for the education of soldiers' children.
In a letter dated 6 February 1812, the Board stated that the MasterGeneral and Board, having decided to establish a regimental school in the Royal Arsenal on the same lines as those adopted in the Army, Lieut.Colonel Robert Pilkington, C.R.E. Woolwich Division, was to submit a plan and estimate of a schoolroom to _accommodate 500 children. In due course these were submitted, the estimate being £285. 6s. 3½d. On the suggestion of Lieut.-Colonel Pilkington, however, the Royal Arsenal was rejected, and the final site selected on 3 July 1812 was at the west end of the Royal Artillery Barracks where a stable was to be converted for the purpose.°
There is a conspiracy of silence in the Ordnance minutes regarding scholastic affairs in theRoyal Arsenal, and it is difficult to say when such a school was first opened. Under date 30July 1856 the minutes do record that additional school accommodation was required at Woolwich and that application was to be made to Parliament in the following session for a grant of £3,000, 54 but where the new building was to be erected or for what class of pupil it was to be intended is not apparent. The Army Estimates for that year do, however, indicate that there was a school in the Royal Arsenal at that date which had a staff consisting of a resident schoolmaster at £120 p.a., 2 non-resident teachers at £70 p.a., 2 nonresident teachers at £50 p.a., and a porter at £37 p.a. Presumably, therefore, it was in existence under the Board of Ordnance-The following year the post of porter was abolished and in 1858 the appointment of a librarian at £35 a year was sanctioned. There were also schools for drawing and construction attached to the three factories. By 1859 the porter had been reinstated at £26 p.a. and the general school had five masters. In 1861 only three teachers were allowed. Things seem to have been better organized by 1862 because in that year the staff of the general school consisted ofa headmaster at £150 a year, 3 assistant masters costing £250 annually, a librarian at £35 a year and a porter at £26 p.a. There were also three schools, one for each of the manufacturing departments.
Henry Knell in his Arsenal Guide 1865 states that the girls employed in making cartridges were 'given scholastic tuition on certain days of the week'. In 1871, the post of third assistant master disappeared. The school at that date, which existed for the education of Trade Lads under the various Factory and Workshop Acts of the nineteenth century, was in H Avenue not far from the present surgery. It was situated between the quarters allotted to the Inspector of Works and the Commissary-General. It was almost opposite the opening to Parry Place off the Plumstead Road, and the site is clearly visible in the Royal Arsenal maps of 1876, 1878 and 1890.
° Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/757. 4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,758, p. 306.
1327
There was quite a spate of correspondence about this school in 1871.
The London School Board's Tables of the Elementary Schools within the District ofthe Metropolis, compiled in August 1871, contain the following entry:
Division ofGreenwich Parish ofPlumstead
Entry No. 6A: Name and address of school. Royal Arsenal, General, Woolwich G?.
N
.B. (a) The school is classified as a public school, i.e. one held in premises secured by deed for education, with managers acting under the deed, who appoint and control the teacher.
(2)
The letter 'G' indicates that the school was in receipt of a government grant, though it might not strictly come under the definition Public.
Further particulars
Accommodation-No. of classrooms4 Area in square feet: 2,00o Total superficial area in square feet: 2,000
Day School
No. of scholars on the roll: 360 No. of scholars in actual attendance: 67 boys55
Night School
No. of scholars on the roll: 68 No. of scholars in actual attendanceNils
Minute No. 13. 29 March 187158
The following notices of motion were given: By John MacGregor, Esq. 29 March 1871.
To ask leave to present a memorial from clergy, ministers and ratepayers as to the recent change of regulations by the War Office, whereby some hundreds of boys employed at the Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, are suddenly deprived of opportunities of education hitherto afforded to them. Also to lay before the Board the correspondence presented to Parliament on 14March, on the motion ofLord John Manners, as to the infringements of the Factory Acts by the War Office; seriously affecting the education of young persons employed at the Royal Arsenal, together with correspondence on the subject between the War Office and members of the Board, and to move-That the memorial and correspondence and a letter to the Board on the subject from the Early Closing Association be referred to the Committee on Industrial Schools and the Factory Acts and to report thereon. '
Minute No. 5. 26 April 1871.
'Memorial-Correspondence-Woolwich Arsenal-Factory Acts etc.'
s» These figures refer to the number of lads in attendance on the day when the return was furnished. Owing to different causes these totals in many cases do not give an adequate
idea of the average attendance. (Extract from the Preliminary Note to the A/G tables.) 4· Extracts from Minutes oafProceedings ofthe School Boardfor London December 1870 to November 1871.
APPENDIX XIII
Mr John MacGregor moved the motion of 29 March 1871 which was seconded by the Reverend Canon Cromwell, M.A., and duly 'Resolved' by the School Board for London.
Minute No. 7. 26 July 1871.
'Memorial-Correspondence-Woolwich Arsenal-Factory Acts etc.'
Mr John MacGregor (in the absence of Mr Green, Chairman of the
Industrial Schools Committee) brought up a report as follows:
Report ofthe Industrial Schools Committee 25 July 187
'On 26 April the Board referred to your Committee a memorial from
Woolwich complaining that regulations hitherto in force as to the educa
tion of boys in the Royal Arsenal were abandoned, and that the staff of
the Arsenal school had been reduced though the number of children was
increased.
The Board referred at the same time a correspondence on this subject between the members of the Board from the Division of Greenwich and the Secretary of State for War; also letters from the Early Closing Association to the Board relating to infringements of the Workshop Acts by the authorities of the Arsenal.
The publication of these facts in the newspapers, and private communications from members of the Board and others, led to the subject being discussed on several occasions in the House of Commons.
Your Committee, having waited for the result of these representations, are now able to state, with satisfaction, that the War Department has taken steps to remedy the evils complained of above.
The Workshop Act is to be observed in future in the Royal Arsenal, and the recent School Board Census will indicate cases of children to whom this Act applies, and who are still employed in the Arsenal.
Two additional masters are to be appointed before the end of this month, and the boys are to be sent to school systematically, in accordance with the former regulations.
When these promised arrangements shall be carried into effect the Arsenal school will be in a better state than ever before, and the younger children, if still employed there, will have proper time for schooling and holidays under the Workshop Act.
Your Committee recommend that a copy of this report be forwarded to the War Department, to the memorialists, to the Early Closing Association and to Sir Daniel Salomons, and that the reference to your Committee on this matter be discharged.'
As a result of this demarche, the War Office appointed another temporary master and a mistress for the girls' school in 1872, application for a grant of £100 in aid of the girls' school having been made on 22 June
187.7 The mistress, however, did not for long enjoy the fruits of office. The employment of female labour in the Royal Arsenal ceased in March 1872, and with the disappearance of the fair sex from the workshops the girls' school was abandoned, and with its passing passed also the woman teacher. The general school now became more firmly established with a headmaster, three assistant masters, a librarian and a porter; an increase
"7 5o/Arsenal/304.
in the pay of the headmaster being approved on 23 April 1873.%%No further
changes occurred till 188o when the number of assistant masters was again
reduced to two. By that date the headmaster's salary was £190 a year and
the pay of the porter had been increased to £31 a year. The librarian,
who had charge of the Arsenal library, still had to struggle on with his
£35 p.a. He must have been much worse off than Oliver Goldsmith's
village preacher who was 'passing rich with forty pounds a year'. In 1882
a departmental school for the Royal Carriage Department was set up
with a schoolmaster at 50 p.a. and an assistant master at £2o p.a. This
survived till 31 August 1904 when it was closed down.
For ten years the general school was carried on without change, but
the shadow of dissolution was approachmg. Local educational services
were improving. The second assistant master's post was abolished at the
beginning of 1890 and in December of that year the school closed its
doors for the last time. This resulted, somewhat naturally, in the dismissal
of the headmaster and the remaining assistant master. % Strangely enough,
the porter lmgered on till 1894, and the librarian clung to his books
till 18g7 when he, too, passed under the harrow. The late headmaster did
not take kindly to the forfeiture of his emoluments and he applied for
compensation for the loss of his office. The authorities were however
adamant. His request was refused in December 1893.60 ' '
Like the chapel, the school too had outlived its usefulness becoming
outmoded ma changmg world. The torch of learning was passing to th
local authorities who finally became responsible for ~rimary, and muc~
of the secondary, education under the Education Act of 1902.
Police
Since the early part of the eighteenth century when a protective service wasfirst organized, the safe-keeping of the Warren had been entrusted to soldiers who, posted at the main and other guardrooms in the area. k t watch and ward against rogues and vagabonds. The guards also reg~la:fd and controlled the admission of visitors. By the turn of the nineteen th century, the Civil Officers and the Controller, Royal Laboratory, e:ch maintained a small band of watchmen to patrol their premises at night, for these departments were considered to be more likely to receive mmproper attention from undesirable persons. In addition, porters were stationed at the main gate, the Plumstead gate and the gates of the three manufacturing departments, with assistant porters or warders at the main gate to.scrutmize all who passed their lodges.
For instance, we read how the Respective Oficers reported on the grea: mconvemence ongmally caused by half the Royal Arsenal watch commg on duty in the middle of the night, how that when all the members of the watch came in immediately the workmen had left, matters so much improved, and how they remained during the whole closed period relieving each other every two hours. In their report to the Board, the Respective Officers stated that an assistant foreman came on duty every night to act as corporal and observed that he was paid 3s. 6d. a night and
"" 5o/Arsenal/36o: 5o/Arsenal/368.
70/Gen. No./6,397.
75/6/6,873.
APPENDIX XIII
the watchmen 2s. a night. They stressed the considerable advantage which had accrued from this arrangement and asked that it might remain unchanged with the exception of the additional pay which the Board had directed to be granted. The Board agreed to let the arrangement
61
stand. .
This system, simple but inefficient, remained in vogue till I 844. How much longer it would have continued in force, if a series of ugly robberies had not taken place in 1843 and 1844 under the noses ofthe local guardians of the Queen's peace, is impossible to say, but the serious thefts of government property following closely on one another, upset the equanimity of the authorities and made a change imperative. Losses from larceny took place on 15June 1843 and 25 November 1843, followed by the stealing of nineteen 4% inch Ordnance brass howitzers on 3 I August 1844. Something had to be done to allay public misgivings, and by the spring of 1844 the question of employing police had been discussed and agreed to in principle, but the disappearance of the nineteen howitzers was the straw which broke the camel's back and led to the introduction of the Metropolitan Police. Enquiries took place and long reports were issued. The value of the property spirited away on 31 August 1844 was £463. 2s. 6d. as pieces of ordnance or £218. 10s. od. as old metal. Altogether the total deficiency of stores was valued at 486. as. od. or £246. 5s. 7d. as scrap.
Before the introduction of the police, the cost of guarding the Arsenal was: Royal Arsenal 1 foreman at 2s. p.d. £ 36. IOS. od. 6 men at Is. 6d. p.d. £164. 5°. od. Total £2oo. 15°. od. p.a.
Royal Laboratory 1 foreman at 2s. p.d. £ 36. IO. od. 3 men at rs. 6d. p.d. 82. 2s. 6d. Total £118. I2S. 6d. p.a.
Grand total: £,319. 7s. 6d. p.a.
On the other hand, the cost of a police constable was computed to be:
1 police constable at 19s. p.w. 449. 8s. od.
Clothing for one man £6. os. od.
Coals for one man £ I. 5s. od.
Total for one police constable £56. 13s. od. p.a.%°
The Commandant at Woolwich, who was still responsible for the safety of the Royal Arsenal, and the Respective Officers, gravely concerned at the state of affairs, wrote to the Board pointing out the weakness in policing methods which these thefts exposed. The Board digested these unpalatable facts and as a result put out the following minute dated 6 May 1844, although this took place prior to last and largest disappearance of H.M. property:%4
61 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,603, P-2,535, 31 August 1808. « PRO/WO/44/295. «a PRO/WO[44/296. «4 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,044, p. 5,666.
1331
'The Master-General and Board have had under consideration sundry communications from the Commandant and Respective Officers at Woolwich on the inefficiency of the present system of watching and warding the storekeeper's department there in preventing thefts of stores which have of late been both numerous and extensive, wherein the expediency of discontinuing it and substituting a police force for the present three gate keepers and one foreman and six men who watch each night, is strongly recommended; the annual expense of which according to the estimate of Mr Mallalieu, Superintendent of the Greenwich Division, would be as follows:
6 police constables rst class £371. 8s. od.
r sergeant £. 73. 12s. od.
Total: {445. OS. od.
and the Master-General in reply to the Board's minute of 1 May 1844 recommendmg the employment of police as above and submitting the second paragraph of the Commandant's letter relative to the re-employment of the three gate keepers to his attention, having made the following mmute:
3 May 1844
I approve of the arrangement recommended, and I shall be disposed
to pay such attention to the suggestion contained in the second paragraph
of Lord Bloomfield s65 letter as circumstances may admit of.
approved that instructions should be given for the employment of the
police party, subject to such preliminary arrangements as, upon com
munication with Mr Mallalieu and the Civil Officers, may be deemed
advisable.
'The Civil Officers and Lord Bloomfield to be informed. The individuals
at present employed in watch and ward are to be told that their services
will be discontinued when the police take over.'
On 21 June 1844 it was decided to add an Inspector of Police at
£r r8. 6s. od. a year to the sergeant and six constables originally proposed.
The two lodges at the main gate of the Royal Arsenal and the lodge at
the Plumstead gate were to be handed over to the police when they
arrived. Of the three gate-keepers:
John Amos appointed in 1811
John Bloss ,, ,, 1839
Robert Robinson 1842
""
John Amos was recommended to the Treasury for an allowance of£24
p.a. till other employment could be found for him, but John Bloss and Robert Robinson, being in receipt of military pensions, were not considered ehg1ble for any further consideration on their removal from their posts. The order for the employment of the police was to be implemented
at once.
The lodges had to be brightened up as a welcome to the Metropolitan Police, and the C.R.E. submitted an estimate for repairs, whitewashing,
:; Lord Bloomfield was Commandant, Woolwich Garrison. Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,009, p. 7724.
1332
APPENDIX XIII
colouring, papering and painting. On 3 1 July 1844 he was ordered to put this work in hand at once.67 On 16 September 1844 the Board agreed to the normal issue of coals and candles £or the police offices and lodges, but declined to allow the issue of brooms and other cleaning material. Nor would they approve of the daily service of a labourer to sweep the said rooms and offices.68 An application to supply the police quarters with water at a cost of £23. rs. 7½d. was refused on 25 September 1844, on the grounds that as the quarters allotted to the police had been in occupation for many years without any previous application ofthis nature, the Board saw no reason for changing the system. 69
The vexed question of admitting visitors, or strangers as they were invariably called in those days, again came to the fore, and a committee, assembled at Woolwich on 23 September 1844, reconsidered the matter and recommended certain extensions to the then existing arrangements. This threw further work on the police, so on 13 November 1 844 sanction
70 This was
was given to employ three extra constables, making nine in all. quickly arranged, for Colonel Rowan, who had so much to do with the establishment of the Metropolitan Police, replied by letter from the Metropolitan Police Office, dated 19 November 1844, that the Commissioner of Police had directed three more constables to report at Woolwich immediately.71
In 1844, therefore, the original strength of the police force at Woolwich Arsenal was one Inspector, one sergeant and nine constables, costing the Ordnance Omice [557. 75. od. Generally speaking, the police bill has risen steadily over the years with sudden increases during periods of emergency. It is not proposed to tabulate at length policing costs for the last hundred odd years, but a few average figures extracted from annual estimates will substantiate this statement. Eternal vigilance may be the price of liberty; it also appears to be the price of safety.
Years Costs per annum
1846-1854 £ 94o During the Crimean War £5,000 1859-1862 £5,700
Royal Arsenal and Dockyard
1871-1872 £ 7,200 1872--1883 £ 8,700 1883-1885 4 9,500 1886-1887 £1o,70o
Royal Arsenal
1893-1898 £ 5,800
During Sou th African War £ 8,000
1903-1909 £ 8,700
1910-I9II £ 9,200
1913-1914 £10,200
67 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,012, P. 9,343. «s Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,017, p. 1 1,338. » Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/761. 70 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,022, p. 13,463, 3 November 1844. 71 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,024, p. 14,290, 22 November 1844.
1333
All Ordnance Factories
During World War I {40,000
1920-192 I £36,000 I922 31,000 1923 {19,000 924 {13,000
1925-1926 £ 8,700
.D. Constabulary
1927 £ 8,090 1928 £12,300 1929-1935 £15,500 1936
18,275 1937 {27,000 1938 {40,000
Approval was given on 26 November 1845 for a further three constables at the Royal Arsenal.72 • On 31 December 1845, the Civil Officers suggested that the building occupied by the Inspector of Police, that is the lodge on the left side of the mamn gate facmg Beresford Square, should be appropriated for four smgle co?s.tables to accomrnod~te the three extra policemen who had re~e~tly Jomed. They also considered that the house occupied by Mr Wilham Green, the 2nd clerk in the storekeeper's department, should be
handed over to the Inspector of Police. The Board were agreeable to the first, but not to the second proposition. They considered Mr Green's residence m the Royal Arsenal to be essential.7 The Board h
• owever, eventual1ly gave way and approved of the Civil Officers' proposal. Sanction was given on 13July 1846 for the scheme to be carried out in its entirety.74 It was decreed on 3 June 1846 that, in future, the police were to render their reports to t~e storek~eper, Royal Arsenal, as well as to the Commandant, Woolwich Garrison, in order to save time. At the same time the police were to be notified of the important position held by the Civil Officers and clerks m the Royal Arsenal. The regulations were to be amended accordingly.7 On 18 July 1846 the plans and estimates for altering certain official quarters in the Royal Arsenal for the Inspector of Police and for cadet officers were approved.76 Apparently this did not satisfy the Inspector of Police because sixteen months later £r g. gs. 1 Jd. was spent on pamtmg and repairing the house allotted to him.77 Four years after the lodge at the main gate had been handed over to the police, renovations became necessary. On g February 1848 it was ordered to be rer;aired internally and painted at a cost of £10. 1s. 7½d.78 n the same year, artificers and labourers of the various departments were sworn m as special constables on a voluntary basis to preserve peace
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2,060, p. 17,476. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO[jj/2,063, p. 19,337. ' Engineer Paper, PRO/WO/5sf6i.' " "
Ordnance Minutes, PR/w/47/2,079, p. 8,832. 77 Ordnance Minutes, PRO/wO[47/2,083, p. 11,118. 78 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,1 31, p. 18,218, 15 November 1847.
Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO[47/2,1 39, P. 2,165.
1334
APPENDIX XIII
70
and protect Government property. They were issued with a special truncheon, nicely painted, one of which has survived to the present day. Such a measure had happened before, and on this occasion the step must have been taken in view of the Chartist demonstrations. On Io April 1848, these trouble makers proposed to hold a meeting of 2oo,ooo men on Kennington Common, London, to march thence in procession to Westminster, and present a petition to Parliament; but only 20,000 came. The Bank of England and other Establishments were fortified by troops, preventative measures adopted, and not less than 150,000 persons of all ranks, including Louis Napoleon, afterwards Napoleon III, and the writer's grandfather, were voluntarily sworn in as special constables. The Chartists dispersed after slight encounters with the police, and the monster petition, in detached rolls, was sent in cabs to the House of Commons. Henceforward the Chartists faded into obscurity.
The Board was asked to sanction the employment of four extra constables in the Royal Arsenal in 1849, but on 20 July of that year, they turned the proposition down as they did not consider that the police force there needed strengthening.80 Two years later they changed their mind and on 6 May 1851, the Treasury sanctioned the expenditure of £224. 13s. od. for increasing the police at the Royal Arsenal cluring the ensuing spring and summer. The force was therefore to be augmented for six months.81 On 29July 1853 another two constables at 3s.a day were added to the police contingent at the Royal Arsenal.82 The establishment of the Metropolitan Police at the Royal Arsenal on 3 July 1854 was:
1 Inspector at £ 118. 6s. od. p.a.
2 Sergeants at £ 1. 8s. ad. p.w. each
1 3 Constables at £ 1. 4s. 6d. p.w. each the new rates of pay to be retrospective to 1 July 1854.83 On 3 November 1854, the Inspector's pay was raised to £2. 6s. 6d. p.w. See the Board's Order P/84 dated 3 July 1854.%
A shelter for the police was sanctioned at the lock gates on 11 October 1854.%
It was agreed on 30 January 1855 that the sum of £1,870 should be inserted in the Estimate for 1855/56 as the approximate sum needed for the increased expenditure necessary to make the Arsenal police efficient
86
for the Arsenal's protection against fire.
On 23 May 1855 certain arrangements were proposed by Superintendent Mallalieu of the Greenwich Division for increasing the police strength in the Royal Arsenal.
2 Inspectors }Existing numbers 5 Sergeants Total 32
{
25 Constables
·» Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO[47/2,1 51, p. 8,707, 5 June 1848. o Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/2, 191, p. 10,275. 1 Ordnance Minutes, PRO[WO/47/2,256, p. 4,558. 82 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,747. 83 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,750, p. 13. 84 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,751, p. 1,112. 85 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,751, p. goo. s6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,752, p. 381.
1335
Further numbers { 2 Inspectors } proposed 4 Sergeants Total 41 35 Constables The total force would therefore be: 4 Inspectors ) • 9 Sergeants }Total 73
6o Constables J The cost of the supplementary police, amounting to £2,886. as. 6d. was to be borne on the Ordnance vote. If approved, the total cost of the police in the Royal Arsenal would be in the neighbourhood of £4,921 per annum. The Treasury sanctioned this proposed increase on 2 August 1855.S> At the same time the main guardhouse was to be given up temporarily to the police, and Lord Panmure, Secretary of State for War, sanctioned the charge to public fands of the expenses incurred by Officers of the Royal Artillery by the temporary removal of the small detachment maintained in that building :for officers on guard.89 The sum of £3,ooo was allotted in the Army Estimates for 1856 for alterations to cadet barracks, schools, readmg rooms and police mess rooms.
By r86o the establishment of the Metropolitan Police force in the Royal Arsenal had become:
I Inspector at {153 p.a.
3 Inspectors at {121. 4s. 6d. p.a. each ro Sergeants at £73 p.a. each 69 Constables at £63. 1 7s. 6d. p.a. cach
This was altered in 1871 to the following: r Inspector at {150 p2.a. 3 Inspectors at £r r8. 6s. od ph
· .a. eac 10 Sergeants at £63. 1 4s. 0d. p.a. cach 68 Constables at £54. 1 2s. 0d. p.a. each I Detective at £78p.a.
Clothing and contingencies were assessed at 535. 1s. od. Thereafter the police force gradually grew in size and in r 895 £ 8
·d·. ,, I, 00
was sanctione tor building an additional police barracks. In due course they became part of the Dockyard Division of the Metropolitan Police. On 1January 1927, the Metropolitan Police were replaced by the newly formed War Department Constabulary under a Superintendent who was, and is, stationed in the Royal ArsenaL They function under a Chief Constable quartered in London. Originally the W.D.C. was composed of time-expired long service W.O.'s andI.C.O.'s, but the Second World War made a departure from that system necessary. The Superintendent, however, has always been drawn from the ranks of the Metropolitan
Police. In short the diary of events dealing with the policing of the Royal
Arsenal is as follows: Up to 1844, troops were in charge. "7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO]47/2,753, P. 1,780.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, P. 348. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[j7/2,753, P. 1,780, 23 May 1855.
1336
APPENDIX XIII
From 1844 to r86r, police and troops had joint custody. In 1861, all troops, with the exception of a small guard in the magazine
area, were withdrawn. In 1880, the Metropolitan Police took complete control. On 1 January 1927, the War Department Constabulary took over from
the Metropolitan Police.
Security
The suitability of Woolwich as a site for a national arsenal has long been the subject of debate, both from the point of view of security and of its distance from the coal fields and the manufacturing centres in the Midlands. An ideal factory should be situated in an industrial area far from a frontier so as to keep its production costs at a minimum and lessen its susceptibility to attack, though in the case of a country with a coast line the advantages of sea transport cannot be overlooked. Thus, in the instance of Woolwich, its convenience in supplying the Navy and the Empire overseas combined with its facilities for carrying military stores by water to other parts of the kingdom is a strong deterrent against change. Originally, the Royal Arsenal was only vulnerable if this island were invaded, then it became open to air attack, and now, owing to the range and power of nuclear missiles, no part of the United Kingdom is immune from aerial bombardment. This change in the military threat has, therefore, to a large extent rendered the move of the Royal Arsenal on security grounds of less importance than of yore. In the past, political difficulties incident to any change, a disbelief in the likelihood of invasion, the inertia against moving and a desire for economy have all been contributing factors in maintaining the status quo and rendering the many discussions which have taken place unfruitful.
In view of modern weapons, this has perhaps been of no disadvantage, for the enormous costs entailed in moving the Royal Arsenal to some other spot would not by to-day have added one iota to its safety in war.
The question of the defence of the Royal Arsenal was first raised by the Commander-in-chief in 1803 when the following letter was despatched to the Earl of Chatham, Master-General of the Ordnance, by H.R.H. Frederick, Duke of York.90
Defence ofShooters Hill to protect the Warren
Horseguards 9 August 1803 My Lord,
Your Lordship is already acquainted with the importance which is attached to the situation of Shooters Hill whether as forming the left of the position extending by Chislehurst towards Bromley or as forming a necessary advanced post to cover the left of the London position which from the nature of the ground to be occupied is more particularly an object ofjealousy.
Independent of these great objects, Shooters Hill appears to be a point well calculated to afford the principle strength of a position which may be taken for the security of the arsenals of Woolwich, Deptford, etc.
·o PRO/WOJ30/76, p. 88.
1337
The weight of these considerations directed to objects of so much importance to the country had induced me after mature deliberation strongly to recommend to your Lordship the erection of a permanent work on this site.
Without precluding the benefit derived from more scientific observations I shall generally remark to your Lordship that the extent and formation of this ground, as also the evident necessity of its being occupied by a considerable body of troops shews that an entrenched camp with strong batteries or redoubts upon the salient angles seem to be the work ofa nature best adapted to the local situation and objects which have been enumerated.
It may, however, upon investigation appear more advisable to occupy the summit of the hill by a strong and regular work commanding as far as possible the different earthen works and abatis in those advanced situations which it is absolutely necessary to occupy when the ground is taken up as a position.
The accompanying sketch will serve to elucidate these ideas.
The importance of a speedy determination will, I trust, induce your Lordship to give this subject the very earliest attention with a view to determine in the first instance, what the nature shall be of the permanent work to be erected, which ascertained I shall propose. First. If the permanent works are to be of the nature of Lines for an entrenched camp that the works should be immediately traced under the authority of the Ordnance with a view to their being proceeded upon, so as to render them, as soon as possible, useful as field works.
The Perfection of the Profile. The revetment and planting of pallisadoes to be forwarded with all dispatch-when the object most wanted is obtained.
Second. Should it be thought preferable to crown the summit of the hill by a strong fort, I shall immediately direct (while that is proceeding upon under the Board of Ordnance) the construction of such field works as may be deemed necessary to enable the extent of the ground to be occupied
by the fort placed in this position.
I am, My Lord Yours Frederick etc.
No action appears to have been taken as a result of this letter and Shooters Hill remained inviolate. The next time the same question was raised was in 186o when the
Royal Commission on National Defences took a hand. The Commissioners were Major-General D. A. Cameron, Rear-Admiral George Elliot, MajorGeneral E. Abbott, Captain A. Cooper Key, R.N., Colonel J. H. Lefroy,
R.A. and MrJames Ferguson with Major William F. DrummondJervois
R.E.
as Secretary, under the chairmanship of Major-General Sir Harry
D.
Jones. Their report was published in a Blue Book of 186o. Part of it reads as follows:
Woolwich has been for a very long period the headquarters of the
Royal Artillery and for more than half a century the only place of
manufacture for field artillery equipment, naval and other gun carriages,
1338
APPENDIX XIII
pyrotechnical compositions, and, in short, of nearly every description of material of war for the land and sea services. It has also been the chief depot of all these articles when manufactured, and the place -whence they are principally shipped to all parts of the world. The Arsenal has been doubled in extent since the commencement of the Crimean War and nearly a million sterling has been devoted to the erection ofnevv works and the introduction of new machinery within that period.
Woolwich has always been an open town. Documents exist showing that the expediency of providing some protection for the numerous military and naval establishments collected here has been mooted from time to time, e.g. the proposal of H.R.H. the Duke of York half a century ago; but no actual attempt has been made to fortify the place. The necessity of including Shooters Hill and the ridge adjoining it obliges a development of works which would have been unexampled in this country at any former time.
The Royal Arsenal now covers an area of 264 acres. There is a tract of marsh-land for the most part below high water mark, and capable of being easily flooded, on the opposite side of the river, herc 500 yards broad. The width of this district is sufficient to make approaches on that side very difficult, if not impossible, if it were inundated, but it does not extend as far as the present limits of range of artillery. Both the Arsenal and the Dockyard are commanded to the south by the heights of Shooters Hill, which is the most prominent feature in this portion of the country, or respectively those of Charlton, or Plumstead and Bostall Heath, at distances varying from 1,00o to 4,000 yards.
Any chain of works on the south side of the river must, the Commissioners conceive, have its right resting on the Thames, at the Greenwich marshes, cross the Dover Road between Charlton and Kidbrook, and passing round Shooters Hill, extend along the ridge of its extremity near Shrewsbury House; from this point it may either be continued along the high ground to East Wickham and Northumberland Heath to Erith, or it may be carried down to the river by Plumstead Heath. The former, which will be considered firstly, would be about 8½ miles long, and would afford complete protection to the Arsenal on the south side of the Thames. To secure the establishments from bombardment on the north side of the river, the Commissioners can suggest no shorter line than one between 8 and 9 miles in length through West Ham and the old Roman encampment at Dagenham Marsh; this would require the construction of 8 or 9 works connected by Lines; it would rest its left upon a region of docks and commercial establishments, involving a very serious sacrifice of property. The probable cost of this project, including the purchase of land, which would be very expensive, cannot be computed at less than £3,500,000 to £4,000,000.
An alternative plan that suggests itself is to limit the defence to the extent requisite to protect the Arsenal and Dockyard against capture. On the south side, this project includes the works of the first scheme from Greenwich marshes to Shrewsbury House; from this point it follows the line of Plumstead Heath, whence it would be connected with the river by a line of ditch and rampart, at a distance of less than a mile from the
87 1339
Arsenal, leaving an enemy free to establish himself on Bostall Heath within bombarding range. To the north of the river, one large work would be necessary near East Ham, with lines connecting it to the river. The approximate estimate of this project, including the cost of land, would not be less than [,2,000,00o.
The Commissioners are not prepared to say that the advantages that would be obtained by such an outlay in fortifying Woolwich w~uld be sufficient to warrant them in recommending either of the above schemes. The operations of a hostile army against the place presupposes the successful disembarkation of this army on our shores and the defeat of our forces in the field with a consequent advance on London. In these circumstances even if Woolwich were converted into an entrenched camp, it is doubtful if it could long hold out after the occupation of the Capital. Besides the fortress of Chatham, which is only go miles from Woolwich would'to a certain extent supersede the latter. If it were considered advisable to provide an extensive fortified position in the neighbourhood of London it is possible that other positions might be chosen ·with greater advantage. '
The Commissioners are nevertheless, of the opinion that it is very inadvisable that the Arsenal should be left so undefended as at present, so as to admit of an enemy taking possession of it immediately he had succeeded in reaching the outskirts of the Capital. They th .r
id th; l ' eretore,
cons1 er t at a arge work of fortification upon Shooters Hill, which commands the whole of the country in the neighbourhood of w I • h would of itself have great influence in the defence of the G 00 wic t'
E bl" h vhils : rovernmen
stai lishmen ts, whilst it would only be about one third of the cost of the lesser project before referred to; and would require a comparatively small body of men to hold it. It would provide a place of security in the neighbourhood of London, and would aid m the protection of the M tr Ii
• h e opos,
supposmg t e enemy to be advancing from the south-east· th b • 11
bb·1· • . , ereyin a
pro a i rty preventmg his taking that line of attack and enabli
d•tt • . , ngusto
1rect our attention more particularly to other points. It would form a nucleus to field-works, which might, if circumstances rendered it desirable, be thrown up in this quarter, and in the case of a battle being lost to the southward of London, in which event the enemy would most probably attempt to turn the nght flank of our army in order to force it to retire across the _Thames to the eastward of London, where there are no ermanent bridges, the fortifications of Shooters Hill would cover its pa
over the military bridge, which would necessarily be formed for the purpose about this point. Without the means of covering such a retreat our army would be shut up in the district to the south-east of London, and Its communications with the interior of the country might well be cut off.
On these grounds, the Commissioners recommend that Shooters Hill be permanently fortified. They consider that the cost would be [7oo,ooo "luding the purchase of land and the work would afford bomb-proof
arrack accommodation for about I 500 men With a view to the defence of Woolwich it appears the more necessary t at measures shoul~ b_e adopted to mitigate as much as possible the evil results that under existing arrangements would arise from the loss of this important arsenal. It has already been determined by Government to
1340
APPENDIX XIII
establish a second arsenal or great depot somewhere in the interior of
the country; and the Commissioners have accordingly been instructed to
select a site. With that object in view they visited Weedon, and although
convinced that it was not suitable, saw no reason why some really suitable
place should not be found elsewhere. They propose therefore to search
again with as little delay as possible.
With Chatham fortified as the Commissioners propose and in immediate
communication with Woolwich by water and railway, a depot might
be established within its defences, which, in addition to those now being
formed at Portsmouth and elsewhere, would relieve Woolwich of the
greater part of its stores; and Chatham would be nearly as convenient
as Woolwich for shipping to out-stations or to the foreign dependencies
of the Kingdom. In addition to these arrangements, the Commissioners
submit that the operations of the Arsenal at Woolwich should hereafter
be limited as much as possible to the production of warlike stores, their
issue for service being conducted elsewhere; that a complete provision of
every description of warlike store required for an active defence of the
country for at least three months be established in the proposed interior
arsenal, with duplicate patterns and all other requisites for the production
of the same articles by the mechanical resources of the country, in the
event of the loss or destruction of Woolwich.
After further deliberation the Commissioners recommended Cannock Chase as the central grand depot after giving their reasons fully. At the same time, they considered that another manufacturing establishment should be located on the western sea-board and that such a factory on the Mersey would have great advantages. It would help with output. Woolwich, they considered, was in a vulnerable position.
There was thus a definite intention to remove the whole of the Royal Arsenal, the storekeeping section, i.e. the Military Store Department, to the Midlands and the factories to Mersey side. The opportunity, however, was allowed to pass and the subsequent developments at Woolwich rendered any removal in the future a very costly undertaking.
The action taken on the Commissioners' report so far as Woolwich was concerned was, therefore, exactly nothing.
Forty years elapsed before this subject was again raised, and it was not till April 1go1 that a paper, entitled 'Defence of the Royal Arsenal, Measures to meet possible attempts on Woolwich Arsenal by land or sea,' was put forward.91 The file containing this document unfortunately appears to have been lost, or destroyed, since it is not to be found in the Public Record Office.
The question came to the fore again in I 907 when the Treasury raised it on economic grounds. One of the terms of reference of a committee presided over by Sir G. H. Murray92 was:
'To enquire into the effect which the concentration of government manufacture and workshops in the Metropolitan area has on rates of wages and cost of living, economy of production in time of peace, and
1 70/Gen. No./348. •• Cd 3,626 70/Gen No/2,243.
power of expansion in time of war, and to enquire what change, if any, is desirable in the present distribution throughout the country of such manufacture and workshops.'
The first finding of the Committee was that the localities wherein the Ordnance Factories were situated appeared to be generally suitable.
There was some ground for believing that the Government might well follow the example of private enterprise and seek some more favourable area of production nearer the sources of the supply of coal and iron, where the burden of local rates was less and the prevailing standard of wages lower. It was evident, however, that a very considerable saving would have to be assured to counteract the enormous expenditure which would be entailed in acquiring a new site and providing new machinery, buildings and housing. The Committee decided that to transplant the Royal Arsenal as a whole seemed impracticable, and to move part of it would be useless in view of the interdependence of the several factories. They also felt that any such transfer might defeat its own object, since the sudden concentration of a large industrial population on the outskirts of an industrial town would go far to create a similar state of affairs from which it was hoped to escape, while the selection of a site in a remote area, which would favour security, would present housing difficulties and offer no reserve of labour to draw on in case of an emergency. The proximity of Woolwich to Shoeburyness was also a strong argument in favour of retaining the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich since it was essential to have them near the-proving ground, and Shoeburyness had unique advantages in this respect.
Hence the recommendation of the Committee was that no move be made.
Five years later, the vulnerability of the Royal Arsenal and other Ordnance Factories again came under discussion.93 The general feeling was that, in case of attack, Woolwich was in a slightly different position from Waltham and Enfield Lock, because as well as containing factories, it had large storage depots within the Royal Arsenal for the use of the Land and Naval Services.
It was realized that to minimize the danger, either Woolwich must be made impregnable, which was not practicable, or its contents must be decentralized. The problem was put to the Home Ports Defence Committee and that body on 5 July 1912 reported on The decentralization ofstores and manufacturing plant at Woolwich and in its vicinity.
Its conclusion was:
(1)
That the damage which could be inflicted by any probable form of attack on the stores of war material and the plant for manufacturing such stores at, and in the vicinity of Woolwich, would not be serious enough to warrant decentralization.
The Committee recommended however:
(a)
That steps should be taken to diminish the stock of explosives at Purfleet, the extent of which is not consistent with safety.
(b)
That when the Royal Flying Corps has been sufficiently developed
"+ PRO/WO/32/1,303, 79/Eastern/169.
1342
APPENDIX XIII
and trained to enable it to co-operate in the defence of important naval and military centres, the Admiralty and War Office should decide what aerial force would be required for the protection of Woolwich and its vicinity.
The Committee were also of the opinion that although the local railway facilities might be adequate under peace conditions to deal with the despatch of the stores and supplies accumulated at Woolwich, to meet the needs of any future Expeditionary Force, they did not allow a sufficient margin for the dislocation of traffic which might occur in time of war or emergency. The Committee, therefore, did recommend a modified form of decentralization. The stores concerned consisted of the M.G.O's War Reserve, Schedules (B) and (D) of the Q.M.G's War Reserve Schedule, mobilization equipment and 3,4oo tons of compressed hay.
The question of the best site for the Royal Arsenal also came before the Mackinnon Wood Committee whose report has been summarized in Chapter 2g. They cited various arguments against its present location as a government factory:
(a)
The distance from the coal-fields increases the cost of production
(2)
The distance from the steel centres increases railway transport for forgings and materials
(3)
The site is peculiarly prone to aerial attack
(4)
The river frontage is valuable for commercial purposes
(5)
Labour conditions at Woolwich have a hampering effect on management and send up costs of production
(6)
Its bad layout makes economical production more or less impossible but did not consider them to be insuperable, as with developments and modern methods, most of them would tend to disappear.
The Committee, therefore, decided that the Royal Arsenal should remain at Woolwich because:
( 1) There existed already manufacturing capacity and experimental facilities for practically all classes of war material.
(2)
No other individual national factory possessed those facilities.
(3)
Its proximity to government departments in London, and to Shoeburyness which was unique as an experimental establishment.
(4)
The trained personnel resident in the neighbourhood.
A supplementary report, drawn up by Lord Marchamley, recommended further consideration of the transfer of the Royal Arsenal from Woolwich, or, alternatively, a conference with trades union representatives to consider whether new work could be found to maintain employment at the Royal Arsenal in time of peace. This was not accepted and Woolwich was saved once again.
Next, an inter-departmental committee was appointed in 1922 under the chairmanship of Sir James Stevenson, Bart., to consider the future of War Department property at Woolwich. The Committee investigated the cost of transferring the Royal Arsenal activities to other sites or of making provision in new factories to absorb Woolwich functions, but on the facts brought to light the Committee was dissolved without formulating
1343
any recommendations, the Cabinet having decided that no prec1p1tate action involving such expense and dislocation of industry should be taken at that time.
Woolwich employees breathed again.
In 1934 the Hacking Committee was convened under the chairmanship of the Right Honourable Douglas Hacking, O.B.E. M.P. It was appointed in July 1934 and reported on 22 December 1934.95
Its terms of reference were as follows:
In view of the vulnerability of Woolwich to air attack
( r) To enquire into and report upon the removal of the activities now carried on in the Royal Ordnance Factories at Woolwich, Enfield, Waltham etc. to a more suitable site or sites and the consequential financial effects.
(2)
To advise on the suitability of localities and the grouping of functions thereat.
(3)
I assessing the suitability of any new locality for an establishment which on grounds of vulnerability it is considered should be removed from Woolwich etc., to have regard to the necessity of maintaining or increasmg or reducing its present reserve of productive power and capacity for expansion.
(4)
To indicate the period during which a removal should be effected.
(s)
To consider the effect on other departments at Woolwich, Shoeburyness etc.
The following is a resume of the Committee's report.
The Royal Arsenal occupies an area of 1,308 acres with a river frontage of 3miles.
Numbers employed
Department Peace War
Nos. Annual cost (a)
R.G. and C.F. R.A.F. R.F.F. Ancillary Services Total for R.O.F. C.I.A. A.O.D. Naval Establishments Research Department 2,000 2,600 700 2,200 7,500 1,600 1,000 1,000 6oo 751,000 £601,000 {413,000 £[349,000] (d) {2,114,000 {375,000 8,000 (b) 17,000 (b) 19,000 (b) 10,000 (b) 54,000 (b) 25,000 (c) 7,000 (c) 2,000 (c) 1,000 (c)
(a)
Including cost of materials
(b)
Estimated requirements for war
(c)
Numbers at the Armistice 1918
(d)
The cost of ancillary services in the main is taken up in the costs shown against the three productive factories; the figure in square brackets represents certain remaining charges arising in the Woolwich factories
generally
" 7o/Gen. No/5,274. " A/3,918, 70/Gen./8, 189.
1344
APPENDIX XIII
There are also smaller Establishments at Woolwich; Ordnance Com
mittee (£55,000); W.D. Chemist (£27,000) etc. The Experimental
Establishment at Shoeburyness (£121,000) is closely linked to the
departments in the Royal Arsenal.
The Mackinnon Wood Committee in their 2nd report dated 2g Novem
ber 1918 recommended that the location of the government arsenal in
peace should be continued at Woolwich, though there were a large
number of national factories in being.
As regards the danger of air attack they said;
'The Arsenal situated in the south and east of the country is generally
assumed to be more open to aerial attack than in the north and west; but,
looking ahead, in a few years as the radius of bombing machines grow, all
parts of the country will be almost equally open to foreign aerial attack.
Moreover, Woolwich must be looked upon mainly as a peace producing
arsenal and at the outside only capable of producing a very small per
centage of the total requirements for a serious war.'
They went on to say:
'Had, however, the retention of a large arsenal been contemplated in
all probability we should have recommended a considerable section being
located elsewhere than at Woolwich, but in the case of an Establishment
ofsuch size as we consider will be required, we have come to the conclusion
that Woolwich is the natural and most convenient place for such an
arsenal.'
They then gave their reasons, already stated, for retaining Woolwich.
The question of transferring the Royal Arsenal elsewhere was again considered in 1922 by the Stevenson Committee having regard to new factors since 1918, such as liability to attack from the air, alterations in manufacturing conditions in industry, and the existence of a number of national factories still left unsold at that date.
The Stevenson Committee made no formal report. Two memoranda were prepared for the committee by the General Staff and the Air Staff respectively on the air danger. These memoranda were referred to the Committee of Imperial Defence, whose conclusions were as follows:
(I)
That the uninterrupted supply of munitions upon the outbreak of war is the first essential. In view of the considered opinion of the Air Staff that the Royal Arsenal, if retained at Woolwich, will cease to fulfil any useful function on the outbreak of war with a continental power, dependence on Woolwich for essential supplies is dangerous from a military point of view.
(II)
That the danger of war with a continental power within striking distance of Woolwich Arsenal is not sufficiently imminent to justify precipitate action involving immediate expense and dislocation of industry.
(III) That in view of the increasing range of aircraft it is desirable as a general principle to avoid dependence on any single and concentrated arsenal.
In view of these conclusions, the Secretary of State for War decided that the Stevenson Committee should be dissolved.
1345
As the terms of reference to the Hacking Committee indicated that the
Royal Arsenal at Woolwich must be considered vulnerable, they sought
advice from the General Staff and Air Staff as to what areas in Britain
could be assumed to be reasonable safe from air attack. As a result of such
advice, the Committee accepted the position that the only areas which
could be considered suitable and comparatively safe were those in south
west Scotland (including Renfrewshire), the west of Cumberland, West
moreland and Wales, excluding its more southerly parts. In view of the
probable increasing range of aircraft, no guarantee of safety from damage
could be given for any area should it be singled out for a determined
attack. In this connection, the Committee recognized that in the main
the industrial activities of the country lay in an area not regarded as
reasonably safe in the sense above, and it would be on those activities
that the country would largely depend for its munition supply in time of
war.
Dispersal into smaller units of the activities congregated in the Royal Arsenal would obviously diminish the risk of damage from aerial attack but other important factors must be considered. The cost of moving, th increased difficulties and higher cost of administration in peace time of a number of isolated factories, the difficulties of labour supply and its necessary transport in non-industrial sites, and a certain loss of efficiency in the development of new types of munitions or new methods of manufacture which might follow if the present centralized organization at Woolwi•ch were to be broken up. o
It was obvious that the removal of the Royal Arsenal as a whole to a single new site could not be seriously entertained. It would still present an attractive target to raiding bombers, and the finding of a large enough site within the limited 'safe areas would be msuperable, especially when a large number of employees would have to be found rapidly in an emergency. The Committee, therefore, considered a scheme of dispersal.
They were of the opinion that the Ordnance Factories at Woolwich could be broken down into six units as under:
Numbers in
Unit Numbers in Peace
an emergency
R..G.F.
66o 3,330
R.C.D. 2,065 7,330
S.A.A. and Q.F. }
Cartridge Factory 930 (a) 8,655 (a) Fuze Factory
1,400 6,265 Projectile and 1,130
} 5,065 R.F.F.
Bomb Factory
1,200 23,500
(a) includes the filling of small arm ammunition
In considering the possibilities of dispersing these activities, the committee bore in mind four main considerations.
( 1) The damage which might be expected to arise from the nature and location of each factory as the result of an attack, and the effects of raids
1346
APPENDIX XIII
and warning of raids on the output of the factory consequent on the interruptions of work.
(2)
the extent to which reliance was placed by the Services on the output of each factory in the first 12 months of war.
(3)
the extent to which any one factory's activities were interlocked with those of other factories and departments in the Arsenal area.
(4)
the cost of removal to a safer site. They did not attempt to estimate how the cost of peace administration would be affected by removal. A new factory designed on modern lines would enable savings to be made, and further savings might, or might not, arise in wages and materials depending on local circumstances. On the other hand, increased cost would arise from the unavoidable duplication of staff and plant, but any such variations would be negligible
compared to the cost of removal. The recommendations of the Committee were as follows:
Factory Locality recommended Cost ofremoval
R.F.F. Oswestry {2,100,000
R.G.F. Glasgow District £2,600,000
R.A.F. (a) (a)
R.C.D. (a) (a)
(a) As the Committee were pressed for time, they did not deal with the Royal Ammunition Factory and the Royal Carriage Department, since they were of low priority. The Committee stressed that the Royal Filling Factories should be removed as early as possible, since such a removal would take three years to complete. The Committee also indicated as under the degree of disturbance of the following departments in the Royal Arsenal which would arise as the result of moving the Ordnance Factories from Woolwich.
Ordnance Committee No disturbance
Research Department Some rearrangement of the department would be necessary
W.D. Chemist No material change
Inspection Department Would have to follow manufacture
The recommendations of the Hacking Committee were approved in principle, and an inter-departmental committee under the chairmanship of Sir Arthur Robinson was set up to consider certain questions arising out of their recommendations.96 It was appointed in September I 935 and reported in February 1936. The Robinson Committee recommended that:
(i)
A part of the Filling Factory should be established elsewhere than at Chorley, and should be located at Bridgend in South Wales.
(ii)
On removal from Waltham, the Royal Gunpowder Factory should be established at Bishopton, near Glasgow.
The question of the transfer of labour and housing of employees consequent upon the acceptance of these proposals was examined by the
6 70/Gen./8,341.
1347
II
Committee, but no specific action was considered necessary until the date of transfer were definitely known.
Ministerial approval was given to these recommendations, and they were implemented in due course.
Though the Royal Arsenal itself remained almost unaffected as a result of these changes-the filling factories at Woolwich had to reopen during the Second World War-they were the forerunner of a process of sharing the load. Later on many other Ordnance Factories for the manufacture of various types of warlike stores opened up in different parts of the country. No longer was the Royal Arsenal the prime manufactory. She might now well be compared to a mother Ordnance Factory in a Commonwealth of Ordnance Factories. Her importance in war has therefore diminished and, as the worst fears of the Mackinnon Wood Committee in regard to air attack have now been realized, the question of security after 150 years had tended to become academic rather than practical, particularly in view of the special present day activities of the Royal Ordnance Factory, Woolwich.
APPENDIX XIV
WATER, FIRE SERVICES, GAS AND POWER
When the Crown purchased Tower Place in 1671 the mansion, equipped with a piped supply from a conduit house fed by a spring, was the only source of water available in that estate of g1 acres. On acquiring this property, including the conduit house which stood in the conduit field in Collick Lane 1 one of the first concerns of the Office of Ordnance was to obtain a more ample provision of this essential commodity by leading more streams and water-courses from Shooters Hill into this conduit house when~e it was distributed to the Laboratory and other parts of the Warren by means of new and larger leaden pipes installed by the Board at great expense. This conduit house, being of venerable antiquity, was not structurally sound. It was constantly requiring attention, notably in 1715,%and had eventually to be rebuilt by Roger Morris and Joseph Pratt on a warrant dated 19 August 1731.3 .
Supplies of water in the Warren were always precarious dependent as they were upon rainfall, and the amount normally available was never sufficient to satisfy the evergrowing demands made by expanding production and the risk of fire. Searches for new sources of supply were of frequent occurrence one for example being in 176o when John Shakes
> m 1d··4
pear was paid for 'searching and leading streams to the o ~e con mt : Certain wells, afterwards dug in the Establishment, contributed their 'widow's mite' but the lack of water became more and more felt as the eighteenth century advanced. The new buildings for manufacturing purposes and the increasing output greedily swallowed the available supplies, and complaints were voiced about the scarcity of the precious fluid. The foundry used more, the Royal Laboratory wanted larger amounts and the general amenities of the Warren required greater quantities, particularly when the 'water proof' of guns was instituted. A cry bewailing the absence of sufficient water to carry out the latter was raised on 26 July 1778,° but over a year was to elapse before Mr Phillips was ordered to survey and discover fresh sources of water for supplying
the four pumps set up for general purposes.° .
This unsatisfactory state of affairs lingered on till 1804 when a bold stroke to widen the sources of supply, which had 1;>ecome even more pressing when the new artillery barracks on Woolwich Common were completed, was planned. This was the acquisition of Mulgrave Place Pond. This area of water, together with some land required to complete the Royal Military Repository, were obtained by an Act of Parliament passed on 14 July 1804,' the preamble of which reads:
1 Also called 'Cholick Lane'. It was known by this name till 183o when it became Mill Lane. It is now part of Woolwich New Road.
·rd@dance tiijii,sis ii,ojyols±/93 33»193$$"P,",7,]g
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO[51/97, P. , 30 ePp em er I •
8 Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO/WO[51/131, PP.24, 25 ,
Ordnance Bill Book, Series II, PRO[WO[51/216, p. 69, 30 June 176o.
5 Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/91, p. 588.
8
Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO[47/94, P. 332, 16 November 1779. ' 44. Geo III, C. 79.
1349
'For the purchase of a parcel of land containing 3 acres, 3 roods and 27 perches belonging to John Bowater Esq. in the parish of Woolwich, bounded on the north by Little Heath; and also a parcel of garden ground belonging to John Bowater and in the tenure of Samuel Hardin, bounded on the west by Little Heath; also the triangular piece of ground covered with water, called Mulgrave Place Pond containing when full 2 acres and 25 perches belonging to John Bowater.'
Captain George Hayter, C.R.E. Woolwich Division, turned his attention to the water problem at the beginning of the nineteenth century, and drew up a report advocating the collecting of water flowing from Shooters Hill into a reservoir in order to supply the needs of the new Academy building under erection on Woolwich Common and other places. His proposals were approved on r6 November r805.8
This inadequate system remained till the year 1813 when plans for modernizing supplies of water matured. At that date, the Royal Arsenal was provided with soft water from springs collected in tanks near the windmill in rear of the Ordnance Hospital by means of a leaden pipe 2l inches in diameter. This supplied the officers' quarters, the old cadet barracks, the Royal Brass Foundry and the Royal Laboratory. There were also pumps delivering hard water from wells in various places, and underground cisterns to receive rain water. As the records so pathetically remark: 'The supplies of every description were at all times very scanty.'9
The initiative to end these sorry circumstances came from the Kent Waterworks Company who wrote to the Board of Ordnance on 1July 1813 suggesting that, in future, they should supply the Ordnance Establishments at Woolwich with water. Their letter weighed up the matter very carefully from all points of view and pointed out that their charges for supplying water to the Royal Arsenal and the Ordnance Hospital would be £3 1 ~ a year as against £317 a year already being paid.10 There can be no doubt that the proposal was attractive to the Board and demanded serious consideration. To this end a statement was prepared on the same day indicating the expense which would be involved were the Kent Waterworks Company to undertake this service. It was as follows:
Expensefor the Royal Arsenal Capital
To lay a 1o inch cast-iron pipe from the To be borne reservoir11 near the Marine Barracks12
by the to the Arsenal Gate Company
Annual
To supply the various premises in the
Arsenal for the annual rent of £160. os. od. One labourer to attend cocks and pipes
at 2s. 6d. a day paid by the Respective
Officers' department £ 45. 12s. 6d.
" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,587, p. 4,240. " Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/757. "0 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,632, p. 4,021, 30 July 1813.
PRO/WO/44/290. Mulgrave Place Pond. 11 Now the Cambridge Barracks.
APPENDIX XIV
Mr Hopwood
Oiling and cleaning 6 pumps at ros. p.a. each 3. os. od. Oiling and cleaning g lifting pumps at £2 p.a. each £ 18. os. od.
The total charges would therefore be £160. os. od. to the Kent Waterworks Company for the annual rent and an annual amount of £66. 12s. 6d. paid to Arsenal employees.13 . .
The Board, after consulting the Admiralty about the inclusion of the Royal Dockyard, did not take long to make up their mind. Why should they? They must have received such proposals with marked pleasure since it relieved them of a difficult and pressing problem without any additional charge to public funds. They therefore agreed on 17 September I 8 13 to accept the terms of the Kent Waterworks Company to supply the Ordnance Establishments and Royal Dockyard, and stated that supply should commence on 1 October 1813.14 The latter statement was, of course, rather too optimistic; more time was needed to effect the necessary arrangements. In the Works Estimates for 181gl° the sum of £1,224. 5s. 8d. was approved in connection with Mulgrave Place Pond, doubtless in connection with the proposals of the Kent Waterworks Company.
The first arrangement between the Board and the water company was tentative, the original contract to supply the "."_oolwich Establishments with water being for three years only,16 but conditions afterwards assumed a more permanent form and in April 1815 an agreement was reached whereby the company agreed 'to lay down Io mch cast iron pipes from Mulgrave Place Pond to the Royal Arsenal gate solely for the use of the Ordnance in case of fire and to allow fire-plugs to be fixed upon any of their mains or pipes'. They were also prepared to furnish any further quantity of water which might be required on the same terms and rates as were already specified and were to be subject to a proportionate reduction of rent in case of deficiency of supply, and to a penalty of nonperformance of covenants, or suspension of the supply beyond 2 I days if not occasioned by an unavoidable accident at the works. In return for this the Board agreed to receive water at the Royal Arsenal from the company at an annual rent of£160 a year.17 The final contract was signed on 1 September 1815. This agreement was to last for 99 years and the Board for their part bound themselves and their successors.18 One cannot help admiring the faith of 148 years ago; the ordered state of society then scemed to its participants to be founded on an enduring basis. At the same time, one is aghast at the lack of foresight displayed by the representatives of the Kent Waterworks Company; surely they must have realized that the Royal Arsenal was likely to grow in size, activity and numbers during those ninety-nine years.
" Engineer Papers, PRO[WO/55/757. Extracts of Minutes, Series Ii, PRO[WO/A7/2,632, P. 4,021. + PRO[WO]49/128.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,636, p. 2,094, 20 May 1814. 7 PRO[WO[44/290. » PRO[WO/44/292.
1351
The Board's interest in the water reservoirs at Woolwich ceased in 1814 when they transferred their rights in them to the Kent Waterworks Company, and from that date the average annual return of £110 was received by the company. As a result of their letters of 7 September I 8 13 and Io March 1815, when the Principal Officers of the Ordnance agreed to receive supplies of water from the Company of the Proprietors of the Kent Waterworks for the various departments at Woolwich, the following contract was drawn up at the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars.
Contract dated I September I8I5
A contract for 99 years from 25 December 1815 between the Kent Waterworks Company and the Principal Officers of the Ordnance to supply water at the following rates: Royal Arsenal £16o p.a. Royal Artillery Hospital19 {150 p.a. Royal Military Academy {150 p.a. The Veterinary Establishment (Horse
Infirmary) on Charlton Common £160 p.a.
Ordnance Houses, Woolwich Common. 1st and gnd Class {4. 4s. od. p.a. each grd Class £3. 3s. od. p.a. each
3s. 9d. per day for each
Royal Artillery Barracks
{
reservoir: 1,08o gallons 3s. od. per day for each
Royal Sappers and Miners Barracks
{
reservoir: 864 gallons Subject to the abatement of £6o. 18. od. p.a. for water supplied to Woolwich Dockyard, hitherto paid by the Commissioners of His Majesty's Navy to the Principal Officers of the Ordnance, and subject to the abatement of £50. 7s. od. p.a. for water to houses of sundry persons in the vicinity of the Dockyard now paid to the said Principal Officers, the Company take upon themselves to supply the said Dockyard and houses, including the Ship Tavern at Woolwich, with water from their waterworks and receive for their service all future benefits and advantage to arise from such supplies. The Ship Tavern to be supplied with water gratis. The Company to fix, or cause to be fixed, upon the mains or pipes opposite the several places or Establishments aforesaid, proper fire-plugs in order thereby to afford an immediate and ample supply of water at all times for the extinction of fire; which may happen in all or any of the places or Establishments hereinbefore enumerated, and particularly that for the more effectual supply of the Royal Arsenal aforesaid in case of accidents by fire; the Company shall and will by means of the 1o inch iron main or pipe which has been laid down and communicated from Mulgrave Pond to the Royal Arsenal aforesaid at all times furnish an ample supply of water for the extinction of any fire or fires which may happen in the said Royal Arsenal. Penalty £1,000 if the Company make, cause or suffer any branch pipe or other communication to be made to, from or with the ro inch main or
1 Also called the Ordnance Hospital.
APPENDIX XIV
pipe without the consent in writing. Payments subjcct to a proportionate abatement or deduction in case it shall happen that either a total or partial stoppage of the requisite supply of water shall take place at any time.
The Company to pay or allow out of the yearly rents unto the Principal Officers the sum o:f £10 per day for each and every day that stoppages (whether total or partial) shall continue beyond the space of 2 i s_uccessive days unless such stoppages respectively shall have been occasioned by inevitable accident to the Company's works.
For true performance of the agreement on behalf of the Company, the Company bind them.selves in the penalty or sum of £10,000.20
In the Works Estimates for 181521 and the next four years, the sum of £800 to £884 approximately is taken up for water charges. Thereafter the sum ceases to appear. The account is made up as follows for the year
1815:
Water supplies 1d.
Water is supplied by the Kent
Waterworks Company Royal Arsenal £160. OS. od.
Royal Ordnance Hospital and laundries £150. OS. od.
Royal Artillery Barracks £136. 175. 6d.
{446. 175. 6d.
Deduct the amount received from
the Dockyard and others £no. 7s. od.
£336. IOS. 6d.
Expense of laying down pipes £216. 75. 7d.
Two brick tanks for containing the necessary supplies of water Royal Sappers and Miners Barracks £133. £1u8. 18s. OS. od. od.
Total: £804. 16s. 1d.
For the next twenty-five years the supply of water to the Royal Arsenal and other Ordnance Establishments at Woolwich proceeded smoothly according to plan, and during that period nothing more is heard of negotiations with the Kent Waterworks Company. Unfortunately, however, conditions do not remain static. Establishments grow and their growth demands additional water, both for purposes of consumption and for fighting possible fires: Between 1841 and 1844, therefore, there was a good deal of correspondence between the Board of Ordnance and the Kent Waterworks Company on the supply of a better service of water to the Royal Dockyard, the Royal Arsenal and other Government EstabIishments at Woolwich. This culminated, as we shall see, in the erection of a reservoir on Woolwich Common in the vicinity of the Royal Military Academy. 22
a0 PRO/WO[g2/757:Woolwich/5/8,648. Thames 1816. 14 February 1816 (O£ice of Ordnance: Tower).
a1 PRO/WO/49/134.
22 PRO/W0/44/296.
1353
A report was submitted on 18 March 1842 by the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, and Captain Denison, architect and engineer at the Royal Dockyard, Woolwich, concerning the plan of the Kent Waterworks Company for a better and more immediate supply ofwater to Government Establishments at Woolwich, Greenwich and Deptford in case of fire, by building a circular reservoir of three acres on the upper part of Woolwich Common behind the Royal Military Academy and bringing mains from it to the several Establishments at Woolwich, and another reservoir either on the highest ground in Greenwich Park or on Blackheath with mains from it to Greenwich Hospital and the Establishments connected with it and also to the Dockyard and Victualling Yard at Deptford. The Inspector~ General of Fortifications observed that if the existing stipulations of the Kent Waterworks Company were enforced they might be considered sufficient for the Ordnance Department, but that Naval Departments appeared to want additional means of supplying water for the security of their establishments in case of fire. The Master-General concurred in this view and apprised the Lords of the Admiralty accordingly, suspending
any further proceedings until he had received Admiralty comments on the report. Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Fortifications was instructed to ascertain and report in detail what was considered to be required from the Kent Waterworks Company to fulfil their obligations under their arrangement for the supply of water to the Ordnance Establishments in order that the company might be called upon for that
23
purpose.
On 26 July 1843 the draft agreement with the Kent Waterworks Company was forwarded relative to the construction of' a reservoir beh • d the Royal Military Academy on Woolwich Common. It was sugget] that the Board should contribute [goo towards it. The communication pipes were to be connected to those of the Ordnance so that a greater supply of water could. be obtained. It appeared, however, that in the draft agreement no nonce was taken of such connections of the main d
pipes in the contemplated work with those of the Ordnance. The dralt ::s therefore submitted to the Ordnance solicitor with a view to exa • • this point.24 mmmg
Resulting from this, two agreements were drawn up with the Kent Waterworks Company, one dated 24 June 1844 with the Admiralty and the Board of Ordnance, and the other dated 27 June 1844 with the
Admiralty alone.
Kent Waterworks Company and the Lords Commissioners ofthe Admiralty and H.M. Board of Ordnance 24 June 1844
My.he conAstrudction ?fa rese~oir on Woolwich Common near the Royal 1litary Academy is authorized.%s This reservoir is to be capable of
holdmg at least 71,000 cubic feet of water, and its area and the embank
ment and fences thereof are not to exceed 3 acres in extent. I ts use in
perpetuity is granted to the Company; the Government contributed
Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO/47/1,927, Pp. 3,405. , 0rdnance Minute, PRO/W0h7/1,976, p. 9,62o. The design for this reservoir was dated 15 April 1844 (PRO/WO/44/296).
1354
APPENDIX XIV
£2,000. The 8 inch main to the Royal Dockyard is to be always fully charged with water and to be connected with the main from Woolwich Common and also with the main in Lower Road, Woolwich, from the Company's works at Deptford. The 8 inch main for the use and service of the Ordnance Establishments at Woolwich is to be constantly charged with water; 71,000 cubic feet of water is always to be maintained in the reservoir. Water over and above the said quantity is to be under the control of, and used by the Company for the supply of their tenantry or otherwise as the Company shall think proper. The Company shall not dispose of, nor part with, their interest, or any part thereof, in the said reservoir to any Body Corporate or person or persons whomsoever. In any such event, or if the said reservoir shall not at all times be used as a reservoir in accordance with the stipulations of agreement, the Principal Officers of the Ordnance may resume and take full and complete possession thereof.
The Indenture being dated 1 September 1815 shall not be prejudiced or affected by these presents, but that the same Indenture, stipulations, covenants and agreement shall be in as :full force, vigor and effect to all intents and purposes whatsoever, as if these presents had not been made and executed.
Kent Waterworks Company and the Lords ofthe Admiralty, 2y June 1844
In consideration of a payment by the Admiralty of a sum of £1,200, the Company agree to lay down a main of not less than 8 inches bore from and to communicate with the reservoir on Woolwich Common and to run across Woolwich Common and the Artillery Ground past the Artillery Barracks and the Marine Barracks through Henry Street and Vinegar Hill to the gate of Woolwich Dockyard, a pipe to be connected with the said main for the purpose of supplying water to the Marine Barracks and the Naval Hospital, and buildings connected therewith respectively to be used
26
in case of fire.
The idea of the possibility of supplying water to the Ordnance Establishments at Woolwich by means of artesian wells was mooted about this time, but upon the Board's solicitor stating on 25 February 1846 that there was no power to break the agreement between the Principal Officers of the Ordnance and the Kent Waterworks Company, signed on 1 September 1815, so long as the Company complied with its conditions, this suggestion about artesian wells was abandoned.27
A long minute dated 19 June 1849 on water supplies to the Royal Carriage Department, shows that, true to form, the various departments in the Royal Arsenal tended to squabble among themselves rather than help the public service. The minute laid down that the Royal Carriage Department was to receive the same amount of water as it did before. It had a small reservoir in Basin Square which held 6,350 gallons. This reservoir had for forty years prior to this quarrel been filled from Mulgrave
28
Place Pond. In the same year the pipe supplying water to the official
as PRO/WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/8,648.
a7 Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO/47/2,069, P-3,274.
Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/47/2,188, p. 8,939.
88 1355
APPENDIX XIV APPENDIX XIV
quarters in the Royal Arsenal became defective and it was agreed that the Kent Waterworks Company should relay new iron pipes in return for keeping the old leaden ones taken up, thereby saving {93. 16s. 7d. provided for this service in the Estimates for 1850/51."
The Kent Waterworks Company were still concerned over fire risks at the Royal Arsenal. They wrote to the Board on 6 July 1854 drawing attention to the serious position of the Arsenal in case of fire. Originally for fire-fighting purposes a 1o inch cast iron pipe connected the Royal Arsenal to Mulgrave Place Pond, and by the contract of I September 1815 between the company and the Board, the former undertook to keep a sufficient head of water in the pond for use m fire-fightmg. The company in their letter of6July 1854 pointed out that since the original agreement water had been drawn, really without sanction, by the Royal Arsenal authorities to supply their steam engines with the result that the pond was always too low to produce sufficient water in case of fire. They suggested therefore that they should run a branch pipe from the company's main to Dial Square and effect a union between that main and the Arsenal fire main so as to supplement the amount of water from Mulgrave Place Pond. They proposed that the sum of £10. 10s. od. should be paid to the Kent Waterworks Company for water drawn from the Royal Arsenal fire main to supply the boilers in Dial Square and this was agreed to.30
The sum of £9,955 was sanctioned on 12 December 1855 for laying
down additional water mains for the better protection of the Royal
Arsenal against fire,31 and in the Estimates for 1855, £2,000 was provided
for extending the Royal Arsenal fire main.
On I I January 1856, the erection of an iron tank on Shooters Hill
costing £2,940 was sanctioned for supplying Thames water by means of
an apparatus in connection with the steam engine for working hydraulic
cranes on the T pier then under construction. An additional sum of£1,500
was afterwards approved on 29January 1856 for this service, making the
cost ofthe whole undertaking, i.e. the reservoir on Woolwich Common and
the new fire mains, 13,500. This sum was approved in the Army
Estimates for 1856.%%
In the same annual Estimates £10,200 was sanctioned for a culvert to
supply water to steam engines.
The deficiency of water for the Royal Carriage Department office was treated at some length in a minute dated 21 August 1857, and on the same day the Kent Waterworks Company expressed disappointment that they had not had a further communication from the War Department. They stated that they had been led to expect some remuneration for additional supplies in the past,and some new arrangement for the future.33Three days later, the Kent Waterworks Company urged the desirability of completing thepresentenqmryas tothe extentofsuppliesofwater totheR.A. Barracks and the Royal Arsenal which was in the hands of the C.R.E., Woolwich. In return, it was pointed out to the company that in the contract of
ms Ordnance Minute, PR0/WO[47/2,202, p. 15,365, 1o November 1849.
ao Buildings and Lands, PRO/W0/55/1,611(3).
" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[W0/47/2,755, p. 1,714.
32 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PR0[WO[47/2,756, p. 114 and p. 290.
PR0/WO/32/757:70/Gen. No/165.
1356
1 September 1815, they were bound to supply an unlimited quantity of water to the Roy~l Arsenal for a fixed yearly rental of £160.% It was becoming obvious that things could not go on as they were. The 99 ycar contractso gaily entered into in 1815, was proving quite impossible_ to implement. Something had to be done. So on 17 February 1858 a meeting was arranged between the company and the C.R.E., Woolwich, to settle what amount was due for arrears for the supply of water to the Royal Artillery and Marine Barracks;"° and on 28 November 1858 the Kent Waterworks Company were asked ·whether they wished the eXIShng agreement to be terminated and a new arrangement made.36 The company under dates 15 and 18 December 1858 stated that they would accept £3,00o in discharge of all extra supplies not included ~n the ordinary quarterly accounts as delivered to Michaelmas 1858, or in the quarterly account to be delivered in like form and to the hke extent for the current quarter. The sum payable would be somewhat more than £9,100 1f the extra supplies were to be charged at the rate contracted for by the Deed of Covenant. They also proposed as regards future supplies of water that the whole quantity delivered tothe GovernmentDepartments at Woolwich should pass through meters, to be provided at Government expense and
-rented from them, and that it shall be charged at the rate of 1s, od. per 1 ooo gallons.37 The company on 18 February 1859 agreed to accept the terms as modified by the War Department for a contract cover~ng 6o ycars for a daily minimum of 220,000 gallons and a maximum, which might be drawn without special notice, not to exceed 4oo,ooo gallons within the 24 hours. The rate payable was to be 8d. per 1,000 gallons, and for any extra supply needed over and above 250,000 gallons a day, the price was to be 6d. per 1 ,ooo gallons. The supplies to officers' quarters on the Common, being separate from Government Establishments, were to be continued under existing arrangements, being charged as private houses. Water from Mulgrave Place Pond was to be used only for fireextinguishing purposes and was to be excluded from the computation of wate; supplied.as It was agreed on 16 May 1859 that the new arrangements should come into force on I July 18509.%
The Kent Waterworks Company and the Secretary ofStatefor War, 24 June 1859
The provisions of the Indenture of I September I 815 have not of late years been strictly observed by either parties who have from time to time agreed to an increase in the fixed yearly rates of payment for the supply of water to some of the Establishments, and particularly as to the Royal Arsenal and have altered or modified the mode of calculating the variable rates ofpayment for the supply of water to the others, and particularly as to the Royal Artillery Barracks, now due to the Compa~y up to 24June 1859[684. 16s. 11d. The Company are also to be paid £3,00o
a PR0/WO[g2/757: 70/Gen. No./185, 24 August 1857.
as PRO[WO[32/757:70/Gen. No./254.
as PRO/WO[32/757: 70/Gen. No./597.
+7 PRO[WOf32/757: 70/Gen. No./628.
as PRO[WO[f32/757: 70/Gen. No./634.
s» PRO[WOf@a/757: 70/Gen. No./752.
1357
in release of all claims up to date 24 June 1859 for compensation by reason of the increase during past years of such supply of water aforesaid.
The quantity of water delivered is to be ascertained by meters for the several Establishments at Woolwich, except Ordnance House, Woolwich Common, and other houses in and about Woolwich, from and after 24 June 1859.
Maximum daily quantity is to be 400,000 gallons. The Company is to be paid £7. 6. 8d. for each and every day during the year, and 8d. for every 1,000 gallons which shall have been delivered in excess over and beyond the average quantity of 220,000 gallons per diem and not exceeding 250,000 gallons per diem, at the end of any quarter, and a sum of6d. per 1,000 gallons which shall have been delivered during such period over and beyond the said average quantity of 250,000 gallons a day.
Meter rent to be a yearly rent or sum of money equal to 10% of the cost price of each meter for the time being in use.
Penalties in the agreement of 1 September 1815 for securing the due fulfilment of the supply of water shall remain and be in full force and virtue which shall apply and be applicable to the due fulfilment of the supply of water covenanted for in this present Indenture.4o
In the Army Estimates for 1860, £4,000 was included for the provision of a low level water supply for the Royal Arsenal.
The consumption of water at the Royal Arsenal still continued to rise and it was stated on 11 October 1867 that the expenditure of that supplied by the Kent Waterworks Company was excessive. It was therefore decided to consider whether, in order to reduce the consumption from company sources, use could be made for certain purposes of river water pumped up by the Department. On the closing of Woolwich Dockyard the Marine Barracks were taken over from the Admiralty for occupation by the War Department. Their water supply thus came under the contract drawn up between the Kent Waterworks Company and the Secretary of
42
State for War. . On I April 1871 the Director of Contracts, War Ofice, raised the
question as to whether arrangements could not be made for the concentration of all or most of the agreements for the supply of water into one general contract."" The result was a new contract dated 28 February 1872
negotiated between the Kent Waterworks Company and the Secretary of State for War.44
The Kent Waterworks Company and the Secretary ofStatefor War, 28 February 1872
A new covered reservoir is to be constructed on Woolwich Common on a fresh site in substitution for the old open reservoir to avoid the deterioration of water for public use. The new reservoir is to be granted
@ PRO/WO[32/757:70/Gen. No./752.
+ PRO/WO[32/757:Woolwich/1/1,354.
• PRO/WO/32/757: Woolwich/1/1,303.
" PRO/WO/32/757: Woolwich/1/1,511.
PRO[WO/32/757:Woolwich/1/1,511.
1358
APPENDIX XIV
to the Company for use in perpetuity. When the new reservoir is com
pleted, the Company will release the existing reservoir with the main
and pipes connected therewith to the Secretary of State for War for the
sole and entire use of the War Department, and will relinquish all rights
and claiins whatsoever thereto. The company undertake to connect the
new and existing reservoirs by a pipe of 8 inches bore to permit of water
being at all times supplied to the existing reservoir by the Company by
meter on payment at the agreed rate of 7ld. per I ,ooo gallons. Meter rent
to be a sum equivalent to 10% of the cost price of the said meter for the
time being, such cost price to be previously agreed upon.
Troughs for watering horses or other cattle, which are the property or
in use or employment of the Crown, are to be erected and maintained
by the Company on Woolwich Common and kept properly supplied with
water.
The agreement is to be terminable at any time by either party giving
6 months' notice. Water is to be supplied on the same terms and conditions
as agreements dated respectively 1 September 1815 and 24 June 1859.
The agreement provides that upon a stated day of each month such
exercise of the engines from the main may be made without further notice
to the Company.
In the Army Estimates for 1873, £3,420 was appropriated for rearranging the water supply to the Royal Arsenal.
On 24 March 1875 the Kent Waterworks Company allowed the new 6 inch fire main to be connected with the reservoir on Constitution Hill (High Level Reservoir) for the sole purpose of fighting fires at the Royal Military Academy. This was undoubtedly the sequel to the disastrous conflagration which occurred there on I February 1873 in whichf100,ooo worth of damage was caused.45
A Committee was convened on 9 February 1876 to enquire into the general question of the water supply to the Royal Arsenal and the barracks, and to ascertain whether it could not be found practicable to reduce the consumption of the Kent Waterworks Company's water by supplying from other sources water suitable for closets, urinals and general purposes.46 The Committee considered the problem in all its aspects and during its deliberations a 6o H.P. hydraulic engine was provided from the Ordnance Store Department, Woolwich, pumping from the artesian well in the Dockyard not being deemed advisable;"7 a pair of steam pumping engines were procured from Messrs Nasmyth, Wilson and Company for £1,020;48 and 20 tons of cast-iron girders and floorplates and twenty 9 foot lengths of 7 inch cast-iron pressure piping were accepted
49
from Messrs Simpson & Co.
The Committee, which reported on 6 March 1877, made the following recommendations :60
« PRO[WO[32/757:7,855/1,312/1,326. «6 PRO[WO[g2/757: Woolwich/5/2,736. +7 PRO[WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/2,899, 8 August 1876. « PRO/WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/2,936, 6 October 1876. «» PRO/WO[f32/757: Woolwich/5/2,987, 17 November 1876. 6o PRO[WO/32/757: Woolwich/5/3,081.
1359
(1)
Water for cooking, drinking and washing purposes throughout the district to be obtained exclusively from the Kent Waterworks Company.
(2)
Barrack latrines etc. to be flushed with Thames water from government fire mains pumped from the Royal Arsenal and flowing from the iron tank behind the Royal Military Academy through the old open reservoir on Woolwich Common.
(g)
Water for boilers in the Royal Gun Factory to be drawn from the same source, i.e. Thames water from the canal.
(4)
The co~densing_ engine in the Royal Laboratory to be supplied from the artesian well in the Royal Arsenal (Present practice).
(5)
The Royal Carnage Department boilers and hydraulic machinery to be supplied with Thames water (Present practice).
(6)
Water for fire-mains, shrinking and other manufacturing processes, urinals, W.C's, etc. to be supplied from the Thames, the water being stored in the R.M.A. tank, Mulgrave Place Pond and the low level tank in the Royal Arsenal (Present practice).
On the 13 July 1877 the Kent Waterworks Company were apprised
of this contemplated alteration in the water supply.?' On 29 November
1877 the Treasury sanctioned the expenditure of {1,9oo for making the
necessary alterations in the water mam and service pipes at Woolwich.52
On 8 August 1878 the Kent Waterworks Company asked to be
released from such parts of the contract of 28 February as tl
1872
·h·. 1e
case IDig t req':1"ire_~wmg to the discontinuance of the company's supply to the fire mains, and on 23 October 1878, it was agreed that the company should no longer be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the circular reservoir on Woolwich Common, nor for the fire m.' connecting it with the Dockyard, though stop-cocks in the fire main , ~thin
,..· WI
the existing pipe connecting the new reservoir with the Dockyard fr
main should still be kept by them in thorough working order.54 In tl~~
following year, an agreement was reached whereby 6,ooo gallons of water
were to be supplied gratis weekly for fire drill for the whole garrison and
the Dockyard. All other water was to be paid for.55
Connection between the old and new reservoirs was effected by m ofha 14 inch ~ain ':ith a ro inch branch to the inlet pipe of the reseri;~~ T e company s mam was to be severed from the government 8 inch fire main by the Dockyard gates to prevent the admixture of Thames water with that of the company's mains. The company now wished to redraw the draft, so many old agreements being in part suspended and in t
• dTh •h par
"",""",, ,,Y wished to cbody he provisions to be kept in being an, 1scar t e remainder. If any change were to be made in the r t
.hId• . aes
1t slou. , 1t was considered by the authorities, be in the direction of reduction in price, as the Department could pump Thames water int: the reservoirs for a trifle under 2d. per 1,000 gallons as compared with the company's charge of 7d. for the same quantity of filtered water; a large
PRO/WO[3a/757:Woolwich/5/3,061.
e PRO[WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/3,281.
» PRO/WO[32/757:Woolwich/5/3,458.
·+ PRO/WO[32/757: Woolwich/53/3,522.
PRO[WO[g2/757:Woolwich/3/5,727, 6 October 1879.
1360
APPENDIX XIV
margin in the 5d. for a handsome profit."@ On 12 June 1880, the company's
solicitors made a formal application to have the whole of the existing
terms embodied in one agreement,57 the circular reservoir having been
filled with Thames water since 7 June 1880.
In 1882 £1,200 was sanctioned for new mains to the circular reservoir.
The company did not receive any reply to their request of 12 June 1880 and seven years elapsed before the question again became pertinent. It was agreed on 2g February 1887 to alter the existing agreement confining it to matters dealt with in the suggested draft of 1880, i.e. the old and new reservoirs and the Dockyard fire main. The opinion was held that the Kent Waterworks Company expected to gain some advantage at the expense of War Department interests out of the consolidated Deed, else they would not have taken further action after letting the matter rest for seven years. 58 On 4 August 1888, the draft for the release of the old circular reservoir on Woolwich Common to the Secretary of State for War was approved, so also was accord reached on the new conditions of agreement.59 The Kent Waterworks Company wrote again to the War Department about the new agreement on 25 February 1889 but without success. Five years passed by before the company's solicitors wrote once more on 23January 1894 and, referring to their previous letter, asked for a consolidated agreement. The War Office decided to take no action and there the matter rested.6° From 7 June 1894 artesian well water, instead of Thames water, was pumped from the Dockyard into the circular reservoir.
The Principal Officers of the Ordnance, one of the parties to the original agreement of 1 September 1815, had already passed away, and soon the Kent Waterworks Company, the other party, was also to disappear. The Metropolitan Water Board, which absorbed the Kent Waterworks Company, was established by an Act of Parliament passed on 16 December 1902, and given the royal assent on 18 December 1902.
Subsequent arrangements between the Royal Arsenal and the Metropolitan Water Board follow current practice and will present little interest to the general reader.
The last item of importance in the internal water arrangements at the Royal Arsenal ·was the spending of£9,000 in 1930-1932 on the rearrangement of water mains in the Royal Filling Factories.
Fire Services
The first time fire engines are mentioned in connection with the Warren was in I 725,61 when the clerk of the survey was instructed to see that the fire engines there were exercised once every three months. We are not told how many were involved, nor their type, but from the general form then in use they must have been a species of pump operated by hand, the number ofmen required depending on the size. Although the danger of fire was ever present at Woolwich in the eighteenth century when most of the
+· PRO/WO/32/757: Woolwich/5/5,727. s7 PRO/WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/5,889. +» PRO[WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/7,965. 6» PRO/WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/8,100. «o PRO/WO[32/757: Woolwich/5/8,648. n PRO/WO[55/1,809.
1361
APPENDIX XIV
workshops and storehouses were constructed ofwood and when the manufacture of fireworks was undertaken with a light-hearted disregard for the risks involved, the measures for its prevention, though accepted in theory, were poorly observed in practice. The local populace wandering over the Warren almost at will and the absence of any expert knowledge of explosives added to the probability of fire, and it could, and did, easily break out; on two occasions with the most disastrous results. Admittedly, the technique of fire-fighting was in its infancy and the appliances procurable rudimentary in the extreme, but this hardly seems an excuse for the absence of training and maintenance then in vogue. One can only assume that the shortage ofwater, combined with a lack ofperception of the possibilities involved, dulled the faculties of the heads of departments in this respect and made the Warren an easy prey to conflagration.
The fire which broke out on 26 January 1760 caught the fire fighting services unprepared. An enquiry was ordered and Mr Adam Nuttall reported that at Woolwich there was one large engine requiring repair one middling engine and four small engines with the leather hose s decayed as to be quite useless'; in addition, there wcrc two large engines and one middling engine with serviceable hose on order for the Royal Laboratory. The Board of Ordnance asked Mr Nuttall for his proposals in regard to keeping the Warren fire engines m good repair. He was instructed to repair the unserviceable hose. 62
On 29June 1776 a common pump was ordered to be installed for the houses of Messrs Delestang, Sumpter and Edwards as a precaution against
63
fire.
The fires which raged through the Warren on 20 May 1802 and 3o June 1805 finally convinced the authorities that the time had arrived to put an end to the haphazard methods of the past, and that steps must be taken immediately to put fire fighting at Woolwich on a proper footmg.
Even the first of these two fires, which did £goo,ooo worth of damage, left the Warren officials m a dilatory mood, for it was not till 16 March 1805, nearly three years after the event, that it was decided to send the fire-engines 'which had been much damaged in the recent fire' singly to the makers for overhaul and repair,@4 The second fire, however, swept away all lethargy. On 7 August 1805, Captain George Hayter, C.R.E. Woolwich Division, requested that a fire engine should be purchased for the Engmeermg Department which, as he remarked, 'up to the present has not had one'. He wanted the best type available with the requisite quantity of hose, 5 dozen buckets, and hatchets and saws. The Board approved this purchase and instructed the engine maker to provide the same and despatch it to Woolwich as soon as possible.65 The Board at last acted, and wrote to the Commandant at Woolwich on 16 August 1805 to consider the most effective means of safeguarding the Ordnance Establishments at Woolwich against fire. Lieutenant-General Vaughan Lloyd, the Commandant, replied on 23 August 1805 that in obedience
«a Ordnance Journal Book, PRO/WO/47/55, P. 105, 5 February 1760. Ordnance Journal Book, PRO[WO[47/87, p. 548.
• Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,583, P. 1,042.
6» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,505, p. 2,965. 1362
APPENDIX XIV
to the Board's wishes he had consulted the heads of the different departments under his command who all expressed the utmost approval of the suggestions offered by Messrs Phillips and Hopwood that a person to superintend the exercise of fire-engines should be appointed to each department in the Royal Arsenal, and who were further of the opinion that provision should be made of felling-axes, cross-cut saws, fire-hooks and ladders to be kept in readiness in case of fire. In addition, the heads of the various departments recommended that as the fire-engines at present in the Royal Arsenal were of three different sizes, they should be allotted for exercise. They also considered that an overseer in charge of all the engines should be appointed, who should be responsible for the training and discipline of the men manning the engines and for the maintenance and state of the engines themselves. Finally, they considered that reservoirs should be built in such places as the C.R.E. might deem appropriate.
The Board approved these measures on 28 August 1805. The relevant minute states:66
'Ordered that Mr Phillips be engaged as overseer to superintend the care of the fire engines deposited at Woolwich as well as the instruction of the men who shall be selected to play them on the terms of his offer of this day's date; that the head of each department at Woolwich be directed to select 22 men employed under them to be instructed by Mr Phillips in the care and in the mode of playing fire engines belonging to every department, which should be taken out and exercised under Mr Phillips's directions once a month; that the men employed on this service be paid Is. od. extra each day that they are so employed; that a communication of this order be made to the several departments and that they be desired to fix with Mr Phillips on one day in each month when it will be convenient to all the parties for the engines to be exercised, it being the Board's intention that the engines of all the departments should be exercised on the same day; that Mr Phillips's attendance may not be required oftener than once a month; that Mr Phillips be acquainted with these orders and requested after every visit to report to the Board such articles as he shall find requisite to put the engines into a complete state; that 12 saws. 12 axes. 12 fire hooks and 12 ladders be provided and
'' ..
placed with the engines of ea • ch department; that the engines now mn use be replaced by those of the most powerful nature as fast as they are worn out, and that the suggestion in the later part of General Lloyd's letter67 be referred to Captain Hayter for his opinion as to the best method of carrying it into execution; that one of the 22 men selected from each department, who is trustworthy, should be considered as the foreman of the party and allowed 2s. 6d. for each day's exercise; that the keys of the engines be kept at such guard as General Lloyd shall point out, and that
o 3
duplicate keys be kept by the head of each department.
It took only two fires to teach the Board their duties and responsibilities in this matter in contrast to the twelve plagues required by Pharoah. Even
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,505,P.-3217. .
67
i.e. The reservoirs. Mention is made earlier in this chapter of Captain Hayter's suggestion for a reservoir to contain water flowing from Shooters Hill.
1363
APPENDIX XIV
so it was an expensive lesson and much money and treasure might have been saved by the exercise of more care and forethought. Still the amends when made were whole-hearted and thorough, and the year 1805 may be said to mark the beginning of a properly organized fire brigade in the Royal Arsenal.
Apparently some muddle arose about the numbers ofmen to be employed on fire duties in each department. It was evidently thought that the 'foreman' was in addition to, and not one of, the 22 selected men. This is evidenced by a minute dated 16 November 1807 which states that only 1 foreman and 21 men were to be employed in fire duties, though 1 foreman and 22 men could be paid on the occasion when a mistake in the
68
numbers had been made.
It was agreed on 17 November 1809 that Messrs Noble and Co. should be allowed once a month to inspect the four fire engines they had supplied to the Royal Arsenal.69
Sanction was given on 25July 1810 to purchase from Messrs Noble and Co. three extra fire engines for the Royal Arsenal, making seven in all. 70
There was a letter from the Board, dated 3 June 1811, stating that the fire engines at the Royal Arsenal were to be kept in a state of perfect readiness and were to be exercised on the first Saturday in every month. It was also laid down that those in charge of engines in an emergency should direct their working under the guidance of Mr Tilley, of Messrs Hopwood and Tilley, during his monthly visits until they had become proficient, after which Mr Tilley would only visit the Royal Arsenal once a quarter.71
Charles Dibblin, afterwards master carpenter in the Royal Carriage Department, claimed that he had made improvements in the larger fire engine invented by Mr Noble by which it could be worked by less men. So on 12 October 1812, the Board ordered Mr Noble to investigate this claim, render a report, substitute nuts in place of screws for coupling the hose together and supply fire caps.7 This claim was evidently substantiated for on 4 November 1812, Mr Dibblin was awarded five guineas for his improvement.73
In the following year, Colonel Congreve7' conceived a plan for protecting the Royal Arsenal against fire. An estimate for £5,682. 3s. 7¾,d., dated 21 April 1813, for carrying this scheme in to effect was forwarded to the Master-General asking whether this practice was to be adopted.75 The letter of the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, to the Board which accompanied this estimate was dated 21 April 1813. The complete scheme, dated
4 May 181 3, consisted of laying a IO inch pipe from Mulgrave Place Pond to the Royal Arsenal, from which branch pipes were to be laid 6 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,599, P. 3,091. «» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,611, p. 3,463. 70 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,616, p. 2,453. 71 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,621, p. 2,044. Engineer Papers,PRO/WO/55/757. 72 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,628, p. 3,182. 7" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[j7/2,628, p. 3,436. 74 Afterwards Sir William Congreve, 2nd Bart., Comptroller, Royal Laboratory. Succeeded his father as 2nd Baronet on 30 April 1814 and as Comptroller, Royal Laboratory on r July 1814. 7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,631, p. 1,593, 23 April 1813. 1364
APPENDIX XIV
about the area so that water could be led into the interior of the buildings. It was calculated that the IO inch main could deliver IO tons of water a minute for a whole day and that the force of the jet would exceed that of a fire engine and be about 30 feet above the highest Arsenal building. The Board approved the project on 4 June 1813, and ordered it to be undertaken at the estimated cost.76 This was the scheme which was carried out in collaboration with the Kent Waterworks Company.
On 26 April 1813 Mr Noble was asked to supply two small fire engines of his own design for use in the Royal Laboratory.77 On 7 April 1815 Messrs Thompson and Forman were authorized to provide the special pipes required for introducing Sir William Congreve's system of securing the Royal Arsenal against fire. 78 It was ordered on Io September 1817 that as three of the four fire engines held on charge by the Respective Officers were past repair, they were to be sent to the Tower of London for disposal. One new engine complete with hose was to be provided in replacement.79
An order was issued on 22 May 1818 that in future the fire engines in the Royal Arsenal were to be repaired in the Royal Carriage Department. This was owing to the presence in that department of Charles Dibblin who had by then become recognized as an expert. From that date, therefore, fire-engine repair ceased to be undertaken by Mr Mark Noble, who was informed of this decision.80 This change of policy was confirmed by a further order dated 3 December 1818,81 Maintenance, however, was regarded in a different light, for Mr Mark Noble was asked to continue oiling the hose for the fire engine which he had supplied some years earlier.82 Five years later the whole responsibility for seeing that the Arsenal fire engines were kept in an efficient condition passed to the Inspector, Royal Carriage Department, who was charged with their inspection, maintenance and repair. Messrs Hopwood and Tilley were informed that they would no longer be required to inspect the engines
83
at Woolwich.
In the early years of Victoria's reign, a party of N.C.O.s, gunners and drivers, were attached to the Arsenal for manning the fire engines, as several yearly references appear in the Ordnance Minutes stating that:
'The allowance paid to the party of N.C.O.s gunners and drivers attached to the Arsenal fire engines and those at the barracks to be continued for another year.84
Although the Arsenal authorities had become much more 'fire-risk' conscious since the two famous fires at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is obvious from the letter quoted below that much still required
7 PRO[WO[44/289. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,631, p.-3.217.
77 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,631, p. 1,620.
78 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,641, P. 1,345.
7 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,652, p. 3374.
so Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,656, p. 1,765.
1 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,658, p. 3,880.
Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO]47/2,662, p. 3,250, 12 July 1819.
6+ Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,681, p. 695, 9 April 1824.
8~ Three.references are as under:
Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/[47/1,803, p. 11,740, 8 October 18g8.
Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/47/1,879, p. 14,035, 18 November 1840.
Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/47/1,915, P. 14,816, 1g November 1841.
1365
to be done to inaugurate an efficient fire-fighting service. The MasterGeneral wrote the following minute on 28 December 1840:86
'The deficiency of means for extinguishing fire in the event of a serious one breaking out at Woolwich has been brought under my consideration by the Commandant, and the late fire has fully proved the justice of the representations he has made, both to the probable want of water and the inefficiency of the fire engines. The property at stake, both at the barracks and in the Arsenal, is of such immense importance as to require that every possible precaution is taken. I desire, therefore, that a committee consisting of the Deputy Adjutant-General R.A., the C.R.E. and the Deputy Storekeeper may be directed at once to assemble to enquire fully into the subject, and report such further measures as they may deem it necessary should be taken to provide against a calamity, the consequences of fire might be productive of such infinite mischief.'
As a result of this letter the Board ordered the Co1n1nittee to assemble
at once and report as soon as possible. The Committee consisting of:
President Colonel Sir Hew D. Ross
Deputy Adjutant-General, R.A.
Colonel George Harding, CR.E.
I
Captain Burke Cuppage
Members Brigade Major R.A. (Woolwich)
Mr William Jones
Deputy Storekeeper
was convened on 31 December 1840 to consider the subject of a more effectual supply of water in the event of fire.BG
During the meetings of the Committee, Mr Brown, Secretary to the Directors of the Kent Waterworks Company, arranged for Mr Imms of the Company to be present. He was asked the question: 'Are the Com
rru_ttee to unde:sta:1-d that the main between the upper and lower reservoirs at Woolwich is to be charged every night and during the night a d that water can be obtained in case of necessity by merely drawing ++, plugs of those pipes which it may be considered desirable to place about the barracks? Mr Imms answered: 'When the arrangements proposed are perfected it will be so for the purposes of fire.' In view of that satisfactory answer the Committee did not consider that the keys should be left under the charge of the Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master General.Bi In order to conserve as much water as possible in the event of fire, a pipe
from the canal to supply the steam engine at the saw mill was ordered to be laid down at a cost of[2o3. 3s. 10}d. It had become evident that the constant use of the steam engine under the conditions then obtaining lowered the water in Mulgrave Place Pond to a low level.BB
It was agreed on 14 October 1846 that CaptainJohn Tylden, R.A., who was afterwards Firemaster, Royal Laboratory, should visit the dockyards
Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO[47/1,883, p. 16,056, 31 December 1840.
"· Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/76o. Ordnance Minute, PRO/wof47/1,888, p. 1,879, 15 February 1841. Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[47/1,894, P. 4,798, 19 April 1841.
1366
APPENDIX XIV
at Woolwich, Portsmouth and Chatham, in order to study the system of fire-fighting in operation at Naval Establishments and obtain information.80 The Board were pleased with the reports rendered by Captain Tylden concerning the methods of fire prevention he had learned as the result of his dockyard visits. They asked him to draw up for their approval a scheme of fire-fighting for outstations based on his observations. Although the Royal Arsenal would not be affected by any scheme he might produce, having special regulations peculiar to itself, Captain Tylden was requested to forward any suggestions he might care to make for improving the Woolwich regulations."o I the following spring the Board received the very full report of Captain Tylden on fire security in Ordnance Establishments. They were very much impressed by its thoroughness. Their first action was to submit it to local authorities at stations, (at the Royal Arsenal of course it was sent to the Civil Officers), for their observations and suggestions. Section II of the report dealt with the Royal Arsenal; Section VI with magazine stations, and the expense of laying down water pipes and plugs at them, and with gun-wharves; and Section VII with lighting gun-wharves with gas. Captain Tylden proposed fire brigades consisting of a foreman and a number of artificers and labourers for each engine, in addition to an extensive provision ofwater pipes and fire plugs. The expense involved in the Royal Arsenal was to be £2,098. 4s. od. in addition to the sum of [2,216. 14s. od. already expended there on plugs and pipes. Captain Tylden also suggested an annual sum of £1,813. 25. 9d. for four years in. order to carry out the necessary arrangements.91 Money, however, was tight, and in order to obviate the necessity of including these sums in the 1848/49 Estimates then under review, the Board postponed the introduction of
92
Captain Tylden's plans for fire security till the following year. Like Felix, they waited for a more convenient season.
On 14 October 1846, the Civil Officers informed the Board that at the barracks the fire engines were under military supervision and had a military crew, whereas those at the Royal Arsenal under the storekeeper were exercised regularly once a month and had a crew of workmen specially selected and trained. In case of fire breaking out in an Establishment, the military were in command of the firemen, but the C1v1l Officers had the duty of pointing out how and where the fire could best be fought
93
and of superintending the removal of stores.
The Board on 5 June 1854 ordered a new fire engine complete with reels, hose, screw collars, etc. to be purchased for the Royal Arsenal,%4 and on 17 February 1855, the alteration of the fire plugs in the Royal Arsenal to correspond with those of the London Fire Brigade was Sanctioned at a cost of £8g.%8
so Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/47/2,092, P. 15,375. vo Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[47/2,098, p. 18,797, 14 December 1846.
•
Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/47/2,114, p. 8,727, 28 May 1847.
•
Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[j7/2,136, p. 49, 30 January 1848. vs Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[47/2,092, P. 15,377. .
+ Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/[55/764. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/
2,749, D. 2,128. 96 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,752, P· 606.
1367
APPENDIX XIV
Further hose, hose reels and the extension of the fire mains in the Royal Arsenal were approved on 1g November 1854," and on 28 November 1855 coverings for the fire reels of the Police Office were san~tioned. 97 The sum of £9,955 was approved on 12 December 1855 for laying down additional water mains for the protection of the Royal Arsenal against fire.98
A few facts can be gleaned from the various annual estimates about the sums of money spent from time to time on the Arsenal firc-services, but by the time the War Office took over the manufacturing departments, a 'modern' fire brigade in essence may be said to have existed. The extensions to the fire mains in 1855 cost/2,000.% Sums ofmoney varying between £163. ros. od. and £ro. os. od., the figures diminishing as the years advanced, are shown in the Works Estimates between the years
1819 and 1852 for cleaning and oiling fire engines and pumps. Specific sums on new equipment were spent as follows:
1819 New hose for the fire engine in the R.E. department £86. 6s. 6d.10o 1823 Towards completing a system of water pipes or fire-fighting
125. 19. 1d,1o1 1829 Covered stands for fire engines 130. os. 5d.102
The following figures appear in the Annual Estimates for the Army and the Ordnance Factories :
186o Providing low level water supply £4,000 1884 Provision of fire-main and hydrants £1,000 1885 New pumping and fire-main from the
hydraulic establishment
1,500 1886 Extension of the fire-main to the rocket factory, mixing sheds and new fuze store
In due course, the Royal Arsenal fire brigade was handed over to the Metropolitan Police who trained the police crews and manned the engines. Towards the end of the nineteenth century it was suggested that the
L.C.C. Fire Brigade should inspect periodically the fire appliances in the Royal Arsenal and in other Ordnance Factories. This idea was not welcomed as it was assumed that the L.C.C. would gain possession of the Arsenal fire brigade. Eventually it was decided in 1898 that Mr Ely, Supermtendent of the Leicester Fire Brigade should inspect all O.F. installations in a personal capacity. His fee was fixed at 3o guineas. For this sum he would spend four days at Woolwich Arsenal and Dockyard, and one day each at Waltham, Enfield and Purflcet. The engagement was to be for renewal at option each year.103
" Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.97 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO{W0/47/2,755, p. 1,569. " Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,755, p. 1,714.
Ordnance Estimates, 1855. 100 Works Estimates, PRO[WO/49/141. o1 Works Estimates, PRO[WO/49/145. 0+ Works Estimates, PRO[WO/49/150.
» PRO/WO[32/520: 70/Gen. o./9,239.
1368
APPENDIX XIV
Further expenditure on fire-risks were as under:
1899 Additional fire-mains [£2,1oo 1908 Service to reduce fire risks £2,050 Provision of new fire-mains £6,000 r 934 Rearrangement of fire-mains £6,000
The fire brigade was considerably strengthened during the First World War and additional equipment was purchased. When the W.D. Constabulary took over from the Metropolitan Police in 1926, the fire brigade had already ceased to be a police responsibility for in 1923 the civilian brigade in the Royal Arsenal was set up. Since that date firemen as such have been recruited and the brigade has been commanded by a Chief Officer. The risk of fire during the Second World War, greatly increased by the lavish use of incendiary bombs, caused much extra equipment to be purchased. The Royal Arsenal Fire Brigade, therefore, can now be numbered among the self-supporting and efficient fire fighting units in the country. After that war the brigade was divided into two r2-hour shifts; now since 1952 it has been organized into three 8-hour shifts and the older firemen have been found other employment.
The Fire Brigade as a whole now functions under the Royal Arsenal Estate.
Gas
The first mention of gas as an illuminant in the Royal Arsenal occurs in 1829 when it was ordered on 2g November of that year that two gas lamps were to be substituted for the four oil lamps in use at the entrance gate,104 when that gate was rebuilt. We are not told who supplied the gas, but it was probably the Woolwich Equitable Gas Company. That company, evidently with an eye to business, suggested to the Board that they should supply gas for lighting purposes to the Ordnance Establishments. The Board, however, steeped in conservatism, regarded the proposal, if not with horror, at least with foreboding. On 30 December 1833 they decided to refuse the offer on the following grounds and to contmue the existing system of oil lamps.
(1) Expense. There would be an increase of expenditure on the proposals of the company of £288. 9. 9d. The expense of lighting the barracks and other Establishments would be £6o7. 13s. 2d. instead of
319. 3°. 5d. p.a. The Board would have to incur the expense of{1,161. 13s. 6d. in installing lamps, pipes etc. in the first instance; also £60 annually would have to be spent on maintenance.
(2) Danger. In cases of public disturbance when a mob by cutting the main pipe could throw all premises into darkness at the very moment when light was essential.
The Board considered that the reason listed under (2) above made gas lighting objectionable in military establishments. They stated that only a large financial saving to the public would justify the risk.105
104 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/W0/47/2,697, p. 1,621. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/758.
1os Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO/47/1,631, p. 11,296.
1369
Such an objection seems curious to the modern mind, particularly when the supply of electricity is more vulnerable than that of gas, but we must not forget that this form of illumination was still in its infancy and consequently subject to prejudice. The first gas lights seen in London were in March 1802, when one was placed at each end of Boulton and Watts' works in Soho. This was followed in 1803 and 1804 by the gas lighting of the Lyceum Theatre. In 1808, Frederick Albert Winsor formed a company for 'providing streets, squares and houses with gaseous lights by means of conducting tubes underground from distant furnaces, on the principle as houses are now supplied with water'. A bill presented to Parliament was finally passed in 1810 and in 1812 the Gas Light and Coke Company was granted a charter which, however, gave the company no monopoly of supply or right to prevent competition. By 1823 there were four gas companies in North London.
On 25 August 1834, it was laid down that, in future, the expense of the two gas lamps at the entrance to the Royal Arsenal and for all other lamps on the premises should be borne on the account of the barrack master and deleted from the annual estimate of the Engineer Department.100
No further extension of gas lighting took place in the Royal Arsenal for fourteen years, but presumably the spread of this form of illumination in civil life at last made the Board realize that they must keep abreast of the times. They therefore decided on 4 January 1848, that the wharves and roads were to be so lit in place of oil lamps. The cost of the necessary pipes and fitments was estimated to be £76o. 14s. 10ld., and the annual working increase over oil lamps to be £75. 16s. od. calculating the price of gas at 6s. per 1,000 cubic feet for the police station and gos. each for the external lamps. They considered that a cheaper price for gas could be obtained by contract, and a further reduction of expenditure made by cutting down the illumination of the wharf at night unless loading or unloading were taking place.1o7 The estimate of £760. l4S. rn½d., quoted above, was dated 17 December 1847, and was ordered on 4January 1848 to be inserted in the Ordnance Estimates for 1848/49.108 There were
further estimates for gas lighting dated 21 December 1847 which, though unconnected in the main with the Royal Arsenal, are of interest.109
Cost of lighting the R.A. Barracks, the Sappers and Miners Barracks, the Royal Ordnance Hospital, the passage of the Commandant's house in the Arsenal, the Royal Military Academy and the guardrooms of the Royal Arsenal, totalled £982. l4S. i¾d., of which the Commandant's house passage (Item 4) cost £3. 5s. 4d. and the guardrooms (Item 6) £1o. 5. 4d.
It was decided on 22 May 1848 that gas lighting in the Royal Arsenal and barracks was to be submitted to open tender among the companies capable of supplying it.110 The tenders and specifications were approved
os Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO[47/1,655, p. 7,603. Engineer Papers, PRO[WO]
55/759. o7 Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO/47/2,136, p. 80. 1o» Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/762. 1o Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/762. n18 Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[47/2,150, p. 7,789.
1370
APPENDIX XIV
and issued on 26 June 1848 to the two companies eligible. These were: The Woolwich Equitable Gas Company The Woolwich Consumers Protective Gas Company'' and the latter's tender being the lower, i.e. 5s. 4ld. per 1,0oo cubic feet, it was accepted and a contract with the company for 3 years from I September 1848 was placed.1? The gas light in the front passage of the Commandant's quarters in the Royal Arsenal was approved on 21July 1848. The cost of the actual lamp was £2. 5s. 9¼d., and the annual cost of gas supply was estimated at £3. IOs. od. This was charged to Item III of the 1848/49 Estimates 113 On 18 August
which provided for lighting the Royal Arsenal with gas. 1848 it was laid down that the measurement and control of gas supply in the Royal Arsenal was to be placed under the Civil Officers, while that in the barracks was put under the barrack master.114
The additional expense of gas over oil as an illuminating agent evidently caused the authorities perturbation, and on 17 August 1849, the C.R.E., Woolwich Division, submitted a plan and estimate to the Board for reducing the expenditure· of gas in the Woolwich Establishments. The total expense was {404. 13s. 7d. of which {1o. 13s. 3d. concerned gas pipes and burners in passages which could be put into effect immediately, thereby reducing gas consumption. The C.R.E. suggested that the remaining £394. os. 4d. should be brought forward in the 1850/51 Estimates. The Board agreed.115
The first quarter in the Royal Arsenal to be lit by gas appears to have been that of Lieutenant Scott, R.E. On 3 December 1849 the Board sanctioned this installation to be carried out entirely at Lieutenant Scott's expense.I6 On 29 November 1852, the introduction of gas into the Engineer office at the Royal Brass Foundry was authorized at a cost of £3. 55. 1d17 On 30 March 1854, the Board ordered that the offers of the two Woolwich Gas Companies be accepted 'for the performance of gas fittings at Woolwich' upon the usual condition of 12l% under
> ·g, 118
·{1
scheduled prices. The contract was for two years from 1 Apri 1 i54. On 17 April 1854, the laying on of gas in the bullet machine shop, Royal Laboratory, was sanctioned, and an additional artificer for the bullet machines was approved.U9 On 7 June 1854, the storekeeper, Mr Edward
120
Sparks, was allowed to equip his house with gas at his own expense. On 20 September 1854, it was ordered that the new factory in the Royal Laboratory was to be lighted with gas instead of oil.121 On 11 October
1854, an additional gas lamp was installed at the entrance gates, Royal Arsenal, at a cost of £4. 3s. 4d.; the annual charge for gas bemg
11 Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO/47/2,153, P. 9,487. 1a Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[47/2,156, p. 10,828, 24 July 1848. 1a Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO[A7/2,156, p. 10,690. 14 Ordnance Minute, PRO/WO]47/2,158, p. 12,223.
11» Ordnance Minute, PRO[WO/47/2,194, p. 11,816. 116 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO[55/763. 117 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,745. 18 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764. 110 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,749, P· 904. 1a0 Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764. 121 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,750, p. 705.
89
APPENDIX XIV
£1. 18s. oa.1 The laying on of gas to light the fuzc rooms in the Royal
123
Laboratory was sanctioned on 7 December 1854. It was agreed on
December 1854 that gas lighting in the Royal Arsenal should be
extended.124 It was also agreed on 16 February 1855, that the tender of
Messrs Stevens and Sons for the supply of gas to the offices then occupied
125
by the R.E. Department for £34. 12s. od. should be accepted. On
17 March 1855, the offer of the Woolwich Consumers Protective Gas
Company to lift and relay the 5 inch gas pipe and to install a 5 inch main
to the centre of the south end of the new building in the Royal Laboratory
and provide branches for £4o. 12s. od., was accepted.1ls
Gas now made its way rapidly. There can be no doubt that the Crimean
War acted as a forcing agent. Once the principle had been accepted and
tested the rest follO\•ved quickly. It was laid down on 22 August 1855 that,
in future, gas instead of oil lamps was to be used throughout the Royal
Gun Factory.1.27 On 11 September 1855 the Treasury sanctioned the
expenditure of£245 to introduce gas lighting in the storekeeper's depart
ment.128 This was followed up on 17 November 1855 by the authorization
of £2,270 to extend gas into the workshops and other buildings of the
storekeeper's department, and into all those shops and stores of the Royal
129
Laboratory where work was liable to be carried on during the night.
Finally on 4 December 1855, £48 was approved for laying on gas and
water and installing bells in the office of the Superintendent of Police.130
By 1856, gas had been introduced in every department of the Royal
Arsenal and consumption had risen considerably. The Government there
fore decided to erect their own plant and make the Arsenal independent
of outside sources of supply. The gas factory, consisting of a retort house,
was built in 1856 on a site in rear of the existing proof-butts. In the same
year, £12,850 was spent on gas undertakings which, in addition to the
actual gas works, included gas mains and lamp posts. In the following
year, £8,504 was sanctioned for extending the mains to the marshes and
installing gas fittings in the several departments. In 1862, a new gas
holder was constructed at a cost of £4,000.
This plant sufficed till 188o when the foundations of a new gas holder were laid for the sum of £1,900. In 1885, the gas factory was extended by the addition ofa new retort bench costing £2,815. In 1897, a telescopic lift was installed and three years later £15,700 was expended in additional plant. In 1901, a new gas holder was built at a cost of £7,000, and an increased purifying plant installed for the sum of£3,900. The engine room was erected in 1905 and extended in I 9 17. In 1913, mains for high pressure gas were provided for/4,950, and in 191 5 part ofthe factory was reroofed. Between 1918-1920 the gas plant was greatly expanded at a cost of
122 Extracts
of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,751, p. goo. Engineer Papers, PRO/WO/55/764.
12» Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,751, p. 1,438. 1=4 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,751, p. 1,625. 12• Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[A7/2,752, p. 593. 126 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PROJWO/47/':2,752, p. 910. 127 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 567. 128 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,754, p. 768. 129 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,755, p. r,462. 1a0 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,755, p. 1,630.
1372
APPENDIX XIV
£55,105, the Telpher track being built in 1918 and extended in 1920 and 1921. Finally, offices and a laboratory were added in 1939 and new floors at charging and discharging levels were put in in 1941-1943.
Power
Electricity as a source of light and power was a latecomer comp~red to steam and gas. Electricity supply in Great Britain was first given official sanction by the Electric Lighting Act passed in 1882, which may be taken as the start of the industry in the British Isles, though in 1879 Crompton had established a generating station to light St Enoch's railway station in Glasgow by arc lamps.
Electric lighting in the Royal Arsenal was originally installed departmentally, each factory having its own generating plant, but. when the central administration at Woolwich was set up in r888, this form of lighting became the responsibility of the Superintendent, Building Works Department. In 1890, the sum of £2,500 was sanctioned for the renewal of the out-of-date and worn-out fittings in the Ordnance Factor1es generally. In 1891, the installation of electric power took place. This far-reaching innovation completely altered the industrial outlook by adding to the speed and smoothness of production. It effected much machinery conversion which gradually speeded up production processes. This application of a new source of power to industry grew with the years, and the present Central Power Station was completed by 1908.
The diary of events in the evolution of power is as follows: 1903 Increasing the boiler space in the Central Power Station3,900. 1904 Increased accommodation in the power station. The estimate of £3,90o increased to £,13,500. Provision of electric cable mains5,400. r905 Extension of Central Power Station. Estimate increased from £13,500 t0 633,847. 1906 Work on Central Power Station proceeding. Additional underground main to Frog Island-£2,500. 1907 The estimate for the Central Power Station increased from £33,847 to £44,00o. . . 1908 The estimate for the Central Power Station increased from £44,000 to £47,750. The work completed. . 1909 Coaling arrangements at the Central Power Station-£4,9oo. Additions and alterations to electric light mains-£4,000. 1914 Extension of engine room, Central Power Station-£10,000. r920 Increased supply of electrical energy-£2,600. . 1921 Improvement of coal bunkers at the old power station{3,500-. 1922 Alternative power supply at Land's End Station and heating magazines in the Land's End area-£9,010. . r925 Modernization of power plant at the Central Power Station£6,750; afterwards reduced to £5,100. . . . 1930 Installation of electricity in place of gas in the Danger Building
area-£3, I 50. 1938 Duplication of electricity supply-£67,900. Since the end of the Second World War, certain buildings in the Royal
Arsenal have been converted to sub-stations.
1373
APPENDIX XV
A SURVEY OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL STORES MADE
IN THE ROYAL ARSENAL
THE ROYAL LABORATORY
Pyrotechnics
During the eighteenth century the Royal Laboratory manufactured few types of pyrotechnics. I ts products fell into two main groups:
(a)
Stores for warlike purposes
(b)
Fireworks for 'Tryumph' The former consisted chiefly of match, portfires, Bengal lights, Muscovy lights, rockets and combustible materials for fire-ships, while the latter were specialities ordered on demand for public display purposes on the occasion of victory celebrations, coronations, royal birthdays and other State functions. Slow-match, used for firing muskets, guns and mines, ·was, as its name implied, a slow burning composition having a consumption rate of about 4 inches an hour. It consisted of three loosely woven strands of hemp covered with an outer layer of two boiled in lees of old wine or in a solution of wood-ash or saltpetre. Quick-match, on the other hand, burnt at the rate of some 3o seconds a yard and was more dangerous to handle. There were two varieties, cotton and worsted. Cotton quick-match was made by
boiling cotton wick in a mixture of saltpetre, spirits of wine, water isinglass and mealed powder in the following proportions: ' '
Cotton, 1lb. 12oz.; Saltpetre, 1lb. 8oz.; Spirits of wine, 2 quarts; Water, 2 quarts; Isinglass, 3 galls; and Mealed powder, rolb.
After boiling the wick was laid hot in a trench where it was thoroughly impregnated with a further quantity of mealed powder moistened with spirits of wine. After this treatment it was passed through more mealed powder and hung up to dry. The worsted variety was manufactured by integrating 1ooz. of worsted with 1olb. of mealed powder dissolved in g pmts of spirits ofwme and 3 pints of white wine vinegar.
The portfre could be of any length, but in practice was seldom more than 21 inches long. It could either be wet or dry. It consisted of an incendiary mixture packed into a stout paper case about half an inch in diameter. The cases were rolled wet with paste and had one end folded down. The composition of the wet portfire was 6 parts of saltpetre,
2
parts ofsulphur and I part ofmealed powder, mixed, sieved and moistened with linseed oil, while that of the dry kind was 4 parts of saltpetre, 1 part of sulphur, 2 parts of mealed powder and r part of antimony sulphide.
The rocket consisted essentially of a tough paper or papier mache cylinder, known as the body or coffin', one end of which was primed with powder while the other was covered with glue. This was filled with a propelling charge of saltpetre, sulphur, charcoal and mealed powder, mixed and moulded to conform to the contours of the cylinder. Embedded in this were stars for illuminating purposes. The stars were of similar composition to the charge except that they contained in addition some essential oils,
1374
APPENDIX XV
camphor and alcohol. Sticks were fitted to rockets to ensure flight, their lengths varying with the different sizes of rocket. These sticks were originally made in the R.L., but by the early years of the nineteenth century the 'roughs' were being fashioned in the Royal Carriage Department.
The fire-ship, which was only prepared in time of emergency, was a complicated structure filled with combustible material and fitted with grappling irons. It was designed to set fire to enemy vessels in battle. The stores used to equip these floating infernos were as follows:
Fire-barrels; Bavins; Iron-chambers; Curtains; and Reeds.
Fire-barrels were cylindrical in shape, 33 inches long and about 2I inches in diameter. They were filled with double-dipped reeds set on end over which was poured a mixture of 30lb. corned powder, 12lb of Swedish pitch, 616 of saltpetre and 3lb of tallow. While the contents were still warm, 5 holes of ¾ inch diameter and 3 inches deep were driven into the top of the composition, one in the centre and the others at equal distances round the edge of the barrel. When the incendiary mixture in the barrel had set, it was primed by driving fuze composition into the holes to within an inch of the top together with double strands of quick-match, the whole being well driven in with mealed powder. Quick-match was then laid over°the top which was closed by a dipped curtain fastened by a hoop and nails.
Bavins were bundles of about 2½ to 3 feet in length, made up of birch or other easily ignited brushwood laid one way and tied in two places. They were sprinkled with sulphur and their 'bush-ends' dipped in a solution of 12olb. rosin, golb. coarse sulphur, 6olb. pitch, 61b. tallow and r 2lb. mealed powder with some fine sulphur for salting.
Iron-chambers were 10 inches long and 3} inches in diameter, breeched against a piece of wood fixed across the port-holes of the fire-ship. They were almost filled with corned powder and had wooden tampions driven into their muzzles. They were primed with quick-match passing through their vents. When the ship was fired they blew open the ports, which either fell downwards or were carried away, thus giving vent to the fire out of both sides of the ship.
Curtains were made of barras, 27 inches wide and one yard long. They were dipped into bavin composition. After their immersion, they were relieved of any superfluous composition which might still be adhermg and were then sprinkled with sawdust to prevent possible adhesion.
Reeds were made up in small bundles about 12 inches in circumference cut even at both ends and tied in two places. The longest constructed were 4 foot and the shortest 2 foot 6 inches. Part of the consignment was dipped only at one end, while the rest were immersed at both ends. Dipping consisted of placing them to a depth of 7 or 8 inches in a copper kettle containing bavin composition. After immersion they were sprmkled with pulverized sulphur.
The complement of stores for a fire-ship of 1 50 tons was 8 fire barrels; 12 iron chambers; 30 curtains; 150 long reeds, single-dipped; 150 short reeds, single-dipped; 150 short reeds, double-dipped; and go9 bavins.
Fireworks for 'Tryumph' were usually very ornate set-pieces cons1stung of rockets, catherine wheels, Roman candles, golden ram and other
1375
APPENDIX XV
'misteries' of the fireworker's art. They were an expensive luxury, though no doubt it was money spent in a good cause.1 They were normally exhibited in Hyde Park by artillerymen from the R.L. who proceeded to London, camped on the site, erected the stands and carried out the
display.
War rockets
Events in the East drawing attention to the value of rockets in war, the Board of Ordnance applied to the Royal Laboratory for the services of someone conversant with their manufacture. Being unable to help, the Comptroller referred the Board to the Honourable East Indian Company; but without avail, no expert was forthcoming. This lack of talent induced Colonel Congreve of the Hanoverian Army and son of the Comptroller, R.L., to turn his attention to the subject. He did so with marked success and in 18o4 became the pioneer of the Congreve, or first British war rocket. Congreve's original experiments, carried out at his own expense, were not too outstandingly successful. Try as he might, he could not succeed at first in attaining a greater range than 500 or 600 yards. After modification he managed to cover 1,500 yards. Further alteration to some 6 pdr rockets achieved a ranging distance of 2,ooo yards. Finally in the spring of 1806 he amended his design fundamentally by substituting an iron for a paper case and decreasing the length of the stick. He also constructed some 32 pdr rockets with carcass heads which incorporated the latest features. Fortune smiled on him and possibly his expectations were surpassed when the range of these new patterns averaged 3,000 yards. This 32 pdr rocket had its composition completely encased in a stout iron cylinder terminating in a conically shaped head. It was3 feet 6 inches long, 4 inches in diameter, 32lb. in weight and carried a stick 15 feet
long. The carcass head contained an equivalent amount of incendiary matter to that in the ordinary ro inch spherical pattern, a projectile which would have required a heavy gun to project it and then only to an approximate distance of2,ooo yards. No wonder that William Congreve considered that he had found the ideal weapon. The range of this rocket could be varied between 1,500 and 3,000 yards by altering the angle of
.· o o
projection, the maximum being achieved at an elevation of 55 deo-rees. Congreve's servi•ce rockets were of the following sizes:
Size Maximum range in yards
6 pdr case shot 2,000
9 pdr shrapnel 3,000 r2 pdr case shot 2,000-3,000 32 pdr explosive 2,500-3,000 32 pdr case shot 2,5003,000 32 pdr shell 3,000
.'1go. 5s. od. was paid in additional wages to those employed in the preparation and
display of fireworks in Hyde Park and other places on the occasion of the coronation of
George IV, 19.July 1821.
(Extract of Ordnance Minute, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,672, p. 2,167,30July 1821.)
£( r ,5oo was spent on fireworks for the coronations of William IV and Queen Victoria. Ordnance Minutes, PRO/WO[47/1,790, p. 6,545, 30 May 1838.)
1376
APPENDIX XV
32 pdr carcass 2,500-3,000 42 pdr shell 3,000 42 pdr carcass 3,000
though, in addition, larger experimental patterns were tried but without success. These v,,ere the roo pdr, 2oo pdr, and 30o pdr rockets; a heavy carcass headed rocket built of six rocket units; and a compound rocket. The weights were no doubt excessive for the power available from the charges. Congreve's rocket most commonly in demand as a general purpose weapon was the 32 pdr.
Although it had been hoped to use rockets in the projected attack on Boulogne harbour on 21 November 1805, a change of wind prevented the operation. Nevertheless on 18 October 1806, eighteen boats discharged 2oo rockets into the town within half an hour and started a considerable conflagration without incurring the slightest opposition. In 1807, Copenhagen~uffered serious damage from a rocket bombardment, and a similar occurrence took place at Walcheren. In 1813, the 2nd Rocket Troop, then just formed, vindicated at Leipsig Congreve's faith on the value of racketeers in the field, and lastly rockets gave a good account of themselves aa-ainst the French boats at the passage of the Adour. In 1821, 9 pdr,
+ pdr and a4 pdr fantail rockets were in existence. These had a shell in the head and carried a long detachable iron tail about 4 inches in breadth, shaped like a flat paddle or fin. On 14 September 1864, the 6 pdr, 12 pdr and 24 pdr Congreve rockets were provisionally superseded by those of Boxer's design which were sealed in August 1864.
These new rockets had two advantages over their predecessors:
( 1) Their bodies were strengthened by altering the position of the vents. The Congreve rocket had the stick attached to a disc which closed up the end of the conical hollow, so that the vents, five in number, had to be made through the base of the composition around it. The compos1tion was liable to give way on discharge and burst the rocket. This fault was remedied in the Boxer pattern by slotting three vents in the disc opposite the base of the conical hollow so as to leave the ring of composition strong and unbroken.
(a) Their accuracy was improved by the employment of a stronger composition. This caused the rocket to 'jump off with a high initial velocity. There were also several other minor improvements which the passage of time had demonstrated.
Boxer's 3 pdr rocket was provisionally approved on I October 1866, but on 24 April following it was decided to discontinue the use of war rockets as shell. Finally, Congreve's rockets were declared obsolete on 14 August 1866 and in the following year Boxer's pattern was replaced by Hale's which was considered to be superior in construction. Four sizes of Hale's rockets were originally made, bemg mtroduced mto the service
as under:
3 pdr, 6 pdr and 12 pdr, on 25July 1867
24 pdr, on 31 August 1867
1377
The 3 pdr and 12 pdr rockets, however, soon fell into abeyance and only the 6 pdr and 24 pdr continued to be made, but the former actually weighing glb. its nomenclature was changed accordingly on 27 November 1867. It was adopted for general field service at the same time. Hale's rockets carried a considerable distance, some 24 pdrs fired in 1868 at 15 degrees elevation attaining a mean range of 1,896 yards.
By now it had become realized that war rockets, although formerly considered to possess great moral and incendiary effects, suffered from five main defects which, in view of the growing excellence of artillery, rendered their use less attractive.
These five defects were:
(a)
Liability to corrosion and rapid deterioration.
(2)
The gradual means by which their velocity is imparted to them renders their flight slow and erratic.
(3)
They are easily affected by gravity and wind, and are therefore constantly liable to change their direction during flight.
(4)
Rockets carrying a stick (such as Congreve's) increase the inaccuracies introduced by wind and air currents.
(5)
As their charge continued to burn during flight, their centres of gravity constantly altered and disturbed their steadiness.
The Hale rocket underwent several modifications during the course of its life. It consisted of a head, a case, a base-piece, a tail-piece and a safety cap. The case, originally of the best charcoal iron which soon gave way to Atlas metal, was fashioned by rolling the material into a cylinder with lapped edges. This was riveted and brazed along the longitudinal joint. The latest patterns substituted steel tubing cut to correct length. The head, conoidal in shape and of cast iron, with a hollow portion subsequently plugged with oak, was fastened to the case by rivets. The case was corrugated in three places better to grip the composition and prevent it from twisting under rotational stress. The composition, consisting of saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal, was separated from the head by a mill-board disc. It was introduced into the case in successive pellets and pressed down hydraulically, a conically shaped hole being then bored out for about two-thirds of its length. A mill board washer was then inserted before the base-piece ofwrought iron was fitted into the end of the case and secured by screws. This base-piece, varying in thickness from o·8 inches in the 9 pdr rocket to 1·25 inches in the 24 pdr, was bored out and screw-threaded internally to receive the tail-piece and externally to accommodate the safety cap. The tail-piece of cast-iron contained three conical vents, the largest portion of the cones being towards the interior of the rocket. The vents were cut away on one side; hence on ignition the gas issuing from the vents met with resistance on the sides where they were prolonged, and, there being no counterbalancing resistance where they were cut away, imparted a rotary movement to the rocket during flight. The safety cap of mild steel was screwed to the base-piece to prevent the rocket, by causing it to burst in situ, from becoming a dangerous missile
should accidental ignition occur. These rockets, therefore, differed in principle from those of Congreve and Boxer in having turbine rotation
1378
APPENDIX XV
instead of a long stick to control their flight. The cases of the original marks of" Hale's rockets were greased internally with tallow but this method of treatment was abandoned on 1 September 187o in favour of two coats of paint. Originally, the cases were painted externally with Brunswick black but a red paint was substituted in 1870, the actual pigment being improved in 1873. Although the 24 pdr was the largest rocket introduced into the service, a series of experiments were carried out at Shoeburyness with a 6-inch rocket weighing 1oolb. This had a charge of about 13lb. of wet gun cotton in its head capable of being detonated by a 45 grain fulminate of mercury detonator operated by a fuze resembling Fuze R.L. percussion. During the trials a range of about 3,000 yards was obtained at go degrees elevation.
A machine or trough for launching Hale's rockets was introduced on 17 September 1867, a Sea Service apparatus being already in existence having been adopted on 13 June 1866. The latter was superseded by Hale's machine until that in turn was replaced by the Sea Service rocket tube machine Mark II proposed by Lieutenant Fisher R.N. and approved for the Royal Navy on 7 September 1869. Hale's machine did not long survive, few being made, but a special stand for firing Hale's 9 pdr rockets was provisionally approved on 1g November 1867 for the Abyssinian expedition. Finally, trough machines for launching 9 pdr and 24 pdr rockets were introduced respectively on 8 June and IO July 1868. Thus these two sizes were the only survivals of war rockets of the past, and as artillery improved and better ballistics usurped their functions, their use more and more declined. However, these weapons lingered on and mark succeeded mark till World War I administered their coup de grace, and the Mark VII patterns of both rockets were finally declared obsolete on 11 September 1919.
Life saving rockets
'Peace hath her victories no less renowned than war' and in contrast to the rocket for offensive purposes was the Rocket, life-saving, introduced by Colonel Boxer. This was in use for many years, and mark succeeded mark, till it was finally superseded by the Life-saving rocket apparatus at present used by the Board of Trade.
More modern pyrotechnics
Although signal lights and coloured fire had long since been used ~or display purposes, no practical use of the illuminating as contrasted wit? the incendiary properties of fireworks appears to have been made until the middle of the nineteenth century, when signal or sky rockets were introduced as follows:
(1)
The 2lb., 1lb. and lb. on 24 April 1863, finally sealed as Mark I on 27 January 1866.
(2)
A special }lb. rocket and stick provisionally approved for the Abyssinian expedition on 19 November 1867.
Rockets, light and sound followed, being approved for service on 25 April 1878. There was little development in pyrotechnics after this date until the
1379
APPENDIX XV
advent of World War I when a tremendous impetus was given to this branch of warlike stores owing to the arrival of trench warfare on the one hand, and the growth of the Royal Air Force on the other. Then the number of rockets, lights and signals increased enormously and a new lease oflife was acquired. In addition to rockets, message carrying; rockets, signal; rockets, light parachute and lights, G.S., long and short, the introduction of signal pistols has created a whole host of special cartridges such as cartridge, signal and cartridge, illuminating, designed for lighting up portions of the trenches at night and for general signalling purposes. Smoke, too, began then to be used tactically and candles, smoke and generators, smoke, became Service stores. More recently the 'rocket' pace has slackened and this ancient type offirework is giving way to signal grenades.
Other stores made in the R.L. are signals, vertical light ray and thunderflashes. These modern contrivances are not in themselves complicated, but they would doubtless have astonished the fireworker of old.
Ammunition
Ammunition is a comprehensive term, but those constituent parts of it which were manufactured in the R.L. may be conveniently grouped under 5 heads:
Cartridges
Tubes
Projectiles
Fuzes
Small Arm Cartridges
Cartridges
Many materials have been tried from time to time for cartridges. Among these were double-paper, cured-paper, paper-royal, parchment, bladders, canvas, linen, merino, wild-bore, and bombazette. The two substances more commonly employed, however, until the introduction of flannel, were paper and parchment. All cotton and linen fabrics had the great disadvantage of incomplete consumption on discharge, a fact which necessitated the use of a wad-hook and rendered the service of the gun dangerous and slow. Parchment also had its drawbacks: it tended to shrivel up under the heat of combustion and so choke the vent. In 1778 Sir Charles Douglas suggested the use of flannel or serge to obviate these difficulties, but his proposal was not immediately adopted and paper cartridges still continued to be used. Flannel was finally introduced about the beginning of the nineteenth century and by 1828 paper for this purpose had almost disappeared. Only the best flannel or serge was used
in cartridge making and two advantages over paper were claimed for it:
(I)
It was more completely consumed on discharge.
(2)
It was stronger.
For old smooth-bore ordnance, cartridges were made in two shapes.
(1)
Cylindricalfor all except gomer-chambered guns.
(2)
Conicalfor all gomer-chambered guns.
The next material to be tried was silk cloth which was introduced for Land Service blank cartridges on 2o March 1868. Its qualities were so excellent that it has ever since remained standard.
1380
APPENDIX XV
S.B. cartridges at this time were choked and hooped with worsted. Cartrido-es for R.B.L. guns were naturally cylindrical and were formed of two pieces of serge, one rectangular for the body and the other circular for the bottom; they also had lubricators and were choked with twine. All cartridges manufactured for these guns subsequent to 25 August 1862 were hooped with blue worsted braid. As guns increased in size it was found that flannel was not strong enough to hold the heavier charges and therefore silk cloth was introduced for all Woolwich guns on 8 March 1875, the case being hooped with silk braid and choked with silk twist. Red shalloon was afterwards adopted for smaller natures of cartridges, and these two materials together with brass in the case of QF. guns are still in use for this purpose. Since the introduction of cordite, an igniter of powder has always been placed at the base of the cartridge to facilitate ignition, and the rigid outline of the former has doubtless helped to strengthen the cartridge and make its construction easier. Cartridges for
B.L. guns are cylindrical in shape and a typical modern gun charge is constructed as follows:
The propellant is normally cordite in the form of sticks. Th: sticks are formed into bundles tied with silk sewing, or in the case of heavier natures, silk braid in order to secure rigidity and facilitate insertion into the silk cloth bag0. After the insertion of the propellant, the open end of the bag is closed by the igniter of powder in a red shalloon disc being sewn on to it. Lifting beckets of braid are fitted to the larger cartridges to facilitate handling.
Cartrido-es for coast defence armament were usually made up into one
o or more portions, such as half or three-quarter charge for convenience in handling in the larger natures, and also to allow reduced charges to be used for practice purposes.
The ideal material for cartridge cloth must be strong enough to withstand the wear and tear of transport and handling, should not detenorate in store or be affected by the chemicals in the charge, and must be entirely consumed when the gun is fired. Also the textile used in making up the igniter must, in addition, be of sufficiently close texture to admit of no powder leakage and be permeable to the flash from the tube. These qualities are adequately met in silk cloth and shalloon. . .
On the introduction of Q.F. guns a brass cartridge case was mstituted in order to increase the rate of fire as much as possible. Since then, improvements in B.L. weapons have been such that in heavier natures their rapidity in action is comparable to that of a Q.F. gun. In practice, therefore, the performance factor between a Q.F. and B.L. gun has tended to disappear although all guns belonging to the Q.F. pattern have metal cartridge cases. The cases are made of standard cartridge brass (70 per cent copper; 30 per cent zinc). In times of scarcity other metals have been tried. Steel, for instance, has undergone trial and in World War II was used as cartridge case material by the American and German armies. Brass however has been found by experience to be the most suitable.
The comparative advantages of the B.L. and Q.F. cartridge systems
are as follows:
B.L. cartridges Q.F. cartridges
1.
Economical in transport and In guns of small calibre with storage space. fixed ammunition.
2.
No extraction and ejection r. No ramming of the shell operations. required.
3.
In the case of a missfire, the 2. No separate insertion of the tube can be replaced and the means of ignition. gun fired without opening the 3. No sponging out the gun
breech. chamber.
4. Cheaper and easier to manu
4.
No danger of double shotting. facture in war-time.
5.
No litter of empty cases In all Q.F. guns. requiring additional labour for
5. Safety in loading from back removal and salvage.
flash or burning debris left by
6. The shell is well rammed home
the previous round. before firing.
The requisite properties of metal used for a Q.F. cartridge case are:
(1)
Ability to stand high pressure and temperature.
(2)
A sufficient softness to expand on firing without splitting or crackmg, and to act as an obturator i.e. to prevent the escape 0f
the breech. ' gas past
(3)
A capacity to be reformed and reused.
(4)
A sufficient strength to resist deformation during transport and to withstand extraction from the gun.
(5)
An absence of corrodibility by the charge or on exposure to d
(6)
A non-liability to develop splits or cracks during the cour,[$"}P'
storage. tong
's
Q.F. cartridge cases are used in two ways:
(a)
fixed ammunition
(b)
separate ammunition
In fixed ammunition the cartridge case is attached to the projectile by pressing and indenting, the whole forming one unit for handling and loa?mg. Gene:ally speakmg, fixed ammunition is used in field, tank and ""","?k equipments when the rate of fire and the convenience or
tan ling and stowage are of paramount importance. It is also used for similar reasons in anti-aircraft equipments and formerly in the lighter ~at~res ?f coast defence armament. Separate ammunition was employed mn eavier coast defence weapons, and is made use of in howitzers because of their variable charges. Thus in the new field equipment, the
Q.F. 25 pdr being ofa gun howitzer nature the shell is rammed separately and the propellant is made up in bags retained in the cartridge case by means of a cup so that the charge may be altered as required.
For feld guns, A.A. guns and howitzers, cartridge cases are fitted with a percuss1on primer screwed centrally into the base. This generally contains a magazine having a sufficient charge of fine grain powder to dispense with the use of an igniter. For coast defence guns, cartridge cases
were fitted with adapters to take an electric tube. In the case of a breakdown
1382
APPENDIX XV
in the electric firing gear, provision was made for percussion firing and the electric tube was replaced by one of percussion type. Originally a large electric primer was used but this became obsolete.
The typical charge of propellant in a brass cartridge case consists of a cylindrical bundle of cordite sticks tied in several places with shalloon braid, the sticks in the centre being slightly shorter than those of the outer layers so as to form a recess to fit over the primer. Cartridge cases are manufactured from circular discs punched from specially prepared brass strip. The process consists of a series of cold draws with annealing and cleaning between the various stages. The number of draws and indents is dependent on the particular nature and size of the case, but in most types the various operations are in the main similar.
Tubes
The first tube was the Quick-match tube, introduced about 1765. This consisted of a piece of tin tubing dimensioned to fit the vent snugly, containing a piece of quick-match and closed by a paper cap containing mealed powder moistened by spirits of wine; afterwards the paper cap was replaced by a flannel cover soaked in a solution of saltpetre in alcohol. These tubes, however, soon proved to be too weak in action and
v. ere superseded about 1768 by a tin tube containing mealed powder moistened with alcohol with a central cavity to insure a stronger flash. Tin soon fell out of favour as it was considered to act injuriously on the composition and to be very susceptible to corrosion. Other materials such as copper, brass, thin iron, paper and reeds were tried; finally quill was introduced in 1778. By the end of the eighteenth century, therefore, the
R.L. was employing copper, quill and, in emergency, paper for the manufacture of tubes for the British service.
Up to this time, there had been no mechanical means of firing the tube, the ignition of which had in every case to be effected by means of a match or portfire. Although the flint-lock had been known since the beginning of the sixteenth century, no serious attempt to adapt it to artillery purposes appears to have been made until 1778 when Sir Charles Douglas urged its use for this purpose in the Royal Navy. At that time, however, there was considered to be a grave danger connected with the employment of metal tubes in wooden ships (for the only other materials then known to be available, namely reeds and paper were obviously unsuitable and quill was in its infancy), and the Admiralty would not entertain the idea. Sir Charles, nothing daunted, bought musket locks at his own expense and caused them to be let into pieces of wood wired to the guns of his own ship. He also purchased a stock of goose quills and the necessary ingredients so that tubes could be prepared under his supervision. On Sir Charles' appointment to Captain of the Fleet, Captain Gardner succeeded him in command ofH.M.S. Duke, and in the battle of Gibraltar Bay in April 1782 the quick and efficient gunnery of that ship was very self-evident and led to a great tactical success. This settled the question of the efficacy of flint locks as applied to ordnance, but the war at sea also being settled, locks were not officially introduced into the Royal Navy till 1790. These original flint-locks were found to be unsatisfactory
1383
owing to the single flint employed, and an improved lock carrying two flints firing a tube with a better method of priming was adopted by the Navy in 1818. I 1820, the Land service followed suit but their use in thc Army never became general, and tubes for the artillery still continued to be ignited by portfres.
At this period each type of ordnance had a different tube, the length of which was that of the vent of the gun with which it was used. In some cases tubes were made pointed and of a sufficient length to pierce the cartridge, thus abolishing the separate operation of 'pricking'. But this latter arrangement was found to lead the gunner into difficulties, for the explosion of the charge tending to distort the end of the tube, made withdrawal difficult and led in extreme cases to the spiking of the piece. Tubes of differing lengths were also found to be inconvenient. Nevertheless, for a long time it was thought essential that the end of the tube should touch the charge in order to ensure proper combustion. When, however, the truth was realized, tubes were made to a uniform length. This change was brought in about 1820. About 1824 a new match-tube, very similar in design to the tube just described, was proposed by Lieutenant Fynmore,
R.N. and adopted for flint-locks. This tube was part of the recognized equipment for all ordnance until superseded by one on the perc°ussion principle several years later. This introduction of the percussion or detonating principle as applied to tubes was the next marked improvement. It rendered firing more rapid and accurate, and effected a great economy in material and space by the abolition of portfires, priming powder etc. in the battery. The first tube of this category was invented by Mr Marsh of the Royal Arsenal surgery, and consisted of a quill body with a side quill filled with detonating composition. The body was 2-?:inches long and the side quill I inch in length. The side quill having a priming of o·2 inch of mealed powder continuous with the powder in ~he main tube, was filled with a mixture of equal parts of chlorate of potash and sulphide of antimony. The tubes were varnished over completely with red sealing wax dissolved in spirits of wine. These tubes known as Rectangular percussion quill tubes were approved for the Navy in 18g1 and for the Army on 21 November 1845; the Royal Regiment of Artillery being supplied with them on 2o May 1846. With this tube the lock was fixed to the vent field out of the way of the explosion in the vent, an undoubted advantage, but the tube as originally designed was slow in its action. Improvements were suggested to remedy this defect and eventually the idea of tymg the detonatmg quill across the top of the main tube was evolved, and some of these crutch-tied tubes found their way into the service. Finally the Cross-headed detonating tube recommended by Colonel Dansey R.A. was approved on 9 September 1846 by the Marquis of Anglesey, Master-General of the Ordnance. This improved tube consisted of a main quiII about 2½ inches long bored near the top to receive at right angles a cross-head of a pierced pigeon's quill or 'snipe', the two being made fast by a twist of fine silk. The cross-head was filled with a
mixture of chlorate of potassium, sulphide of antimony and ground glass. The portion of the main quill above the 'snipe' was filled with L.G. powder and the open ends sealed with shellac putty. The body of the tube was
1384
APPENDIX XV
varnished with black and the head of the 'snipe' with red varnish. The
tubes were activated by percussion, the blow being delivered by a hammer
fixed to the gun for that purpose and thrown over on to the tube by the
pull of a lanyard. Common tubes and portfires, however, still continued
to be employed with artillery pieces in the field. In 1844, Major Jacob
had proposed that percussion caps should be fitted to tubes and experi
ments with them proved very successful.
The next advance was the introduction of the friction tube. A tube of
this type had been laid before Royal Arsenal officials by Lieutenant
Siemens of the Hanoverian Army in 1841, but owing to its defects was
rejected.
Some quill friction tubes designed by Colonel Danscy R.A. had been
ordered for experimental purposes on 21 May 1841. They were not,
however, adopted. It was thus not until the year 1851 that Mr Tozer of
the Royal Laboratory succeeded in perfecting the copper friction tube
which was adopted for all types of artillery in the Land Service on 24June
1853. The lavy considered that metal tubes between decks would be
dangerous so a quill friction tube designed by Colonel Boxer R.A. was in
troduccd for naval service on 16 July 1856. The friction tube marked a fur
ther milestone on the road ofprogress and its advantage over the detonating
tube and common tube with a portfire was so obvious that it was finally
adopted for universal service; the detonating tube being declared obsolete
on 6 September r 866. With slight alterations the friction tube has remained
essentially the same down to the present day. The copper friction tube
consists of a body of sheet copper about 3 inches long driven with mealed
powder and pierced with a central hole. The top is closed with shellac
putty and varnished paper, and the bottom by a disc of varnished paper.
• The nib-piece contains a copper friction bar roughened on both sides and smeared with a detonating composition containing potassium chlorate, sulphur and antimony sulphide. The nib-piece is pressed down on to the sides of the friction bar, and the projecting part of the latter has an eye-piece into which the hook of the lanyard can be fitted. The quill friction tube is of very similar design; the body being made of a goose's quill. In the head is a little detonating composition through which a roughened friction bar fitted with an eyelet passes. A binding of fine copper wire serves to support the top when the tube is placed in the vent; and in some types a loop attached to the head, passing over a friction pin in the gun, supports the tube against the pull of the lanyard on firing. The Royal Navy originally objected to friction tubes on the ground that the copper friction bars would litter the decks after firing and tend to cut or injure the men's feet. It is interesting to note that the same objections were also raised against Major Jacob's percussion caps. The Navy, however, became reconciled when quill was substituted for copper although the objection to the discarded friction bars must still have held good.
In 1852 and 1855 curious accidents connected with the proof of ordnance occurred at Woolwich which revealed the danger lurking in the method of firing adopted at the time in the proof-butts. In order to allow the gun detachment time to retire safely to cover during the actual firing
1385
of the gun under proof, a piece of portfire calculated to burn for about three minutes was placed over the priming in the vent and attached to the gun by a piece of clay. This procedure was clumsy and in the end proved extremely dangerous. Mr McKinlay, the proofmaster at the time, therefore directed his thoughts to the firing of guns by galvanic agency. He submitted his galvanic tube which was approved on 8 February 1856. This tube consisted of a quill body 2¾ inches long, driven and pierced in the usual manner. On the top of the body an almost hemispherical boxwood head t mch m diameter was secured by means of shellac varnish. The head had a central hole into which the body fitted. Two holes on either side accommodated two copper bushes, to the ends of which was soldered a bridge of fine steel wire in the cup on the underside of the head. The cup was filled with L.G. powder. Wires from the cell :fitting into the two copper bushes supplied the current which heated the bridge to redness and so fired the tube. These tubes were used for proof and experimental purposes from 1856 to 1862 when they were to a great extent superseded Abel's electric tubes. Galvanic tubes were finally
by
decla:ed obsolete. m I 866. Meanwhile, at this time, Mr Henley was carry_mg out ~xpenmen_ts_at the Royal Arsenal on the ignition of explosives by high tension electricity, but even with his powerful instrument he found that the explosion of gunpowder by this method was very uncertain and that a more sensitive pnmmg composition must be found. Finally, after long and careful research by Messrs Abel and Wheatstone, a priming composition made up of copper sub-sulphide, copper sub-phosphide and chlorate ofpotash was proved to be quite suitable; and Sir Frederick Abel (as. he afterwards became) introduced his electric tube, the first issue of which took place m 1862. These tubes were officially approved as Tubes electric, high tension, Abel's pattern, Mark I, on 27 January 1866. '
By this date the R.L. were making six types of tube for the Service• common tubes of quill and copper; friction tubes of quill and copper; tu percussion tube and Abels tube; for the seventh-the galvanic tube-had
just been declared obsolete. Abel's high-tension tube consisted of a quill body of the usual length driven and pierced in the orthodox manner. The beech wood head received the body of the tube and carried two insulated copper wires attached to copper bushes. The bare ends of the wires were buried in the special priming composition before mentioned, the other ends beinofastened to the copper bushes. Being designed for high-tension currents, the insulation was fine gutta-percha and the spark gap in the priming
of
compost1on was p inch across. These high-tension tubes were eventuallydeclared obsolete on 2g January 1892. In 1878 the low-tension electric tube was introduced, the pendulum having swung once more towards the direct current. This was no doubt occasioned by the improved methods of cell making and the transmission of electrical energy in general then coming into force. This tube in its essentials consisted of an ebonite head, two insulated copper wires, a platinum bridge, a priming of guncotton dust and mealed powder with a quill body containing the mealed powder. It was originally introduced for firing radial vented R.M.L. guns, but latterly its use had been restricted
1386
APPENDIX XV
to the destruction of unserviceable cordite. It was declared obsolete in 1919.
The last step in the evolution of the tube was the invention and introduction of a type which sealed the vent, called generically a 'vent sealing' tube. This, of course, could only come into play in conjunction with a modern system of closing the breech. The adoption of such a tube allowed greater accuracy in the practical application of ballistics, as a sealed ent combined with an efficient system of obturation between breech block and gun allowed the amount of available powder gases in rear of the projectile to be calculated to a much greater nicety. This step was taken in the early eighties when the Tube V.S. mechanical andfiring 6 inch 80 pr. B.L. was approved on 17 April 1882.
V.S. tubes conferred three striking advantages:
(1)
Shooting became more accurate.
(2)
The life of the vent was prolonged owing to the cessation of erosion due to the hot escaping propellant gases.
(3)
Te tubes being retained in the guns after firing, the exposure of gun crews to flying pieces of metal, so accentuated in the case of axialvented ordnance, was reduced to a minimum.
Sealing was obtained by the pressure and heat ofthe explosion expanding the bras; walls of the tube into the tube chamber thus preventing the escape of gas past the tube. A lock retained the fired tube which was subsequently extracted by some suitable mechanism; a few years later Tubes V.S. Electric V and M and Tubes V.S. friction V and M were adopted for service. They were somewhat similar in shape to the later P tubes and were made of brass. Both electric tubes were on the low tension principle and had two wires proceeding from the head. The friction tubes had a central friction bar or wire which remained in the tube and acted as a seal against internal escape of gas after firing. The V pattern was used with the heavier R.M.L. guns and the M pattern with the older type of B.L. guns from 4 inch to 1 2 inch respectively. The next tube to make its appearance was the P tube which was approved for use in 1884. This again marked a definite advance in design as precautions were taken to render it gas-proof both internally and externally. Outside escape of gas was prevented in the usual manner by the expansion of the body while internal sealing was effected by means of cones which blew back and jammed on the shock of discharge. This tube was made in two varieties. The one electric with wires leading from the head, the other percussion, the anvil in the head of the latter firing a cap on being struck by the hammer or firing pin of the lock. In 1894 the T type of vent sealing tube came into existence in the form of Tube, friction T. They were secured in the breech mechanism by a bayonetjoint, the tube having a friction bar secured in the head. The bar was pulled by a lanyard at right angles to the vent, internal sealing being procured by means of a copper ball and coned seating in the interior of the tube. Electric tubes of this shape having two wires proceeding axially from the head followed and were in time succeeded by Tubes, friction, push T and Tubes, percussion, T, the latter being introduced only towards the middle of
00
APPENDIX XV
World War I. The last definite type of tube to be evolved was an electric p tube without wires, called Tube V.S. electric, wireless P. The original mark was introduced on 25 June 1895 and was an advantage in many ways over its wired predecessor. It increased the rate of fire, and, with the corresponding introduction of special locks, added to the general efficiency of guns on fixed mountings. Slight modifications have been introduced in the original P design over the course of years and certain patterns of a larger variety have been made, but Tube, vent, electric and Tube, vent, percussion as they are now called portray the present high water mark reached in tube design.
These tubes were almost universally used in coast defence and are employed in naval mountings, both in B.L. and Q.F. guns, although as early as 1889 an electric primer similar in design to an electric tube and made to screw into the base of the cartridge case was developed. This has however become obsolete, its place being taken by an adaptor of similar contour which houses an electric or percussion tube as may be required.
In Q.F. field equipments percussion primers are fixed in the brass cartridge cases thus dispensing with the necessity for a separate tube.
In addition to the various types of tubes mentioned, there were certain howitzers fitted with special locks which employed a blank S.A. cartridge known as Tube, percussion S.A. cartridge to initiate the combustion of their charges. Such innovations were introduced mainly owing to high prices and difficulties of manufacture, especially in World War I, and cannot be regarded as specific progress in the realm of design.
ProJectiles
Cast-iron solid shot, the normal projectile of the eighteenth century, were sometimes fired in the red-hot condition, an innovation first suggested in 1579by Stephen Bathory, King of Poland. The full-value of this proposal, however, was not realized till the siege of Gibraltar in 1779-1783, owing to the difficulty and danger of loading an incandescent body into a powder-filled gun. It had to await the introduction of the thick wet wad. Cast-iron spherical shot was made in 12 different sizes for the British Service, and even as late as the middle of the nineteenth century these were occasionally heated to redness for some specific purposes such as the destruction of wooden shipping or stores. The introduction of iron-clads, however, demanded a missile of greater penetrative power if damage were to be inflicted, thus solid steel shot were designed and manufactured, the first issue being made to H.M.S. Hector on 6 February 1865. Only the larger natures of gun, namely the 68 pdr, roo pdr and 150 pdr fired these projectiles. As the quality of the steel had to be very carefully supervised during production, their manufacture was expensive and not proving an unqualified success they were declared obsolete for future manufacture on 24 October 1866. Steel shot were replaced in 1867 by chilled iron spherical shot, this material being considered more than a satisfactory substitute owing to the success which had attended its use in the manufacture and performance of elongated projectiles. With guns of position and those cast in bronze round cast-iron shot were riveted to wooden
1388
APPENDIX XV
bottoms and were issued 'prepared', 'unprepared' or 'riveted' according to their eventual method of employment. Steel and chilled iron spherical shot were never attached to wooden bottoms but were always issued loose. Round shot continued to be used so long as smooth-bore ordnance
remained service armament. . . . With the introduction of breech-loadmg and rifled guns shot and she became elongated. but by this time shot, except for specific purposes, had become obsolescent. This new development occurred after the Crimean
.h •f
War and was an event of such far-reaching importance int e science 0 artillery that henceforward ideas flowed along other channels, and the future course of gunnery and ballistics became fundamentally changedOrdinary elon o-ated shot took the place of those of a spherical pattern an these were used up at practice. Major Palliser's shot, approved on %! October 1867 effected an improvement over the ordinary elongate shot. It was adopted for the larger types of R.M.L. ordnance rifled on the Woolwich principle and remained a good many years in the service. It had a chilled iron head and naturally underwent changes consequent upon the various improvements in gun design but in itself it remained essentially the same. It finally became obsolescent on I I October 1909
and obsolete on 23 February 1922. . . The peak of shot design was reached on 28 June 1887 with the introduction of armour-piercing shot for the penetration of armour, it then 0 hII •t enof
being considered more deadly than contemporary s e) agamns m war. This type lingered on but the performance of modern armourpiercing shell manufactured according to twentieth century designs a"" specifications completely outclassed it and by the beginning of this centuY it had received its quietus in its anti-ship capacity. Though moribund, shot had not died and it remained for the innovation of the tank to resuscitate this particular form of projectile. With the advent of armoured
nd
vehicles armour-piercing projectiles became increasingly important a those originally used for anti-tank purposes were small A.P. shell. As a result of trial and experiments, however, it became evident that such a small high-explosive filling was very difficult to detonate behind the armour, that it detracted from the perforating abili!Y ?f the proJe~tile an~ that it did not materially add to the damage done inside the vehicle afte penetration. A reversion to A.P. shot therefore took place some years
before World War II. . . rl Other specialized patterns of shot have come mto existence. In ea Y
.. lity all
days for instance sand shot was to be found. These were m rea i sm round iron balls of various sizes from 3/oz. up to 4lb. in weight. They were used for different purposes, one of which was a replac_ement ~r bullets in shrapnel shell for the largest R.M.L. guns. Cap~am Ma_n Y
R.N. invented his shot for life-saving about 18og. They were in two s1zes, 6 pdr and 24 pdr, and have been long since obsolete. n
Two types of shot also exist for non-offensive purposes. These are know as proofshot and paper shot. Proof shot, as its name implies, is for the proof of ordnance. Made of forged steel of the same weight as the corresponding service projectile, they are cylindrical in shape and flat-headed so as to ensure minimum penetration into the firing butt. Paper shot are used for
1389
APPENDIX XV
testing mountings which do not normally house a gun capable of firing a service projectile in peace-time without undue danger to the public or shipping. They are designed to procure an identical recoil to that produced by firing a normal projectile and are constructed so as to break up in the bore. The body is made of wood pulp or rolled brown paper and is filled to the correct weight with a mixture of diamond shot and sawdust.
Early case shot, as made in the R.L., consisted of a canister filled with small iron shot. The canister was usually made of tin and sometimes leaden balls were used in place of the shot. This had replaced the early variety, the contents of which were just scrap, iron bolts, nails, stones and other small hard objects. By the middle of the eighteenth century, case shot were being manufactured in 14 different sizes weighing between 1¼ and 39lb. The largest nature was the 42 pdr and the smallest was the 1l pdr.
The developments m case shot consisted in standardizing the size and weight of the bullets and in improving the cylinders. All types of ordnance eventually fired this shot but the light nature was abolished on 25 November 1830, ordinary case, having 4I bullets to the pound, being approved for further use m the field. Before 1860 all case shot were fitted with wooden bottoms. Owing, however, to the difficulty of supply, Colonel Boxer proposed on 26 May 1859 that tin or iron plate should be substituted. The change was approved on 27 March 1861 for all case shot used in the garrison or naval service, wooden bottoms alone being retained for those fired from bronze guns. Iron case shot for the 8 inch, 1o inch and 1oo pdr were not approved till 25 January 1866. In 1866, therefore, case shot was
divisible into three main classes:
(a)
Tin case with wooden bottoms (original type).
(a)
Tin case with iron bottoms (approved g7 March r86r).
(3)
Iron case (approved 25 January 1866).
all of which consisted essentially of cylindrical containers filled with sand shot of varying size and sawdust or shavings. Certain types were fitted with handles. With smooth bore guns the envelope needed only
two characteristics :
(1)
Sufficient weakness to break up at the muzzle on firing.
(2)
Sufficient strength to withstand the stress of transport.
With the rifled gun, however, a third consideration became important: the envelope must be strong enough to obviate the possibility of settine up on discharge. Such a contingency would cause the case shot to tak~ the rifling with the consequent large dispersion of the bullets laterally. This would shorten considerably the effective range. In improved types clay and sand replaced shavings and sawdust, and the envelopes themselves were made of tougher material in order to stand up to increased chamber pressures. Certain patterns, such as the later marks for the 12 pdr and the 15 pdr were fitted with a copper band to prevent the escape of gas towards the muzzle. Otherwise the design of case shot had remained constant since 1870. Its use, too, remained unchanged throughout the course of time. It was principally directed against troops in mass, men in narrow defiles, and in sailing ship days against the rigging. In more recent years case shot of large calibre containing chilled iron balls
1390
APPENDIX XV
of one pound each in weight were employed in the de.fence of narrow channels against torpedo-craft. Such a use has been abandoned. In the field case shot has been given its coup de grace by the use of shrapnel fired with fuze set at zero, a practice which is handier, more efficient and more economical in space and transport. Case shot has therefore disappeared and no more figures in armament equipment.
Grape shot was originally of the quilted type and consisted of an iron plate mounting an iron spindle round which was piled sand shot enclosed in a canvas bag, drawn together between the bails or 'quilted' with a strong line. It was its similarity to a bunch of grapes which gave this projectile its peculiar name. Its discharge was usually referred to as a 'whiff of grape'. In 1822 a new pattern, proposed by Mr Caffin, a clerk in the Royal Laboratory, was approved on 2 September. It was not, however, manufactured till 1856. Caflin's grape shot consisted of four horizontal iron plates, the lowest one wrought, the others cast, through which passed a wrought iron spindle boltheaded at the bottom and screw threaded at the top to receive a nut. Between the plates were three tiers of sand shot.
The advantages claimed for Caffin's pattern were:
(1)
Less perishable.
(2)
More portable.
(3)
Greater destructive power.
(4)
Interchangeability of parts.
Grape was made in ten different sizes from 6 pdr up to ro inch. After 1856 all grape, except that for the Io inch gun and carronades which was enclosed in a cylindrical case, was of Caflin's design. Quilted grape shot was still to be found in the Service after that date though it had become obsolete for future manufacture. Grape was used for the same purpose as case but its larger and heavier shot made it effective up to 600 yards, a range longer than that of the latter, and gave it greater powers of destruction against rigging. Grape shot became obsolete for the Navy on 28 February 1856 and its manufacture for the Land Service was discontinued after 2o February 1866 when all quilted and carronade grape shot were ordered to be broken up on return to Woolwich. An exception was made for local issue when such patterns might still be retained if serviceable. Caffin's pattern for all natures of ordnance and the special type for the 1 o inch gun were still, however, to be issued till the stock became exhausted. Grape-shot, therefore, passed out of existence with the S.B. guns with which it was used.
Shells began to be employed about 1700 for horizontal fire being fired from howitzers with a small charge, and in 1779 experiments were carried out which demonstrated that they could be projected from guns with heavy charges. This combination of their special properties with the advantage of increased range was recognized as a valuable asset, and with the gradual improvements in fuze design, shells were adopted for guns about the end of the eighteenth century.
During the nineteenth century common shell consisted of hollow concentric spheres of iron cast with fuze-holes and filled with gunpowder.
1391
APPENDIX XV
About 186o three types existed in the British service; common, naval and mortar. These differed only in minor details and had a thickness of metal about one-sixth of their diameter and a weight equal to two-thirds of that of the solid shot of the same calibre. In order to ensure shells being loaded fuze towards the muzzle, they were attached to wooden bottoms. These sabots were also intended to reduce jamming during loading and rebound effect from the sides of the bore on firing. The necessity for such stores had been recognized by a committee of artillery officers in 1819, and on 25 November 18g0 all wooden bottoms were henceforth ordered to be made of a uniform thickness of half an inch. The introduction of rifled ordnance rendered an elongated projectile necessary and shells of this shape coated with lead to take the rifling were approved for the Armstrong equipments. Trouble with the breech mechanism and obturation, however, Jed to the temporary abandonment of the breech-loading system and a reversion to muzzle-loading guns took place. v\Tith R.M.L. ordnance the lead coated projectile proved unsuitable and one with studs to take the rifling was designed in its stead. Studs by themselves, however, were found to be impracticable; not only did they weaken the walls of the shell but they allowed such excessive windage as soon to render the gun useless. Some means, therefore, had to be devised to overcome this rush of gas with its consequent pernicious erosion and loss of accuracy. The earliest method adopted was the papier-mache wad cupped to take the base of the projectile and placed between the shell and the charge. These were immediately superseded by Bolton wads introduced in January 1869, an article made of pulp prepared from 75 per cent of old rags known as tammies or woollens and 25 per cent old tarred rope. Proving completely useless they were withdrawn from the service on 22 August 1872. Meanwhile, a committee had been appointed to investigate the question of adopting means for the prevention of scoring in the bores of heavy R.M.L. guns. It reported in July 1872 and finally in January 1877. As a result, the copper gas-check was introduced in August 1878. This was attached to the base of the studded projectile. An improvement took place in the following year when a ribbed or rotating gas-check, capable of fittinothe grooves and so eliminating the studs, was tried. These ribbed gaschecks were found to confer advantages in regard to range and accuracy which the studded shell did not possess, and in 1881 the automatic gascheck was adopted. This not only engaged the rifling but also had the
property of being loaded independently. The introduction of the B.L. gun led to the development and adoption of the Vavasseur copper driving band which is essentially the same as the modern band of today. Thi~ driving band seals the gas escape forward, thus keeping the pressure-space constant and, by forcing the projectile to conform to the rifling, gives it
great stability and increased range during flight. The functions of a driving band are in reality threefold:
(I)
To rotate the projectile.
(2)
To centre the projectile in the bore.
(3)
To prevent the forward escape of gas.
The earlier types of band tended to fail in regard to (3). The gas-check band was therefore introduced. This included an undercut lip or second
1392
APPENDIX XV
slope usually of larger diameter near its rcar end. The idea underlying this modification was that the gas on entering this lip would force 1t outwards into the shot seating and so help to seal more efficaciously. Actually this was found not to happen in practice, but the incrcased diameter of the lip is helpful in reducing overram mn worn guns even if it perform no other useful function. Hump bands, similar in general shape but without the gas-check feature, have since been designed and have proved quite successful. The metal used for a driving band must ~e f:ee from impurities and soft, but tough enough to withstand any strippmS
tendency induced by rotational and engravmg stresses. Copper_ is foun: to be the most suitable material on the whole, though cupro-nickel an rilding metal are used in specific instances. The employment of gilding el,an alloy containing oo percent of copper and 1o per cent o"""< is of recent date and the Americans have used it with success in sm natures of ordnance. Its advantages over copper are said to be:
(a)
Coppering of the bore is reduced. . .
(b)
Zinc being an oxidizer tends to eliminate any element prejudicial to the performance of a copper band.
(c)
Economy in copper is secured.
(d)
Its price.
th
Driving bands are made in divers shapes and sizes, depending on e varying conditions of their employment. . d b Besides the orthodox methods of rifling which have been adopte y
the British service and implied in the evolutionary picture outlined aboYS other attempts were made at the advent of rifled ordnance to secure t e necessary rotation of the projectile. Two of the better known werebthe
. Lt ·iHling invented a out
Lancaster and Whitworth systems. ancas er n ~• . Tl 1851, consisted of an elliptical section bore with a twist of in 3o. hG ' · · h 11 d linsecti 1 on to corre
necessary projectiles, shot and s e , were ma e ova . . spond. Some guns of this type accompanied our forces to the Crimea?"? 1855. The other system was introduced by Joseph (afterwards Sir Joseph) Whitworth between 1856 and 186g. The projectiles were hexagonal ""
d" hexao-onally twiste
section with rounded corners to fiht a correspon mg ' d . bore. Extensive trials of this equipment took place at Shoeburyness . unng 1860 and 1861. Neither of these patterns was adopted for the Service.
. 1 d • tile has over the course
The foregoing details of how an e ongate proyec . . of years been made successfully to take the rifling applies to all types
except case and grape. _ ·d • th base Common shell are either nose-fuzed or pointed and fuze mn e • The former are used in field and anti-aircraft equipments, the latte; were the forerunners of the modern A.P. shell. The 6rste pointed shell for ""}$
• p 11· in 1863 Itwasma e
attack on armour was introduced by MaJor a iser . • d of chilled cast iron with an ogival head of 1l calibres radius and possesse
the following characteristics:
( 1) Intense hardness.
(2)
Crushing strength.
(3)
Brittleness.
(4)
Increased density. 1393
APPENDIX XV
It ,,vas manufactured by pouring the molten metal into an iron mould, the result being a hard white iron. Later, a sand mould ·was employed for casting the walls to ensure that the head alone became chilled. These
o
shells were very similar in shape to a modern armour-piercing shell. The head was solid and the walls thick, a comparatively small cavity being left for the bursting charge of powder. Their use was most successful against the wrought-iron armoured battleship of the day. During 1880
1890 steel shell and armour began to make their appearance, and although at first such projectiles were out-matched against hard steel plate, it was realized that steel had great advantages over iron as a shell body. It developed the force of explosion and was better able to withstand the increased shocks of discharge occasioned by the growing use of comparatively high velocity B.L. guns. The first steel shell were cast, a process followed by forging, a method of treatment which still further toughened the material.
Gunpowder was used as a filling for all explosive shell until January
1896 when lyddite was introduced. After that date common shell were
filled either with powder or with high explosive. Owing, however, to the
danger then considered to exist in filling base-fuzed shell with anything
except powder, all H.E. projectiles were nose-fused until 1913. Steel A.P.
shell were approved for service in 19oo, but as they are normally a trade
supply, the R.L. are not specifically concerned.
During World War I common shell filled H.E. were included in field
artillery equipments. Now it may be considered the standard projectile
for most purposes in modern warfare, and between the two world wars
it has been the aim to achieve better ballistic shape and greater lethal
effect. As regards the former, the increasing demand for more range has
led to more attention being paid to external contour so that the modern
common shell has a longer head and a more pronounced streamlined or
boat-tailed base than its earlier counterparts. The modern shell has also
a reduced clearance or windage between the parallel part of the body
and the inside of the bore of the gun in view of obtaining better accuracy.
Concerning lethal effect, recent experiments have shown that a higher
degree of fragmentation than was at one time thought desirable is more
effective against personnel. This increased fragmentation is obtained by
improvements in design, by the use of higher grade steels, and to some
extent, by more powerful fillings and better initiatory systems.
The carcass, invented in 1672 by a gunner in the service of Christopher Van Galen, the fighting Prince Bishop ofMunster, took its name apparently from the binding of original fire-balls with iron hoops covered with canvas and quilting cords, a fact necessitated by the growing charges of gradually improving cannon. Primarily made oblong in shape to contain a maximum of incendiary matter, their flight proved so erratic as to demand the adoption of a spherical form. Gradually the iron skeleton and canvas gave way to a thick spherical shell, vented in order to allow the egress of flame when the composition became fired. The thickness of the walls was then reduced in order to increase the internal capacity of the shell. This reduction, however, was carried to excess and many carcasses broke up in the bore. To remedy this defect, the interval between carcass and
1394
APPENDIX XV
charge was filled with turf during the siege of Quebec in 1759. The original spherical iron carcass had no stipulated number of vents, four, five and even one or two being occasionally found. By I 828, however, all carcasses for the British service were being made with four vents. Expcrience in the Crimean War nearly thirty years later proved this number to be a failure, and experiments carried out in 1855 t0 determine the happy medium pronounced three to be ideal. A three-vented carcass emer?ed as a result. The old-fashioned oblong carcass disappeared about the time of Waterloo, but the modern 3-vented carcass was not approved till 9 July 1860. Until 1854 a primitive type of star shell was in vogue for incendiary purposes. It consisted of a carcass filled with a number of stars of Valenciennes composition, i.e. a mixture of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, antimony and linseed oil, which on bursting scattered its blazing contents. The stars, however, had an unfortunate propensity for exploding and so vitiating the results. This type of carcass was officially abolished in 1863. The modern pattern of carcass which was fired from all natures and calibres of S.B. ordnance from 12 pdr upwards, except the 100 pdr, consisted of a hollow spherical iron shell pierced with three vents. As the thickness of the metal was slightly greater than that of the corresponding common shell they were consequently heavier. ~hey wer~ filled with a composition consisting of saltpetre, sulphur, resin, sulphide of antimony, turpentine and tallow inserted hot, three holes ?emg ~ade m
the filling in prolongation of the vents. The holes were driven with fuzc composition and matched with quick-match to ensure ignition. The vents were plugged with brown paper and further secured by kit plasters. Before firing, the plasters and plugs had to be removed and the priming exposed. Carcasses burned with a violent flame and were difficult to extinguish. Their great drawback, however, was their hab1hty to deteriorate rapidly in store, and it was due to this fact that they ceased to be included in equipments although they still continued to be made and issued for special purposes so long as S.B. guns remained current
armament. A device designed for naval warfare in the days of wooden sailing ships was an attachment capable of being fixed to a solid shot before firing. It consisted of 6 tubes containing incendiary matter to which were attached hooks. Small grapnel hooks were also secured by chains to the attachment on to which was mounted a steel spike for piercing the deck or other woodwork. The hooks were for catching on to the sails. The next incendiary shell to claim public attention was Martin's. This shell, filled with molten iron, was proposed by Mr Martin, a civilian, in March 1855. Experiments followed in April 1856 and the projectile was finally approved for service on go9 October 1856, the 8 inch variety being
introduced by order of Lord Panmure, Secretary of State for War. The latest pattern was adopted on 1o February 186o, in which year on the 30 May the ro inch shell was also approved. The 8 inch and 1o inch were the only two sizes made. The shell consisted of a spherical cast-iron hollow body coated with loam on its internal surface and filled before loading with molten iron poured through a filling hole. It had a thickened base to withstand the shock of discharge and a corresponding thickness at the
1395
head with a flattened interior surface to cool the top layer of red-hot metal below its melting point. In this manner the shell when filled sealed itself by forming a solid plug in the filling hole. The walls were cast thin at the sides in order to facilitate the break-up of the shell on impact and the subsequent dispersion of its molten contents. The coating of loam and cowhair acted as a non-conducting medium. It prevented the shell bodyfrom becoming unduly heated and helped to keep the filling longer in a semi-molten condition.
Martin's shell replaced red-hot shot in use against shipping. It was also employed in a minor degree against buildings and other combustible targets. The Ordnance Select Committee recommended the adoption of Martin's shell for four reasons:
( I ) They were easily filled.
(2)
They were easier to handle than red-hot shot.
(3)
Their use was less liable to burst the gun than red-hot shot.
(4)
Their incendiary power was greater than that ofr d-hot shot.
Martin's shell were declared obsolete in 1869.
Between the disappearance of Martin's shell and the beginning of the twentieth century there was a long hiatus during which no other incendiary shell was contemplated. In 191 r, one designed by Dr Hodgkinson was approved but it remained for World War I to reintroduce this type of projectile. During that war two types were adopted. The first (A.Z. shell)for use against Zeppelins, the other for setting fire to obstacles, crops, etc. in the field. In the A.Z. type the base of the shell was bored out and replaced by a steel plug retained by copper shearing pins and a steel anti-twisting pin. The shell was charged with a special composition and fitted with a time fuze in the nose. On functioning the composition was ignited and the base plug ejected. A flame was then emitted for a suitable time so as to burn out before the shell reached the ground. In the second type, the base was solid and the case filled with seven incendiary candles. On £unctioning, ~he incendiary fillings were ignited by a flash passing
down to the bursting charge at the base and then ejected, their subsequent erratic flight giving a wide area of possible incendiary effect. Incendiary shell were declared obsolete in September 1g2o but in 194o were again introduced for the 2.F. 25 pdr and the B.L. 55 inch guns in limited quantities. Projectilesofthisnaturearenotanormalrequirementofpeace and by the time World War II burst upon the world man's ingenuity had devISed better methods of spreading fire over enemy territory and amonghostile troops.
Turning now to the alternative role of burning composition that of illumination as distinctfrom arson, the light-ball emerges as the principal type of illuminating missile. At the beginning of last century there were five ground light-balls in the Service, i.e. 13, 1 o, 8, 5½ and 4l inch, but the largest appears to have become obsolescent at the time of the Napoleonic wars. The others still formed part of equipment in 1867 and were finally declared obsolete on 3o August 188g. The ground light-ball consisted ofa wrought iron frame partially covered with canvas and filled with a composition of saltpetre, sulphur, resin and linseed oil put in hot.
1396
APPENDIX XV
Holes were then made in it driven with fuze composition and matched in a similar manner to the carcass. Their time of burning varied from about9to Iominutesandtheirweightwasabout½to¾thatofthecommon shell of the same calibre. They were fired with very reduced charges and were exceedingly difficult to extinguish, water having no effect. These ground light-balls were gradually superseded by parachute light-balls, a superior illuminant in every way. They were introduced by Colonel Boxer in 1850 and patterns were sealed on 4 September of that year. None, however, was manufactured for the Service till five years later. These lights, fired from a gun, were an extension in principle of the rocket parachute light invented by Sir William Congreve at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Experiments with a view to perfecting the design continued and in 1863 new patterns were submitted. Finally the latest form was approved on 2 January 1866, which was again slightly altered five months later on 21 June. Parachute light-balls made in three sizes, 10 inch, 8 inch and 5! inch, consisted of two outer and two inner tinned iron hemispheres; the two outer lightly riveted together and the two upper connected by a chain. The, inner upper hemisphere had a depression at the top to admit the bursting charge and fuze. A quick match leader conducted the flash from the bursting charge to the fuze composition in the lower inner hemisphere. The inner upper hemisphere contained the parachute tightly folded up. To ensure the latter opening a cord was passed between its folds and through a hole in the top of the parachute and was fastened to the upper inner hemisphere, so that when the hemisphere was blown away the cord was pulled through and the parachute expanded. The lower inner hemisphere contained the composition of saltpetre, sulphur and red orpiment. A hole was bored and driven with fuze composition and matched in the ordinary manner; this hemisphere was connected to the parachute by cords and chains. The bursting charge was issued in the parachute light-ball and, on firing, the outer hemispheres were blown away liberating the burning light. About 187o instructions similar to those for carcasses were issued concerning the manufacture and use of parachute light-balls on account of their brief life. Actually the last size to survive, namely the Io inch, did not become obsolete till 1g December 1920 though many years must have elapsed since any had been made or used. With the introduction of a rifled gun a decided improvement in the form of the first star shell made its appearance on 29 May 1873 when a pattern was approved for the 7 pdr R.M.L. gun. This type consisted of a thin iron shell having a chamber in the base to take the bursting charge, a wrought iron disc and 13 stars of paper filled with barium nitrate, potassium chlorate, magnesium powder and boiled oil. The shell was closed by a wooden head having a gun-metal socket to accommodate the fuze. Star shell, though improved in many ways, remain essentially the same as when they were introduced. The onlyalteration of note is the use of parachute stars which were introduced at the time of World War I. This pattern has a body of forged steel fitted with a burster in the head. Below the burster, with a baffle plate in between, lies the star consisting of a steel case filled with star composition with priming on top. To the bottom of the star-case is a swivel to which are
397
affixed the wires attached to the parachute. The parachute is folded up and pressed into the rear of the shell which is closed by a steel plate. It is actuated by a time fuze. On the fuze functioning, the flash ignites the burster which sets up sufficient pressure to ignite the star composition, blow off the bottom steel plate, and eject the star-case and parachute through the base. The parachute then opens out, rights itself and supports the flaminrr star while it drifts slowly to earth. Star shell are only used with
the lirrhte;nature of ordnance and their employment has to some extent been superseded by parachute flares from aircraft.
Smoke, which in modern times has assumed an increasing importance in warfare, was originally produced by smoke-balls. The composition used was a mixture of saltpetre, coal, pitch, tar, resin, sawdust, crude antimony and sulphur. It was generally packed in canvas sacks. Later paper shells to contain the composition came into use. This type of projectile lingered on till it finally was declared obsolete on 30 August 1883, though it is doubtful whether any had been fired for many years previously. Latterly, they were constructed in five sizes and consisted of a concentric paper shell about f-sth of its total diameter in thickness. They were filled with a mixture of L.G. powder, saltpetre, pitch, coal and tallow. The vent was driven with fuze composition, matched and covered with kit plaster. During filling, sulphur and coal dust were sprinkled in three times. Smoke balls were intended:
• (a) For suffocating or expelling the enemy when working in casemates mines or between decks >
(2)
For concealing operations
(3)
For serving as signals
and in this last connection it is worthy of note that six ships fitted out in 1852 for an Artic expedition, carried a supply of these projectiles.
Smoke shell proper were only introduced during World War I. They were of three types, the double diaphragm type, the burster container type and the base ejection type. Of these only the last remains as a current supply. The first two were filled with white phosphorus and the last with smoke composition. The base ejection type which is an improved pattern is similar in principle to the parachute star shell already described. It contains cannisters filled with a slow-burning mixture and is operated
by a time fuze. A special type of smoke shell known as target shell is used to produce smoke clouds forming targets for anti-aircraft purposes. The filling originally gunpowder is now white phosphorus. Gas shell were introduced during World War I. Their bodies were similar to the now obsolescent types of smoke shell bodies which were charged through the side, their filling being different kinds of obnoxious gas. After that war the name was changed to chemical shell. As the use of gas is prohibited under international convention and since it was not employed in World War II, it is to be hoped that this particular type of shell will die a natural death. Segment shell were introduced with R.B.L. guns, the first being that for the 12 pdr on 13 April 1860. This projectile consisted of a very thin
1398
APPENDIX XV
cast-iron cylindri-conoidal body about 2 calibres in length lined with cast-iron segments built up in layers having a cylindrical powder chamber in the centre. The base was closed by a cast-iron disc. A thin coating of lead alloy extended from shoulder to base and flowed in between the segments lining the powder chamber, thus giving additional weight and solidity. In this manner the shell exhibited great resistance to external pressure while a small bursting charge could open it. It was employed as a kind of intermediary between case and shrapnel although in certain circumstances it was simply used as shot or common shell. Segment shell could only be fired from Armstrong guns but its action was to some extent met by the adoption of ring shell for R.M.L. and B.L. guns in 19o1. This shell was made of cast-iron cast on a core of rings, each ring being placed to prevent breaking joint with another. The rings were weakened to break up when the shell burst. Although its use latterly was mainly confined to India, this projectile was still current during World War I. It was distinguished by a blue tip.
A shell which could burst into a number of small fragments and thus become an effective man-killer among parties of troops was sorely needed during the siege of Gibraltar. This want was to some extent met by adopting the plan of Captain Mercier, 39th Regiment. This officer suggested firing 55 inch royal mortar shells from 24 pdr guns and the adoption of this proposal proved efficacious. It was realized at the time that this device was nothing more than a make-shift and the mmds of artillerymen turned towards a permanent solution of this problem. The outcome was the far-reaching invention of Lieut. Henry Shrapnel R.A. who in 1784 proposed his spherical case shot. This projectile, originally consisting of a thin iron shell filled with carbine or musket balls and
> sufficient powder to effect bursting when ignited by a fuze, was not intended to supersede case or grape shot, but to act in a similar manner at longer ranges. In fact General Shrapnel, as he afterwards became, speaking of his invention said, 'the object now accomplished is the rendering the fire of case shot effectual at all distances within the range of cannon'. The idea lying behind this shell was then entirely novel. Until its introduction, all shell had depended on the bursting charge for the dispersal of their parts. Such charges were therefore a maximum and all attempts to improve efficiency were effected by their increase. Shrapnel's principle, however, was quite different. It legislated for a minimum charge consistent with opening the envelope containing the bullets so that the liberated contents could travel forward with the velocity of, and in the same direction as, the fractured case. It was this significant fact which made its effect so deadly. Therein lay its claim to recognition. This claim did not remain unchallenged and both French and German writers sought to prove that Shrapnel had merely improved existing ideas. Time eventually killed these arguments and Shrapnel's title was finally recognized. He was given a pension of £365 p.a. on 26 March 1805 for his novelty and many years later, as a mark of respect to its distinguished servant, the British Government issued an order on 11 June 1852 that henceforth spherical case shot should be known as shrapnel shell in honour of its inventor. In spite of its importance Shrapnel's invention was shelved for
1399
some years and it was not till 1792 that the proposal was formally submitted to a committee of artillery officers. Four years later officialdom awoke from its slumbers and Major Shrapnel, as he had become by then, fired some of his shell containing leaden bullets before the Committee of Field Officers of Artillery (afterwards the Ordnance Select Committee) on 3 June 1803. As a result spherical case shot was at last approved for service, and the first recorded instance of its use in action was arrainst the
b
Dutch at the battle of Fort Amsterdam, Surinam, in April 1804, twenty years after its first appearance. The valuable properties inherent in its principles were, however, to a great extent neutralized in the original design by its liability to premature action. This called into account the efficacy ofspherical case shot, and from an extensive series of trials carried out in 1819 and 1852 it was found that 17 and 22 per cent. respectively of the shell fired were failures. The fault was originally considered to be due. to the setting down of the fuze composition together with the concussion of air at the moment of firing; it was thought to arise only in some cases from the shell's being too weak to withstand the shock of discharge. In 1850, Colonel Boxer introduced his fuze to obviate this and the walls
ofthe shell were thickened. The trouble, however, still remained prevalent. The main causes were then attributed to:
(1) The fuze being driven out by the weight of bullets in the shell on
firing thus allowing the flash to pass from the propellant to the burstin charge. S
(2) The friction of the bullets generating sufficient heat to ignite the bursting charge.
Two attempts were made to remedy this state of afairs; by coating %·"""o,g"hehell with cement to reduce the friction, and'yfig the alls wit! pitch, sulphur, plaster of paris and other materials. The
charge was also diminished. Neither of these palliatives proved satisfactory. Extensive experiments were then carried out to establish finally the cause of these prematures, and the trials of 1852, 1853 and 1854 proved conclusively that the intermingling of powder and bullets was the seat of the trouble. In 1852 Colonel Boxer suggested the separation of the bullets from the bursting charge by a diaphragm. Experiments with shell constructed on this principle were most satisfactory, and on 1 October 1853 the Ordnance Select Committee recommended the manufacture of a large number with a view to their introduction into the Service. Boxer's diaphragm shell was therefore provisionally approved on 11 October 1853. Meanwhile, in order to deal with the difficulty inherent in the original pattern in store, a conversion was approved on 2g March 1854 by which the bullets and powder were separated by means of a socket
and tin cylinder mtroduced at the fuze hole. These converted shell were known as. Improved shrapnel shell. The diaphragm shell underwent one or two mmor changes and, as altered, was provisionally approved on 29 September 1858. It did not receive final approval till 27 September 1864. Diaphragm shell were made for eleven different natures of ordnance
rangmg from 6 pdr to 150 pdr, the 1o inch being an exception. They were fired from guns, howitzers and carronades. The shell consisted of a thin cast-iron casing weakened by four grooves down the sides to facilitate
1400
APPENDIX XV
opening out, thickened at the junction of the diaphragm and shell to prevent disruption into only two pieces, strengthened at the fuzc hole to support the socket, and increased at the base in all natures above 12 pdr to withstand the shock of discharge. A wrought-iron diaphragm divided the shell into two unequal parts, the smaller and upper fanning the powder chamber and the larger and lower holding the bullets of lead and antimony packed in coal dust. A socket, fitting down into the shell through the diaphragm acted both as a funnel for introducing the bullets and as a receptacle for the fuze. The charge of F.G. powder was inserted through a loading hole closed by a plug. These shell were issued either:
(1)
Empty, loose, prepared for bottoms for India only.
(2)
Empty, riveted.
(3)
Filled.
Diaphragm shell were always issued with bullets, the filling only referring to the charge. When filled their weight was approximately seveneighths that of a solid iron shot of the same calibre. Six advantages were claimed for the Boxer diaphragm type over the original spherical case shot. These were:
(I)
Premature action completely obviated.
(2)
Full service charges could be used, thereby increasing. the range and its effects.
(3)
Reduction of the dispersive effect of the bursting charge on the bullets.
(4)
Adhesive action of the bullets overcome.
(5)
Keeping qualities increased.
(6)
Greater safety in transport when filled.
The improved shrapnel shell which was recognizable by its projecting socket became obsolete a few years after its introduction into the service.
The adoption of rifled ordnance may be said to have ushered in the era of modern shrapnel so far as its internal arrangements are concerned. The R.B.L. pattern consisted of a cast-iron body, weakened internally by longitudinal grooves, to which was attached a head of elm covered with a wrought-iron skin. In the base of the body was formed a chamber which accommodated a tin cup holding the bursting charge. Over the cup rested an iron diaphragm pierced with a central hole through which was passed a central tube connecting the fuze socket to the magazine,
i.e. the tin cup filled with powder. On the diaphragm rested the bullets of lead and antimony set in resin. A primer, screwed into the top of the tube, facilitated the passage of the flash from the fuze to the bursting charge. The modern shell differs but little from its Armstrong predecessor although certain variations founded on experience have been introduced. For instance, the weakening grooves have disappeared, cast-iron has been replaced by forged steel and heads are usually attached by rivets and twisting pins. Also, in common with all nose-fuzed shell, a 2 inch fuze hole gauge has become standard and streamlining has been brought into effect. There have been various patterns. Some natures were provided with a tin cylinder to hold the bullets, others dispensed with the wooden head. One type substituted compressed pellet bursters of F.G. powder in the
1401
magazine and perforated pellets for a primer in the central pipe; it also had no separate head but a separate screwed-on base. Another provided for a bursting charge in the head. Such variations in design, however, do not affect the basic principle which has remained unaltered for the last hundred years.
Shrapnel shell are confined to field equipments though owing to the improved fragmentation now obtained from the latest common H.E. shell they are less in demand than heretofore.
Fuzes
The original fuzes made in the R.L. were primitive in the extreme. They consisted of tubes, usually made of iron or wood, filled with mealed powder or some other composition. They were uncertain and dangerous in action. Their ignition proved their great stumbling block as only four methods of lighting them appeared feasible. These were:
(1)
Loading the shell, fuze towards the charge, with a perforated tampion between the two, the fuze being placed in the hole in the tampion.
(2)
Placing a perforated wooden tampion containing mealed pov. der between the projectile, loaded fuze up the bore, and the charge so that the mealed powder acted as a relay in lighting the fuze.
(3)
Using a gun with two vents, one for the fuze and the other for the charge, so that both might be lighted in quick succession.
(4)
Loading the shell fuze towards the muzzle and igniting it with a port-fire thrust down the bore.
It was not realized till about 1747 that the gun of the period had sufficient wmdage to allow the flash of discharge to pass up the bore, encircle the shell and set fire to the fuzc, thus allowing single-fire, i.e. the ignition of the charge and fuze in one operation, to become a practicable proposition. The fuzes themselves had no time arrangement and when once made their time of burning was fixed. The only attempt at control was by varying the initial length to suit the average range of the gun from which they would be eventually fired, and by inserting different natures of priming into the fuzc cases. This, of course, complicated the supply question and it was borne home that wood, which was susceptible to easy shortening, offered a better solution to the 'time to burst' problem.
By the middle of the eighteenth century, therefore, British fuzes were constructed of beechwood, bored out and filled with powder, and cut to length for the requisite time of burning. Bitter experience taught that m practice there was a limit below which it was unsafe to cut the fuze· either a blind or a premature resulted. To obviate this, special fuzcs filled with a quick burning composition were proposed and adopted, for in 1779 three fuzes burning at the rates of 4, 4½ and 5 seconds an inch were to be found in the British service. The next improvement was suggested by Captain Mercier, before mentioned, during the siege of Gibraltar. He proposed to fire shell with calculated fuzes. By the year 1819 there were 2 1 different varieties of bored shrapnel fuzes in the British service; exclusive of a mealed powder and unbored fuzc and fuzes for common and mortar shell. This was indeed felt to be a plethora which demanded a
I402
APPENDIX XV
remedy. A committee was therefore appointed that same year to investigate this multiplicity and look into the question ofreducing the number of common and mortar fuzes from five to three, but though the members agreed that such a course was desirable in itself, they hesitated to recommend it on the ground of the great difficulty in disposing of existing stocks of shell. About this time eight types of fuzes were sent on service, their description and lettering being marked on the tangent scales of the guns, on the cases in which they were packed and on the fuzes themselves. A proposition to reduce the number of fuzes for spherical case shot from seven to three was submitted on 17 October 1828. This was apparently approved on 19 November following but was never put into effect as these seven classes of fuzes remained in the service till 185o. In 1829 metal time fuzes were adopted for the Navy as they were considered more suitable than wooden fuzes for the Sea Service. On 25 November 1830 the number of fuzes for each shell in the field was reduced from eight to four. In 1845 another committee sat with the object of further simplifying the fuzc position and abolishing some ofthe numbers but failed to achieve any result. Until the middle of the nineteenth century there was little or no improvement in time fuze construction, then the repeated failures of shrapnel shell forced the pace, and on 27 April 1849 Colonel Boxer proposed his wooden fuze to surmount this difficulty. Before this new departure there were I9 fuzes in the service, 16 of wood and 3 of metal. Of the wooden fuzes, IO were for use with shrapnel, 5 with common and mortar shell and one for the hand grenade. All these fuzes were prepared by cutting to length or by boring into the composition from the bottom, thus suffering·fromthedefectofhavinrr theirfillingunsupported. Colonel
.:::, .
Boxer's fuzcs catered for such support by boring a hole in the side during preparation. They were subjected to severe trial, but after extensive experiments they passed with such flying colours that the Ordnance Select Committee recommended their adoption for all gun and howitzer shell. This recommendation was approved on 2 September 1850. These fuzes consisted essentially of a wooden strairrht coned casing with one powder
>
channel and one row of holes reading th of an inch. Therefore a pair of fuzes, one reading odd and the other reading even tenths'. had to be supplied for each shell. The composition bore was concentric, and the fuzc was capped with paper, painted white for odd and black for even tenths. On 21 August 1852 Colonel Boxer suggested some minor alterations, one being the adoption ofa projecting head. In August 1853 further improvement took place in the method ofpriming. On 21 December 1853 the adoption of two channels and one inch of composition for all shrapnel fuzes, and two channels and two inches of composition for all common and howitzer shell fiizes was recommended. This was implemented and such fuzes were introduced on 8 February 1854. The projecting head, approved in 1852, not only rendered the fuze susceptible to damage but caused it to be easily knocked out ofits seating on ricochet, and on Colonel Boxer's suggestion it was removed on 16 March 1854. The Boxer fuze, although considered at the time to be a great stride forward, yet lacked one essential-regularity of burning. Experiments were undertaken in the summer of 1854 to investigate the cause of this defect, and these
91
conclusively showed that the grease used with the boring instruments during manufacture seeped into the wood and impregnated the composition. Steps were therefore taken to institute the use of dry bits for drilling, and the fault was then to a large extent eradicated. Trouble now began to be experienced with these straight coned fuzes during storage. Originally correct to gauge, they either became too swollen to enter the fuze hole owing to the absorption of moisture, or so shrunken owing to the desiccation of the wood in a dry atmosphere that, bereft of their projecting head, they set back in the shell on firing and caused prematures. Colonel Boxer therefore recommended on r r May r855 that the angle of cone should be increased for all common shrapnel and mortar fuzes. On the same day the Ordnance Select Committee recommended the use of a metal cap in place of those of paper used hitherto. Both these alterations were approved on 18 August 1855, a date which may be taken to mark the adoption of Boxer fuzes in their final form. The first Boxer mortar fuzc on the small cone principle was introduced on 27 January 1855, but it was subsequently brought into line with those for gun and howitzer shell on 10 August of the same year. The next type to be recommended for adoption was Boxer's metal time fuze for the Navy on 21 January 1857. There were two patterns, the go seconds and the 7l seconds respectively, but
the latter were not approved for service till 22 February 1858. They underwent alterations and were not finally introduced till rr August 1859. Metal, however, was not considered to be the ideal material for time fuze bodies at the period, as the improvements so recently effected in wooden fuzes were held-to stultify the arguments previously advanced for its retention by the Navy. The introduction, therefore, on 26 June 1866 of the g seconds M.L. fuze and on 7 June 1867 of the 2o seconds M.L. fuze was considered to seal for ever the ultimate fate of metal time fuzes. Six advantages were claimed for Boxer fuzes over their predecessors:
(r)
Freedom from premature explosions.
(2)
Greater regularity of burning.
(3)
Greater safety in preparation.
(4)
Simplification in preparation.
(5)
Great reduction in numbers necessary.
(6)
General all-round improvements.
and the era of the wooden time fuze was definitely and triumphantly established. The general make-up of the wooden time fuzc at this period was as follows: The body, made of beechwood, was shaped in the form of a truncated cone and cupped out in the head to take the match and priming. The mtenor was bored out to take a lining of paper filled with a composition of saltpetre, sulphur and mealed powder. The side holes, recording tenths of inches were plugged with rifled powder, the clay of the earlier patterns being abolished. The bottoms of the powder channels were connected by a piece of quick-match, and at the level of the top side hole the composition bore was driven with mealed powder to ensure accuracy at short ranges. In the head was a gun-metal plug, screwed into the upper part
1404
APPENDIX XV
of the composition bore so as to be flush with the top of the fi.JZe. From the centre of this plug a copper pin projected downwards round vwhich was looped a piece of quick-match, the ends being passed through two escape holes in the side of the head. The quick-match was laid in a groove round the head of the fuze and protected by a strip of thin copper covered with a tape band, one end of the former remaining exposed. The copPer band served two purposes, protection from moisture and safety from premature ignition. On preparing the fuze for action the requisite side hole vas bored by a hook-borer allowing one tenth of an inch for each half second of time. After loading, the tape was torn off. On the gun being fired the flash from the charge ignited the fuze and the composition burned at the rate of one inch in five seconds until it reached the bored hole. There the flame from the burning composition passed into the powder channel in which a communication had been opened at the bored side hole and thence was flashed dm-vn into the shell. If the fuze were unbored, it would burn its full time.
The introduction of rifled guns led to an alteration of design in the wooden fuze. As windage under these conditions was reduced to a minimum, the flash from the charge could no longer be depended on to ignite the fuze. A detonator, cap composition and a hammer suspended by means of a copper wire were therefore incorporated, the needle of the hammer being actuated by the shock of discharge. This design was provisionally approved on 13 January 1864. Armstrong's fuzes were introduced on 13 April 186o for use with R.B.L. guns. The first was known as the A pattern and was made of white metal. Numerous modifications and marks, the nomenclature of which is reminiscent of a musical scale, followed in rapid succession culminating in the F pattern which was approved on g1 September 1 867 as the first time and percussion fuze. As the percussion arrangement frequently failed it was withdrawn from service, leaving the field clear for the E. Mark III to remain the only fuze in general use with Armstrong equipments. This particular pattern was the prototype of the modern time fuze. It was made of brass and contained a ring of slow burning composition which was ignited by a pellet holding a detonating cap which set back on the shock of discharge, thus bringing the cap against a firing pin. It was superior to the Boxer fuze in regard to its accuracy of setting, and although originally used only for naval segment shell, it was ultimately recognized as being very suitable for shrapnel. The next combined fuze adopted in this country was a time and percussion introduced by Sir William Armstrong on 12 December r88r. During the subsequent classification offuzes it became Fuze, time andpercussion No. 52.It was the amalgamation of his E time fuze with a graze percussion arrangement. Irregularity ofburning was still the great obstacle to be surmounted, but it was hoped that the hurdle had been cleared when Fuze T and P short took the field a short time afterwards. Its designers hoped that it would burn with great regularity, would act by time both at very short and very long ranges and would function on graze with certainty. To some extent that hope was justified. It was introduced to supersede fuze No. 52 in the smaller natures of B.L. guns. The advent at this period of B.L. guns having higher muzzle velocities and giving longer ranges set a problem for the
1405
APPENDIX XV
faze designer. At once a need arose for a time fuze which would act satisfactorily over these greater distances. It was realized that a filling of slow burning mixtures would merely court disaster, as such compositions were known to be far more irregular in their habits than a quick powder. The difficulty to be solved, therefore, was the best means of lengthening the time of burning without at the same time introducing further causes of irregularity. Only two alternatives appeared feasible; to increase the effective diameter of the ring or to employ a second ring. The latter solution had been previously attempted without success by Sir William Armstrong, so the former-that of enlarging the ring-was adopted and Fuze T &; P sensitive, middle No. 24 was introduced on 28 May 1887. This had a different arming mechanism. Up to that time the action of all fuzes had been initiated by the shock of discharge shearing small pieces of wire retaining needles or pellets, but with certain low-velocity weapons the shock of firing was so small that these shearing wires had to be of very small gauge. In fact, the wires had to be so thin and weak that the fuzes became dangerous to load. To circumvent this difficulty, this sensitive fuze was devised which depended for its correct functioning on centrifugal force actuating pellets outwards on to needles. Fuze T ? P No. 56 followed, but it was not till 19o1 that Faze T &3 P No. 58, the first to be built up on the double-banked system, became an article of service equipment. It signalized a definite attainment in fuze development and went a long way towards solving the problem oflong range shrapnel fire as it existed at the opening of the twentieth century.
The last distinctive step in igniferous fuze design was taken in
1905 when the original Fuze T & P No. Bo, based on a Krupp model, was introduced with the QF. 13 pdr and 18 pdr equipments. Other T & P fuzes have naturally followed this pioneer, e.g. Nos. 88 and 2go, the details of the mechanisms of which differ slightly. For instance No. 88 has more affinity with No. 8o than with No. 22o. It has, however, only one stirrup sprmng, a mckel steel ball subject to centrifugal force controlling the percussion pellet. No. 220, on the other hand, has no ferrules or stirrup springs. It has two separate mechanisms, one for the time portion and one for the percussion. There are thus two needles instead of a double-ended one as in Nos. 80 and 88; also its safety devices are somewhat different. Broadly speaking the latest fuzes deviate from No. 8o rather in minutiae than in broad principles and the last mark of the latter may be said to epitomize the present standard of design. The present pattern of Fuze T c P No. 8o, made of G. metal has two rings fitted over the upper portion of the body, the lower resting on the platform which is graduated from o to 22. Each ring has a groove on its underside forming an annular channel broken by a bridge of metal. The composition is pressed into these grooves. Box cloth washers are placed between the rings, and rings of paper cover the composition in order to exclude the damp. A hole, fitted with an escape hole disc of brass, is cut in each ring at the beginning of the powder channel to act as an exit for the products of combustion. The brass discs are essential for correct functioning. The upper ring is prevented from rotating by pins; the lower can be made to revolve for setting. Immediately below the cap is a time
1406
APPENDIX XV
pellet fitted with a detonator and supported by a stirrup spring over the needle. The percussion mechanism is situated in the body ab_ove the magazine. It consists of a pellet, fitted with a detonator, on which rests another stirrup spring; and on this stirrup spring is placed a ferrule and creep spring. The magazine at the base is filled with R.P. or G. 2o powder. On the shock of discharge, the time pellet and the ferrule set back straightening both stirrup springs. The time pellet is therefore forced backwards on to the needle. The ensuing flash from the detonator passes through an opening in the stem and lights the composition in the upper time ring and the powder pellet in the escape hole. This blows out the escape hole disc. The flame then travels round the upper ring in the direction in which the shell is rotating until, after an interval of time determined by the setting, it reaches the passage communicating with the lower ring provided with a powder pellet to ensure ignition. The composi
tion in this ring is thus lighted, the escape hole disc is ejected and the flame travels in the reverse direction until it reaches the magazine which it ignites. All this time the percussion pellet is kept from the needle only by the creep spring. On graze or impact, this pellet flies forward overcoming the creep-spring and carries the detonator forward on to the point of the needle. The resulting flash passes through the pellet and fires the magazine should the time mechanism not have already operated.
Time and percussion fuzes are used only in field equipments, the projectiles of which are normally burst by time. The percussion portuon may be regarded as a kind of 'long-stop' or last resource should the time mechanism fail as it is obviously advantageous for a shell falling in rear of the enemy's lines to burst on impact rather than be a blind; on the lines of the old adage that half a loaf is better than no bread. 0riginally time fuzes were fitted to star shell only but anti-aircraft artillery has greatly extended their use. The greater proportion of A.A. shell fired at hostile aircraft and missing their target fall on friendly territory. In such circumstances the arrival of an unexploded shell is certainly preferable to one which bursts on landing. For this reason time fuzes have increased in numbers considerably during recent years. These may be special designs like Fuze, time No. 199, amended types where the percussion arrangements
of certain T & P fuzes have been blocked out and a hundred added to the numeral, e.g. Fuze, time No. r8o, or types using a blocked-out T & P fuze over a percussion nose fuze of a detonating type. These latter were used with H.E. shell in the first World War, though in later years games have superseded the percussion fuzes employed. They were known as time detonating fuzes and were given by way of nomenclature the combincd numbers of the fuzes employed, e.g. Fuze, time No. 8o[44.
It must be understood that only certain time and T & Pfuzes have been mentioned in the foregoing pages in order to point out some particular principle or innovation. In reality, the numbers which have appeared during the course of the last eighty years have been considerable. Many have naturally become obsolete in course of time, but those still current
reach a substantial figure. . During World War I mechanical time fuzes, which depend on a spring in place of a train of composition for their time of burnmg, came mto the
1407
APPENDIX XV
Service. The first to appear was Fuze, time, mechanical No. 2oo. They were introduced to ease some of the problems connected with A.A. fire. Since then improvements have been made and further pa:tterns have been sealed.
Not until the percussion cap had been invented could a reliable per
cussion fuzc be designed, and the first to be made was Freeburn's concussion fuze invented by Quartermaster Freeburn R.A. and approved for service on 12 October 1846. This fuze was constructed of beechwood, the head being cup-shaped and recessed internally, and the body bored out to take the· composition. The total length was about 6 inches. About 2 to 3inches from the head three rectangular holes were bored through the sides into the composition, and each hole was fitted with a gun-metal wedge tending to fall inwards. These wedges were supported internallyby the composition and externally by wedges of wood secured by a thin copper wire covered by a paper band. A long piece of match was coiled in the recess in the head, one end passing into the composition. The head was covered by a paper patch. On the shock of discharge the propellant flash lighted the match and the composition commenced to burn awayOn impact, the copper wire became broken and the gun-metal wedge· deprived of their internal support fell inwards allowing the flame fr s
the still burning composition to reach the shell's bursting charge throuog~ the medium of the three uncovered holes. The fuze was active for about 1 2 or 1 3 seconds. On I December 1847 minor alterations in the gene
1
shape of this fuze were approved. Being made of wood, Freeburn's r.::e was not acceptable to the Navy, so several attempts were made to introduce a metal fuze for that service. All attempts, however, proved fruitless till 1850 when Commander Moorsom R.N. invented his percussion fu which was finally approved for Sea Service on I 6 July I 861 This r.un ze
• • · • I.Zewas
made of gun"al cylindrical in form and screw-threaded to the Moorsom gauge w ic was nght-handed and larger in diameter than pr •
· 'ev1ous
systems. It consisted ofthree chambers each containing a patch ofdt
· • • hi e.ona
tmg composition over w ch was suspended a gun-metal hamm b
• A1d • er Y
means of a wire. ea en pillar and a guard wire were incorporated as safety arrangements to prevent premature action On firing th •
. • , ewires
were shcared., and on impact the hammers were thrown forward tu k
. . : string
the dIetonatmng composition; the flash thus formed passing through the necessary fire-holes and igniting the bursting charge. In 1851 th .r;
· h d · , ere1ore,
each s~rvice a its own percussion fuze. The introduction ofBoxer's time fuzes in 1850, however, caused a new fuzc-hole gauge to appear. This being adopted. in 1852 rendered Freeburn's fuze useless and obsolescent. The land service thus had no percussion fuze from that date util M
. nir
Pettman, a fcoreman m the Royal Arsenal, designed a new type. This stood up well to departmental !rials and with a few modifications was approved on 3 October 1861. A similar design for the Navy was submitted m 1860 and adopted for the Sea Service on 2 August 1862.
Mr Pettman subsequently proposed a modification for his Sea Se •
f ·. ·d k .:. :rvcce
uze mn or er to ma e it suitable for rifled guns. This general service fuze was introduced on 19 May 1866 and gradually superseded Moorsom's pattern which was declared obsolete on 2 May 1865. In 1867, therefore,
1408
APPENDIX XV
there were only three percussion fuzes for spherical shell:
Pettman's L.S. percussion fuze,
Pettman's Sea Service percussion fuze, and
Pettman's G.S. percussion fuze.
The third fuze, capable of acting in S.B., R.B.L. or R.M.L. guns on impact only, had a very ingenious design. It consisted essentially of a hollow brass cone, screw-threaded externally, in the centre of which was placed a roughened brass ball coated with detonating composition. This ball was retained in position between brass pellets, the lower one being supported on a leaden collar. The upper pellet had detonating coml?osition round its top edge and was bored through the centre to seat a plain brass ball beneath the closing plug. On firing, the set back caused the leaden collar to crush up and release the detonating pellet, which then became free to strike against the wall on impact. With rifled ordnance, the action of the detonating pellet was liable to fail owing to the striking position of the shell. In this case, the action of the fuze was as follows: the _pla~ ball, being released on discharge, was kept agamst the wall by centrifuga force and was in a position to crush the detonating composition placed around the top edge of the upper pellet when the lat~er moved forward on impact. A small powder magazine was secured m the lower brass pellet to pass on the flash to the bursting charge of the shell. .
There was still a school of thought which hankered after the concuss1on type of fuze and pressed for its reintroduction. It was considered safer to handle and less liable to deteriorate in store than the percussion type. However as this class of fuze was unsuitable for guns without windage,
e.g. bree~h-loaders which were still felt to have afuture before them, such plans came to nought although several designs were submitted in 187o. At this period there were six percussion fuzes for rifled guns, including Pettman's G.S. which was common to all classes of ordnance. One of these the Armstrong C percussion was modified into Fuze, percussion B.L. plain, when S.B. guns ceased to be ofprimary importance. This type, intro""" on 1g October 1870, was of similar construction to Fuze, percusson .
approved on 23January 1872. In the top ofthese fuzes was a plate carrymg a central needle which projected downwards on to a lead alloy pellet fitted with a detonator cap and a small powder magazme. A pin, withdrawn before firing was placed under the needle to ensure safety durmg transport. The pell~t had projecting feathers and these supported a collar which kept the pellet in position while in trans~t. On finng, the calla: set back shearing of the feathers, and when the fhght of the shell becam checked on impact the pellet, being freed, moved forward an? the needle
pierced the cap. Direct action fuzes soon followed with the mtrodu~t.Ion • on 1 7 November 1880 of Fuze, percussion D.A. No. g. This type consisted of a copper disc carrying a steel needle suspended over a detonating cap and powder magazine. On the shock of discharge no action took place, but on impact the copper disc was crushed in and the needle driven on to the detonator. The general layout of D.A. fuzes has remained unaltered, the only recent differences being a more streamlined shape, the inclusion of certain safety devices such as shutters, tapes, etc. to prevent accidents
1409
APPENDIX XV
during transport and prematures on firing. Fillings are now H.E. instead of powder. Two only call for comment. The first is Fuze, percussion D.A. No. 106, a fuze much used with field equipments in World War I. This had a weighted tape wound round the hammer stem near the head to act as a safety device. After firing, the tape did not unwind and free the hammer until the shell had attained a certain rotational velocity thereby safeguarding the gun detachment from any premature explosion. Afterwards a shutter was added and the fuze became known as No. 1o6E. This shutter, however, while ensuring additional safety to personnel, did introduce a certain delay with the result that craters were formed on impact. It therefore proved less efficient than No. 1o6. This fuzc is unique in one respect in that it has undergone more modifications, radical or slight, than any other fuze before or since. Its marks, contemplated or adopted, reached the astounding total of fifty-five. The other is Fuze, percussion D.A. No. 117. This fuze of later date introduces a different safety device; four metal segments held in position by means of the striker and arming sleeve. All D.A. and D.A.I. fuzes now have caps which are removed before firing, e.g. Nos. 44, 45, 106E, 1 I 7 and others. Graze fuzes being ultra-sensitive have to have special safety devices. Besides shutters, centrifugal bolts and detents are employed, and the final action is delayed by a creep spring, on the overcoming of which the fuze acts.
The first base fuze to be introduced was Fuze, percussion, base, Hotchkiss on 9 April 1886, a pattern which depended for its action on the plasticity of lead. On 24 August 1890 Fuze, percussion base, Armstrong No. 9 was introduced for Q.F. guns. It had a graze pellet retained in the safe position by two bolts screwed into a pressure plate in the base. The pellet was further secured by two centrifugal bolts, one of which was held by a spring bridle. A creep spring was fitted to prevent the pellet moving forward during flight. There was a small powder magazine in the head. The action was as follows: The pressure of the propellant gases forced in the pressure plate so that the heads of the retaining bolts advanced clear of the pellet. The bridle was also driven forward releasing the centrifugal bolts which moved outwards due to the rotation of the shell. The pellet, being only restrained by the creep spring, was then free to move forward on impact. In 1894 Fuze, percussion base, large No. 1 I appeared for Palliser and common pointed shell, Palliser shell being originally unfuzed as the friction set up
in the bursting charge was deemed sufficient to generate enough heat to cause their explosion. This large base fuze differed from the Armstrong No. 9 mainly in having a flexible copper pressure plate and one central retaining bolt or spindle. Only one centrifugal bolt was incorporated and this was housed in the needle pellet being retained in the safe position
• by the nut of the spindle. On firing, the pressure plate was crushed in, and the nut on the central spindle moving clear released the centrifugal bolt. The latter flying outwards under the influence of the shell's rotationary movement, left the needle pellet free to move forward on impact by overcoming the weak resistance of a phosphor bronze spring. Improved base fuzes, such as the No. 16, have since appeared for use with A.P. and
A.P.C. shell, but their difference lies in their refinements and minor modifications, not in their principles. In fact, these principles are simple
I41O
APPENDIX XV
and have been put into practice ever since the first reliable patterns were produced. Accessories, such as centrifugal bolts, safety tapes, safety shutters, creep springs and caps are incidentals albeit of great importance where safety and reliability are concerned; they ~ust therefore ~e regarded as improvements rather than as fundamentals in fuze production.
Nowadays, ferrous and non-ferrous metals are used for fuze bodies, wood havino-lono-since ceased to be employed. The former comprise various steel~ incl~dino-those of the rustless variety while the non-ferrous group include hard-rolled brass, copper alloys, aluminium alloys and selected bronzes. Copper alloys are used on account of their anticorrosive properties, their ease of procurement and their simplicity of mechanical treatment. Bronzes are employed when greater strength and resistance to shock are required.
Small Arm Cartridges
The only type of small arm ammunition made in the R.L. till Victoria had been some ycars on the throne was the cartouche, which consisted of a twist of paper containing a ball and the requisite amount of powder. It was the only kind which could be manufactured till the principle of percussion firing was adopted generally for all small arms on 31 March 1 842. This in combination with the copper percussion cap greatly improved cartridge ignition from that date. These caps were punched from copper strip in a cruciform shape and when completed had four flanges. Their dimensions were as follows: Greatest diameter o23o inches, least diameter o·212 inches, diameter of flange 043 inches and internal depth o·248
> o h1
inches. As early patterns of cartridges di_d not mc_orporate caps, t e att;r had to be carried independently, and it was laid down on 1 7 January 1848 that they should be packed in zinc cylinders placed in the middle of
S.A.A. barrels (either ball or blank), and in zinc cases with ball cartridges when packed in boxes for carrying that ammunition in limber wagons.
The first service wcapon to employ a definite cartridge in place ?fa mere cartouche was the Rifle, musket (sea service) of 1842. The cartndge
• ' • d. id..l
which enclosed the charge of 3 drams F.G. powder and a cylindro-conoida bullet of 825 grains weight, was fashioned from many turns of thick paper. The bullet was hollowed out at the base and strengthened by an 1ron cup. This cartridge was approved for the Royal Navy and Royal Marines on 23 September 1852. Loading was carried out in the time honoured manner. This elementary type suffered from general teethmg troubles. Experience proved that on firing the iron cup in the base of the bullet was apt to penetrate and blow through the latter, so on 23 February 186_1 a wooden plug was substituted, the diameter of the bullet reduced from 0746 inches to O731 inches and the bullet lightened to 812 grains. Not unnaturally this had the effect of making the charge excessive and on 27 August 186r it was reduced to 2} drams. Still all was not well for the wooden plugs now began to be unreliable and affect the shooting. It was therefore decided on 15 December 1863 to substitute baked clay. Cartridges for the Mini, Enfield and Lancaster rifles followed in quick succession. Their make-up following that of the sea service musket car
, • •II •Id
tridge, calls for no comment. The Mini€ bullet was originaly conica., an
141I
APPENDIX XV
then in 1852 cylindro-conoidal, in shape. Its length was 1·03 inches, its diameter o·6go inches and its weight 68o grains. The charge was 2-?t drams of F.G. powder, and the cartridge was introduced on 2June 1851. The Enfield cartridge followed on 12 August 1853. The bullet originally used was Pritchett's of diameter o·568 inches and weight 530 grains. On 7 June 1858, a new type was approved which went successively throug~ the iron cup, wooden plug and baked clay stages. The charge was 2 2 drams of F.G. powder. The Lancaster bullet was of cylindro-conoidal shape and plugged in the standard manner. Of length 1·125 inches and diameter 0·532 inches it weighed 542 grains. The charge was 2½ drams of F.G. powder.
Up to now cap composition had consisted of the following ingredients: Chlorate of potash 6 parts Fulminate of mercury 4parts Powdered glass 2 parts but inorder toaugmentitspoweramixture of4parts ofmercuryfulminate to I part of potassium chlorate was introduced on 7 May 861. Practical application, however, soon demonstrated this blend to be too dangerous in action, caps being blown to pieces on firing. A less powerful agent was therefore sought and on IO August 1864 the following modified composition was approved: Fulminate of mercury 6 parts Chlorate of potash 6 parts Sulphide of antimony 4 parts The next pattern to invite attention is Cartridge, Sharps, B.L. carbine. Introduced on 5 March 1857 its breech loading nature doubtless modified its design. The bullet, cylindro-conoidal in shape and 0·568 inches in diameter, weighed 53o grains. The charge of 2l drams of F.G. powder was housed in a pulp bag tapering to a blunt point about 0·28 inches across. The bag was made on a former, the powder inserted when the pulp was dry and the bullet placed base downwards in the bag so that th inch of the latter overlapped the former. A strip ofpaper 0·3 inches wide and 1l inches long was then pasted over the junction, 0·2 inches being on the bullet. Lubrication was applied after banding was completed. On 14 June 1860 an improvement was effected. This consisted of a double roll of thin paper fastened at one end by a wooden wad and at the other by a thread. At the base of the bullet was another wooden wad through which ran a fine copper wire. The wire passed through the paper folds and round the outside of the cartridge binding the whole firmly together. The shoulder of the bullet was then lubricated and varnish applied to the exterior. Cartridges, Terry's, B.L. carbine introduced on 8 ]\,fay 1860 marked a further stage of development. The bullet, 0·568 inches in diameter and 530 grains in weight, was to Pritchett's design. The cartridge itself was constructed from a single sheet of strong but thin paper closed at the base by two thick paper wads to which another of felt rd inch thick was attached. The felt wad was lubricated with wax and Russian tallow, and the cartridge was shellac-varnished and closed at the top by the bullet.
1412
APPENDIX XV
The charge was 2 drams of F.G. powder. The Mark II pattern introduced on 16 November 1863 dispensed with the use of shellac varnish which had a tendency to cause brittleness in the paper, since the introduction of waterproof bags for holding ten rounds of ammunition had rendered its use abortive. Westley Richards cartridges to the same general model followed and no further progress can be reported till I 866 when the 'Boxer' type of cartridge was introduced. This portrayed a great advance on any previous design and may be considered the first prototype of the modern cartridge inasmuch as it included its own means of ignit1on. Hitherto such an incorporation had been regarded as a public danger and the authorities in this country had refused to countenance so revolutionary a principle till the Prussian needle gun had shown their fears to be groundless. This cartridge originally introduced on 2o August 1866 as Cartridge, Boxer ball_for Snider rifles, o·577 inch Pattern I had its nomenclature changed
>"> .• TI
on 14 December 1877 to Cartridge, S.A. ball, Snider o·577 inch, Mark I-_,, case made of brass 0·003 inch thick, was rolled round to form a double thickness with an overlap of 2 inches and covered externally by thin paper cemented on. The case and brass chamber for the anvil and cap were fixed in a 'Potet' brass base by a paper wad. An anvil, on which a percussion cap was housed was inserted in the brass chamber at the cent:e of the base of the cartridge. The bullet ofpure lead had a plug of woo""" front and another of clay in rear. It had four cannelures cut 11: 1:• as_ lubricated by wax and weighed 520 grains. The charge consiSlin_g of 6872 grains of rifle F.G. powder was capped by about half a grain of carded wool. The bullet was fixed to the case by choking the latter into the bottom cannelure. Proving unreliable, however, the 'Potet' base w~s abandoned in the Mark II cartridge approved on 8 December 1867 in favour of an improved form of anvil provided with a shoulder for preventing the cap from being drawn into it and the cartridge exploded by an accidental blow on the base. Thereafter, minor modifications succeeded one another rapidly and finally the Mark IX cartridge was introduced
ll ·h necessity
on 1 6 August 1871 for the Snider rifle, an arm sti m use w en
arises by warders in H.M. prison service. . H
The next advance in technique took place when the Martini-enry rolled case cartridge was introduced on 16 August 1873. The bullet, rr:iate of an alloy of 12 parts of lead to one of tin, was 1·27 inches in length, 0·45 inches in diameter at the base and 0·439 inches m diameter at the
·hd 18 ins. The charge was
shoulder. It had two cannelures and weighec 46o gran • . '° p8g-87 grains of R.F.G.> powder. The case consisted essentially of inc
brass sheeting 0·004 inches thick rolled round twice with an overlap of halfan inch. It was lined with tissue paper to prevent inter-action be"ST the powder and the brass· it was also strengthened by an mner an lal n
:. di tits base. A paper pellet
outer brass cup and supported by an iron 1sc a 1 s • was pressed down inside against the bottom of the case. br3 P chamber pierced with a firing hole, passed through the paper pellet, t e
' . . . . • olid body The case ·was
brass cups and the iron disc riveting a11 mto one s . • . d . made bottle-necked in shape to it he chamber by crimp""5;'', " neck was further crimped into the cannelures of the bullet atter """S:
. d ion cap containing t e
The cap chamber housed an anvil an a percuss1
1413
APPENDIX XV
1864 priming composition. The rolled case went through five marks till it was eventually superseded by the Martini-Henry solid case. The latter approximated so closely to the modern ·3o3 inch service case in general principles that it does not merit a description. It was introduced on 9June 1885.
The Rifle, Short, lvlagazine, Lee-Enfield, has the same bore, i.e. o· 303 inch as its predecessor the Lee Metford, consequently the dimensions of its round of ammunition are identical. The original Cartridge S.A. ball ·303 inch, introduced on 20 February 1889, was powder filled, the charge being 69-74 grains of ordinary gunpowder pressed into the form of a pellet with both ends slightly rounded. The bullet which weighed 213-217 grains consisted of a cupro-nickel envelope with a lead and antimony core. The case was of solid drawn brass. Its cap composition adopted on the same date contained the following ingredients:
Fulminate of mercury 6 parts
Chlorate of potash I4 parts
Sulphide of antimony 18 parts
Sulphur r part
Mealed powder 1 part
The invention of cordite by Abel and Dewar in 1889 revolutionised by its implications, the S.A. cartridge. It was first adopted as th~ propellant for the ·303 cartridge on 3 November 1891, the Martini-Henry cordite-filled solid case cartridge following on 18 December 1902. Owing to the greater pressure and heat generated by smokeless powders the da of the old soft bullet vanished for ever from the rifle cartridge. cj~ 1 December 1896, the present cap composition was introduced for all modern types of cordite loading. It differed from the 1889 mixture ·
•"h f in
I1av1ng eight parts o: mercury fulminate instead of six.
The latest ~ervice cartridge for the short Enfield rifle is made of solid drawn brass with a cap chamber and anvil formed in its base, two fire-holes connecting ~he cap chamber to the interior of the case. The percussion cap of copper-~mc all_oy, filled with about o6 grain of cap composition and covered. with a disc of varnished lead-tinfoil, is, after over-all varnishing
P,"gg,"",",,cg chamber and ringedi. The clarge is abouts7 grat
o cor ite • • • s1ze 5-2, and the bullet weighs 174 grains. The latt I
•d •k '> er has
a pointe cupro-nickel envelope filled with an aluminium tip and a leadantunonycore. Near the_base of the bullet is a cannelurewhich is filled with beeswax, partly for lubrication purposes and partly for waterproofing the
JOmt between bullet and case. The bullet is secured to the case by •
•d • .. cOn1ng
thc l.atter on to It an by indentation in three places. During World W I
• f •ldi ar
Scarcity ot material dictated the use of fibre and compressed paper tips as a.ternatrves to aluminium.
During the first World War, too, various types of bullets were developed. These were introduced for incendiary, explosive, armour-piercing and tracer purposes. Such cartridges were identifiable by certain letters added to their nome,nclature, several of which, enlivened by the pretty wit of the
late Colonel H. W. Todhunter K.S.O.B. then Deputy Director General
of Munitions Design, bore a 'double entendre' of a distinctly religious
I414
APPENDIX XV
flavour. There were, for instance, an explosive bullet for A.A. purposes
P.S.A. (Pomeroy superior ammunition) also Pleasant Sunday afternoon, two tracer bullets S.P.K. (sparklets) also Societyfor the propagation of (Christian) Knowledge and S.P.G. also Society for the propagation of the Gospel, and the
R.T.S. (Robert Thelfall, senior) also Religious Tract Society. These together with the Buckingham, R.TT., S.F.P.W. and 0. types made an unorthodox bag. Most of these 'freak' examples have faded into the background or passed out of existence, leaving a tracer and an armour-piercing bullet in addition to one of normal pattern. These two are characterized by the letters 'G' and 'W? in their nomenclature. As a distinguishing mark the rings surrounding the caps of the ordinary, tracer and armour-piercing cartridges are varnished purple, red and green respectively. .
Altogether, some 200 different types and marks of small arm cartridge have been produced since 1800. Thus, although the course has not been over-long, the pace since it started has been hot.
Before closing the review of some of the output of the Royal Laboratory during the last 250 years, mention must be made of one or two other classes of store, such as primers, gaines, grenades, electric fuzes and detonators which, although perhaps not so spectacular as artillery equipment, yet play their part in their own specific manner.
THE ROYAL GUN FACTORY
Thecasting ofbrassguns commenced intheRoyalBrass Foundryunder
oo
the eye of the master founder-Andrew Schalch-in 1717 . when two 24 pdrs were made. At first few pieces were manufactured since Crown manufacture, initiated after the Moorfields explosion, was intended to supplement and not supplant supplies from private sources. Iron guns, of course, continued to be provided by the trade till the period of the Crimean War.
By this date the practice of bestowing fancy names on various sizes of ordnance had ceased; guns were known by the weight of the shot they fired. By the middle of the eighteenth century 0rdnance was classrfied as armament for ships, garrisons, battering-trains and the field with mortars in a separate category, namely for land or sea. The individual pieces differed slightly in weight and length according to their method of employment; ships' guns were longer than those for garrison use, and the battering pieces were the smallest and lightest of all. .
The following table gives an approximation of the length and weight of service guns which ranged from the 42 pdr down to the 3 pdr:
Size Length Weight
42 pdr Io feet 6ocwt.
32 pdr 9feet 6 inches 55cwt.
24 pdr 9feet 50cwt.
18 pdr 9feet 45cwt.
r2 pdr 8 feet 6 inches 3ocwt.
9pdr 8feet 25cwt.
6 pdr 7feet 15cwt.
4 pdr 5 feet 1 ocwt.
3pdr 4feet 5cwt.
1415
APPENDIX XV
All casting follows the same principle. The metal after being melted in. a furnace 0 was poured into a mould of the requisite external contour and size. The mass was then allowed to cool and eventually to solidify. Barrels were cast longer than the finished cannon, breech down, so that any cinders and dross could collect in the upper part; also the weight of this riser gave a head to the molten metal. The complete mould consisted or the mould proper with its barrel and breech formers. Moulding clay, horse dung and tallow were the main ingredients used. The clay was prepared by its being intimately mixed with manure and stirred in a tub. The formers were made by layering moulding clay on toa core ofrye-straw.
TH c mould itself was built up of layers of tallow, moulding clay mixed wi t:h horse dung and a double reinforcement of iron belts. After the moulds hal been cooled by water, they were drawn from the pit and smashed anc:l the formers were destroyed. Eventually the risers were sawn off.
After casting, the gun was conveyed to the boring mill where it was internally bored to the correct dimensions. Until the advent of modern power units gun boring was a difficult operation and accuracy as understood in a modern workshop was unobtainable. In the Royal Brass Foundry the original boring machine could only be described as archaic, but it satisfied Andrew Schaich who, towards the end of his life, ceased to move with the times. The Verbruggens, his successors, were full of new ideas and one of the first things they did was to install a new engine more in keeping with modern ideas. This was a horse-driven mill, where the borer-head remained stationary, the gun being caused to revolve by the combined efforts of four horses. This machine was first invented at Strassburg, but was greatly improved by the Verbruggens, and at the time was considered one of the best gun-borers in Europe. It was set up
in 1 773 in the right wing of the Artificers' shop, i.e. in the S.E. corner of Dial Square; the estimate for its structure being £276. 5s. od. Three years later a similar mill was erected in the S.W. angle of the same building and a smaller engine costing £61. gs. od. was purchased from Holland to deal with Coehorn and other small mortars. Antiquated though it was, the .arrangement persisted till 1842 when it was swept away by the advancing claims of steam. Government-made guns at this period were always cast with the Royal Cypher, the coat-of-arms of the MasterGeneral ofthe Ordnance in whose period ofoffice they were manufactured, and t:he name of the founder and the year of casting round the edge of the breech in the traditional Latin manner of 'mefecit'. The cost of bronze wcapons towards the end of the eighteenth century was {130 per ton, which shows an increase of 4oo per cent over the prices reigning in the
fourteenth century.
About 1850 wrought iron was again introduced in gun manufacture and in 1855 a great step forward took place when Mr Armstrong, as he was then, brought out his wrought iron breech-loading rifled weapon, known. as the R.B.L. 4o pdr. It was adopted for service in 1859 and marked a turning point in the development of modern artillery. These guns were constn..z cted of wrought iron built up by shrinking successive layers or coils or that material one over the other. It was this system of construction which, by employing the principle of initial stresses, enabled the outer
1416
APPENDIX XV
layers of a built-up gun to bear a fair share of the firing stresses thus paving the way for the steady improvement which has since taken place. Experience proved that the Armstrong R.B.L. gun was not after all satisfactory difficulties having arisen regarding suitable ammunition and efficient ob~uration. The latter belonged to the 'Cup' system. This consisted of a shallow cup secured to the front face of the ~reech screw and a copper ring let into the gun. The main defects of this system were that the cups were liable to take a permanent set, complete sealing failed unless the surfaces of both cup and ring were absolutely clean, and the
copper ring was apt to become permanently expanded. A committee was therefore appointed to consider the matter and sat from 186g to 1865. After carrying out very extensive trials it reported as follows: .
( 1) That the many grooved system of rifling of the R.B.L. gun with its lead coated projectiles and complicated breech arrangements entailing the use of tin cups and lubricators is far inferior for the general_purposes of war to the N.L. system, and had the . ~isadvantage of bemg more expensive both in original cost and ammunition supply.
(a) That an M.L gun can be worked and loaded with perfect ease
and simplicity. cl • h t 1
(3) That guns satisfying all conditions of safety can be ma e wit _s ee
barrels strengthened by superimposed hoops of coiled wrought iroP .. 5f ·l Ible to burst explosively
whereas guns composed entirely o: stee, are 1a without giving the slightest warning to gun detachments. Another committee in 1870 also reported on the supposed advantages of M.L. guns in the way of cost and facility of repair over those of a B.L. · • h d th value of the superior
pattern, and considered that they outweig!e ate amount of cover afforded to gun crews by the latter. As a result rifled muzzle loading0 ordnance, known as the R.M.L. gudn . ' • dered to be converte •
was introduced and all R.B.L. pieces were or The first model was constructed on similar lines to the Armstrong gun . • • • thods of build-up were
but as experience was gained improvements m me d ·d made. Finally the Royal Gun Factory systern of construction was a opted which consisted of an A tube or barrel of steel, a B coil, a B tube an · · · f ·1 d • d scable of forged iron together
jacket with trunnions o coile iron an a ca: d
• k•• •1 • cl' 1 t th R M L ordnance were ma e
with hook joints to give longituduna, srreng' .. .. -· '· in all sizes the mammoth piece being the I 7·72 inch. For many yea;: after their ~bsolescence some of the heavier natures, IO inch and 12 inc ' were mounted for the defence of narrow channels. These defences wf ehre
• . • ' Ab t 879 areactioninfavouro t e
known as 'runnmg past pomts . Ou' I . breech-loading system set in and improvements in breech-closing arranged ments such as the Welin breech-screw with its interrupted threads, and . ' . h • dD B padand mushroomhea ,
in obturation, such as t e improve e ange . li: ti definitely affirmed the ascendancy of the breech-loader. This rca!"""O" that the failure of Armstrong equipments lay in their own impertect1ons
and not in the B.L. system ushered in the modern gun. B.L. guns."""" .. hll • •1 The general ten ency
originally constructed on the all-steel1 prmc1pie. O 3£ •
was to increase the length of ordnance and reduce the number parts mn which the outer tubes were constructed. Hookedjoints to give th""""""TY longitudinal strength were employed. By I 890, however, the r nancc
1417
Committee was convinced that wire-wound guns were superior to those manufactured completely of steel. The advantages claimed for the wire
system were:
(a) Absolute soundness ofmaterial can be ensured by testing every coil inch by inch, a fact not possible at that time ma steel hoop where internal
flaws might exist.
(2)
The necessary tension can be adjusted layer by layer.
(3)
A fracture in any layer produces a local fault applicable only to the particular layer in which it occurs.
(4)
Steel in the form of wire has double the tensile strength of steel in the form of forged tubes or hoops.
Its disadvantages were:
( 1) The necessity of overcoming longitudinal weakness.
(2) Lack of girder strength.
The wire-wound gun therefore superseded the all-steel gun in the
British Service.
The modern gun may either be of the B.L. or Q.F. type. The term Q.F. (quick-firing) applies to a gun, the charge for which is contain d ·
b 'dOb • • ffi e ina
rass cartrge case. turation is e ected by the expansion ofth
fi• ABL •• h h . ecaseon
rmg. • • gun is one w ere t e propellant is housed in a silk I th b Oration in that case is furnishcd yan oburator pad. Bee&a{190 the adoption of a brass cartridge case did appreciably quick ,
• b hd; : : 1c,.ent e
service, ut now t. e 1stinct10n has become academic as Q.F. and B.L. guns both have a high rate offire. Q.F. weapons arc now confined to those of a smaller calibre, B.L. ordnance bemg those of a heavier n t
Th •f •. aure.
r. e construction o a typical wire-wound heavy gun takes place briefly
as 1011ows:
l
Ingots :3-re made at the steel works by pouring molten metal from the furnaces mto moulds of the correct shape and size The in t · h
fc dd • • goisten
orge un er a hydraulic press or a steam hammer As the' ·
b fc • . • ingotisto
ecome a forging of more than 8 inches in diameter. the ]
• · cen ra core
is trepanned out, the operation of trepanning being the rer q f
l.dbl k • o o mova o a
soi oc axially, whereas boring is removing metal in I] :
E.:"h . '6 sma pieces
?2, ",Pp,3%,23 helet ts tented o about +,os6
an p ace on a mantr tor this purpose. Forging should c b
6, °g, ·h ' {F :ease a,out
b50 , oht erwisehi :dontm: ued b_elo:W that temi:erature the metal will
ecome 1ammer-har and sustain internal strains. In this ma
•b fo ' anner the
various tu es are forged roughly to the shape and size req · d Th
fc : b' uure.. .c
orgmngs eing completed, test pieces and drillings are submitted fo mechanical examination and chemical analysis to ascertai th
tl' "hi hI; : anat th1e
s ee IS wItlun the limits of the specification If correct th fc ·
undergo oil hardening and tempering to relieve internal," 'orgings
d • • rams set up
uring forging and temper down the hardness. Further tests are th taken. The A tube is then 'finish bored' and has its requisite shoal and slots cut. The mner A tube is similarly treated and driven home into the A tube from the rear. A stepped collar is then shrunk ov th rear end of the A tube. This reinforces the breech busJ1 and r: er he
: 1ink b 1orms tle
connectmg n etween the A tube and jacket through the medium of
1418
APPENDIX XV
the breech ring. A muzzle stop ring is then shrunk on to the muzzle of the A tube. This ring is stepped so that in addition to acting as a front support for the wire, it forms a longitudinal connection between the A and B tubes, i.e. between the interior and exterior portions of the gun. The next operation is wire-winding. This wire is steel strip about inch wide and } inch thick having a breaking strain of nearly 15o tons to the square inch. The process is complicated and is carried out by a special machine which allows the tension of winding to be varied from layer to layer so that each strand can bear its full load. In a 15inch gun, for example, the number of layers of wire varies from 79 at the breech to 20 at the muzzle and the tension exerted commences at 4o tons and finishes at 28l tons to the square inch. 185 miles ofwire are used. The B tube after similar treatment to that of the A tube is then shrunk over the wire. This operation is carried out by heating it to a temperature of about 55OF and lowering it over the gun which is placed breech downwards vertically in a deep. pit. Shrinking is then effected by sprays of water played on to the hot mass. The rear end of the jacket, prepared for the reception of the breech ring, is next shrunk over the B tube. Finally the breech ring heated to a temperature not exceeding 550°F is screwed and shrunk on to the jacket. The building up ofthe gun being nowcompleted, itundergoesthe finishingoperations,
i.e. its final internal and external machining and rifling. The rifling is effected by a rifling machine carrying a rifling head holding three cutters. The cutters claw out the metal on the outward stroke and many withdrawals of the rifling head are needed to complete each groove. A big gun takes three weeks to rifle completely. After rifling the gun is fitted with its breech mechanism.
In recent years there has been a tendency in certain instances to revert to the all-steel gun and some later marks of current ordnance have dispensed with wire. B.L. 6 inch Mark XXIII for naval service is an example of the modern type of all-steel gun. At the same time, there has been a new method ofgun-construction introduced. This is known as auto-frettage and depends on ensuring that each layer of a steel tube in a gun acts elastically on the layer beneath. In the smaller natures It has certam advantages over the normal methods of shrinking; for instance, the gun can be forged in one piece and then be 'auto-frettaged' by liquid pressure. Nevertheless, it is not without disadvantages. Like most things in life it 'cuts both ways'.
Parallel in development with the gun was the howitzer which evolved from the old-time mortar. Mortars ranged from the 13 inch down to the 45 inch Coehorn pattern and were made in the Royal Brass Foundry. The howitzer is used to search out narrow targets behind high cover, and, owing to its low ballistic powers, fires a heavier shell than that projected from a gun ofthe same calibre. It is a weapon ofgreat precision, the range and angle of descent of its projectile being altered by varying its multiple charge to suit specific occasions. .
Broadly speaking little change in gun essentials has taken place durmg the present century though improvements in design have been effected,
92
and new equipments, such as the B.L. 5"5 inch gun/howitzer and the light Q.F. g5 pdr gun/howitzer have replaced old and obsolescent weapons. The pressure of events, however, has introduced two new types, those of the anti-aircraft and anti-tank gun. These follow normal practice and their novelty lies in their objectives and ammunition rather than in their inherent characteristics.
Until 1803 when the Royal Carriage Department was set up, the construction of gun and other carriages were the province of the Inspector of Artillery who controlled the manufacture of brass ordnance. Carriages at this time were very simple in design and were made chiefly of wood bound with iron. Mountings for heavy guns were cumbrous, consisting of two large cheeks or brackets connected together and containing trunnion bearings lined with iron. The trunnions were secured by iron cap-squares and elevation was given by a wedge or quoin under the breech. The field carnage was of similar construction though built in a lighter manner. The cheeks were secured to a wooden, and afterwards t/; an iron, axle tree in front, which carried the ordinary wooden wheel.
THE ROYAL CARRIAGE DEPARTMENT
During the first half of the nineteenth century there was little improvement in carriage design though the block trail was adopted throughout the British Service after the end of the Crimean War. England had originally adopted shafts as the means for attaching the teams thereby differing from other nations though she eventually came into line with
the other powers. Carriages for the R.B.L. 12 pdr (field) and g pdr (horse) were constructed almost completely of wood. Consequently they were light but liable to split. They had a saddle operated by a nut and screw for traversing the gun independently of the trail. Carriages for R.M.L. guns were without traversing saddles and made of wrought iron plates. The trail consisted of two side brackets connected together and meeting at the trail eye, and trunnion bearings in the front of the trail which was supported on a wooden axle-tree bed through which passed an iron axle-tree carrying the wheels. Elevation was given by means of an elevating screw and nut, a system invented about 165o which remained unchanged for a couple of centuries. It was simple and strong but slow. In the limbers of these equipments, iron was employed for the general framework and wood for the platforms, boxes and footboards. A demand for more gun power arose during the last quarter of the 19th century. An attempt to meet this was made by introducing the 16 pdr and 13 pdr R.M.L. guns. The carriage for the former showed no advance in design but that of the latter had more steel in its construction. In I 88 I, the adoption for field artillery of B.L. guns with their improved ballistics made a further response in satisfaction of this demand. The higher velocities of this type of ordnance necessitated alterations in gun carriage design. Several new features were therefore incorporated in the
B.L. 12 pdr carriage. These were chiefly:
(a)
A rectangular axle-tree made removable for sea transport.
(b)
Brakes acting on the hubs of the wheels to check recoil.
1420
APPENDIX XV
(c)
An improved type of elevating gear consisting of a toothed arc operated by a worm and pinion. The worm and pinion were connected by a friction cone so that on firing it would slip and thus cushion the blow on the teeth of the arc and pinion.
(d)
A telescopic sight. . .
When assembled the axle-tree was connected to the trail on each side by stays containing strong spiral springs, having at the same time a small amount of play in its seating with a view to easing the mitial recoil stresses which were taken up by the spring stays. The brakes were held by a ratchet and pawl so that they acted only during recoil and did not hinder run-up. At the same time they could for travellmg purposes be operated from the axle-tree seats.
About 1867, Dr C. W. Siemens put forward the suggestion that gun recoil might be checked by the resistance of water flowing through an orifice. The idea was developed and after experimental trials, adopted. A hydraulic buffer or brake consists of a cylinder filled with liquid, a piston and a piston rod. A small port in the piston or a shallow groove m the cylinder, either of which can be varied by suitable means, will enable the liquid to pass from one side of the piston to the other on the withdrawal of the piston rod from the cylinder. The resistance of the liquid or, in other words the force necessary to pull the piston rod out of, or to push it into, the cylinder therefore depends on the nature of the liquid and the size of the orifice. Consequently these may be adjusted for controlling and arresting the motion due to any particular force. Thus, if the gun be attached to the piston rod and the cylinder to the carriage or vice versa and be so arranged that on firing it can be made to recoil along a slide, its recoil can be controlled. This means that the recoil stresses can be 0gradually absorbed relative to the carriage and that the rearward move
duced • • m · Run-up
ment of the latter over the ground can be re to a mmrmu to the firing position after the recoil has been absorbed can be arranged by spiral springs which have been compressed during recoil. About 189o this principle, modified by the use of springs instead of liquid was incorpora ted in the B.L. 15 pdr carriage which could be anchored to the ground by means of wheel brakes, and a spade housed under the trail. The spade arm pivoted on the axle and a wire rope stay was attached to a powerful spring fixed to the trail. The rearward motion of the carnage on firmg caused the spade to bite into the ground and the stay arrested any further movement. The most successful carriage on those original principles was that of the famous French '75'. The design was a triumph in view of its year of introduction, namely 1898. It remained perfectly steady durmg firing. To achieve this stability the carriage was held to the ground by a spade, and by tyre brakes which were dropped under the wheels to form drag-shoes having fins on the underneath surface to prevent lateral movement. Recoil and run-up were delicately adjusted, the gun recoiling on rollers on the cradle guides. In the firing position, however, these rollers dropped back into inclined recesses in the guides so that the gun rested on the latter. The buffer was hydraulic. In 1902 a shield was
added. . d tdAs an interim measure a QF.15 pdr gun of German design was a ope
1421
APPENDIX XV
for the British field artillery until a Committee, which was set up in 19o1 to evolve new equipments, could report. A series of experiments followed its recommendations with the result that in 1905 the 9.F. 18 pdr Mark I for the field and the Q.F. 13 pdr Mark I for the horse artillery were introduced. These carriages were made ofsteel and included several novel features. They had a tubular trail terminating in a spade; quick release brakes; a shield for the protection ofthe detachment; an independent line of sight by which the angle ofsight could be put on apart from the range; a seat for the layer who by operating a system of levers could fire the gun without removing his eye from the telescope; an intermediate carriage housing the cradle which could be traversed across the trail; a range dial graduated in yards; and a hydraulic buffer which controlled recoil by means of grooves of varying depths cut in the cylinder and a solid piston. Run-up was carried out by a double set of spiral springs. During World War I a new design of 18 pdr carriage appeared. The main alterations were a box instead of a tubular trail, an allowance for increased angles of elevation, an air recuperator in place ofrunning up springs, and a rotating valve for the buffer. This new recoil gear greatly improved the efficiency of the carriage, run out became much steadier and trouble from springfailure disappeared. Later models included the split trail which is an up-to-date feature in field carriage design which has come to stay. It
gives stability in action and allows greater traversing for switching purposes without altering the position of the carriage.
In the 1930s experiments with various pilot equipments were carried out over the course ofseveral years with the result thatjust prior to World War II the British artillery was re-equipped with the Q.F. 25 pdr gunhowitzer, a dual-purpose weapon which is one of the finest in the field armies of today. In common with all other latest equipments the carriage is mounted on pneumatic-tyred wheels.
Field howitzer carriages in the main followed a similar path of evolution to that offield gun carriages. Being constructed to permit high angled fire they differed in detail. Prior to World War I, the Q.F. 4·5 inch howitzer replac~d the 5 inch B.L. pattern on its somewhat heavy and antiquated mounting.
Mountain or pack artillery is a type specially adapted for roadless or mountainous country like the N.W. Frontier of India. The normal method of transport is by mule. Consequently the equipment must be within the animal's carrying capacity which is taken as a 2oolb. load. Should either the gun or carriage be beyond the size or weight required, it must be capable of divisibility into sections of suitable dimensions. Mountain artillery was first employed at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The earliest equipments were extremely simple. The small S.B. gun or mortar, usually of bronze, formed a single load, and the carriage built ofwood made two or three more. The first R.M.L. gun used in this service was the 7 pdr mounted on a steel carriage. Later on, when heavier pieces were demanded, jointed guns to form two loads were introduced. The
R.M.L. 7 pdr was followed in 1879 by the R.M.L. 2·5 inch. This in turn gave way to the B.L. 10 pdr in 1896. The first pack artillery carriage to be fitted with a buffer was the Vickers Q.F. 2·95 inch equipment used in
1422
APPENDIX XV
Egypt. Finally the Q.F. 2·75 inch gun and Q.F. 3·7 inch howitzer became current equipment. Siege artillery trains of the eighteenth century were cumbrous and unreliable. The design of their carriages affords little interest. They were built of wood and were heavy for the purpose they served. Little change except in detail took place in over a hundred years. A normal battering train consisted of 16 pdr, 18 pdr, and 24 pdr guns; 24 pdr 8 inch and 1o inch howitzers; and 5l inch to 13 inch mortars. Sometimes the 68 pdr carronade was employed in addition, the carronade being a short gun of large calibre. In more recent years, after the B.L. principle had been adopted, the B.L. 6 inch howitzer took the place of the earlier eqwpments. Its carriao-e was constructed of steel with a top carriage so that extreme elevations could be obtained when required. About 1goo the B.L. 945 inch howitzer of Austrian pattern was introduced. During World War I modern B.L. howitzers of 6 inch, 8 inch, 92 inch, 12 inch, 15 inch and I 8 inch calibre v,ere used for heavy bombardment purposes. The last named though classed as a howitzer was really a slightly shortened. gun in shape. It was 4o calibres in length instead of the 45 or 50. calibres usually allotted to the gun. Owing to the weight of the larger pieces the carriages. constructed in accordance with modern practice, had travelling as weliasring positions in order to facilitate transportation. The employmentofheavyguns inthe fieldhadtakenplace as circumstancesdemanded although the present century had been ushered in before medium and heavy field artillery was organised as a distinct arm. Carriages for such larger weapons evolved pari pars with those for normal field artillery, going through the wooden, iron, steel and modern stages. During the South African war, the QF. 47 inch in its own cradle mounted on a 6 inch howitzer carriage and a B.L.5 inch on a 40 pdr. R.M.L. carnage were taken into the field. The former was replaced in a few years by the
B.L.
6o pdr., the fire-power of which was greatly supplemented in World War I by that of a B.L. 6 inch gun on a travelling carriage, of Ordnance
B.L.
92 inch and of the 14 inch guns on railway mountings. Some further recent developments have taken place in medium artillery but the bomber has now tended to obviate the need for heavy artillery in the field.
Anti-aircraft weapons necessitated by the advent of the aeroplane arc comparatively late arrivals on the scene. This arm of artillery did no exist prior to 1914. The special stresses under which it evolved has made its development rapid, particularly in World War II. The first temporary
A.A. equipment was a specially converted Q.F. 1 mch, the old pom-pom of South African war memories. It was quickly superseded at the end of I914 by another makc-shift, a Q.E. 13 pdr horse artillery gun mounted on a 3 ton lorry. This in turn was soon rendered obsolescent by the introduction of the Q.F. 3 inch go cwt. gun on a high-angled mounting. This was the first specially designed A.A. equipment. The mounting was either fixed for static defence or bolted to a specially designed travelling platform for mobile purposes. The platform, on a single axle, was towed by a lorry and when required for action, was unlimbered and stabilized on the ground by means of four radial arms fitted with levelling screws, the wheels being first removed. Other more powerful guns have appeared
1423
APPENDIX XV
in due course-the Q.F. 37 inch and the Q.F. 45 inch. These may be mounted according to their role; defence of ships, defence of localities or action in the field. Their mobile mountings are high-angled complicated constructions designed to be used in close co-operation with all the various aids now at the disposal of the A.. gunner.
The latest newcomer is the anti-tank gun, the Q.F.3 pdr, 6 pdr and 17 pdr. In order to keep the point-blank trajectory low in view of their particular type of target-the tank-the diameter of the carriao-e wheels
•• '
is small. Otherwise A.T. mountings follow normal practice and call for no special comment.
Modern engineering harnessed to the cult of war has had one good effect; the elimination of the horse from the battlefield. No longer is man's friend the warlike draught animal. Guns in common with other forms of transport, are now drawn by mechanical means; dragons, heavylorries, or caterpillar tractors.
Coast, fortress or garrison artillery was established in 1539, though the actual guns employed varied according to local conditions. The early mountings were in reality carriages of simple construction. 'The original garrison standmg carnage was formed of two wooden brackets joined together by transoms and mounted on four trucks of small diameter. The trunnions rested in bearings in the brackets and were secured by capsquares. Elevation was given by means of handspikes applied under the breech-end using the top of the brackets as a fulcrum, a wedge being driven home to stabilize the gun's position after the handspikes had been withdrawn. Laying for line was effected by tackles attached to the rear ends of the brackets assisted by handspikes inserted under their ends. Recoil was limited by a stout rope called the breeching, which passing through the loop in the cascable had its ends secured to holdfasts in front. After firing, the gun recoiled to the loading position and when again ready for action was run-up, or run-out, through the embrasure by the use of the same handspikes under the ends of the truck axles. Later on an elevating screw worked by a ratchet lever replaced the wedge. The next improvement was to put the carriage on a slide which was secured to a pivot in front and mounted on trucks in rear. This allowed traversing about the pivot. The upper surface of the slide was sloped to assist in
limiting recoil. Although the carriage itself had two trucks it normally rested on front and rear chocks to increase the friction of the slide. To run the carriage up, or back it more easily ifrequired, a lever fitted with rollers was inserted under the rear chock. When the lever was in use the carriage rested on its front trucks and on the lever's rollers. The slide was traversed by means of tackles and handspikes. No important change took place till after the termination of the Crimean War when the fixed defences were reorganized. This reorganization consisted in mounting heavy R.M.L. guns on iron and steel carnages superimposed on slides. In these, recoil was controlled by a compressor. This apparatus was of two types. In the first, the rear chocks were clamped to the side ofthe mounting by a screw, the number of turns required being determined by experience. In the second, a number of longitudinal plates were rivetted to the slide and suitable friction plates working between them fixed to the carriage, the
1424
APPENDIX XV
whole arrangement being clamped by a screw gearing. When undamped, the carriage became free to move in either direction. Being muzzle loaders these guns required a long recoil for loading purposes, but when the B.L. system was adopted it allowed the recoil to be shortened to a length consistent with the mounting withstanding the firing stresses, and also the employment of an automatic run-up before the gun was reloaded. This naturally increased the rate of fire. The Vavaseur mounting incorporated these improvements. It had a short slide of steep slope and a low carriage, the latter being attached to the mounting by two buffers connected by an equalizing valve. The valves in the buffers were arranged to open at the end ofthe recoil so that the gun ran up without delay. The slide worked on a central pivot and ran on rollers which allowed an all-round traverse.
A new milestone was reached when disappearing mountings were introduced. These were designed to allow guns to fire from behind a high parapet. After firing, the gun sank back under cover, the force of recoil being utilized to store sufficient energy to lift the gun agam mto the firing position when required. They were of two types, the Moncreiffsystem and the hydro-pneumatic system. In the former, the gun was carried on a cantilever with a counter-weight on the other end: on firing, the recoil of the gun caused the cantilever to roll on its curved face along the slide, the gun descending and the countenveight ascending till equilibrium was reached. The curve of the cantilever was struck so as to give an increasing leverage to the counterweight. The gun was held down by a brake gear. In the hydro-pneumatic mounting, the elevator which carried the gun was supported by a ram, the head of which was in its turn supported by the compressed air in the recoil cylinder acting through a column of liquid.
On firing, the gun descended and the ram forced into the cylinder, still further compressed the air, thus providing the requisite energy to return the gun to the firing position. A non-return valve prevented the gun from rising till required. The mounting was provided with a shield and was invisible except when the gun was exposed. Proving unsatisfactory, these disappearing mountings were abandoned. .
Henceforward modern coast armament took the stage, the mountings varying according to the calibre of the gun. The mountings revolved on pedestals, being carried on central pivots or ball races dependent on their size, and were provided with shields and automatic sights. The smaller natures were for defence against light craft, whereas the heavier ordnance
B.L. 6 inch and B.L. 9·2 inch were employed against block-ships, cruisers and vessels of the capital class. This armament remained relatively unchanged for the first three decades of the twentieth century, then the mountings for the 6 inch and g·2 inch guns were improved. Both were altered to provide for elevations giving a maximum range and the latter were fitted with power units to assist loading, ramming, elevating and traversing.
All these modern fortress guns together with their mountings, ammunition and equipment have now become obsolete. Modern conceptions of strategy have rendered them out of date. After more than 4oo years coast defence artillery was abolished in the British service on 17 February 1956.
Besides those gun carriages and mountings, the development of which has been traced, the Royal Carriage Department has over the years supplied the armed forces of the Crown with many other tools of their trade too numerous to catalogue. Until steel and the internal combustion engine displaced timber and the horse respectively, this factory was almost exclusively concerned with wood and leather, and most of its products were fashioned from one or other of these materials. These consisted of limbers, wagons, carts, wooden cases, ammunition boxes, harness and saddlery, and timber from all over the world was stored in its seasoning sheds. Now the scene has changed. Wood, except for certain purposes, has receded into the background, and steel has come to the fore, and with this shift of emphasis the saddler and the collar-maker have become almost ghosts of the past. In this restless age, pressed steel packages and boxes, tanks and special Service vehicles figure prominently in the output returns; even 16 ton steel railway trucks have recently emerged from the Establishment's shops. A metamorphosis has taken place; the carpenter and the wheeler have given place to the fitter and turner.
APPENDIX XVI
OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE ROYAL ARSENAL
No history of the Royal Arsenal would be complete without a brief mention ofcertain other departments which from time to time have sought sanctuary within its walls. The greater proportion of these have now departed or, if not vanished entirely, have left only a section behind. The Second World War was mainly responsible for this great exodus. The exposed situation of the Royal Arsenal suggested evacuation as a prudent precaution, and the lack of room for expansion reinforced the desirability of departure. Once dispersed and settled in their new locations, these departments have not returned to their place of origin.
These departments may be listed as follows:
The Royal Army Ordnance Department
The Naval Armament Store Depot
The Ordnance Board
The Royal Artillery Committee
The Mechanization Board
The Research Department
The Design Department
The Armaments Inspection Department
The Naval Ordnance Inspection Department
The Admiralty Overseer
The War Department Chemist
The Assistant Director of Military Transport
The M.G.O.F. Cashier
F5 (Audit) Woolwich
The Exchequer and Audit Branch
The Store Accountant Woolwich
The Military College of Science (Arsenal Branch)
Quite a number of these departments changed their names under the Ministry of Supply, but as their story in regard to the Royal Arsenal ccased in many cases in 1939, their nomenclature at that date has been retained.
The Royal Army Ordnance Department
This department, which at one time was the headquarters of the Ordnance Store Department, has had a long and chequered career at Woolwich since the sixteenth century. Until the War Department absorbed the Board of Ordnance in 1855, it was an integral part of the establishment ofthe Warren and afterwards of that of the Royal Arsenal. Known as the 'Storekeeper's Department', the 'Respective Ofcers' Department' or the 'Civil Officers' Department', its story has already been told in the body of this work. After 1855, it became quite distinct from the manufacturing departments and was known as the 'Military Store Department'.
The first Principal Military Storekeeper was Captain William Henry (afterwards Sir Henry) Gordon who was appointed in 1858 after the death
1427
APPENDIX XVI
of Francis Pellatt, the last storekeeper under the old regime. Captain William Gordon, a brother of General Charles Gordon, was an outstanding personality, a man of great ability and immense energy. He served in the Army from 1835-1855 and was awarded the C.B. for his services in the Crimea, where as a half-pay officer he was appointed Ordnance Storekeeper on 3 September 1855 with the definite duty of providing for every branch of the service.
The Store Department at Woolwich was in a state of considerable turmoil and congestion after the war with Russia had ended, and Captain Gordon did his utmost to render order out ofchaos. Major-General Forbes, in his History ofthe Army Ordnance Services, paints a sombre picture of the state of muddle and inefficiency which endured. there for years, though with that we are not concerned.
In 1870, the Control Department was formed by bringing under one authority all the supply departments of the Army. Its staff was formed from that ofthe Commissariat, Military Transport, Military Store Department, Barrack Department and the Purveyor's Department (except that portion which provided nursing staff in hospitals). In 1876, this attempt to make the Army share responsibility for its supply services was abandoned. The Control Department, the two main branches of which had never really amalgamated, was split in twain, the Ordnance and Paybeing separated from the Supply and Transport Branches. The MilitaryStore Department then was rechristened the Ordnance Store Department.
Many years were to slip by before the Army's store problems were placed on a satisfactory footing, and only a bare outline of the solutions proposed by various committees can be attempted. Two printed reports dated 17 June 1885 and July 1885 referred exclusively to the Ordnance Store Department at Woolwich.1 These are called Reports by the Committee on Woolwich 'Remain' and general store arrangements.
The Committee, consisting of:
President Commissary-General of Ordnance: C. M. Molloy Colonel H.J. Alderson: Assistant Director of ArtilleryMembers Assistant Commissary-General of Ordnance: S. 0. Rogers
{
C. E. H. Jay Esq.: War Office
Associate }
Member J. C. Hurst: Accountant and Auditor
Secretary Quarter Master W. McCanlis: Ordnance Store Department
was appointed on 19 October 188g, and its terms of reference were dated 31 October 1883.
Memorandum ofInstructions
(1)
When the Remain is Authorized, the Committee will organize the necessary arrangements, submitting from time to time to the Director ofArtillery such recommendations as may be necessary.
(2)
The first duty of the Committee will be to inspect the stores in the Royal Arsenal and Dockyard with a view to setting aside unserviceable and obsolete material, the objects being not only to exclude them from the stocktaking, but to dispose of them by sale or otherwise, as speedily as possible.
1 PRO[WO[32/510:57/Woolwich/5,493:57/Woolwich/6,075.
1428
APPENDIX XVI
(3)
The Committee will enquire into the present store arrangements as regards sub-divisions of sections, and the steps taken to secure proper supervision.
(4)
They will consider whether the present division of stores as between the Royal Arsenal and Dockyard is satisfactory, and, ifnot, what improvements may be made for the convenience of the Service.
(5)
Notably as affecting special and technical equipments, such as field artillery, siege trains, engineer, hospital, submarine mining, etc., they will ascertain whether all necessary steps are being taken to secure their completeness whilst in store, and their prompt issue when required for Serv1cc.
(6)
Particular attention will be directed to the present appropriation of store accommodation with a view to reporting whether it is used to the best advantage, and to what extent it is necessary to have stores in the open.
(7)
Te Committee will consider the expediency or otherwise of separating the barrack or any other section of stores from the general charge, soas torelievetheCommissary-Generalofaportionofhispresent responsibility.
(8)
Finally, the Committee will be at liberty to put forward any suggestions they may think proper for the better administration of the Ordnance Store Department at Woolwich.
Further reports on the Ordnance Store Department at Woolwich followed:?
(a) 57/Woolwich[7163 contains a printed pamphlet numbered 57/Wool
wich/6,642 entitled Programmefor amendment in the mode ofkeeping accounts at Woolwich Arsenal.
(b) 57/Woolwich/7,I43 contains a copy of a printed Report of a War
Office Departmental Committee in 1888 on the Woolwich Ordnance stores and store accounts. This report is numbered 57/Woolwich/7,329.
(c) 57/ Woolwich/6,563 contains printed copies of the First and Second Reports ofa War Office Departmental Committee on the Woolwich Ordnance store accounts 1886. These are numbered 57/Woolwich/6,507 and 57/Woolwich]
6,557 respectively.
(d) 57/Woolwich/7,505 contains a copy of a report similar to that enclosed at (b) above.
Another Committee was set up which reported on 26 May 1887 on a proposed increase of establishment in the Ordnance Store Department 1886/1887.° Replies to a circular letter had been called for.
In the following year a Select Committee on Ordnance Store Department questions was set up by order of the Secretary of State for War to enquire into and advise on such matters. Its report (A.151) is dated
17 December 1888. The Committee under the chairmanship of Colonel Sir W. F. Butler,
K.C.B. A.D.C., made the following four recommendations:
(a) That the Quarter-Master General should be the head of the entire Ordnance Service from the first conception of supply to the final act10n
a PRO[WO[32l511. + PRO[WO[32/412:57/Gen. No./388.
1429
APPENDIX XVI
Ordnance Department: Terms and conditionsfor the transfer ofofficers and others ofthe Ordnance Store Departmentfrom the War Department to Admiralty service.
There were to be four officers at Woolwich; one Naval Ordnance Officer, one Deputy Naval Ordnance Officer and two Assistant Naval Ordnance Officers. Officers were to be seconded from the Ordnance Store Department to the Naval Ordnance Department. Their retiring age was to be 6o ycars. Their pay was to be as follows:
N.O.O. £6oo2o-£7oo p.a. l £1oo at Woolwich Arsenal D.N.O.O. £42520{525 p.a. A.N.O.O. £a5o15-350 p.a.
When quarters were not available, lodging allowance at £100, £75 and £50 p.a. respectively was to be drawn.
N.O.O.s were to be drawn from Assistant Commissary-Generals of Ordnance with the rank of Lieut.-Colonel or Major. A.N.O.O.s were to be recruited from Deputy Assistant Commissary-Generals of Ordnance; and Quarter-Masters with the ranks of Captain and Lieutenant. The seniority ofofficers transferred was to be governed by their seniority in the Ordnance Store Department. Transferred officers, including the Storekeeper-General, were to retain their privileges as Army officers in respect ofrank, widows' pensions and compassionate allowances, and their rights to leave and medical attendance.
The retiring pensions at the age of 6o years were to be:
Assistant Commissary General of Ordnance £6550 p.a. Deputy Assistant Commissary General of Ordnance {400 p.a. Quarter-masters {250 p.a.
The subordinate staff at Woolwich was to consist of 3 supervisors, 6 writers rst class and r 7 writers 2nd class.
In course of time the Army element in the Naval Armament Supply Depot at Woolwich disappeared and the superintending staff became wholly composed of Admiralty civilian officers. The last military officer to become Naval Armament Store Officer was Lieut.-Colonel C. H. Ozanne who left the department in December 1917. The Naval Armament Store Depot closed down on 30 June 1958.
The Ordnance Board
The Surveyor-General, assisted where necessary by the Master Gunner of England, originally carried out all experiments on behalf of the Board of Ordnance, it being one of his duties to conduct trials with new equipments and report the results to his colleagues. Two Surveyors-General, Sir Jonas Moore and Major-General Armstrong, were in particular notable for much research at Woolwich in the early days.
As this class of work tended to increase with the passage of time, some better arrangement became necessary, and, about r 765, two Committees known as the Colonels' Committee and the Field Officers' Committee were set up to deal with the new ideas flowing in from inventors. During the infancy ofthese Committees their duties could not have been very onerous, but during the wars with France more and more questions must have been
referred to them. By the end ofthe eighteenth century therefore both were
1432
APPENDIX XVI
reconstituted in a more permanent form and the Field Officers' Committee, at any rate, was given a whole time Secretary on 26 February 1797 in the person of Captain Joseph Maclean R.A. What distinctive part each of these Committees played is not evident, but in due course they were combined to form the Colonels' and Field Officers' Committee. This amalgamation had taken place within twelve years of Waterloo. This is evidenced by the fact that on 1 February 1828 Captain WilliamBentham, R.A., was appointed Secretary vice Lloyd, who was possibly Lieut.-Colonel William Lloyd, R.A." This Colonels' and Field Officers' Committee survived for at least twenty-five years after the Select Committee had been established, for it is recorded in the Ordnance minutes under date 5 April 18go that 'the appointment ofSecretary to the Committee of Colonels and Field Officers at Woolwich is to be abolished and that the duty be performed by the officer10 holding the appointment of Secretary to the Select Committee with an addition of rs. 6d. a day to his salary'. It was agreed that should the Secretary at any time be employed with the Select Committee when the Committee of Colonels and Field Officers was sitting, the junior member of the latter should act as Secretary.11
In 1805, it was decided to set up The Select Committee at Woolwich, the reorganization of the Warren after the disastrous fires of 1802 and 1803 providing the opportunity for this new departure. It was a Committee composed of Heads of Departments with the Director-General of the Field Train as President ex officio. It was established to advise the MasterGeneral of the Ordnance on technical matters arising out of naval and military affairs. The first President was Lieut.-General Sir AnthonyFarrington, whom, we are told, was one of the youngest men of high rank then in the Royal Artillery, for, as the record quaintly puts it 'he was but 66'. He held the post till his death at Blackheath on 3 November 1823 at the age of 84 years. His successor, Lieutenant-General Robert Douglas, continued in the appointment till his decease at Woolwich on 4 April 1827 in his 83rd year removed him from the scene of operations.13 The third President, SirJohn Macleod, remained in office till he died aged 81 years at Woolwich on 26January 18g3.'There were no more octogenarians, but astheDirector-GeneraloftheFieldTrainwasalways chosenfromamongst the most senior officers of the Regiment, and as, till 1853, the Heads of Departments were selected with due regard to seniority, it was inevitable that the Select Committee should be composed of elderly gentlemen who represented unduly the element of caution and experience as opposed to that of vision and energy. To put it bluntly, the Select Committee was hidebound, steeped in traditional methods, lacking in imagination and opposed to change.
Another of its failings was its peculiar aptitude for secrecy and reserve, and its assumption of oracular wisdom. This was, no doubt, partly due ° Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO/47/2,693, p. 26. 10 Captain and Brt Major Henry A. Scott R.A. appointed 1o December 1828 vice Major Robert Ord R.A. who died 4 December 1828 (Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,694, P. 1,943). Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,699, p. 482. 1a Kane's List No. 214. 1+ Kane's List No. 424. 1 Kane's List No. 456.
1433
to the subjects referred to it being confidential, but chiefly owing to the strong tendency in those days of age and rank for the committee to repress any enquiry with which they were out of sympathy, and which they considered to be troublesome and possibly dangerous to authority.
The peace which descended on Europe after the Congress of Vienna allowed this august, though pompous, body to remain unchallenged till 1852 when it was reconstituted under the name of The Select Committee of Artillery Officers with the Director-General of Artillery as its President. Its task was then confined to assisting the Master-General by giving its opinion on scientific or professional subjects connected with the artillery serV1Ce.
The advent of the Crimean War loosed such a spate ofinventions and suggestions upon Henry, Duke of Newcastle, Secretary of State for War and gave such an impetus to the mechanical ingenuity ofthe country, that His Grace found the Select Committee of Artillery Officers quite an unsatisfactory and inadequate court of appeal. Its slow procedure, its very limited acquaintance with the industrial resources of the countr its dislikeofstatingprofessional opinions on'newideasand itsunpopulari~ amongst those persons referred to it, all decided the Duke to make a change. He felt that the character and constitution of the committ
must be altered entirely. tee These changes were made by the Duke of Newcastle in early February1855, just before he handed over the Secretaryship of State to Lord Panmure. • The new body, known as The Ordnance Select Committee, consisted of about six artillery officers of long service in order to retain that 1
f • hi:h . e ement
o1 experience whucl was considered essential to its success. These officers were not necessarily remarkable for their scientific or professional tta• _ ments, but represented what is now termed 'the users' point or;",',"
To this body were added:
. (a) MathematicalpowerinthepersonoftheProfessorofMathem.ti
in the R.M.A. a ics
(b)
Chemical skill in the person of the Ordnance Chemist.
(c)
Mechanical science in the person of the Inspector of Machinery.
(d)
Wider departmental experience by including the Heads of two Departments not represented before.
(e)
Two engineer officers, as many engineering questions were touched
upon.
The Duke of Newcastle endeavoured to bring this newly formed committee into a closer relationship with the mechanical and scientific worlds by associating with it two eminent civilians, Professor Wheatstone and Mr C. H. <_}regory C.E. He also tried to infuse activity, to train up more young artillery officers, and to secure more sympathy between the committee and the younger members ofthe Royal Regiment by directing that two officers of the rank of Lieut.-Colonel or Captain, specially selected 1:0r t_heir mathematical and scientific achievements, should be added to it without regard to their official employment. The Secretary of
+· PRO/WO/32/540:85/Gen. No./56.
1434
APPENDIX XVI
State gave the Ordnance Select Committee the power to take up enquiries on their own instead of being strictly confined to such matters as might be referred to them by him.
These innovations were not carried out without a good deal of opposition, for the old members, who composed at least half of the committee, were conservative in outlook and not imbued with the somewhat revolutionary ideas of the Secretary of State. The president was the DirectorGeneral of Artillery and the Vice-President the Naval Director-General of Artillery. This new body became to a certain extent necessary, because the Select Committee o:f Artillery Officers, apart from its shortcomings, was an army body and therefore hardly competent to deal with the many engineering and naval problems placed before it. It was hoped that the other new members including the Naval Vice-President would rectifythese omissions.
There is in existence16 a document dated 2I February 1855 which was printed solely for the use of the Cabinet. It is called Correspondence respecting the reorganization of the Ordnance Select Committee and deals with the Duke of Newcastle's reforms. It also contains a printed list of the names of the members of the Ordnance Select Committee after reconstitution together with a printed set of rules for the guidance of the Committee.
Composition
President The Director-General of Artillery
Vice-President The Naval Director-General ofArtillery
Members The Superintendent R.G.F.
The Superintendent R.L.
The Superintendent R.C.D.
The Superintendent R.M. Repository
The C.R.E. Woolwich District
The Professor of Mathematics R.M.A.
The Ordnance (or W.D.) Chemist
The Inspector of Machinery
The Superintendent R.S.A.F.
The Superintendent R.G.P.F.
The Superintendent, Shoeburyness
Two officers of the Royal Artillery
One officer of the Royal Engineers
The Professor of Fortification R.M.A.
Professor Wheatstone
Mr C. H. Gregory
Secretary Colonel W. H. Pickering R.A.
Assistant Secretary Lieut.-Colonel F. A. Campbell R.A.
It will be seen that this committee was set up on a part-time basis as all the members except the two civilians from the outside world were appointed ex officio. The flood of inventions, however, which poured in as the result of the Crimean War soon proved too much for such restricted functioning. Various amendments were therefore proposed in 1858, and
• PRO[WO[32/540:85/Gen. No./50.
93 1435
APPENDIX XVI
in 1859 the Ordnance Select Committee became reincarnated as a wholetime body, all civilian memberships being abolished. In the same year this reconstituted committee absorbed the work of the Small Arms Committee which was dissolved in the summer of 1859.'7
This newly formed committee survived till December 1868 when it went into liquidation, being replaced in 1869 by the Council of Ordnance, which controlled a number of committees, one being designated the Committee on Ordnance.s The composition of the Council of Ordnance, which again was made up of ex officio members, was:
The Parliamentary U.S. of State, War Office
The Treasury Lord at the War Office
The Controller-in-Chief
The Director-General of Ordnance
The Director-General of Naval Ordnance
An officer from the Department of the
Secretary of State for India
The Adjutant-General
The Inspector-General of Engineers
The Inspector-General of Artillery
Captain H.M.S. Excellent
Secretary: The Deputy Director-General of Ordnance
This conglomeration of different committees dealing with various aspects of the same generic subject was not a happy solution to an evergrowing problem, and the gradually increasing pressure of work brought about by scientific developments soon demonstrated that a central co-ordinating body was essential if all the cognate desiderata which arose were to be handled efficiently. In 1881, therefore, a main standing committee was established under the nomenclature of The Ordnance Committee, and this date, 1 April 1881, marks the birth of the present Board of that name. This committee was appointed by the Secretary of State. The President was General Sir Collingwood Dickson, V.C., and the Vice-President, Rear-Admiral E. H. Howard. The members were two Colonels R.A., two Captains R.N., the O.C.0. for India (ex officio), Major
W. A. Noble R.A., and two civilians. The Secretary was Major G. H. Fairfax Ellis R.A., and the Assistant Secretary. Major E. Bainbridge
R.A.1 > '5
Towards the end of the nineteenth century it was deemed essential to set up a special body to deal with the host of problems presented by the introduction of modern explosives. The Committee on Explosives was therefore formed in July 1888,%0 with Sir Frederick Abel as President, Professor
J. Dewar and Dr A. Dupre as Members, and Captain]. H. Thomas R.A., as Secretary. In February 189o this body reported as follows:
'The Committee are continually impressed with the great importance and mdeed the necessity of ... experimental investigations such as are
7 PRO/WO/32/542:81/Gen. No./363.
16 PRO/WO[32/540:7,968/1870 and 7,968/1882.
+ PRO/WO[g2/540:85/Gen. No./1,884.
• PRO/WO[32/541 :85/Gen. No./4,406.
1436
APPENDIX XVI
carried out by Colonel Sebert, who is one of the members of the French Permanent Committee on Explosives, and they venture to urge most strongly the wisdom of extending the scope of the work of the Government Explosives Committee as to add to its members an Artillery Officer having specialscientificattainments (suchasthosepossessed byCaptainHolden).'
and in its final report in 1891 stated: 'The Committee on Explosives desire to impress upon those who will pursue this work from the point where they leave it, that unremitting systematic scientific investigation and practical experiment will be absolutely indispensable to the maintenance of that position.' That was the committee's swan song. It was abolished soon afterwards."I The seeds, however, had been sown and the idea that some independent committee to study both the theory and the practice of explosives had taken root and grew. On 19 March 1891, Captain C. Holden R.A. sent a memorandum to the Assistant Director of Artillery advocating the setting up of a department free to carry out experiments only, and not trammelled by proof or other work, which has to be done 'against time'. He pointed out 'that the present time, the commencement of a new era with the introduction of cordite is an opportune one'. As a result of these representations, some years later a small experimental establishment was set up at the proof-butts at Woolwich to deal with questions ofballistics. On 6 April 1900 Major F. L. Nathan R.A., Superintendent R.G.P.F., in a report to C.S.0.F. said that 'he had ventured to point out to the Director-General of Ordnance on 31 March 1900 that our War Office is not abreast of those foreign powers as regards machinery for systematic study in connection with explosives for military purposes and to suggest to him the desirability of appointing a small committee of experts to direct experiments and researches, and a staff for carrying them out'. On 12 April I goo the Admiralty wrote to the War Office, stressing the urgency of obtaining a better propellant than the current form of cordite and expressing 'their great disappointment at the very little progress made during the past year, as shewn by the Annual Report of the President, Ordnance Committee. They hope Lord Lansdowne may see fit to expedite matters, either by the appointment ofa special committee or by an increase in War Office staff. My Lords will be prepared to share the cost of such extra staff or committee.' On 19 April I goo, Major C. Holden in his capacity of Superintendent ofthe Royal Gun Factory, also in a report to C.S.0.F. suggested means for carrying out trials on propellants. In this report he referred to his proposals of nine years earlier. On 21 April 1900, C.S.O.F. forwarded the reports of Majors Nathan and Holden to the Director-General of Ordnance, who had asked him to ascertain their views on his (the D.G.O's) proposals for comparative trials between cordite and other smokeless powders. C.S.0.F. said he agreed with the two officers that the only way to obtain a better propellant than cordite was to go into the subject systematically from the beginning,
a1 PRO/WO/32/541 85/Gen. No./3,151. 1437
starting with closed vessel experiments and proceeding to rifles and guns. He recommended a small scientific committee to work at the problem 'from day to day till the end was achieved'.
On 30 April 1goo, the Secretary ofState for War informed the DirectorGeneral ofOrdnance that it had been decided to appoint such a committee and this body, known as the Explosives Committee, was set up in May of that year; its first meeting being on the 8th of that month.
The composition of the Explosives Committee was as follows:
President Lord Rayleigh D.C.L. LL.D. F.R.S. Sir Andrew Noble K.C.B. F.R.S. Mr R. A. Haldane Q.C. M.P. Members Sir W. C. Roberts-Austen K.C.B. D.C.L. F.R.S.
{ Sir William Crookes F.R.S.
The Committee was to report to the Director-General of the Ordnance, War Office, and its terms of reference were:
'To carry out trials with a view to ascertaining which are the best smokeless propellants for use in existing guns of all natures and in existing small arms.
To report as to whether any modification in the existing designs of guns is desirable, with a view to developing to the full the powers of any propellant which may be proposed.
To carry out trials with a view to obtaining a high explosive for shells which can be fired from all natures of guns and howitzers with as much safety as lyddite, with greater certainty of detonation, and with greater explosive effect.'
The Explosives Committee functioned for almost exactly six years, its last meeting being held on 5 April 1g06. It was succeeded by the Ordnance Research Board under the presidency of Major-General D. D. T. O'Callaghan C.V.O., President Ordnance Committee. The scientific members ofthe Explosives Committee remained to serve on the new body to which a naval Captain and a Colonel were added. In addition, the Superintendent of Chemical Research22 and the Proof and Experimental Officer were appointed to the Board.
ThefirstmeetingoftheOrdnance ResearchBoard tookplaceon 23 May 1906, but as a body its existence was shortlived. It was found that overlapping between it and the Ordnance Committee occurred. To prevent further encroachment, amalgamation between the two took place at the end of 1907 under the title of The Ordnance Board. The details of the Ordnance Board were laid down in an Office Memorandum dated
February 1908.%% In 1915, during the First World War, this Board reverted to its original name of Ordnance Committee. As time passed air problems were presented
u The Head Chemist of the chemical department of the Ordnance Research Board
was styled 'The Superintendent of Chemical Research'. He was responsible to the Ord
nance Research Board for the laboratory and its associated establishments. Printed
instructions for the regulation of the chemical department of the Ordnance Research
Board were dated 17 September 1906 (PRO[WO[32/1,252:74/8/227). + PRO/WO/32/541:74/8/259.
1438
APPENDIX XVI
to the Committee, to deal with which Air-members were added. Finally, on 1 January 1939, the Ordnance Committee, becoming charged with the development ofsmall arms-a common problem for the three Services absorbed the Small Arms Committee and became once again The Ordnance Board, a title it bears today. Its main function may be said to be the development of armaments and explosives for the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force.
On the outbreak of the Second World War it vacated its old premises in the Royal Arsenal-the house built for the Verbruggens, master founders-and left the Royal Arsenal for good.
The Royal Artillery Committee
The Royal Artillery Committee was formed in 1go7% to deal with technical questions arising from artillery equipments. The first Secretary was Captain J. Byron R.F.A., who was appointed with a salary of £500
p.a. The Presidentwas always the seniormilitarymember oftheOrdnance Committee, or Board, i.e. either the President or Vice-President of the latter. In 1936, an Assistant Secretary, in addition, was added to its establishment. Its members consisted of certain military members of the Ordnance Committee or Board as well as certain part time members drawn from the Royal Regiment of Artillery. During the First World War it fell into abeyance, its duties being transferred to the Ordnance Committee. It emerged into life again in 1919 and functioned till the outbreak of the Second World War. It was then finally absorbed by the Ordnance Board and since 1939 has ceased to exist.
The Mechanization Board
The Mechanization Board derived from the earlier Mechanical Warfare Board which was set up in London in 1928 to deal with general questions affectino>· mechanized fio-htino-o and transport vehicles. This board com-
o
posed of high officials-the Master-General of the Ordnance was the President-had a Technical Sub-Committee at Woolwich which was working there by 1930. This was a whole-time body devoted to the technical details of the Board's activities. The Mechanical Warfare Board was disbanded and its place was taken by the Mechanization Board at Woolwich in April 1934, which was an expansion of the old Technical Sub-Committee. Owing to its cramped environment it was deemed advisable to move the Board into surroundings allowing more scope for its activities. It therefore left Woolwich just prior to September 1939.
The Research Department
The Research Department, like Topsy, 'just growed' out ofpre-existing
Establishments. Its genesis was closely connected with the amalgamation
ofthe Ordnance Research Board and the Ordnance Committee. It derived
from the Chemical Research Department, the Experimental Establish
ment and the Mechanical Research Department of the Ordnance
Factories.
On 25 October I goo, the Director-General of Ordnance referred to
1439
proposals for an Experimental Establishment which had been foreshadowed in a report of the Explosives Committee dated 2g August 1900, and asked for definite proposals. On 11 November 1900, the Explosives Committee confirmed its view that a separate Experimental Establishment should be formed as soon as possible to carry out original research on explosives and steels. In January 1902, the Secretary of State for War informed the Admiralty of his concurrence in such an establishment and asked that department to share the cost. In reply, the Admiralty agreed to share the expense on a '50-5O basis. Plans were made, estimates were prepared and in 1903 various experimental buildings had been erected. By 1904, Dr 0. J. Silberrad, who had been appointed additional chemist in 19o1, was referred to as the 'Superintendent of Chemical Research'. In 1904 also, a Metallurgical Research Department was formed. It became obvious that duplication was taking place between these various research organizations sponsored by the Explosives Committee and the Ordnance Factories, so it was agreed25 that all should be grouped together and formed into The Research Department from 1 April 19o7. The Treasury approval for establishing the Research Department was dated 18 April 1907. The Ordnance Research Board was informed of this new depart
ment on 2 May 1907. Major J. H. Mansell R.A. was the first Superintendent of Research; Lieut. Duncan R.N. was the Proof and Experimental Officer; Captain H. G. Howarth was Assistant Superintendent, Mechanical Research; and Dr Robert Robertson was Assistant Superintendent, Chemical Research.
The Research Department, besides controlling the Proof and Experimental Establishment, consisted of three branches, explosives, ballistics and metallurgy, each under a Director, and as years went on its activities grew ever wider. In 1939, the headquarters and main body left the precincts of the Royal Arsenal for good, leaving only a section behind which still flourishes in its departmental compound.
The Design Department
One result of the First World War was the setting up of a Design
Department at Woolwich in 1919. Though drawn from the Ordnance
Factories it was quite distinct from them and bore no allegiance to
C.S.0.F. The Department, which was in the main staffed by officers of the three Services, used the factory drawing offices; and the post of Chief Designer was held by 'The Manager, O.F. Drawing Offices'. The holder of the appointment therefore served two masters, the Superintendent of Design and the Chief Superintendent of Ordnance Factories.
The Design Department, which was responsible for initiating armament designs for the three Services, consisted of a number of sections dealing with guns; gun-mountings (excluding naval); small arms; ammunition including shell, cartridges, tubes, primers, fuzes etc.; pyrotechnics; tanks and transport vehicles. The sharing of common drawing offices though economical was not conducive to efficiency, and when the Second World War broke out the Department moved from Woolwich and became 'a
APPENDIX XVI
sovereign power' divorced from the Ordnance Factories in every respect. It did not return to the Central Offices. The Research and Design Departments were combined in 1955 t0 form the Armaments Research and Development Establishment.
The Armaments Inspection Department
This department, then known as the Inspection Department Woolwich, was set up on 1 April 1888 as the result of the adoption of one of the recommendations of the Morley Committee which read as follows:
'An Inspector-General of Warlike Stores should be appointed who should report direct to the Surveyor-General of Ordnance. All weapons of war and stores supplied to the Army from government factories or from the Trade should be inspected, tested and passed under his direction and on his responsibility.'
As it transpired, no Inspector-General was ever appointed and the post of Surveyor-General was abolished. Nevertheless two inspecting bodies, one at Enfield and the other at Woolwich, were established. The former dealing with the examination and proof of small arms was under a Chief Inspector, but no such post appeared in the Woolwich establishment till 1893. From 1888 to 1893 the officer in charge of the Inspection Department Woolwich was designated 'The Assistant Director of Artillery,
, 'b
Woolwich.'. Under the Assistant Director of Artillery, Woolwich, who was Major
C. Morley R.A., were four Inspectors, those of Guns and Steel, Carriages, Laboratory Stores and Gunpowder. The latter functioned at Waltham Abbey. The first marked change in the organization of the department took place on 1 April 1893. On that day the appointment of Major
A. P. Penton, who had succeeded Major C. Morley as Assistant Director of Artillery, Woolwich, on I April 1891, ended, and a Chief Inspector was appointed. The officer selected for the post was Major C. F. Hadden who had been Inspector of Laboratory Stores since the department was
founded. dil On taking over the position of Chief Inspector, Major Hadden spee Y
> • h..s. ... ti and
centralized all accounts wages registry and a mmistrative ques ions
formed practically the modern headquarters staff. This led to standard
scales ofpay for various grades and promotions among foremen, assistant
foremen and the clerical class departmently instead ofdivisionally as had
been th; practice hitherto. He also reorganized the Equipment branch
placing it on its present basis.
In April 1894 it was decided to place the Inspector ofR.E. Stores, Roya1 Dockyard, under the administration of the Chief Inspector, Woolwich. This partnership did not last for long as it was termmated m Apnl 1901 ·
InJanuary 1905theInspectorofSteelatShefieldwasplacedunderthe jurisdiction of CI.W. and remained under that official till June 1909 when steel inspection was transferred to the Admiralty. In 19o4 a new division the 'Inspectorate of Range Finders', was added to the Inspection Departm' ent, Woolwich. A few years later, i• n 0)ctobber 1909, alftter the retirement of Mr W. H. Deering, the Chief Inspector, Woolwich, took over the administration ofW.D. Chemist until the First World War. Prior
I44I
APPENDIX XVI
to this, when the Proof and Experimental Officer took over all proof and experimental work at Woolwich, the post of proof officer under
C.I.W. lapsed.
In August 1914, the Inspection Department, Woolwich, which carried out inspection of armament stores for both the Army and the Navy, consisted of a headquarters, an Equipment branch and 4 divisions, i.e. Gun and Carriages, Laboratory Stores, Range Finders and Chemical.
During the First World War the post of Chief Inspector fell into abeyance and each division, and the number multiplied exceedingly, became independent, each under a Director of Inspection. The only common basis was administration which was carried out by the 'Administrative Officer', a post held by Lieut.-General Sir Percy Lake. The presiding genius of all inspection was an official at the Ministry of Munitions styled 'The Controller of Inspection of Munitions'.
After the First World War had terminated, the department was reorganized under the name of the Armaments Inspection Department and functioned under a Chief Inspector of Armaments. As I.N.O. Woolwich had already become established C.I.A. was only responsible for the inspection of L.S. Stores including small arm ammunition which is common to the three Services. Besides the headquarters and the Equipment branch the department consisted of six divisions; Complete Rounds, Gun Ammunition, Small Arm Ammunition, Carriages, Guns and Optical Supplies. The latter division did not return to the Royal Arsenal; it remained in Garland Road, Plumstead. Later on the Inspectorate of Complete Rounds was abolished, guns and carriages were combined into one Inspectorate and an Inspector of Tanks was added. Finally, an Inspectorate of Mechanical Carriages to deal with mechanized transport
was set up. The Department in 1929 was responsible for the inspection of all new
armament stores supplied to the Land Forces and, with the exception of those off contracts placed by the Air Ministry direct, of similar stores purchased on behalfofthe Royal Air Force; it was also responsible for the
inspection ofnewsmallarmammunitionforthe naval service. Inaddition the examination of reserve army stocks, the examination, and if necessar; the proof, of special consignments of stores already in the Service, and the inspection of those of an exceptional or experimental nature were also undertaken. Inspection of new work for the governments of India and other Dominions was also carried out at their request. Other duties of the department consisted in preparing specifications for armament and M.T. Stores, except those dealing with explosives in bulk, oils, paints, varnishes etc. which were the responsibility of the W.D. Chemist, the sealing and safe care of all specifications and drawings, the custody of sealed patterns and negatives, the production of prints, and the preparation ofinstructional and wall diagrams. The department was also responsible for the design and inspection of its own gauges, the design, repair and experimental work in connection with certain optical stores, such as coast defence and anti-aircraft instruments, and for experimental S.A.A.
work on its small arm range. Furthermore the department dealt with 'Approvals', contract demands and tenders, distributed specifications to
1442
APPENDIX XVI
various other departments and Dominion offices, and assigned nomenclature for all three Services to the following types of stores:
Guns, mechanisms, etc. Carriages, mountings vehicles, side arms Tanks, dragons and tracked vehicles Ammunition
Optical supplies
Finally the Department was charged with the preparation of the following books and pamphlets: Handbooks of all equipments including those
for tanks and dragons The Care and Preservation of Artillery Equipments Magazine Regulations Identification Lists War Equipment Tables
R.A.0.S. Part II. Priced Vocabulary of Stores (with the exception of the actual pricing)Lists of Changes (monthly) for all three Services
Later on C.I.A. took over the photographic section from W.D. Chemist in 1938 and ceased to be responsible for the inspection of 'A' and 'B' vehicles when the Chief Inspectorate of Mechanization was formed.
The headquarters and much of the staff of the Armament Inspection Department left the Royal Arsenal at the outbreak of the Second World War and has not returned.
The Naval Ordnance Inspection Department
This department had its main office in Lincoln's Inn Fields during
the First World War and a sub-office in the Royal Arsenal under the
charge of Colonel Williams. This functioned till the end of the war when
the office in Lincoln's Inn Fields was closed and the staff transferred to the
Arsenal occupying Building D. 4. The gun section of the department was
housed in Building D. 15. .
Up to this date the department had been controlled by the Oficer in
charge at Sheffield under the title of Inspector of Steel, but in 192o the
headquarters were transferred from Sheffield to Woolwich; at the same
time the Inspector of Steel had his name changed to the Inspector ofNaval
Ordnance, Woolwich. With the consequent increase ofstaff, accommodation
was procured in Middle Gate House, originally built for the storekeeper,
the staff being distributed in huts in the forecourt. At this time the Naval
Armament Store Ofcer also occupied these premises.
As a result of additional Admiralty requirements in the London area,
it was found that the accommodation in Middle Gate House was inade
quate for the two departments so alternative quarters were obtained for
I.N.O. Woolwich in Building B39 facing the water-front in a range of offices over a loading wharf. These offices were not found to be very satisfactory and a fire in them in 1922 settled the matter. Arrangements were therefore made for the transfer ofN.A.S.O. and his stafffrom Middle
1443
Gate House to Building D14 and the reoccupation ofthe former by I.N.O.
Woolwich.
The expansion of naval armament commitments and the necessity of housing additional staff made further building essential, so as a temporary measure huts were erected in the garden of Middle Gate House. This state of affairs prevailed till 1936 when approval was given to construct a modern building adjoining and connected by corridors to the old house. To facilitate this reconstruction, part of the staff was distributed among outside premises, i.e. the Establishment Section to rooms over the 'Fifty Shilling Tailor' in Powis Street, the Miscellaneous Section in rooms over 'Burtons' in Hare Street, and the Gun Section in the Naval Ordnance College in Building D9o. The new I.N.O. offices were completed in June 1938 and the outlying staff were reabsorbed in the present building C95.
A Naval proof yard was set up in 1921 in F74A, alongside the Army proof yard, to conduct tests on filled ammunition components, whether sampled from new production or from stock held on serviceable charge at Armament Depots, so long as such tests did not involve firing from a gun. Also, samples of ammunition reported defective or as beino-associated with failures at sea are subjected to critical inspection in this building. In 1950 approval was given for the reconstruction of the existing proof yard and work was started in 1951. The new buildings were visited by
H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh in November 1952 when they were nearing completion.
The Admiralf;y Overseer
This official was charged with the inspection of naval gun mountings made in the Royal Ordnance Factories. His office before the Second World War was in the Central Offices. He and his staff have now left
the Royal Arsenal.
The War Department Chemist
The department of the War Department Chemist undoubtedly derived from the earlier office of 'Ordnance Chymist' which used to exist under the Office of Ordnance and was finally abolished by the M.G.O's order
dated 22 March 1826.20 The modern organization ofthe W.D. Chemist Department, now known as the Chemical Inspectorate, War Department, originated with the appointment of Mr Frederick Abel as 'Ordnance Chemist' in 1854. On
13 April 1855 he was joined by William Dent as a Laboratory Assistant and Thomas Powell, Laboratory attendant and messenger.27 On 28 May1855, Mr Abel was granted the assistance of a temporary clerk. 28 On 5 September 1855 Mr Abel was authorized to purchase a microscope at a cost of £4o-5o.% It was laid down on 1o January 1856 that the salary of Mr Frederick Abel as Ordnance Chemist was to be £500 p.a., but that if and when a vacancy in the appointments should occur it would be a "" Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,687, p. 1,282. 21 June 1826. Holders of this office were Dr Cruickshank up to 180g; Dr Rollo 1803-1309 and Dr McCullock
1809-1826. ' ' Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO/WO[47/2,753, p. 1,229. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[i7/2,753, p. 1,859. Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,754, p. 706.
1444
APPENDIX XVI
subject for reconsideration.30 The change of name of the 'Establishment of the Ordnance Chemist' to that of the 'Establishment of the War Department Chemist' was first mentioned on 19 May 1856.%
This small department started its official life in one of the gun factories till 186o when it moved its permanent laboratory to B 47. Here it remained till 1937. There was a new establishment in 1862 which cost £4,000 p.a. This included beside the Chemist, a senior assistant, two second class assistants, a third class assistant, a fourth class assistant, a clerk, 2 photographers and 2 N.C.O.s.
In its early years the analytical work of the department consisted of the examination of samples of metal from the gun foundry and other miscellaneous materials. Mr, afterwards Sir Frederick, Abel, however, devoted much of his time to research work on the new explosives, nitroglycerin and gun-cotton, leading to the development of cordite, which eventually superseded gunpowder as the standard propellant for guns and small arms. The Abel Heat Test, which is still employed in the inspection of nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose explosives, derives from this work. In addition to their purely chemical work, the early staff of the department devoted from 186g considerable attention to the art of photography, then in its infancy. In the nineteen-twenties the photographic work was extended to include high speed cinematography of projectiles in flight. In 1938, however, all the photographic work, except the photo micrography of metals, was handed over to the Chief Inspector of Armaments.
There were certain reorganizations in the W.D. Chemist Department between the years 1874 and 1889,% and by 1883 the staff had increased to a total ofsix chemists and two assistants, a complement which continued with little change until shortly before the First World War when three assistant chemists were recruited.
Until 1906 the War Department Chemist was responsible for all research and inspection work in connection with the chemistry of explosives and military equipment, but in 1907, on the advice ofLord Haldane, then Secretary of State for War, an entirely separate Research Department was set up for work on fundamental problems in the chemistry and physics of explosives and ancillary materials. The very moderate amount ofchemicalinspectionworkremainingunderthe controlofW.D. Chemist was insufficient to justify the continued separate existence of his department which was thereupon merged with the other inspection branches under the Chief Inspector, Woolwich. This took place in October 1909. This arrangement persisted until well into the First World War when all the Divisions of the Inspection Department split up into individual Inspection Directorates. The W.D. Chemist, who during the merger had become the Chemist, Inspection Department, now became the Director of Chemical Inspection in 1918 with a staff numbering about 150.
Prior to 1914, the work of the Chemical Inspection Department had
consisted mainly of the analysis of samples of metals, gunpowder, picric
acid-the only high explosive then available-cordite and mercury ful
minate, together with the examination of paints and miscellaneous
a0 Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO/47/2,756, p. 104. a Extracts of Minutes, Series II, PRO[WO[47/2,757, p. 1,418. a PRO[WO[32/522:72/Gen. No./214.
1445
materials. By 1918, however, the picture had changed considerably. High explosives such as T.N.T., ammonium nitrate, amatol, tetryl, picric acid, shellite etc., together with various explosive pyrotechnic and smoke compositions, occupied the attention of a large section of the staff, whilst another large section was occupied with cordite, nitro cellulose powders and fulminate compositions, and a third dealt with oils, paints, varnishes and other similar compounds. In addition, a new section had to be formed to deal with the various war gases, chlorine, phosgene, mustard gas, etc. which were then introduced as military weapons. The nature of this latter work necessitated the opening of several outstations in various parts ofthe country to deal with the materials at the places where they were produced. An additional temporary building also was erected at A 43, Flagstaff Square, Royal Arsenal, to accommodate the expanded Woolwich staff, and other additional accommodation was obtained in Wellesley House, near the top ofShooters Hill. In order to cover the inspection of explosives purchased from America, a small team ofchemists was sent to that country where they organized the inspection of high explosives and propellants at the producing factories.
At the end of the war, the outstations were closed down and the staff rapidly dwindled in numbers, ultimately reaching a minimum of twentynine chemists and assistant chemists by 1933.
Notwithstanding the reduction in the size of the establishment, the Directorate of Chemical Inspection retained its independence-from the other armament inspecting divisions, and in 1924 reverted to its old title of War Department Chemist. This designation remained in force till the transfer of all the L.S. inspection branches to the newly formed Ministry of Supply in 1939 when the title of War Department Chemist was inappropriate and it was changed to that of ChiefChemical Inspector. It has now been altered to Director ofChemical Inspection.
In 1936 the new buildings including laboratories on Frog Island were completed and the staff moved into their new premises early in 1937. Almost immediately the staff began to increase in numbers in order to meet the rearmament programme, so that by early in 1939 the laboratories were already crowded to double their designed capacity, and by the end ofAugust 1939 the strength was approaching 200. On the outbreak ofthe Second World War, the headquarters of the Chemical Inspectorate and the majority of the staff left the Royal Arsenal. Now, however, the headquarters have returned although a certain number of outstations are still
retained.
The Assistant Director ofMilitary Transport
This office derived from the Transport Department, Royal Arsenal, set up on 6January 1892, the early years ofwhich have already been described in Chapter 2o. Besides dealing with the transport of stores to and from Woolwich by land and river, the Assistant Director of Military Transport had under his command the Inspector of Shipping and the W.D. Fleet. Since the Second World War this establishment has been very much reduced and is now only represented by one of the Water Companies,
R.A.S.C.
APPENDIX XVI
The lvl.G.O.F. Cashier
The duties of this official were as follows :33
He was responsible for all payments and receipts which, on 30 April 1905, were arranged for by the District Paymasters, Home District and Woolwich, in respect of the following services:
Vote I
1. Payment of contractors' claims on orders under £100 in value in respect to Sub-head QHorse medicines etc.
Vote II
2. Payment of contractors' claims on orders under {roo in value in respect to Sub-head F-Medicines and instruments.
Vote VI
3.
Payment of contractors' claims on orders under {roo in value, as regards railway stores, mechanical transport vehicles, boats and vessels.
4.
Establishment and wages of the Superintending Engineer and Contractor of Shipping.
5.
Wages of the departments of the A.D.M.T. Woolwich (including wages of crews of W.D. vessels at Woolwich) and the Assistant Director of Supplies, Woolwich.
6.
Payments of contractors' claims on orders under £100 in value in respect to Sub-head DDisinfectants.
Vote VII
7. Payments of contractors' claims on orders under {roo in value in respect to Sub-heads A to C and F.
Vote VIII
8. Establishments and wages.
g. Payments ofcontractors' claims on orders under £100 in value, and receipts of appropriations in aid.
Vote IX
1 o. Ordnance Committee.
11.
Explosives Committee.
12.
Experimental Establishment, Shoeburyness.
13.
Ordnance College.
14.
R.A. Institution and Rotunda.
15.
Establishments and wages of Inspection Departments.
16.
Payment of contractors' claims on orders under {roo in value.
Vote XIII
17. Wages of subordinate staff of M.G.O.F., Woolwich.
General
The cashier received his imprests from F1(B), War Office and rendered direct accounts to M.G.O.F., War Office.
as PRO[WO[32/1,041:1/Accounts Branch/115.
1447
APPENDIX XVI
The procedure under which payment of wages of subordinates serving in the Royal Arsenal was made by the Paymaster, Royal Arsenal, was not to be disturbed.
As regards payments of contractors' claims, the certificate of the officer certifying the bill may be accepted as to the accuracy of the claim, which will not be subjected to detailed audit in the cashier's office. 34
This official has long ceased to exist.
F5 (Audit) Woolwich
This branch acted as auditors for the Royal Ordnance Factories. When the Royal Arsenal was handed over to the Ministry of Supply, F5 (Audit) automatically lost its functions. It then left Woolwich and has not returned.
The Exchequer and Audit Branch
This is a branch office of the Exchequer and Audit Service under the Comptroller and Auditor-General. This office still exists at Woolwich.
The Store Accountant, Woolwich
This official did all the accounting in connection with army stores held on charge by the C.O.O. Woolwich. He also audited travelling claims etc.
The Military College ofScience (Arsenal Branch)
This was quite an extensive branch of the Military College of Science in which practical as opposed to theoretical work was taught, and where lectures on Artillery material, guns, mountings, ammunition were given. It had been in existence for many years when the Military College of Science left Woolwich for good in 1939. This Branch thereupon naturallyclosed down.
Although the Arsenal Football Club, now known simply as Arsenal, cannot be strictly classed as a department which once sheltered in the Royal Arsenal, it did originate among the factory workers. It is thought, therefore, that a few words concerning its early struggles would not come am1ss.
The following notes are based upon Parts I and II ofForward, Arsenal! by Bernard Joy.
In the eighteen-eighties several soccer enthusiasts, many of them Scots, entered the Royal Arsenal in search of employment as engineers and mechanics,buttheformationofafootball clubproveddifficult.Anattempt was made by Joseph Smith to form an offshoot from the Royal Arsenal Cricket Club in order to obtain a pitch, but the cricketers would have nought to do with the footballers. David Danskin, a Scot from Kirkcaldy, determined that those keen on football should at least have a kick-about, and he sent a subscription list round the workshops in order to raise enough money to purchase the first requisite, a football. Fifteen men subscribed 6d. each and Danskin made up the total to ros. 6d. out ofhis own pocket. Eight of the men who thus laid the financial foundation of the Club were: Danskin, Watkins, Smith, Price, Whitehead, Porteous, Gellatly and Ratcliffe, the last two being non-players. The Arsenal Football Club was
" 57/Woolwich/2,546:June 1905.
APPENDIX XVI
therefore launched in 1886 under the name of the Dial Square Football Club. David Danskin was the first captain and Elijah Watkins, the first secretary. The club had its first match in December 1886 against the Eastern Wanderers at Millwall. The team was:
Beardsley, Danskin, Porteous, Gregory, Bee, Wolfe, Smith, Moy, Whitehead, Morris and Duggan.
Each man provided his own kit and hardly two shirts among the players were alike. Boots were ordinary boots with bars nailed across the soles. It was a 6-o victory. Elijah Watkins describes the pitch as follows:
'Talk about a football pitch! This one eclipsed any I ever heard of or saw. I could not venture to say what shape it was, but it was bounded by back-yards as to about two-thirds of the area, and the other portion ,vas-I was going to say a ditch but I think an open sewer would be more appropriate. We could not decide who won the game because when the ball was not in the back gardens it was in the ditch, and that was full ofthe loveliest material that could possibly be. Well, our fellows did not bring it all away with them, but they looked as though they had been clearing out a mudshoot when they had done playing. I know, because the attendant at the pub asked me what I was going to give him to clear the muck away??
Shortly afterwards the members held a meeting at the Royal Oak, Plumstead, to launch the club on a wider basis. Dial Square was considered too narrow a title so that of the Royal Arsenal Football Club was adopted. Thus it remained till the name was changed to Woolwich Arsenal Football Club in 1891. On the removal of the club to Highbury in 1913, the word 'Woolwich' was dropped from the nomenclature. It has since been known as Arsenal. The first game of the reformed club was played against Erith on Plumstead Common on 8 January 1887.
On Good Friday 1888, when the Royal Arsenal Football Club met
Millwall for the first time, the ground was flooded owing to heavy ram,
and, not wishing to postpone the match, the committee were told that
a piece of pasture land nearby, called the Manor Field, was suitable, and
after making a hasty inspection they fixed up with the tenant,J. Cavey,
for its use. The teams changed in the Green Man in Plumstead High Street,
and the match was won 3-0, [5 being taken in gate money. The club
used the Manor Field for the next two seasons, but the successes of 1889
1 goo sent them looking for a more permanent ground. The Ivicta ground
was just what was wanted. It had a stand, terraces and dressing rooms.
Three years were spent there, but when the club was elected to the League,
the landlord put up the rent. An appeal for financial assistance to
supporters was launched with magnificent results. A limited liability com
pany was formed with a capital of £4,ooo, most of which was taken up
by local enthusiasts. The old Manor Field was purchased and supporters
gave up their spare time in the evenings and at week-ends to help with
the erection of a grandstand and terraces. The ground was ready for
Sccond Division football by the beginning of the 1893-1894 Season, and
1449
it remained the home of the club till its removal to Highbury twenty years later.
When a move from Plumstead became imperative, a site was eventually chosen at St Johns College of Divinity at Highbury. Lengthy negotiations took place and six acres were secured on a 2I year lease, and an expenditure of£20,000 was undertaken. In deference to their ecclesiastical landlords Arsenal agreed not to stage matches at Highbury on Good Friday and Christmas Day. This limitation remained in force till 1925 when the club purchased the complete estate of about r o acres for £47,ooo, as well as other property adjoining for an additional £r 7,000. The first Christmas Day match was played in 1925 when Notts County were beaten 3-0. The college then became tenants of Arsenal and paid rent in turn. A fire destroyed the buildings at the end of the Second World War and a large block of flats now stands on the site of the former college.
The last match at Manor Field was played on 28 April 1913 and the firstatHighburyon 6 Septemberofthe sameyear.ThemovetoHighbury cost50,000 and another/50,000 was required for the stand and ground
improvements. Thus as Emerson says: The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.
APPENDIX XVII
MANUSCRIPTS RELATING TO ORDNANCE MATTERS
There is an enormous mass of MSS. dealing with Ordnance matters in the Public Record Office, the British Museum, the War Office Library and the War Office Records, Stanmore. The number runs into thousands.
Those in the Public Record Office are detailed in the official catalogues and in Guiscppi's Guide to the Public Record Office.
In the British Museum, Ordnance MSS are to be found among the Harleian, Cottonian, Sloane and Stowe Collections and in the Landsdowne Library.
The main papers which deal inter alia with Woolwich Arsenal are as follows:
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
A. Ordnance Journal Books
Series WO/47
These books, covering the years 1644-1856, consist of 2,897 volumes. The Journals of Proceedings of the Office of Ordnance prior to 1810 exist in several broken series. After 181o, the Minutes are complete oil the Board of Ordnance was abolished. The following series of Books are contained in this class:
(a) Journals ofProceedings or the Board's Minute Books (PRO/WO/47/1-PRO/WO/47/33)
1644-1727 There are occasional gaps, i.e. 1645-1652; 1656-1662; 1667; 1668;1670-1673; 1676-1679; 1686-1694; 1697-1704; 1709-17135 1721; 1723.
There is one book 2 August 1781g December 1781 (Volume 33). From 1680 onwards these books are usually indexed.
(b) Minutes (Surveyor-General) (PRO/WO[47/34PRO[WO[47/12o)
1749-1792 These are the Surveyor-General's copies and contain a full record of the Board's daily proceedings within the dates specified. From 1750 onwards, each volume is indexed.
(c) The Board's Minute Books (PRO[WO[A7/1a1-PRO/WO[47/2,357)
1809June 1855 The regular series of these Minute Books begins with I January 1810, there being one volume for the first few days only of 18o9. They contain full abstracts of letters with the Board's orders thereon and brief notes of the subsequent proceedings. They include many appointments, retirements, pensions, etc.
04
APPENDIX XVII
Index Books Nos. 8,237-8,279 cover this series from 1819 till 1852.
(d) Extracts ofMinutes-Series I (PRO/WO[47/2,358--PRO/WO/47/2,548)
1782-1816 These volumes contain the certified extracts ofsuch minutes of the Board's Proceedings as were sent to the Surveyor-General by the Secretary of the Board, together with all the original correspondence referred to the former by the Board with the Secretary's notes of the orders made thereon. There is little concerning Woolwich in this series. The volumes are not indexed.
(e) Extracts ofMinutes-Series II (PRO[WO[47/2,549-PRO[WO/47/2,759)
1786-1856 These are the principal extracts made from the Board's Minute Books for the use of the Surveyor-General. Although they probably represent less than half the total amount of business carried out daily by the Board, the important items are duly recorded and thus the series is a mine ofinformation in a somewhat condensed form. The last entry is dated 31 December 1856; the record, therefore, continues for some nineteen months after the Board's demise. After 1850 the volumes become brief registers of correspondence rather than Minute Books. They are indexed up to the year 1831.
B. Account Ledgers
Series WO/48 Only two sets of ledgers are of value for Woolwich history; the Treasurer's Ledgers and the Expense Ledgers. There are 35 7 volumes in the whole series.
(a)
The Treasurer's Ledgers There are altogether 6 series of Treasurer's Ledgers, of which only two
(i)
General Series 1660-18g2 and (ii) Home 1832-1842 are of value for Woolwich history. . The General Series commencing with volume PRO/W0/48/1, is not mdexed, the entries being made in chronological order. The Home Series is indexed.
The Treasurer's Ledgers give detailed accounts of all payments made for various services including the quarterly disbursements of salaries to the established officials of the Office of Ordnance.
(b) Expense Ledgers
1748-1832. These Ledgers are indexed and include the Debenture Ledgers 1822-1832.
C. Accounts, various
Series WO/49 Of these, only two are of interest: Debenture Books and Estimate Books.
APPENDIX XVI I
(a) Debenture Books (PRO/W0/49/17-PRO/W0/49/109)
1592-1715 There are 93 volumes in this series. They set out in detail the items of the accounts for which they were drawn.
(b) Estimate Books
(PRO/W0/49/110-PRO/W0/49/188) There are 78 volumes in this series. They give the estimates of expenditure, works, etc.
D. AccountsBill Books
Series WO/[5o; WO/51; WO/52; WO/53
There are 4 series of Bill Books as under:
Series I (NO[5o) 1677-1 778 21 volumes Series II (WO/51) 16g0-1 306 313 volumes Series III (WO/52) 178g-1354 782 volumes Series IV (W0/53) 1660-1-822 534 volumes
The Bill Books contain detailed items of expenditure by the Ordnance Office and thereby supplement the information to be obtained from the Ledgers. Many in the later series are indexed. They form a valuable source of enlightenment during the years for which the Journal or Minute Books are missing.
(a) Series I (PRO/WO[50/1--PRO/WO[50/a1)
This is a small collection containing the quarterly bills from 1694-1752 together with other miscellaneous bills. They give certain salaries, appointments and establishments between the dates mentioned. Only volumes 2-14 contain allusions to Woolwich. They are not indexed.
(b) Series II
(PRO[WO/51/1-PRO/WO[51/313)These are a great source of information concerning Woolwich. The series constitute the general collection of the entry books of bills _between 1_630
and 1 806. From 1753 onwards the books contain the salary lists ofofficials, clerks and artificers, and thus supplement the data given in the Quarter and Establishment Books and the Treasurer,s Ledgers.
(c) Series III
(PRO[WO[52/1--PRO[WO/52/782) These carry on Series II till 1854, though it is less valuable for Woolwich facts than the previous series.
(d) Series IV.
(PRO/W0/53/1-PRO/W0/53/534)These books are not of much value for Woolwich. They deal mainly with various home and foreign stations, and with the accounts of various wars.
1453
APPENDIX XVII
E. Registers
Series W0/54 The only two sets of Registers which concern Woolwich Arsenal are
(a)
Quarter-Books and (b) Establishment Books.
(a)
Quarter-Books. (PR0/WO[5A/1-PRO/WO[54/196)
1594-1837 There are 196 volumes in this series, of which about 1oo contain useful information regarding Woolwich. They give the quarterly lists of the salaries, wages, allowances and pensions paid to the Civil and MilitaryMembers, and to the artificers of the Ordnance Establishment.
(b) Establishment Books (PR0[WO[54/197-PRO/WO/54/236)1676-1855 There arc 4o volumes in this series. These books are incomplete. Besides certain other data, they include the lists of civil and military establishments at home and abroad. Most ofthe volumes include details concerning
Woolwich establishments. Some volumes are duplicates. Nos. 197, 198, 218-220, 222-225, 227 and 233-236 have no references to Woolwich.
F• Miscellanea
Series WO/55 This section covers a large number of miscellaneous documents. The only ones which contribute to knowledge concerning Woolwich Arsenal
are: Report Books Warrants Engineer Papers Building and Lands
(a) Reports.
(PR0/WO/55/1-PRO/WO/55/329)1753-1859 This series comprising 329 volumes includes general reports. They are entry books ofreports of the Surveyor-General with the Board's decisions thereon. They are indexed. Some of the earlier ones make reference to Woolwich, but they are not of much assistance on the whole.
(b) Warrants
(PROfWO/55/330-PRO/W0/55/538)
1578-1857
There are 2~9 volume_s in this series. They are Entry Books of Warrants
and Orders m Council, together with originals of the same. There are
3 sets known as:
Warrants and Orders in Council (Nos. 330-35)
Warrants (Kings and Others, Woolwich) (Nos. 386-422)
Entry Book of Warrants from the Master-General and the Board (Nos.
469538)
1454
APPENDIX XVII
The warrants include Royal Warrants, Warrants from the MasterGeneral and Board; also those relating to stores, money, works, pay, pensions etc. Many of these books are indexed.
There are also a few more old warrant books to be found in the series G. & D/37.
(c) Engineer Papers
(Woolwich papers PR0/W0/55/756-PRO/W0/55/764)1788-1856
There are altogether 31o bundles of Engineer Papers which consist of original letters and reports to the Chief Royal Engineer, the InspectorGeneral of Fortifications and others from Chief Engineers and other officials with draft orders and minutes thereon. As they are arranged in bundles according to stations, it is only those endorsed 'Woolwich' which are of interest to this work. These number nine. They throw a good deal of light on building operations during the years in question and many of the papers are illustrated by maps and drawings. The papers are not indexed, but are arranged chronologically.
(d) Buildings and Lands 61 Volumes and Bundles 1770-1860
Only two of these, PRO/WO[55/1,611(3) and PRO[WO[55/1,612(1) refer to Woolwich.
G. Works Estimates
These give the yearly Works Estimates for all stations, both at home and abroad from 1811-1852. The volumes run more or less alternately Home Stations and Foreign Stations. They are included m the Series W0/55. These volumes give in great detail the yearly expenditure (or estimated expenditure) on all constructional and building work. They therefore supplement the Engineer Papers.
The 34 volumes which include Woolwich estimates are:
PRO[WO[55 Nos. 124, 126, 128, 131, 134, 137, 139-146, 148, 150, 151, 153, 155, 157-161, 163, 165, 167-170.
In addition to the above Ordnance MSS. mentioned, there are many other papers in the Public Record Office dealing with Woolwich Arsenal, particularly in the rgth century. These are far too numerous to specify in detail.
They are to be found mainly under the following serial numbers:
HO[5o; WO[3a; W0/44; WO/555_.. . and are concerned with a variety of subjects: building, machinery, purchases of land, establishments etc.
War Office Library
Ordnance and Army Annual estimates; reports; reports of Committees, Parliamentary and otherwise; and various miscellaneous documents.
1455
APPENDIX XVII
War Office Records (Stanmore)
Ordnance Book No. 252 Woolwich 1806 Ordnance Book No. 346 Woolwich1811 Ordnance Book No. 394Woolwich1821 Ordnance Book No. 598 Woolwich 1830 Ordnance Book No. 758 Woolwich 1841 Ordnance Book No. 925 Woolwich 1851
The books each contain a detailed map of Ordnance property at Woolwich during the year mentioned. They also give the following information:
(1) AstatementofthewholeextentoftheOrdnancelandsatWoolwich
showing the quantity of each description, whether arable, meadow or pasture.
(2)
A statement of the Ordnance lands at Woolwich occupied by, or applied to the benefit of, Officers of the Department, for which no rent is paid.
(3)
A statement of the Ordnance lands at Woolwich let to individuals with the names of the occupiers and the rent arising therefrom.
(4)
A statement of the Ordnance lands at Woolwich not described in
(2)
and (3) above, showing in what manner the same is appropriated.
(5)
A statement of the dwelling houses, the property of the Ordnance at Woolwich, occupied by Officers of the Department.
(6)
A statement of the dwelling houses, the property of the Ordnance at Woolwich, let to individuals, with the rent arising therefrom.
(7)
A statement ofthebuildings ofeverydescription, hired atWoolwich for the use of the Ordnance, showing the manner in which such buildings are apphed, and the rent paid for the same, with the date of the Board's order authorizing the hire of the buildings.
(8)
A statement of the storehouses, magazines, workshops, etc. the property of the Ordnance at Woolwich, showing the dimensions the materials with which they are constructed, and the purposes to which they are applied.
(9)
A statement of Ordnance barracks at Woolwich showing the number of Field Officers, Captains Subalterns Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Men they are calculated to contain.
Bibliography
Arsenal Guide: Henry Knell: 1865. Chapters in Mediaeval Administrative History: T. F. Tout, Manchester University Press. 1920-1933.
Curiosities ofCivilization: Andrew Wynter M.D.: Robert Hardwick, 1860. Environs ofLondon: Daniel Lysons: 1796. Greater London: Edward Walford: Cassell and Company.
Guide to Woolwich: John Grant: 1841. Sir Henry Lee: E. K. Chambers: 1936. The Armouries ofthe Tower of London: Charles ffoulkes: H.M. Stationery
OIic, 1916.
The Diary ofJohn Evelyn. The Diary ofSamuel Pepys. The History ofthe Ministry ofMunitions. The Hundred ofBlackheath: Henry H. Drake: Mitchell and Hughes, 1886. The J\lfilitary Forces ofthe Crown: Charles M. Clode: John Murray, 1869. The Records ofthe Woolwich District: W. T. Vincent: J.P. Jackson. Various Treatises on guns, carriages and ammunition. Various Ordnance MSS., Historical MSS., State Papers, etc. in the Public
Record Office and elsewhere. Warlike Woolwich: W. T. Vincent.
1457
Index
Aaron, Charles 1248 Abbey of St Peter at Ghent 121, 122, 123
History of 120 Abbey Wood 114 Abbot of Ghent see Ghent, Abbot of Abbot of StJean Baptiste D'Angeley 124 Abbott, Major-General F. 1338 Abel, Frederick (afterwards Sir Frederick)
749, 823, 827, 888, 1119, 1386, 1414 1436 Allowed temporary clerk, 1855. 749, 1274 Allowed to purchase microscope 749,
1276 Death of 750 First referred to as W. D. Chemist 749 Life of 749-750 Office fitted up for use 749 Ordnance Chemist 1854. 749, 1444 Salary as Ordnance Chemist 749, 1277
Abel heat test 1445 Abel, Jolm 116 Abel, Samuel 1257 Abel & Dewar, Messrs. 1414 Abel & Wheatstone, Messrs. 1386 Aberdeen 716, 763 Abernethy, James 768 Abinett, Brigadier W. G. 1118 Abyndone, Stephen de 130 Abyssinia 1020 Acheson, Commander D. H. 1115 Ackroyd, John 49 Acworth, Avice 152 Acworth, Elizabeth 152, 155 Acworth, John 146 Acworth, William 146, 147, 148, 149,
150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155
Story of 146-155 Adair, Lieut-Colonel H. R. 1105 Adams, C. 926 Adams,John 1134, 1135, 1141, 1170 Adams, Thomas 1225 Adams & Robertson, Messrs. 501 Adcock, G. 1260 Addington, Henry 497 Addison, James 1216 Adelulphus 121 Adenettus 1035 Aderne, John 1043 Adour, River 1377 Admiralty Overseer 1427, 1444 Advanced Class 830, 858 Adye, Colonel Stephen G. (afterwards
Major-General) II09, 1111, 1203 Adye, Colonel Stephen G. Appointed Director Royal Laboratory, 1835. 649, 1197 Appointed Firemaster R.L., 1835. 649, l 197 Appointed Member of the Ordnance Select Committee 1 1 77 Death of, 1838. 657, 1202
Adye, Lieut-General SirJohn Miller 811,
1038 Agar, Alexander 1137 Ager, John 1216, 1263 Agincourt 32, 74, 83 Aigue blanche, Peter de 1035 Aikman, James 1253 Aird, Mr. 1150 Akhurst, James 1235 Albania 1020, 1023 Albemarle, Duke of 135 Albert, Prince 678, 756 Albinus, scutifer de camera regis 16 Albyn, Laurence 130 Alderman, W. H. 1105 Alderson, Major-General Henry James
847, 1039, 1112, 1428 Aldgate, William of 20 Aldridge, John 1045 Alesford, John 1159 Alexander, deputy to Aubyn 1 7 Alexander, James 1262 Alexandria 321 Alfegh, John 116 Alford, James 1184 Alford, John 1196 Alfred the Great 83, 112, 120 Algiers 719 Algodus 178 Alianore, daughter of Reginald, Lord
Cobham 84 Alianore, Wife of Humphrey, Duke of Bedford 84
Addicted to Witchcraft 84, 85 Allbruary, C. 1263 Allchin, Adam 1200, 1249, 1255 Allen, Benjamin 412 Allen, Edgar and Co. 170, 902 Allen, John 205 Allen, Mr. 485 Allen, Thomas 156 Allen, W. 1261 Allender, William 643, 1193, 1I94, 1196 Allinson, Surgeon E. D. 1 1 1 1 Allfrey, Henry 1236 Allmark, Fireman J. 938 Alloway, George 1236 Allpress, Major H. V. 1116 AImains 92, 93, 94 Alnoth the Engineer 4 Alnwick, Lord Percy of 1037 Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury 122
Murder of 122 Alsford, Alexander 1263 Alsop, Thomas 1070 Alston, Robert 1211 Alvey,]. R. 1107 Amherst, 1st Lord 1041 Amie, Richard 421 Amiens, Peace of 497, 506 Ammunition, Cost in 14th century 25
Amos, Captain M. J. 1120
1459
Amos, Edward (Jr.) 1272 Arbuthnot, Major-General Sir Charles G. Amos, Edward (Sr.) 1169, 1184, 1272 1112 Amos, EdwardJames 1209 Archbishop Alfege butchered at Greem-vich Amos, James 1228, 1237 122 Amos, John 689, 1153, 1158, 1177, 1210, Archer, George 1159
121 I, 1215, 1217, 1225, 1226, 1227, Archer, T. W. 1122
1229, 1276, 1332 Argyll, John 2nd Duke of 1037, 1089 Amos, William 1265 Arif BeyAnderson, Daniel 388 Dcath 0f, 1836 654 Anderson, David 389 Armament Design Department see DesignAnderson, Dr. \Villiam see Anderson, Sir Department
William Armament Research Department see Anderson, James I 1 79, 1233 Research Department Anderson, John see Sir John Anderson Armament Research and Development Anderson, John (Water Conductor) 1136 Establishment 1441
Death 1153 Armaments Inspection Department Anderson, Sergeant George 466 1427, 144 Anderson, Sir John 718, 721, 750, 752, Armament Inspection Department see also
754, 781, 786, 787, 788, 804, 1073, Inspection Department 1076, 11o6 Armator (Armourer) 13
Appointed Engineer to the Department Armour 41 ofthe Inspector ofArtillery 1854. Armour at Greenwich 79, 93, 97, 101,1264 102
His career 720 Armour at Hampton Court 79, 93, 97,
His death 722 102 His paper on the Royal Arsenal sumArmour at Portsmouth 93, 97 marizcd 775-786 Armour at the Tower 79, 93, 97, 102
Anderson, Sir William 875, 879, 894, 925, Armour at Westrrunster 93, 102
1104 Armour at v\lhitehall 79 Appointed D. G. of F, 1889. 871 Armour at \Nindsor 79, 93, 97, 1 02 Death of, 1899. 893 Armour at_\i\loolwich 79, 93, 97
Andrews, Hayward 1209, 1226, 1253 Armour, disappearance of 97, 102, 104Andrews, John 164 Armour, surveys of 101
Andrews, Richard 1216, 1245 Armourers, wages of 9396Andrews, Thomas 1227 Armouries at the Tower and Greenwich:Andrews, W. S. 1278 Survey by Colonel William Legge
Andrews & Harrison, Messrs. 402 in 1660. 104 A 'Necessity' in the 18th century becomes Armoury, Clerk of the 1 o 1 a 'Convenience' in the 20th century Armoury during the Civil War 103 264 Armoury, K~eper of the 35, 79Angell, John 552, 553 Armoury, Kmg's Sergeant of within the
Angell, Mr. 1126, 1269 Tower of London 79Anglesea 79 Armoury, Master of the 79
Anglesey, 1st Marquis of 1037, 1038, Salary of 79 1384 Armoury, Masters of the: List of 81, 82Angus, John 1140 Armoury, Masters of the: Reside in the
Angus, T. 1146
Mansion House in the Tilt-yard at
Anjou, Margaret of see Margaret of Anjou Greenwich 102 Anne of Denmark 102
Armoury, Office of 35, 78, 98, 1 59Annesley, Edward 82, 103, 104
Abolished 80, 105
Annysby, Robert 143
Absorbed by the Office of Ordnance
Ansley, Edward see Annesley, Edward 80, 105Anson, the Hon. George 1044, 1045 Drastic cut in annual estimate 105
Anthorp, Mathew 468
History of 78-81 Anthony, Anthony 36, 40, 41, 1042, Main storehouse in the Tower ofLondon
1045
79
Anti-dryrot Company, Kyans 645
Petition to the Commissioners of the
Anti-dryrot experiments 645 Ordnance Io 1Anti-dryrot process 645
Situated in the White Tower, Tower ofAntigua 12 I 7
London 79Antwerp 1o, 21, 25, 92 Whole expense in the 16th Century 8o Antwerp, Lionel of 2 1 Armoury, Yeoman of the 100Aplin, W. 1158 Armoury meadows 39Apostle 39 Armoury Mill on the Ravensboume at
Apothecarius regis 19 DeptfordAppelbe, Colonel E. 1 12 1 Description of 88-91 Appelton, Roger II6 History of 88-9 1
Arblaster, John 22 Armstrong, Colonel John 246, 247, 304,
Arbuthnot, Alexander 412 1042, 1432
INDEX
Armstrong guns and projectiles 803, 1416 Ashton, Charles 1259 Armstrong R.B.L. guns 811 Ashton, Isaac 480, 482 First iron guns made in the Royal Ashton, Robert 609
Arsenal 803 Ashwood, John 1138 Manufacture ceased in 1864. 812 Aspik 77 Armstrong, Sir William 722, 904, 1108, Aspin, Mrs. Thomas 128 1405, 1416 Aspin, Thomas 128 Appointed 'Engineer for rifled ordnance Assistant Director of Artillery, Woolwich
in the Royal Arsenal' 773 859, 1441 Armstrong, \Nilliam 1234, 1235 Renamed Chief Inspector, Woolwich, Army Council instituted in 1904. 1093 1893. 859, I441 Army Estimates, 1856. 771 Assistant Director of Military Transport, Army Estimates as source of Ordnance Woolwich 836, 1427, 1446
Factory expenditure 585 Astronomical Observator 110 Army: New establishment for administerAthlone 510, 1260 ing, 1855. 1088 Atkins, Thomas 1268 Army Ordnance Corps formed in 1896. Atkinson, John 35, 477 1431 Atkinson, Joseph 1143 Army Ordnance Department formed in Atkinson, Robert 412, 1103 1896. 1431 Atkinson, W. (Architect to the Board of Army: Procedure for granting com-Ordnance) 587, 628
missions in 1059 Attiliator 9, I 3, 20, 29 Army Service Corps established 743 Attiliator balistarum 14 Armyne, Sir William 64 Atwill, A. 1022 Armytage, Rear-Admiral R. W. 1113, Aubrey, William 1261
1114 Aubyn, Esquire of the king's chamber 16 Arnold Foster H. 0. see Foster, H. 0. Aubyn, Laurence 130
Arnold Auchindackay, Mr. 651 Arnulf 120, 121 Audeley, Lewis 1043 Arnulfus see Arnulf Audeley, Thomas 1036 Arrows, Edward 1151 Audley, Sir James 23 Arrows, sheaves of 17 Augsburg 9 Arscott, E. C. 1 122 Aula, Avice de 124
Arsden, William 1226 Had assize of bread and a.le and a
Arsenal Football Club 713, 1448 gallows in Woolwich and Mottingham Artillator 9, 13, 20, 21, 24, 29 124 Artiller 13, 20, 21, 29 Austin,James D. 1246, 1254 Artillery 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, Austin, T. 1265
27, 29, 74, 75 Austin, Thomas 489, 1107 Anti-aircraft 1423 Austin, William 1191, 1192 Anti-tank 1424 Australia 45 I Coast 1424 Austria 497, 1022
Artillery Garden 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 195 Auto-frettage 1419
Boundaries 68 Avis de Sweede 174 Description of 68-74 Awdry, John 155 History of 68-74 Axmouth, William of 11
H.A.C. dispute the use of 69, 70 Aylesford 120 Sale of 72-74, 195 Ayley, Henry 1162, 1164 Main proving ground for ordnance Aylosse, Sir Joseph 400
70 Aymer de Valence 124 Artillery Ground see Artillery Garden Consecrated Bishop of Winchester 124 Artillery (Heavy) in the field 1423 Death of in 1261. 124 Artillery, how organized before 1716. 302 Ayres, Captain 398
List of pieces with weights and names Ayres, George 449, 473, 1103 purchased in 1512. 37, 38 Death of, 1790. 489
Mountain or pack 1422 Ayres, John 6o6 Object of 75 Ayscough, Sir Roger 1044 Origin of word 29, 30 Regarded as an encumbrance 21 Backer, James 297
Artillery tactics in the Middle Ages 74, Bacon, Thomas 425, 449 Baddeley, Major 787
75
Artillery, Train of: When organized for Baentnall, W. 1158
war 302 Baggott, Stephen 238 Artillery, Yeoman of 22 Bagley, Ann 249 Ash, Edward see Ashe, Edward Bagley, Matthew 246, 247, 248, 249
Ashdown, James 1175 Death of 246
Ashdown, John 1187 Bagnold, Colonel A. H. 1105, I 107 Ashdown, Thomas 1193 Bahamas I 1 97 Ashe, Edward 304, 1043, 1045 Baile, Sack 468
1461
Bailey, Charles 773 Barking creek 147, 454 Bailey, John 1231 Barlee, Frederick Palgrace 1228, 1247 Bailey, Michael 578 Appointed deputy storekeeper at Sierra Bailey, William I170 Lcone, 1851. 1254 Baillie, Mr. 1258 Barling, James 643, 1148, 1177, 1195 Baillie, Thomas 1046 Barlow, Colonel Sir Hilaro 1 1 1 o Bainbridge, Colonel Sir Edmond 893, Barlow, Colonel W. R. 827, 111o
932, II04, 111O, 11I4, 1115, 1436 Barlow, Major H. W. W. 1105 Appointed C.S.O.F. in 1899. 925 Barlow, William 1161 Vacated appointment of C.S.O.F. m Barnard, A. T. 1105
1903. 925 Barne, Anne 182 Bake, Mr. 1126, 1266, 1269 Barne, Sir George 182 Baker, George 1265 Barne, Sir William (I) 139 Baker, Herbert Edward 322 Death of 182 Baker, James 1256 Knighted 182 Baker, John 43, 117 Barne, Sir William (II) 183 Baker, John William 1191 Knighted 182 Baker, Joseph 1159 Barne, William 182, 183 Baker, Mr. 1269 Barne, T. 666 Baker, Mr. (Foreman of Works) 1107, Barnes, Master \t\TiJliam: Story of seizure
1178, 1212, 1231 of property by Roundheads 18gAppointed Overseer of Works 1189 Barnes, Mr. 1070
Retired 1845. 1227 Barnett, vVilliam 1237 Baker, T. 1146 Barney, Colonel George, R. E. 1106 Baker, Thomas 275, 296, 314, 1 102 Appointed C.R.E. Woolwich Division,
Baker, W. I 122 1845. 1228 Baker, William 1189 Retires, 1846 1236 Balard, Robert 116 Barny, Joseph 388 Baldock, Christopher 424, 449 Baronetta, John de 126 Baldwin II, Count of Flanders 83, 120, Barrack Master-General to the Forces
121 Abolished, 1822. 1062 Bales, William 1228 Instituted, 1794. 1062 Balista 9, 13, 20, 22 Barracks, Superintendent-General of: In-
Balistarius 14
stituted in 1793. 1062
Ball, Bvt. Colonel R. G. 1118 Barras 1375Ball, Edward 456
Barraud, Thomas I 107, 1143, 1148Ball, H. 1276 Barre, Anne 138
Ballard, Henry 1257 Barrell, G. 707Ballard, Jonathan 1240 Barrett, John 1 158, 1161
Ballingcollig Factory 1069 Barrett, Richard 899Sold, 1834. 1064 Barrett, William 1199, 1200 Bamber, Mr. 249 Barrington, Joseph Thomas 1 12 1
Bamme, John 116
Barron, J. 1022 Band, Walter le 115
Barron, Noble 1142
Bankes, Matthew 165
Barrow Straits 716
Banks, Henry 1227
Barry, Mr. 757
Banks, Mr. 1150, 1152, 1258
Harston, John 4o1
Bannister, Mr. 763
Barthelmewe, Prior of St Mary Overy's
Barbadoes 719
117, 178
Barber,James 1200
Bartlett, Major R. C. 1116
Barber, Joseph 12 I 5 Bartlett, Samuel I 50
Barber, Richard 1000
Barton, H. 1020
Barber, William 431, 1107, 1184 Barton, John 6o9
Dismissed 375, 426, 449
Barton, Mr. 823 Bardelby, Robert de 115
Barton, the Reverend Mr.
Barefoot, Edward 1252
Death of, 1790. 489 Barefoot, Henry 1161, 1189 Bartram, Samuel 190, 208Bargeau, James 89, 90 Base 77, 162Bark, James 1246 Base, Alfred 1236
Barker, G. 1021
Basilisk 59, 76, 163
Barker, James 283
Basses 40Barker, John 298, 299 Bastard cannon 76Unknown to history 300 Bastard cannon royal 76Barker, Miss Lilian 988 Basten, Michaeli 104
Barker's map of the Royal Dockyard and Bastow, Joseph 1245
Ropeyard, 1748. 298 Bates, A. 1021 Barker's map of the Warren 192, 283, Bates, Thomas 412, 413298 Bath, Earl of 126 Barking 130, 144 Bathory, Stephen 1g88
1462
INDEX
Bathurst, George 1166, 1171 Bek, Anthony 124 Batsford, Prosper 477 Belcher, Sir Edward
Batt, William 116o His Arctic expedition from Woolwich,
Batten, Sir "William 134, 152 1852. 716 Baveryn, Anthony 37 Belford, Colonel William 312, 318, 320, Bavin 1375 321, 323, 324, 325, 331, 332, 413, 433 Bavis, A. I 144 446
Bawde, Peter 36, 40 Appointed Clerk to the R.M.A. 358 Bawdon, Mr. 1264 His orders at the R.M.A. 359 Baxter, Captain John 225, 226, 230, 231, Belfry 9
232, 239, 242, 269, 271, 1102 Bell, Bvt Colonel M. D. I 114 Baxter, John 239 Bell, David 1137 Bayley, Major Mathew 246 Bell, George 1225 Bayne, George 1227 Bell, Henry 1240 Bayley, Edward F. 1184, 1188, 1192 Bell, James I 249 Bayonet: Introduction of, 1672. 78 Bell, John 473 Beach, Henry 1226 Bell, Joseph 1242 Beachcroft, 1''1essrs. Bell, Thomas (Jr.) 1226
Tender for 20 ton crane accepted, 1854. Bell, Thomas (Sr.) 1149, 1189, 1211,
747, 1296 1221, 1226, 1227 Beacon, James 1234, 1261 Bella Court 84 Beale, Bartholomew 105 Bellhouse, E. J. and Co. 767, 768
Beamish, Surgeon Lieut-Colonel J. M. Bellis, Thomas 1186
I I I I Benford, Mrs. 384 Bean Feast holiday 439 Benge, William 232 Beard, Henry 1240 Benion, John 81 Beard, Joseph 1233 Bennet, Mr. 422 Bearfoot, Edward 1215 Bennett, John 577 Bearfoot, Edwin 1227 1228 Bennett, Mr. 185, 593, 1126, 1266 Bearfoot, George Tave;son 1200, 1219 Benson, Colonel R.H. R. I 118 Bearfoot, Henry 1149, 1152, 1161, 1200, Benson, William I 200
1207, 1214 Bensted, John 7 Bearfoot, John 1161, 1192, 1200 Bent, Surgeon John . I! 11 Bearfoot, Richard 1216 Bentham, Captain Wilham 1189 .. Beater, Charles 1134 Appointed Secretary, Colonels and Field Beatson, Captain, R. E. Officers' Committee I 186, 1433
Appointed Superintending Engineer to Bentley, John 190, 208 the Ordnance Manufacturing DeBerens, H. 666
partments, 1855. 765, 1274 Beresford, 1st Viscount 532, 630, 631, Beatson, Colonel Roger S. 1106 1038, 1041 Beauchamp, Lord Thomas 23 Berga, Brother Raymond de 795 Beaufort, Cardinal 85 Berkeley, Lord 1037 .
Beaumont atmospheric engine 1309 Berkeley, Sir George Henry Frederick Beaumont, John 1258 1043 Beaumont, John Viscount of 85 Berkley George Cranfield 1042 Beaumont, Joseph 1241 Berkynge see Barking
Beaumont,. Vincent 1267, 1272 Bermondsey, John Abbott of see John, Becher, Brigadier W. P. St. J. 1119 Abbot of Bermondsey
Beck, Thomas 1146, 1162 Bermuda 646, 719 Beckett, Albert a 842 Bernasconie, Francis 557 Beckman, Sir Martin 230, 1058, I 109 Berry, Captain R.J. 1120
I l I 0 Berry, Joseph 1214 Appointed Comptroller of Fireworks Berry, Lemuel 1237 200, 225 Berry, Richard 296, 297, 412, 449 Appointed Engineer to the Office of Berry, the Reverend_ Charles
Ordnance 200 Appointed c;:haplam, Royal Arsenal, Appointed Firemaster 200 i873. 1326
Vacated Comptrollership of Fireworks Chaplain at the Royal Dockyard Chapel 1702. 232 1326 Bede, John 1243, 1250 Death of, 1923. 1326 Bedford 14 Berwick 256 Bedford, John Duke of 8g, 86 Bethell, Joseph 404 Bedthegn 3 Bethell, L. W. 1122 Bedwell, Thomas 47, 1044 Betts, Charles 1185, 1192 Solicits office of storekeeper at Woolwich Betts, William 1198
and Chatham, 1589. 169 Bevan, Commander C. P. I I 15 Beechey Island 716 Bevan, Edward 1o71 Beevor, H. T. 1200, 1205 Bexley 118, 138, 604 Beezley, John 205 Bezley, Mr. 1175
1463
Bhurtpoor, Capture of, 1826. 626 Bland Committee on accounting 937
Bhurtpoor gun Bland Committee on O.F. clerical staff Carriage made 626 943, 1130 Set up on Woolwich Common 626 Bland, W. A. 937, 1130
Biddulph, General Sir M. A. S. 1 1 12 Blandford, William 1235 Bigland, Ralph 1084, 1085 Blanford, Mr. 1271 Biggs, Mr. 1147 Blanshard, Colonel Thomas, R. E. 734,Bigod, Rauf 34, 1036 749, 755, I 106, 1268 Biham 14 Appointed C.R.E. Woolwich Division,
Bill, Henry 1851. 1255 Pay stopped for three days for having a Blayney, Thomas 1198 pipe in his pocket 713 Blewberry, John 92 Bilney, Air Commodore C. N. H. 1 113, Warrants addressed to 92
1I14 Blewitt, Major Y./. E. 1114 Bing, George 1240 Blight, Mr. 468 Bingham, Colonel Charles 541, 574, 579, Blomefield, Sir Thomas 340, 457, 472,
611, 625, 633, III1, 1124, 1282 473, 475, 478, 505, 518, 606, 612,
Appointed Firemaster, Royal Labora1108, 1125, 1172, 1280, 1281, 1282 tory, 1828. 628, 1187 Appointed Inspector of Artillery and of Death of, 1835. 649, 1197 the Brass foundry 471Bingham, Mrs. Charles Death of, 1822. 617, 1172
Awardedpensionof£go p.a., 1835. Takesoverproofofguns 471 I 197 Bloomfield, J. C. 1021Binns, Mr. 391 Bloomfield, Lady
Birch, General Sir James Frederick Noel Refuses to live i..'1. the Commandant's !039 quarter in the Royal Arsenal 659
Birch, Jonathan 1240 Bloomfield, Lord 659, 673, 681, 12 I 5,
Bird and Ball, Messrs. 505
1332
Birks, A. I02 1
Appointed Commandant, \,Voolwich,
Birmingham 1069, 1070, 1076, 116o 1838. 658, 1202Bisfer, John 1187'
Bloss, John 689, 1200, 1203, 1225, 1332
Bishop, Colonel F. C. N. 1117
Bludder, Sir Thomas I 042
Bishop, James 1262
Blumenheben, Charles 388, 389
Bishop, Richard 1181 Blyth, Messrs. I. & A. 734Bishopton 1347 Blyton, Matthew 205
Bisse, Stephen 1104
Board of Green Cloth 7
Bisshop, Cecil 1104
Boate, Mr. 1192, 1205
Bisshop, Sir Cecil
411, 1104 Boddington, Mr. 429
B. L. guns to be made 188i-1882. 812
Bodham, William 134, 137, 153, 155, 157,
Black, A. J. 1276, 1277 -· 158, 168Black, Dr. D. H. 1117 His plan of gunwharf see Woolwich
Blackburn: Ordnance Factory opened,
gunwharf, plan of 167
1938. 1022
Bodle, George 468
Blackerley, Nathaniel
129 Bodle, John 662
Blackfen 138
Boer War 1093Blackheath 132, 219, 228, 83 4, 385, Boggie, John 1134., 1 I 35, 1142
1354
Bohun, Humphrey de 1 26
Experimental shoot at
1 10 Bois-le-Duc 38
Gangsters' paradise
140, 421 Boldero, Henry George 1044
Gun platform 1 1 o
Bolders, Colonel 1073
Gunners and matrosses paid at
110 Boleyn, Anne 118
Blackman, Captain
136, 158, 159, 184 Bolton, Joseph C. 842
Blackman, Jeremiah 158, 184,
193 Bolton wads
Compensated for loss of amenities at
Introduced January 1869. 1392
Tower Place, Woolwich. owing to
Withdrawn from service 22nd AugustWarren fortifications i83
1872. 1392
Blackmoor, George 1147 Bolts 17, 18
Blackmore, M.
1244 Bombards 18, 23, 39
Blackmore, Mr. 1272
Bombazette 1380
Blacknall, William 1043
Bonar 131
Black Prince, The 126 Bond, Gregory 489
Blackwall 134
Bond,James 1207, 1229, 1241, 1249
The Brunswick Hotel 715
Bondley, Andrew 19o
Bladders 1380
Bone, George 1 1 54, I 156
Blake, General Robert 1 77
Boneface, J. V. 1020
Blakeney, Henry 1253, 1265
Bonham, Francis Robert 1045
Blakyslondys 118
Boniface, Joseph 1224
Blanch, John William 1192, 1 1220
Bonnell, Andrew 1078
Bland, Brigadier W. St. G. 967, 1112
Bonner, David 1065
1464
INDEX
Bonner, William 205 Bowes, Cycely 138 Bonnycastle, John 387 Bowes, Joanna 138 Bonvix, Lawrence 37 Bowes, Martin 138 Booker, Mr. 1140 Bowes, Sir Martin 138, 1 79, 1 80, 181 Booker, Stephen 1144, 1145, 1165 Death of 138 Boover, Timothy 1259 Will of 138 Booth, W. Newton 1004, 1106 Bowes, Thomas 138, 182 Bordwine, Mr. 1070 Bowes, William 181 Borer, Mr. 126o Bowker, Frederick 1277 Borgard, General Albert 133, 177, 227, Bowland, Richard 169, 1044
228, 242, 246, 249, 260, 269, 290, 299, Bows 11, 17, 21
313,320,321,335, 1111 Bowstaves 37 Appointed Chief firemaster 241 Bowton's docks 144 Appointed Colonel Commandant R. A. Boxer, Captain Edward M., R.A. 717,
312 762, 782, 784, 788, 819, 820, 1110, Appointed First Colonel of the Royal 1111, 1379, 1385, 1390, 1397, 1400,
Regiment of Artillery 311 1403 Death of, 1751. 313 Appointed additional Firemaster, R.L., Has a stable in 1747. 315 1854. 745, 1266 Has two. houses (No 4) in Dial Square Appointed Firemaster, R.L., 1854.
_made mto one quarter, 1744. 320 745, 1267 His account of the Moorfields explosion Authorized to purchase 10,000 coloured
247 lithographs for the R.L. from Day & Borgrave, Edward 143 Co for £158. 766, 1276 . Boscall 118 His proposals for new R.L. machmeryBosnia 947 accepted, 1854. 745 Bosphorus 1275 Resigned as Superintendent R.L., 1869. Bossey, F. 718 807 Bossey, Francis 1159, 1172, 1178 Takes over the manufacture of Con-Bostall Estate 980 greve's rockets 746 Bostall Heath 1339 Boxer's rockets Bottril, John 1181, 1226 Sealed August 1864. 1377 Boughton, Bartholomew 1 79 3 pdr approved 1st October 1866. 1377 Boughton, Frances 1 79 Boyce, George 1267 Boughton, George 179 Boyd, Major A. 0. I 105 Boughton, Henry 179 Boyd, Sir John, Bart. 468 Boughton, Isabel 1 79 Boyland 89 Boughton, Margaret 1 79 Boyle, George 1192, 1208 Boughton, Mary 179 Boyter,John 1217, 1219, 1232 Boughton, Mr. 125 Brabant 92, 310 Boughton, Nicholas 117, 127, 143, 144, Brabant, William Duke of see William,
179 Duke of Brabant Boughton, Sir Edward 11 7 7 8 Brackenbury, Lieut-General Sir Henry
l 8 l 'I2'l44,l O,
1039, II12
Death of 119 Bracton 7 Grant of _lands by Henry VIII 118 Bradbridge, John 488, I 107 His marriages and family 1 79 Bradbridge, Thomas 488 Knighted 118 Bradbury, George 72, 73, 74
Boughton, Sybil 179 Bradbury, Gordon 1234 Boughton, William 179 Bradford, Colonel Sir, E. 932 Boulogne 80, 1377 Bradley, John 1205 Boulter, William 107, 222, 223 Bragge, W. I 239
Dismissed from office, 1702. 223 Bramah, Mr. 521, 555, 557, 565, 589,Boulton, Henry 1234 616 Bourne, William 1169, 1218 Bramham, Lieut-Colonel, R.E. 381, 383, Bousfield, William 312, 1077 458, 459, 462, 469 Bouh.vood, K. 1122 Brand, Cornelius 576,621, 627, 634 Boveton, Nicholas see Boughton, Nicholas Brand, Hon. Henry Robert 1038 Bowater, Edward 338, 339, 340, 343 Brand, Mr. 484 Bowater, John 1350 Brand, Sir Joseph 384 Bowater, Mr. 361 Branscombe, John G. 1271 Bowater, Richard 125, 126 Branson, John 1176, 1 I 77 Bowater, William 338 Brases 33 Bowden, J. 1104, 1 mg Bray, James 1142 Bowden, Matthew 670, 1208 Brayley, John 1161 Bowen, William 403, 404 Brazier, Edward 491 Bower, Samuel 746 Brazier, John of Cornhill 2 I , 24 Bowes, Anne I So Breast-plates 1 7 Bowes, Charity 138 Brecken, James 1262
1465
Bredah 174 Broughton, George (Jr.) 1208, 1209, 1220 Breeds, Thomas 525 Broughton, George (Sr.) 1208, 1220 Breeze, EdmundJames 116o, 1185, 1201, Broughton, Henry 694, 1230
1227, 1228 Broughton, John 1223, 1257 Breeze, Edward 615 Broughton, Robert 11 74, 1220, 1242 Bremner, Boy 1218 Broughton, William 1186 Bremner, Charles 1250 Brouncker, Viscount 137 Bremner, David 1249, 1266, 1277 Brounyng, Oliver 130 Bremner, J• 1218 Brown, Colonel George 224, 225, 226, 230
Brent, Roger 116 Death of 232 Brest 134 Last Master-gunner of England to live Brett, Boy 1 1 88 in Woolwich Warren 232
Brett, Sir Alexander 1042 Brown, George 1235 Brett, Stephen 1216 Brown, Engineer Vice-Admiral Sir Harold
Brett, Stephen P. 1246 Arthur 1039 Brett, Thomas 1160, 1178, 1188 Brown, He.nry 304, 11 97, I 2 I 9Brett, William 1201 Brown, Hugh 412, 449, 1103
Brewer, John 196, 198 Brown, J. 1110 Bridewell 454 Brown, James 1174, 1186
Bridford, Robert 15 Brown, Mr. 1366 Bridgend 1347 Brown, Staff Sergeant E. R. 1022Bridgers, George 1240, 1250 Brown, Thomas 1225, 1257, 1260
Bridges, Captain George 11o6 Brown, William 821, 1222, 1260
Bridges, William 1042, 1044, 1045 Brown, Zachariah 1 158Bridgford, Charles]. 1271
Browne, John 204, 232, 1049, 1275Bridgford, Mr. 1126, 1278 Petition to Charles I on iron ordnance
Bridport, Lady 678 manufacture 64Briesgau . I 7 Browne, Lieut-Colonel G. H. S. 1118
BrigandanUs 97
Browne, Lieut-Colonel W. L. 1110Definition of 97 Browne, Mary 232
Bright, Bngadier R.H. 1119
Petition to recover money due to her
Brignall, J• !02 1 late husband, 1681. 1049Brim.man, CHarlcs 1238 Browne, Richard 94
Brindley, H. S. 998 Browne, William 37
Briscoe, Dr. 822
Brunel, Isambard Kingdom 559
Briscoe, Surgeon H. 1111 Brunel, Marc Isambard 559, 560, 616
Briscoe, William 1271
Granted pension of £300 p.a. 562
Bristol 26, 1057
Pension commuted 563
British Museum 112, 133, 255, 299, 374, Premises at Battersea destroyed by fire679
563
Britten, B. 81g
Bruss, Mr. 6o4Brittonshem, George 1078 Bruyers, Captain 342Broad Arro,v 218, 219 Bryan, Patrick 1248
An o_ld royal mark 219
Bryan, Sir Guy 23
Cuttmg on guns a standard practice by Bryant, Mr. (A labourer) 6g11690. 218
Bryant, Thomas 1212Broadbank, Richard 1154, 1160
Bryant, Thomas H. M. 1210
Broadbank, W. 1156
Bryden & Field, Messrs. 6o9Brock, Mr. 524
Bryson, Mr. 1299
Brockhurst, Major Francis 111
Buch, John 1200Brodeoke 1 18 Buchanon, Mr. 825
Broderick, St John: Secretary of State for
Buchanon, William 354, 369
War 885, 927
Buchanon-Dunlop, Lieut-Colonel S. D.
Brodenck, the Hon. William John Free
345
mantle 1038
Buckhurst, Lord 52
Brogan, Dennis 1236 Buckingham, Boy I r 92
Broglie, Marshal g82
Buckingham, Duke of 76Broke, Thomas: Lord of Cobham 117
Buckler, William 197, 198
Brome, Charles 320, 325, 438 Buffery, Samuel 1 166Bromfield, William rn41
Builder, The 708
Bromley 1 337
Bulduke 38Bromston, John 116
Bulgaria, Ferdinand of 947
Brooks, Henry 1205
Bulkeley, Anne I 79
Brooks, John Harvey 1107
Bulkeley, Thomas 179Broom, Colonel see Brome, Charles Bull marsh 464Broudator (Embroiderer) 13
Bull, Stephen 224
Brough, Mr. 1192, 1193 Bull, William 224Brough, William 572 Bullen, George 43Brough & McIntosh, Messrs. 571 Bullet, Pritchard's 1412
1466
INDEX
Bullingham, Richard 1166 Butler, H. A. 1021 Bullock, William 11 79 Butler, Michael 1259 Bullok, John I 43 Butler, Mr. 464, 466, 476, 126o Burbage, Hezekiah 1 1 79, 1250, I 25 l Butler, Thomas (Jr.) 488, 1281 Burbage, Mary 696, 1231 Butler, Thomas (Sr.) 372, 473, 488, 499 Burbage, Robert 696, 1230 509, 1103
Death of in explosion, 1845. 693, 694, Butler, William 1262
1230 Butler, H. 906 Burbridge, George 1211, 1215, 1219, 1220 Butters, Elizabeth 696, 1231 Burbridge, William 12r8 Butters, Henry (Jr.) 694, 1231 Burdon, Colonel W. Mac C. 1116, 1118 Death of in explosion, 1845. 693, 1230 Bures, William 127 Butters, Henry (Sr.) 694, 1231 Burford, Edward 488, 509, 510, 1136, Death of in explosion, 1845. 693, 1230
1280, 1281 Butters, William 1259 Burgess, Henry G. 1220, 1224 Buxted, foundries at 36 Burgess, John 243, 257, 261, 267, 1191, By, Major John, R.E. 592, 1072
1197 Byers, Robert W. 1148, 1 149 Burgess, Richard 412 Byham, Richard 639 Burgess, Thomas 1253 Byker family 20
Appointed Clerk of the Chapel, 1842. Byker, John 20 1214, 1218, 1325 Byker, Patrick 20 Dismissal from the Clerkship of the Byker, William 2 1, 24
Chapel 1325 Byron, Major J. 1116, 1439 Burgess, Thomas Francis 12 r o Byron, Sir Robert, Master-General of the Burgh, Sir Ulysscs 1042, 1124 Ordnance in Ireland
Burghesh, Bartholomew 3rd Lord 118 Death of 1048 Burghesh, Robert de I r8 Bytown 1072
Burghley, Lord 45 Burgis, William 82, 93 Cadet gunner 307, 353 Burgoyne, MaJor-General SirJ. F. 666 Cadet matross 307, 353 Burgoyne, Sir John 804 Caddy, Colonel J. A. 1115 Burke, Edmund 1080 Cadmern, Andrew 238 Burke, James 1194 Cadogan, 1st Earl of 1037 Burke, John 670, 1208 Caesar, Julius I 14 6 Burkett, Mr. 500, 505, 1133 Caffin William 488, 612, 644, 649, 94,Burlton, Colonel H. L. C. 1115 1104, 1137, 1204, 1280, 1282 Burn, Lieut-Colonel, R. A. 721, 1076 Appointed deputy storekeeper, R. L.,
Burne, Lieut-Colonel A. H. 20, 503, 626 1835. 645, 1197 . 6a6Burnett, James 695, 1230 Awarded £go for invention, 1827. 2 Burnett, John 842 Fined for not serving in the militia 516 Burnett, Michael I I 54, 1161, 1185, 1200, His grape shot approved, 1822. Not
1205 manufactured till 1856. 616, 139I Burnett, Mr. 1186 Retired on pension, 1849. 1250 Burnett, Richard 1205 Cahill, William 1233
Burnham 662 Cahoon, v\Tilliam 239 Burrell family 145, 146 Calais 20, 2 1, 35 Burrell, Mary 146 Siege of I 9, 20
Burrell, William 119, 146 Calcroft, John 1044 . ..r.
Responsible for curbing Thames floods Calivers: bill for regulatmg manwacture, 119
1572. 43
Burrowes, Richard 1237 Callen, James 1260 Burslem, Captain-Lieutenant M. W. 388 Callis, Mr. 339 Burt, Archibald 1236 Caltrap, definition of 17 Burthegn 3 Caltraps 17
Burton, Joseph 1269 Cambridge, Duke of 843, 860, 1092
Burton, J. H. 1o76 Visit to the Royal Arsenal, 1840. 673 Burton, William 1241, 1257 Camden, William 142, 522 Burwash Court 118
Camera 3 8
Busby, John 1218 Cameron, Major-General A. D. I 33 Bush, Benjamin 1150, 1215, 1229 Camerarii 3 Bush, Samuel (Jr.) 1211, 1256 Camerarius 3 Bush, Samuel (Sr.) 1150, 1154, 1161, Campbell, Alexander 1164
1185,1211, 1215 Campbell, Angus JI
Bush, William Henry 118o Appointed master founder New She Butcher, Henry 1263 Factory, 1855. 1273 Butler, Colonel Sir W. F. 1429 Campbell Archibald I 19 I
Butler, G., Secretary to the Board of Campbell' Colonel Sir F. A. 1108, 1435 Ordnance 7 I 2 Appoinunent as Superintendent R.G.F. Butler, George 538 extended till 1873. 807
95
Campbell, Duncan 451, 454, 461, 478 Campbell, Edward Willis 1244, 1248, 1256 Campbell, George 296. 297, 399, 1102
Given allowance for life 403 Campbell, James 304, 478, 1214 Campbell, Neil 283, 297, 399, 411, 472,
1103
Allowed house rent allowance, 1784.
Dcath of, 1790. 489 Canada 1201, 1202, 1207, 1231
Rideau Canal 1072 Cannock Chase 1341 Cannon 20, 21, 54, 59, 76, 162, 259
Cost in 14th century 25 Cannon of 8 77 Cannon of 7 77 Cannon, origin of the word 30 Cannon-pedera 59 Cannon Peece 34, 163 Cannon-perrier 77 Cannon royal 76 Cannon shot 2 1 2 Cannoniers 22 Canterbury 118, 122
Archbishop of 122, 127, 131, 146 Canvas 1380 Cap composition
Early specification 1412 Later specification, approved 10 August 1864. 1412 Present specification introduced 1 Dec
ember 1896. 1414 Cape Breton 3 1 o Caprio!, Thomas 1 155, 1 16o Caps, Thomas 468 Captain Inspectors 829, 830, 853, 869 Captain Instructors 829, 830, 831 Garbutt, Edward H. 842 Carcass
For British Service: 4 vents by 1828. 1395 For British Service: 3 vents approved
9th July 1860. 1395 Invented 1672. 1394 Oblong: Disappeared about 1815.
1395 Card, James 1250, 1259 Careles, Henry 1 72 Careles, Richard 1 72
Careles, Thomas 171 Carew, George, 1st Lord see Cal'ew, Sir
George Carew, Joyce Lady 52 Carew, Mrs. Anne 53 Carew, Sir George 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 52,
53, 67, 100, 1036, 1041 Carey, Thomas 1247 Carisbrooke 22
Carleton, Lough 340, 460, 464, 469 Garlick, Arthur Edward 824 Carlisle, Dean of 128
Carlisle, Joseph 692, 695, 1187, 1208,1230, 1257, 1277 Granted reward for labour-saving
practices 7 I 5 Carlisle, the Reverend Dr. 718 Carlisle, Thomas (Jr.) 1227, 1256,
Carlisle, Thomas (Sr.) 1144, 1161, 1187 Carmichael, James & Co 768 Carnarvon castle 79 Carnegie, Francis see Carnegie, Sir Francis Carnegie, Sir Francis 1 104, 11 06
Paper on modern steam raising in factories before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers 1 004
Carpentarius (Carpenter) 13 Carpenter, Thomas 1 155 Carpenter, William 1151, 1160 Carr, James 1144 Carriage,
B.L. 12 pdr: New features incorporated
1420 B.L. 15 pdr 1421 French 75' 1421
Carrington, J. J. 1271 Carrington, Lord 88gCarronades
Manufacture of goo, 1801. 499 Carte, Alexander Gordon 1147, 1148 Carter, Thomas 1193, 1229, 1237, 1241,
1246 Carter, William 625 Carteropes 33 Carthegena 3 12 Carthusian Priory of Jesus of Bethlehem
83 Cartouche 1411 Cartridge
Boxer, Ball for Snider rifles 0.677 inch,Pattern I. Introduced 20 August 1866. 1418
Martini-Henry, rolled case. Introduced 16 August 1873. 1413 Martini-Henry, solid case. IntToduced 9June 1885. 1414 Rifle, musket (Sea Service) of 1842. 141I Sharps, B.L. carbine. Introduced 5 March 1857. 1412
S.A.
Ball, Snider 0.577 inch, Mark I 1413
S.A.
Ball 0.303 inch. Introduced 20
February 1889. 1414 S.A. 0.303 inch, Buckingham 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. G 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. O 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. P.S.A. 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. R.T.S. 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. R.T.T. 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. S.F.P.W. 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. S.P.G. 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. S.P.K. 1415 S.A. 0.303 inch. W. 1415 Terry's B.L. carbine. Introduced 8 May
1860. 1412 Cartridges 1380
Small Arm 1411 Carttar, C. J. (Coroner) 693, 823 Cartwright, Miss 666 Cartwright, William 1107, 1229, 1239 Carty, John 1 197 Case, G. 926 Casey, James 1235 Cass, Christopher 289, 3 I 6 Casse, Thomas 174, 217, 220 Cassell, Abel 297,351, 352, 361, 411, 413
INDEX
Cassidy, Charles 1182 Chard, John 198 Castile, Prince of 38 Charlemagne 3, 120 Castledine, Jonathan 1232 Charlemont 1213, 1278 Castledine, William 612, 1154, 1161, Charles, Lieut-General Sir James Ronald
1178, 1184, 1185, 1282 Edmonston 1039 Castle Howard 256 Charlier, George J. M. 1224, 1228 Castleton, James 11 74 Charlton 128, 179, 384, 456, 576, 1339 Castor, H.M.S. 640 Battery of gunboats moored across the Cat g river 132 Caterpillar tractor: First introduced, 1854. Hanging wood 140
752 Charlton, George 1252 Cator, Colonel William, R.A. 763, 766, Charlton, Job Stanton 1046 781, 1038 Charlton, John 106, rn8, 223, 1042 Appointed Director R.L., 1852. 733, Charlton Way 84 1255. Chatham 133, 134, 135, 136, 145, 169,Appointed Director-General ofArtillery, 319, 412, 453, 522, 524, 1057, 1077,1852. 738, 1257 1140, 1212, 1225, 1228, 1340, 134
Made member of a committee formed Chatham,_ 2nd Earl of 508, 801, 1307, in 1854 to determine the duties of the 1089, 1337 Ordnance Chemist 749 Chatham, the Lady 611
Cator, General Sir vVilliam see Gator, Chaucer, Geoffrey 12
Colonel William, R.A. Cheeseman, Francis 177, 197, I 102 Cator, John 384, 385 First official storekeeper at Woolwich Cattle, William 1216 Catty, Louis 388 Chee 1 s9em 5 an, Mary 335 Cavan, Richard 7th Earl of 652 Cheetham, Joseph 567, 574, 575, 579,Cavey, Ambrose 1250 598, 613, 617, 642, 690, 1102, 1103, Cavey, John 924, 1240, 1243, 1244, 1250 1125, 1143, 1158, I160, 1161, 1163,Cawse, John 1 235 1165, 1166, 1171, 1173, 1206, 1207,Caylock, Matthew 1190 1209, 1250, 1281 .. Cazaree, John 1 103 Appointed storekeeper Gibraltar, 1827. Cecil, Lord Eustace 1038 II82 • 1 Cecil, Sir Robert 46, 47. 50, 51, 52, 53 Appointed storekeepc;:r Royal Arsena,
Cecill, Sir Edward 57 ' 1839. 659, 1205Ceylon 600 Appointed to new post of Clerk of the Chaceporc, Peter 1 035 Survey, 1826. 624, 1180 Chaldron of coal, definition of 315 Awarded£12oforinvention, 1827. 626 Challoner, Nynyan Cow killed at proof bulls, 1840. 670
43
Chalmer, Colonel James A. 668, 674, Entrance to the Royal Arsenal from h1S 686, 734, 740, 752, 764, 1074, !075, garden to be made, 1843. 672
I 108, 1273 New porch built at his quarter, 1840. Appointed Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Brass Foundry, 1852. 733, Chee6t6h9am, Joseph (Jr.) 615, 1160, 1 157
1255 Chellsfield, Stephen de 116 . Chalmers, John 313 Chelsea Hospital: Treasurer of abolished, Chamber 3, 5, 12, 163 1836. 1686
Chamberlain, Austen 925 Chemical Inspection, Director of 1445 Chamberlain, Neville 758, 1023 Chemical Research Department 1439 Chamberlain, William 1171 Chemist, Inspection Department 1445 Chambers, J. H. 1 1 1 2 Cheney, Hc;:nry 128 Chambers, 0. G. 1271 Chepe 130, 131 Chambers, William 473, 488, 1214, 1255 Cheshunt 1319
Champion, Henry 412 Chester 1057
Chatnpion, William 1220 Chevalier, Commander B. H. I 105, I l I 5 Chandler, Kenelm 489 Chichele, Henry 127 Chandler, Thomas 1218, 1231 Chichele, John 127 Chapman, Captain Frederick 325 Chicheley, Archbishop 85 Chapman, Captain Richard 372, 375, Chicheley, Sir John 1037, 1048
387, 388 Chichelc;:y, Sir Thomas 68, 80, 81, !05, Loses money by loans to cadets 381 184, 189, 1037, 1048
Chapman, Colonel 0. E. 1119 Chichester, Commander I. F. 1 I 15 Chapman, Fireman G. 938 Chicopee, Massachusetts 1076 Chapman, Isaac 1242 Chidgey, John_ I 166 Chapman,James 1147, 1153, 1170, 1225 Chief Bombadier 307
Chapman, James Henry 1252, 1261 Chief Chemical Inspector 1446 Chapman, Mr. 666 Chief Firemaster 225 Chapman, Mr. (Engineering department) Chief Mechanical Engineer 851, 852, 657 858, 859, 893, 895, 935 Chard, H. F. 1112 Chief Petardier 307
Childs, John I 1 93 China 1020 Chinchen, Messrs. 525 Chiney, Robert 1218 Chinnere, Henry 1220 Chislehurst 1024, 1337 Chislehurst caves used for the storage of
explosives 959, 961 Chisman, Air Commodore L. de V. 1 114 Chivers, Joshua 1257 Chivers, Thomas 49 I Chorley 1347 Christie, S. H. 389 Christmas, Daniel 149 Chubb, George 614, 1149, 1137, 1188,
1189, 1213, 1275 Chubb, Robert 1219 Church bells in conquered towns to be
handed over to the Master gunner 58 Church, Richard 226 Churchfield Estate 980 Churchill, Lord Randolph 873 Churchill, Major G.B.F., R.A.M.C. 1112 Churchill, Thomas 405, 410, 414, 415,
416, 417, 418, 419, 434 441, 442 443,
444, 445, 446 Churchman, Josiah 148 Cissor (tailor) 13
Civil Assistant to D.G.O.F. 859, 871
Civil Service staff in outside branches of the War Office: Regrading of work of, 1922 (Fleming Committee) 1130
Clare, David 1 175
Clare, John 200 Clare, Stephen 691, 1215, 1216, 1232, 1252 Clare, Thomas 670, 1208 Claridge, James 1182 Clark, Alexander 1268 Clark, E. 1021 Clark, James 538 Clark, Mr. 767, 1141 Clark, William 511, 613, 1136, 1146,
1174, 1178, 1185, 1191, 128g
Clark, York 1137 Clarke, Brigadier E.M.C. 1113, 1116 Clarke, George 1045Clarke, John 82
Clarke, Sir George Sydenham 1093 1108 Clarke, Sir George Sydenham see also 1st Lord Sydenham of Coombe Claydon, John 1226,
1245
Claydon, Thomas
1244 1273
Claydon, William 1255' Clayford, Mr. 150, 151Clayton, John 1205 Clayton, S. T. 1021 Cleaveland, Colonel Richard Francis 699 Cleaveland, Colonel Samuel
247, 319, 320, 322, 324, 326, 327, 1051
Cleere, Richard I go Cleeves, Anne of II gClements, Thomas 1179 Clericus 10 Clericus de garderobe 6 Clerk, Captain Henry, R.A. 763, 1108
Appointed Assistant Inspector, R.C.D., 1852. 733, 1256 Re-appointed Captain Instructor R.C.D, 1856. 774 '
Re-appointed Superintendent, R.C.D.,1866. 8o5 Clerk, Colonel Henry see Clerk, Captain
Henry, R.A. Clerk, Edward 1260 Clerk, John r 135 Clerk of the king's arms 16 Clerk of the king's guns 22 Clerk of the king's works 1 2 Clerk, Second Captain Henry, R.A. see
Clerk, Captain Henry, R.A. Clerk, Sir George 1044 Clerke, John 98 Clerke, Stjohn 1126, 1269 Clerke, William see Clark, William Cleveland, Admiral H. F. r 1 1 3 Clifford, George 1240, 1250 Clifford, Sir Robert 1036 Clinkedager, Hans 95, 97 Clinton, John
Killed in a R.L. explosion, 1814. 598 Clinton, Lord 42 Clinton, Sir \t\Tilliam Henry 1042 Clive, 1st Lord 393 Cloathier, John 191
Clode, Charles M. 251, 385, 1051 Close, Colonel F. 1 108 Clothaire 120 Clothier, Mr. r 57 Clothworkers' Company 468, 666 Clowdesley, John 1065 Club, John 1223 Clyngeldegill, Hans, 95, 97 C.M.7.
Discontinued, 1917. 953
Instituted 951 Coale, J. 1278 Coanet 130 Coast defences instituted in 1539. 1424
Abolished 1956. 1425 Cobbe, Commander M. H. 11 I5 Cochrane, Sir Alexander 599 Cock, Charles 1156, 1157 Cock, John 1 1 79 Cock, William 1 214 Cockburn, Colonel James P. 686, 693,
694, 1069, 1 109, 1239 Allowed to retain house on Woolwich Common 1203 Appointed Director R.L., 1838. 658,1203 Promoted Major-General, 1846. 1239 Cockburn, John 317 318, 332, 376, 380,399, 403, 411, 426, 472, I 102 Commended for cutting down old table
cloths into napkins 408 Death of 499 Retires, 1798. 487
Cocker, John 1262 Cockle, J. 1263 Cockle, William 1233 Cocks, Sir Charles 1043, 1046 Coehorn mortars 237 Coerper, Commander 876 Cohen, Joseph 1242 Cointance, John 6 Coke, Sir Edward 28 Coke, Sir John 93 Coldharbour 66
INDEX
Cole, Colonel Pennel 1 106 Cole, John 1159, 1164 Cole, Philip 1262 Cole, William 468, 561 Coleburne, Roger 1078 Colegate, John 191, 196, 197 Colegate, J. 1070, 1071, 1072 Colepeper, Thomas 98
Attainder of 98 Coles, Charles I ooo Coles, \,Villiam 1233 Colfe, the Reverend Abraham 139 Collen, Thomas 43 Colley, Peter 1 166 Collier, George 1275 Collier, Mr. 746 Collingwood, Major C. W. 1116 Collins, Henry 1220 Collins, James W. 1228
Collins, John (Jr.) 1220, 1227, 1232,
1264, 1267 Collins, john (Sr.) 1232, 1243, 1248 Collins, Joscph 1235Collms, Matthew 1150 Collins, Mr. r 1 54Collins, Robert 1262 Collins, Stephen
43 ~
Collins, Thomas 1233 Collins, William 1173, 1185, 1189 Collmson, Captain, R.E. 750, 765, 781,
_1274
Collinson, Major-General 1o76 Cologne 91 Colonels' Committec
1432
Colonels' and Field Officers' Committee 1432, 1433 Secretaryship to be abolished, 1830.
1191 Colquhoun, Lieut-Colonel James, N. 1108, 1239 Appointed Inspector R.C.D., 1852. 733, 1256 Vacates appointment of Inspector R.C.D., 1853.
744
Colt, Lieut-Colonel Sam
1074
Coltman, Joseph 316 Coltman, William 468 Colyer, John 666 Colyer, Mr. 666
Combe, Air Vice-Marshal G. 1113, II 14
Combermere, Lord 626 Command Pay introduced 1787. 480 Commander-in-chief 742,859,860, 1090,
1092 Post abolished, 1904.
1093
Comnussanat as a permanent body 1793.
743 Commission de walliis et fossatis 115 116 Commissioners of Sewers 116, 513, 571,
607, 658, 673, 676, 700
Duties 117 , Committee of Colonels and Field Officers 1432, 1433 Secretaryship to be abolished, 1830.
I191
Committee of Field Officers 1432, 1433 Committee on explosives 1436, 1437 Committee on merits of B.L. and M.L.
systems, 1863-1865 and 1870. 1417
Committee on ordnance 1436
Committee on Woolwich 'remain' and general store arrangements appointed, 1883. 1428
Committee on magazines under Sir John Burgoyne, 1865. 804
Committee to recommend best make of rifled cannon for Service set-up, 1858. 803
Comparison of prices between 1725 and 1954. 282, 283
Competition between Armstrong and Whitworth guns, 1863-1864. 812 Competition between various types ofguns,
1864-1866. 812 .. Complaints on quality of murut1ons, I 779·
1081 Compton, Sir William 1037 Compton, Thomas 389 Congreve; rocket 518, 520, 591, 1376
Declared obsolete, 1866. 1377
Congreve, Sir William: 1st Baronet 466, 467, 480, 487, 489, 497, 504, 518, 594 1065, 1067, 1109, 1280
Appointed Comptroller, R.L, 1789. 481
Appointed Deputy Comptroller, R.L., 1783. 475 ...
Appointed Superintendent Military Machines 465 Death, 1814. 592, 1157 Fire protection plan for Royal Arsenal completed, 1813. 1365 Plan for protecting the Royal Arsenal against fire 1364
Congreve, Sir William: 2nd Baronet 518, 592, 598, 599, 611, 614, I 109, I 124,1142, 1167, 1168, 1282, 1376, 1377 1347
Appointed Comptroller R.L., 1814. 592, 1157
Death, 1828. 628, 1187
Rocket establishment, suggesuons for
590
Rocket papers in P.R.0. 591 Rocket store at Dover opened 519 Rocket store at Dover shutdown 1818.
591 .
Coningsby, Francis 1042
Connally, Mr. 1272
Connaught H.R.H. the Duchess of 715
Connaught: H.R.H. the Duke of 715
Connell, Daniel 666
Connolly, Surgeon-Major B. B. 111I
Connor 926
Connor, Cain 1214
Connor, Garrott 1240
Connor Thomas I 234
Conqueror, the see King Willi.am I
Consort, Prince see Albert, Pnnce
Constable, Sir Robert 51, 1041
Constable, Thomas 1162
Constantine, Baty. Sergt. MaJOf H. 1022
Contractors to clear the Thames of wrecks after the Dutch war 136
Control Department Abolished, 1876. 743, 1428 Formed, 1870. 743, 1428
Convert, the 550, 610, 619
Convict hulks Description of 451, 452 Suggestion to abolish 740 See also under Woolwich, Convict hulks at
Convicts Act of Parliment, 1776. 451 Allowance reduced from 3d to 2d a day,
1839. 66o Allowed 3d a day in lieu of beer, biscuits
and tobacco, 1826. 623 At Woolwich. 451-456 Beer 604, 605, 68, 609, 619, 621, 622,
623, 625 Beer expenses 456, 457, 504, 505 Board of Ordnance agree to the issue of
small beer to, 1785. 457 Burial ground for; rnnctioned in the Royal Arsenal, 1850. 717 Burial on the Essex side of the Thames approved 1817. 605 Burial on the Essex side of the Thames discontinued 1832. 64o
Burial on the Essex side of the Thames. Home Office informed in 1832 that it is not available for those dying of cholera. 640
Buried originally in the Royal Arsenal
605 Contract rate, 1855. 452 Cost of beer and bread, 1811. 582 Costs of, 1855. 452 Erection of movable huts in the Royal
Arsenal for those 80 convicts who
clean shot and shell, 1841. 680 Escapes 454, 455, 456 Fire in their shed in the Royal Arsenal,
1823. 618
Labour on sewers in the Royal Arsenal withdrawn by the medical officer,1849. 713
Privy for them in the Royal Arsenal
approved 1850. 715 Profound effect on Woolwich 451 Returns of their labour in the Royal
Arsenal, 1810, 1811. 575 Vegetable garden in the Royal Arsenal; grant to, 1851. 723 Vegetable garden in the Royal Arsenal·
grant withdrawn, 1851. 723 Conway 209, 210 Conway, Sir Edward 57
Conyers, Edward 1044 Conyers, Philip le 14 Cook, George 1209 Cook, J. 1252, 1272
Cook, James 1200, 1249, 1277 Cook, John 412, 449, 666, 1200, 1215,
1219, 1237 Cook, Joseph 1240, 1278
Cook, Mr. 468, 599 Cook, SergeantJohn 337 Cook, the Reverend C. B. 666 Cook, Thomas 1255, 1260
Cook, W. 1262 Cook, W'illiam u73, n83, 1201, 1220
Cooke, Colonel 884 Cooke, Francis 193 Cooke, John 58, 154, 296, 297
Cooke, Sarah 193
1472
Cooke, Sir George 1 35 Coombe 120, 122, 123 Cooper, Charles 1161 Cooper, David 1 1 55 Cooper, Edward 1 260 Cooper, Henry I 189 Cooper, John 82, 1 oo, 1233 Cooper, Josiah 1174 Cooper, S. 102 1 Cooper, the Hon. Cropley Ashley 1 044,
1046 Cooper Key, Captain A., R. r. 1338 Coopers' Arms, the 641 Cope,John 1219 Cope, Sir William 81, 1o1 Copeland, Mr. 1 163 Copenhagen 1377 Copperfield, David 326 Copping, Thomas 1155 Copson, William 1 I 73 Corbett Estate 980 Cordite 1381
Adopted as propellant for small a.rms,1891. 1414
Invented, 1889. I414 Cornwayll, Richard de 116 Corfu 1203, 1217 Cork 1135 Cork Harbour 12 I 3 Cornhill, William 1235 Cornwall, John 21, 24 Cornwallis, 1st Marquis 1037 Corps of Artillery drivers
Disbanded, 1822. 1304
Formed, 1794. 1304 Corps of Engineers formed, 1759. 355 Correspondences between vVardrobe and
modern Ordnance officials 1 o Corridan, Edward 1246 Corson, T. 1146 Corsy, Peter 37 Cosgrove, James r223 Cost of living
Rises in 1796-1800. 484, 485, 486
Rises in 1801. 497 Costing, Henry I 95, I 294 Cottam & Hallen, Messrs. 746 Cotterel, Mr. 500 Couch, Thomas 1 r 95 Council on Ordnance 1436 Counsell, John 1233 Couper, Licut-Colonel 639 Couper, John 16o Court, Thomas 1 170 Courteney, John 1042 Courtman, Isaac 1242 Courtman, Reuben 694, 1230 Courtowes 39 Covell, Samuel 1 1 55 Coventry 174 Cowan, Thomas 1 145, I 1 53, 1 183 Cowie, John 1193, 1 208 Cowing, F. W. 1020
Cowley, John Lodge 363, 367, 368, 372,380 Cowley, Lieut-General Sir John Guise
1040 Cowper, John 82 Cox, John 133
...
INDEX
Cox, Lieut-Colonel William, R.A. 541 Cox, vVilliam A. I 233, 1245 Coxe, Thomas 1 04 Craggs, James 271, 306, 346, 1046 Craig, Lieut-Colonel, R.A. 1 116 Craig, Rear-Admiral A. W. 1112 Crakc, John 694, 1161, 1231
Death of in an explosion, 1845. 693, 1230 Paid a guinea for his exertions in pre
paring the Baltic expedition 555 Crake, Sarah 696, 1231 Cram, Mrs. 662 Crane, William
143, 144
Cranfield, Sir Lionel 57 Cranston, George C. 1228 Cranston, Thomas
1233
Craven, Grewer & Co 768 Crawford, Colonel R. 1121 Crawford, Dr. Allen 388, 389 Crawford, General Sir Kenneth 1040 Crawford, George 1258 Crawford, James 1204 Crawford, Gibbs
1043
Crawley, F. 1021Crayford 118, 120Crecy 18,
19
Battle of
19 Campaign, preparations for 18 Employment of cannon at 19
Greed, Mr.
1070 Greevy, Thomas 639 Crew, R. H. 556, 1 124 Crewdson, William 1r89, 1191, 1193,
Ilg
Crewe 1308 Cricke, Mr. 201 Cridland, John
371 Crimea 722, 740, 752, 756, 762, 1275 Crimean War 704, 723, 736, 742, 756,
770, 775, 781, 788, j89, 792, 794 802, 1076, 1086, 1295, 1308, 1339,1389, 1395
End of and firework display 774 Troubles over administration 742
Crisp, G. 1164Crocker, A. J. 1109 Croft, William 500, 1133
Crofts, G. 926 Crogham, John 1 243 Croker, Lieut-Colonel W. P., R.A.M.C.
1112
Crompton, R. E. Instal~ed arc lamps in St Enoch's
stauon, Glasgow 1373 Cromwell, Canon 1329 Cromwell, Oliver 103 Cromwell, Thomas 117, 118 Crook, Mrs. 356 Crook, Thomas 356 Crooke, Rear-Admiral H. R. 1112, 1113 Crookes, Sir William 1438 Crookes, William 1184, 1 195
Groom's Hill 84 Crosby, William 352 Cross bows 9, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21,36, 74 Crossgrove, James 1255 Crossingham, Mr. 561, 595, 666 Crosswiller, Miss 666
Crout, Henry 1266 Crow, Michael 670, 1199, 1208 Crowe, Colonel W. P. 1115 Crowley, Messrs. 402 Crown mark placed on all arms, 1627.
868 Crown Prince of Sweden 662 Crown system of service: ,,Veaknesses m
the seventeenth century 62 Croyden railway 1309 Crozier, Captain 716 Crozier, Colonel Henry Darley 1107 Cruickshank, Dr.
His illness 507 Cruickshanks, Mr. 38, 389 Crumpton, Sadler 592 Cubicularii 3 Cubicularius 3 Cullen, John 1156, 1180, 1201, 1215,
1224 Culloden 3 1 o Culverin 39, 59, 76, 77, 162, 204, 232 Culverin-drake 77 Cumberland 1346
William Duke of
Cumber1ancl, H.R.H. 310, 311, 433 Cummings, Mr. 1232 Cummins, John 1233
Cunningham, Sir Graham 1039 Cunningham, Surgeon-Major J. B. '
60
Cuppage Colonel Wilham 541, 5::>7, ::> ,56j, 573, 61o, 613, 622, 1108, 1125» 1161, 1167, 1175, 1282 . Awarded gratuity for Napoleomc war
effort 602 . RCD
In trouble over sick pay m the •••
554 fi fi "mg tyres to
Invents new process or 1X
wheels 589
Quarter on Shooters Hill _563 Cuppage, Lieut-General ':"i.lham see Cuppage, Colonel Wilham Cuppage, Lieut Burke 1366 _, ,
Appointed Secretary, . Colone s
Field Officers' Committee 1 189 Cuprum 25 Cured-paper 138g . ,
'Curiosities of C1V1hzat1on, the' 787 Curlow 39 Curran, Frank 926 Curran, John 1262 Curran P. I 145, 1146
Currie,'Brigadier-General A. C. I I I 3, 1114
Curry, Captain D. C. W. I 120
Curtains 1375 Curtaldes 38 Curtalls 76 106
Curtis & Harvey, Messrs. 4 Curtis, G. H. 1021 Cusance, William 1035 Custos 10 .
Custos armorum regrs I 6 Custos ingeniorum 1 1 Cutting, James 1175 Czechoslovakia 1022
Dagenham marsh 1339 Daily Courrant 250
1473
d
an
Dairy Appliance Manufacturers protest 1000 Dallison, Sir Roger 67, 68, 1o4t
His peculations in the Minorics 67 Dallyson, Sir Roger see Dallison, Sir Roger Dalzell, Mr. 126o Danby, Treasurer 189 Danegelt 121 Daniel, Mr. 1177 Daniell, Alice 144 Daniell, Elizabeth 144 Daniell, Gerard 144 Daniels, ,-vmiam 1151 Danish invasion of England I 21, I 22 Dansey, Lieut-Colonel Charles C. 674,
686, 694, 1111, 1207, 1385 Appointed Firemaster R.L., 1839. 1206
Promoted Colonel, 1846. 1239 Danskin, David 1449 Danyell, Maryon 143, 144 Danzig 1023 Darcy, Henry I 233 D'Arcy, Sir Thomas 81 Darley, Commander F. C. 1115 Darley, John 1222 Darling, David (Jr.) 1216, 1219 Darling, David (Sr.) 1161, 1219 Darling, Mr. 1263 Dartford 596
Manor of 124 Dartmouth, Earl of 104 Dartmouth, 1st Lord 68, 72, 105, 206,
213, 217, 1037, 1041 Granted the right to use field guns as supporters to his personal Arms 1056
Letters to 1057, 1058 Darwin, William 100 Dasett, Thomas 194 Dashwood, F. 666 Dassauville, Surgeon W. A. 1111 D'Aubant, Lieut-Colonel 482 Dauncy, William 178 Davey, George 388 Davey, Robert 383, 387 Davidson, Alexander 1223 Davidson, Bvt Lieut-Colonel A. E. 1118 Davidson, James 1261 Davies, David 1152, 1183 Davies, George B. 16o, 1261
Davies, James 1 178 Davies, John II 77 Davies, Robert 1 166, 1 178 Davis, Air Commodore E. D. 1113
Davis, David 1268
Davis, Frederick 1245
Davis, Henry 1175, 1223
Davis, James I I 74 Davis, John 249, 1207, 1215, 1241 Davis, John (Jr.) 1249, 127a
Davis, Mr. 1141, 1147, 1249
Davis, Richard 238, 1144 Davis, Robert Appointed Clerk to the Ordnance chapel
1322
Davis, Sir John 49, 50, 51, 52, 1042 Davis, Thomas 1214, 1242, 1263 Davis, William 1150, 1155, 1161, 1272
Davis, W. F. 1262
Davy, William 468 Dawkins, Charles 1272 Dawney, the Hon. Guy Cuthbert 842,
1038 Dawson, Benjamin 1182, 1214 Day & Co, Messrs. 766 Day, John 198, 200, 491 Deal, James 304 Dean, Antony 149 Dean, Francis 352, 367, 376 Dean, F. W. 0. 1109 Dean, John 1191, 1233 Dean, Richard 1261 Dean, William 1223 Dean, v\/illiam Henry 1228 Deane, Ralph 1o70 Dear, John 490 Deaves, Edward I 180, 1 322 Deaves, W. J. 1021 De Bange pad 1417 De Bergue punching machine 906 De Can, Mr. 388, 389 Decker, Mr. 1175 Deedes, Colonel H. G. I 127 Deedes Committee 1879. I 127 Deering, v.,r. H. I 120, 1441 Defence, a hulk 451 Defford Stronde 116
De La Bere Committee on Ordnance
Factory establishments, 1898. 1129 De La Bere, H. T. 1129 Delacourt, Robert r 137, 1146 Delestang, James 283, 297, 411, 472,
l 103
Death of, 1787. 489 Dell, Edward 613, 1148, 1151, 1165, 1282 Demerara 1152 Demi-cannon 54, 59, 76, 77, 162, 163,
232 Demi-cannon shot 212 Demi-cannon drake 77 Demi-cannon pieces 54 Deini-cannon royal 76
Demi-culverin 54, 59, 76, 77, 162, 163,
204, 219 Demi-culverin drake 77 Denison, Captain 1354 Dennis, Colonel M. J. C. I 109 Dennison, George 925 Dent, Commander D. L. I 115 Dent, William 1272, 1444 Denton, John 1162
Deptford 85, 88, 134, 140, 142, 147, 152,185, 217, 522, 1354 Dockyard 146
Derby 310 Derby, John 22, 26 De Reus, Ernest Henry II 10
Appointed Firemaster 200 ·Derham, Samuel 351, 352
Desaguliers, Thomas 297, 313, 320, 32 I, 324, 326, 336, 411, 415, 419, 436,449, IIII
Design Department 1427, 1440
Formed in 1919. 1095, 1440 Design of stores 839 Detonators 1415
Devlin, John 670, 1208 Devonport 1191, 1220
1474
INDEX
Devonshire, Earl of 1036
Dew, James 556
Dewar, Professor J. 1414
Dibbins, Thomas I 253
Dibblin, Charles (Jr.) r 174, 1222, 1245, 1271, 1272
Dibblin, Charles (Sr.) 613, 1146, 1150, 1158, 1162, 1172, 1174, 1176, 1282,1365 Award for improving Mr. Noble's fire engine 1364 Dibblin, William 1146 Dicken, Mr. 1183, 1211, 1275, 1278
Dickens, Charles 114
Dickinson, Captain 514, 517, 520, 540 Superintendent of Shipping 513, 619,633, 1172
Dickinson, John 195, 1294
Dickinson, Thomas J 2 15
Dickson, General Sir Collingwood 1 1 12,1436 Dickson, Lieut-Colonel Sir Alexander
531, 622, 633, 1 108 Appointed D.A.G. Artillery 1183 Appointed Inspector of Artillery and of
the Royal Brass Foundry 1822. 6 l 7, I I 72 Monument to 679 Dickson, 1viessrs. John & Samuel 6o9,
627 Digby, George 1238 Dillon, Michael 1226 Dine, William 449 Diprose, Thomas 1240, 1250 Director of Artillery 847, 859, 1095
Ceases to control manufacture 1094 Relationship between D of A and D.G.
of O.F., 1895. 892 Director of Artillery I, 1924. 1095 Director of Artillery II, 1924. 1095
Renamed Director of Mechanization
1095 Director of Artillery and Stores 828, 830, 837, 838, 840, 843, 849, 850, 852, 857, 859
Director of Chemical Inspection 1445 Director of Clothing 828 Director of Contracts 828, 834, 856 Director of Fortifications and Works 1095
Renamed Director of Works rn95
Transferred to the Q.M.G. rn95 Director of Mechanization 1095 Director of Stores 849 Director of Supplies and Transport 828 Director-General of Factories 1094 Director-General of Ordnance 1091,
1093 Director-General of Ordnance Factories 859, 871, 892, 1094 Relationship between D.G. of O.F. and
D of A, 1895. 892 Dixon, Colonel William Manly 751, 1076 Dixon, Henry 1 268 Dixon, James 1236, 1250 Dixon, John 412, 1103 Dobson, Bvt. Colonel A. E. A. I I 14 Doctor Tunstall, late Bishop of Durham
Letter written to remove him from the Ordnance House in the Tower 41
1475
Dodd, Major J. R., R.A.M.C. 1111 Dodge, Thomas 1078 Doherty, Daniel Cockburn 1251 Domesday Book I 13, 122, 123 Domville, Ad.llllral Sir Compton E. I I 13 Don, John 80, 81 . Donaldson Committee on O.F. educat10nal
facilities 934 . Donaldson, H. F. see Donaldson, Sir Frederick Donaldson, Sir Frederick 920, 925, 929,
934, 1104, 1106 Appointed C.M.E., 1899. 893 Appointed Deputy D.G. of O.F., 1898.
893
Appointed technical adviser to the
Ministry of Munitions, 1915. 951 Death of 952 Vacates appointment of C.S.O.F., 1915.
951
Donall Alexander & Son, Messrs. 584,
6
Doncaster 135 Donkin, Sir Ru.fine Shaw 1043 Donne, Sir John 35 Donnelly, Robert 1224, 1267 Donovan, Captam A. S. 1115 Dormand, James 1266 Dorset, Michael 387, 388 Dosers 33 Double-cannon 59 Doubleday, John 473 Double-paper 1380 Dougherty, John 1140, 1148 Douglas Admiral Sir A. L. I 113, 1II 6 Dou&las. Colonel Robert 541, 573 579,
6, 1134, 1302, 1303, 1304
Death of, 1827. 1433 {GDouglas Lieut-Colonel R. V. I I14, III Douglas'. Lieut-General Robert see Douglas,
Colonel Robert Douglas, Major J. S. 11 IO Douglas, Sir Charles 1383 Dove Robert I 209, I 215
1238 1246
Dover 135, 500, 519, 1133, ,Dover and rocket assembly 519 Dover castle r 4, 21 Dover, 1st Lord 423 Dover, John de 115 Dowling, R.H. 666 Downar, William 1162 Downes, 2nd Lord see Burgh, Sir Ulysses Downhard, Henry 1196 Downing Sir George 186 Downman, General Sir Thomas 718, 738
Downs, Mr. 213 Dowsing, John 1159 Doye, F. 102 r Dozell, John 615, 1163
Retires, 182I. II71 Dracord, William 1238 Dragon 76 Drake 76 Drake John I I 77 Drake' Robert 1161
' •6
Drake, Sir Francis 1 2 Draper, B. M.. 1012 Draper Conun.ittee 1012 Draper, William 1 1 7
....
INDEX
INDEX
Dreadnought 174 Dyneley, Major Thomas 1 1 1 1, 1206 Ekwall, Eilert 1 1 2 Engelback, Lewis W. 1127
Drickett, D. 1158 Appointed Firemaster, R.L., 1835. Elcho, Lord 1061 Engine for throwing stones proposed in Driscoll, Denis 1 193 649, 1197
Eldridge, Lieut-General Sir William John 1684. 215
Driving bands Dysart, Mr. 425
1040 Engines of war 74
Function of 1392
Electric Lighting Act passed, 1882. 1373 England 476, 497 1020Drokensford, John de 7 Eade & Bolton, Messrs.: Junk merchants Elezabeth Jonas 144 Declares war on King of Kandy, Ceylon,
Drost, Hans 95 411
Elfred 122 1815. 6oo
Drought, William 1240 Eagle, Mr. 1 1 26, 1211
Elfrida 83, 1 12, 120 English, James 221, 224, 230, 1051Drummond Lieut-General Duncan 5 1 3 Eagle Insurance Co, the 655
Ellen, James 1240 English, John 400 .
Drury, Vic~-Admiral_Sir C. C. 1113 Eagle, William James 1 269 Ellery, John 190, 208 English, Lieut-Colonel Fredenck, R.E.
Drynker 130 Eardley-Wilmot Committee 932
Ellery, \,Vidow 190 1106
Definition of 130 Eardley-Wilmot, Lieut-Colonel F. M.
Elles, Lieut-General Sir Hugh Jamieson Appointed C.R.E. Woolwich Division,Dublin 514, 599, 1184 763, 788, 789, 11o8
1039 1846. 1239
Du Cane Committee rno2 Eardley-Wilmot, Rear-Admiral S. l\1. Du Cane, Lieut-General Sir John Philip 932 Elleson, Lieut-Colonel G. F. 1093 Death of, 1849. 713, 1251
Elliot, Mr. 4o7 His illness, 1849. 713, 1251Earl, Charles 468
Duck10ha39 m, Arthur 1014 Earl, J. T. 618 Elliot, Rear-Admiral George 1338 English, Major T. 1 I08 Duckham Committee 1014 Earl, Thomas 1 1 86 Elliot, William 1150 English, R. 1147, 1155 Dudley, John: Duke of Northumberland Earle, W.R. 108, 1043, 1046 Elliott, Commander F. 1115 English, Stephen 1235
81, 1089 Elliott, James 1 1 go Enniskillen 1231
Earle, Mr. 621 Dudley, John: the Extortioner rn89 Earle, Thomas 304 Elliott, John 1 161 Erasmus 95, 96, 97
Dudley, Lady Jane Bo Early, Timothy r 199 Elliott, Joseph 1265, 1278 Variations in spellmg of name 97 Erith 116, 118, 119, 130, 142, 183, 537
Dudney, Henry 1265 Earth, Joseph 10,J.2 Elliott,J. G. 1273
Dudney, William 1227 Eason, John 1 186, 1189 Elliott, W.R. 1260 763, 1339 Duffyld, John 43 East, William 1 233 Ellis, Charles 612, 644, 645, 1137, 1143, Erith ferry 131 Dugdale, Sir William 115 East Ham 513 1197, 1247, 1282 Erle, Sir Walter 1o41 Dugelby, Henry see Dugleby, Henry East London and Greenwich Railway Ellis, Major G. H. Fairfax, R.A. 1114, Erle Thomas 1041 Dugleby, Henry 473, 539, 612, 1104, 1436 Erm'it definition of 102
1136, 1137, 1197, 1282 Eastb1ro30o7ke, Thomas 1045 Ellis, Mr. 1269 Errona. Francis de 37
Retires 1828. 1188 East Greenwich, Manor of 89 Ellis, Sir Charles 953 Erubiginator (Polisher of arms) 13 Duley & Thomas, Messrs. 687 East Wickham 118, 1339 Ellis, William 118o, 1234 Espringald 9, 13 Duke, Captain K. W. G. 1115 East '"''ickham Estate 980 Elliston-Erwood, F. C. 299, 397 436 Esher Committee !093 Duke Humphrey's tower 84 Eaton, H. 488, 489, 1281 Ellys, Thomas 43 Esher, Viscount 1093 Dummocks, J. 1153 Eaton, William 473 Elsden, A. V. 1120 Esparturo, General 68
Dunbar Committee, 1861. 804 Elstrudis see Elfrida Visits the Royal Arsenal, 1843. '7
Eattel, William 1193, 1199, 1236, 1256Dunbar, Mr. 1156 Eattell, Mr. 577 Eltham 86, 125, 138, 1 79, 193, 384 Essex 35 GDunbar, Sir William 804 Ebbsfleet 119 Eltham, Corbett estate 980, 982 Essex, Earl of 48,. 49, 10b3 · g Master Duncan, C. G. 1120 Ebenezer (sloop) for R.L., 1834. 647 Eltham, Manor of: Acquired by the Board Instructions to him on ecomm
Duncan, Colonel Francis see Duncan, E. cannon 76 of Ordnance, 1812. 581 of the Ordnance 48 Major Francis Estgrenewiche 117
Eccles, Samuel 1172, 1176, 1276, 1282 Eltham, Royal Manor of 123, 124, 125 Ethelred the Unready 121
Duncan, Commander J. A. 1116, 1440 Economic Reform, Act for, 1782, 108o Eltonhead, Ralph 145 Duncan, George 1258 Eden, Commodore, R.N. 718 Elvm, Mr. 1198 Europe 497, 506, 948
Duncan, Major Francis 208, 842 Edgar, Lieutenant 794 Elvyngton, Edward 43 Evans Jenkin 1235 Duncan, the Hon. Henry 529, 639, 1045 Elwell, Mr. 881, 882, 883, 884, 885 Evans' Major-General D.S.C. I I14
Edge, William 224, 233, 234, 236, 237,
' Maior-General Robert 1177
Duncan, Thomas 1267 241, 243, 256, 261, 262, 268 Ely, Bishop of 42 Evans, ! dL" 389
Duncombe, SirJohn 1037 Edgar the Peacemaker 1 20 Ely, Mr: To inspect O.F. fire arrangements Evans the Reveren ew1s 6
Evans, Thomas 389, 1164, 119Dundas, Colonel William B., R.A. 654, 1368
His charter, 964. 120
669, 674, 686, 733, 1108, 1255 Edger, John 1234 Elyot, Cecily 138, 181 Evans'. William 1074 Dundas, George 1073 Edkins,James R. 1244, 1250, 1266 Ernly, 1st Lord see Mansell, William Eve, Mr. 763 Dundas, James Whitley Deans 1044 Edmonds, R. 1 1 1 o Emma 121 Eve: W. 126o 1 135Dunkirk 133, 174 Edney, Jonathan 1191 Emptage, Charles 1235, 1254 Evelyn, John 11?• 1 .1 '· :> 111 135
Extracts from his dianes I 10, '
Dunnage, Mr. 1320 Edward the Confessor 122 Emptage, James 1226, 1246 Dunne, Colonel 1073 His vow 122 Emptage, Stephen 1195 Evens, William 1231 Dunne, Francis Plunkett 1044 Edward the Martyr 12 1 Emptor et Provisor 10 Evered, A. H. 1021 Dunnett, G. l I 59 Everitt, John 205
Edwardes, Colonel W. E. 1117 Enfield 1074, 1344
Dunstan, Archbishop 120, 12 1 Enfield Lock 721, 1076, 1342 Everysfylde, John. 43 d) 666
Edwards, Charles 1137, 1154 Eves (Representative of Ree
Dunsterville, Brigadier K. F. 1118 Chapel built in 1857. 1073
Edwards, Daniel 1 176
Duplock, William 1233 Factory 1072 Eveson George 1153 6
Edwards, John 634, 1235, I 239 Excellent, H..S. 660, 143
Dupre, Dr. A. 1436 Royal Small Arms Factory 988, 1073,
Edwards, J. F. 1241, 1244 h 5 21 221 · h)
Durden, Joscph 1078 Edwards, Thomas 490, 1161, 1200 1074 Exe equer cl' Adi1t Branch (Woolwic Durham, Archdeacon of 13 Royal Small Arms Factory, history of Exchequer an u
Edwards, William 926, 12 I 5Durham, Bishop of 124 Edwy, King of England see King Edwy 1072, 1073 . 1@7 '4!%.e or May 1324. 1o
Royal Small Arms Factory, mstructions Exchequer or m
Durnford, Thomas 500, 1107, 1133, Edyvean, Robert 1242, 1245, 1247, 1250, Exeter 1213
1146, 1194 to viewers, 1853. 1074
1255 E. d't'on of 1346. 19
Durrant, William 1152, 1153 Royal Small Arms Factory originally xpe I I r h t 1439
Egan, Cornelius 1197, 1228, 1229, 1248 called the Royal Armoury Mills Experimental Estab is me? d out between
Dwyer, Dennis 694, 1230, 1255 Eggenton, the 622 Experiments on guns carneDyke, Thomas 43 Egleston, Edward 193 1072 . 1855-1880. 813
Royal Small Arms Factory: Memonal
Dykes, William 1244 8 pdr 173 Explosives Committee 1438, 1440
on hours ofwork forwarded 1872. 808
Dymmocke, Edward 180, 181, 184 18 pdr 298 Eyles, Francis g98, I 104
School opened in 1846. 1073
1476 1477
INDEX
INDEX
Faber (smith) 13 Fenwick, Mrs. Anne Fisher, Sir Warren 1016 Forman, Samuel 424, 449Faber, Mr. 1262 1252 Death of, 1836. 1198 Fisshmongere, John le 130 Forrest Sergeant 1278Fabling, Henry 1250, Ferguson, John 1240, 1260 Fitch, Robert 111, 213, 220, 224, 227, Forrester, William 1191, 1248Fabling, J. 1154 Fergusson, James 1338 233, 234, 1058 Forster, vVilliam Thomas I 205, I 2 I I'
Fabling, James 1240, 1250 Fergusson, John 1241
Death of 24o 1228, 1275
Fabling, John 1236, 1248 Fermer, Thomas 44
Fitze, James Gartell 1151, 1153 Forsyth Captain 716
Fabricator 10
Ferrers, Washington 2nd Earl 1319 Fitzgerald, James 205 Forsyth'. the Reverend Alexander 1073Fabrier, C. 389 f Ferry, Colonel J. G. 1119 Fitzgerald, Maurice 1264 Forsyth, Thomas 1182, 1200
Factories, Director-General o 1094 Fever, Peter 92
Fitzjames, Captain 716 Fort Augustus 106I
Fadam definition of 2o1 Ffoulkes, Charles 653
Fitzpatrick, Dame! 1237
Faddom, definition of 201 Field Colonel George T. 1108 Fortrey, Samuel 1045 1106
Fitzpatrick, Thomas 1272
Fadom definition of 201
Field' Major F. D. I 116 FitzPiers, Geoffrey 124 roApepogmateg.•#· r· ±a is«so»
Fadome. definition of 201
Field' Officers' Committee 1432, 1433 Flack, Mr. 1207, 1221 749, 1268
Fage, Colonel Edward 473, 488, 509, 510, Field, William 694 Flack, William 820 Foster, H. Q. Arnold 923, 925
515.., 1o8,'s 1133,» 1135, 1I38, 1a80,
Fife, Adam 509, 510, 1133, 1140, 114, Flamsteed, John 1 1 r Foster, James 473, 4891281 1280, 1281 Flanders 122 Foster, Thomas 88Fairbairn & Son 75!, 768 ur M Fife, George 569, I I 3 7, I I 43, I 158
Fairbairn, Rear-Adnural B. • .. 1112, Flankers 76 F t Henry 286, 288 Id
Filliol, Mary I 3 1 Flarty, James 614 oucque ' w· dmill Hill near Moorfie s
Foundry at m
1113 Filliol, William 31
Fairbanks, P. & Co 767, 768 Fleet, John r r, 12, 16, 18, 1036 228, 245
Fimsy, James 239
Fairfax-Ellis, Major G. H. 1~14 Fleet, Simon 26, 1036 Fountain, Henry 1257
F 5 (Audit) Woolwich 1427, 1448
Falcon 54, 59, 76, 77, 162, 1i3 Fleming 1045 Fawell, George 1181
Financial Secretary to the ·war Office
Falconer, Mr. 152 Fleming Committee 1922. 1010, 1130 Fowkes, Mr. 49
86o
Falconer, Mrs. 152 Fleming, E. . 1130 Fowle, Captain F. G. I I I 7
Finch, Mr. 1107, 1217
Falconet 54, 59, 76, 77, 163, 1 73 Fleming, William. 33 Fowlers, chambers 76
Falkenor, Roger 82, 101 Finch, Richard 714, 1152, 1163, 1171, Flemming, William 1227 Fowlers, hull 76
1172
Falkner, John see Faulkener, John Flemyng, Frauncis 41 Fowlle, Nicholas 43
Thrown from his horse as messenger
Fane, Sir Henry 1042 Fleta 7 . • Fox, Charles·R1chard 1043 Faraday, Michael 661, 1069 Fleta seu commentarim juris Ang1icam Fox, Henderson & Co 706,718,753,754,
Finch5,52 Sir Heneage 71, 137 7
Farman, Mr. 257 Fletcher 15 767
Instructions to prepare grant for the sale
Farmer, Alexander 43 Fletcher, George I I 99 Fox, Michael 1189
of Tower Place, Woolwich, by Sir
Farmiloe Boys 1216, 1220 Fletcher, John 1237, 1240 21
William Prichard 187 Foxle, John ~G 76, 6o00, 602,
Farmiloe, Frederick 1222, 1229 Fletcher, Richard 1169 France 14, 124, 407, 4 9, 47 , ,
Finlay, James
Falkenor, Roger 82, 101 Fletcher, Robert 1196
Fam, John 1165 Paid a guinea for exertions in preparing Flete see Fleet Franc1oe, gM!r·9z3upp "R? aortin6g machines,the Baltic expedition 555
Farncomb, Thomas 595 Flight, Frederick 354, 369 to the R.C.D., 1854. 74
Finlay, Major John 487, 128o
Farnfield, Mr. 618, 620 Flight, Thomas 297, 313 Franc1•s Ferdinan"d3 Archduke 947
Finlay, Samuel 1185, 1199
Farquhar, Rear-Admiral R. B. 1 I I 3, Floos, Henry 179, 184 Francis, Francis I 249
Finley, Henry 1262
I 115 Florence 19 Frankinit, Adelbert 1156
Finman, George 238
Farquharson, F. H. 1126, 1265 Fludyer, Henry 1229, 1241 Frankland Thomas 1046
Finney, James 1078
Farr, Surgeon George 1 1 1 I Fludyer, John 1214 Franklin Benjamin 482 di . to the
Finsbury Square 245
Farrant, Major-General R. H. 1114 Flying Post 248 Frankl•m,' Sir John ·• Expe t10n
Fire barrels 1375
Farrell, John 1271 • Firemaster 200, 868 Flynn Committee on Accountmg 94° Arctic 716, 1256
Farrell, Thomas 1177, 1186 Flynn, Mr. 940
Fire pans, iron 25 Franklyns, Willidam Paper on the tower of
Farrington, Charles 297, 358, 411 Foder of lead, weight of 41 Yeoman ar er,
Fire ships 1375
Farrington, Lieut-General A. 536, 566 Fogarty, John 1163 London, 1641. 66 Death of 1433 Ad1d0i5tio 7 nal number to be ordered 407, Fogarty, Philip 1173 Frankks, Air Vice-Marshal J. G. II 13,Faucit see Fawcitt Foley John 1176, 1201
Faulconer, Richard 37 Firework display in St James's Park to I 1I4 • 947
Folkes, Martin 350, 351, 352, 353,
Faulkener, John 170, 1044 celebrate the Peace of Paris 1814. Death of 353
EE!gt.A
Faulkener, Roger see Falkenor, Roger 592 . First chief master at the R.M.A. 350 824, 1111, 1277 _ R.L Faversham 1148, 1149, 1194, 1196 Firework makmg I 95, 199, 200 Folkes, William 297, 350, 352 App"°ainted additional Firemaster, • .,
Faversham factory 481 Fireworks 196, 2 I 9, 222 1267
Foot Lieutenant George 574 1854. 745, ,q Jointed
Description of 1o63 Fireworks for King's birthday 200, 615, A ointed Firemaster an re-app 66
Foote, Admiral R. F. O. 1112, 1113 Loaned to Messrs John Hall & Sons 6=7 Footn'ian, Sergeant 574 .di instructor, R.L. 1854. 7
1196 First Military Assistant. to D.G. of 0.F.
Forbes, Charles. D. I 265Set up 106g 859 Forbes, Major-General A. 743, 1428 Frase1r2,7C6olonel George H.J. ARseAe Fraser,
Sold 1o64 Becomes Secretary to C.S.O.F. 925 Captain George H.J. A., .. •
Ford Air Vice-Marshall H. I 114
Firzer, Mr. 155
Fawcett,FiremanC.F. 939 C I lG BT A IIIO
Fishenden, Mr. 82g Ford: Colonel Charles G. 11o6 Fraser, o one • • i. R.A M.C.
Fawcett, Preston & Co 758 Ford, John 1166, 1236 Fraser, Lieut-Colonel T. ·• · ·
Fisher, Captain]. A., R.N. 1431
Fawcitt, Thomas 354, 369 Ford, Mr. 1260
Fisher, Colonel Benjamin I 106 1112 AMC IIl2
Fawcitt, Walter Dawson 354, 369 Ford, S. 1020 Fraser, Major A. N., R. · · •
Fisher Committee 1016
Fayram, John 351, 352 Ford, Samuel 1149 Fraser, S. R. l 1?9 Gunners in the
Fisher, Lieutenant, R.N. 1379 Fraternity of Artillery or
Fee'd gunners see Tower of London Ford, William 1196
Fisher, Major F. T. 1108
Feltham 1016 Fordham, Major H. M. 1119 Tower 69 .69 Felton, James 230, 233, 238, 239, 259, Fisher, Major-General George B. 628, Fords of Dagenham 1031 Fraternity or Guild of St. George 93:,602 633, I177 Frazer, Colonel Sir Augustus 52 • -'
266, 271, 272, 296, 314, 1102 Forman, Captain P. C. I l 15 88 I 103
Appointed Commandant Woolwich
Fenruther, Anthony 224 Forman, Henry 413,449,473, 4 ' '
Garrison, 1827. 1182 torso .c.
Fenwick, Lieut-Colonel, R. E. I I g8 1137, 1280 2%.
Fisher, Sir John 1093
Forman, Mr. 1065 1827. 1185 1479
Frazer, Colonel Sir Augustus-contd. Appointed Director Royal Laboratory, 1828. 628, 1187
Death of, 1835. 649, 1197 Frazer, Colonel Sir Hugh 1067 Frazer, Lady 1 197 Frazer, Lieut-Colonel 688 Frazer, R. S. 904 Frederick, Charles 108, 295, 296, 297,
411, 449, 475. 1042 1046, 1109
His report on illicit sales m the Warren, I 750. 396--399 . .
Frederick V, Duke ofBavana and Kmg of Bohemia 177 Frederick, Sir Charles see Frederick, Charles Freeburn, Quartermaster. His concussion
fuzc approved L.S., 1846. 662, 1408 Freeman, F. \i\. 1021 Freeman,]. 1159 Freeman, Michael 1236 Freeman, Ralph 1045 Freezland Fly Boate 174 Freiburg 17 French fly-boat sunk 133 French friar paid for stopping breach in the
Thames embankment 1 19 French,John Compensated for loss of cow by shooting
in the Warren 423 French, Major-General]. 1113, III4 French, Mr. 656 French, Mrs. 708 Freshfisshe, John 130 Friend, Mr. 499 Frith, Mr. 1145 Fuhr, Lieut-Colonel R. S. H., R.A.M.C.
1112
Fulbrook, William 511, 1136, 1142, 1146 Fullam, Mr. 1269 Fullard, Mr. 1070 Fuller, Colonel A. C. 1119 Fuller, James 1 179, 1 1 go Fuller, John 397, 402, 403, 436 Fuller, J. R. 1122 Fuller, Thomas 1064 Fullerton, G. S. 1106, 1109 Fulton, Frederick 1244 Funes igniarii 106 Furlong, Joseph 1246 Furlong & Son, Messrs. 657 Furnesse, Hugh 1043 Furnis, Mr. 396 Furniss, Thomas 283, 296 Furse, Major-General William Thomas
1039
Fuze
strong, introduced 1g April 1860.
1405 Boxer: Advantages claimed 1404 Boxer: Approved 2 September 1850.
1403 Boxer: Fine cone principle introduced
27 January 1855. 1404 Boxer: Introduced 8 February 1854. 1403 Boxer Metal: Adopted for N.S. 21 January 1857. 1404
Electric 1415
Freeman's Concussion: Approved I 2 October 1846. 662, 1408
M.L.
g seconds: Introduced 26 Juoe 1866. 1404
M.L.
20 seconds: Introduced 7 June
1867. 1404 Percussion Armstrong C. 1409 Percussion Base Armstrong No 9:
Introduced 24 August 1890. I41O Percussion Base Hotchkiss: Introduced g April 1886. 1410 Percussion Base Large No II: Intro
duced 1894. 1410 Percussion Base Large No 16. 1410 Percussion B.L. Plain: Introduced I 3
October 1870. 1409 Percussion D.A. No 3: Introduced I 7
November 1880. 1409 Percussion D.A. No 106. 141O Percussion D.A. No 106E. 1410 Percussion D.A. No 117. 1410 Percussion, Moorsom: Approved for Sea
Service 16 July 1861. 1408 Percussion, R.L.: Approved 23 January1872. 1409 Pettman: Adopted for L.S. 3 October 1861. 1408 Pettman: Adopted for S.S. 2 August
1862. 1408 Pettman, G.S., Percussion 1409 Pettman, L.S., Percussion 1409 Pettman, S.S., Percussion 1409 Time, No 80/44. 1407 Time, No 180. 1407 Time, No 199. 1407 T & P: First pattern introduced 21
September 1867. 1405
T & P, No 52: Introduced by Sir \,Villiam Armstrong, 12 December 1881. 1405
T&P, No56. 1406 T & P, No 58: Introduced 1901. 1406 T &P, No8o: Introduced 1905. 1406 T & P, Sensitive Middle, No 24:
Introduced 28 May 1887. 1406 T & P, Short 1405 Time Mechanical, No 200. 1408 Wooden for B.L. guns: Provisionally
approved 13 January 1864. 1405 Fuzes 1402
Early difficulties with 1402 Early pattern made of beechwood 1402 Original type 1402
Metal: Adopted by the Royal Navy, 1829. 1403 Fyer, Mr. 1254 Granted reward for introducing labour
saving practices 7 1 5 Fyers, Colonel 1321 Fyers, Major-General Peter 658, 1202 Fynrnore, Lieutenant, R.N. 1384
Gage, Thomas 1225 Gaines 1415 Galeator (Helmet maker) l 3 Gall, John 1147, 1151 Gall, William 1246 Gallivan, Francis' 1220 Gallivan, James 1208, 1249
INDEX
Gallowan, Francis 1243 Gibson, Mr. 249
Galloway, Benjamin 1269 Gibson, Mr. Commissary 566 Galloway, Colonel F. L. 1118 Gibson, N. W.J. 1310 Gallwey, Surgeon M. B. 1111 Gibson, William 1265 Gammon, Mr. 1199 Gifford, William 178 Ganalt, William 1240 Gilbert, Charles 473, 488, 1280 Garcrey, Martin 1244 Gilbert, John 1233, 1241 Garderoba 3 Gilbert, Mr. 1140 Garderoba armorum 11 Gilbert the Wardrober 4, 1035
Garderobarius 3 Gilbert, T. 666 Gardiner, Dr. 249 Gilborne, Elizabeth 128 Gardiner, John 43 Gilborne, Henry 128
Gardiner, Thomas 1 044, 1045, 1058 Gilborne, Sir Nicholas 127 Gardner, Captain, R.N. 1383 Gilborne, Thomas 128 Gardner, James 1163, 1165 Gilborne, William 127 Gardner, John 1198 Gilbourne, Surgeon E. 1 111
Garlick, John 1 1 66 Giles, John 1 158 Garner, Professor Y.l. E. 1117 Giles, Mr. 569 Garnet, Richard 35 Giles, Thomas 1161, 1231 Garnon, Patrick 11 74 Gill, Boy 1147 Garrard, Anne 182 Gill, Thomas 1 157 Garrard, Sir William 182 Gillett, Colonel C. R. IO 1 2 Garton, John de 130 Gillett Conference 1012 Gascheck, automatic: Adopted 1881. Gillman, Lieut-General Sir Webb 1039
1392 Gilpin, Richard 404 Gascheck, copper: Introduced August Girouard, Lieutenant E. P. C. 1878. 1392 Appointed Traffic Manager, Royal Gas, Light and Coke Co: Charter granted Arsenal Railway, 1891. 878, 1310
1812. 1370 Gisarme 9 Gashlier, Lewis 428 Gisorz, John de 130 Gaschlin, Lewis 466 Gitter, Robert 1252 Gaskoin, George 1070 Glasby, Joseph 1238 Gate, Mr. 724 Glasgow Gavelkind 1 1 8 Arc lamps installed in St. Enoch's Gaybon, Robert 1077 station by R. E. Crompton 1373 Gazette, the 1298 Gleeson, John 1181, 1182 Geary, Lieut-General Sir H. Le G. 1112 Glendenning, Robert 1164
Geast, John 389, 487, 541, 562, 574, 579, Gloag, William 1 1 77
613, 1102, 1125, 1280, 1281, 1321 Glonor stoves 1069 Retirement of, 1823. 617, 1173 Gloucester 124 Takes over the duties of Paymaster, 1822. Glover, Edward 1078
616, 1171 Glover, Thomas, Invents stone-throwing Geast, John (Jr.) 1134 engine 215 Geddes Economy Committee (notes for Glovere, Richard 15
supplied by Woolwich Arsenal) 1007 Gloucester, Humphrey Duke ofsee Geddes, Eric 951, 984 Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Geldcrland 38 Gloucestre, William 1036 Gell, Mrs. Margaret 1080 Glydd, Thomas 43 Gelmoyden, Peter 1078 Godesburg 1023 Genet, Anthony 450, 472 Godden, William 1240, 1246 Genet, Francis 473 Godfrey, Burnett 346, 347 Genet, H. A. 1141 Godfrey, Captain John 389 Geoffrey the Templar 1035 Godfrey, M. 1122 George, the-Rt. Hon. David Lloyd 951 Godgrom, John 130 George, William 1255 Godwin, Colonel 323
Appointed Clerk of the Chapel, 1851. Golden Devil, the 145
1254, 1325 Golding, A. J. 1109 Georgetown 32 1 Golding, Colonel A. V. 1115 Germans 92 Golding, John 1044 Germany 947, 948, 1020, 1023 Goldsack, Stephen 1146 Ghent 120, 122 Goldsmith, A. 926
Abbot of 122, 123, 124 Gomm, Captainjames 574 Gibbon, Edward 1077 Gomme, Sir Bernard de 192, 196, 201, Gibbs, John 136 206, 212, 213, 1042, 104}Gibbs, Mr. 6o4 Ganner 20
Gibraltar 306, 307, 660, 1 180, 1182, 1207, Gonnes 20 l 2 73, 1388, 1399, 1402 Gooch, T. 1262 Model in R.M. Repository 484 Goodall, Joshua 412 Gibson, Bishop 142 Goodenough, Major-General W. H. 842
1481
Coodey, R. 1147 Gray, George 62 1, 1 1 33 Goodhope 174 Gray, Henry 79, 81 Goodrick, Sir Henry 245, l 04 l Gray, R. 487, 1134, 1280 Goodsale, J. 1248 Great Bark 142 Goodwin, Mr. 1183 Great Britain 947, 943 Goodwin, Robert 1224, 1229, 1245 Declares war on the King of Kandy,Goodwin, Surgeon-Major C. H. V. l 111 Ceylon, 1815. 6oo Goodwin, Thomas 1193, 1216, 1235 Great Exhibition, 1851. 718 Goodwin, William 1216 Great Expectations 451 Goolden, Commander A. C. 1 l l 6 Great Frigate 147 Goosey, William 586 Great Galley 142 Gordon, Anngier 11 53, 11 59 Great Harry see Henri Grace a Dieu Gordon, J.A. 1109 Great Linford r 93 Gordon, K. 1122 Great Master of the Ordnance 53, 5 7
Gordon, Captain Henry William (H.P.) Great v\Tardrobe 9, r , I9, 79
see Gordon, Sir Henry William Abolition of 10 Gordon, Lieut-Colonel Alexander 1074 Green, B (Clerk m the EngineeringGordon, Lieut-Colonel Henry William, Department) 66o
R.A. 733, l l 08, 1256 Green, Benjamin 1234
Appointed Inspector R.C.D., 1846. Green, Charles 371 1239 Green, Daniel 1 1 93
Resides in official House K. Now No 9 Green, George 1225, 1228 Dial Square 701 Green, G. B. 1273
Gordon, Sir Herary William 1120, 1121, Green, John 1 1 94 1427 Green, John Richard 948Gordon, Thomas 1201 Green, Matthew 1196, 1218
Gordon-Hall, Brigadier F. W. S. 1119 Green, Mr. 1329Gosling, N. N. 1227 Green, the Reverend William 367, 369,
Gosling, William 1107, 1143
379, 381, 387, 389
Gosset, Thomas 1 152 Green, Thomas 258Gostling, Captain William 320, 325
Green, William 615, 651, 654, 656, 657,
Gostling, Major-General P. S. 1113, 1114, 692, I152, II70, 1I71, 1184, 1213,Ill5 1275, 1334
Gott, Mr. 232
Greenaway, Richard 1174Gould, Thomas 136 Greener, E. C. 1276
Gourd, D. 926
Greenfe!I, Mr. 499
Govier, C. G. H. 1106
Greenhithe 716Gow, David 1240, 1242
Greenlaw, Mr. 1213, 1219
Gow, John 1183
Greenless, Alfred 926Gowlland, Bvt. Colonel G. C. 1119
Grecnsill, James 1254, 1261, 1265, 1269
Grady, Henry 1193
Greenstreet, Thomas 473, 488, 1280Graham, George 1244
Greenwich 79, 87, 88,91, 92, 93, 94, 97,
Graham, G. H. 718
99, JOO, IOI, 102, 108, 117, 118, 119,
Graham, James 1209 120, 122, 123, 139, 143, 152, 153, 159,Graham, John I 199, 1229, 1237, 1249
180, 219, 222, 224, 240, 304, 310, 425,
Graham, Mr. 2 1 1, 714, 7 17
437,440,454, 475, 609, 1339Graham, Mrs. Mary 116o Greenwich and Gravesend Railway Co
Graham, Robert 116o
1307
Graham, William 128
GreenwichGraham's Town 1244
Estate 980
Granby, Marquis of 364, 365, 366, 371, Ferry 1311037, 1041, 1089
Friar's Road 87
Grant, Captain 686 Hospital 1354
Grant, Captain Sir R., R.N. 64o
Marshes 1339
Grant's (John) Guide to Woolwich,
New Magazine 106, 107, 108, 234
1841.
Pamphlet giving reasons for removal
Extract from 68r
107
Granville, M. 1265
Proof-house, wharf and storekeeper's
Granville of Porteridge, 1st Lord 1041 house, estimate for 106 · Gratwiche, Thomas 43 Razed to the ground 109
Gratwyck, Robert 43
Palace 87, 102, 191
Gravatt, Lieut-Colonel 62o
Armoury buildings 87
Grave, Jan Albert de 797 Armoury buildings, building of 88
Gravesend 106, 135, 137, 180, 181, 18g, Armoury building, destruction of584, 1078, 1211
103, 104
Bridge of barges across the river 132 Description of 87Garrison to be reduced after the terGreat Barn !05, rn6, 243, 257mination of the Dutch war 136
Order to demolish and re-erect at
Gravysende 117 Woolwich 111
INDEX
Greenwich, Palace-contd. Groves, John T. 476 Turned over to Ordnance affairs 106 Grubb, Boy 1159 Laboratory 106, 245 Grubb, T. 1235 Site of rn6 Grueber, Richard 1235 New building commenced by Gyllys, the prentice 95
Charles II r r o Gubbins, Colonel 666 Queen's garden 87, 103, 107 Guernsey 413, 1191, 1239 Sale ordered by Parliament during Guernsey, H. 1195
the Commonwealth 103 Guest, Benjamin 1136, 1145, 1164, 1168
Seizure by Parliament during the Guest, John 574, 582, 593, 614, 644, Commonwealth !03 1102, 1103, 1168, 1174, 1203, 1282 Tilt-yard at 87, 88, 103, 105, 107 Appointed Clerk of the Survey, 1827.
Destruction of 104 1182 Park 84 Appointed Deputy Storekeeper, 1826. Royal Naval College 84 624, 1180
Establishment of 1 r 1 Guggisberg, Captain F. G. 345,349, 357,
Royal Naval Hospital 111 363 Greer, Daniel 1159 Guilford, Sir Edward 81, 93, 94 Gregory, G. I. 1434, 1435 Guilford, Sir Richard 81, 94, 1036 Gregory, George 1045 Guider de Rutter 174 Gregory, Olinthus 389 Gun,Grenades 1415 Armstrong, R.B.L. adopted 1859. 1416 Grene, John 116 Construction of typical wire-wound Grenfell, Air Commodore A. B. 1 113 heavy 1418 Grenfell, Lord 497 Design: Advantage of wire-wound type Grenviz see Greenwich 1418 .. Gresham, Sir Thomas Equipment necessary six centuries ago
42, 43
Grey, Commander 0. S. 1115 24 Grey, Earl I086 Origin of word 3o
Visits Royal Arsenal 1834, 647 Reputed invention of 17 Grey, Henry 35 Gunfounders in England: Fashion to Grey, Henry: Duke of SuToll 67 employ foreigners 36 Grey, Lord de 847 Gunfounding, early 36 Grey, Lord John 67 Gunfounding in Sussex 36 Grey of Groby, Lord 86 Gunhilda 121 Grey, Sir John 86 Gunhilde 30 Gribble, Mr. 490 Gunn, William 490 Gribble, William 1143 Gunner, Francis 1257 Grice-Hutchinson, Major C. B. r 105 Gunner, J. 1074 Griffin Manor Way 958, 1031 GUIJ.Der, R. W. 1074, I 153, II60 Griffith, William 1208, 1209 Gunner & Randall, Messrs. 576, 584 Griffiths, Captain Frederic, R. A. 541, Gunners 22, 110, 244, 245, 304, 305, 306,
567, 574, 579 307, 337, 353 . . . .
Appointed 2nd Assistant Inspector Gunners of the Tower D1v1S1on servmg at
R.C.D. 1806. 1141 Woolwich and Greenwich in 1716. Death, 1846. 588 304 · Retires, 1823. 588 Gunners' pay at the siege of Calais 20 Takes overJohn King's house (Mill Larae Gunpowder 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 37, . House)_ as a tenant 588 110 Griffiths, Lieut-Colonel Frederic R.A. see Composition in 1350 25
Griffiths, Captain Frederic, R..A. Cost in the 14th century 25 Griffiths, Gunner W. 1022 Cost in 1822 61o
Griffiths, Mr. 691 Mills: The first private mill in the 16th Griffiths, William 1146 century 37
Grinton, Adam 509, 613, 1134, 1282 The only propellant in the 14th century
Gnnton, Mr. 610 25 Grissel and Co 767 Used for filling shell ill 1896. 1394 Gronor, John 194 Gum .
Gross, Colonel R. M. V. 1119 At Tower Hill to be sent to Woolwich Grosvenor, Lady Henry 980 for reproof, I 681. 204 Grove, Captain 456 Boring of 1416
Grover, Lieutenant G. E. 251 Bronze: Cost at the end of the 18th Groves, Frederick 473, 474 century 1416
Resigns 489 Casting of 1416 Tenders his resignation to the Board of Earliest mention of in this country 17
Ordnance, 1786. 479 Inventory of: Brought by Sir Francis Groves, Henry I 170 Drake out of the West Indies 162 Iron: Furnished by the trade ill 1855.
Groves, John 340, 434 435, 446, 447 448, 476 1415
96
Guns----contd.
List of contractors for making: 14th century 24 List of contractors for making: 16th century 43 List of contTactors for making: 17th century 232 Lying at Temple Mills to be sent to
Woolwich for proof 204 Replace military machines 2 1 R.M.L. introduced 1417 To be marked after proof 405 Table of, 1574. 76 Table of, 1643. 77 Table of, 1750. 1415
Gurre, John 97 Gurre, William 97 Guthrie, C. T. 1275 Gutridge, Thomas 1064 Guy, Thomas 473, 489 Guyte, Peter 1266 Gybson, Richard 1 1 7 Gye, William 1043 Gyleford see Guilford.
Habergeon, definition of 1 7 Habergeons I 7 Hacking Committee, 1934. 1344, 1346,
1347 Hacking, the Rt. Hon. Douglas 1344 Hackney, G. 1159
Hadden Committee 917, 942, 954 Hadden Committee on the Building Works Department 930 Hadden Committee on Danger Buildings
927 Hadden, Joh? Murray 1042 Hadden, Major-General Charles Frederick
917, 927, 930, 942, 1039, II12, 1115,
1117, 1441 Hadley, A. 1223 Hadley, William 1238 Hague, Mr. 640 Hague, Thomas 615, 1151 Haimo 123, 126 Hain, Lieut-Colonel H. A. D. 1122 Haines, Major-General J. L. P. 1113,
I 114 Hakyngton 118 Halberts 74 Haldane, R. A. 1438 Halder, Jacob 97 Hale, James 126o Hale, Richard 429 Hale rocket 767, 770, 824
Introduced, 1854.
751, 1377
Invented, 1845. 751 Obsolete: I I September 1919.
1379
Machine for launching introduced 17 September 1867. 1379 Strike among workmen in rocket factory 751
Trials at Washington, D.C. 751 Hales, Christopher 1 1 7 Hales,John: Baron of the Exchequer 117 Hales, Samuel 169, 1044 Halifax 1 202
HaII, Captain William, R. E. 531, 574 Hall, Commander H.J. P. 1115
Hall, Deering 1153, 1163 Hall, Edward 1205 Hall, Emanuel 1183 Hall, J. 925 Hall, James 1193 Hall, John 1141, 1147, 1151, 1153, 1170 Hall, John & Edward, Dartford see Hall
John & Sons, Dartford Hall, John & Son_s, Dartford 553, 554, 626, 630, 633, 746, 747, 761, 1064,
1196, 1306 Hall, Mr. 246 Hall, Richard 1191 Hall, v\lilliam I 186, 1192, 1195 Hall, William atte 13I Hallick, William 408, 422
Cartage contract obtained 1n 1750. 394, 1298 Hallifax, Mrs. Catherine Agrees to rent wharf originally owned
by Mr. Knap 481 Ballon, Mrs. 662 Halo, Richard 1 172 Halsted, Mr. 1151 Hambleton, Moses 488, 1280 Hamburg 1070 Hamilton, 4th Duke of 1037, 1089 Hamilton, Mr. 574 Hamilton, Patrick 1181 Hammond, A. 1195 Hammond, C. 926 Hammond, Daniel 1 199 Hammond, John 169, 1044, 1256 Hammond, T. 1259 Hamond, William 224 Hampden, 2nd Viscount see Brand, the Hon. Henry Robert
Hampton Court 79, 93, 97, 102, 103, 159 Hampton, John 33, 1036 Hance, Proprieter of Makelyn 37 Hancock, William 1181 Hancorn, Thomas 1135, 1139, 1141 Hand, F. 1159 Hand, Francis 1 1 92 Hand, Mr. 1320, 1321 Handcock, John 1225 Handcock, William 1 161 Hand-guns 36 Hankin, John 191 Hannam, Captain 155 Hansom, George 1260 Hanson, Mr. 827 Haro.ton, Thomas 1176, 1186 Hara, Lieut-Colonel Alexander 1 1 11
Appointed Chief Firemaster 240
Vacates appointment ofChiefFiremaster 241
Harbord, Sir Charles 1 86
Harbottle, Captain T. C. B. 1120
Harcourt, Sir Godfrey de 23
Harden, Samuel 537, 564, 566, 574, 1350 Given piece of plate by the Board of Ordnance 482
Harden's marshes 464
Harden & Breeds, Messrs. 525
Hardicanute 122
Hardie, Peter 1267
Hardin, Samuel see Harden, Samuel
INDEX
Harding, Colonel John, R. A. 567 Harding, General 754 1 Harding, John 238 . Harding, Lieut-Colonel George, R. E.
1106, 1217, 1366 Appointed C.R.E. Woolwich Division,
1833. 645, 1195 Harding, Silvester 1144, 1158 Hardinge, Captain Richard, R. A. 633,
686, 717, 733, l 109, 1255 Appointed Assistant Inspector R.C.D.,1828. 628, 1187 Appointed Director R.L., 1846. 1239 Hardinge, 1st Viscount 742, 1038, 1044, 1 089
Hardinge, Lieut-Colonel Richard, R.A. see Hardinge, Captain Richard, R.A. Hardinge, Sir Henry see Hardinge, 1st
Viscount Hardwick, Robt:rt 787 Hardy, Mr. 598 Hare, Edward 1277 Hare, Thomas 477
Death of, 1785. 489 Hare & Salmon, Messrs. 339 Hargrave, John 319, 426, 450, 1107 Hargrave, Lieutenant John. Made survey
and sketch of Tower Place 237 Harilc, Baron de 423 Harles, Elizabeth 181 Harley, James 1163, 1164 Harlow, Elizabeth 138 Harman, the Reverend J. 1073 Harmer, ·wmiam 1272 Harper's Ferry 788, 1076 Harquebuss a crock 59 Harris, Assistant Surgeon 1142 Harris, Captain J. 389 Harris, Edward 1165, 1166 Harris, John 231, 1159 . Harris, Joseph 501 Harris, Mr. 1241
Harris, Mr., Surgeon at Lewisham Factory
see Lewisham Factory, Surgeon at Harris, Sir Paul 1042 Harris, Thomas 374, 1272 Harris, T. E. 1105, 1122 Harris, W. 1238 Harrison, George 246, 298, 1104, 1236 Harrison, Major-General 64, 65, 1O41 Harrison, Richard 1159 Harrow Manorway 1031 Harrup, Richard 1139, 1149, 1183 Harry, John D. 1208, 1212, 1251 Hart, John 1 1 79 Hart, Thomas 1150 Hartingdon reports 1092 Hartley, Benjamin 473 Hartley, R. F. 1 rn6, 1 mg, 1110 Hartwell, Robert 319,323,324,333,374,
394, 400, 401, 405, 425, 427, 429, 430,1107
Harvey, Abraham 1240 Harvey, George 48, 51, 52 Harvey, James Alexander 1187, 1188 Harvey, John 128 Harvey, Major A. F. B. 1116
Harvey, Sir William 57
Harwich 1 2 1 3
Harwold, Thomas 131
Harwood, Mr. 499
Harwood, Mrs. 503
Harwood, Peter 394, 1298
Harwood, Thomas 468
Hastings, 1st Marquis of see Moira, Francis 2nd Earl of
Hastings, Sir Ralph 127
Hastings, Sir Thomas 660, 662, 743,
!045, !074 . Appointed Controller of Stores m addition to being Principal Storekeeper rn87 Given special pension on loss of job as Principal Storekeeper rn87
Hatchell, Mr. 1126
Hatchets 17
Ratcliff, William 116
Hate, Thomas 620
Hatfield, John 1 7, 23, 1036
Hatton, Anne 191, 208
Hatton, Randolph 23, 24, 1036
Hatton, Sir Christopher 94
Hauberk, definition of 17
Hauberks 17
Haute, James 116
Havard,]. 1259
Haverhill, William of Io
Hawes, Joseph 1258
Hawesers 33
Hawke, Henry 195, I 294
Hawker, A. O. 1251
Hawker, ColonelJames, R.A. Appointed Inspector R.C.D. 1827. 1183 Death of, 1827. 1186
Hawkes, William I 39
Hawkesbury, Lord 497
Hawkesmoor, Mr. 255
Hawkesworth, John 1234, 1235
Hawkins, Colonel J0hn S. 1106
Hawkins, Mark I 145, 1156
Hawley, Sir T. 666
Hay, Andrew Leith rn44
Hay, Captain R. J. 803
Hay, James A. G. 875, 879, 1106, 1270
Hay, Lieut-General Robert 1039, I I 12
Hay, Major 319
Hay, William Leith 1224
Haydon, Sir Richard 1o41
Haye, Thomas 43
Hayes, Mr. 1268
Hayes, Sir T. M.: Inspector-General of Ordnance hospitals 539 Hayman, Christopher 1178, 1191 Haynes, Colonel-on-the-staff K. E. 1113,
I 116, 1117 Haynes, John: Killed in a R.L. exploswn, 1814. 598
Hayter, Captain George, R.E. 500, 501, 502, 504, 505, 506, 507, 513, 514, 515» 518, 519, 520, 523, 524, 525, 536, 537, 538, 540, 554, 556, 558, 560, 563, 564 565, 566, 567, 1106, 1134, 1146, 1148, 1299, 1300, 1320, 1350, 1362 Court-martialled in 1810. 569
Hayter, Edmond 411,413
Hayter,John 90, 315, 317, 318, 319, 321, 322, 326, 327, 328, 331, 332, 335, 336,
Hayter, John-contd. 358, 360, 362, 393, 394, 395, 404, 405,406, 407, 409, 410, 411, 420, 422, 423, 1107.
Admonished for carrying out a small repair without orders 421 Director of vVorks for Woolwich and Greenwich 408 Purchased utensils for Holy Communion in Arsenal Chapel 329, 1317 Told to look out for a house as a reception
centre for small-pox cases 330 Hayter, Thomas 157 Hayward, Henry 111, 22 r, 224, 226, 227 Hayward, John 220 Hayward, Mr.: Banker of Dartford 596 Hayward, Thomas 190, 208, 1240, 1250 Hayward, William 1236 Haywood, Humphrey 468 Healey, William 1142 Health of Munition vVorkers Committee
987
Heap, R. D.R. r 106 Appointed Superintendent M.E.D.,
1911. 941 Heath, George 1246 Heath & Co, Messrs. 605, 608 Heel, Mr. 1275 Heffernan, Lieut-Colonel N. B. 1 r 1 7 Helen, Henry 1233 Hellen, L. 1021 Helmedon, Battle of 32 Helmets 17 Hembury, Mr. 1262 Hemming, Colonel N. H. 1107 Hempsall, John 426, 450, 1107 Henderson, Arthur 913 Henderson Committee 913 Henderson, John 1230, 1258 Henderson, John (Labourer) 695, 1 185 Henderson,John (I), Master founder, R.L.
582 Appointed Master founder, R.L., 1815. 1162 Death of, 1826. 1181 Henderson, John (11), Master founder,R.L. Appointed Master founder, R.L., 1 8.40. 1207 Pension granted 1277 Henderson, John (Paymaster) 577, 583,14, 1103, 1281 Appointed Paymaster 15 July 1803. 512, Il34 Leaves post as Paymaster in February1822 on abolition of post 588 6 15
II7I l'
Paymaster's post abolished 31 December 1821. 588, 615, 1171 Requires alteration to his quarter 587 588 ° Takes over John King's house as an
official quarter 587 Henderson, Robert I 192, 1 199 Henderson, Thomas 1192 Henderson, William 1 179
Appointed Master founder, R.L., 1830. 1191 Death of, 1840. 1207
Hendley, Thomas 1268
Hendry, James 1181
Hengist, landing of r I g
Henley, Mr. 1386
Henri Grace a Dicu 142-144
Henry, James 1184, 1197
Henry,John 1197, 1199, 1207, 1209
Henry, Prince of Wales 145
Henry, Robert 1207 Henry, William 1197 Herbert 926
Herbert, Sidney: Secretary-at-war 742, 760, 846, 847 Herbert, 1st Lord see Herbert, SidneyHereford r or r Hereford and Essex, Earl of see Bohun Humphrey de '
Herethe see Erith Hermesthorpe, John 17, 23, 1036
Heron, Sir John 88
Herring, Joseph 427, 450
Herriot, George 473
Herriott, Peter 11 go, r r 93, r r 95
Herron, John: M.E.D. take over Engineer staff 978 Hert, John 116 Herte, Richard 37 Herveys, Philip 323, 1036 Hesket, John 234 Hethe, Thomas 132 Hewitt, Henry Horatio Rathbone 1255, 1257, 1265
Hexton, David 477
Reydon, Sir John 69, 1041
Heydon, Thomas 239, 1078
Heyman, Colonel H. 1108
Heywood, Christopher 127
Heywood, Richard 127
Heywood, Thomas 488, 490, 1280
Hezlet, Colonel R. K. 1 1 r 6
Hick, Benjamin & Son 746, 747, 762, 767,768, 1296
Hickman, Alfred 842, 858
Hickman, Major H. P. 1114
Hickman, Sir William 1037, 1048
Hicks, George 1261
Hideman, Andrew 1078
Higley, William 1198, 1277
Higman, John 1196
Hignott, J.: Solicitor to the Board of Ordnance 690
Hill, H. T. 1268
Hill, James r 199
Hill, Jane 258, 283
Hill, John 199, 205, 104I
Hill, Lord Arthur 885
Hill, Richard 198, 200, 1257, 1261
Hill, William 1220, 1246
Hillier, Augustus I 253, 1260
Hillier, M. H. 1269
Hillier, Mr. 1126
Hime, Lieut-Colonel H. W. L. 26
Hindes, Superintendent 826
Hindley, Samuel 695, 1224, 1230 Killed in an explosion, 1845. 693 Hine, George 1273 Hine, Henry r 222 Hine, William 1205, 1222, 1 245,
1246
INDEX
Hinks, P.J. 1021, 1 1 1o
Hinman, Frank 1240
Hinnis, Michael 1171
Hinton, Elias 33
Hints for the regulation of the convicts in the hulks off Woolwich and other places, 1782. 451 Ripe, Mr. 1151 Hiscock, Henry 1259 Hiscock, Jarnes 1205 Hislop, Major William 320, 323, 327 His Majesty's Foundries, Superintendent
of
H.M.S. HI.M.S. H.M.S. H.M.S. H.M.S. H.M.S. H.M.S.
H.R.H.
Duke of Edinburgh 1444
H.R.H.
Princess Charlotte· Death of, 1817 2324 "' History of Agriculture and Prices 26,
282 Hitchcock, Daniel 1157, 1162 297
Belleisle 697
Duke 1383 Erebus 716 Hcctor 1388 Terror 716 Thunderer 812 Trafalgar, launching of 678
Hitchcock, W. 1162
Hitler 91, 251, 1019, 1022,Hobday, Stephen 1199 Roby, Sir Thomas 1036 Hockstretter, Charles 514,
1281 Hodge, E. 1164Hodges, John r 134, 114I Hodgson, Robert 43 Hodgson, William 1262 Hodgstone, Richard 156 Hog, Ebenezer 1162 Hog, Robert 1164 Hogan, Richard 1266 Hogg, Brian 1043, 1045Hogg, George 1045
1327 I 103, r 143,
Hogg, Lieut-Colonel 0. F. G. 1021, r 105,1I14
Hogg, Lieut-Colonel P. G. H. 1107
Hogge, Ralph 36 Hokes 33 Holben, John 1183 Holbrook, Randall 1144 Holden, Major H. C. L. 1108, 1109,1437 Holder, John 1239 Holding, Messrs. W. & T. 763 Holland see Netherlands, the Holland, Thomas 770 Hollis, George r 239 Hollis, Robert 450 Holloway, Cuthbert W. E. 1255, 1256, 1265 Hollyoak, Christopher 1 105 Holmes, Mr. 413 Holmes, Robert 1222, 1227 Holmes, William 1124, 1241 Holroyde, Mr. 1264 Holtzapsseld & Deyerlein, Messrs. 603 Holy Water Sprinkler, the 91 Home Ports Defence Committee 1342 Hong Kong 1255 Honner, Commander J. F. r 115
Honourable Artillery CompanyPetition the City of London for a new
exercising ground 7o Hood, Admiral 812 Hook, James 316 Hookbam, John 473, 488, 612, 1140,
1280, 1282 Hookharn, J. 0. see Hookbam, John Hooper, John 201, 205, 221, 1102 Hooper, Mr. 1212 Hope, Lieut-Colonel J. U. r 114 Hope, Major 686 Hope, Rear-Admiral H. W. 1 r 12 Hope, William 541, 1300 Hopgood, Thomas 1217, 1219 Hopkey, Major John Henry 230, 231,
232, 243, I109, I I 10 . Transferred to the Sinking Establishment 26o
Hopkins, William 1240 Hopper, Henry 1232, 1237 Hopper, William 1277 Hopton, Bvt. Colonel J. D. r r r 8
Hopton, John 142 Hopton, Lord 1037 Hopwood, Captain R. A., R.N. r 113
Hopwood, Mr. 1351 Hopwood & Tilley, Messrs. 1364, 1365
Horgan, Jeremiah 122 r Horgan, Michael 1224 Hornbuckle, Richard 89, 91 Horne, A. 1154 _
Horses for Elizabethan artillery: Numbers required to drag 77 Horsfall & Co, Liverpool (See also Mersey
Steel & Iron Co) 757, 758 Horton, Charles 1263 Hoskins, Mrs. 468 Hospiciurn 9 Hossack, Daniel 1182, 1 193 Hoste Colonel Sir George, R.E.
Appointed C.R.E. VI oolwich 1842. 1218 Death of, 1845. 1228 Hou!, L. A. r 105, r 110
Houlton, Robert 1179 Houltum, A. 1 154 Hound 174
Hounslow 174, 1061
r 106,District,
Hours of Labour Committee 987 House of Commons Select Committee on Small Arms, 1854. 1073 House of the late Clerk of the Cheque sold, 1823. 618
Household Ordinance of Edward I. 6 Howard, Abraham 472 Howard, Francis 239 Howard, John 1220 Howard, Katharine 98 Howard, Rear-Admiral E. H. 1113, 1436 Howard, Samuel 1144, 1161, r 188
Howard, Sir George 8 r, 94 Howard, Thomas 239 Howard-Molyneux-Howard, Henry
Thomas 1085 Howarth, Captain H. G. 1440 Howe, Edward 238 Howe, 5th Viscount 1o41
INDEX
Howell, E. 926 Howell, Mr. 235 Hroegelthegn 3 Hubbald, Edward 1102
Appointed storekeeper for Saltpetre at Woolwich 198 Appointed temporary storekeeper at Woolwich 198
Transferred to the Tower 198 Hudson, Henry 1216 Hudson, J. 687 Hudson, John 1230 Hudson, Josiah 1190 Hudson, Mr. 583 Hugh 6
Hugh of the Tower 1035 Hughes, Geoffrey 39, 40 Hughes, John 594 Hughes, Joseph 304 Hughes, Thomas 312 Hugo, le Fleecher 13 Hugonin, Felix 361, 367, 387
Retires on pension, 1792. 388 Huirgrove, Thomas 1158 Hulbert, Thomas 182 Hull 1058 Hulviz 112, 123 Humbley, Thomas 410, 464
Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester 83, 84,
85, 86 Death of 86 Purchase of Greenwich land from the
Prior of Shene 8gHumphrey the Good 84 Humphreys, Benjamin 126g
Hydraulic buffer: Considered in 1867. 1421
Icely, Robert 1250, 1268 lcke, Colonel J. H. 1118 Iden, Henry 1042 Iliff, H 1278 Imms, Mr. 1366 Imperial Chemical Industries 1064 In, James 1227 Inch,John 1227 Inch, Mr. 1263 Inch, William 643, 1196 Inglis, Captain John r 108
Inglis, Colonel Thomas, R.E. 805, 1107 Ingoldsby, Francis 98, 99 Petitions for salary 99-1 oo Ingram, M. J. T. 1121 Inquest on deceased in R.L. explosion,1845. 693 Inquest on deceased in R.L. e>..-plosion,1867 821 Inquest on deceased in R.L. explosion,1875. 823g Inquest on deceased in R.L. e>..-plosion,188g. 827 Inquest on deceased in R.L. e>..-plosion,1903. 926 Innsbruck 91 Insley, John 1 2 3 7 Inspection Department set up, 1888. 859, 1441 Inspection~ Its principles and practice
86086g
Humphries, A. 1106, 1110 Inspection made independent of manuHunger, Dericke 95 facture, 1888. 859, 1092 Hunt,John 1179, 1238 Inspector of Artillery and of the Royal Hunt, Joseph 1046 Brass Foundry Hunt, Thomas 394, 1298 Post created, 1780. 471
Hunt,T.J. Ltd. 91 Takesovertheproofofordnancefromthe Hunter, Colone!J. C. G. 1118 proofmaster at the Tower 471, 1081 Hunter, Rear-Admiral C. E. 1113 Inspector of Brass and iron ordnance: Hunter, William 1197 Post created, 1778. 47 1 Huntingdon, Archideacon of 13 Inspector of Naval ordnance, Woolwich Huntingdon, Selena Countess of 1319, 1427, 1443
1320 Inspector of Shipping 1325, 1446 Huntingdon, Theophilus 9th Earl of g Inspector of steel 1443 Huntmgdon and London militia 522 Inspector of the Manufactory 868
Huntington, Thomas 473 Inspector-General of Fortifications 828 Hunton, Nicholas 272, 275, 1103 Instructions to the storekeepers at the Hunton, Peter 283, 284, 296, 3i4, 11og several magazines 244
Hur!e, William 15 ' Ionian Islands 1174 Hurrock, Robert 1246 Ireland 1196 Hurry, Captain G. H. 1120 Iron chambers 1375 Hurst, Henry 148 Iron Duke, the see Wellington, 1st Duke of Hurst, J. C. 14i8 Irving, B. 803 Hurst Owen Irwin, Gustavus 475, 488
Petition to become storekeeper of Salt-Appointed surgeon to the Cadets 388
petre at Woolwich 171 Irwin James; Surgeon-Genera!, Royal
Huskinson, Air Commodore P. 1113 Artillery 326, 385, 447 Husthwaite, John 1035 Asks for a cold bath for the ArtilleryHutchinson, Captain A. M. 1120 332 Hutchinson, Mr. 249 Asks for a hot bath for the Artillery 333 Hutuon, Charles 386, 387, 392 Asks for an additional nurse 333
Hutton-Williams, D. A. 1118 Asks for more hospital furniture 332 Huxley, William 1043 Asks for softer water for the infirmaryHyam,Joseph 1259 332
,, deif, I
Hyde Park 615, 635, 1376 Objects to raising t e m rmary wa 333
INDEX
Isle of Wight 134 Isles, G. 1263 Ismay, Mr. 652 Isted, Thomas 43 Italy 1020 Ives 6
Jack, Mr. 1267
Jack Cade's rebellion 132 Jack, definition of 101 Jackman, William 1262 Jackson, Captain F. S. 1 105 Jackson, Commander H. G. 1117 Jackson, Edward 283, 296 Jackson, G. H. 925 Jackson, John 1:266 Jackson, Joseph 1205, 1241, 1245, 1246
Jackson, Mr. 468 Jackson, William 1262 Jackson, W. L. 842 Jackson & Moser, Messrs. 478
Jacob, Henry 49 Jacob, Major 1385 Jacqueline, Duchess of Hainault 84 Jacqueline of Luxemburg see Luxemburg,
Jacqueline of Jamaica 412, 1080, 1219 James, Benjamin 1261 James, Captain Thomas 312, 325 James, Frederick 1234, 1235, 1247
James, H. 1262 James, John g84 James, Major 444 James, Mr. 232
James, Mrs. Elizabeth 361, 362, 368, 370,373, 374
Death of, 1772. g80 Japan 948 Jaques, Dr. A. 1110
Jardine, Captain 341, 343 Jarman, Edwin 1224 Jarratt, William 511, 1136, 1146 Jay, Sir Thomas 81, 98 Jeans, Mr. 827 Jeffreys gun 81g
Jeffreys, William 694, 1230
Jelfe, Andrew Appointed architect to the Office of Ordnance, 1719. 254 Jenkins, Admiral A. B. 1113 Jenkins' ear 294 Jenkins, John 198 Jenkins, L. 1051
Jennings, Lecran 205 Jersey 1155 Jervois, Major William F. Drummond
1338 Jessamin, William 1262 Jesse, Henry 1271 Jessop, Abraham 1234 Jewell, C. 66o Jewson, John 1223 Joborne, John 87 Jocelyn, Viscount 1073 John, Abbot of Bermondsey 116 John, Abbot of St. Augustine's Canterbury
l I7 John, Abbot of Westminster 117 John and Katherine 1 73
John, Brasier of Cornhill 21, 24 John, Duke of Bedford 83 John of London 173 John of Sutton 1035 Johnson, Cornelys 36, 40 Johnson, Edward 1045 Johnson, Henry 36, 40, 1042, 1045 Johnson, John 220 Johnson, J. W. D. 1231, 1238, 1246 Johnson, Lieut-Colonel]. Tyrer, R.A.M.C.
1112 Johnson, Mr. 740 Johnson, Robert (Jr.) 1045 Johnson, Robert (Sr.) 1045 Johnson, S. 926 Johnson, Thomas 477, 694, 1230
Johnson, W. 1021 Johnson, William 570 Johnston, Benjamin 1187, 1189 Jolly, Colonel G. A. 1121 Jolly, David 389 Jolly, G. A. see Jolly, Colonel G. A. Jolly, Mr. 627 Jolly Robert 119o Jones, Brigade Major Rice 1106, 1174 Jones, Charles 1234 Jones, Colonel 64 Jones, Colonel M. D. 345 Jones Colonel SirJohn T., R.E. 529,531,
6g0, 1067,_11o6, 1174, 1305 ... Appointed C.R.E. Woolwich Divis1on 6o07 Vacates appointment of C.R.E. Woolwich Division 645, I 195
Jones, Colonel Thomas 473, 1109 Appointed Controller R.L. 47:> Assumed Controllership R.L. 478 Resigned Controllership R.L. 481
Jones, Daniel 1240 Jones, E. 639 Receives compensation for damage to
property 673 Jones Enoch 1 1 go Jones, Edwin 1g62 Jones, Evan 1233 Jones, George 1234, 1262 Jones, Henry 1145, 1152 Jones James 1224 Jones' Jasper Leigh 358 Jones: John 296, 297, 449, 1233 Jones, John Pelham 354, 369 Jones Joseph 1233 Jones' Major L.B., R.A.M.C. 1° Jones' Major-General Sir Harry D. 133 Jones: Miss Betsy 480 Jones, Mr. 238, 421 Jones, P. 1268 Jones, Robert 1142, 1151 Jones the Reverend Mr. 489
• h 272, 283, 2-97 -, 1103,
Jones, T omas , 412 116o 6] 6
Jones, William 614, 625, 641, 42, '54 650, 690, 692, 11o2, 11o7, 1139 '!{2 1143, I1164, 1168, 1204, 1205, 12 ,1282, 1366
Appointed deputy storekeeper 1827.
1183
Dismissed from post of deputy storekeeper, 1845. 691, 1228
Jones, William (Engineer Division) I 107
Appointed Clerk of Works, 1846. 1239 Jones, William (Jr.) 1186 Jordan, William 1242, I 243 Jourdayn, Margaret: Witch of Eye 85 Jourden, William 1042 Joy, Bernard 1448 Joyce, Lady Carew 52 Joynt, Major H.F., R.A.M.C. 1 I 12 Judde, John 32, 1036
Warrant of appointment as Master of
Ordnance 33 Julian, Robert I 143 Jura Regalia 122 Justicia, a hulk 451, 640, 705, 1175
Kalfa War 736 Kane, Benjamin I I 94 Kane, Henry I 143 Kavanagh, William 1261 Kay, Richard 1o42 Kay, Sir John 57, 58, 1042 Kaye, Major G. L. 1116 Keas, D. 1262 Keating, Richard 1182 Keeble, C. 1020 Keeble, Driver. Rat catcher in the Royal
Arsenal, 1811. 578 Keeble, Walter 1227 Keebles, Edward 1249 Keebles, Nathaniel 1252 Keemer, Henry 105 Keen, John 1254, 1275 Keeper of the King's armour 1 5 Keeper of the King's arms 16 Keevil, Inspector 826 Kellesleye, Robert de 115 Kellett, Brigadier G. 1118 Kellett, Captain 716 Kellnor, Dr. W. 1119 Kellow, John 1265 Kelly, John 1258 Kelly, William 1225 Kelte, John 97 Kemp, George 1191
Kemp, Samuel 1 1 79 Kempe, Cardinal 85 Kempenfeldt, Rear-Admiral 650 Kempt, Sir James 532, 638, 6j6, 10g8 Kendrick, Henricus 1147, i148,1154 Kendrick, Mr. 599 Kendrick, V. J. M. 1105 Kene, Sir William 127 Keightley, Charles 821 Kenion, J. 16o
Kennedy, John 1239
Kennedy, Thomas Francis 639, 1044 Kennedy, William 1245 Kenrick, John 1046 Kent, Benjamin 576, 6o4 Kent, County of: History of by W. H.
Ireland 617 Kent & Earle, Messrs. 6og Kent Waterworks Company 1359, 1360,
1361, 1365, 1366 Agreement with the Royal Arsenal 181 3. 1351 Agreement with the Royal Arsenal 1815. 1352
Agreement -with the Royal Arsenal 1844. 1353, 1354 Agreement -with the Royal Arsenal 1859. 1357 Agreement -with the Royal Arsenal 1872. 1358 Original cost for the Royal Arsenal 1350
Water rights of Royal Arsenal handed over to, by the Board of Ordnance 1352
Kentish Gazette 676 Kentish Independent 824 Kenyon, Major L. R. 1105, 1114 Kerr, James I 235, 1249 Kerr, Williain I 153 Ketewel, Thomas 86 Kettle House 226, 229, 301 Key, Sir Cooper 81g Keyham Point 1247, 1254 Keymer, William 1156, 116gKeys, James I I 99 Keys, John 1 1 48, 121 5 Kidbrooke, r I 6, 1 79, r 339 Kidd, George 205,, 229 Kidd, John r I 77,1185 Kidel, definition of 130 Kidels 130 Killegrew, Henry 156 Killick, William 925 Kimbell, John 1 07
Kinahan, Vice-Admiral Sir Harold R.G.
1113, 1114 King, Brigadier W. S. 1119 King; Captain H. D. 1013 King Charles I 61, 62, 64, 102, 868 Kmg Charles II 67,71,81 105, 11o
' ' ' '125,
33_177, 201, 215, 868, 1048, 1o-j
1076, 108o '> '3' King Committee 1013 King, Cornelius 605, 612, 1104,
112=
1140, 1153, 1282 ·0»
Superannuated, 1822. 117,-, King Edgar see Edgar the Peacemake King Ethelred see Ethelred the Un/ d King Edward see Edward the Conic,,,Kmg Edward I 6, 8, 11 12, 14, 12 King Edward II 5, 6o ' ' -4 King Edward III 14, 18, 22, 123,
125
126 '' King Edward IV 15, 86, 87 King Edward VI 83 King Edward VII 926 King Edwy 121 King George I 1058
King George II 255, 345, 787, 1058 King George III 7, 593, 1058, 1o83, 17 Visit to Woolwich Warren,
1770.
Visit to Woolwich Warren, 1773. 436
438
Vmt to Woolwich Warren 180. 522 King George IV 631, 1os8, ro&,, r4]Coronat10n of: Fireworks for, 1821,
615, 1376 King, George 5,87 King, Henry
479, 482, 488, 587, 11o4,
1281 Allowed to commence title of Founder for purposes of gratuities from 1784. I 139
INDEX
King, Henry-contd. Assistant Master founder, 1797. 486 Appointed master founder 1813 vice
John King deceased . 1 1 53 Death of, 1825. 1176 Superannuated, 1818. 1169
King Henry I 123, 124, 128 King Henry II 4, 5, 1 24 Jing Henry III 4, 6, 13, 14, 115, 124 Jing Henry IV 32, 131 King Henry V 24, 32, 83, 86
Dissolves alien priories 83 King Henry VI g2, 66, 84, 85 Jing Henry VII 86, 87, 132 Kmg Henry V11I 34, 35 36, 37, 38, 86,
87, 91, 93, 94, 97, 98, 101, !04, 116,117, 118, 140, 142, 144, 161, 178, 180,
. 652, 653 ESing.Jamesi a8,67, 1oo, 102,119,145,177 .a.~g James II 215, rn56, 1057, rn58
K
~ng John 5, 13, 124 Kmg, John 478, 479, 482, 488, 538, 540,555, 11O4, I 134, I 153, 1281 Allowed to commence title of Founder for purposes of gratuities from 1784.
1139
Appointed master founder, 1797. 486 Death, 1813. 587, 1153His house for sale, 587 His house see Woolwich Mill Lane House
His house bought by the Office of 9rdnance as an official quarter 587 Misconception about his pay and allow
. ances 552 Kmg Louis VIII of France 124 King, Richard 105, 1046, 1162 King Richard I ii, 22, 23, 219
Kmg Richard III 86 King Robert of France 122 K.ing, William Michael 1121 King William I 122 King Willian II 123 Jing Wilia III 1o7, 111, 1o58 Kmg Wrlli_am IV 652, 1086
Coronation of, 18g1. 635Fireworks at coronation 635, 1376 Fueworks at coronation, Cost of, £1500
1376 .Visits the Royal Arsenal, 1834. 515, 646
King-Harman, Colonel W. H. 1118 King's Works, Clerk of the 12 Kinman, Thomas 12g7
Kmnear, William 1171
Kinsale 1080 Kinton, Thomas 1196, 1197, 1203, 1207 Kirby, John 1go Kirby, Patrick 1264 Kirby, Thomas 468
Kirk & Parry, Messrs. 708,735,741,746, . 747, 761, 766, 767, 1296
Kirke, John 148 Kirkham, Walter of 6 1035 Kirkland, Colonel T. '1114 Kirkwood, John 1236, 1247 Kirwan, John 770 Kirwan, Major-General B. R. 1112, 1116 Kitchener, Lord 952, 970 Knap, Mr. 483
His wharf purchased, 1781. 469
Knell, Henry. Arsenal Guide, 1865. 804 Knevett, Anthony 35 Knight, Henry 1205, 1222 Knight, James 1177, 1216 Knight, James S. 1265 Knight, John 614, 1168, 1223, 1282 Knight,John & Son 709, 717 Knight, John Thomas 1148, 1206, 1211 Knight, Mr. 651, 1126 Knight, Richard 1136, 1151, 1184 Knight, Thomas 1216, 1265 Knollys, Hansard .
His trouble over the Old Artillery Garden
71-72 Knowles, William 1224 Knox, Ralph H. 1127 Krupp gun 213
Kyan, John Howard 645 Kydbrook see Kidbrooke
Laboratory: Removal from Greenwich to Woolwich 106, 223 La Brooy, J. T. 1105 Lacy Colonel Richard J. 686, I 1o8
Promoted Major-General, 1846. 1239 Laing, John 1261 Lake, F. 1 260 Lake, Lieut-General Sir Percy 1442 Lamb, John 1247 Lamb, Mr. 500 Lambard,John 43 Lambarde, Sir William 139 Lamber, Bartholomew 1250 Lambert, James 1250, 1259 Lambeth 5 Lamerton, Mr. 707
1120
Lamplough, Captain L. W., R.N. Lancaster, Mr. 740 Lancaster Factory: Arguments over 754, 755
Lancaster gun 752, 789, 803, 813 Lancaster guns and shell unsatisfactory
755 • Lancaster shell 753, 789_ . _Lancaster Shell Factory: Fire in 1855.
Lanc~~fer Shell Factory set up in the Royal
Arsenal 753 . Ro
Lancaster shell manufacture m the
Arsenal 753, 755 Lanceator (Lance maker) 13 Lances 17
Landguard Fort 343, 1213 Landmann, C. G. 191 Landmann, Isaac 191, 382, 387, 541 Lane, William 1234 Langham, Henry 1247 Langham, Henry Stephen 77° Langham, Richard 1237, 1241 Langley, Henry 489 Langlois, Benjamin 1045, 1046 Langridge, Daniel 1177, 1253, 125:::>
al
Y
Langridge, W. 1153 . fs
Lansdowne, Henry 5th Marquis O ; ec
retary of State for War 1437 Lansdowne, Lord see Lansdowne, Henry
5th Marquis of Lardner, Mr. 8o7 Lark, the 623
Larkin, James 643, 1146, 1154, 1195 Larkins, J. P. 926 Lascelles, General go Lascelles, Thomas 1042 Last, definition of 37 Latimer, Mr. 334 341, 342 343, 344 Latten 17, 18
Definition of 18 Latymer, Edward 32 Latymer, Joan 131 Latymer, John 131 Latymer, Margaret 32 Laundy Margaret 564 Lawler,'Jeremiah 1240 Lawlor, Bartholomew 1234 Lawlor, Benjamin 1209 Lawrance Bros., Messrs. 735 Lawrence, Josiah 148 Lawrence, Mr. 735 Lawson, Captain 577 Laycock, William 1207 Leaden pellets 24 Leake Admiral Sir John 203 Leake; Captain Richard 2 I 3, 215, 2 19,
22 I, 222, 223, 226, 1051 Death of, 1696. 203 Experiment with fire-shot before
Charles II 201 Life of 203 Master Gunner of England 202
Leake, Elizabeth 203 Leaker, Mr. 1226 Leal, William 1246 Leame, John 1044 Leaney, Robert 1220, 1256 Leaney, William 1192, 1220, 1245, 1252 Leathes, Mr. 251 Leaver, the Reverend William 1317
Asks for accommodation in the Warren 329, 1318
Chaplain to the Royal Artillery 328 Ledger, James 1257 Ledyard, Hugh 139 Lee,James 1207, 1237, 1245 Lee,John 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 81, 160, 169,
821, 1044, 1240 Lee, Sir Henry 81, 102, 16o Lefroy, Major-General Sir John Henry
1038, 1338 Legas, John 397 Legge, Captain George see Dartmouth 1st
Lord Legge, George: Warrant for £300 house allowance, 1677. 209 Legge, Colonel William 71, 81, 104,
1041 Legh, Edward 1184 Legh, Ramo de le 1035
Leicester, Earl of 162 Leicestre, William de 1 1 5 Leire, William de 130 Lejeune, Major-General F. St. D. B.
l I I 3, II l 4, III 6 Lenton, Brother Michael de 795 Lennard-]ones, Professor J. E. 1 1 I 7 Lenton, Mr. 666 Lennox, Lord Arthur 1044 Leonard, Alexander 695, 1224
Killed in an explosion, 1845. 693, 1230 Leonard, E. 121 7
Leslie, John 397 398, 399 Leslie, Robert 239 Lesnes 118, 130 Lesnes, Abbot of 130 Lesnes, William Abbot of see vVilliam,
Abbot of Lesnes Lesser Bark 142 Letter from the Principal officers of the
Ordnance requesting new Laboratory and Magazine away from Greenwich Palace, 1694. 1o6
Lever, Joseph 1107, 1141, 1146 Levett, Parson William 36 Levingstone, H. 1154 Lewer, Colonel L.B. 1115 Lewis, F. C. 1021 Lewis, John 1249
Lewis, Jonathan 310, 312, 313, 320, 326 Lewis, Lieut-Colonel H. A. 11 14 Lewis, Richard 1195
Lewisham 83, 120, 122, 384, 584, 609,
1063 Armoury Mill see P.rmoury Mill Common 88 Factory
History of 1070-1072 Sold 91, 1072 Surgeon at 1071
Lexham, Mr. 362 Leykenor,Joan 179 Leykenor, Thomas 179 Libby, Henry 1237 Liberator Io Liddell, James 1278 Liddle, Joseph 1 183 Liddon, William 1134
Appointed Paymaster's clerk, 1803. 512 Lidgebird, Henry (Jr.) 240, 243, 252,257, 270, 468
Lidgbird, Henry (Sr.) 240, 243, 250, 252, 257, 258, 261, 263, 264, 269, 270,330
Lidgbird, John 290 Lidgbird, Mr. 424 Licge 788, 1o70 Liepzig 1377 Light-ball 1396
Obsolete 1883. 1396
Light-ball, parachute Finally obsolete 1920. 1397 Introduced 1850. 1397
Ligonier, Earl 108, 356, 358, 799, 1037,104I Ligonier, Sir John see Ligonier, Earl Linby, Paul 136, 185, 194, 195, 196, 198,199,200,201,217, 219, 220, I 102 Appointed Carriage master at Woolwich,
1682. 216, 1297 Death of, 1693. 216, 1297 His career at Woolwich 172, 194, 216 Others of the same name I 73 Referred to as the Cranage man 172 Referred to as the deputy storekeeper
216 Referred to as a labourer 172 Referred to as storekeeper 216 Referred to as a wharfinger 172
INDEX
Linby, Paul-contd. Gazette 250 Referred to as wharfinger to H.M. Lyceum Theatre lit by gas, 1803, 1804. Gunwharf, Woolwich 172 1370
Linby, Paul and John Packman appointed Magazine 298 Joint carriage masters at Woolwich London, Samuel 2 16, 1 297 Provided R.A. regimental uniform 337
Lincolne, Henry 205 Long, Anne
Lindsay, Colonel 1073 Her petition about her husband 137 Lindsay, James 1174 Long bow 9, 36, 74 Lindsay, Thomas r 155, 1200 Long, Captain Richard . Lindsey 926 Ordered to man Woolwich defences
Linen 1380 1667. 137 Liner, J. 1249 Long, Commander P.A. M. 1021 Linewraye, John 1042, 1045 Long, Robert l 234, 1235
Linger, John 1 1 1 o Longham, Henry 1218 Linstead, Bartholomew 117, 178 Longland, J. 1154 . hL1•nt.on, Mr. 763 Lord Mayors of London connected wit·
Lisle, Roger de 1035 Woolwich 138 Literati 6 Lord Protector see Cromwell, Oliver Little Ben (A sloop) to be sold, 1834. Lord Townsend (Powder sloop) II72
647 Lough, Mr. 395, 396, 399
Little Heath 1350 Loughborough, Major-General A.H. Little,John II83 1112,1113,1116 Littleton, James 1270 Lougheed, Lieut-Colonel F. S., R.A.M.C. Littleton, Sir Thomas ro43 1I11 Littleton, Thomas 106, 223 Louis, E. C. 1022 Liven, Thomas 1158 Louisberg 310 Living, rising costs of during the Louth, John 26, 27, 1043
. Napoleonic wars 484 Louther, T. 1043 Lizard 39 Lovekyn, George 98 Lloyd, G. 768 Lovelace, Anne 182 Lloyd, James Martin 1046 Lovelace, Richard 141, 182 Lloyd, John 1223, 1296 Lovelace, Sir William 141, 182 Lloyd, Mr. 540, 555, 566 Lovell, George 1o72, 1074, I 138 Lloyd, Lieut-Colonel William 1186, 1433 Lovey, Francis 1 · h Lloyd, Lieut-General Vaughan 503, 518, Paid £5 for making a plan of Woo wic '
522, 537, 540, 570, 573, 578, 579, 596, 1705. 237 6o0, 1156, 1319, 1362 Loveyn, Guy de 126 Death of, 1817. 1165 Loveyn, Sir Nicholas de 126 Lloyd & Ostell, Messrs. 540, 566, 584, Low, R. 823
587, 1071, 1295 Lowick, John 24, 1036 Lobban, John 511, 1135, 1136 Lows, John 468 Lock, John 1159 Lowther,James 1045, 1046 Lock, Major-General R. F. 1112, 1113, Lowther, Robert 1045
1114, 1116 Loyal London 134 Lock, Thomas 1157 Luck, Major B. J.M. 1105 Lockwood, Benjamin 116o Lucy, George 660 Lockyer, Lieut-Colonel W. N. 1118 Luke 6
Ld
otge, Edmund 1084, 1085 Luke the chaplain 1035
9
Lodge Lane 980 Luneville 497 8 Loggin, Mr. 468 Lunn, Mr. (Jr.) 569, 11o7, 1'! ,,gLomas, Charles Lunn, Mr. (Sr.) 569, 1107, 1135»
Replaces Richard Finch as mounted Retired 1828. l 188 J d Sr.) messenger 715 Lunn, William see Lunn, Mr. ( r. an Lombard, Henry 130 Luton, Manor of 124 London 26, 85, 92, 108, 130, 136, 273, Lutterell, James 1042 1069, 1076, 1340, 1376 Lutterworth 126 London and Dartford Line: Opened 1849. Luxemburg, Jacqueline of 86 1308 Luxford, Mr. 468 London and its environs or the General Luxton, D. A. I 109
Ambulator, 1820. 616 Lyan, William 1235_ ~g 6 1394 London Bridge 5 Lyddite: Introduced January 1 9 •London Caunty Counc1·1 883, 979, 983, Lymington, Messrs. 748
989 Lymoursadels 33
London Lynch, Thomas 1250 Foundries at 36 Lyne, John 1240 Gas lighting approved by Act of Lynes 33
Parliament, 1810. 1370 Lynewray see Linewraye, John Gas lights, first: 1802. 1370 Lynn, James 1250
1493
Lyon, Colonel F. 1110 Malpas, John 29 Lyons, S. 1273 Malta 719, 795, 1I43, I160, 1213 Lyons, William 1182 Manby, Captain, R.N. 603 Life saving apparatus 582, 1389 Maberley, William Leader 639, 1043, Manby's shot 582
1044 Manchester 703 MacBean, Colonel 467, 1318 Mandeville, Geoffrey de 1 3 MacDaniel, Mr. 1276 Mandeville, Ralph de 124
Macdonald, James 1147, 1158, 1164 Mandeville, \,Valter de 124 Macdonald, Peter 1146, 1162, 1178, Mangin, Michael I 198, 1200
1191, 1282 Mangin, Patrick 1245, 1254 Macdonald, 'William 1183 Mangone! 13 MacGregor, John 1328, 1329 Manifold, J. R. 1126 Machine, Sea Service rocket tube 1379 Manifold, John K. 1266, 1269 Machyn: His lament on the loss of the Mann, Lieut-General 578
Great Harry 144 Mann, Robert 1268 Mackenzie & Colton 768 Mann, Thomas 1232, 1272
Mackenzie, Major K. S. 1 116, 1118 Manners, Lord John 1328 Mackenzie, H. L. 1122 Manning, John 272 MacKichan, Major K. W. 1116 Manor, definition of 123 Mackinnon Wood Committee 1918. Manor ofv\loolwich and Eltham Mackintosh, Mr. 763, 1275 Edward I becomes Lord of, 124
Maclean, MajoF-General Joseph 509, The Board of Ordnance becomes Lord 628, 1 I08, I I I I, I 124, 1179, 1281 of, 1812. 581 Appointed Inspector of Artillery and of Manor \,Vay 239 the Royal Brass Foundry, 1838. 658, Mansell, Major J. H., R.A. 1116, 1117,
1202
1440
First officer to receive Command Pay Manship, the 539, 550, 563, 611, 61948o Manson, E. P. 1227
Maclennan, Brigadier F. H. 1119 Manuel, Edward 1145 Macleod, Lieut-General Sir John 633, Manufactory, Inspector of the 10691320 Manufacturing Departments: Death of, 1833. 1433 Organization and administration MacMahon, John 1045 between 1855-1886. 827-839
Macnair, Brigadier J. L. P. 1116 Manufacturing Departments of the Army:Macnamara, Mr. 739
Re-orgamzatron of the clerical estab
Macrae, Brigadier A. E. 1 1 1 7
lishments, 1879. (Deedes Committee)
Magar, John 26o 1127Magna garderoba 9 Manwood, DorothyMahoney, Benjamin 1224 Manwood, Sir PeterMahoney, Robert 1221, 1231 Marchamley, Lord Mahoney, Thomas 1 229 Marchwood 1 186Maidstone 85, 422
Mare, Mr. 757Mainarde, Henry 304 Mare, the Reverend A. de la 7 1 8
Maitland, Major-General Eardley R. Mare & Co, Messrs. 7581104, I I08 Margaret of Anjou 85
Appointed D.G. of O.F., 1888. 871 Marisco, Gilbert de 124 Retired, 1889. 871
Marisco, John de 1 24
Maitland, William 68
Maritz, John 797
Majendie, Captain V. D. 807, 888 Mark called 'Arewehede' 2 1 gMajendie, Sir Vinian see Majendie,
Markham, Francis 58, 61, 1056Captain V. D.
Markham, Lieut-General Sir Edwin 1039
Majorca, Brother Raymond de Veri of Marks, Edward 1233 795 Marks, Mr. 1278
Maldon, Battle of 121
Marks, W. G. 1220
Maling, Major William Eyles, R. A. 611,
Marlborough,John 1st Duke of 246,254,
1125, 1194, 1282
303, 305, 1037, 1078, 1089
Mallalieu, Mr.: Superintendent of Marlborough, 3rd Duke of 1037
Greenwich Division Police 689, 1332
Marmaduke 147, 174
Mallard, Thomas 426, 449, 488, 11o7 Marquez, Antonio 484Mallen, John 1234, 1242 Marriot, Charles 296 Mallens, MajorJ. R., R.A.M.C. 1111 Marriott, V. J.
!021
Mallet, Robert 756, 757, 758, 76o0 Marrow, Mr. 298,Mallet's mortar; History and description Dismissal of 394 of 756-760 Marsh, George 170, 1044
Mallet's mortar shell 794 Marsh, Gerald 1267 Malone, James 1241 Marsh, James 690, 1207, 121 1,Malone, Laurence 1134 Birth of, 1794. 661 Malortie, Charles Martemont de 389 Death of, 1846. 662
1494
INDEX
Marsh, James-contd. Master of Ordnance 32, 66 Invented arsenic test 662 Master of the Ordnance 32, 42, 55, 56 Invented concussion fuze 661 Duties described by Francis Markham Invented percussion tube 661, 1384 58-61
Marsh, Mary 662 Residence in the Tower 34 Marsh, Richard 169, 170, 1044 Resides in the Brick Tower 66 Trouble over exceeding his duties 170 Master Workmen in Armouries at South
J\,farsh, Sir George see Marsh, George wark and Greenwich, list of 97 Marshall 926 Masters of Ordnance: All since 1483 Marshall, Evans 47, 489, 514, 562, 574, either knights or peers 34
579, 615, 1103, 1153, 1170, 1280, 1a81 Masters of Ordnance: Selected from ushers Los:: and recovery of his garden 553 of the King's Chamber 32
Retirement of, 1821. 1171 Masters of Th'audinances 12 Marshall, George 1266 Masters, G. F. I 109 Marshall, James 1276 Masters, John 1218 Marshall, John 1239 Masterton, Christopher 316
Marshall, Mr. 677 Matcham, Mrs. 678
Marshall, Roddam 489, 490 Mather, George 1233 Marshall, Thomas 127, 1070 Mathewson, Edward 143 Marshall, William 487, 1139, 128o Matross, definition of 302 Marshall, vVrlliam R. 514, 601, 613, 1103, Matross: Rank abolished, 1783. 30° ,
,'!53, 1154, 1161, 1164, 1169, 1281 Matrosses 110, 244, 245, 304, 305, 30
9
et1rement 0f, 1821. 615, 1171 307, 337, 353, 492 Marson, Air Vice-Marshal J. 1113, 1114 Matthews, Samuel 6o6 Martel, Brigadier-General Sir Charles Matthews, Francis 450, 477
Philip l 104, 1 ms, I 109 Matthews, Henry S. 487, 1103, 133» Martel, Charles
120 1280Martin, C. H. 1g75 Matthews, James 157 Martin, Edward 1233, 1241 Matthews, Mr. 523, 62Martm, James 126o Maudsley, Henry 564, 601, '3 Martin, John 460, 468, 503, 1256, 1262 Death of 565 .. R.C.D. 1809.
Wr_1tes of dangers from proof 440 Supplies steam engines to • • .,Martm, Matthew
450 565 .. R.CD., 1824.
Martindale, Mr. 1150, 1151 Supplies steam engines to •
Martm s shell 1396 620 Martyn, W. (Atkinson) 666 Maudsley, William 564 MartJ'.'l", J. 576, 577 Maule, Colonel 1073 d
1 1043
Marvm, George (late Q.M.S., R.H.A.) Maule, the Hon. Lauderda!° , G. 1o5
Captam •
1239 Maunde-Thompson, a72, 1g25 Mary Rose, the 142, 174 iaundrel, Thomas "?%;'de w e
Salvaged cannon and shot. Sent to the Maurice, Major-General Royal Military Repository. Now in 932 the Rotunda 652 Mauritius 1192
~aryon, the ReverendJohn 396,409,421 Maxey, Mary 395 aryon-Wilson family 139 Maxfield, Robert 153 671 4, 1108 Maryott, Mr. May, Colonel Sir John 53i, '
1115
Marzials, F. T. 1049 May, Commander H.J.
927
Masburgh, Thomas 15 May, M. 1122 Mascal, Foley 389 May, Thomas 1261 Mascall, Edward 1217 Mayaffre, James 374 Masculine, Nevil 371 Maye, George 43 Masey, Mr. 1181 Mayhew, John 1258 Maslin, Thomas 1182 Maynard, George 1 1 go Mason, Christopher 352, 358 Meacham, Mr. 1172 Mason, David 1183, 1212, 1218, 1222, Meades, Peter 265 ,6, 262, 270
1271 Meades 'William 243, 25 ' ' Mason, J. 1163, 1164 iadha,iiiam 1??%,,,
1 180
Massiot, Gamaliel 351, 352, 357, 367, Meadows, George ,
Meadows, Peter 1162, 114 Mast3e7r5founder 23, 251, 253, 259, 272, Meager, Thomas 1259 277, 280 Mears, Mr. 627 p artment Master gunner 20, 34, 56, 72, 73, 304 Mechanical Research ep Master gunners and gunners in forts and
Maware po»rd 4s9
garrisons, transfer from 'Our Guards Garrisons and Land Forces' to 'Our Mechanization Board 1427 Ordnance' 336 Set up, 1934. 1439 1234 1247
Master Gunners of England: List up to Meckiff, John 695, 1231 Colonel George Brown (in George Medegrave n8 6, 1141, 1176 Brown's patent) 224 Medland, William 113 '
1495
Medley, George 67 Middleton, Lord I 35, 136 Medway, the 133, 135 Middleton, Thomas 1240, 1250
Meek, Peter 1142
Midleton, 1stEarlofsee Broderick, the Hon.
Mecsters, v\ illiam 1o44
William John Freemantle
Melbourne, Lord 1086 Milan 91Melon, Francis 1189 Milanese 93Melville Island 7 I 6
Mildenhall, Robert 18, 19, 1036 Memel 1023 Miles, Jefferson 436
Memorandum from the Principal officers Military College of Science (Arsenal
of the Ordnance to the MasterBranch) 1427, 1448
General showing the inefficient aclmmMilitary officers in civil appointments
istration of the Artillery in force in allotted quarters: Liable for repairs,1716 303, 304
1834. 648
Mendham, William 1227
Millan, Francis 118o
Mensforth Committee 1003, I009
Millanby, Joseph 538
Mensforth, Holberry see Mensforth, Sir
Millar, Captain William, R.A. 510, 529,Holbeny 613, 616, 622, 624, 651, 1168, 1202,
Mensfortl1, Sir Holberry _ I I 22
1282
Appointed first Director-General of Appointed 1st Assistant InspectorFactories, 1920. 1001 R.C.D. 1141Mepham, Benjamin 1156
Appointed 2nd .A...ssistant Inspector
Mer, Poulys 95 R.C.D. 1136Merbury, Nicholas 28, 34, 1036
Appointed Inspector of Artillery and
Death of in 1421. 32 Inspector of the Royal Brass Foundry,
Life of 32
1827. 1183
Writ to, 1414. 27
Vacates appointment of Inspector of
Mercator, Mr. 249
Artillery and of the Royal Brass
Mercer, George I I 53 Foundry 658Mercer, Samuel 1 169
Millar, Lieut-General William see Millar,
Mercer, Thomas 1154 Captain William, R.A.
Mercier, Captain 1399, 1402
Millar, Commander G. D. 1120
Mercurius Politicus 246
Millar, John 1240
Merediili, Major David, R. A. 541
Millar, William 123 1
Merino 1380
Millard, Eden 1256Merion, definition of 596
Milledge, Captain-Lieutenant John 312
Mersey Steel and Iron Co (afterwards
Miller, Captain D., R.E. 1310
Messrs Horsfall & Co) 757, 758
Miller, Edward 304Mersey, the 1341 Miller, George I 49Merton, John de 115 Miller, Joakim 1078
Mery, Hans 95
Miller, Major-General James 1070
Mesmer, William 242, 272
Miller, Mr. 822Surgeon's bill deemed excessive 242 Miller, Peter 485Messenger (mounted) Milles, Dr.Jeremiah I 1 3Used for conveying correspondence Mills, Andrew I 73
between London and Woolwich 552
Mills, H. 1264
To be abolished, 1849. 714
Mills, Henry 1234To be re-introduced, 1850. 715
Mills, H.J. 1275Messenger, Thomas 1149, 1150, 1152 Mills, John 1 178, 1182
Metallurgical Research Department, Mills, John K. 1239Woolwich: Formed 1907. 1440
Mills, Richard 304
Metals: Cost in the 14th century 26 Mills, Robert 1241Method ofobtaining stores for the Services,
Mills, T. 10201855-1886. 834-835
Millward, Colonel T. W. 823, 11 IO
Metropolitan Water Iloard: Established
1902. 1361 Appointed Superintendent R.L., 1870. 807
Mewtes, Peter 35 Milne, George 501, 502M.G.0.F. Cashier, Woolwich 1427, 1447
Milnes, Thomas
Michael, H. I. H. Grand Duke visits the
Executed the statue of the Duke of
Royal Arsenal, 1843. 687
Wellington in the Royal Arsenal 535 Michelson, Borgard 312, 313, 317, 320 Milson, Thomas 468, 604
325, 332, 362, 413, 415, 419, 433 441,
Milsted, Mr. 61o
Michin, Humphrey 1043Has bow window built in his Arsenal
Minchin, Lieut-Colonel F. F. I 117
quarter 322
Miners, Richard 1196
Michelson, Mr. 249
Minie bullet 1411
Micklam, Thomas 1204, 1206
Minie rifle 736
Middlesex, Earl of 57, 99, 100
Minion 39, 54, 59, 76, 77, 163, 204,
Middleton, Colonel 150
219
Middleton, Commander H. P. 11 1 5
Ministry of Aircraft Production 1097 1496
INDEX
Ministry of Defence 1097
Mallard, Joscph 376, 387
Ministry of Food 999
Mollman, Captain John 320, 322, 323
Ministry of Munitions: Set up, 1915.
326,446,449 . A · t
1094
Retired 1765 and appointed ssistan
1\1.inistry of Supply
Firemaster 327, 336
Abolished 1959. 1 097
Molloy, C. M. 1121, 1428
Act, 1939. 1023, 1095
Mollying of Cornh1ll, John 24
Bill for abandoned 1000
Molyneux, Moses 1172, 1178
Chief scientific officer 1097 Monastery of St._ Peter and St. Paul 122
Controller General of Munitions Pro
Monchensi, Warm de 124
duction 1097
Monger, Mr. 397, 398
Controller General of Research and
Monk James 1216 3g
Development 1 097
Monk'. Thomas 612, 1140, 1141, 12 2
Controller of Supplies (Munitions)
Monkham, Mr. 592
1097
Monox, Roger 163Director of Armament Research 1097 Monsell, William 743, 765, 804, 1044
Director-General of Artillery 1097
1073, 1274
Director-General of Equipment and
Monson. Sir Thomas 81, 102Stores 1097 Montag@, John and Duke of 308, 347,Director-General of Fighting Vehicles
348, 350, 353, 799, 1037, 1089
1097
Montagu, Viscount 42 p A
10,, 1
Director-Gener-al of Tanks and Trans
Montague Lieut-Colonel J. • d. -2 l
port 1097 ' • t the han gun
Formed, 1939. 1096 Montaigne: Cry aa",° iR.A. 113.
Montgomery, Major-Genera •
Peculiar situation in regard to military
1115 .6
officers 1096 Montgomery, Wilham 12 I
Minnis, Captain-Lieutenant George 31 2
Montreal 1202 88, 1189
Minorca 306, 307
Montresor, Henry 1183, 11i ,
Minories, the 170, 198, 206,
An Ordnance depot 66 Moody, John 1y54, "?• +6;
Moody Major Thomas, • •
History of 67
Moore, George B. 487, 489, 1288o
On its sale the Lieut-General of the
Moore, H. 1020
Ordnance receives a house allowance 220
Moore, Hester
of £300 p.a. 209 1186
Moore, John
Purchased by Sir William Prichard
68, Moore, Mr. 583
193
Moore, R. 1146, 1152
Sold by the Crown 68
Moore, Robert 131
Turned into a workhouse by Common-
Moore, S. 768
wealth parliament 67
Moore, sir Jonas J) ,<4, +es, 196,
Minors, John 1 170, 1202
Moore, SirJonas (Sr.)
Minors, William 1161, 1164
1042, 1432
Minter, Stephen 1234
Moore, Sir Thomas ''{_ an4, 215, 216,
Misery, Melchizadek 394 Th S 21 l 2 , -'
Miskin, J. 1239 Moore, oma • ' 1 195, 1294
217, 219, 220, 11799,
Miskin, James 688
Moorfields 246
Miskin, Robert 1 176 Explosion in l 716• 245
Mist, John 257, 267
Moors, H. P. 1a°? R.N. 468
Mistress Stokes: Complaint to Parliament
84 Moorsom, Co~~~~ Ro'yal Arsenal autho-Small butt mn ,_., fhis fuze, 1851. 724
Mitchell, Air Commodore F. G. S. ll 14 rized for the tna o '
Mitchell, Colonel W.W. 803 Moorsom, Sir R<:,>bert 1B2
1119
Mitchell, Commander S.S. C. 1117, 1122 Moppett, Brigadier E. 1•Mitchell, Lieut-Colonel H. 1107 Morden College 89, 384Mitchell, 1\1.r. 1222
Morden, John 449
Mitchell, Sir Steuart see Mitchell, Morden, Lady 3 4Commander S.S.C. 8
Morden Sir John 3 4
Mitchell, Thomas 1138, 1144
More, Francis 374 essrs. 752
Mitchell, William 1190
Moreton & Foster,rF T de M. I 120
Mizen, Douglas H. 1105, 1109, I 110 Morgan, Cornman er • •
M'Lean, Donald 1o65 Morgan, H. 1121
M.L. field gun introduced, 1869. 812 Morgan, John 1186 Mockinge, John de 130
Morgan,]. G. 1122 1250
Mockridge, Colonel A. H. 246
Moriaros, owgr y7%;,,
Mockyng, Robert de 130 Morice, Franc15 :18, \
Modica 795 Morison, Sir Thomas 9
Mogre, Mr. 1196 Morland, Mr. 921
Moira, 2nd Earl of 1037, 1083 Morland, Willia1;1 h ses to the Board of
Molens, Mr. 182 Tries to sell his ou
Molesworth, Sir William 1073 Ordnance 426
1497
Morley, Colonel C. 1114., 1117, 1441 Morley Committee see under Royal Arsenal Morley, Earl of 842, 1091 Morley, S. 926 Morning Chronicle derides rockets 591 Morningham, Mr. 355, 356 Morningham, Sir G. 355 Mornington, 3rd Earl of see Pole, the Hon.
\,Villiam Wellesleyl'viorris, Henry 1240 Morris, James 393, 405, 406, 407, 408,
410, 413, 414, 415, 416, 417, 418, 419, 434,435,44o,44i,442,443,444,445, 446, 447, 448, 449, 462, 1295, 1317
Morris, John 1196
Morris, Roger 285, 287, 288, 289, 291, 292, 293, 294, 317, 320, 326, 330, 1295 Morris, Sir Christopher 34, 35, 36, 40,
1036, 1041, 1089 Morris, William 615, 654, I 102, 1121,1160, 1169, 1171, 1179, 1180, 1251 Appointed Deputy storekeeper, 1855.
765, 1275 Morrison, Edward 354, 369 l'vforrison, Robert M. 695, 1221, 1230,
1233 Morrison, Sir Richard 57, 67, 68, 1o41 Morsby, Richard 1161 Morse, George 1247 Morse, Lieut-Col0nel, R. E. 482, 501,
523,_524, 556, 557, 563, 571, 578, 1320 Morse, Lieut-General sec Morse, Lieut-
Colonel, R. E. Morse, Thomas 1 186 Morsley, Richard 1267 Mortar 259 Mortimer, W. A. I 122
Mortimer, Thomas 614, 6 I 5, II 54, I 171 Morton, Earl of 371 Morton, Edward 1266 Moryson, Sir Richard see Morrison, Sir
Richard Moser,John 247 Mottingham 120, 122, 123, 124, 125 Moulds for casting bullets 24 Moulins, William 8o Mount Blemy 120 Mountings, disappearing 1425 Mountings, hydro-pneumatic 1425 Mountings, Moncrieff 1425 Mountney, Mrs. Elizabeth 380, 388 Mowatt reforms gr r Mowatt, Sir F. 896 Mowcoomber, Mr. 1267 Mayen 77
Muckle, Andrew 1214 Muckle, James 1158 Muddiman, Henry 135 Mudge, Lieut-Colonel William 574, 579 Muir, James 1179 Muirhead-Murray, Lieut-Colonel M.
1105 Mulcahy, Major-General F. II21 Mulcaster, Captain, R. E. 1070, 1071 Mulgrave, 1st Earl of 1037
Muller,John 293,350,351,353,356,357,
360, 361, 363, 366, 372 Granted pension 382 Retirement of, 1766. 372
1498
Mulligin, William 1198 Munday, Henry 1 186 Munich 1023 Munitions: Amounts purchased in 1512.
37
Munitions, Controller of inspection of 1442 Munitions Design, Director-General of
1094 Munitions of War Act, 1915. 951, 1094 Munitions Production, Director-General
of: Appointed 1936. 1095 l'vlunn, John 1248 Munster 1196 Muntz, Mr. 1073 Murat 591 Murphy, Arthur 1219 Murphy, D. 1249 Murphy, Daniel 1170, 1175 Murphy, Edward 1181 Murphy, Henry 1243 Murphy, Surgeon 1V1ajor F. H. S. 1111 Murphy, Timothy 1145 Murphy, V\Tilliam 12ro, 1234
Suspended for one month for having
matches in his possession 7 r3 Murray Committee gr 1, 1341 Murray, D. 773 Murray, Daniel r259 Murray, Eugene 747 Murray, John 1183, 1205, 1218
Appointed Clerk to the Chapel, 1841. 1325 Murray, Major-General Sir James vVolfe
!039
Murray, Patrick 1233 Murray, Robert 1240 Murray, Sir G. H. gr 1, 1341 Murray, Sir George 1038, 1042 Murray, Thomas r 233 Murray, William 513 Murray-Brand, E. 1105 Murrell, Thomas I 194 Murthiers 76 Musgrave, Philip ro45, ro57 Musgrave, Sir Christopher 106, 1037,
1041, 1043, 1045, 1048 Warrant for £3oo house allowance, 1682.
210
Warrant to have the house at Tower Place in lieu of the Old ArtilleryGarden, 1682. 208
Mussolini 1023 Musson, Major-General A. H. r r 13,
II I4 Myddleton, Arthur 43 Myler, John 1189, 1192
McArthur, John 643, 1195 McAvoy, John 1161, 1215, 1216 McBride,James 1234 McBride, Samuel K. I I 99, 12 I 8 McCabe, James 1250
M'Callaghan, Garret 821 McCanlis, Quarter-master W. 1428 McCarthy, C. 1166 McCarthy, Dennis 1218 McClintock, Captain 716 McCrossen, Alexander 1234
INDEX
McCulloch, Dr. 389, 1142, 1147, 1179
Pensioned, 1826. 66 I McCullock, John 1 193 McCulvy, William 1229, 1269 McDonald, A. 1195 McDonald, Alexander 1227 McDonald, D. 1261 McDonald, P. 613 McDonald, Robert 1240 McEwen, E. r r r7 McGee, Daniel 1257 l\licGee, Henry r r 73, I 220 McGee, James 1218 1233 McGill, John 747 ' McGill, Q.M.S. B. 1022
McGill, Robert 296, 297, 412, 449 McGI.Ililetty, F. r 119 McGlashan, Alexander 1224 McGlashan, Colin r 2 r r McGrath, Philip 1182
McGuire, Christopher 1233, 1260 McIntosh, Hugh 572 McKay, George ng6 McKenna, B. 1218 McKinlay, Mr. 1386
McKinnon Wood Committee 991-998 Recommendations partly implemented 999 McKinnon Wood, the Rt. Hon. T., M.P.
991 McKnight, Edward 1242 McLaren, Charles N. see McLaren, Sir
Charles McLaren, David r 2 1 g, 1232 McLaren, _Sir Charles 1109, 1122 McLaughlm, Rear-Admiral P. V. I 113,
1114 McLeish, Charles 1245 McMahon, Peter 1143 McNaught, Frederick 1260 McNaught, James 1216, 1226, 1244
McNaughton, Mr. 540 McPherson, Alexander M. 1225, 1226,1244 McWater, James 1234
Nailor, John 1 qo Nairn, Andrew 1198 Napean, Thomas 371, 374 Napier, Colonel the Hon. George 472,
1 1o9
Appointed Controller R.L. 1782. 475 Napier, Edward 1236 Napier, Messrs. 755Napier, Mr. (Engineer) 671, 706
His proposal to erect machine for compressing bullets in the R.L. provided steam power is installed 670
Report of his bullet compressing scheme called for by the M.G.O. 671 Tender for new crane in the Royal
Arsenal for £350 accepted, 1841. 677 Napier, Wilkinson & Reece, Messrs. 674 Naples, King of 478 Napoleon 497, 506, 602, 1072
1st abdication of, 1814. 591, 600
2nd abdication of, 1815. 60o Napoleon III 1335 Napoleonic wars 619, 788
Nasmyth, Gaskell & Co 703, 705 Nasmyth, James 703, 706, 746, 1074 Nasmyth, James & Co 718, 760 Nasmyth and Wilson, Messrs 905, 1359 Nathan, Colonel Sir F. L. 1437 Naval accounts for warlike stores divorced
from War Office accounting, 1889. 76
Nav~ Artillery, Director General of:
Appointed Director of Stores 1091 Naval guns subjected to water proof 464 Naval Ordnance, Director General of:
Appointed mgr Naval Ordnance Inspection Department 1427, 1443 .
Naval warlike stores: lnspect10n of War
Department approved, 1894. 808 Navy, Treasurer of the: Abolished rn86 Naylor, Sir George 1084, 1085 Neale, Adam 126 Neavy, Thomas 1233 Nedeham, James 4o Needham, Francis 128 Nelson, Isaac I I 10 Neptune 202 Netherlands, the 91, 423, 429, 469 Nethersole, John 116 Nevel!, Sir Thomas 1 I 7 Nevyll, Edward, ofBergevenny 116 New Artillery Garden 7o New Orleans 719 Newall, J. 618 Newby, Hubert 821 Newcastle 183
Newcastle, Henry Duke of: 1st Secretary
of State for War, 1854. 743, 1434 Newcastle, Holies 1o8, 348 Newdegate, Mr. 1073 Newell, Joseph 473, 488, 1137, 128o Newland, Augustus 1265 Newlyn, William 22 Newman, J. 1272 Newman, Joseph 124o Newman, Thomas 1277
Ne,vman, VV. H. I 122
Newp0rt, Earl of 1037 Newstead, Henry 1218 .A
d, Will• Corporal in the R. ' •
Newstea .iam,
Band 1218 Newton Charles 109 Newton: Christopher 296, 297 Newton, E. 926 Newton, Joseph 1135 Newton Lieut-Colonel C. J. 111o
1116
Newton, Major P. I. Newton, Thomas 1o78 Nice, John 1240 Nicholas 1035 Te 1220,
Nicholas, Busvayas oup I 2 I 3, 1221
Nicholls, Anthony 88 Nicholls, Francis 136, 1042 Nicholls, James 1 16o Nicholls, Mr. 1275 . . iiii6is, fa gr@Yjbgg"; ""a"!f
Nicholson Admiral Sir • • I l I Nicholson: Captain Stuart, R.N. 94° Nicholson, Charles 1258 Nicholson, Mr. 598, 1269
97 1499
Nicholson, Samuel 476 Odo the carter 5, 6 Nicholson, William 594 Odo the clerk 6, 1035 Nicholson & Hughes, Messrs. 594 Officers: Given bonus for good work 505 Nicklewaite, Thomas 1041 Officers living in government houses liable Nickson, Edward 399,411,412, 1103 for poor rate 336, 439 Niffon, Charles 1233 Ogborne, William 227, 233241, 243, Nightingale 137 249, 252, 257, 258, 261, 265269, 275, Nightingale, J. H. 1276 285, 289-291, 314, 330, 1294 g pdr. 298, 402, 403 Knighted in 1727. 284 Nisbet, L. R. 1022 Ogilvie, A. Cavendish 1 188, 1189 Nobels Ltd 1o64 Ogle, Commander Sir H. 1 1 1 5 Noble, Captain Andrew see Noble, Sir Ogle, Sir John 1042
Andrew Okes, Lewis Charles 473, 488, 1137, 1280 Noble, Colonel\-\ il!iam Hatt 1107 Old Artillery Garden 68-72 Noble, John 506, 1133, 1135 Conditions of sale 72 Noble, Major W. A., R.A. 1436 Master-Gunner ofEngland had residence Noble, Mark 1364, 1365 in 72 Noble, Mr. 566, 1072 Pepys attends proof there 70 Noble, Sir Andrew 803, 845, 1438 Royal warrant pertaining to its sale 73 Noble &: Co 1364 Sale of 72 Noell, Edward 72, 73, 74 Old Court, Manor of 87 Nolan, Colonel J. P. 842, 858 Oldfield, James 1227 Noott, Major C. C. 1114, 1117 Oldfield, Lieutenant A. 693 Norbury, John 1036 Oldfield, R. 126o Norfolk, Bernard Duke of 1085 Oldham, R. 747 Norfolk, Charles Duke of 1083, 1084 Oldham, Richard 491 Norman, B. 1264 Oliver, Elizabeth 422 Normandy 18, 121, 122 Oliver, J. 1022 Normandy, Richard Duke of 12 I Olpherts, R. P. 1275 Norris, A. 1276 Oldroyd, J. 1262 North America 1082 1 pdr. 298 North Hyde 625, 1181 1l pdr. 404 Nerth, Lord 109 O'Neill, Daniel 1174 North, Sir Edward 41 O'Neill, William 1222, 1231, 1278 North, William 613, 1153, 1154, 1172, Onley, Roger 85
1178, 1180, 1282 Onslow, Middleton 468
North Yarmouth 1072 Onyett, Henry 1176 Northampton, William 132 Oram, William Evans Sprage 1247 Northcote, 1st Lord see Northcote, the Ord, Colonel Thomas 320, 323
Hon. Sir Henry Stafford Ord, Major Robert H. Death of, 1828.
Northcote, the Hon. Sir Henry Stafford 1188 1038 Order of a campe of Armye Royall, 1578.
Northfleet 116 Northumberland, Earl of 32 Ordin57 ances regulating gun manufacture,
Northumberland Heath 1339
1574. 43
Northumberland, John Dudley Duke of Ordnance 21 81 Assistant Director of, appointed 1o91Norton, Robert 76 At Deptford to be moved to Woolwich
Norton, Sir Sampson 37, 38, 1036 217Norwegians see Vikings
Ordnance Board 839, 1427, 1432, 1438,
Norwell, William 1 1
1439Nottingham 92, 1203 Ordnance Board Act, 1855. 1050, 1089Novemburgh 39 Ordnance, Board of 27, 35, 62, 89, 90, 91,
Nowland,James: Killed in R.L. explosion,
248, 249, 254, 259, 314 315, 317, 384,
1814. 598
505, 686, 724, 747, 757, 839, 1059,
Nuremberg 91
1060, 1061, 1062, 1063, 1065, 1067,
Nuthall, Captain C. T., R.N. 1117
1070, 1073, 1075, 1076, 1078, 1079,
Nuttall, Adam 411, 1362
1080, 1081, 1082, 1088, 1089, 1090, 1427 Oakes, Sir Hildebrand 1041, 1124 Abolished by Letters Patent, 1855.
O'Brien, James 1257, 1258 1087O'Brien, Timothy 126o Arms granted to, 182g. 1084 O'Callaghan, Major-General D. D. T. Ensign and Seal, Royal License, 1806. 1112, 1114, 1115, 1438 1083Ockley,James 1166 Express their dislike of allotments in the
O'Connor, Charles 1227 Royal Arsenal 748 Odden, John 1191 Hands over water rights of the Royal Odden, Richard 1195 Arsenal to the Kent Waterworks Odiham 5 Company 1352
1500
INDEX
Ordnance, Board of-corztd. Become civilian in character after World
Helps Surveyors ofHighways, Woolwich, War I wo1, 1094 to pave the road leading to the Warren Capital value in 1914. 1007 . 424 Chief Superintendent 0f, renamed Chief
Helps Surveyors ofHighways, v\loolwich, Superintendent, Royal Ordnance again 437 Factories 1016 . Last Minute, 1856. 1037 Chief Superintendent, R.O.F.: Title
Lordship of Manors of Woolwich and abolished, 1955. 1031 . Eltham, acquisition of, 1812. 580, Clerical establishments, Committee on,581 1898 (De Ia_ Bere Committee) 1129
Post of Clerk of Deliveries abolished, Clerical Staff, mter-departmental 1830. 1086 committee on, 1902 (Ward ComPost of Lieutenant General abolished, mittee) 1 12918g0. 1086 Clerical Staff, C?mmittee 0n, 1913 Post of Lieutenant General revived, (Bland Comnuttee) 1130 .1854. 1087 Committee appointed to c_ons1der a Principal Storekeeper made Controller scheme to increase productive powers
of Stores 1854. 1087 of O.F. Cost estimated to exceed Reduced to three Members, 1830. 1086 £1,000,000, 1900. 896 Refused gas lighting in the Royal Comrittec on pensions for wage earners
Arsenal on the score of expense and in O.F.: Appointed, 1897. 994 ,danger, 1833. 1369 Depuy Director General of %3%.% Salaries of Principal Officers, 1823. Deputy Director General rename c 1085 Mechanical Engineer, 1899. 859,Ordnance B.L. 5-inch howitzer 1422
893 f enamed Chief
Ordnance chemist: Post abolished, 1825. 1 O
Director Genera r . 8= 893
661 "
Superintendent of, 189!J· =>9General
Ordnance, Duties of the Civil Branch Director General ofsee_ Director
Ordnance
of Ordnance Factories Clerk of the 27, 45, 62, 868
Director of 1094 inted 1888.
Clerk of the, duties of 1052 Director General of: Appo '
Clerk of the: Post abolished, 1857. 1090
859. 859, 871
Clerk of the: Transferred to the War Civil Assistant to :> ' 8. 871 Department, 1855. 1090 M•1• Assistant to 59,
1st 11tar}' kb pened in 1938.
Clerk of Deliveries 34, 62 Factory at Blac urn °
Clerk of Deliveries, duties of 1053 1022 840-842
Commissary General of 857 Functions of 4 .sh d
1016Ordnance Commissioners 65 Morris award aboli ~ ·1 control 1001,
Complaint to in 1598 about Woolwich Pass from military to c1v1 see vVoolwich, complaint in 1598 to
1094 . . set up after World
Ordnance Commissioners New organization Salaries reduced from £1,000 to £600 War II I 028 • tant
p.a. 66 • ~ nagers aSS1s 8 6
Pensions or md rincipal foremen 9
Ordnance Committee 828, 835, 839, 852, managers an P ployees dropped 853, 1436, 1438, 1439 Pension Scheme for em Ordnance, Comptroller of 65
894, 1000 Ordnance Fac;tories,
Ordnance, Council on 1436 Re-named Roya1
Ordnance Department
1930. 1016 De artment after World
Important instrument of policy in times Revert to War P of civil strife 65
war1 yoo{'arcent, 1959.
New titles for officers 1430 Revert again to .
Policy during the Great Rebellion 65 1032 . revious service
Ordnance
Rule as to couni,,£' +en not re-Director of: Appointed, 1861. 1090 towards s%""?lies +fer beingDirector of becomes Director General of presenting e 8 2
1091
stood off, 1 8~5-R2 al Arsenal Director of, duties 1094 se cl, woolvwi% $;, sa, 8ss, 857 Director General of 1091, 1093 Superintendent O ' Director General of Naval 1091 858, 859 Deputy Master General of the: Ordnance . f clerk 27
Appointed 1936. 1095 First mention ° rd 27 Duties of the Civil Branch 106o First mention of wl proclamation, 180 I· Establishment ofin 1557 during the Ordnance flag. Roya
expedition to St. Quentin 55 1083 Establishment of in 1578. 56
Ordnance f the 57
Ordnance Factories Great Master O the Tower 4 Annual estimates 585 House (New) at d under ministers,Annual week's leave with pay, Inferior officers
a~055
sanctioned, 1930. 1016 duties of 1054
Ordnance in Ireland: Treasurer of the, post abolished, 1832. 1086
Ordnance Inspector General of 849, 1093 Lands at Plumstead: Survey ordered,
1833. 643 Lieutenant of the 36 Has residence in the Minories 67
Lieutenant General of the 57, 67, 68 Duties 1052 Obtains £2-0-0 per quarter rent
allowance when Tower Place is re
constructed, 1718. 211 Office annihilated, 1652. 65 Receives £300 house allowance on the
sale of the Minories 209
Lieutenant General and the Principal Officers are to attend the office in person during the Dutch. war 1058
List of contractors for makmg 1n 16th
century 43 Master of 28, 32, 43, 66, 868 Master of the 32, 42, 55, 56, 59, 66
Duties described by Frat1cis Markham
58-61 Lodges in the Brick Tower 66 Peers or Knights after 1483. 34 Some powers quoted by Grose 58
Master General of the 5 7, 16 1, 348, 350, 353, 358, 365, 366, 369, 371,377 379, 380, 381, 384, 481, 482,670, 671, 1078
His barge 1057 Entitled to a salute of 15 guns, 1838. 1086 Entitled to the rank and respect due
to a Lieut.-General 1056 Functions of 1053 In Ireland, office annexed to that of
England 1048 Is military adviser to the government
1059 Post abolished, 1855. 1089 Prize for the most distinguished
soldier of the day I 059 Re-introduced, 1904 1093 Re-introduced (1904) post abolished,
1936. 1095 Re-introduced, 1960. 1098 Right to use field guns as supporters
to his personnal Arms 1056 Seat in the Cabinet, 1828. 1 059 Secretary to, appointed, 1814. 1082 Under Secretary appointed, 1727.
1079 Ordnance proved in R.G.F., 1856--1886. 828
Ordnance, Office of 27, 28, 33, 34, 37, 39, 40, 44, 45, 47, 53, 57, 62, 63, 72, 78,80, 189, 190, 200, 246, 481, 592, 6i6, 723, 1048, 1050, 1058, 1069, 1079,1082, 1083
Annual estimate stabilised at £40,000
p.a. 66 Architect, post of, abolished, 1828. 628 Bought gunpowder prior to 1759 from
the Hon. East India Company 1063 Business transacted in some small houses near St. Peter's Chapel, Tower of
London, between 15th and 17th
centuries 66 Certain Journal Books missing 237 Checks on system employed 868, 1053 Close link with Admiralty 161 Committee of Enquiry into, 1618. 57 Contracts Branch 1062 Defensive \,Vorks Branch 1062 Estimates (Annual) in the P.R.0. and
the W.O. Library 585 Expenses to be reduced in 1668 to £30,000 p.a. 65 Fights and squabbles during the reign of
Elizabeth I 42-53 Final office in Pall Mall 1080 Has eight manufacturing departments
1063 In debt 1747. 1080 In debt, 1780. 1081 Investigation into duringJuly 1598. 50 Its tower near the Chapel in the Tower
ofLondon 66 Keys to be handed over during the Civil
War 64 Lands Branch 106o Letter written in 1641 to the Lords
Committees to supply the kingdom with munitions 63 Manufactured gunpowder subsequent
to I 759. 1063 Manufacturing departments 1063 Medical department formed, 1801.
1082 Minute Books of the Surveyor General 237 Moved from the Tower to Old Palace Yard, Westminster 1080 Moved in 1684 to a new building south of the White Tower 66 Moved to rented premises, Westminster
1080 New establishment, 1783. 472 New office in St. Margaret's Lane,
Westminster 1080 Owns White Tower 66 Poundage of 6d a day from all salaries
1079Regulations for, 168g. 1050 Salaries in I 683. I 055 Sinking establishment 1079 Still lacking sound organization 62 Stores Branch 1060 Superintendent of Shipping created,
1777. 1082 Survey Branch 1o61 Survey in 1628. 62 1 Survey in 1630. 62, 63 Sweeping changes introduced by Henry
VIII 35, 36 System of carrying out contract work in the 17th century 214 Takes over Barrack Department, 1822.
616
Total staff in 1643. 63 Treasurership abolished, 1836. 1086 Ordnance Officers New rules issued in 1654. 65 Ordnance Origin of the word 27, 28
INDEX
Ordnance-contd. Orviss, Isaac 1 174 Principal Storekeeper of the 868, 1053 Orwin Mr. (Surveyor) 687
Duties of 1053 Osborn, Captain Sherard 716
Q.F. 4.5 inch howitzer 1422 Osborn' Committee IOIO
Q.F.13 pdr. Mark I, introduced in 1 905. Osborn, N. F. B. IOIO 1422 Osborne, E.T. 1120
1021
Q.F.
15 pdr. (German design) 1421 Osborne, Vice-Admiral E. O. B. S.
Q.F.
18 pdr. Mark I, introduced in1905. 1112, 1113 1422 Osment, John 304
Q.F.
25 pdr. gun/howitzer 1422 Ostiarius Garderobe 6
Research Board 1438 Oswald, Dr. H. R. 926 R.B.L. 773 Ottawa 1072 Secret-:,ry of the 1054 Oudenarde, Giles de 1035 Dunes of 1054 Ousefleet, Thomas 1 1
1120
Owen Commander A. L.
Select Committec 706, 1434, 1435,
111 2
1436 Owen'. General Sir J. F• To be supplied with instruments, 1809. Owen John 36, 40
566 Dea 0f, 1553. 653 TC? be supplied with maps, 1810. 569 Owen Rober a36,40, v5%, q± 1o42,
Owen'. Sir Edward Campbe ic
Services: Transferred to the M.G.O. 1095 1044 6
11
Owen, Thomas I 153, 10
Shooting of: Directions laid down in
Owens, John 1181
1513· 39
Owsley, Newd1gate 1046
Staff: Administrative in the 15th
century Owston, A. J. 1112
34 ,310
Store Department 1427, 1429, 1431 Oxford 88<>
6
Storekeeper of the 6 6 Queen s College 59 ' i d of the
2
Survey 34, 3' Provost and scholars ~r8s Manor of Plumstead :J3
History of 1061-rn62 • the Royal Arsena1
db d
Transferred to the Board of AgriRee e m 1 8 32
purchased from, 53· 7
culture, Fisheries and Food, 1889. 1062 Oxon-bowes 33 1 C H 1122, 1432
Ozanne, L1eut.-Co1one • •
Transferred to the Office of \,Yorks,1870. 1062 Transferred to the War Department, Pae.Jp ',so. ass, a6, are» 1855. 1062 Packman, o 235 238
225, 227, 229, 233, . 'e master at
Surveyor of the 36., 62
• ted sole carnag
Surveyor-General of 849, 853, 854 AppoUl . 6 217 1297 ,
Woolwich, I 94· Her Majesty s
Surveyor-General of abolished 870, ofrnaster to
1 092 Made_ pro .d rchant strangers, 1712.
subjects an me
Surveyor-General of: Appointed, 1870.
1o9I 240 Paul Linby appointed
Packman, Joh1: and t rs at WoolwichSurveyor General of the 868, 1 052
joint carnage mas e
Duties of 1052 Table of, 1574. 75 a16, 1297, Go4, 619, 622, 625
Page, Mr. 595
Table of, 1643. 77
R. 1262
Table of, 1750. 1415 Page, Richard II 6 Treasurer of the 1054 Pas> g; Gregory 384, 385
Duties of 1054 Page, » '5n 384
Builds new mans10
Vessels
Death of 3%% mansion 3%4Lord Vivian 697
Descrinio,%,}iarsh estate 384
Netley 697
Purchases ,, nc
Queen 696, 1259 Thomas 371 86Sir James Kempt 696 Pas ;iiam 1185, 11
Page 1 1a
Somerset 696, 1217 .
Paget, Lord I 073
V\T eak spot in Elizabethan administration
. Mr. 827
Pain; ;liam 647 Ye4o5man of 33, 34, 169 PPaamketnebr,am, W"Illiam 1152 Abolition of 33
Ordyerne 33 rt+, Jg/, %° ~c
W1 1am
O'Reilly, Major P. S., R.A.M.C. 1112 Paley, Richard 49-53
Palfreyman,, 6. 168o
Grell, John 79, 81
Orgues 76 ii%le".$% kl.,#. »s Original Military Academy: A failure Palla4"(tiiam 1gio
Palling, l ia. 686
347 Ir r Captam 6
Orlebar and Powell engine 238 Pa !se ' Colonel Henry 7 3 Ormsby, Lieut.-ColonelJ. B. II05, no8 Pallis" g; William 813 Appointed first M.A. to C.S.O.F. 598 Palhser, A . tant storeholder 939
Palmer, ss1s
Ororeh, Bryan 1078
Palmer, Henry 1240, 1250 Palmer, John 1261 Palmer, Mr. 763 Palmerston, Lord 756, 757
Abolishes Office of Ordnance 1087 Pamplin, Nathaniel 1232, 1248 Pank, Eve & Crisp, Messrs. 634 Panmure, Fox Lord 759, 765, 802, 1087,
1089, 1274, 1336, 1395 Pannell, Noah 1209, 1251 Paper-royal 1380 Par, Gilbert 29, 1036 Parchment 1380 Paris, Peace of 1 763. 31 I, 423 Paris, Peace of (1st) 1814. 592, 1304
Firework display in St. James's Park 592 Parker, Edward 1224 Parker, Henry 126o Parker,John 1218, 1246 Parker, Mr. 825 Parkes, George 1253, 1255 Parkes-Buchanon, Captain M. J. 1120 Parkyn, William Henry 1121, 1278
Parlby, A. V. 11 IO Parliamentary Survey No 30. 88 Parr, John 297, 399,411, 412, 1 I03
Parr, Mr. I 175 Parr, Vice-Admiral A. A. Chase 1113 Parratt, Surgeon J. E. T. 1111 Parrson, William 739
Supplies two circular saws to the R.C.D.,
1852. 739 Parry, Mr. 1213 Parry, Thomas 1194 Parry, William 1143, 1148, 1234, 1235,
1236 Parsons, William 1169 Partriche, Marion see Danyell, Maryon Partriche, Nicholas 44, 161 Partridge, Captain, R. A. 925 Partridge, William 49, 50, 1042 Parva Garderoba 11 Paston, John 98 Paternoster, Mr. 1142 Patrick, Richard 127 Pattenden, John 1234 Patterson, James 1234, 1235Patterson, John 1257 Pattison, Lieut.-Colonel James 290, 296,
313, 320, 321, 323, 324, 325, 328, 354 362, 365, 366, 395, 418, 438, 442, 444,445,446, 1II
Appointed Chief Firemaster 295 Appointed Lieut. Governor R.M.A. 364Board agrees to refund the cost of
building stables and coach-house when leaving the Royal MilitaryAcademy 463
Leaves the Royal Military Academy,
1777. 381 Promoted Lieut.-Colonel 1761. 363 Row with Mr. Barber 375
Pattison, Mr. James 395, 396, 410, 422 Agrees to act as refuse collector, 1759.
410 Death of, 1761. 422 Trouble over supply of water to the
Warren 395
Pattison, Mr. James (Jr.) 630, 651, 670,
687 Pattison, Mrs. Christiana 1320 Pattison, Nathaniel 332, 339 Pattison, Nathaniel Maxey 558, 566, 579,
610, 1320 Pattison, Lieut.-Colonel Thomas 294,
312, 313, 320 Paul, Captain G. A. M. 1 120 Pavillonarius (Tent maker) 13 Pawlett, Mr. 249 Paye, Richard 1257 Payler, George rn4.2 Paymaster-General: Office instituted, 1836.
rn86 Paymaster-General to the Forces: Post
abolished, 1836. 1086 Payne, George 1200 Payne, George Micklam 1 198 Payne, Mr. 691 Payne, William 1186 Paynter, Lieut-Colonel David William,
R.A. 762 Paynter, William 45, 46, 81, 1043 Payton, Mr. 552 Payton, Sir John 52 Peach, Mr. 1073 Peach, Thomas 198, 203, 205, 2 12, 2 1 3,
216, 217, 220, I 102 Peacock, Richard 842 Peake, Henry 1278 Peake, Mr. 569 Pearce, Joseph 1259 Pearle 174 Pears, Alice 182, 184 Pears, John 182, 184 Pears, Rear-Admiral S. A. 1113, 1114 Pearson, George 12 15, 1228 Pearson, James 1070 Pearson, John 621 Pearson, William 1224 Pease, James William 1220 Pease, Mr. 1275 Pease, T. 1121 Pease, William 1154, 1183, 1206, 1207 Peck, Francis 53 Peck & Chapman, Messrs. 461 Pedder, Matthias 449, 472 Peel, Major-General Jonathan 760, 1043 Peen, John 1215 Peirse, Frederick 1 188 Pelham, John de 1 30 Pelham, Lord 508 Pelham, Sir William 45, 69, 1041 Pelham, Thomas I042 Pellatt, Daniel 1217, 1228 Pellatt, Francis 645, 655, 656, 765, 1102,
1120, II88, 1193, 1211, 1250, 1274, 1427 Allowed to reside in Cornelius Sharp's quarter, 1833. 645 Appointed deputy storekeeper, 1849.
1250 Appointed storekeeper, 1855. 1274 Death, 1858. 765
Pellatt, George B. 1251, 1252 Pellatt, Joseph 615, 1152, 1176 Pellatt, Joseph A. 1241, 1242
Pellatt, Mr. 1269
INDEX
Pellatt, Mrs. 765 Pellereau, Lieut.-Colonel J. C. E. 1 1 05 Pelletes 24 Pelley, James 1 1 So PeUican 77 Felling, Mr. I 34 Pelliwood, Dr. 468 Pembroke, Earl of 42
Pendlebury, Lieut.-Colonel James 240,1052, III!
Appointed Chief Firemaster 232 Pendred, vV. I 159 Peninsular war 585, 591, 664, 719
Stores for 585
Penn, Admiral Sir William 133, 134 Penn, Mr. 568 Penn, Mr. (Jr.) 490 Penn, Thomas 1214 1215 Penn, T. H. 490 ' Penn, William 490 Pennall, \1Villiam 1 186 1191 Penney,Dr.W.G. 11;7 Pennington, vV. 1158
Pennyfeather, John 670, 1154, 1208 Penson, Henry 1252 Pent, Edward 1161
Penton, Brig.-General A. P. 1113, I 115,
1117, 1441 Peppudy. vVilliam I 177 Pepys, Samuel 132, 134, 140, 150, 151,
153, 157 Extracts from diary 48, 134, 140, I4,
149, 151, 152 Perceval, Spencer 1044 Percival, H. J. 1021 Percival, Mr. 576 Percy of Alnwick, Henry 1st Lord of 1037 Percy, Lord Henry 23 Percy, the Reverend J. Wilcox 1319,
1320 Percy, the Reverend Dr. William 1319 Perkins, Robert 489 Perneford, Richard de 1 15 Perrott Committee 1030, 1031 Perrott, Sir Donald I030
Perry, G. H. 1120 Perry, Jacob 412,422 Perry, William 1156, 1163, 1172
Perymus 6 Pesek, Robert 130 Pester, Captain Henry, R.A. 733, 1111,
1255 Appointed Firemaster R.L., 1846. 1239 Pester, Lieut.-Colonel Henry, R.A. see
Pester, Captain Henry, R.A. Peter of Rivaux 1035 Peter Pomegranate 142 Peter the Great 140
Visits Woolwich 140 Peter the Joiner 24 Peterborough, Earl of I037 Peters & Remnant, smiths 266, 268 Petersfield, Thomas of 16 Petrariae 13 Pett, Christopher 137, 157 Pett, Mrs. 1 52
Pett, Peter 132, 147, 152 Pett, Phineas 137, 145 Pettman, John 1237
Pettman, Mr. 1408 Pettman's fuzes 1408, 1409 Petty, Mr. 1155 Peyton, Samuel 1161, 1185 Phelippot, John 192 Philadelphia 321 Phillips, Edward 1237 Phillips, Mr. 464, 567, 1058, 1349, 1363 Phillips, N. 1260, 1275 Phillips, Rear-Admiral A. J. L. 1 114 Phillips & Hopwood,_ Messrs. 567, 1363 Phillpotts, Rear-A?r:ural E. M. P. 1112 Phipps, George Wilham 388 ~ ~~ Phipps, Major G. W., R.E. 389, 541 ::it4,
579, 631, 633
Phipps the Hon. Edmund 1046, 1124 Pickering, Christopher 694, 1161, 1230 Pickering, James 1240 .., .
Pickering, Lieut.-Colonel William Henry, R.A. 762, 781, 1435 I Ir
Appointed Assistant Director Genera o Artillery and Secretary 9rdnan~;
12
Select Committee, 1852. 133, ::>::>
Pickering Sir Gilbert 64 1225 Pickering'. WiI!iam 93, 97, Pickett Charles 1146
Pickin 'Richard 1233 Pi'@@intp) _,2, 4.1G.A.H. 11ra,
Pidcock, Air Vice-. ars a •
Piesse1,11F4rancis I I 42, 1143 Pigeon, Edward 98 Pigg Thomas 1148
Pig&e, walter 820, 821, 822 Pike Alexander 130 g58
' d Lieutenant Thomas _,
Pike, 2n Pikes 17, 74 Pitier, 6tier #.{7 or, .E
0
Pilkington, Lieut.-o 501 604, 605,
8
si6, s7,574.37%%8, &oo, +soi»
6o7, 1106, 115» "° 1327 C.R E Woolwich Division
Appointed • • • 569, 114%
Pincher, William 296, 297 Pinhorn, J. 926 2Piner, ihomg; "?$$, ors, 1vs7, 143»
Piper, John 5 9, ' ' 1171, 1282 1269
P. Mr 1126, 1253,
1per, . ·,
72
Per, William±' 6r3, 1144, 1145, 115%.
Pitfield, John i4, ' I I7J, 1281 Pitt, John 166
' 119° 8
Pitt, Thoma elder 294, 335 1089
Pitt Wilham-t e 497
Pitt' William: he y94sT Pian, Frank "" ,,g
Pittman,John 1177, 4 Placentia 86
260
Plaine, Jacob J 1 666
Plaisted, 0 W
763
Plaisted, T. •
11 1
Plant, James. ~ Official terms very
Plantagenet umes.
confused 16 Plater, Richard l 1413 Plumb, Edward 125 1045 Plumridge, James Henry
INDEX
Plumstead 117, 118, 130, 132, 138, 159,
177, 221, 229, 469, 593, 604, 610, 662,
926, I 020, I 339
Borstall 181
Burrage estate 395
Burwash Grove 18o
Common 455
Green Man 1449
Heath 1339
Marshes 139, 231, 305, 385, 537, 594,
880-885, 924
Dealings in land on 924
Negotiations over buying land on at
the end ofthe 19thcentury 880---885
Provost and Scholars, Queen's College,
Oxford; Lords of the Manor of 538
Royal Oak 1449
Plumptree, Mr. 346
Plymouth 412, 1151
Pocock, Brigadier F. 1119
Poe, George 643, 1172, 1180, 1196
Poland 1023
Pole, the Hon. William Wellesley 505,
1043, 1044
Pollock, Dr. Allen 338, 373, 376, 438, 440
Complaints about 380
Dismissed, 1 777. 380
Pension granted to 382
Pollock, Robert 473, 823
Pont de l'Arche, William 178
Poole, Dr. H.J. 1117
Pope, Nicholas 43
Pope, Thomas 1275
Popenruyter, Hans 38
Popplewell, James 1151
Porphoyry Column moved from Woolwich
to Windsor 652
Porte bazes 163
Porte peces 40, 76
Port !'Orient 310
Port pieces, chambers 76
Port pieces, hull 76
Porter, Alexander 1181
Porter, Charles 150
Porter, John 337, 1144
Portfires 1374, 1383, 1402
Portman, John 264, 266, 272, 275, 1102
Portsmouth 93, 97, 238, 305, 412, 560,
1057, 1058, 1077, I 143-1145, 1148,
1171, 1174, 1188, 1232, 1244, 1341
Portugal 1152, 1182
Potet base 1413
Potgun 39
Potter, H. 1277
Potter, James 1227
Poulton, Mrs. Elizabeth 373, 374
Poulton, Robert 296, 297, 412, 449, 472
Povery, Joseph 893
Powell, Charles 1241
Powell, John 45, 46, 47, 425, 449, 1042
Powell, Thomas 169, 1044, 1444
Powell, William 819, 1214 Powling, William 1184, 1187 Pownell, Mr. 411 Powrie, Thomas 89, 90, 324, 334, 344,
376, 387, 437 450, 457, 462, 464, 469,
472, 476, 477, 479, 489, I 107
Death of, 1786. 479
Report on turret, 1771. 437
Poynings' family 91
Pratt, Joseph 284-289, 291-294, 315,317, 320, 328, 330, 405, 410, 413419, 441-446, 1349
Press, E. \/\/. S. 1 120 Preston, Amias 169, 1044 Preston, Roger 194 Preston, Sir Amias see Preston, Amias Pretty, John 488 Price, Benjamin 1o63 Price, William 1237 Prices: Comparison between 1725 and
1790. 486 Prichard, Francis 1 93 Prichard, Hannah 193 Prichard, Martha 193 Prichard, Mary 193 Prichard, Richard 193 Prichard, Sir William 68, 138, 1 39, 158,
184, 185, 186, 187, 199, 206, 211, 221,
396, 409, 1293 Death of 193 Final Treasury arrangements for
handing over Tower Place 189 Grant of gunwharf to 159 Grant of gunwharf to: Official patent
188 History of 193 His will 193 Knighted 193
Prichard, William 193 Prickett & Handaside, Messrs. 468 Priddy's Hard 1261 Pridham F. see Pridham, Major-General F. Pridham, Major-General F. 1 121 Pr(dham, Vice-Admiral A. F. 1112, 1113 Pnest, Mr. 577 Primer, electric: Introduced 1889. 1 388 Primers 1415 Prince 145 Prince Consort see Albert, Prince Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg
Visits the Royal Arsenal, 1834. Prince Leopold George Frederick Prince of Orange, the 200, 652
Visits the Royal Arsenal, 1836. 652 Prince of Wales 685
Conferment of brevet rank on officers of the Army and Navy on the occasion of his birth. No compensating action taken for civilian staff. 685
Prince Regent 593, 1324 Visits the Royal Arsenal, 1814. 593 Prince Rupert 133, 135, 177, 227 His platform of guns at Woolwich 133,
135, 158, 177 Never lived at Tower Place 193 Battery see His platform of guns at
Woolwich Palace: A misnomer 192 Walk see Woolwich Warren: Prince
Rupert's walk Princess 202 Princess Elizabeth 1 77 Pringle, John 1 193 Pringle, Robert 1183, 1184, 1231 Priory and convent of St. Andrew at
Rochester 124 Prise, William 1198
1506
INDEX
Priseman, John 1179, 1186 Priston, Captain H. R., R.N. 1116 Pritchard, Bvt. Lieut.-Colonel W. C. H.
1 118
Pritchard, Mr. 582 1 168 Pritchard, Sergeant 465 Pritchard, William 487 1280 Pritchett bullet 740, 1412 Pritcons, William
477, 483
Pntton, Thomas 226 227 241 272 322 362 °• •'> Privy Wardrobe IO, II, 17,21,22,24,26,27, 28 End of 28 Privy \1\ardrobeintheTower II, 12, 28,29 Disintegration of
29 p Replaced by the Office ofOrdnance 28 reclamation of 1699. 868
Proctor, George 1240 Proctor, Thomas 1266 Projectiles 1388
Proof at Woolwich not devoid of danger 205, 221
Proof handed over lo Royal Artillery ,, Oficcrs, 1783. 471, 868, 1681 <"99master-General of England ao p oof masters: Salary m 1680. 204
roof-masters stationed at the Tower 1680. 204 ' Protector, the 65,
103 ;roudfoot, Thoma; I I 73 ugh, Francis 1262Pullen, Captain 716 ;ullen, John 1147, 1164 ultency, John 1046 Pulteney, Margaret 126 F!tcney, Sir Joh de 1s6 ulteney, Sir William 126
Pulteney, William 126 Pulton, James I 158 Punter, George 1217
Punter, ,John 606, I I 73 Appointed first combined bargemaster
and sluice master, 182g. 1173Punler, Thomas 1 2 1 7 Purefoy, Colonel 64 Purfleet 108, 109, 609, 625, 930, 1239,
1275, 1342 Building magazine there 109 Estimate for building magazine there
108 Purtell, Michael (Jr.) 695, 1230 Purtell, Michael (Sr.) 693, 695, 1197
1230
Killed in explosion, 1845. 693, 1230 Purvey, Thomas 1260 Pym, Edward 1209, 1249, 1276 Pyne, Cap.tain Valentine 185, 199, 224 Pyrotechnics, modern 1379
Pyttel, the 144
Quarrel, definition of 18 Quarrels 1 7, 18, 24 Quarter-cannon 59
Queen Elizabeth I 28, 44, 48, 57, 75, 94, 97, 140, 144 Queen Mary I 42 Queen Mary II I I 1 Queen: Ordnance sloop 696, 1259 Queen Victoria 657,911, 1059, 1092, 1376 Coronation, 1838. 657 Fireworks at coronation, 1838. 657 Cost of, £1,500. 657, 1376 Queen's College, Oxford see Oxford, Queen's College Queensborough Castle 22
102
Queen's House at Greenwich Quelch, Thomas 241 Quick-match 1374
Quinn, John 643,_1181, 1196 Quintin, John 1161 Quirk Thomas 12 14 h
Quist,' Captain Charles Adolp) 1300
Quivers 17 Rabey, James 126o
1110
Radley, W. A. 8
4,, 743, 103 '
Raglan, 1st Lord 7 -, 1089 D E I120
Rahilley, Commander • • Raikes, Colonel D. T. I I 19
Ralph 6 Ralph, C. I 121 Ralph, Grove 1246 Ralph the Breton 1035
Ram 9 h. 1215
Ramsay;/%",General John
Ramsey, ieu • n82 dt
• ted Cornman an '
Appom 8y7. 1,%2 ca, u8
628,
0-4
I /'
1165
Woolwich,
,....., Quarterly Review, January 1858. 255» Rectangular p;<5.·ussi s on s12L.s. 1846. GG ">
787 Approve • • ' Quebec 1395 1384 Queen Anne 129, 233, 1058
a@,#.
4,vi@» Ramsey, William de 14 Ramsey, Edward 1041, 1042
Randolph, . d' E M. 1118
Ransford, Brigad",g" Rashell, Tho11;as Id I I I""
•fii Regma --
Ratclill:. • t 952, 976, 1104
• 1ncen ., ' 976
Raven, S?"j cs.o.F., 19i5. 952•
Apomte •• '
p I Thomas 1275
Rawns ey,
Rayleigh, Lord 1430
iasyi4, Rob"a, 48s
Read, Georg~ 4 i an ' I l37 Read, Francis Mac! Gr4, 1137, 1188,
Read, John 467, 519
+a18 rranted to 467
1grease o!%} S',is, 1a19, 1+#
d John F. •
Rea <(~iiam 1205, 1234
Read, unua
Reading, Andrew 4;val of the \'\'oolwich
Reasons for thed rpe:from the gunwharf to
ordnance e _
Tower Place 174
By 1248
Reavcll, o> t 1a48
Reavel, Sergean ·al A,IilitarJ' Academy 300,
Records of the RoJ 6 78 387
345,349, 36~•,\3•,1. T. Vincent see
Records of Woolw1c i yVincent W. T. • ·11 tube:
Redding, James 1262 Redwood, Sarah 400 Reece, Mr. 687 Reed, A. T. 1122 Reed, George 473, 1233, 1247 Recd, James 1240, 1243, 1258 Reed, Mr. 1139 Reeds 1375 Reeves, John 1223 Regent 142 Regulation of subsistance for the detach
ment of the marching company of gunners in a magazine or garrison 245
Reid, Adam 1186 Reid, Captain (superintendent of convicts)
578 Reid, James 1215 Reid, James William 1138, 1141, 1142,
1143, 1I44, 1I45, 1148 Reid, John 490 Reid, Lieutenant Alexander 612, 641,
1125, 1282 Reid, Lieut.-Colonel William, R.E. 713, 718, 719, 734, 1106. 1251, 1254 Appointed C.R.E. Woolwich Division,
1849. 713, 1251 His career 719 His death 719 Made Chairman of the Executive
Committee of the Great Exhibition of 1851. 718, 1254
To retain the appointment as C.R.E. Woolwich Division w.hilst Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Great Exhibition of 1851. 718, 1254
Reid, Thomas 1237 Reid, William 1210, 1238 Reilly, Patrick 1142, 1163 'Remain' of guns and ammunition for the
year 1578. 54 Remington, G. 926 Remnant, Samuel 291, 343, 396, 397,
399, 400, 436
Death of 400 Remnant, Stephen 400, 432 Rennell, Paul 1243 Renshaw, Mr. 667
Repository ofMilitary Machines 465, 466 Established in 1778. 466 " Renamed Royal Military Repository
466 Research Department 1427, 1439, 1440
Formed in 1907. 1440 Resolution 1057 Resumption, Act of: Edward IV 87 Retribution, a hulk 578 Return ofstores at the Tower, the
Minories, Deptford and Woolwich
1664-1667. 170 Reynolds, John 224 Reynolds, Thomas 11 go, 1205, 1213,
1251, 1268 Reynolds, William 1205 Ribalds 18 Ribble, Thomas 1169, I171 Rice, Admiral E. 1 1 1 3
Rice, Samuel 1189, 1248
Rich, Colonel 147
1508
Rich, Major H. H. 1105 Rich, Peter 695, 1230 Rich, Thomas 1 158 Richard ofSt. Albans: The king's carpenter
19 Richard of Ewell 1035 Richards, Brigadier-General Michael
254, 306, 1042 Richards, James 312, 1234 Richards, John 1 160, 1254 Richards, Joseph 1 164 Richards, Joshua 1158, 1190, 1204 Richards, Thomas 116o Richardson, James 1223, 1234, 1239 Richardson, John I I 73 Richardson, T. R. 718 Richardson, William. 1200 Richmond, Mr. 484 Richmond, Charles grd Duke of 801,
1037, 1061, 1065, 1086, 1089 Riddle, Superintendent S. 938 Ridler, Commander P. H. r 115 Ridlesden, John 1043 Ridlesden, Sir Stephen 1043 Ridley, Lieut.-Colonel E. D. 1 118 Rifle, Enfield (Long) M.L., 1853. 740 Rifle, Enfield (Short) 1414
Rifling, Lancaster: Invented, 1851. 1393 Riflmg, ,i\lh1tworth: Introduced betvveen
1856 and 186g. 1393 Righ, George 1262 Righ, Thomas 1233 Riley, S. 1020 Ring, John 1 1 59 Rivers, 1st Earl of 86 Rivers, 4th Earl of 1037 Rivers, Thomas I 177, 1188 Rixen, W. J. 1o21 Rixon, Mr. 1173 Roach, William see Roche, Willia.m Robbins and Laurence 1076 Robe, Lieutenant William, R. A. 473,
488, 574, 1140, 1280, 1281 Robe, Mrs. 574 Robert of Linton 1035 Robert, William 15 Roberts, Alfred 1264 Roberts, Brigadier W. P. T. 1118 Roberts, Charles 1262 Roberts, G. H. 1 106 Roberts, Henry 1181 Roberts, Philip 139 Roberts-Austen, Sir w·. C. 1438 Robertson, Bvt. Lieut-Colonel F. W.
1118 Robertson, Dr. Robert 1440 Robertson, John 1242 Robeson, Cooper 1249 Robinet 59, 76 Robins, Colonel H. E. I. 1 1 1 5 Robinson, Bvt. Lieut.-Colonel J. H. 1 1 1 8 Robinson, C. 126o Robinson Committee: 1935. 1347 Robinson, George 613, 1141, 1282 Robinson, Henry 249, 1265 Robinson, J. 105 Robinson, James 1190 Robinson, Mr. 271, 1324 Robinson, Richard 388, 389
INDEX
Robinson, Robert 689, 1202, 1221, 1225,
1233, 1250, 1251, 1332 Robinson, Sir Arthur 1347 Robinson, Thomas 1179 Robson, Francis 1235 Robynson, John 181, 184 Roche, Mrs. William 1320
Made caretaker of the Woolwich Ordnance Chapel 1 320 Roche, William 539, 558, 574, 1156,II66 Rochester 124, 135 Bishop of 128 Rochfort, Colonel George 487, 541, 553,574, 579, 6O7, 611, 1111, 1280, 1282 Appointed Chief Firemaster 490 Rochfort, Major-General George see Rochfort, Colonel George
Rockets 1374 Manufacture commences 1805. 518 Manufacture of 518-520 Boxer see Boxer rockets Congreve see Congreve rockets Hale sec Hale rockets Life-saving 1379 War 1376
Rodman gun 813 Rodwell, Robert 1151 Roe, 1\/Iatthias 1143 Roger, John 1043, 1265, 1267 Roger: The king's cross-bowman 14 Rogers, Augustus 457 Rogers, Captain David 320, 326 Rogers, John 1265, 1267 Rogers, Mr. 194 Rogers, Richard 1 135 Rogers, S. O. 1428 Rogers, William 555, 1165
Paid a guinea for exertions in preparing the Baltic expedition 555 Rolfe, W. & Co 1304 Contract for supplying horses to the
Royal Arsenal 1304 Rolfe & Hallifax, Messrs. 541 Rolleston, Thomas 19 Rollinson, Edward 413 Rollo, Dr. John 507 Rolt, Peter 719 Roman Empire 9 Romney, Earl of 140, 218, 1037, 1077
Fallacy that he introduced the Broad
Arrow 218 Ronce, Edward 1 133 Rooker, M. A. 254 Roper, John 127 Roper, Mr. 691 Ropeyard, the: Clerk of 1 34, 153 Ros, Roger de 9, 1035 Rose, Samuel 1194 Roskinge, Mrs. Ann 388, 391 Rosier, Frederick 1146, 1180 Ross, Alexander 1042 Ross, Sir Hew Dalrymple 743, 757, 1042,
1366 Ross, William 1227 Rotherhithe 538, 1134 Rotherhithe see also Royal Carriage
Department, Rotherhithe branch Rotherhithe tunnel: Built 1825-1843. 560 Rothwell, James 205, 1058 Rothwell, William 17, 20, 1036 Rotulus computarum 5 Round, Henry 1222 Round, John 477 Round stones 24 Rouviere, Mr. 388 Rowan, Colonel 1333 Rowland, B. see Rowland, Benjamin Rowland, Benjamin 694, 1244 Rowland, George 1269 Rowland, John 1257 Roy, General 1o61 Royal George, the 650 Royal Academy
Academy room adapted as a chapel
360 Board room adapted as a chapel 360 Cadets' holidays 36o Cadet matrosses' pay raised to that of
cadet gunners, 1744. 307, 353 Cadets stopped £4 p.a. to pay for the mathematical master 346 Chambers and wash basins supplied for
cadets, 1759. 362 Colonel Belford's orders 359-360 Earliest muster roll ofcadets, 1753. 358 Eight cadets share a room 358 Established, 1741. 286, 307, 347 Estimate for building cadet barracks
approved 357 Fencing master appointed 361 First master becomes Professor of
Fortification and Artillery 364 Further Royal Warrant 348 Housekeeper for cadets 361 Houses for first and second masters 286,
287 Lieut.-Governor appointed, 1764. 364 Post of Assistant and Clerk abolished,
1759. 361 Second master becomes Professor of Mathematics, 1764. 364 Renamed Royal Military Academy, 1764. 364 Royal Warrant appointing James Pattison Lieut.-Governor 364 Royal Warrant for establishing, 1741.
347 . Rules and orders for 348 See also Royal Military Academy
Staff in 1741. 352 StafT in 1743. 352 Staff in 1745. 352 Staff in 1752. 352 The original, 1719. 346 Two cadets share a bed till 1766. 358 Vital changes, 1764. 364 Writing and Classics master appointed,
1764. 364 Royal Albert Dock opened, 1880. 715 Royal Armoury Mills, Lewisham 91,
1072 Royal Armouries, Commission on in 1630.
93 Royal Army Ordnance Department 1431 Royal Arsenal see Woolwich, Royal
Arsenal Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society 146
1509
INDEX
Royal Artillery
Authority to have quarlers at Woolwich before barracks were erected 306 Becomes Royal Regiment of Artillery,
1722. 307 .. .
Captain-Lieutenants become captains m the Army and in the regiment, 1772. 311
C.R.A. v\Toolwich gets command pay of 2os a day, 1787. 480
Committee 1094, 1427, 1439 Abolished, 1939. 1439 Instituted, 1907. 1094, 1439
Dress in the 18th century 337 Field Officers granted 20s a week in lieu
of quarters, 1787. 480 Institution I I 4, 741 Kettle drums last used in the field, 1748.
1057
.. .
Method of obtammg officers m early days 307
Officers Army rank given them 308, 310 Lodging rates, 1791. 484
Their pay overdue 314 Origin of 1058 Rank of Captain-Lieutenant abolished
311
Rank of Lieutenant-Fireworker abolished 31 1 Review by H.M. the King in Green Park, 1753. 311
Royal Warrant for establishing two companies in North Britain, 1715. 1059
Royal Warrant for establishing two companies of, 1716. 305, 1059 The colonel to have 2s for every enlisted man, 1727. 314 To be mustered once a month at Woolwich, 1752. 336
Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers: Procedure for granting commissions in 1059
Royal Brass Foundry see Woolwich, Royal Brass foundry and Woolwich v\Tarren, Royal Brass Foundry
Royal Carriage Department see Woolwich,
Royal Carriage Department Royal Charles 1 34 Royal Engineers
Origin of 1058 Officers commissioned in the Royal Artillery till 1761. 355
Royal Engineer Stores, Inspector of: Placed under the Chief Inspector Woolwich 1441 '
Royal George 681 Salvaged 650 Royal Gun factory see Woolwich, Royal Gun factory
Royal James 134, 137, 145
Royal Laboratory see Woolwich Royal Laboratory and Woolwich Warren, Royal Laboratory
Royal Military AcademyBoard room to be made available for professors and masters when not required by the Board 378
Cadet shoots a girl: Pays 20 guineas compensation 390
Cadet hospital in the Royal Arsenal converted into two academies to house 6o cadets, 1806. 539
Cadets' food: Increases in price 391 Cadets' pay raised in 1764. 364 Captain Richard Chapman appointed
clerk to the cadets, 1766. 372 Chandeliers to hold lamps installed in
place of candles 373 Civil stafT in 1783. 387 Clothing for the cadet company's fife and
drum major and three servants author
ized, 1770. 376 Dancing master appointed 380 Divided into upper and lower academics
367 Electrifying instrument installed in the hospital 39 Entrance examination introduced, 1774. 381
Feeding of cadets 370 First called "Royal Academy" 350 Floor across the upper room of the
academy built 380, 381 Further regulations for the supply of
candles 390 Gentleman attendants 365 Houses for the first and second masters
286, 287 Lord Granby's medal for cadets 371, 374
Holidays 360
Hospital accommodation for cadets
370, 371 Housekeeper's fees 370 Inspector appointed, 1771. 377 Issue (Free) of clothing to cadets, 1765.
369
Lock-up for recaltrant cadets 368
Lower school set up 367
Mr. Cowley objects to Mr. Muller usinghis house as a short cut 372 Modellers' room converted into an Arsenal sick bay, 1806. 539 Movable W.C. installed in the hospital, I 795• 391 Moved to the new building on Woolwich Common, 1806. 387, 539 New building on Woolwich Common opened, 1806. 392
New course of study introduced 378
New uniforms approved, 1783. 384
Parliamentary debate on the suitability of Wricklemarsh house for 385-386 Pattern coat for cadets approved, 1773. 380
Pay of cadets, 1765. 369
Possibility of being housed in Wricklemarsh house 385 Quarter for Inspector 383 Raising the wall at the cadet barracks
372 See also "Royal Academy" Single beds for cadets approved 369 Some cadets remained in the Royal Arsenal ill 1852. 539 SafT in 1764. 366
INDEX Ryder's forging machines go6
Royal Military Academy-contd.
Ryswyck, Treaty of 1077
Stoves installed and then abandoned, 1768. 375
Sabe, Mr. 343, 421
Two housemaids and three manservants
Sabots 1392 .
provided 369
Sackville, 1st Viscount see Sackville, Lord
Royal Military Repository 484, 679, 1349 Gutted by fire, 1802. 504 Superintendent allowed the same house
rent, coal and candle allowance as officers of the Royal Military Academy 466
Used for Divine Service, 1788. 467,
1318 Royal Mint 374 Royal Naval College see Greenwich, Royal
Naval College Royal Navy: Re-armament in 1840. 664 Royal Oak 134 Royal Obs rvatory ro61
Handed over by Office of Ordnance to Admiralty 1 1 1 Warrant to build 1 1 o Royal Ordnance Factories see Ordnance
Factories Royal Prince 202 Royal Regiment of Artillery
First appointment of surgeon and
surgeon's mate, 1728. 307 Growth of 307-31 1 Organization in 1757 313
Royal ''arrant disbanding trains of artillery, giving new peace establishment and certain allowances, 1699. 1077
Royal Warrant for establishing the Royal
Academy 347 Rudd, Henry 11 77 Rudyard, Henry 371 Ruegg, R. 718 Rugg, Major G. F., R.A.M.C. 1112 Ruggieri, Gaetano 449
Rules governing the occupation of officers' quarters at Woolwich see Woolwich: Rules governing the occupation of Officers' quarters
Rundell, Edward 157 Running past points 1417 Rupert, Prince see Prince Rupert Rushworth, John
Letter to a friend on the Dutch crisis 134
Russell, Earl 1086 Russell, Edward 1180, 1184, 1187 Russell, G. 882
Russell, 1-Ioratio Albert 1231, 1241, 1242,
1265 Russell, John 667 Russell, Major G. C. 1116 Russell, Richard 1233 Russell, Richard Tyler 1165, 1282 Russia 742, 947, 948, 1020, 1428
Russians a problem as early as 1718. 271 Rustington, Lawrence de 116 Ruston, Joseph 842 Ruthergh ap Richard 193 Rutland, Thomas 1139, 1140 Rutlidge, R. 6o9
Rycroft, Colonel D. M. 1119 Ryder, Mr. 746
George Sackville, Lord George 1o41
Sacree, William 1243 Saddlery 17 Saffery, John I 160 Safrey, Henry 194, 197, 200 St. Albans, Abbot of 143 . ,St. Albans, Richard of: The krng s
carpenter 19 St. Amand 120
St. Augustine, Monastery of 117, 178, 179 St Augustine William Abbot of see •'
• William,' Abbot of St. Augustme s Monastery
121
St Brice's Day f
St: Catherine's gate see under Tower o
London St Clair Stephen 1238 .
Si. George, Major-General Sir .John 943
St. G1e0o38 rge's hostel 982 St Helena 6oo di l t
St. James's Park: Firework isl? ay8 o
• celebrate the Peace of Pans, 1 I4.
592 Arms of the Order
1
St. John ofJerusa em, of 795 St. Mary Overy
History of 178 Saintonge 124 St. Paul 1 74
St Quintin, Colonel Ii:\14 Saker 59, 77, 162, 209, '3 Saker drake 77
w·n· 1210
saker, !"%, 1 qi ccar:
Salaries m e commonplace 98 888 1 Colonel M. T. 872
,
Sa e, . ted first Superintendent o 872 APP?};; iris, Royal Arsenal
Bumg ' Sales, John 477 Sale Mrs. 880 sion,Joh" ,4, +46, 1so, 1r6a, 1a8a Salter, George " a 33, 37, 171, 174, ssire 9%,%%,is5,ars,+s74.
185, 194, 199 ' " 1g78. 5r 25
Hygroscopic nature o sis, j. 1oaa s75, 376, 383»
Sandby, Paul 192, 254, :>• a487,_g89 ·8
Sandby, Thoma6 3 9 Sanders, A. 92 2 sanders, Joh 34;2g'
s±as, P"pg,c.,
Sanderson, Anwen Messrs. 767 Sandford &B(? de'Major Henry, R.E. Sandham, nga • I 2 9
Gs, 1ve8,·z"'nil pvision Appointed C. • •
1842. 1211 . D•• •
(em"P!) '&_R.E. voolwich iv1son
Appointe " • •
6
(temp), 1846. 123
31
Arrears in,
1107 f
Sandham, Robert 355-357 Appointed Secretary, Ordnance Select Death of 355 Committee 1188 Letters of 355-357 Scott, Captain Caroline F. 384, 387, 388
Sandhurst, Lord 888 Scott, Colonel L. M. 1 115 Sandhurst Committee 924, 931 Scott, David 1136, 1158, 1232
On Danger Buildings: Report 889892 Scott, Frederick 354 Sandwich 14 Scott, George Cleveland 509, 1 I 34, 1 I 40 Sandys, Anne 182 Scott,James 1149, 1231, 1277 Sandys, Edwin 132 Scott, John 167, 174 Sanerville, James 1 158 Scott, Lieutenant, R. E. 1371 Sansom, Miles 472, 488 His quarter in the Royal Arsenal lit bySansom, \Villiam 412, 472, 477, 1 !03 gas, 1849. 1371
Death of, 1784. 477 Scott, Lieutenant-Colonel George, R.A. Santa Maria 134 509, 510, 537, I 108, 1281 Sarajevo 947, 1094 Appointed Inspector R.C.D. 1 138 Sargent, John !043 Death, 1806. 1141 Sarnefield, Margaret 126 Scott, Mr. 64, 167 Sarnefield, Sir Nicholas 126 Scott, Richard 1234 Satchwell, Mr. 1 126, 1253 Scott, Sir 'William 1 79 Satchwell, Thomas A. G. 1231, 1240, Scott, the Reverend]. (Ordnance chaplain)
1247, 1261, 1278 655, 762 Saunders, Benjamin 1258 W.C. installed in his quarter, 1837. 655 Saunders, James 1234 Scott, the Reverend 1VL R. (Ordnance Saunders, Mr. I 149 chaplain) 1218, 1323, 1326
Saunders, Thomas 238 Retired 1857. 1326 Saunders, William 1233, 1240 Scott, William 1I80, 1205, 1250 Savage, Francis 1236 Scratchley, Colonel Peter H. I r 07, 1309 Savage, James 1155, 1158 Scriven, George 1158, 1 1 93 Saville, Sir George 134 Scroop, Elizabeth 125, 128 Saward, Edward 238 Scroop, St. Leger 128 Sawyer, William 1245 Scudder, Mr. 1260 Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, Francis Duke of Seager, Robert of Fulham 6o9
1324 Seaker, William 1215
Saye and Sele, Lord 666 Seaven Oakes 174 Sayes Court 135, 142 Sebastopol 756 Sayward, William 147 Sebert, Colonel 1437 Scalley, Michael. Injured in a R.L. Secretary-at-\t\lar I087, 1088
explosion, 1814. 598 Secretary-at-War: post abolished 1863.
Schaffhausen 247 1090 Schaich, Andrew 247, 248, 252, 255, 272, Sedar, Stephen 15 296, 297, 313, 404, 411, 423, 428, 430, Select Committee 1433 431, 432, 433, 434, 681, 787, 1 104, Select committee of Artillery Officers
1415
1434
Appointed master founder at 5s a day Sellator (Saddler) 13 251 Selwyn, H. 1070 Death of 427 Sendey, Charles 1 254
Evicted 428 .
Sergeant of the king's armoury within the
Fallacy concerning how he became Tower of London 79 master founder 247
Serpentines 37, 38, 39, 77
Ordered to quit his quarter 428 Severn, William 297Retirement of 427
Sewell, William 1209Salary of£5 a day a myth 251 Seymour, Henry Conway 1041Salary raised, 1718. 259
Seymour, Lord 1073
Schaich, Jacob 26o
Seymour, Sir Thomas 36, 1036
Schedule of protected occupations 986 Seyssel Asphalte Company 740
Schiele, Mr. 748
Shaffron, definition of 102
Schlundt, Johann Signum I I 10
Shaftesbury, 6th Earl ofsee Ashley Cooper,
Schlundt, John Lewis !077
the Hon. Cropley
Schomberg, Duke of 1037 Shakespear, George 236, 243, 256, 257,Schwartz, Berthold I 7 261, 262, 263, 268, 271, 275, 284, 288,
Scot, Cipriano 98
289, 290, 291, 328
Scot, Geoffrey I 30
Shakespear,John 288, 289, 290, 291, 292,Scot, William I 30
293,405,410,413,414,415,416,417,
'Scotch-up' 466
418, 419, 441, 442, 443, 444, 445, 446,
Scotland 1346
447, 1295, 1349Scott, Anne 179 Sharp, Arthur D. 99
Scott, Captain, R.N. 813
Sharp, Cornelius 614, 645, 1151, 1168,
Scott, Captain and Bvt. Major Henry A. 1169, 1176, 1213, 1282IIBB Sharp, Francis I I47
1512
INDEX
Sharp, R. 1 158 Sherburne, Sir Edward (Sr.) 1043 Sharp, Thomas 1161, 1163 Shere, Sir Henry 217, 1042 Sharpe, B. 1234 Sherlock, Andrew 238 Shaw, G. F. 1022 Sherman, Nicholas 97
Shaw, Sir John 125 Sherman, Mrs. I 03
Suit against Mr. Richard Bowater 126 Sherman, William 200 Shead, Samuel 1 1 79 Sherwin, Edward 197 Shears and Sons, Messrs. 589 Sherwood, William 190, 208 Sheaves of arrows I 7 Shields 17 Sheely, Edward 1248 Shinn Robert 1140 Sheepy, William 200, 203 Ships 'burned by the Dutch 135 . Sheerness 1 33, '35, 256, 305, 522, 1057, Ships' ordnance: Tarring and lacquermg
1319 to prevent rust 213 Sheffield, Lord 385 Shipster, Colonel G. C. 1118 Sheldon, Mr. 148 Shipster, Robert 1139Shell Shoeburyness 668, 1297, 1342, 1343 668
A.P.
Palliser: Characteristics 1 393 Land acquired for artillery ranges
A.P.
Palliser: Introduced 1863. 1393 Short, George 387, 1240, 1250 Steel 1394 Short, Searle 388 Boxer's Diaphragm Shortridge, Bowel & Co 768
Improvements on Spherical case shot
140o ""?'.. 1roduccd a8±June +887. 1389 Provisionally approved 11th October
case ,399· {3%,}4a ash November
1853. 1400 Case, light: o IS e Chemical 1398 1830. 1390 Common Cast iron solid . 1388
Filled H.E. included in field equipCast iron spherical 138 4eed 1867.
Chilled iron sphencal: Intro u
ments during World War I 1394 Employed with guns with heavy charges, 1 388 1779• 1391 Grape d claimed
Caffin's pattern: A vantages
Employed with howitzers, 1700. 139I Gas 1398
2}$, er: Manufactured 1856.
H.E.: Nose-fuzed till 1913. 1394 Ca n spa •
Incendiary
139I P, ·d 1822.
Caffin's pattern: ropose
A.Z. shell 1396
Early pattern 1396 i3r r, r, ture manufacture L.S., Obsolete September 1920. 1396 Obso ete or u 18 6. 1391 Re:introduced 1940. 1396 20th FebruaryS ~th February
Martm's Obsolete for N.•, 2 1856. 139
Approved 29th October 1856. 1395 Obsolete 186g. 1396 Quilted 1391 Introduced 1803.
Life-saving, Manby:
_Reasons for adoption 1396 Ring: Introduced 1901. 1399 1389 Segment: Introduced 13th April 1860. Palliser' .q a1st October 1867. 1389
1398 Approl ve t I l th October l 909.
Obso escen,
Shrapnel Improved 1400 1389 a February 1922. 1389
Obsolete, 23r
Modern 1401
Paper 1389
Smoke: Introduced during World War I
Proof 1389
1398
Red-hot 1388
Star Sand 1389
Early pattern abolished 1863. I 395
Spherical case: ice 1803. 1400
Modern type: Introduced 29th May Approved for sery ' April 1804.
1873. 1397 First used at Surinam,
Target 1398 Shelley, Roger 116 1400 .. +84 1399
Proposed m I 7 4· l Shell in honour of
Shene, Prior of 86
Renamed Shra"}'fe i8sa. 1399
Shepherd, Francis 509, 1 134, 1 1 50, 1 I 53 its inventor I 1Shepherd, Frederick S. 1241, 1244, 1247 Trials with 1400 Shepherd, George 1145, 1209, I 2 1 o, 1263
Stccl February 1865. 1g88
Shepherd, Hill & Co 768
First issued, 6th e r anufacture, 24th
Shepherd, Hill & Spink 768 Obsolete for future m88Shepherd, Gunner C. 1022 October 1866. 13 Shepherd, William 1 139
Shepherd's farm 981 sot,%"..a mes, R.A. 14o
Shrapne' 86
Sheppard, George 1 179
Death in 18_42• fo~ his invention 1399
Sheppard, John 238
Given pens"o},j shell 586, 1399
Sherburne, Sir Edward (Jr.) 136, 170,
His experunen
1043, 1058
Small ArmsShrewsbury 524 Birmingham, Inspector of: Instituted,
Shrewsbury House 1339 Shrubsole, the Reverend R. 1319 1804. 1070
Procedure for the supply of: 17th and
Shrimps 76
18th centuries 1o69, 1070
Shroficld, Manor of 89
Sub-committee on: Appointcd 1853.
Shuldforde 118 Shutt, Benjamin 1166 740
Smart, Nedtracy 1044
Siddon, Mr. 1138
Smedley, A. 926
Sidney, Mr. 1151
Smelt, Leonard 1043, 1046Sidney, Sir Philip 45, 1036, 1089 Smiles, Samuel 565
Siege trains 1423
Smith, A. 1159
Siemens, Dr. C. W. 142
Smith, A. E. w. I 122Siemens, Lieutenant 1385
Smith, Alfred 1259
Sierra Leone 1254
Silberrad, Dr. 0. J. 1440 . Smith, Captain George 379, 380, 382,
Appointed additional chemist, 1901. 438 Appointed Inspector R.M.A. 1771. 377
1440 Ch •1
Appointed Superintendent of em1ca Death of, 1782. 387 His Military Dictionary published 1770.
Research 1440
382
Silk Mills 91
Smith, E. 769
Silver, Alexander 1o78 Silver, Captain Thomas 232, 239, 240, Smith, Edward 1233
Smith, F. 926,. 1258
3 I 1, 1051
Death of 240 Smith, Frederick 1233, 1243, 1272 Smith, F. E. 1117
Silver, Richard 1o78 Silves, Thomas 1163, 1165 Smith, G. 1105 Silvester, Mr. 222, 249 Smith, George 159, 1137, 1146, 1 149, Silvester, Thomas 232 1237
Simmonds, Henry 116o Smith, Gunner P. W. !022 Simms, Thomas 1146, 1207 Smith, Henry 1222, 1240, 1242 Simon the Portevin 6 Smith, H. C. 1217 Simons, Edward 1064 Smith, Hugh 1260 Simons, W. 1203 Smith, J. 1020 Simons, W. J. 1107, 1217, 1239 Smith, James 1240, 1261 Simpson, Colonel C. M. 1119 Smith, Jarvis Rose 1246 Simpson, Thomas 329, 352, 357, 362, Smith, John 131,1152, 1171, 1217, 1246,
1261
363, 1317
Death of 363 Smith, John & Sons 116o Simpson & Co 1359 Smith, Joseph 144.8 Sims, Anne 139 Smith, J. T. 1220 Sims, Edward 1215 Smith, Major L. F., R.A.M.C. 1112 Sims, John (Jr.) 1207, 1209 Smith, Major~General H. R. W. M. 1112, Sims, John (Sr.) 1182, 1190, 1207 1113,1116 Sims, Mr. 1257 Smith, Matthew 693 Sims, Richard 139 Smith, Peacock & Co 768 Simson, Lieut.-Colonel J. T., R.A.M.C. Smith, Peacock and Jarrett, Messrs. 738,
I I 12 739, 741, 747 Sinclair, Catherine 372 Supply morticing machines to the Sinclair, Lieut.-General 31 o R.C.D., 1852. 739
Single-fire 1402 Supply punching and shearing machines Singleton, Mark 1045, 1124 to the R.C.D., 1853. 741 Sissison, Mr. 721, 1274 Supply self-acting grooving machines to 6 pdrs. 173, 204, 259 the R.C.D., 1852. 739 Skeffington, Sir William 1036 Smith, Peter 1187 Skilmore, Samuel 1173 Smith, Purcell 1020 Skinner, Mr. 502 Smith, Richard (Jr.) 1151 Skinner, General 437, 461 Smith, Richard (Sr.) 11 79 Skipton, John 1043 Smith, Richard James 491 Slade (brig) 538 Smith, Robert 1229, 1244, 1255 Slade, J. 1158 Smith, Robert (Assistant solicitor to the
Slade, John 200 Board of Ordnance) 516, 521, 558,Slater, David 641 561, 576, 634, 651, 1320 Sleaford, John 21, 1036 Smith, Robert (Boy) 12 18, 121 g Slings 40, 76 Smith, Samuel 1 235, 1258 Sloane, Francis 1177, 1180, 1185 Smith, Sidney L. P. 1265 Slow-match 1374 Smith, Sir Thomas 57 Slynges see Slings Smith, Thomas I 45, 1158, 1 200, 1202 Small arm ammunition inspected by R. L. His quarrel with Ralph Eltonhead and
1 856-1886. 828 the Burrells 145
INDEX
Smith, Thomas le 14 Sparrow 77 Smith, W. 1261 Spear 9 .i:i
Spearman, Alexander 1146, 1147, 1I4
Smith, William 491, 1 144, 1147, 1175,
1149, 1151, 1152
1180, 1233, 1236, 1243, 1250, 1252, Spearman, MaJor 522
1260, 1264
Spedding, Colonel C. F. C. 1114
Smith, Zachariah 1078 Smith and Sons, Messrs. 581 Spencer, Anthony 296, 1103 Smithers, William 1 2 r 5, 1246 Spencer, Earl 1084
Smithfield 85 Spencer, George 1078 Spencer, Sir Robert 1043
Smoke-balls 1398 Obsolete, 30th August 1883. 1398 Spicer, Charles 539
Use of 1398 Spindly, Thomas 38
Smyth, Henry 88 Spittle, Solomon 394, 412 Smyth, John 33 Death of 412 Smyth, Sir J. 137 Springalds 13, Smythe, Alice 1 79, 184 Spooner, David 181229, 1239 Smythe, Colonel W. J. 8o3 Spray, Mr. 1134
Spring Gardens, Londo~ 193, 232
Smythe, Thomas 179, 184
Springett, Charles 123::>
Snaith, Henry 21, 1036
788
Snell, \ illiam 15 Springfield
6
Soad,, (?aptain, R.l . 735 Sprong, Gerard 2 Has disagreement with the Civil Sprong, John 26 Offi_cers, \ oolwich 735 Sprott, Thomas_ 3°e
Sproull, Brigadier, A. • I I 19
Supenntendent of Shipping, Royal
• Samuel 11 72 :Arsenal 735 Spur""g, wiiiiam raos, 1ao6 ,ogo.
Soldiers (O.Rs) Ii ring in government Stace, sd. ion of £80 p.a.,
Awarde a pens
houses are not liable for poor rate 336, 439 1205.,,_ a. 617, 640, 649, 659» Somer, Henry 28, 1036 Stace, William 53"°' ao4, 12o6 1102, 1 1 73, 1174 -Royal Arsenal,
Somers, 1st Lord see Cocks Sir Charles Appointed storekeeper,
Somerset 1-Iouse 103 '
1823. 617, 1173
Somerset, Lord Fitzroy 1086, 1124
Death of, 1839. 659
Somerset, Lord Robert Edward 1042,
er d Sir Thomas 1037
1043 Stauor , . . 209Stafford '" il11am l
Somerset: Ordnance sloop 12 1 7
Staines, 'William of 196
Sone & Co 298
George I2I
Sone, Mr. 401, 402, 403 Stanfield,
Stanget, John 3l
South African War 895, 911, 914, 1093
Stanhope, Earl •
South, George 511, 1136 South Sea Bubble 347, 373 .I
Stanhope plan."% South Sea Company 346 sisJ? I, is
Southampton 22 Stanley> ,68, 470, 500,_526, 145° Southwark 91, 93, 94, 97, 178, 180, 193 Stanmore L1-ut -Coionel J. R. I I l 7
Stansfeld, ie • nt I 09, 422
Southwell, Sir Richard 41,81, 1036, 1041 Southwell, Sir Robert 145 sayord, 8,%]'#. • rs6s Sovereign of the Seas 145 sireo" +gs4, ma+
Description of I 45 Co one
Stapleton, l 1 64 Stapley,
Sowden, Colonel H. N. 1115 127
Spain 469, 476, 719 seait, 1",,,, Gs, +au9 Spalding, James 12 1 4 Starkey, Joy\ estminster 12 Statute of 61
Spalding, John 1161, 1227
sayford, H. ',
Spalding, Robert 1268 Sparkes, Edward M. 692, 698, 712, 749, ss;5wig,"~G
S S Intrep1 6
765, 1102, 1212, 1228, 1250, 1371 S·s· North Star 71 Appointed deputy storekeeper, Chatham .'. 716
S S Pioneer 716
1841. 1212 s·s· Prince A}bert6
Appointed deputy storekeeper, Royal ·s· Resolute 71 Arsenal, 1845. 692, 1228 S. • l Star 1315 Appointed storekeeper, Royal Arsenal, s.s.2%..a +is
seel; mite 9%4, a7, 11a
1849. 712, 1250 .
Steevens . General o n -'
Made member of a committee formed m Major-Si John see
Steevens, Ma"or-General ir
1854 to determine the duties of the
Steevens, JMaior-General John
Ordnance Chemist 749 . Steevens, ~ 6 liQuarter in the Royal Arsenal eqmpped Stcnnel, John _1 ltenjamin see Stebe n
with gas at his own expense, 1854. Stehelin, Captau~ ·n 1371 colonel Benjam%!in 320, 325, 381, Refused increase of salary 698 · Colonel Benp
sehclin» ,g=. 387, 389
Sparkes, Joseph 1260 383, 3/9» ' Sparkes, Mr. 1126
!l8
Stehelin, Lieut-Colonel Benjamin see
Stehelin, Colonel Benjamin Stephens, Francis 399, 411, 1239 Stephens, William 1243 Stephenson, David 272, 275, 296, 1103 Stevens, A. 926 Stevens, F. 926 Stevens, James 1220 Stevens, 'Thomas 97, 329, 1317, 1318
Appointed Clerk to the Chapel, 1 75 I. 329, 1317
Vacates appointment of Clerk to the
Chapel 1318 Stevens and Brenchley 1o64 Stevens & Sons, Messrs. 1372
Tender for supplying gas to the R.E.
offices, Royal Arsenal, 1855. 1372 Stevenson, Bombadier James 466 Stevenson Committee, 1922. 1007, 1343,
1345
Dissolved 1345 Stevenson, E. 926 Stevenson, Mr. 1149 Stevenson, Richard 824
Stevenson, Sir James 953, 1007, I 343 Stevenson, Surgeon-Major W. F. 1111 Steward, Frederick York 1184, 1 186 Stewart, Henry 1198 Stewart, James 1227 Stewart, Thomas 1225 Stewart, William 1220, 122 1 Stiggers, Richard 1 233 Still, John 1268 Stirling, Colonel W. 1115 Stirling, Mr. 621
Stirling & Page, Messrs. 609 Stockley, John 1183 Stoke, John 35, 1 043 Stokes, Mistress see Mistress Stokes Stokes, Ralph 1035 Stokes, S. H. 1122 Stokes, Thomas 2 19, 1070 Stokey, J. 1154 Stokoe, Vincent 429 Stone, George 1238 Stoneham, E. 667
Stoney, Captain F. S. 904 Store Accountant, Woolwich 1427, 1448 Storekeeper-General 1060
Post abolished, 1822. 1o6o Post instituted, 1808. 106o
Stores, 702, 849, IO9I Director of 849, 1091 New system of inspection introduced by
the Surveyer-General of the Ordnance 702 Storey, Daniel 598
Killed in a R.L. explosion, 1814. 598 Storey, J. 1234 Storey,John 1215 Storey, Thomas 1182, 1248 Storks, Major-General Sir Henry Knight
1038 Story, G. F. 1122 Stow, John 115 Strachan, Andrew 598, 667 Strachcy, Henry 1045, 1046 Stradley, David 1159
Stradley, John 511, 1136, 1146, 1 162
1516
Stradley, Peter 1146 Straffon, v\ illiam 12 15, 12 1 g, 1239 Stralian, Mr. 715 Strange, Major H. B. 1105 Strangeways, Major 686 Stratford 1310 Stride, James 1252 Strinham, T. 124-4 Strother, Mr. 766 Stroud, Edward 1148 Strudley, John 512 Strutt, Benjamin 1242 Stuart, Alexander 1152 Stubbs, R. 1270 Stubbs, William 1159 Sturgeon, John 1036 Sturgeon, Richard 127 Sturling, Alfred 1261 Sturrey 118 Sturrocks, Captain 667 Sturton, T. E. 1146
Such, William 1205 Sudetenland 1022 Sudtone 123 Suffolk, Duke of 67, 119 Suffolk Place 138 Sugden, General Sir Cecil Stanway 1040 Sugden, William G1, 10o Suggatt;, Edward P. 1253 Suggest10n to exchange land at Greenwich
to increase the si.ze of Woolwich
Warren 109 Suller, Richard 1153, 1159 Sullivan, Daniel 1227, 1265 Sullivan, Josiah 1223 Sullivan, Sub-officer w. 938 Sullivan, Timothy 1185, 1192. 1 198, 1208 Sullivan, William Henry 1 208, 1209
Sulphur 19, 21, 25.36, 489, 1374, 1375,
1378, 1395, 1396, 1398, 1414 Sultan Mahmoud II 654 Summer excursions in the County of Kent
1855. 452 > Summetarii Garderobe 6 Sumpter, Mrs. Ann 329, 374, 481, 1318
Considered insane 481 Sumpter, Richard 343 Sumpter, William 241, 272, 297, 412,
413, 447, 450
Sumpters 6 Surinam 1400 Surrey 37 Surrey, Abraham 1238 Survey of H.M.'s Lordship or Manor of
East Greenwich carried out in 1695.
107 Survey of stores in the Tower 1523. 39 Survey of stores in the Tower and ships
1578. 53 Susan and Mary (Barge): To be sold, 1834. 647
Sussex 36 Sutch, Thomas]. 1216, 1218, 1229, 1268 Sutherland, George 1 209
Sutton, Lieutenant Thomas, R.A. 473, 487, 1134, 1280, 1281
Sutton, Sir Richard 336, 340, 439 Sutton-at-Hone 123 Swaddell, John 1043
INDEX
Swain, John 1 1 66 Swan, William 116 Swynley, William 15 Sweet, Richard 1185 Swettenham, Brigadier N. A. M. 1119 Sweyn Forkbeard 121, 122 Swift, Anthony 296 Swindall, Daniel 1137 Swinger, Thomas 1259, 1263 Swithen 178 Swithinbank, Commander C. W. 1120 Sword 9 Swords, A. 926 Swote, Richard 130 Sydenham of Coombe, 1st Lord 893
Death 0f, 1933. 893 See also Clarke, Sir George Sydenham Sydes,John 1143, 1172, 1177, 1221, 1226,
1248, 1249 Sylvester, Mr. 606, 618 Symes, Joseph 1233, 1248 Symms, Samuel 1243 Symonds 16o Symonds, Captain Benjamin 137 Symonds, G. R. 1213, 1214 Symonds, R. 1 186, 1200 Symons, George 1 188 Syren 76
Taffs, L. G. 1 106, 1107 Talboys, Staff Sergeant 1134 Tammies 1392 Tamney, James 1262 Tapicer (Upholsterer) 13 Tapner, John 615, 1156 Tapp, G. M. 8II, 1105
Appointed C.A. to D.C. of O.F, 1888.
871 Tarbox, Joseph 288 Tassels: Exportation of, forbidden by
Edward II 69 Tattersall, Agnes 127 Tattersall, Anne 127 Tattersall, John 127 Tattersall, Margery 12i Tatton, Frederick 1258 Taunton, H. 1266 Taylor, Abraham 304 Taylor, Christopher 238 Taylor, George 172, 1102
First permament official at
depot, Woolwich 172 Taylor, H. 1254 Taylor, Henry 1262 Taylor, J. 1258 Taylor, John 592 Taylor, Mr. 820, 1262 Taylor, Richard 1152 Taylor, Sir Herbert 1042 Taylor, Sir Thomas 111 Taylor, Thomas 1240 Taylor, William 1146, 1225 Teasdale, Thomas 1242 Teddersmill 89 Telaria, Definition of 24
Ordnance
Temphill, William see Temple, William Temple, Brigadier G. 1117 Temple, William 33, 35, 40 Tempull, William see Temple, William
Tennyson, Charles 1044 Tentler, Vincent 35 Tents 17 Teynham, Mr. 1183 Thales, Mr. 1275 Thalia: Floating magazine 924, 93 I Thames Ironworks, Blackwall 75 7 Thames nets: Lawful measure in 1 30 Thanthur, Anne 179 Thanthur, Thomas I i9 Thomas, Captain J. H., R.A. 1436 Thomas, Colonel R.A. 1021 Thomas, Lynall 803, 813
Gun 81gThomas, Mr. 500, 555 Thomas, P. H. L. 1110 Thomas, William 1137, 1143, 1168 Thompson, Absolom 1271, 1278 Thompson, George 116o Thompson, Gordon 1184, 1187, I I 88,
1213 Thompson, Henry 1191, 1197, 1235,
1261 Thompson, James 1138 Thompson, John 1 186 Thompson, Robert • 1222, 1272 Thompson, Thomas 1270 Thompson, William 1254, 1255 Thompson & Forman, Messrs. 1365 Thor 12, 28 Thorn, J. 1021 Thorneton, Thomas de l 5 Thorpe, James I 1 34, 1 1 44, 1164
Death of, 1817. 1164 Thorpe, John 43 Thorpe, William Jacob 736 Thorston, Thomas 1046 3 pdrs. 204, 335 Thumm, Mr. 1146 Thwaites, John 341, 420, 537, 625, 1181
Ordnance Clockmaker 341, 420, 537
Death of, 1826. 625, 1181 Thynne & Thynne, Messrs. 884, 885 Tichborn, Sir Henry 217, 1041, 1058 Tim,in, Captain William 383, 387 Tiggins, John 172 Tilbury 106, 109, 173, 198, 215, 306, 6o9,
658, 1058, 1245 Tilbury Fort 1078, 1223 Tillard, John 1245 Tilley, Mr. 1364 Tilley, Thomas 1259 Tillie, James I 104 Tilly, John 1220 Tinker, Lieut.-Colonel E., R.A. 1 1 14,
1116 Tippetts, Commissioner J. 157 Tisdal!, Lieut.-Colonel A. L., R.A. 1118 Tisdal!, Thomas 1189, 1192 Tisoe, William 6ogT.N.T.: Adopted as a H.E. filling in
October 1914. 964 Tocock, James 766 Todhunter, Colonel H. W. 1118 Tomkinson, James 1243 Tomlins, Captain Edward 65 Tomlins, John 1170 Tomlins, Mr. 538 Tomlinson, Commander A. M. 11 20
Tomlinson, E. M. 68 Traitors' gate 66, 2 12 Tomlin.Son, William 1258 Travers, Samuel: Surveyor-General of Toner, Daniel 1220, 1229 ·works 107 Toner, I. 1246 Travis, Henry 878, 879, 1 106 Tonge, Thomas I I 7 Appointed supcrintendi11g engineer and Tongue, John 239 constructor ofshipping, 1896. 878,879 Tongue, illiam 735 Trench, Frederick , iliiam 1 045 Tools x 7 Trench master 34 Topping, Mr. I 137, II39 Tresdale, Thomas 1235
Topping, Timothy I 220 Tretrcacuff, Andrew 271
Torres, Summers 1278 Trevecca I 319 Totnes, :Earl ofsee Carew, Sir George Trevet, vVilliam r 1 75 Tovey, Captain Samuel 472, 473, 489, Trevitt, James 1182
I IX X Trevor, Sir Thomas 125 Tovey, Mayor Abraham 320, 325, 342 Tribulus 9 Tower or London I I, 12, 13, 14, 15. 16, Trice, William 1265
17, J9, 21,22,23,24,34,35,39,40,41, Trickett, J. 718 48, 52, 54, 55, 61, 63, 66, 79, 81, 92, 97, Trigge, William 130 100, IO2, 104, 161, 169, 170, 171, 203, Trigge, Sir v\lilliam 1041 204, 217, 256, 335, 433, 438, 499, 584, Trinity Prize 173 6o9, 625, 1069, 1070, 1071, 1077, 1133 Trinoda necessitas 122
Becoro.es the principal showroom of Truckle, T. 1153
armour in the country 104 Truewhellar,John 1147, 1156, 1157 Drawing room 351, 373, 467 Trumbull, Sir vVilliam 1045 Establ..ishment of artificers, 1344-1347. Trunk, description of 24
16 Trunks 75 Fee'd gunners: How situated in peace Trykenham, Lambcrt de 1 3 I time 302 Tube Fee'd gunners there reduced in 1688 Abel's electric 1386 fro:rn x oo to 6o. 66 Cross-headed detonatingFee'd gunners there restored to 100 66 Approved 9 September 1846. 1384
H.Q. o-£ the Office of Ordnance 66 Copper friction Lord Dartmouth's plan made 1689. 66 Adopted 24June 1853. 1385 Ordnance Arms moved to and built on ElectTIC high tens10n, Abel's pattern,
the south side ofC store near the Salt Mark I Towe1 432 Approved 27 January 1866. 1386 Paper on by William Franklins, yeoman Obsolete 29 January 1892. 1386 warder in 1641. 66 Electric low tension Principal store, factory and repair depot Introduced 1878. 1386
in the Kingdom 16 Obsolete 1919. 1387 St. Catherine's gate 66 Electric T. 1387 Traitors' gate 66, 212 Friction 1385 White to-wcr belongs to the Ordnance Friction push T. 1387
Office 66 Friction T.: Introduced 1894. 1387
Tower Place see Vi'oolwich, Tower Place Galvanic Tower wbar£ 14, 66, 204, 212 Approved 8 February 1856. 1386 Tower workshops 22 Obsolete r 866. 1386 Towers erected for the defence of London P.: Approved 1884. 1387 192 Percussion S.A. cartridge 1 388
Townsend, Charles 1235 Percussion T. 1387 Townsend,James 1198, 1200 Quick-match 1383 Townsend, Jvfr. 489 Rectangular percussion quill 1 384
Townsend, Reginald see Townsend, Sir Vent electric 1388
Reginald Vent percussion 1388 Townsend, Sir Reginald r 104, 1 r 22 Vent scaling 1387 Townsend, Thomas 223 Vent sealing electric V & M. 1387
Townsend, 4th Viscount see Townsend, rst Vent sealing electric wireless P.: Marquis Introduced 25 June 1895. 1388 Townsend, 1st Marquis 384, 438, 799, Vent sealing friction V & M. 1387 1037, 104I, 1089 Vent sealing, mechanical and firing, 6Tozer, Daniel 691 inch and So pdr. B.L. Approved 17 Tozer, John 1161, 1181, 1207, 1220 April 1882. 1387 Tozer, William 715, 819, 1184, 1196, Tubes 1383 1207, 121 1, 1266, 1385 Tucker, J. 12ro Granted a znonetary reward for intro-Tufnell, J. 1245 ducing labour saving practices 715 Tull, Mr. 509, 510, 1281 Tracy, Shackerley 1044 Tull, William 502, 1071 Trail, Mr. 82I Tulloh, Lieut.-Colonel Alexander, R.A. Trappcs, George 1 80, 181 see Tulloh, Major-General Alexander
INDEX
Tulloh, Major-General Alexander 744, 749, 759, 763, 781, 788, 1038, 1074,
1108 Appointed Inspector R.C.D., 1853. 744 Made member of a committee formed in
1854 to determine the duties of the
Ordnance Chemist 749 Tullok 489 Tully, Messrs. F. 624 Turbeville, Major 1076 Turkish Officers: Undergo a course at
Woolwich, 1837. 654 Turley, Michael 1269 Turnbull, John 472 Turnbull, Mr. 1149 Turner, Charles 1240 Turner, Colonel A. P.H. I I 13, I 115,
1117 Turner, Colonel G. F. B. 1117 Turner, Colonel G. 686 Turner, F. W. 1310
Appointed first civilian traffic manager,
Royal Arsenal Railway, 1921. 1310 Turner, John 1198 Turner, Mr. 412, 884, 1170 Turner, Sir Gregory 384 Turner, Stephen 148 Turton, George 1145, 1193 Tusk, John 1158 Tuson, Reverend G. B. 610, 1323, 1324 Tusseil, Richard T. 613 Tutchet, Talbot 351, 352 Twiss, Colonel William see Twiss, Lieut.
Colonel YI illiam, R.E. Twiss, Lieut.-Colonel William, R.E. 389, 390,500,501,539,541 Twiss, Major-General William see Twiss,
Lieut.-Colonel William, R.E. Twynihoe, Hopton 296, 1103 Twynihoe, John 297, 398, 399, 1103 Twynihoe, Thomas 1 103 Tye,John 1175 Tyer, Austin 12rn, 1220, 1277 Tylden, Lieut.-Colonel John, R.A. I 1 1 1,
1366, 1367 Appointed Firemaster, 1852. 733 1255 Retired on full pay, 1854. 745, 1267
Tyler, Albert 1256 Tyler,John 1218, 1256 Tyler, Thomas 1238 Tyler, William 1224 12 pdrs. 173, 204, 232, 298 24 pdrs. 204, 259, 335
Ulster 1217 Unicorn Prize • 1 73 United States of America 476, 721, 1076 Unity 134 Unwin, Station Officer G. 938 Upnor Castle 111, 134, 246, 256, 1228 Urquhart & Darby 667 Usher, James 926 Utrecht, Peace of, 1713. 246
Valettus Garderobc 6 Valley Forge 321 Vallon, Henry 1271 Vanburgh Castle 256
Van.burgh, Sir John 254, 255, 256, 787 Probable architect of Warren buildings 1716-1720. 254
Van Collet, Peter 36
Va.ndelcur, Captain Arthur 765, 1274 Appointed Captain Instructor, R.C.D., 1855. 765, 1274 Vandeleur gun 813
Vandeleur, Major 803
Vandeleur, Colonel H. M. I 117, 1118
Vanderkiste, Mr. 1139
Vane, Sir Henry 64
Van Galen, Christopher 1394 Vanguard r 45 Van Mervanbury, Cons 95 Van Roync, l\liartin 95, 96, 97 Van Ryssen, S. E. 1105 Van.sittart, Henry I ro Vauban, General 376 Vaughan, Joseph 1166 Vaughan, Thomas 1036 Vaughan, Thomas: Petition to Henry VI 66 Vayne, Richard 195, 1294 Veald, Sergeant Thomas 1246 Veale, Richard 318, 319, 323, 327, 333, 363, 364, 367, 372, 423, 424, 1107 Verbruggen, Catharina 479 Verbruggen, John 423,429,431, 435,1104 Verbruggen, Maria 479 Verbruggen, Messrs. 324, 325, 383, 428, 429, 430, 432, 433, 438, 439, 458, 465,479, 1416 Appointed master founders 427 Arrival of 429 Ask for Ordnance Arms in the Tower to be put up in front of the Royal Brass Foundry 432 Demand extensive new equipment and housing 429-432 Discover old lead and brass guns 433 New contract prices for casting, 1778.
474
Verbruggen, Peter 429, 431, 435, 473, 479,801, 1104 Death of, 1786. 479 Gets honorarium of £50 for casting
ordnance for the king of Naples 478
Vere, Sir Horatio 1037
Vere of Tilbury, Horatio 1st Lord of see Vere, Sir Horatio Vereeniging, Peace of 9 I 1 Veri, Brother Raymond de 795 Vernor, John 1 196 Versailles, Treaty 0f, 1783. 476, 551, 1082 Vcsci, Isabel de 124 Vesci, John de 124 Vesci, William de 124 Vestiarius 3 Vick, F. G. 1265 Vickers, Messrs. 968
Only suppliers with O.F. Woolwich of trench mortars from October 1914 till June 1915. 968
Victoria Cross 774 Instituted in 1856. 774 Made from Russian guns in the Royal Arsenal 774
INDEX INDEX
Victoria Dock 715 Approval to build, 1850. 715 Enlarged, improved and re-named Royal
Albert Dock, 1880. 715
Opened, 1855. 715 Victory 145 Vidgcry, John 1267, 1268 Vikings 121 Villani, John 19
Vincent, W. T. 191, 251, 299, 453, 626, 656, 678, 694, 718, 722, 753, 771, 819, 820, 822, 823, 824, 827, 900
Vine, William 1262 Viney, John 511. 1136 Viscountcy; The first ever created 85 Vivian, 1st Lord see Vivian, Sir Richard Vivian. Sir Richard 670, 671, 672
His dictum 'To steam we must come' 670
His minute in 1840 on the advantages of steam in the Royal Arsenal 671
Von Donop Committee 942 On reserve of Stores 942 Report of 942 Second Committee set up 942
Von Donop, Brig.-General S. B. see Von Donop, Major-General Stanley Brenton
Von Donop, Major-General StanleyBrenton 942, 1039, 1114 Appointed M.C.O. 942 Vulliamy, B.: 625, 627, 658, 687, 1181 Appointed Ordnance clockmaker, 1826. 625, 1181
v\ ade, E. J. 1275 Wade, Field-Marshal 1041, 1061 Wade, George see Wade, Field-Marshal Wadsworth, Thomas 1161, 1245, 1246 Wagner, Mr. 384 v\1ahan, Richard 194 Wahrendorff, Baron 803 Wain, Henry 643, 1194, 1195, 1 196 Wain,James 1233
Wain, William 1218 Wakeman, John 1 142 Wakeman, N. 670, 1208 Walcheren 1377 Walden, Sir Richard 1 1 7 Wales 1346 \,Vales, Prince of see Prince of Wales \-\Talford, Edward 251
Walker, Alfred 1262 Walker, C. 1021 Walker, Christopher 1070 Walker, Hezekiah 261, 285, 287, 292, 293 Walker, Humphrey 36, 37 Walker, James 406 Walker, Mr. 524
Walker, Nathaniel 477 Walker, Robert 511, 1136, 1146, 1149.
1150 vValker, T. 1249 Walker, Thomas 1133 \.Yalkey, Commander H. S. 11 13, 1114,
1120
Walkey, Rear-Admiral H. S. see Walkey,
Commander H. S. Wall, Charles 440
Wall, Mr. 673 Wallace, George 1234 Wallace, James 770 Wallace, Major W. B. 1118 Wallace, William 1239, 1259 v\lallenberg, J. K. 112 Waller, Shadrack 1173 Waller, Thomas 1201 Waller, William 1169 Walley, Richard 1145 Wallis, Mr. 564, 624, 635 Wallscot 468 Walpole, Major John, R. E. 713, 718,
1106, 1251, 1254, 1255 Appointed Acting C.R.E. \t\loolwicb Division, 1849. 7 1 3, 1251 To act as deputy C.R.E. \t\Toohvich
Division, 1851. 718 Walpole, Mr. 1073 Walpole, Sir Robert 274, 294 Walpole, William 43 Walsall, Samuel 487, 1280 Walston, James 1264 Walstow, Joseph 823 Walter 6 Walter of Brackley 8, 1035 Walter of Kirkham 6, 8, 10 5 Walter, David see Walter, Sir David Walter, Sir David 64, 68, 71, 72, 1041 Walter, Thomas 131 Walter, the king's smith 19 Walters, Mr. 623
Waltham 1342, 1344, 1347
Waltham Abbey 592, 1072 Factory 1063 Royal Gunpowder Factory 481, 1063
Explosion of Quinton Hill T/G plant,
1894. 888 History of 1064-1069 Post of Inspector of Gunpowder
abolished 18g2. 1194 Walton, G. 1164 Walton, George 1150, 1268 Walton, John 473, 488, 1064, 1065,
1280 Walton, Thomas 472, 612, 1282 Want, William 1143 Wanton, Colonel 64 War, Secretary of State for
Appointed 1854. 109O Combined with post ofSecretary-at-War, 1863. 1090 War and Colonies, Secretary of State for Becomes Secretary of State for the Colonies 1 090 War Department Cannot negotiate with workmen through the Trade Unions, 1895. 893 Chemist 852, 858, 1427, 1444, 1446
Photographic section handed over to the Armaments Inspection Department 1445
Fleet 1446 Wt D mark substituted for B t O mark, 1855. 1089 War OIice 840, 857
Deputy Director-General of Factories
Post Abolished, 1923. 10o1
Post approved, 1920. 1001
War Office-contd.
Director-General of Factories Post approved, 1920. 1001
Financial Secretary 860 Warcup, Mark 413, 488 Ward, Admiral T. le Hunte I II3 vVard, Colonel 762 Ward Committee on O.F. Clerical staff,
1902. 923, I 129 v\ard, E.J. 1227 Ward, Francis 724 v\1ard, George 1258 v\Tard, Major Francis Beckford, R.A. 762 Ward, Mrs. 762 Ward, Robert 1044, I 124 Ward, Sir Edward 923, 1129 Ward, Surgeon-Major W. P. 1111 Ward, William 1163, 1164 Warde,John 15,575
Warden of the Fleet 44 Wardle, Commander T. E. 1115 Wardrobe, 6, 7
Cofferer of 7 Controller of 7 Keeper cf 7 Sub-usher of 7 Treasurer of 6 Usher of 7
Ware, George Jr.) 389 Ware, George (Sr.) 387, 389 Ware, John 380, 387 Warleigh, Commander P.H. 1115 Warlike stores
Inspector of 868
Inspector-General of 849, 853, 858, 859 Warlow, Lieutenant, R.A. 721,781, 1076 Warmsley, Henry 1257 Warmyngton, Richard 35 Warner, Robert 1259 \i\iarp Knitters Ltd. 91 Warrant
For marking arms with C.R. and C.R. with anchor, 1627. 61
Transferring master-gunners and gunners in forts and garrisons from the establishment of Our Guards and Garrisons and Land Forces to that of Our Ordnance 336
Warrell, John 304 Warren, Charles 389 Warren, Colonel P. J. K. 1 114 Warren, George 1234, 1235 v\1arren, Sir William 201, 202
Builds special butts for Captain Leake's
experiment before Charles II 201 v\1arrior, a hulk 45 Warwick, Earl of 45, 46, 49, 1036, 1089 Warwick, Joseph 1240 Wat Tyler's rebellion 132 Water proof
For guns 1349 Not recommended for brass ordnance 465 For naval guns 464
First proof recorded, 1780. 464 Waterloo 600, 664, 1071 Waterman, Mr. 237 Waterman, Richard 149 Watford Anti-gas factory I007
Watkin, William 1244 Watkins, David 1247 Watkins, Elijah 1448, 1449 Watkins, Mr. 500, 1133, 1141 Watson, Charles 767 Watson, Edward I 170 Watson, John 1044
First storekeeper at the Office of Ordnance to have charge of the stores at
Woolwich 169 Watson, Joseph 1271 Watson, Lieut-Colonel Jonas 240, 311,
312, 320, 1077 Watson, R. 1154 Watson, the Reverend Dr. 1323 Watson, William 1235 Watte, Copyn 92 Watts, Benjamin 1176 Watts, Francis 1243 Watts,James 1145, 1147, 1170 Watts, John 511, 1136 Watts,T. 1146, 1155, 1158 Wattson, John 198, 200 vVaugh, George 260 Weapons and equipment between 14th
and r7th centuries 77-78
Waymouth, Commander A. \,V. I l 15 vVear, George 1213 Weate, Sir Thomas 1045 Weaver, Charles 488, 489, 490, 500, 1 107,
1133, 1280, 1281 Retired 1806. 114I Weaver, Joseph 1150 <6 6
Weaver, Thomas P. 490, 500, 5 9, 14,
1107, 1133, 1I41, 1178, 1282 Death of, 1833. 1195 Retired 1833. 1194
Webb Committee 920, 923. f Webb Committee: To determine fitness o men in the Royal Arsenal for Jobs; set up in 1840. 669
Webb, Edward 1272 Webb, F. W. 920 vVebb, Henry Thomas 821
Webb, John Parsons 1235 Webb, Mr. 504, 926, 1322 f
Webb, Sir John: Directo~-General o
Ordnance Medical Services 669 Webb, William 43 Webbeler, Hans Polyfery 95 Webber, Mr. 707 Weedon 1179, II93, 1341 Weekly Journal 248 Weeks, Aaron 1222, 1243 Weeks, Thomas 1223, 1263 Weeks, William 126o Welding, Mr. 1259 Welin breech screw 1417 Welland, James 1276 Weller, William 468 Well Hall estate 979, 98o Welling 118
16
Wellington channel 7. Wellington, ColonelBa1ley 537,541,574,
579 th t Duke of 1037,
Wellington, Ar ur rs 1086, 1089,1124 I ted b
Statue in the Royal Arsena execu y Thomas Milnes 535, 902
INDEX
Wells, Allen 1170 Whitehurst, Mr. 572
Wells, Benjamin 1218, 1226, 1232
Whiteside, C. 1 159Wells, Charles 1205, 1214, 1322
Whiting, Mr. 148
Appointed Clerk to tl1e Chapel 1325
Wells, Francis 1190 ,vhitmore, Samuel 1175 Wells, W. 1158 Whitnall, William 1 146 ,i\fhittaker, Mr. 314
v\ ells, William 1154, 1190, 1204, 1209,
1249, 1268 Whittaker, William 352, 405 Wells, Zacheus 1218 Whitworth gun 812 Welsh, J. 1275 Whitworth, Sir Joseph 752, 1074, 1076 v\ emyss, Bvt. Major T. M. R.A. 803 Undertakes the supply of machinery £or ,vemyss, James 224 the gun barrel department 745
\Vesley, John 1319 Whorwell, \i\filliam 240, 1250 vVessex 12 I \-\Thy manufacture at Enfield Lock is better \-\Test, Captain 389 than that at Birmingham 1074
West, J. 1153 Whytyld, Robert 43 Wickens, A. P. 1 1 17
West, Mr. 568, 587, 618
'\i\Tickham I r4
West Ham 1339 West Indies 162, 719 Wickham, Henry 124.0
Westmoreland 1346 Wickham, Robert 1245 ¼'est Point foundry, New York 778 Wickham, William 643, 1 1 95
West, Sir Glynn 953 Wickstead, John 1 198
vVestaway, H. 707, 745 Wicton, vVilliam de r 3 r v\7estern, Thomas 228, 232, 245 Wideman, Colonel Ludwig 433 Westminster 5, 93, 102, 108 Widville, Elizabeth: \'\'ifc of Edward IV
Palace of 14
86 ,vcston, J. 1262 Widville, Sir Richard 86 Weymouth, George 1259 ¼'ightman, Ann 249
v\lightman, John 249Whaite, Lieut-Colonel T de B., R.A.M.C.
II 12 Wignacourt, Alo[ de 795 '"'harrin, Jarvis 1195 Wigton, Gilbert 1035 Wharton, G. 1158, 1164 Wigzell, William
,vharton, George 189, 198, 1045, 1102 Appointed Clerk to the Chapel, 1764.
Whateley, R. 1146 330, 1318 Wheatley 135 Wilcox, Edward 1263 Wheatley & Co 298 v\filcox,John rr37, 1143 "Wheatley, heirs of 667 Wild, .John C. 1ia6, re66, ray+ Wheatley, William 164 Wild, Mr. see Wild, John, C.
Wheatstone, Professor 1434, 1435 Wild, Thomas r 2 r 4 ¼'heeler, Colonel J. L. 112 1 Wildbore 1380 ¼'heeler, T. 1146 Wilen, John 1182, 1251
Wheeler, William 1233, 1257, 1262 Wilford, Colonel Edmund N. 763, 1108 Whinney and vYaterhouse, Messrs. 87g Appointed Inspector of Artillery and of Whinyates, Colonel Edward Charles 1257 the Royal Brass Foundry 764., 1273Appointed Commandant, Woolwich, Wilkes, Edward 296, 297, 330, 40o, 1 103
1852. 738
Wilkie, Robert 1219, 1244, 1250, 1g56G
Whistler, Lawrence Wilkins, John 286, 442
His reasons why Vanburgh was the Wilkinson, Andrew 1045, 1046 creator of the Woolwich drawings in v\Tilkinson, Edmund 1077 the British Museum 256 Wilkinson, Lieut-Colonel M. L. 1109,
Whitaker, J. D. II09 III3, 1I16, 1117Whitaker, Mr. 239 Wilkinson, Mr. 740 v\'hite, George 1259 Wilkinson, Richard 489
White, H. 1020
Wilks, William 1078 \.Yhite, James 1204, 1266, 1278
Will, Lieut-Colonel G. W., R.A.M.C.
White, .John 491, 1043, 1243 1112 White, Mr. 249, 1127 Willan, Mr. see Willan, Thomas
White, R. see White, Richard Willan, Thomas 564, 1298, 1299, 1go1,
White, Richard 488, 612, 1140, 128o, 1302, 1303, 1304
1 282
Compensated for loss of horses, 180.4.
White, Robert 2g8 1300 White, Thomas 1043
William, Abbot of Lesnes 116 White & Sons, Messrs. 501 William, Abbot of the Monaslery of St.
White Bow staves 17
Augustine, Canterbury 116
Whitehall 79, 1277 William and Mary r 11 Whitehead, E. D. 1119 v\'illiam, Duke of Brabant 84 White Tower belongs to the Ordnance William of Aldgate 20, 24
William of Arundel 1035Whitefield, George 1319 William of Axmouth 11 William of Haverhill r o
INDEX vVilliam of Staines 1o Marquis of 67, vVilliam of Wykeham 12 Statue of 12 William Rufus see King William II Winchester, Mr. l 137 William the Conqueror see King William I Windeyer, Mr. 1266 Wilham, the cross-bow man 14 Windmill Hill 228, 245, 246, 247, 48,
William the Falconer 123 249 2 vVilliam the founder of London Windmill, Mr. 243
24 Williams, Colonel_1443 Windsor 79, 93, 97, 59, 433, 756,
102, 1
Williams, Colonel Griffiths 353, 334 1o57 Williams, George 1147, 1~' Castle 19g
illiams, John144i2g4 Windsor, Diie 1o45 illiams Committce' 89j, 1og8 Windsor, Vermont'1o76 illiams, Joseph Powell '94, ro38 Windward Islands 71 illiams, ii. r,4 windyer, Archibald iig5 w~~ams, \'\TiUiam l 143, 1144 Wingham, Wilham 1214 Williamson, Colonel George see Winke Colonel F. G. I 121
11W•111•W II Winnigton, Mr. 355, 356
iam~• oa:rnsn, on, Major-General George •v · 'ngton, Sir Edward
. Colonel John S. \''mni 1045 Appo1n.ted member of the Ordinance Winskell, John k10Al78b t S I C Winsor Frederic er . .
Appe~1';!?,Cted oSmupmeirttineetend11en77t of the Royal F·or~ed Company for Gas L1ghtmg, • _Military Repository 628, 1187 1808. 1370 Wilhar;:1s<;>n, Lieut-Colonel George see Winter, William 643, 1195 Willi\!\ ill1amson, I'viajor-General George vVire, D. W. 718 amson, Major George see Wisbeck 1247 6, ·38 .\'\T·1lliWill 1amson, MaJ•or-General George WvVi"sdom, JHaemnryes 12103 ,' l1215, 1218, 1234,
amson, Major-General George 313, 12 3%0, 32, 323, 324, 326, 331, $39,415, 1a5%,,, ,,, r4d33, 4-1-5, 446, 459, 464 Wisdom, William 'T. go O ered to survey Vloolwich Common Wiseman, Captam · · 8 fora ta-f._4qi firs,join z79,499,292"?
Bas a servants' hall with a bedroom vWVitheerrss,, Mrrs. .seAenn½eithe3r9s4, , o129.8 built as an annexe to his Quarter in Withings, Thomas 1044 the Royal Arsenal (No 9 Dial Square) Wode, John 1136
w;3;2 i6dose, John 143
4,,"yon, SirJ. 8a7 ii, Frederick ii47
!!!is, Colonel or11 n4 \W.~ll111_s, CEommander F. R. I 120 \,Volff, James frog, 1152, 1163, 1 I 73,
!!!!> dward 1ag__ Wolff,;Jo=hn 49°, ' Willis, Lieut-Colonel F. C. see W1lhs, Wolff-f H. 1173, l 77
1
Colonel Wols;ley, Lord 1092
Millis Mi. ,, de.rhomas n7 W111..-.... h J 1240, W e ey, s·ir John 57
;Outh, [ohn 1243 vVolstenholme, ~~loughby, Captain 183 Wooce. William 747 illowby, John 117 Wood Committee 953, 9~;
ills, Si;'Charles G74 op 6d, Edward 1156, 1i5 Wtlmot, Colonel F. M. Ea<dky"' Eacdley-Wood Edwm .,,s wg, "47,W· v\'ilmot, Lieut-Colonel F. M. Wood: George 1214, •
121 7
ilrnott, Mr. 1170 1248
![3ls0,ii'jA. 7as, 1so9, "a7 «ca,fym,2 ~?0 a Aro, us4.
v\ ~Ison, David H. 1244, 1249, 1254 Wood, John 1o , ' Milson, id#a ij#ii1ij6' 46, 149" g o, +a
6
iW lIson, James 1142, 1247 M . James ' ' 8
!/Son, John 316, 450, 678, 1107, 1205 WAooppd,oi.nta¢JdorChief Firemaster 4 9{era rots, 5&,k±ls' wi, jf,_, 787,, Said 'Steam is a tyrant' 704 Wood, RalpHh ,f McKinnon 953, 99
Wilson, Joh Broadby 477, 490, 1103 wood, Rt. on. · 1Wilson, Lady 566,574,577 Wood T 1261 Wilson, Lieut-Colonel John A. 1109, 6oi, ._.._9"° ~a. +a6o 1258 Wood Wilham 7 ,
\ppoitcd Director R.L., 185a. 73% kGGdti, ii1fi4am'
842 103 8 Wilsogns, Sir Thomas Spencer 437, 4cs».' Wjjofodciocj$,; '#%a as 469, 470 Woode, Anne 179 8
Wilson, Surgeon-MaJ·or W. D. 1111 \"oodc Thomas 179, 1 4d 88 ilson, William 1225 Woo ,or , . . 8
'dr'dDpt~Uwu
Wilton, John 221 Woodhall, Wilham
10
3
Winchester 131 Woodhard, G. 9 5
Bishop of 124, 178 2 v\Toodhead, John 1157, 1190, 1214 Church 128, 129 \,Voods, Brigadier E. A. 1 I 18 Civil Establishment: Re-organization of, Woods,John 1259 and new rates of pay 668 Woodward, William 23, 24, 25 Civil OIcers 639, 643, 645, 651, 654,Woolcombe. Commander C. G. L. 1115 676, 678, 679, 685, 688, 689, 69o, 697,Woolcott, Thomas 1196 702, 7 IO, 7 I 3, 740, 1304, 1306, 1367 Woolferman, John Christopher 1110 Have disagreement with Captain Woolgar, John 1173 Soady, R.N. 735 Woolton, John 1233, 1241 Receive instructions as to tidiness in \,Voolwich 79, 87, 93, 97, 111, 120, 122, the Royal Arsenal, 1852. 734
123, 136, 137, 150, 152, 156, 180, 181, Request that civil officers and clerks 203, 205, 211, 219, 224, 227, 233, 237, should be allowed to purchase coal 245, 261, 304, 305, 306, 309, 310, 317, at contract price tlu·ough the store385, 424, 437, 482, 483, 486, 503, 505, keeper, 1837. 653 514, 517, 524, 534, 627, 764, 1020, 200 men employed, 1835. 648 1077, 1078, 1192, 1244, 1274, 1296, Cock's Guide Book, 1837. 656 1297, 1338, 1339, 1340, 1341, 1342, Colesfelde 1 79 1343, 1344, 1345, 1346, 1347, 1350, Collick Lane 209, 243, 262, 269, 395,1362, 1363, 1431 463, 1349
Additional ferry 983 Commencement of Ordnance business Admiralty Overseer see Admiralty Over162 seer Committee on water supplies Agent at: Only one permanent official Convened, 1876. 1359 171 Reported, 1877 1359 Almhouses erected by Sir Martin Bowes Common 334, 338, 344, 391, 447, 466,138 1349, 1353, 1354, r355, 1358, 1359,
Almhouses on Sir William Prichard's 1360, 1361 site 138 Complaint about, to Ordnance ComAnnual Estimates missioners in 1598. 163
1845. 696 Completing road from Charlton to the 1848. 704 Royal Arsenal 576 1849. 709 Connaught Barracks 334 1850. 715 Construction of the I-Ia-Ha on the 1853. 739 Common 343 1855. 761 Consumers Protective Gas Company
Appointment ofstorekeeper for saltpetre 1372 198 Obtain contract for lighting the Royal
Abolished 198
Arsenal 137 1
Arrangements to cope with flooding Convict hulks at
114-117 Defence 451 Arsenal Football Club 1448
Justicia 451, 640, 705, 1I 75Renamed "Arsenal" 1449
Retribution 578
Artesian wells, suggested sinking of, Warrior 451 1846. 1355 See also under Convict hulks
Assistant Director of Artillery see AssisConvicts see Convicts tant Director of Artillery, Woolwich Com Marsh Level 468 Assistant Director of Military Transport Court Baron and Court Leet held at886, 1427, 1446 125 Bad storm in 1703/04. 235 Covered reservoir on the Common, 1872.
Bad weather in 1836. 648
1358
Barn 226
Crab-tree, Great 732Battery dismantled in 1667 136 Crab-tree Level 468, 607
Battery of guns on market hill 132 Crab-tree, Little 732 Becommg of importance to National Crab-tree sluice 469 defence by 1671. 196 Defences Board of Health: P.M.O. Woolwich
Brought up to standard, 1688. 2 17
Garrison to replace the officer of the
Strengthened in 1696. 222
Ordnance Store Department as memDefinition of 1 12ber, 1894. 888
District occupied by the Romans 11 3Borough Council: Request to be allowed
Dishwash Lane, 631
to adopt the Arms of the Board of Dishwater Lane 619Ordnance 91 I
Ditchwash Lane 619Burrage Road JI 8
Ditchwater Lane 582, 619 Chapel in the Plumstead Road see Dutch war and local defences 133-136
Woolwich, Ordnance Chapel Early history of 119-140 Charities 1 39 Early topography of 1 1 4
Chequers public house 763 Engineering Department Cholick Lane see Woolwich, Collick Reformed, 1833. 642Lane 20 to 30 men employed, 1835. 649
INDEX
\,Voolwich-contd.
Engines, machines, etc. handed over by the Engineer Division to the storekeeper and transferred to the Deputy storekeeper R.C.D., 1838. 659
Equitable Gas Company 1371 Suggest gas lighting for Ordnance establishments 1369 Established rates of pay for Brass Foundry workmen, 1725. 277 Established rates for engraving brass ordnance, 1725. 276 Established rates of pay for labourers, 1725. 277 Establishments: Unsatisfactory conditions in 157 Estimates Divided into (1) Ordinary and (2)
Extraordinary 385 1818. 6o5 1819. 607 1820. 608 1821. 608 1828. 628 1832. 640 1834. 646
Exchequer and Audit Branch 1427,
+448 F.5 (Audit) 1427, 1448 FacLories 1o63 Fair 131 Ferry 131 First permanent Ordnance official 171 First reference to the Ordnance 162 First storekeeper at the Office of Ord
nance to have charge of the stores 169 Fishing troubles see Woolwich, Trouble over fishing regulations Floating magazines: Return of, 1821.
61 I Flood in 1236. 115 Flood in 1516. 116 Flood in the reign ofJames I 11 9 Fortifications become more permament
in 1737. 136 Further Dutch scare 137 Gallions Reach 136, 200, 217, 220, 811 Garrison to be reduced after the ter
mination of the Dutch war 1g6 Gazette 676 General instructions for the officers at,
1725. 275-281 Government cranes used by all and sundry 167 Grant's (John) Guide to, 1841. Extract from 681 Great Exhibition, 1851: Meeting about
718 Green 231 Ground given by Sir William Prichard,
1679. 138
Gunwharf Abuse of crane 159, 167 Debenture to William Wheatley to
build a new storehouse and
demolish the old one, 1619. 164 Description of 161--168 Dimensions of 161 Estimate of Elizabeth I 162 Extensive repair of storehouses in
1644. 166 Flooding 165 New brick storehouse in 1616. 164 New crane 166 New storehouse erected in 1664. 167 No evidence that the estimate of l 586
was ever carried out 163 Plan of 167 Repairs at 157, 165 Suggested new water supply for 158 Suggested paling of 158
Gunyard see Woolwich Gunwharf Halifax wharf sold, 1824. 62o Hall 127 Henry Street 1355 Holy Trinity Church 159 Infant (35 ton): Introduced 1870. 812 Inspection Branch moved from the Royal
Arsenal to the Royal Dockyard, 1870.
887 "> Inspector of Artillery: Wages bill, 1835. 649 InspectorofNaval Ordnance 1427, 1443 Instructions for the Artillery Officers at,
1725. 281 Jolly Shipwright Tavern 338 Liable to flooding 115-117, 157
Jennmg s Quay 137 King's Field 1 So Lighterage work often carried out bythe agent 171 Lordship of the manor acquired by the
Board of Ordnance, 1812. 581 Lower Road 1 355 Manor of 123, 124, 147
Acquired by the Board of Ordnance,1812. 581
History of 123-124 Manor ofJeffreys· 1 23, 128 Manor of Southall 123, 126, 144
History of 126-128 Marine Barracks 1355, 1357 Taken over by the War Department 1358 Market
History of 139 Market Hill 139 M.G.O.F.. Cashier 1427, 1447 Metallurgical Research Department
formed, 1 904. 1440 Military ferry 513 Military officers in civil appointments
allotted quarters: Liable for repairs,
1834. 648 Mill Lane 1349 Mill Lane House
Made the official quarter for C.R.E Woolwich, 1824. 588
Occupiers:John King (Owner) 587 John Henderson (Official Quarter)
587 Lieut-Colonel Frederic Griffiths (Tenant) 588 C.R.Es Woolwich 589
Mortar Mill: Dismantling in the new barracks and re-erecting in the Royal Arsenal 554
Woolwich--co11td.
M.L. gun Adoption of 812 To be known as the R.M.L. gun
812
Mortar Tavern 693 1\1ulgravc Place Pond 732, 1349, 1350, 1351, 1352, 1355, 1356, 1357, 1360,
1364, 1366 Naval Hospital 1355 New clock to be provided for, 1827. 627 New establishments at, 1855. 1088 New ferry service across the Thames
during World War I 983 New quarters for Field Train 536 Nightingale Place 582, 619 No independent storekeeper till 1670.
169, 195
North Woolwich Hotel 826 Numbers of rate-payers temp Henry VII
132. .
Occupied m remote times 113 Officers living out of quarters to have free coal and candles 3 r 5
Old circular reservoir on Woolwich Common released to the S. of S. for War, 1888. 1359, 1361
Old Gun Tavern 770, 8 r 9 Old Warren Lane rgo, 229 Ordnance chapel 302, 329 Allotment of pews 1324
Becomes R.A. Reference Library
1326 Built, 1770. 1319 Converted to civilian use r 32 I Demolished 1928. 1326 Purchased by the Crown, 1801. 13 r 9 Purchased by Woolwich Borough
Council, 1925. 1326 Site eventually becomes a covered market 1319 When converted to civilian use: Chaplain appointed 1323
\Vhen used for military (and civilian) personnel, the R.M.A. chaplain officiated 1323
Ordnance Hospital 343, 1352, 1353
Opened, 1780. 334 Ordnance House 1358 Ordnance Inspection Department
abolished in 1868. 805 Ordnance lands and buildings, 1806. 540-549 Ordnance lands and buildings 1811. 579
Ordnance lands and buildings 1830. 633
Ordnance lands and buildings 1841. 682--685 Ordnance lands and buildings 1851.
725-732
Our Lady-Hill 144
Outbreak of plague 137
Pifferell Lane I 79
Plans of Dockyard and Warren kept in the British Museum 299 Poor rate in 1811. 578 Porphyry column moved to Windsor
652
Profound effoct on, by convicts 45 1 Quyllet Lane 180 Reasons why the plans and designs of
the \,Varren were kept sealed in the
British Museum 299 Records of, see Vincent \,V. T. Reference to, in Domesday Book 123 "Remain" of armour at \i\ oolwich and
in the Tower, 1603. 16o "Remain" ofarmour at \,Voolwich, 1611. 16o Repairs in the r 7th century carried out by Tower artificers 171 Research Deparl-rnent established, 1907.
1094, 144° Reservo\r on Constitution Hill 1359 Reservoir on the Common behind the
Royal Military Academy 1353, 1 354
Respective Officers 275, 315, 319, 324, 329, 342, 363, 399, 401, 407, 408, 420, 424, 428, 437, 438, 461, 479, 506, 5 I 7,538, 562, 572, 583, 589, 600, 615, 1302,1304, 1365 Authorized to send sick labourers to
the Artillery Hospital on vVoolwich Common 555 Renamed "Civil Oicers" 639, 643 Revers10n to the Crown under I<.ing
William I 1 22 Riots, I 779• 459 Rivals the Tower as the principal
Ordnance depot of England 2 1 7 Road 24o Rolt's Lane 190, 229 Ropeyard 155, 158
Building of 156 Closed down 1 59 Description of 156 Suggested new water supply 158 Suggested paling of 158 Wages at 156
Rotunda Museum 466
"Moorfields" gun there 247 Royal Academy see Royal AcademyRoyal Ammunition Factory
Shut down, 1957. 1031
Royal Arsenal 66, 138, 158, 248, 453, 454, 522, 524, 528, 1339, 1342, 1 343, 1345, 1346, 1348, 1350, 1351, 1352,1353, I 355, 1356, 1 35 7, 1358, 1 359,
1360, 1363 Access to, from the storekeeper's
garden approved, 1843. 673 Additional money for, 1846. 699 Advisory committee on women's
employment 990 Air-raid shelters and first aid posts constructed, 1938. 1022 Air-raids during \,Vorld War I 959,
960 Air-raids during World \,Var II 1024 Ancient pottery, bones and coins
found, 1853. 741
Apprenticeships discontinued, 1851. 719
Arsenal Welfare Supervision
Department 981
Audit for manufacturing departments instituted, 1888. 873
INDEX
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. Ballistic pendulum to be moved, 1821.
619 Basin Square 253, 471, 1355 Bathing places for G.Cs and soldiers,
1846. 698 Birth of 177 Black-out instituted, 1939. 1023 Black-out removed ' 1026 Blue sheds demolished subsequent to
1852. 65o Blue sheds, repairs postponed, 1835. 650 Blue sheds to be repaired over a course of ycars, 1835. 649 Boiler houses concentrated under C.M.E., 1922. 1006 Boys' v\lelfat"e Department set up 987
B.W.D. handed over to C.M.E. who become "C.M.E. and Superintendent, Building vVorks" 1004.
B.v .D. permitted to use direct labour,
1891. 879
Buildings erected between the two \Nodd V\ ars ror 7-1019 Bulk output from the factories in oddWar I 971 . Bulk output from the factories in V\ orlcl War II 1025 Canal Branch commenced in 1814; completed 1816. 572 Commenced in 1812; completed 1814. 572 .
Construction carried out by convicts
572 b"d
Partially filled in and swing n ge removed 1015 f
0
To be dredged for the passage
coastal vessels 718, 723 Candle consumption, 1810. 572 Canteens 986
Cats: Three additional to be kept, 1855. 1270 d
Causeway for landing constructe 1814--1815. 597 38. 23
Central offices completed, 19° • d 9 Central Power Station complete '
1908. I 373 . d to sub-
Certain buildings converte
. W Id War II 1373
stations after or . but
18 12
Certain works approved m • never carried out 608 Chapel Absence of 1317 d 1 7. 1 328,
Academy room use as, :, •
1317 ·d 1751. 3%9
Board room use as, 1318 16n 1g318
Repositiory used as 4 ]' Road see Chapel in the PlumsteChapel Woolwich, ordns"{ rga6
13
Chaplain appointed, ~onstruction Chemical lecture room, of, 1813. 585 8 859, 893 C.1vI.E.: Post createt IFf!si MilitaryCivil . Assistant an fO.F. appointed,
0
Assistant to D.G. 1888. 859, 7
Civil establishment, re-organization of, 1840. 668 Civilian fire brigade established, 1923. 1369 .
Civilians in O.F. to retire at 65, 1892. 886
Clerical Establishments 1849/50. 720
Clerk of the Cheque Post abolished 1821. 615, 6r7 Post created 1718. 272
Clerk of the Survey 274, 644
620
House demolished, 1827. New post abolished, 1833. 624,
1204 6
New post created, 1826. 24, 118o 6; 6
Post abolished, 1821. 15, 23
Post created 1720. 272 Clocks banded over to M.E.D. fi rnod Clothes factory closed and trans erre
• 1 1868. 806
to Pim rco, • d fi the Royal
Coins and medals ma e or Mint roo4 Committee . 0 F
inted to invest1gate • •
Appo " 81879
1
accounung, Jg j_:, '11 v\'illiams
C nvened under • 'owe! oto study Danger Buildings conditions, 18o%. $e de Formed in 1854 tod e er Chemist
duties of the Or nance
749 Buildings at Woolwich On Dan0~ltham Abbey, set upa}, ird sandhurs, 1894
un er
a"atore, st v +s°dz,, rices, assembled, 1840
On 'Ire "> 1g66 re earners in the
On pensions for wag
O.F. 894 _ . Report received,
On proof butts:
1895. 893 . into the tenure of Set up to enquirf'; the O.F., 1892.
appointments 1Il 886 the years 1887
Comparison bet\veen 07 939-94° •
and 19, • f fire protection,
Congreve s p1an o 1813. 134 e Woolwich Concontra,2%'aeca is@. y37 sumers as ' ·ed annually m the Contractors_e:°'_Plo) menced 1811.
Works Division com
576 f horses terminated, 1828.
Contracts or
1305 . fthe Institute library in~ Conversion obl" l"brary not approve '
a Free pui bc u'
18QS· 8i3 on sewers withdrawn convict Ia"%,, ,{ micer, 1849. 73
b the me ica ' 715
Y. t privv approved, 1850.
Convc d ricts
Convicts see on ..: 1810. 573
Cost of emptying pnv1cs,
" ace4, y9. "? or
1915· '
200 ton erected,
Vvoolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. Cranes Additional, erected on the wharf between 1803 and 1814. 1295 Five more erected, 1855. 1296 umber of in 1856. 1296 ·Six new 10 ton cranes erected, 1826. 1296 ..
Cricket club first ment10ned in 1849. =13
Crossness pier: Closing the right of
way discussed, 1 900. 897 Damage to landing stage, 1825. 622 Defence of: Question first raised in
1803. 1337
Defence of and possible move Discussed in 1860. 1338 Discussed in I go 1. 1 341
Discussed in 1907. 1341 Discussed in I g 12. 1342 Discussed in 1918. 994, 1343 Discussed in 1922. 1343 Discussed in 1934. 1344 Discussed in 1935. 1347
Departmental Committees set up to check the efficiency of foremen, artificers and labourers, 1841. 676
Deputy storekeeper's house in verybad state of repair, 1824. 619 Deputy Storekeeper's new quarter, 1830. 62o Deputy storekeeper's post instituted,
1822. 617 Description of, 1887. 899-907 Description of, in mid 1 gth century
787-794
Design department set up 1002, 1003, 1440 Design for new engineering establishment approved, 1855. 762
Dial Square 252, 254, 407, 471, 1356 Football club 1449 . Becomes the Royal Arsenal Foot
ball Club 1449 Diary of events in the evolution of electric power, 1903-1938. 1373
Electric power installcd, 1891. 1373
Employees f'orward a memorial to the superintendent on behalf of all workers, 1872. 808
Employers prohibited from keeping
public houses 806 Employees to retire at 60. 1882. 813 Engineering services centralized under
M.E.D. 1004 Engineers' Department Establishment of artificers and
labourers, 1811. 578 Re-organization, 1833. 642 Return of boats, 1812. 580
Entertainment: Lighter wines etc. to
be provided for visitors, 1871. 807 Establishment and stafT, 1821. 611 Expenditure on fire fighting equip
ment, 1819-1886 and 1899-1934. 1368, 1369
Experiment for firing heavy guns byhammer and detonating powder in place of port-fires 674
Experimental shoot with the "Light 9 pdr. gun", 1842. 686
Explosion 1813. 589 At the proof butts, 1939. 1022
Explosives Act of 1875 not applicable
in the 0.F., 1894. 887 Explosives (Amount of) in 1918. 992 Factory Acts to be applied to manu
facturing departments, 1867. 806
Fire 1813. 589 1815. 6o1 1844. 690 1906 (In A store) 938 1939. 1022
Fire brigade functions under the Royal Arsenal Estate 1369 Fire brigade properly organized, 1805.
1363 Fire engine purchased in 1854. 1367 Fire engines to be repaired in the
R.C.D., 1818. 1365
INDEX
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. Gas Control of supply Under the Civil Officers, 1848. 1371 First mention of as an illuminant, 1829. 1369 First quarter to be let by 1371 Installed in the Engineer office of the Royal Brass Foundry, 1852. 1371 Installed in the Storekeeper's department, 1855. 1372 Introduced in all departments by 1856. 1372 Lamp, additional, installed at the main gate, 1854. 1371 Lighting refused by the Board of Ordnance on the score of danger and expense, 1833. 1369 Lighting to be submitted to tender, 1848. 1370 Lighting transferred from the Engineer department to the Barrack master, 18g4. 1370 Roads and wharves to be lit by, 1848. 1370 Storekeeper allowed to equip his house with at his own expense 1371 Two gas lamps substituted for four oil lamps when the main gate was rebuilt, 1829. 630, 1369 Water and bells installed in the office of the Superintendent of Police, 1855. 1 372 Gas factoryAdditional plant installed, 1 goo. 1372 Engine room built, 1905. 773, 1372 Engine room extended, 1917. 773, 1372 Gas holders erected in 1862, 1879 and 1901. 773, 1372 High pressure mains provided, I 913. 1372
New floors at charging and discharging levels, 1941-1943. 773, 1373
Offices and laboratory added, 1939. 773, 1373 Part re-roofed 19 15. 773, 1372 Plant extended, 1918-1920. 1373 Retort house extended, 1885. 773, 1372 Retort house further extended 1918. 773, 1372 Retort house set up, 1856. 773,
1372 Telescopic lift installed, 1897. 1372 Telpher track built, 1918. 773,
1372 Telpher track extended, 1920-1921. 773, 1373
General Election: Holiday granted for voting at Greenwich, 10th April 1868. 806
General Esparturo pays a visit to, 1843. 687
General gas lighting introduced at the new entrance, 1829. 630 Glenhill Time recorders installed 1920. 1o04 Gog and 1\/.[agog barges: Use dis
continued, 1948. 1312 Grand Square 253, 471 Grass on the marshes to be mown by
convicts and not by troops, 1849. 712 Griffin :rvianor Way 940, 958, rn31
Guardhouses at the head of the principal landing stairs built 18141815. see Octagonal guardhouses, built 1814-1815.
Guardhouse to be erected on the wharf instead of by the proofhouse 537
Gunners and drivers to be attached
for fire prevention duties 1365 Hair-dressing establishment 877 Half-holiday granted to employees on
the occasion of the launching of H.M.S. Trafalgar 677 Harrow Manor Way 1031
H.I.H. Grand Duke Michael ofRussia pays a visit, 1843. 687 Holidays for wo:rnen workers arranged
989 ' Homes for workers' babies 989 Hostel administration after v\ orld War
I 1001 Hours of Labour Committee 98o Hours of work 8og-811 Householders in 1806. 541 Householders in 1810. 573 Householders in 1811. 579 Householders in 1830. 633 Householders in 1851. 725 Householders in 1855. 762, 763 Increase of pay for foremen and other
workers owing to the rise in the cost of living, 1 8 1 2. 583
Inspector of Works replaced by the Superintendent, Building Works, 1888. 872
Iron pier Built 1868. 814 Extended, 1870. 814 Re-constructed, 1921. 815 Re-decked, 1922. 81 5 Strengthened, 1885. 814 200 ton crane erected on it, 1915.
814 ·western arxn added, 1872. 814 ·western arxn re-decked, 1938. 814 Jealousy among departments about
early railway, 1851. 1306 Knitting frames to be made in 10~7 Labour conditions differ from those m
other factories 974 Labour concentrated under M.E.D. 1010 Labour pool under Transport Department 1315 .. . Lancaster factory (Shell); Frre in 1855. 753
Lancaster gun and shell factory set up 752-755
Diesel lorries introduccd, 1936. 1315 Dipping square demolished, 1825. 622
D.D.G.
of O.F. Post abolished 1899. 859, 93
D.D.G.
ofO.F. Post created 1898. 859
D.G. ofO.F. renamed C.S.O.F., 1899. 859, 893 Discharges after the termination of the
Napoleonic wars 602 Discussion as to whether the post of
D.G. of O.F. should be confined to military officers 871
18-inch narrow gauge railway: First section opened in 1873. 1308 Laid down, 1866. 1308 Mainly closed down 1923. 1311
Electric lighting becomes the responsibility ofthe SuperintendentB.W.D., 1888. 1373
Electric lighting originally installed departmentally 1373
Firemaster's house demolished, 1829. 631
Fireproof buildings Approved 1830. 632 Handed over to the R.L., 1834. 647
Fireproof establishment set up, 1832. 635-637 Firm's representatives to visit the shops in 970
First iron tramway tracks Approved 1824. 1305 Completed, 1825. 1306
First public privy built, 1832. 640
First written constitution regulating Trade Unions and management 1026
500 men employed, 1835. 649 Flood, 1928. 1015 Football club founded in 1886. 713 Foreign visitors: Further rules of
entry 18881899. 876 Foreign visitors: New regulations promulgated in 1871. 807
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. Land north of the Thames sold, 1819. 606 Land purchased (6½ acres) in 1814. 598
Landing stairs guarded by the octagonal guardhouses filled in and demolbhed, 1931. 598
Land's End po"'1er station near Crossness transferred to the O.F.,
1910. 941 Large rocket explosion, 1883. 824 Level, raising of: 1811-1820: Annual
costs 594, 595 Level to be raised 538 Lieutenant Scott's quarter, the first
to be lit by gas (At his own expense),
1849. 1371 List of buildings, x 806. 541-549 List of buildings, 1 341. 682-685
List of buildings, I 851. 725-732 ~Iachinery Comrnittee set up, 1854. 75°
Machinery takes the centre of the
stage, 1848. 703 Main Guard 482 Main services and new construction
between 1887 and 1goo. 897-899 Main sewer to be extended, 1853. 741
Manufacturing departments made responsible for inspecting and prooving the stores theyreceive 805
I'vfanufacturing floor space in 1851
and 1952. 733 M.E.D. expansion 977 Mechanical Engineering Department
formed in 1911. 941 Mechanical Research Department proposed 936 Mechanical Transport introduced after World War I 1314 Mechanics' Institute £100 given towards the purchase of books, 1887. 875 Qu~tion of legality of concerts
raised, 1875. 811 Medical staff in 1889. 877 Messrs. Whinney and Waterhouse
appointed first auditors to the O F
873 •• Metropolitan Police Cost over the years 1333, 1334Establishment m 1854.
1335
Establishment in 1855.
1335
Establishment in x 860. 1336 Introduced, 1844. 688, 689, 1332 Leave at the end of 1926.
1337
Take over the fire brigade 1368 Middle Gate House Used as:
(1)
Storekeeper's residence 557, 1443
(2)
Quarter for Superintendent B.W.D. 557 '
(3)
Oice for N.A.S.O. Woolwich 1443
(4)
Office for I.N.O. Woolwich 557, 1444
1530
Military Assistant to C.S.O.F.: Post abolished, 1955. 1031 Military officers in civil posts first limited to a term of years 183=
649 :J· Military officers: Rates of pay, 1886 830 Milk churns to be made in 999 Mime butt wall built and collapses 1854. 736 "> Moated magazine in the marshes built between 1897-1901. 897Morley Committcc 870, 1015Morley reforms 949 Not entirely carried out 871 872Mud from the Royal Dockya;d to raise the level of 7 1 g Musketry range ( 1 ,ooo yard) to be constructed, 18y2.
734
Naval proof-yard set up in 1921. 1444 New arrangements for appointing a proofn:iaster ofguns and gunpowder made in 1876. 81r New arrangements for dealing with stores, 1 849. 709-712 New bulwark battery at proof butt
1839. 66o s, New burial ground in Essex, north of he Tham,g not available for those convicts ymg of cholera 64o New proof butts opened, 1808. ;8
N •' ' •55
1 ew construction during World W
II 1026 ar New convict wharf approved,
1829.
632 New entrance and new gates. Bell tower added in 1859. 631 • New entrance and new gates constructcd, 1829. 631 New entrance and new gates dam cl
in World War II 631 age New entrance and new gates: Double gates erected, 1936. 631Ncw entrance and new gates: Extens10n added, 1889. 53 1New entrance and new gates lit b
630, 1369 'Ygas New entran_ce and new gates: Office for Superintendent of Police added in 1859. 6g1 New entrance and new gates; Superstructure added in 1891. 631New Entrance and new gates: Total cost of 631 New nomenclature under the War Department 764 New practice battery approved 1336653 '• New range ordered, 1811._
595
New range of 181, difficulties m regard to 595 New range, story of. Commenced 1811, completed
1853. 595-597,
664-667 ' New surgery building approved, 1854. 74-9 New sluices and drains installed, 1816
600 ,•
INDEX
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. New wooden wharfconstructed 1823. 618 " New Works Services, Gcncral 1856. 772 New Works Services Storekeeper's Department 1856. 772 News items must not be given to newspapers by the stafT, 1841. 676 go ton crane erected, 1890. 1297 No employee to keep a public house,1869. 806 2umbers employed in 1831. 634 Numbers employed at the time of the armistice (November 1918) and shortly afterwards I ooo Numbers employed during ·world War I 977 Numbers employed during World War II 1025 Nursery for young trees sanctioned, 1850. 715 Occupiers of certain quarters to pay rates, taxes and a proportion of the rcpairs 643 Octagonal guardhouses built 18141815. 597 Office of water director abolished, 1830. 1192 Offices of barge.master and sluicemaster combined, 182g. 1173 Official quarters supplied with airraid shelters I022
O.F.
accounting: New system adopted, 1890. 874
O.F.
and Vickers sole suppliers of trench mortars between October 1914 and .June 1915. 968
O.F.
building programme 19o1-1914. 945-947
O.F.
central store commenced, 1925.
1015 O.F.C.F.4. 961 O.F.CF.6. 961
O.F.
clerks to be treated as upper division clerks for leave and travel,1888. 877
O.F.
considered to be one department for discharges, 191 I. 941
O.F.
dilution by August 1918. 977
O.F.
Extension of factories 963
O.F.
luncheon club grant of £25
approved, 1911. 941 O.F. organization in 1914. 949-951 O.F.-Q.F.C.F-4-955
O.F.
scheme for increasing power, 1888. 877
O.F.
staff: Reduction in 1925. 1012
O.F.
vote introduced in 1889. 873
O.F.
wages for the quarter ending 5th July 1918. 976
O.F.
weekly progress reports institutcd, 1916. 984
Official quarters for 1st and 2nd clerks of the storekeeper's department approved, 1840. 672
Old proofbutts demolished, 1808. 558 Part of site once a Roman cemetery I 14
99
Passive air defence scheme drafted 1020 Pay for Inspector of W.D. Shipping, 1896. 893 Pay increase of 1812 challenged by the Respective OIEcers 583 Paymaster's post abolished, 1821. 588, 6 l 5, II7I Payment by ticket instead of by call introduced 1846/47. 700 Payment for overtime for labourers
laid down, 1880. 811 Pension rates for superintendents 878 Porters' uniforms sanctioned, 1841.
679 Pound shore 595 Premium bonus systems introduced
1903. 926 Procedure governing appointments in O.F., 1904. 928 Prohibition of smoking outside rescinded, 1948. 709 Proof butts, course of erection of
present 885 Proof butts repaired, 1837. 655 Proposal to close down· the hospital
and transfer patients to the Royal
Herbert Hospital, 1867. 806 Proposal to set up a musket factory 721 Purchase of additional 138 acres of
land sanctioned, 1855. 763 Radial crane erected in 1876. 818 Radial crane: New crane installed,
1939. 818 .
Radial crane: Roofed over m 1891. 818, 940
Railway (internal track) completed, 1855. 1307. .
Railway locomotives to be made rn the O.F. 999 .
Railway trucks to be made rn the O.F. I027 Rat-catcher in 1811. 578 Re-appropriation scheme of buildings near the main gate, 1846. 697 Re-armament programme commenced, 1935. rnr9 Recreation for women workers provided 989
Regulations for payment of rates and taxes for officers living in official houses, 1847. 7o1 Rentals and ta.-xes of official quarters, 18ro. 573 .
Re-organization of manufacturmg departments, 1879. 811 .. Re-organization of steam rarsmg 1005-1007
Repair work between O.F., C.I.W. and the trade: Arguments about, 1897. 893
Request by gas company to remove floating magazines at Galhons Reach refused, 1874. 811
Request for O.F. employees to cease work at 12 noon on Saturdays refused, 1891. 879 Research Department established, 1907. 1094, 1440
INDEX
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. Research Department: Explosion in cruciform building, 1936. 102 1 Residents and their houses, 1806. See Royal Arsenal householders Residents and their houses, 1855. See Royal Arsenal hous~holders Revision of system of cos~mg and 0e provision of labour savmg machincry, 1921. I 003 Rocket establishment Explosion, 1830. 633 Explosion, 1842. 686 Explosion, 1855. 770 Explosion, 1883. 824-827 Fire, 1855. 766, 770 Rocket factory (Small) set up, 1814. 59°
Roman pottery found, 1841. 679 Roman remains found 114 Roughs, the 61o Royal Arsenal Estate
Set up in I 953· I031 Superintendent 1031 Royal Arsenal Football Club becom~ Woolwich Arsenal Football Club m 1891. 1449
Royal Arsenal Football Club: First match 1st December 1886. 1449 Royal Arsenal (Woolwich Arsenal)
Football Club moves to Highbury,
1913. 1449
Royal Arsenal RailwayDuring World v\ ar I 1312 Each department managed its own
railway till I 900. 131 o First civilian traffic manager
appointed, 1921. 1310 First engine: Lord Raglan 1309 First narrow gauge diesel loco
motive introduced, 1934. 1312 First narrow gauge oil-fired locomotive introduced 1312 First standard diesel locomotive
introduced, 1939. 1311 Locomotive stock 1312 Marsh sidings 1311 Narrow gauge passenger service
abolished, 1923. 1311 Post of railway engineer abolished, 1921. 1310 Post of railway engineer created,
1901. 1310 Rolling stock 1313 Royal Engineers only maintained
the track till 1 900. 1310 Steam operated railway opened, 1873. 1309 Standard track to Plumstead sid
ings opened, 1876. 1309 Toy bridge sidings 1309 Transport and efficiency figures
1316 Traffic manager appointed, 1890. 878, 1310
R.E. subaltern appointed as Assistant to the InspectorofWorks, 1866. 805
Safe conduct of explosives in: Rules laid down, 1894. 887
1532
Sale of locomotives made in the O.F. approved 999 School 1327-1330 Closed, 1890. 1330 Sea Service storehouse; elaborate
gateway not erected 680 Second chaplain appointed 1326 Second chaplain: Post abolished,
1899. 1326 Second medical officer to reside in the
Royal Arsenal, 1889. 877 Security 570, 1337-1348 Security by night 583 Security is the responsibility of the
Commandant 570 Security: Steps taken in 1813-1814.
593 See also Woolwich v\Tarren Select Committee on the respon
sibility for stores and storage set up,1825. 621
Shell examination transferred from the R.G.F. to the R.L. 1855. 770 "Shop steward": Term recognized
unofficially in 1913. 944 Six serious fires and e),::plosions between 1856--1086. 819 Smoking outside: Ban lifted, 1948. 709
Smoking prohibited outside, 1849. Four notices to that effect erected 709
Soldiers: Searching by police, 1895.
893 South boring mill built 1882. 817 South boring mill damaged by Va
rocket, 1944. 817
South boring mill: Extension of, in different stages between 1885-1902. 817
Special constables sworn in duringChartist riots 1334 Sprinklers only to be installed in the pattern shop Io 12 Stained glass window in 23, 905 Placed over the entrance to the new central offices 923 Used to be in a fanlight over the foundry door 805 Stairs entrance from the river filled in 1931. 598 Statue of Duke of Wellington exe
cuted by Thomas Milnes 535 Steam placed under M.E.D. 1006 Storehouses, Civil Officers report on,
1852. 737 Storehouses, report on, 1852. 736 Storekeeper assumes paymaster's
duties, 1822. 616 Storekeeper authorized to become member of the Plumstead Associ
ation for the protection of property
652 Storekeeper: New house to be built,
1809. 557
Storekeeper: New porch added to his quarter, 1840. 669
Storekeeper to be rcsponsibleforthereceiptand issueofallstores, 1825. 621
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. Storekeeper to take over engineering
stores, 1832. 640 Storekeeper's ·wages bill, 1835. 649 Suffers to-day from bad railway
planning in the past 1308 Sunday work discontinued during
World War II 1026 Sunday work ordered, 1803. 511 Sunday work ordered in 1846. 697 Superintendent B.W. takes over the
permanent way of the Royal Arsenal Railway, 1888. 877 Superintendent, Engineer Services 1031 Superintendent of Design appointed, 1916. 967 . Superintendent of Labour appomted, 1923. 1008 Superintendents of O.F. cannot draw pension and salary, 1896. 893
T. pier Approach reconstructed 1908 and
1923. 773 uilt, 1856. 773 Extended, 1881. 773 Re-decking and additional approach
alterations, 1927. 773 Western arm strengthened, 1918.
773 Table of policing measures 1336 Tank at the wharf built to receive
main flow from the barracks, 1808. 564 Testing house for pressure and velocities sanctioned, 1894. 887
The Grand Storehouses 551 Detail of buildings, 1811. 524-526 Their story 523536
The old clock to be re-erected at
'\,\Tarley 540 Theatricals prohibited, 1868. 806 Thefts in 1806. 538 . Thefts ofstores become pronounced m
1844. 690
The Treasury sanctions extra expenditure on, 1855. 769, 770 .. Three acres ofland sold to the Bntxsh
Electricity Authority, 1950. 1028 Title of Superintendent M.E.D. changed to C.M.E. 1003 Torpedo manufacture transferred to Greenock, 1908. 940
Trades dispute Act 1906: Procedure for discussions with the Trade Unions, 1906. 944
Tramway tracks extended, 1841. 1306 Transport department set up, 1892. 886 Transport: Whether by the Royal Artillery to be considered, 1814. 1301 .d
Trial of a light mountam gun fire
from the back of a donkey 906 Trophy guns on exhibition, 1860.
794-801
Turkish head-stone in the Central Offices 654
1533
Turkish mission, visit 0f, 1943. 1026
29th May to be observed as an annual holiday to celebrate Queen Victoria's coronation 717
Two lamps installed on the wharf, 1852. 1307 200 ton crane erected, 1915. 814, 1297 Upper Raines 595 Visit of General Esparturo, 1843. 687 Visit of George 1II 436, 438 522 Visit of H.I.H. Grand Duke Michael of Russia, 1843. 687 . Visit of H.R.H. Duke of Cambndge, 1840. 673 . Visit of H.R.H. the Prmce of Orange 1836. 652 . Visit of Prince Ferdmand of Saxe-Coburg 646 . Visit of H.R.H. the Prmce Regent,
w.%' %.rv, es+. ss64s
Visitors: New rules 1888 and 1898. 876 drs
Visitors: Regulations for a mrttance, 1832. 637-639 Amended in 1836. 639 Visitors require passes, 1841. 639 Voting: General elect101:1, 1851. 724 \,Var Department Chemist . . Laboratory: Details ofbuildmg and extensions 818 New laboratory on Frog Island, 1936-1939. 818
Old laboratory handed over to the Armaments Inspection Department 818
w D Constabulary 639 .. Ta.'ke over from the Metropolitan Police, 1927. 1336,_1337 v\T Office rule for retirmg age of
~ferks adopted in O.F., 1887: 875 W.C. first installed, 1826. 625 Water supplies see Kent Waterworks
Company ,, Iih d 8 9
"v\Tatering time abo s e ' I 2 •
+'# supervision Department
+w supervisors appointed, 987 Wharf for convict hulk Justicia completcd, 1832. 64o A
Women employees placed under t e F tory Acts, 1871. 805 w employed industrially. See d Woolwich Royal Laboratory
un er 1 dis
Women industrial emp oyee5 missed, 1872. 8o5 . Wooden stables demolished, 1832.
aa Aasior Committee set up 999, IOOO d .
"Woolwich Arse~al an ,,its manufacturing establishments' 787 "Woolwich Scandals": A pamphlet
W87?s services revert to the InspectorGeneral of Fortifications 802
INDEX INDEX
Woolwich-Royal Arsenal-contd. vVorks services (important) between 1857--1886. 81g-818
Works services under the Superintendents and not under the Inspector-General of Fortifications,
1855. 802 World War I Air-raids 959, 960
Cartridge cases: Increase of output 971
Dilution effected 977 Fuzes: Increase of output 971 Housing schemes for workers
978-983
Main building projects 961-963 Municipal services expanded 977 New construction during 961 Numbers employed during 977 Position in, summed up 967 Shell: Increase of output 971 S.A.A.: Increase of output 971 \rVomen again employed industri
ally, 1915. 974
World War II Air-raids 1 024 Black-out instituted 1023 Black-out removed 1026 Labour regulations after 1028 New construction during 1026 Numbers employed during 1025 Output 1025 Sunday shifts cease 1026
Writers: Hours reduced 1883. 813
Royal Artillery barracks on the Common 325, 334, 1349, 1355, 1356, 1357 Building 338-344 Chapel ready for divine service, 1808.
1321
Clock built by Mr. Thwaites 341 Completed by 1781. 344 Control of gas supply under the
barrack master 1371
Inhabited by 1776. 342 Royal Artillery Riding School 718 Royal Brass Foundry 717, 776, 1304,
1350 Alterations upon the introduction of steam power and machinery, 1841. 674 Gas installed in the Engineer office, 1852. 1371 Horse boring mill Improved by the Verbruggens 430, 1416 Invented at Strasburg 1416
Set up in 1773. 1416 D~scontinued, 1842. 675, 1416 Dismantled, 1846. 675
Inspector ofand Inspector ofArtillery combined with The DirectorGeneral of Artillery, 1833. 658
Inspector of and Inspector of Artillery
to be one office again, 1838. 658 New pot furnaces installed, 1807. 555 New steam engine installed, 1848.
704 Renamed Royal Gun Factory 1855. 788, 1274
1534
Rundown in numbers after 1815. 6o4 See also Woolwich \rVarren, Royal Brass Foundry
10 men employed, 1835. 35 other men employed under the Inspector of ~rt1llery. Total of45 men employed in 1835. 648
Royal Carriage Department 707, 714, 7 l 8, 745, 762, 77 I, 779, 788, 789, 790,840, 1063, 1304, 1355, 1356, 1365,1420 .
Amalgamated with the Royal Gun Factory 913 Comparative cost of factory and trade
pnces 573 Established, 1803. 507 Establishment for, 1803. 508 Factory to repair its own 12 H.P.
engine 740 First steam engine introduced, 1805.
521 Fur_ther Warr:ant, 1804. 51 o Main machine shop re-equipped,
heightened and re-roofed, 1938. 1022 Metallurgist to rank as a principal foreman, 1891. 879 New machinery and steam engines mstalled, 1848. 705 New pattern room sanctioncd, 1856. 775
New reverbatory furnaces installed
1807. 555 " New saw mill, 1854. 1296 New steam engine, 1837. 655 New system of payment introduced
1855. 766, 1276 " New technique for fixing tyres to
wheels adopted, 1815. 589 New \rVorks Services 1856. 771 95 men employed, 1835. 648 Officer known as "Assistant Inspector"
to be re-named "Captain Instructor", 1856. 1279 Post of deputy storekeeper abolished 1849. 712 "" Practice of master smiths selling ashes to cease, 1806. 537 Revised establishrnen t approved 1868. 806 " Rotherhithe Branch Closed down, 1813. 511 587 Rundown in numbers after 'i815.
602 Saw miIJ erected, 1808. 559-563 Saw pits to be built 537 Sick pay rules 554 Steam engines supplied by Henry
Maudsley, 1809. 565 Steam engine supplied by Mr. Hague, 1832. 640 Storekeeper to pay all postal charges
510
System of paying men by the hour
instead ofby the day adopted, 1855.
1276
IO H.P. high pressure engine to be
installed, 1850. 718
Woolwich-Royal Carriage
Department-contd. Wages bill, 1835. 649 Warrant for establishing, 1803. 508 \,Ve1gh-bndge to be installed, 1852.
733
Royal Clarence Canal 58o
Royal Dockyard 132, 137, 144, 151,152, 156, 157, 455, 990, 1312, 1319,1339, 1352, 1353, 1354, 1355, 1358,1359, 1360, 1361 Chapel built, 1857. 1326 Chapel handed over to the War
Department, 1870. 1326 Chapel re-erected on Rochester Way,
1933. 1326 Closed, 1869. 146, 807, 1358 Closing of 146 Fu-st Royal Establishment at
Woolwich 142 Handed over to the War Department, 1870. 146, 807 Squabbles in 145 Royal Fillincr Factories vacated and demolished° 1955-1961. 1031
Royal Gun Factory 771, 776, 788, 840, 1063, 1415 Amalgamated with the Royal Carriage
Department 913 Appointment of manager sanctioned, 1855. 770, 1277
First mentioned in 1855. 1274 Gas installed, 1855. 1372 New machinery approved, 1888. 877
New Works Services 1856. 771 North boring mill built, 1856. 773 North boring mill extended, 1915.
773
Original turnery built, 1856. 773 Policemen instead of watchmen to be employed, 1867. 805 Proof parties to be paid by the day, 1871. 807 .
Sizes of ordnance manufactured m 1886. 829
South boring mill built, 1882. 817 South boring mill damaged by V2 rocket, 1944. 817 . .
South boring mill: Extens10n of, m different stages between 1885-1902• 817
1 o ton steam hammer and 30 ton crane sanctioned, 1866. 805 Turnery altered, 1874. 773 . Royal Gun and Carriage Fac~ones 1. Cost of re-organization dunng v\ oi ld WarI 958 •
Expansion in three phases during World War I 956-958 , .
Gun design remains at v\ oolwich
968
during World War I
World War I Carriages, output of 971 Guns, output of 971
World War II Guns, output of. 1025 Royal Gun and Carnage Factory
1031
Shut down, 1957.
806
Royal Herbert Hospital 555,
Royal Laboratory 111, 463, 531, 699, 706, 7 I 7, 772, j81, 788, 791, 840, 1063, 1349, 1362, 1365, 1374, 1376, 1380
All doors in future to be made to open outwards 695 All women employees dismissed, 1872. 805
Cats on the establishment in 1782. 578 Cats: rs 6d a week allowed for upkeep
578
Conversion to steam power, 1847. 703
Danger buildings: Details of set-up 818 Director's salary increased from £350
to £400 p.a., 1839. 1206 Discharge of the unfit 603 Explosion
1814. 598 1845. 692, 1230 1855. 819 1856. 820 1867. 820 1874. 822 1875. 823 1899. 899
Cannon cartridge factory, 1936. 1021 Cap and "Det" factory, 19391022
Fuze and primer branch, 1927. 1020
Gun-cotton, 1903. 925 In Filling Factory, 1936. 1021 Lyddite, 1903. 926
Primer Branch, 1919. 1000 Primer Branch, 1938. 1021 Primer Branch, 1939. 1022
Fire 1781. 475 1815. 601 1854. 748 18
Further machinery installed, 184. 703,
8
Fuze factory closed down, 193 • 1022 •
Gas installed in the bullet machine shop, 1854. 1371
Gas installed in fuze rooms, 1854. 1372
Gas installed in the new factory, 1854. 1371
Increase of S.A.A. 1914. 961
Laboratory Square extended 1806.
5=1
Ma~azine to be built near the canal, 1827. 627
Mechanical fuze plant approved, 1920. 1004
New clock purchased, 1856. 774 New Dipping Square, 1868. 558 Demolished 1825. 622 New establishment, 1835. 644, 645
New Laboratory Square 18II. 5!?1
Used for s.A.A. manufacture till World War I 551
New shell foundry
Cost of 773
Designed by D. Murray 773
Opened, 1856. 773
1535
Woolwich-Royal Laboratory-contd. New Works Services 1856. 772 . umbers employed in 1831. 634 Old carpenters' shop on river front demolished, 1808. 559 136 men employed, 1835. 648 Percussion caps to be manufactured for the Army and Navy, 1841. 675 Petition by artificers and labourers about pay conditions 568 Piece work sanctioned, 1856. 1278 Porters' uniform not approved, 1841. 680 Post of deputy storekeeper abolished, 1849. 712 Post of deputy storekeeper re-introduccd, 1835. 645, 1197
Printing establishment closed, I 922. 1009 ' Recommendation to divide into two
parts 1818:
(a)
Manufacturing
(b)
Explosives and filling 606 Rocket explosion, 1846. 699 R.F.F.: Increase of filling, 1914-1916.
958
Rundown in numbers after 1815. 602 S.A.A. demands grow, 1813. 585 See "vVoolwich Warren, Laboratory"
and "vVoolwich \t\larren, Royal
Laboratory" Split into three sections in 1916. 950 Tailirs' shop destroyed by fire, 1925.
IOI2
1o H.P. engine installed, 1847. 703
Tropenas converters 940
installed 902 Tropenas, Monsieur 902 Wages bill, 1835. 649
W.C. installed in the new office, 1826 (The first installation in the Royal Arsenal) 625
Women employed in 1814. 1158 v\1omen employed in 1820. I 170 Women employed in 1855. 805, 1273 Women employed in World War I
977 Women employees placed under the Factory Acts, 1871. 805 Women originally employed in making cartridges dismissed, 1872. 805 Royal Military Academy see Royal Military Academy Royal Military Repository see Royal Military Repository Royal Naval Armament Store Depot 1427, 1431 Royal Ordnance FactoryDevelopment and Experimental department 1031 Production department 1031 Superintendent of 1031 Rushgrove House 732 St. Mary's Church 128, 203, 328 Rebuilt under the Act of 1732. 129 Sale of Ordnance property near the Royal Dockyard, 1832. 641
Sand Hill 144 Sappers' Green 231
Sealed plans and designs in the British Museum brought to light by \I\. T. Vincent 299
Sheepwash sluice 608 Ship Tavern 1352 Shooters Hill I 14, 209, 1319, 1337,
I 339, 1340, 1 34-9, l 350, 1356 Six labourers appointed in 1674. 198 Spanish Armada and local defences
132 Special relief from payment as an ancient demesne of the Crown 125 Stock of armour held at 1587-1588. 159, 16o Storage accommodation limited in 17th
century 157 Store Accountant 1427, 1448 Storekeeper of saltpetre 198
Petition of Owen Hurst I 7 I
Store at, in common with those at the Tower, the Minories and Chatham come under the Storekeeper, Office of Ordnance 169
Suitability of site for a national arsenal 1337
Superintendent of Shipping 513, 633, 735 Wages {500 p.a., 1845. 696 Wages £300 p.a., 1850. 696
Survey taken in 1649. 125 The Royal Oak 823 The three original convict hulks 45 1 Tower Place 66, 136, 138, 158, 1 59,
178, 181, 182, 183, 194, 208, 211, 220,224, 225, 231, 238 Boundaries of r 90-1 g 1 Carriage shed fell down, 1682. 2 1 2 Construction of brick kiln, I 683. 2 13 Conversion of 206, 26
Cran_e (first) erected, 1670. 194, 1293 Details of convers10n 207, 261 Description of 1 go Establishment, 1674. 198 Estimate for conversion of 207-208 Estimate for repairing carriage shed,
1682. 212 Furnace for heating ordnance erected,
1672. 197 History of 179-189 Impressions of the first thirty years
227-228 Iron foundry 252
Demolished, 1724. 253 King James II entertained 215 List of owners 184 Not suitable for storage 206 Old Carriage Yard 269, 283, 470 Order in Council 1670 to purchase for
the Crown 185-186 Purchased by the Crown, 1671. 187,
1349
Rupert's Palace; a fallacy 191, 192 Rupert's tower; a fallacy I 91, 192 Proof that the turret was part of the
original mansion 192 Re-converted 253 Sale to the Crown 1671. 185-190
Saltpetre refining carried out 197
Shed fell down, 1682. 212
INDEX
Woolwich-Tower Place-contd.
The Academy268 room 254, 264, 267,
Estimate 261
The Great room 254, 262, 263, 265, 267 The Great room and other conversions: Estimate 261
The turret 191, 192, 288 Demolished, 1786. 254, 470, 480 Model once in theR.U.S.I. museum
191 sed as an annexe to the Academy's main lecture room 288
The turret clock Repaired, 1751. 400 Repaired, 1783. 477
Vincent's explanation of the turret or tower incorrect 191
Visits by Ordnance officials to effect alterations for Service purposes 185
Wharf repaired, 1676. 199 Trains of artillery during the 18th century 302,306,335 Tramway improvements during \,Vorld war I 983
Troops abandon the parish church for Divine service owing to overcrowding, 1750. 328 . .
Troops at first attend Divine service m the parish church till 1750. 328 Trouble over fishing regulations 129-131
Turnpike road from Greenwich to \I\Toolwich and on to Bexley via Plumstead 6o4
Two fallacies exposed 191, 192
Variations in spelling 112
Vinegar Hill 1355
Warren 111, 138, 157, 158, 172, 181,248, 305, 338, 385, 386, 395, 424, 463,465, 483, 503, 504, 521, 564, 1299,1349, 1362 Academy room fitted up as a chapel 328, 1317
Academy room used as the first chapel 328
Additional land leased, 1781._ 469
All Civil Officers and the Chief Firemaster assessable for poor, church and highway rates 483 An additional L.S. Carriage store
house, 1728. 283
Application for a master founder 250
Armoury in 393
Barracks Allowance of coal and candles, 1725. 278, 316 Bedsteads burned to destroy bugs
317
Bugs in bedsteads 317 Conditions appalling in mid 18th century 317 Drains completely stopped up, 1765.
318 Furnished 3 I 7 Furniture: Strict inventory to be
kept, 1764. 327
1537
Furniture to be marked with the Broad Arrow, 1764. 323, 327 Original design of officers' quarters
321
Basin Square 253, 471, 1355
Bath stoves installed in offices, 1768.
427
Becoming main gun repository by1682. 212 Blue storehouse transferred to R.L. 1779. 460
Blue storehouses to be handed over to the Respective Officers when vacated by the Field Train, 1804. =17
Bord room, equipment purchased for 405
Board room replaces Academy room as the chapel 329, 131 Board room used for entertam1ng 40=
1orig engine installed, 1717. 258
Boring machine improved by the
Verbruggens 430, 1416 Butts (old) demolished 1780. 461 Butts give trouble, 1675. 199 Butts under repair, 1683. 214 Butts under extensive repair, 1675.
199
Carriage Square 284, 708 . Cash due to officers to be paid at the Tower instead ofat Woolwich, 1801.
Ch4;;ge over from a storage to manufacture and storage, 1696. 222 Chapel, absence of a I 31 7 d Chapel, Academy room use as a first, I 751. 328, 1 31 7 Chapel, Board room used as a, 1751. 329,_1318 id
Chapel in the Plumstead Roa,, see "Woolwich, Ordnance chapel Chapel, repository used as a 467,
orae sores anepyards called "Clerk of the Cheque 272
Clock house rebuilt, I 742• 292 Coal tenders submitted, 1766. 316 Cold bath built, 1760. 332, 1:p
Commandant's house 514-51 Converted into two F.O. quarters, 1850. 516 Contract . .
For cartage advertISed m 1750. 394, 1298
For transport horses, 1750. 394 1298
Terms of contract 394, 1298 Conversion of refining house, 1683.
Co~~ 3of drawing guns from the wharf to the proof butts to be borne by the contractor and not by the Crown,
1798.49 . f
Cradle of the Royal Regunent o Artillery 302 "Cradles" for troops 314 Crane (additional) erected, 1718. 268, 1294
Woolwich-Warren--contd. Crane (first) erected, 1670. 194, 1293 Crane (new) erected, 1 745· 1295 Cranes (two) erected on the new
wharf, 1803. 1295 Cranes (two new) erected, 1758. 1295 .
Cranes give trouble, 1703. 235 Crime in the 17th century 203 Description of: Environs ef London by
Daniel Lysons, 1796. 492 Description of: Gentleman's Magazine,
1798 •. 492 ' .
Description of: Halsted s Hzstory of Kent, 1778. 491 Design for new gates to be forwarded, 1803. 512 Dial Square 252, 254, 407, 471, 1356
Doghouse marshes 191, 208 Early bronze weapon found 113 East Laboratory nearing completion,
1777. 463 East wharf 498 1 1 acres ofnew land to be leased, 1758.
409
Enclosed, 1702. 233 Engineers Department
C.R.E. \,Voolwich allowed to incur expenditure on repairs up to £5 without prior sanction of the Board of Ordnance, 1801. 499
Increase of establishment, 1802.
500 .
Establishment and staff 1700. 230 1714. 241 1720. 272 1727. 296 1749· 297 1752. 41I 1782. 472 1783. 472 1800. 487
Establishment of labourers, 1722. 283 Estimate for moving ordnance and shot from the gunwharf to 196 Estimate for repairing sheds, 1680. 203 Fire Equipment sent to the Tower for
repair 426 176o: Dockyard help 411, 1361 1802 (disastrous) 503, 1362 1805 (disastrous) 521, 1362
Fire engines, first mention of, 1725. 1361 Firework Barn 226, 240, 263 Fitted up as the second R.A. infirmary, 1741. 291, 330 First cold bath installed, 1760. 332,
419 First crane erected, 1670. 194, 1293 First gates put up, 1720. 266 First hot bath installed, 1774. 333 First infirmary, I 720. 330 First mention of officers' stables, 1738.
315
First or old barracks Built in 1719. 254, 263, 264 Estimate 261
First or old barracks: Visit of the Surveyor-General of the Ordnance to allot accommodation 313
First place of worship, 1751. 328,
1317 First proof butts, 1651. 177 First public sale of stores, 1716. 271 First senlTy box installed, 1717. 327 Foreman ofprooffor contractors' guns
to be paid government fees instead of charging merchants, 1803. 5 1 1 Foundation of Royal Military
Academy 286, 347 Foundry Square 463 Fountain Court 253, 262, 264, 265,
267 Free unserviceable wood requested for civilian officers, 1722. 314 Further ground leascd, 1776.
460-461 Further land purchased, 1777. 463 Further land purcha3ed, 1802. 502 Further security measure 233, 4.60 Grand Square 253, 471 Great Building plans 1716-1720.
252-268 Work of bricklayers 26gWork of carpenters 265 \Nork of paviors 267 Work of plumbers 267 Work of scavelmen 262
Great crane erected, 1670. r 94. 1 293 Great pile ofbuildings 252, 253, 255,
260 Great proof carried out, 1681. 204 Guardhouse at main gate, 1735. 327
Enlarged 285 Gun battery built by Prince Rupert
133, 177 Herb garden laid out, 1775. 334 Illicit sale of stores, 1750. 396. 397
Charles Frederick's report ' 397-399
Infirmary Mary Cheeseman installed as second nurse, 1780. 335 Nurse complains of her accommod
ation 331 One nurse allotted 33 1 Second nurse approved, 1773. 333
Laboratory 240, 260, 262, 269, 272, 292, 1349 Becomes Royal Laboratory by 1 770. 436 Blue storehouse transferred to, 1779.
460 Boat to be built 483 Establishment and staff, 1746. 296 Estimate for erecting 223 Experimental press installed for the
extraction of saltpetre, 1784. 477
Firebarn to be demolished and rebuilt, 1777. 459 Further boundary walls and fences erected, 1777. 46o
INDEX
vVoolwich
Warren-Laboratory-contd. Gates made for 226 Increase of pay owing to the cost of
living agreed to, 18o1. 497
Men discharged as redundant after the Peace of Paris, 1763. 423 Men discharged after the Treaty of
Versailles, 1784. 477 Minor strike, 1708. 239 New guardhouse to be built, 1778.
459
New Sea storehouse built, 1783-1786. 476 No bar to ex-soldiers being employed 337
Placed on a care and maintenance basis under a bombadier, 1716. 26o
Plans for a new magazine, 1778. 459
Post of storekeeper to be abolished,
1719. 271 Privy Council meeting on 295 Re-opened at full establishment,
1746. 295
See also ""Woolwich Warren, Royal Laboratory" and "vVoolwich, Royal Laboratory"
Sentry box placed near the gate,1755. 328 Sentry boxes placed at every gate,
1765. 328 Sunday working, 1803. 511 Small fire, 1781. 475
Two more presses for the extraction of saltpetre installed 480 Lamp placed at the infirmary, 1759. 332 Land north of the river purchased 1801--1803. 606 Land north of the river sold, 1819. 6o6
Land Service Carriage storehouse 262, 264, 265, 267, 28gEstimate 261
Large proof, l 770. 436 Largest gun repository in the country
by Queen Anne's reign 233 Light wharf to be built, 1803. 506 Lighting increased, 1764. 424 List of buildings, 1801. 498 Map of, 1777, at Stanmore 470 Master Furbisher's payments for
.drilling and cutting pans to cease
on 31st December, 1802. 506 Metal storehouse erected, 1729. 284 Middle crane rebuilt and the two
others repaired, 1703. 235 More neccessaries essential 479 Mortar platform to be erected on the
Convicts' wharf to ascertain the range of mortars on the Thames, 1805. 517
New barracks Become Field Officers' quarters in
the 19th century 314 Built, 1739. 285, 314 Estimate 285
1539
New butt built, 1684. 215 New butt built, 687. 219 New butt to be built, 1718. 271 New butt built, 1741• 290 New butt built, 1759. 410 New butt built, 1779. 461 New butt to be built, 1803. 506 New carpenters' shop built, 1780.
469
New Carriage storehouse, 1683. 214 New Carriage yard built, 1697. 227 New Carriage sheds built, 1776. 462 New contract for transport horses,
1757. 408, 1298 New dwellings built, 1734. 284 New firebarn 27o New guardhouse
Built, 1 788. 482 Formerly used as B.W.D. offices 482 ·
New house to be built for the Verbruggens 432 New L.S. carriage storehouse built,
1728. 283 New proof place for mortars 215 New shot pound to be built, 1 749·
394
New stables erected in the Carriage yard, 1724. 2 75 New stables erected, 1761. 420 New wagon sheds to be constructed,
1803. 512 New wharf built, 1712. 236 New wharf built, 1725. 289
New wharf built, 1778--1781. 461 New wharf First pile driven 29th March 1803.
501 Planned, 1801. 500 Takes eleven years to complete
500 Yearly estimates 502 No manufacture till the end of century195 . .
No merchant to prove his guns with-out the consent of the Board of Ordnance, 1718. 271 No more plays to be performed in the Board room, 1751. 329 Officers living in quarters there, 1748. 313
Officers' quarters . Abuses in allocation 315 Certain fittings allowed, 1749. 326 Furniture to be supplied 326 Stables under the best parlour 326
Officers residing therein have free issue of coal and candles 314 Officers responsible for seeing that the lamps are lighted 332 Old and new Carriage yards closed
down, 1728. 283 Old butts demolished, 1780. 461 Old gun carriages broken up in 1682.
212 Old guns to mark off the footpath from the road, 1 766. 425 Old newspaper cutting about the chapel being full of mumt1ons 329
INDEX
Woolwich-Warren-!:ontd. Old proof butt demolished, 1780. 461 Old proof butt to be demolished, 1718.
271 Old stables pulled down, 1724. 275 Old storehouse, demolition of, 1717.
270 · Old wharf pulled down, 1716. Original boring engine_ installed . 2_58 Original plans kept m lhe Bnt1sh
Museum-299 Paymaster's post instituted, 1803. -12 Pe or Communion service bought 329, 1317 ..
Post ofClerk eftlze Stores instituted 272 Post of Clerk ef the Survey instituted
272 Powder magazine erected, 1729. 284 Powder magazine to be built, 1754.
407
Prin!e Rupert's walk 123, 234, 236,
289, 419, 425, 445, 471 Proof about 1 749. 298 Proof, accident at, 1742. 420 Proof, accident at, 1751. 401 Proof, details of, 1750-1753. 402-404 Proof of guns almost a daily occur
rence between 1670-1700 227 Proof of guns For the Emperor of Morocco, 1767. 426 For the Empress of Russia, 1771.
437 .
For the King of Portugal, I 767. 426 Proof of ordnance in full swing bv
1670. 185 ' Proof Place 235, 263, 270, 438, 441 Proposal to rebuild gunwharf in, in
masonry 482
Proposal to demolish the old houses alongside the Royal Laboratory481
Proving guns a danger 205,218,221,226
Pump for fire-fighting to be installed in the houses of Messrs. Delestang, Sumpter and Edwards, 1776. 462, 1362
Regulalions governing proof early18th century 27o Report on coal requirements called for, 1766. 315 Reposilory of Mililary Machines see Repository of Military Machines
and Royal Military RepositoryRoyal Brass Foundery 250, 268 Royal Brass Foundry 262, 269, 518
Accident, 1745. 298 Beam and scales supplied to, I 770.
430
Building of 252, 256 Copper supplied at £154 per ton in
1801. 499
Master founder's post abolished by the Board of Ordnance, 1789. 481, 1104
Master founder's post and that of the Assistant master founder reintroduced by the Board of Ordnance, 1797. 486, 1 104
Master founder's post finally abol
ished, 1818. 604, 1104, 1 169 New pump installed, 1777. 463 New refining furnace installed,
1777. 458 Ordered, 1 716. 250 Placed under the Inspector of
Artillery, 1797. 486 Rebuilt, 1770-1772. 435 Repaired, 1803. 505 Royal Arms and Marlborough's
Arms cut by Thomas Green 258 See Also vVoolwich, Royal Brass Foundry Small boring engine from Holland installed, 1777. 458
Tradition that prayers always preceded the opening of the furnaces 259
Weather cock mi sing 431
Royal Laboratory Establishment and staff, 1760. 449 See also vVoolwich '\Varren, Labo
ratory and \Voolwich, Royal Laboratmy
Royal Military Academy see Royal Academy and Roy<!.! MilitaryAcademy
Royal Military Repository see Royal Military Repository Rugs for troops exchanged for cover
lets 314 Rugs originally issued to troops 314 Rules governing the occupation of
officers' quarters, I 79 1. 483 Saltpetre house, demolition of 270 Scale and beam for weighing ordnance
purchased, 1805. 520
Sea Service Carriage storehouse 253, 262, 264, 265, 267, 28gEstimate 261
Second infirmary, 1741. 330 Second or new barracks built, 1739.
254, 285 Second place of worship 329 Second proof butts, 1671. 194 See also Woolwich, Royal Arsenal Shotyard, gates built at 235 Site of old Carriage yard becomes the
storekeeper's orchard 28g
Sliding gibbets installed in the new Carriage storehouse, 1 728. 284, 1294
Some carriage repair at the end of the
17th century 195 Special wharfconstructed, 1780. 469 Stables to be built for R.A. Field
Officers, 1767. 325 Staff appointments between 1777-1800. 471, 472, 487 Standing gibbet set up near the
cranes 235 Storehouse and offices built in the upper ·Laboratory yard, 1756. 407 Stores apt to be stolen 233
Woolwich-Warren-contd. Suggestion to exchange land at Greenwich to increase the size of mgSun-dial erected, 1757. 407 Sun-dial requires calibrating in 1777. 463 The Artificers' Court 253, 262, 263 Becomes known as Dial Square 252, 407 The Great House 185, 253, 262, 264,266 The turret see v\Toolwich, To"ver Place: the turret Theft in 1752. 404 1763. 422
1774• 44°
Thefts During 1776-1789. 491 Subsequent to 1805. see Woolwich, Royal Arsenal; Thefts Third infirmary, 1757. 33 Three cranes begin to give trouble 235 To be re-named Royal Arsenal, 1805. 522 Tools to be marked with the Broad Arrow 405
Topography and buildings 1700. 229 I 720. 272 1749· 300
1780. 470 Trial carried out in 1 708 of a liquid fire projection machine 238 Trial of 3 mortars before Charles II 215 20 more acres leased, 1760. 409, 410 Two gunners buried in, 1688. 218, 221 Two pavilions added to the infirmary 333, 371 .
Upper gate to be converted mto a gunners' lodging, 1683. 213 Visit of George III and his WJ.fe, 1 770.
436 Visit of George III, 1773. 438 Visit of George III, 1805. 522 Wall repaired, I 752. 404 Washing for troops done by the store
keeper 314 West wharf 498 Wharf completely rebuilt, 1734. 289 Windlass for stretching rope installed,
1756. 406 . . Witnessing official payments rnsututed 1805. 518 vVarren Lane 265 Waterman's fields 687 Woolwich Division '\,Vorks Estimates, 1809. 556 Estimates, 1810. 569 Estimates, 1811. 575 Estimates, 1812. 584
Estimates, 1814. 597, 600 Estimates, 1815. 597, 599, 601, 1353 Estimates, 1816. 603
Estimatcs, 1817. 604 Estimates, 1818. 6o5 Estimates, 1819. 6o7 Estimates, 1820. 608 Estimates, 1821 . 6o8 Estimates, 1822. 608 Estimates, 1823. 617 Estimatcs, 1824. 619 Estimates, 1825. 622 Estimates, 1826. (missing) 62 3 Estimates, 1827. 625 Estimates, 1828. 627 Estimates, 1829. 631 Estimates, 1830. 632 Estimates, 1831. 634 Estimates, 1832. 635 Estimates, 1833. 642 Estimates, 1834. 646 Estimates, 18353. 648 Estimates, 1836. 653 Estimates, 1837. 653 Estimates, 1838 (missing) 656 Estimates, 1839. 659 Estimates, 1840. (missing) 673 Estimates, 1841. 674 Estimates, 1843. 686 Estimates, 1844. 687 Estimates, 1845. 691 Estimates, 1846. 697 Estimates, 1847. 700 Estimates, 1849. (missing) 709 Estimates, 1850. 715 Estimates, 1852. 733
Woolwich Division Works staff, :r 809. 563 Woolwich New Road 1349
Wooten, George 1269
Worcester, Bishop of 126
World War I Armistice signed 991 Events leading up to 947 World War II Events leading up to 1019, 1020, 1022, 1023
Worley, Job 1258
Worsley, Major Edward V. 574
Worssam, Samuel 768
Wren,J. 1261
Wren, James I 145
Wren, Mr. 150, 151
Wren, Sir Christopher 72, 110, r I 5
Wricklemarsh estate 384
Wricklemarsh House Demolished, 1787. 386
Sold toJohn Cator 384
Wright, A. I I 74
·wright, Augustus 644, 645, 1168, 1 197, 1247, 1261
Wright, A. W. 1110
Wright, George 1232, 1252, 1257, 1258
Wright, Henry 1213, 1224, 1265
Wright, James 413, 1065
Wright, John 673
Wright, Joseph I I 79, II86, 1248, I 249
Wright, Josiah 1193
Wright, Mr. 249
Wright, Sergeant Abraham 1252
Wright, William 12o8, 1216, 1217, 1240, 1249, 1252 Wrisberg, Lieut-General Sir Frederick
George 1040 Wulewick, Manor of 123, 126 Wyatt, .James 385, 39
Wyatt, Lieutenant Samuel 574 Wyatt, Richard 1272 Wyche, Richard 85 Wydower, Nicholas 15 Wyer, Edmund D. 1223 Wykeham 118 Wykeham, William of 12 Wyndesore, John de 130 Wyndlesore, Sabina de 126 Wynter, Dr. Andrew 787 Wynter, Sir William 163, 169 Wynter-Morgan, Air Commodore W.
1114
Yarmouth I 139
York 1239 York, Archbishop of 182 York, Colonel W. H. 1119
York, Duke of 202 York, H.R.H. Frederick Duke of 1337,
1338, 1339 York, Lieut-Colonel 639 York, Sir Joseph 423, 427 Young, Alfred H. 1208, 1212, 1231 Young, Charles 823 Young, John 1177 Young, Mr. 137, 1145, 1148 Young, Thomas 288, 1264 Young, William 511, 1136, 1268 Young, W. L. M. 1121 Young Men's Christian Association 981 Younger, Mathew 296, 297, 412 Younghusband, Captain F., R.N. 1108,
1115 Appointed SuperintendentR.G.F., 1888. 876 Younghusband, General C. W. 1108
Zouche, v\ illiam de la 1 r Zweigberk, Brigadier C. A.